NBA News Blog – Page 1104 – NBA Blog

Steve Novak, three-point bomber

Shooting 3-pointers is what Novak does. He did it with the Houston Rockets as a rookie in the 2006-7 season, and then with the Los Angeles Clippers, the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs. And now, to far more acclaim, he is doing it with the Knicks.

The Elias Sports Bureau says that since Novak has entered the N.B.A., a little more than 72 percent of his shots have been from 3-point range, the highest percentage of any player in the league over that period, based on a minimum of 500 total field-goal attempts.

Most players who are as tall as Novak prefer to take shots closer to the basket. But not Novak. And certainly not this season, when the number of 3-pointers compared with his other field-goal attempts — 113 to 27 — means almost 81 percent of his shots come from behind the arc.

Only the Mavericks’ Jason Kidd is devoting a higher percentage (85) of his shots to 3-pointers this season.

But Kidd has converted just 29 percent of his 120 3-point attempts, nowhere near the 46.9 percent success rate that Novak has had (53 of 113).

— Reported by Jake Appleman of the New York Times

Ramon Sessions’ future may not be with Cavs

If Sessions ever wants to be a starting point guard, however, it probably won’t be in Cleveland. Irving, 19, could be a fixture for years to come.

Sessions has the ability to opt out of his contract at the end of the season. The Lakers, for instance, could trade for him and encourage him to opt out to reduce their luxury tax bill.

Either way, he’ll likely opt out. His contract is worth $4.6 million for 2012-13. He might sacrifice some money next season for the security of a multiyear contract.

Sessions is a luxury the Cavs might not be able to afford right now. They have so many other holes to fill.

— Reported by Bob Finnan of the News Herald

Danny Ainge says Rondo has been best Celtic

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge would not comment publicly on the report that the Celtics are actively shopping Rajon Rondo, who turned in his 16th career triple-double last night in the Celtics’ 102-96 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.

“I do not make comments on trade rumors because it never ends,” he told the Globe this afternoon. “Rondo’s been our best player.”

— Reported by Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe

Dajuan Wagner still hears about his 100-point game in 2001

The story, not surprisingly, has taken a life of its own over the years. There was the sniping between the coaches and a halftime fight among players – but most of all it just added to the high school legend of Dajuan Wagner.

Wagner scored exactly 100 points for Camden High in a 157-67 win over visiting Camden County Tech on Jan. 16, 2001.

What was bizarre was that it wasn’t even the highest individual scoring effort of the day. Cedric Hensley, of Heritage Christian Academy in Texas, dropped 101 points in a 178-29 rout of Houston’s Baniff School on the same day.

Still, Wagner didn’t need this performance to generate headlines. He was already considered the consensus No. 1 high school player in the country. He had made a commitment to attend the University of Memphis, where he would stay for a year before being the No. 6 overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Now 29, Wagner, who last appeared in an NBA game in 2007 for the Golden State Warriors, says he is hoping to make a comeback after suffering various health problems the last few years.

— Reported by Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer

Magic CEO thinks Dwight Howard can be convinced to stay

Dwight Howard

Jumps very high

Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins apparently is not going to trade Dwight Howard until every last effort is exhausted to convince him to stay in Orlando.

Martins said on our radio show Thursday that he still believes the Magic can convince Howard that Orlando is the best place for him to win a championship.

“We have a couple of weeks until the trade deadline, which is a critical point on the calendar to determine how we can move forward together,” Martins said of the ongoing Dwight saga. “Our conversations with Dwight continue, and I feel good about the conversations we’ve had. … I’ve said all along our reason for not trading Dwight at the beginning of the season is that time would be on our side one way or another. Time would be on our side in the fact that we could work with Dwight to address his needs and ultimately convince him to stay. Or time would work on our side in that if Dwight made the decision that he didn’t want to stay, we would have more time to talk to other teams about what trade possibilities exist.”

— Reported by Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel (Blog)

Charles Barkley critical of Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan’s good friend and fellow Hall of Famer Charles Barkley has a theory as to why the Chicago Bulls legend has largely failed as an NBA executive, and it has to do with the people around him, including those in the Charlotte Bobcats’ front office.

“I think the biggest problem has been I don’t know if he has hired enough people around him who he will listen to,” Barkley said Thursday on “The Waddle & Silvy Show” on ESPN 1000. “One thing about being famous is the people around you, you pay all their bills so they very rarely disagree with you because they want you to pick up the check. They want to fly around on your private jet so they never disagree with you. I don’t think Michael has hired enough people around him who will disagree.”

Barkley, who is a TNT analyst, did not mince words when evaluating his friend’s performance in the front office.

“I love Michael, but he just has not done a good job,” Barkley said. “Even though he is one of my great friends, I can’t get on here and tell you he’s done a great job. He has not done a great job, plain and simple.”

— Reported by ESPN Chicago

Lakers recall Devin Ebanks from D-League

The Los Angeles Lakers have recalled forward Devin Ebanks from the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League, it was announced yesterday by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

A second year player out of West Virginia, Ebanks has appeared in 12 games (4 starts) with the Lakers this season, averaging 2.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 12.6 minutes. Assigned to the D-Fenders on February 15, Ebanks averaged 18.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 32.0 minutes in three games. Currently on a nine-game win streak, the D-Fenders hold the best record in the NBA Development League.

Selected by the Lakers in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft, Ebanks appeared in 20 games last season, averaging 3.1 points and 1.4 rebounds in 5.9 minutes.

The D-League assignment was the second of Ebanks’ career, having previously been assigned to the Bakersfield Jam last season. In six regular season games with Bakersfield a year ago, Ebanks averaged 16.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.50 steals in 27.7 minutes.

Hornets sign Lance Thomas for rest of season

The New Orleans Hornets announced today that they have signed forward Lance Thomas for the rest of the season. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not released.

Thomas has been with the Hornets for two consecutive 10-day contracts, appearing in nine games during that span with averages of 2.7 points and 3.7 rebounds.

Thomas, a Duke University product, appeared in two regular season games with the Hornets before being released on December 31, averaging 0.5 points. In two preseason games (both starts), he averaged 3.5 points and 4.5 rebounds.

The 6’8” forward also appeared with the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League this season. In 19 games (all starts) for the Toros, Thomas averaged 15.2 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 32.6 minutes of play. The Scotch Plains, New Jersey native also played for the Toros during the 2010-11 season, averaging 12.6 points and 5.5 rebounds in 46 games (all starts).

Hornets sign Solomon Jones to second 10-day contract

The New Orleans Hornets announced today that they have signed forward Solomon Jones to a second 10-day contract.

Jones averaged 3.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 14.8 minutes over five games for the Hornets during his first 10-day.

A University South Florida product, Jones appeared in 10 regular season games with the Los Angeles Clippers this season before being waived on February 7th. Originally signed by Los Angeles on January 3, 2012, Jones averaged 0.6 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.5 blocks in 9.6 minutes of play with the Clippers.

The 6’10” forward is in his sixth NBA season, originally drafted by the Atlanta Hawks with the 33rd pick in the 2006 NBA draft. After spending three seasons in Atlanta where he played in 156 games (including eight starts during his rookie season), Jones spent the 2009-10 and 2001-11 campaigns with the Indiana Pacers before landing with the Clippers this season. The Eustis, Florida native holds career averages of 3.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in 10.9 minutes over 262 games.

Grizzlies recall Josh Selby from D-League

The 19-15 Memphis Grizzlies have decided they miss guard Josh Selby and have brought him back from another dimension.

The Grizzlies today recalled Selby from the Reno Bighorns, the team’s NBA Development League affiliate, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced.

Selby (6-2, 183) saw action in four games with the Bighorns, including one start, and averaged 21.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.25 steals in 31.0 minutes. He shot .483 from the field, .500 from three-point territory and .714 from the free throw line.

He has averaged 2.9 points and 1.4 assists on .389 shooting in 10.3 minutes in 18 games during his rookie season with the Grizzlies. The 20-year-old was selected by Memphis in the second round (49th overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft.

The Baltimore native posted 7.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 26 appearances last year as a freshman at Kansas.

The Grizzlies host the Dallas Mavericks in the first game since the All-Star break on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at FedExForum.