Williamson debuts, then quake hits
Zion Williamson made his NBA debut, as the No. 1 overall draft pick by the New Orleans Pelicans, with LeBron James and Floyd Mayweather watching, scored 11 points in nine firsthalf minutes against the New York Knicks in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
Williamson didn’t play in the second half as a precaution because of a kneetoknee hit.
The game was then postponed because of a 7.1 magnitude earthquake that hit in Southern California and was felt in Las Vegas. The overhead scoreboard at the Thomas & Mack Center was swaying, and officials elected to have the teams leave the floor while gauging if it was safe to continue. The game was then postponed, with New Orleans leading New York 8074 with 7:53 remaining. Many fans from the sellout crowd began leaving just as the quake hit.
Two other games were postponed — Orlando vs. San Antonio and Phoenix vs. Denver.
The Washington Wizards traded center Dwight Howard to the Memphis Grizzlies for forward CJ Miles, and ESPN reported that the Grizzlies plan to waive Howard or trade him elsewhere.
Howard, 33, played just nine games for the Wizards last season. The eighttime AllStar underwent surgery for a herniated disk in November.
Miles, 32, played a combined 53 games with the Toronto Raptors and Grizzlies last season.
The Minnesota Timberwolves rehired Bryan Gates as an assistant coach, joining the staff of new coach Ryan Saunders. Gates spent the 201516 season with Minnesota before serving as an assistant coach with Sacramento the past three seasons.