Tag: D.J. Augustin

Ranking the 21 players who have played for the most (at least 10!) NBA teams

Ish Smith has now suited up for nearly half the teams in the league. Who else comes close?

There is something special about a journeyman who has experience playing for various different franchises during their NBA careers.

As of the time of publishing this article, there are 21 players who played at least one game for at least 10 different teams around the league. While many are former undrafted free agents who scrapped and clawed their way around to stay pros, others were former top picks.

Joe Smith (No. 1 overall pick in 1995), Jim Jackson (No. 4 pick in 1992), Jeff Green (No. 5 pick in 2007) and D.J. Augustin (No. 9 pick in 2008) were lottery picks before bouncing around from team to team.

One reason for this is that you have to be pretty good to convince so many teams that you are worth an NBA contract.

So we took a look at the players who have played for the most teams while in the NBA. Feel free to use this as a resource next time you are having trouble guessing a player for Immaculate Grid.

Note that some active players who could potentially make this list in the future if they keep signing with new teams in the NBA include Justin Holiday, Robin Lopez, Jae Crowder, Seth Curry, George Hill, JaVale McGee, Markieff Morris and Noah Vonleh.

The pie charts provided below indicate how many games each player played with each team so you can track longevity.

All data is available via Basketball-Reference and NBA.com.

Will D.J. Augustin return to Lakers next season?

Is veteran Lakers guard D.J. Augustin open to remaining with the team next season?

Early in March, with Kendrick Nunn about to be ruled out of appearing in any games this season, and with Russell Westbrook’s inconsistent play, the Los Angeles Lakers signed veteran point guard D.J. Augustin to provide some depth in the backcourt.

He wasn’t spectacular, but he provided some decent play in 21 games with the Purple and Gold.

In his exit interview, Augustin talked about the possibility of him staying on for one more year.

Via Silver Screen and Roll:

“Man, this is a business. I’ve been playing for 14 years in the league,” Augustin said in his exit interview. “I know how this goes. Hopefully we do have some type of conversation this summer, but at this point you never know. You know coach (Frank) Vogel was let go today, which was kind of a big loss for our organization and guys that knew him. So that’s one thing that happened, and there’s probably other things that may happen. And those things are probably more important than I am. So when that time comes, hopefully something is there. I’m definitely open to it. But nothing was said and nothing was expected.”

Lakers player season grades: D.J. Augustin

Our final analysis of D.J. Augustin’s performance this season.

On March 1, the Los Angeles Lakers signed veteran guard D.J. Augustin to a contract for the balance of the regular season.

The move was made largely because it was determined Kendrick Nunn would not be able to play at all by the end of the season, and they needed a reliable backup for Russell Westbrook.

Augustin, 34, has never been a prominent player in the NBA. He has bounced around, playing for 10 other teams before coming to the Purple and Gold. But he did a solid job in 21 games with the Lakers, proving that even in his 14th pro season, he still has value.

Lakers news: Coach Frank Vogel has high hopes for D.J. Augustin

D.J. Augustin may seem like an uninspiring addition to the Los Angeles Lakers, but head coach Frank Vogel is hopeful for what he’ll bring.

This week, the Los Angeles Lakers added backcourt depth by signing veteran guard D.J. Augustin.

At first glance, it may seem as if he will make no more than a minimal impact, but head coach Frank Vogel is optimistic about how Augustin will help the team.

Augustin, who is in his 14th NBA season, has been a journeyman, but he has always been a fine 3-point shooter (he has a 38.0% career average from downtown) and competent secondary floor general/playmaker.

Vogel coached him a few years ago when both were with the Orlando Magic.

Via LakersNation:

“I like what he brings to the table,” said Vogel. “Not just with the off-ball ability to shoot the basketball and stretch the floor and give our guys more space, but when we played smaller lineups with AD (Anthony Davis) at the five or LeBron (James) at the five. DJ when he played with Vooch (Nikola Vucevic), I thought had his best stretch of his career. Those final two years in Orlando where Vooch was a five and they we’re playing a five-out system with an open paint.

“He’s a very, very good pocket pass and pick-and-roll playmaker. You have to go over his pick-and-rolls or he will beat you over the top. He almost beat us last year when we played Houston in this building. He can still go. I think he’s going to help us, we think he’s going to help us.”

Vogel and the Lakers had big plans for Kendrick Nunn, whom the team signed as a free agent last summer, but he has not played in a regular-season game due to injury. General manager Rob Pelinka recently said he hopes Nunn can return by late March.

One of the Lakers’ many problems this year has been its lack of consistent 3-point shooting and overall serviceable depth throughout the roster.

If Augustin is up to the task, he can help in those areas, as well as give the team another option at lead guard when Russell Westbrook is having a bad outing.

Augustin spent the first part of this season with the Houston Rockets before they released him in February.

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Stephen Silas focused on teaching as COVID losses force Rockets to go younger

With numerous rotation players unavailable, Houston coach Stephen Silas turned to a lineup consisting of five rookies. Four of those players are not of legal age to purchase alcohol in the United States.

On Monday, the Houston Rockets suddenly found themselves in a situation that was unfamiliar to their team but has rapidly become the norm throughout the rest of the league over the past month.

Houston went into its game in Charlotte down four key players to their rotation due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols.

Jae’Sean Tate, DJ Augustin, KJ Martin, and Garrison Mathews were unavailable after test results were apparently positive for COVID-19. Rockets head coach Stephen Silas also decided not to play guards Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green in back-to-back games due to injury maintenance considerations, which left Houston’s bench depleted.

With a limited number of rotation players, Silas found himself playing a lineup consisting of five rookies, and four of those players are not of legal age to purchase alcohol in the United States. Usman Garuba (19), Alperen Sengun (19), Daishen Nix (19), and Josh Christopher (20) all found themselves on the court together for the Rockets at some point in the 123-99 road defeat (recap) to the Charlotte Hornets.

It is hard to compete with a team like the Hornets, who have the second-ranked offense in the NBA, when you have a healthy rotation. It becomes especially problematic when you have rookies who have not played together consistently trying to figure each other out.

Coach Silas knew coming into the game that he and his staff would have to adjust to the younger players that were going to play a significant number of minutes on Monday.

“It changes as far as teaching and making sure you are not overreacting or getting onto guys for mistakes,” Silas said when asked about how his coaching style would have to change due to the suddenly younger rotation. “When you have so many young guys on the floor, it is more about teaching them for the moment instead of scolding them.”

Houston will not yet have time to develop continuity with their younger players through practice, since they head back to Toyota Center on Tuesday to face the Los Angeles Lakers. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. CST.

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Rockets reserves excel in fourth quarter to stun the Hawks

“This was a great way for our team to show growth because we were down the whole game,” Gordon said. “Different guys stepped up. D.J. stepped up huge tonight. Even K.J. (Martin) had his moments. Even David Nwaba had his moments. When you have so many guys doing that, you give yourselves a chance to win.”

For three quarters on Monday night at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia the Houston Rockets looked as if they were stuck in a bad dream that had Atlanta Hawks superstar point guard Trae Young as the villain. He left most of the crowd in awe with his array of shots that just continued to fall with ease.

Watching things transpire from the Rockets bench was a player who didn’t know if he would be inserted into the game or not, but he knew that if head coach Stephen Silas called his name, he would be ready.

Forward David Nwaba got that opportunity late in the third quarter when guard Armoni Brooks was removed from the game after having lingering effects from an undisclosed injury that happened in the first half.

Nwaba’s impact was immediately felt as he hit a three-pointer in the closing seconds to help the Rockets pull within 101-88 heading into the fourth quarter.

In the final quarter, it would be the four-year NBA veteran who imposed his will on both ends of the court, but it was his defensive intensity on Trae Young that helped the Rockets defeat the Hawks 132-126. He finished the game with 10 points, six rebounds, and three assists in 11 minutes of action.

Although circumstances dictated that coach Silas put Nwaba in the game, he felt very confident about the situation:

I’ve been talking about putting Dave in the games for like three games. I put him in the last couple games, gave him like five minutes, brought him back out. Armoni (Brooks) was kind of limping around out there. Garrison (Mathews) was struggling a little bit. So, I just threw him out there.

When I put him in, Young wasn’t in the game, but I knew if we needed someone to guard Young, Dave would be an option. So, when Young came back, Dave guarded him and fought.

The Rockets comeback wasn’t just fueled by the energy of Nwaba. Eric Gordon had a season high 32 points and reserve guard D.J.Augustin chipped in with 22 points. Both players combined to go 6 of 7 from three-point range as Houston scored 44 points in the fourth quarter to stun the Hawks.

“This was a great way for our team to show growth because we were down the whole game,” Gordon said. “Different guys stepped up. D.J. stepped up huge tonight. Even K.J. (Martin) had his moments. Even David Nwaba had his moments. When you have so many guys doing that, you give yourselves a chance to win.”

What made this win so important to the Rockets role players such as KJ Martin and rookie Alperen Sengun was the confidence their coach showed in them by leaving the lineup in that had the momentum in the fourth quarter to close out the game.

“We are all capable of closing out games,” said Nwaba. “Whoever is hot, I think coach Silas did a good job of keeping those guys in. We brought us back in the game and he kept us in throughout the fourth quarter.”

Sixers 2020 free agency guide: D.J. Augustin fits roster needs, price range

The Philadelphia 76ers could go after a guy like D.J. Augustin in free agency.

With the NBA getting set to begin the 2020-21 season on December 22, now is the time to get ready for what should be a fast and furious free agency period. With the NBA draft being on November 18, free agency is set to begin shortly thereafter.

For the Philadelphia 76ers, they do not have much in terms of money to spend. They currently have a lot of big contracts on the roster and they will have roughly $6 million to spend in free agency. They will be able to make one maybe two moves during that time.

We begin our guide to Sixers free agency by taking a look at somebody who fits both the team’s price range and the needs on their roster. They need somebody who can shoot the ball as well as handle it and run the offense a bit and that guy is D.J. Augustin.

Augustin is a career 37.9% shooter from deep and he over 41% from deep in two of his four seasons with the Orlando Magic. He would come cheap as a veteran point guard who can provide solid play off the bench and he can even start for stretches if needed.

John Hollinger of The Athletic broke it down like this on Augustin:

After another solid year in Orlando, Augustin is getting long in the tooth (33 this season) and is pretty small, so teams should be wary of a multi-year contract. But as a short-term commitment to a backup who is capable of starting 15 games, you’d have a hard time doing much better than Augustin. He’s an ace pick-and-roll guard who shoots well from the perimeter.

If Daryl Morey and Elton Brand can persuade him to accept a smaller contract, they could also bring in another piece and they could also get a steal in free agency. Due to the position the team is in, they do not need to swing for the fences. They just need somebody to fill an important need of shooting on their team. [lawrence-related id=38886,38882,38879]

3 goals for Philadelphia 76ers in the 2020 offseason to bounce back

There are three goals for the Philadelphia 76ers to achieve in the 2020 offseason.

The Philadelphia 76ers made a couple of big gambles in the 2019 offseason in hopes of continuing the momentum created when they were just one bad bounce away from going to overtime in Game 7 of the semifinals.

They handed a couple of big contracts in free agency to then 33-year old Al Horford and borderline All-Star Tobias Harris. In the process, they lost sharpshooter JJ Redick as well as big-time closer Jimmy Butler. The hope was they would be able to build off the momentum of the previous season and use the new additions to make a trip to the NBA Finals.

The result was a 6 seed finish to the regular season and then being swept in Round 1 of the playoffs. The season was a complete failure in terms of on-court results and now, general manager Elton Brand will have to correct the mistakes made in order to get the team back on track.

For that to happen, there are three goals that he should take a look at in order to achieve the success the team needs. With that being said let’s break it down!

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4

D.J. Augustin identified as perfect free agent addition for Sixers

D.J. Augustin has been identified as the perfect free-agent addition for the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Philadelphia 76ers have much more important matters to attend to than free agency as they get set to resume the 2019-20 season and continue their championship chase. However, it doe snot hurt to look ahead to the offseason a little bit.

The Sixers do have a need for a backup point guard, even with the move of Shake Milton into the starting lineup. That does change things for them in the 2020 free agency market.

Orlando Magic point guard D.J. Augustin has been identified as a guy who would be a perfect addition for the Sixers by Bleacher Report for the little money they have to play with.

B/R on Augustin:

Augustin has been the ball-handler on pick-and-rolls in a league-leading 55.3 percent of his offensive possessions this season, and the 0.93 points per possession he generated in such sets ranked in the 72nd percentile. Alec Burks, who played only 11 games for Philadelphia prior to the shutdown, is the only player on the roster to top Augustin’s efficiency rate as a pick-and-roll ball-handler.

As a bonus, Augustin is a trustworthy three-point shooter. Despite a slide to 34.5 percent this year, it seems safe to trust a guy who cracked the 40 percent mark from deep in 2015-16, 2017-18 and 2018-19.

As mentioned above, Burks has only played 11 games for Philadelphia and is still unsure of what his role will be on this team. A guy like Augustin will have a role on this team almost immediately and he would be a positive presence for their struggling bench unit as well. [lawrence-related id=35014,35007,34998]

Philadelphia 76ers free agency player profiles: point guard D.J. Augustin

Here is a free agency profile for the Philadelphia 76ers in the form of DJ Augustin.

Yes, the 2019-20 season is not over just yet as the league has formatted a plan and agreed on a safe return to play beginning July 31. However, that does not mean that the offseason still can’t get some love during this time.

The Philadelphia 76ers have bigger matters to attend to at the moment as they will get their chance to bring an NBA championship back from Orlando, but when the offseason rolls around, there are some spots on the team that need to be filled. So Sixers Wire will continue our free agency talk concerning the Sixers by looking at player-by-player when it comes to the three needs: backup point guard, shooters, and big men.

D.J. Augustin

Up first is Augustin who is a backup point guard extraordinaire. He is averaging 10.4 points and 4.6 assists while shooting 34.5% from deep–career 37.9% from deep–coming off the bench for the Orlando Magic. He is a player who can create off the dribble for himself–he shoots 3.2 foul shots per game–and his teammates as well.

He is a more than capable backup point guard and he could even start for a stretch should anything happen to Ben Simmons as he has proven in the past that he can fill in and produce as a starter. He played an instrumental part in Orlando making the playoffs in 2019 and he even made the game-winner in Game 1 on the road against the Toronto Raptors.

The way Augustin made that shot is what should be attractive for Philadelphia. They do not have many players who can actually create off the dribble and pull up for a jumper. He has that type of skill and he can do it pretty efficiently.

The Sixers do not have a lot of money to play with in free agency–roughly $6 million. As a journeyman point guard, Augustin will be looking to hop on with a contender and help that team in their quest for a title. In the case of Philadelphia, they fit that mold perfectly. At 32-years old, he most likely would not mind taking a small contract for the right situation to backup Simmons with the Sixers. [lawrence-related id=32694,32685,32678]