Tag: Iggy Brazdeikis

Three Michigan basketball players sign pro deals

Best of luck to them! #GoBlue

Three former Michigan basketball players signed professional deals on Monday — just not in the NBA. Iggy Brazdeikis, Devante’ Jones, and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman (MAAR) all signed deals overseas.

MAAR signed with Victoria Libertas Pesaro in Italy. He played for Michigan from 2014-2018 and then he went undrafted in the 2018 NBA draft but played in the G-League from 2018-2020. During his four seasons in Ann Arbor, he averaged nine points, three rebounds, and three assists.

Devante’ Jones signed his first professional contract in Paris with the Metropolitans 92. Jones played one year with Michigan, this past season, where he averaged 10 points, four rebounds, and four assists in 28 minutes-per-game. Jones started his career with Coastal Carolina before transferring to Michigan his senior season. The former Michigan floor general played with the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Summer League.

The third Wolverine that signed an overseas contract was Iggy Brazdeikis. He signed with a Lithuania powerhouse team, the Zalgiris Kaunas. Iggy played one season in Ann Arbor before entering his name into the 2019 NBA draft. He was drafted in the second round by the New York Knicks. He played with three different teams during his NBA stint: Knicks, 76ers, and the Orlando Magic.

Brazdeikis averaged five points and two rebounds during his 64 games played in the NBA. In his one year in Ann Arbor, he averaged 15 points and five rebounds-per-game.

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Doc Rivers talks buyout market after Sixers waive Iggy Brazdeikis

Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers talks buyout market after they waived Iggy Brazdeikis.

It’s that time of the year where everybody is looking to make a move or two in order to bolster their roster and make that final push towards a championship. The Philadelphia 76ers are one of those teams and they just cleared a roster spot on Thursday when they waived Iggy Brazdeikis after acquiring him in a trade.

The Sixers are a team that could use an upgrade to their bench as they continue on with the season. The bench unit has been a bit up and down and due to who they sent out in the trade, they could use another backup big or two behind Joel Embiid and Dwight Howard.

Friday is the deadline to add any players to be able to play in the playoffs so one assumes the Sixers make a move, but there is no guarantee.

“It doesn’t matter one way or the other with me,” said coach Doc Rivers. “I’m happy now and if we add someone, I’ll be happy, but I’m not gonna lose sleep over it either way. Let me put it that way. So we’ll see.”

Rivers has said in the past that he does like this team and where they’re at and who could blame him? Philadelphia is sitting at the 2 seed in the East, just half a game back of the Brooklyn Nets, and they have a serious MVP candidate in Embiid.

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Still, a team could always use an upgrade when it comes to making that final push for a title in the East. The flexibility that an open roster spot offers is also so important for teams in the future.

“We could, we want to have that ability,” said Rivers. “I’ve always wanted that. With the Clippers, we always left one or two guys available, even picked up guys even after this, because there’s some guys that can be out there that you can even use for next year so I just think the flexibility is always good.”

While the Sixers try and figure out what to do in the buyout market, the team will continue their road trip on Friday against the New Orleans Pelicans.

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Sixers roster news: Team will waive recently acquired Iggy Brazdeikis

The Philadelphia 76ers will waive big man Iggy Brazdeikis on Thursday.

The Philadelphia 76ers are continuing to move forward with their season and are looking for ways to improve their team on this final stretch of the season. Now is the time for teams to put together their final rosters and look for upgrades for the playoffs.

The Sixers made a 3-team trade at the deadline with the main acquisition being George Hill from the Oklahoma City Thunder, but they also acquired young big man Iggy Brazdeikis from the New York Knicks.

Considering the Sixers have another young big man in Paul Reed who they really like, the team will waive Brazdeikis. The move does open up a roster spot which is interesting in the buyout market.

Brazdeikis played in one game for the Sixers and he missed the three shots that he took on Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Sixers are still in need of some upgrades to their bench unit so, with the new open roster spot, team president Daryl Morey will probably look in that direction as the season continues.

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Iggy Brazdeikis is excited to join Sixers, learn from veterans on roster

Young big man Iggy Brazdeikis is excited to join the team and learn from the veterans on the roster.

The Philadelphia 76ers made their move at the deadline when they acquired George Hill from the Oklahoma City Thunder. It is a move that can really help them get over the top in the East as he is a guy who has a ton of playoff experience under his belt.

The Sixers did not just acquire Hill in that deal, they also acquired young big man Iggy Brazdeikis from the New York Knicks.

Brazdeikis was a second-round pick of the Sacramento Kings in the 2019 NBA draft before being moved to the Knicks. He only played 13 games across two seasons in New York so he is a guy with very little experience, but he is excited for a new chapter in Philadelphia.

“It’s been all kind of crazy,” he said on Saturday. “Everything happened really fast. Biggest thing is I’m really excited to be here, grateful for this opportunity to be a part of this organization, this winning organization. Everyone’s been great so far, everything’s been smooth, getting workouts in and stuff just getting used to the whole place.”

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In those 13 games, Brazdeikis has averaged 1.5 points and he shot 35.7% from deep. As a freshman with the Michigan Wolverines in the 2018-19 season, he averaged 14.8 points and 5.4 rebounds while shooting 39.2% from deep and he earned a lot of postseason awards in the Big10.

He was able to get some workouts with the coaches in Philadelphia while the team was on the road for a few weeks.

“I’ve been working out while the team was on the road,” he explained. “Player development guys getting in the gym, getting the work in getting used to the facility, getting to know everybody, getting to know the fun office, and now the team came in today so getting to know the guys. It’s been a cool process so far.”

Brazdeikis is coming into a situation where the team is in the middle of a title chase and there are plenty of veterans ahead of him. He will have to work himself into the good graces of the coaching staff and just really learn the playbook and get everything down. He will have to learn from the others on the roster.

“Just to get established within the team,” he finished. “Nothing too specific with that, but just to learn as much as I can. Especially early on learn the offense, learn the defense, and just be an open book.”

The Sixers will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday back at home.

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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