Tag: pj tucker

Sixers forward P.J. Tucker cleared to play after recent knee surgery

Philadelphia 76ers forward P.J. Tucker recently underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee.

He’s been cleared for on-court work and will participate in training camp in Charleston, South Carolina.

Per the Philly Voice, “based on conversations with people around the team this offseason — and Doc Rivers’ own assertions to kick off media day — Tucker is going to play a critical, multi-faceted role for the Sixers in 2022-23. In addition to the minutes he’s expected to play at forward, Tucker will be part of the plan at backup center behind Joel Embiid, one of several players who will factor into their gameplan when the MVP candidate is off of the floor.”

And per the Philadelphia Inquirer in early July, “Tucker, a 6-foot-5, 245-pound power forward, averaged just 7.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists this past season for the Miami Heat. But he shot a career-best 41.5% from beyond the three-point line.”

Sixers sign P.J. Tucker

The Philadelphia 76ers yesterday signed forward P.J. Tucker.

“P.J. Tucker is one of the most respected and relentless competitors in our game and is the type of competitor our fans will love and embrace,” Morey said. “We’re excited to add his leadership, toughness, defensive versatility and championship pedigree to our roster. P.J. wants to deliver an NBA title to Philadelphia and his work ethic and mentality make him an impactful addition to our team and city.”

“This team is good enough to compete head-to-head with anybody in the league, and I’m going to come in here and do whatever I can to help get us to that next level,” Tucker said. “Philly fans demand greatness and it will be up to us to get to where we need to be in order to accomplish our goals. I’m excited to get to work.”

Tucker appeared in 71 games (70 starts) for Miami in 2021-22, averaging 7.6 points on .484 shooting, 5.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 0.8 steals in 27.9 minutes. He shot a career-best .415 from beyond the arc this past season and was one of six NBA players with at least 70 corner three-point field goals on 40-percent shooting-or-better.

The North Carolina native reached the 20-point mark twice in 2021-22, including a season-high 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting (5-8 3FG) at Cleveland on Dec. 13.

Originally selected by Toronto in the second round (No. 35 overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft, Tucker has compiled career averages of 7.1 points (.425 FG, .364 3FG, .748 FT), 5.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.1 steals, and 29.0 minutes in 777 career games (581 starts) with the Raptors, Suns, Rockets, Bucks, and Heat. He has appeared in at least 70 games nine times throughout his 11 NBA seasons, including three 82-game seasons (most recently in 2018-19).

Tucker has shot at least .330 from beyond the arc in each of his last nine NBA seasons from 2013-22, making him one of 11 NBA players to accomplish that feat (min. 115 3FGA). The 11-year veteran is one of 18 NBA players to tally at least 380 steals and 480 three-point field goals over the last five seasons.

Tucker has been a part of six playoff runs during his 11 NBA seasons, averaging 7.3 points (.439 FG, .407 3FG), 6.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.9 steals, and 31.3 minutes played across 91 career postseason contests (78 starts) with Toronto, Houston, Milwaukee, and Miami. He has appeared in 41 playoff games over the last two seasons, including a 2021 NBA Championship run with the Bucks in which he started 19 of the team’s 23 postseason games. During the title run, Tucker was one of four players to total at least 110 rebounds along with 20 steals in the postseason.

In addition to his 11 NBA seasons, Tucker spent two seasons playing internationally for Aris Thessaloniki, Aris, Fabi Shoes Montegranaro and Brose Baskets. During this time, he posted averages of 12.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.0 steals while shooting .400 from three.

Before turning pro, Tucker played collegiately at Texas from 2003-06. As a Longhorn, Tucker was named Big 12 Player of the Year in 2006 along with being selected to the All-Big 12 First Team, Big 12 All-Defensive Team, All-Big 12 Tournament First Team and being named to the 2006 NCAA Tournament All-Region team along with being named a Consensus Second Team All-American.

Following his three-year career, Tucker ranked 18th in program history in career scoring (1,169 points), eighth in career rebounds (714) and tied for fifth in career double-doubles (28).

Miami Heat sign P.J. Tucker

The Miami Heat yesterday signed forward P.J. Tucker.

“P.J. Tucker is the perfect addition to this team,” said HEAT President Pat Riley. “He brings both shooting and most importantly, the ability to defend a lot of perimeter players. We love his versatility in order to put a defensive team on the court, where all five guys can defend, while also having enough shooting and scoring to win games.”

Tucker, who helped the Bucks to the 2021 NBA Championship, split last season between Houston and Milwaukee appearing in 52 games (33 starts) and averaged 3.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.17 steals and 26.1 minutes. In 23 postseason games (19 starts) while helping lead Milwaukee to their first NBA Championship in 50 years, he averaged 4.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 29.6 minutes. Tucker ranked among postseason hustle leaders in charges drawn (third), loose balls recovered (fourth), contested two-pointers (eighth), contested shots (ninth), box outs (tied-12th), contested three-pointers (15th) and deflections (tied-16th).

The 10-year NBA veteran has appeared in 706 career games (511 starts) for Toronto, Phoenix, Houston and Milwaukee and averaged 7.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.17 steals and 29.1 minutes while shooting 41.9 percent from the field, 35.9 percent from three-point range and 74.8 percent from the foul line. He has scored in double figures on 204 occasions, including 14 games with at least 20 points. He has also posted double-figure boards 82 times and registered 40 double-doubles while receiving multiple votes for the NBA All-Defensive Team in six of his 10 seasons. Additionally, he has appeared in 73 career postseason games (60 starts) and averaged 7.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 28.9 minutes while scoring in double figures 22 times and recording 14 games with at least 10 rebounds, including nine double-doubles.

Rockets trade P.J. Tucker, Rodions Kurucs to Bucks for D.J. Augustin, D.J. Wilson, draft pick

The Houston Rockets have traded forwards P.J. Tucker and Rodions Kurucs to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for guard D.J. Augustin, forward D.J. Wilson, and the Bucks first round pick in 2023.

The Rockets also received the right to swap their 2021 second round pick for Milwaukee’s 2021 first round pick (Top 9 protected), while the Bucks re-acquired their 2022 first round pick which Houston obtained from Cleveland as part of a four-team trade earlier this season.

Augustin (6-0, 183) was originally the ninth overall pick by Charlotte in the 2008 NBA Draft following his sophomore season at Texas. In 901 career games with 326 starts, he has averaged 9.7 points, 4.0 assists and 1.9 rebounds while shooting 37.9% from 3-point range.

Over the past three seasons, Augustin was one of five players to have averaged at least 10.0 ppg and 4.0 apg while playing fewer than 26.0 minutes per game. Rockets head coach Stephen Silas was an assistant coach with Charlotte during Augustin’s final two seasons with the Bobcats from 2010-11 through 2011-12.

Wilson (6-10, 224) was originally the 17th overall pick by Milwaukee in the 2017 NBA Draft following his junior season at Michigan. He appeared in 119 career games for the Bucks while averaging 4.0 points and 2.9 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per game.

While on assignment in the G League the past three seasons, Wilson averaged 16.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.9 3-pointers made on 38.2% shooting. He was the recipient of Michigan’s Rudy Tomjanovich Most Improved Player Award in his final collegiate season.

Tucker spent the past three and a half seasons with the Rockets while averaging 6.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.18 steals in 268 games with 220 starts. Since the start of 2012-13, he has played the most games of any player in the league.

Kurucs was acquired by Houston from Brooklyn earlier this season as part of a four-team trade with Cleveland and Indiana. He appeared in 11 games as a Rocket.

P.J. Tucker plays a huge role for Rockets

P.J. Tucker is one of the most important players in the NBA playoffs who doesn’t put up big numbers in the scoring department. Here’s the Los Angeles Times on a key member of the Houston Rockets, who currently lead the Los Angeles Lakers 1-0 in their second-round playoff series:

If the Rockets have dog inside of them, Tucker is a mastiff. Friday he scored six points but scrapped for nine rebounds against the Lakers’ bigger frontcourt. With him on the court, Houston was 16 points better than the Lakers — a Rockets best in the plus-minus rating.

The 35-year-old forward played professionally in Israel, Ukraine, Greece, Italy and Germany before finding a home in the NBA. Among coaches, he’s revered for his toughness and his awareness, a player willing to take on the toughest challenge on defense while parking in the corner on offense, ready to catch and shoot if the ball makes its way to him.

After beating the Lakers, Tucker was asked about the Rockets being small and having to body up with James and Davis, and in his answer, he delivered his mission statement.

“Yeah, I’m short. But I’m strong and I can move my feet,” he said with defiance. “And I can stay in front of anybody. I’m not going to quit. I’m going to fight every play. They’re going to score. Those guys are two of the best players of our generation — they’re going to score the ball. They’re going to score a lot of times. But we’re going to try and make it tough, try and make them work hard, and try to wear them down throughout the game.”

Raptors trade Jared Sullinger to Suns for P.J. Tucker

Raptors trade Jared Sullinger to Suns for P.J. Tucker

The Phoenix Suns today completed a deal with the Toronto Raptors to acquire center/forward Jared Sullinger, Toronto’s second-round draft picks in 2017 and 2018, and cash considerations in exchange for forward P.J. Tucker.

“We thank P.J. for his contributions to our franchise over the past five seasons,” said Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough. “He was well respected by his teammates as someone who pushed them every day in practice, laid his heart on the line on the court and was a leader in the locker room. P.J. was also loved by the fans here in Phoenix for his relentless approach on the court and his work in our community. We appreciate all that he did for the Suns organization and wish him the best as he joins the Raptors.”

Sullinger is in his fifth NBA season, holding career averages of 10.8 points and 7.5 rebounds in 269 games with the Raptors and Boston Celtics. In 11 games with Toronto this season, Sullinger has averaged 3.4 points and 2.5 rebounds as he underwent left foot surgery on Oct. 24, delaying his season debut until Jan. 18. Sullinger signed with Toronto this past summer after he had averaged double-digits scoring in each of the three previous seasons with the Celtics, including a career-high 13.3 points in both 2013-14 and 2014-15. The 24-year-old posted 10.3 points and a career-best 8.3 rebounds per game in a career-high 81 appearances for Boston last season.

The 21st overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft by Boston, Sullinger was a consensus All-American in each of his two seasons at Ohio State University. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Sullinger led the Buckeyes to a Final Four berth in 2012.

Tucker departs the Suns after averaging 8.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 377 games (286 starts) over five seasons with the team. He initially joined the Suns on Aug. 1, 2012, signing as a free agent to return to the NBA (where he played as a rookie with the Raptors in 2006-07) after five seasons internationally. The 31-year-old is averaging 7.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and a career-high 1.5 steals (20th in NBA) in 57 games (17 starts) this season.

The only four-time winner of the Suns’ Majerle Hustle Award, Tucker ranks 14th in Suns history in steals (471), 18th in rebounds (2,228) and 20th in games played (377).

The Suns’ roster now stands at 15.