Inside Hoops – Page 1585 – NBA Blog

Nets sign Stephen Dennis, James Mays, Carleton Scott to training camp roster

The Brooklyn Nets have signed free agents Stephen Dennis, James Mays, and Carleton Scott, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today. Per team policy, terms of the agreements were not released. All three players played overseas last season. The Nets training camp roster stands at 18 players.

Dennis, a 6’6” guard, spent four years at Kutztown University. In his senior season he averaged 26.6 points per game and was named to the Division II All-American Team. After college, Dennis played for the Bakersfield Jam in the NBA D-League, where in 51 games he averaged 18.5 points, 6.9 assists and 5.6 rebounds. The West Chester, PA native then spent the 2011-12 season in Germany playing for the New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig, where in 18 contests he averaged 8.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 22.1 minutes per game. Dennis shot .424 from the field, including .304 from three-point range and .731 from the free-throw line. Dennis was a member of the Nets 2012 summer league team.

Mays, a 6’9’’ forward, spent four years at Clemson University. After his senior season, he was the second overall pick by the Colorado 14ers in the 2008 NBA D-League Draft. In 12 games with Colorado, Mays averaged 18.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists. During the 2009-10 season, Mays played for the Shougang Beijing Ducks in China, where he averaged 26.0 points and 13.2 rebounds per game. During the 2010-11 campaign he played in the NBA Summer League for both the Indiana Pacers and the Toronto Raptors. The Garner, NC native then went back overseas and played for Oyak Renault Bursa (Turkey), where he averaged 17.2 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Mays spent the 2011-12 season with Mersin Buyuksehir Beldiyesi (Turkey), where he averaged 10.8 points and 6.0 rebounds, and Captanes de Arecibo (Puerto Rico), where he averaged 2.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in eight minutes per game.

Scott, a 6’8” forward, played three years at the University of Notre Dame. Named the 2010 Co-Most Improved Player. After graduating in 2011, Scott went to Austria and played for the UBC Carefuel Gussing Knights. In 27 contests with the Knights he averaged 13.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 25.9 minutes per game. He shot .494 from the field, including .294 from three-point range and .730 from the free-throw line. Scott was a member of the Nets 2012 summer league team.

Curtis Stinson signs in Croatia

Cedevita Zagreb fortified its backcourt by signing point guard Curtis Stinson for one season. Stinson (1.91 meters, 29 years old) has played briefly in Europe before, but has found much of his success in the NBA D-League. He was that competition’s MVP two years ago after averaging 19.3 points, a league-best 9.8 assists and 5.7 rebounds in the regular season for Iowa. He then led the club to the league title with 24.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 8.8 assists in the playoffs. Stinson joined Krka Novo Meston of Slovenia at the start of last season and produced 8.3 points and 4.5 assists through four Adriatic League games, but later moved back to Iowa and compiled 11.3 points, 5.9 assists and 4.7 rebounds in 28 games the rest of the season.

— Reported by Euroleague.net

Former congressman Harold Ford Jr. will join Grizzlies ownership group

Former congressman Harold Ford Jr. has agreed to become a member of Robert Pera’s Memphis Grizzlies ownership group.

Less than two weeks after Pera added some star power in the person of homegrown pop star and actor Justin Timberlake, he’s come to an agreement with the former five-term congressman from Memphis.

“I’m honored to be a part of Robert’s ownership group,” said Ford, who did not specify what percentage of the team he will own. “He’s a genuine guy and a great guy.”

Ford said he met Pera through mutual friends more than a year ago, before Pera began his pursuit of the Grizzlies. When Pera reached an agreement with Michael Heisley to buy the franchise, Ford said he had the same concerns as everyone else.

— Reported by Geoff Calkins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal

Grizzlies guard Tony Allen back in action following knee surgery

Memphians might have noticed Grizzlies guard Tony Allen in the community recently at block parties and autograph signings at retail stores.

However, the best news regarding Allen these days is that he’s back on the basketball court while recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery. The Grizzlies’ stalwart on defense underwent a minor procedure during the offseason to repair cartilage in his left knee.

Allen has been in town working out in FedExForum and declared that he’ll be ready when training camp opens Oct. 2.

“I’m definitely getting myself back to being that thirsty dog,” Allen said. “I don’t want to rush it. But I’ll be back for the first game, Oct. 31, against the (Los Angeles) Clippers. I guarantee that.”

— Reported by Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal

Lawrence Frank pleased with Pistons work ethic

Lawrence Frank wouldn’t say whose idea it was to bring a ping-pong table to the practice facility, but the Pistons coach admitted he was pleased with the competitive spirit of the 11 players who have participated in unofficial workouts and are expected to make the roster.

“I mean, this is all voluntarily; they don’t have to be here, and we can’t force them,” Frank said. “Eleven of the 15 have been here, and we expect Jonas (Jerebko) and Slava Kravtsov to be here Tuesday.”

Jerebko and Kravtsov have been at the Eurobasket 2013 qualifying tournament, with Jerebko playing very well and Kravtsov showing promise.

With camp just weeks away, Frank has the luxury of having time to work his players, unlike last season when he, like all teams and coaches, had to deal with a lockout and playing just about every other day.

— Reported by Perry A. Farrell of the Detroit Free Press

Mike Miller says he will be ready for Heat season

Three months later, he’s still in one piece, his limbs attached to all the right places. For the first time with the Miami Heat, Mike Miller might actually start a regular season in uniform.

After considering retirement during the NBA Finals and then contemplating back surgery at the completion of the Heat’s championship run, Miller is up and running and looking forward to the Sept. 29 start of training camp at AmericanAirlines Arena.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” he said Saturday.

Instead of gaining a $2.9 million injury exception for a replacement player, the Heat apparently will have the real thing, with Miller hoping to pick up where he left off, which just happened to be with seven 3-pointers in the Game 5 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder that gave the Heat their second championship.

— Reported by Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Ronnie Brewer says Knicks defense can shine this season

So, just how good can this team be on the defensive end?

“I think the sky’s the limit,” Brewer said on Friday night.

After struggling to get stops for much of the Mike D’Antoni era, New York made a significant improvement on defense last year.

With Chandler in the middle, the Knicks finished fifth in the league defensive efficiency (a measure of points allowed per 100 possessions), up from 21st in 2010-11. Chandler was named Defensive Player of the Year and Shumpert established himself as one of the top young perimeter defenders in the league.

Brewer believes that the addition of himself and Camby, among others, can make the Knicks even more stingy this year.

“I think with those ingredients, we’re going to a very dangerous,” he said.

— Reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York

Kirilenko, Shved on their way to Minnesota

New Timberwolves Andrei Kirilenko and Alexey Shved today finish up the four-day Basketball Without Borders camp they are working in Moscow with Wolves player development coach David Adelman and fellow NBA players Timofey Mozgov, MarShon Brooks, Danny Green and Brian Cardinal.

Next stop: Target Center.

Kirilenko plans to arrive in about 10 days for training camp that begins in Mankato on Oct. 2.

Until then, he will spend these final days of summer at home in Russia, where he, Shved and their national team teammates brought home the Olympic bronze medal last month.

That performance sent them to the Kremlin and a visit with Russian president Vladimir Putin that delayed Kirilenko’s introductory Target Center news conference until he arrives here the last week of September for camp.

He has spent these last four days in what he calls “giving back” to the game that already has given him a 10-year NBA career and now leads him to Minnesota and a two-year, $20 million contract and to his home country where basketball now has produced its first Olympic medal in the sport since the Soviet Union’s breakup and this season is sending countryman Shved to the NBA as well.

— Reported by Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune

Lakers sign second-round pick Darius Johnson-Odom

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed rookie guard Darius Johnson-Odom, it was announced today.

Johnson-Odom, the 55th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, was acquired by the Lakers from Dallas on draft night. The 6-2 guard out of Marquette averaged 15.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 105 career games. As a senior, the Raleigh, North Carolina native led his team in scoring (18.3ppg) and earned First Team All-Big East honors in addition to being named an Honorable Mention All-American by the Associated Press.

Most recently, Johnson-Odom played on the Lakers 2012 Summer League team in Las Vegas, averaging 3.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 15.8 minutes.

Utah Jazz sign second-round pick Kevin Murphy

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has signed second-round draft pick Kevin Murphy.

The 6-7, 185-pound guard out of Tennessee Tech was selected 47th overall by the Jazz in the 2012 NBA Draft. In five games (two starts) for the Jazz entry in the 2012 Orlando Pro Summer League, Murphy averaged 8.6 points and 2.4 rebounds in 23 minutes of action.

A native of Atlanta, Ga., Murphy amassed 2,019 points, 535 rebounds and 248 assists in four years at Tennessee Tech. During his senior season in 2011-12, he averaged 20.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 34.5 minutes.

Murphy, who ranks second all-time at Tennessee Tech in scoring, was twice named to the All-Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) First Team (2011, 2012) as well as the OVC All-Tournament Team (2011, 2012). Following his freshman season, he was named to the 2009 OVC All-New Comer Team.