Month: December 2011

Raptors sign center Aaron Gray

aaron gray

The Toronto Raptors announced Sunday they have signed free-agent centre Aaron Gray. Per team policy, financial details were not disclosed.

Gray played for the New Orleans Hornets in the 2010-11 season, averaging 3.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and a career-high 13.0 minutes. He shot .566 (56-99) from the field in his 41 appearances, including six in a starting role. He posted two double-doubles on the season, with 11 points and 10 rebounds at New Jersey on February 9 and 10 points and 10 rebounds versus Minnesota on February 5. He started six consecutive games from February 5-15, averaging 6.1 points, 8.0 rebounds and 25.8 minutes.

Gray, 7-foot, 270 pounds, was a second-round selection (49th overall) by Chicago in the 2007 NBA Draft. He was dealt by the Bulls to the Hornets in January 2010. He has seen action in 190 career games with 25 starts, averaging 3.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 11.4 minutes. He posted his career highs against the Raptors on April 16, 2008 with a 19-point/22-rebound performance.

Gray has totaled 21 points, 22 rebounds and 96 minutes in eight career postseason games. He shot 9-13 (.692) from the field during last season’s first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, including five-for-five en route to 12 points in a Game 1 victory.

Gray played four seasons collegiately at the University of Pittsburgh. He was named Big East Most Improved Player in 2005-06, upping his scoring and rebound averages from 4.3 points and 2.8 rebounds as a sophomore to 13.9 points and 10.5 rebounds in his junior season. He was an All-Big East First Team selection as a senior, posting averages of 13.9 points and 9.5 rebounds.

Warriors waive Charlie Bell via amnesty clause

Charlie Bell

The Golden State Warriors have waived guard Charlie Bell and designated him as the team’s amnesty player, the team announced today.  Additionally, the Warriors have rescinded their qualify offer to forward Reggie Williams.

Bell, 32, appeared in19 games for the Warriors last season, averaging 1.7 points in 9.0 minutes of action.

Williams, 25, appeared in 80 games (nine starts) for Golden State last season, averaging 9.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 20.3 minutes per contest.  Originally signed by Golden State as a call-up from the NBA Development League on March 2, 2010, Williams appeared in 104 games for the Warriors over the last two seasons, averaging 10.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per contest.

The Warriors now have 11 players under contract.

Wizards re-sign center Hamady Ndiaye

Hamady Ndiaye

The Washington Wizards announced today that they have re-signed center Hamady Ndiaye.

“Hamady gained valuable experience when he received more playing time at the end of last season and worked hard this summer to continue to improve,” said Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld.  “His tremendous attitude and work ethic make him a valuable piece of the team’s chemistry.”

Ndiaye returns to the Wizards after appearing in 16 games for the team last season.  The 7-0 native of Senegal was originally selected by Minnesota with the 56th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft before his rights were traded along with the rights to Trevor Booker in exchange for the rights to Lazar Hayward and Nemanja Bjelica on Draft Night and was the Big East Defensive Player of the Year at Rutgers in 2010.

The training camp roster now stands at 17 players.

76ers re-sign center Spencer Hawes

Spencer Hawes

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that restricted free agent center Spencer Hawes has accepted the team’s qualifying offer.  Hawes is completing his physical at Main Line Health and will begin practicing with the Sixers today.  Philadelphia’s training camp roster now stands at 17.

“With the signing of Spencer, we now have our core returning – a group that is very familiar with each other, their roles and Coach Collins’ system and philosophies,” Sixers President of Basketball Operations Rod Thorn said.

Hawes (7-1, 245) started all but one game for the Sixers last season, averaging 7.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.88 blocks in 21.2 minutes per game.  Over the final 18 games, he averaged 27.1 mpg, up from 19.5 his first 63 games played.  The Sixers were 14-6 when he scored in double-figures.

In four NBA seasons, Hawes has appeared in 301 games with 199 starts, averaging 8.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 0.95 blocks in 22.6 minutes per game.  He was the 10th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft by Sacramento and was acquired via trade by Philadelphia along with Andres Nocioni in exchange for Samuel Dalembert on June 17, 2010.

Zach Randolph refuses to fall out of shape

zach randolph

“Me and Shawn Kemp are friends, but he signed a contract, went into a lockout and came back overweight,” Zach Randolph said. “I didn’t want to be like that.”

Randolph is indeed the Grizzlies’ poster child for the lockout. He returned as the franchise player, looking like a supermodel, so to speak, thanks in part to University of Memphis assistant Frank Matrisciano.

People call Matrisciano “Hell’s Trainer.” Matrisciano refers to himself as a life-changer. Count Randolph and everyone around him as true believers.

“There will be some players that come back now who won’t be in shape,” Randolph said. “You’re going to notice. So I was definitely motivated to not let myself go.”

— Reported by Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal

Kevin Garnett to play more center for Celtics

Kevin Garnett

Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers isn’t worried about his team’s lack of depth at the center position. He plans on using Kevin Garnett a lot more in that role this season.

Entering his 17th season in the NBA and his fifth with Boston, the 6-foot-11 forward has been known as the center of Boston’s defense since he was acquired from Minnesota. Now Rivers says he’ll probably be playing the 14-time All Star in that spot a lot more.

As trade rumors involving center Jermaine O’Neal continued to swirl around the team’s practice facility, Rivers had a quick answer Saturday when asked what he plans to do.

“We’ll move Kevin,” Rivers said. “He will play the 5 this year. I honestly don’t think that it’ll be a problem. When he was younger, it would have been a problem.”

— Reported by the Associated Press

Suns sign guard Shannon Brown

Shannon Brown

The Phoenix Suns today signed guard Shannon Brown to a one-year deal, the team has announced.

In Brown, the Suns add an athletic 26-year-old guard, who is a two-time NBA Champion (2009, 2010) and both a dynamic finisher in the open floor and a respected three-point shooter.

The 6-4, 210-pound Brown is a five-year veteran who has played for the Cleveland Cavaliers (2006-07), Chicago Bulls (2007-08), Charlotte Bobcats (2008-09) and Los Angeles Lakers (2009-11).  Originally selected by the Cavaliers with the 25th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, Brown was chosen by a Cleveland front office that featured current Suns General Manager Lance Blanks.  Brown signed a free agent deal with the Bobcats before the start of the 2008-09 season and was briefly a teammate of current Suns forward Jared Dudley before Dudley was acquired by the Suns.  Ultimately, Brown was acquired by the Lakers (along with Adam Morrison in exchange for Vladimir Radmanovic) from the Bobcats before the 2009 trade deadline, and became a valuable part of the Lakers’ bench as the club won back-to-back league titles.

The Michigan State product joins the Suns after his two best seasons as a professional.  Brown played a full 82 games in both 2009-10 and 2010-11, averaging a then-career high 8.1 points in 2009-10 before besting that number with an 8.7-point clip a season ago.  Over the last two seasons, Brown averaged 8.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 19.9 minutes, despite seeing limited action behind Laker guard Kobe Bryant.  Brown owns career NBA averages of 6.9 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 256 games (16 starts).

Estimated to have a 44.5-inch vertical leap, one of the highest in the league, Brown is known for his high-flying, highlight-reel dunks.  A mainstay on Youtube, Brown participated in the 2010 Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star weekend in Dallas.  In addition, Brown has added increased long-range accuracy to his repertoire, setting career highs in three-pointers made in each of the last three seasons (74 in 2010-11).  Brown is a career 33.7-percent three-point shooter who made 34.9 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc in 2010-11.

Brown was a three-year performer at Michigan State (2003-06), who averaged 17.2 points as a junior before being named All-Big Ten Second Team and to the Big Ten’s All-Defensive Team.  A graduate of Proviso East High School in Maywood, Ill., Brown was a First Team Parade All-American, McDonald’s All-American, Illinois Mr. Basketball and co-MVP of the Jordan Capital Classic (with LeBron James) as a senior in 2003.

Tim Duncan not retiring from NBA just yet

Tim Duncan

Tim Duncan spent much of the NBA’s five-month lockout in much the same manner one might expect Tim Duncan to spend a five-month lockout.

When he wasn’t in the gym playing basketball, or on the track working on his conditioning, or in the weight room lifting, he was at home in his living room, playing with his two young children.

If the greatest power forward of his generation was supposed to spend the excess downtime soul-searching, reflecting on a career that, at age 35, is steadily steaming toward its end, well, nobody thought to inform Duncan.

Retirement? So soon?

“I haven’t gotten to that bridge,” Duncan said, at the dawn of his 15th Spurs training camp. “I don’t even see that bridge yet. When I get there, then I’ll cross it.”

In the final season of his contract, at an age when most players are being fitted for a rocking chair, Duncan can be sure he’ll hear similar questions at every NBA outpost he visits this season.

— Reported by Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News Blog

Utah Jazz sign Jamaal Tinsley, Keith McLeod and Trey Gilder

Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today that the team has signed free-agent guards Jamaal Tinsley and Keith McLeod, and forward Trey Gilder.  Per team policy, financial terms were not released.  All three players were available to participate in training camp on Saturday at Zions Bank Basketball Center.  Utah’s roster now stands at 15 players.

Tinsley (6-3, 195, Iowa State) is an eight-year NBA veteran who spent his first seven seasons with Indiana (2001-08) before playing the 2009-10 season for Memphis.  The former first-round pick (27th overall by the Grizzlies in 2001) has appeared in 436 games (366 starts) and holds career averages of 9.8 points, 6.6 assists and 1.6 steals in 28.9 minutes.  Most recently the Brooklyn, N.Y., native was the top overall selection in the 2011 NBA Development League Draft by the Los Angeles D-Fenders and appeared in eight games (all starts) this season, averaging 9.9 points, 7.6 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 2.4 steals in 34.1 minutes.

McLeod (6-2, 188, Bowling Green) has played four seasons in the NBA with four different teams, including the Jazz from 2004-06.  McLeod averaged 6.6 points, 3.3 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 22.0 minutes for the Jazz, appearing in 119 games (79 starts) over two full seasons before being traded to Golden State, along with Devin Brown and Andre Owens, in exchange for Derek Fisher on July 12, 2006.  McLeod, who started his career with Minnesota in 2004, last appeared in the NBA in 2006-07, when he split time between Golden State and Indiana.  He has appeared in 200 career games (88 starts), averaging 5.5 points, 2.7 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 18.6 minutes.  McLeod, who previously spent two seasons in the D-League with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds (2008-10), appeared in four games (all starts) this season with the Canton Charge in his Ohio hometown, where he was averaging 13.3 points, 5.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 31.5 minutes.

Gilder (6-9, 205, Northwestern State) began the 2009-10 NBA season with the Memphis Grizzlies, appearing in two games before being waived.  He spent portions of the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons in the NBA Development League with Colorado, Maine and Albuquerque and was a 2010 D-League All-Star selection. The Dallas native spent the 2010-11 season with the Sydney Kings in the Australian National Basketball League, appearing in 20 games and averaging 13.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.1 steals in 25.9 minutes.