Inside Hoops – Page 1452 – NBA Blog

Luke Harangody named D-League Player of Month for January

Fort Wayne Mad Ants forward Luke Harangody has been named NBA Development League Player of the Month for games played in January. The honor is the first of Harangody’s career.

Harangody (6-8, 240, Notre Dame) led Fort Wayne (13-14) to an 8-4 record during January, averaging 18.5 points on 45 percent shooting from the floor, to go with 9.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists. He scored in double figures in 10 of the 11 games he played in, including five 20-plus point performances, and a season-high 31 points to go with 12 rebounds in a 113-106 loss to the Los Angeles D-Fenders on Jan. 19. He led the team in scoring six times in January and was the team’s leading rebounder in nine games.

Harangody has appeared in 13 games for Fort Wayne this season, ranking second in the East Division with 13.4 rebounds per game and fifth in the East with 21.4 points per game. He was named NBA D-League Performer of the Week on Jan. 14.

Fifteen other top NBA D-League prospects were considered for the honor, including Austin’s Cory Joseph, on assignment from the San Antonio Spurs, Bakersfield’s Jerel McNeal, Canton’s Kyle Gibson, Erie’s D.J. Kennedy, Idaho’s Coby Karl, Iowa’s Chris Wright, Los Angeles’ Courtney Fortson, Maine’s DaJuan Summers, Reno’s Walker Russell, Jr., Rio Grande Valley’s Andrew Goudelock, Santa Cruz’s Stefhon Hannah, Springfield’s James Mays, Sioux Falls’ Demetris Nichols, Texas’ Sean Singletary and Tulsa’s Jeremy Lamb, on assignment from the Oklahoma City Thunder.

NBA Players Association places Billy Hunter on leave of absence

The NBA Players Association announced Friday that embattled union chief Billy Hunter has been placed on indefinite leave of absence.

Longtime union lawyer Ron Klempner will be appointed acting executive director of the union until every member of the union “can have a vote in the matter,” the NBPA said.

The NBPA also announced that it has formed an interim executive committee and advisory committee “to move the organization forward” in the wake of a damaging report by an independent firm (Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison) hired to look into the union’s business practices under Hunter’s leadership. The interim executive committee will consist of the five active members of the most recent executive board, according to union bylaws.

— Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle criticizes officiating

After declining to comment following the NBA office’s admission that referees blew a critical call against the Mavericks earlier this week, owner Mark Cuban fired a quick jab at officiating Thursday night, and coach Rick Carlisle added his own criticism of late-game officiating in the league.

“Cant wait to see what the NBA says about this no call with 2 secs left. #2gamseinarow,” Cuban tweeted with seconds remaining in the Mavs’ 100-97 loss to the Golden State Warriors.

Cuban, who tweeted before Vince Carter’s desperate 3-point attempt fell short at the buzzer, was referring to Warriors center Andrew Bogut’s block of Brandan Wright’s potential go-ahead shot with six seconds remaining. Replays showed that Bogut went straight up with his arm and got all ball, although Wright flailed his arms.

However, Carlisle shared Cuban’s opinion on the no-call, also criticizing the officiating.

“Look, the game came down to the call that wasn’t made,” Carlisle said. “Brandan Wright got hit in the arm and it’s obvious. It’s two (games) in a row.”

— Reported by Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas

Reggie Evans says he was not trying to insult the Heat

In a radio interview yesterday, Reggie Evans claimed his message for LeBron James and the Heat was lost in translation.

The Nets power forward, appearing on SiriusXM’s “Off The Dribble,” said he didn’t knock the fact the Heat claimed last season’s title at the end of a lockout shortened season before Wednesday’s blowout loss to the Heat.

“I didn’t say it didn’t prove anything,” Evans said. “Those were not my exact words. I said they won a championship in a lockout season. That’s what I said. That was really about it.

“I never said they did not prove anything. I just said they won a championship in a lockout season. That was it. I guess people just took it out of proportion, that’s all.”

— Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post

New Piston Jose Calderon helps create cap space

The financial ramifications of the deal for the Pistons are obvious — Calderon’s $10.5 million comes off the books after this season.

If they do nothing else through the Feb. 21 trade deadline, Charlie Villanueva picks up his $8.5-million option for next season, and they decide to keep Rodney Stuckey for the full $8.5 million for next season, the Pistons will be roughly $20 million-$23 million under the cap. If they decide to invoke the amnesty clause on Villanueva during a weeklong window in July and cut Stuckey (they would owe him $4 million) before the June 30 deadline, the total could move to roughly $30 million-$35 million.

The cap space means the Pistons could be players in free agency next summer. A more likely outcome is the Pistons being in position to facilitate a trade with a team looking to dump a good player for financial reasons.

But don’t discount the Pistons trying to keep Calderon — at a reasonable price.

— Reported by Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press

Brandon Roy struggling in his recovery

For a brief moment, former Portland Trail Blazers star Brandon Roy nearly called it a career after suffering yet another setback in his rehabilitation from knee surgery last Saturday in an individual workout.

The plan for the Minnesota Timberwolves guard was to make his return to action Feb. 1 against the Los Angles Lakers at Target Center, after having two successful workout days. After that, he would join the team for practices leading up to the game.

Friday’s session went as planned. Saturday’s didn’t.

While performing a move in the first 20 minutes of the workout, he felt something in his right knee that he has felt far too often. He tweaked it, eliminating any possibility of him returning to action before the All-Star break.

“As soon as it happened, in my head, I said ‘I quit. I just quit,” an emotional Roy told CSNNW.com. “That was my first thought, that I couldn’t do this anymore.

“I’m at a crossroad in my career.”

— Reported by Chris Haynes of CSNNW

David Lee, Klay Thompson lead Warriors over Mavericks

Although Klay Thompson won’t admit it, without Stephen Curry on the court, Golden State depends on him even more for offensive production. He turned in another big night.

David Lee finished an assist short of a triple-double, Thompson scored 27 points and the Warriors beat the Dallas Mavericks 100-97 Thursday night.

”I have the same mindset going in. I try to score, be a play maker and play some defense,” Thompson said. ”I’m going to take those shots any way.”

Thompson connected on 11 of his first 14 shots two days after scoring a career-high 32 points in the Warriors’ 108-95 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

”He’s a knockdown shooter, as good as it gets, and he defends his tail off,” Warriors’ coach Mark Jackson said. ”He knows without Curry on the floor we need him to score more.”

Lee had 15 points, a season-high 20 rebounds and nine assists, and Jarrett Jack scored 13 points, including two free throws with 2 seconds left to help the Warriors win their third straight. Harrison Barnes had 12 points.

Andrew Bogut, in his second game since returning from injury, was also a big factor for the Warriors. In limited playing time, he had three blocked shots, including one when the Mavericks had a chance to win the game in the final seconds.

— Reported by Rick Eymer of the Associated Press

Son of Nick Van Exel convicted of murder

A North Texas jury has found the 22-year-old son of former NBA player Nick Van Exel guilty of murder in the shooting death of a longtime friend.

A Dallas County jury deliberated about 2 1/2 hours before returning its guilty verdict Thursday against Nickey Maxwell Van Exel. The penalty phase begins Friday.

Prosecutors had sought a capital murder conviction. They say Van Exel fatally shot Bradley Bassey Eyo in December 2010 and dumped his body at Lake Ray Hubbard on the eastern outskirts of Dallas.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Thunder beat short-handed Grizzlies 106-89

Kevin Durant scored 27 points, Russell Westbrook added 21 points and nine assists and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat Memphis 106-89 Thursday night in the Grizzlies’ first game since trading away leading-scorer Rudy Gay.

Memphis struggled mightily in the first half and trailed by 26 in the third quarter before a mini-implosion by the Thunder that featured Westbrook getting benched after a dust-up with his teammates.

It still didn’t provide a big enough opening for the Grizzlies, who were playing short-handed while waiting for trade acquisitions Tayshaun Prince, Austin Daye and Ed Davis to arrive and pass physicals.

Jerryd Bayless led Memphis with 23 points. Zach Randolph missed his first 10 shots and wound up with nine points and 19 rebounds.

The Grizzlies were already short on numbers after dealing away reserves Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington and Josh Selby for Jon Leuer about a week earlier and with Quincy Pondexter out with a sprained ligament in his left knee.

— Reported by Jeff Latzke of the Associated Press

Tim Grgurich returns to Nuggets for consulting purposes

Back on the Pepsi Center practice court on Thursday morning was a familiar face – that of former Nuggets assistant coach Tim Grgurich. And if he hadn’t been gone for so long, it really was as if he never left. He bounced around from player-to-player, chatting, rebounding for free throws, talking to coaches and sometimes just standing off to the side and observing.

Nuggets coach George Karl has long tried to get Grgurich back into the organization after he left in 2010. And while this is very temporary – a few games – Karl couldn’t be happier to have the calming influence and basketball smarts of one of his best friends in the business.

“He gives me eyes, the pulse of the team,” Karl said.

— Reported by Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post (Blog)