Local flavor in the NBA (and beyond): Jimmer Fredette finds a landing spot

Even though the NBA regular season has been going for less than a week, plenty has already happened for the players with local ties. Some spent time during training camp preparing for the season while others tried to make enough of an impact to make a roster.

Here is a look at how each player performed during the preseason and through the first few games.

Andre Miller, Utah, Minnesota Timberwolves

Miller didn’t play in the season-opening win for the Timberwolves, but did play three games in the preseason. His best outing came in a 112-105 loss to Toronto when he registered seven points on 3 for 5 shooting from  the floor and 1 for 2 from the free-throw line. He added four assists, two rebounds and a steal in 19:16.

In the preseason, he averaged 4.7 points on 75 percent shooting with 3.0 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 16.4 minutes.

Andrew Bogut, Utah, Golden State Warriors

Bogut was back in the starting lineup as the Golden State Warriors opened up the season with a 111-95 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. In the win, he 12 points on a perfect 6 for 6 shooting from the floor. He added five rebounds, five assists and two blocks in 18:42.

Marshall Henderson, Utah, Sacramento Kings

Henderson signed a free-agent contract with the Sacramento Kings, but lasted less than a month. He played two minutes in his only preseason appearance and went scoreless after missing his only 3-point attempt. He appears to be headed to the D-League to Play for Reno, according to a tweet from Marc J. Spears.

Delon Wright, Utah, Toronto Raptors

Wright didn’t see any floor time in the Raptors first game of the season, but did play in seven preseason appearances. His best game came in an 89-87 loss to the Toronto Raptors when he recorded 11 points on 5 for 6 shooting from the floor, including a make on his only 3-point attempt. He added three assists and three rebounds in 21:15.

For the preseason, he averaged 3.0 points on 40.9 percent shooting with 1.7 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 10.3 minutes.

J.J. O’Brien, Utah, Utah Jazz

O’Brien signed a deal with the Utah Jazz, but appeared in just one preseason game before he was let go. In that game, he had a personal foul in less than two minutes of action.

Jason Washburn, Utah, Charlotte Hornets

Washburn landed with the Hornets in September, but didn’t make the opening-night roster. He played four preseason games, but didn’t score a point. His most productive game came in a 98-86 loss to the Indiana Pacers when he finished with two rebounds and a block in 7:39.

For the preseason, he averaged 1.25 rebounds and .75 blocks in 4.6 minutes.

He shared his thoughts on twitter after he was let go.

Ronnie Price, UVU, Phoenix Suns

After having a productive preseason, Price didn’t have a great night off the bench as the Suns got beat 111-95 by the Dallas Mavericks in the first game of the regular season. He went scoreless after missing his only 3-point shot while adding two turnovers and two fouls in 11:18.

C.J. Wilcox, Pleasant Grove High School, Los Angeles Clippers

Wilcox hasn’t seen any playing time during the regular season of his second year with the Los Angeles Clippers, but did play in five of six preseason games. His best showing came in a 130-95 win over Golden State when he scored seven points on 3 for 3 shooting from the floor, including a make on his only 3-point attempt. He added a rebound and a block in 8:23.

In the preseason, he averaged 2.0 points on 36.4 percent shooting in 6.2 minutes

Jimmer Fredette, BYU, San Antonio Spurs

A partially guaranteed contract wasn’t enough as Fredette was waived by the San Antonio Spurs before the final preseason game. He played two games in the preseason, but didn’t shoot the ball well. His most impressive performance came in a 100-86 loss to the Atlanta Hawks when we totaled four points on 2 for 6 shooting from the floor with three rebounds in 15:01.

For the preseason, he averaged 2.0 points on 20 percent shooting from the floor with 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 13.2 minutes.

According to a tweet from @DLeagueDigest, he has signed a D-League contract and is eligible for the draft.

https://twitter.com/DLeagueDigest/status/659875854042816512

Damian Lillard, Weber State, Portland Trail Blazers

Lillard is back running the point for the Trail Blazers with a whole new supporting cast. He opened up the season in fine fashion with a double-double as Portland beat the New Orleans Pelicans 112-94. In the win, he finished with 21 points on 8 for 21 shooting from the floor and 4 for 4 from the free-throw line. He added 11 assists, five rebounds and two steals in 35:54.

Advertisement

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s