Month: October 2010

Grizzlies waive Luke Jackson, Tre Kelley and Kenny Thomas

The Memphis Grizzlies waived Luke Jackson, Tre Kelley and Kenny Thomas, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.  All three players appeared in one preseason game each after originally signing with the team on Sept. 28.

Jackson, a 6-7, 215-pound guard/forward, recorded three rebounds in four minutes on Oct. 9 at New Orleans.  The 29-year old holds career averages of 3.5 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 73 games (three starts) over four NBA seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers, Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat.

Kelley, a 6-0, 188-pound guard, posted six points and three rebounds in six minutes on Oct. 9 at New Orleans.  The 25-year-old NBA rookie helped guide the South Carolina Gamecocks to consecutive National Invitation Tournament (NIT) titles in 2005 and 2006 before playing professionally in China, Israel, Greece and, most recently, Lebanon.

Thomas, a 6-7, 235-pound forward, scored two points in 13 minutes on Oct. 7 at Atlanta.  The 33-year-old holds career averages of 9.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 632 games (406 starts) over 11 NBA seasons with the Houston Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers and Sacramento Kings.

Andrew Bogut may be limited all season

Tom Enlund of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:

Andrew Bogut may be limited all season

After sitting out the Milwaukee Bucks’ first three exhibition games with soreness and swelling in his surgically repaired right hand, center Andrew Bogut is dealing with his physical situation.

“I might not be 100% the whole year,” said Bogut.

Bogut, a third-team all-NBA selection last season, suffered injuries to his right hand, wrist and elbow in a gruesome fall on April 3. He sat out the three exhibition contests after getting hit on the hand in practice on Oct. 1.

With the start of the regular season a little over two weeks away, a general sense of urgency is starting to build as far as getting the entire team healthy. But Bogut is the biggest concern, since so much revolves around him.

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Orlando Magic open new arena in style, destroy Hornets 135-81 (preseason)

The AP reports:

May 28, 2010 - Boston, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES - epa02178061 Orlando magic center Dwight Howard walks along the baseline as the final seconds tick off in the fourth quarter of game six of the Eastern Conference finals at the TD Bank Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, USA 28 May 2010. The Celtics defeated the Magic 96-84 to beat the Magic 4 games to 2 and advance to play either the Los Angeles Lakers or the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals.

Rashard Lewis, J.J. Redick and Ryan Anderson scored 23 points apiece, and the Magic opened their new arena in style with a 135-81 rout of the New Orleans Hornets on Sunday night.

Orlando built a big lead from the start to kick off an early celebration that was more than a decade in the making. Van Gundy dressed to impress, played his starters big minutes and did everything possible to treat a capacity crowd to a blowout victory.

“If it takes a new arena to get Stan to wear a suit,” Orlando’s Dwight Howard said, “we’re going to have to get one every year.”

Peja Stojakovic had 20 points and Emeka Okafor added 13 points for the Hornets, who lost their second straight preseason game in as many nights. Even though it was a preseason game, they took little comfort such a loss…

The emotion of having their long-sought dream realized was overwhelming for some Magic executives, bringing tears to the eyes of team president Alex Martins — who, along with senior vice president Charlie Freeman—was instrumental in getting the funding for the $480 million arena and making sure every detail was built to sparkle. The Magic contributed almost $100 million.

Tyler Hansbrough plays first game in nine months

Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star reports:

Tyler Hansbrough plays for first time in nine months

Tyler Hansbrough’s final stat line doesn’t mean anything. It was his presence going up and down the court during a game that had people excited Friday night at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Hansbrough appeared in his first game of any kind in nine months, coming off the bench for 19 minutes in the Indiana Pacers’ 93-86 preseason loss to the Orlando Magic.

“It felt good,” Hansbrough said. “It felt like it’s going to take me awhile to get in a rhythm. You can practice, but there’s nothing like getting back in a game.

“It feels good to be back on the court and as part of the team. It’s going to take me a minute to get back in the groove of things.”

DeJuan Blair, Spurs in great shape

Mike Monroe of the  San Antonio Express-News reports:

DeJuan Blair, Spurs in great shape

The dramatic reduction in DeJuan Blair’s body fat — the Spurs’ big man went from 14 percent to 8 percent over the summer — has made him Exhibit A in strength and conditioning coach Mike Brungardt’s “thin is in” summer workout program.

Blair, though, is but one of the summer-success stories for Brungardt and assistant strength coach Chris White.

Brungardt declared the Spurs, as a team, reported to training camp in better shape than at any time in the past seven seasons. His annual body-fat measurement revealed lower percentages for most players, with Blair making the most dramatic drop.

Brungardt and White continue to put the Spurs through a daily regimen of conditioning drills that look like a cross between schoolyard recess and NFL draft combine workouts.

Carl Landry is rusty

Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reports:

carl landry

When it was relayed to Carl Landry that his coach said he wasn’t the “real” Landry at this point of training camp, the fourth-year forward agreed.

“It’s not,” Landry said. “I’m still struggling, still don’t have my bounce. And that’s why there’s preseason.”

After being effective after joining the Kings in the Kevin Martin trade in February, Landry hasn’t been the same player after almost two weeks of camp. He hasn’t looked as quick or explosive around the basket.

Landry spends a lot of time after every practice working on his footwork and offense. Kings coach Paul Westphal described Landry as “rusty” a week ago.

Rockets hire David Patrick as scout

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has hired David Patrick as a Personnel Scout.

Patrick, who was serving as associate head coach at Saint Mary’s College, joins the Rockets after spending a total of four seasons with the Gaels. He spent his previous three seasons as an assistant coach at Saint Mary’s after working one season as the Director of Basketball Operations. Patrick came to Saint Mary’s from Nicholls State University, where he was an assistant coach for the 2005-06 campaign.

Bermuda born, Patrick joined the coaching ranks in 2005 after playing four years of professional basketball overseas. Following his collegiate career, Patrick went on to be the first Bermudian to play professionally. Patrick went to Australia to play for the Camberra Cannons of the National Basketball League from 1999-2001. In 2000, following his first season with the Cannons, he was named the National Basketball League Rookie of the Year. He then joined the Chester Jets of England’s British Basketball League for the 2001-02 season where he garnered Second-Team All-League honors. His final professional season was spent in Spain as a member of Alcora of the LEB1 League in 2002-03.

Patrick spent one season at Syracuse University where he was a member of the 1996 NCAA Final Four team that finished as the national runner-up. He then transferred to the University of Louisiana-Lafayette where he was the point guard from 1997-2000. Patrick graduated from Louisiana-Lafayette in 2000 with a degree in criminal justice.

In high school, Patrick joined the Chapel Trafton Tigers from Australia as a senior. He led the team to the 1995 Class A State Quarterfinals and was named the Louisiana Player of the Year. He was selected as District Most Valuable Player and First-Team All-Parish League. Patrick was also chosen to participate in the Louisiana State High School All-Star Game. In addition, he was a member of Junior National Teams in Australia and was named as an All-Australian player from 1992-94.

Pistons players Jonas Jerebko and Terrico White have surgery

The Detroit Pistons announced today that forward Jonas Jerebko and guard Terrico White underwent successful surgical procedures performed by Dr. Art Manoli and team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Stephen Lemos.  The procedures were performed at Detroit Medical Center Surgical Center in Madison Heights, MI.

Jerebko underwent a successful procedure to repair a partially ruptured Achilles tendon on his right leg.  He is expected to miss the next five-to-six months.

White underwent a successful procedure to repair a fractured fifth metatarsal in his right foot.  The foot will be immobile during a recovery process lasting approximately six weeks and rehabilitation will begin immediately following that period.  White’s playing status will be updated once the rehabilitation process begins.

Jeff Pendergraph to have surgery for torn ACL in right knee

Portland Trail Blazers forward Jeff Pendergraph will undergo surgery in the coming days after an MRI today revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee, it was announced by General Manager Rich Cho.

A timetable for his return to the court will be determined upon completion of the procedure.

“Jeff has been playing well and has been a big part of the team, so this is an unfortunate setback,” said Cho. “With his work ethic and determination, we know he’ll work hard in his rehabilitation to return to the court.”

The injury occurred at the 10:48 mark of the second quarter in Thursday’s preseason game at Utah.

Pendergraph, 23, averaged 2.7 points and 2.5 rebounds in 39 games (four starts) as a rookie in 2009-10 with the Trail Blazers after being acquired from Sacramento in a draft day trade on June 25, 2009. The Arizona State product was the 31st overall pick in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft.