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The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that center Jason Smith will be out indefinitely with a right knee injury. An MRI revealed Smith suffered cartilage damage in his right knee. More details will be released as they become available.
In 31 games (27 starts) this season, Smith is averaging 9.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 26.8 minutes per game. The 7’0” center holds career averages of 6.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 331 games.
The Phoenix Suns announced today that they have signed guard Leandro Barbosa (lee-AN-dro BAR-bow-sa) to a second 10-day contract.
Barbosa signed his first 10-day contract with the club on Jan. 8. The 31-year-old guard has appeared in four games with Phoenix this season, averaging 9.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 21.5 minutes. In the Suns’ game at New York on Jan. 13, Barbosa came off the bench to score 21 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, in 30 minutes of action.
The 6-3, 194-pound Barbosa is in his 11th season in the NBA, the first seven of which were played with the Suns, as he averaged 12.6 points, 2.6 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 466 games with Phoenix from 2003-10. Barbosa won the 2006-07 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award with the Suns after posting career-highs of 18.1 points and 4.0 assists per game.
The Suns continue a season-long five-game home stand on Sunday night as they host the Denver Nuggets with tip-off scheduled for 6:00 p.m. (Phoenix time). The game will be televised on FOX Sports Arizona, and carried on Arizona Sports 620 (KTAR-AM).
The Oklahoma City Thunder has assigned forward Andre Roberson to the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.
Roberson has appeared in 16 games (four starts) for the Thunder this season, averaging 1.8 points and 2.3 rebounds in 8.7 minutes per game.
This will mark Roberson’s third assignment to the 66ers this season. In five previous games (all starts) with Tulsa, he has averaged 15.6 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.8 steals in 35.8 minutes per game.
He is expected to be in uniform tonight when the Tulsa 66ers take on the Bakersfield Jam at Dignity Health Event Center in Bakersfield, Calif.
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The Dallas Mavericks announced today that guard Gal Mekel underwent arthroscopic surgery to address a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee. The surgery was performed by TO Souryal at Texas Sports Medicine in Dallas.
No timetable has been set for his return.
According to the Dallas Morning News blog, “This means Shane Larkin will continue to log meaningful minutes, even when Devin Harris returns, possibly as soon as Saturday. Harris will not play in tonight’s game at Phoenix, but nobody would rule out the possibility that he could make his season debut Saturday in Dallas against Portland.”
The Golden State Warriors have assigned center Ognjen Kuzmic to the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Development League, the team announced today. Santa Cruz plays the Idaho Stampede in Boise tomorrow night.
Kuzmic made his D-League debut on December 28 against the Bakersfield Jam, registering two points, nine rebounds and one block in 16 minutes.
For the Warriors this season Kuzmic has played just 3.9 minutes per game, in a total of 13 games. Golden State is 25-15 so far this season.
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The Boston Celtics announced today that they have signed guard/forward Chris Johnson to a 10-day contract.
Johnson, a 6’6” guard/forward, appeared in 20 games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League this season and has averaged 19.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.0 block in 37.2 minutes per game. The 14th Call-Up from the D-League this season, Johnson was shooting 47.0 percent from the field, 36.7 percent from three-point territory and 84.1 percent from the free throw line.
Johnson also has recorded the sixth highest offensive rating in the D-League this season amongst all players that have played 10 games or more with a rating of 114.6.
The former University of Dayton Flyer appeared in eight games for the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2012-13 season and averaged 3.6 points and 1.4 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game.
With Nick Young being suspended for a game due to tossing a punch where a Phoenix Suns player was standing, the Lakers have added a guard who has been dropping serious buckets in the D-League lately.
Here’s more info on who Harris is:
Full item: Lakers sign Manny Harris to 10-day contract
Nick Young is nicknamed “Swaggy P.” Swag flies through the air anytime Young does anything. You can never have enough swag, as Young is well aware.
Unfortunately, yesterday during a Lakers vs Suns game, Young’s swag emerged in the form of a punch, and that’s no bueno. The NBA suspended him one game as a result, and fined a pair of Suns players as well.
Full details here: Nick Young suspended for punch
The Oklahoma City Thunder have, as expected, been one of the league’s best teams this season. Even with star point guard Russell Westbrook injured, the team is a force.
But the team can still use a bit of help in their backcourt. And so enters Royal Ivey, who is a solid backup to have at the end of a bench for use in limited minutes.
Full news item: Thunder sign Royal Ivey to 10-day contract
You remember Hedo Turkoglu. He did fun things on the Orlando Magic years ago, but has largely been forgotten about for a couple seasons now.
Well, he’s back, and actually in a pretty good situation, jumping on board with the Los Angeles Clippers, who can use him in very limited minutes to keep their flow going. It’s a low-risk addition.
Full news: Clippers sign Hedo Turkoglu, keep Darius Morris, release Maalik Wayns