Category: General NBA insight

Reunions are all the rage across the league these days, with some more surprising than others. Flip Saunders has taken over as president of basketball operations in Minnesota eight years after the Timberwolves fired him as head coach. Larry Bird has returned to Indiana’s front office after a year away, and Kurt Rambis has been talking to the Los Angeles Lakers about returning to the bench as an assistant coach under Mike D’Antoni.

Chauncey Billups signed with the Detroit Pistons, the team that he led to a title in 2004 and then traded him four years later. And Metta World Peace is joining the New York Knicks 14 years after they passed on the local St. John’s star in the 1999 NBA draft.

“He’s really excited to be joining his hometown team,” said his agent Marc Cornstein. “That’s obviously been something that’s been a dream of his since growing up in Queensbridge.”

In many of those cases, the key to the reunion lies in how both sides handled the initial exits. Firings and trades in the NBA often can be about more than simply business. Feelings are hurt. Egos are bruised. Bridges aren’t just burned, they’re vaporized.

Reported by Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed free agent center Samuel Dalembert.

Dalembert has played a total of 774 games (605 starts) with four NBA teams (Philadelphia, Sacramento, Houston and Milwaukee) and has career averages of 8.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 25.2 minutes per game. The 11-year NBA veteran played with the Milwaukee Bucks last season and averaged 6.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 47 games, while shooting .542 from the field.

Dalembert (6-11, 250) was selected by Philadelphia with the 26th overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft and played for the 76ers for eight seasons (2001-10). He traded by Philadelphia to Sacramento for center Spencer Hawes and forward Andres Nocioni on 6/19/10.

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Dalembert is the only Haitian-born player in the NBA.  He spent 14 years in Haiti before moving to Montreal and becoming a Canadian citizen in August, 2007.  He played collegiately at Seton Hall and averaged 7.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.83 blocks in 59 games over two years. He currently owns the school record for career blocked shots (267).

The Los Angeles Lakers have hired Mark Madsen and Larry Lewis of the Los Angeles D-Fenders as player development coaches, it was announced today by Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

“Both Mark and Larry bring a high level of credibility to our staff,” said Lakers Head Coach Mike D’Antoni. “Mark has endless energy and is a workaholic. He’s developed players at the college level and I think he’ll do a great job making the jump to the NBA.  Larry has proven to be a natural at helping develop players for the D-Fenders since transitioning from nearly two decades of playing abroad and in the CBA. We expect that he will make a great player development coach at the NBA level as well.”

“While we were looking forward to having Mark as our head coach for the upcoming season, we’re thrilled that he now has the opportunity to help further develop players on the Lakers roster,” said D-Fenders President & CEO Joey Buss.  “Both he and Larry, who has done a tremendous job working with our players over the past two seasons, are perfect examples of what the D-Fenders are all about; namely developing talent.  Having sent eight players to the NBA over the past two seasons, we’re excited to now see the synergy of the Lakers and D-Fenders pay off in the coaching ranks as well.”

Roughly ten years after his final game with the Lakers, fan favorite Mark Madsen returns to the franchise for his first season as player development coach. Selected by the Lakers in the first round (29th overall) of the 2000 NBA Draft, Madsen played three seasons in Los Angeles (2000-03) and was a member of back-to-back NBA championship teams in 2001 and 2002. He then signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves as a free agent prior to the 2003-04 campaign and played six seasons (2004-09) with the Timberwolves. In 453 games over nine seasons, Madsen averaged 2.2 points and 2.6 rebounds in 11.8 minutes.

Following his playing career, Madsen served as an assistant coach during the 2009-10 seasons with the Utah Flash of the NBA Developmental League before returning to his alma mater, Stanford University, to complete coursework for his MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In 2012, he was named as an assistant coach on Stanford head coach Johnny Dawkins’ staff and spent the 2012-13 season working primarily with the team’s post players.

Lewis joins the Lakers after spending the last two seasons with the Los Angeles D-Fenders. Most recently, Lewis spent the 2012-13 season as an assistant coach with the D-Fenders. Prior to his stint as an assistant coach, Lewis was head of player development, a role in which he helped develop eight NBA Call-Ups along with six players on assignment from the Lakers. Additionally, Lewis played a central role in helping the team post the best regular season record (38-12) in NBA D-League history, earn the Regular Season Champion award, reach first NBA D-League Finals in team history, and capture the Development Champion award. Lewis also earned a spot as an assistant on the NBA D-League Select Team in 2012.

An alumnus of Morehouse College, Lewis turned pro when he was selected by the Albany Patroons of the CBA in 1992. The 6’7” forward played internationally in Argentina (2011), Spain (2001-2011), Japan (1996- 2001), Cyprus (1996), Great Britain (1993) and the Dominican Republic (1992). Lewis also played a season in the USBL with Sarasota (1996), in the CBA with the Harrisburg Hammerheads and Rapid City Thrillers (1994-95), and for Team USA (1995) in the Pan American Games where he won a silver medal.

In the eight days since Dwight Howard announced his decision to sign with the Rockets, the Rockets have had their best stretch of ticket sales since moving into Toyota Center.

Rockets CEO Tad Brown would not share specific numbers, but said there has been a bump of 20 percent in the equivalent of full season ticket packages. The Rockets expect sales to continue now that they can begin marketing efforts centered around him. Billboards went up around town on Saturday. Prior to Saturday, sales staff could not even say his name when on the phone with customers.

“You never know until you get into those discussions, but it obviously moves the needle,” Brown said.

Reported by Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle

Dwight Howard says he’s looking forward to a “fresh start” with the Rockets.

The center was formally introduced in Houston on Saturday after spurning the Lakers to sign with the Rockets, and he was greeted by some of the brightest stars in team history.

Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon and Yao Ming were among those on hand to celebrate Howard’s signing.

“This is a great opportunity, a great feeling to be here, to have a fresh start,” Howard said, according to the Houston Chronicle. “… I made this decision for me. I want to be happy. If you can’t be happy when you’re playing, it’s not fun. I want to get back to being that guy who was playing and having fun but at the same time dominating.

“If we dedicate ourselves and sacrifice everything we’ve got for a championship, at the end of the season we should be holding up a trophy.”

Reported by ESPN.com News Services

One NBA executive marveled to me about how much stock people put into summer league. It is, he said, just a chance to see the guys apply the things they’ve done separately at their workouts. At the same time, Celtics assistant coach (and head coach for the summer league team) Jay Larranaga often mentioned how some of these guys are showcasing themselves for other teams, even while wearing green.

That’s part of the deal teams make with some of these guys. Darius Johnson-Odom played three games for the Celtics, made his case for those seated at the Magic’s practice court, and then left to join the Nuggets summer league team in Las Vegas (the Celtics are not participating in the Las Vegas league). Many others are also double-dipping. That’s part of trying to make the show. It’s part of the struggle.

The payoff, if there is one, is gigantic. You can see the stress that puts on some guys. Sometimes you see it on the court. Sometimes you catch it when they step into the media dining area to get some food.

Reported by John Karalis of WEEI.com

The Chicago Bulls announced today that they have waived guard Richard Hamilton.

In two seasons with the Bulls, Hamilton appeared in 78 games (73 starts) and averaged 10.5 ppg, 2.6 apg and 1.9 rpg in 22.9 mpg.  During his time with Chicago, he shot .438 from the field, .337 from behind the arc and .833 from the line.

Hamilton signed with the Bulls as a free agent on Dec. 14, 2011.

Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today that the club has signed free agent forward Josh Smith to a multi-year contract.

“We’re pleased to welcome Josh Smith to the Pistons organization,” Dumars said.  “Josh is a two-way player and we look forward to blending his talents with our young core.”

Smith joins the Pistons after spending the last nine seasons with the Atlanta Hawks where he averaged 15.3 points (.465 FG%, .283 3FG%, .654 FT%), 8.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.1 blocks , 1.3 steals and 34.1 minutes in 676 career games (654 starts).  He’s the 24th player in NBA history (seventh active player) to tally 10,000 points, 5,000 rebounds, 2,000 assists and 1,000 blocked shots.  According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Smith is the only player in NBA history to boast career averages of at least 15.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.0 steals per game.

The 27-year-old Atlanta native has appeared in 52 playoff games (all starts) during six trips to the NBA Playoffs averaging 15.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.7 blocks, 1.2 steals and 36.0 minutes per game.  Smith holds playoff career highs of 28 points (4/28/08 vs. Boston), 18 rebounds (4/29/12 vs. Boston), nine assists (four times) and seven blocks – a Hawks’ franchise record previously shared by Tree Rollins and Dikembe Mutombo.

The 6-9, 225-pound forward tallied 29 double-doubles last season, ranked ninth in the NBA in blocks (1.8 bpg) and was one of two players to average at least 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists (LeBron James).  In 2010-11, Smith finished second in the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year voting and scored a season-best 34 points on a season-high 14-of-16 from the field (2-2 3FG) vs. New Jersey (12/7).  According to Elias Sports Bureau, he was the first Hawks player to score that many points on that high of a field goal percentage (87.5%) in over 55 years – since Hall-of-Famer Bob Pettit scored 34 (12-13 FG) on 3/14/55.  In 2005-06 Smith became only the fourth Hawks player – and first non-center – to post 200 blocks in one season, joining Mutombo, Rollins and Theo Ratliff.  Finally, in 2004-05, he won the Sprite Rising Stars Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend in Denver and rejected an NBA season-high 10 shots at Dallas (12/18), becoming the youngest player in league history to record 10 blocks in a game since the stat began being recorded in 1973-74.

Smith finishes his time in Atlanta among Hawks’ top-10 franchise leaders in 10 categories including points (10,371 – eighth), rebounds (5.407 – seventh), blocks (1,440 – second), steals (857 – fifth), offensive rebounds (1,409 – sixth), defensive rebounds (3,998 – third), double-doubles (207, fourth), field goals made (4,030 – seventh), free throws made (2,044 – ninth) and games played (676 – ninth).

The Sacramento Kings found some much-needed depth at small forward by giving the Milwaukee Bucks some draft compensation and salary cap relief.

The Bucks traded forward Luc Mbah a Moute to the Kings in exchange for a 2016 second-round draft pick, a person familiar with the deal said Tuesday.

The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because teams can’t confirm moves until the new league year begins Wednesday, also said Milwaukee has the right to swap 2018 second-round picks.

”Just landed in Cameroon and got told I’ve been traded to Sacramento!!” Mbah a Moute wrote on his Twitter page.

Reported by Antonio Gonzalez of the Associated Press

Former longtime NBA referee Hue Hollins died. He was believed to be 70.

Hollins’ death was announced by the NBA Referees Association.

Hollins officiated 19 NBA Finals games and five All-Star games during his 27-year career.

He was a native of Waco, Texas.

“Hue reached the pinnacle of officiating through an unmatched dedication to perfecting his profession throughout his 27-year career as an NBA referee,” NBRA general counsel Lee Seham said in a statement. “His hard work was always on display on the court, but never more evident than during his work in the NBA Finals, of which he worked every year during the 1990s. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time.”

Reported by the Sports Xchange