Category: General NBA insight

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has waived center/forward Josh Harrellson. He was acquired by Houston from the New York Knicks as part of the Marcus Camby sign-and-trade on July 11.

Harrellson (6-10, 275, Kentucky), who saw action in two games with the Rockets at 2012 NBA Summer League, averaged 4.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 37 games (four starts) with New York in 2011-12.

Originally selected by the New Orleans Hornets in the second round (45th overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft, he had his draft rights acquired by New York for cash considerations in a draft-night deal (June 23, 2011).

Andrew Bynum heard the roar from hundreds of Philadelphia 76ers fans chanting his name the moment he stepped into the National Constitution Center.

No wonder he wants to stick around.

Bynum says about Philadelphia, he’s ”leaning toward making this my home.” That brought even louder cheers from an event that was more pep rally than press conference.

— Reported by Dan Gelston of the Associated Press

The Orlando Magic have re-signed free agent guard Ish Smith, General Manager Rob Hennigan announced today.

Smith (#10, 6’0”, 175, 7/5/88) played in 26 combined games last season with both Golden State and Orlando, averaging 2.8 ppg., 1.6 apg. and 1.3 rpg. in 9.0 minpg. He played in six games with the Warriors, averaging 4.5 ppg., 1.5 rpg. and 1.5 apg. in 10.5 minpg., before being waived on Jan. 13. Smith was signed as a free agent by Orlando on Feb. 2. In 20 outings with the Magic, he averaged 2.3 ppg., 1.6 apg. and 1.3 rpg. in 8.6 minpg. Smith also played in one playoff game (May 2), tallying one rebound and one blocked shot in five minutes.

Smith led (or tied) the Magic in assists twice. He dished out a career-high-tying seven assists on Apr. 9 vs. Detroit. Smith also recorded a career-high-tying three steals on Apr. 9 vs. Detroit.

Originally signed as a free agent by Houston on Aug. 23, 2010, Smith has appeared in 69 career NBA regular season games with Houston, Memphis, Golden State and Orlando, averaging 2.5 ppg., 1.7 apg. and 1.2 rpg. in 9.8 minpg. He has played in six playoff outings, averaging 0.7 ppg. in 2.5 minpg. Smith also played in eight games (five starts) with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League in 2010-11, averaging 12.5 ppg., 7.9 apg., 4.3 rpg., 1.50 stlpg. and 1.25 blkpg. in 32.9 minpg.

Smith appeared in 121 career games (91 starts) during his four-year collegiate career at Wake Forest, averaging 9.2 ppg., 5.1 apg., 3.7 rpg. and 1.26 stlpg. He became the first player in Wake Forest history to post more than 1,000 points (1,114) and 600 assists (612) during his career. Smith finished his career ranked second all-time on the Demon Deacons’ list in assists.

When the 6-foot 2-inch Koufax graduated from Lafayette High School in 1953, his yearbook declared that he “has been scouted and will most likely be a professional basketball player.” The NBA was a backwater in the mid-1950s, but Koufax’s friend, the talk-show host Larry King, class of ’51 and team manager from an earlier Lafayette class, said that Koufax aspired to play for the Knicks.

Yes, Koufax also played baseball at the time, manning first base for the school team, but he was not much of a hitter. And no one had any premonition that he would become the pitcher that he did.

Instead, it was mostly basketball. In a Lafayette team photo, Koufax, No. 16, his biceps rippling, stands smiling beside his pal Fred Wilpon, No. 5, the future owner of the Mets and star pitcher on the baseball team. The Frenchies at the time were nearly all Jewish: Abramowitz, Weiss, Levine, Stolzenberg, Horwitz, Lichtman, Lichtenstein. And Koufax, whose yearbook entry featured these rather modest goals: “To be successful and make my family proud of me.”

–Reported by Richard Sandomir of the New York Times

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed free agent guard Jodie Meeks, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

In addition, the team has also re-signed forward Devin Ebanks.

Meeks, a three-year NBA veteran, appeared in 66 games (50 starts) last season with the Philadelphia 76ers, averaging 8.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 24.9 minutes.

An early entry candidate out of Kentucky in the 2009 NBA Draft, Meeks was originally selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round (41st overall pick) of the 2009 NBA Draft. The 6-4 guard, who played three seasons with the Wildcats, led the SEC in scoring (23.7 ppg) and was named a unanimous selection to the All-SEC First team during his junior season.

Meeks holds career averages of 8.1 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 200 career games (114 starts).

A third year player out of West Virginia, Ebanks was selected by the Lakers in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft. The 6-9 forward appeared in 24 games (12 starts) with the Lakers last season, averaging 4.0 points,2.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 16.5 minutes. Ebanks also appeared in three games for the D-Fenders, averaging 18.3 points,6.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals in 32.0 minutes.

Ebanks has career averages of 3.6 points,1.8 rebounds and 0.30 assists in 44 games.

Michael Jordan stands to lose as much as $1.5 million in a possible foreclosure of a gym he invested in, according to multiple reports.

The Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune reported that a judge recently rejected a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by the company of Tim Grover, who owns Attack Athletics Gym on Chicago’s West Side. Grover filed for bankruptcy in April in order to stave off foreclosure, according to the papers, but a judge dismissed the filing on July 11.

Grover’s company, Attack Properties LLC, appealed the ruling, according to the papers, and that appeals process could take a month.

— Reported by ESPN Chicago

New Sixers center Andrew Bynum will head to Germany in early September to have the same experimental procedure on his knee that Kobe Bryant, Grant Hill and Alex Rodriguez have undergone, according to a West Coast source with knowledge of the situation.

Bynum has had surgery on both of his knees. It is unknown whether the procedure will be performed on the one knee or both. According to the source, Bynum’s knees are fine and the procedure is non- surgical.

— Reported by John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer Blog
http://mobile.philly.com/sports/sixers/?wss=/philly/sports/sixers&id=166009876

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed center Micheal Eric to a contract, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

Eric, 24, played in 101 games (68 starts) at Temple, averaging 6.0 points on .503 shooting, 4.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 16.9 minutes per game. As a senior in 2011-12, he played in 19 games (15 starts) and averaged 9.0 points on .521 shooting while leading the team in rebounds (8.8) and blocks (2.1) in 25.1 minutes per game. He missed 13 games during the season due to a fractured right patella.

The 6-foot-11, 240-pound native of Nigeria played in five games with the Cavaliers in the 2012 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas and averaged 4.0 points on .667 shooting and 3.8 rebounds in 12.6 minutes per game.

So what was Kobe Bryant’s reward for his 20-point second-half outburst in Team USA’s quarterfinal victory over Australia on Wednesday night? An Olympic drug test.

According to a source, Bryant was the USA player chosen to take the mandatory random drug test after the late-night contest and was unable to ride back to the team hotel with his teammates. With the game beginning at 10:15 p.m. here, Bryant didn’t arrive back at the hotel until 2 a.m.

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post