THE FLATS – Derrick Favors lands with Houston Rockets in multi-player deal … Jose Alvarado readies for season 2 in New Orleans … Josh Okogie sidelined by hamstring strain in Phoenix … Michael Devoe signs with Clippers and then is waived … more in this week’s #ProJackets Report.
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DERRICK FAVORS PART OF MAJOR TRADE TO HOUSTON
In a trade between rebuilding rivals in the Western Conference, Oklahoma City is sending Derrick Favors, Ty Jerome, Moe Harkless, Theo Maledon, and a 2026 second-round pick to the Houston Rockets for David Nwaba, Sterling Brown, Trey Burke and Marquese Chriss, as first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Of the four players acquired from the Thunder, only Favors — a veteran who could figure into Houston’s backup center mix — would seem to have a plausible path to rotation minutes this season. While Houston is likely to evaluate all or most in the preseason, the roster deadline is likely to force a handful of releases.
The 31-year-old Favors averaged 5.3 points (51.6% FG), 4.7 rebounds in 16.7 minutes last season.
Newly acquired #Rockets big man Derrick Favors is in attendance today at practice. pic.twitter.com/Im7lI0tDfG
— Coty M. Davis (@CotyDavis_24) October 6, 2022
Rockets acquire Derrick Favors from Thunder in 8-player swap. https://t.co/6S4vm7bD6q pic.twitter.com/HXmUCbQlEB
— theScore (@theScore) September 30, 2022
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ALVARADO’S PRE-SEASON PROFILE
Jose Alvarado’s storybook rookie NBA season culminated in April, when he became known to basketball fans everywhere as the bulldog backup point guard responsible for a unique brand of out-of-nowhere, “sneaky steals.” He’s the defensive menace who forced future Hall of Famer Chris Paul into an eight-second violation in the playoffs, constantly badgering the Phoenix star for 94 feet. Not bad for a player who went undrafted in 2021, a man who was highly appreciative even to sign a two-way G League contract with New Orleans.
It turns out all Alvarado needed was an opportunity, for one of the league’s 30 franchises to believe in him enough to let him prove his value. Just two months after cracking Willie Green’s rotation in January, the New York City native signed a four-year contract extension with the Pelicans, paving the way for the 6-footer to buy a new home and car (the latter for his father) in the offseason.
Asked on Media Day what will motivate him now that he’s able to afford those kinds of purchases, Alvarado smiled and replied, “I want a bigger house, a nicer car. I want to get paid, right? I’m going to keep motivating myself. It’s a blessing to put the (NBA) jersey on, so that’s the most important thing.”
Jose Alvarado is so good. pic.twitter.com/bkjzQmlE23
— Pro Pels Talk (@ProPelsTalk) October 5, 2022
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ALVARADO STARS IN AD CAMPAIGNS
New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado stars in the latest campaign for New Balance and Aimé Leon Dore, the popular Lower East Side menswear store.
The undrafted guard from Georgia Tech is originally from Brooklyn and he attended Christ The King High School — the same school as Sue Bird and Lamar Odom.
Alvarado, who is known for hiding on the court and sneaking up to force turnovers, is first seen practicing free throws at the ALD / NB Masaryk Community Gym on the Lower East Side in Manhattan. He then watches game highlights with his mother as she tells him she always knew he was going to be special.
We then see some beautiful shots of New York City as Alvarado talks about the tenacious basketball culture that he grew up around. He also discusses his father’s boxing career and creating his own legacy.
“My goal was to take this orange ball as far I can,” Alvarado says.
View this post on Instagram
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OKOGIE SIDELINED WITH HAMSTRONG STRAIN
Newly acquired wing Josh Okogie suffered a left hamstring strain on the eve of the Phoenix Suns first preseason game.
The news was confirmed by Arizona Sports’ Kellan Olson on Friday, with Okogie now limited to light duties before being re-evaluated in two weeks.
It has to be a major frustration for the 24-year-old, having been eager to impress for his new team in preseason. More than that though, Okogie is in a genuine battle to be a regular part of the Suns rotation this season.
This setback now puts him at a distinct disadvantage ahead of Phoenix’s season opener against the Dallas Mavericks on October 20. At media day, Okogie discussed his potential defensive pairing with Mikal Bridges, something that’ll now have to be put on hold for the moment.
Josh Okogie getting up some corner 3s with the Twins: pic.twitter.com/f2mAEZ8Gbp
— Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet) October 4, 2022
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DEVOE SIGNED BY CLIPPERS, THEN WAIVED
The Los Angeles Clippers waived Michael Devoe on Tuesday, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com reported.
Devoe signed a non-guaranteed training camp contract with the Clippers in mid-September, but was one of three cut made by the team following Los Angeles’ preseason opener. The former Yellow Jacket will look to latch on to a G League team before the start of the 2022-23 campaign.
Clippers Waive Juwan Morgan, Michael Devoe, Lucas Williamson https://t.co/8FDmSiWQ5C pic.twitter.com/a6y0TDg6gv
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) October 4, 2022
Michael Devoe full NBA video highlights player game possessions CLIPPERS vs RA’ANANA 30-09-2022 https://t.co/2BHorHyQkF
Follow us for more highlights!!#MichaelDevoe #Michael #Devoe #nbaregularseason #nbahighlights #basketball #la #clippers #clippers #laclippers pic.twitter.com/Ne7acjcOln
— NBA Players Highlights (@NBAPlayersHigh) October 2, 2022
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#ProJackets on Social Media
All it took was one look. 👀
🗣 @CallMe_NonStop pic.twitter.com/ZiTCskhSao
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) September 26, 2022
Any Thaddeus Young fans pic.twitter.com/l7HeedOGQl
— GT Sports Cards (@gt_sportscards) October 2, 2022
🏀 Jordan Usher#PotanınKartalları 🦅
pic.twitter.com/vQz071UOPP— Beşiktaş Basketbol (@BJK_Basketbol) October 3, 2022
Impressive shooting performance yesterday for Jordan Usher in the Euro Cup, going 4-7 from 3 vs Cholet, with some good hustle and flair pic.twitter.com/U5LSUVTqlx
— Mavs/Magic Draft (@MavsDraft) September 29, 2022
Pre Season Hoops! #LeaveIt pic.twitter.com/MEdGtlhjGg
— Dennis 3D Scott (@Dennis3DScott) October 6, 2022
Yellow Jackets Eurobasket Report
Courtesy of Eurobasket LLC
- Adam Smith (6’1”-PG-1992, graduated ‘2016, plays pro in Spain) led Bilbao to a victory over one of league’s weakest teams Real Betis (0-2) 85-70 in the Spanish Liga Endesa last Sunday. He was MVP of the game. Smith scored 23 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in 26 minutes. Surne Bilbao Basket (2-0) is placed first in the Liga Endesa. But this is still an early stage of the season and everything may happen. It’s Smith’s first year with the team. He has individually a very good season with high stats. Smith averages 19.5ppg, 2.5rpg, 2.0apg and 1.5spg in two games he played so far.
- Ben Lammers (6’10”-C-1995, graduated ‘2018, plays in Germany) contributed to a 3-point ALBA Berlin’s victory against the seventh-ranked Hamburg Towers (1-1) 81-78 in the German BBL on Wednesday night. Lammers recorded 9 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks. It was his first game for ALBA Berlin this season. His team is placed first in the BBL.
- Jordan Usher (6’7”-F-1999, graduated ‘2022, currently in Turkey), who plays in Turkey could not help Besiktas Icrypex Istanbul in their last game. Despite his very good performance his team was crushed93-62 on the road by the lower-ranked Cholet Basket. Usher was the top scorer with 16 points. He also added 8 rebounds in 33 minutes. It was his first game for Besiktas Icrypex Istanbul this season; quite an impressive performance considering it’s only Usher’s first season in pro basketball. It’s Usher’s first year with the team.
- Robert Sampson (6’8”-F-1992, graduated ‘2015, plays pro in Japan) was not able to help Tokyo Z in their game against Yamagata (1-1) in the Japanese B2 League. He scored 9 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. But the sixth-placed Tokyo Z (1-1) was badly defeated87-69 at home by the second-ranked Yamagata in the East group. There are only four games left until the end of the Regular Season. So now every game will be critical. It’s Sampson’s first season with the team. This year Sampson averages 6.0ppg, 10.5rpg, 1.5apg, 1.5bpg and 1.5spg. Sampson is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market.
- Avi Schafer (6’8”-C-1998, graduated ‘2019, plays in Japan) was not able to secure a victory for SeaHorses Mikawa (0-2) in their game against Nagoya DD (2-0) in the Japanese B1 League. Schafer recorded 5 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in 27 minutes. The sixth-placed SeaHorses Mikawa (0-2) lost 74-84 in Nagoya to the higher-ranked (#4) Nagoya DD in the Central group. But the season just started, so everything may happen. This year Schafer averages 4.5ppg and 4.5rpg in two games. He is a naturalized Japanese.
- Experienced Anthony McHenry (6’8”-SF-1983, graduated ‘2005, currently in Japan) contributed to a Shinshu BW’s victory against the fourth-ranked Alvark Tokyo 79-67 in the Japanese B1 League in Sunday night’s game. He scored 8 points. This season McHenry averages 8.0ppg, 2.0rpg, 2.0apg and 2.0spg.
Other former Georgia Tech players, who play in pro basketball:
- Thaddeus Young (6’8”-F-1988) plays for Toronto Raptors in the NBA
- Josh Okogie (6’4”-G-1998) plays for Phoenix Suns in the NBA
- Derrick Favors (6’10”-F-1991) plays for Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA
- Jose Alvarado (6’0”-PG-1998) plays for New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA
- Gani Lawal (6’9”-F/C-1988) plays for Trotamundos in Venezuelan SPB
- Alade Aminu (6’10”-F/C-1987) plays for Gigantes de Carolina in Puerto Rican BSN
- James Banks III (6’10”-F/C-1998) plays for Texas Legends in the NBA G League
- Marcus Georges-Hunt (6’5”-F-1994) signed for Kuwait in Kuwaiti D1
- Charles Mitchell (6’8”-F/C-1993) signed for Obera in Argentinian La Liga
- Abdoulaye Gueye (6’9”-C-1994) signed for Samsunspor in Turkish TBL
- Moses Wright (6’9”-F-1998) plays for Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Summer League
- Glen Rice Jr. (6’6”-F-1991) plays for Power in the Big3
Notice: The list above includes only some of alumni playing currently in pro basketball. Check complete list of Georgia Tech basketball alumni.
