The NBA Development League and The Madison Square Garden Company (MSG) today announced that MSG has acquired the right to own and operate an NBA D-League team that will play in White Plains, New York. The new team will be the NBA D-League’s record 18th team and will be the exclusive affiliate of the New York Knicks, playing its home games at the Westchester County Center, approximately 30 miles north of New York City. With the purchase, the Knicks become the seventh NBA team to fully own and operate their own NBA D-League affiliate.

“We are thrilled to work with the New York Knicks and Westchester County to bring NBA D-League basketball to White Plains,” said Dan Reed, NBA D-League president. “The New York area has a rich basketball history and we’re excited to give some of the game’s best fans the opportunity to watch top NBA prospects up close and personal in an intimate, family-friendly and affordable environment.”

Allan Houston, the Knicks’ Assistant General Manager, will serve as the new team’s General Manager, while Bill Boyce joins the MSG family as the vice president of sales and business operations for the club in Westchester, reporting to Dave Howard, president of MSG Sports. Bill joins MSG after four years as the president of the NBA D-League’s Frisco-based Texas Legends.

“We are very excited to bring a New York Knicks NBA Development League franchise to Westchester, a great basketball community that has embraced orange and blue and served as our training home for 25 plus years,” said Houston. “The NBA D-League is thriving, and this opportunity allows us to develop players closer to our training facility, and to provide high level, affordable basketball entertainment to the community.”

The Knicks are inviting fans to help choose the name for the new team. From now until March 24, fans can go to NYKnicksDLeague.com to submit their names online. Following the submission process, fans will go back to the same website to vote for the final team name. In addition, beginning today, fans can enter to win two full season tickets on the website; the sweepstakes will run until April 11.

“Westchester County is proud to be teaming up with three great organizations – the NBA Development League, The Madison Square Garden Company and the New York Knicks,” said Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino. “What’s exciting is that the partnership works on so many levels. It brings professional basketball to the County Center. It offers fans and families a lot of fun and thrills at an affordable price. And it will generate revenues and new jobs for the county at no cost to taxpayers. It all adds up to a winning combination.”

For the 2013-14 season, the NBA D-League features 17 teams, 14 of which are singly affiliated with their NBA parent clubs. Complete NBA and NBA D-League affiliations for the 2014-15 season will be announced over the summer.

More than 30 percent of current NBA players, including five current Knicks, have NBA D-League experience, while more than 40 percent of players drafted into the NBA over the last five years have spent time in the NBA D-League. To date, 27 NBA D-League players have earned 31 “Call-Ups” to the NBA this season, while 56 NBA players have seen action in the NBA D-League on assignment from their NBA parent clubs during the 2013-14 campaign.

Here’s the New York Daily News reporting on veteran Brooklyn Nets forward Paul Pierce, who is up there in age but playing good basketball and has no retirement plans just yet:

Pierce understands that his post-playing career belongs with the Celtics, which is why he brought up the idea of “working” for the organization while talking to the Boston media on Friday night.

But the 36-year-old — an unrestricted free agent in July — has made it pretty clear that he has no plans to retire after this season. However, he is taking a pounding as a power forward, including some pain in his right shoulder that briefly put him on the bench against the Celtics.

“It’s been a problem for me throughout the last few years,” Pierce said. “It’s weak right now, so whenever I get hit in that shoulder . . . just with the constant years of banging, especially now that I’m playing the 4. So it’s a quick stinger.”

The Nets need Pierce because he fuels their preferred style of play. If they want to catch the Raptors, they also need to hit their long shots and continue their trend of collecting steals.

The Brooklyn Nets have signed guard Jorge Gutierrez to a 10-day contract, General Manager Billy King announced today.

Gutierrez (6-3, 195) joins the Nets from the Canton Charge of the NBA Development League, where he has appeared in 35 games (all starts) this season, averaging 13.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 6.9 assists (tied for third in the D-League) and 1.2 steals in 32.7 minutes per game. Prior to the 2013-14 NBA season, Gutierrez was signed to the Nets’ training camp roster, where he appeared in five preseason games, averaging 1.8 points and 3.0 rebounds per game, before being waived on October 26.

After going undrafted in the 2012 NBA Draft, Gutierrez spent last season with the Charge and was named to the NBA D-League’s All-Defensive First Team and All-Rookie First Team. A four-year player at the University of California, Gutierrez was named Pac-12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year following his senior season.

A native of Chihuahua, Mexico, Gutierrez will wear #13 for Brooklyn.

Here’s the New York Daily News reporting on center Jason Collins, who will apparently stick with the Nets for at least another 10 days:

Jason Collins will have at least another 10 days to continue his trailblazing tour.

Sources confirmed the Nets plan to re-sign Collins, the first openly gay player in the NBA, to a 10-day contract after his current one expires Tuesday.

After that 10-day deal, which would start Wednesday, Brooklyn will have to decide whether to cut him or sign him for the remainder of the season. Collins, meanwhile, said he was oblivious to any agreement.

Brooklyn Nets center Kevin Garnett will not play Saturday night against the Milwaukee Bucks due to back spasms.

Mason Plumlee will start in Garnett’s place.

Garnett, 37, has appeared in 49 of the team’s first 56 games, though he’s missed just one game due to injury, resting the other six.

– ESPN New York

The National Basketball Association (NBA) announced today that it will donate all proceeds – not to be less than $100,000 - from the sale of Jason Collins Brooklyn Nets jerseys to the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and the Matthew Shepard Foundation. In addition, the league will auction off Collins’ autographed, game-worn jerseys to benefit the same organizations.

Collins became the first openly gay, active male athlete from one of the four major North American professional team sports on Feb. 23, after signing with his original team, the Nets. Since he was added to the roster, Collins’ jersey rose to the No. 1 spot on the top-selling jersey list at NBAStore.com. Collins chose to wear the number “98” in honor of Matthew Shepard, a college student who was murdered in 1998 after being targeted for being openly gay.

“I’m thrilled to work with the league to support two fantastic organizations, both of which work tirelessly to ensure LGBT youth get the resources and assistance they need to be successful in life,” said Brooklyn Nets Center Jason Collins.

The NBA has a long history of supporting the LGBT community including partnerships with GLSEN, GLAAD and Athlete Ally and was the recipient of the 2012 Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion Award at the GLSEN Respect Awards. In addition, Jason Collins received the 2013 Courage Award at the 10th annual GLSEN Respect Awards and Denver Nuggets star Kenneth Faried was awarded the 2012 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, in part because of his relationship to Athlete Ally and his work championing equality and bringing awareness to the importance of respect and inclusion.

The Brooklyn Nets have signed center Jason Collins to a 10-day contract, General Manager Billy King announced today.

“The decision to sign Jason was a basketball decision,” said King. ” We needed to increase our depth inside, and with his experience and size, we felt he was the right choice for a 10-day contract.”

Collins is an openly gay player, and this is the first time in NBA history that an openly gay player has been active in the league. That’s a much bigger story than his basketball ability at this point, which has always been mostly limited to defense, hustling and being a big body.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issued the following statement today regarding the Collins signing: “Jason told us that his goal was to earn another contract with an NBA team.  Today, I want to commend him on achieving his goal. I know everyone in the NBA family is excited for him and proud that our league fosters an inclusive and respectful environment.”

A 12-year NBA veteran, Collins rejoins the Nets after spending the first six and a half seasons of his NBA career with the franchise. Selected with the 18th pick in the 2001 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets, the Stanford product was acquired by the Nets as part of a multi-player draft night trade. In 510 games, including 404 starts, with the Nets from 2001-08, Collins averaged 4.4 points and 4.5 rebounds in 24.5 minutes per game. He also appeared in 75 playoff games with the Nets, amassing playoff averages of 3.3 points and 3.8 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game and helping the Nets reach back-to-back NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003. Collins is tied for third in Nets history in games played (510), ranks eighth in minutes played (12,493), ninth in offensive rebounds (782) and is tied for 10th in total rebounds (2,304). He holds NBA career averages of 3.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in 20.8 minutes per game through 713 contests, including 476 starts, after spending time with the Memphis Grizzlies (2008), Minnesota Timberwolves (2008-09), Atlanta Hawks (2009-12), Boston Celtics (2012-13) and Washington Wizards (2013).

Collins will be available for tonight’s game versus the Los Angeles Lakers.

Here’s ESPN New York reporting that veteran center Jason Collins will soon sign a 10-day contract with the Brooklyn Nets:

Jason Collins will become the first openly gay athlete in North America’s four major professional sports when he signs a 10-day contract with the Brooklyn Nets and plays against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday evening at Staples Center, sources with knowledge of the situation told ESPN

The Nets moved quickly to make the historic signing of the 35-year-old free agent center to have another big body available against the Lakers. Brooklyn had been contemplating signing Collins for the past week and the need for Collins became greater after the Nets dealt rebounding specialist Reggie Evans to the Sacramento Kings last week.

ESPN.com reported that the Nets quietly auditioned Collins last week in Los Angeles, paving the way from him to rejoin the franchise he spent his first six-plus seasons in the league.

The Nets were in the running to land Glen Davis but Davis opted to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers and informed teams of his decision. Davis is set to officially become an unrestricted free agent Sunday at 5 p.m. ET if, as expected, he is not claimed off waivers by another team.

The Brooklyn Nets have acquired guard Marcus Thornton from the Sacramento Kings in exchange for forward Reggie Evans and guard Jason Terry, it was announced today by General Manager Billy King.

“Marcus is a proven scorer in this league,” said King. “He is a young talent who will help us in the backcourt.”

A five-year NBA veteran, Thornton comes to Brooklyn with season averages of 8.3 points and 2.7 rebounds in 46 games (26 starts) for the Kings. Selected 43rd overall in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Miami Heat, the LSU product began his career in New Orleans, where he played for one and a half seasons before a 2010-11 midseason trade sent him to Sacramento. Thornton averaged a career-best 18.7 points in 2011-12 playing and starting in 51 games for the Kings. Through 315 career games, including 125 starts, Thornton holds NBA averages of 13.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team for the 2009-10 season.

Terry, a 15-year NBA veteran, has accrued career averages of 15.4 points (.446 FG%, .379 3pt%, .846 FT%), 2.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.31 steals and 32.5 minutes per game in 1136 contests with the Atlanta Hawks (1999-2004), Dallas Mavericks (2004-2012), Boston Celtics (2012-13) and Nets (2013-14).

A member of the 2011 NBA Champion Mavericks, Terry was also named the league’s 2009 Sixth Man of the Year after posting one of his best campaigns as a professional, registering 19.6 points (.463 FG%, .366 3pt%, .880 FT%), 2.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.32 steals in 74 games for Dallas. Additionally, the 6-2 guard touts 93 playoff games on his resume, including 21 appearances during the Mavs run toward a championship when he tallied 17.5 points (.478 FG%, .442 3pt%, .843 FT%), 1.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists.

Terry won a National Championship at the University of Arizona in 1997 and two seasons later earned First-Team All American and Pac-10 Player of the Year honors before being selected 10th overall in the 1999 NBA Draft.

In Evans, the Kings receive a veteran known for his rebounding, hustle and tenacious style of play. Through 12 NBA seasons, the 6-10 forward is averaging 4.0 points (.465 FG%, .521 FT%) and 7.2 rebounds per game in 738 career contests with the Seattle Supersonics (2002-03 – 2005-06), Denver Nuggets (2005-06 – 2006-07), Philadelphia 76ers (2007-08 – 2008-09), Toronto Raptors (2009-10 – 2010-11), L.A. Clippers (2011-12) and Brooklyn Nets (2012-13 – 2013-14).

The Brooklyn Nets struggled to start the season, but picked things up once 2014 rolled around. But they still tend to drop the second game of back-to-backs. Here’s the New York Post reporting:

Before any questions could be asked at his postgame press conference after the Nets’ 92-76 loss to the Bulls on Thursday night, Jason Kidd knew what the first topic of discussion would be.

“Back-to-backs,” he said.

Once again, the Nets came up on the short end in the second half of a back-to-back this season, dropping to 2-10 in those games this season, with eight more sets of back-to-backs left to be played.

“We fought. We were right there,” the coach said. “We had a couple of great opportunities, and we just couldn’t get the stop, or we had a great look with the ball and the ball just didn’t go in for us at that point.

“That’s just basketball. The guys fought and gave us a great opportunity to win on the road, and it just got away from us there at the end.”

The Brooklyn Nets are winning lately, having enjoyed victories in nine of their last ten games. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it — right? Point guard Deron Williams, who certainly gets paid like a starter, has been coming off the bench, and chemistry-wise it’s been working. It’ll be interesting to see how long this continues. Here’s ESPN New York on the situation:

Since returning to the lineup, Deron Williams has given the Brooklyn Nets’ second unit a major lift.

In his third game coming off the bench Friday night, Williams had 18 points — 14 in the second half — and 11 assists to just one turnover in 35 minutes.

“I felt pretty good,” said Williams, who has dealt with ankle injuries all season. “I’m getting a rhythm back and trying to get healthy and get back to playing like I’m capable.”

Williams made the selfless decision to work his way back into the rotation slowly, rather than disrupt the chemistry that starters Shaun Livingston, Alan Anderson, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett have formed.

Here’s the New York Daily News reporting on a fun night in Brooklyn that featured a lot of swishes from outside when Mirza Teletovic touched the ball:

Benched and frustrated for most of his short NBA career, Mirza Teletovic said all along that he only needed a chance.

The Bosnian with a sweet jump shot is now taking advantage.

Teletovic erupted in the second quarter of the Nets’ 107-106 victory Friday night over the Mavericks at Barclays Center, scoring 24 of his career-high 34 points while hitting six consecutive three-pointers. His blazing trail from long distance keyed a 27-12 run by the Nets (19-22), who never trailed in the second half (although things got dicey in the final seconds) and won for the seventh straight time at home.

“It speaks a lot about (Teletovic). He was definitely frustrated last (season) with his lack of playing time,” Deron Williams said. “He had been one of the top players in Europe for a long time, and it was little hit to his ego. He felt like he could contribute and help and he didn’t really get that opportunity. Now that he is, he’s making the most of it.”

The Brooklyn Nets today unveiled their alternate home jersey, which will be worn on Brooklyn Blue Nights at Barclays Center. The team will debut the jersey when they host the Boston Celtics for the first of five Brooklyn Blue Nights on Friday, March 21. The short-sleeve, v-neck jersey features a grey body with blue piping and trim line, and a signature blue Brooklyn wordmark across the chest.

Here’s ESPN New York on Brooklyn Nets point guard Deron Williams, who may return today as the team heads to Manhattan to face the New York Knicks:

Deron Williams said he plans to make his return from injury on Monday when the Brooklyn Nets play the New York Knicks.

Williams has missed the last five games since having cortisone shots and platelet-rich plasma injections in both of his ankles. The point guard practiced on Sunday in hopes of returning against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

“That’s the plan,” Williams said.

Coach Jason Kidd said Williams will be a game-time decision and that the team wants to first see how the point guard feels in the morning after practicing.

The most consistent thing about the 13-21 Brooklyn Nets this season has been injuries. They are without star center Brook Lopez for the rest of the season, but otherwise maintain hope that the rest of their roster will someday all play together at full health. But that dream will have to wait just a bit longer.

Following an MRI on Monday, January 6, Nets point guard Deron Williams was diagnosed with a sprained left ankle.

Williams was treated with a cortisone shot in the ankle joint, as well as platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections into the lateral ligaments of the ankle.

In addition, Williams received a PRP injection into his right ankle and a cortisone injection into his right ankle joint to relieve inflammation.

Williams, who will miss Wednesday’s game versus Golden State, is currently in a walking boot and will be re-evaluated at the end of the week.

Here’s Rihanna in the Brooklyn Barclays Center checking out the Nets as they host the Atlanta Hawks on a cold winter NYC night.

The Brooklyn Nets have recalled guard Tyshawn Taylor from the Springfield Armor of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by General Manager Billy King.

Taylor was assigned to Springfield earlier today.

In 20 games (three starts) this season, Taylor is averaging 4.3 points and 1.8 assists in 12.7 minutes per game.

With Deron Williams banged up and day-to-day, perhaps the Nets brought Taylor back as added depth.

By Jeff Lenchiner

Paul Pierce and the 11-21 Brooklyn Nets have not yet enjoyed the success this season that they hoped for, but Pierce did set an impressive personal milestone tonight in Brooklyn as the team hosts the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Pierce tonight passed Allen Iverson to become the 19th leading scorer in NBA history. Iverson scored 24,368 points in his illustrious career. Pierce passed that during tonight’s game, which is ongoing.

Patrick Ewing is 18th on the NBA all-time scoring list with 24,815 total points. Jerry West is 17th with 25,192 points. Reggie Miller is 16th with 25,279.

Atop the list, with more points than anyone in NBA history is the master of the sky-hook, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, with 38,387 total points.

Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez underwent successful surgery this morning, January 4, to repair the fractured fifth metatarsal of his right foot, Nets’ General Manager Billy King announced. The procedure was performed by Dr. James Nunley, Duke University Medical Center’s Department Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery, Nets’ foot and ankle specialist Dr. Martin O’Malley and team medical director Dr. Riley Williams III. In addition to the fracture repair, a second procedure, a first metatarsal osteotomy, was performed to unload and protect the injured area.

“With this procedure, we both fixed the broken bone (fifth metatarsal) in Brook’s right foot and repositioned another bone, so that his sole of his foot will bear weight more evenly than before,” said Dr. Williams. “The repositioning portion of the surgery lessens the stress on the fractured bone, and decreases the likelihood of re-injury in the future.”

Lopez, who was injured during the December 20th game at Philadelphia, is out for the remainder of the season, but is expected to make a full recovery (or so the Nets hope) and will be back on the court for offseason workouts.

At the time of his injury, Lopez was averaging a team-high 20.7 points along with 6.0 rebounds and 1.76 blocks through 17 games played this season.

Here’s the New York Daily News reporting on the Brooklyn Nets, who on Wednesday lost at home to the Chicago Bulls:

The Nets have now dropped four straight games, and the holiday season only grows more desperate from here. After one gimme at home Friday against Milwaukee, they embark on a three-game road trip to Indiana, San Antonio and Oklahoma City. So you can put them down right now for seven losses in eight games and a probable 10-22 mark, as they fade even faster than the Knicks. The Nets are free-falling into such a deep hole right now that Kidd has begun to look and sound as defeated as his team, rarely getting off his chair anymore to rally the disheartened, inert troops.

Kidd has now scolded his players many times for their performances, to no avail. He has benched guys. He has tried to simplify the offense. He’s euphemized all the slumps as “a process.” He has demoted Lawrence Frank, the defensive specialist. He doesn’t appear to have any tricks left. If Mikhail Prokhorov finally threatens to replace his coach, you get the feeling Kidd might quote Humphrey Bogart in “Casablanca”: “Go ahead and shoot. You’ll be doing me a favor.”

The rout on Wednesday was all too remindful of what happened last spring, when Chicago came to Brooklyn and stole Game 7 in the playoffs. That defeat resulted in the firing of P.J. Carlesimo and the mortgaging of the team’s future for a core of Celtic players who were supposed to transform the Nets into something much tougher and meaner than this.