Month: November 2010

Suns sign Earl Barron

Suns sign Earl Barron

The Phoenix Suns have signed center Earl Barron, the team announced today.  Barron will be available on the club’s four-game road trip that begins Wednesday in Miami.

The 7-0, 250-pound center is a four-year NBA veteran joining his third team after successful stints with the Miami Heat (2005-08) and New York Knicks (2009-10). Most recently, Barron averaged 11.7 points, 11.0 rebounds and 33.1 minutes in seven games (six starts) for the Knicks last season.  The 29-year-old tallied four double-digit rebounding efforts, two double-doubles and led New York in rebounding four times in that seven-game stint.  Barron’s time with the Heat saw him average 4.9 points and 3.0 rebounds in 82 games (15 starts) over a three-season span.

The University of Memphis product owns career averages of 5.5 points and 3.7 rebounds in 89 games (21 starts).  In 2009-10, before joining the Knicks, Barron was an NBA Development League All-Star after averaging 16.2 points and 10.2 rebounds, fourth-most in the D-League, in 37 games with the Iowa Energy, the Suns’ affiliate.

The Suns’ roster now stands at 14.

Spurs waive Alonzo Gee

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have waived guard Alonzo Gee. Gee appeared in five games this season, totaling 2 points, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks in 17 minutes.

Gee was signed by the Spurs as a free agent on March 29, 2010 and was later assigned to the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League on April 8, 2010.

The roster now stands at 12.

Tony Parker did not file for divorce from Eva Longoria, but…

NEWEST UPDATE:

It turns out Eva Longoria is the one filing for divorce from Tony Parker, not the other way around. The news is here.

TMZ UPDATE: THEIR ORIGINAL STORY WAS WRONG

A rep for Eva Longoria tells TMZ our story that Tony Parker filed for divorce is not true. TMZ reported that Tony had filed for divorce.  Two clerks at the Bexar County Courthouse in Texas had told us the case was filed and sealed by a family law judge. But Eva’s rep tells us Tony did not file and does not even have a divorce lawyer.

TMZ’s ORIGINAL REPORT:

Eva Longoria and Tony Parker are getting divorced … TMZ has learned.

Parker filed for divorce yesterday in Texas.

The “Desperate Housewives” actress and the San Antonio Spurs star married back in July of 2007.

INSIDEHOOPS.COM EDITOR SAYS:

Hey TMZ, great job today, really!

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.


LOS ANGELES - OCT 23: Eva Longoria-Parker, Tony Parker at the Rally for Kids with Cancer Scavenger Hunt 2010 at Roosevelt Hotel on October 23, 2010 in Los Angeles, CA Photo via Newscom
(Hat tip to J.E. Skeets)

Suns release Matt Janning, assign Gani Lawal to D-League

The Phoenix Suns assigned rookie forward Gani Lawal (GONN-ee luh-WALL) to the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League and released rookie guard Matt Janning, the team announced today.

The 6-foot-9, 234-pound Lawal was selected by the Suns with the 46th overall pick (second round) of the 2010 NBA Draft and has not seen action in a regular season game for Phoenix.  The Georgia Tech product will join the Energy through Sunday, Dec. 12 (10 games) and make his first appearance on Friday, Nov. 19 against the Dakota Wizards.

Janning, a 6-4, 198-pound standout at Northeastern University, was a member of the Suns’ 2010 entry in the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 12.6 points and 5.8 rebounds.  He did not appear in a regular season game for Phoenix.

The Suns (6-4) return to action Wednesday night to take on the Miami Heat (6-4) in Miami at 5 p.m. Phoenix time.  The game will be televised nationally on ESPN and can be seen locally on My45 and heard on Sports 620 KTAR.

Read fan reaction and share your own opinion in this forum topic.

Theo Ratliff out at least 4-6 weeks after knee surgery

Los Angeles Lakers center Theo Ratliff underwent successful arthroscopic surgery to perform a partial meniscectomy on his left knee, it was announced today.

The surgery, which took approximately 30 minutes, was performed by Lakers team orthopaedist Dr. Steve Lombardo of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Group.  Ratliff is expected to be out a minimum of 4-6 weeks.

Ratliff signed with the Lakers as a free agent this past summer on July 22.  In eight games this season, he is averaging 0.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.63 blocks in 8.4 minutes.

One of seven players in NBA history to capture the blocked shots title three or more times, Ratliff ranks 18th in NBA history in career blocked shots (1,968) and owns career averages of 7.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.43 blocks and 25.4 minutes in 808 games.

Devin Harris ejected for foul on Blake Griffin

Colin Stephenson of the Newark Star-Ledger reports:

Devin Harris ejected for hard foul on Blake Griffin

Harris, the Nets’ floor leader and leading scorer, was ejected from the game for a hard foul on the L.A. Clippers’ young star, Blake Griffin with 6:42 remaining in the first half. But even without him, the Nets were still able to get their West Coast trip off to a winning start, as they grabbed an early lead against the Clippers and cruised to a 110-96 victory Monday night in Staples Center…

Harris, one of the Nets’ co-captains along with Lopez, grabbed Griffin, the Clippers’ exciting rookie, from behind on what would have been a breakaway basket and pulled him to the floor. For that, Harris was assessed a flagrant-2 foul, which will bring with it an automatic review by the NBA and could lead to a suspension.

“I was kind of looking up at the ball when I saw I couldn’t get it I tried to make sure he couldn’t get his arms up,” Harris said. “I didn’t think it was that bad when I did it, but once I came in the back and looked at it (on video), it looks pretty bad.”

Tayshaun Prince, coach John Kuester exchange words

Marc J. Spears of Yahoo reports:

Detroit Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince accepted blame for a heated exchange with head coach John Kuester during the team’s 101-97 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Monday night. Prince also didn’t guarantee it would be the last incident between player and coach.

“I hope it doesn’t happen again,” Prince said. “I can’t say it won’t because I’m the type of guy that if I don’t see something right, I got to say something.”

The confrontation started after Prince didn’t fight through a double screen in time to stop Warriors guard Reggie Williams from hitting a 3-pointer that put the Pistons in a 25-point hole with 4:27 left in the second quarter. Kuester called a quick timeout and voiced his displeasure to Prince, who barked back at his coach on the bench. As the argument continued, Kuester motioned for a Pistons security official to remove Prince from the bench. Kuester started to walk toward Prince, but was restrained by assistant coach Darrell Walker.

Mavericks beat previously undefeated Hornets

The AP reports:

Jason Terry scored 26 points, including the go-ahead jumper in the final minute, and the Dallas Mavericks handed the New Orleans Hornets their first loss of the season, 98-95 on Monday night.

New Orleans, which had been off to a franchise-best 8-0 start, got 22 points from Chris Paul, but only two came in the second half.

Dirk Nowitzki had 25 points and 10 rebounds to help the Mavericks stretch their winning streak to four games.

Peja Stojakovic added 17 points and Emeka Okafor pulled down 14 rebounds for New Orleans.

Robin Lopez out several weeks

An MRI performed on Suns center Robin Lopez revealed a moderate sprain of the medial collateral ligament (MCL) and posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in his left knee.  Lopez is expected to be out several weeks.  Lopez will travel with the team when it departs on its four-game road trip Tuesday.

Lopez has started all nine games for the Suns in 2010-11, posting averages of 5.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in 17.8 minutes.

Early in season, Heat lack rebounding

Tom Haberstroh of ESPN reports:

Along with their propensity to turn the ball over, rebounding has been a documented chink in the armor for the Heat. Currently, the team’s 23.0 offensive rebounding rate places them third to last in the NBA. It’s unfair to knock 7-foot-3 Zydrunas Ilgauskas for not collecting offensive boards, considering he’s typically roaming the perimeter for pick-and-pops. But Joel Anthony’s a different story. The 6-foot-9 center has been a below-average offensive rebounder this season, collecting 8.6 percent of available Heat missed shots. This, despite being firmly planted around the basket in offensive sets.

For all the energy Anthony brings, his hyperactivity doesn’t translate to beating others to the live ball. On the defensive end, the UNLV product is too busy fly-swatting others shots, rather than preventing the opposition from acquiring second-chance points. In fact, the Heat’s defensive rebounding rate soars from 61.5 percent while Anthony’s on the floor to 70.9 percent after he exits the game.