NBA News Blog – Page 1129 – NBA Blog

Mavs assign Dominique Jones to D-League

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have assigned Dominique Jones to the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League.

Jones (6-5, 215) has played in nine games with the Mavericks and is averaging 1.8 points, 0.9 rebounds and 4.0 minutes while shooting .400 (6-15 FGs) from the field and 1.000 (4-4 FTs) from the free throw line.

This is Jones’ second stint with the Texas Legends as he played 10 games for the team last season. In those contests, he averaged 18.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.6 steals in 37.5 minutes.

The Legends host the Tulsa 66ers on HP Court at Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco this Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 7 pm.

Denver Nuggets recall Jordan Hamilton from D-League

The Nuggets have recalled rookie G/F Jordan Hamilton from the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League, team executive vice president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri announced today.

Hamilton, 6-7, 220, played in six games (two starts) for Idaho, averaging 9.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 24.0 minutes per game.

Hamilton, the 26th overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft, has not appeared for the Nuggets during the regular season. In two preseason games with Denver, he grabbed four rebounds in 16 minutes.

The Nuggets now have 15 players on their active roster.

Blazers recall Armon Johnson from D-League

The Portland Trail Blazers have recalled point guard Armon Johnson from the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by Acting General Manager Chad Buchanan.

In five games with the Stampede, Johnson averaged 11.8 points, 7.2 assists and 4.2 rebounds. He put up a season-high 19 points to go along with two assists and five rebounds Jan. 9 against the Erie Bayhawks.

Johnson and teammate Luke Babbitt were assigned to the Stampede by the Trail Blazers on Jan. 4.

Johnson will be available for Monday afternoon’s game against the New Orleans Hornets.

Derrick Rose says sprained toe isn’t an issue

For Derrick Rose, his sprained left toe is yesterday’s news.

“I’m not even trying to think about it,” Rose said. “I’m playing. To me, that was a thing of the past, and I’m just trying to get over it.”

Rose reported no additional soreness after he had 25 points, seven assists and four rebounds in Friday night’s victory in Boston. He’s still wearing a walking boot because it’s more comfortable than a shoe, and he’s still wearing an insole. Other than that, he said he’s not even thinking about his toe.

“If anything, [the training staff is] just worried about me re-injuring it because I came back kind of soon,” Rose said. “I was fine and I wanted to play [Friday], so it was up to me.”

He scored 18 points in 41 minutes on Saturday night against the Toronto Raptors.

— Reported by Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times

Baron Davis may be ready by late January

What’s on Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni’s mind? Not only the return from injury of Carmelo Anthony, but also the looming Knicks debut of Baron Davis.

Davis is getting closer and closer to returning from a herniated disk and a person familiar with the situation said the guard will take a big leap in his rehab this week by starting full running drills and some contact basketball drills.

It’s not out of the question for him to be cleared for practice by next weekend and a late-January debut has become more likely than not.

Last night after the Knicks lost, 104-92, to the Thunder, D’Antoni said optimistically, “Melo will be back pretty soon and hopefully Baron’s around the corner and we’ll see what we got.’’

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

Lamar Odom considered taking time away from NBA

As his Martin Luther King Day reunion with the Los Angeles Lakers approaches, Lamar Odom has revealed that he was “real close” to walking away from the game for a season — or perhaps longer — well before his December trade to the Dallas Mavericks.

Left reeling by the July murder of his 24-year-old cousin and a fatal car accident days later that killed a teen pedestrian after the car he was riding in as a passenger collided with a motorcycle, Odom told ESPN.com that he had to be convinced by wife Khloe Kardashian to scrap his plans for a hiatus.

“Real close,” Odom said when asked Saturday how close he came to asking the Lakers for a season-long sabbatical.

“My wife talked me out of it.

“Cause I was asking myself: ‘Was I mentally prepared to play? If I didn’t play well, was I mentally prepared to help the team?’ I had thought, ‘Maybe I need a year.’ Because of the lockout, I thought, ‘Maybe somebody’s sending me a sign that I needed this time off.’

“(But) when I told some of my friends and my family that I was thinking about steppin’ back for a minute, I think the reaction from the closest people to me kind of gave me the energy to get back at it.”

— Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com

Vanessa Bryant gets two of Kobe’s mansions

Kobe Bryant and Vanessa are well on their way to becoming single … because we’ve learned Kobe has already transferred title on two of his mansions over to his soon-to-be ex-wife.

TMZ has checked official records … which show on January 5th, Kobe surrendered his interest in 2 of their estates to Vanessa … on that same day Vanessa surrendered her interest in a 3rd home to Kobe.

As far as who got what … the title transfers don’t list addresses, but our sources say Vanessa is now the full owner of the mansion she shared with Kobe in Newport Coast. As for the second home Vanessa now owns in full … it’s the nearby mansion where her mother has been living.

— Reported by TMZ

No new Lakers signings expected

It has been a month since Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak told reporters the team was still “pursuing big deals” in the aftermath of the vetoed Chris Paul trade that resulted in Lamar Odom ultimately being shipped to Dallas as a consequence.

Things have died down since then.

“We’re in a different time frame right now,” Kupchak told ESPNLosAngeles.com before the Lakers hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday. “You’re talking about a period of time when there was free agency and everybody was scrambling to put together their rosters and sign players and deal with the issues that were out there. We’re into the season now, so generally speaking, when you’re into the season things slow down and people typically want to see how their team looks. So, without being specific, that’s where we are.”

The Lakers have a full 15-man roster at the moment and would need to release a player to add one of the veteran free agents on the market. Accomplished NBA contributors Gilbert Arenas and Joel Przybilla are still without a team and Yahoo! Sports reported Rasheed Wallace is considering coming out of retirement to sign somewhere.

“We don’t expect to sign anybody any time soon,” Kupchak said.

— Reported by Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles

Amar’e Stoudemire, amateur tattoo artist

The bespectacled NBA All-Star took a challenge to ink celebrity tattoo artist BangBang Tuesday night, the Knicks off night, at the hoopster’s Meatpacking District pad.

BangBang, 26, of Brooklyn, shared with the Daily News on Thursday his photos of Stoudemire turning the tables on him.

“He gave me a basketball with some initials, which are kind of representative of his religious beliefs. I told him I wanted whatever he wanted to do,” BangBang said of the fresh tat on the inner calf of his right leg.

While Stoudemire is heavily decorated with body art — including the words “Black Jesus” on his neck and the scripture Matthew 20:16 on his chest — he has never given anyone a tattoo until now.

“He’s got a lot of strong Jewish beliefs, so he gave me kind of the Jewish term for God, or symbol of God. I love it,” said BangBang.

— Reported by Bill Hutchinson of the New York Daily News

Michael Jordan’s former HS coach arrested for harassing police during investigation

A REPORT FROM WECT 6 TV

Detectives with the Wilmington Police Department found a body while searching a home in Wilmington Friday for evidence relating to a missing person’s case, and WECT has learned that one of three men arrested at the home the night before used to be Michael Jordan’s basketball coach while he attended Laney High School.

Police arrested Clifton Herring in the 1100 block of Cowan Street on Thursday night, while investigating reports of the missing woman.

Police say they went to 1115 Cowan Street Thursday night to look for the missing woman and Andrew Bernard Adams let them search the residence. While at the scene, they arrested two men who they say were trying to walk away with various CDs, DVDs, a DVD player and some clothing. Antonio Heard, 42, and Kyperoo Gore, 23, were charged with burglary.

While arresting those two, police say Herring, who was intoxicated, became “belligerent and repeatedly refused to follow officers’ orders to stay out of the way.” They arrested Herring and charged him with resist/delay/obstruct an officer in the process of carrying out his/her duties. Two officers had to restrain Herring.

— Reported by WECT 6