April 2012 – Page 9 – NBA Blog

Marcus Camby hopes to stay with Rockets

Q: If you can separate the playoff chase from this question, just tell me about the move to Houston. How do you grade it so far?

Marcus Camby: “It’s been great being back home. Portland was eliminated last night (Tuesday) and they’re getting hammered tonight (Wednesday), so being traded here, just being in a situation to actually compete for the playoffs is great. With me being a free agent [in the summer] and the Rockets looking for a big man in the middle, I hope we can get something done in the summer. I want to stay.”

“I actually built a house from scratch in Houston like five years ago with the intentions of finishing my career down there. So it’s crazy how things play out. From the coaches and from management and my meetings I’ve had with them, I think they enjoy what I’ve been doing with my play and my leadership. I know from talking to my representative that there’s going to be a lot of suitors at the end of the season, but this is where I want to be. It’s something we’ll definitely address at the end of the season.”

Q: Do you have it in your head how much longer you want to play?

Camby: “I want to play 20 [seasons]. That’s the goal. That’s the magic number. I’m at 16 now, so we’ll see.”

— Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com

Andrew Bynum says he will skip Olympics

Lakers center Andrew Bynum is not interested in playing in the Olympics because he wants extra rest and also plans to undergo the same innovative knee procedure that Kobe Bryant had in Germany last summer.

“I’ve got to take care of my legs in the off-season,” Bynum said Friday. “I’ve got some things planned for my knees…. I’ve got to do some therapy that I’m going overseas to do.”

Bynum has undergone surgical procedures on each of his knees in recent years.

The procedure in Germany is much less invasive and marketed as Regenokine or Orthokine.

It targets proteins or molecules called interleukin that cause inflammatory responses. Blood is removed from the affected area of a patient and spun in a centrifuge. The antagonists of interleukin are removed to create a serum that is injected back into the targeted area.

— Reported by Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times

Magic team doctor thinks Dwight Howard can make full recovery

The team doctor for the Orlando Magic said he believes Dwight Howard will recover fully after undergoing back surgery on Friday, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Dr. Craig Mintzer told the newspaper that Howard is doing well after the surgery and should recover in about four months without complications.

“He shouldn’t have restrictions whatsoever. He should come back fully. There shouldn’t be an issue there. Really, it’s just a matter of time,” Mintzer told the Sentinel.

Howard has been complaining of back problems since early March, but it wasn’t until Los Angeles-based spine surgeon Dr. Robert Watkins examined him last week that the herniated disk was discovered.

— Reported by ESPN.com News Services

Cavs sign guard D.J. Kennedy

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed guard/forward D.J. Kennedy from the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League for the remainder of the 2011-12 season, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced today. The signing of Kennedy marks the 58th “Call-Up” from the D-League of the 2011-12 season. He will wear no. 12.

In 44 regular season games (all starts) with the BayHawks, Kennedy averaged 15.7 points on .447 shooting, 7.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 37.4 minutes per game. He shot .378 (51-135) from three-point range and .816 from the free throw line (168-206). The 6-foot-6, 215-pounder also played in all three of Erie’s postseason games, averaging 14.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 42.0 minutes per game.

The 22-year-old played all four seasons at St. John’s, topping the 1,000-point plateau and posting averages of 11.7 points on .436 shooting, 6.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 30.4 minutes in 129 career games (125 starts).

Anderson Varejao update: Still healing from wrist injury

Cavaliers Forward/Center Anderson Varejao continues to rehabilitate and recover from his fractured right wrist. While the healing of his fracture has progressed well, his full recovery is not complete and he is still experiencing some soreness in the wrist.

As a result, the team has made the decision to withhold him from play for the remainder of the Cavaliers season.

This will put Varejao in the best position to focus on his rehabilitation and hence reach the point of full recovery as quickly as possible.

Larry Sanders suspended, Danny Granger and David West fined

Milwaukee Bucks forward Larry Sanders has been suspended two games without pay for initiating an altercation, failing to leave the court in a timely manner and actions following his ejection – all during the Bucks’ 118-109 loss to the Indiana Pacers Thursday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The suspension was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

In addition, the Pacers’ Danny Granger and David West have both been fined $25,000 for instigating and adding to the escalation of an on-court incident, which occurred with 3:29 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Sanders will serve his suspension during the Bucks’ next two games: Saturday versus the New Jersey Nets and Monday against the Toronto Raptors.

Knicks sign Dan Gadzuric, waive Bill Walker

New York Knicks Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations and Interim General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has signed free agent center Dan Gadzuric and waived guard/forward Bill Walker.

Gadzuric, 6-11, 240-pounds, holds career averages of 4.7 points, on .500 shooting from the field, 4.4 rebounds, 0.85 blocks and 14.8 minutes in 525 games (164 starts) over nine NBA seasons with Milwaukee, Golden State and New Jersey. He appeared in 12 games for Texas Legends of the NBA Development League this season, averaging 12.0 points, on .531 shooting, 11.3 rebounds and 1.00 blocks over 25.7 minutes.

The Netherlands-native was originally selected by the Milwaukee Bucks following a four-year career at UCLA in the second round (34th overall) of 2002 NBA Draft.

Walker, 6-6, 235-pounds, averaged 5.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 19.4 minutes over 32 games (eight starts) this season for New York. He was originally acquired from Boston, with Eddie House and J.R. Giddens, in exchange for Nate Robinson and Marcus Landry on Feb. 18, 2010.

National Basketball Players Association requests that Derek Fisher quit

NBPA STATEMENT REGARDING THE NBPA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE VOTE REQUESTING THE RESIGNATION OF NBPA PRESIDENT DEREK FISHER

On April 18th, the NBPA executive committee cast an 8-to-0 vote that it lost confidence in Derek Fisher’s ability to act as Union President, and requested Derek’s resignation.

The Executive Committee based its decision on numerous instances over the past six months, where Fisher engaged in conduct detrimental to the union, including acting in contravention of the players’ best interests during collective bargaining, declining to follow the NBPA Constitution, and failing to uphold the duties of the Union President. To avoid further damage to the NBPA and its 450 members, the Executive Board again calls for Derek’s resignation.

The NBPA performs annual financial audits and shares the results of those audits with the Executive Committee and Player Representatives at its annual meetings. The NBPA completed a financial audit in February and will share the results of the audit with the Executive Committee and Player Representatives at the union’s summer meeting.

Additionally, the NBPA conducted two business reviews following the negotiation of the 1999 and 2005 Collective Bargaining Agreements. And with the support of the entire Executive Committee, the union will conduct another business review in a timely manner.

We hope for a swift and complete resolution to these issues.

Read NBA fan opinion and share your views in this basketball forum topic.

Grizzlies sign guard Lester Hudson

Guard Lester Hudson played some good basketball during his brief time on the Cleveland Cavaliers this season, and he’s landed himself another job.

The Memphis Grizzlies signed Hudson, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.

Hudson (6-3, 190) averaged 12.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 24.2 minutes in 13 games for the Cleveland Cavaliers this season after signing the first of two 10-day contracts on March 30. The 27-year-old poured in 24.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.00 steals in 32.4 minutes over a three-game tear from April 6-10, including a career-high 26-point performance on April 8 at New Jersey.

Originally selected by Boston in the second round (58th overall) of the 2009 NBA Draft, Hudson holds career averages of 4.9 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 10.6 minutes in 49 career games for the Celtics, Grizzlies, Washington Wizards and Cavaliers.

A Memphis native, Hudson recorded 4.0 points in 6.8 minutes in nine appearances for the Grizzlies as a rookie in 2009-10.

Hudson also has played professionally in the NBA Development League with the Maine Red Claws (2009-10), Dakota Wizards (2009-10) and Austin Toros (2011-12), as well as in China for the Guangdong Southern Tigers (2011) and Qingdao DoubleStar (2011-12).

An explosive scorer in the collegiate ranks for UT-Martin, Hudson averaged 27.5 points during his senior season with the Skyhawks (2008-09), ranking second in the nation in scoring behind current Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry. During his junior year, he became the first men’s player in Division I history to record a quadruple-double (25 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 steals) on Nov. 13, 2007 vs. Central Baptist College.

Hudson transferred to UT-Martin after playing his first two seasons at Southwest Tennessee Community College in Memphis.

The Grizzlies’ roster now stands at 15 players.

Billy Hunter wants Derek Fisher removed from NBA Players Association

The fight between NBA players union executive director Billy Hunter and president Derek Fisher is escalating, with Hunter hiring a public relations firm and calling for a player representative conference call as early as Friday in an attempt to oust Fisher, sources said Friday morning.

The two union leaders have been at odds since a rumor surfaced during the lockout that Fisher had met privately with commissioner David Stern and deputy commissioner Adam Silver to cut a deal, a rumor that never was substantiated and that some in Fisher’s circle now suspect came from Hunter to undermine Fisher’s authority, sources said.

The board’s attempt to oust Fisher was first reported by Yahoo! Sports.

Fisher sent a letter earlier this week to player reps informing them the union’s executive committee had decided that the players union should undergo a business review, according to one Eastern Conference player representative. Several executive committee members, however, were surprised by the tone of the letter because the decision was not unanimous, another source said.

— Reported by Ric Bucher of ESPN the Magazine