Inside Hoops – Page 711 – NBA Blog

Iman Shumpert was arrested for DUI in August

Turns out Iman Shumpert got into some trouble in August that is just coming out now. Here’s the Akron Beacon Journal reporting:

Cavs guard Iman Shumpert could be facing a suspension following his arrest near Atlanta for driving under the influence of marijuana.

Shumpert was arrested around 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 10 by the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department and charged with DUI, possession of marijuana (less than an ounce) and failure to maintain lane after an officer spotted the taillights on his rental car weren’t working and observed him swerving. The Cavs announced Shumpert’s arrest on Friday. No court date has been set…

Shumpert was alone in the vehicle and driving to the airport to pick up his father, according to the arrest report. He had bloodshot eyes and the car smelled of marijuana. Shumpert was given a series of field sobriety tests and acknowledged to the arresting officer he had been smoking marijuana just prior to driving. It was also found in the trunk of his rental car.

Hornets arenas has fancy new scoreboard

The Hornets unveiled their new main arena scoreboard, four corner-hung auxiliary boards and double-ring LED ribbon boards.

The new center-hung scoreboard, which is one of the biggest in the NBA, consists entirely of high definition electronic LED panels, with the screen forming the entire face of the scoreboard. The two sideline boards are the tallest in the NBA at 25.2’ high x 42.8’ wide, while the two baseline boards are 18’ high x 31.3’ wide. In terms of square footage, the sideline boards are 180% larger and the baseline boards are 50% larger than the screens on the previous scoreboard, providing Hornets fans with an enhanced game experience. The panels on the previous center-hung scoreboard each measured 16’ high x 24’ wide.

Additionally, the new scoreboard has two underbelly screens measuring 9.8’ high x 16.5’ wide to provide a better view for those fans sitting in courtside and lower-level club seats. The underbelly screens are the largest in the NBA.

The new 1080p high-definition video displays boast a 70% increase in resolution from the former scoreboard, making the new scoreboard one of the highest-quality displays in the NBA.

Shaq discusses the current Lakers

Shaquille O’Neal is one of the basketball legends being inducted into the Hall of Fame Friday. But here’s what he had to say about the current Lakers squad, as reported by the Orange County Register:

“They’re definitely going to be exciting,” O’Neal said during a Hall of Fame news conference Thursday, “but I don’t see them being a contender for a while. I mean, they’ve still got to go up against Golden State in the West, they’ve got to go up against OKC, still got to go up against Cleveland, the Rockets. So they have a long way to go to be a contender.

“Every now and then they’ll make some noise and get the people in the Staples Center excited.” …

O’Neal acknowledged no being “really familiar with the talent” on the Lakers roster, but did say that he has high expectations for rookie Brandon Ingram, the No. 2 pick in June’s draft.

“I like Ingram,” O’Neal said. “Think he needs to get a little bit stronger, but I think Luke is going to come to some type of system where’s he’s going to be out on the perimeter, doesn’t need to post up that much.”

Magic sign Nick Johnson, Cliff Alexander, Kevin Murphy, Branden Dawson, Damjan Rudez and Arinze Onuaku

Filling up most of their training camp roster, the Magic have signed six free agents: forward Cliff Alexander, forward Branden Dawson, guard Nick Johnson, guard Kevin Murphy, center Arinze Onuaku (ah-RIN-zay on-ooh-AH-koo) and forward Damjan Rudez (DAHM-yahn ROO-dezh).

Alexander (#2, 6’8”, 245, 11/16/95) played in eight games last season during his rookie campaign with Portland, averaging 1.3 ppg. in 4.5 minpg. He also spent time with the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Development League. Alexander, who was not drafted by an NBA franchise, played in 28 games (six starts) during his only season at the University of Kansas (2014-15), averaging 7.1 ppg., 5.3 rpg. and 1.32 blkpg. in 17.5 minpg.

Dawson (#22, 6’6”, 225, 2/1/93) appeared in six games last season during his rookie campaign with the Los Angeles Clippers, tallying five points in 4.8 minpg. He also played with the Bakersfield Jam, Erie BayHawks and Grand Rapids Drive of the NBA Development League. Originally selected in the second round (56th overall) of the 2015 NBA Draft by New Orleans, Dawson played in 130 career games (122 starts) during four seasons at Michigan State University (2011-15), averaging 10.1 ppg., 6.9 rpg., 1.4 apg., 1.25 stlpg. and 1.09 blkpg. in 26.6 minpg., while shooting .559 (566-1,013) from the floor.

Johnson (#13, 6’3”, 202, 12/22/92) played in 34 games (25 starts) last season with the Austin Spurs of the NBA Development League, averaging 10.4 ppg., 3.7 rpg. and 3.0 apg. in 28.9 minpg. As a rookie during the 2014-15 campaign, he appeared in 28 games with the Houston Rockets, averaging 2.6 ppg. and 1.4 rpg. in 9.4 minpg. Originally selected in the second round (42nd overall) of the 2014 NBA Draft by Houston, Johnson played in 108 career games (101 starts) during three seasons at the University of Arizona (2011-14), averaging 12.3 ppg., 3.7 rpg., 2.8 apg. and 1.27 stlpg. in 30.9 minpg.

Murphy (#55, 6’5”, 185, 3/6/90) appeared in 49 games last season with the Hitachi SunRockers of the Japan Basketball League, averaging 14.7 ppg., 4.3 rpg. and 2.0 apg. in 21.8 minpg. He has also spent time with the Grand Rapids Drive and Idaho Stampede in the NBA Development League. As a rookie during the 2012-13 campaign, Murphy played in 17 games with the Utah Jazz, averaging 0.9 ppg. in 3.1 minpg. Originally selected in the second round (47th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft by Utah, Murphy played in 128 career games (110 starts) during four seasons at Tennessee Tech University (2008-12), averaging 15.8 ppg., 4.2 rpg. and 2.0 apg. in 29.0 minpg.

Onuaku (#21, 6’9”, 255, 7/13/87) played and started in 17 games with the Meralco Bolts of the Philippine Basketball Association, averaging 18.7 ppg., 17.5 rpg., 2.9 apg. and 1.5 blkpg. in 41.1 minpg., while shooting .658 (129-196) from the field. He also appeared in 11 games for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israel Premier League, averaging 7.2 ppg. and 3.5 rpg. in 12.0 minpg. Onuaku has played in 11 career NBA games with New Orleans, Cleveland and Minnesota (2013-15), aveaging 2.7 ppg. and 2.6 rpg. in 8.9 minpg. Not drafted by an NBA franchise, Onuaku appeared in 134 career games (103 starts) during four seasons at Syracuse University (2005-06, 2007-10), averaging 9.2 ppg., 6.0 rpg. and 1.10 blkpg. in 22.8 minpg., while shooting .648 (540-833) from the floor.

Rudez (#3, 6’10”, 228, 6/17/86) appeared in 33 games last season with the Minnesota Timberwolves, averaging 2.3 ppg. in 8.4 minpg. Not drafted by an NBA franchise, he has played in 101 career NBA games (two starts) with Indiana and Minnesota (2014-16), averaging 3.9 ppg. in 13.1 minpg., while shooting .391 (86-220) from three-point range. Rudez is a former member of the Croatian Senior National Team.

Orlando’s roster stands at 19 players. Training camp opens on Tuesday, September 27.

Pacers sign Kevin Seraphin and Nick Zeisloft

The Pacers signed veteran free agent forward/center Kevin Seraphin and rookie guard Nick Zeisloft today.

The 26-year-old Seraphin, 6-10, 278, was a first-round pick (17th overall) of the Chicago Bulls in the 2010 NBA Draft. Born in Cayenne, French Guiana, France, Seraphin was traded to Washington in July, 2010, and played with the Wizards for five seasons before playing with the New York Knicks last season. He has career averages of 6.1 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.

Zeisloft, 6-4, 185, played last season at Indiana where he averaged 6.5 points and 1.6 rebounds per game.

Raptors sign forward E.J. Singler

The Raptors signed forward E.J. Singler today. He is the younger brother of Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kyle Singler.

Until we hear otherwise, we will assume this is a non-guaranteed deal that merely brings E.J. to Raptors training camp.

E.J., who is 6-foot-6 and 215 pounds, played with the Raptors’ entry in Summer League 2016 in Las Vegas, where he averaged 6.4 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 19.3 minutes in five games (four starts). He shot .480 (12-for-25) from the field and .412 (7-for-17) from three-point range.

Singler split last season between Raptors 905 and the Idaho Stampede of the NBA D-League. He was acquired from the Stampede on March 4 and averaged 14.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 30.9 minutes in 10 games with Raptors 905.

Singler owns career D-league averages of 10.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 25.4 minutes in 68 games (12 starts) with Idaho (2013-14, 2015-16) and Raptors 905. He won the 2014 Boost Mobile NBA D-League Three-Point Competition.

Singler played four seasons at Oregon (2009-13), averaging 10.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 29.3 minutes. He became just the eighth player in school history to total 1,500 career points and 500 career rebounds. Singler finished his collegiate career as the winningest player in school history with 89 victories.

Jazz sign Quincy Ford

The Jazz today signed forward/guard Quincy Ford.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, “on a deal that comes with a partial guarantee of $75,000, Ford, a 6-foot-8 small forward out of Northeastern, will attend training camp, which starts on September 27th, and is expected to be on the Salt Lake City Stars roster, Utah’s D-League affiliate.”

The 6-8, 225 Ford played in 130 games over five seasons at Northeastern University from 2011-16, and averaged 12.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.4 steals in 31.9 minutes per game. As a senior at Northeastern, Ford averaged 16.4 points, a team-high 7.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.5 steals in 34.8 minutes in 29 contests.

The 23-year-old was a member of the Jazz summer league squad at the 2016 Utah Jazz Summer League (July 4-7) and Vegas Summer League (July 8-15), averaging 5.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 19.0 minutes of action in eight games (five starts).

Born in St. Petersburg, Fla., Ford played high school basketball at Gibbs High School.

He will wear jersey #17 for the Jazz.

Free Grizzlies scrimmage on October 1

On October 1, 2016 from 6-8 p.m., the Grizzlies will host a “Blue White Scrimmage” in place of the annual Open Practice at FedExForum. This full-team scrimmage will be Grizz Nation’s first-look at newcomers Chandler Parsons, 2016 draftees Wade Baldwin IV and Deyonta Davis, plus fan favorites Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, Zach Randolph and Tony Allen.

Led by new Head Coach David Fizdale, the Blue White Scrimmage will also include entertainment teams like the Grizz Girls, Claw Crew and more, plus fan giveaways.

The scrimmage is free to the public and parking is available in the Toyota Parking Garage. Fans in attendance will receive a voucher for two complimentary tickets to a Grizzlies 2016-17 preseason matchup.

In addition, the Grizzlies Foundation will make a donation on behalf of Scrimmage attendees to the Police Athletic League in support of their community based youth programming.

Hornets sign Andrew Andrews and Rasheed Sulaimon

The Hornets today signed guards Andrew Andrews and Rasheed Sulaimon. The Hornets roster now stands at 18 players.

Until we hear otherwise, we will assume these are non-guaranteed contracts that merely bring these two players to training camp, which opens in a few weeks.

As a senior at the University of Washington last season, the 6-2 Andrews averaged career highs of 20.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 33.8 minutes per game. During his final collegiate campaign, he ranked first in the Pac-12 in scoring per contest and fourth in assists per game, earning 2015-16 All-Pac-12 First Team honors. The Portland, Ore., native appeared in 128 career games during his four-year career, owning averages of 14.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.2 steals in 30.7 minutes per game. He left Washington as the school’s all-time leader in free throws made (578) and ranked third all-time in points (1,812).

The 6-4 Sulaimon finished his collegiate career at Maryland in 2015-16, appearing in 36 games with averages of 11.3 points on .425 shooting from three-point range, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 32.9 minutes per game, garnering a 2015-16 All-Big Ten honorable mention. Prior to his senior season, the Houston native spent three years at Duke (2012-15), playing in 90 total games with averages of 10.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 25.6 minutes per contest. He was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team following the 2012-13 season.

Andrews will wear No. 1 and Sulaimon will wear No. 6 for Charlotte.

Sixers sign Elton Brand

The 76ers have brought back veteran power forward Elton Brand.

Brand averaged 7.2 points per game for the Mavericks in 2012-13, 5.7 ppg for the Hawks in 2013-14, 2.7 ppg still with the Hawks in 2014-15, and 4.1 ppg last season in 17 games for the Sixers.

He’s being brought back mostly to mentor all the talented young big-men on the Sixers roster, though he was signed as a player. Perhaps a coaching job is in his future.

Over 17 NBA seasons, Brand has appeared in 1,058 career games with 868 starts, posting averages of 16 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks per game. He has played 34,910 career minutes, which ranks him 67th all-time. Brand was also the recipient of the 2005-06 Joe Dumars Trophy, presented each season to the player who exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the court.

Brand signed with the Sixers on January 4, 2016 after originally spending four seasons in Philadelphia from 2008-2012, when he posted averages of 13 points and seven rebounds per game. Brand averaged 16 points and eight rebounds for the Sixers in the 2011 NBA Playoffs and averaged 11 points across 18 total playoff games during his first stint in Philadelphia.

A two-time NBA All-Star, Brand was the first overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls and was named Rookie of the Year.