April 2010 – Page 18 – NBA Blog

Andrew Bogut has right hand surgery

Milwaukee Bucks General Manager John Hammond announced today that center Andrew Bogut (7-0, 260) had successful surgery this afternoon on his right hand to repair damage incurred on his fall in the second quarter of Saturday night’s game against Phoenix. The surgery was performed at the Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin by Dr. Michael Gordon and Dr. Curt Crimmins.

Bogut is expected to need up to six weeks to fully recover from surgery before he can fully engage in rehab.

Bogut, 25, has appeared in 69 games for the Bucks this season and averaged career-highs in points (15.9) and blocks (2.5) while also recording 10.2 rebounds and shooting 52.0 percent from the field. He is second in the league in blocks, 10th in rebounding, 17th in field goal percentage and his 37 double-doubles rank eighth in the NBA and are one shy of his career-best set in 2007-08. Bogut’s 175 blocks on the season are the sixth-most single season total in franchise history and the most since Alton Lister had 177 in 1982-83.

Heat sign Kenny Hasbrouck for rest of season

The Miami Heat announced today that they have signed guard Kenny Hasbrouck for the remainder of the season. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Hasbrouck, a 6’3”, 195-pound guard, was previously signed by the Heat to a 10-day contract on March 16 and then was signed to a second 10-day contract on March 26. He has not appeared in a game for the team this season. Before signing with Miami, he appeared in 10 games (nine starts) with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League averaging 16.9 points, 2.9 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 1.60 steals in 32.3 minutes of action, leading the team to a 7-3 record, while shooting 50.4 percent from the field, 38.1 percent from three-point range and 80.6 percent from the free throw line.

The Miami Heat is proud to welcome Assist Card as the Presenting Sponsor for the 2009-10 Heat season.

NBA fines Phil Jackson

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson has been fined $35,000 for publicly criticizing game officials, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

Jackson was fined for comments made after the Lakers’ 100-81 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, April 4, at STAPLES Center.

Elliot Teaford of the Los Angeles Daily News reports:

Jackson was displeased with the manner in which calls went against Ron Artest, who was locked in a physical battle with Manu Ginobili.

“They wouldn’t let Ron play the way he played prior to (a second-quarter technical foul),” Jackson said Sunday. “(Ginobili) could hook Ron (who) didn’t get what was going on and ended up getting too many fouls on him.

“The way we ended up the half, I think turned the referees against us and when you do that, that’s an unfortunate thing. Ron didn’t back off and didn’t read that official well enough to know (when) to back off. … Ginobili forced the issue and got the calls.”

The NBA playoffs are approaching fast.

Knicks finally waive Cuttino Mobley

The New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh announced today that guard Cuttino Mobley has been waived.

(Yes, this really did just happen today — on April 5, 2010.)

Mobley, 6-4, 215-pounds, was acquired from the L.A. Clippers in a four-player trade on Nov. 21, 2008. On Dec. 11, 2008, he announced his retirement.

ESPN reports:

Sources told ESPN.com that the Knicks were notified last week that their request for Mobley’s $9.5 million salary to be erased from their 2009-10 tax bill has been approved… Once Mobley clears waivers later this week, New York will see its luxury-tax bill for July drop from nearly $15 million to $5.1 million. That will also reduce the rebate that teams get for staying underneath the league’s $69.9 million luxury-tax threshhold from just over $4 million to $3.7 million.

The Knicks roster stands at 14 players.

Suns sign Dwayne Jones

The Phoenix Suns today announced that the club has signed forward/center Dwayne Jones, who was most recently a member of the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League. Jones becomes the league’s 34th Call-Up this season and is playoff-eligible for Phoenix.

The 2009-10 D-League rebounding leader joins the Suns after spending this season in Austin where he averaged 17.6 points (18th) and a league-best 16.0 rebounds in 40.0 minutes in 48 games (48 starts). The 6-11, 250-pound Jones averaged four rebounds more than any other D-Leaguer and led the league with 43 double-doubles, 15 more than the nearest player. His 59.8-percent field goal percentage ranked third-best.

A D-League standout, the St. Joseph’s (PA) product also has NBA experience after spending parts of each of the last four seasons with Charlotte Bobcats (2008-09), Cleveland Cavaliers (2006-07, 2007-08) and Boston Celtics (2005-06). His longest NBA stint came in 2007-08 with the Cavs where he saw action in 56 regular season games, averaging 1.4 points and 2.5 rebounds in 8.4 minutes. Jones also earned postseason experience after seeing action in five games with Cleveland in the 2008 NBA Playoffs.

Jones owns career D-League averages of 14.7 points, 13.7 rebounds and 35.4 minutes in 110 games (106 starts) with the Florida Flame (2005-06), Albuquerque Thunderbirds (2006-07), Iowa Energy (2008-09), Idaho Stampede (2008-09) and Austin Toros (2008-09, 2009-10).

Playoff-bound for the 29th time in the club’s 42-year history, the fifth-seeded Suns are one of four Western Conference teams with a 50-27 record and own the same mark as the second-place Dallas Mavericks. The Suns return to action Wed., April 7, hosting the San Antonio Spurs (47-29) at 7 p.m. at US Airways Center. The game can be seen on both ESPN and FOX Sports Arizona and heard on Sports 620 KTAR.

Coach K would pass on Nets job offer

Chris Sheridan of ESPN reports:

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski told ESPN.com Monday morning that “I wouldn’t have any interest in the job,” even if incoming New Jersey Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov offers to make him the highest-paid coach in the NBA.

The Bergen (N.J.) Record reported Monday that Prokhorov, despite Krzyzewski’s earlier public expressions of disinterest, has continued to target Coach K as his No. 1 choice to coach the Nets once the NBA’s Board of Governors approves his purchase of the majority ownership of the franchise from Bruce Ratner.

Rob Kurz and Oliver Lafayette rocking the D-League

Rob Kurz and Oliver Lafayette of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants were today named NBA Development League Co-Performers of the Week for games played during the week of March 29, when the Mad Ants recorded a 3-0 record to close out the 2009-10 NBA D-League regular season. The award is a first for both Kurz and Lafayette.

Kurz, a 6-9 230-pound forward from Notre Dame, recorded three double-doubles last week in road wins over the Springfield Armor and Maine Red Claws. He scored 27 points, one shy of his season high, in a 100-83 win over the Armor on April 1, and returned on April 2 to finish with a 19-point, 12-rebound double-double in a 105-92 win over the Maine Red Claws in Portland. For the week, Kurz averaged 23.3 points on 56 percent (23-of-41) shooting from the floor to go with 10.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists. An NBA D-League All-Star, Kurz averaged 17.5 points and 10.1 rebounds (third in the NBA D-League) in 39 games, 25 starts, for the Mad Ants this season. He scored in double figures on 35 occasions, notching 21 double-doubles.

Lafayette, a 6-2, 190-pound guard out of Houston, scored a game-high 32 points in Fort Wayne’s win over Maine on April 2. He began the week with 26- and 24-point outings on March 29 and April 1, respectively. For the week, Lafayette averaged a team-high 27.3 points, 8.7 assists and 7.3 rebounds. A key contributor to the Mad Ants all season, Lafayette led the team in scoring 12 times, including a season-high 34 points in a 108-94 home win over Maine on March 16. For the season, Lafayette averaged 17.1 points, 6.5 assists and 4.6 rebounds.

Other top performers last week included Erie’s Blake Ahearn, who averaged 31.5 points, 10.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds in two games for the BayHawks; Rio Grande Valley’s Will Conroy, who averaged 22.0 points, 9.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds in four games for the Vipers; Idaho’s Joe Dabbert, who averaged 20.0 points and 14.7 rebounds in three games for the Stampede; Reno’s Desmon Farmer, who averaged 25.3 points and 7.7 assists in three games for the Bighorns; Austin’s Dwayne Jones, who averaged 19.0 points and 18.5 rebounds in two games for the Toros; Sioux Falls’ Joe Krabbenhoft, who averaged 24.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in two games for the Skyforce; Idaho’s Coby Karl, who averaged 22.7 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists in three games for the Stampede; Sioux Falls’ Greg Stiemsma, who averaged 17.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in two games for the Skyforce; and Idaho’s Donell Taylor, who averaged 24.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 7.7 assists in three games for the Stampede.

Hall of Fame 2010 class announced

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame today announced that eight individuals and two teams have been named as the Enshrinement Class of 2010. The inductees include Jerry Buss, Cynthia Cooper, Bob Hurley, Sr., Karl Malone and Scottie Pippen, along with two celebrated teams: the 1960 USA Men’s Olympic team and the 1992 USA Basketball “Dream Team.” The Class of 2010 also includes three legendary players: Dennis Johnson, Gus Johnson and international star Maciel “Ubiratan” Pereira, all of whom will be honored posthumously. The announcement was made at a press conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, the site of the 2010 NCAA Final Four.

Full details and more info here.

Bosh scores 42 but Warriors edge Raptors

The AP reports:

Don Nelson might not be much of a dancer, but he’s one heck of a coach.

Nelson tied Lenny Wilkens for the most wins by an NBA coach when the Golden State Warriors held off the Toronto Raptors 113-112 on Sunday night…

Golden State’s players danced in a circle around Nelson after the wild finish, which saw Chris Bosh steal the inbounds pass only to have his game-winning layup attempt roll off the rim as time expired…

Stephen Curry had 29 points and 12 assists, and Corey Maggette scored 31 points for the Warriors…

Bosh had 42 points and 12 rebounds for the Raptors, who lost for the first time in four games. Jarrett Jack scored 19 points and Andrea Bargnani had 18 points and nine rebounds.

Rumors Talk: Banged-up Bogut

It’s obviously terrible news that Andrew Bogut is injured. Without him, chances are the Milwaukee Bucks will be sent home in the first round of the playoffs. What a nasty injury that was. All the best for Andrew in his recovery.

Channing Frye is right to become a free agent. He’ll make more money after proving himself with the Suns this season. I’m not sure he’ll get the full mid-level exception — if the economy, both in and out of the NBA was better then maybe he would — but he’ll probably get something close.

I’d have loved to see video of Kenyon Martin going nuts after being pranked.

The monster game that David Lee put up was great, but it was also against the Warriors, who I believe are playing 70-or-so-year-old coach Don Nelson at center. And their current backup center is a random hot dog sales guy. So, Lee wasn’t really up against pro-level competition. Still, a terrific game for him.

If Stephen Jackson really does have about 28 different injuries, he should consider just sitting out. But the problem is, the Charlotte Bobcats are currently the no.7 seed in the East and could very easily fall out of the playoffs. They’re just ahead of the Raptors and no.9 seed Bulls. What to do? If S-Jax is totally banged up, he won’t be as effective as a healthy backup and might as well not be there. Keep an eye on that.

I was a big Dennis Johnson fan (rest in peace, DJ), but I understand the Hall of Fame not putting him in right away. Good news that he’s going to make it this time around. But he was sort of a borderline guy to make it and definitely benefitted from a star-studded set of teammates. Anyway, I’m glad he’ll be in there.

Talk to you Monday.

This feature is an editorialized take on the day’s hot NBA rumors stories.