Month: August 2014

Atlanta Hawks re-sign forward Mike Scott

Atlanta Hawks re-sign forward Mike Scott

The Atlanta Hawks have re-signed forward Mike Scott, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Danny Ferry.

“Mike has worked hard and continues to adapt, improve and expand his all around game,” Ferry said. “We are very happy to have him with us going forward and we look forward to his continued growth with our group.”

Atlanta’s second-round pick (43rd overall) in the 2012 NBA Draft, Scott played in 80 games (six starts) for the Hawks last season, averaging 9.6 points and 3.6 rebounds in 18.5 minutes (.479 FG%, .780 FT%). He knocked down 62 three-pointers after going 0-1 from downtown in his rookie season. Scott scored in double figures 40 times (five 20-point games including one 30-point night), leading the team in scoring nine times. In his six starts, he put up 14.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 32.5 minutes. He hit double digits in 13 straight games from 1/8-2/5, the longest stretch of his career.

In Atlanta’s 2014 first-round playoff series against Indiana, Scott compiled 9.4 points and 2.6 rebounds in 20.9 minutes, including a 17-point second quarter (6-6 FGs, 5-5 3FGs – the second-most three’s in a quarter in NBA playoff history) in Game 5 (4/28/14).

Lakers sign rookie Jordan Clarkson

Lakers sign rookie Jordan Clarkson

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed Jordan Clarkson, the 46th pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, whose rights were acquired from the Washington Wizards on draft night, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

In the 2014 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Clarkson led the Lakers’ entry in scoring, (15.8 points per game) and rebounding (5.0) while shooting 42.1% (8-19) from beyond-the-arc in five games (all starts). In his debut vs. Toronto, he led the team with 21 points on 7-15 shooting (2-4 from three-point range) with four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

The 6’5’’ guard from Missouri was named Second Team All-SEC by the coaches in his lone season with the Tigers. An early entry candidate after his junior season, Clarkson spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at Tulsa, where he was selected First Team All-Conference USA in 2011-12, following his C-USA All-Freshman team honors in 2010-11.

Mark Cuban says new Clippers owner is great for the league

Here’s ESPN Dallas reporting Mavs owner Mark Cuban’s opinion on the Clippers, who with Donald Sterling gone have a new owner:

New Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer drew comparisons to Mark Cuban with his high-fiving, chest-bumping, shouting introduction to the franchise’s fan base last week.

The scene came as no surprise to the Dallas Mavericks owner, whose enthusiastic exhibitions had been unique among the NBA’s owners.

“I’ve known Steve for a long time, going back into my twenties, and he’s always been this way,” Cuban said during an appearance on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM’s “The Afternoon Show with Cowlishaw and Mosley” last week. “So this isn’t Steve Ballmer getting hyped just for the Clippers. This is just the way he is. He’s going to be great for the league.

“You know, in reality, I already know, knowing him, he’s going to be a lot calmer than I am. He’s great hyping people up in a sales environment, but it’ll be interesting to see him during a game. I hope he’s crazy, but I’m not expecting it.”

Interesting PG options for Team USA

Here’s ESPN.com with an update on Team USA, who play an exhibition game Tuesday:

Kyrie Irving likely starting at PG Tuesday for Team USA

Kyrie Irving will start opposite Goran Dragic at point guard Tuesday night when Team USA plays Slovenia in its final tuneup game leading into the FIBA World Cup.

But Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski, in tabbing Irving as his starter against the Dragic-led Slovenians, told ESPN.com that one option under consideration is letting Irving and Derrick Rose trade off as the starter throughout the tournament, which opens Saturday in Bilbao with the Yanks facing Finland.

“We’ll see as thing goes on,” Krzyzewski said after Monday’s two-hour practice. “We might alternate ’em. Both of them are going to play significant minutes.”

Krzyzewski says he can also envision Irving and Rose playing together once the tournament starts as Rose continues to acclimate himself to full-speed basketball after two major knee injuries limited him to just 10 games over the past two seasons with the Chicago Bulls.

Shabazz Napier still getting used to the feel of a pro basketball

Here’s the Washington Post blog reporting on a Miami Heat rookie:

Some might be tempted to scoff at Miami Heat rookie Shabazz Napier’s excuse for his poor NBA Summer League performance — the ball. Like many aspects of NCAA and NBA basketball, the actual ball is not the same, a lesson Napier is learning the hard way.

“[M]y biggest thing is getting comfortable with that basketball,” Napier told the Associated Press. “That’s one of my biggest problems and it’s kind of ironic, because it’s a basketball. But it’s different than a college basketball.”

Both NCAA and NBA basketballs measure 29.5 inches, but the materials can vary. In the NBA, regulation balls are composed of leather, while in college, the balls can be made of pebbled rubber. Napier’s problems might be compounded by him never having touched an NBA ball until the combine.

Mike Beasley remains available in free agency

Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting on Miami Heat free agent forward Michael Beasley:

Mike Beasley remains available in free agency

“I’ve grown,” he said. “Just like you can look back and say I did a lot of things I’m not proud of. Take it in stride, grow up and move on with life. So, I’ve grown. I’m more mature about situations.

“I’m definitely not as social as I used to be. That’s just because of trust issues. Just trust issues. I’m not going to get into all that. But I definitely don’t have as many friends as I used to have. That’s definitely by choice.”

He stressed that he lived alone, “me and the mosquitoes that bite me.”

Now he stands alone, again, for a second consecutive summer. He remains a scorer and a shooter, the league now left to decide whether he still is an NBA player.

A year ago, coach Erik Spoelstra said the mandate was basic for Beasley, “Embrace our culture. Embrace the routine. Embrace the work.”

Of course, what matters most is to be embraced in response.

Three weeks ago, Heat President Pat Riley said Beasley was “still a consideration.”

Instead, No. 8 belongs to another, the Heat seemingly having moved on. Again.

Timberwolves hope to establish an identity

Here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune reporting on the Timberwolves:

Timberwolves hope to establish an identity

Seven years after they traded away a star with the same first name, the Timberwolves did so again on Saturday, finally sending away discontented Kevin Love to Cleveland in a three-way trade before he could leave.

A pre-emptive strike before Love could walk away free next summer, the deal is intended to change the identity of a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs since that other Kevin — the one named Garnett — played at Target Center long ago.

It brings the first player selected in each of the past two NBA drafts — this summer’s No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins and 2013’s Anthony Bennett — as well as Philadelphia veteran power forward Thaddeus Young and a $6-plus million trade exception the Wolves can use within the next year to add a player without salary-cap limitations.

In return, the Wolves sent Love to Cleveland, where he will play beside superstar LeBron James and pal Kyrie Irving on a team that now becomes an instant title contender, if it already wasn’t before. The Wolves also shipped to Philadelphia veteran forward Luc Mbah a Moute, Alexey Shved and Miami’s 2015 first-round pick received from the Cavaliers.

Loyalty helped Chris Andersen stay with Heat

Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting on the Heat. Note that while loyalty probably was a factor, we have to assume that nice money was a factor. Anyway, here’s the Sun Sentinel:

Chris Andersen discusses why he stuck with Heat

Just as LeBron James cited going home as a reason for his free-agency return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chris Andersen said Saturday among the reasons he re-signed with the Miami Heat was because South Florida felt like home.

“It was definitely the loyalty from the fans and from the team,” said the Texas native who signed a two-year, $10.3 million contract with the Heat last month. “That had a big part of it. And it’s matter of me ending my career in a place that I’d be happy at and am familiar with.”

Andersen’s popularity was evident during his Saturday promotional appearance at the grand opening of the new Dick’s Sporting Goods location in Coral Springs, as he was mobbed by fans during an afternoon autograph session, with fans, including a few Birdman lookalikes, arriving before daybreak. The store’s supply of bracelets needed for his autograph was exhausted well before his arrival.