Inside Hoops – Page 1058 – NBA Blog

Memphis Grizzlies sign Vince Carter

The Memphis Grizzlies signed free agent Vince Carter to a multi-year contract, the team announced today. According to multiple reports, the deal is likely for three years, $12 million total.

Carter (6-6, 220) comes to Memphis with career averages of 20.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 34.2 minutes in 1,148 games (950 starts) over 16 seasons with the Toronto Raptors, New Jersey Nets, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks. He owns career shooting percentages of .442 from the field, .378 from three-point range and .799 from the free throw line.

Among all-time NBA leaders, Carter ranks seventh in three-point field goals made (1,809), eighth in three-point field goals attempted (4,788), 20th in field goals attempted (19,045), 25th in points (23,190), 31st in minutes played (39,240), 46th in games played (1,148), 47th in free throws made (4,551), 49th in points per game (20.2) and 49th in free throw attempts (5,694).

An eight-time All-Star (2000-07), Carter was voted as a starter in seven seasons and was the league’s leading vote-getter four times. He was named to the 2000-01 All-NBA Second Team and the 2001-02 All-NBA Third Team and averaged at least 20 points per game for 10 consecutive seasons (1999-09). Carter also helped Team USA’s men’s national team capture the gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

Last season, Carter averaged 11.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 24.4 minutes in 81 games (zero starts) for Dallas while shooting .407 from the field, .394 from three-point range and .821 from the free throw line. The 37-year-old led the league in three-pointers off the bench (146). Over the course of the season, he advanced from 11th place to 7th place on the NBA’s all-time three-point field goals made list, surpassing (in order) Steve Nash, Dale Ellis, Peja Stojakovic and Rashard Lewis. Carter also became the 27th player in NBA history to score 23,000 career points on March 16, 2014 at Oklahoma City and passed Adrian Dantley for 25th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list on April 12, 2014 vs. Phoenix.

Carter holds career postseason averages of 21.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 38.1 minutes in 67 playoff games (56 starts) with Toronto, New Jersey, Orlando and Dallas. During the 2014 NBA Playoffs, Carter recorded 12.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 27.1 minutes in helping eighth-seeded Dallas take the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs to seven games in the opening round. In Game 3 of that series, he connected on a buzzer-beating three-pointer from the corner to give the Mavericks a 109-108 victory at American Airlines Center.

Drafted by the Golden State Warriors in the first round (5th overall) of the 1998 NBA Draft after a three-year collegiate career at the University of North Carolina, Carter was named the 1998-99 NBA Rookie of the Year with Toronto. One of the most exciting and innovative dunkers in NBA history, Carter memorably won the Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend in 2000.

Spurs re-sign Patty Mills

The 2013-14 NBA champion San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have re-signed guard Patty Mills.

Last season Mills appeared in a team-high 81 games and averaged 10.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists in a career-high 18.9 minutes while shooting .464 (309-666) from the field and .425 (135-318) from beyond the arc. He ranked seventh in the league in three-point percentage and connected on a team-high 135 three-pointers for the season. In the 2014 Finals Mills averaged 10.2 points while shooting .543 (19-35) from the field and .565 (13-23) from beyond the arc.

Mills was part of San Antonio’s bench in 2013-14 that averaged an NBA-best 45.1 points per game, marking the Silver and Black’s highest bench average in franchise history. The guard scored in double-figures 37 times and had eight games where he scored 20 points-or-more.

A product out of St. Mary’s, Mills recently completed his fifth NBA season and his third with the Spurs. Mills, who initially signed with San Antonio on March 27, 2012, was originally drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 55th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft.

Isaiah Thomas headed to Suns in sign-and-trade deal

Here’s ESPN.com reporting that a pretty talented guard is finding a new home:

The Sacramento Kings will send restricted free agent Isaiah Thomas to the Phoenix Suns in a sign-and-trade deal after reaching a new four-year, $28 million contract, sources confirmed to ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst.

In return, the Kings will acquire a $7 million trade exception and the rights to forward Alex Oriakhi, the 57th overall pick in 2013.

Yahoo! Sports first reported the deal.

Thomas averaged 20.3 points and 6.3 assists per game last season, both career-highs.

Cavs season tickets selling fast

Here’s ESPN.com reporting good news from Cleveland:

Cleveland embraced the return of the “King” as expected, as the Cavaliers had all but sold out of season tickets less than eight hours after LeBron James announced he would come back to accomplish some unfinished business with the team.

A Cavaliers source confirmed to ESPN.com that the team capped season-ticket sales at slightly more than 12,000 tickets Friday, leaving roughly 8,000 tickets per game to be used for group sales and ticket plans.

Shortly before 12:30 p.m. ET, when James’ decision was revealed, the Cavaliers’ ticket phone lines were so jammed that the team began rerouting lines in the office to be used for ticket sales. The Cavaliers sell season tickets only over the phone.

Chris Bosh will reportedly re-sign with Heat

Bosh is staying in Miami, agreeing Friday to a five-year contract that will be worth about $118 million, said two people familiar with the deal. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither side had confirmed it publicly.

Keeping Bosh addresses one of the Miami’s top priorities after getting the news earlier in the day that James was leaving the Heat and returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

There’s still plenty of work for Heat President Pat Riley to do, however. But first, he and the team lauded what James meant to them over the last four seasons.

— Associated Press

Pat Riley statement on LeBron James decision to leave the Heat

The following statement was released today by Pat Riley of the Heat, on the decision by LeBron James to leave Miami and once again become a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers:

“While I am disappointed by LeBron’s decision to leave Miami, no one can fault another person for wanting to return home. The last four years have been an incredible run for South Florida, HEAT fans, our organization and for all of the players who were a part of it. LeBron is a fantastic leader, athlete, teammate and person, and we are all sorry to see him go.”

“Over the last 19 years, since Micky and I teamed together, The Miami HEAT has always been a championship organization; we’ve won multiple championships and competed for many others. Micky, Erik and I remain committed to doing whatever it takes to win and compete for championships for many years to come. We’ve proven that we can do it and we’ll do it again.”

Knicks waive Lamar Odom

New York Knicks President Phil Jackson announced today that the team has waived forward Lamar Odom.

Odom, 6-10, 221-pounds, was originally signed as a free agent on Apr. 16, 2014. The team really only signed him to see if he could turn his life and career in a positive direction and be worth keeping. But from the Knicks point of view, apparently this did not happen.

Knicks re-sign Cole Aldrich

New York Knicks President Phil Jackson announced today that the team has re-signed center Cole Aldrich to a contract.

Aldrich, 6-11, 245-pounds, averaged 2.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in 46 games for the Knicks this past season after originally signing as a free agent on Sep. 24, 2013. The four-year NBA professional is currently playing for New York’s entry at the 2014 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, NV.

Cavs trade Alonzo Gee to Pelicans

The Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired the Los Angeles Clippers 2016 Second Round Draft Pick from the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for forward Alonzo Gee, General Manager David Griffin announced today.

The pick is 1-55 protected in the 2016 Draft. In the event the pick is not conveyed in 2016, the Pelicans obligation to convey the pick will be extinguished. New Orleans acquired the pick from Los Angeles as part of 2009 trade.

Gee appeared in 65 games (24 starts) for the Cavs in 2013-14 with averages of 4.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in 15.7 minutes per game. In 277 career games (173 starts) for Cleveland, Washington and San Antonio, Gee has averaged 7.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in 24.1 minutes per game.

Jazz sign first round draft picks Dante Exum and Rodney Hood

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has signed 2014 first-round draft picks guard Danté Exum (fifth overall) and forward Rodney Hood (23rd overall). All first round draft picks are guaranteed to receive a contract, so these signings are standard. Both players are expected to be available for the Jazz’s entry in NBA Summer League 2014, which begins play in Las Vegas on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. MT vs. Philadelphia (TV: KJZZ 14, Radio: 1280 AM/97.5 FM).

A native of Melbourne, Australia, Exum (6-6, 188, Australian Institute of Sport) averaged 18.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists with the Australian National Team at the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship in Prague. The 18-year-old led his team to the semifinals and was named to the 2013 U19 World Championship All-Tournament team. In 2013, Exum guided his high school, Lake Ginninderra College, to the Australian School Championship. In addition, he participated in the 2013 Nike Hoop Summit for the World Select Team.

Exum becomes the third international player on the current Jazz roster, joining centers Rudy Gobert and Enes Kanter, and is the sixth active Australian born player in the NBA.

Hood (6-8, 215, Duke) spent two seasons at Duke after starting his collegiate career at Mississippi State. A 2014 All-ACC Second Team selection, the Meridian, Miss., native averaged 16.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting .464 percent from the field and .420 (72-169) from three-point range in 35 games as a redshirt sophomore. He also earned a spot on the conference’s All-Academic Team.

Duke’s team captain in 2013-14, Hood redshirted the 2012-13 season after transferring from Mississippi State. While at Mississippi State, he was selected to the 2012 All-SEC Freshman Team.

The 21-year-old Hood became the first former Duke player ever to be drafted by the Jazz.