Tag: Las Vegas Summer League

Usman Garuba set to join Rockets after reaching buyout with Real Madrid

Spanish forward Usman Garuba has reportedly reached a buyout agreement with Real Madrid, which allows him to officially join the Rockets.

Usman Garuba, who was picked at No. 23 overall in the first round of the 2021 NBA draft, has reportedly reached a contract buyout with his Spanish professional team, Real Madrid. The development allows the 6-foot-8 forward to play with the Houston Rockets in the 2021-22 season.

Tuesday’s news was first reported by Spanish newspaper Marca, which writes that Garuba and Real Madrid agreed to a plan to pay off the €3 million buyout clause in installments. The Rockets can contribute up to $775,000 (€655,000), while the rest comes out of Garuba’s contract.

For first-round NBA draft picks, salaries are generally structured according to a designated scale for each slot. Relative to slot value, teams can sign their first-round players to as little as 80% of that rookie scale amount or up to 120% of that figure. In most cases, the team offers the maximum amount as a sign of good faith. Assuming that holds true with the Rockets, along with standard annual raises, here’s what Garuba will earn over the four years of his first NBA contract (via HoopsRumors):

2021-22: $2.35 million
2022-23: $2.47 million
2023-24: $2.59 million
2024-25: $4.39 million
Total: $11.81 million

While Garuba hasn’t signed his contract with the Rockets yet, the financial agreement is implicit, since the 19-year-old wouldn’t otherwise have the money to pay off the €3 million buyout with Real Madrid.

With the buyout complete, Garuba could potentially join Houston at the 2021 Las Vegas Summer League. Entering this week’s proceedings, the team listed Garuba on its official roster (making him eligible to play) and indicated that they were hopeful of eventually having him.

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Rockets vs. Pistons: Live stream, how to watch, TV channel, start time

In a nationally televised showdown of the 2021 NBA draft’s two top picks, Jalen Green and the Rockets face Cade Cunningham and Detroit.

In a showdown of the two top rookies from the recent 2021 NBA draft class, the Houston Rockets continue summer league play on Tuesday from Las Vegas with a much anticipated matchup versus Detroit.

The Pistons’ summer league team (0-1) is headlined by versatile wing Cade Cunningham, who played college hoops at Oklahoma State before becoming the No. 1 overall selection in the 2021 first round. The Rockets (1-0) are led by G League Ignite guard Jalen Green — who the Pistons passed on to select Cunningham. It shouldn’t come as a surprise if Green, the No. 2 pick, wants to show Detroit what they’re missing out on.

Here’s when and how you should watch:

  • Date: Tuesday, Aug. 10
  • Time: 9:00 p.m. ET / 8:00 p.m. CT
  • TV Channel: ESPN
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free) or via Watch ESPN, with active subscription
  • Complete Summer Rosters: Detroit, Houston

In comparing Sunday’s openers, Green (23 points, 50% FG, 1 turnover) had a better night than Cunningham (12 points, 29.4% FG, 5 turnovers). The Rockets won their game versus Cleveland, while Detroit lost to Oklahoma City. Tuesday, however, should bring a new level of intensity.

Aside from Green, the Rockets started two established players (KJ Martin, Khyri Thomas) and two other first-round rookies (Alperen Sengun, Josh Christopher) during Sunday’s victory. Meanwhile, the Pistons flanked Cunningham with four NBA veterans in the form of Tyler Cook, Killian Hayes, Saddiq Bey, and Sekou Doumbouya. Unless otherwise notified, expect both teams to start the same units on Tuesday.

Note: This post first appeared on Rockets Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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WATCH: Yam Madar highlights vs. Hawks in Las Vegas Summer League – 8 points, 2 boards, 2 assists

A solid debut from the Israeli floor general.

In a moment many a Boston Celtics fan had been waiting to arrive for some time, stashed 2020 draft point guard prospect Yam Madar made his debut with the Celtics summer league squad in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sunday, and he helped shake his team awake with his high-energy play.

Hoping to make the leap from his Israeli Premier Basketball League team Hapoel Tel Aviv to the NBA, Madar made a solid case by putting up 8 points, 2 rebounds and as many assists in 17 minutes of play. He may have work to do to persuade the Celtics brass to pull the trigger on a buyout with his overseas team, but he certainly validated a lot of fan buzz around his high-motor game Sunday.

To see the highlights for yourself, watch the clip embedded below put together by fan videographer Tomasz Kordylewski.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Boston Celtics vs. Denver Nuggets: Las Vegas Summer League live stream, lineups, broadcast info (8/10)

Everything you need to know ahead of the tilt against Denver in Sin City.

The summer Boston Celtics take on the Denver Nuggets in their second game of the team’s 2021 Las Vegas Summer League schedule as they try to build one win into a streak. Solid outings from newcomers Yam Madar and Juhann Begarin coupled with the seasoned play of returning Celtics Carsen Edwards, Payton Pritchard, Romeo Langford, and Aaron Nesmith has set a solid foundation to build on.

If you happen to be looking for a way to watch the action live via a streaming service or cable television, keep reading while we get you up to speed. The Nuggets feature a few intriguing players, including forwards Bol Bol and Zeke Nnaji and recently drafted point guard Bones Hyland.

Let’s take a look at the likely starters.

Las Vegas Summer League: Lakers defeat Suns on Austin Reaves’ last-second putback

The Los Angeles Lakers won Game 1 of the Las Vegas Summer League thanks to a game-winner by Austin Reaves.

The Las Vegas Summer League officially kicked off Sunday, and the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Phoenix Suns in Game 1.

The Lakers got off to an 8-0 start, but the Suns slowly chipped away with Jalen Smith, the No. 10 overall pick in 2020, making active plays on both ends of the floor.

Austin Reaves and Devontae Cacok each played key roles, primarily in scoring the ball, to help the Lakers to a halftime lead.

But after halftime, it was all Phoenix. The Suns outscored L.A. 28-19 in the third quarter and even held a 10-point lead at one point, which was the largest lead any team had in the game.

Then, in the fourth quarter, the Lakers flipped the switch and developed a comeback of their own. Mac McClung was at the heart of it as he made fantastic hustle plays on defense that led to mid-range jumpers on the other end, though his overall shooting display looked rough.

The biggest play of the night, though, went to Reaves. With the Lakers trailing 72-71 in the final seconds, Reaves scored a ridiculous off-balance putback by banking it in to win the game for L.A., courtesy of the NBA:

Cacok led L.A. with 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks. Reaves and Chaundee Brown both added 11 points. Reaves also grabbed four rebounds and generated one steal. He was the primary initiator for many plays, but L.A. didn’t have the best shooting night.

McClung rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points, but he shot 2-of-9 (0-of-4 3-pointers) from the field. However, he drilled all six of his free throws to go with four rebounds and a block, including multiple crucial plays that didn’t show up on the box score.

Game 2 for L.A. will be on Wednesday, Aug. 11 at 7:00 p.m. PST against the New York Knicks (0-1).

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Rockets announce schedule for NBA’s 2021 Las Vegas Summer League

Each of Houston’s four games will be nationally televised and versus another opponent who owns a top-five pick in the 2021 NBA draft.

Following Thursday’s NBA draft, there won’t be much of a wait until the Houston Rockets can potentially put their prized rookies on the basketball court against other top 2021 prospects.

The NBA on Wednesday announced the schedule for the Rockets and all other teams at the 2021 Las Vegas Summer League, which takes place starting Aug. 8. To no surprise, with one of the league’s youngest rosters and potentially at least one hot prospect on the summer squad, many of the marquee games from Las Vegas will feature Houston.

In order, the 2021 NBA draft is slated to start with Detroit, Houston, Cleveland, Toronto, and Orlando, with a potential player pool at those selections headlined by the likes of Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, Jalen Suggs, Evan Mobley, Scottie Barnes, and Jonathan Kuminga.

As a result, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that each of Houston’s four scheduled summer league games comes against one of the other teams in the draft’s top five. That gives the NBA a chance to showcase many of its top 2021 prospects facing off against one another. All four games will be televised nationally on ESPN, ESPN 2, or NBA TV.

See below for Houston’s complete summer league schedule. Rosters will be announced for each team in the days after Thursday’s draft.

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WATCH: Stashed Celtics guard Yam Madar Hapoel Tel Aviv 2020-21 highlights

The 2020 draft prospect will be suiting up to play in Las Vegas Summer League with Boston next month.

While the hubbub surrounding the arrival of Boston Celtics stashed 2020 draft prospect Yam Madar to prepare for the 2021 Las Vegas Summer League with the Celtics, fan interest has not subsided in seeing what the star of Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Israeli Premier League can do with potential future Celtics teammates one bit.

Playing to convince Boston a buyout this season is in their best interest, the Beit Dagan native is currently honing his craft ahead of the annual (save for last year due to the pandemic) event in Nevada. To keep the Yamaniacs happy, we dug up this new highlight reel of footage of Madar getting busy overseas, put together by the Director of the Basketball Premier League YouTube account.

Watch the video embedded below to get over 10 minutes of Madar footage playing overseas while we wait for him to get on the court with the Celtics in Sin City next month.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0eoRsRNQNc

While most of the audio may be in Hebrew, we know that the bulk of you are here to watch Madar more than to hear the play-by-play anyway.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Who might be part of the Boston Celtics’ Las Vegas Summer League team?

These are the players reportedly in play to make up the Celtics’ Las Vegas Summer League squad.

The main players to be featured in the Boston Celtics return to Las Vegas Summer League after a season off due to the pandemic is finally starting to come into focus, with a handful of players and prospects being identified by the media as likely participants.

A total of five players are reportedly expected to head to Sin City this summer to take part in the annual tire-kicking and skill-polishing fiesta fans love to over-react to each year (save last, of course) according to Celtics Wire alumnus and Athletic NBA insider Jared Weiss. A sixth player may also make the trip, but his participation has yet to be decided, as it may well relate to how he is seen by new head coach Ime Udoka, and whoever Boston drafts at No. 45 this year should also make the trip.

We’re getting a bit ahead of ourselves however, so let’s take a look at the likely suspects (and before you ask, we aren’t certain regarding big man Moses Brown’s status).

WATCH: Who (besides Yam Madar) should Celtics fans be watching in Las Vegas Summer League?

We don’t need to be told to keep an eye out for Yam Madar in summer league, but who else might be worth keeping tabs on?

While we did not get one in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic gripping the planet, basketball fans around the world are celebrating the return of Las Vegas Summer League and, in the depths of the 2021 NBA offseason, reading into the smallest of sample sizes far too much once again.

The Boston Celtics in particular look to make liberal use of the (normally) annual event to kick the tires on highly anticipated stashed 2020 guard prospect Yam Madar before making a decision on whether to buy out the Israeli floor general. It will also give the Celtics a look at new big man Moses Brown and some extended run for last season’s rookies.

While guard Payton Pritchard and wing Aaron Nesmith may not be the focal point of the team’s Las Vegas Summer League squad, they and several other younger Celtics plus some camp invites are going to give us all something to watch in the deepest depths of the summer doldrums.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgk0grq0Q0c

Watch this most recent episode of the CLNS Media podcast “Celtics Beat” with guest Tom Westerholm of Boston.com as they break down who we ought to have our eyes on in Las Vegas — and why — in the clip embedded above.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Report: Yam Madar is stateside in New York preparing to join Celtics for Summer League

The stashed Israeli floor general is reportedly gearing up to join the Celtics in Las Vegas.

Stashed guard prospect Yam Madar is reportedly in the United States ahead of linking up with the Boston Celtics, the team that selected him late in the second round of the 2020 NBA draft according to Forbes Sports’ Chris Grenham.

The Israeli floor general is evidently in Manhattan working out in the National Basketball Player’s Association headquarters in that borough of New York City working out in anticipation of joining the Celtics for Las Vegas Summer League next month. After an outstanding season with Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Israeli Premier Basketball League that saw Madar win the league’s Most Improved Player award, much excitement among Boston fans has surrounded his potential arrival in the states to join the Celtics.

Grenham confirms the Beit Dagan native will be joining Boston in Las Vegas, though his future with the team beyond that remains an open question perhaps as dependent on his arbitration case with Hapoel Tel Aviv as his play in Sin City.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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