Steven Gray Signs In France
Steven Gray, who was in training camp with the Wizards, has signed with Chorale Roanne in France, according to the team's website (translation via Sportando's Emiliano Carchia). Gray, a 6'5" combo guard, went undrafted out of Gonzaga in 2011, but hooked on with the Wizards summer league team this past offseason. He played just 17.3 minutes per game in three summer contests, but nonetheless earned the invitation to Washington's camp.
Gray was with the Wizards until shortly before opening night, but the team didn't look his way when they switched out point guards last month, replacing Jannero Pargo with Shaun Livingston. They also didn't bring him in to work out along with Ben Uzoh and Blake Ahearn when they went auditioned the pair of point guards last week after A.J. Price suffered a broken hand.
The journey to France is a return to Europe for Gray, who spent last season with BK Ventspils of Latvia. On Chorale Roanne, Gray joins Ryan Reid, who appeared in five games last season with the Thunder.
D-League Moves: Freeland, Claver, Jones
As news comes in about D-League assignments and recalls today, we'll track it here, with the latest news at the top. Keep tabs on all of this year's D-League assignments and recalls by bookmarking our updated list.
- The Blazers have recalled Joel Freeland and Victor Claver from the Idaho Stampede, the Blazers announced via Twitter. They were sent down Friday, prompting Freeland's agent to express displeasure with the move. Blazers GM Neil Olshey responded by saying both Freeland and Claver indicated to him that they were enthusiastic about the opportunity for playing time, and both saw heavy minutes the last two nights for the Stampede. The Oregonian's Joe Freeman reported last night that the recalls were expected to take place (Twitter link).
- The Rockets have recalled rookie Terrence Jones from the D-League, the team announced. Jones was sent down to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Friday, but didn't appear in Saturday's game. He'll be active for Houston's game against Toronto today, according to the Rockets. The Rockets sent fellow rookie Donatas Motiejunas down on Friday along with Jones, but Motiejunas remains at Rio Grande Valley, as does Scott Machado, who's been there since his assignment on November 30th.
Dominic McGuire To Sign With Hornets
SUNDAY, 11:17am: John Reid of The Times-Picayune confirms that the signing will take place. The Hornets have been carrying 13 players on their roster, the minimum amount, so they won't have to make a corresponding move unless they want to. He's likely in line for a minimum-salary deal, since that's what he was making before the Raptors let him go earlier this season.
SATURDAY, 10:10pm: According to a tweet from ESPN.com's Marc Stein, the Hornets could be signing former Raptors forward Dominic McGuire soon. McGuire was released by Toronto at the end of November, to make room for Mickael Pietrus.
McGuire's 2012/13 salary was believed to be fully guaranteed. He's owed $992K for this season and had a non-guaranteed year for 2013/14 worth $1.11MM. He spent last season with the Warriors, establishing himself as an athletic perimeter defender. He's 27 years old.
D-League Moves: Thunder, Rockets, Trail Blazers
Here are Friday's D-League assignments and recalls:
- The Thunder have assigned Jeremy Lamb and Daniel Orton to their D-League affiliate, the team announced today in a press release. Oklahoma City has been making frequent use of the Tulsa 66ers this year in order to get its young players some minutes. It's the third assignment for Lamb and Orton.
- The Rockets are sending Donatas Motiejunas and Terrence Jones back to their D-League affiliate, tweets Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston. It's the second time each player has been sent to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers this season.
- Victor Claver and Joel Freeland have been assigned to the Idaho Stampede, the Trail Blazers announced today (Twitter link). Claver was sent down to the D-League for two games earlier this month, while Freeland has yet to join the Stampede this season.
Pacers Assign Miles Plumlee To D-League
The Pacers have assigned Miles Plumlee to their D-League affiliate for the second time this season, the team announced today in a press release. Plumlee will join the Fort Wayne Mad Ants for their games on Friday and Saturday.
Plumlee, the Pacers' first-round pick in June's draft, appeared in two games for the Mad Ants earlier in the season, averaging 14.0 PPG and 9.5 RPG. He has played in just four games for the Pacers this season, however, including none since being recalled from the D-League back on November 26th.
D-League Moves: Acy, Melo, English, Middleton
Here are Wednesday's D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Raptors have recalled Quincy Acy from their D-League affiliate, the Bakersfield Jam, the team announced today in a press release. Toronto is short-handed, with Kyle Lowry, Andrea Bargnani, Landry Fields, and Mickael Pietrus among the players suffering from injuries, so Acy will provide some depth.
- Fab Melo, who was recalled from the D-League by the Celtics on Monday, has been assigned back to the Maine Red Claws, the team announced today in a press release. The 22nd overall pick has yet to make his NBA debut.
- The Pistons have assigned rookies Kim English and Khris Middleton to their D-League affiliate, the team announced today. The duo is expected to spend a three-game stint with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, tweets Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. English, the 44th overall pick in this year's draft, has appeared in ten games for Detroit, averaging 3.2 PPG in 9.2 minutes per contest. Middleton, the 39th pick, has played in just three games for the club.
Hassan Whiteside To Join D-League Team
Former Kings center Hassan Whiteside will join the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the D-League, a source tells HoopsHype. Whiteside was the third pick of the second round in 2010, but injuries limited him to only 19 games the past two seasons with Sacramento. The Kings let go of his non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract in July.
Whiteside has seemed a strong bet to return to the NBA this season, as Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld wrote last month, and the Wolves and Heat had interest over the summer. He played 18 of his 19 career games last season, and posted a solid 16.2 PER in 109 total minutes — a small sample size, but apparently enough to whet appetites for the seven-footer in at least a couple NBA front offices.
For the day's D-League assignments and recalls, check out our roundup, and bookmark our season-long list, which we'll be updating throughout the 2012/13 season.
D-League Moves: Scott, Cunningham
Here are Tuesday's D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Hawks have officially recalled Mike Scott from the Bakersfield Jam, according to a team press release. Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution had reported earlier today that Scott would be rejoining the Hawks. The rookie averaged 13.3 PPG and 6.3 RPG in four D-League games, including 21 points and 10 boards last night.
- The Mavericks have assigned rookie Jared Cunningham to their D-League affiliate, the team announced today in a press release. It's Cunningham's first D-League assignment, as well as the first time this season the Mavs have utilized the Texas Legends. Cunningham, the 24th overall pick in the 2012 draft, has appeared in limited minutes in seven games for the Mavs, and hasn't seen action in 10 of the team's last 12 games. He'll presumably get a chance to earn more playing time for the Legends, whose next game is this Saturday against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
D-League Moves: Lamb, Orton, Melo
We'll track the day's D-League assignments and recalls right here:
- Jeremy Lamb and Daniel Orton have been recalled from the D-League by the Thunder, tweets Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman. The duo have been up and down between the Thunder and the Tulsa 66ers so far this season, having just been assigned to the 66ers on Saturday.
- The Celtics have recalled Fab Melo from the Maine Red Claws, the team announced today in a press release. Melo had been assigned to Boston's D-League affiliate back on November 14th. Although the C's have assigned and recalled Kris Joseph to the Red Claws multiple times already, this is Melo's first recall of the season. For Maine, he averaged 6.8 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 2.2 BPG in five contests.
International Moves: Daniels, Mbenga, Emmett
It's a fairly quiet time of year for NBA transactions, but many former NBA players are still involved in the roster carousel with teams overseas. Here's the latest on a few of them:
- According to Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (Sulia link), it will be Chris Daniels, rather than Alabi, who replaces Mbenga for Qingdao. Daniels had been playing for Golden State's D-League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, averaging 7.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 2.3 BPG in three contests.
Earlier updates:
- The Qingdao Double Star Eagles, Tracy McGrady's team in China, have waived NBA veteran D.J. Mbenga, according to a Sports.QQ.com report (English link via Sportando). Mbenga, who has played for the Mavericks, Lakers, Warriors, and Hornets, was replaced by Solomon Alabi, who spent the last two season with the Raptors and was in camp with the Hornets this fall.
- Former Texas Tech standout Andre Emmett has signed in Lebanon with Amchit, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Emmett, 30, was drafted by the SuperSonics 35th overall in 2004, but has only played 14 career regular season games with the Grizzlies and Nets.