Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Jazz assign Kosta Koufos to D-League

Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today that the team has assigned rookie center Kosta Koufos to the Utah Flash of the NBA Development League (D-League) and recalled second-year center Kyrylo Fesenko. Guard Morris Almond is also currently on assignment with the Flash. Per league rules, NBA teams are only permitted to have two players on D-League assignment at any given time. Koufos is expected to be in uniform when the Flash host Anaheim on Friday, March 27 at 7 p.m.

In 48 games this season (seven starts) the 7-1, 265 pound Koufos has averages of 4.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.4 assists. Koufos has been inactive 13 times this season and DNP-CD 10 times. Koufos last appeared in a game on February 17 against Memphis, scoring two points and grabbing one rebound in a 117-99 home win. The center notched his career-high when he scored 18 points and 10 rebounds in a 97-88 win over Dallas on December 2 in Salt Lake City.

Selected by the Jazz out of Ohio State in the first round (23rd overall selection) of the 2008 NBA Draft, Koufos averaged 14.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists in his only season with the Buckeyes. The Canton, Ohio native was also named the postseason NIT MVP after leading Ohio State to the 2008 title. Koufos, who holds dual American and Greek citizenship helped lead Greece to a silver medal in the 2007 UMCOR U18 European Championships after averaging 26.5 points, 13 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots.

In 18 games with the Jazz this season (one start) the 7-1, 278 pound Fesenko has averages of 2.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.2 assists. Fesenko has been inactive 30 times and DNP-CD 14 games. In 14 games with the Flash, Fesenko has averages of 12.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 25.6 minutes per contest.

Originally selected by Philadelphia in the second round (38th overall selection) of the 2007 NBA Draft, the Jazz acquired Fesenko’s rights in a draft night deal that sent the draft rights to Herbert Hill (55th overall pick) and trade considerations to the 76ers.

Gilbert Arenas retires from blogging

Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas is great at scoring, getting injured and blogging. And he’s just announced that the last item on that list is off his agenda. The Washington Times (Mike Jones) reports:

Gilbert Arenas has officially retired from blogging. The Wizards guard and the original NBA player-blogger said in the locker room just a bit ago “I’m retired from that. At first it was fun, but then it seemed like it was turning into a double-edged sword. Your words can work against you.”

I used to skim-read some of his blog entries, but as great as they were, I rarely made it through the whole thing. That’s on me, though. These days I check so much content I rarely make it through anything. Anyway, Arenas should definitely become a broadcaster of some kind when his playing days are over, though, because the man has lots of funny, insightful thoughts to share on just about everything.

Wizards win first Southeast game of season

The Washington Times (Mike Jones) reports: The Washington Wizards avoided making history Wednesday. The bad kind. With only a couple of opportunities left to avert becoming the first NBA team to go winless in its division, the Wizards overcame a shallow bench to pull off a 95-93 victory over the visiting Charlotte Bobcats. The victory was the first for the Wizards (17-56) in 15 games against Southeast Division opponents this season.

Court fines Allen Iverson 260k

The AP reports: Pistons guard Allen Iverson must pay $260,000 for standing idly by and watching his bodyguard beat up another man in a 2005 bar fight, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected Iverson’s attempt to throw out the verdict decided by a jury in 2007. Bar patron Marlin Godfrey accused Iverson’s bodyguard, Jason Kane, of punching, kicking and hitting him with a bottle because he refused to vacate the VIP section at Washington club Eyebar to make way for the basketball star and his entourage.

Pacers move TJ Ford to bench

The Indianapolis Star (Mike Wells) reports: T.J. Ford has been in this position before. He knows from his experience with the Toronto Raptors that complaining won’t get him far. That’s why the Indiana Pacers point guard is taking the high road after his recent demotion. Pacers coach Jim O’Brien replaced Ford with Jarrett Jack at point guard against Charlotte on Saturday. Ford is taking it in stride, and handling the situation with professionalism. “I know how to handle this situation better than I did in the past,” said Ford, who was involved in a point guard controversy with the Raptors last season. “It’s not a big issue to me. Just do what you’re supposed to do, whether they put you in the game or not. It’s your job to be ready and be prepared for whatever happens. “I’m not a person that asks questions or reasons why certain things happen. He’s the coach and he has the right to make whatever adjustments he wants.”

Luol Deng slow to heal

The Chicago Sun-Times reports: Following two weeks of rest and low-impact workouts, Luol Deng’s lower right leg is still bothering him and the forward doesn’t appear any closer to returning than two weeks ago when the rest was prescribed. “It’s a stress fracture,” Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. “Until that heals – it takes time – we’ll try to be smart about it.

Raptors recall Nathan Jawai from D-League

The Toronto Raptors announced Monday they have recalled rookie forward-centre Nathan Jawai from the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League. Jawai was assigned to the Raptors’ affiliate in the D-League on February 26.

Jawai appeared in 10 games with the Stampede, starting nine. He averaged 12.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 25.0 minutes. He posted two double-doubles, with personal bests of 21 points at Utah on March 16 and 10 rebounds on two occasions (versus Reno on March 21 and March 16 versus Rio Grande Valley).

Per NBA guidelines, Jawai remained on Toronto’s roster while in the NBDL and was put on the inactive list. At the current time, his status with the Raptors is unchanged.

Jawai, 22, has appeared in five games totaling two points and two rebounds in 18 minutes before his assignment to Idaho. He was cleared December 17 to begin physical activity after being sidelined since training camp for precautionary reasons as a result of an abnormality detected during normal procedural pre-season cardiac screening.

The club acquired the draft rights to Jawai from the Indiana Pacers on July 9. He was the 41st overall selection in the 2008 NBA Draft. He is the first indigenous player from Australia to be drafted by an NBA team.

The Raptors play host to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday at Air Canada Centre. Tip-off is 7 p.m. (The Score/FAN 590).

Rockets sign James White to multi-year deal

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed guard/forward James White to a multi-year deal. He was signed to an original 10-day contract by the Rockets on Mar. 3 and inked a second 10-day contract on Mar. 13. White joined Houston from the Anaheim Arsenal of the NBA D-League, becoming the 12th Call-Up of the season.

White (6-7, 200, Cincinnati) has appeared in one game with the Rockets since his Call-Up, notching five points (2-2 FG, 1-1 3FG), one assist, one steal and one blocked shot in 3:42 of action vs. Minnesota (3/20/09). He averaged 25.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.18 steals in 34 games (33 starts) for the Arsenal this season. At the time of his Call-Up, White was tied for first in the D-League in points per game and was ranked tied for 12th in the league in field goal percentage. White posted 30 or more points in 12 contests with the Arsenal in 2008-09, including a season-high 47-point performance against Houston’s D-League affiliate Rio Grande Valley Vipers (1/20/09).

Thunder recall D.J. White from D-League

Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has recalled forward D.J. White from the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League.

White was originally assigned to Tulsa on March 18.  He appeared in three games for the 66ers averaging 17.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.0 assist in 37.7 minutes.