NBA News Blog – Page 1533 – NBA Blog

Detroit Pistons hire John Kuester as head coach

Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today that the team has named John Kuester as head coach, signing him to a multi-year contract. Per club policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“We are pleased to name John Kuester as the head coach of the Detroit Pistons,” said Dumars. “John brings a wealth of NBA knowledge as a long-time assistant coach, including championship experience as an assistant coach with our club in 2004. He is a coach that our veteran players know well, and I feel he has the teaching ability to allow our younger players to grow and develop.”

Kuester, 54, has spent over 13 years in the NBA as an assistant coach with six different franchises (Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit, New Jersey, Orlando and Cleveland). During his tenure as an assistant coach, Kuester has helped guide two teams to the NBA Finals [Philadelphia (2001); Detroit (2004)] and played a major role in helping Cleveland reach the Eastern Conference Finals this past season.

For seven seasons (1990-1997), the Richmond, Virginia native was a member of the Boston Celtics organization, serving as assistant coach his final two years. He joined Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown in 1997 and helped guide the Philadelphia 76ers to the playoffs in five of his six seasons with the club, including an NBA Finals appearance in 2001. The North Carolina graduate followed Brown to Detroit where the organization won its third NBA Championship, and then joined the New Jersey Nets staff in 2004-05. Kuester returned to Philadelphia for the 2005-06 season, landed in Orlando in 2006-07 and has helped mold the offensive philosophies for the Cleveland Cavaliers since August of 2007.

Prior to joining the NBA ranks, Kuester served five seasons as head coach at George Washington University from 1985-1990. He became the youngest head coach in NCAA Division I college basketball in 1983 when he succeeded Rick Pitino at Boston University. He was an assistant coach for the Terriers for two seasons prior to his head coaching appointment.

As a collegiate player for four seasons at North Carolina (1973-77) under legendary coach Dean Smith, he helped the Tar Hells win two ACC Championships, make three NCAA Tournament berths and one NIT berth. As a senior, he was voted as the team’s best defensive player for the second straight season and was named Most Valuable Player of the ACC Tournament and NCAA East Regionals. That 1977 squad went on to the NCAA Final Four and an appearance in the championship game.

Kuester was selected in the third round (53rd overall) of the 1977 NBA Draft by the Kansas City Kings. He played three seasons in the NBA, one each with Kansas City, Denver and Indiana.

Indiana Pacers to sign Dahntay Jones

The Indianapolis Star (Mike Wells) reports: The Indiana Pacers have landed their first free agent acquisition of the offseason. The Pacers agreed to a four-year, $11 million deal with Denver Nuggets free agent guard Dahntay Jones late Wednesday night. The fourth year is a player option. “(Pacers president) Larry Bird and (general manager) David Morway contacted me the first night of free agency and expressed a lot of interest in Dahntay,” Jones’ agent, Mark Bartelstein, said. “The Pacers are getting somebody that competes with an edge and is a lockdown defender. He’s going to bring a defensive mind-set to the team.”

InsideHoops.com editor says: Jones could do very well on the Pacers, especially as the starting lineup is thinned by Mike Dunleavy’s continued injury woes.

Atlanta Hawks to re-sign Zaza Pachulia

The AP (Charles Odum) reports: The Atlanta Hawks are making moves to keep together a roster that has made two straight playoff appearances. The Hawks have reached an agreement to re-sign center Zaza Pachulia to a four-year contract, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The person requested anonymity because the deal has not been announced. The agreement with Pachulia, who has been a starter or top backup for four seasons with the Hawks, comes one day after the team agreed to a three-year deal to re-sign starting point guard Mike Bibby.

UPDATE: The Hawks re-signed Mike Bibby and Pachulia.

Cleveland Cavaliers to sign Anthony Parker

The Cleveland Cavaliers, a legitimate contender to represent the Eastern conference in the 2009-10 NBA Finals, will soon add a crafty, veteran shooting guard.

According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Brian Windhorst), the Cavs have come to an agreement with guard Anthony Parker will likely sign a contract in the coming days.

The 6-6, 215-pound free agent played for the Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic years ago, then enjoyed a healthy career overseas before returning to the NBA and playing the last three seasons as a member of the Toronto Raptors.

In 2008-09, Parker averaged 10.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 33 minutes per game. He’s an excellent three-point shooter and a smart player who makes teammates better. He turned 34 in June and should have a few more productive seasons.

UPDATE: The Cavs signed Parker.

Golden State Warriors sign first round draft pick Stephen Curry

The Golden State Warriors have signed Stephen Curry, whom the club selected with the seventh overall selection in last month’s NBA Draft, to a contract, the team announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not released.

Curry, 21, was an early entry candidate for the 2009 NBA Draft after playing three seasons at Davidson. As a junior last season, he was a consensus All-America selection after leading the nation in scoring with 28.6 points per game to go along with 4.4 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.53 steals in 34 games. Curry appeared in 104 collegiate games during his career, averaging 25.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.13 steals, while shooting 46.7% (871-1866 FG) from the field, 41.2% (414-1004 3FG) from long range and 87.6% (479-547 FT) from the free throw line.

A 6-3 guard, Curry will begin his professional career this week as a member of the Warriors’ summer league squad at the 2009 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

Charlotte Bobcats sign first round pick Gerald Henderson

Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rod Higgins announced today that the team has signed first-round draft pick Gerald Henderson. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

This is standard, as all first round picks are guaranteed to receive a contract should they decide to actually play in the NBA.

The 12th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, Henderson earned First Team All-ACC, Wooden Award All-America and Third Team AP All-America honors last season as a junior at Duke. The 6-4 guard led the team in scoring (16.5 ppg), while ranking second in rebounding (4.9 rpg), assists (2.5 apg) and field goal percentage (.450). He scored in double figures 31 times in 37 games played, including a career-high 35 points on 11-15 shooting from the field and 12-14 from the free-throw line on Feb. 22 against Wake Forest.

“I’m excited to get my NBA career underway,” said Henderson, who will participate in the 2009 NBA Summer League with the Minnesota Timberwolves entry. “It’s always been a dream of mine to play in the NBA and I’m looking forward to getting started.”

In 103 career games at Duke, Henderson averaged 12.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists. Despite playing just three seasons, Henderson ranks 20th in school history with 69 blocks and 39th all-time with 1,262 points.

San Antonio Spurs to sign Antonio McDyess

It’s been rumored that the San Antonio Spurs were the favorites to land veteran power forward Antonio McDyess, and that’s exactly what’s going to happen.

Wednesday evening, Adrian Wojnarowski (Yahoo) reported that the 34-year-old McDyess will join the Spurs, possibly signing a three-year deal for $15 million.

The Spurs are adding some nice pieces this summer. They already gained a terrific starting small forward in Richard Jefferson. The center spot is still weak, but McDyess handle that position for stretches.

Houston Rockets receive disabled player exception for Yao Ming

The Houston Rockets just received a bit of a boost from the NBA in regard to probably not having Yao Ming available this season. The AP reports: The Rockets applied for a disabled player exception from the NBA a few weeks ago, betting that their All-Star center will miss next season with a hairline fracture in his left foot. The NBA agreed that Yao’s return is unlikely, freeing up about $5.7 million that the Rockets used to sign free agent Trevor Ariza from the Lakers.

InsideHoops.com editor says: I am just speculating, but this probably means that the Rockets likely know for sure that Yao Ming will miss the season and have not yet chosen to announce it to the world. But they must have shown some pretty conclusive evidence to the NBA in order to land the exception a full 3.5 months before the regular season would start. Unfortunately, we must now assume that Yao Ming may not be on an NBA court for at least a year. Maybe the injury is so bad that rumors of his career being threatened are true. Hopefully not.

Houston Rockets sign Trevor Ariza

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed free agent guard/forward Trevor Ariza to a multi-year contract. Per team policy, financial terms were not released.

“Trevor is a young, athletic wing player who will thrive in Rick Adelman’s system,” said Morey. “Each year in the league Trevor has improved. What he has accomplished at a young age is already impressive and we expect his improvement to continue.”

Ariza (6-8, 210, UCLA) holds career averages of 6.9 points (.470, 808-1718 FG), 3.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.14 steals in 311 games (52 starts) with the New York Knicks, Orlando Magic and L.A. Lakers. In 2008-09, Ariza emerged as a key contributor for the Lakers during the team’s title run. He appeared in a career-high 82 games (20 starts), averaging 8.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.67 steals in 24.4 minutes per game. Ariza scored in double figures 39 times, including a career-high 26 points (9-13 FG) vs. Dallas (3/15/09). The five-year NBA veteran also made his presence felt on the defensive side of the ball by ranking ninth in the NBA in steals per game. Overall last season, Ariza led the Lakers in steals 30 times and in blocks on seven occasions. He set his career high with five steals vs. Utah (1/2/09) and matched that total vs. Phoenix (2/26/09). Ariza added to his game in 2008-09 by becoming a perimeter threat for the Lakers, making a career-high 61 3-pointers (.319, 61-191 3FG). He also registered a double-double with 11 points and a season-high 11 rebounds vs. Sacramento (11/23/08). Ariza started all 23 postseason games for the Lakers during the 2009 NBA Playoffs, averaging 11.3 points (.497, 92-185 FG), 4.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.57 steals. He also led the Lakers with 40 3-point field goals made (.476, 40-84 3FG) and ranked among the league postseason leaders in steals per game (13th overall).

Selected by New York in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2004 NBA Draft, Ariza at the time became the youngest player to ever wear a Knicks uniform (19 years, 4 months and 4 days) during his rookie season of 2004-05. He was traded by New York along with Anfernee Hardaway to Orlando in exchange for Steve Francis on Feb. 22, 2006. After re-signing as a free agent with the Magic on July 27, 2006, Ariza went on to average 8.9 points (.539, 200-371 FG), 4.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 57 games (seven starts) with Orlando in 2006-07. He was acquired by the Lakers from the Magic in exchange for Brian Cook and Maurice Evans on Nov. 20, 2007.

Ariza, who declared for the NBA Draft following his freshman campaign, played in 25 games (23 starts) at UCLA. He averaged 11.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and a team-high 1.7 steals in 31.6 minutes per game in 2003-04.

Sacamento Kings sign first round pick Tyreke Evans

The Sacramento Kings today signed rookie guard Tyreke Evans to a contract, it was announced by Kings’ President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie. Terms of the contract were not disclosed. Evans was Sacramento’s first round selection (4th overall) of the 2009 NBA Draft out of the University of Memphis as an undergraduate.

InsideHoops.com editor says: Evans should be good. He’s a combo guard, but probably better as a scoring guard than at the point. But with shooting guard Kevin Martin leading the way offensively for the Kings, Evans will likely be used at PG.