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With Jason Terry gone, Vince Carter down to be Mavs 6th man

Vince Carter happy to be Mavs 6th man

“I’m down for it,” Carter said when asked if he wanted to be the new sixth man. “I’ll come in and help the team, remain verbal — I do that well. I just try to keep us going forward and not regress. When the second unit comes on the floor, they have to keep it going. I just try to do a little bit of everything to help the team.”

Carter has all the requirements of a good sixth man. He can shoot the 3-pointer. He still has the capacity to get to the rim and he’s not afraid to do other things besides score, as his seven rebounds in 19 minutes against Phoenix on Wednesday suggest. But he also had 15 rapid-fire points in his time on the court. That sort of production looks and sounds sixth-man worthy.

Terry proved that the sixth-man job is a crucial one for the Mavericks. It started with Don Nelson more than a decade ago. He always tried to have a designated scorer off the bench, whether it was Antawn Jamison (a sixth-man of the year) or Jerry Stackhouse or Nick Van Exel.

— Reported by Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News

No hand surgery needed for Kevin Love

Kevin Love

The Minnesota Timberwolves got a bit of good news Thursday when doctors told All-Star Kevin Love that he wouldn’t need surgery on his broken right hand.

The bad news is they still have to figure out a way to replace his 26 points and 13 rebounds a game for the next six to eight weeks.

Love said in a statement Thursday that he broke his right hand while doing knuckle push-ups the day before in a pre-practice workout. The injury means the Wolves will be without their two best players — point guard Ricky Rubio isn’t expected back until mid-December at the earliest because of a torn ACL in his left knee — for the first month of the regular season, and possibly longer.

“Although I’m disappointed that this injury happened, I will work extremely hard to stay in shape and return to the court as quickly as possible,” Love said.

The situation is similar to what Wolves coach Rick Adelman had to deal with in Houston, when he lost stars Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming for extended stretches.

“I was just shocked,” Adelman said when he was told of Love’s injury. “I couldn’t believe it. Here we’re trying to get ready and then we have something like this happen. I learned a long time ago. I’ve had so many injuries to good players, I’ve started to think maybe it’s me.”

— Reported by the Associated Press

Taj Gibson hopeful for Bulls extension

Taj Gibson hopeful for Bulls extension

Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson said Thursday he remains optimistic a contract extension can be worked out before the Oct. 31 deadline for fourth-year players.

“I’m hopeful,” Gibson said. “I’m always hopeful. This is where I want to stay, this is where I hopefully want to retire one day. So we’ll have to wait and see.”

Gibson’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, told ESPNChicago.com on Thursday that talks are ongoing.

If a deal is not worked out by the deadline, Gibson would become a restricted free agent at the end of the season and be able to sign an offer sheet that the Bulls would have the option to match.

— Reported by Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago

Jordan Hill back in practice for Lakers

Jordan Hill back in practice for Lakers

The Lakers’ reserves have been a disappointment so far in training camp, but the club got an encouraging boost when power forward Jordan Hill returned to practice.

Hill has a herniated disc in his back, though he said with core-strengthening work his situation shouldn’t prevent him from playing regular-season games. Hill took part in all but the contact portions of practice Thursday, and Brown was impressed by how Hill was able to run nearly full speed in one drill.

Brown said Hill will do more work today and be re-evaluated then. Hill projects to be the backup power forward, playing with either Howard or Gasol in the paint. Power forward is one of the more important positions in Brown’s new offense, so he said Hill needs practice work “to learn specific routes and reads.”

— Reported by Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register

Dwight Howard may play Sunday for Lakers

Dwight Howard may play Sunday for Lakers

Exactly when Dwight Howard will debut with the Los Angeles Lakers is still a matter of debate within the organization, but Howard is eyeing Sunday evening’s game at Staples Center, according to a Lakers source.

The source explained to ESPNLosAngeles.com late Thursday night that Howard has told teammates and friends that he’s hoping to take the court in the Lakers’ exhibition game against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.

Yahoo! Sports reported late Thursday night that the Lakers have targeted Sunday for Howard’s debut and are hoping he’ll play in two of their final three exhibition games after Friday, barring any setbacks.

— Reported by Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles

Kyrie Irving likes posting up other point guards

Kyrie Irving

In fact, Irving keeps telling Scott and reporters he wants to play inside more and post up other point guards. He did it, at times, last season with varying degrees of success but wants to do it more often this season.

It’s part of the reason he added a little muscle in the offseason. It wasn’t much — he says it was about five pounds — but it will give him a little more meat to withstand the punishment of a full season. It also gives him a few more pounds to bump around inside when necessary.

“I feel like I added another piece to my game,” Irving said. “Just adding that [weight] and being able to withstand a whole entire game without getting knocked down. Players are more physical in the NBA and I wanted to be more prepared this season.”

— Reported by Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal

Hall of Fame guard Slater Martin dies

Slater Martin, the Hall of Fame guard who won four NBA titles with the Minneapolis Lakers and one with the St. Louis Hawks, died Thursday. He was 86.

Martin died Thursday at a skilled nursing facility in Houston after a sudden illness, daughter-in-law Becky Martin said. She said he was admitted to the nursing home Monday.

Martin was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982. He went into the University of Texas’ Longhorn Hall of Honor in 1962, entered the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1964, and the school retired his No. 15 in 2009.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Mavericks waive guard Josh Akognon

The Dallas Mavericks announced today they have waived guard Josh Akognon. Akognon was signed as free agent on September 27.

Akognon (5-11, 185) saw action in three preseason games for the Mavericks. He averaged 2.3 points in 3.7 minutes per contest.

The Petaluma, Calif., native started his collegiate career at Washington State University before transferring to California State University, Fullerton. As a senior, Akognon was named Big West Conference Player of the Year after averaging 23.9 points per game.

The Mavericks’ roster now stands at 15 players

Celtics sign guard Leandro Barbosa

Leandro Barbosa

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have signed free agent guard Leandro Barbosa.

Barbosa, a 6’3” guard, appeared in 64 games last season split between Toronto and Indiana, averaging 11.1 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 0.9 steals while shooting 38.2% from three-point territory. Barbosa, a member of the 2012 Brazilian Olympic basketball team, was the team’s leading scorer with 16.2 points in their six contests, eighth among all players in the 2012 Olympics. The native of Sao Paulo, Brazil was named the NBA’s 2006-07 Sixth Man of the Year when he averaged a career-best 18.1 points, 4.0 assists and shot 43.4% from three-point territory. Barbosa has appeared in 588 career games between Phoenix, Toronto and Indiana with career averages of 12.5 points and 2.4 assists while shooting 39.1% on three-pointers.

Barbosa will not be available in Brooklyn for tonight’s game due to pending visa paperwork.