February 2014 – Page 18 – NBA Blog

Tracy McGrady, baseball player

Here’s the Washington Post blog reporting on Tracy McGrady, who has retired from the NBA and now reportedly focused on playing baseball:

Tracy McGrady is serious about this baseball thing — so serious about pitching that he’s enlisted assistance from Roger Clemens.

McGrady, a seven-time NBA all-star who played mostly for the Houston Rockets, is working out with the Sugar Land Skeeters, the team with which Clemens made his brief comeback in the summer of 2012. Like Michael Jordan when he took a hiatus from the Chicago Bulls to try his hand at baseball, McGrady spoke in terms of a “dream.”

“Just having a tryout for a minor league team is more fulfilling than anything I can imagine as far as baseball,” McGrady told ESPN.com Tuesday. “I’m just going to train as hard as I can and pursue my dream. Where this takes me, I don’t know. I’m doing this for the love of the game. I’ve made money. The Atlantic League doesn’t have salaries like the major leagues. So this is a kid who’s trying to fulfill his dream. This isn’t a gimmick. I’ve played baseball. I know the game of baseball. And I’m going after what I’ve always wanted to do.”

Suns re-assign Archie Goodwin to D-League

The Phoenix Suns have assigned guard Archie Goodwin to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League, the club announced today.

Goodwin (6-5, 198), a 19-year-old rookie from Kentucky, has appeared in 37 games with the Suns this season, holding averages of 3.1 points, 1.7 rebounds and 10.5 minutes.

This is Goodwin’s second assignment to the Jam this season as he was previously assigned on Jan. 23 and recalled on Jan. 26. In two games with Bakersfield, he has averaged 29.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in 44.0 minutes.

Sixers turnover problems continue

Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer reporting on one problem in particular that the 15-34 Sixers are facing:

The Sixers have a bad habit of giving the ball to their opponents. Their average of 17.2 turnovers per game is the highest in the NBA. The Sixers tied a season worst with 26 on Monday night.

Rookie point guard Michael Carter-Williams had six turnovers. His last one, with 5.8 seconds left and the Sixers trailing by four, crushed any chance of a comeback. Nets guard Shaun Livingston stole the ball, was fouled, and made a pair of foul shots to make it a six-point game.

“You know it continues to haunt us,” [coach Brett] Brown said. “We have to get more responsible with the ball. I have to do a better job.”

Sixers assign Arnett Moultrie, Lorenzo Brown to D-League

The Philadelphia 76ers today announced that they have assigned forward Arnett Moultrie to the Delaware 87ers of the NBA Development League. Moultrie will receive additional on-court time at game speed with the Sevens as a step in his return to the Sixers.

The Sixers also announced they have assigned guard Lorenzo Brown to the Sevens.

For Brown, it marks his sixth assignment to the Sevens this season. He has appeared in 11 D-League games, averaging 19 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Brown has also played in 19 games for the Sixers this season.

Pelicans sign Luke Babbitt

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that the team has signed forward Luke Babbitt.

Babbit, who was originally drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round (16th overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft and traded to the Portland Trail Blazers on draft day, joins the Pelicans after playing part of the 2013-14 season for Nizhny Novgorod (Russia).

Babbit appeared in 18 games for Novgorod and averaged 13.3 points and 3.7 rebounds.

Entering his fourth NBA season, Babbitt has appeared in 126 games for Portland and holds career averages of 3.8 points and 2.1 rebounds.

Babbitt will wear No. 8 and will be available for tomorrow night’s contest against Atlanta.

The Pelicans roster now stands at 15.

Judge in Kings arena lawsuit disqualifies himself

Here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting on the latest fun in Sacramento’s quest for a new arena:

The lawsuit over Sacramento’s downtown arena subsidy took an early, bizarre twist today when the presiding judge disqualified himself because he had signed a petition supporting the subsidy ballot initiative.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny disqualified himself without comment at a preliminary hearing. City Attorney James Sanchez told The Bee that the judge had signed one of the petitions demanding a public vote on the subsidy issue.

The case was reassigned to Judge Timothy Frawley, and a hearing was set to begin later this morning.

One of the main issues the judge is being asked to address is whether the political action committee tied to the Kings and Mayor Kevin Johnson can intervene in the lawsuit

Carlos Boozer wants more 4th quarter minutes

With a 23-24 record, the Chicago Bulls are treading water in the Eastern conference. If the regular season ended today, they’d be the 6th seed. Even with Derrick Rose out, more was expected. And forward Carlos Boozer, averaging a modest 14.7 points on 45.3% shooting along with a very solid 8.5 rebounds per game, expected more in the way of minutes in fourth quarters. Here’s the Chicago Sun-Times reporting:

Tom Thibodeau often talks about the many distractions that can hit an NBA team.

One slammed into the Bulls head on Monday. All 6-foot-9, 266 pounds of it.

Upset with being in his warmups and a towel on his head far too often in the fourth quarter of games, especially as of late, Carlos Boozer sent a very direct message to Thibodeau.

“Nah, I think I should be out there, but it’s his choice, he makes the decisions out there, so I play, I don’t coach. He coaches. So he decides that,’’ Boozer said before the 99-70 blowout loss to Sacramento. “But honestly, he’s been doing that a lot since I’ve been here, not putting me in the fourth quarter. Sometimes we win, more times than not we don’t, but that’s his choice.’’

Hawks assign Jared Cunningham to D-League

The Atlanta Hawks have assigned guard Jared Cunningham to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Danny Ferry.

Cunningham, who was recalled from Bakersfield on January 23, has averaged 15.2 points, 4.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 29.8 minutes in 17 games (14 starts) over three stints with the Jam this season. He has appeared in five games with the Hawks this year.

Pelicans center Jason Smith out for season after knee surgery

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that center Jason Smith had successful surgery on Wednesday, January 29 to remove a loose piece of articular cartilage in the non-weight bearing area of his right knee. Smith will miss the remainder of the season, but is expected to make a full recovery,

In 31 games this season, Smith averaged 9.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 26.8 minutes per game. The Colorado State product has appeared in 331 contests in six NBA seasons, averaging 6.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 16.7 minutes per game.

2014 D-League All-Stars announced

Twenty of the NBA Development League’s top prospects, including 16 who have NBA experience, have been selected to play in the eighth annual NBA D-League All-Star Game on Saturday, Feb. 15, at Sprint Arena inside NBA All-Star Jam Session at New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The game will air live on NBA TV at 3 p.m. ET.

Chosen to the NBA D-League All-Star Futures team are Hilton Armstrong (Santa Cruz), Seth Curry (Santa Cruz), Dewayne Dedmon (Santa Cruz), Justin Hamilton (Sioux Falls), Manny Harris (Los Angeles), Pierre Jackson (Idaho), Kevin Jones (Canton), DeAndre Liggins (Sioux Falls), Malcolm Thomas (Los Angeles) and Chris Wright (Maine). The Futures team will be helmed by Canton Charge head coach Steve Hetzel and his staff, who earned the trip to New Orleans by virtue of winning a tie-breaker with Nate Bjorkgren and the staff of the Iowa Energy, which had the same 16-9 record through games of Jan. 26, for the League’s second-best winning percentage.

Selected to play on the NBA D-League All-Star Prospects team are Isaiah Canaan (Rio Grande Valley), Robert Covington (Rio Grande Valley), Troy Daniels (Rio Grande Valley), Ike Diogu (Bakersfield), Devin Ebanks (Texas), Melvin Ely (Texas), Ron Howard (Fort Wayne), Othyus Jeffers (Iowa), Christapher Johnson (Rio Grande Valley), and Jarvis Varnado (Iowa). Rio Grande Valley Vipers head coach Nevada Smith and his staff will lead the Prospects team in New Orleans. They earned the right to coach the All-Stars having had the highest winning percentage with a 19-6 record in games play through Jan. 26.

“We’re excited to bring 20 top young NBA prospects to New Orleans to compete as NBA D-League All-Stars,” said Chris Alpert, Vice President of Basketball Operations for the NBA D-League. “The NBA D-League All-Star Game is not only an excellent opportunity for the League’s bright young stars to showcase their talents, but gives basketball fans from around the country the chance to watch up-and-coming NBA players in the midst of NBA All-Star festivities.”

The field of 20 players was selected by a vote of the NBA D-League’s 17 head coaches and was divided into two teams by League officials. Players were eligible to be selected based on having played in at least half of their team’s games through Jan. 26. Each player must be on an active NBA D-League roster at the time of the NBA D-League All-Star Game in order to compete.

Eight players with NBA experience are featured on the Prospects roster, including three current NBA players: Canaan and Covington, who have played in Rio Grande Valley on assignment from the Houston Rockets, and Johnson, a member of the Boston Celtics by way of a GATORADE Call-Up. Diogu, Ebanks, Ely, Jeffers, and Varnado round out members of the Prospects team with NBA experience.

An additional eight players with NBA experience make up the Futures roster, including Harris and Thomas, currently playing for the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz, respectively. Armstrong, Curry, Dedmon, Jones, Liggins, and Wright have also logged NBA minutes.

Last season, seven of the 20 NBA D-League All-Stars who played in Houston went on to earn GATORADE Call-Ups to the NBA later in the year. Over the NBA D-League All-Star Game’s seven-year history, 87 of the 126 players have had, or subsequently earned, NBA experience.

The 2014 NBA D-League Dream Factory presented by Boost Mobile will be integrated into Saturday’s NBA D-League All-Star Game, with action beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET when the League’s sharp shooters take to the court to participate in the NBA D-League Boost Mobile Thre-Point Contest. Skills competition activities will continue during the game’s halftime break, with the NBA D-League Boost Mobile Slam Dunk Contest.

The complete 2014 NBA D-League All-Star teams are below.

FUTURES ALL-STAR ROSTER

Pos. Player (Team) Ht. Wt. College Birthdate

C Hilton Armstrong (Santa Cruz) 6-11 235 Connecticut 11/23/84

G Seth Curry (Santa Cruz) 6-1 180 Duke 8/23/90

C Dewayne Dedmon (Santa Cruz) 6-10 255 USC 8/12/88

G Manny Harris (Los Angeles)* 6-5 185 Michigan 9/21/89

F Justin Hamilton (Sioux Falls) 7-0 260 LSU 4/1/90

G Pierre Jackson (Idaho) 5-10 180 Baylor 8/29/91

F Kevin Jones (Canton) 6-8 251 West Virginia 8/25/89

G DeAndre Liggins (Sioux Falls) 6-6 209 Kentucky 3/31/88

F Malcolm Thomas (Los Angeles)* 6-9 224 San Diego State 11/8/88

F Chris Wright (Maine) 6-8 225 Dayton 9/30/88

Head Coach: Steve Hetzel (Canton)

Assistant Coaches: Jordi Fernandez (Canton), James Posey (Canton), Nate Reinking (Canton)

Athletic Trainer: Mike Gittinger (Canton)

PROSPECTS ALL-STAR ROSTER

Pos. Player (Team) Ht. Wt. College Birthdate

G Isaiah Canaan (Rio Grande Valley)* 6-0 188 Murry State 5/21/91

F Robert Covington (Rio Grande Valley)* 6-9 215 Tennessee State 12/14/90

G Troy Daniels (Rio Grande Valley) 6-7 200 VCU 7/15/91

F Ike Diogu (Bakersfield) 6-8 255 Arizona State 9/11/83

F Devin Ebanks (Texas) 6-9 215 West Virginia 10/28/89

F Melvin Ely (Texas) 6-10 260 Fresno State 5/2/78

G Ron Howard (Fort Wayne) 6-5 185 Valparaiso 11/14/82

F Othyus Jeffers (Iowa) 6-5 205 Robert Morris 8/5/85

G Christapher Johnson (Rio Grande Valley)* 6-6 201 Dayton 4/29/90

C Jarvis Varnado (Iowa) 6-9 210 Mississippi State 3/1/88

Head Coach: Nevada Smith (Rio Grande Valley)

Assistant Coaches: Paul Mokeski (Rio Grande Valley), Jason Young (Rio Grande Valley)

Athletic Trainer: Long Lam (Rio Grande Valley)

* – Indicates a player currently in the NBA