Category: General NBA insight

The Indiana Pacers announced Thursday they have signed free agent guard/forward Gerald Green to a contract. Per club policy terms of the contract were not released.

Green, 6-8, 200 lbs., is a five-year veteran who has played for five teams in the NBA. Most recently, he finished the 2011-12 season with the New Jersey Nets, where he averaged 12.9 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. In his career, he has averaged 8.3 ppg and 2.2 rpg.

“We’ve watched Gerald and we saw how he improved last year,” said Kevin Pritchard, Pacers General Manager. “His scoring off the bench should help us in the future. He’s one of the most dynamic athletes I’ve seen, and how he’s improved will make him a great addition to the Pacers family.”

The winner of the 2007 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, Green was selected with the 18 th overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics.

Photo from InsideHoops.com: Vegas, baby

USA Basketball is practicing in Las Vegas in preparation for the 2012 Olympics. Here is an InsideHoops.com photo of the fellas:

Big Ben will ride again for one more season.

A source close to the situation tells the Detroit News that “it’s a pretty good chance” Ben Wallace will return to the Pistons for another season.

Wallace, who will turn 38 in September, has been wanted back by the organization since the drafting of Andre Drummond.

“Me and Ben talk every other day,” Pistons President Joe Dumars said recently, while intimating he would give Wallace until the opening of training camp to make a decision.

— Reported by Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News

InsideHoops.com is live in Las Vegas at Team USA Basketball practices. Here is Kobe Bryant taking questions from media:

The Grizzlies took another step Sunday toward solidifying their frontcourt,agreeing to terms with forward Darrell Arthur on a three-year contract worth just over $9 million,according to a source familiar with the agreement.

Memphis tendered qualifying offers to Arthur and fellow forward Marreese Speights,both restricted free agents,in late June. The Grizzlies came to terms late last week with Speights,agreeing to pay him nearly $9 million over two years.

The third year of Arthur’s deal is a player option.

— Reported by the Memphis Commercial Appeal

I’m in Las Vegas partying right now at Tao nightclub at LeBron James’ party. It’s a wild, awesome scene here

The Brooklyn Nets have signed second round draft pick Tyshawn Taylor, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.

Taylor (6-3, 185), whose draft rights were acquired by Brooklyn from Portland in exchange for cash, was selected in the second round (41 st overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft. As a four-year starter at Kansas, he amassed 1,580 career points, 14 th most in school history. As a senior, the Hoboken, New Jersey native averaged career-bests with 16.6 points, 4.8 assists and 1.3 steals, helping the Jayhawks reach the NCAA title game. He was a 2011-12 AP Third Team All America selection, an All Big 12 First Team pick and a Bob Cousy Award finalist.

While the Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks have made strong pushes for free agent guard Steve Nash, the Los Angeles Lakers have, quietly, entered the fray for the 38-year-old guard and are making a strong bid to acquire him, according to a league source.

The Lakers, with a payroll already projected in excess of $83 million next season, would only be able to offer Nash an exception starting at $3.09 million for next season. It’s unlikely Nash would take that, so a sign-and-trade deal would be a more realistic possibility.

The Lakers do have a viable starting point guard they could send Phoenix in such a deal, Ramon Sessions, who became an unrestricted free agent after surprisingly opting out of the last year of his contract. Forwards Jordan Hill and Matt Barnes are also free agents.

— Reported by David Aldridge of the NBA.com Hangtime Blog
http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2012/07/03/lakers-enter-fray-for-steve-nash/

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson’s ”Plan B” to build a new sports arena is dead.

The second option for a new arena for the Sacramento Kings -or any other professional sports tenant – never really took shape. Johnson said Tuesday that the city and arena operator AEG have concluded that the financial model is not viable for the region without an anchor sports tenant.

— Reported by the Associated Press