Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Thunder exercise two options

Oklahoma City has exercised the third-year team options on both guard/forward Kevin Durant and forward Jeff Green for the 2009-10 season it was announced today by General Manager Sam Presti.

Durant and Green were both members of the 2007-08 T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie First Team and participated in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge at the NBA’s All-Star Weekend.

Durant, 20, was named the 2007-08 NBA Rookie of the Year after averaging 20.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists in 80 games.  The Washington D.C. native was named NBA Rookie of the Month five times and became just the third teenager to average 20 or more points per game.

Green, 22, concluded his rookie campaign with averages of 10.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists in 80 games.  The Georgetown product averaged 10.5 points per game, fourth among all rookies last season.

Kings exercise option on Spencer Hawes

The Sacramento Kings today picked up the option on forward Spencer Hawes for the 2009-10 campaign, it was announced by Kings’ President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie.

Hawes, currently in his second NBA season, was selected by Sacramento in the first round (10th overall) of the 2007 NBA Draft as an undergraduate out of Washington. He averaged 4.7 points (.459 FGs, .190 3FGs, .655 FTs) and 3.2 rebounds as a rookie last season.

Getting to Nets games from NYC now harder

InsideHoops.com editor here, typing on my pocket pc phone. I was on my way to the Celtics at Nets preseason game and discovered that there is no longer a bus to the Meadowlands from the Port Authority.

It is now even harder to get to Nets games from Manhattan.

Now you must go to Penn Station and take the NJ transit train to Sekaukus. (I still don’t know how to spell it.) It is the first stop on the train. The good news is, the train leaves constantly, at least during rush hour.

Once you get to Sekaukus you go outside to the bus stop area where an unlabelled bus was waiting to take people to the Meadowlands. A group of fans were waiting and had no idea the bus 50 feet away was the Nets bus. I went over, asked, then yelled over to everyone.

On the bus now. Should be at the game soon.

Also, in the port authority I met two fans from Spain (a guy and his girl) who were trying to get to the game. So I brought them with me to make sure they got to the game. They are from Madrid and have now tod me six times that they’d have gotten lost without the help. Yay me.

And then, getting off the bus I asked the driver what the gate is, to know where to exit after the game. She had no idea, and seemed confused by my even asking the question. Obviously after walking for a minute I saw for myself what the gate area was but I bet most fans who came from NYC, a huge number of which are tourists who speak very limited English, may have to wander a while after the game.

Anyway, forward this blog entry to any NYC Nets fans you know.

–Jeff

James Jones to miss 3 months

The Miami HEAT announced today that forward James Jones will undergo surgery on Saturday, Oct. 18 to repair a ruptured extensor tendon in his right wrist. The rupture occurred during practice on Oct. 15. After consulting with HEAT team physician Dr. Harlan Selesnick, the surgery will be performed by Dr. Ann Ouellette. Following surgery, Jones will have his wrist placed in a cast and he is expected to be out for three months.

Jones was signed by the HEAT as a free agent on July 9.

Eddie Jones and Pacers agree to part ways

Eddie Jones will not join the Pacers but the franchise will recoup the ability to sign another player as a result of an agreement reached today.

Jones was acquired by the Pacers from Dallas, along with two second-round picks and cash, in exchange for Shawne Williams on Oct. 10.

The 36-year-old veteran guard made it clear he preferred not to play this season.

The Pacers worked with agent Leon Rose and reached an agreement that lowers the salary-cap figure for the one season remaining on Jones’ contract, thus clearing enough room for the team to sign another player to a veteran minimum contract without exceeding the NBA Luxury Tax threshold.

Bobcats exercise two player options

Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rod Higgins today announced that the team has exercised its options on Adam Morrison and Jared Dudley for the 2009-10 season.

Morrison, the third overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, played in 78 games for the Bobcats as a rookie in 2006-07, averaging 11.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists.  He was named to the All-Rookie Second Team after ranking second among all NBA rookies in scoring and minutes played, while also ranking sixth in assists.  Morrison missed the entire 2007-08 season after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee during the preseason.

Dudley, the 22nd overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, played in 73 games for the Bobcats last season, with averages of 5.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists.  He ranked among the league’s top 20 rookies in field goal percentage (seventh), steals (eighth), rebounding (12th), assists (T-14th) and scoring (T-17th).

The Charlotte Bobcats will host their annual Cool School preseason game presented by Harris Teeter for middle school students at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 16, against the Orlando Magic. Approximately 16,000 students and teachers representing 31 regional cities and 14 counties will take part in this educationally geared event.

DJ White out 4-6 months after surgery

On Monday, October 13th physicians successfully removed the benign growth from D.J. White’s jaw, the Oklahoma City Thunder announced today.

Team physicians will perform the second phase of the surgery, where they will mend the jaw with a bone graft taken from White’s hip, in approximately six weeks.

White’s expected recovery time remains 4-6 months.

Grizzlies make training staff promotions

Current Memphis Grizzlies Assistant Athletic Trainer Jason Biles was promoted to strength and conditioning coach, General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.  In a related move, former University of North Florida Head Athletic Trainer Jim Scholler was named the club’s new assistant athletic trainer.

Biles enters his second season with the Grizzlies after he was appointed the team’s assistant athletic trainer in August 2007. In his new role, Biles will oversee the off-court conditioning of the Grizzlies, enhancing their performance through exercises in flexibility, strength, speed and power, while assisting Grizzlies Head Athletic Trainer Drew Graham with rehabilitation of injuries.

Prior to joining the Grizzlies, Biles worked at Athletes Performance in Las Vegas, where he served as the performance physical therapy manager and developed and implemented performance training programs for professional athletes in the NBA, NFL, MLB, PGA and ATP. He was also the lead physical therapist at the Bollettieri Sports Medicine Center at the IMG Academies in Bradenton, Fla., where he traveled with professional tennis players and provided rehabilitation for athletes training for the NFL combines and NBA offseason training programs.

Scholler spent nine of the last 10 years as an athletic trainer for the Ospreys, including the last four as the head athletic trainer, where he oversaw administration and supervision of all athletic training services provided to UNF student-athletes.

He served as UNF’s graduate assistant athletic trainer from 1998-2001, covering baseball and men’s soccer and as the Ospreys assistant athletic trainer from 2001-03, providing care to the men’s basketball, volleyball, men’s and women’s tennis, cheerleading and dance teams.

Scholler, who also served as the athletic trainer for the Greek National Baseball team  in 2003 and 2005 that competed in the European Baseball Championships, spent one season as the assistant athletic trainer at Notre Dame in 2003-04, where he oversaw the health care of the men’s and women’s cross country and men’s lacrosse teams.

The Grand Haven, Mich. native earned his bachelor’s degree in movement science from the University of Michigan in 1998 and his master’s degree in healthcare administration from UNF in 2001.

Heat waive Basden and Barlett

The Miami HEAT announced tonight that they have requested waivers on forward Omar Barlett and guard Eddie Basden. Both were initially signed as free agents by the HEAT on Sept. 26, 2008.

Barlett appeared in one game in the preseason and totaled four points and two rebounds in 9:22 minutes against Detroit on Oct. 5.

Basden also appeared in one game and was scoreless with one assist and one steal in 9:08 minutes against the Pistons on Oct. 5.