Pierre Jackson

Southwest Notes: Murray, Aldridge, Jackson

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.”

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

  • 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.”
  • The Mavericks signed Pierre Jackson earlier today and coach Rick Carlisle said the team wants to get “a close look at him,” as Earl K. Sneed of NBA.com (Twitter link) relays. Carlisle added that he believes Jackson was going to be the first D-League player to sign with an NBA team this season even if Dallas didn’t offer him a deal.
  • Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News wonders now if the Mavericks can rise in the standings now that the team is starting to get healthy.

Mavericks Sign Pierre Jackson

5:04pm: The Mavericks have officially signed Jackson, the team announced today in a press release.

9:07am: One of the D-League’s top performers so far this season is making the leap to the NBA, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical. According to Charania (via Twitter), the Mavericks are signing guard Pierre Jackson to a two-year contract that will feature a partial guarantee.

Jackson, 25, was the 42nd overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft, having been sent from the Sixers to the Pelicans in the trade that also sent Jrue Holiday to New Orleans. However, the former Baylor guard never made it into an NBA regular season game, having spent the last few seasons playing in the D-League or overseas.

This season, Jackson has played in 10 games for Dallas’ D-League affiliate, the Texas Legends, and has thrived, scoring a league-leading 29.1 PPG to go along with 6.0 APG, 1.9 SPG, and a .540/.429/.829 shooting line. The Legends are 7-3 with Jackson in the lineup, after having started 2-3 without him.

The Mavericks currently have a full 15-man roster, so they’ll have to waive a player to open up a spot for Jackson. Jonathan Gibson, who was already waived once by the team earlier this year – and has a non-guaranteed salary – is a candidate to be cut. Dorian Finney-Smith, whose roster spot appears safe, is the only other Maverick without a fully guaranteed contract, so the team would have to eat some money if another player is waived.

Sixers Notes: Okafor, Noel, McConnell, Rodriguez

Sixers coach Brett Brown expects second-year center Jahlil Okafor to be ready by opening night, tweets Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly. Okafor is still experiencing soreness in his right knee related to the operation he had in March. Brown said his progress is encouraging, but he will probably begin the season with a minutes restriction (Twitter link). The team is less optimistic about Nerlens Noel, who was scratched from a game last week with a strained groin and may not be able to play in the October 26th opener.

There’s more news out of Philadelphia:

  • Brown is still working out roles for backup point guards T.J. McConnell and Sergio Rodriguez, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Jerryd Bayless, who signed a three-year, $27MM deal this summer, is still projected as the starter, although he will be sidelined for a while with a wrist injury. McConnell has been announced as the starting point guard for opening night, but Rodriguez will get the start in tonight’s preseason game with the Pistons. The coach warned fans not to read anything into the decisions. “There’s no sort of madness from a discipline standpoint, from a performance standout,” Brown said. “It’s just that we’ve got a few [preseason] games left. I want to see Sergio more at the start of a game with that group we have been looking at, bring T.J. off the bench and really let him be bothersome defensively as he is. That’s the only motive behind that.”
  • The Sixers are still planning to take it easy with Joel Embiid, but they haven’t ruled out playing him in back-to-back games, Pompey tweets. Philadelphia plans to keep Embiid on a minutes restriction to reduce the risk of problems with the foot injury that cost him his first two NBA seasons.
  • Former Sixers guard Pierre Jackson will play in Croatia this season, tweets international basketball writer David Pick. Jackson signed with Cedevita Zagreb, the defending champions in Croatia. Philadelphia waived the 25-year-old point guard before the start of the past two seasons.

And-Ones: USA Basketball, Ingram, Lakers, Turiaf

In the wake of reports earlier this week that Stephen Curry and other stars won’t be playing for Team USA this summer in Brazil, USA Basketball announced today that there are plenty of young players set to participate in next month’s training camp as part of a 25-man select team. The select team will train with the Olympic squad as it prepares for the 2016 Olympics, and is made up of players with three years or less of NBA experience, as well as a handful of incoming rookies.

The full roster of Team USA’s select team can be found right here. Among the most interesting names? Top prospects Brandon Ingram and Kris Dunn; dunk contest standouts Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon; and former top picks Jabari Parker, Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell, and Jahlil Okafor.

Let’s round up a few more odds and ends from across the NBA…

  • Within a piece that focuses on D’Angelo Russell and his NBA future, Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times writes that Brandon Ingram – the favorite to be selected second overall in this year’s draft – is scheduled to have dinner with Lakers officials on Wednesday night and to work out privately for the club on Thursday.
  • In an interview with BasketUSA.com (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando), former NBA big man Ronny Turiaf expressed some interest in returning to the court following a hip injury that has sidelined him since 2014. According to Sportando’s translation, Turiaf is leaving the door open to a possible return to the NBA or to a major European club.
  • Coming off a season in which he won the D-League’s MVP award, Jarnell Stokes is looking forward to trying to get another shot from an NBA team this offseason, as he tells Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders. Since being selected in the second round of the 2014 draft, Stokes has been traded three teams and has yet to find a good NBA fit.
  • Former Sixers guard Pierre Jackson will work out this week at the Knicks‘ free agent mini-camp, and is lined up to work out for the Trail Blazers and Mavericks later this month, sources tell Ian Begley of ESPN.com.

Western Notes: Pierce, Knight, Morris, Jackson

Paul Pierce has re-emerged as a starter for the Clippers, save for his game off for rest Saturday, and his basketball IQ is helping fuel a resurgence for a team that struggled to start the season, even with Blake Griffin injured, as TNT’s David Aldridge examines in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Pierce enjoyed his time with the Wizards last season, but the chance to play in his hometown was too enticing for him to pass up the chance to sign with the Clips in the summer, as he tells Aldridge.

“I think that I looked at the team and I thought that they really had the chance to win the championship, and for me, on top of that, my family,” Pierce said. “It was a combination of things.”

The Clippers have won six straight have only a Wednesday game at Portland before a five-game homestand that begins Saturday. See more from the Western Conference:

Sixers Sign, Waive Jordan Railey

The Sixers signed and waived Jordan Railey, the team announced via press release. The move involving the undrafted Washington State center is designed to secure his D-League rights, the team says. Philadelphia will make Railey one of four camp cuts whose D-League rights it’s allowed to claim through the affiliate player rule, providing he clears waivers. The statement from the Sixers also confirmed that they’ve waived Jordan McRae, Furkan Aldemir, Scottie Wilbekin, Pierre Jackson, and J.P. Tokoto, as a series of five previous reports indicated.

Philadelphia first connected with Railey when he played for the Sixers summer league team in July, scoring three points in at least 15 minutes of action spread over three games. Railey had signed during the summer with BC Igokea of Bosnia, but either that contract included an NBA escape clause or the team decided to part ways with the 23-year-old 7-footer. He averaged 6.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.0 block in 16.4 minutes per game as a senior last season at Washington State, where he played his final two collegiate seasons after starting at Iowa State.

Sixers To Waive Pierre Jackson

12:36pm: Brown confirmed the team is waiving Jackson, Cooney tweets.

11:06am: The Sixers will waive Pierre Jackson today, the last day teams have to cut down to 15 players, reports Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News spotted Jackson leaving the team’s practice facility this morning while the rest of the team was practicing inside (Twitter link). Philly is letting go of Jackson even though he has a fully guaranteed salary of $750K for this this season. He’s one of 20 Sixers still under contract, so the team has at least four more cuts to make today.

The subtraction of Jackson would leave only 11 Sixers with full guarantees for this season. T.J. McConnell, Scottie Wilbekin and Christian Wood have partial guarantees, while Robert Covington, Jordan McRae, JaKarr Sampson, Hollis Thompson and J.P. Tokoto are without guaranteed money. Covington and Thompson are candidates to start, but while their places on the roster appear relatively safe, the same can’t be said for the others. Philadelphia is also reportedly thinking about claiming Ish Smith off waivers from the Wizards today.

It appears that it will be the second straight year that Philadelphia has signed and waived Jackson prior to the start of the regular season, as the team gave him a $400K partial guarantee last season before cutting him even though he’d already torn his Achilles tendon. The 24-year-old dealt with groin issues this year, and he wasn’t 100% during the preseason even as he made it onto the court, as coach Brett Brown said last week, according to Brian Seltzer of Sixers.com.

Jackson, who took part in a wide-open preseason competition for Sixers point guard duties, averaged 2.0 points, 2.3 assists and 1.7 turnovers in 14.3 minutes per game during three appearances this month. The Sixers signed Jackson to a four-year deal in July, but only this season’s salary was guaranteed. His D-League rights belong to the affiliate of the Jazz, so the Sixers can’t make him an affiliate player, notes Adam Johnson of D-League Digest (Twitter link).

Who else do you think the Sixers will end up cutting? Leave a comment to let us know.

Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Nets, Sixers

In Charley Rosen’s latest ESPN piece in a series about the Knicks‘ 2014/15 season, team president Phil Jackson spoke candidly about the team’s problems early in the year, and said J.R. Smith had been showing poor behavior before the trade that sent the guard to the Cavs. Jackson also said that Smith was expected to shoulder a lot of the scoring load and had not been doing his job. Jackson did not add any specifics about what Smith, who is still an unrestricted free agent, was — or was not — doing. One league agent told ESPNNewYork.com’s Ian Begley that Jackson’s revealing of player transgressions was a “classless move” (Twitter link).

“J.R. had been exhibiting some delinquent behavior and had gotten into the habit of coming late to team meetings, or missing them altogether,” Jackson told Rosen. “Also, [Iman Shumpert] and [Tim Hardaway Jr.] were regressing, so I decided to meet with them separately and try to find out what, if anything, was bothering them.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Nets have promoted Steve Jones, the team’s manager of video operations, to assistant coach for player development, the team announced. He replaces John Welch, as Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com points out (Twitter link). Welch left for an assistant coaching job with the Kings.
  • Thomas Robinson, who is expected to be a reserve behind Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young for the Nets, is hopeful he can stay in Brooklyn and finally stop bouncing from team to team, Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com writes. Brooklyn will be Robinson’s fifth team in his first four seasons in the league. The Nets signed him to a two-year deal.
  • Pierre Jackson‘s four-year deal with the Sixers will pay him about $3.7MM, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders, who adds that the first year is fully guaranteed and the fourth year has a team option.

Atlantic Notes: Afflalo, Shved, Tokoto

Arron Afflalo is excited to be a member of the Knicks, and said the lure of playing in New York, as well as the team’s emerging culture, were the main reasons why he signed with the organization, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. “It was just the fan base, the environment, the chance to play with Carmelo Anthony again, the chance to play with other great players, the mutual interest from the coaching staff and [front office], and the culture they’re trying to build,” Afflalo said. “I just thought it was a good fit for me.” The veteran guard believes he can thrive in the triangle offense, Kennedy adds. “I’ll fit well,” Afflalo said. “I’m pretty versatile with my game, being able to post up or shoot threes to create small pockets of space or get my teammates some shots. I think I’ll fit fine.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • The first year of Pierre Jackson‘s four-year deal with the Sixers carries a guarantee of $750K, tweets Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
  • Alexey Shved‘s contract with Khimki Moscow will pay him a total of $10.2MM, making him the highest paid player in Europe, David Pick of Eurobasket.com relays (Twitter link). The 26-year-old had reportedly turned down a contract offer to return to the Knicks.
  • Sixers second-rounder J.P. Tokoto understands he’s unlikely to see regular minutes this season, but is willing to do whatever the team asks of him, Pompey writes in a separate piece.
    I know what it is,” the No. 58 overall pick said of his role. “I’m a realist. I know what it is coming into it. Being a defensive guy coming in, whether it’s garbage minutes or giving the vet, you know the guy playing more minutes than me, giving him a breather, coming in disrupting the other team’s offense.

Sixers Sign Pierre Jackson

WEDNESDAY, 12:37pm: The signing is official, the team announced via press release.

9:42 pm: The deal is for four years, and is partially guaranteed, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group tweets.

TUESDAY, 9:20pm: The Sixers and unrestricted free agent Pierre Jackson have reached an agreement on a contract, Jake Fischer of LibertyBallers reports (Twitter link). The length and details of the pact have not been released yet. The point guard, who is coming off a ruptured right Achilles’ tendon, was cleared to resume basketball activities back in April.

Jackson had been waived by Philly last September, but had indicated that he wanted to return and play for the Sixers this coming season. “There’s a little bit of loyalty here. I want to play in Philadelphia, man,” Jackson said.  The 23-year-old was part of the Nerlens Noel trade between Philadelphia and the Pelicans after the Sixers selected him in the second round in 2013. New Orleans traded Jackson back to the Sixers last year in exchange for Russ Smith‘s draft rights.

The young point guard will figure into the backcourt mix for a still rebuilding Sixers team. Jackson toiled away in the NBA D-League during the 2013/14 campaign, appearing in 31 contests for the Idaho Stampede, Utah’s affiliate. Jackson averaged 29.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 6.2 assists, with a slash line of .449/.349/.737.