Month: August 2008

Jason Smith medical update

Philadelphia 76ers center Jason Smith was examined yesterday afternoon by Dr. David Altchek, the Attending Orthopaedic Surgeon in the Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.

Smith received new MRIs which confirmed the ACL injury, and he has improved his strength and range of motion.  Per Dr. Altheck, Smith will continue with therapy and medication before a follow-up visit in early September.

No timetable has been set for Smith’s return. Additional updates will be provided when they become available.

A product of Colorado State University, Smith appeared in 76 games during his rookie season and averaged 4.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 14.5 minutes per game. In the playoffs, Smith appeared in all six games and posted averages of 3.3 points and 2.5 rebounds in 13.7 minutes per game. In the recently completed Las Vegas Summer League, Smith appeared in five games and averaged 18.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 30.6 minutes per game.

OKC waives Donyell Marshall

The Oklahoma City NBA franchise announced today that the team has waived forward Donyell Marshall.

InsideHoops.com says: At this point in his career Marshall is basically useful as a big guy to come off the bench, fire an outside shot or two, grab a board, foul someone, and sit down.

Sixers sign Theo Ratliff

Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced today that the team has signed free agent center Theo Ratliff.  Per team policy, terms of the agreement are not disclosed. InsideHoops.com unofficially hears it’s a one-year deal for the NBA league minimum.

“We are very fortunate to sign a player of Theo’s caliber,” Stefanski said. “He is a consummate professional, both on the court and off, who will provide us with additional depth in the front court while also serving as a mentor to some of our younger players.”

Ratliff (6-10, 238) has played for six teams during his 13 NBA seasons, including a 215-game stint with the Sixers from mid-December of 1997 till late February of 2001.  In 705 career games with 504 starts, Ratliff has averaged 7.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.63 blocks in 27.0 minutes per game while shooting 49.7% from the floor and 71.1% from the line.  He has also appeared in 33 career playoff games with 17 starts, averaging 6.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.91 blocks in 22.2 minutes per game.

One of seven players in NBA history to lead the league in blocks in at least three seasons (2000-01, 2002-03 and 2003-04), Ratliff ranks 18th all-time in total blocks (1,855) and is seventh among active players.  He also owns the ninth-highest blocks per game average in league history and is fourth among active players.  The Sixers now have three players who rank among the NBA’s top-11 active all-time leaders in blocks per game (Elton Brand, Samuel Dalembert and Ratliff).

A two-time NBA All-Defensive Second Team selection (1998-99, 2003-04), Ratliff enjoyed his greatest success as a Sixer, capped off in 2000-01 when he was voted as the starting center for the Eastern Conference All-Star Team.  Unfortunately, Ratliff suffered a fractured right wrist in early February of 2001 and missed All-Star Weekend.  Shortly after, he was traded to Atlanta along with Toni Kukoc, Nazr Mohammed and Pepe Sanchez in exchange for Dikembe Mutombo and Roshown McLeod.

After missing all but two games with a sore lower back for Boston in 2006-07, Ratliff was part of the Celtics trade with Minnesota last summer for Kevin Garnett.  The Timberwolves waived Ratliff on Feb. 29, 2008, allowing him to sign as a free-agent with Detroit shortly after.  In a combined 26 games with nine starts last season, Ratliff averaged 4.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.46 blocks in 16.8 minutes per game while shooting 48.2% from the floor and 67.4% from the line.  He also appeared in 12 of the Pistons 17 playoff games, averaging 1.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.92 blocks in 10.9 minutes per game.

Final settlement reached for SuperSonics move

The AP reports: Clay Bennett’s ownership group has reached a final settlement with the city of Seattle, allowing the former SuperSonics franchise to move to Oklahoma City. Attorneys filed a document Tuesday in Seattle federal court noting that the parties had agreed to pay their own court costs after reaching the settlement. Bennett announced last month that a settlement was being negotiated that would involve him making a payment of up to $75 million to Seattle to get out of the final two years of a lease at KeyArena. At that time, he had expected the settlement to be finalized by Aug. 1. Instead, an extension was sought from the court and terms weren’t reached until now.

InsideHoops.com editor says: I’d like to announce today that I have decided to sue the OKC team. I’m not sure why yet, but everyone else is, and being human I too sometimes feel an occasional need to fit in with the crowd.  But seriously, I’m still not sure about “Thunder” as a name, if that does turn out to be it. It’s cool enough. I can definitely live with it. And thunder is certainly an awe-inspiring thing. So, maybe it works. All names need time to grow on you. Fungus takes time to grow, too. So do beautiful trees, though. Wait, what was the question?

Ray Allen gets married

The Boston Globe reports: Ray Allen and longtime girlfriend Shannon Walker Williams finally made it official, tying the knot in an intimate ceremony on Martha’s Vineyard over the weekend. Guests at the wedding, which was held under sunny skies at a private home in Oak Bluffs, included the couple’s three children Tierra, Ray III, and Walker, fellow UConn alums Scott Burrell and 76er Kevin Ollie, Celts CEO Wyc Grousbeck and wife Corinne, and, of course, the NBA Championship trophy.

Here’s a photo. And another.

Sonics fans in lawsuit want free OKC tickets

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Greg Johns) reports: Sonics fans pursuing a class-action suit against Clay Bennett have laid out exactly what they’re seeking from the Oklahoma City ownership group: free tickets for the next two seasons of basketball at the Ford Center. In the latest legal volley from the lawyers representing three Sonics season ticket holders, Seattle attorney Frederick Schoepflin outlined a potential remedy for U.S. District Judge Richard Jones. Noting it would be extremely difficult to force the team back to Seattle in order to fulfill its promise to provide tickets for the same guaranteed price at KeyArena through the 2009-10 season, Schoepflin suggested an appropriate solution would be offering nearly 1,400 Sonics fans tickets at Oklahoma City’s arena at those same prices for the next two years.

Sixers re-sign Andre Iguodala

Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced today that the team has re-signed restricted free-agent swingman Andre Iguodala.  Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Multiple reports say the deal is for six years and $80 million.

“Andre is one of the top players in the NBA and he was a key factor in our turnaround last season,” said Comcast-Spectacor Chairman Ed Snider. “Keeping him a part of our roster was an important off-season move for us. I’m very excited that he has decided to remain a Philadelphia 76er.”

“Ed Stefanski worked very hard this off-season on adding key players to our line-up and keeping our core roster in tact,” said Comcast-Spectacor President Peter Luukko. “Keeping Andre as a 76er was important to us, as we want to expand on our successes from last season.”

“We have maintained since the beginning of this process that Andre was a main priority for us because he is one of the best all-around young players in the league and an integral part to the success of our team,” Stefanski said. “We are excited that we are able to keep a player with Andre’s talent, athleticism and work ethic here in Philadelphia.”

Iguodala (6-6, 207) was originally selected with the ninth overall pick by Philadelphia in the 2004 NBA Draft following his sophomore season at the University of Arizona.  He has played and started 322 of a possible 328 games in his four-year career, averaging 14.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.85 steals in 37.5 minutes per game while shooting 46.8% from the floor, 33.1% from 3-point range and 76.5% from the line.

Last season, the 24-year-old averaged a career-high 19.9 points per game and is one of 10 players under the age of 25 who ranked among the top-30 scorers.  Iguodala is also one of a handful of players who have increased their scoring average in each of the past four seasons.  Over the past two seasons, the Sixers have compiled a record of 46-30 (.605) in games in which Iguodala has scored 20+ points and 24-58 (.293) in games in which he played and scored below 20 points.

Iguodala also averaged 5.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.09 steals last season, joining Caron Butler as the only players among qualifiers to average at least 19.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.00 steals.  In 2006-07, Iguodala joined Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Tracy McGrady as the only players to average at least 18.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists.

Since he entered the league in 2004-05, Iguodala has the third most steals of any player, trailing only Shawn Marion and Allen Iverson.  Iguodala ranked sixth in the NBA in steals last season and had almost as many steal (160) as turnovers (167) over the final 66 games.

In 2006, Iguodala was named MVP of the 2006 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge during All-Star Weekend while also finishing second in the Sprite Rising Stars Slam Dunk competition.  The past two summers, Iguodala was a member of the U.S. Select Team which helped prepare the Senior National Team for the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship and the 2008 Olympics.

Clippers sign Paul Davis

The Los Angeles Clippers today signed free agent center Paul Davis, according to Vice President of Basketball Operations Elgin Baylor.  Per team policy, terms of the deal were not announced.

Paul Davis joins Baron Davis and Ricky Davis on the Clippers’ roster to bring the “Davis” count to an NBA tying three.  Many teams’ rosters have had as many as three players with the same surname throughout league history, but none with four.  The most recent example?  The ’05-’06 Toronto Raptors, with Aaron, Alvin and Eric Williams.

Paul Davis was drafted by the Clippers with the 34th overall selection in the second round of the 2006 NBA Draft and appeared in a total of 53 games for Los Angeles over the last two seasons. The Clippers had previously renounced his rights on July 16.

Paul Davis, 24, averaged 2.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 8.8 minutes in 22 games last season before having his season cut short by a torn anterior cruciate ligament and torn lateral meniscus suffered in his right knee on Dec. 21, 2007.

A former stand-out at Michigan State University, the 6-foot-11 center has career averages of 2.0 points and 1.7 rebounds in 7.1 minutes.

The Clippers new-look roster now stands at 15 players as Los Angeles has revamped its roster by adding a total of 10 new faces for the 2008-09 season.

LeBron is all-world unguardable

I’m watching USA vs Germany, in the last game of the preliminary round. And anytime LeBron James has the ball, it’s simply unfair. When he does something, it isn’t just good, it’s mind-blowing and absurd. It’s like he’s being guarded by Division 3 college players.

The USA is up 51-23 with under two minutes left in the first half. Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Kaman don’t add up to anything even close to enough. The USA will win. Next up for the USA is the quarterfinals in two days, and then the tournament is single-elimination.

And, just as I was about to post this, Germany went on a bit of a run. At the half it’s 53-29, USA up.

Anyway, yeah, LeBron’s sorta good and stuff.

Luol Deng may miss Euro qualifying event

The AP reports: Luol Deng could be forced to miss Great Britain’s qualifying campaign for the 2009 European Championship because the team can’t find an insurer to cover the forward’s lucrative new six-year contract with the Chicago Bulls. The national team is exploring solutions to the problem with the NBA and the Bulls, who gave Deng a new deal last month reportedly worth up to US$80 million.