Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Boozer out 4+ weeks

Utah Jazz forward Carlos Boozer underwent a successful arthroscopic procedure on his left knee performed by Dr. Richard Ferkel in Los Angeles on Friday.  All loose pieces of cartilage in the knee area were removed and microfracturing will not be required. Everything else in the knee joint was found to be fine.  Boozer will now undergo a four-week rehabilitation program, after which his return to activity will be re-evaluated.

“I had a successful surgery and the loose bodies that were floating around and causing my pain were removed,” said Boozer following the procedure.  “My knee is now on its way to recovering and getting completely healthy so that I can return to help my team.”

Grizzlies sign Darius Miles to 10-day contract

The Memphis Grizzlies have re-signed forward Darius Miles to a 10-day contract, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.  Miles, who was waived by the Grizzlies on Jan. 7, cleared waivers and subsequently became an unrestricted free agent.

In two games with Memphis, Miles collected two rebounds and two blocked shots in a total of nine minutes of action.  The 6-9, 235-pound forward also served a 10-game league suspension, which concluded following the Jan. 2 game vs. San Antonio.

“Darius did everything asked of him in his initial stint with the Grizzlies and was well received by his teammates,” Wallace said. “In the last Minnesota game (Jan. 6), his length, experience, rebounding, shot blocking and defense on one of the elite post scorers in the league, Al Jefferson, were all impressive.  Our young team is short on frontcourt players and can use a veteran with his attributes.”

Miles was signed by the Grizzlies as a free agent on Dec. 13 after missing all of the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons following microfracture surgery on his right knee.  The 27-year-old signed a free-agent contract with the Boston Celtics on Aug. 22, 2008 and appeared in six preseason games, averaging 1.8 points and 1.3 rebounds in 10.4 minutes before his release on Oct. 20.

The third overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft became the first player in league history drafted straight out of high school (East St. Louis High School) to earn All-Rookie honors when he posted 9.4 points and 1.54 blocks for the Los Angeles Clippers in 2000-01.

The Bellville, Ill. native holds career averages of 10.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.15 blocks in 27.6 minutes in 414 career games (190 starts) with Memphis, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Portland Trail Blazers.

Memphis will return to action next to face LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. CST at the FedExForum  The Grizzlies’ current roster stands at 14 players.

Kings assign Donte Greene to D-League

The Sacramento Kings have assigned Donte Greene to the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Development League, Kings’ President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie announced tonight.

Greene, a 6-10, 226-pound forward, who currently is in his rookie season with Sacramento, is averaging 4.5 points (.388 FGs, .316 3FGs, .842 FTs) and 1.8 rebounds per game through 24 contests, of which he has started four.

Drafted by Memphis as an undergraduate out of Syracuse in the first-round (28th overall) of the 2008 NBA Draft, Greene was traded to Houston before being acquired by the Kings via trade along with guard Bobby Jackson, a 2009 first-round draft selection and cash considerations in exchange for forward Ron Artest, rookie guard Sean Singletary and rookie forward Patrick Ewing, Jr.

Latest All-Star votes

The NBA All-Star game voting is ongoing, and today the latest results were revealed.

This is the last update until the voting ends and the final results are released.

Here are the current starters if the voting ended today:

East: D.Wade, A.Iverson, L.James, K.Garnett, D.Howard
West: K.Bryant, T.McGrady, C.Anthony, T.Duncan, Yao Ming

Click the link above to see the exact voting totals and complete info.

Clippers sign Fred Jones to 10-day contract

The Los Angeles Clippers today signed free agent guard Fred Jones to a 10-day contract.

A six-year NBA veteran, Jones averaged 6.6 points, 1.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 19.6 minutes in five games with the Clippers this season after originally signing as a free agent on December 28th.  Jones was waived by Los Angeles on January 5th.

Jones played 70 games with the Knicks last season, averaging 7.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 25.1 minutes. The Clippers are the fifth NBA team for Jones, who has appeared in 378 total games and is averaging 7.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in his NBA career.

A star at the University of Oregon, Jones helped lead the Ducks to the Elite Eight of the 2002 NCAA Tournament and was drafted by the Indiana Pacers with the 14th selection of the 2002 NBA Draft. Jones played four seasons with Indiana, winning the 2004 NBA Slam Dunk Contest as a Pacer before signing with the Raptors prior to the 2006-07 season.

Jones joined Portland midway through the 2006-07 season in a trade, teaming up with current Clipper Zach Randolph and then going to New York along with Randolph in a five-player deal on June 28, 2007.  Jones is expected to be in uniform tonight when the Clippers face the Spurs in San Antonio.

Nuggets trade Chucky Atkins to Thunder for Johan Petro

Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has acquired guard Chucky Atkins, a 2009 first round draft pick and cash considerations from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for center Johan Petro and the Thunder’s 2009 second round draft pick.

“We are excited to add Chucky to our team,” said Presti. “He brings a wealth of experience and a great work ethic to our program. We feel that he is someone who can bring an additional level of veteran leadership to the Thunder.”

Atkins (5-11/160), a nine-year NBA veteran, has played in 637 NBA games with seven teams averaging 10.4 points, 3.6 assists and 1.8 rebounds per contest. He has appeared in 14 games for the Denver Nuggets this season averaging 1.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in 8.2 minutes per game.

The Orlando, Florida native went undrafted in the 1996 NBA draft despite averaging 14.6 points, 4.7 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game in four seasons at the University of South Florida. Atkins spent one season with the La Crosse Bobcats of the Continental Basketball Association and two seasons with Cibona Zagreb of the Croatian Basketball League before entering the NBA

Atkins, who appeared in all 82 games for the Orlando Magic as an NBA rookie during the 1999-2000 season, averaged 9.5 points and 3.7 assists on his way to being named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. He had his best statistical year in 2004-05 as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers when he averaged 13.6 points, 4.4 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 35 minutes per contest.

Petro, 7-0, 247, has averaged 4.6 ppg and 4.3 rpg in 15.5 mpg in 22 contests (12 starts) with Oklahoma City this season.

A native of Paris, France, Petro was the 25th overall selection in the 2005 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics and has posted career averages of 5.7 ppg and 4.5 rpg in 243 games over his three-plus seasons with the Oklahoma City franchise.

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

Clippers waive Hassan Adams

The Los Angeles Clippers today waived guard/forward Hassan Adams it was announced by Clippers General Manager and Head Coach Mike Dunleavy.

The Clippers acquired Adams Jan. 7 in a trade from the Toronto Raptors along with cash considerations in exchange for a future conditional second round draft pick.

Adams has appeared in 12 games with the Raptors this season, averaging 0.9 points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.1 assists in 4.3 minutes per game.

Grizzlies waive Shaun Livingston

The Memphis Grizzlies have waived guard Shaun Livingston, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.

The 6-7, 185-pound guard was acquired today with cash considerations from the Miami Heat in exchange for a 2012 conditional second round draft pick.  Livingston averaged 2.3 points and 1.0 assists in 10.3 minutes in four games with Miami.  He signed with the Heat as a free agent on Oct. 3, 2008.

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

–InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner

Heat trade Shaun Livingston to Grizzlies

The Miami Heat announced today that they have traded guard Shaun Livingston and cash considerations to the Memphis Grizzles for a 2012 conditional second round draft pick.

UPDATE: Mere minutes after making this trade, the Grizzlies waived Livingston.

In four games this season, Livingston averaged 2.3 points and 1.0 assists in 10.3 minutes. The 6’7” guard signed with the HEAT as a free agent on October 3, 2008. He was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers with the fourth overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft.

Over the last few days there were several local Miami reports suggesting the team was set to waive/release Livingston, rather than trade him.

With Mike Conley, Kyle Lowry and oversized point guard Marko Jaric the Grizzlies are overloaded at the position. It’ll be interesting to see how long the team holds on to Livingston. So far he’s been unable to show full recovery from injury.

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

–InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner