The Maine Celtics acquired veterans Scotty Hopson and Joe Wieskamp in a series of transactions on Tuesday.
Hopson was acquired from the available player pool to replace Jordan Schakle, who is out of the season with a knee injury. A 6-foot, 7-inch swingman, Hopson has been playing professionally since 2011. He has six seasons of G League experience, including three games this season with the Cleveland Charge. He has played four games in the NBA.
Maine also traded Jordan Bowden to College Park for a first-round pick in the 2025 G League draft, then sent that pick, two other picks and Grant Riller in a three-team trade involving Texas and Ontario. In the deal, Maine acquired Wieskamp, Yudai Baba and Todd Withers. Neither Baba or Withers is expected to immediately join the Celtics.
Wieskamp, a 6-6 guard, was a second-round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft by the Spurs. He played 39 career NBA games between San Antonio and Toronto, and 50 G League games with Austin, Raptors 905, Wisconsin and Texas.
Both Hopson and Wieskamp are expected to be available when Maine plays Windy City on Wednesday at the Portland Expo.
NBA: The New York Knicks are filing a protest of their loss in Houston that ended on a foul call officials said was incorrect, a person with knowledge of the details said.
The Rockets beat the Knicks 105-103 on Monday after Aaron Holiday made two free throws with 0.3 seconds remaining after he was fouled by Jalen Brunson behind the 3-point arc. Crew chief Ed Malloy said after the game that the contact between the players was marginal and no foul should have been called.
• Criminal charges connected to a domestic violence case against Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges were dropped Tuesday because of “insufficient evidence,” court documents show.
Bridges had been facing three charges for an alleged violation of a domestic violence protection order on Oct. 6, 2023, misdemeanor child abuse and injury to personal property.
HOCKEY
NHL: Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly has been suspended five games for cross-checking Ottawa Senators forward Ridly Greig in the final seconds of the teams’ game over the weekend.
Rielly took exception to Greig firing a slap shot into an empty net with 5.1 seconds left Saturday night to make it 5-3 Senators. He cross-checked Greig in the head and left shoulder but did not injure the 21-year-old playing his first full professional season.
BASEBALL
JACKIE ROBINSON STATUE: A 45-year-old man was arrested in the theft of a bronze Jackie Robinson statue that was cut off at the ankles and found days later smoldering in a trash can in a city park in Kansas, police announced Tuesday.
Ricky Alderete was taken into custody earlier this month in a kidnapping case and charged Monday with four counts stemming from the theft and a 2022 case, records show. Wichita police Lt. Aaron Moses said there was no evidence it was a “hate-motivated crime” but rather the intent was to sell the metal for scrap.
Wichita police Chief Joe Sullivan said it was “only the first arrest” and that there were more to come. He did not specify how police determined Alderete was a suspect in the theft.
TENNIS
INDIAN WELLS: Seven-time major champion Venus Williams and former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki have received wild card entries into the BNP Paribas Open next month.
The combined ATP and WTA event is March 6-17 at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Williams has been dealing with the lingering effects of a knee injury she suffered in her first-round match at Wimbledon last July. She lost in the first round of the U.S. Open in September and hasn’t played a tour match since.
SOCCER
DEATH: Norwegian soccer club Strømsgodset said Mounir Hamoud, a former forward who played for the country’s youth teams, died after suffering cardiac arrest.
Hamoud, who was 39, died Monday on the morning of the first day of his new job in player development with Strømsgodset, the team said Monday.
U.S. MEN: The United States will play Colombia in an exhibition at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, on June 8 ahead of the Copa America.
The game is on a FIFA international fixture date, which means top Europe-based players will be available.
The U.S. may play an additional exhibition a few days later. The Americans open against Bolivia at Arlington, Texas, on June 23, play Panama four days later at Atlanta and close group play July 1 against Uruguay at Kansas City, Missouri.
Colombia opens against Paraguay at Houston on June 24, plays Costa Rica or Honduras four days later at Glendale, Arizona, and finishes the first round against Brazil on July 2 at Santa Clara, California.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Kevin De Bruyne scored one goal and had a hand in two more as Manchester City resumed its quest to retain the Champions League title with a 3-1 win at FC Copenhagen in the first leg of the round of 16.
Only a careless mistake from goalkeeper Ederson Moraes, which led to Copenhagen’s equalizer in the 34th minute, prevented City from taking an even more commanding lead into the second leg in Manchester in three weeks.
USL SUPER LEAGUE: A new women’s professional soccer league that has received top division sanctioning from U.S. Soccer seeks to give more players careers at the elite level and give fans greater access to the women’s game.
The USL Super League will kick off in August in eight U.S. cities. It will join the National Women’s Soccer League at the top tier of the sport.
Super League President Amanda Vandervort said that the focus will be on the experience for both the fans and the players.
OLYMPICS
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: U.S. Coach Cheryl Reeve will have Mike Thibault, Duke Coach Kara Lawson and Texas A&M Coach Joni Taylor as her assistants at the Paris Olympics.
USA Basketball announced Reeve’s coaching staff for the women’s national team. It keeps together the staff that clinched an automatic berth for the 2024 Olympics by winning the World Cup.
The Americans will be trying to win an eighth straight and 11th Olympic gold overall dating back to 1996 when the Games start on July 26.
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