NBA News Blog – Page 1003 – NBA Blog

Raptors sign second round pick Quincy Acy

The Toronto Raptors announced Monday they have signed forward Quincy Acy to a multi-year contract. The Raptors selected Acy with the 37th selection in the 2012 NBA Draft.

Acy had six points and six rebounds in his NBA Summer League debut with Toronto on Friday.

Acy, 6-8, 225 pounds, averaged 12.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 29.7 minutes in 38 starts last season at Baylor. He was named Big 12 All-Defensive team (unanimously) and All-Big 12 Second Team by the coaches. He is the second player in Bears history to finish his collegiate career ranked in the Top 10 in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots and field goal percentage.

As a senior, Acy had eight double-doubles, 10 double-digit rebounding games and 22 games with multiple blocks. He was Baylor’s lone NCAA South Regional All-Tournament Team selection. He recorded 22 points and eight rebounds in his final game at Baylor, an Elite Eight NCAA Tournament loss to eventual NCAA Champion Kentucky.

In his junior campaign, Acy led the Bears in rebounding (7.6 rpg) and blocks (1.5 bpg) and finished third in scoring (12.4 ppg). He totaled a career-high 25 points and 11 rebounds vs. La Salle.

Brooklyn Nets sign Jerry Stackhouse

The Brooklyn Nets have signed free agent guard/forward Jerry Stackhouse, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.

Stackhouse appeared in 30 games with Atlanta in 2011-12. The 17-year NBA veteran averaged 3.6 points in 9.1 minutes per game while shooting .370 (37-100) from the field. He did not appear in any of Atlanta’s six playoff games.

Selected third overall by Philadelphia in 1995, the North Carolina product was a First Team All Rookie section with the 76ers during the 1995-96 campaign. He was traded to Detroit after two-plus seasons in Philadelphia and spent the next four-plus seasons with the Pistons where he made two All Star teams (2000, 2001).

In 80 games during the 2000-01 campaign, Stackhouse had his best year as a pro, ranking second in the NBA in points per game at 29.8, while averaging 3.9 rebounds, a career-best 5.1 assists and 1.2 steals in 40.2 minutes per contest.

In September of 2002, he was traded to Washington where he spent two seasons appearing in a combined 96 games. In June of 2004, he was sent to Dallas where he stayed for five seasons until 2009. The last three seasons, Stackhouse has spent one season respectively with Milwaukee, Miami and Atlanta. Over 17 NBA seasons and 933 games, he holds career averages of 17.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 31.8 minutes.

Knicks sign forward Chris Copeland

New York Knicks Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations and General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has signed free agent forward Chris Copeland to a contract. It’s probably a non-guaranteed deal that does not mean he’s sure to make the regular season roster.

Copeland, 6-8, 224 pounds, has played the past five seasons in Belgium, Germany and Spain and appeared in 19 games for Fort Wayne of the NBA D-League in 2006-07. The Orange, NJ native played four years at the University of Colorado and averaged 12.1 points and 5.1 rebounds in 30 games during his senior season in 2005-06. He is currently representing the Knicks entry at the 2012 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

Landry Fields will likely start for Raptors

Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo said new acquisition Landry Fields probably will start and will be a key piece, even if he had to overpay. Fields received a 3-year, $19 million package the Knicks declined to match. Colangelo acknowledged the offer sheet also was designed to break up the Knicks’ sign-and-trade proposal to Phoenix for Steve Nash. Neither team got Nash, who landed with the Lakers.

“We value Landry in a way we thought it was reflected in the offer,’’ Colangelo said at the Las Vegas summer league. “We think he’ll make a solid contribution. His defensive mentality, his athleticism, he’s got a high basketball IQ. All those things add up to something of value to us.

“Obviously in free agency you tend to pay a little more and restricted free agency a little more than that. Regardless, we needed a player who’s going to make valuable contributions.’’

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

Raptors trade James Johnson to Kings

The Sacramento Kings today acquired James Johnson from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for a second round pick in 2014, according to Kings’ President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie.

“We’re excited to add a talent like James to our young nucleus of players,” said Petrie. “He’s an outstanding defender with athleticism who can play at both positions up front while providing some versatility offensively and adding a dimension to what we can do on the floor.”

Johnson, a 6-9, 245-pound forward, is entering his fourth NBA season. He averaged career-highs of 9.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 25.2 minutes per game in 62 contests with the Raptors last season. In his 40 starts during the 2011-12 campaign, Johnson increased his statistical production to 10.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 26.9 minutes per game. He has recorded career averages of 6.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 24.0 minutes per game in 165 outings, of which he started 76.

Johnson was selected in the first round (16th overall) by Chicago in the 2009 NBA Draft. He was traded to Toronto on February 22, 2011. He enjoyed a two-year career at Wake Forest, averaging 14.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game in 61 contests. He entered the draft after his sophomore season.

Nets sign forward Mirza Teletovic

The Brooklyn Nets have signed free agent forward Mirza Teletovic, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.

Teletovic (6-9, 242), spent the 2011-12 season with Caja Laboral Vitoria of the Spanish ACB League. In 34 games, he averaged 16.3 points and 6.9 rebounds in 31.1 minutes. Teletovic shot .463 from the field, .360 from behind the arc and .684 from the line. In 10 Eurocup games with Caja Laboral Vitoria, he averaged 21.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.0 block in 34.4 minutes while shooting .434 from the field including .431 from three-point range and .700 from the line.

Jacque Vaughn wants Magic coaching job

According to multiple reports, Indiana assistant Brian Shaw and Golden State aide Michael Malone have been crossed off the list of candidates for the coaching job in Orlando.

That leaves the 37-year-old Vaughn, three seasons retired from backing up Tony Parker, as one of the leading applicants to fill Stan Van Gundy’s old chair with the Magic.

Others remaining in the hunt include Utah assistant Jeff Hornacek, Chicago assistant Lindsay Hunter and Philadelphia aide Michael Curry, a former head coach in Detroit.

For players, summer league often represents a chance to showcase new skills or audition for a roster spot. For Vaughn, this week has become an opportunity to try on the head coach’s shoes — in this case, casual white sneakers — and see if he likes them.

So far, they fit.

“It’s fun,” Vaughn said. “It’s good fun to get a group together in a short time and get them to play together. That’s the test and the joy of it.”

— Reported by the San Antonio Express-News

Blake Griffin update: knee surgery today

Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin will undergo arthroscopic surgery today to repair the medial meniscus tear of his left knee which he suffered during Team USA’s practice in Las Vegas on Wednesday, July 11th. The surgery will be performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic.

Griffin experienced discomfort following Wednesday’s practice in Las Vegas. He underwent a magnetic resonance imaging examination on Thursday afternoon in Los Angeles which revealed the injury. MRI data was then analyzed by Clippers’ Team Physician, Dr. Steven Shimoyama, and Dr. ElAttrache.

Sixers waive center Darryl Watkins

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that they have waived center Darryl Watkins. He was acquired by the Sixers in a three-team trade last Wednesday.

The Sixers obtained Watkins from New Orleans and forward Dorell Wright from Golden State while sending the rights to Edin Bavcic to the Hornets, who also traded Jarrett Jack to the Warriors.

In 14 career games across two seasons with Sacramento and New Orleans, Watkins has averaged 2.5 points and 2.8 rebounds in 12.0 minutes per game.

Bulls have interest in O.J. Mayo

The new hot topic among Bulls fans is O.J. Mayo. The Memphis Grizzlies shooting guard is an unrestricted free agent and the Bulls have interest. The big question is what they have to offer.

The main competition appears to be Phoenix, which has about $8-9 million of salary cap room after New Orleans matched the Suns’ offer sheet to Eric Gordon.

Complete details of the Kirk Hinrich acquisition and Kyle Korver trade to Atlanta have yet to be revealed, but those transactions should help the Bulls in the Mayo chase.

If the Bulls get a second-round draft pick out of the Korver trade, they’ll have a traded-player exception worth $5 million. To use that on Mayo, they’d have to talk the Grizzlies into doing a sign-and-trade and send some sort of draft pick and/or cash in return.

— Reported by Mike McGraw of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald