Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced today that 13-year NBA veteran Aaron McKie has rejoined the franchise as an assistant coach on Maurice Cheeks’ staff. McKie will also have additional duties in player development.
McKie was originally named a member of the Sixers coaching staff back on Oct. 3, 2007. Since he never officially retired as a player, his rights still belonged to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers signed McKie to a contract in order to package him in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies for Pau Gasol on Feb. 1, 2008. Although he did not appear in a game, McKie spent the remainder of the season on the Grizzlies roster before being waived on May 9, 2008.
In 793 career games with 287 starts, McKie averaged 7.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.15 steals in 24.2 minutes per game. He enjoyed his best season as a Sixer in 2000-01, taking home Sixth Man of the Year honors while helping Philadelphia reach the NBA Finals. That same season, he recorded back-to-back triple-doubles at Sacramento on Dec. 30, 2000 (19 points, 14 assists, 10 rebounds) and vs. Atlanta on Jan. 3, 2001 (11 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists).
McKie, who had his jersey retired at Simon Gratz High School in 2002, also starred at Temple University. He finished his three-year career with the Owls tied for sixth on the school’s all-time scoring list and was named Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year as a junior in 1993.
Michigan Live (A. Sherrod Blakely) reports: Rasheed Wallace is back to wearing jersey No. 30. He gave no particular reason for the change, other than to say that he always planned to return back to wearing the number at some point. A couple of media folks pointed out how Wallace looked to be in great shape. Flashback to the last couple of training camps, and you’ll see that Wallace usually comes to camp in pretty good shape. But maintaining it throughout the course of a season, now that’s another story.
Michigan Live (A. Sherrod Blakely) reports: The announced signing of Alex Acker was interesting. The fact that Detroit signed the 6-foot-5 combo guard isn’t all that unexpected. This guy has been on the cusp of sticking with the team for years. But it is a bit surprising that they guaranteed his contract for the season considering most of his time will likely be spent on the inactive list. Usually teams keep that 15th spot open in case a talented player is unexpectedly waived, or as a cushion to absorb an extra body in a possible trade.
The New York Post (Marc Berman) reports via blog: Eddy Curry claims he’s in “good shape”, contrary from indications from D’Antoni. Curry is no given to start at center. “I’d be very disappointed,” Curry said. David Lee is a center candidate. “I”m excited about the possibility of playing different positions,” Lee said.
The Indianapolis Star reports: Danny Granger, the Indiana Pacers’ leading scorer last season, said he doesn’t see his contract situation being a distraction. Granger is entering his fourth year, and the Pacers have until Oct. 31 to sign him to a long-term deal or he becomes a restricted free agent, which means the Pacers have the right to match any offer he might receive next summer. “Whether I sign it now or after, it really doesn’t matter,” the 6-8 swingman said Monday as the team prepared for the start of training camp today. “That’s the way I approach it.”
The AP reports: The Houston Rockets, buzzing about the arrival of Ron Artest, already have injury concerns with Tracy McGrady. Houston’s leading scorer said Monday that his left shoulder is arthritic and will require surgery after this season. He also said his left knee is healing slower than expected from surgery in the spring. McGrady sprained his shoulder against Sacramento on March 24, and wore padding to protect it for the rest of the season. He had surgery in May to clear loose tissue in his shoulder and knee. He said his knee is “probably 75-80 percent” healthy and will take another two months to fully heal.
Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today that the team has exercised its fourth-year option on guard Ronnie Brewer for the 2009-10 season. Per team policy, financial terms were not released.
The Sacramento Kings today signed swingman Francisco Garcia to a multi-year contract extension, it was announced by Kings’ President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.