January 2011 – Page 8 – NBA Blog

Spurs sign Larry Owens to 10-day contract

The San Antonio Spurs today announced they have signed forward Larry Owens from the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League to a 10-day contract. Owens is the second call-up of the 2010-11 D-League season.

Owens, a 6-7 forward, has spent the past two seasons with the 66ers. This year he has started in all 23 games for Tulsa, averaging 12.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 31.1 minutes while shooting .462 (108-234) from the field, .373 (25-67) from three-point range and .743 (52-70) from the foul line. He’s scored in double figure 18 times, including a season-high vs. Iowa on Nov. 26. Owens recorded a double-double in the season opener with 16 points and a season-high 13 rebounds at Bakersfield on Nov. 19.

Last season Owens started all 50 games for the 66ers, averaging 15.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.50 steals in 36.3 minutes. He shot .489 (299-611) from the field, .380 (52-137) from beyond the arc and .772 (139-180) from the charity stripe. In the D-League playoffs he averaged 18.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists in eight games while leading the 66ers to the D-League Finals. Prior to joining the 66ers Owens was in training camp with the New Orleans Hornets.

Owens played two seasons at Oral Roberts University posting career averages of 10.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.62 assists. In his second season with the Golden Eagles he was named to the All-MCC First Team and was the All-MCC Defensive Player of the Year.

Owens has also played overseas in France and Belgium.

Owens will wear. No. 33 for the Silver and Black and will be available for tonight’s game vs. Denver.

Clippers sign Jarron Collins to second 10-day contract

The Los Angeles Clippers today signed center Jarron Collins to a second 10-day contract. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not announced.

A nine-year NBA veteran, Collins has appeared in 22 games with the Clippers this season and is averaging 0.8 points and 0.8 rebounds in 7.0 minutes per game.

The Clippers originally signed Collins on Sept. 27 before waiving him on Jan. 3. Collins was signed to his first 10-day contract on Jan. 5.

The Clippers roster now stands at 15 players.

Sixers re-assign Craig Brackins to D-League

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that rookie Craig Brackins has been re-assigned to their NBA Development League affiliate, the Springfield Armor. Brackins was first assigned to the Armor on November 30 and was recalled on December 12.

In his first stint with the Armor, Brackins appeared in five games, averaging 17.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.80 blocks. He has played two games for the Sixers this season, scoring a total of 8 points in 21 minutes of play.

Raptors recall Solomon Alabi from D-League

The Toronto Raptors announced Friday rookie centre Solomon Alabi has been recalled from the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League.

Alabi was reassigned to the BayHawks on January 6. He appeared in four games during his latest stint with Erie, averaging 9.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 20.8 minutes. He posted his second double-double of the season with 20 points (9-11 FG) and 11 rebounds in 31 minutes January 9 versus the Maine Red Claws.

Alabi’s first assignment to the BayHawks was from November 15 – December 9. He has played a total of 11 games for Erie where he has contributed averages of 8.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 22.1 minutes.

Alabi has appeared in five games with the Raptors, totaling five rebounds in 15 minutes.

Alabi will be available for tonight’s game versus Detroit at Air Canada Centre. Game time is 7 p.m. (TSN/Sportsnet Radio FAN 590)

Jason Richardson loved hockey first

Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports:

Orlando Magic guard Jason Richardson has done exceptionally well playing a sport that wasn’t his first love.

He has become wealthy and famous, but playing pro basketball wasn’t in his dreams even as he headed into his teenage years.

His feet just got too big for his hockey skates.

“I really wanted to play in the NHL,” Richardson said. “At the time, I think there were only two or three African-American players. I wanted to be the fourth one.”

Richardson, who turns 30 on Thursday, was exposed to hockey growing up in Saginaw, Mich.

His mother bought him skates one Christmas, and he taught himself how to skate at local rinks and on frozen ponds. The pick-up games he played in back then were on ice, with a wooden stick he curved and shaved himself.

Celtics assign Avery Bradley to D-League

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have assigned guard Avery Bradley to the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League. Bradley is the team’s first assignment to the Development League this season.

Bradley, a 6’2” guard, has appeared in 14 games for the Celtics this season averaging 1.1 points in 4.7 minutes per game. The 19th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft recorded a season-high four points and a steal against the Sacramento Kings on January 12.

Injured Iverson expects to resume career

The AP reports:

Allen Iverson says he expects to continue playing basketball at the highest level possible once he has a lesion in his right leg examined in the United States.

Iverson posted on his Twitter page Friday that he was returning home for examinations, and possibly surgery. Iverson says he has no plans to retire and still loves the game.

InsideHoops.com editor says: Iverson is still playing overseas, in Turkey. I haven’t heard any rumors that he’s headed back to the NBA anytime soon, or at all.

Flip Murray signs in Turkey

Euroleague.net reports: Less than a week before the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16 starts, Turkish powerhouse Efes Pilsen has reinforced its perimeter game with the addition of veteran scorer Ronald ‘Flip’ Murray, the club announced Friday. Murray (191, 31), who signed until the end of the current season, has spent his entire professional career in his native United States, playing for eight NBA teams in as many years. Murray last played with Chicago, averaging 10.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 29 games after arriving there in February of 2010. He has also played for NBA teams in Milwaukee, Seattle, Cleveland, Detroit, Indiana, Atlanta and Charlotte.

InsideHoops.com editor says: I’m a bit surprised Murray was unable to find a job in the NBA this season. He’d have been a decent scoring option off a bench for the league minimum.

Cavaliers struggling even more than expected

Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal reports:

Life after LeBron James was going to be difficult for the Cavaliers. Everyone knew that before the season began, but no one saw this coming. Since starting the season 5-5, the Cavs have lost 25 of their past 28 games.

They set two futility records in a 112-57 loss Tuesday to the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers: The 55-point margin of defeat marked the worst loss in franchise history and the 57 points were the fewest the Cavs ever scored in a game.

If the Lakers didn’t score at all in the second half, their 57 points at halftime would have been enough to force overtime. Had the Lakers scored just one more basket, they would have doubled the Cavs’ scoring.

”We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but to come out and not compete? There’s no excuse for that,” said Cavs coach Byron Scott, who won three NBA championships as a player with the Lakers. ”I’m a Cleveland Cavalier right now, and the way we performed, that’s embarrassing to me.”

Allen Iverson to have growth removed

Ric Bucher of ESPN The Magazine reports:

Former NBA star Allen Iverson plans to have a growth removed from his right leg in the United States and intends to rejoin his Turkish team in time for the playoffs.

Iverson, who signed a two-year, $4 million deal with the Turkish team Besiktas this fall after no NBA team showed any interest, had tests on the calf three weeks ago to find the cause of persistent pain, his business manager and longtime friend, Gary Moore said Wednesday.

An MRI originally showed a tiny shadow between the two bones in Iverson’s lower leg, but he continued to play. When the pain worsened, a second MRI was taken in the last few days and showed the shadow had doubled in size to a half-penny. Moore said the shadow could be anything from a lesion to a cyst to a tumor…

Besiktas spokesman Kursat Kaplan told The Associated Press on Wednesday the team would assess Iverson’s future after another MRI this week. Iverson, though, Moore said, is proceeding as if the shadow is benign and expects to be back on the court for Besiktas in four to six weeks.

InsideHoops.com editor says: I’m still hoping that Iverson somehow makes his way back to the NBA and goes out on a good note here, but it doesn’t sound likely. He never appeared to back down from his need to start and not be used as a bench reserve. It’s too bad. Anyway, as for Iverson’s current health issue, obviously everyone including myself hopes that it’s a minor, harmless growth that is removed without issue.