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The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed forward Jawad Williams to a contract, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced today. Per league and team policy, terms of the contract were not announced. The Cavaliers extended a qualifying offer to Williams on June 30th.
In 54 games (six starts) during the 2009-10 season, the 6-foot-9 forward averaged a career-best 4.1 points on .393 shooting and 1.5 rebounds in 13.7 minutes per game.
Frank O’Neill, Lakers trainer from 1960-1974, died Tuesday at his home in Playa del Rey from congestive heart failure. He was 81.
O’Neill, who took over training duties when the Lakers moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles, received his training to become an athletic trainer while attending the University of Florida. He earned his certificate as a physical therapist while in the Navy and worked with the Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia Eagles and the University of Southern California before joining the Lakers.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Frank O’Neill,” said Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak. “Frank was a highly respected trainer and played an integral part in bringing our first championship to Los Angeles in 1972. Our condolences and prayers go out to his family.”
Born on May 25, 1929, O’Neill is survived by his four children Frank, Jr., Patricia, Michael and Mark; and six grandchildren.
Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed guard Antonio Anderson and center Jordan Eglseder.
Anderson (6-6, 215, Memphis) averaged 16.2 points (.487, 242-497 FG), 6.1 assists and 1.25 steals in 40 games (40 starts) with Houston’s single-affiliation NBA D-League partner Rio Grande Valley, helping guide the Vipers to the 2009-10 D-League championship. He was named to the All-NBA Development League Third Team and participated with the Western Conference in the 2010 D-League All-Star Game. Anderson’s efforts earned him a GATORADE Call-Up to the NBA, signing a 10-day contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Feb. 22 and inking a second 10-day contract on Mar. 5. As a collegian, Anderson played four seasons at the University of Memphis. He was named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year as a senior and earned All-Defensive Team honors for three straight seasons.
Eglseder (7-0, 280, Northern Iowa) finished his four-year career at Northern Iowa with averages of 9.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.02 blocks in 118 games (75 starts). The first 7-footer to ever hit the hardwood with UNI, Eglseder was one of just 13 Panthers to reach 1,000 points (1,066) and 500 rebounds (656) in a career. He also became the 32nd UNI player to reach 1,000 career points. Eglseder started all 32 games in 2009-10, averaging 11.9 points and 7.2 rebounds en route to the Panthers upset of number-one ranked Kansas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and a school-record 30 wins. As a senior, Eglseder was a NABC District-16 First Team selection, a USBWA All-District pick and earned All-Tournament Team honors at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.
The National Basketball Association and National Basketball Players Association issued the following statement:
“Today the NBPA and the NBA held another bargaining meeting that was both cordial and constructive. We all agreed to continue the dialogue, and during the three-hour meeting, a number of issues were identified that will be addressed in smaller groups leading up to the next bargaining meeting.”
Eric Torbenson of the Dallas Morning News reports:
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban had a turnover in federal court Tuesday as an appeals panel sent his insider trading case back for trial.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court’s dismissal of a Securities and Exchange Commission suit against the billionaire. The decision doesn’t mean the SEC wins outright, but simply that the issues need to get further hearing and the suit is back on.
The government contends Cuban broke insider trading rules by selling his stake in search engine company Mamma.com after learning of the company’s plan to sell a piece of itself to investors, which would dilute Cuban’s holdings. The stock sale allowed Cuban to avoid an estimated $750,000 in losses…
And a countersuit filed by Cuban that alleges the SEC brought the case against him in bad faith continues regardless of Tuesday’s ruling. Cuban wants the government to pay his legal fees for pursuing a case out of bias rather than legal merit, his own suit says.
Michael Lee of the Washington Post reports (via blog):
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Javaris Crittenton is hoping to return to the NBA after accepting an invitation to try out for the Charlotte Bobcats in training camp, his agent Mark Bartelstein said on Tuesday.
The other half in the infamous altercation with Gilbert Arenas involving guns in a Verizon Center locker room, Crittenton is coming back after missing all of last season, with the final 38 games lost as the result of a season-ending suspension from NBA commissioner David Stern. But that embarrassing incident — which led to Crittenton receiving one year of unsupervised probation and a $1,250 fine after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge in January — overshadowed the fact that the 6-foot-5 point guard was going to miss the entire year anyway because of a severe left ankle injury.
Oklahoma City Thunder center Nenad Krstic underwent successful surgery this morning to repair a fracture to the second finger on his right hand. The surgery was performed in Oklahoma City by Thunder team physicians.
Krstic suffered the injury in the final game of the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. Krstic averaged 13.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in 23.6 minutes per game while helping lead Serbia to a fourth place finish at the World Championships.
The 7-0 center is expected to be ready for the Thunder’s opening night contest against the Chicago Bulls.
Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee reports:
The Sacramento Kings’ groundbreaking agreement with ARCO oil company for local arena naming rights is over after 24 years.
The contract expires next year, team officials say, and the search already is on for a new company willing to pay to have its name in lights on the Natomas sports and entertainment arena.
The AP reports:
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Dear Emmy voters, Baron Davis regrets to inform you that he won’t be able to attend the awards ceremony for his documentary film on L.A. gang life.
By then, he’ll be busy with his other passion.
The Los Angeles Clippers point guard will already be at training camp when the Emmy awards for news and documentaries are handed out in New York City next Monday.
From afar, though, he’ll be rooting for the film “Crips and Bloods: Made in America,” which is up for best documentary. Davis served as executive producer, putting up the money and providing entree into a world that he escaped from – largely because of basketball – but hasn’t forgotten.
Jonathan Abrams and Howard Beck of the New York Times report:
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The Denver Nuggets are lending an open ear to N.B.A. suitors clamoring for Carmelo Anthony, a potentially distressing development for the Knicks in their efforts to land the three-time All-Star.
In preliminary conversations, the Nuggets have told the Knicks that they do not possess the assets they are seeking if they decide to trade Anthony, according to a Knicks official. The official did not want to be identified because he was describing private conversations between the teams.
For the moment, the Knicks are left hoping that Anthony remains in Denver through this season, which would allow his contract to expire. If that happens, the Knicks could then pursue him in free agency with cap room that will be created by the departure of Eddy Curry.
