Hornets sign free-agent F Diogu
July 29, 2009
NEW ORLEANS (AP)—The New Orleans Hornets have signed forward Ike Diogu(notes) to afree agent contract, hoping he can provide solid backup minutes behind All-StarDavid West(notes).
Diogu, who is 6-foot-9, played in 29 games last season for Portland andSacramento. He averaged 4.1 points and 1.9 rebounds.
Diogu was drafted ninth overall out of Arizona State by the Golden StateWarriors in 2005. He then played for Indiana before moving on to Portland andSacramento.
He has averaged 6.1 points and 3.1 rebounds in 187 games during his fouryear NBA career.
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Cavaliers waive reserve G Kinsey
July 29, 2009
CLEVELAND (AP)—The Cleveland Cavaliers have waived reserve guard TarenceKinsey(notes).
Kinsey made three starts last season for the Cavs and appeared in 50 games,averaging 2 points and 5.5 minutes per game. He played in nine playoff games.
Following the season, Kinsey was charged with drunken driving in Tampa, Fla.He joined the Cavs as a free agent last August.
Kinsey recently played on Cleveland’s summer league team and averaged 12.8points and 4.4 rebounds in five games.
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Bucks sign 10th overall pick Jennings
July 29, 2009
MILWAUKEE (AP)—The Milwaukee Bucks signed first-round draft pick BrandonJennings(notes) to a two-year contract worth almost $4.5 million on Tuesday.
Jennings was picked 10th overall in June and signed the rookie-scale dealthat includes team options for 2011-12 and 2012-13.
The slot for the 10th pick pays at least $3.75 million over two years, butteams can sign players for slightly than the scale. Jennings will make a justover $2.16 million this season and $2.33 million in 2010-11.
“I’m excited to sign my contract and make my NBA career official,”Jennings said. “I look forward to working with Coach (Scott) Skiles andlearning everything I can from him, as well as my teammates. I can’t wait to getthe season started and contribute to the success of our team.”
Jennings, 19, is expected to be the point guard of the future for the Bucksand general manager John Hammond has repeatedly praised Jennings’ unselfishness.Milwaukee’s other top point guards include Ramon Sessions(notes), who is a restrictedfree agent and has a qualifying offer from the Bucks, and Luke Ridnour(notes), who hasone year left on his contract.
Playing in the summer league in Las Vegas, Jennings led all players inassists (8.2) and steals (3.6) while scoring 14.6 points in the five games.
He chose to play in Italy last season instead of going to college afterbeing the 2008 Naismith Player of the Year as a senior at Oak Hill Academy inVirginia. He had committed to play at Arizona, but elected to turn pro andjoined Lottomatica Virtus Roma of the Italian League, averaging 5.5 points and1.6 rebounds in 27 games last season.
Jennings learned one lesson shortly after he was drafted when he drewunwanted attention for a profanity-laced and provocative telephone conversationon YouTube that incorrectly discussed his new team’s personnel moves.
He said he didn’t know he was being recorded and shouldn’t have been talkingabout team business that he didn’t know anything about.
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Wade questions follow Spoelstra abroad
July 28, 2009
MIAMI (AP)—Making his first trip to his mother’s native Philippines in 35years, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra heard a familiar question.
What does Dwyane Wade’s(notes) future hold?
That’s what Spoelstra was asked Tuesday after he, Heat assistants DavidFizdale and Chad Kammerer, and others held a clinic for about 200 kids from theFilipino city of Zamboanga. The kids quizzed Spoelstra on several topics,including whether Wade would stay with the Heat past next season.
Spoelstra said he thought he was “answering questions at a postgame pressconference.”
Spoelstra is part of a sports envoy trip to the Philippines organized by theU.S. State Department and the NBA. Spoelstra, the NBA’s first Filipino-Americancoach, hasn’t been to the nation since he was 3.
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Pacers sign former Thunder G Watson
July 28, 2009
INDIANAPOLIS (AP)—The Indiana Pacers have signed free agent guard Earl Watson(notes)to a multiyear contract.
Terms of the deal were not released Tuesday.
The 6-foot-1 veteran was waived earlier this month by Oklahoma City. He alsohas played with Seattle, Memphis and Denver in eight NBA seasons.
Watson adds depth to an Indiana team that has already lost one guard,Jarrett Jack(notes), in free agency and is likely to lose another, Marquis Daniels(notes),this offseason. Last week, the Pacers declined to match Toronto’s $20 millionoffer sheet for Jack. Daniels’ agent has said he is heading to Boston.
Watson has averaged 7.3 points and 4.6 assists over his career, including6.6 points and 5.8 assists last season for the Thunder.
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Mavericks sign free agent F Tim Thomas
July 28, 2009
DALLAS (AP)—The Dallas Mavericks have signed free agent forward Tim Thomas(notes).
The 6-foot-10 Thomas, a 12-year veteran, played for the Los AngelesClippers, New York Knicks and Chicago last season. He averaged 8.5 points and3.1 rebounds in his 64 games, 36 with the Knicks, 18 with the Bulls and 10 withthe Clippers. He played 19 1/2 minutes a game.
Thomas has made 946 career 3-pointers, shooting 37 percent from long rangein 806 games. He made 41 percent of his 3-point attempts last season.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed Tuesday. Thomas has also played forPhiladelphia, Milwaukee and Phoenix.
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Nash says Shaq will fit in with LeBron
July 28, 2009
NEW YORK (AP)—One star who has played with Shaquille O’Neal(notes) thinks he’ll fitin just fine with LeBron James(notes).
“I think he realizes that he’s not in the prime of his career, so tospeak,” two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash(notes) told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Nash’s Phoenix Suns traded O’Neal to the Cleveland Cavaliers last month,where the 37-year-old center will try to bring James his first championship.
O’Neal is “still a great player, but LeBron is going to be the focalpoint,” Nash said. “I think he’s happy with that. At the same time, he’ll geta lot of opportunities to be in the spotlight, and he’s great at it.”
Nash, who recently signed a two-year, $22 million contract extension to staywith Phoenix through the 2011-12 season, is confident another Suns star won’t betraded. Amare Stoudemire has been the subject of plenty of rumors—the forwardhas one year left on his contract and wants the maximum in any new deal,something the budget-conscious Suns may not be willing to do.
“I don’t see him leaving,” Nash said. “I just see him having a phenomenalcareer and being in Phoenix a long time.”
Nash has seen a former teammate and close friend, Dirk Nowitzki(notes), strugglethrough a difficult few months that has nothing to do with basketball.Nowitzki’s former fiancee was arrested at the Mavericks star’s Dallas home inMay and faces charges in two states. She has told The Dallas Morning News she ispregnant with Nowitzki’s child.
“You worry for a friend when they’re in a situation like that,” Nash said.“But I also know he’ll bounce back really strong from this. We’re going to seehim be a dominant player in this league for a long time. And I think off thecourt this will only help him grow, mature and have a better life.”
The 35-year-old Nash said Monday that the three remaining years on hiscontract with the Suns might be his last in the league. The point guard seemswell-prepared for his post-basketball career.
He’s got a production company, a charitable foundation, and is now involvedin a new sports venture called MakeItPro—a Web site that allows young athletesto network, manage team schedules, get training and nutrition advice fromexperts and buy equipment.
“It’s one of the opportunities for kids I never had growing up,” Nashsaid. “I can only imagine what a powerful tool it’s going to be for kids.”
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Okafor dealt to Hornets for Chandler
July 28, 2009
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)—The New Orleans Hornets finally found a taker for TysonChandler(notes). It took a deal with tinkering Charlotte coach Larry Brown, who waswilling to jettison the Bobcats’ first draft pick.
Emeka Okafor(notes) was sent to the Hornets on Tuesday for Chandler, another formerNo. 2 overall pick. The trade involving 26-year-old centers brought financialrelief to both teams and confidence they’ll each thrive with a new man in themiddle.
The Hornets have been trying to unload the 7-foot-1 Chandler for severalmonths. A trade last season to Oklahoma City was rescinded after Chandler faileda physical amid concerns aver a lingering toe injury.
“I’m very, very excited and thrilled about this new opportunity,” Chandlersaid in a conference call.
Brown was willing to gamble on the injury-prone, athletic big man who canalso play power forward and is three inches taller than Okafor.
“We’re getting a young kid who is long and athletic and can play multiplepositions and fills a need that we obviously have,” Brown said.
The Hornets were intrigued by Okafor’s superior rebounding and durability.New Orleans gets a reliable big man with a longer contract as it tries torecover from last season’s first-round playoff exit.
“Emeka is one of the premier centers in the NBA with All-Star caliberscoring and rebounding averages throughout his career,” Hornets general managerJeff Bower said. “His potential to improve is endless once you put him on thecourt running with Chris Paul(notes).”
Chandler had the best season of his career (2007-08) playing with Paul. Thepair comprised a constant alley-oop threat when Chandler was healthy, and thetwo were close off the court.
“I’m losing a great friend, a brother. T.C. is my man. … I’m going tomiss him,” said Paul, who was attending a basketball camp in New Orleans.
“It’s going to take some time to see how this works out,” Paul continued.“I want Emeka to come in here and be the best player he’s ever been. From todayon out, that’s my teammate. … Hopefully we can eventually have the samerelationship that me and Tyson had.”
The deal is the fourth trade Charlotte has made since managing partnerMichael Jordan hired Brown before last season. Brown, in his record ninth NBAhead coaching job, has continued his history of numerous trades to mold the teaminto his versatile, defensive-minded liking.
Now it includes sending the centerpiece of Charlotte’s new franchise to thecity’s old team.
Two years after the Hornets bolted Charlotte, the expansion Bobcats tookOkafor with the No. 2 pick in the 2004 draft—after Orlando grabbed DwightHoward(notes).
Okafor had injury problems early in his career, but played all 82 games ineach of the last two seasons. He averaged 13.2 points and 10.1 rebounds inanother solid, but unspectacular season under Brown, who later questioned hisbasketball fire.
“I wanted him to have a passion and work on his game,” Brown said Tuesday.“I think he made unbelievable progress in that regard. When we had an exitmeeting this past season he told me he was going to do that, he was going towork on his game. … This was a basketball decision. It had nothing to do withEmeka.”
But Chandler, the No. 2 pick in the 2001 draft after declaring for the NBAout of high school, faces injury questions.
FILE – In this Jan. 7, 2009 fi… AP – Jul 27, 7:12 pm EDT
Chandler averaged 8.8 points and 8.7 rebounds in only 45 games last season.He then underwent procedures on his left ankle and toe in May after beingineffective in the first-round series loss to Denver.
Chandler will be in Charlotte for a physical later this week and isconfident he is healed.
“For the first time in the last couple of years, I have had really goodmovement in my toe,” Chandler said. “Now I am just trying to gain confidenceon my ankle again.”
For the Hornets, it immediately lowers their payroll and could reduce luxurytax payments. Okafor will make $10.5 million next season and Chandler $11.8million. The Hornets entered the week with a payroll of about $78 million,triggering a dollar-for-dollar tax on the amount over the NBA’s luxury taxthreshold of $69.9 million.
However, the Hornets also take on the last five years of an escalating,six-year, $72 million contract.
“We have a long-term option for us now at the center position and one wefeel we can grow with,” Bower said. “We looked at that as an asset, the factthat Emeka is under contract. … It shows we are interested in improving and weare interested in competing in the Western Conference and we are willing to paythe price.”
The Bobcats, meanwhile, unloaded a longer contract. Chandler would make$12.7 million in a player option in 2010-11, the final season of his deal.
Bobcats owner Bob Johnson, who is looking to sell the team after losingmillions of dollars, has ordered management not to reach the luxury taxthreshold. Shedding Okafor’s contract will help achieve that goal.
Brown, meanwhile, is convinced Chandler will improve Charlotte’s frontcourt.
“Emeka is a great kid, but we all felt that with the way Tyson plays, withhis quickness and his ability to handle the ball and his length, that wassomething that was very important to us,” Brown said. “That was the overridingfactor.”
AP Sports Writer Brett Martel in New Orleans contributed to this report.
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Cavs talking to James about extension
July 28, 2009
WESTFIELD, Ohio (AP)—Intentionally vague during an important negotiation,Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry said Monday that the club hashad ongoing talks with LeBron James’(notes) agent about a contract extension for theNBA’s reigning MVP.
The Cavaliers are believed to have offered James an extension of up to threeyears on July 18, the first day they were allowed. James has an option for the2010-11 season, and has until June 30, 2010, to extend the deal or pick up hisoption.
James can become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
At a team charity golf outing Monday, Ferry said little about the status ofJames’ contract.
“We’ve talked to (agent) Leon Rose, but beyond that I don’t really want tocomment,” Ferry said after introducing newly signed free agent forward JamarioMoon(notes).
The Cavaliers have had a busy offseason acquiring help for the 24-year-oldJames. Cleveland traded for All-Star center Shaquille O’Neal(notes) and signed freeagents Anthony Parker(notes) and Moon, who will back up James and give the Cavs somemuch needed frontcourt versatility.
Rose did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
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Teen arrested in shooting of ex-Grizzlie
July 27, 2009
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)—Police say a 16-year-old boy has been charged in theshooting of former NBA and University of Memphis player Antonio Burks.
Memphis police said Monday the teen is charged with accessory after the factin the June 20 shooting.
Deputy Chief Joe Scott said in a news release that “closure in the case isat hand.” The arrest was the first in the case.
The 29-year-old Burks was shot between his abdomen and upper leg in thebackyard of a vacant house during a robbery by three men. He has been upgradedfrom critical to serious condition at the Regional Medical Center.
Burks was a reserve for the Memphis Grizzlies for two seasons. In 2003-2004he was Conference USA Player of the Year, capping his career with the Universityof Memphis.
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