August 2012 – Page 2 – NBA Blog

Andrew Bynum should do big things for Sixers

For the first time since the days of Moses Malone, the Sixers have a true scoring center in 24-year-old Andrew Bynum.

To be clear, Malone is a Hall of Famer. Bynum has been an All-Star once in his young career. Still, Bynum opens a world of offensive opportunities for a team that struggled to put points on the board a year ago.

The 7-foot center commands a double team in the low post. Since his rookie season, when he shot 40 percent from the field as an 18-year-old, Bynum has never shot below 56 percent.

But Bynum wasn’t the focal point of the offense in Los Angeles. The Lakers were – and still are – Kobe Bryant’s team. That didn’t change when Bynum was selected 10th overall in the 2005 NBA draft.

Last year, when Bynam averaged a career high 18.7 points and 11.8 rebounds, he was the team’s second-leading scorer and his 13 field goal attempts per game were third on the team behind Bryant and Pau Gasol.

— Reported by Dei Lynam of CSN Philly

Curtis Jerrells signs in Turkey

Turkish champs Besiktas JK Istanbul announced on Wednesday the addition of point guard Curtis Jerrells for the upcoming season, in which the team will make its Turkish Airlines Euroleague debut. Jerrells (1.85 meters, 25 years old) arrives from UCAM Murica of Spain, where last season he averaged 7.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in 2 games just before breaking his foot and missing the rest of the season. However, Jerrells had started the season with Fenerbahce Ulker also of Turkey, as he averaged 8.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 14 Euroleague games.

— Reported by Euroleague.net

Shelden Williams signs overseas in France

Elan Chalon fortified its frontcourt with the signing of big man Shelden Williams. Though this will be his first season playing in Europe, Williams (2.06 meters, 28 years old) has the right people to fall back on for knowledge; His brother-in-law is three-time European champion and two-time Euroleague MVP Anthony Parker. Williams has spent his entire professional career to date in the NBA, where he has totaled 361 regular season games over six seasons with seven teams. Last season he averaged 4.6 points and 6 rebounds over 58 games with New Jersey. He was a college basketball star at Duke University, where Williams remains the Blue Devils’ career leader in rebounds (1,262) and blocked shots (422). He was named Atlantic Coast Conference defensive player of the year and to the All-ACC First Team in both 2005 and 2006.

— Reported by Euroleague.net

Darius Songaila signs in Ukraine

BC Donetsk made veteran big man Darius Songaila its third addition to its frontline in the past week with the announcement that the sides signed a one-year contract. Songaila (2.06 meters, 34 years old) joins D’or Fischer and Kaloyan Ivanov as the newest Donetsk players. His contract is guaranteed for two months, after which both sides have the option to terminate the deal. With the Ukrainian champs, Songaila will attempt to navigate the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Qualifying Rounds for the second straight season. Last season he helped Galatasaray Medical Park win three straight games to qualify for the Euroleague regular season and then averaged 6.5 points and 2.8 rebounds over 15 minutes in 10 games as the club reached the Top 16 for the first time. He finished the season in Spain, where Songaila averaged 9 points and 4 rebounds in 10 games for Valladolid.

— Reported by Euroleague.net

Kris Humphries being sued for something gross

Kris Humphries has just been sued by a woman who claims he gave her herpes … TMZ has learned.

Kayla Goldberg claims she met Kris in August, 2010 at the Newsroom Cafe on Robertson Blvd. in L.A. They flirted, exchanged numbers, and she claims that night they met up at Trousdale nightclub on the Sunset Strip.

According to the suit, Kris came on to Kayla, touching, kissing and dancing with her. Kayla claims he took her to his hotel and they had sex multiple times … including oral sex. The suit claims during a portion of the sexual encounter Kris did not wear a condom.

— Reported by TMZ.com

AUGUST 30 Update — E! Online reports: Here’s some interesting news for you: Kris Humphries’ rep tells E! News that the NBA star does not have herpes.

Good to hear, but why even bring it up?

That would be because a woman has filed a lawsuit today in Los Angeles Superior Court against the basketball player for allegedly infecting her with sexual disease.

Trail Blazers hire Dale Osbourne as assistant coach

Portland Trail Blazers Head Coach Terry Stotts has added Dale Osbourne to the coaching staff, it was announced today by the team.

“I’m very excited about Dale joining our staff,” said Stotts. “His diverse coaching background and experience at the college and D-League level will be very valuable in the development of our younger players both on the court and off.”

Osbourne joins the Trail Blazers from the Tulsa 66ers, where he served as head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s NBA Development League affiliate. USA Basketball selected him as an assistant coach for the 2011 Pan American Games, where the team medaled for the first time since 1999.

Osbourne spent parts of three seasons as an assistant in Tulsa before being promoted to head coach in December 2011. He has also been an assistant with the D-League’s Utah Flash and Austin Toros, in addition to coaching tenures in the WNBA, CBA and USBL.

In seven years as an assistant at the University of South Alabama, Osbourne helped guide his alma mater to a pair of Sun Belt Conference titles.

Osbourne joins Kaleb Canales, Jay Triano, David Vanterpool and Kim Hughes on the Portland coaching staff.

The Trail Blazers tip-off training camp Tuesday, Oct. 2, in preparation for the NBA season opener vs. the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday, Oct. 31.

Houston Rockets waive forward Sean Williams

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has officially waived forward Sean Williams. He was acquired by Houston from the Boston Celtics as part of the Courtney Lee sign-and-trade on July 20.

Williams (6-10, 235, Boston College) owns career averages of 4.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 137 games (29 starts) with New Jersey, Dallas and Boston. He was originally selected by the Nets with the 17th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.

Washington Wizards sign Martell Webster

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has signed free agent guard/forward Martell Webster. It’s a one-year deal for $1.6 million, according to the Washington Post.

“Martell brings a combination of versatility and shooting in addition to his experience,” said Grunfeld. “Adding him to the roster provides us with another solid veteran presence and gives us flexibility with our lineups at both the shooting guard and small forward positions.”

Per the Post, “the Timberwolves bought out Webster for $600,000 last month rather than pay him the $5.7 million he would’ve earned, making him a free agent. He impressed the Wizards during a workout last week at Verizon Center and agreed to a deal shortly thereafter.”

Webster (6-7, 230) holds career averages of 8.4 points and 3.2 rebounds while shooting .374 from three-point range in 394 games (191 starts) over seven seasons with Portland and Minnesota. He was originally selected by the Trail Blazers with the sixth overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft as an early-entry candidate out of Seattle Prep High School. Webster averaged 9.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and a career-high .417 three-point percentage for the Timberwolves in 2010-11 and averaged career highs of 10.7 points and 3.9 rebounds for the Trail Blazers in 2007-08. He averaged 6.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in 47 games (26 starts) for Minnesota last season.

The Wizards’ roster now stands at 14 players.

Dwyane Wade returns to court for first time since knee surgery

For the first time since he underwent July 9 arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade has resumed court work.

Says who? Says Wade.

Tuesday evening, during the break between his charity events this past weekend in Chicago and his upcoming book tour, Wade posted on Twitter:

“Whew..first day on the court since my surgery..oh and that look on my face was b4 the workout started..haa.”

Wade then posted a picture (at left) of him working out with Heat assistant coach David Fizdale.

— Reported by Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Don Nelson happy to be retired

Don Nelson never knew just how much he would love retirement. In the Maui plantation town of Paia, he is far from the pressures of the fast-paced NBA lifestyle in which he thrived to become the game’s all-time winningest coach.

These days, he’s Nellie, the entrepreneur. From his new shaved ice stand, to coffee plants and koa trees, to all his rental properties and a wedding venue in the works right off the beach, the 72-year-old Nelson is about as far removed from his old basketball life as he could be.

— Reported by Janie McCauley of the Associated Press