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Matt Williams Signs In Finland

September 12th, 2018 at 8:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Matt Williams, who held a two-way contract with the Heat for part of last season, has signed to play in Finland, according to Orazio Cauchi of Sportando. KTP-Basket announced the deal with Williams this morning.

Undrafted out of Central Florida in 2017, Williams signed a two-way deal with Miami in mid-October and was waived at the end of December. He appeared in three games at the NBA level, playing 11 total minutes and averaging 1.7 PPG.

Williams was more productive in the G League, averaging 10.2 points and 2.7 rebounds per night in 43 games for the Heat’s affiliate in Sioux Falls.

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Jonathan Gibson Signs With Chinese Team

September 11th, 2018 at 11:01am CST by Dana Gauruder
Former Celtics point guard Jonathan Gibson and ex-Thunder big man Dakari Johnson have signed contracts to play in China during the upcoming season, according to a Sportando report.
The duo will join the Qingdao Eagles. Gibson signed with Boston late last season after its backcourt was depleted by injuries. He appeared in four games, averaging 8.5 PPG in 10 MPG. The former New Mexico State standout played 38 games for Qingdao last season, averaging 33.7 PPG with 6.8 RPG and 4.7 APG.

Gibson, 30, also appeared in 17 games for the Mavericks during the 2016/17 season but has otherwise spent his professional career playing for a variety of international teams since going undrafted in 2010. His resume includes stops in Turkey, Israel, Italy and Iran as well as China.

News of Johnson’s decision to play in China broke on Monday and the latest Sportando report confirms he’s officially heading overseas.

The 7-foot center was traded twice this summer before the Grizzlies waived him at the end of August. Oklahoma City shipped him to Orlando in exchange for Rodney Purvis on July 20. Three days later, the Magic sent Johnson and the rights to 2015 second-rounder Tyler Harvey to Memphis for Jarell Martin and cash.

The 48th pick in the 2015 draft, Johnson spent the first two years of his career in the G League with Oklahoma City Blue. He saw his first action for the Thunder last season, appearing in 31 games.

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Dakari Johnson Headed To China

September 10th, 2018 at 9:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Dakari Johnson, who has been with the Thunder for the past three years, will play in China this season, relays Orazio Cauchi of Sportando. The 22-year-old center has agreed to sign with the Qingdao Eagles, according to a report in the Jinan Times.

Johnson was traded twice this summer before the Grizzlies waived him at the end of August. Oklahoma City shipped him to Orlando in exchange for Rodney Purvis on July 20. Three days later, the Magic sent Johnson and the rights to 2015 second-rounder Tyler Harvey to Memphis for Jarell Martin and cash.

The Grizzlies used the stretch provision to get rid of the final year of Johnson’s contract, creating a cap hit of about $450K for each of the next three seasons.

The 48th pick in the 2015 draft, Johnson spent the first two years of his career in the G League with Oklahoma City Blue. He saw his first action for the Thunder last season, appearing in 31 games and playing about 5 minutes per night.

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And-Ones: Bazley, Garnett, Two-Way Players, Munford

September 7th, 2018 at 8:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Darius Bazley’s curious summer decisions have hurt his draft stock, according to Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated. The 6’9” Bazley backed out of a commitment with Syracuse in order to play in the G League. He then announced he would simply train on his own until next year’s draft. Other than Bazley’s length and defensive effort, there are a lot of question marks about his game, Woo continues. He’s unpolished with a thin build and needs plenty of work on his offensive game, so he would be better off playing competitively for the next nine months. He now has the look of a second-round flier, Woo adds. Woo takes a closer look at several risers and droppers among 2019 draft prospects.

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • Kevin Garnett is filing a federal malpractice lawsuit against accountant Michael Wertheim and his firm, alleging they helped a wealth manager steal $77MM from him, according to Associated Press report. The suit claims the accountant and his firm enabled Charles Banks IV of Atlanta to defraud Garnett through businesses in which Garnett and Banks shared an interest. Banks, who was sentenced last year to four years in federal prison for defrauding retired Spurs star Tim Duncan, was not named in Garnett’s suit.
  • The maximum amount a two-way player can earn in training camp with an NBA team is $50K. The G League salary of a two-way player is $77,250, a mild increase from $75K last season. Those are some of the nuggets offered by Adam Johnson of 2Ways10Days in an examination of maximum earning power for players on two-way contracts during the upcoming season.
  • Free-agent guard Xavier Munford is mulling a move to the Chinese Basketball Association, according to Amico Hoops. The 6’4” Munford played on a two-way contract with the Bucks last season and appeared in six NBA contests. Munford, who also played 14 games with the Grizzlies during the 2015/16 season, is a restricted free agent within the NBA after receiving a qualifying offer from Milwaukee early this summer.
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Trey McKinney-Jones To Play In Japan

September 6th, 2018 at 4:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Former Pacers shooting guard Trey McKinney-Jones will play in Japan during the 2018/19 season, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. As Carchia relays, the Chiba Jets recently announced the signing of McKinney-Jones.

[RELATED: NBA Players Who Are Headed Overseas For 2018/19]

McKinney-Jones, who went undrafted out of Miami in 2013, has bounced around since then, playing for professional teams in France, Israel, and Hungary, along with multiple G League stints. A handful of productive years for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants earned the 28-year-old a look from the Pacers last season. He spent training camp with Indiana, then signed a 10-day contract with the club during the season.

Although McKinney-Jones made his NBA debut last season, it was brief — he played just 74 seconds during his first and only game for the Pacers on February 23. He spent most of the year in Fort Wayne, averaging 12.0 PPG on .511/.403/.768 shooting in 36 G League contests (26.9 MPG). McKinney-Jones also played for the Spurs in the Las Vegas and Utah Summer Leagues this July.

This is the second time this week we’ve passed along word of a former NBA player heading to Japan for the coming season. Big man Jeff Ayres will reportedly spend the year with the Ryukyu Golden Kings.

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Boris Diaw Announces Retirement

September 6th, 2018 at 1:20pm CST by Arthur Hill

Boris Diaw, who played 14 seasons in the NBA, has officially retired from basketball, according to a tweet from Sportando. The versatile big man played for five teams, but is best known for his time in San Antonio, where he won a championship in 2014.

A French native, the 36-year-old spent last season with Paris-Levallois. He built a strong international reputation in France before coming to the NBA, winning the FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship in 2000. He was named captain of the French national team in 2006 and led his nation to the gold medal at the 2013 EuroBasket tournament.

Diaw was drafted by the Hawks with the 21st pick in 2003. He spent two years in Atlanta before being traded to the Suns, and later played for the Bobcats and Spurs before finishing his NBA career with the Jazz in 2017. Several playoff teams reportedly had interest in signing him late last season, but nothing ever materialized.

Over the course of his NBA career, Diaw averaged 8.6 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 3.5 APG in 1,064 contests (27.0 MPG). According to Basketball-Reference, the 2006 NBA Most Improved Player earned more than $80MM during his 14 seasons in the NBA.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Southwest Rumors: Gasol, Nowitzki, Lauvergne, Finney-Smith

September 5th, 2018 at 9:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Spurs center Pau Gasol hopes to play for Spain in the FIBA World Cup next summer, according to a Sportando report. Gasol told the Spanish website El Dia he’ll wait until after the NBA season to make a final decision whether he’ll play for his home country as it attempts to qualify for the 2020 Olympics. “I am about to turn 39,” Gasol said. “I love playing with the national team and I would like to continue, and qualify for the Olympic Games in Tokyo and help the team with my presence, if I am physically well my belief and my wish is to be in the World Cup.”

We have more from around the Southwest Division:

  • Dirk Nowitzki scrimmaged with his Mavericks teammates for the first time since undergoing ankle surgery in April, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports. Coach Rick Carlisle said Nowitzki should be available for training camp, which opens September 21, Sefko continues. Lottery pick Luka Doncic and J.J. Barea were among the other players in the scrimmage, Sefko adds.
  • Former Spurs big man Joffrey Lauvergne said he would have stayed in San Antonio if he didn’t get an offer to play with Turkey’s Fenerbahce, he told Fenerbahce TV in an interview relayed by Sportando. Lauvergne declined a $1.656MM player option to sign a two-year deal overseas with the anticipation of getting more playing time. “I wanted to come back to Europe and the team that I wanted to play is Fenerbahçe,” he said. “I accepted the offer without thinking but if Fenerbahçe didn’t offer me i would probably stay in Spurs for one more season.”
  • Mavericks swingman Dorian Finney-Smith should find more playing time in the frontcourt rather than the crowded backcourt, Sefko writes in a separate story. The club hopes he can develop into a 3-and-D player and he’ll earn more minutes if his outside shot improves, Sefko continues. It’s a pivotal year for Finney-Smith, who will become a restricted free agent after the season if he receives a qualifying offer or unrestricted if the club declines to do so, Sefko adds.
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Former Spur Jeff Ayres To Play In Japan

September 4th, 2018 at 11:29am CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA big man Jeff Ayres will be returning to Japan for the 2018/19 season, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, who relays a report from BasketballKing.jp. As Carchia details, Ayres has signed with Japan’s Ryukyu Golden Kings.

Ayres, formerly known as Jeff Pendergraph, was drafted by the Kings in 2009 and traded to Portland on draft night. While Ayres made his NBA debut with the Trail Blazers that season, he only appeared in 39 games for Portland, eventually spending time with the Pacers, Spurs, and Clippers over the course of several seasons.

The 31-year-old’s most recent NBA stint came in 2015/16, when he played in 17 games for the Clippers, but his most notable stretch came in San Antonio from 2013 to 2015, when he averaged 10.8 minutes per contest in 124 regular season games for the Spurs. The former Arizona State standout appeared in 17 playoff games for the Spurs in 2014 en route to an NBA title.

Since his last NBA appearance, Ayres has spent time in the G League, Japan, and Turkey. During his first stint in Japan, he played for Alvark Tokyo.

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And-Ones: Long, LiAngelo Ball, Spain

September 3rd, 2018 at 8:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Ex-Sixers forward Shawn Long has signed a contract with New Zealand Breakers, according to a Sportando report. Long played 18 games with Philadelphia in 2016/2017, averaging 8.2 PPG and 4.7 RPG in 13 MPG. He toiled in the G League last season with the Delaware 87ers, averaging 14.6 PPG and 7.7 RPG in 33 games following a seven-game stint in China. The Timberwolves took a look at Long during a free agent mini-camp in June.

We have more from around the pro basketball world:

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Tarence Kinsey To Play In Spain

September 2nd, 2018 at 4:44pm CST by marksuleymanov

Former NBA player Tarence Kinsey has signed a deal to play for Breogan of Liga ACB, according to a Sportando report. Kinsey spent last season with Hapoel Jerusalem, where he averaged 10.1 PPG and 4.4 RPG.

Kinsey, 34, went undrafted out of the University of South Carolina but latched on with the Grizzlies for the 2006/07 season. He spent his first two seasons with Memphis, appearing in 60 games. In his rookie campaign, Kinsey averaged 7.7 PPG and 2.0 RPG in 48 contests.

Following his release from the Grizzlies, Kinsey suited up for the Cavaliers for the 2008/09 season, appearing in 50 games. That was the last time Kinsey played in the NBA as he’s had stints in Russia, Serbia, Turkey, Italy Israel and now Spain in his professional career.

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