Month: August 2015

John Wall to participate in Team USA mini-camp

Here’s the Washington Post reporting on Wizards star point guard John Wall, who is entering the Team USA mix that is briefly gathering this summer in preparation for next summer’s competition:

John Wall to participate in Team USA mini-camp

John Wall has decided to participate in Team USA’s upcoming minicamp in Las Vegas, the Washington Wizards point guard confirmed Tuesday evening.

Wall, one of 41 invitees, was unsure whether he would join the three-day camp, scheduled for Aug. 11-13, after receiving a late invitation for last year’s training camp in preparation for the FIBA World Cup and being one of first three players cut along with teammate Bradley Beal and Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap. Beal confirmed he is also participating in the minicamp over the weekend. The camp will be held on UNLV’s campus and will conclude with a scrimmage on Aug. 13.

Kenneth Faried aims to improve defense

Here’s the Denver Post reporting on Nuggets power forward Kenneth Faried, who last season was paid a lot of money to average a modest 12.6 points per game. He did grab 8.9 rebounds per outing, which is even more impressive considering he played just 27.8 minutes per game. But beyond numbers, stronger defense is expected of him, and he knows it.

Kenneth Faried aims to improve defense

Kenneth Faried hears all the noise, but he didn’t need to. He already knew what he had to work on this summer.

“My defense, I’ve focused on that,” Faried said in a phone interview from Johannesburg, where he played in NBA Africa Game 2015 on Saturday. “I’ve been watching film on guys that I consider my toughest matchups, and I’ve been able to dissect them so that when the season comes around I’m able to guard those players — and become the player I want to be, and that’s hopefully defensive player of the year one day and first-team all-defense.”

Faried, a high-energy player, has the raw tools to be a defensive stopper. It will be up to new Nuggets coach Michael Malone to help him get there. What’s new is that Faried acknowledges his defensive shortcomings.

Major concern over Dante Exum injury

Here’s the Deseret News reporting on promising young Jazz guard Dante Exum, who may have suffered a very serious injury:

Major concern over Dante Exum injury

In 2014, Rudy Gobert’s time spent playing with his national team was instrumental in the French center’s successful second year in the NBA.

That was the best-case scenario for a pro playing for his country.

Dante Exum just experienced the worst-case scenario.

The Australian point guard injured his left knee Tuesday while playing for the Boomers in an international friendly game against Slovenia.

Initial concern is that Exum might have torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, a source told the Deseret News.

Exum will return to Utah for further evaluation on his knee by the team’s doctors at the University of Utah Health Care, the Jazz announced shortly after the injury occurred on the other side of the world.

Magic sign Melvin Ejim

The Orlando Magic have signed forward Melvin Ejim (EDGE-um), General Manager Rob Hennigan announced today.

Ejim (6’6”, 220, 3/4/91) played in 47 games (45 starts) last season with Virtus Roma in Italy, averaging 7.9 ppg., 5.6 rpg. and 1.00 stlpg. in 24.1 minpg. He recently played with the Orlando Magic “White” team during the 2015 Southwest Airlines Orlando Pro Summer League, averaging 9.2 ppg., 6.8 rpg., 1.6 apg. and 1.00 stlpg. in 30.0 minpg.

Ejim, who was not drafted by an NBA franchise in 2014, played in 135 games (126 starts) during four seasons at Iowa State University from 2010-14, averaging 12.2 ppg., 7.8 rpg., 1.4 apg. and 1.08 stlpg. in 27.8 minpg., while shooting .497 (596-1,158) from the floor. He finished his collegiate career as the Cyclones’ all-time leader in games played and games started. Ejim also finished on the school’s all-time list in rebounding (second, 1,051) and is the only player in ISU history to amass 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 100 steals. Ejim was named the Big 12 Player of the Year in 2013-14. He helped Iowa State captured the 2013-14 Big 12 Tournament championship and reach the Sweet Sixteen during the 2014 NCAA Tournament.

Dante Exum suffers knee injury

Dante Exum suffers knee injury

The following is a medical update on Utah Jazz guard Danté Exum:

Exum suffered a left knee injury today while competing for the Australian National Team in a game against the Slovenian National Team in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Exum was initially treated on site and will now return to Salt Lake City for further medical evaluation by the Utah Jazz medical staff and official healthcare partner University of Utah Health Care.

Further updates will be provided soon.

Clippers sign Pablo Prigioni

Clippers sign Pablo Prigioni

The Los Angeles Clippers signed Pablo Prigioni today, adding depth behind Chris Paul at the point guard position.

Prigioni, 38, joins the Clippers after playing in a total of 67 regular season games (three starts) last season with the Houston Rockets (24 games) and the New York Knicks (43 games), averaging 4.1 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 17.9 minutes.

The 6-foot-3 guard enjoyed a decorated international career before signing with the Knicks in 2012 and has appeared in 211 career regular NBA season games (48 starts) with New York and Houston, owning career averages of 3.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 17.7 minutes.

A veteran of the Spanish and Argentine leagues, Prigioni played for Ramallo (1995-96), Belgrano (1996-98) and Obras Sanitarias (1998-99) of the Argentine League and for Fuenlabrada (1999-01), Alicante (2001-03), Caja Laboral (2003-09, 2011) and Real Madrid (2009-11) of the Spanish ACB and LEB Leagues. He won the Spanish National Championship in 2007-08, the King’s Cup three times (2004, 2006, 2009) and Spanish Super Cup three times (2005, 2006, 2008) and is also a two-time All-Euroleague second team selection (2006, 2007).

The Rio Tercero, Argentina native was a member of the 2008 Argentinian National Team that captured Bronze in the Beijing Summer Olympics and the 2012 team in the London Summer Olympics. Prigioni helped Argentina win a Gold medal at the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship, a Silver medal at the 2007 Americas Championship and a Bronze medal at the 2009 Americas Championship. He also represented Argentina in the 2006 and 2010 World Championships.

Raptors announce front office promotions

Raptors announce front office promotions

The Toronto Raptors announced Tuesday the promotion of Teresa Resch to Vice President, Basketball Operations and Player Development and Dan Tolzman to Director, Player Personnel.
Resch joined the Raptors in 2013. She will continue her responsibilities for off-court player development programs and as a liaison between basketball and team business operations.
Resch has also played an instrumental role in overseeing plans for the team’s new practice facility slated to open in February, 2016.

Tolzman joined the Raptors in 2013 as Director of Scouting. In addition to input on personnel and roster decisions, he will continue to head all aspects of the team’s scouting department, including college and professional scouting, talent assessment and related data management.

On July 7, Tolzman was named the first general manager of the Raptors’ new NBA D-League affiliate, Raptors 905. As the club’s general manager, Tolzman will lead all basketball operations and player personnel matters, including roster management and development, player transactions, scouting and drafting.

Atlanta Hawks announce two executive appointments

The Atlanta Hawks Basketball Club announced today two executive appointments. Atlanta sports marketing veteran Andrew Saltzman has joined the organization as Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer, and Andrew Steinberg moves to the newly created role of Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer.

“These two executive announcements are major steps in realizing our ownership’s vision of being Atlanta’s top sports franchise, both in the business and civic communities,” Chief Executive Officer Steve Koonin said.

“We are thrilled to add the talents and experience of Andrew Saltzman to our executive team. Andrew is a passionate executive who has proven himself a visionary creative mind in the sports and media marketplaces, both locally and nationally.”

“I’ve been in the Atlanta sports market for almost 20 years and have never seen a sports team with as much momentum as the Atlanta Hawks,” said Saltzman. “The opportunity to be a part of this organization and work with a leader like Steve Koonin is simply a dream come true for me.”
Saltzman most recently served as the Chief Revenue Officer for PlayOn! Sports and the NFHS Network, the nation’s largest high school sports media company. From 1997 to 2012, Saltzman served as President of Big League Broadcasting, co-founding and developing WQXI-AM into one of the country’s leading sports talk outlets, Sports Radio 790 The Zone. Through his leadership and client-centric marketing vision, 790 The Zone established itself as Atlanta’s premier sports broadcast station. Saltzman’s resume also includes successfully negotiating multi-year sports broadcast agreements with the Hawks, the Atlanta Falcons, Georgia Tech Athletics and the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

In his new role of Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer, Steinberg will now take a leadership role in the execution of strategic projects as determined by Koonin and the Hawks Board of Directors, including: the development of a new practice facility site, reimagining Philips Arena, and pursuing an NBA Development League team as a Hawks affiliate. Additionally, he will provide oversight of Philips Arena.

“We are fortunate to have a leader in Andrew Steinberg, who will take on new responsibilities as our enterprise enters its next chapter. As the Atlanta Hawks Basketball Club continues to invest in both our organization and our community, Andrew will be at the forefront of these new major initiatives under new ownership,” said Koonin.

Under Steinberg, all Hawks revenue metrics have surged. During the 2014-15 season, Atlanta experienced the largest increase in attendance in the NBA and established team records for single game and group sales, leading the league in both categories. The Hawks currently lead the NBA in new full season tickets sold for 2015-16 and the season ticket membership base has increased by over 50% in his three seasons. Steinberg also created the Analytics and CRM department, providing strategic direction and key business intelligence insights and was instrumental in negotiations for the local media deals with Fox Sports South, CBS Radio 92.9 The Game and iHeartMedia’s El Patron 105.3FM. During his time in the role, Steinberg also developed marquee corporate partnerships with Boingo, Comcast, FanDuel and Ticketmaster, among others.

“I am excited for the challenges of my new role and working closely with our owners, who are committed to making the Hawks a vibrant community asset,” said Steinberg. “I look forward to helping execute their positive vision and to working with Executive Vice President and Philips Arena General Manager Trey Feazell, who has done an outstanding job leading the arena to become one of the busiest in the nation.”

Steinberg joined the Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena from Sporting Kansas City where he was Executive Vice President – Business Operations, directing revenue generation, strategic relationships, and corporate partnerships for the MLS team and the venue, Sporting Park. Prior to Sporting Kansas City, Steinberg served in various roles with the University of Kansas Athletics Department most notably as the Associate Athletics Director for Marketing and Revenue Development where he was responsible for enhancing KU’s brand image and strengthening its revenue streams. Steinberg joined the University of Kansas after serving as an associate with the law firm of Riling, Burkhead & Nitcher in Lawrence, Kansas and working with NIKE in Beaverton, Oregon.

“These two executive announcements are a major step in realizing our ownership’s vision in having our enterprise serve as a dynamic leader in the Atlanta business community,” said Koonin.

No Eurobasket 2015 for Serbian center Boban Marjanovic

After a physical exam, which included a MRI, San Antonio Spurs center Boban Marjanović has been diagnosed significant bony edema in his left ankle. The exam was performed by Dr. Richard Ferkel, director of sports medicine at the Southern California Orthopedic Institute.​

The Spurs medical team, in conjunction with Dr. Ferkel’s recommendation, has determined the injury compromises Marjanović’s ability to play basketball without compromising long-term health and future injury.

As a result of these findings and in the best interest of his future health, Spurs officials have informed Marjanović and the Serbian Basketball Federation that, under the agreement between FIBA and the NBA, Marjanović will not be allowed to participate with the Serbian National Team in Eurobasket 2015.

Dr. Ferkel is a member of the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society, Arthroscopy Association of North America, American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and International Society for Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopedic Sports Medicine.