February 2017 – Page 5 – NBA Blog

Jeremy Lin finally set to return for Nets

Here’s the New York Post reporting on the Nets, who at 9-47 easily have the league’s worst record but at least are set to welcome entertaining point guard Jeremy Lin back to action:

The NBA season is two-thirds over, but for Jeremy Lin it might just as well be starting. With just 27 games left on the Nets’ schedule, and Lin finally making his return Friday in Denver, the team and its oft-injured floor general are hoping to win as many as possible.

“I’m excited to see Jeremy back and trying to get some momentum going into next season with our lineups and see who plays well with whom and who plays well with Jeremy at quarterback, your point guard,” coach Kenny Atkinson said. “It’s important.”

“Win as many as you can. We’ve only won nine games, and that hurts everybody in the organization,’’ Lin said. “At this point I could really care less about a lot of other stuff, other than this team needs a win. We need to feel what it means to win. We need to build a winning culture, and my only goal is to get as many wins as we can.”

Sixers, Hawks trade Ersan Ilyasova, Tiago Splitter

The Philadelphia 76ers have acquired center Tiago Splitter, a second-round pick, and the option to swap a second-round pick from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for forward Ersan Ilyasova, President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo announced today.

The Sixers will also receive a second-round pick from Atlanta (via Miami) and the right to swap the least favorable of the 2017 second-round picks received in the Sixers trade with the Utah Jazz with Atlanta’s 2017 second-round pick.

“I want to thank Ersan Ilyasova for his positive contributions to this organization both on and off the basketball court,” Colangelo said. “Ersan is a true professional whose daily examples of hard work, focus and consistency have helped facilitate the ongoing growth of our program and culture.”

“We are excited to welcome Ersan, and his family, to the Atlanta Hawks. He’s a high-character, proven veteran who we’ve liked for many years and believe fits well within our system,” Hawks President of Basketball Operations/Head Coach Mike Budenholzer said. “We also want to thank Tiago for his contributions on and off the court. We wish him all the best in the future.”

Ilyasova was acquired by Philadelphia on November 1, 2016 in a deal with Oklahoma City. In the midst of his ninth NBA season, he has appeared in 583 career games (353 starts) and holds averages of 11 points and six rebounds in 24 minutes per game. A native of Turkey, Ilyasova played in 53 games (40 starts) with the Sixers this season, averaging 15 points and six rebounds on 44 percent shooting from the field.

Splitter, a veteran of six NBA seasons, has appeared in 347 career games (153 starts) with San Antonio and Atlanta. He holds career averages of eight points and five rebounds in 19 minutes per game, while shooting 56 percent from the floor. Originally selected in the first round (28th overall) of the 2007 NBA Draft by the Spurs, the Brazilian native spent the first five seasons of his career in San Antonio (2010-15). During the Spurs’ run to the 2014 NBA title, Splitter saw action in all 23 playoff games (18 starts), posting eight points and six rebounds per contest.

Brandon Jennings takes vacation from Twitter

Here’s the New York Daily News reporting on the ever-changing social media world of Knicks guard Brandon Jennings:

Brandon Jennings wants Knicks fans to cool it on Twitter.

The point guard recently went on a brief hiatus from social media after he became fed up with the influx of bizarre tweets.

Jennings is usually prolific on Twitter, engaging with his fans on a variety of topics, from sneakers to rising rap artists. But he didn’t fire off a single tweet between Feb. 14 and Feb. 19, instead using his All-Star break to spend time with his children and unwind.

“Just needed a break from it. Being a Knicks player, you get all type of weird tweets and stuff,” Jennings said at Knicks practice Wednesday. “So I just wanted to get off social media for a minute. That’s all. Calm it down a little bit.”

Nets trade Bojan Bogdanovic and Chris McCullough to Wizards

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has acquired forward Bojan Bogdanovic and forward Chris McCullough from Brooklyn in exchange for forward Andrew Nicholson, guard Marcus Thornton and a 2017 protected first round draft pick.

“Bojan is a very good shooter and a talented overall scorer whose versatility gives us an added dimension as we gear up for the stretch run,” said Grunfeld. “He is a proven starter that will provide us an added boost off the bench and allow us to be creative with our lineups.”

Bogdanovic (6-8, 225, name is pronounced BOY-ahn bog-DON-O-vich) has averaged career-highs of 14.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists this season while shooting .357 (99-277) from three-point range in 55 games (54 starts). He holds career averages of 11.2 points and 3.1 rebounds in 212 career games (121 starts) while shooting .441 from the field, .366 from three-point range and .847 from the line in three seasons with Brooklyn. The 31st overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft averaged 11.2 points and 3.2 rebounds while shooting .433 from the field and a career-best .382 from long distance in 79 games (39 starts) last season.

The 27-year-old sharpshooter has scored in double digits 44 times and tallied 20+ points 12 times this season. He played for the Croatian National Team during the 2016 Summer Olympics, leading all scorers with 25.3 points per game while shooting .506 from the field and .450 from three-point range. Bogdanovic was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team after averaging 9.0 points and shooting .355 from three-point range in his first season (2014-15). Prior to the NBA, he played 160 games for Fenerbache Ulker of the Turkish Basketball League, averaging 13.7 points and 2.3 rebounds.

McCullough (6-9, 215) holds career averages of 3.9 points and 2.2 rebounds while shooting .429 from the field in 11.4 minutes per game. As a rookie in 2015-16, the former 29th overall draft pick averaged 4.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 24 games (four starts). This season, the Syracuse alum has appeared in 14 games with Brooklyn averaging 2.5 points and 1.2 rebounds and has played in 31 games with the Long Island Nets of the D-League where he averaged 18.1 points and 7.7 rebounds to earn 2017 D-League All-Star honors.

“We feel Chris is an intriguing prospect as a first-round pick who was recently named a D-League All-Star,” said Grunfeld. “He has high potential and we look forward to our staff continuing his development.”

Nicholson has appeared in 28 games with Washington this season after signing with the team as a free agent on July 7, 2016, recording averages of 2.5 points and 1.2 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per game. Prior to joining the Wizards, Nicholson spent the first four seasons of his NBA career (2012-16) with the Orlando Magic, appearing in 247 games and posting averages of 6.5 points and 3.2 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per game. The 27-year-old native of Mississauga, Ontario was originally selected with the 19th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft by Orlando after a standout four-year career at St. Bonaventure University, where he earned Atlantic 10 Player of the Year honors, as well as All-American Honorable Mention, while leading the Bonnies to their first-ever Atlantic 10 Tournament title in his senior season.

Thornton has appeared in 483 career games with New Orleans, Sacramento, Brooklyn, Boston, Phoenix, Houston and Washington, recording averages of 11.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 23.4 minutes per game. In 33 games this season with Washington, Thornton has averaged 6.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 17.4 minutes per game.

“We thank Andrew and Marcus for their professionalism and their contributions to our team,” said Grunfeld. “We wish them both the best moving forward in their careers.”

Ben Simmons health update coming soon

The key piece of the Sixers’ future is center Joel Embiid, and if all goes as planned the other big piece is injured rookie Ben Simmons. Here’s CSN Philly reporting:

Ben Simmons health update coming Thursday

Thursday is significant for the Sixers beyond the trade deadline. It is also the day of Ben Simmons’ CT scan to evaluate how his right foot is healing.

“I feel like tomorrow at some point we’re all going to be able to lay out a more genuine plan for him,” Brett Brown said Wednesday. “I feel like we’re going to be good to go with some greater news and a more advanced detail of his plans after this scan.”

Once all parties involved assess the results, the team will provide an update, which may not be Thursday. Simmons has been sidelined all season after suffering a Jones fracture during the final scrimmage of training camp.

James Harden will need new agent

Here’s the Houston Chronicle reporting on Rockets guard James Harden and how some Laker-related news will affect him:

Once Rob Pelinka completes the process of going from player agent to Lakers general manager, Rockets guard James Harden will be a max-contract without representation. But he said he has not been barraged by agents trying to recruit him.

“I changed my number so nobody’s calling,” Harden said, at least in part to avoid the pitches sure to come.

“I told him, he’s worked extremely hard. To get an opportunity to be a GM, and the GM of the Los Angeles Lakers, take it. I’ll figure out what I got to do next. But it’s the opportunity of a lifetime and I’m happy for him.”

Miles Plumlee injured, will be re-evaluated in two weeks

The Charlotte Hornets announced today that center Miles Plumlee underwent a Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI), which revealed a second-degree calf strain in his right leg. Plumlee will be out for Charlotte’s game tomorrow at Detroit and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.

The 6-11 center was acquired by Charlotte via trade on Feb. 2. He has appeared in five games with the Hornets, averaging 3.2 points on .727 shooting from the field and 3.8 rebounds in 13.4 minutes per contest.

Cavaliers sign Derrick Williams to second 10-day contract

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed forward Derrick Williams to a second 10-day contract, Cavaliers General Manager David Griffin announced today. Williams signed his first 10-day contract with the Cavs on February 9th.
Williams (6-8, 245) has appeared in four games for the Cavs this season, averaging 9.8 points on .600 shooting and 3.0 rebounds in 22.9 minutes per game. Prior to joining the Cavs, he played 25 games (11 starts) with Miami this season and averaged 5.9 points and 2.9 rebounds in 15.1 minutes.

Ersan Ilyasova happy for break from basketball

The Sixers resume practice on Wednesday and Ersan Ilyasova will look to be recharged and refocused when he hits the court in Camden. The veteran power forward is determined to find his rhythm after hitting a shooting snag prior to the All-Star break.

“I need it right now, just get away from basketball,” Ilyasova said of the time off following the Sixers’ final game before the break. “Obviously, the last week was kind of up and down. The season is long. Obviously, you have to get your mind out of it. It’s good timing.”

Ilyasova’s plans for the break included traveling to West Palm Beach, Florida, where he owns a home, to spend time with his wife and children who live in Milwaukee. He hoped unwinding with his loved ones would help him move beyond his struggles at the basket.

— CSN Philly

Should Hall of Fame induct Maurice Cheeks?

Here’s the Oklahoman on former NBA guard Maurice Cheeks, whose very successful basketball career has not yet landed him in the Basketball Hall of Fame:

At the end of ESPN’s Around the Horn on Monday, legendary sportswriter Bob Ryan was the winner of the four-man duel for points, earning him the show’s closing words on its “Face Time” segment.

Ryan had something to say about Thunder assistant Maurice Cheeks. Ryan, who’s covered the NBA since the 1960’s, vouched for Cheeks to be inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

At All-Star Weekend, 14 finalists for the Basketball Hall of Fame were announced, and Cheeks was not on the list. A player must be retired for four full seasons before being eligible for enshrinement, then can be nominated in his or her fifth year of retirement.

Cheeks retired after the 1992-93 season, and has been eligible for enshrinement since 1998.