Kevin Garnett to play more center for Celtics

Kevin Garnett

Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers isn’t worried about his team’s lack of depth at the center position. He plans on using Kevin Garnett a lot more in that role this season.

Entering his 17th season in the NBA and his fifth with Boston, the 6-foot-11 forward has been known as the center of Boston’s defense since he was acquired from Minnesota. Now Rivers says he’ll probably be playing the 14-time All Star in that spot a lot more.

As trade rumors involving center Jermaine O’Neal continued to swirl around the team’s practice facility, Rivers had a quick answer Saturday when asked what he plans to do.

“We’ll move Kevin,” Rivers said. “He will play the 5 this year. I honestly don’t think that it’ll be a problem. When he was younger, it would have been a problem.”

— Reported by the Associated Press

Suns sign guard Shannon Brown

Shannon Brown

The Phoenix Suns today signed guard Shannon Brown to a one-year deal, the team has announced.

In Brown, the Suns add an athletic 26-year-old guard, who is a two-time NBA Champion (2009, 2010) and both a dynamic finisher in the open floor and a respected three-point shooter.

The 6-4, 210-pound Brown is a five-year veteran who has played for the Cleveland Cavaliers (2006-07), Chicago Bulls (2007-08), Charlotte Bobcats (2008-09) and Los Angeles Lakers (2009-11).  Originally selected by the Cavaliers with the 25th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, Brown was chosen by a Cleveland front office that featured current Suns General Manager Lance Blanks.  Brown signed a free agent deal with the Bobcats before the start of the 2008-09 season and was briefly a teammate of current Suns forward Jared Dudley before Dudley was acquired by the Suns.  Ultimately, Brown was acquired by the Lakers (along with Adam Morrison in exchange for Vladimir Radmanovic) from the Bobcats before the 2009 trade deadline, and became a valuable part of the Lakers’ bench as the club won back-to-back league titles.

The Michigan State product joins the Suns after his two best seasons as a professional.  Brown played a full 82 games in both 2009-10 and 2010-11, averaging a then-career high 8.1 points in 2009-10 before besting that number with an 8.7-point clip a season ago.  Over the last two seasons, Brown averaged 8.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 19.9 minutes, despite seeing limited action behind Laker guard Kobe Bryant.  Brown owns career NBA averages of 6.9 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 256 games (16 starts).

Estimated to have a 44.5-inch vertical leap, one of the highest in the league, Brown is known for his high-flying, highlight-reel dunks.  A mainstay on Youtube, Brown participated in the 2010 Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star weekend in Dallas.  In addition, Brown has added increased long-range accuracy to his repertoire, setting career highs in three-pointers made in each of the last three seasons (74 in 2010-11).  Brown is a career 33.7-percent three-point shooter who made 34.9 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc in 2010-11.

Brown was a three-year performer at Michigan State (2003-06), who averaged 17.2 points as a junior before being named All-Big Ten Second Team and to the Big Ten’s All-Defensive Team.  A graduate of Proviso East High School in Maywood, Ill., Brown was a First Team Parade All-American, McDonald’s All-American, Illinois Mr. Basketball and co-MVP of the Jordan Capital Classic (with LeBron James) as a senior in 2003.

Tim Duncan not retiring from NBA just yet

Tim Duncan

Tim Duncan spent much of the NBA’s five-month lockout in much the same manner one might expect Tim Duncan to spend a five-month lockout.

When he wasn’t in the gym playing basketball, or on the track working on his conditioning, or in the weight room lifting, he was at home in his living room, playing with his two young children.

If the greatest power forward of his generation was supposed to spend the excess downtime soul-searching, reflecting on a career that, at age 35, is steadily steaming toward its end, well, nobody thought to inform Duncan.

Retirement? So soon?

“I haven’t gotten to that bridge,” Duncan said, at the dawn of his 15th Spurs training camp. “I don’t even see that bridge yet. When I get there, then I’ll cross it.”

In the final season of his contract, at an age when most players are being fitted for a rocking chair, Duncan can be sure he’ll hear similar questions at every NBA outpost he visits this season.

— Reported by Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News Blog

Utah Jazz sign Jamaal Tinsley, Keith McLeod and Trey Gilder

Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today that the team has signed free-agent guards Jamaal Tinsley and Keith McLeod, and forward Trey Gilder.  Per team policy, financial terms were not released.  All three players were available to participate in training camp on Saturday at Zions Bank Basketball Center.  Utah’s roster now stands at 15 players.

Tinsley (6-3, 195, Iowa State) is an eight-year NBA veteran who spent his first seven seasons with Indiana (2001-08) before playing the 2009-10 season for Memphis.  The former first-round pick (27th overall by the Grizzlies in 2001) has appeared in 436 games (366 starts) and holds career averages of 9.8 points, 6.6 assists and 1.6 steals in 28.9 minutes.  Most recently the Brooklyn, N.Y., native was the top overall selection in the 2011 NBA Development League Draft by the Los Angeles D-Fenders and appeared in eight games (all starts) this season, averaging 9.9 points, 7.6 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 2.4 steals in 34.1 minutes.

McLeod (6-2, 188, Bowling Green) has played four seasons in the NBA with four different teams, including the Jazz from 2004-06.  McLeod averaged 6.6 points, 3.3 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 22.0 minutes for the Jazz, appearing in 119 games (79 starts) over two full seasons before being traded to Golden State, along with Devin Brown and Andre Owens, in exchange for Derek Fisher on July 12, 2006.  McLeod, who started his career with Minnesota in 2004, last appeared in the NBA in 2006-07, when he split time between Golden State and Indiana.  He has appeared in 200 career games (88 starts), averaging 5.5 points, 2.7 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 18.6 minutes.  McLeod, who previously spent two seasons in the D-League with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds (2008-10), appeared in four games (all starts) this season with the Canton Charge in his Ohio hometown, where he was averaging 13.3 points, 5.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 31.5 minutes.

Gilder (6-9, 205, Northwestern State) began the 2009-10 NBA season with the Memphis Grizzlies, appearing in two games before being waived.  He spent portions of the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons in the NBA Development League with Colorado, Maine and Albuquerque and was a 2010 D-League All-Star selection. The Dallas native spent the 2010-11 season with the Sydney Kings in the Australian National Basketball League, appearing in 20 games and averaging 13.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.1 steals in 25.9 minutes.

Grizzlies sign guard Jeremy Pargo to multi-year contract

Jeremy Pargo

The Memphis Grizzlies signed free agent Jeremy Pargo to a multi-year contract, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.  Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Pargo, a 6-2, 219-pound guard, joins the Grizzlies after spending last season with Euroleague powerhouse Maccabi Tel-Aviv, where he was named to the 2011 All-Euroleague Second Team after recording 13.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists on .463 shooting in 30.0 minutes in 22 games.

Prior to his success with Maccabi, the 25-year-old helped guide Hapoel Gilboa Galil Elyon to the 2010 Israeli Basketball Super League Championship in his first season as a professional, averaging 14.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists.

The younger brother of NBA player Jannero Pargo, the Chicago native was named the 2008 West Coast Conference (WCC) Player of the Year after posting 12.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists as a junior at Gonzaga University.  Pargo finished his four-year collegiate career with the Bulldogs with averages of 9.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 134 games.

Undrafted in the 2009 NBA Draft, Pargo has made summer league appearances in 2009 and 2010 with the Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, Charlotte Bobcats and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Grizzlies sign second-round pick Josh Selby to multi-year deal

The Memphis Grizzlies signed 2011 second-round draft pick Josh Selby to a multi-year contract, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.  Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Selby, a 6-2, 183-pound guard, was selected 49th overall by the Grizzlies in the 2011 NBA Draft.  As a true freshman last season with the Kansas Jayhawks, the 20-year-old averaged 7.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 26 games, earning Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors twice.  In his collegiate debut, Selby netted a career-high 21 points and converted the go-ahead three-pointer in Kansas’ 70-68 victory over USC on Dec. 18, 2010.

Ranked as the Rivals.com No. 1 overall high school recruit for 2010, the Baltimore native was named a McDonald’s All-American as a senior at Lake Clifton High School.  Selby, who now joins fellow Jayhawks Darrell Arthur and Xavier Henry on the Grizzlies’ roster, scored 13 points in the All-American game and won the 2010 Powerade Jam Fest slam dunk contest as part of the event’s festivities.

Ron Artest arrives at Lakers training camp out of shape

Without prompting, he admitted he entered the first day of training camp on Friday out of shape. He revealed he had an Achille’s tendon injury during last season’s playoffs and couldn’t fully heal it during the offseason because the lockout prevented visits to trainer Gary Vitti. And World Peace acknowledged taking a full two months off this summer, when he played very little basketball.

“When David Stern says there’s going to be a nuclear winter, I’m thinking the season isn’t starting anytime soon,” said World Peace, who will wear the No. 15 jersey number this season. “So a little more martinis in November and then, boom, David Stern says no nuclear winter and we have a season.”

— Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times (Blog)

Celtics re-sign forward Jeff Green

Jeff Green

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have re-signed forward Jeff Green. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“It is great to have Jeff back with us,” said Danny Ainge, Celtics President of Basketball Operations.  “We love the versatility that he brings to our roster and we think he will be an important part of the success that this team will have this season.”

Green, a 6’9” forward, averaged 13.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 32.4 minutes per game last season split between Boston and Oklahoma City.  The former Georgetown Hoya was acquired by the Celtics from the Oklahoma City Thunder along with Nenad Krstic and a future first round draft pick from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson on February 24, 2011.  Green recorded a double-double in his first start as a Celtic against Washington on April 11 recording 20 points, a career-high-tying 15 rebounds, four assists and two steals. Green improved his field goal percentage after the trade to the Celtics, shooting 48.5 percent from the floor in 26 games with the C’s after shooting 43.7 percent with the Thunder. Green has posted career averages of 13.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 315 games. Green recorded a career-high 37 points against New Jersey last season on December 1, 2010.

Baron Davis misses second day of Cavs practice

Baron Davis

Cavaliers guard Baron Davis received treatment on his sore back and sat out the second day of practice with the team. Davis has been rumored to be on his way out of Cleveland either via the amnesty clause or a buyout, although club officials have said they have not made a decision on his future with the team. He also could serve as a mentor to rookie point guard Kyrie Irving.

Center Semih Erden also didn’t practice because of his broken right thumb. In addition, rookie free agent forward J.P. Prince of Tennessee bumped knees with another player and sat out the last 15 or 20 minutes of practice.

— Reported by Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer