The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed forward Darnell Jackson to a contract, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry announced today. Per team and league policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The Cavaliers acquired the rights to Jackson during the 2008 NBA Draft from the Miami Heat in exchange for the lower of the Cavaliers two second round picks in the 2009 NBA Draft. The 22-year-old, 6-foot-8, 250-pound forward averaged 11.2 points on .626 shooting and a team-high 6.7 rebounds in 40 games (35 starts) in 24.3 minutes per game his senior year at Kansas, playing a key role in the Jayhawks winning the 2008 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship.
Jackson played for the Cavaliers’ team during the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. In five games (four starts) he averaged 5.8 points and 5.4 rebounds in 24.6 minutes per game.
“Darnell has showed us he is a young, smart, hard working player,” said Ferry “And we are excited to see his development continue now.”
The Contra Costa Times has learned that Ellis has admitted to the Warriors that he wasn’t truthful about how he hurt his ankle, and the two sides are in talks about how to put the situation behind them. According to a team source, the Warriors now know that Ellis’ ankle injury _ which was repaired during surgery on Aug. 27 _ was not sustained “in a gym,” and “it happened out doors and not while playing basketball.” The source did not reveal what Ellis told Warriors management he was doing when he got hurt, only that he “was scared to tell the truth at first,” but eventually did.