NBA News Blog – Page 1459 – NBA Blog

Ronnie Brewer out 3+ weeks with hamstring injury

Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports:

Grizzlies swingman Ronnie Brewer will miss at least three weeks with a partially torn right hamstring.

Brewer, who was injured Friday during the Grizzlies’ 100-87 double overtime loss to Miami, had his condition confirmed this morning after a magnetic resonance imaging exam.

Brewer did not travel this afternoon with the team to New Jersey where the Griz will face the Nets on Sunday evening. The Grizzlies are officially saying that Brewer will be out indefinitely and a timetable for his return will be set in a week.

Jon Brockman out two to four weeks

Sacramento Kings forward Jon Brockman will miss two to four weeks of action with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee, which was confirmed by an MRI taken yesterday.

Brockman, currently in his rookie season, is averaging 3.0 points (.511 FGs, .600 FTs) and 4.6 rebounds per game through 44 outings of which he has started in four.

Rockets waive Brian Cook, keep Garrett Temple 10 more days

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed guard Garrett Temple to a second 10-day contract and has waived forward Brian Cook.

Temple (6-6, 190, LSU), who has averaged 6.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in three games with Houston, signed his first 10-day contract with the Rockets on Feb. 8, marking his first-ever GATORADE Call-Up to the NBA. Temple was playing with Houston’s single-affiliation NBA D-League partner Rio Grande Valley, where he was averaging 14.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 30 games (30 starts) with the Vipers. He was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by Houston on Sept. 22, 2009. Temple averaged 2.5 points and 0.3 assists in four preseason games with the Rockets before being waived on Oct. 21. He also averaged 4.6 points and 0.4 assists in five games with Houston in the 2009 NBA Summer League.

Cook (6-9, 250, Illinois), who was in his second season with the Rockets, averaged 1.4 points and 0.6 rebounds in 15 games this season. He was acquired by Houston from Orlando in a three-team trade on Feb. 19, 2009, and exercised the player option on his contract for the 2009-10 season on June 22.

Deron Williams dislikes Ronnie Brewer trade

Tim Buckley of the Deseret News reports:

He doesn’t like it, but Deron Williams knows trades come with the territory.

“It stinks that these things happen in the NBA,” Williams said Friday, one day after the Jazz dealt close friend and starting shooting guard Ronnie Brewer to Memphis for a protected 2011 first-round draft choice.

This particular trade, however, left Williams particularly offended — so much so he questioned the team’s thinking and suggested it could influence the length of his future with the franchise.

The All-Star point prefaced Friday’s remarks by saying, “I haven’t really got nothing much good to say about the trade, so …”

Pacers almost traded TJ Ford, Brandon Rush to Bobcats

Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star reports:

T.J. Ford didn’t expect there was a possibility that he would be traded. Brandon Rush said he was “shocked” four times during a 40-second interview.

The two Indiana Pacers were caught off guard when they heard the team was working on a deal to send them to the Charlotte Bobcats for Gerald Henderson, Nazr Mohammed and D.J. Augustin on Thursday.
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The deal fell through when the Bobcats pulled out about 10 minutes before the trade deadline.

“I was definitely more shocked than anything,” Rush said. “I didn’t see it coming. Nobody told me anything about being on the trade block. It was more of a shock.”

Tracy McGrady would take pay cut to play with stars in New York

The AP reports:

“I’ve made a lot of money over my career and I could retire right now and I could be fine financially. My kids can be fine when they get older. Money is not an issue for me,” McGrady said.

“So if these guys were to bring in a LeBron, a D-Wade, along with a Chris Bosh or a (Amare) Stoudemire, I’d be a damn fool to not want to stay here. So I’m just telling you right now that I will definitely embrace the opportunity to be here. Money is not an issue.”

McGrady said the Knicks were his preference once Houston decided to try to trade him, adding he would have sought a buyout if he were sent elsewhere. He finally got his wish Thursday in a three-team deal that included Sacramento, saying he was disappointed this season by a lack of communication from Rockets management.

“I didn’t know. I really didn’t know,” McGrady said. “And that’s just the unfortunate situation, that I just like for management to be upfront and honest with me. That’s all I ask, honesty. And if we can’t sit and have a conversation eye to eye and be honest with me, then all the respect and trust goes out the window.”

Antawn Jamison shoots 0-for-12 in Cavaliers debut

Forward Antawn Jamison struggled mightily in his Cleveland Cavaliers debut, coming off the bench to shoot 0-for-12 as the team lost 110-93 to the Bobcats in Charlotte.

Playing 26 minutes, Jamison finished with two points, seven rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Stephen Jackson (9-of-17) played well for the Bobcats, finishing with 29 points, eight rebounds and four assists (though, five turnovers). Boris Diaw had 18 points and nine rebounds. And All-Star Gerald Wallace contributed 18 points, five rebounds and an impressive nine assists.

For the Cavs, LeBron James had an extremely quiet night with 22 points, three assists, nine rebounds and four steals.

As a team, the Cavs shot just 39.0%. They amazingly shot better from three-point range than overall, hitting 12-of-29 (41.4%) from outside the arc.

Charlotte had 10 more rebounds than Cleveland, and had 27 assists compared to just 15 for Cleveland.

Jamison is obviously a better player than he showed today, so this is a fluke, but it’s worth keeping an eye on Cavs team chemistry over the next 1-2 weeks.

Rockets re-assign Jermaine Taylor to D-League

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has re-assigned guard Jermaine Taylor to Houston’s single-affiliation NBA D-League partner the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. In his first stint with Rio Grande Valley, Taylor averaged 21.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.25 steals in four games (one start). He also posted back-to-back 30-point outings with the Vipers at Albuquerque (30 points on 2/2/10 and 32 points on 2/3/10).

Taylor (6-4, 210, Central Florida) has averaged 2.6 points and 0.2 assists in 17 games with the Rockets. A rookie out of Central Florida, Taylor recorded a season-high seven points (2-2 FG, 3-3 FT), one rebound and one steal in just 2:17 of action vs. Atlanta (1/25/10). Taylor, who had his draft rights acquired by Houston from Washington on June 25, 2009, was selected by the Wizards in the second round (32nd overall) of the 2009 NBA Draft. He also averaged 11.0 points and 2.3 assists in four games (two starts) with Houston in the 2009 NBA Summer League.

Mehmet Okur father of new baby boy

Utah Jazz center Mehmet Okur and his wife, Yeliz, welcomed the couple’s second child, a baby boy – Yigit Mehmet Okur (21 inches; 8 lbs., 2 oz.) early this morning in Salt Lake City. Memo, Yeliz, daughter Melisa, and new addition Yigit are all doing well.

Okur, who left the team in Oakland to be with his wife for the birth, will miss tonight’s Jazz game at Golden State.

Okur this season is averaging 12.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game, shooting 43.5% from the field.

The 34-19 Jazz are currently the no.3 seed in the Western conference.

Knicks waive Brian Cardinal

New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh announced today that the team has waived forward Brian Cardinal.

Just a day ago, the team traded Darko Milicic for Cardinal. It was mainly a financial-related transaction.

The 6-8, 240-pound Cardinal has an NBA career average of 5.4 points and 2.7 rebounds on 41.2% shooting in 15.7 minutes per game. His best seasons came with the Warriors in 2003-04 (9.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and with the Grizzlies in 2004-05 (9.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg).

InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner says: Knicks fans will miss Brian Cardinal and his contributions, but the pain and loss they’re feeling will ease with time. The Cardinal era was a great one for the Knicks, but even legends must someday say farewell and move on. (Note to new basketball fans: I’m kidding. Cardinal just arrived a day ago and now he’s already gone.)