Month: March 2016

Sixers waive Sonny Weems, sign Christian Wood to 10-day contract

The Philadelphia 76ers have “called up” forward Christian Wood from the Delaware 87ers and signed him to a 10-day contract.

Wood has appeared in 32 games with the Sevens this season, averaging a team-high nine rebounds, as well as 17 points on 53% shooting in 29 minutes per game.

Wood, who went undrafted in the 2015 NBA Draft, signed with the 76ers last September 14. He has appeared in 14 career NBA games with the Sixers, averaging four points and two rebounds per game. Wood registered career-highs of 15 points and eight rebounds on November 13 at Oklahoma City.

In a related move, the team has waived guard-forward Sonny Weems.

Blake Griffin begins serving suspension

Blake Griffin begins serving suspension

The L.A. Clippers announced today that forward Blake Griffin has been medically cleared for all basketball activities and will begin serving his four-game, team-imposed suspension on Sunday, March 27 when the Clippers play the Denver Nuggets.

Griffin has missed the last 41 games with a partially torn left quad tendon and right hand fracture, and will return to action on Sunday, April 3 against the Washington Wizards.

In his 30 games this season, Griffin is averaging 23.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists in 34.9 minutes

Grizzlies sign Xavier Munford to second 10-day contract

The Memphis Grizzlies have signed guard Xavier Munford to a second 10-day contract.

Munford (6-3, 180) has appeared in five games with the Grizzlies after signing his first 10-day contract with the team on March 16 and has averaged 2.4 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 10.2 minutes. The 23-year-old was called up from the NBA Development League’s Bakersfield Jam, where he appeared in 41 games (37 starts) and averaged 20.4 points (.490 FG/.412 3P/.811 FT), 4.2 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.00 steals in 33.7 minutes. A 2016 D-League All-Star, he ranks sixth among qualifying players in assists per game and 11th in scoring average.

Undrafted in the 2014 Draft, Munford transferred to the University of Rhode Island as a junior and completed his collegiate career with averages of 17.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 35.5 minutes in 61 games (all starts) over two seasons. The New Jersey native led the Rams in scoring in each of his two years with the program.

Chandler Parsons undergoes season-ending knee surgery

Dallas Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons underwent arthroscopic surgery today to address an injury to his right medial meniscus. The surgery was performed by team physician Dr. Daniel Worrel at The Carrell Clinic in Dallas.

Parsons will miss the remainder of the 2015-16 season.

The Mavericks are 35-36 this season and currently the 7th seed in the Western conference. They are in a very tight playoff race against the 6th seed Trail Blazers and 8th seed Rockets, with the Jazz very close in the 9th spot.

Parsons (6-10, 230) finished the year with averages of 13.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 29.5 minutes in 61 games (51 starts). He shot 49.2 percent (320-of-651) from the field and 41.4 percent (104-of-251) from 3-point range.

Over his final 30 games of the season (since Jan. 12), Parsons averaged 18.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 34.3 minutes. He shot 52 percent (204-of-392) from the floor and 47.5 percent (75-of-158) from deep in his last 30 games.

Pelicans sign Jordan Hamilton to 10-day contract

Pelicans sign Jordan Hamilton to 10-day contract

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed forward Jordan Hamilton to a 10-day contract. This brings their team roster to 17. They were able to exceed the usual 15-player maximum after receiving an injury hardship exception from the NBA.

The 6-7, 220-pound Hamilton most recently played for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (D-League), appearing in 14 games and averaging 14.9 points on .497 shooting from the floor, 9.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 29.2 minutes per outing.

Selected 26th overall by Dallas in the 2011 NBA Draft out of the University of Texas, Hamilton has appeared in 140 career regular season games with Denver, Houston and the Los Angeles Clippers, holding averages of 5.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per contest.

Hamilton will wear #25 for the Pelicans.

His signing marks the 36th “Call-Up” from the D-League this season.

The Pelicans are 26-45 this season and have been a huge disappointment, partially due to their level of play but certainly injuries played a huge factor in their struggle. The team recently announced that star forward Anthony Davis won’t play again this season. Davis recently had knee surgery, while playing through a long-time shoulder injury.

Nuggets sign Axel Toupane to multi-year contract

The Denver Nuggets have signed Axel Toupane to a multi-year contract.

The 6-7, 210 swingman appeared in 11 games for Denver, averaging 3.0 points and 1.3 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per game. He previously played in 32 games (14 starts) for the Toronto 905 of the NBA D-League this season, averaging 14.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.00 steals in 29.7 minutes per game.

The 23-year-old native of France played professionally for Strasbourg of the French Pro National Basketball League A from 2011 through 2015. He went undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft.

The Nuggets are 30-42 this season and technically still in the race to qualify for the 2016 NBA playoffs, though they’d have to go on a big run to make that happen and get lucky as well. Not likely.

Meyers Leonard having season-ending shoulder surgery

Meyers Leonard having season-ending shoulder surgery

Portland Trail Blazers forward Meyers Leonard will undergo surgery to repair his injured left shoulder and as a result will miss the remainder of the season.

The surgery is scheduled to be performed on Friday, April 8 by Dr. Neal ElAttrache at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles.

Through 61 games this season, Leonard is averaging 8.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.

Huge James Harden season stats also include a ton of turnovers

The Houston Rockets are 35-37 this season and half a game out of the playoff race, behind the 8th seed Utah Jazz. James Harden is putting up monster stats: 28.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 1.75 steals per game. But in an effort to carry this squad, he’s also averaging 4.6 turnovers per game. That’s a ton. Here’s the Denver Post blog with more:

Huge James Harden season stats also include a ton of turnovers

Houston Rockets guard James Harden has a chance to break the league’s all-time single-season turnovers record. At 332 with 10 games remaining, Harden needs just 34 to tie Artis Gilmore’s 39-year-old mark, according to basketball-reference.com. He is on pace for 372.

The four-time all-star became the first player in a decade to reach at least 321 turnovers last season, the first since Miami’s Dwyane Wade (321) and Philadelphia’s Allen Iverson (344) in 2004-05. Iverson was the first to reach at least 340 since Clippers guard Ron Harper in the 1986-87 season.

In second place this year, Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook has 303 through 71 games. He’s on pace for 350 — that’s tied with Charles Barkley’s 1985-86 season in Philadelphia. In third, Washington’s John Wall (291) is trending toward 336 — top-20 all-time.

Alan Anderson day-to-day with groin injury

The Washington Wizards are 35-36 and if the season ended today would miss the playoffs. Here’s the Washington Post blog with a health update:

Alan Anderson day-to-day with groin injury

Alan Anderson has not played in three of the last four games for the Washington Wizards and the team has listed him as out because of ankle ailment. Coach Randy Wittman has said it’s been Anderson’s left ankle, which he had surgery on in October, which forced him to miss the first 55 games of the season.

But Anderson’s agent said Thursday that Anderson is dealing with a groin injury, not an ankle problem, and his status is “day to day.” The Wizards host the Minnesota Timberwolves Friday before beginning a five-game west-coast trip Sunday in Los Angeles against the Lakers.