December 2014 – Page 6 – NBA Blog

Hawks assign Mike Muscala to D-League

The Atlanta Hawks have assigned forward/center Mike Muscala to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by Head Coach Mike Budenholzer.

Muscala has appeared in eight games with the Hawks this season, averaging 4.9 points and 2.4 rebounds in 10.0 minutes (.586 FG%, .800 FT%). In a Dec. 10 win against Philadelphia, he had 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a steal in 19 minutes (6-8 FGs), tying career-highs in FGM and assists.

He saw action in two games with Fort Wayne earlier this year, putting up 13.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.0 assists in 25.0 minutes (.625 FG%, .700 FT%). In his most recent contest with the Mad Ants (Dec. 7 vs. Westchester), he recorded 14 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks and two assists in 27 minutes (6-9 FGs, 2-4 FTs) in a 97-86 win. He was first assigned on Dec. 6 and recalled on Dec. 8.

Pelicans waive Gal Mekel

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that the team has waived point guard Gal Mekel.

Mekel, 6-3, 191, was signed by the team on December 5 as an unrestricted free agent. Mekel appeared in four games with New Orleans, averaging 1.5 points and 3.3 assists.

The Wichita State product appeared in 31 games during the 2013-14 season for the Dallas Mavericks and appeared in all eight of Dallas’ 2014 preseason games.

New Orleans’ roster now stands at 14.

Lakers recall Jordan Clarkson from D-League

Los Angeles D-Fenders guard Jordan Clarkson has been recalled by the Los Angeles Lakers, it was announced today.

In four games with the D-Fenders, Clarkson has posted averages of 19.5 points, 7.0 assists and 4.8 rebounds in 34.0 minutes per game. In tonight’s win, Clarkson tallied a team-high 23 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. Clarkson shot 8-of-11 from the field in the second half, totaling 19 points on the half.

Celtics trade Rajon Rondo to Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have acquired four-time All-Star Rajon Rondo and center Dwight Powell from the Boston Celtics in exchange for center Brandan Wright, forward Jae Crowder, guard Jameer Nelson, a 2015 first round pick and a 2016 second round pick.

Rondo (6-1, 186) is an eight-year guard who has spent his entire professional career with the Celtics. In addition to being a four-time NBA All-Star (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013), Rondo has been named All-NBA Defensive Team four times (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012), All-NBA Third Team (2012) and was the starting point guard on Boston’s 2008 NBA Championship team. He has played in 527 career games (474 starts) and holds averages of 11.0 points, 8.5 assists, 4.7 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 32.9 minutes per game.

The veteran point guard also has extensive postseason experience having competed in two NBA Finals and starting each of his 92 career Playoff games. Rondo holds postseason career averages of 14.5 points, 9.2 assists, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 38.5 minutes per game.

Rondo currently leads the NBA in assists with 10.8 assists per game. He led the league in that category in both 2011-12 (11.7 apg) and 2012-13 (11.1 apg). He also holds several Celtics’ franchise assists records including single-season total with 794 assists (2009-10), assists per game with 11.7 apg (2011-12) and assists in an NBA Playoff game with 20 (2011).

The Louisville, Ky., native was originally the 21st pick of the 2006 NBA Draft after declaring as an early-entry candidate out the University of Kentucky. In just his freshman season as a Wildcat, Rondo set Kentucky’s all-time single-season steals mark with 87 steals in 34 games.

Powell (6-11, 240) is a rookie center who hails from Toronto, Canada and has seen action in five games this season with averages of 1.8 points, 0.2 rebounds and 1.8 minutes per game.

A former Stanford University standout, Powell was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets with the 45th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. He was originally traded from Charlotte to Cleveland before being acquired by the Celtics in a late-September trade that landed him in Boston, along with John Lucas III, Malcolm Thomas and Erik Murphy, while Keith Bogans was sent to the Cavaliers.

As a senior at Stanford, Powell was named All-Pac-12 First Team while averaging 14.0 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. He was also named Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year.

Kobe Bryant not recruiting Kevin Durant to Lakers just yet

Here’s the Los Angeles Daily News blog reporting fun futuristic dreaming type stuff:

Plenty of time awaits before the 2016 offseason strikes. Plenty of circumstances could determine how the free agency sweepstakes play out.

But with Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant becoming a free agent in 2016, consider him as the Lakers’ top player they will pursue.

“That’s safe to say,” said a league source familiar with the Lakers’ thought process.

So with the Lakers having their sights on Durant in 2016, has Kobe Bryant made an early free agency pitch?

“No, I think we know each other pretty well,” Bryant said on Thursday at the Lakers’ practice facility in El Segundo. “I don’t think it’s a discussion that you have in terms of coming here. But I think it’s more of an understanding how to play with each other.”

Larry Sanders suspended for flagrant foul on Nicolas Batum

Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders has been suspended one game without pay for pushing Portland Trail Blazers forward Nicolas Batum in the back as he elevated toward the basket, it was announced today by Rod Thorn, President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, which was upgraded to a Flagrant Foul 2, occurred with 3:01 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Bucks’ 104-97 loss to the Trail Blazers at MODA Center.

Sanders will serve his suspension tonight when the Bucks travel to Sacramento to play the Kings.

Julius Randle already off crutches

Here’s the Los Angeles Daily News blog with an update on injured Lakers rookie Julius Randle:

It appeared like a normal exercise as Lakers rookie forward Julius Randle performed a leg press during Wednesday’s practice. But in Randle’s case, it marked one of many progressions he has made since suffering a season-ending injury to his right leg in the Lakers’ season opener just under two months ago.

Since then, Randle has healed enough to get around without any crutches in the past week.

“Honestly I’m not supposed to be off crutches,” Randle said, with a chuckle. “The doctor said to go at your own pace. My pace was to get rid of them immediately.”

Randle still has a long way to go.

Charlotte has legit chance to eventually host All-Star weekend

Here’s the Charlotte Observer blog reporting positive things about the city’s chances of eventually hosting All-Star weekend:

Now that the Charlotte Hornets and the city of Charlotte have agreed to an arena renovation, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said its inevitable Charlotte will get an All-Star Game

“Personally I’m very excited about coming back here. I don’t think there’s any question it’s going to happen,” Silver said during a visit to Charlotte Wednesday. “Just a matter of what year.”

The first available All-Star Game up for bid is in 2017. In all likelihood the 2017 and 2018 events will be awarded to cities simultaneously. Silver said there’s no set date for when those games will be awarded, but he’d like it to be as soon as possible.

Nuggets coach clears the air with a few players

Here’s the Denver Post reporting on the Nuggets, who are majorly struggling lately:

Hoping to clear the air and get everybody on the same page, Nuggets coach Brian Shaw had “a couple of” individual meetings with players Tuesday, he said.

“There’s frustration,” Shaw said. “Obviously, we’re 10-14. We feel that out of those games there’s maybe a handful that we feel that we could have reversed — we feel we kind of did it to ourselves in those games. But I see frustration from some of the guys that aren’t playing as much as they want to play, from some of the guys that aren’t playing as well as they want to play.”

Danilo Gallinari and Kenneth Faried have been the most frustrated with their playing time as they battle through injuries and ineffectiveness. The Nuggets are 1-6 in their past seven, and the frustration isn’t limited to those two players.

Gallinari has missed the past three games with a bruised right knee but is expected to play Wednesday against the Houston Rockets.

Dirk Nowitzki raves about Kobe Bryant

Here’s ESPN Dallas reporting Dirk Nowitzki’s comments on Kobe Bryant. And as you’d expect from one legend discussing another, they’re quite positive:

“He’s probably the greatest player in my generation that I played against,” said Nowitzki, who has 27,239 career points and will likely pass Elvin Hayes and Moses Malone over the next few weeks to move up to seventh on the list. “Obviously Shaq was very dominant, Tim Duncan was great, but I just loved watching Kobe. I don’t think there will ever be another MJ, but he’s definitely as close as it gets that we’ll ever see.”