- Though he had previously voiced an interest in playing one more year, Matt Bonner has officially retired from the NBA. Bonner released a satirical video on The Players’ Tribune announcing his decision. Bonner played for the Spurs for the past nine seasons.
Here are Tuesday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Magic have sent C.J. Wilcox to the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. For Wilcox, whom Orlando acquired in an offseason trade, it’s the second time this season he has been assigned to the Erie BayHawks. During his first assignment, he averaged 10. PPG, 2.5 RPG, and 2.5 APG in two games with Orlando’s NBADL affiliate.
- A day after being recalled to the NBA, rookie guard Bryn Forbes has been re-assigned to the D-League, the Spurs announced today in a press release. While Forbes has appeared in 13 games so far this season for San Antonio, he has seen much more playing time for the Austin Spurs, averaging 23.4 PPG in seven games for the NBADL squad.
- Undrafted rookie Bryn Forbes has thrived with the D-League affiliate of the Spurs this season, writes Jeff Garcia of News 4 San Antonio. In games for Austin, the Michigan State product is averaging 23.4 points per game and shooting an impressive .563 from the field. Forbes remains behind Danny Green, Manu Ginobili and Jonathon Simmons on the depth chart, but will likely see time in and out of San Antonio as the year progresses.
Here are Monday’s D-League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:
7:40pm:
- The Kings have sent rookies Skal Labissiere and Georgios Papagiannis to their D-League affiliate in Reno, tweets Jason Jones. The two had most recently played sparingly for Sacramento on New Year’s Eve.
12:27pm:
- Forward Joel Bolomboy is headed back to the Salt Lake City Stars, according to a press release issued by the Jazz. In Bolomboy’s last game for Utah’s D-League affiliate, on Friday, he posted 18 points and 12 boards to help lead the Stars to a double-overtime win.
- The Celtics have recalled a pair of players, Jordan Mickey and Demetrius Jackson, from the D-League, the team announced today (via Twitter). The duo could be active tomorrow for the C’s, depending on the health of a few Boston players.
- The Spurs have recalled rookie guard Bryn Forbes from Austin, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Forbes has played well for the NBADL Spurs this season, averaging 23.4 PPG in seven games.
Nicolas Laprovittola has cleared waivers and will mull his options in Europe, international journalist David Pick tweets. The former Spurs point guard, who is now an unrestricted free agent, will pursue a 10-day contract with an NBA team if he doesn’t hook on to a European team, Pick adds.
Pick labels Laprovittola the best available point man in Europe and that could certainly be the case, given that he was good enough to start three games for San Antonio this season.
The Spurs waived him on Tuesday, dropping their current roster count to 14 players. San Antonio still has three point guards on the roster — Tony Parker, Patty Mills and rookie Dejounte Murray. That left no role for Laprovittola, who benefited earlier in the season from injuries to Parker, who has missed nine games.
Laprovittola, who will turn 27 next month, signed with the Spurs in September and appeared in 18 regular-season games. In 9.7 minutes per contest, the Argentinian averaged 3.3 PPG and 1.6 APG, shooting 37.0% on three-pointers.
Last season, Laprovittola averaged 10.3 PPG and a team-high 3.8 APG for Lietuvos Rytas in Lithuania. He was also a member of the Argentinian national team in Rio this past summer, averaging 8.2 PPG, 2.7 APG, and 2.2 RPG in the Olympic tournament.
Laprovittola’s full $543K salary won’t count against the Spurs’ cap because he had a non-guaranteed contract. That salary would have become fully guaranteed if he had remained under contract through January 10.
San Antonio waived Nicolas Laprovittola earlier today and the development of first-round pick Dejounte Murray played a role in the team’s decision, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News reports (Twitter link). The Spurs viewed Laprovittola as a placeholder until Murray was ready to play minutes as their third point guard and apparently, they believe the No. 29 overall pick is ready for that role.
Murray started for the Spurs against the Blazers last week and he had an impressive game, making four of his eight shots from the field. Coach Gregg Popovich praised the rookie after the game, as Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News relays. “Dejounte did well,” Popovich said. “He controlled his emotions and wasn’t intimidated by anything. He played a good solid game.”
- The Spurs want LaMarcus Aldridge to be more aggressive on the offensive end, Orsborn relays in the same piece. “I tell him every day he needs to score more and shoot the ball more,” Tony Parker said. “[Kawhi Leonard] is going to do his thing, but LaMarcus needs to be another force and he needs to do that every game.”
Here are Tuesday’s D-League assignments and recalls from across the NBA, with the most recent updates added to the top of the list throughout the day:
6:25pm:
- The Warriors have assigned Damian Jones back to Santa Cruz to join Golden State’s D-League affiliate, according to a press release. The rookie center figure to play for the NBADL Warriors against Sioux Falls tonight.
5:02pm:
- Having waived one rookie guard – Nicolas Laprovittola – earlier today, the Spurs have sent another to the D-League. Bryn Forbes has been re-assigned to the Austin Spurs, tweets Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News.
1:36pm:
- A day after Rockets rookie Chinanu Onuaku received his first opportunity to get into an NBA game and show off his underhanded free throws, the 2016 second-rounder is headed back to the D-League. The Rockets announced today (via Twitter) that Onuaku has been re-assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. Houston’s D-League affiliate will play three games in the next four days, so Onuaku may remain with the Vipers during that stretch.
- The Thunder have sent forward Josh Huestis back to the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. The 25-year-old, who has yet to appear in an NBA game for Oklahoma City this season, will suit up for the OKC Blue on Wednesday night, assuming he’s not recalled before then.
The Spurs have made a roster move, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived rookie guard Nicolas Laprovittola. The move reduces the team’s roster to 14 players, creating an opening to add someone, though there’s no indication a signing is imminent. The Spurs released Laprovittola to maintain roster flexibility, according to Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News (via Twitter).
Laprovittola, who will turn 27 next month, signed with the Spurs in September and appeared in 18 regular season games with the club, making three starts. In 9.7 minutes per contest, the Argentenian averaged 3.3 PPG and 1.6 APG, shooting 37.0% on three-pointers.
Last season, Laprovittola averaged 10.3 PPG and a team-high 3.8 APG for Lietuvos Rytas in Lithuania, posting an impressive .492/.444/.912 shooting line. He was also a member of the Argentinian national team in Rio this past summer, averaging 8.2 PPG, 2.7 APG, and 2.2 RPG in the Olympic tournament.
Because he was on a non-guaranteed contract, Laprovittola’s full $543K salary won’t count against the Spurs’ cap. That salary would have become fully guaranteed if he had remained under contract through January 10, so San Antonio made an early decision to cut him and avoid taking on that full guarantee.
Laprovittola will become an unrestricted free agent later this week, assuming he goes unclaimed on waivers. He’ll be a candidate to head back to Europe unless he finds another NBA job quickly.
Manu Ginobili is giving the Spurs more of “the old Manu” this season, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express News. At 39, the 15-year veteran was instrumental in wins this week over the Pelicans and Rockets. He continues to amaze teammates, who marvel at his work ethic and passion for the game. After considering retirement last summer, Ginobili signed a one-year deal worth $14MM. He hasn’t said whether this will be his final year in the NBA. “Manu is Manu,” said coach Gregg Popovich. “When he gets on the court, he is there ready to play and compete and he’s done it for his whole career. And he’ll do it until he stops playing. I don’t care what his age is.”
- Rookie Spurs guard Dejounte Murray was grateful to get his second start of the season in front of family and friends in Portland, Orsborn writes in a separate piece. The Seattle native had a huge contingent cheering him on as he filled in for Tony Parker. “All I need is a chance,” said Murray, who has played just 74 minutes all season. “Like Pop told me, ‘Stay under control, run the team, and do what you do.’ It’s basketball at the end of the day. It’s nothing to be afraid of, nothing to be nervous about. I’m a little nervous because I’m a rookie. But at the end of the day, it’s hooping. Just go out and play ball.”
Here are Thursday’s D-League assignments and recalls from across the NBA, with the latest moves added to the top of the list throughout the day:
10:55pm:
- The Nets recalled forward Chris McCullough from the Long Island Nets, the team tweets. McCullough was assigned to the D-League Nets on December 9 and started the team’s last five games. He had 20 points and eight rebounds in 35 minutes against the Grand Rapids Drive on Thursday.
3:50pm:
- The Spurs have recalled Dejounte Murray and Bryn Forbes from their D-League affiliate, the Austin Spurs. Tom Orsborn of Spurs Nation relays. Both players will be available for tonight’s game against the Clippers.
- The Jazz have assigned Joel Bolomboy to the Salt Lake City Stars, the their D-League affiliate, according to the team’s website. This will be Bolomboy’s sixth assignment of the season.
- The Raptors have assigned Bruno Caboclo and Fred VanVleet to their D-League affiliate, according to the team’s Twitter feed.