Month: February 2014

Dee Bost named D-League Performer of Week

The Idaho Stampede’s Dee Bost today was named NBA Development League Performer of the Week for games played Monday, Feb. 17 – Sunday, Feb. 23. The honor is the first for Bost this season.

Bost, a 6-2, 176-pound guard from Mississippi State, led Idaho to a 2-0 week, including wins over the Maine Red Claws and Los Angeles D-Fenders. Bost averaged a 20.5-point, 14.5-assist, 11.5-rebound triple-double last week while shooting 36 percent from the floor.

On Feb. 19, Bost, who leads the NBA D-League in minutes (42.0 mpg), played wire-to-wire against the Red Claws, scoring 29 points to go with 14 assists, seven rebounds, two steals and a block. He came back three days later to record his fifth triple-double of the season when he finished with 12 points, 16 rebounds, 15 assists and four steals at Los Angeles.

On the season, Bost is averaging an NBA D-League best 8.9 assists, to go with 16.2 points and 6.4 rebounds.

Other top performers considered include Austin’s Courtney Fells, Rio Grande Valley’s Robert Covington, playing on assignment from the Houston Rockets, Santa Cruz Warriors’ Ognjen Kuzmic, playing on assignment from the Golden State Warriors, Sioux Falls’ Justin Hamilton, Springfield’s Willie Reed and Tulsa’s Grant Jerrett.

Kemba Walker, Kevin Love named NBA Players of Week through February 23

kemba walker

Charlotte Bobcats guard Kemba Walker and Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love today were named NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Tuesday, Feb. 18, through Sunday, Feb. 23.

Walker led the Bobcats to a 4-0 week behind averages of 22.5 points (tied for seventh in the conference), 8.8 assists (second in the conference) and 5.5 rebounds. His 40.5 minutes per game ranked third in the East. Walker tallied 20-plus points three times and eclipsed the 30-point plateau once. He scored 24 points, handed out a career-high 16 assists and added five rebounds on Feb. 19, during a 116-98 win over the Detroit Pistons.

kevin love

Love helped the Timberwolves to a 2-1 behind a league-best 36.7 ppg and 12.7 rpg (fourth in the league). He recorded a point-rebound double-double in all three contests, and notched one triple-double with 37 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists on Feb. 22, during a 121-104 win over the Utah Jazz. Love leads the NBA with 47 double-doubles on the season.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Charlotte’s Al Jefferson, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Indiana’s Paul George, Los Angeles Clippers’ Jamal Crawford and Blake Griffin, Miami’s Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant, Portland’s Damian Lillard, Sacramento’s Isaiah Thomas, Toronto’s Kyle Lowry and Washington’s John Wall.

Clippers sign Glen Davis

Clippers sign Glen Davis

The Los Angeles Clippers announced today that they have signed free agent forward Glen Davis. Davis will be available to play in the Clippers game vs. New Orleans tonight and will wear uniform number 12.

Davis, 28, appeared in 45 games (43 starts) this season with the Orlando Magic averaging 12.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 30.1 minutes per game. A native of Baton Rouge, LA, Davis is reunited with Clippers head coach Doc Rivers, who coached him for four seasons in Boston and together were a part of the 2008 NBA Championship Celtics team.

A seven-year NBA veteran, Davis has appeared in 417 career games (120 starts) with both Orlando and Boston, averaging 8.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 23.1 minutes per game.

Originally drafted by Seattle with the 35th overall selection in the second round of the 2007 NBA Draft, Davis was traded to Boston along with Ray Allen as part of a Draft Day trade. After four years with the Celtics, Davis joined the Magic on Dec. 12, 2011 along with Von Wafer in exchange for Brandon Bass.

The power forward has made 69 career Playoff appearances, averaging 8.3 points and 4.2 rebounds in 21.9 minutes. Last season, Davis averaged a postseason-best 19.0 points and 9.2 rebounds for the Magic in five playoff games (all starts).

Davis enjoyed a successful college career, playing three seasons at Louisiana State University. He averaged 16.7 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.16 blocks in 95 games (93 starts) at LSU, with his best year coming in 2006 when he led the Tigers to the Final Four and was named the SEC Player of the Year and a first-team All-American, leading the SEC in scoring (18.6) and rebounds (9.7).

Nets sign Jason Collins to 10-day contract

Nets sign Jason Collins to 10-day contract

The Brooklyn Nets have signed center Jason Collins to a 10-day contract, General Manager Billy King announced today.

“The decision to sign Jason was a basketball decision,” said King. ” We needed to increase our depth inside, and with his experience and size, we felt he was the right choice for a 10-day contract.”

Collins is an openly gay player, and this is the first time in NBA history that an openly gay player has been active in the league. That’s a much bigger story than his basketball ability at this point, which has always been mostly limited to defense, hustling and being a big body.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issued the following statement today regarding the Collins signing: “Jason told us that his goal was to earn another contract with an NBA team.  Today, I want to commend him on achieving his goal. I know everyone in the NBA family is excited for him and proud that our league fosters an inclusive and respectful environment.”

A 12-year NBA veteran, Collins rejoins the Nets after spending the first six and a half seasons of his NBA career with the franchise. Selected with the 18th pick in the 2001 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets, the Stanford product was acquired by the Nets as part of a multi-player draft night trade. In 510 games, including 404 starts, with the Nets from 2001-08, Collins averaged 4.4 points and 4.5 rebounds in 24.5 minutes per game. He also appeared in 75 playoff games with the Nets, amassing playoff averages of 3.3 points and 3.8 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game and helping the Nets reach back-to-back NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003. Collins is tied for third in Nets history in games played (510), ranks eighth in minutes played (12,493), ninth in offensive rebounds (782) and is tied for 10th in total rebounds (2,304). He holds NBA career averages of 3.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in 20.8 minutes per game through 713 contests, including 476 starts, after spending time with the Memphis Grizzlies (2008), Minnesota Timberwolves (2008-09), Atlanta Hawks (2009-12), Boston Celtics (2012-13) and Washington Wizards (2013).

Collins will be available for tonight’s game versus the Los Angeles Lakers.

Jason Collins to join Nets

Here’s ESPN New York reporting that veteran center Jason Collins will soon sign a 10-day contract with the Brooklyn Nets:

Jason Collins to join Nets

Jason Collins will become the first openly gay athlete in North America’s four major professional sports when he signs a 10-day contract with the Brooklyn Nets and plays against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday evening at Staples Center, sources with knowledge of the situation told ESPN

The Nets moved quickly to make the historic signing of the 35-year-old free agent center to have another big body available against the Lakers. Brooklyn had been contemplating signing Collins for the past week and the need for Collins became greater after the Nets dealt rebounding specialist Reggie Evans to the Sacramento Kings last week.

ESPN.com reported that the Nets quietly auditioned Collins last week in Los Angeles, paving the way from him to rejoin the franchise he spent his first six-plus seasons in the league.

The Nets were in the running to land Glen Davis but Davis opted to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers and informed teams of his decision. Davis is set to officially become an unrestricted free agent Sunday at 5 p.m. ET if, as expected, he is not claimed off waivers by another team.

Glen Davis will likely join Clippers

Here’s ESPN Los Angeles reporting that free agent power forward Glen “Big Baby” Davis will likely soon join the Clippers:

Glen Davis will likely join Clippers

Glen Davis will sign with the Los Angeles Clippers when he clears waivers and becomes a free agent at 5 p.m. ET, sources told ESPN.

Davis, 28, reached a buyout with the Orlando Magic on Friday and was waived. The Brooklyn Nets had also shown interest in Davis, but sources tell ESPN that they have decided to sign Jason Collins, feeling that they are out of the running on Davis.

Davis, averaging 12.1 points and 6.3 rebounds in 45 games this season, was making $6 million this season and was due to make about $6.6 million next season.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers was hoping to sign Davis, who negotiated a buyout with Orlando. Davis played for Rivers with the Boston Celtics from 2007 to 2011, winning a championship in 2008. Davis would be the only player on the Clippers roster to have won an NBA title.

Utah Jazz struggle badly when Derrick Favors is out

Here’s the Salt Lake Tribune highlighting the importance of Derrick Favors to the Utah Jazz this season:

Utah Jazz struggle badly when Derrick Favors is out

Derrick Favors’ injury has changed a few times over the season. It’s been a hip sprain, a sore hip, an inflamed hip and, most recently, a sprained hip.

But one thing has remained constant: the Jazz are winless when he doesn’t play. With Favors missing his seventh game in the Jazz’s last 13 on Saturday, Utah fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves and dropped to 0-9 on the year in games without Favors.

“I think everyone is confident in each other’s abilities but what Derrick brings to the table, this team really misses when he’s not here,” said forward Marvin Williams. “He’s an anchor. He’s a great rebounder. He’s a great one-on-one defender. He’s also a great help-side defender. Derrick has always been there to save the day. But, obviously, when he’s not back there, it’s been difficult.”

Knicks may say goodbye to Metta World Peace, Beno Udrih

Here’s ESPN New York reporting on the Knicks, who may part ways with some players that aren’t essential pieces of their rotation. (Then again, a few players actually in the rotation are also not essential pieces of the rotation, but that’s another story.)

Knicks may say goodbye to Metta World Peace, Beno Udrih

The New York Knicks are in discussions to cut ties with forward Metta World Peace.

World Peace wrote on Twitter that his agent and the Knicks are working on a buyout.

League sources confirmed to ESPN New York that the team is in discussions with World Peace’s representatives to work on a buyout or outright release.

The Knicks, league sources said, are also in talks with Beno Udrih’s representatives to work on a release or buyout for the veteran point guard.

World Peace, a Queens native, signed with the Knicks over the summer. He inked a two-year deal worth approximately $1.6 million per season with a player option in the second year.

Hawks sign Dexter Pittman to 10-day contract

The Atlanta Hawks have signed center Dexter Pittman to a 10-day contract, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Danny Ferry.

Most recently, Pittman spent time this season with the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League, playing in 17 contests (nine starts), and averaged 9.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 17.5 minutes (.538 FG%, .717 FT%).

Over three NBA seasons, Pittman has appeared in 48 regular season games (six starts) with Miami and Memphis, averaging 2.4 points and 1.8 rebounds in 7.2 minutes (.454 FG%). He has seen action in three career postseason contests.

He will wear uniform no. 45, and will be available for tonight’s game vs. New York.