July 2014 – Page 18 – NBA Blog

Pacers sign C.J. Miles and Damjan Rudez, re-sign Lavoy Allen

The Indiana Pacers announced Friday they have signed free agents C.J. Miles and Damjan Rudez and re-signed free agent Lavoy Allen.

Allen, a 6-9 225 lb. forward out of Temple, re-signs with the Pacers after being initially acquired via trade on Feb. 20, 2014. He was the 20th pick in the Second Round (50th overall) in the 2011 NBA Draft, by the Philadelphia 76ers. He played two and a half seasons with the 76ers before being traded to the Pacers. Allen has career averages of 5.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game; and in 14 games with the Pacers he averaged 2.9 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.

“We’re very happy to have Lavoy back,” said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird. “When he had the opportunity to play, he played well. He fits in with what we’re trying to accomplish here and every day he’s committed to getting better.”

Miles, a 6-6, 210 lb. guard/forward, enters his 10th season in the NBA. Miles played the last two seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers where he averaged 10.6 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. C.J. was drafted by the Utah Jazz with the 34th overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft and spent the 2005-12 seasons with the Jazz. While with the Jazz, he spent time with both the Idaho Stampede and Albuquerque Thunderbirds of the NBA D-League. He has career averages of 8.4 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.

“We’re very glad to have C.J. and he really wanted to be here,” said Bird. “He brings versatility to the small forward and shooting guard positions. He’s a great shooter and scorer. We think he’ll fit nicely with the culture of our team.”

Rudez is a 6-10, 200 lb. forward out of Croatia. Most recently, he has played the last two seasons with CAI Zaragoza in Spain in the Liga ACB. Prior to that he played with Cibona Zagreb in Croatia, Cedevita Zagreb in Croatia, Union Olimpija in Slovenia, KK Split in Croatia, BC Oostende in Belgium and KK Zrinjevac in Croatia. He is currently a member of the Croatian National Team.

“Damjan is one of the best shooters in Europe,” said Bird. “With his size and knowledge, he can play two positions for us. He has experience, maturity and really knows how to play. He had a number of options, he chose us and we’re thrilled he did. We look forward to having him in a Pacer uniform.”

Warriors sign Shaun Livingston

The Golden State Warriors have signed free agent guard Shaun Livingston to a contract, the team announced today.

According to the Associated Press, “the deal is worth three years and about $16 million using Golden State’s full mid-level exception, which starts around $5.3 million next season.”

Livingston, 28, appeared in a career-high 76 games with the Brooklyn Nets last season, averaging 8.3 points, 3.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.22 steals in 26.0 minutes per contest. The 6’7” guard established single-season career-highs for games started (54), minutes played (1,974), points scored (629), rebounds (246), and steals (93). He scored in double figures a career-high 27 times, including a career-high four games of 20-or-more points. The Nets posted a 35-19 mark with Livingston in the starting lineup and a 19-4 record when he played 31 minutes-or-more. In 12 playoff games, he averaged 9.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists, while shooting 51.2 percent from the field.

“We are very happy that Shaun made the decision to join our team,” said Warriors General Manager Bob Myers. “He is a veteran player who, we believe, adds a lot to our roster with his versatility. He possesses the size and skills to play both backcourt positions, which will provide Coach Kerr with added depth and options throughout the season.”

A nine-year NBA veteran, Livingston owns career averages of 7.0 points, 3.4 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 23.1 minutes per game over 466 regular-season contests (176 starts) with the Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, Washington Wizards, Charlotte Bobcats, Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Brooklyn Nets.

Originally drafted out of Peoria Central High School in Peoria, IL, by the Clippers with the fourth overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, Livingston played his first two-plus seasons with the Clippers before suffering tears to his ACL, PCL, MCL and lateral meniscus, as well as a patella dislocation and a tibia/femoral dislocation, in his left knee during a game against the Charlotte Bobcats on February 26, 2007. The injury forced him to miss the final 26 games of the 2006-07 season and the entire 2007-08 campaign.

Orlando Magic sign Ben Gordon

The Orlando Magic have signed free agent guard Ben Gordon, General Manager Rob Hennigan announced today.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, the contract is “a two-year, $9 million deal in which the final season is fully unguaranteed if he’s waived before July 1, 2015.”

“Ben (Gordon) brings valuable experience to our team,” said Hennigan. “His competitiveness and ability to score and stretch the floor adds versatility to our backcourt and overall roster. We are excited to welcome Ben to the Orlando Magic family.”

Gordon (6’3”, 200, 4/4/83) played in 19 games last season with Charlotte, averaging 5.2 ppg., 1.4 rpg. and 1.1 apg. in 14.7 minpg. He led (or tied) the team in assists once and scored in double figures three times, including a season-high 12 points on Dec. 9 vs. Golden State.

Originally selected by Chicago in the first round (third overall) of the 2004 NBA Draft, Gordon has appeared in 688 career NBA regular season games (269 starts) during his 10-year career with Chicago, Detroit and Charlotte, averaging 15.6 ppg., 2.6 rpg. and 2.6 apg. in 28.5 minpg., while shooting .402 (1,136-2,824) from three-point range and .858 (1,968-2,306) from the free throw line. He also played in 29 career playoff games (24 starts), averaging 20.2 ppg., 3.2 rpg. and 3.2 apg. in 37.9 minpg. Gordon earned the NBA Sixth Man Award in 2004-05, becoming the first rookie in league history to win the honor. Since joining the NBA in 2004-05, he has scored 20+ points off the bench 98 times, second-most in the NBA during that span (Jamal Crawford, 127).

Atlanta Hawks waive John Salmons

The Atlanta Hawks requested waivers on guard/forward John Salmons yesterday (7/10/14), it was announced by President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Danny Ferry.

Salmons was acquired, along with a 2015 second round draft pick, from Toronto on June 30 in exchange for Lou Williams and the draft rights to Lucas Nogueira.

LeBron decides to go back to the Cavaliers

LeBron James’ latest decision is in: He’s returning to Cleveland.

Ending a saga that had the NBA virtually at a standstill while he made up his mind, James told Sports Illustrated for a story published Friday that he’s decided to go home. His decision reverses the move he made when he left the Cavaliers for Miami four years ago, and a twist that would have seemed unfathomable after the venomous fallout when he joined the Heat.

“When I left Cleveland, I was on a mission,” James said in the SI first-person story. “I was seeking championships, and we won two. But Miami already knew that feeling. Our city hasn’t had that feeling in a long, long, long time. My goal is still to win as many titles as possible, no question. But what’s most important for me is bringing one trophy back to Northeast Ohio.”

He added, “My relationship with Northeast Ohio is bigger than basketball. I didn’t realize that four years ago. I do now.”

— Associated Press

Nets superhero mascot BrooklyKnight is gone

Here’s the New York Post with an update of a mascot, of sorts:

The BrooklyKnight has been booted out of its own borough.

After two ill-fated years as the mascot of the Brooklyn Nets, the team has decided to part ways with the unpopular character.

“We put a lot of energy and thought into the BrooklyKnight, but we’ve decided to go in a different direction,” said Barry Baum, Executive Vice President of the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center.

The Nets have no plans to have a new mascot in the near future.

Celtics sign first round draft picks Marcus Smart and James Young

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have signed their 2014 first round draft picks, guard Marcus Smart and guard/forward James Young.

Players selected in the first round of the NBA Draft are guaranteed to receive a contract, assuming they wish to come to the league right away. Therefore, these signings are standard, and not a surprise.

Smart, a 6’4” guard, was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. He was a two-time All-Big 12 First Team selection, and was also named to the Big 12 All-Defensive team, USBWA All-District VI and NABC All-District 8 teams. Smart finished his two-year OSU career with 189 steals, the second-most in school history, and averaged 2.94 steals per game in his career, a school record. During his sophomore season at Oklahoma State he led the Cowboys with 18.0 points, 4.8 assists and 2.9 steals per game. His 2.9 steals per game ranked third in the nation. Smart garnered All-America honors from the Associated Press (Honorable Mention) and NABC (Third Team).

Young, a 6’6” guard/forward, was selected with the 17th pick in the first round. Young was part of the Kentucky squad that finished runner-up for the 2014 NCAA National Championship. In the national championship game he posted a team-high 20 points and a game-high seven rebounds against Connecticut. He was selected to the All-Final Four Tournament Team and All-SEC Second Team. He was the second highest scorer on Kentucky this past season with 14.3 points and finished 10th in the SEC in three-point shooting connecting on 34.9 percent of his attempts. Young was also named to the All-SEC Freshman team and led the Wildcats with 82 three-pointers which was the seventh most in a single season in Kentucky history and second all-time for a freshman. Young increased his three-point accuracy during the NCAA tournament when he connected on 42.6 percent of his attempts and also shot 85.0 percent from the free throw line.

Atlanta Hawks sign Thabo Sefolosha

The Atlanta Hawks have signed free agent guard/forward Thabo Sefolosha, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Danny Ferry. According to multiple reports, it is a three-year deal for a total of $12 million.

“Thabo is an unselfish, competitive and playoff-tested player, and does many things well on both sides of the ball,” Ferry said. “He also fills a need, giving us more size and depth at the wing position. He’s been a part of winning programs and will fit our culture well.”

Sefolosha, 30, played and started in 61 games last season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, averaging 6.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals in 26.0 minutes (.415 FG%, .768 FT%). In his eight-year career, Sefolosha has appeared in 551 games with the Thunder and Bulls (407 starting assignments) and has averaged 5.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 steals in 23.4 minutes (.442 FG%, .348 3FG%, .746 FT%). He was selected to the NBA’s All-Defensive second team in 2009-10.

He has also played in 78 playoff games, starting 67, averaging 4.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 steals in 19.9 minutes.

Sefolosha was originally selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 13th overall pick of the 2006 NBA Draft, and was traded to Chicago in exchange for the draft right to Rodney Carney, a second-round pick and cash considerations. He spent two-and-a-half seasons with the Bulls before going to the Thunder on February 19, 2009 in exchange for a first-round pick.

The native of Vevey, Switzerland has also played for Tege Riviera Basket (Switzerland), Elan Chalon (France) and Angelico Biella (Italy). He also played briefly for Fenerbahce Ulker in Turkey in 2011.

Phil Jackson still waiting to hear from Carmelo Anthony

Here’s the New York Post with a Thursday evening update on Knicks free agent Carmelo Anthony:

Knicks president Phil Jackson spoke with bravado in saying he expects a positive outcome will be reached with Carmelo Anthony, though he still has not heard officially from the superstar free agent.

Jackson said he expected an answer Thursday — but also expected one the previous two days and didn’t get a commitment. Jackson added he also has been in conversations with free-agent power forward Pau Gasol, selling him on New York.

“I felt really good about my conversation with Carmelo,’’ Jackson said during the Knicks summer league practice. “We really struck a chord the two of us and feel overly passionately about what we’re trying to get accomplished. It’s his ability to stay, be patient, lead and watch us develop a winner. There’s no instantaneous winner that we think is going to happen to the Knicks right now, but we’re going to be a lot better.’’

Mavs, Rockets discussing a possible Chandler Parsons sign-and-trade

Here’s the Dallas Morning News with a report on the Chandler Parsons situation:

The Dallas Mavericks have not yet submitted their signed offer sheet to the Houston Rockets as both teams have been talking about the possibility of a sign-and-trade that would land Chandler Parsons in Dallas.

The Mavericks have until midnight to submit the deal to the Rockets, who then would have 72 hours to decide whether to match the three-year, $46-million offer for the restricted free agent.

It makes sense for the Mavericks to see if a sign-and-trade that might be equitable for both sides and eliminate the possibility of Houston matching the deal for Parsons. Once an offer sheet is submitted, sign and trades are not allowed.

“There’s communication because there’s sign-and-trade possibilities,” president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said Thursday morning.