July 2012 – Page 22 – NBA Blog

Phoenix Suns sign Eric Gordon to offer sheet

The Phoenix Suns have signed restricted free agent guard Eric Gordon to an offer sheet, the club announced today. Under the terms of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, the New Orleans Hornets have three days to match the Suns’ offer and retain his rights.

According to multiple reports, the Hornets are expected to match the offer and keep Gordon.

“We are excited that Eric Gordon wants to be a Phoenix Sun, and are gratified by his choice to play here,” said Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby.

The 6-3, 215-pound Gordon is a four-year NBA veteran who has established himself as one of the league’s premier scorers. Just 24 years old, Gordon owns career NBA averages of 18.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 205 games (190 starts). An All-NBA Rookie Team selection in 2009, Gordon increased his scoring average in each of his first three seasons before playing just nine games in an injury-plagued, lockout-shortened campaign in 2011-12. The centerpiece of the Hornets’ trade of Chris Paul, Gordon averaged 20.6 points in nine games for New Orleans last season.

A career 45.0 percent shooter from the floor, including 37.0 percent from three-point range, Gordon is an efficient scorer whose 18.2-point career average has come on 13.5 field goal attempts per game. In Gordon’s only appearance in Phoenix last season, the Indiana product scored 20 points against the Suns and hit the game-winning 20-foot jump shot with 4.2 seconds remaining in the season opener at US Airways Center on Dec. 26.

Bucks sign second round pick Doron Lamb

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed second round draft pick Doron Lamb to a multi-year contract, General Manager John Hammond announced today. Milwaukee selected Lamb with the 42nd overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.

Lamb (6-4, 210) joins the Bucks after completing his sophomore season with the National Champion Kentucky Wildcats. Over his two years at Kentucky, Lamb averaged 13.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 78 career games. He leaves Kentucky as the top three-point shooter in the program’s history, connecting on 47.5 percent (144-303) of his attempts from behind the arc. Lamb also joined the 1,000-point club in Kentucky’s win over Kansas in the 2012 National Championship game when he scored a team-high 22 points. He finished his career as a Wildcat with 1,018 points. Lamb was named to the Final Four All-Tournament Team, East Region All-Tournament Team and Second Team All-SEC as a sophomore.

Lamb will play for the Bucks in the 2012 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. Milwaukee has a five-game schedule that begins Monday, July 16, at 9:30 p.m. (CT) against New Orleans.

Utah Jazz re-sign forward Jeremy Evans

Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today that the team has re-signed forward Jeremy Evans. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not released.

The 2012 NBA Slam Dunk Champion, Evans (6-9, 194, Western Kentucky) has appeared in 78 games (three starts) over his first two NBA seasons with the Jazz, averaging 3.1 points and 1.9 rebounds while shooting .656 from the field. A 2010 second-round draft pick (55th overall) by the Jazz, 74 of Evans’ 103 made shots over his first two years have been dunks, 32 of those on alley-oops. His dunk percentage of 71.8 percent is the highest in the NBA over the last two seasons. On February 25, 2012 during NBA All-Star Weekend in Orlando, Fla., Evans became the first player in Jazz franchise history to win the league’s slam dunk contest.

The 24-year-old native of Crossett, Ark., is the only Jazz draft pick ever from Western Kentucky, where he played four seasons (2006-10) and finished as the Hilltoppers’ all-time leader in blocked shots and field goal percentage.

Knicks re-sign J.R. Smith

New York Knicks Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations and General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has re-signed guard J.R. Smith. We’ll post contract details later today on this page.

Smith, 6-6, 220-pounds, averaged 12.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.54 steals over 27.6 minutes in 35 regular-season games (one start) with the Knicks last season. In five postseason games, he averaged 12.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.20 steals over 35.0 minutes. He originally signed with New York as a free agent on Feb. 17. The Freehold, NJ-native holds career averages of 12.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists over 24.2 minutes in 538 games (130 starts) over eight seasons with New Orleans/Oklahoma City, Denver and New York. He was selected out of high school by the New Orleans Hornets in the first round (18th overall) of the 2004 NBA Draft.

OKC Thunder sign forward Hollis Thompson

The Oklahoma City Thunder signed forward Hollis Thompson to a contract, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

During his three season collegiate career at Georgetown, Thompson recorded averages of 8.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 24.6 minutes while setting a school record with .440 percent three-point field goal shooting.

The 6-8, 212-pound forward earned All-Big East Honorable Mention honors this past season after scoring in double figures on 25 occasions.

Thompson will undergo a minor procedure this week on his left groin, and is expected to return to off-season activities in 3-4 weeks.

Trail Blazers sign forward Victor Claver

The Portland Trail Blazers have signed forward Victor Claver, it was announced today by General Manager Neil Olshey. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

A native of Valencia, Spain, Claver joins the Trail Blazers three years after the team selected him with the 22nd overall pick in the first round of the 2009 NBA Draft.

“Victor is a player with a high basketball IQ who will come in as a good complement to our roster,” said Olshey. “He defends well for his size, has a nice shooting touch, and we look forward to having him on board.”

A member of the Spanish national basketball team that will compete in the 2012 London Olympics this summer, Claver (6-10, 235) joins the Trail Blazers from Valencia in the Spanish ACB League, where he averaged 8.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.22 steals and 25.8 minutes in 37 ACB and Eurocup games. In six seasons with Valencia, Claver posted averages of 7.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.99 steals and 22.2 minutes.

Claver, 23, won the 2010 Eurocup Rising Star Award, an honor given to the most outstanding young player in the competition.

He will wear No. 18 with the Trail Blazers.

Sixers re-sign forward Lavoy Allen

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that they have re-signed forward Lavoy Allen. We’ll post contract details on this page later today.

Allen (6-9, 225) was the 50th overall pick by Philadelphia in the 2011 NBA Draft. In 41 games with 15 starts last season, he averaged 4.1 points and 4.2 rebounds in 15.2 minutes per game while shooting 47.3% from the floor and 78.6% from the line.

The Temple product scored 10-plus points four times in the playoffs after doing so four times during the regular season. Allen had 12 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting in Game 5 at Boston during the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Detroit Pistons sign Kyle Singler

The Detroit Pistons announced today that the club has signed their 2011 second round draft selection Kyle Singler to a multi-year contract. We’ll post contract details on this page later today.

“We are pleased to have Kyle Singler join our organization knowing he brings great character and skill to our team,” said Joe Dumars, President of Basketball Operations for the Detroit Pistons. “We watched him grow as a player throughout his season in Spain last year and we feel he’s going to be a great addition to our roster going forward.”

Singler spent the 2011-12 season playing overseas in Spain for both Lucentum Alicante and Real Madrid. He averaged 14.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 31.1 minutes in 10 games (all starts) for Lucentum Alicante. Singler then moved to one of the Euroleague’s top teams, Real Madrid, where he averaged 7.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 20.3 minutes in 46 games (38 starts). He helped Real Madrid reach the ACB finals before losing to Barcelona. Singler shot 50.4% from the field while playing for Real Madrid and shot over 40% from three-point range while playing for both teams.

Singler was selected by Detroit with the 33rd pick in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft. The 6-foot-8 forward played four seasons at Duke University where he averaged 16.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 148 career games (tying a school record). A native of Medford, Oregon, Singler tied a career-high 30 points (5-5 3FG) in a homecoming game against Oregon at the Rose Garden in Portland on 11/27/10. As a junior, he led the Blue Devils to a NCAA Championship by averaging 16.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 37 games. He recorded 19 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in the 2010 NCAA Championship game vs. Butler and tallied 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists vs. West Virginia in the semifinals to earn Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Final Four.

Denver Nuggets sign first-round draft pick Evan Fournier

The Denver Nuggets have signed first-round draft pick Evan Fournier to a multiyear contract, team Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Masai Ujiri announced today.

Fournier, 6-7, 205, was selected by the Nuggets 20th overall in the 2012 NBA Draft after playing two seasons for Poitiers of France’s Pro A League.

The 19-year-old native of France averaged 14.1 points, 2.3 assists, and 1.5 steals in 29 games for Poitiers in 2011-12.

In his first year with the team, he became the youngest player in French League history to score more than 20 points when he scored 21 against SLUC Nancy on Feb. 5, 2011.

Fournier also competed for France’s under-20 national team at the 2011 U20 European Championship, averaging 16.9 points and 3.3 assists.

Fournier will join the Nuggets at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. Denver opens its five-game schedule Saturday against the Golden State Warriors.

New York Knicks sign James White

New York Knicks Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations and General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has signed free agent guard/forward James White to a contract. We’ll post contract details on this page later today.

White, 6-7, 200-pounds, spent the past three seasons playing overseas for St. Petersburg (Russia), Sassari (Italy) and Pesaro (Italy). He posted 17.4 points, on 52.1-percent shooting, 4.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists over 33.6 minutes in 30 games with Pesaro of the Italian A League during 2011-12, and averaged 21.0 points, on 54.1-percent shooting, 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists over 35.8 minutes in 30 regular season games with Sassari in 2010-11.

As an NBA professional, White appeared in 10 games (two starts) with San Antonio (2006-07) and Houston (2008-09). He has also played for Austin (2006-07) and Anaheim (2008-09) of the NBA Development League.

The Kensington, MD-native, was originally selected by Portland in the second round (31st overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft. He played three seasons at the University of Cincinnati, after transferring from the University of Florida. In his senior season for the Bearcats, White averaged 16.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists over 33.5 minutes in 33 games.