NBA News Blog – Page 1522 – NBA Blog

Milwaukee Bucks trade Malik Allen to Denver Nuggets for Walter Sharpe, Sonny Weems and cash

The Milwaukee Bucks have acquired forward Walter Sharpe, guard/forward Sonny Weems and cash considerations from the Denver Nuggets for forward Malik Allen, General Manager John Hammond announced today.

Sharpe (6-9, 245) was originally drafted by Seattle (Oklahoma City Thunder) in the second round of the 2008 NBA Draft (32nd overall) and traded to Detroit along with Trent Plaisted (46th overall) for the draft rights to D.J. White (29th overall). The 23-year-old appeared in eight games for the Pistons last season and averaged 1.0 point in 2.4 minutes per game. He also played in four games for the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants of the D-League and tallied 10.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Sharpe was traded to Denver with Arron Afflalo and cash considerations from Detroit for a future second round draft choice on July 13, 2009.

Weems (6-6, 203) appeared in 12 games for the Nuggets as a rookie and averaged 1.6 points in 4.6 minutes per game. He also saw action in 21 contests for the Colorado 14ers of the D-League where he posted 20.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. Weems was the 39th overall pick by Chicago in the 2008 NBA Draft and traded to Denver for a second round pick in the most recent 2009 Draft.

An eight-year NBA veteran, Allen (6-10, 255) played in 49 games (3 starts) for Milwaukee last season and averaged 3.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. In 409 career NBA games, Allen has averages of 5.4 points and 3.0 rebounds while shooting 44.3 percent from the field and 77.4 percent from the free throw line.

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Tyler Hansbrough out 6-8 weeks

The Indianapolis Star (Jeff Rabjohns) reports: Indiana Pacers first-round draft pick Tyler Hansbrough will be sidelined for 6-8 weeks due to a lingering shin injury from college, team officials said this morning. The 6-9, 250-pound forward won’t miss anything other than offseason conditioning and some individual drills. Training camp isn’t scheduled to start until late September. The Pacers said the shin injury occurred Hansbrough’s senior year at North Carolina when he led the Tar Heels to the NCAA title.

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JR Smith out of jail

The Denver Post (Chris Dempsey) reports: J.R. Smith was released from Monmouth County (N.J.) jail on July 24, six days earlier than expected. According to his original sentence, Smith would have been released from jail either late Thursday night or today. He was incarcerated late June 30 after pleading guilty to reckless driving in connection with a 2007 car crash that killed his best friend, Andre Bell. Smith was originally sentenced to 90 days in jail, but 60 were suspended. He is also required to do 500 hours of community service.

Lynn Greer signs in Turkey

Euroleague.net reports: Fenerbahce Ulker (Turkey) signed guard Lynn Greer, giving the club one of the most lethal and exciting backcourts in Europe. Greer (188, 29) comes from Olympiacos, where he spent the past two seasons. Last year he averaged 12.2 points in 22 Euroleague games, helping the club reach the Euroleague Final Four for the first time in a decade.

Dallas Mavericks sign Drew Gooden

The Dallas Mavericks announced today they have signed forward/center Drew Gooden. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. We’ll post contract details later today.

Gooden (6-10, 230) has seen action in 510 games with 396 starts. He holds career averages of 12.0 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 28.1 minutes per game while shooting .471 from the field and .732 from the foul line. Gooden played the final 19 games of last season with the San Antonio Spurs. He averaged 9.2 points and 4.4 rebounds in just 16.8 minutes per contest.

The seven-year veteran was originally selected in the first round (fourth overall pick) of the 2002 NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies and has seen action with six different teams (Memphis, Orlando, Cleveland, Chicago, Sacramento and San Antonio). Statistically, Gooden saw his best season in 2004-05 when we nearly averaged a double-double for Cleveland generating 14.4 points and 9.2 rebounds while playing in all 82 games (80 starts).

A native of Oakland, Calif., Gooden is a former standout at the University of Kansas where he was named Big 12 Player of the Year and First Team All-America by The Associated Press as a junior. In just three seasons at KU, Gooden was only the second player in school history (Danny Manning) to record 1,500 points, 900 rebounds, 100 blocks and 100 steals.

“We are very pleased to add Drew to our front line for the upcoming season,” President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Donnie Nelson said. “Drew is a veteran player with NBA Finals experience that is entering the prime of his career at 27 years old. He will provide valuable minutes at both the center and power forward positions with his tenacity in the paint, rebounding and ability to knock down shots.”

Chicago Bulls waive Linton Johnson and DeMarcus Nelson

The Chicago Bulls announced today that the team has waived forward Linton Johnson III and guard DeMarcus Nelson.

Johnson (6-8, 205), signed a 10-day contact with Chicago on Mar. 11, 2009 and was re-signed to a second 10-day contract on Mar. 20, 2009. Johnson was then signed for the remainder of the season on Apr. 7, 2009. In his second stint with the Bulls, Johnson appeared in eight games and averaged 1.1 ppg and 1.0 rpg in 5.0 mpg.

Nelson (6-4, 200), was acquired by the Bulls as a free agent on Apr. 4, 2009. As a Bull, Nelson posted one DNP-CD and appeared on the inactive list twice.

Lakers re-sign Lamar Odom

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed free agent forward Lamar Odom to a multi-year contract, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.

Odom, who was acquired by the Lakers on July 14, 2004 as part of a trade with the Miami Heat for Shaquille O’Neal, appeared in 78 regular season games with Los Angeles during the 2008-09 campaign, averaging 11.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.26 blocks in 29.7 minutes.

In the 2008-09 postseason, Odom appeared in 23 games (5 starts), averaging 12.3 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.35 blocks in 32.0 minutes, while posting 14 double-figure scoring games and converting seven double-doubles.

Odom, the fourth overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft, left the University of Rhode Island after a sophomore season in which he was named AP Honorable Mention All-America and Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year. After tallying 30 points and 12 rebounds in his NBA debut, Odom went on to be selected to the 1999-2000 NBA All-Rookie First team. In 2005-06, Odom was the only player in the NBA to average better than 14 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, and in ten NBA seasons, has career averages of 15.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 36.5 minutes in 665 games.

In five seasons with the Lakers, Odom is averaging 14.2 points, 9.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 36.6 minutes.

EARLIER REPORTS FROM PREVIOUS DAY

ESPN (J.A. Adande and Marc Stein) reports: Free agent forward Lamar Odom will return to the Los Angeles Lakers, an NBA source said Thursday. One source with knowledge of the talks told ESPN.com the four-year deal is worth $33 million if the Lakers exercise the final season. One source close to the process said Odom will come away with a guaranteed $27 million from the new contract, matching the original value of the three-year, $27 million deal Lakers owner Jerry Buss pulled off the table earlier this month. It’s believed that the structure of the new deal calls for Odom to earn $25 million over the first three seasons, with the Lakers owing him $2 million in the fourth year if they elect not to pick up their team option.

CBS Sports (Ken Berger) reports: Neither the Lakers nor Odom’s agent, Jeff Schwartz, would comment Thursday on Odom’s decision to spurn a multi-year offer from the Miami Heat and stay with the defending champion Lakers. But a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to CBSSports.com that Odom’s teammates have been informed that the 6-10 forward isn’t going anywhere. Initial reports indicate that it’s a three-year deal with a team option that would push the total value north of $30 million. That’s less than the Lakers originally offered, however — a sign of just how much Odom wanted to stay with the Lakers.

InsideHoops.com editor says: I told you yesterday this would probably happen — though it was educated speculation and there was no actual confirmation of anything. As for Odom sticking with the Lakers, as an independent observer I’m a bit disappointed, because I generally like it when a top team loses a key player and that player goes to a squad that needs him even more, simply for the sake of good competition. Odom would have definitely helped the Heat. Anyway, although the Lakers lost Trevor Ariza, the re-signing of Odom and addition of Ron Artest means they’ll continue on as the league’s best team and are the early off-season InsideHoops.com favorite to repeat and win the 2010 championship. Laker fans should be happy. The opposition, not so much.

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Indiana Pacers sign Solomon Jones

The Indiana Pacers announced Thursday they have signed free agent forward Solomon Jones to a multi-year contract. Per club policy, terms of the contract were not released. We’ll post details about the deal later today.

Jones is a 6-10, 245-pound forward/center who played his first three seasons in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks. Jones was drafted out of South Florida by Atlanta in the second round (33rd pick overall) of the 2006 NBA draft. He averaged 3.0 points and 2.3 rebounds with the Hawks last season in just under 11 minutes a game.

“He’s a young, athletic player who has improved each year he has been in the league,” said Pacers President of Basketball Larry Bird. “He definitely can help hold down our interior defense and we believe he can be part of what we’re trying to do here.”

Cablevision starts corporate spin-off of MSG, Knicks and more

Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC) today announced that its board of directors has authorized the company’s management to move forward with the spin-off of the Madison Square Garden (MSG) business to Cablevision stockholders. The transaction would be structured as a tax-free pro rata spin-off to Cablevision’s existing shareholders and is expected to be completed by year-end 2009, subject to necessary approvals.

Once the spin-off is complete, Cablevision shareholders would own shares in both Cablevision and the new MSG, which would allow shareholders to more clearly evaluate each of the separate company’s assets and future potential. It is anticipated that the spin-off would be in the form of a pro rata distribution to all shareholders of Cablevision, with holders of Class A common stock receiving Class A shares in Madison Square Garden and holders of Class B common stock receiving Class B shares in Madison Square Garden. Both Cablevision and the new MSG would be controlled by the Dolan family through their ownership of Class B shares. Cablevision also reiterated that it is not considering the sale of MSG, any of MSG’s businesses or any other Cablevision business at this time.

The new MSG’s assets will include:

– Media properties, including the MSG, MSG Plus and Fuse networks, as well as MSG Interactive’s collection of online assets

– Sports teams – including the Knicks and Rangers franchises

– A live entertainment portfolio, including the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, featuring the world-famous Radio City Rockettes, as well as concerts, family shows and special events

– Leading venues, highlighted by Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall

Completion of the spin-off is subject to receipt of a favorable ruling from the IRS and the filing and effectiveness of a Form 10 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as well as final approval by Cablevision’s board of directors.

InsideHoops.com editor says: This basically means that Madison Square Garden, the Knicks, Rangers, etc. will become a separate company, which Cablevision owns. Rather than being part of the same company of Cablevision. This doesn’t really affect random people/fans out there. It does make it easier to see which parts of the giant business are performing well and which are not. It also probably makes it easier to sell parts or all of the spun-off company in the future, should that become the game-plan.

Toronto Raptors sign Rasho Nesterovic

The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday they have signed free-agent centre Rasho Nesterovic (for those of you who like to talk, it’s pronounced RAH-show Neh-STARE-oh-vitch). Per team policy, financial details were not disclosed. We’ll post contract info later today.

“Rasho brings us back a great veteran presence who has a familiarity with our coaching staff and several players. His leadership and personality will be great assets for this team,” said Bryan Colangelo, Raptors President and General Manager.

Nesterovic, 7-foot, 255 pounds, rejoins the Raptors following one campaign in Indiana with the Pacers. The 11-year NBA veteran played two seasons with Toronto (2006-08) averaging 6.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 20.9 minutes in 151 games. He appeared in 10 postseason contests with the Raptors averaging 4.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 14.8 minutes. He was originally acquired from San Antonio on June 21, 2006.

Nesterovic was a first-round selection (17th overall) by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1998. He signed with San Antonio as a free agent in the 2003 offseason. He has posted career averages of 7.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and 22.8 minutes in 769 career games, 587 of them as a starter. In 64 postseason contests, he has averaged 4.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 17.2 minutes. He was a member of the Spurs’ 2005 NBA Championship team.

Nesterovic joined the Timberwolves on May 4, 1999 after he had finished his season with Virtus Kinder Bologna of the Italian League. He averaged 13.5 points, shooting .653 from the field, 6.2 rebounds and 1.42 blocks for Kinder Bologna.

InsideHoops.com editor says: He’s big and can bump into people.

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