NBA News Blog – Page 1151 – NBA Blog

Wizards re-sign guard Nick Young

The Washington Wizards announced today that they have re-signed guard Nick Young. According to the Washington Post, the deal a one-year, $3.7 million qualifying offer, and “by signing his qualifying offer, Young will become an unrestricted free agent next season, when the market is expected to be better. Several teams are expected to have considerable salary cap room and few young guards will be available.”

“Nick is a very good scorer who has continually developed and shown steady improvement over his four years with us,” said Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld. “His size, shooting ability and athleticism allow him to get his own shot and compliment our other backcourt players, making him a valuable part of our young core.”

Young led the Wizards in scoring last season with a career-high 17.4 points over 64 games. He scored a career-high 43 points on Jan. 11 vs. Sacramento and posted the second-highest scoring increase in the NBA from 2009-10 to 2010-11 (8.6 ppg – 17.4 ppg) behind Golden State’s Dorell Wright.

Young holds career averages of 10.9 points and 1.8 rebounds with career marks of .437 from the field, .383 from three-point range and .822 from the free throw line in 295 games with the Wizards. He was originally selected by the team with the 16th overall pick of the 2007 NBA Draft.

Knicks sign guard Baron Davis

New York Knickerbockers Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations and Interim General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has signed free agent guard Baron Davis. It is widely reported to be a one-year deal for $2.5 million. Though, Howard Beck of the New York Times reports that the deal is actually for the veteran’s minimum ($1.4 million), which means the Knicks still have their $2.5 million exception to spend.

Davis, 6-3, 212-pounds, holds career averages of 16.5 points, 7.3 assists, 1.86 steals and 34.7 minutes in 806 games (677 starts) over 12 NBA seasons with the Hornets, Golden State, L.A. Clippers and Cleveland. The two-time NBA All-Star averaged 13.1 points, 6.7 assists and 1.34 steals over 28.4 minutes in 58 games (44 starts) with Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland last season.

The Los Angeles, CA-native was originally selected by Charlotte Hornets in the first round (third overall) of 1999 NBA Draft. He appeared in 46 postseason games (42 starts) to average 19.8 points, 6.5 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 2.50 steals over 38.1 minutes.

According to ESPN New York, “Davis has a herniated disk in his back that he said on Monday could sideline him for 8-10 weeks. But a source close to Davis told ESPNNewYork.com that 8-10 weeks is a conservative estimate and, if his rehabilitation goes well, he could return in 4-6 weeks “if not sooner.” Said Davis: “For me, it’s taking it one day at a time and … getting as close as I possibly can to practicing to practicing as soon as I possibly can.”

Thunder trade Byron Mullens to Bobcats

Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has acquired a 2013 2nd round draft pick from the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange for center Byron Mullens and cash considerations.

“While we believe that Byron will be a productive player in this league, it became apparent that in the near future it would be difficult for him to continue his development and have the opportunity to make a significant impact on our club because of the current make-up of our roster,” Presti said. “This trade allows us the opportunity to create both future financial and roster flexibility while providing us with an additional draft pick in 2013.”

In two seasons with the Thunder, Mullens has appeared in 26 games and posted averages of 1.5 points and 1.3 rebounds in 5.3 minutes per contest.

Oklahoma City originally acquired the draft rights to Mullens from the Dallas Mavericks on draft night after he was selected in the 1st round (No. 25 overall) of the 2009 NBA Draft.

The former Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year at Ohio State saw action in 41 games for the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA D-League during the past two seasons. With the 66ers, Mullens recorded averages of 15.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots in 30.2 minutes per game.

Los Angeles Lakers sign Troy Murphy

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed free agent forward/center Troy Murphy, it was announced today. According to the Los Angeles Times Blog, the deal is for one year and $1.4 million.

Murphy, who has averaged a double-double in five of his 10 NBA seasons, owns career averages of 11.6 points and 8.4 rebounds in 656 games (481 starts) with Golden State, Indiana, New Jersey and Boston.

Ranked 16th among active players in rebounds per game and 29th in three-point field goal percentage (.389), the 6’11” New Jersey native finished the 2008-09 season as the only player in NBA history to rank in the top five league-wide in both rebounds per game (2nd/11.8) and three-point field goal percentage (3rd/.450).

Selected by the Golden State Warriors in the first round (14th overall) of the 2001 NBA Draft, the two-time consensus All-American out of Notre Dame has finished among the NBA’s top-10 league leaders in rebounds per game five times and has recorded 218 career double-doubles.

Andrew Bynum unfazed by trade rumors

Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum made it clear that it does not take offense to hearing his name dangled in deals and he refuted a recent Yahoo! Sports report that stated, “Bynum has privately been heard to say this offseason that he wants his own team.”

“I never said anything like that,” Bynum told ESPNLosAngeles.com. “I don’t care … I’ll be happy anywhere I play, honestly. It doesn’t really matter to me. In Orlando, I’ll probably get more shots and more touches, but here, I think this year they’ll need me to step up here. So, it really doesn’t matter.”

What does matter to Bynum is changing his reputation as being a liability in the lineup because of his injury history. Bynum has played in just 204 out of a possible 328 games in the last four years because of various injuries, missing an average of 31 games a season.

— Reported by Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles

Rockets sign 2nd round pick Chandler Parsons

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed second-round draft pick Chandler Parsons. The Rockets selected the University of Florida forward with the 38th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. Parsons is expected to dress out for tonight’s game against the San Antonio Spurs.

Parsons (6-9, 200, Florida), who also played with Cholet Basket (France) in 2011, completed his four-year career at Florida ranked 12th all-time in school history with 1,452 points. He was named SEC Player of the Year and First-Team All-SEC as a senior. In addition, Parsons earned SEC All-Freshman honors in 2007-08. His grandfather, Don Parsons, played basketball at Rutgers and was drafted by the New York Knicks.

Jamal Crawford buys jersey number from Luke Babbitt

When the Trail Blazers officially introduced newly-signed Jamal Crawford at a news conference, he held up a brand new white No. 11 Blazers uniform and beamed from ear to ear as photographers snapped photos.

Wait … No. 11? Doesn’t Luke Babbitt wear No. 11?

Not anymore.

Crawford bought the number from Babbitt after a series of playful back-and-forth negotiations that spanned multiple days and involved Blazers captain LaMarcus Aldridge as a mediator.

No. 11 cost Crawford $12,000.

“That was a hard bargain, a tough bargain to get it,” Crawford said, laughing, after the Blazers’ practice on Saturday. “Luke could have been a lawyer … he got me.”

— Reported by Joe Freeman. Full article on the Oregonian

Grizzlies forward Darrell Arthur injured in practice

Grizzlies forward Darrell Arthur left practice this morning with a serious Achilles injury and the fear is that he might be lost for the entire 2011-12 season, according to sources with knowledge of situation.

An early diagnosis by the team’s medical staff indicated that Arthur might have suffered a torn right Achilles. The 6-foot-9 reserve had just returned to practice after missing time with a sore left Achilles.

— Reported by Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal

Pacers will send Brandon Rush to Warriors

The Indiana Pacers will trade guard Brandon Rush to the Golden State Warriors for forward Louis Amundson.

The Bay Area News Group first reported the deal. Mark Bartelstein, the agent for both players, confirmed the move on Sunday.

“This is a great fit for both guys,” Bartelstein said.

Rush averaged 8.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in three seasons for the Pacers.

— Reported by Cliff Brunt of the Associated Press

Hornets re-sign Jason Smith

The New Orleans Hornets announced today that they have re-signed center-forward Jason Smith. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not released. We’ll post details of the deal this evening.

“We are excited to have Jason back on our team this season,” Hornets General Manager Dell Demps said. “He provided us with solid play last season both off the bench and when he was called upon to start. He gives us depth in the frontcourt with his ability to play the center and power forward positions.”

Smith (7-0, 240) averaged 4.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.4 blocks with the Hornets last season in 77 games (six starts). In those six starts during the 2010-11 season, Smith averaged 9.3 points on 61 percent shooting and 3.7 rebounds over 21.8 minutes. Entering his fourth season in the NBA, Smith has career averages of 4.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.5 blocks over 209 games (nine starts). The Colorado State product was originally acquired by the Hornets along with Willie Green on September 23, 2010 from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Darius Songaila and Craig Brackens.