Month: March 2014

Thunder sign Reggie Williams to 10-day contract, again

Thunder sign Reggie Williams to 10-day contract, again

The Oklahoma City Thunder has signed forward Reggie Williams to a 10-day contract, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

Earlier this season, Williams appeared in one game for the Thunder where he scored five points in five minutes after being signed to a 10-day contract on March 6.

In 25 games this season with the Tulsa 66ers, Williams averaged 20.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.56 steals in 38.0 minutes per game.

Williams has appeared in 178 NBA games (32 starts) and recorded career averages of 8.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 19.9 minutes per game as a member of the Warriors, Bobcats and Thunder.

The signing of Williams represents the 39th D-League Gatorade Call-Up this season and the eighth Call-Up all-time between the 66ers and the Thunder.

Williams is expected to join the Thunder prior to tonight’s game versus the Sacramento Kings.

The Thunder roster now stands at 15.

Jorge Gutierrez fined $15,000 for hard foul on Cody Zeller

Jorge Gutierrez

Brooklyn Nets guard Jorge Gutierrez has been fined $15,000 for making excessive contact above the shoulders with Charlotte Bobcats center Cody Zeller, it was announced today by Rod Thorn, President, Basketball Operations.

The foul on Gutierrez, for which he was assessed a Flagrant 2 and ejected, occurred with 6:42 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Bobcats’ 116-111 overtime win over the Nets on Wednesday, March 26, at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Nets sign Jorge Gutierrez to multi-year deal

Jorge Gutierrez

The Brooklyn Nets have signed guard Jorge Gutierrez to a multi-year contract, General Manager Billy King announced today

Gutierrez, who signed 10-day contracts on March 6 and March 16, has appeared in five games for the Nets, averaging 3.4 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 13.4 minutes per game. He scored a season-high 10 points versus Boston on March 21.

The University of California product is in his first season in the NBA.

Canadian point guard Tyler Ennis will enter 2014 NBA Draft

Here’s the Toronto Sun with an update on a talented young basketball player:

Canadian point guard Tyler Ennis is leaving Syracuse to enter the NBA draft.

“I’d like to thank Coach (Jim) Boeheim, the coaching staff, my teammates and the amazing fans of Syracuse for the opportunity to play at a great university like Syracuse,” said Ennis, a Brampton native, in a statement Thursday afternoon.

“I feel this experience has helped prepare me to fulfill my lifelong dream — to play in the NBA.”

Ennis, expected to be taken somewhere in the mid-late lottery, averaged 12.9 points, 5.5 assists and 3.4 rebounds in his freshman season, which ended abruptly with a loss to Dayton early in the NCAA tournament in Buffalo.

Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova out for rest of season

Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova out for rest of season

Milwaukee Bucks General Manager John Hammond provided the following update regarding Ersan Ilyasova:

“Ersan had his right ankle examined by foot and ankle specialist Dr. Richard Ferkel in Los Angeles on Tuesday (March 25). Dr. Ferkel’s recommendation was a period of rest and rehabilitation beginning immediately, rather than surgery. Based on this medical recommendation, Ersan is not expected to play the remainder of the 2013-14 season.”

In 55 games this season (47 starts), Ilyasova, 26, has averaged 11.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 26.9 minutes per game.

Report: Detroit Pistons will get their own D-League team

Here’s the Detroit Free Press reporting:

The Detroit Pistons are getting an NBA Development League affiliate in Grand Rapids, and they won’t have to share it with any other NBA teams, a person with knowledge of the situation said.

The person told the Free Press that the move to get a D-League team in Michigan and be solely affiliated with the Pistons was pushed for by Pistons owner Tom Gores.

The Grand Rapids franchise, which is expected to debut next season, will relocate from Springfield, Mass., where it is nicknamed the Armor. There was no immediate word about what the Grand Rapids team’s nickname will be.

LaMarcus Aldridge set to return for Blazers

Here’s the Oregonian reporting good news on the Portland Trail Blazers:

LaMarcus Aldridge will play when the Trail Blazers play the Atlanta Hawks, he said Thursday after the team’s shootaround at Philips Arena.

“I’m going,” Aldridge said. “We’ll see how it goes, but I’m going.”

Aldridge has not played since suffering a nasty fall at San Antonio on March 12. After losing that game, the Blazers lost four of their next seven, including all three to start the five-game road trip they are on.

Aldridge held a workout here Wednesday with several of Portland’s post players. He said he still feels some pain in the back when he runs, but he said it’s just time he plays.

Sixers sign James Nunnally to second 10-day contract

The Philadelphia 76ers today announced that they have signed forward James Nunnally to a second 10-day contract. He signed his first 10-day contract on March 17, 2014 and was the 37th  “Call-Up” of the 2013-14 NBA Development League season.

Nunnally has appeared in five games for the Sixers this season. In 35 games for the Bakersfield Jam and the Texas Legends of the D-League, Nunnally is averaging 18.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists. The D-League All-Star was also called up by the Atlanta Hawks on January 11, 2014 and appeared in four games.

The 15-56 Sixers are on a 25-game losing streak, and face the Houston Rockets tonight.

Warriors demote assistant coach Brian Scalabrine

Here’s ESPN.com News Services reporting on the Golden State Warriors and Brian Scalabrine:

Warriors demote assistant coach Brian Scalabrine

The Golden State Warriors have demoted assistant coach Brian Scalabrine to their D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz, Calif., with 11 games to play in the regular season for what coach Mark Jackson called a “difference in philosophies.”

Jackson’s Warriors sit in sixth place at 44-27, only 1½ games ahead of the eighth and last spot for the playoffs despite winning 15 of 23 games since the beginning of February.

He said Scalabrine’s reassignment to the Santa Cruz Warriors was his call.

“I made the decision,” Jackson said Tuesday after practice, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “I’m fortunate enough to have an ownership group and a management group that allows me to pick my staff. We’re just going in a different direction. That’s that.”