International Basketball Blog – Page 35 – NBA Blog

Warriors sign rookies Klay Thompson and Jeremy Tyler

The Golden State Warriors have signed first round draft pick Klay Thompson and draft-night acquisition Jeremy Tyler to contracts, the team announced today. Per team policy, terms were not announced. Additionally, the Warriors have signed free agent forward/center Julian Khazzouh, free agent guards Tommy Mitchell and Tim Pickett, as well as free agent forward Tommy Smith to contracts. All six players will participate in Warriors practice today.

Thompson, 21, was selected by the Warriors with the 11th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft after playing three collegiate seasons at Washington State. A two-time All-Pac-10 First Team selection following his sophomore and junior campaigns, Thompson appeared in 98 games during his three-year career, averaging 17.9 points, 4.8 rebounds 2.6 assists and 1.3 steals in 34.4 minutes per contest. Last season, the 6’7” guard averaged 21.6 points per game, which led the Pac-10 and ranked 11th in the nation.

Tyler, 20, was originally selected with the 39th pick of the 2011 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Bobcats and acquired by the Warriors for cash considerations. A 6’10” forward/center, Tyler played the 2010-11 season with the Tokyo Apache of the Basketball Japan League, averaging 9.9 points and 6.4 rebounds in 33 games. In 2009-10 he appeared in 10 games with Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli League after leaving high school following his junior year to play professionally overseas.

Khazzouh, 25, began this season with the Sydney Kings of the NBL in Australia, where he was averaging 18.6 points and 11.0 rebounds through 13 games. A 6’10’’ forward/center, Khazzouh was named All-NBL First Team in 2010-11 while playing for the Sydney Kings and finished second in the league’s MVP voting. In addition to his Australian career, which began in 2004, Khazzouh spent one season (2009-10) in Israel.

Mitchell, 29, played last season for the Quebec Kebs of the NBL in Canada, averaging 11.8 points in 12 games. A 6’3’’ guard, Mitchell played four seasons at Siena from 2001-05.

Pickett, 31, has played professionally since 2005, appearing in France, Italy, China, Bulgaria, Puerto Rico, China and Israel. The 6’4” guard was originally selected by the New Orleans Hornets with the 44th overall pick out of Florida State, but never played in the NBA.

Smith, 31, has played overseas since 2003-04, making stops in Croatia, Germany, Syria and, most recently, China. The 6’10” forward was originally drafted by the Chicago Bulls with the 53rd overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft out of Arizona State, but never played in the NBA.

Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov to run for Russian presidency

Mikhail Prokhorov, one of Russia’s richest tycoons and the owner of the New Jersey Nets basketball team, said Monday he will run against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in the March presidential election.

Prokhorov has been cautious not to cross Putin’s path in the past, but the billionaire may pose a serious challenge to Putin, whose authority has been dented by alleged widespread fraud during Russia’s Dec. 4 parliamentary election.

Putin’s party only won about 50 percent of that vote, compared to 64 percent four years ago, and the fraud allegations have allowed opposition parties to successfully mount massive anti-Putin protests in Russia.

On Sunday, President Dmitry Medvedev promised on his Facebook page that the alleged vote fraud will be investigated. But Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, predicted Monday the probe will show that little vote fraud occurred and that it had no effect on the outcome of the ballot.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Cavaliers re-sign Anthony Parker

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed guard/forward Anthony Parker to a contract, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced today. According to the Akron Beacon Journal, it’s a one-year deal.

“Bringing back Anthony was a high priority for us. We place great value on the leadership, professionalism and veteran presence he brings both on the court and in the locker room,” said General Manager Chris Grant. “His high basketball IQ, ability to shoot with range and play solid perimeter defense made re-signing him extremely important for us.”

Last season, the 6-foot-6, 210-pounder averaged 8.3 points on .399 shooting, including .379 from three-point range, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists (the second-highest average in his career) in 29.0 minutes in 72 games (65 starts). He scored in double figures 27 times, including setting season highs in scoring (21) and rebounds (seven) while adding seven assists in 39 minutes versus Minnesota on Dec. 26 and scoring 20 points on 7-9 (.778) shooting, including 4-4 from three-point range, and grabbing seven rebounds in 29 minutes versus Miami on March 29.

Parker originally signed with Cleveland on July 13, 2009. Over the past two seasons with the Cavs, he has started 146 of the 153 games he has played in and posted averages of 7.8 points on .415 shooting, including .398 shooting from three-point range, 2.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 28.6 minutes per game. His 2.48 assists-to-turnovers ratio ranked 14th in the league while his 0.86 steals-to-turnovers ratio ranked 13th among all players over the past two seasons (min. 150 games).

Among all active players with a minimum of 1,000 three-point attempts, the eight-year veteran ranks sixth in the NBA in three-point percentage (.409) behind only Jason Kapono, Steve Nash, teammate Daniel Gibson, Matt Bonner and Kyle Korver. Parker played five seasons with Maccabi Tel Aviv (2000-02, 2003-06) and one season with Virtus Roma (2002-03), winning five Israeli Premier League championships, five Israeli Cups and three Euroleague titles. Parker was named Euroleague MVP and first-team All-Euroleague in 2005. He averaged 12.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals in 148 career Israeli Premier League games and averaged 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.6 steals in 90 Euroleague contests.

Raptors likely signing Jamaal Magloire

It is a move that the Heat will likely feel more in the locker room than on the court.

Jamaal Magloire, the bruising backup center who has been quite popular with Heat teammates, has agreed to terms with the Raptors, according to a source.

It makes plenty of sense for Magloire, who is from Toronto and would become the Raptors’ first Canadian player, and for the Raptors, who are looking to change their culture.

— Reported by Ethan J. Skolnick of the Palm Beach Post (Blog)

Ricky Rubio arrives in Minnesota, ready for rookie season

On his first winter morning in Minnesota, Ricky Rubio could have taken one of the many skyways that connect his downtown hotel to Target Center to avoid the cold.

Instead, Rubio decided to walk the couple of blocks outdoors to take in all the sights, sounds, and goose bumps that his new home brings with it.

“When I came to Target Center I decide to come in the street because I want to feel the weather,” Rubio said on Wednesday before going through a light workout. “It was a cold, a little.”

The NBA’s owners and players are still ironing out the details of a tentative labor agreement they reached over Thanksgiving weekend that would end the five-month lockout. In the most obvious sign yet that there are still wrinkles to be taken care of, Rubio was locked out of the arena when he arrived on Wednesday.

Literally.

“I was knocking on the door and nobody was opening,” he said with a chuckle. “I was like, `Cmon man.”’

Several Minnesota Timberwolves trickled into Target Center for voluntary workouts on Wednesday, two days before training camp is tentatively scheduled to begin. Wes Johnson, Anthony Tolliver, Michael Beasley, Darko Milicic and Nikola Pekovic joined All-Star Kevin Love, who has been in town for a couple of days.

— Reported by Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press

Carlos Arroyo interested in Knicks

In addition to a starting center, the Knicks have been on the hunt for a solid backup point guard for Chauncey Billups, and they’ve reportedly contacted unrestricted free agent J.J. Barea.

But there’s another Puerto Rican who would fit well in New York: Carlos Arroyo, who played for the Heat and Celtics last season.

“I love New York,” Arroyo told ESPNNewYork.com. “It would be a great situation for me — aside from being the largest Puerto Rican population in the U.S. (laughs). I have a great relationship with Chauncey, Melo and Amare, especially with Chauncey since we played together in Detroit [from 2004 to ’06].”

— Reported by Jared Zwerling of ESPN NY

Bobcats rookie Bismack Biyombo still dealing with overseas contract dispute

Rookie lottery pick Bismack Biyombo was among six Charlotte Bobcats who worked out Friday on the court at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Now he just hopes he’ll be there when the NBA season opens later this month.

Biyombo is in the midst of contract dispute with Fuenlabrada after playing for the Spanish team last season prior to being selected with the seventh pick in the draft. He’s suing the team for breach of contract and a civil trial scheduled for Dec. 19 in Spain could cause him to miss a portion of training camp—or even longer if he loses the case.

Biyombo’s United States-based agent Joel Bell doesn’t believe that’ll happen.

“He’s not going to pay anything,” Bell said. “He’s going to win the trial. They’re in breach of contract.”

Fuenlabrada wants a transfer fee to give up its rights to Biyombo.

— Reported by Steve Reed of the Associated Press

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Kyle Singler passing on NBA to stay in Spain

Kyle Singler, the 33rd overall pick in the June NBA draft, has reached agreement with Real Madrid and won’t play for the Detroit Pistons this season, agent Greg Lawrence of Wasserman Media Group told Yahoo! Sports.

Singler, a forward out of Duke, will sign a contract for the remainder of the season in the Spanish ACB League, replacing the Dallas Mavericks’ Rudy Fernandez on the Real Madrid roster.

After an outstanding showing with Alicante in the same league – where he averaged a team-leading 15 points on 47 percent shooting – Singler decided to take the Real Madrid offer on Tuesday.

— Reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports

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Yao Ming now focused on wine-making

Yao Ming is now battling with Joe Montana, Dan Marino, Mario Andretti and Greg Norman.

But this isn’t some made-for-television poker game featuring former sports greats. Yao is joining the ranks of retired athletes with their own winery. This week the eight-time NBA All-Star is launching Yao Family Wines, a California outpost that will be focused on the Chinese market.

“I really like Napa Valley,” Yao told the Wall Street Journal. “California represents vacation, casual [living], sunshine — everything related to a good quality of life.”

Not that the 31-year-old always had a taste for the finer things in life. He knew very little about wine growing up and watched as the people around his hometown of Shanghai poured it over ice cubes. It took a lesson from former teammate Dikembe Mutombo, who was swirling his glass at dinner, to kick-start his interest.

— Reported by ThePostGame.com

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Nenad Krstic named Euroleague MVP for November

For the first time in its eight-year history, the Euroleague Basketball’s award for the best player each month will go to the same team twice in a row as Nenad Krstic of CSKA Moscow has been chosen bwin MVP for November. CSKA is one of just two Turkish Airlines Euroleague teams undefeated through six games, and Krstic has had everything to do with preserving that perfection in November.

The 28-year-old center, playing his first season for CSKA, got more and more efficient as the month progressed. CSKA followed a pair of road victories, over KK Zagreb and Panathinaikos Athens, with a pair of home wins against Unicaja and Zalgiris Kaunas. Krstic had a key role in all four games, but was biggest when it counted most. In the middle of the month, he posted his first double-double of the season against previously undefeated Panathinaikos. To end it, he had his career-high performance index rating against Zalgiris days after CSKA faced the sudden loss of its leader and the bwin October MVP, forward Andrei Kirilenko, to a broken nose and concussion.

In the precise game when teammates could have been brought down by uncertainty, Krstic stepped up to make CSKA the first team to qualify for the Top 16. His extraordinarily solid, month-long effort was more than enough for Krstic to be chosen the bwin MVP for November…

By the time November was over, Krstic ranked fourth among all Euroleague players during the regular season in average index rating (21.7 per game), 13th in scoring (15.2 ppg.), 10th in rebounds (6.7 rpg.) and second in offensive rebounds (4 orpg.) On a per-minute basis, he ranks behind only Kirilenko in performance index rating, a remarkable coincidence of two ultra-efficient big men on the same team. And CSKA fans will get to celebrate their good fortune when Nenad Krstic receives his bwin MVP award for November at an upcoming home game.

— Reported by Euroleague.net