Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Cavs release Michael Dickerson

The Cleveland Cavaliers have granted a release to guard Michael Dickerson. Dickerson was excused from camp on October 1st in order to attend to a personal matter and has not been able to return. He was unable to pursue his return to the NBA at this time, while addressing the personal matter, but expects to still pursue a return to the league in the future.

InsideHoops.com editor says: That was quite a comeback.

Cavs release Lance Allred

The Cavaliers released center Lance Allred Wednesday. Allred joined the Cavaliers with a 10-day contract on March 13th of 2008 and then signed another 10-day contract on March 25th. He was signed for the remainder of the season on April 4th and opened camp with the Cavaliers for the 2008-09 season on September 30th. Allred played in the Cavaliers game last night at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland vs. the Toronto Raptors and saw 4:10 of action with one rebound and one blocked shot.

Hanno Mottola of Finland retires

Fiba.com reports: Finland coach Henrik Dettmann has heaped praise on Hanno Möttölä following the big man’s decision to retire as a basketball player at the age of 32. Möttölä made the surprise announcement after helping the Finns preserve their EuroBasket Division A status with a fourth-place finish in Group A in this summer’s qualifying campaign for next year’s Final Round in Poland… Möttölä was the first-ever Finn to reach the NBA and he was also the first from his country in the Euroleague, not to mention the first Finland player to compete in that competition’s Final Four.

Ricky Rubio has right wrist surgery

Fiba.com reports: Spain’s DKV Joventut star Ricky Rubio will miss the first several games of his team’s Euroleague and ACB campaigns after having surgery on his right wrist. The point guard got hurt during the gold medal game at the Olympics on August 24 when the United States beat Spain and he suffered a recurrence of the injury in the pre-season.

InsideHoops.com editor says: Rubio is expected to be one of the top picks in whatever NBA draft he declares eligibility in. He’ll quite possibly go first overall, but he’s not an absolute lock to do that.

Mike Dunleavy now Clippers GM

The Los Angeles Clippers today announced that Head Coach Mike Dunleavy will assume the additional role of General Manager, replacing Vice President of Basketball Operations, Elgin Baylor.

In a related move, the team’s current Director of Player Personnel, Neil Olshey, will be elevated to the post of Assistant General Manager.

“We greatly appreciate Elgin’s efforts during his time with the Clippers, and we wish him the very best,” said Clippers’ Owner and Chairman of the Board Donald T. Sterling.

Referring to Dunleavy and Olshey respectively, Clippers President Andy Roeser said, “In Mike and Neil, we’re fortunate to already have talented people in place to make this transition a seamless one. Going forward, we have high expectations for our team. From a basketball standpoint, these are the people we’re counting on to make those expectations a reality.”

Dunleavy welcomed the opportunity, saying, “I really appreciate the trust that the organization has placed in me. We’re ready and excited to move forward, and we think we’ll have a team which can be dynamic and exciting, certainly one with enough talent to be a force in the Western Conference.”

Baylor, an 11-time NBA All Star, joined the Clippers in 1986 as Vice President of Basketball Operations after a stellar 14-year playing career with the Los Angeles Lakers and a brief coaching stint with the New Orleans Jazz. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1976, chosen as one of the NBA’s “50 Greatest Players of All Time” during the league’s 50th Anniversary celebration in 1997, and was named the 2005-06 NBA Executive of the Year.

Dunleavy, entering his sixth year as Clippers’ Head Coach, has manned dual roles before: he was Vice President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach of the Milwaukee Bucks from 1992-93 through 1995-96.

Olshey, originally hired as Clippers’ Director of Player Development prior to the 2003-04 season, became an assistant coach on Dunleavy’s staff in 2004-05. He has been the team’s Director of Player Personnel for the past three seasons.

Sixers waive three players

Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced today that the team has waived Andre Emmett, Maureece Rice and Cory Underwood. The roster now stands at 16 players heading into the preseason opener on Wednesday, Oct. 8 against the Boston Celtics at the Mullins Center on the campus of the University of Massachusetts.

Emmett (6-4, 216) was originally selected with the 35th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft by Seattle. He appeared in eight games for the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2004-05 season. Last season, Emmett averaged a league-high 23.9 points per game for Belgacom Liege Basket of the Belgian League. He played four seasons for Texas Tech, and finished career as the Red Raiders all-time leader in scoring with 2,256 points.

Rice (6-1, 224) is best known for his career at Strawberry Mansion High School, during which he tallied 2,681 points, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain’s Philadelphia school record of 2,206 points. Rice went on to attend The George Washington University, where he was named Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year as a sophomore and A-10 All-Conference Third Team as a junior. He was not selected in the NBA Draft this past June.

Underwood (6-10, 240) played for the Albuquerque Thunderbirds of the NBA Development League last season. Since finishing his career at Southern University of New Orleans in 2003, he has also played in the ABA (American Basketball Association), the USBL (United States Basketball League), WBA (World Basketball Association), CBA (Continental Basketball Association) as well as leagues in both Brazil and Poland.

Pistons PF starter is Amir Johnson

The Detroit News (Chris McCosky) reports: Calling him a “welcome addition,” coach Michael Curry made official Saturday what he’s long been hinting at — Amir Johnson, as of now, is the Pistons’ starting power forward. “Amir does things without having to have the ball,” Curry said. “He’s able to pick up baskets through his activity, by running the floor and playing off the other four guys. He does all the intangible things, and through that he’s able to create offensive opportunities for himself.” How long Johnson holds onto the spot is completely up to him.

Heat waive Matt Walsh

The Miami HEAT announced today that they have requested waivers on Matt Walsh.

The 6’6”, 205-pound forward, was signed by the HEAT as a free agent on September 26, 2008. Last season, he appeared in 18 games with Ricoh Manresa of the Spanish ACB League and averaged 11.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.30 steals last season. He then joined TEC Spirou Charleroi of the Belgian League and appeared in 14 games averaging 12.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists.

He previously signed with the HEAT as an undrafted free agent on August 15, 2005, playing in two games totaling three minutes while finishing with two points as he connected on his only field goal attempt before being waived on November 18, 2005.