David Stockton

Northwest Notes: Wiggins, Stockton, Harkless

Despite reports of whispers this week that Andrew Wiggins is unhappy as the Timberwolves‘ third option, the Minnesota guard and head coach Tom Thibodeau rejected those reports, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune writes.

Wiggins, 23, is in his fourth season with the Wolves but his numbers are down from the past two seasons. The former first overall pick is averaging 17.9 PPG and 4.1 RPG in 69 games. However, Thibodeau denied that the team’s leading shot-taker is unhappy with his role.

“I know Andrew’s character,” Thibodeau said. “There’s no way in the world Andrew is saying any of that, particularly from a guy who’s taken the most shots on our team.”

Earlier this week, Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN (Twitter link) said that Wiggins has “whispered to teammates” that he’s unhappy being a third option behind Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler — who is sidelined with a torn meniscus. “It’s just someone’s word of mouth. It wasn’t no quote from me,” Wiggins said. “Everyone that knows me knows I don’t talk much, I just go with the flow … I don’t whisper. If I say something, I’m going to say it clearly and loudly.”

Check out more Northwest Division notes below:

  • David Stockton, the son of Jazz legend John Stockton, agreed to a 10-day contract with Utah on Friday. The elder Stockton played with the Jazz for 19 seasons, becoming the NBA’s all-time assists leader and 2008 Hall of Fame inductee. Brad Rock of The Deseret News writes that John and the rest of the Stockton family are excited for the 26-year-old and his newest NBA opportunity. “I’m glad to stay out of that,” John Stockton said of his comparisons between him and his son. “He’s his own player and it wouldn’t do him any good to try to be me. He can just be the best he can be.”
  • Having reached 100 three-point attempts on the season, Trail Blazers forward Maurice Harkless is now eligible to receive a $500K bonus for his three-point shooting percentage, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Harkless will receive the bonus if his percentage is greater than 35%; he’s shooting 37.6% from the beyond the arc.

Kings Waive Three Players

The Kings got down to the regular season roster limit on Saturday by parting with three players, according to RealGM’s official NBA transactions log. Sacramento waived camp invitees Matt Jones, David Stockton, and Reggie Hearn.

Jones, a 6’5″ guard out of Duke, received an Exhibit 10 contract when he signed with the Kings, so he’s a good bet to land in the G League with the Reno Bighorns as an affiliate player, earning him a modest bonus.

Stockton and Hearn, meanwhile, have been mainstays at Reno in recent years, so it makes sense that they’d return to the Bighorns for the coming season. Details of the contracts they signed with Sacramento earlier this week aren’t known, but there’s a good chance they include Exhibit 10 clauses as well, to ensure both players get a little extra bonus money for heading back to the G League.

With the three cuts, the Kings are now ready for the regular season, with 15 players on NBA contracts and two on two-way deals.

Kings Sign Reggie Hearn, David Stockton

The Kings have signed Reggie Hearn and David Stockton, according to a team press release.

Hearn played for Sacramento’s G League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns, over the past three seasons. During the 2016/17 campaign, he averaged 13.5 points while shooting 44.2% from downtown.

Stockton played for the Bighorns during three separate stints since 2014. He supplemented his G-League experiences with contracts in Croatia and New Zealand.

The Kings’ roster now stands at 20 players. Sacramento is likely to waive both players before the season begins and the duo is expected to suit up for the Bighorns as a result.

And-Ones: Young, Heat, Mirotic

The Lakers are looking to trade Nick Young with an eye on acquiring a second-round pick, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. Young is making slightly over $5.44MM this season and his contract contains a player option worth nearly $5.67MM for the 2017/18 campaign. He’s had a solid year so far in Los Angeles, averaging 13.8 points per game while shooting 41.3% from behind the arc, a figure which is the highest of his career.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • The Heat are shopping Wayne Ellington and Josh McRoberts, according to Chris Mannix of The Vertical (Twitter link). Mannix notes that the team would like to get out of the veterans’ contracts. After this season, Ellington has only one year at $6.27MM (non-guaranteed) remaining on his contract, while McRoberts has a player option worth slightly over $6MM remaining on his deal.
  • Earlier today, we learned that the Bulls have attempted to send Nikola Mirotic to the Sixers in a Jahlil Okafor deal. K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune notes that the team has also floated Mirotic in talks with the Clippers.
  • David Stockton, who recently played in New Zealand’s National Basketball League, will return to the D-League and play for the Reno Bighorns, according to Chris Reichert of The Step Back (Twitter link).

David Stockton Joins Kings D-League

Former Kings point guard David Stockton, son of Hall-of-Famer John Stockton, has rejoined Sacramento’s D-League affiliate, as the team announced and Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor reports (Twitter link). The team released Kings camp cut Marshall Henderson to make room, Reichert also reports (Twitter link). Stockton was originally with the Kings D-League team, the Reno Bighorns, in between his release from the Wizards and his time with the big club in Sacramento last season. The Kings inked Stockton to a 10-day contract and later a multiyear pact, but that deal didn’t include any guaranteed salary for this season, and they cut him at the end of the preseason.

Stockton, 24, impressed while in the D-League the first time around, notching 20.1 points, 9.9 assists and 3.4 turnovers in 30.5 minutes per game. He was unable to duplicate that success at the NBA level, appearing in only three regular season games last season and three preseason games this fall, with limited minutes.

The 25-year-old Henderson was a surprise preseason signing for the Kings and appeared in only one exhibition contest. The shooting guard averaged 6.8 points in only 11.1 minutes per game with 9 for 22 3-point shooting across four appearances for the Bighorns after the Kings allocated him to Reno as an affiliate player.

Kings Waive David Stockton

7:20pm: Stockton has officially been waived, the Kings announced.

5:58pm: The Kings have waived point guard David Stockton, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter). Stockton’s contract was non-guaranteed, so Sacramento won’t be responsible for any salary as a result of this move.

Stockton, the son of NBA legend John Stockton, went undrafted in 2014 after four seasons at Gonzaga. The younger Stockton was in training camp with the Wizards last season but didn’t make it onto Washington’s regular season roster. The point guard originally joined the Kings during the 2014/15 campaign when the team inked him to a lone 10-day pact, but Stockton only appeared in one contest while on that deal, scoring one point in seven minutes of action. He later re-joined the team in April, signing a multiyear contract. Stockton spent the bulk of last season in the D-League with the Reno Bighorns, Sacramento’s affiliate. In 43 D-League appearances he averaged a stellar 20.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 9.9 assists.

Parting ways with Stockton reduces Sacramento’s roster count to 15 players, which is the regular season maximum.

Kings Ink David Stockton To Multiyear Deal

SUNDAY, 12:15pm: The signing is official, the team announced. Stockton’s salary is not guaranteed for next season, reports Bill Herenda of CSNBayArea.com.

SATURDAY,  8:03am: The Kings are planning to sign guard David Stockton to a multiyear deal prior to the season ending, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports. With Sacramento’s roster count sitting at the league maximum of 15 players, the Kings will need to clear a spot prior to Stockton putting pen to paper on his new pact. The likeliest candidate to go would be big man Sim Bhullar, whose 10-day pact ends today, Stein notes. Sacramento’s next scheduled contest is Sunday against the Nuggets.

Stockton, the son of NBA legend John Stockton, went undrafted last year after four seasons at Gonzaga. The younger Stockton was in training camp with the Wizards but didn’t make it onto Washington’s regular season roster. Sacramento had a chance to sample the 23-year-old’s wares back in February when the team inked him to a lone 10-day pact, but Stockton only appeared in one contest while on that deal, scoring one point in seven minutes of action. The player spent the balance of this season in the D-League with the Reno Bighorns, Sacramento’s affiliate. In 43 D-League appearances he averaged a stellar 20.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 9.9 assists.

When Bhullar signed his 10-day deal with the Kings he made history as the first NBA player of Indian descent. The big man saw little action during his time in Sacramento, only appearing in 3 contests. Bhullar averaged 0.7 points and 0.3 rebounds in 1.0 minute per game.

Western Notes: Afflalo, Lee, Robinson

Arron Afflalo should fill a lot of the void for the Blazers that was created after soon-to-be unrestricted free agent Wesley Matthews‘s season ending injury, Joe Freeman of the Oregonian writes. Afflalo, who has a player option for next season worth $7.75MM, was acquired in a February deal. His skill-set and unselfishness make him a solid replacement for Matthews, Freeman wrote. “I’ll be me,” Afflalo said. “Even before Wes went down, the goal wasn’t for me to come in here and try to be somebody that I wasn’t. Obviously adjusting to a new role is difficult and takes time, but the way I lead, be it vocally or by example, I’ll continue to do that.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

  • The Clippers continue to show interest in free agent guard Nate Robinson, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders notes (Twitter link). It was first reported back in January that the Clippers were Robinson’s preferred team, and Los Angeles possessed some level of interest in the diminutive guard.
  • Celtics coach Brad Stevens says that the Spurs have thrived, in part, because of their roster continuity, according to Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com (Twitter links). “Obviously, there’s going to continue to be some change but I think a lot of these guys are going to be in Celtics uniforms for a while coming, and that’s encouraging,” the coach said.
  • The Jazz had serious discussions with the Warriors at the trade deadline about acquiring David Lee, according to Spencer Checketts of 1280 The Zone (via Twitter).  The Warriors were said to be willing to trade Lee, but they were looking to get assets of value in return.
  • David Stockton, son of Hall of Famer John Stockton, in his return to the D-League’s Reno Bighorns, Sacramento’s affiliate, scored a season-high 44 points in what Erika Marmolejo of NBA.com called a “statement game.” The Kings previously decided against signing Stockton to another 10-day contract. Stockton was unable to find decent time behind starting guard Ray McCallum and newly acquired veteran Andre Miller, Marmolejo notes.

Zach Links and Eddie Scarito contributed to this post

Western Notes: Green, Stockton, Grizzlies

Draymond Green offered an ominous comment for Warriors fans to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, saying he wants to savor the feeling of being a part of a fun, winning team while it lasts. Green, who’s set for restricted free agency this summer, is the only member of the team’s core who isn’t signed through at least next season, as Washburn points out.

“I’ve said it multiple times this year, we know how good we are,” Green said. “We’re having so much fun. It’s a fun group to be around. It’s easy to capitalize on this, when you enjoy being around the people you’re around every day. This is a special group, a special bond, so let’s make the best of it, because this team will probably never be together again. That’s just the nature of this business. One addition, one subtraction, and the team isn’t together no more. So take advantage of it while you’ve got it because I’m sure this team will never be together again. It’s a fun time. One of the funnest times of my life. Live in the moment.”

Golden State executives have given plenty of signals that they intend to match any offer for Green, who reportedly has interest in signing an offer sheet with the Pistons. So, it’s ultimately up to the Warriors to decide if he comes back, though his price may prompt the team to let someone else go. Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

  • The Kings have decided against signing David Stockton to another 10-day contract, tweets James Ham of Cowbell Kingdom. Sacramento’s deal with Stockton, son of Hall-of-Famer John Stockton, expired Sunday.
  • The three-year contract that JaMychal Green reportedly agreed to sign with the Grizzlies will include partially guaranteed salary that extends beyond this season, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
  • Nuggets players didn’t seem to give coach Brian Shaw much of an endorsement when they broke a huddle with a “six weeks” chant Friday, but Shaw today told reporters, including Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post, that it wasn’t a reference to the time left in the season. They were instead talking about the weeks that had elapsed since the team’s last win at home, Shaw said.

Kings Sign David Stockton To 10-Day Pact

FRIDAY, 12:32pm: The deal is official, the team announced.

THURSDAY, 11:40pm: The Kings intend to sign David Stockton to a 10-day deal, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Sacramento’s current roster count sits at 14, including the Andre Miller, who was acquired Thursday from the Wizards in exchange for Ramon Sessions.

Stockton is the son of NBA legend John Stockton, and he went undrafted in 2014 after four seasons at Gonzaga. His college numbers were 4.8 PPG, 1.6 RPG, and 3.1 APG. His career slash line was .424/.306/.700. Stockton played for the Suns in the summer league, scoring a total of six points in less than 19 minutes over two games. Stockton was in training camp with the Wizards earlier this season.

The 23-year-old point guard has been playing for the Reno Bighorns, Sacramento’s D-League affiliate. In 31 games for the Bighorns this season, Stockton is averaging 16.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 8.2 assists in 27.4 minutes of action per contest.