1 » Former Florida Gators forward Casey Prather has been given a second chance at latching on with an NBA team after agreeing to join the Phoenix Suns in training camp on a non-guaranteed contract. Phoenix currently has 13 guaranteed contracts on its roster as well as one open roster spot. Prather will be competing with veteran center Earl Barron for that job. After spending the month of July playing for the Atlanta Hawks during NBA Summer League games in Las Vegas, Nevada, Prather was not retained or signed by another team. He averaged 5.2 points and 2.2 rebounds in 20 minutes per game.

Both of Prather’s fellow undrafted teammates out of Florida, C Patric Young and point guard Scottie Wilbekin, have landed professional contracts. Young signed a two-year, $1.35 million contract with the New Orleans Pelicans, while Wilbekin inked a deal with the Cairns Taipans of the Australian Basketball League.



2 » The Miami Dolphins on Tuesday placed running back Mike Gillislee (hamstring) on injured reserve, ending his sophomore NFL season before it truly began. Gillislee, who was inactive most weeks after being selected with the No. 164 overall pick in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL Draft, worked hard during the offseason and looked to have earned a backup job early in camp. Unfortunately, a hamstring injury coupled with the return of veteran Knowshon Moreno pushed Gillislee down the depth chart and squarely onto the bubble. The Dolphins, who were unexpectedly impressed with undrafted free agent Damien Williams and need to ensure they carry healthy bodies into the season, liked what they saw in Gillislee and avoided cutting him by stashing him on injured reserve for the season. He will earn more than $536,000 while sidelined this offseason and rejoin the team in 2015 with two years and $1.3 million left on his contract. Gillislee will have to earn his roster spot after hardly being active as a rookie and missing his entire second season.

3 » San Antonio Spurs F Matt Bonner, despite playing a career-low 11.3 minutes per game last season, apparently had a number of suitors in the offseason, telling the San Antonio Express-News that he “had several teams calling me to check about my availability.” Nevertheless, Bonner decided the Spurs were his No. 1 priority and “stayed patient” until the team came to its decision. He also dismissed the notion that he is a simple guy and does not splurge on himself, something that his teammates have joked about in the past. “My Impala is the LTZ top trim model. I’ll eat at any restaurant I want now,” he said. “In the past, I would always wait until 10 o’clock so I could get the Domino’s late night deal. But now, if I want pizza, I’ll go to a gourmet pizza place at 4 o’clock if I feel like it. To me, that’s splurging.”

Also, here’s Bonner doing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge while in Naples, Italy.

4 » Former Florida quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel took the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge on Tuesday. In addition to Wuerffel being generous with his time by participating in the challenge, he also looks to be in fantastic shape as he continues his recovery after being inflicted with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a nervous system disorder, in 2011.

Former Gators star running back Emmitt Smith assisted with another ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, pouring a cooler of cold water on a random kid seemingly as a way to get out of doing it himself.