NBA News Blog – Page 1521 – NBA Blog

76ers hire Randy Ayers as assistant coach

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that Head Coach Eddie Jordan has named Randy Ayers as an assistant coach. Ayers joins a staff comprised of Associate Head Coach Mike O’Koren and Assistant Coaches Jim Lynam and Aaron McKie.

Ayers, who was head coach of the Sixers for 52 games during the 2003-04 season, previously served as an assistant coach on Jordan’s staff in Washington. The Wizards allowed just 99.2 points per game in his first season with the team in 2007-08 after allowing 104.9 ppg the season prior.

Prior to joining the Wizards, Ayers was an assistant coach with Orlando. In his two seasons with the Magic, Ayers helped the team lower its opponents scoring average from 101.8 ppg in 2004-05 to 96.0 ppg in 2005-06 to 94.0 ppg in 2006-07.

No stranger to Philadelphia, Ayers spent six-plus seasons as a member of the Sixers coaching staff, including the stint as head coach in 2003-04. As the top assistant under Head Coach Larry Brown, Ayers helped guide the Sixers to five consecutive playoff appearances, including a trip to the NBA Finals in 2001.

Ayers coaching career also includes an eight-season run as head coach at The Ohio State University, where he led the Buckeyes to four postseason appearances and back-to-back Big Ten Championships in 1991 and 1992. He was named National Coach of the Year by The Associated Press in 1991.

Jason Williams works out for Knicks

Point guard Jason Williams, known by his nickname “White Chocolate,” is trying to make an NBA comeback, and his first shot at earning a deal came from the New York Knicks.

The Associated Press reports that Williams has now worked out for the Knicks, but no contract has been offered just yet. Said the AP:

Williams, who worked out Tuesday, is attempting a return from retirement this summer and the Knicks claimed him off waivers last week. They will retain exclusive negotiating rights if they make a contract offer by Thursday.

It’s highly unlikely any team will offer Williams anything more than a one-year deal at the NBA minimum. And I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets no offer at all.

NBA fines Cavs, Rockets, Wolves for leaking schedule info

The 2009-10 regular season NBA schedule comes out Tuesday, but it’s already having an impact on a few teams. The AP reports:

The NBA has fined three teams an undisclosed amount for leaking details of their schedules before the league released them. The Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves were penalized, an official with knowledge of the decisions told The Associated Press on Monday.

It would be interesting to find out how the league knew exactly which teams revealed the info. I’ll update this blog entry with more on that if it comes out.

Timberwolves sign Ryan Hollins to offer sheet

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has signed restricted free-agent center Ryan Hollins to an offer sheet. Under the terms of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Dallas Mavericks will have seven days upon receiving the offer sheet to match Minnesota’s offer. Several media outlets report that the deal may be for three years and a total of $7 million.

“We are excited about the opportunity to have Ryan Hollins on our team,” said David Kahn, Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations. “He is a lengthy, athletic center, with a lot of upside, who should complement Al and Kevin really well. We’ve had our eye on him the past several weeks and we are optimistic we can acquire him through this process.”

Hollins, a 7-0 center from UCLA, was originally selected with the 50th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Bobcats. He spent two-plus seasons with Charlotte before being traded to Dallas on Jan. 16, 2009. In 132 career games with the Bobcats and Mavericks, Hollins has averaged 2.7 points and 1.8 rebounds per game while shooting 51.8 percent from the field. He also appeared in nine playoff games for the Mavericks this spring, grabbing 24 total rebounds while shooting 57.1 percent from the field as Dallas advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals.

OKC Thunder sign Kevin Ollie

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed free agent guard Kevin Ollie to a contract, Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not announced. We’ll post contract details later today, here.

“We are excited to welcome Kevin Ollie to Oklahoma City,” Presti said. “He brings experience, leadership and professionalism to our team as we continue to develop our roster on and off the floor.”

Ollie, 36, has appeared in 637 NBA games over 12 seasons, averaging 3.8 points, 2.3 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per contest with Dallas, Orlando, Sacramento, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Chicago, Indiana, Milwaukee, Seattle, Cleveland and Minnesota. Last season, the 6-2 guard, averaged 4.0 points 2.3 assists, 1.5 rebounds and 17.0 minutes in 50 games (21 starts) with the Timberwolves.

InsideHoops.com editor says: Ollie is inexpensive, veteran point guard depth. He can teach Russell Westbrook some tricks of the trade.

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

Milwaukee Bucks sign Hakim Warrick

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed forward Hakim Warrick (pronounced ha-KEEM) to a contract, General Manager John Hammond announced today. Warrick, 27, was the 19th overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft by Memphis and spent all four of his NBA seasons with the Grizzlies.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that the contract was expected to be a one-year deal in the $3 million to $3.5 million range.

Warrick (6-9, 219) owns career averages of 10.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game over 307 NBA contests. He is a career 50 percent shooter from the field while connecting on 72.5 percent from the free throw line.

Last season, Warrick, averaged 11.6 points and 5.0 rebounds in 24.7 minutes per game. He appeared in all 82 games (7 starts) for the second time in his career (2006-07) and recorded career-highs in both steals (48) and blocked shots (39).

Warrick played four seasons at Syracuse University (2001-05), and as a sophomore started in all 35 games for the NCAA Champion Orange. As a senior, he was named First Team All-America by the Associated Press, awarded Big East Conference Player of the Year and named First Team All-Big East after averaging 21.4 points and 8.6 rebounds in 34 games. He finished his degree in three-and-one-half years and left Syracuse ranked second in free throws made (529) and attempted (803), and fourth in scoring (2,073 points) and rebounds (1,025).

Read fan reaction to the news and discuss your opinion in this forum topic.

Los Angeles Clippers waive Mike Taylor

The Los Angeles Clippers today waived guard Mike Taylor.

Taylor played in 51 games for the Clippers last season, making five starts and averaging 5.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 15.1 minutes.

The first-year player was drafted by Portland on June 26, 2008 and then traded to the Clippers in exchange for a 2009 second round draft pick.

Milwaukee Bucks waive Bruce Bowen

The Milwaukee Bucks have requested waivers on guard/forward Bruce Bowen, General Manager John Hammond announced today.

Bowen was acquired from San Antonio on June 23 as part of the three-team trade that also brought the Bucks Kurt Thomas from San Antonio and Amir Johnson from Detroit. Richard Jefferson was sent to San Antonio while Fabricio Oberto went to Detroit to complete the trade.

Bowen, 38, is a 13-year NBA veteran who spent the previous eight seasons with San Antonio.

Read NBA fan reaction and discuss the news yourself in this forum topic.

Milwaukee Bucks waive Salim Stoudamire

The Milwaukee Bucks have requested waivers on guard Salim Stoudamire, General Manager John Hammond announced today.

Stoudamire, 26, was signed as a free agent on April 3, but did not appear in a game with Milwaukee. He appeared in 157 games with Atlanta from 2005-08 with career averages of 8.0 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.0 assist. Stoudamire was selected by the Hawks with the 31st pick in the 2005 NBA Draft.

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Lakers waive Sun Yue

The Los Angeles Lakers have waived guard Sun Yue, it was announced today.

“With the talent level and depth of our roster, the situation simply doesn’t provide an opportunity for Sun Yue to get the chance to play that he deserves,” said General Manager Mitch Kupchak. “We feel it is in Sun’s best interests to be able to go to a team where he can get the minutes to play and showcase his considerable talents. We appreciate Sun’s contributions to last season’s championship team, and wish him the best of luck with the rest of his career.”

“I want to thank Sun Yue for his professionalism and for the contributions he made to our team last season,” said Lakers Head Coach Phil Jackson. “Although Sun did not get an opportunity to play many minutes, he worked hard in practice and was a joy to be around. We also enjoyed the cultural influence he brought to our players, coaches and organization. Sun is a young player who will no doubt continue to improve in the coming years, and I wish him the best of luck.”

Originally selected by the Lakers in the second round (40th overall) of the 2007 NBA Draft, Sun signed with the Lakers the following summer (August 25, 2008) shortly after representing China as a member of the Men’s Olympic Basketball Team in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Making his NBA debut on December 7 versus Milwaukee with four points on 2-of-3 shooting in five minutes, Sun appeared in 10 games with the Lakers last season, totaling six points, two assists, a steal and a blocked shot in 28 minutes.

Sun, who became the 25th NBA player assigned to a D-League affiliate last season, also played 6 games in two stints with the D-Fenders, averaging 9.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.33 blocks in 33.3 minutes.

InsideHoops.com editor says: The Sun Yue era was a dominant one for the Lakers. That it has come to an end is indeed sad, especially for players like Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, who Sun carried on his back. How the Lakers can move on from this difficult time is unknown, but hopefully they can pull together… But seriously folks: The kid is young and will simply have to keep working hard and claw his way onto another team’s bench and prove to the league that he is worth having on a roster. He’s versatile.

Read NBA fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.