January 2013 – Page 36 – NBA Blog

Houston Rockets sign James Anderson, release Daequan Cook

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed guard/forward James Anderson to a multi-year deal. To make room on the roster, the Rockets have released guard Daequan Cook.

Anderson (6-6, 215, Oklahoma State), who actually began the 2012-13 season with Rio Grande Valley, was re-signed by San Antonio on Nov. 21, 2012. In 10 games this season with the Spurs, Anderson averaged 3.4 points and 1.4 rebounds in 9.4 minutes per outing. He tallied a season-high nine points, four rebounds and three assists in 20 minutes at Miami (11/29/12). Anderson was waived by the Spurs on Dec. 20, 2012.

Originally selected by San Antonio in the first round (20th overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft, Anderson holds career averages of 3.7 points and 1.3 rebounds in 87 games (four starts) over three seasons with the Spurs. He also appeared in seven career contests with the D-League Austin Toros, averaging 14.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 25.1 minutes per game in 2010-11.

Anderson spent three seasons at Oklahoma State, finishing with career averages of 17.9 points (second highest in school history), 5.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists. He left college ranked fourth in school history with 1,811 career points. He never missed a game during his collegiate career, earning 99 starts in 101 games. As a junior, Anderson was named Big 12 Player of the Year and was an All-Big 12 First Team selection. He was also named to the John Wooden All-American Team and earned AP All-America Second Team honors. A 2007 McDonald’s High School All-American, Anderson also played for Team USA in the 2009 World University Games, averaging 7.1 points and 2.4 rebounds in seven games as the U.S. squad captured the bronze medal.

Cook (6-5, 210, Ohio State) averaged 3.4 points and 1.1 rebounds in 16 games (one start) with the Rockets this season.

Scott Sterling, son of Clippers owner, reportedly found dead

The 32-year-old son of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling was found dead Sunday night.

Sheriff’s Homicide Detectives were sent to a home on the 22600 block of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu around 11:30pm last night, where they found the body of Scott Sterling.

The coroner’s office says he died of a possible drug overdose, but the cause of death will be confirmed by an autopsy.

— Reported by TMZ.com

Kobe Bryant says Lakers are old and slow

Following the Los Angeles Lakers’ 103-99 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on New Year’s Day, Kobe Bryant had a simple answer for what has been plaguing the 15-16 Lakers this season: their age.

“‘Cause we’re old as s—,” said the 34-year-old Bryant when asked why a lack of energy has been a problem for L.A. all season. “What do you want? We just got to figure out how to play when we don’t have that energy. We got to change things up a little bit defensively. We got to figure out what we want to do offensively, figure out what we want to do on nights when we don’t have those legs or have that energy.”

The Sixers beat the Lakers on Tuesday primarily with the contributions of 22-year-old Jrue Holiday (26 points, 10 rebounds) and 24-year-old Evan Turner (22 points, 13 rebounds).

“You just saw an old damn team,” Bryant continued. “I don’t know how else to put it to you. We’re just slow. You saw a team over there that was just younger and just had fresher legs and just played with more energy, and we were just stuck in the mud. I think individually we all have to figure out how to get ourselves ready each and every game to have high level of energy. That’s all that is.”

Bryant, who has managed to lead the league in scoring this season despite being in his 17th year, said every player has to learn to create that energy individually.

— Reported by Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles

Latrell Sprewell arrested in Milwaukee over loud music

Milwaukee native and former NBA star Latrell Sprewell was arrested for disorderly conduct Monday afternoon after police received repeated complaints about loud music coming from a house on E. Pleasant St. on Milwaukee’s east side, according to jail records reviewed by the Journal Sentinel Tuesday.

Police would not release details of the incident other than to report that police had received two complaints within one hour Monday afternoon and had received several complaints of loud music from the residence in recent months.

Sprewell, 42 and a graduate of Washington High School, was booked into the jail about 4:15 p.m.

Sprewell’s NBA career spanned 13 years.

— Reported by Raquel Rutledge of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Amare Stoudemire returns in Knicks loss to Blazers

In 16:41 of action, Stoudemire finished with six points on 3-of-8 shooting with only one rebound. He received a standing ovation when he checked into the game with 3:31 left in the first quarter.

“I almost shed a tear when I got out on the court,’’ Stoudemire said. “I’m glad to see the fans were patient with me.’’

In the second half, Stoudemire showed he can still run the pick-and- roll, but struggled most rotating on defense — coach Mike Woodson’s largest concern — despite two blocks. Stoudemire missed his first five shots and made his final three.

“My second half was better than my first half,” Stoudemire said, “and hopefully my second game will be better than my first game.”

With Stoudemire sealed to the bench, the Knicks — who were 21-9 without him — rallied from 11 points down in the final four minutes and cut the deficit to three points on two occasions in the last minute.

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

Lakers guard Jodie Meeks holds no grudge towards Sixers

Sometimes when they leave a team and land somewhere else, NBA players don’t speak fondly about their old club.

Not so with Jodie Meeks, now a backup guard with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Meeks spent almost three seasons in Philadelphia and started 114 games before the 76ers allowed him to walk as a free agent last summer. Meeks wanted to stay in Philadelphia, but he knew that the Sixers wanted to free up more playing time for Evan Turner, the second overall pick in the 2010 draft.

No hard feelings.

“No, not at all,” said Meeks, who signed a two-year, $3 million deal to be a backup with the Lakers. “I liked everything about Philadelphia. It was a good organization. I liked Coach [Doug] Collins and still do to this day. He gave me the chance to start in the NBA and I loved playing for him. . . . But they made a business decision and it was time to move on.”

— Reported by John N. Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer

Grant Hill hopes to play in January

Grant Hill smiled as soon as he was asked if he has a target date to play in his first game of the regular season for the Clippers.

“Yeah,” Hill said, smiling. “In my mind.”

Hill has a bone bruise in his right knee that has kept him out since the exhibition season.

He said he has “ramped up” his workout activity.

So Hill was asked what date he has in mind to play.

“Sometime in January,” is all Hill would say.

“Hopefully soon I’ll get to start practicing a little bit,” he said. “They are stressing that a lot of it is how you respond. So a target date could be sooner, it could be later. You want to let your body dictate that.”

— Reported by Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times

Deron Williams knows he is not playing up to expectations

The matchup between the Nets’ Deron Williams and Thunder star Russell Westbrook tonight should be a battle between two of the elite point guards in the NBA.

But given the way Williams has performed this season, it’s hard to argue more than one elite point guard will take the floor tonight at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

“I don’t think I’m playing like [an elite point guard],” Williams said before practice yesterday. “I think I can be. But I’ve just got to figure this thing out.”

The Nets have been a hard team to figure out all season, and that starts with the play of their star point guard. The Nets re-signed Williams to a five-year deal worth just under $100 million this summer thinking he was one of the best players in the NBA — and arguably the league’s best point guard.

— Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post

Avery Bradley set to return for Celtics

Plus one, minus one.

During practice Tuesday, Celtics coach Doc Rivers said the team will be graced with the return of Avery Bradley, who hasn’t played in seven months and is coming off surgery on both his shoulders, for Wednesday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies.

But the Celtics may be without point guard Rajon Rondo, who has been dealing with a bruised hip that caused him to miss the Dec. 29 game against Golden State and hindered him in Sunday’s disappointing loss to Sacramento, when he had just two points.

“When you’re getting beat down the court by a big, it’s frustrating,” Rondo said. “I’m OK. I’ll be fine. It’s not like I need surgery or anything. It’s just a bruise.”

— Reported by Jason Mastrodonato, correspondent for the Boston Globe (Blog)

Derrick Rose will travel, but still not close to return for Bulls

Derrick Rose will travel on the Chicago Bulls’ two-game trip to Orlando and Miami, but coach Tom Thibodeau downplayed expectations of a more expedited return from knee surgery.

“You don’t want to rule out anything,” Thibodeau said. “But he has to go through regular practice for an extended amount of time before we even think about him playing.”

The general guess-timate on Rose has been a return after the All-Star break, sometime in late February or early March.

“Whether it’s after the All-Star break, two weeks after, it’s when he’s ready,” Thibodeau said. “We don’t want to put a date on it. When he makes it through practices for an extended amount of time and there’s not any soreness the next day, we’ll make a decision then. He’s got a long way to go.”

— Reported by KC Johnson of the Chicago Tribune