August 6, 2013 – NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog

New York Knicks sign Jeremy Tyler

Big Jeremy Tyler played well summer league this year, and has been rewarded with a contract.

New York Knicks Executive Vice President and General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has signed Tyler. Terms of the deal aren’t yet known, but will be added to this page tonight or tomorrow.

Tyler, 6-10, 260-pounds, holds career averages of 3.6 points and 2.5 rebounds over 10.1 minutes in 63 games (23 starts) over two seasons with Golden State and Atlanta. He appeared in 21 games with the Warriors and Hawks last season, recording 22 total points and 20 rebounds over 68 minutes, before finishing the season with Santa Cruz of the NBA D-League.

The San Diego, CA native averaged 12.8 points and 6.4 rebounds over 17.6 minutes in five games for New York’s entry in the 2013 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, NV. He was originally selected by Charlotte in the second round (39th overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft before having his draft rights traded to Golden State. Tyler left San Diego HS, following his junior season, to play internationally with Maccabi Haifa (Israel) and Tokyo Apache (Japan) for two seasons, before becoming draft eligible.

Heat draft pick James Ennis likely to play overseas this season

Miami Heat 2013 second-round NBA Draft pick James Ennis likely will spend the coming season overseas, with the Heat maintaining his draft rights, agent Scott Nichols on Monday told the Sun Sentinel.

Nichols cited the Heat’s glut of veteran wings, the team’s position hard against the NBA luxury tax and the Heat’s number of expiring contracts after the coming season as reasons why a 2014-15 NBA debut with the team might make more sense for the swingman out of Long Beach State who was acquired in a draft-night trade with the Atlanta Hawks.

“It comes down to a numbers game and a tax game,” Nichols said, with a decision on his client’s 2013-14 playing status expected to be finalized later this week.

Reported by Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Sacramento Kings ask fans and businesses for opinions on new arena

Stepping up efforts to design and market a downtown arena, the Sacramento Kings have emailed an online survey to some 60,000 residents and businesses asking for opinions – and testing the waters for potential upscale ticket buyers.

Team President Chris Granger said the team and city officials have not yet decided on basic arena elements, such as how many seats it will have, and is looking for clues from the public.

“I want to hear what other people think about the venue,” Granger said about the survey and other upcoming community outreach efforts.

Initial estimates had put seating at 18,500, which is 1,200 more than at the current Sleep Train Arena in Natomas. Granger recently said that number may be too high. He said the facility has to have enough seats to attract most major concerts but should be intimate enough to boost crowd noise and excitement at Kings games.

Reported by Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee

Gerald Henderson happy that Bobcats got help down low

Henderson, who averaged a career-high 15.5 points per game last season, is particularly excited about the addition of big men Al Jefferson and Cody Zeller, who he said will not only help the team, but should also free up open looks for him and the team’s other guards.

“I think with more attention on guys down low it frees up the perimeter a bunch,” Henderson said. “Any team with a good big man, you will see the guards get more freedom and have more open shots. With Al, teams are going to have to double team him so you have more chances for open shots.”

Henderson is eager to cash in.

He improved his 3-point shooting from 23.4 percent in 2011-12 to 33 percent last year, giving the Bobcats hope that he can develop into a legitimate shooting guard.

Reported by the Associated Press

In interview, Mark Madsen describes Kobe Bryant as a great leader

New Los Angeles Lakers player development coach Mark Madsen speaks with Lakers.com

Mike Trudell: How do you reflect back on your time with Bryant?

Mark Madsen: I’m grateful to have had Kobe as a teammate, because he helped me grow. There were times when he put his arm around me after a tough loss, and other times where he pushed me to be the best I could be. I think he has a nice combination of knowing when to pat somebody on the back, and when to get after somebody. I was a better player because of Kobe. His talent speaks for itself as one of the best to ever play basketball, but I think his leadership is extremely strong. You don’t win the five championships he’s won without being a great leader. He leads vocally and by example. You’re going to find very few players out there as great as Kobe is who also study film, who study opponents, who study other team’s sets. When he’s on the court, he has scripted ways he can take advantage of other team’s sets.

MT: Kobe has taken some criticism for how he was with his teammates particularly early in his career, when you played with him, but what you just said implies you didn’t see it that way?

Madsen: No matter who you are when you’re at the top of your profession like Kobe is and has been, there are going to be people who will put forth their opinions about you. But as a teammate, I’m grateful for Kobe’s influence on my game and how he helped me. He really helped me a lot on and off the court.

MT: A dedicated, hard worker is a teammate he’ll always like. Now, if a player isn’t willing to give it his all…

Madsen: Kobe has a goal to win an NBA championship every year. One thing I like about Kobe is that’s not an individual goal — that’s a team goal towards which he puts forward his best, and expects everyone on the team, coaching staff and in the organization to give their best.

Reported by Mike Trudell of Lakers.com

Blazers guard Terrel Harris suspended 5 games for drug violation

The NBA announced today that Terrel Harris of the Portland Trail Blazers has been suspended without pay for five games for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program.

Harris’ suspension will begin with the first game of the next NBA regular season for which he is eligible and physically able to play.

According to the Associated Press, “Harris was acquired by the Blazers from the Pelicans in July as part of a three-way trade that brought Robin Lopez to Portland and sent guard Tyreke Evans went to the Pelicans and guard Greivis Vasquez to the Kings. Harris, a three-year veteran, has played for Miami and New Orleans, averaging 2.3 points and 1.8 rebounds in 42 games.”

Interviews for 76ers coaching job continue

Like the waves crashing on the beach down the shore, the 76ers’ coaching searching appears endless. It was April 18 when Doug Collins announced he wouldn’t be coming back for his fourth season, and since then, there have been rumors and reports and speculation as to who may become the team’s eighth head coach in the past 11 seasons.

Yesterday, a report by Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski said the Sixers would bring back assistant coaches Kenny Atkinson (Atlanta), Brett Brown (San Antonio), Adrian Griffin (Chicago) and Jay Larranaga (Boston) for second interviews. The report also said Portland assistant David Vanderpool might get a second sit-down.

Reported by Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News

Rajon Rondo trade rumors may linger

Rajon Rondo trade rumors may have long shelf life

As Rajon Rondo continues to rehab from a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament injury he suffered in late January, trade speculation involving the All-Star point guard will continue to have a life — possibly up to the trade deadline next year.

The Celtics are rebuilding after the departures of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry. Coach Doc Rivers left to coach the Los Angeles Clippers.

Rondo’s future in Boston depends on his health and relationship with rookie coach Brad Stevens.

The former Butler coach hoped to build a bond with Rondo to keep his interest in the organization. However, there will be many suitors for Rondo, who averaged 13.7 points, 11.1 assists and 1.8 steals, if he wants out. The Pistons could be one of the teams interested in acquiring him even after acquiring Brandon Jennings.

Reported by Perry A. Farrell of the Detroit Free Press