Author: Inside Hoops

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Wizards-Lakers team connections

Wizards forward Caron Butler was a Laker for one season in 2004-05…Butler averaged 15.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in 77 games for Los Angeles, but was dealt to Washington with Chucky Atkins for Kwame Brown and Laron Profit prior to the 2005-06 season…Butler and Lamar Odom were teammates in Miami and were dealt together from the Heat to the Lakers in the trade that brought Shaquille O’Neal to Miami…Wizards guard DeShawn Stevenson and Lakers guard Trevor Ariza were teammates in Orlando in 2005-06…Antonio Daniels and Lakers forward Vladimir Radmanovic were teammates in Seattle from 2003-05…Lakers forward Luke Walton and Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas were collegiate teammates at the University of Arizona.

Michael Jordan denies paternity claim

The Erie Times-News reports: Former NBA basketball great Michael Jordan denies being the father of Lisa A. Miceli’s son. Two paternity tests, one ordered in Crawford County Court and the other agreed upon by Jordan and Miceli, support the claim. Now Jordan is claiming that Miceli’s fight to get Jordan to acknowledge fatherhood and provide support for the child has turned threatening and violent. He’s asking Crawford County Court to intervene. Lawyers for the five-time NBA Most Valuable Player say Miceli has sent hundred of e-mails and voice-mail messages to Jordan and others since the second paternity test was done in the late summer of 2005.

Lakers sign DJ Mbenga to another 10-day contract

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed free agent center Didier “DJ” Ilunga-Mbenga to a second 10-day contract, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

Mbenga, a 7-foot, 220 pound native of the Congo, signed his first 10-day contract with the Lakers on January 21st averaging 1.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in 6.8 minutes in 4 games.  Earlier in the season, Mbenga signed with the Golden State Warriors November 17 after spending three seasons with the Dallas Mavericks prior to their request for waivers on him October 30.  In 16 games with the Warriors prior to his release January 6, Mbenga averaged 1.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.63 blocked shots in 8.1 minutes.

After signing with Dallas as a rookie free agent in 2004, Mbenga, 27, played 79 games over three seasons with the Mavericks, totaling 106 points, 75 rebounds and 35 blocked shots in 374 minutes.  In his rookie year of 2004-05, he averaged 4.10 blocks per 48 minutes played while improving to 5.00 blocks per 48 minutes in 2005-06.  In 2006-07 he was limited to just 21 games after missing the first 16 games of the year with a left foot tendon strain and suffering a torn right ACL 2/7/07 vs. Memphis.

In 99 career games including two starts, Mbenga is averaging 1.3 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.48 blocked shots in 5.4 minutes.

Exact, official details of Gasol-to-Lakers trade

The Los Angeles Lakers have acquired forward Pau Gasol in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak. The Lakers will also receive the Grizzlies second round draft choice in 2010. In exchange Memphis will receive forward Kwame Brown, guard Javaris Crittenton, guard Aaron McKie (who the Lakers signed earlier today), the draft rights to Marc Gasol and first round picks in 2008 and 2010.

Gasol, a 7th year player out of Spain, is averaging 18.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.44 blocked shots per game this season. The 27 year old 7’0” forward/center has career averages of 18.8 points and 8.6 rebounds. A 2006 NBA All-Star and 2001-02 NBA Rookie of the Year, Gasol also won a gold medal with Spain at the 2006 FIBA World Championships while being named tournament MVP.

“We’re extremely pleased to be able to make this trade.” said Kupchak. “Pau is a proven player of all-star caliber in this league who can score and rebound and he’s still a young player. We feel this move strengthens our team in the short term as well as the long term.”

More quotes, more info about each player, and our reaction to the trade is here.

Spurs re-assign Ian Mahinmi to D-League

The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have re-assigned rookie Ian Mahinmi to the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League (D-League).

Mahinmi, a 6-11, 230-pound center was recalled by the Spurs on Jan. 28 but did not see any action in his most recent stint with the Silver and Black.  For the season he has appeared in six games for the Spurs, averaging 3.5 points in 3.8 minutes per contest.  Mahinmi finished with a season-high 12 points and two blocks in 12 minutes of action vs. Milwaukee on Nov. 11.

In 24 games with the Toros, Mahinmi is averaging 18.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.20 blocks in 30.4 minutes. He currently leads the D-League in field goal percentage, shooting .644 (154-239) from the field.  He set career-highs with 32 points and 17 rebounds in a 90-79 win at Utah on Dec. 21.  Mahinmi tied his points-high with 32 points at Tulsa on Jan. 27.

Mahinmi will be available tonight when the Toros take on the Utah Flash at 7 p.m. at the Austin Convention Center.

Bucks recall Ramon Sessions from D-League

The Milwaukee Bucks have recalled guard Ramon Sessions from the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League (D-League), General Manager Larry Harris announced today. Sessions was assigned to the D-League on November 8, 2007.

Sessions appeared in 24 games (17 starts) with Tulsa, averaging a team-high 21.1 points (6th in the D-League), a team-high 7.6 assists (3rd in the D-League) and 6.5 rebounds (19th in the D-League) in 36.2 minutes per contest. His points, rebounds and assists add up to 35.2 per game, eighth in the league. Sessions is the only player to be named the D-League Performer of the Week twice this season, claiming the award on November 26, 2007 and January 28, 2008.

A 6-3 guard out of Nevada, Sessions was the 56th overall selection by the Bucks in the 2007 NBA Draft. He has been on assignment in Tulsa for the entire D-League season. He was joined by Bucks teammate David Noel on January 20. Sessions played in five preseason games with the Bucks, averaging 1.4 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 7.0 minutes of action.

The NBA Development League also includes the Albuquerque Thunderbirds (N.M.), Anaheim Arsenal (CA), Austin Toros (TX), Bakersfield Jam (CA), Colorado 14ers (Broomfield), Dakota Wizards (Bismarck, N.D.), Fort Wayne Mad Ants (IN), Idaho Stampede (Boise), Iowa Energy (Des Moines), Los Angeles D-Fenders (CA), Rio Grande Valley Vipers (TX), Sioux Falls Skyforce (S.D.) and Utah Flash (Provo).

Byron Scott to coach West All-Stars

New Orleans Hornets Head Coach Byron Scott will coach the Western Conference All-Stars for the 2008 NBA All-Star Game, to be played on Sunday, Feb. 17, at New Orleans Arena in New Orleans. Scott will join Boston’s Doc Rivers, who earned head coaching honors for the Eastern Conference All-Stars on Jan. 21, when the Celtics defeated New York, 109-93.

With Dallas’ 96-90 loss tonight to Boston, Scott and the Hornets (32-13, .711) clinched the best winning percentage in the conference through Feb. 3, earning him the spot as head coach of the West All-Stars. Scott’s achievement marks the 10th time in NBA All-Star history that a coach will be on his home court and the first time since Paul Westphal (Phoenix) in 1995.

Head coaches for the East and West All-Star teams are based on teams with the best winning percentage in each conference. Last year’s coaches – Phoenix Head Coach Mike D’Antoni and Washington Head Coach Eddie Jordan – are not eligible to coach in the 2008 All-Star Game.

This season marks Scott’s fourth year as head coach of the Hornets. Scott joined the Hornets on May 28, 2004 after three-and-a-half seasons in New Jersey, where he guided the Nets to The Finals following the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons. In 2002, Scott coached the East All-Stars in Philadelphia, making this his second appearance as an All-Star head coach.

NBA All-Star reserves announced

Thursday evening the official reserves (bench players) for the 2008 NBA All-Star team were announced. Fans picked the starters, but NBA coaches picked these reserves. Here are the 14 players (seven East, seven West) selected to come off the bench in the 2008 All-Star game.

East: Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Joe Johnson, Caron Butler, Paul Pierce, Antawn Jamison, Chris Bosh

West: Steve Nash, Chris Paul, Brandon Roy, David West, Dirk Nowitzki, Carlos Boozer, Amare Stoudemire

InsideHoops.com analysis coming over the next hour or two. Watch our front page. And of course we’ll add reactions from newspapers around the country to our NBA rumors page late tonight and Friday morning.

The host New Orleans Hornets are one of four teams which can claim two All-Star reserves as the NBA today announced the list of 14 players that have been selected by the coaches as reserves for the 2008 NBA All-Star Game. The Detroit Pistons, Phoenix Suns and Washington Wizards also have two All-Star reserves in the 57th NBA All-Star Game which will be played on Sunday, Feb. 17 at New Orleans Arena.

First-time All-Star selections Chris Paul and David West of New Orleans are joined by fellow first-time selection Brandon Roy of the Portland Trail Blazers as Western Conference reserves, along with Carlos Boozer of the Utah Jazz, Steve Nash and Amaré Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns, and the Dallas Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki.

The East reserves feature the Detroit Pistons’ Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton, Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison of the Washington Wizards, Joe Johnson of the Atlanta Hawks and the Boston Celtics’ Paul Pierce.

The 14 players selected — seven each from the Eastern and Western Conferences — were chosen by the 30 NBA head coaches, who were asked to vote for seven players in their respective conferences — two guards, two forwards, one center and two players regardless of position. They were not permitted to vote for players from their own team.

Previously selected as starters for the East through the 2008 NBA All-Star Balloting Program were Boston’s Kevin Garnett, Cleveland’s LeBron James, Orlando’s Dwight Howard, New Jersey’s Jason Kidd and Miami’s Dwyane Wade. Denver’s Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson, Houston’s Yao Ming, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant and San Antonio’s Tim Duncan will start for the West.

The selections of Nash (Canada) and Nowitzki (Germany) along with voted-starters Duncan (U.S. Virgin Islands) and Yao (China), gives the 2008 NBA All-Star Game four international players.

Should any player be unable to participate in the All-Star Game due to injury, NBA Commissioner David Stern will select the replacement.

Boston head coach Doc Rivers and his coaching staff will be on the sidelines for the Eastern Conference All-Stars, as the Celtics previously clinched the best winning percentage through games of Feb. 3 among eligible Eastern Conference teams for All-Star coaching honors. The Western Conference coaching scenario has yet to be determined, with the staffs of the Dallas Mavericks (31-13, .705) and New Orleans Hornets (32-13, .711) still in contention. The coaching staff of either Dallas or New Orleans, depending on which owns the best winning percentage through games of Feb. 3, will lead the Western Conference All-Stars.

Talk about this with other fans on the InsideHoops basketball message board.

Wizards coach Eddie Jordan discusses the team

Wizards head coach Eddie Jordan at practice today:

On tomorrow’s game: “I am looking forward to tomorrow’s game to see how disciplined we will be in the first five or six minutes. We need to have a good tempo, manage the game properly, and try to get good looks. We can make adjustments after that.”

On the Utah Jazz: “We have one of the best executing teams in the league coming in. They are very physical and are one of the best coached teams in the league. They are one of the best teams in the West. They may not have the glamour like some of the others, but they get the job done. They are very good.”

On Dominic McGuire: “He is beginning to do what he does best. He isn’t getting out of the realm of his strengths. He comes off the bench and gives us good energy. He is going to get offensive rebounds, run the floor, get deflections and tip-ins, and defend well. He is a good sized athlete that we like to have on this team. Every good team in the league has this sort of guy. He can probably cover three or four positions.”

On Caron Butler: “We are going to see him in shootaround tomorrow. We’ll go about an hour, run the offense and get into a four or five minute segment of live action. We’ll see how he reacts after that.”

On Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison possibly being named All-Stars tonight: “I hope. I don’t know. I would think Caron (Butler) is a shoe-in and Antawn (Jamison) has a very good chance. Anything can happen though. I am hoping they both make it.”

On the team: “It is a combination of both good front office and good coaching. We are picking and developing the players well. Ernie (Grunfeld) has done an excellent job of acquiring guys such as Antawn (Jamison), Gilbert (Arenas) and Caron (Butler). I think our coaching staff has done a good job putting them in situations where they can be highly successful and develop them at the same time. It is a combination of the entire organization doing a good job. That is what this league is all about.”