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Hornets trade Peja Stojakovic, Jerryd Bayless to Raptors for Jarrett Jack, David Anderson and Marcus Banks

The New Orleans Hornets announced today that they have acquired Jarrett Jack, David Anderson and Marcus Banks from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Jerryd Bayless and Peja Stojakovic.

“We are excited about the players acquired today and feel that our short-term and long-term goals will benefit from this move,” said Hornets General Manager Dell Demps. “Peja has been a valued contributor as a Hornet for years and we wish both Peja and Jerryd all the best in their future and thank them for their recent contributions in helping us get off to a strong start.”

“Acquisition of another emerging talent and the creation of additional salary cap flexibility in the coming years were the key drivers in making this deal,” said Raptors President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo. “Our plan of developing our existing young players and acquiring future assets remains our focus in retooling this Toronto basketball team.”

Anderson (6-11, 247) has appeared in 11 games for Toronto this season, averaging 5.1 points and 3.1 rebounds in 13.6 minutes of play. Originally a second-round draft choice (37th overall) in the 2002 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks, his draft rights were traded to the Houston Rockets for cash and future considerations on August 12, 2009. The 30-year old played in 63 games for Houston last season before being traded in the offseason to Toronto, averaging 5.8 points and 3.3 rebounds. The Australia native played 10 seasons in Europe before coming to the NBA. He played in Spain, Russia and Italy during his professional career, winning the Euroleague Championship in 2001, 2006 and 2008. He also played for Australia in the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games.

Banks (6-2, 205), has appeared in 348 career games (37 starts) for Boston, Minnesota, Phoenix, Miami and Toronto with averages of 5.9 points and 2.1 assists in 16.0 minutes of play. The UNLV product has appeared in three games for the Raptors this season, averaging 2.0 points and 1.0 assists in 7.3 minutes of play. Banks was a first-round draft choice (13th overall) in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies.

Bayless (6-3, 200) was acquired by the Hornets on October 23, 2010 from Portland in exchange for a conditional, future first-round pick. He appeared in 11 games for New Orleans, averaging 4.5 points and 2.5 assists in 13.5 minutes of play. The Arizona product has appeared in 138 career games (11 starts), with averages of 6.6 points and 2.0 assists.

Bayless, 22, is in his third NBA campaign. He was selected 11th overall in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers. He is a career .820 per cent (297-362) free throw shooter. He netted a career-best 31 points in his first career start December 23, 2009 at San Antonio.

Bayless averaged 13.5 points, 3.8 assists and 27.7 minutes in six postseason outings with Portland last season. In 138 career games (11 starts), the former Arizona Wildcat has averaged 6.6 points, 2.0 assists and 15.3 minutes.

Stojakovic is in his 13th season in the NBA. The three-time All-Star has appeared in 777 regular season games and 76 postseason contests. He has averaged double figures in scoring in 11 of his 12 seasons, with a career-best 24.2 points in the 2003-04 season when he garnered second-team All-NBA honours.

Stojakovic played eight seasons with Sacramento (1998-2005), part of the 2005-06 season with Indiana and the past five campaigns with the Hornets (2006-2010). He owns a career regular season average of 17.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 34.0 minutes. In postseason play, he has contributed an average of 16.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 36.3 minutes.

One of the top three-point shooters in league history, Stojakovic has placed in the Top 10 in made three-pointers four times and twice in three-point field goal percentage. In 2003-04, Stojakovic made a league-high 240 three-pointers and finished sixth with a .433 (240-of-554) three-point shooting percentage.

February 24, 2010 Milwaukee, WI. Bradley Center..New Orleans Hornets Peja Stojakovic goes to the line for some free throws, Stojakovic had 11 points against the Bucks tonight..Milwaukee Buck won over the New Orleans Hornets 115-95. Mike McGinnis/CSM.

LeBron, Wade, Heat offense is all jump-shots

John Schuhmann of NBA.com reports:

James Jones has attempted 72 shots this season, and not one has come from within 15 feet of the basket. No dunks, no layups, no runners and no floaters. It’s been strictly jumpers for Jones thus far.

Jones is a specialist, of course. As part of the Miami Heat’s supporting cast, it’s his job to complement the Superfriends by spreading the floor and knocking down open shots. To date, Jones has done that job effectively, shooting 48 percent from 3-point range. But Jones’ paint allergy is representative of the Heat as a whole.

Miami ranks last in the league in both points in the paint per game (33.6) and percentage of points scored in the paint (32.2). Points in the paint have been tracked since 2000 and in the 11 seasons since, only one team — the 2002-03 Knicks (30.9 percent) — has scored a lower percentage of its points in the paint than the Heat have thus far.

Miami is also second (behind only Washington) in mid-range percentage (25.4). (Mid-range percentage is the percentage of a team’s points that aren’t scored in the paint, at the free throw line or from 3-point range.)

League-wide, mid-range shots are the most inefficient shots on the floor.

Bill Walker and Shawne Williams fight at practice

Marc Berman of the New York Post reports:

Toughness has not been a Knicks trait in years. Yesterday, the Knicks, after breaking their six-game losing streak in Sacramento, were feeling feisty at practice as a skirmish broke out between Bill Walker and Shawne Williams.

Williams was driving to the basket when Walker took him down hard. Williams, who has yet to play this season after making the team as 15th man, shot up from the floor and lunged at Walker, shouting at him about the dirty play. Teammates separated the two players, but Williams kept carrying on, trying to break free to get at Walker. Even Eddy Curry had to restrain the ranting Williams.

It was a bizarre scene the way Williams carried on.

Dorell Wright expands his offensive game

John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports:

Aside from Joe Lacob, Peter Guber and David Lee, Wright has been the most influential Warriors newcomer. The small forward, who arrived as a free agent, has started all 11 games and is one of the reasons the Warriors are 7-4. Wright, who turns 25 in December, is averaging 15 points in 38 minutes after averaging 6.5 in 19.5 over six seasons in Miami.

Known previously as a defensive-minded player, Wright has proven to be far more while complementing Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry and providing help under the boards.

In his first eight games, he sunk more than half his three-pointers. Twice, he topped 20 points – after reaching 20 just three previous times in his career – and he makes more than 80 percent of his free throws. Plus, he averages 5.4 rebounds, nearly two more than his career average.

“It’s been good,” Wright said. “Finally, I get a chance to do everything, not just be one-dimensional anymore. I’m able to handle the ball, take open shots, get guys involved – instead of every time I get the ball on the rebound, hold up and look for the point guard as if I can’t dribble. It’s good to get an opportunity, and I’m taking advantage of it.”

Awful Clippers now 1-12

Wednesday in Indianapolis the Pacers, despite missing a few key players, beat the Los Angeles Clippers 107-80.

The Clippers have now lost eight straight games and have one win, 12 losses. They’re a mess.

Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times reports:

The Clippers’ rookies, as well as Craig Smith and Eric Gordon — another Indiana homecoming ruined — had the glazed look of survivors who had stumbled away from a car crash, wondering where to go next.”

Something has got to change,” said Blake Griffin, who had 12 points and eight rebounds. “After a while, you can’t just say — we do have to keep working — but you can’t just keep working and keep losing. It comes down to who wants it more, a little bit of heart. We just need to find that.”

He wants to be an agent of change. The most obvious form of assistance, of course, would be getting center Chris Kaman back in the lineup. Griffin can do many things, but he’s not a medical miracle worker.

Any other suggestions?

“We’ll work on it tomorrow,” Griffin said. “I’ve got some ideas.”

The problem here is, I’m not sure what there is to change. Aside from Griffin, Eric Gordon and Chris Kaman, there’s simply not a lot of talent on the roster. Rookie guard Eric Bledsoe has looked good, stepping up while Baron Davis sits around being old and washed up, but that’s about it. The struggles may continue.

But, on the bright side, there’s individual players worth keeping an eye on here. Griffin, Gordon and Bledsoe should only keep improving and are worth attention.

Danilo Gallinari declares himself a non-superstar

New York Knicks forward Danilo Gallinaro last season, and for bits of this short season, has shown off incredible outside shooting ability. The rest of his game is still in development, however.

Still, when hot, he can toss in 25 pretty easily if in rhythm and fed the ball while in proper outside position.

But he seems to want to make sure everyone knows that he’s not someone who is going to take over the league anytime soon.

Howard Beck of the New York Times reports:

After six breakthrough quarters, in which he looked very much like a potential star, the 22-year-old Gallinari swiftly punctured the notion of his stardom.

“I know you expect a lot from me, and people expect a lot from me,” Gallinari said late Wednesday night, “but I’m not a superstar, I’m not an All-Star, I’m not LeBron, I’m not those great players. I’m an important player of the Knicks. And that’s what I’m trying to do, to help the team every time. Sometimes, can be these type of games, sometimes not. But as long as we win, it’s all good.”

It was a surprising response, and entirely unsolicited. Gallinari had just posted consecutive 20-point games for the first time this season — 21 in Denver and a season-high 27 in Sacramento — and was simply asked if he needed a performance like this for his confidence.

He could have nodded and offered perfunctory agreement. Instead, he took the question as an opportunity to push back against the outsize expectations that have been thrust upon him since June 2008. Coach Mike D’Antoni once called Gallinari the best shooter he had ever seen. Amar’e Stoudemire has compared Gallinari to Dirk Nowitzki, a perennial All-Star. Nowitzki himself made the comparison last spring, and said that Gallinari was better than he was at the same age.

Remember, English is not Gallinari’s first language. He’s good at it, but still, best not to take things too literally. He’s basically just saying what people know, that he isn’t the next LeBron or Kobe. But hopefully it’s OK for Knick fans to still hope that over the next year or two he emerges into an occasional Dirk Nowitzki.

Jerry Sloan to miss next two Jazz games

The Utah Jazz announced today that head coach Jerry Sloan will miss the team’s next two games in order to attend funeral services for a family member.

Jazz assistant coach Phil Johnson will assume head coaching duties in Friday night’s game vs. San Antonio and Saturday’s game at Portland. Sloan is expected to rejoin the team prior to the Jazz’s game vs. Sacramento on November 22.

Cavaliers assign Christian Eyenga to D-League

The Cleveland Cavaliers have assigned guard/forward Christian Eyenga to the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced today.

Eyenga has yet to make an appearance with the Cavaliers during the regular season. He played in six games during the preseason, averaging 4.3 points on .625 shooting and 0.8 rebounds in 11.3 minutes per game.

The 6-foot-5 rookie from Congo will be available to play for the BayHawks in their season-opening game versus the Springfield Armor tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at the Tullio Arena in Erie. The BayHawks are the D-League affiliate of the Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors.

Joey Graham can fly planes

Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal reports:

Joey Graham ignored his father’s advice and flew a date to the restaurant while a student at Oklahoma State. There wasn’t a second date.

”My father told me not to take dates because of what it could do,” Graham said. ”The sun was setting, it was a romantic little thing. What can you say? She was hooked. . . . I couldn’t do it anymore. I saw what that one did and I couldn’t have that on my hands.”

Graham is not the typical NBA player. He graduated from Oklahoma State with a degree in aviation management. He is a licensed pilot and a trained chef, he can play the saxophone, drums and piano and he even sings a little.

”There’s not too many things I can’t do,” Graham said. ”I was blessed with a great father and great mother. My father tried to make us as versatile and well-rounded as possible.”

Greg Oden out for season, will have microfracture surgery

Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden will undergo microfracture surgery on his left knee Friday and will miss the remainder of the 2010-11 season, the Trail Blazers announced this evening.

Dr. Richard Steadman will perform the surgery with assistance from Trail Blazers orthopedic surgeon Dr. Don Roberts at the Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Vail, Colo.

Oden, 22, has been sidelined since fracturing his left patella in a Dec. 5, 2009, game vs. Houston. A recent MRI showed damaged cartilage to the surface of his femur, and his current injury is unrelated to the fractured left patella.

Oden previously underwent microfracture surgery on his right knee Sept. 13, 2007.

He holds career NBA averages of 9.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.43 blocked shots in 82 games over parts of two seasons from 2008-09.