Category: Tar Heels in the pros

Watch: Cole Anthony and Paolo Banchero work out together

Former UNC basketball guard Cole Anthony was working out with new Magic teammate and former Duke forward Paolo Banchero in New York.

Former UNC basketball guard [autotag]Cole Anthony[/autotag] added an interesting new teammate to his Orlando Magic roster last week at the NBA Draft.

Duke forward Paolo Banchero was selected No. 1 overall by the Orlando Magic in last week’s draft and has already begun building a relationship with the Magic guard.

Anthony, originally from New York, was back in town over the last few weeks and invited his new teammate to workout with him.

Banchero averaged 17.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game in his lone season for Duke. The 6-foot-10 forward will add to one of the youngest NBA rosters in the league in Orlando, but his skill on the perimeter will be a welcomed addition.

For Anthony, he is coming off of his second season in the NBA. He averaged 16.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game last year. He had nine double-doubles with points and then either rebounds or assists last year. His best scoring output was 33 points twice.

Below is a video of the two working out together.

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Former UNC forward Tony Bradley re-signing with Chicago Bulls

Former UNC basketball forward Tony Bradley is re-signing with Chicago Bulls, according to reports.

NBA offseason is in full swing and later this week free agency will begin. Most contracts and trades can’t be made official until July 1 but news has already starting coming out on potential moves.

For former UNC basketball forward [autotag]Tony Bradley[/autotag], he is expecting to sign is player option with the Chicago Bulls next season. Bradley is expecting to make $2M next year.

Bradley has played six seasons in the NBA, three with the Utah Jazz and one with Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76ers and Chicago Bulls.

In 167 career games, he is averaging 4.6 points and 4.3 rebounds in 11.7 minutes per games.

Bradley, just 24 years old, played one season at UNC and was a critical member off of the bench for the 2017 National Championship team. He averaged 7.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in 14.6 minutes.

He was selected No. 28 overall by the Los Angeles Lakers.

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Former UNC wing Justin Jackson part of FIBA World Cup Qualifying Team USA roster

Former UNC basketball wing Justin Jackson is part of the FIBA World Cup Qualifying Team USA roster set to compete later this week.

Former UNC basketball standout wing [autotag]Justin Jackson[/autotag] was announced as part of the Team USA roster that will take place in the FIBA World Cup qualifying games.

Team USA is looking to secure a spot in the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Jackson and Team USA hit the floor later this week in a matchup against Puerto Rico on Friday and then Cuba next Monday.

The former 15th overall draft pick in the 2017 NBA Draft has bounced around the league. He has played 255 career games for six teams and has career averages 6.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.

Jackson last played for the Texas Legends of the NBA G-League. He averaged 22.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and shot 40 percent from three last season in 28 games.

Jackson was a consensus All-American in 2017 and ACC Player of the Year en route to winning the NCAA Championship. He averaged 13.8 points per game in 118 career games over three years at North Carolina.

Training camp for Team USA began last Friday.

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Former UNC forward Garrison Brooks signs Exhibit 10 contract with Knicks

Former UNC basketball forward Garrison Brooks signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the New York Knicks as an undrafted free agent.

It was NBA Draft night on Thursday and despite no Tar Heels hearing their names called on draft night, one former UNC basketball player has signed a deal as a free agent.

Former Tar Heels forward [autotag]Garrison Brooks[/autotag] signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the New York Knicks, reported on Friday.

This will give Brooks a minimum-level salary and the chance to make the official roster. He will be expected to play with the Knicks during the summer league.

Brooks played four seasons with UNC and averaged 9.6 points per game over 133 career games. His best season was 2019-20 when he was an All-ACC selection after averaging 16.8 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per game. He also shot 53.5 percent from the floor.

After graduating from UNC, he transferred to Mississippi State, where his father is an assistant coach, to play his final season. He averaged 10.4 points per game and 6.6 rebounds in 34 appearances.

The Knicks will begin their summer league action July 8 and wrap up pool play on July 14.

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WATCH: Brady Manek post Pacers workout interview

Former UNC basketball forward Brady Manek worked out with the Indiana Pacers on Friday and following the workout, sat down for an interview.

Former UNC basketball forward [autotag]Brady Manek [/autotag] is staying busy with NBA workouts ahead of next week’s NBA Draft.

Manek, who has worked out for multiple NBA teams up to this point, was part of an Indiana Pacers pre-draft workout on Friday.

Following the workout, he spent time with the Pacers media team to discuss his workout, time at UNC and what he is looking to potentially bring to an NBA team.

In his lone season with UNC, Manek averaged 15.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists while shooting 49.3 percent from the field. He also shot 40.3 percent from the three-point line.

Below is the full interview.

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Former UNC wing Theo Pinson expected to re-sign with Mavericks

Former UNC basketball wing Theo Pinson is expected to re-sign with the Dallas Mavericks and be on its 15-man NBA roster this coming season.

A week ahead of the NBA Draft and in the midst of offseason trades and contract talks, one former UNC wing is expected to return to his current team.

[autotag]Theo Pinson[/autotag], who was a reserve for the Dallas Mavericks this past season, is ‘strongly expected’ to stay in Dallas next season, according to NBA reporter Marc Stein.

The Mavericks announced yesterday that it had agreed to a trade for versatile forward Christian Wood and part of that trade was sending Boban Marjanovic, Sterling Brown, Trey Burke and Marquese Chriss to the Houston Rockets.

With three extra players involved in the trade, it obviously cleared up roster room for the Mavericks.

Pinson played in 19 games with Dallas this past season, averaging 2.5 points per game. In his NBA career, he has played four seasons and appeared in 87 games for three different organizations.

The Mavericks brought Pinson in on a 10-day contract earlier this season as the team was dealing with a COVID outbreak on their roster.

Player with four or less years in the NBA are the players eligible for two-way contracts, thus bringing Pinson back would mean a spot on their 15-man roster.

Pinson played critical roles on every team during his four years for UNC. His Swiss-army knife skillset was extremely valuable for the Tar Heels in the 122 games he played in. Despite battling injuries throughout his career, he averaged 6.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 21.7 minutes a game during his time at North Carolina.

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Chase Claypool getting comfortable with Mitch Trubisky as QB

Former UNC football QB Mitch Trubisky is building a good relationship with WR Chase Claypool during OTAs with the Pittsburg Steelers.

After a season as a backup quarterback for the Buffalo Bills and in a locker room alongside star quarterback [autotag]Josh Allen[/autotag], former UNC football standout [autotag]Mitch Trubisky[/autotag] as ready for his second chance as a starting QB in the NFL.

Trubisky, who signed with the Pittsburg Steelers this offseason, is trending as the starting quarterback as OTAs and minicamps are going on.

It also doesn’t hurt to have good chemistry with the No. 1 wide receiver on the team in [autotag]Chase Claypool[/autotag].

Claypool talked about his relationship with the former UNC quarterback earlier this week.

ā€œHeā€™s an awesome guy. Heā€™s easy to get along with, easy to talk to and heā€™s very forgiving if you make a mistake. He doesnā€™t care, just moves on to the next play,” Claypool said. “I think just because he always comes and talks to you after something doesn’t go perfectly, you know exactly what to do next time so you can build off it.ā€

Trubisky started 50 of 51 games during his four years in Chicago. He had 64 touchdowns and 37 interceptions with the Bears while throwing for 10,609 yards.

His best season was in 2018, his second season, when he threw 28 touchdowns to just 12 interceptions while leading the Bears to an 11-3 record in 14 starts. He was also named to the Pro Bowl that season.

Time will tell if Trubisky will be able to revitalize his career as the once No. 2 overall draft pick, but though the first few months on the Steelers roster, he seems to be doing all of the right things.

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LOOK: UNC staff joins Brady Manek at NBA workout

Former UNC basketball forward Brady Manek was joined by a few former Tar Heels and current staff members at one of his NBA workouts.

The term ‘Carolina Family’ isn’t just a saying, it’s something the entire program lives by. Once you are part of that family, it sticks with you forever.

And, that is the case with former UNC basketball forward [autotag]Brady Manek[/autotag]. Manek played just one season for North Carolina but quickly become a fan-favorite.

On Friday, he took part in workouts for the Washington Wizards and he had some familiar faces by his side. Head coach [autotag]Hubert Davis[/autotag], Director of Recruiting [autotag]Pat Sullivan[/autotag] and former Tar Heel great and current Wizards Director of Pro Personnel [autotag]Antwan Jamison[/autotag] were in the house for Manek’s workout.

In his lone season with UNC, Manek averaged 15.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists while shooting 49.3 percent from the field. He also shot 40.3 percent from the three-point line.

Earlier this week, Manek worked out with the New Orleans Pelicans and Atlanta Hawks.

Manek is projected to go undrafted right now, but good showings in workouts can easily translate to late second-round picks or quick undrafted free-agent signings.

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Rasheed Wallace leading candidate for assistant job with Los Angeles Lakers

Former UNC basketball forward Rasheed Wallace is taking the next step in his career, joining the Los Angeles Lakers coaching staff.

Former UNC standout forward [autotag]Rasheed Wallace[/autotag] has found his next stop as an assistant coach. It was announced on Monday that Wallace would be joining the Los Angeles Lakers as an assistant on new head coach Darvin Ham.

Ham and Wallace were former teammates in Detroit during the Pistons’ Championship season in 2004.

There were previous rumors about this move for Wallace and it has now been made all but official.

Wallace spent time last season on staff at Memphis under Penny Hardaway before stepping away towards the end of the season.

Before Memphis, Wallace got his coaching career started in 2013 as an assistant for the Pistons. He later two years as the head coach at Jordan High School in North Carolina.

Wallace played 18 seasons in the NBA for six different organizations. He retired in 2013.

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Reggie Bullock sets Mavericks playoff record

Former UNC basketball wing Reggie Bullock set a Mavericks franchise playoff record for most threes in a postseason run.

Former UNC basketball wing [autotag]Reggie Bullock[/autotag] made Mavericks franchise history this week during the Conference Finals series against the Golden State Warriors.

Bullock has now made 50 3s in a single postseason run which is the most in Mavericks playoff history. This is coming on the heels of an 18-point performance where he went 6-of-10 from three.

So far this postseason, he is shooting 39.4 percent from three (50-of-127).

The Mavericks are currently down 3-1 to the Warriors. Bullock is averaging 12.8 points per game while shooting 37.5 percent from three in the series. He has scored in double-figures in three of the four games.

Bullock has been known as a terrific 3-and-D player for the majority of his career and has kept that up during this playoff run.

During the playoffs, Bullock has scored in double figures 10 times and has made at least three 3s 11 times in 17 games.

Game five is Thursday night at 9 pm ET.

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