NBA News Blog – Page 1442 – NBA Blog

Danilo Gallinari asked to guard best opposing scorer

Tuesday night in Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks will play host to the Denver Nuggets. And at the small forward spot, it’s about to be ON!

Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News reports:

Danilo Gallinari asks to guard Carmelo Anthony

How else to describe the decision to have Danilo Gallinari guard Denver’s Carmelo Anthony Tuesday at the Garden? Anthony already has hung 50 points on the Knicks this season – more than LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Durant or any other NBA player.

Here’s the kicker: Not exactly known as a defender, Gallinari asked for the assignment.

“I like to play against the best because that’s the only way to improve,” he said Monday after practice in Greenburgh. “It’s a part of learning. It’s a part of trying to understand where I am and what I have to do get to that level and what they have more than me. I like the challenge.”

Andre Iguodala playing hurt

Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News reports:

Mired in one of the worst shooting slumps in his 6-year career, 76ers forward Andre Iguodala revealed yesterday that he is suffering from plantar fasciitis in his right foot.

Iguodala is just 28-for-85 (32.9 percent) in his past six games after posting 30 points in a home loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He has also missed 27 of his last 29 shots from beyond the arc.

“It has been hurting for the past couple of weeks,” said Iguodala, who scored 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting in 37 minutes in last night’s 109-93 loss to the Magic. “It’s not something particular that happened, I just noticed it. It’s bothering, but something I can play through.”

David Stern, John Thompson reached out to Allen Iverson

ESPN The Magazine reports:

NBA commissioner David Stern and legendary former Georgetown coach John Thompson recently reached out to troubled ex-76ers guard Allen Iverson, according to Iverson’s longtime business manager, Gary Moore.

Stern telephoned Moore Monday and asked how Iverson was coping with the myriad of problems that have come his way. Moore said the two spoke for about 10 minutes and he assured the commissioner Iverson is doing fine.

“David was genuinely concerned for Allen,” Moore said. “He asked about his daughter and his wife. He said that if Allen needed him he knows how to get him.”

Moore said Stern also asked about a recent Philadelphia Inquirer report that said Iverson was battling alcohol and gambling problems.

Stern confirmed the conversation through an NBA spokesman but refused to comment. No future meeting or discussion between Stern and Iverson was set up.

Warriors keep Reggie Williams, waive Raja Bell

The Golden State Warriors have signed forward Reggie Williams for the remainder of the season, the team announced today.

Williams, 23, has appeared in 11 games with Golden State, averaging 12.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 24.1 minutes per contest, while shooting 53.0% (53-100 FG) from the field, 48.6% (17-35 3FG) from long range and 90.0% (18-20 FT) from the line. He registered a career-high 28 points in 34 minutes at New Orleans on March 8, and scored 18 fourth quarter points – including 4-of-5 three-pointers – en route to a 22-point performance in the Warriors victory over New Orleans on March 17. A 6-6, 210-pound forward, Williams signed his first 10-day with the Warriors on March 2 as a free agent call-up from the NBA Development League’s Sioux Falls Skyforce, and signed a second 10-day on March 12.

In a related move, the Warriors have waived guard Raja Bell. The Warriors roster now stands at 15 players.

Wolves waive Alando Tucker

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has waived forward Alando Tucker. The Timberwolves acquired Tucker from Phoenix on Dec. 29, 2009 along with a conditional second-round draft pick and cash considerations in exchange for Jason Hart.

A 6-6 forward, Tucker appeared in four games for the Wolves this season, averaging 2.0 points in 6.3 minutes per game. The 29th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Suns, Tucker owns career averages of 4.1 points and 1.0 rebounds in 51 appearances.

Golden State Warriors are for sale

The Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) have retained Galatioto Sports Partners (“GSP”) to conduct a sale of the team, it was announced today. GSP, acting as the Club’s exclusive financial advisor, will manage all aspects of the sales process. As such, all related inquiries should be made directly to GSP.

Neither the Warriors nor GSP anticipate making any further public comments regarding the sales process until and unless a definitive agreement on a transaction is reached.

The Warriors, currently majority-owned by Christopher Cohan, are an NBA franchise located in the San Francisco Bay Area, the fifth-largest market in the NBA. The team plays its home games in Oakland, California, at Oracle Arena.

Galatioto Sports Partners, the leading sports advisory and finance firm, specializes in providing investment banking and innovative financing solutions to the global professional sports market. GSP was established in early 2005 by Salvatore Galatioto. The principals of the GSP have acted in a variety of capacities on more than 70 transactions in the major North American and European sports leagues.

InsideHoops.com editor says: The Golden State Warriors need a new owner, new GM, new coach and new players. Otherwise, they’re good.

Read fan opinion and share your own thoughts in this forum topic.

Estranged mother of Gilbert Arenas passes away

Michael Lee of the Washington Post reports:

Gilbert Arenas’s troubles were magnified recently, when he discovered that his estranged mother, Mary Francis Robinson, died in Miami.

Robinson passed away on March 13, but Arenas didn’t find out until a few days later, according to multiple sources. The cause of her death is not known.

Arenas wasn’t close to his mother, who abandoned him at young age and left him to be raised by his father, Gilbert Sr., from the time that he was 3.

No Jerry Sloan suspension

Tim Buckley of the Deseret News reports:

Longtime Jazz coach Jerry Sloan has escaped punishment for his recent run-in with referee Michael Smith.

A review of the incident is complete and there is “nothing” in terms of a fine or suspension for Sloan, an NBA spokesman said Sunday.

“It’s good news, and business as usual,” Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor said Sunday night.

Sloan made contact with Smith with 0.2 seconds remaining in Friday night’s loss at Phoenix, but the contact — according to a Jazz spokesman — was deemed “incidental” by the league.

The last time he made contact with a referee, shoving Courtney Kirkland during a 2003 game in Sacramento, Sloan was suspended seven games without pay.

A similar incident in 1993 cost him one game.

Suns recall Earl Clark from D-League

The Phoenix Suns today recalled rookie forward Earl Clark from the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by Suns President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Steve Kerr.

The 6-10, 225-pound Clark was originally assigned to the Suns’ D-League affiliate on March 15 and appeared in three games with the Energy. Clark averaged 20.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.0 block in 34.3 minutes in those three contests, shooting 50.0 percent from the field overall (24-of-48).

Clark’s stint included two double-doubles, 16 or more points in every game, and a 27-point, 12-rebound performance in his debut with the Energy on March 17.

A three-year standout at the University of Louisville, Clark was selected by the Suns with the 14th overall pick (first round) of the 2009 NBA Draft and has appeared in 45 games this season for Phoenix.

Currently fifth in the Western Conference, the Suns (43-26) return to action tonight, taking on the eighth-place Portland Trail Blazers (42-28) at US Airways Center at 7:30 p.m. The game can be seen locally on both FOX Sports Arizona and ESPN and heard on Sports 620 KTAR.

Cavs recall Darnell Jackson from D-League

The Cleveland Cavaliers have recalled forward Darnell Jackson from the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

Jackson was assigned to Erie yesterday and played in the BayHawks’ 101-100 loss against the Dakota Wizards last night. He posted game highs of 32 points on 14-21 shooting (.667) and 11 rebounds while adding two steals and one block in 41 minutes. In two games (both starts) with Erie this season, he is now averaging 33.0 points on .651 shooting, 11.5 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 3.0 steals and 1.0 block in 41.5 minutes per game.

He will be available to play tonight for the Cavaliers in their 6 p.m. game versus the Pistons.

The BayHawks are the D-League affiliate of the Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors.