The Los Angeles D-Fenders have hired Reggie Theus as head coach, it was announced today by team President/CEO Joey Buss.

“We are pleased to welcome Reggie Theus to the D-Fenders,” said Buss.  “Reggie’s extensive NBA background coupled with his experience developing players at the collegiate basketball level will make him a great asset to our franchise.  We look forward to working with Reggie and building upon the record-setting season we had last year.”

Theus, who has over 11 years of coaching experience and played 13 seasons in the NBA, spent last season as a Pac-12 Analyst for Fox Sports Net after previously spending two seasons on the NBA sidelines as an assistant coach with Minnesota (2009-11).  Prior to his stint in Minneapolis, Theus originally joined the NBA coaching ranks when he was named the 21st head coach in Sacramento Kings history.

“I am elated and thankful to have an opportunity to work for a first class organization like the D-Fenders,” said Theus.  “Coaching for a franchise that has proven its commitment to developing young players for the next level while also maintaining a competitive team is exciting to me.  I am looking forward to getting on the court and continuing the success that the D-Fenders experienced last season.”

Theus, a Los Angeles native, worked his way to the NBA from the collegiate level after spending two years as head coach at New Mexico State University.  Hired in 2005, Theus guided the Aggies to a 16-14 record in his first season, marking a 10-win improvement from the previous season along with the best single-season turnaround at NMSU in 20 years.  In 2006-07, Theus and the Aggies continued their success and posted a 25-9 record, won the Western Athletic Conference Tournament and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999.

Before joining the Aggies, Theus began his coaching career as an assistant coach at the University of Louisville (2003-05).  There he helped lead the Cardinals to the 2005 NCAA Final Four as well as a Conference USA Championship.

Theus, selected by the Chicago Bulls in the first round (9th overall) of the 1978 NBA Draft, played 13 seasons for Chicago, Kansas City/Sacramento, Atlanta, Orlando and New Jersey.  Drafted out of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Theus, was a two-time NBA All-Star (1981, 1983) and named to the NBA All-Rookie Team (1979).  In addition, Theus is one of only seven players in NBA history to score over 19,000 points and record over 6,000 assists during his career.  A member of the UNLV Athletic Hall of Fame, the 6’7” shooting guard helped his team reach the 1977 NCAA Final Four and is one of only six players in school history to have their jersey retired.

Prior to his coaching stints in the NBA and at the collegiate level, Theus also served as a basketball analyst for ESPN, Fox Sports, and TNT/TBS.

Theus is a graduate of both California Coast University (B.S. Business Administration) and Central Michigan University (B.S. Public Administration).

The Sacramento Kings and Sleep Train Mattress Centers today announced a new, multi-year strategic marketing partnership to include venue naming rights for the Sacramento Kings home arena, host to hundreds of events annually—headlined by NBA basketball, high-profile concerts, family-themed shows and cultural experiences.

“On behalf of the entire Sacramento Kings organization, we are thrilled to partner with Sleep Train,” said Kings President of Business Operations Matina Kolokotronis. “We’re particularly excited to align with a locally owned company built on 27 years of customer satisfaction, a stellar reputation among consumers and business leaders, and an unwavering commitment to community involvement.”

Employee-owned, Sleep Train is the number one mattress retailer on the West Coast, known for offering superior service and the best selection of brand name mattresses at unbeatable prices. Founded in Sacramento by Northern California native Dale Carlsen, Sleep Train is routinely ranked as the top mattress retailer on the West Coast.

“We are pleased to partner with the Sacramento Kings,” said Carlsen, founder and CEO of Sleep Train. “Our team of employee-owners is committed to playing a vital role in the communities we serve. This sponsorship aligns with our interest in keeping a vibrant atmosphere of music, sports and entertainment in our region, and allows us to broaden the reach of our Foster Kids program through greater awareness and donation events.”

From the day it opened its first store in 1985, Sleep Train has been dedicated to supporting the community. Today the company sponsors various music venues on the West Coast and its award-winning Sleep Train Foster Kids program is a renowned example of corporate philanthropy, providing essential material items like clothes, shoes, school supplies, pajamas and gifts during the holidays to the area’s 60,000 foster children.

The alliance will continue to emphasize each organization’s belief in charitable outreach—collaborating on numerous programs aimed towards improving the lives of those less fortunate throughout the Sacramento region. For Sleep Train, this partnership will create new opportunities for the company to collect important donations as well as allow area foster children to attend Kings games.

Opened in 1988, the soon-to-be-named Sleep Train Arena will host more than 200 events and serve nearly two million guests annually. Press coverage includes the Sacramento region, as well as nationally and internationally-based media outlets.

The venue officially becomes Sleep Train Arena in November. Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.

The Chicago Bulls announced today that the team has waived guard Andre Emmett.

Emmett, a third-year player from Texas Tech University, appeared in two of the Bulls’ first three preseason games, averaging 1.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in 3.8 minutes per game. He played in six games with the New Jersey Nets during the 2011-12 season, in addition to 35 games with the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Development League. He signed with Chicago as a free agent on Oct. 1, 2012.

Chicago’s training camp roster now stands at 16.

Philadelphia 76ers center Andrew Bynum will continue with conditioning drills as part of a previously announced precautionary measure related to the Orthokine treatment he received on September 15, 2012.

Bynum will also receive a Synvisc injection in his right knee from Dr. David Altchek of the Hospital of Special Surgery on Monday, October 22, 2012. The injection of Synvisc – a natural substance that lubricates and cushions the joint – has been a routine procedure for Bynum during the previous two seasons and is unrelated to the bone bruise of the medial femoral chondyle of his right knee.

Following the injection, Bynum will be examined by Dr. Jack McPhilemy of Main Line Health.

Former Chicago Bulls forward Horace Grant said facing 7-foot-1, 325-pound Shaquille O’Neal on the basketball court would be preferable to the years-long legal struggle he has waged to collect $1.46 million that securities arbitrators say a brokerage owes him.

“I would rather play against a guy like Shaq any day than to chase something that is mine that was taken,” Grant told Reuters last week. Lawyers for brokerage Morgan Keegan & Co had just argued in a California appeals court that Grant’s award for losses tied to a group of troubled bond funds should be overturned.

Arbitrators awarded Grant $1.46 million in 2009. Since then he has had to battle Morgan Keegan’s efforts to overturn the ruling in court.

The years spent battling Morgan Keegan, a unit of Raymond James Financial, have been “some of the most frustrating in my life,” said Grant in a telephone interview.

– Reported by Suzanne Barlyn of Reuters

The Sacramento Kings requested waivers on center Cyril Awere, it was announced by Kings’ President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie. The Kings’ updated preseason roster now stands at 17 players.

The 6-11, 268-pound center from Nigeria did not play in the Kings’ lone preseason game.

Lots of players signed for NBA training camps or preseason were not signed to regular season deals, and will be released in the coming weeks.

The Nets are ready to finally take the floor at Barclays Center.

After months of preparations, the team will play its first game inside its new home Monday night against the Wizards.

“Everybody’s super-excited, I think,” said Joe Johnson prior to the team’s shootaround Monday morning. “We all feel as if this is a fresh start, and we want to make the best of it.

“We want to get off to a great start. We’ve had a great training camp, and we want to keep working hard to get better.”

The Nets will have plenty of opportunities to get used to their new home this week, as they’ll play three games here in the next five days. But while that will allow them to feel a little more comfortable in their new digs, coach Avery Johnson admitted it’s going to take awhile before it feels like they belong here.

– Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post

Coach Doug Collins said Sunday that 76ers center Andrew Bynum will receive another injection in his right knee before the season begins.

Collins was not exactly sure of the specifics of the injection, but Bynum’s agent, David Lee, spoke about the treatment later in the day.

“Just look at it as lubrication for his knees,” Lee said of the Synvisc-One injection that Bynum will receive. The drug is used to treat knee osteoarthritis.

“He’s had them in previous years,” Lee said.

– Reported by John N. Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer

Drummond capped off three games in four nights Saturday night with 19 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots in 25 minutes in a 108-91 loss at Milwaukee.

The performance comes behind a solid game in the exhibition opener Wednesday against the Raptors and a promising 6 minutes Friday night at Toronto.

“I can’t do it without the help of my teammates,” Drummond told Pistons.com after the loss to the Bucks.

– Reported by Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press

Time Warner, the Lakers’ new $3 billion TV partner, is locked in negotiations with other area providers – including DirecTV, Charter, Dish, Cox, Verizon and AT&T U-verse – to pick up its two new Laker-centric channels, SportsNet and Deportes.

The asking price is reported to be $3.95 per subscriber per month. The providers, however, are holding out for a better deal in hopes of keeping rates low for customers.

This is still just the preseason – the Lakers play Utah on Tuesday night at Honda Center – but fans who can’t find their team on their TV are, in some cases, a bit uneasy and, in other cases, flat ornery.

During the Lakers exhibition Saturday at Staples Center, fans booed every time a Time Warner commercial was shown inside the arena.

– Reported by Jeff Miller of the Orange County Register