Sacramento Kings recall center Hassan Whiteside from D-League

Hassan Whiteside
Hassan Whiteside
You barely know him

The Sacramento Kings today recalled center Hassan Whiteside from the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Development League, President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie announced. Whiteside will rejoin the team in Sacramento prior to Saturday’s contest versus the Golden State Warriors at Power Balance Pavilion.

Whiteside was assigned to the Bighorns on January 1st and averaged 7.8 points (.521 FG%, .343 FT%), 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 blocks and 18.9 minutes per game in 11 contests (started five). He recorded double-figure scoring in four games with his most notable performance coming versus the Sioux Falls Skyforce (1/13), where he tallied 15 points (7-10 FG, 1-2 FT), 10 rebounds, and two blocks in 29 minutes. Whiteside also registered 13 points (5-9 FG, 3-9 FT), nine rebounds, and six blocks in his first appearance with Reno versus Fort Wayne (1/3).

Hornets set to reactivate Chris Kaman

Chris Kaman
Chris Kaman
Enjoys hunting

The New Orleans Hornets have decided to reactivate 7-foot center Chris Kaman, who had been excused from team activities since last week while the club sought to trade him, according to a person familiar with the decision.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on Friday on condition of anonymity because the decision had not been announced. Kaman likely won’t join the Hornets for Saturday’s game at Detroit but probably will return Monday against Sacramento.

The person said the relationship between Kaman and Hornets coach Monty Williams was fine. But when general manager Dell Demps hoped a trade would develop quickly, Williams wanted to start working younger players into the rotation.

Once a trade didn’t happen as quickly as they thought, it made sense to bring Kaman back, the person said.

— Reported by Brett Martel of the Associated Press

Pistons forward Charlie Villanueva out at least a few weeks

Charlie Villanueva

The Detroit Pistons announced today the following injury update regarding forward Charlie Villanueva.

Following repeated imaging studies as well as multiple consultations from foot and ankle orthopedic surgeons, it has been determined that Charlie Villanueva’s right ankle soreness can be attributed to a resolving posterior tibial tenosynovitis with small talotibal spurs.

A few weeks of partial ankle immobilization have been recommended in an attempt to alleviate the soreness and discomfort.

He will be re-evaluated after that period.

Rafer Alston signs with Los Angeles D-Fenders in D-League

rafer alston

The Los Angeles D-Fenders have acquired guard Rafer Alston, it was announced today.  The acquisition comes one day after Ishmael Smith signed with the Orlando Magic to become the D-Fenders’ fourth NBA Call-Up of the season and the seventh Call-Up in franchise history.

InsideHoops.com first-reported this news late last night on Twitter.

“We’re excited to add a player with as much experience as Rafer to the D-Fenders’ backcourt and believe he will undoubtedly help us continue towards our ultimate goal of an NBA Development League Championship,” D-Fenders Head Coach Eric Musselman said.

Alston, selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round (39th overall) of the 1998 NBA Draft, has played in a total of 671 career NBA games with Milwaukee, Toronto, Miami, Houston, Orlando and New Jersey, averaging 10.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 28.9 minutes.

Additionally, the 6-2, 175-pound guard has appeared in 51 career NBA playoff games (34 starts) combined with Milwaukee, Miami, Houston and Orlando, averaging 9.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 29.1 minutes.  Appearing in all five games during the 2009 NBA Finals with the Magic, Alston averaged 10.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 29.4 minutes.

Alston most recently played in China for Zhejiang Guangsha during the 2010-11 season where he averaged 19.6 points and 3.8 assists in eight games.

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Rockets re-assign Marcus Morris to D-League

Marcus Morris

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that forward Marcus Morris will be re-joining Houston’s single-affiliation NBA D-League partner Rio Grande Valley.

“Marcus’ ankle has healed and he has been cleared to practice and play,” said Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey. “With limited practice time available, we have decided to send Marcus to Rio Grande Valley to give him an opportunity to play and recondition his ankle.”

Morris (6-9, 235, Kansas), who was selected by Houston with the 14th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, has averaged 22.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in four starts with Rio Grande Valley this season. He made his debut with the Vipers by posting 33 points (13-24 FG), 16 rebounds, five assists and two steals vs. Dakota (1/6/12).

Kenyon Martin will not return to Nuggets

Kenyon Martin
Kenyon Martin
Won’t re-sign in China, either

Kenyon Martin wasn’t necessarily in the plans for the Nuggets, but now it’s official: A league source said Thursday that the unrestricted free agent will not return to the Nuggets this season.

The power forward played in China but is looking to sign with an NBA team. Yahoo Sports reported that FIBA has cleared Martin to sign with a team now. Originally, he would have had to wait until his Chinese team finished its season later this month or in March, depending on the playoffs. Martin had already left his team in December to return to the States.

— Reported by Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post

Blake Griffin’s dunks remind George Karl of Shawn Kemp

Blake Griffin
Blake Griffin
Dunking space robot

“I’ve talked to a couple of guys who’ve said, ‘Was Shawn as powerful?'” said Denver Nuggets Coach George Karl, who coached Kemp in Seattle, before Thursday’s game. “I think that’s the guy who’s closest.”

Legend had it that Kemp once dunked so hard that sparks flew off the rim. He later admitted it to be true, adding that the basket had a metal-chain net, which helped the sparks fly.

Karl said seeing Griffin’s dunks reminded Karl of his own dunks — in a way.

“This kid, he gets so high above the rim. It reminds me of when I was an athlete and I could jump and we got the 8-foot hoops,” Karl said. “He does things that we used to do on 8, maybe 7-foot [hoops]. You know, throwing it down from three feet away.”

— Reported by Baxter Holmes of the Los Angeles Times

Karl Malone calls out Utah Jazz on Jerry Sloan’s exit

Karl Malone
Karl Malone
Likes tractors

For four hours last Friday, Malone co-hosted my radio show and talked about many topics, the way only Malone can. His signature point: He said the Jazz botched the Williams-Sloan situation, giving the player too much power, and essentially blamed Kevin O’Connor and Greg Miller for undermining an icon who had coached the Jazz for 23 years.

“On the whole handling of that, I would have to give [them] a D or F, and I would lean more toward an F,” said Malone, who has remained close to Sloan since his own retirement in 2004.

Trouble had been stirring between Williams and Sloan for months. Sloan admitted that the two “got into it.” Malone said the Jazz had empowered the point guard to go directly to O’Connor when he disagreed with Sloan and that was, as Karl called it, “the perfect storm.”

“I know for a fact that [Sloan] was overridden on practices sometime on the road because Deron was calling our G.M. at that time,” Malone said. “ … You give a guy that much power, and he’s the kind of player you think he played hard all the time, but if he wanted to sulk he could sulk. … I never went to Larry [Miller] to talk about Coach Sloan. … It’s not one time, in my gut and heart, that I would go over his head.”

— Reported by Gordon Monson of the Salt Lake Tribune

Bucks waive guard Darington Hobson

Darington Hobson

The Milwaukee Bucks have requested waivers on guard Darington Hobson (6-7, 210), General Manager John Hammond announced today.

Hobson, 24, was originally selected by the Bucks with the 37th overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft, but was waived prior to the start of the 2010-11 season. Hobson re-signed with Milwaukee as a free agent on Dec. 10, 2011, and appeared in five regular season games for the Bucks this season, tallying four points, three rebounds and six assists in 39 total minutes of action. Hobson also spent two separate stints with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA D-League where he averaged 10.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists in eight games (six starts).

The Bucks roster now stands at 14 players.

Nenad Krstic wins Top 16, Week 3 Euroleague MVP

Nenad Krstic
Nenad Krstic
Ballin’ overseas

One of the central figures in what is shaping up to be a season for the record books for CSKA Moscow is center Nenad Krstic. The big man added to his stellar campaign this week by picking up Top 16, Week 3 bwin MVP honors and thus joining teammate Andrei Kirilenko among only three players to claim that title twice this season. Krstic was worth maximum production in minimum time in Thursday’s 85-70 home win over GS Medical Park. He came off the bench for 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting and added 9 rebounds, an assist and a steal en route to a performance index rating of 31, which ironically was the same index rating he achieved when he was previously named bwin MVP after Week 9. Krstic was also named Euroleague Basketball’s MVP for November. The team with the second-most wins in the Euroleague this season, FC Barcelona Regal, produced the player with the second best index rating of the week in two-time All-Euroleague big man Erazem Lorbek.

— Reported by Euroleague.net