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The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has waived guard Sundiata Gaines.
Gaines appeared in eight games for the Wolves this season, averaging 2.6 points in 8.1 minutes. He was originally signed by the Wolves as a free agent on Nov. 12, 2010.
The AP reports:
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Hedo Turkoglu gave Magic fans a glowing demonstration of why the team made him a key figure in its massive reorganization two weeks ago.
Turkoglu, part of two trades involving eight players that Orlando engineered to reload its roster, had 10 points, 10 assists and 14 rebounds in the Magic’s 110-90 rout over Golden State on Monday night.
“I’m glad I finally did something to help this team win,” said Turkoglu, who has been steady in nearly every game since his return to the Magic. “When I have the ball in my hands, I’m able to do the things I’m good at. My strength is to be the guy who is a facilitator, get my shot or find one for my teammates.”
It was the third triple-double of his career and helped the Magic run their winning streak to six games. Dwight Howard scored 22 points and grabbed 17 rebounds.
The Los Angeles Clippers today waived center Jarron Collins.
A nine-year NBA veteran, Collins was signed by the Clippers on Sept. 27 and appeared in 19 games this season, averaging 0.8 points and 0.7 rebounds in 7.5 minutes per game.
The Clippers roster now stands at 14 players.
InsideHoops.com editor says: NBA television ratings will surely take a substantial drop with this dramatic news.
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Charlotte Bobcats center DeSagana Diop will be sidelined for the remainder of the 2010-11 season after a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirmed a rupture of his right Achilles tendon. Diop suffered the injury during the second quarter of Friday’s game against Golden State.
The 7-0 Diop, who was acquired by the Bobcats via trade on Jan. 16, 2009, has appeared in 552 career NBA games spread between Cleveland, New Jersey, Dallas and Charlotte. He has career averages of 2.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks, while shooting .433 from the field. This season, he appeared in 16 games with averages of 1.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 11.3 minutes.
Originally drafted by the Cavaliers with the eighth overall pick in the first round of the 2001 NBA Draft, Diop had his best season as a professional during the 2005-06 season in Dallas, when he appeared in 81 games (45 starts) with averages of 2.3 points and 4.6 rebounds. He shot a team-best .487 from the field and led the Mavericks with 146 blocks. During that season he also ranked 14th in the NBA in blocks per game and set a career high with 16 rebounds and tied a career high with six blocks in 37 minutes of action versus Denver on Nov.15, 2005. Diop also appeared in 28 postseason games in Dallas, with 22 of them coming during the Mavericks run to the 2006 NBA Finals before falling to eventual champion Miami in six games.
John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports:
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Since New Orleans Hornets Coach Monty Williams began encouraging him to attack the basket more, forward Trevor Ariza appears to be coming out of a dreadful shooting slump.
After enduring an 0-of-18 stretch on 3-pointers last month, Ariza is beating more defenders off the dribble for dunks and making clutch shots.
Ariza helped the Hornets upset the Boston Celtics 83-81 at TD Garden on Friday with a 3-pointer with 1:34 remaining that gave New Orleans an 80-77 lead. The win ended a seven-game road losing streak.
On Saturday in Washington, Ariza had a season-high 22-point performance in the Hornets’ 92-81 victory against the Wizards, sealing New Orleans’ first back-to-back road victories since it started the season 3-0 away from home.
Ariza made 10-of-16 shots, which included a dunk over Wizards 7-foot center JaVale McGee in the fourth quarter.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have recalled guard/forward Christian Eyenga from the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced Sunday.
Eyenga was assigned to Erie on Nov. 18 and played in 15 games (13 starts) with the BayHawks, averaging 12.3 points on .531 shooting, 4.7 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.0 block in 26.0 minutes per game. Over his last three games with the BayHawks, he averaged 17.0 points on .537 shooting, 7.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 31.7 minutes per game.
The BayHawks are the D-League affiliate of the Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors.
Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group reports:
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Not too long ago, Warriors small forward Dorell Wright was struggling with his shot. After going 4 for 13 in a home loss to the Houston Rockets on Dec. 20, he was at 38.4 percent shooting for the season.
Then, something happened.
In the six games since the loss to Houston, Wright has averaged 23.3 points on 58.4 percent shooting, capped with Saturday’s 30 points in the road loss to the Miami Heat.
What happened? A confluence of things.
Primarily, Wright has been given the opportunity. Coach Keith Smart has given Wright the green light on offense, and Wright is starting to figure out his avenues for scoring among the starters. And he doesn’t have to worry about coming out of the game, especially while backup Rodney Carney was injured. Wright is averaging 38.9 minutes per contest.
“I don’t have to worry about anything,” said Wright, who along with the other starters were allowed to skip Sunday’s practice at AmericanAirlines Arena. “Just go out there and play my game. There is no better feeling than that, having your coach behind you and wanting you to go out there and show him everything.”
Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register reports:
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Phil Jackson cited lack of focus. Kobe Bryant cited lack of energy. Pau Gasol cited lack of togetherness.
For a two-time defending NBA champion team, the Lakers sure are lacking some basic basketball ingredients.
The Memphis Grizzlies exposed the Lakers, 104-85, at Staples Center on Sunday night.
“Just about every category, we got outplayed,” Coach Jackson said of the Lakers (23-11).
The Lakers’ lack of teamwork was evident in their assist-to-turnover margin of 13 to 20. Memphis’ was 30-10.
Bryant tried to turn up the energy in the third quarter with his offensive attack, but there was considerable defensive slippage at the same time. The Grizzlies wound up with 28 fast-break points to the Lakers’ five, reflective of the Lakers’ worsening transition defense.
Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reports:
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Amar’e Stoudemire scored a minor victory Sunday when the NBA informed the Knicks’ power forward it had rescinded his technical foul from Thursday’s game in Orlando.
The ruling is important because once a player accrues 16 technical fouls he must serve a one-game suspension. Stoudemire’s total, which was 10, has now been reduced to nine.
Stoudemire was penalized for shouting “get that mess outta here” after blocking Gilbert Arenas’ shot.
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Phoenix Suns center Garret Siler was assigned to the Iowa Energy, the Suns’ NBA Development League affiliate, it was announced today. The assignment marks the 25th time in the 2010-11 season an NBA player has been assigned to an NBA D-League affiliate, and it is the first assignment for Siler, a rookie out of Augusta State.
Siler (6-11, 300) has appeared in six games this season for Phoenix, averaging 1.3 points and 1.5 rebounds in 5.8 minutes. In the 2010 NBA Las Vegas Summer League, Siler shot 12-of-16 from the field in five games with the Miami Heat, averaging 6.6 points and 3.8 rebounds.
Phoenix signed Siler in September as an undrafted free agent. In 2009-10, Siler played 38 games with the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association, averaging 14.1 points and 7.3 rebounds. Though four years at Augusta State, Siler averaged 12.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in 121 games. For his college career, Siler shot 74.5 percent from the field, including a collegiate record 78.9 percent (225-of-285) as a senior.