December 2011 – Page 13 – NBA Blog

Trail Blazers sign guard Jamal Crawford

The Portland Trail Blazers have agreed to terms with guard Jamal Crawford. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. We’ll post contract details shortly.

Crawford, 31, holds career averages of 15.4 points (41.0% FG, 35.0% 3-PT, 84.6% FT), 2.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 11 seasons with Chicago, New York, Golden State and Atlanta.

“We’ve thought highly of Jamal for a long time and think he’s a great fit for our team,” said Trail Blazers Acting General Manager Chad Buchanan. “He brings a scorer’s touch and veteran leadership that will help us immediately.”

Winner of the 2009-10 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award with Atlanta, Crawford (6-5, 200) played the last two seasons for the Hawks and placed second in the NBA in bench scoring (14.2 ppg) last season. With 1,307 career 3-pointers, Crawford ranks 13th among active NBA players and his 33 career four-point plays is an NBA record.

He has scored 50-plus points three times, including a career-high 52 on Jan. 26, 2007, with New York.

A Seattle native who played collegiately at the University of Michigan, Crawford was the eighth overall pick in the first round of the 2000 NBA Draft.

Trail Blazers waive retiring guard Brandon Roy via amnesty clause

The Portland Trail Blazers have requested waivers on guard Brandon Roy and designated him as the team’s amnesty player, the team announced today.

“Brandon’s announcement that he is leaving the game ultimately shifted our decision to amnesty,” said Trail Blazers Acting General Manager Chad Buchanan. “We’re given the immediate option to obtain additional salary cap flexibility as we will no longer be in the Luxury Tax – something that is critical to improving our team and helping us recover from the loss of a player of Brandon’s caliber.”

Roy, 27, played five NBA seasons for the Trail Blazers, cementing himself as one of the greatest players to ever suit up in Portland with career averages of 19.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.03 steals and 35.6 minutes in 321 career games (295 starts).

“When faced with this decision, it made the most sense for us to amnesty his contract,” said Trail Blazers President Larry Miller. “We have a solid core group of players that we want to continue to build around. We owe it to our fans to put the best possible product on the court and this puts us in a better position to do that sooner rather than later. We once again want to thank Brandon for his many contributions as a Trail Blazer and wish him the best in his life after basketball.”

Roy led the Trail Blazers in scoring in three consecutive seasons from 2007-10. He became the first Trail Blazer since 1991-92 to rank among the NBA’s top 10 scorers when his 22.6 points per game ranked 10th in the league in 2008-09.

In just five seasons with the Trail Blazers, Roy ranks 15th on the team’s all-time scoring list with 6,107 career points. On Jan. 10, 2010, Roy became the third-fastest Trail Blazer to record 5,000 career points (247 games). He also ranks 12th among Portland’s all-time leaders in career assists (1,494) and 10th in 3-point field goals (322).

In 15 career playoff appearances (seven starts), Roy averaged 16.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 30.6 minutes. In his first career postseason, he averaged 26.7 points in six games in 2009. His 42 points in Game 2 vs. Houston were the most by a player in his first or second career playoff game in NBA history.

A three-time NBA All-Star (2008-10), Roy earned All-NBA Second Team honors in 2008-09, becoming the first Trail Blazer to garner All-NBA honors since Clyde Drexler did so in 1991-92. He was a five-time winner of the Western Conference’s Player of the Week award, joining Drexler as the only players in franchise history to win the award five times.

Acquired by Portland in a draft-day trade with Minnesota, Roy was the sixth overall selection in the 2006 NBA Draft out of the University of Washington.

Charlotte Bobcats sign guard Reggie Williams

Charlotte Bobcats President of Basketball Operations Rod Higgins announced today that the team has signed guard Reggie Williams. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. We’ll post contract details here later today.

The 6-6 Williams signed with the Warriors in March 2010 and spent the remainder of the 2009-10 season and all of 2010-11 with the team. In 104 total games, he has career averages of 10.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists, while shooting .477 from the field (408-855) and .405 from beyond the three-point line (135-333). In 80 games played last season, he averaged 9.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists, and ranked ninth in the NBA with a three-point field goal percentage of .423 (102-241).

Williams will have surgery in the coming days to repair a tear of the lateral meniscus in his left knee. He is expected to be sidelined for approximately 6-8 weeks.

Williams, who led all NCAA Division I players in scoring in both his junior and senior years at Virginia Military Institute, was not selected in the 2008 NBA Draft and spent the 2008-09 season playing in France before joining the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA D-League for the 2009-10 season. A 2010 D-League All-Star, he was leading the league in scoring at 26.4 points per game and was named Player of the Month in February before being called up to the Warriors.

Orlando Magic re-sign forward Earl Clark

The Orlando Magic have re-signed free agent forward Earl Clark, President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Otis Smith announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deal are not disclosed. We’ll post details later today.

Clark (6’10”, 225, 1/17/88) played in 42 games last season with both Phoenix and Orlando, averaging 3.9 ppg. and 2.4 rpg. in 11.0 minpg. He was acquired by the Magic on December 18, 2010 from Phoenix, along with Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu, in a six-player trade. With Orlando, Clark appeared in 33 games, averaging 4.1 ppg. and 2.5 rpg. in 11.9 minpg. He scored in double figures five times (four times with Orlando), including a career-high-tying 14 points in a career-best 26 minutes on Feb. 11 vs. New Orleans.

“Earl (Clark) is a young, athletic forward who brings a lot of energy when he comes into the game, especially at the defensive end of the floor,” said Smith. “We are glad to have him back as a member of the Magic.”

Originally selected in the first round (14th overall) of the 2009 NBA Draft by Phoenix, Clark has appeared in 93 career regular season games with Phoenix and Orlando, averaging 3.3 ppg. and 1.8 rpg. in 9.1 minpg. He also has played in four playoff contests, averaging 1.5 ppg. and 1.5 rpg. in 4.8 minpg.

Golden State Warriors sign Dominic McGuire

The Golden State Warriors have signed free agent forward Dominic McGuire, the team announced today. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.

McGuire, 26, played with the Charlotte Bobcats last season, appearing in 52 games (eight starts) and averaging 3.3 points and 3.8 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per contest. In eight starting assignments, the 6’9” forward averaged 3.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.13 blocks in 26.4 minutes.

Originally selected by the Washington Wizards in the second round (#47) of the 2007 NBA Draft out of Fresno State, McGuire owns career averages of 2.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 15.2 minutes in 252 regular-season games over four seasons with the Washington Wizards, Sacramento Kings and Charlotte Bobcats. The San Diego, CA, native makes his return to the Bay Area, where he spent two seasons (2003-05) at the University of California, Berkley.

Nets waive Travis Outlaw, via amnesty clause

The New Jersey Nets have waived forward Travis Outlaw and designated him as the team’s amnesty player, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.

Outlaw, (6’9”, 207) played in all 82 games, 55 starts, with the Nets last season, averaging 9.2 points and 4.0 rebounds in 29 minutes per game. The eight-year veteran was acquired by New Jersey as a free agent on July 14, 2010.

Outlaw has appeared in 482 career NBA regular season games with Portland, LA Clippers and New Jersey, averaging 9.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in 22.9 minutes per game.

Milwaukee Bucks sign second round rookie forward Jon Leuer

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed rookie forward Jon Leuer (6-10, 228) to a contract, General Manager John Hammond announced today. Leuer was the 40th overall selection in the 2011 NBA Draft.

Prior to signing with Milwaukee, Leuer appeared in 10 games for the Fraport Skyliners Frankfurt team in the German Bundesliga where he averaged 14.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists, while shooting 49.5 percent from the field. He also played in three EuroCup games where he tallied 12.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest.

Leuer played four seasons at the University of Wisconsin – Madison with career averages of 11.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists while shooting 48.2 percent from the field. As a senior, Leuer had career-highs in points (18.3 ppg) and rebounds (7.2 rpg) while shooting 47.0 percent from the field. He finished his Badger career ranked 12th in school history in career points (1,376) and was a First-Team All-Big Ten selection as a senior.

Timberwolves sign Bonzi Wells and rookie Malcolm Lee

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has signed rookie Malcolm Lee and free agent Bonzi Wells. We assume the Wells signing is just a training camp contract that doesn’t mean he’s making the regular season roster just yet.

Wells, a 6-5 guard-forward, is a 10-year NBA veteran (1998-2008) with career averages of 12.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg and 2.6 apg. He spent five-plus seasons with Portland, and also saw action with Memphis, Sacramento, Houston and New Orleans. His best season was 2001-02 when he averaged 17.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in 74 games for the Trail Blazers. His most recent NBA action was during the 2007-08 season when he played in 51 games for the Rockets and 22 games for the Hornets. He spent the 2008-09 season playing in China and the 2009-10 season in the Puerto Rican League.

Lee, a 6-5 guard from UCLA, was drafted 43rd overall in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls and acquired by the Wolves in a draft-day trade. He averaged 9.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists over his three-year collegiate career. Lee earned both First Team All-Pac-10 and Pac-10 All-Defensive Team honors in 2011 after averaging a career-best 13.1 points per game.

Dallas Mavericks waive guard Andy Rautins

The Dallas Mavericks announced today they have waived guard Andy Rautins.

Rautins was acquired on Dec. 10, 2011 from New York along with a protected 2012 second round draft pick from Washington. In exchange, New York received center Tyson Chandler, the draft rights to Ahmad Nivins and Giorgos Printezis from Dallas while Washington recieved forward Ronny Turiaf, a 2013 second round pick and cash considerations from New York and a 2012 second round pick from Dallas.

Knicks sign center Jerome Jordan

New York Knickerbockers Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations and Interim General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has signed center Jerome Jordan to a contract. Per team policy, terms of the deal will not disclosed. We’ll post deails this afternoon.

Jordan, 7-0, 240-pounds, had his draft rights acquired from Milwaukee in exchange for cash considerations on Jul. 8, 2010 after being selected by the Bucks in the second round (44th overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft. He spent parts of each of the last two seasons playing overseas for KK Hemofarm in Serbia after four seasons at the University of Tulsa. He averaged 11.3 points, on .567 shooting from the field, 7.4 rebounds and 2.50 blocks in 133 games (119 starts) for the Golden Hurricane. He was selected to the Conference USA All-Defensive Team each of his last three seasons and earned Second Team All-Conference USA honors as a senior after averaging 15.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.34 blocks in 35 games (all starts). He is the only player in Conference USA history to record at least 800 rebounds and 300 blocks, and is the all-time Conference USA and Tulsa leader in blocked shots.