Tag: David Duke Jr.

San Antonio Spurs two way guard David Duke Jr. on Las Vegas Summer League

Duke will be suiting up for the Spurs in the NBA’s looming 2024 Las Vegas Summer League.

Former Providence College and current San Antonio Spurs combo guard David Duke Jr. will be suiting up for the Spurs in the NBA’s looming 2024 Las Vegas Summer League as part of San Antonio’s squad of Sin City Spurs.

He will be joining San Antonio’s cadre of recently drafted prospected taken from the 2024 NBA draft. That of course includes University of Connecticut combo guard Stephon Castle, Ratiopharm Ulm point guard Juan Nunez, and University of North Carolina forward Harrison Ingram. It will also have some of Duke’s San Antonio teammates from last season.

The Spurs two way guard recently sat down with the San Antonio media to talk about his role in the Spurs’ Las Vegas Summer League team and the season beyond it ahead.

Take a look at the clip embedded above from the Spurs’ official YouTube channel to hear what the former Friar standout guard had to say about Sin City.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Report: Spurs sign David Duke Jr. to two-way contract

The San Antonio Spurs have signed 24-year-old guard David Duke Jr. to a two-way contract.

The San Antonio Spurs are signing David Duke Jr. to a two-way contract, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Duke Jr. has spent this season in the G League with the Delaware Blue Coats, the affiliate of the Philadelphia 76ers. Duke Jr. spent the first two years of his NBA career with the Brooklyn Nets. In order to make room for the move, the Spurs have waived guard Sir’Jabari Rice, per Tom Osborn of the San Antonio Express-News.

In 11 games with the Blue Coats this season, Duke Jr. averaged 21.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.1 assists while shooting 42.9% from the field and 37.0% from behind the three-point line. The 24-year-old is 6-foot-4 and played his college ball at Providence College, competing for the same city he grew up in.

Though just a two-way player, Duke Jr. will give the Spurs some added guard depth, as that area has been a question mark for them this season.

For the majority of the year, the Spurs rolled with Jeremy Sochan as their point guard, experimenting with a new-look starting lineup. However, the idea largely failed, as even Sochan himself was expressing discomfort in the role.

Now, reports have indicated that the Spurs will move away from Sochan as their full-time one, instead relying on a committee of him, Devin Vassell, Malaki Branham, and Tre Jones.

Duke Jr. may not fit into those plans right away, but with his experience as a high-level guard in college and the G League, he’s certainly an intriguing developmental piece to have around.

With how poorly the Spurs have played his season, Duke Jr. could see himself earning some chances at playing time by the end of the year, should be prove himself worthy.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Sixers waive Ricky Council IV, David Duke Jr. after preseason finale

The Philadelphia 76ers announce hat they will waive Ricky Council IV and David Duke Jr. after the preseason finale.

The preseason is over for the Philadelphia 76ers and they need to shape their roster for the start of the 2023-24 season. It is time for the front office to make those tough decisions as the team prepares for another title run.

After Friday’s win over the Atlanta Hawks in the preseason finale, the Sixers announced that are waiving undrafted rookie Ricky Council IV and David Duke Jr. Council was on a two-way deal. Duke was on an Exhibit 10 deal.

One has to assume the two will end up with Philadelphia’s G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats. Council offers a great deal of athleticism while Duke has NBA experience and has shown he can shoot.

Neither Council nor Duke played any minutes in the preseason finale against Atlanta. If they head to Delaware, they will receive playing time with the Blue Coats.

[lawrence-related id=85142,85130,85110]

Nets’ David Duke Jr. hoping for good things to come around

Brooklyn Nets wing David Duke Jr. is hoping that good things come from him playing in his third summer league with the Nets.

[anyclip pubname=”2123″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8169″]

LAS VEGAS — Brooklyn Nets wing David Duke Jr. is hoping for good things to happen for him after spending the past two seasons with the Nets. Duke Jr. has been splitting his time between Brooklyn and the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, and after having his Two-Way contract converted into a standard towards the end of last season, he, like everyone else, thought things were looking up for him. Now, he’s playing in his third summer league.

“I mean, at the end of the day man, I’m a hooper,” Duke Jr. said after Sunday’s win over the New York Knicks when asked why he was playing in summer league when third-year players in Cam Thomas and Day’Ron Sharpe are not. Duke Jr. is still a free-agent so it seems that he is participating in summer league to give teams a look at what he can do if the Nets do not bring him back in any capacity.

“I’ve been working on, you know, show just a little bit of everything. I think, like I said, I’ll take any chance I could get to play basketball,” Duke Jr. continued. Through two games, Duke Jr. is averaging 16 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.5 steals per game while shooting 50% from the field and 40% from three-point land.

[lawrence-related id=54305,54302,54291]

Brooklyn Nets not extending qualifying offers to David Duke Jr. or Dru Smith

The Brooklyn Nets are not extending qualifying offers to David Duke Jr. or Dru Smith, per Brian Lewis of the New York Post.

[anyclip pubname=”2123″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8169″]

The Brooklyn Nets still have a lot of offseason to go as they have only made it past the 2023 NBA Draft. However, they are starting to make decisions before free-agency officially starts.

According to Brian Lewis of the New York Post, the Nets are not extending qualifying offers to David Duke Jr. or Dru Smith. This means that when free-agency starts, Duke Jr. and Smith will be unrestricted free-agents instead of being restricted.
Duke Jr., 23, has played his two seasons in the NBA for the Nets and has averaged 4.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game while shooting 40.3% from the field and 20.4% from three-point land. Duke Jr., who played his college basketball at Providence College, had his two-way contract converted into a standard contract for the first time in his career during the 2022-23 season.
Smith, 25, played 10 games for Brooklyn this past season and averaged 3.3 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 41.9% from the field and 30.8% from behind the three-point line. Smith, an undrafted free-agent from the University of Missouri, started this past season with the Miami Heat before being waived in December of 2022.

[lawrence-related id=54101,54096,54093]

David Duke Jr. and Chris Chiozza named to All-G League teams for Long Island Nets

David Duke Jr. and Chris Chiozza were named to All-G League teams earlier in April for how they played during the season.

David Duke Jr. of the Brooklyn Nets and Chris Chiozza of Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, were named to the All-G League teams, according to an official release by the G League earlier in April. Duke Jr. was named to the First Team while Chiozza was named to the Third Team.

Duke Jr. averaged 23 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 47.9% from the field and 32.1% from three-point land in 22 games for Long Island this season. Duke Jr. did what he did while leading Long Island to a 15-7 in the games that he played in. LIN had an overall 23-9 record, which was the best record in the East and was tied for the second-best record in the G League.

Chiozza, who played for Brooklyn from 2019 to 2021 (two seasons), averaged 12.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists, and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 45.4% from the field and 44% from behind the three-point line. Long Island had a 22-8 record when Chiozza played and he was tied for fifth in the league in assists per game with Shaquille Harrison of the South Bay Lakers, the Los Angeles Lakers’ G League affiliate.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01fv0185pfxtewh01r player_id=01f5k5xtr64thj7fw2 image=]

[lawrence-related id=53293,53289,53286]

Grizzlies’ Kenneth Lofton Jr. headlines All-NBA G League first team

Lofton headlined the list of players named to the 2023 All-NBA G League first team as voted on by general managers and head coaches.

Memphis Grizzlies rookie Kenneth Lofton Jr. headlined the list of players on Thursday named to the 2023 All-NBA G League first team as voted on by general managers and head coaches.

Lofton was named the G League Rookie of the Year after averaging 22.4 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.2 steals on 54.4% shooting from the field with the Memphis Hustle. He finished eighth in scoring and 10th in rebounding among players with at least 15 appearances.

The Grizzlies rewarded Lofton with a four-year contract last week after he spent the season on a two-way contract. The deal is reportedly worth $7 million and will allow the undrafted standout from Louisiana Tech the opportunity to play with the Grizzlies in the playoffs.

Joining Lofton on the first team were Carlik Jones (Windy City), David Duke Jr. (Long Island), Neemias Queta (Stockton) and Jay Huff (Capital City). Jones and Duke are signed to standard contracts, while Queta and Huff are on two-way contracts.

The league also announced the second and third teams on Thursday.

Nets’ convert David Duke Jr.’s two-way deal into standard contract

David Duke Jr. has finally earned a standard NBA contract, the Brooklyn Nets announced on Friday.

The Brooklyn Nets announced on Friday that they converted guard David Duke Jr.’s two-way deal into a standard NBA contract. The second-year player out of Providence signed his first contract with the team in August of 2021. During his time with the Nets, Duke Jr. has signed two two-way contracts until Friday when he finally received a standard NBA contract from the team.

Duke Jr. has played in 43 NBA games in his career and has averaged 4.0 points and 2.0 rebounds per game 12.1 minutes per game while shooting 39.8% shooting from the field and 22.2% from three-point land. However, Duke Jr. has been a star in the G League in 2022-2023 as he is averaging 16.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game while shooting 37.3% from the field and 30.3% from behind the three-point line.

It looks like Duke Jr. has shown the team enough for them to give him the roster spot that was previously occupied by center Moses Brown. Brown’s second 10-day contract expired on Friday and instead of Brooklyn keeping Brown on the team, they decided to give Duke Jr. a shot. It does not mean that Duke Jr. will be part of the rotation in the playoffs, but it is a great milestone for him and the organization to celebrate.

Brooklyn Nets’ David Duke Jr. scores eight points in G League Next Up Game

David Duke Jr. had a good performance in the NBA G League’s Next Up Game.

Brooklyn Nets guard David Duke Jr. scored eight points in the NBA G League’s Next Up Game during NBA All-Star weekend. He also had five assists, three rebounds, and three steals as part of Team Scoot.

The Next Up Game is the G League’s way of showcasing some of its top talent and few stages are bigger than All-Star weekend. Just like the NBA All-Star Game, fans had a chance for which players should be in the contest. The starters were determined by the fan votes while the remaining 14 players are selected by the G-League itself.

It’s easy to see why Duke Jr. was chosen to the All-Star Game. This season, he has averaged 22 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.7 steals per game while shooting 48.4% from the field and 34.3% from three-point land for the Long Island Nets. Duke Jr. has played sparingly for the Brooklyn Nets, but with the trades of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, it’s possible that he could be relied upon more after the break.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01fv0185pfxtewh01r player_id=01f5k5xtr64thj7fw2 image=]

[lawrence-related id=51461,51457,51454]

Player grades: Cam Thomas scores 33 as Nets beat Pacers 136-133

Here are the Nets’ player grades for Saturday’s win over the Indiana Pacers.

The Brooklyn Nets visited the Indiana Pacers on Saturday and won 136-133. This was the fourth and final matchup between these two teams this season and the regular-season series is tied at 2-2.

For the Nets, Cam Thomas had 33 points and three rebounds off the bench while Patty Mills had 24 points and six assists. Day’Ron Sharpe had 20 points and 12 rebounds as Edmond Sumner had 20 points and seven rebounds.

For the Pacers, Tyrese Haliburton had 35 points and nine assists as Buddy Hield had 17 points and four rebounds. Myles Turner had 16 points and three rebounds while Oshae Brissett had 14 points and three rebounds off the bench.

In a game where the Nets rested eight players including Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn still had six players in double figures. Not much defense was played in this game by either team, but the Nets were able to limit the Pacers in the second a tad by allowing them to score only 24 points in the third quarter.

The Nets couldn’t hit many 3s, but they did win the rebounding battle 59-30 which includes 29 offensive rebounds. The Nets only had 19 assists as they were relying more on players like Thomas and Mills to hit shots off the dribble or guys like Sumner getting to the rim. Turnovers were an issue for the Nets, but in the end, the 25-11 run Brooklyn made from the middle of the third quarter to the beginning of the fourth quarter was huge.

Here are the Nets’ player grades: