Davis Bertans

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 3/5/17

Here are the D-League transactions for Sunday:

  • The Mavericks recalled A.J. Hammons and Nicolas Brussino from the Texas Legends, the team announced in a press release. Brussino recorded a double-double last night for the Legends, whereas Hammons recorded 11 rebounds over 23 minutes.
  • The Kings recalled Georgios Papagiannis from the Reno Bighorns, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reports (Twitter link). Papagiannis has appeared in six NBA games this season.
  • The Spurs assigned Davis Bertans and Dejounte Murray to the Austin Spurs, the team announced on its official website. Bertans and Murray will each be available for this afternoon’s match-up with the Salt Lake City Stars.
  • The Pelicans recalled Cheick Diallo from the Greensboro Swarm, the team announced in a press release.

Southwest Notes: Davis, Motiejunas, Bertans, Bonner

Anthony Davis won’t be leaving New Orleans until at least 2020, according to Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. The Celtics may dream of packaging their draft picks and young talent for an elite player, but Davis is apprently not an option. Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry made that clear when asked about the possibility before the two teams met Saturday night. “Let me tell you, I learned a long time ago — and this is my 28th year in the league — that you don’t trade great for good, no matter how many you get,” Gentry said. “Having one great player really makes your team better than having three good players. And they’ve proven that. … So we love what we have in him, and it’s just a matter of time. I think if we were healthy, you would see us be a better team anyway, and we’re getting to the point where we are healthy, and we’re playing better basketball.” Davis is in the first season of a five-year, $145MM extension he signed in 2015.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

  • After signing contracts with the Nets and Rockets last month, Donatas Motiejunas made his season debut Saturday with the Pelicans. He played 20 minutes in a reserve role and contributed 11 points and five rebounds. “He gave us some huge minutes,” Davis told Jim Eichenhofer of NBA.com. “He’s going to continue to get better and find his role in our system.” (Twitter link).
  • With David Lee sidelined by knee problems, Spurs rookie Davis Bertans stepped in with a season-high 21 points in Saturday’s win over the Hornets, relays Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News. The Latvian power forward saw 18 minutes of playing time, which was his highest total in more than a month. “It’s basketball,” he said afterward. “I played for many years already. It’s just a regular basketball game.”
  • Coach Gregg Popovich said he was moved by the retirement video posted by longtime Spur Matt Bonner, relays Jeff McDonald of The News-Express. The 12-year veteran spent the past 10 years of his career in San Antonio. “He was a special teammate for everybody,” Popovich said. “He always gave everything that he had every night, every practice. He was a consummate pro. And on top of that, obviously his personality and humor were very much appreciated by all of us. He was super and that’s why it’s great to keep him in the family.” Bonner will begin work as a pregame and postgame analyst on Spurs broadcasts.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 12/4/16

Here are Sunday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Thunder have assigned forward Josh Huestis to Oklahoma City Blue, according to a press release from the team. Huestis has appeared in four games with the Blue, averaging 9.3 points and 6.5 rebounds.
  • The Spurs have recalled forward Davis Bertans from their Austin affiliate, the team announced on its website. Bertans has played two games in the D-League and 16 in San Antonio, where he is averaging 3.8 points and 1.2 rebounds per night.
  • The Knicks have recalled power forward Maurice Ndour from their Westchester affiliate, tweets ESPN’s Ian Begley. Ndour had 12 points, six rebounds and four blocks for the D-League team Saturday night.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 12/3/16

Here are Saturday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
  • The Knicks assigned forward Maurice Ndour to the Westchester Knicks and he will play against the Erie Bay Hawks tonight, the team’s PR staff tweets. The power forward has appeared in 10 NBA games this season, averaging 2.3 points and 1.6 rebounds in 8.1 minutes.
  • The Celtics assigned forward Jordan Mickey to their D-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, the team tweets. The second-year power forward has appeared in eight games with Boston this season, averaging 2.3 points and 1.8 rebounds in 8.3 minutes.
  • The Thunder recalled forward Josh Huestis from the Oklahoma City Blue, the team announced in a press release. In four games with the Blue this season, Huestis is averaging 9.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.00 blocks in 31.8 minutes. He has yet to make his season debut with the Thunder.
  • The Spurs assigned Davis Bertans and Dejounte Murray to their D-League affiliate, the Austin Spurs, according to the team’s website. Both players are available tonight for Austin’s game against the Salt Lake City Stars.

Southwest Notes: Gasol, D-League, Fizdale, Harrell

A consistent scorer since entering the NBA, Pau Gasol has faced a huge adjustment since signing with the Spurs this summer, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. Gasol went scoreless Friday in Boston and he has put up a pair of two-point games during the early season. It’s a change for Gasol, who has averaged 18.1 points per game through his career, but apparently not an issue for coach Gregg Popovich. “I’m not really too concerned with who scores and who doesn’t,” Popovich said. “We just try to have more than the other guys.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

  • The largest rookie class in Spurs history has gotten a lot of D-League training, McDonald notes in a separate piece. Bryn Forbes, Davis Bertans, Dejounte Murray and Nicolas Laprovittola all earned spots on San Antonio’s roster, but they have spent much of their first month in Austin. “It’s been real important to us, keeping guys in shape and getting guys minutes, learning the game, learning the NBA,” Popovich said. “We’ve been fortunate we have had guys who have had the character and humility to do that and not think it’s below them.”
  • Grizzlies coach David Fizdale defended his maintenance program after point guard Mike Conley was used as a reserve and played just 23 minutes in Friday’s loss, relays Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. Conley, who re-signed during the summer for $153MM over five years, said he is willing to trust Fizdale’s strategy, while the coach admitted it’s a work in progress. “Obviously you can tell the number of minutes that [Conley] played, what was happening,” Fizdale said. “I just tried to find a balance somewhere and just try to patch it up where we can, going after the win.”
  • Second-year Rockets big man Montrezl Harrell is finding his opportunities limited behind Clint Capela and Nene, notes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Circumstances have given Harrell more playing time than usual the past two games, but coach Mike D’Antoni doesn’t expect him to become part of the rotation. “Not that I don’t have confidence in him,” D’Antoni said. “I have a lot of confidence in him. It’s just hard. I want to get Clint up to 30 minutes. Clint is playing as well as anybody on our team. If I get him up to 30, that leaves only 18. Now, you’re trying to split time. Is that nine minutes each, 12 minutes for one guy and six [for the other]? In special circumstances, I wouldn’t hesitate. If we’re a little sluggish, I wouldn’t hesitate … because I think he brings energy and something different. But it’s hard to play three guys in that role if one guy is taking up 30 minutes. It’s almost impossible. It’s not fair to the other two guys, actually.”

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 11/14/16

Here are Monday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA. This list will be updated throughout the day as new moves are reported or announced.

11:55am:

  • The Spurs have recalled Davis Bertans, Bryn Forbes, and Dejounte Murray from the Austin Spurs, the team announced today in a press release. All three players appeared in Austin’s season opener on Sunday, with Bertans and Murray combining for 40 points.
  • R.J. Hunter has been recalled from the D-League by the Bulls, according to a press release from the team. Hunter averaged 17.0 PPG in two games for the Windy City Bulls this weekend, but will likely travel with Chicago on the team’s upcoming road trip.
  • The Raptors have recalled Bruno Caboclo from the D-League, the team announced today (via Twitter). Toronto’s D-League affiliate, Raptors 905, doesn’t open its season until this Friday, but once the team’s schedule begins, Caboclo could start spending more time in the D-League.

9:43am:

  • The Sixers have assigned Jerryd Bayless to their D-League affiliate, the team announced today in a press release. Veterans typically aren’t sent to D-League squads, but Bayless is recovering from a left wrist injury, and joining the Delaware 87ers is part of the veteran guard’s “ongoing rehabilitation program,” according to the Sixers. The move signals that Bayless should be nearing a return to the court.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 11/13/16

Here are Sunday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Mavericks have recalled rookie center A.J. Hammons from the Texas Legends, the team announced today in a press release. Hammons has appeared in three games for Dallas and has nine points.
  • The Spurs sent Davis Bertans, Bryn Forbes and Dejounte Murray to their Austin affiliate in time for the team’s season opener today. Bertans has appeared in seven games with the Spurs, Forbes has been in six games and Murray has played in five games.
  • The Nets have recalled Chris McCullough from their affiliate in Long Island, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. He has appeared in three games for Brooklyn with two points and six rebounds.
  • The Rockets sent rookie Kyle Wiltjer to their affiliate in Rio Grande Valley, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. He has seen just six minutes of action in three games with Houston.

Contract Details: DeRozan, Barbosa, Spurs

DeMar DeRozan‘s new five-year contract with the Raptors has a maximum salary in the first year, but it’s not a true max deal, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders details. In years two through five, DeRozan will earn a salary of $27,739,975 annually, a figure which will fall increasingly below the max over the length of the contract. In total, Pincus pegs the five-year value of DeRozan’s deal at $137.5MM, which is slightly lower than the figure initially reported ($139MM), so it’s possible the pact features unlikely incentives. Still, it looks like Toronto got a bit of a hometown discount, since DeRozan surely could’ve commanded a full max from other suitors.

Here are a few more contract and salary updates from Pincus:

  • Leandro Barbosa‘s two-year contract with the Suns was reported to have a team option on its second year. Pincus clarifies that Barbosa’s 2017/18 salary, worth $4MM in total, is partially guaranteed for just $500K.
  • Davis Bertans, joining the Spurs as a draft-and-stash prospect, received a fully-guaranteed two-year contract worth the minimum from San Antonio.
  • Ryan Arcidiacono and Bryn Forbes also got two-year minimum-salary deals from the Spurs. However, their salaries are only partially guaranteed in year one. Arcidiacono got a $75K guarantee, while Forbes received a $125K guarantee.
  • Undrafted rookie Fred VanVleet inked a two-year minimum-salary deal with the Raptors, receiving a $50K guarantee in year one from the team. He’ll face an uphill battle in his attempt to earn his roster spot, with three point guards ahead of him on the depth chart.

Spurs Sign Davis Bertans, Bryn Forbes

The Kawhi Leonard trade continues to pay dividends for the Spurs, as the team announced today in a press release that it has signed Latvian forward Davis Bertans, who was also a part of the deal that saw Leonard land in San Antonio.

Back in 2011, the Spurs sent George Hill to the Pacers on draft night for the rights to Leonard, the No. 15 overall pick. As part of that deal, Indiana also dealt the draft rights for Erazem Lorbek and Bertans – 2011’s No. 42 overall pick – to San Antonio. Five years later, Bertans is heading stateside at age 23 to join the Spurs.

We learned earlier this month that Bertans was negotiating a deal with the Spurs, with international journalist David Pick pegging the value in the $1.3MM-$2MM range. The exact terms of Bertans’ new deal aren’t yet known, but the Spurs were able to clear a little extra cap room this week by waiving Tim Duncan and stretching his remaining salary, following Duncan’s retirement announcement.

Bertans has spent the last few seasons with Laboral Kutxa Vitoria in Spain, averaging just over 20 minutes per contest in 15 games for the team in Euroleague action last season. In those 15 games, he averaged 7.9 PPG and shot a blistering 47.4% on three-point attempts.

In addition to locking up Bertans, the Spurs also officially added a rookie free agent to their roster, announcing in a separate press release that they’ve signed Bryn Forbes. A shooting guard out of Michigan State, Forbes went undrafted after working out for about a dozen NBA teams this spring. Terms of Forbes’ new contract aren’t known, but it figures to be a minimum-salary pact.

And-Ones: Celtics, Mavs, Suns, Sixers

The Celtics will likely pick up their $12MM team option on power forward Amir Johnson now that Kevin Durant has opted to join the Warriors, Jason Quick of CSNNW.com tweets. Johnson averaged 7.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 79 regular-season games with Boston last season. The Celtics are expected to retain fellow power forward Jonas Jerebko, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe tweets. Jerebko averaged 4.4 points and 3.7 rebounds in 78 regular-season appearances last season. Both salaries for the 29-year-old forwards become guaranteed if the Celtics don’t cut them loose by Thursday.
In other news around the league:
  • The Mavericks are determined to retain center Salah Mejri despite trading for Andrew Bogut on Monday, according to David Aldridge of NBA com (Twitter link). Mejri’s approximate $875K salary for next season becomes guaranteed on July 12th if he remains on the roster.
  • The Suns will give point guard Tyler Ulis, their second-round pick, the equivalent of a late first-round pick’s contract starting at approximately $1MM, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports. Ulis will receive two guaranteed years with two team option years, just as first-rounders get, Coro adds, though Phoenix is unsure whether Ulis can be the third point guard as a rookie.
  • Former NBA guard Alvin Williams is working with the Sixers’ coaching staff during Summer League action, and is likely to remain on the club’s staff beyond the summer, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  • Latvian small forward Davis Bertans is negotiating a deal with the Spurs in the $1.3MM-$2MM range, according to international journalist David Pick. Talks have been ongoing since Friday between San Antonio and the 2011 draft-and-stash prospect, Pick adds (Twitter links).  Bertans’ NBA opt-out, which expires in mid-July, is worth the standard $650K.
  • The Nuggets have added Jordi Fernandez to their coaching staff, according to Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post. Fernandez was head coach of the Cavaliers’ D-League team, the Canton Charge.