February 2010 – Page 3 – NBA Blog

Tulsa 66ers sign Chris Richard

The Tulsa 66ers announced today the re-acquisition of forward Chris Richard.

The 6-9 forward was called-up on a 10-day contract to the Chicago Bulls on Feb. 6, averaging 2.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.0 assists in five games.

The two-time national champion from the University of Florida started nine games earlier this season with the 66ers, averaging 10.1 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. The former number one selection for the 66ers in the 2008 NBA D-League Draft played 20 games during the 2008-09 season, averaging 12.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists for Tulsa.

In order to make room on the roster for Richard, the 66ers released forward Rodney Webb. Richard will wear number 32 and is expected to be in uniform tonight at home against the Springfield Armor at 7 p.m.

Jerry Stackhouse helping Bucks

Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports (via blog):

Jerry Stackhouse hardly played last season with Dallas due to injuries, and he hadn’t played at all this season until the Bucks signed him in mid-January.

But the 35-year-old forward has discovered a key role as part of a productive Bucks bench. On Wednesday he played 25 minutes and contributed 13 points, four assists and four rebounds in the Bucks’ 115-95 victory over New Orleans.

Coach Scott Skiles likes to go to Stackhouse in the second quarter, and the veteran has justified his coach’s faith more often than not.

“I kind of know where to pick my spots,” Stackhouse said. “Even though you’ve been around for 15 years, it’s not that all these guys know your game.

NBA bans chewing on straws

ESPN reports:

One of the first things many people noticed about Caron Butler after his arrival to the Dallas Mavericks is that the guard likes to chew straws during games.

The NBA obviously took notice as well.

NBA executive vice president Stu Jackson phoned Butler on Tuesday and told him to leave his straws at home. Butler did not play against the Los Angeles Lakers due to a reaction to medication, so he was unavailable for comment.

But the Mavs confirmed that the league is serious about outlawing straw chewing.

“It’s against the rules,” Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said.

A HALF-SERIOUS, HALF-KIDDING RESPONSE FROM INSIDEHOOPS.COM

It certainly makes sense for the NBA to not want players on a basketball court at games to have any sort of objects with them, aside from protective items worn for health reasons.

As for chewing straws while on the bench, well, let’s face it, the act of taking a piece of plastic and sticking it in your mouth to chew on is a bit silly-looking. And it’s not the most fun thing to look at. Perhaps the NBA wants to prevent its star employees from looking extra silly while doing their very public jobs.

Also, let’s say a fan throws beer at Ron Artest. If he has a little plastic straw with him, it becomes a deadly weapon!

Wizards waive Zydrunas Ilgauskas after buyout

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has waived center Zydrunas Ilgauskas after coming to a mutual agreement on a contract buyout.

According to the Washington Post, “according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations, the 7-foot-3 agreed to surrender $1.5 million in a buyout agreement with the Washington Wizards. The two sides agreed on the terms late Wednesday night, the paperwork was finalized this morning and now Ilguaskas is free to go where he pleases. Ilgauskas was acquired from Cleveland as part of a three-team trade that sent Antawn Jamison to the Cavaliers. The Wizards owed Ilgauskas nearly $3.5 million on the remainder of his $11.5 million contract and Ilgauskas also received a $600,000 trade kicker as part of the deal. But Ilgauskas spent more than one-third of that money in order to play for the team of his choice.”

“We agreed to terms with Zydrunas on a contract buyout, giving us further financial flexibility and allowing our young big men to continue to develop over the remainder of the season,” said Grunfeld.

It is widely expected that Ilgauskas may wind up re-signing with his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, in the coming weeks.

Ilgauskas was originally acquired from the Cleveland Cavaliers along with a 2010 first round pick and the rights to Emir Preldzic as part of a three-team deal in which they also acquired Al Thornton from the Los Angeles Clippers while sending Antawn Jamison to Cleveland and Drew Gooden to Los Angeles (the Clippers sent Sebastian Telfair to Cleveland to complete the trade).

Cavaliers assign Danny Green, Darnell Jackson to D-League

The Cleveland Cavaliers have assigned guard/forward Danny Green and forward Darnell Jackson to the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry announced today.

Green has played in 13 games for the Cavaliers this season and has averaged 2.5 points on .480 shooting and 0.7 rebounds in 5.2 minutes per game. Jackson has averaged 0.8 points on .348 shooting and 0.8 rebounds in 4.0 minutes per game in 23 games. In two games with the BayHawks during the 2008-09 season, Jackson averaged 19.5 points on .652 shooting and 6.0 rebounds in 25.5 minutes per game. Both Green and Jackson will be available to play tomorrow night for Erie in their game versus the Dakota Wizards at 7 p.m. at the Tullio Arena in Erie.

The BayHawks are the D-League affiliate of the Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors.

Wizards sign Mike Harris to 10-day contract

Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has signed forward Mike Harris to a ten-day contract. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not announced.

Harris (6-6, 235 lbs.) averaged 26.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game in 28 games (25 starts) for the NBA D-League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers prior to becoming the 15th call-up this season. This is Harris’ second call-up of 2009-10, as he previously averaged 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in two games played with the Houston Rockets. Harris has averaged 3.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game in 19 career NBA games (all with Houston).

After leaving Rice University as the school’s all-time leading scorer (2,014 points) and rebounder (1,111 rebounds), Harris has also played professionally for BC Kyiv of the Ukrainian Super League (2005-06), the Colorado 14ers of the NBA D-League (2006-07), and the Dongguan New Century Leopards of the Chinese Basketball Association (2007-08).

Harris’ signing brings Washington’s roster to 16.

Mavericks sign Von Wafer to 10-day contract

The Dallas Mavericks announced today they have signed guard Von Wafer to a 10-day contract. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Wafer (6-5, 210) joins the Mavericks after spending the 2008-09 season with Houston. He averaged 9.7 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 19.4 minutes in 63 games (11 starts) with the Rockets.

The five-year NBA veteran, who was a second round selection (39th overall) of the Los Angeles Lakers, owns career marks of 6.2 points, 1.3 rebounds and 13.3 minutes in 109 games (11 starts) with the Lakers, L.A. Clippers, Denver, Portland and Houston. He has also played in the D-League and internationally in Greece.

A native of Homer, La., Wafer was an early-entry candidate in the 2005 NBA Draft after averaging 12.5 points and 2.5 rebounds as a sophomore at Florida State. Wafer earned McDonald’s High School All-America honors as a senior at Heritage Christian Academy (Cleveland, Texas) where he led the Eagles with averages of 26.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.0 steals and 4.0 blocks.

The Mavericks roster stands at 14 players.

Marcus Thornton scores 37 in loss

John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports:

In front of a crowd used to seeing LeBron James dominate opponents at Quicken Loans Arena, New Orleans Hornets rookie shooting guard Marcus Thornton upstaged the reigning league MVP and current scoring leader Tuesday night.

Thornton set a franchise record with a 23-point second quarter before finishing with a game- and career-high 37 on 15-of-22 shooting. Despite his career night, Thornton still ended up on the losing end as the Cleveland Cavaliers closed out the fourth quarter with a flurry to defeat the Hornets 105-95 before 20,562.

The loss snapped New Orleans’ two-game winning streak. The Hornets (30-27) entered trailing the Portland Trail Blazers by a game for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Cleveland ended a three-game losing streak.

Jayson Williams sentenced to five years

Former NBA big-man Jayson Williams has had major ongoing legal issues for what feels like about 90 years in a row now, but it appears there’s finally some resolution.

The AP reports:

Former NBA star Jayson Williams was sentenced to five years in prison yesterday for fatally shooting a hired limo driver in 2002, ending an eight-year legal odyssey.

Williams, who tearfully apologized to the victim’s family, will be eligible for parole in 18 months.

Williams, avoiding a retrial on a reckless manslaughter count that deadlocked the jury at his 2004 trial, pleaded guilty last month to aggravated assault in the death of Costas Christofi on Feb. 14, 2002. At the same 2004 trial, he was acquitted of aggravated manslaughter but convicted on four counts of covering up the shooting.

I hope this is the last of it. Williams and others associated with this case probably would be happy to move on, as well — for different reasons, of course.

Nate Robinson will not miss post-game interviews in New York

Recently traded from the New York Knicks to the Boston Celtics, scoring guard Nate Robinson definitely notices the difference between the atmosphere around a losing team and that of a winning one.

Frank Dell’Apa of the Boston Globe reports:

Nate Robinson said he will not miss being in New York, at least taking part in postgame interviews.

“It’s tough to lose every night and get asked the same questions, what’s the problem?’’ Robinson said. “Here, we’re here to win every night, not take ‘Ls,’ and they carry themselves that way, and I have carried myself that way my whole life.

“Doc is honest and straightforward, and as a player that’s what you want from a coach, to always be honest with you and explain exactly what he wants you to do. He’s all about winning. I’ve been a winner all my life and that’s something I want to continue to be.

“Doc makes you that much more confident in becoming a winner. He said just come in and just be Nate. He doesn’t want to change me, just come in and be ready to play. I play with energy, play for the love of game.’’

It’s safe to say that New York media members look forward to covering a winning team. So hopefully they won’t have to ask such questions like the ones Nate didn’t like in the near future.