Former Rockets guard Michael Frazier has signed with the Illawara Hawks of Australia’s National Basketball League, the team announced in a press release. Frazier will serve as an injury replacement for another former NBA player, George King.
Frazier, 28, went undrafted out of Florida in 2015 and spent several seasons in the G League, plus one in Italy, before getting an opportunity to make his NBA debut in 2020 for Houston. He appeared in 13 games during the 2019/20 season as a Rocket, then returned to the G League before spending last season in Australia with the Perth Wildcats.
Having seen Frazier play for Perth last season, Illawara Hawks head coach Jacob Jackomas believes his team is getting a quality player: “He is a willing defender with great size and strength, and be it at the 3-point line or getting downhill and attacking the basket, we feel like he will make an immediate impact on the group.”
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- The Kings, Trail Blazers, and Pacers look like some of the under-the-radar winners of the 2022 offseason, writes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (subscription required). Marks also highlights Magic big man Bol Bol, Bucks guard Jevon Carter, and Suns wing Damion Lee as some of the best value signings of the summer.
- Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report has updated his 2023 mock draft, projecting all 58 picks and providing analysis for each one. Next year’s draft will only be 58 picks instead of 60 because the Sixers and Bulls have forfeited their second-rounders due to free agency gun-jumping violations.
- Sam Vecenie of The Athletic ranks this season’s top 15 rookie performers to date, with Magic forward Paolo Banchero and Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin leading the way. The only second-round pick to crack the top 15 is Raptors big man Christian Koloko, who was selected 33rd overall but ranks eighth on Vecenie’s list.
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