Lakers waive Corey Brewer

Lakers waive Corey Brewer

The Lakers have waived Corey Brewer.

“It was a pleasure to have Corey on our team,” said Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka. “Corey’s professionalism and competitive mindset will leave a positive mark on the Lakers for a long time. We appreciate his time with the team and wish him the best of luck for the remainder of his career.”

Brewer appeared in 54 games (two starts) for the Lakers this season, averaging 3.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in 12.9 minutes.

The Lakers roster stands at 15, including two two-way players.

Struggling Pistons currently 9th in East

The Pistons (28-32) have lost three straight games and through Monday’s action are in 9th place in the Eastern conference. That’s lottery territory. Sure, Blake Griffin is fairly new to the squad, but you think he and Andre Drummond want to sit there and look at the standings together and accept this? Well, they may have to. Here’s the Detroit News with the latest:

The buzzards are flying overhead, attracted by the Pistons’ carrion. In the midst of a horrendous skid of six losses in the last seven games, the Pistons are struggling and sinking, matching their low-tide mark for the season at four games under .500.

Seemingly, the blood is in the water and the Pistons have been looking for anything to grasp onto to avoid drowning in the remaining 22 games of the regular season. What’s more, of the final stretch of games, 13 are on the road, including nine of the next 12.

The tail end of that string is a 12-day, six-game western trip…

Coach Stan Van Gundy said Monday that Reggie Jackson could return ahead of the big road trip, a potential life preserver to help them stay afloat. He said Jackson is projected to return to practice ahead of the western trip, which could be the boost they need. Before Jackson’s injury, the Pistons were 19-14; they’re 9-18 since. There’s something to be said for that.

Full article

Lonzo Ball excellent so far in return for Lakers

Here’s the Los Angeles Daily News reporting on Lakers rookie point guard Lonzo Ball, who has played limited minutes in his return from injury but has played excellent basketball when out on the floor:

Ball has been on a strict minutes restriction each of his first two games after missing 15 with a left knee sprain. He was capped at 20 minutes on Friday against Dallas; 25 in Atlanta.

On his own, Ball has been startlingly impressive: 11 points per game, seven rebounds, 5.5 assists, two steals. He has attempted 12 3-pointers and made seven of them.

The Lakers have, for the most part, been fine. They have won three straight games out of the All-Star break and, after trouncing the lowly Hawks, have with 22 games left with as many wins as they did a year ago.

With Ball back and balling, the adjustment now comes for everyone else – as the missed connection with Caldwell-Pope showed.

“I think guys are going to have to get used to playing with him again,” Coach Luke Walton said.

Full article

Kawhi Leonard telling Spurs teammates his season is not over

The Spurs are a Western conference 4th best 36-25 this season, a solid record considering they’ve played almost all of it without star small forward Kawhi Leonard. He has played just nine games this season. Leading the Spurs has been LaMarcus Aldridge (22.8 ppg, 8.3 rpg). After Aldridge, it’s mostly been a team effort, as nine other players on the team average somewhere between seven and 11 points per game. As for the latest on Leonard, here’s the San Antonio Express-News reporting:

The injured Spurs star was back in San Antonio, and back in the team’s practice facility Tuesday, less than a week after coach Gregg Popovich said he would be “surprised” if Leonard played again this season.

The 26-year-old did not participate in the team portion of the Tuesday’s workout session, nor is it immediately clear when he might be able to…

Concerned with the slow progress of his recovery, Leonard spent the past three weeks in New York, rehabbing and consulting with additional doctors. He has also been in contact with teammates, letting them know he didn’t consider himself done for the season…

Before Leonard can return to game action, he will need to progress through a protocol that includes 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 action. There is cautious optimism Leonard might be able to play again in March, with a soft target date somewhere on the three-game road trip that begins March 8 at Golden State.

Full article

A few TNT NBA games will be on a virtual-reality platform

Longtime Charlotte Hornets broadcaster Stephanie Ready is branching into the cutting edge of new technology.

Ready will do color analysis for TNT for a handful of games the rest of the season on a virtual-reality platform. Ready’s first game was a Golden State Warriors-Los Angeles Clippers matchup. She is scheduled for six more games the rest of this season.

Viewers need virtual reality headsets to view this experience. It creates an in-arena view, where a fan isn’t restricted to one camera angle on the game. Ready received permission from Fox Sports South, which holds Hornets TV rights, to do these games. TNT and the NBA are doing this in partnership with Intel.

Charlotte Observer

LeBron James flattered by billboards pushing him to join Sixers

Every once in a while we hear of billboards put up in the city of a team promoting that a certain player stay with the team, or maybe join the team. But in this case, there are Sixers fans putting up billboards in Cleveland urging a player, LeBron James, to leave Cleveland and sign with Philly. How does LeBron feel about it? Here’s ESPN.com reporting:

LeBron James still hasn’t seen the three billboards that went up in Ohio this week, aimed at recruiting him to come to the Philadelphia 76ers as a free agent this summer, but he heard about them and says the gesture was flattering.

Hawks waive Ersan Ilyasova (buyout agreement)

The Atlanta Hawks, after reaching an agreement on a buyout, today requested waivers on forward Ersan Ilyasova.

According to Yahoo Sports, “Ilyasova and the Hawks had been discussing a buyout over the past several days, and Atlanta was eager to allow Ilyasova to join a playoff team and contend down the stretch of the season. Ilyasova considered several opportunities with playoff teams, including Philadelphia, Golden State, Cleveland, Milwaukee and Toronto.”

In 46 games this season (40 starts), Ilyasova has averaged 10.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 steals in 25.6 minutes (.459 FG%, .359 3FG%, .800 FT%).

In 655 career contests (405 starts), he’s put up 11.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 24.5 minutes (.443 FG%, .366 3FG%, .772 FT%).

Ilyasova re-signed with the Hawks on July 21, 2017 after originally being acquired by Atlanta from the Philadelphia 76ers on February 22, 2017.

Pelicans sign Emeka Okafor for remainder of season

Pelicans sign Emeka Okafor for remainder of season

The New Orleans Pelicans today signed forward/center Emeka Okafor for the remainder of the season.

Okafor, 6-10, 252, who was originally signed to the first of two 10-day contracts by New Orleans on Feb. 3, has appeared in six games, including four starts, for the Pelicans, averaging 3.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in 16.2 minutes per contest.

New Orleans’ roster stands at 16, including one two-way player (Charles Cooke).

Mavericks sign Scotty Hopson to 10-day contract

The Dallas Mavericks today signed guard/forward Scotty Hopson to a 10-day contract.

Hopson (6-7, 200) went undrafted in the 2011 NBA Draft and began his professional career overseas with Kolossos Rodou in Greece. He also played for Hapoel Eilat in Israel and Anadolu Efes in Turkey before signing his first NBA contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 31, 2014. Hopson saw action in his only two games with the Cavaliers.

Most recently, Hopson spent the 2017-18 season with Galatasaray in the Turkish league. In 13 games, he averaged 11.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 21.8 minutes.

The Hopkinsville, Ky., native was a three-year player at Tennessee and, as a junior, was named All-SEC First Team averaging 17.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 assist. He played 103 games (98 starts) as a Volunteer and had career collegiate averages of 12.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.3 rebounds and 26.8 minutes per contest. As a senior at University Heights Academy, Hopson was named a McDonald’s All-American and rated the No. 5 recruit in the country by Rivals.com.

Hopson will wear number 32 for the Mavericks.

Nets to honor legacy of Drazen Petrovic

On Monday the Nets will celebrate the legacy of the late Drazen Petrovic. It’s been 25 years since the Hall of Famer’s tragic death, and a quarter of a century later he still hasn’t been forgotten — or replaced.

From the giveaway Petrovic figurines to the video tribute to his mother, Biserka, being welcomed from Croatia, the night will be about Petrovic, whose red, white and blue No. 3 was retired by the Nets after his death in 1993.

“This guy,” ex-teammate Kenny Anderson told The Post, “was special.”

Voted the best European player ever by players at the 2013 FIBA European Basketball Championship, Petrovic led legions of European youngsters to take up the game behind him, and led a rising young Nets team to the playoffs in both of his full seasons in New Jersey — until an offseason automobile accident cut his life short at just 28.

NY Post