Sixers assign Arnett Moultrie, Lorenzo Brown to D-League

The Philadelphia 76ers today announced that they have assigned forward Arnett Moultrie to the Delaware 87ers of the NBA Development League.  Moultrie will receive additional on-court time at game speed with the Sevens as a step in his return to the Sixers.

The Sixers also announced they have assigned guard Lorenzo Brown to the Sevens.

For Brown, it marks his sixth assignment to the Sevens this season.  He has appeared in 11 D-League games, averaging 19 points, seven assists and five rebounds.  Brown has also played in 19 games for the Sixers this season.

Pelicans sign Luke Babbitt

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that the team has signed forward Luke Babbitt.

Babbit, who was originally drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round (16th overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft and traded to the Portland Trail Blazers on draft day, joins the Pelicans after playing part of the 2013-14 season for Nizhny Novgorod (Russia).

Babbit appeared in 18 games for Novgorod and averaged 13.3 points and 3.7 rebounds.

Entering his fourth NBA season, Babbitt has appeared in 126 games for Portland and holds career averages of 3.8 points and 2.1 rebounds.

Babbitt will wear No. 8 and will be available for tomorrow night’s contest against Atlanta.

The Pelicans roster now stands at 15.

Judge in Kings arena lawsuit disqualifies himself

Here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting on the latest fun in Sacramento’s quest for a new arena:

The lawsuit over Sacramento’s downtown arena subsidy took an early, bizarre twist today when the presiding judge disqualified himself because he had signed a petition supporting the subsidy ballot initiative.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny disqualified himself without comment at a preliminary hearing. City Attorney James Sanchez told The Bee that the judge had signed one of the petitions demanding a public vote on the subsidy issue.

The case was reassigned to Judge Timothy Frawley, and a hearing was set to begin later this morning.

One of the main issues the judge is being asked to address is whether the political action committee tied to the Kings and Mayor Kevin Johnson can intervene in the lawsuit

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Carlos Boozer wants more 4th quarter minutes

With a 23-24 record, the Chicago Bulls are treading water in the Eastern conference. If the regular season ended today, they’d be the 6th seed. Even with Derrick Rose out, more was expected. And forward Carlos Boozer, averaging a modest 14.7 points on 45.3% shooting along with a very solid 8.5 rebounds per game, expected more in the way of minutes in fourth quarters. Here’s the Chicago Sun-Times reporting:

Tom Thibodeau often talks about the many distractions that can hit an NBA team.

One slammed into the Bulls head on Monday. All 6-foot-9, 266 pounds of it.

Upset with being in his warmups and a towel on his head far too often in the fourth quarter of games, especially as of late, Carlos Boozer sent a very direct message to Thibodeau.

“Nah, I think I should be out there, but it’s his choice, he makes the decisions out there, so I play, I don’t coach. He coaches. So he decides that,’’ Boozer said before the 99-70 blowout loss to Sacramento. “But honestly, he’s been doing that a lot since I’ve been here, not putting me in the fourth quarter. Sometimes we win, more times than not we don’t, but that’s his choice.’’

Hawks assign Jared Cunningham to D-League

The Atlanta Hawks have assigned guard Jared Cunningham to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Danny Ferry.

Cunningham, who was recalled from Bakersfield on January 23, has averaged 15.2 points, 4.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 29.8 minutes in 17 games (14 starts) over three stints with the Jam this season. He has appeared in five games with the Hawks this year.

Pelicans center Jason Smith out for season after knee surgery

Pelicans center Jason Smith out for season after knee surgery

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that center Jason Smith had successful surgery on Wednesday, January 29 to remove a loose piece of articular cartilage in the non-weight bearing area of his right knee. Smith will miss the remainder of the season, but is expected to make a full recovery,

In 31 games this season, Smith averaged 9.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 26.8 minutes per game. The Colorado State product has appeared in 331 contests in six NBA seasons, averaging 6.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 16.7 minutes per game.