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The New Orleans Pelicans requested waivers on center Emeka Okafor today.
Okafor, 6-10, 252, appeared in 26 regular season games last season with New Orleans after signing with the team on February 3, 2018 and finished the season with averages of 4.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game.
It’s tough to say if Okafor will find his way back into the NBA. Right now he’s a longshot to make a regular season roster.
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The New Orleans Pelicans have signed guard Jarrett Jack.
Jack, 6-3, 200, most recently played for the New York Knicks, appearing in 62 games last season (56 starts) while averaging 7.5 points, 5.6 assists and 3.1 rebounds in 25.0 minutes per contest.
This will be Jack’s third stint with New Orleans, as he appeared in two games with the Pelicans in 2016-17 and 115 games between 2010-12. In 117 regular season games for New Orleans, Jack has averaged 11.1 points, 4.0 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 25.1 minutes per game.
Selected 22nd overall by the Denver Nuggets in the 2005 NBA Draft out of Georgia Tech, Jack has appeared in 867 career regular season games with Portland, Toronto, New Orleans, Golden State, Cleveland, Brooklyn and New York, holding averages of 10.8 points, 4.6 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 27.8 minutes per contest.
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Yesterday, the Atlanta Hawks signed center Cole Aldrich, presumably on a non-guaranteed deal that merely brings Aldrich to training camp.
Aldrich has played eight NBA seasons with Oklahoma City, Houston, Sacramento, New York, the LA Clippers and Minnesota, averaging 3.1 points and 3.3 rebounds in 10.0 minutes (.527 FG%, .738 FG%) in 339 career games (23 starts).
He was originally drafted by New Orleans in the first round (11th overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft, and was traded to Oklahoma City in a draft-night trade.
Aldrich attended Bloomington Jefferson High School (Bloomington, MN) before a three-year career at Kansas. He was a consensus second-team All-American following his junior season in 2010, Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2009 and won a national championship with the Jayhawks in 2008.
Russell Westbrook’s wife is expecting, and the baby will be… two babies. Twin daughters! Here’s the Oklahoman with more:
In a Thunder-produced video posted Tuesday on YouTube entitled “The Westbrook Family,” Russell Westbrook and his wife, Nina Westbrook, are talking about their home life with 1-year-old son Noah, when they drop a surprise about Nina’s pregnancy.
The Westbrooks are expecting twin girls.
“If Noah gets out of hand, they’ll be able to both jump on him at the same time,” Nina said.
Elton Brand’s name carries big weight in the playing department, but his experience as an executive is on the limited side. But everybody who gets to know Brand quickly appreciates him, and he has flown up the Philly organizational ranks. The Sixers believe in him, and are reportedly naming him their new general manager. Here’s NBC Sports Philly reporting:
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The Sixers have hired Elton Brand as their general manager, sources confirmed to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark.
Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who first reported the news, Brand will be elevated from his previous role as vice president of basketball operations. Brand was also already on board as the Delaware Blue Coats’ general manager. The Sixers conducted an exhaustive search for a new GM after Bryan Colangelo resigned in June following his highly-publicized Twitter scandal. Brett Brown filled the role until the franchise made Brand the choice.
The search included external candidates such as Golden State Warriors assistant general manager Larry Harris, Utah Jazz assistant general manager Justin Zanik and Houston Rockets vice president Gersson Rosas.
And here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer:
In that partnership that is now Brown and Brand, it’s still unclear who will have the final say. Brown said Tuesday that once a general manager was named, the power structure and organizational chart would also be discussed and revealed.
On Thursday, Brand will be formally introduced as Sixers general manager and at that time both will have to answer the question; Who will have the final say when it comes to decision making? Of course, ownership will always have the final say, but that usually comes in the form of green-lighting a GM’s decision.
The Sixers have created a strong front office that includes Alex Rucker (who was promoted to executive vice president of basketball operations on Tuesday), Ned Cohen, and Marc Eversley.
Here’s The Advocate with some thoughts on the Pelicans and what makes them tick when things are going their way:
But underneath the waves of full-court sprints and lit-up scoreboards, the backbone of the Pelicans’ success was their stingy and savvy defense. Despite the onslaught of speed, they were able to stymie opposing offenses from scoring efficiently in transition, while effectively bottling up the halfcourt pick-and-roll.
From Feb. 1 onward, New Orleans allowed just 103.4 points per 100 possessions, the league’s fourth-best overall output and ranked No. 1 in defending the pick-and-roll. It allowed the Pelicans to win 20 of their final 28 games, while vaulting both Holiday and Davis to be the only teammates named first-team All-Defense selections.
Now, a week away from the opening of training camp, and with a recalibrated roster in place, the Pelicans’ mission is to re-engineer their defense to match the output generated in those final 35 games.
The Sixers still need a new general manager. The search has been ongoing for quite some times. Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer with the latest:
The 76ers are in the midst of a second round of interviews for their vacant general-manager position.
The ownership group had a dinner interview Sunday with Utah Jazz assistant general manager Justin Zanik and had another one with Houston Rockets vice president Gersson Rosas Monday, according to multiple sources. The sources add that the Sixers will have second interviews with their internal candidates later this week, expected Thursday and Friday.
The GM position has been open since Bryan Colangelo resigned in June.
The San Antonio Spurs have announced multiple additions and promotions to the basketball operations staff. Brent Barry joins the organization as vice president of basketball operations, while Wayne Diesel comes to the team as director of player care. Adam Glessner comes on as director of basketball intelligence, Cory Johnson is now the team equipment and travel manager and Massimo Simonetta comes to the Silver and Black as sports therapist.
In addition, the following members of the Spurs basketball operations department have received promotions: Willis Hall has been elevated to video coordinator and Cam Hodges advances to player development assistant. AJ Meyer is now coaching analytics coordinator, while Paul West has been promoted to assistant athletic trainer and recovery coordinator.
Barry returns to the Spurs organization after playing four seasons in Silver and Black from 2004-08, where he helped the Spurs to two titles in 2005 and 2007. After a 14-year NBA career, he joined the Turner Sports network as an analyst in 2010. Barry covered the NBA for the league’s network on NBA TV and eventually moved to providing color analysis for TNT during the regular season and playoffs. He was also tapped as a host for the Players Only telecasts during the regular season, and hosted All-Star Saturday at the 2018 NBA All-Star weekend. Barry also played for the Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, Seattle SuperSonics and Houston Rockets, where he finished his playing career in 2009. Barry ranks 34th all-time in three-pointers made (1,395) and 23rd all-time in three-point percentage (.405). He holds career averages of 9.2 points, 3.2 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 912 NBA contests. Barry graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in sociology.
Monty Williams had taken a leave from coaching due to a personal tragedy. But he’s ready to return to the job, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer/PhillyNews.com:
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Monty Williams has spent nearly his entire life in basketball, as a player or a coach, but tragedy struck a little over two years ago and it wasn’t clear when he would return to the game.
“It’s a great time for me to get back to full-time coaching. It was Brett [Brown], it was the team. I’ve played here before so I kind of know the culture of the city,” Williams said Monday night at Brown’s annual coaching clinic. “Most importantly, my family was ready for me to get back into coaching.”
In February 2016, when Williams was an associate head coach with the Oklahoma City Thunder, less than a year removed from his head coaching position with the New Orleans Pelicans, his wife, Ingrid, died from injuries she suffered in a car accident. She was 44.
Are players outside of New York thinking differently about the Knicks? Here’s ESPN.com reporting what top team brass had to say about it:
New York Knicks team president Steve Mills believes the perception of the club among NBA players has changed recently.
“In our circles that we travel and the people that we talk to, we know that there is a change in how people perceive us,” Mills said at an event for fans on Monday night. “… We know that the players are talking about New York as a place that, ‘Things are different there now.’ If we do all the things that we’re supposed to do over the course of the year, we’ll be in a good place [to attract free agents].”
The Knicks plan to have enough cap space to attract at least one max free agent in the summer of 2019. Players expected to test free agency next summer include Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard and Kemba Walker.