July 2012 – Page 18 – NBA Blog

Trail Blazers sign forward J.J. Hickson

The Portland Trail Blazers have signed forward J.J. Hickson, it was announced today by General Manager Neil Olshey. We’ll post contract details here later today.

The Trail Blazers signed Hickson, 23, on March 21 for the remainder of last season after he was waived by Sacramento on March 19. He appeared in each of Portland’s final 19 games in 2011-12, including 10 starts.

“J.J. played very well for Portland late last year and we’re pleased to be able to bring him back for another season,” said Olshey. “He’s a very special athlete that will offer some depth on the front line and we expect him to pick up where he left off in April.”

Last season with Portland, Hickson averaged 15.1 points (54.3% FG), 8.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.95 blocks in 31.6 minutes per game. He led the Trail Blazers in rebounding and field goal percentage, while ranking third in scoring during his time in Portland. Hickson’s six double-doubles in the month of April tied for sixth in the NBA.

In four NBA seasons with Cleveland, Sacramento and Portland, Hickson has compiled averages of 9.0 points (49.0% FG), 5.8 rebounds and 21.3 minutes in 277 games (158 starts). He was originally selected by the Cavaliers with the 19th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.

Pacers re-sign Roy Hibbert, George Hill

The Indiana Pacers announced Friday they have re-signed free agents Roy Hibbert and George Hill. We’ll post contract details here later today.

“Re-signing Roy and George shows a commitment from Herb Simon to our franchise, our team and our fans that we fully intend to keep this team moving forward in the NBA,” said Donnie Walsh, Pacers President of Basketball Operations. “Both of these players were very important to our success last season and to have them locked up for the coming seasons is a great foundation to build off of.”

Hibbert, a 2012 NBA All-Star, is coming off his best season with the Pacers, averaging 12.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. He finished the season ranked fifth in the NBA in blocks per game. Originally drafted by the Toronto Raptors in the 2008 NBA Draft (17th overall pick), he was traded to the Pacers on July 9, 2008 and has spent all four of his seasons in the NBA with the Pacers. He has career averages of 11.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.

“I’m happy to be back and I have unfinished business here,” said Hibbert. “I can’t wait for the season to begin.”

“As Donnie and I went through this process, it really wasn’t a matter of ‘if’ we would keep Roy and George. We had to keep them,” said Pacers General Manager Kevin Pritchard. “When you look at how this team, with the emphasis on team, is constructed, so many parts fit very well. These are two parts who are still young, who are going to get better and who are going to make our team better. Roy and George are also excellent representatives of the franchise and excellent representatives of the community. They are quality players and quality people.”

Hill, a native of Indianapolis, played both high school and college basketball locally at Broad Ripple High School and IUPUI. He was drafted by San Antonio as the 24th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft and spent the first three seasons with the Spurs before returning home to play for the Pacers as part of a draft night trade on June 24, 2011. The 6-2, 180-pound guard has career averages of 9.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.

“I’m happy to be staying home with family, friends and my AAU program,” said Hill. “The main thing was to keep this team together and keep moving forward. It was always a dream to be with the Pacers and now that it’s reality for a longer period of time, it’s great.”

Sixers re-sign center Spencer Hawes

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that they have re-signed center Spencer Hawes. According to multiple reports, the deal is for two years, $13.1 million.

Hawes (7-1, 245) was originally acquired by Philadelphia along with Andres Nocioni from Sacramento in exchange for Samuel Dalembert on June 17, 2010. In 118 games with 110 starts for the Sixers, Hawes has averaged 8.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.01 blocks in 22.4 minutes per game while shooting 47.4% from the floor.

Last season, the Sixers were 22-15 in games that Hawes played compared to a 13-16 mark in games that he missed. The fifth-year veteran recorded eight double-doubles in 37 games played last season after having just seven in 81 games played in 2010-11.

Sixers will sign Kwame Brown

The Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to a $6 million, two-year contract with former No. 1 overall draft pick Kwame Brown.

Agent Mark Bartelstein announced the move Friday.

Brown will be reunited with Sixers coach Doug Collins. Collins was Brown’s first coach in Washington in 2001. Brown has averaged 6.8 points and 5.6 rebounds over an 11-year career.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Nuggets offer $50 million contract to JaVale McGee

The Nuggets continue to pursue restricted free-agent center JaVale McGee, who has a five-year, $50 million offer on the table, a source said. But McGee’s representatives don’t appear to be in a hurry to get a deal done and will continue to negotiate.

The Nuggets can match any offer another NBA team would make to McGee, 24.

In the 20 regular-season games he played for the Nuggets last season, the 7-footer averaged 10.3 points and 5.8 rebounds and made five starts.

— Reported by Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post

Pacers sign guard D.J. Augustin

The Indiana Pacers announced Friday they have signed free agent guard D.J. Augustin to a contract. Per club policy terms of the contract were not released.

“D.J. is an excellent pick-up for this team,” said Pacers General Manager Kevin Pritchard. “He’s an amazing kid that will fit well here with the Pacers’ family. His experience will be valuable as we move our franchise forward. Our priority is to keep our own players and then to fill in the holes that exist. D.J. helps us accomplish that.”

The 6-0, 180-pound Augustin joins the Pacers after spending the first four seasons of his NBA career with the Charlotte Bobcats. Drafted as the ninth overall pick in the NBA Draft by the Bobcats, he has career averages of 10.9 points and 4.4 assists per game. As a rookie, he was named to the 2008-09 All-Rookie Second Team after averaging 11.8 points, 3.5 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 72 games played.

“I’m very excited,” said Augustin. “It’s a great organization basketball-wise, they made the playoffs last year and to be part of a winning organization feels great.”

Grizzlies sign guard Jerryd Bayless

The Memphis Grizzlies signed guard Jerryd Bayless to a multi-year contract, Grizzlies General Manger and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We are pleased to add Jerryd Bayless to our team,” Wallace said. “He is a rapidly-improving young player who is coming off his best season in the NBA. Jerryd will address two areas of need: three-point shooting and backup point guard play. He is a very hard-working player whose best days as a professional are ahead of him.”

Bayless (6-3, 200) established new career highs in scoring (11.4 points), assists (3.8), steals (0.77) and minutes (22.7) in 31 games (11 starts) last season with the Toronto Raptors. The 23-year-old also set personal bests for field goal percentage (.424), three-point field goal percentage (.423) and free throw percentage (.852).

In 11 games as a starter, Bayless posted 17.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists on .450 shooting (.429 three-point shooting) in 34.6 minutes. Those averages surged to 21.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 7.6 assists on .543 shooting (.571 three-point shooting) in 37.5 minutes during a five-game run as a starter from March 11-17, 2012. Bayless recorded 28 points, six rebounds and nine assists in an overtime victory over Memphis on March 16, 2012 at FedExForum.

The Phoenix, Ariz. native owns NBA career averages of 8.1 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists on .412 shooting in 229 games (36 starts) over four seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Hornets and Toronto Raptors. After becoming the first freshman since Sean Elliot (1985-86) to lead the University of Arizona in scoring, Bayless was selected by the Indiana Pacers in the first round (No. 11 overall) of the 2008 NBA Draft before his rights were traded to Portland on draft night.

Grizzlies sign first round pick Tony Wroten

The Memphis Grizzlies signed 2012 draft selection Tony Wroten, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.

Wroten (6-6, 203) was selected by the Grizzlies in the first round (No. 25 overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft. The 19-year-old became the first freshman in University of Washington history to earn First Team All-Conference honors, ranking fifth in the Pac-12 in scoring (16.0 points), eighth in assists (3.7) and second in steals (1.9) in 35 games for the Huskies.

In his lone collegiate season, Wroten set numerous school freshman records, including scoring average, most points (559), assists (130) and steals (66), and earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors. He also joined Detlef Schrempf (1984-85) as the second player in program history to compile at least 500 points, 150 rebounds and 100 assists in a single season.

The Seattle, Wash. native led the Huskies with 12 games of 20-or-more points, including a UW freshman-record 29 points on March 8, 2012 vs. Oregon State in the Pac-12 Tournament. He tallied 22 points against Oregon on March 20, 2012 in the NIT Quarterfinals.

Wroten was a member of the 2010 USA U-17 World Championship Team that posted a perfect 8-0 record and captured the gold medal while attending Garfield High School, which also produced Brandon Roy.

The left-hander joins fellow Washington standout Quincy Pondexter on the Grizzlies’ roster.

Spurs re-sign guard Patty Mills

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have re-signed guard Patty Mills. Per club policy details of the contract were not released.

“Patty came in and impressed us from the moment he joined us last season,” Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said. “He gives us some added depth at the guard position and we are excited to have him back in San Antonio.”

Mills, a 6-0, 185-pound product out of St. Mary’s (CA), was signed by the Spurs this past season on March 27. In 16 games (three starts), Mills averaged 10.3 points, 2.4 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 16.3 minutes. In his final two games of the regular season Mills set career-highs for points and assists. On April 25, he registered a career-best 27 points at Phoenix only to surpass that the following night in Golden State scoring 34 points and handing out a career-high 12 assists.

A native of Australia, Mills spent part of the 2011-12 season playing overseas in his home country and China. Originally drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 55th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, Mills appeared in 74 games in Portland, averaging 5.1 points and 1.5 assists in 11.1 minutes.

Mills is a member of the Australian National Team which qualified for the 2012 Olympics.

Raptors, Jose Calderon exploring trade options

The Toronto Raptors and the representative for veteran guard Jose Calderon are working together to try to find a new home for Calderon via trade.

After ESPN.com reported Thursday that Calderon would welcome a trade after the arrival of Kyle Lowry to become the Raptors’ new starting point guard, agent Mark Bartelstein confirmed Thursday night that he and Raptors president and general manager Bryan Colangelo are “working together” to try to find a workable trade.

“There’s a little bit of a logjam there in the backcourt now,” Bartelstein said. “Bryan and I are talking and we’re putting our heads together to see what we can do to find a solution.”

Sources close to the situation say Calderon, while undeniably attached to the city of Toronto after spending his entire six-year NBA career there, is hoping the Raptors can find a trade home for him now that it’s been made clear the Raptors have no plans to release the Spaniard through the NBA’s amnesty clause.

— Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com
http://espn.go.com/dallas/nba/story/_/id/8162133/sources-toronto-raptors-jose-calderon-welcome-trade