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Former Bulls player B.J. Armstrong has a new gig — on the Chicago Park District Board.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel picked Armstrong to replace Bob Pickens, who played for the Chicago Bears in the 1960s.
Emanuel says Armstrong’s passion for sports and experience as an executive make him a good choice to serve on the board and help manage the district’s 580 parks.
— Reported by the Associated Press
The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have recalled guard Dominique Jones from the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League.
Jones (6-5, 215) has seen action in nine games for the Mavericks and was assigned to the Legends on Jan. 15. He played in three games while in Frisco and averaged 13.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 21.7 minutes per game.
Jones will join the team tonight when the Mavericks take on the Suns at 7:30 pm CT at the American Airlines Center.
New York Knickerbockers Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations and Interim General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has recalled center Jerome Jordan and guard Jeremy Lin from the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League.
Jordan, 7-0, 240-pounds, appeared in two games for Erie, averaging 18.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.00 blocks over 32.5 minutes. For the Knicks, he has scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds over 29 minutes in six games.
Lin, 6-3, 200-pounds, posted a triple-double in his lone game with Erie, recording 28 points, 12 assists, 11 rebounds and two steals over 44 minutes in the Jan. 20 win at Maine. For the Knicks, he has recorded nine points, recorded two assists and two rebounds over 16 minutes in five games.
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Josh McRoberts knew the odds were not good that his hometown team, the Indiana Pacers, would re-sign him during the offseason.
At the same time, McRoberts, who spent three seasons with the Pacers, felt “insulted” that they didn’t reach out to him or his agent once free agency started.
“I definitely felt insulted,” the Los Angeles Lakers forward said before Sunday’s game against the Pacers. “I knew they were going to try and make an improvement at the position. But in the meetings they told me they were going to try and bring me back if they could. If you’re going to say that, at least make a call.
“That made it harder on me because other teams were thinking what was wrong with me and how come the Pacers didn’t want me back. I feel like I gave a lot to the team.”
McRoberts averaged a career-high 7.4 points and 5.3 rebounds in 72 games, including 51 starts, last season with the Pacers.
— Reported by Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star
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Truth is, Griz management isn’t seriously thinking of dealing Mayo nor is his possible, restricted free-agent status this summer a major concern. Mayo likely will remain with the Griz this season because of his productivity and the Grizzlies’ ability to control his future with the right of first refusal on contract offers.
Although Mayo is eligible to negotiate a long-term contact extension with Memphis by Wednesday, the Griz aren’t compelled to agree to a deal or trade him at the moment.
“It remains to be seen whether something happens or not,” Griz general manager Chris Wallace said about a Mayo contract extension. “If it doesn’t happen I wouldn’t read much into it. We didn’t extend Rudy and resigned him. It’s a floating situation. I wouldn’t say (Mayo) is a lock to be with us after this year and I wouldn’t say he isn’t. There’s so much ground to be covered between now and July.”
Meanwhile, Mayo keeps paving the wave for a productive season.
“I’m happy in Memphis. Don’t get it twisted,” Mayo said. “I love the foundation we’ve built. This is my comfort. I’m good.”
— Reported by Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal
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Russell Westbrook reiterated on Sunday, three days after signing a five-year extension, that he never considered leaving the Thunder.
“From day one, this is the spot I wanted to be,” Westbrook said. “The organization believed in me by surprisingly picking me No. 4. A lot of guys doubted me, but from day one this organization supported me.”
Westbrook would have become a restricted free agent if he had not agreed to a contract by Wednesday. But the Thunder’s commitment to him, Westbrook said, made staying for another five seasons a no-brainer.
“I can say this for any player in the league. You want to be somewhere where you’re wanted,” Westbrook said. “I wanted to be somewhere where I had great support, and this is the spot for me.”
— Reported by Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman
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Finally a fixture in coach Gregg Popovich’s rotation in his second NBA season, Splitter is learning something that he long suspected about the American game: Playing it is more beneficial than watching it.
“You learn more when you play,” said Splitter, the 27-year-old Brazilian who appeared in just 60 games as a rookie. “You learn from what you see every day and get a feel for the game.”
A trip around the league has made Splitter more comfortable and confident on the court, particularly in the low block. He is learning how certain defenders — such as Houston’s Luis Scola and Jordan Hill on Saturday — want to attack him, and, as importantly, how to counterattack.
With Tim Duncan out of the lineup for a 105-102 loss to the Rockets, Splitter exploded for a career-high 25 points off the bench, going 11 of 13 from the floor.
— Reported by Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News
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Shawne Williams went through vigorous workouts yesterday and is expected to return to the lineup for tonight’s game against the Bobcats after missing the last four games with shin splints.
But the Nets have lost Damion James indefinitely, and he will undergo surgery on his right foot Tuesday to replace the screw he had inserted last year to help repair a fractured fifth metatarsal in the foot.
“It’s disappointing,” coach Avery Johnson said before last night’s 84-74 loss to the Thunder. “Here’s a kid we drafted last year, we had him inked in as his starting three man and in the Eastern Conference … Hopefully the surgery will go well, and for us and him and his career, hopefully we can get this corrected and he won’t have a problem anymore.”
— Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post
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Deron Williams can’t crack the cold and uncomfortable Rock, so he’s waiting for a better home in Brooklyn.
After another horrendous shooting night for himself and the Nets in Newark, Williams expressed displeasure with the team’s stopgap home court at the Prudential Center, essentially calling it inadequate for basketball.
“I don’t like this arena one bit. It’s a good thing it’s not our arena next year,” he said matter-of-factly after shooting 5-of-18 in an 84-74 loss to the Thunder Saturday night. “Even last year, it just doesn’t feel like our home arena, I don’t know why.”
“It just doesn’t have good visual. The depth perception is not there.”
The Nets (4-12, 1-5 at home), who are scheduled to move to the $1 billion Barclays Center next season, shot a paltry 31% overall, and just 3-of-23 from beyond the arc — leaving the team with a 38% shooting percentage at home and 43% on the road.
— Reported by Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News
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Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club was shut down for a slew of health-code violations just a day after its celebrity-drenched $10 million relaunch — and now it faces a dreaded “C” grade, The Post has learned.
An inspector found perishable food at dangerously warm temperatures inside the walk-in refrigerator and discovered “hot” food left out on the counter on Thursday, Health Department sources said.
A worker was also seen mixing salsa with his bare hands.
The refrigerator was at a rancid 60 degrees instead of 41 — jeopardizing the safety of 50 pounds of raw chicken wings, five pounds of raw shrimp and 100 turkey burgers, the sources said.
— Reported by Philip Messing and Kevin Fasick of the New York Post
UPDATE FROM TMZ: But Ron Berkowitz, a rep for the club, tells TMZ the motor in one of the refrigerators blew just moments before the health inspector arrived … causing the temperature in the fridge to rise. Berkowtiz says the staff identified the problem immediately and had no intention of serving the food from that fridge. Berkowitz says the fridge was fixed by noon the next day and the club was permitted to re-open.