The Boston Globe (Frank Dell’Apa) reports: Bob Cousy will be at TD Banknorth Garden for the Celtics’ banner raising Oct. 28, but he will not be involved in the television broadcasts this season for the first time in 34 years after Comcast SportsNet fired him. “I would have liked to have continued,” Cousy said yesterday. “I’m only involved in 10 games a season, so it’s not that big a deal. But I would have liked to have been allowed to keep my hand in, especially after 22 years of [Celtics] mediocrity – last year was kind of fun, frankly, and I was looking forward to doing it again. Comcast can choose to do the hiring and firing, but if it’s a financial situation, I’m not being overpaid. What they pay me is what they spend monthly for office supplies.” Cousy said he was dissatisfied with how he was informed of the decision. “I got a call from somebody I hardly knew, not even the head honcho, saying they decided to go to a two-man booth,” Cousy said. “I said, ‘Thank you, very much,’ and hung up. When you’re 80 years old, you run out of leverage.”
Category: NBA News Blog
NBA news blog
Pacers, Mavs trade Shawne Williams, Eddie Jones, picks, cash
The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they acquired forward Shawne Williams from the Indiana Pacers in exchange for guard Eddie Jones and two future second-round draft picks.
Williams (6-9, 225) was selected by Indiana with the 17th overall pick in the 2006 draft. The third-year forward averaged 6.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in 65 games (3 starts) last season with the Pacers improving on his rookie numbers of 3.9 points and 1.8 rebounds per game in 2006-07.
A native of Memphis, Tenn., Williams played one year of college basketball at the University of Memphis before declaring himself eligible for the 2006 NBA Draft. As a Tiger, Williams helped lead Memphis to a 33-4 record while averaging 13.2 points and 6.2 rebounds and being named Conference USA Freshman of the Year. In his lone collegiate postseason, Williams was named Most Valuable Player of the Conference USA Tournament after averaging 18.0 points and 6.7 rebounds.
“On behalf of the Mavericks organization, we would like to thank Eddie Jones for the valuable contributions he has brought to our team,” President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Donnie Nelson said. “We appreciated his professionalism both on and off the court as a Maverick. Shawne Williams is an exciting young prospect with a bright future. We look forward to developing him into the player he aspires to be.”
InsideHoops.com editor says: The Mavs must see some talent in Williams. The Pacers just see that he occasionally gets in legal trouble, and they aren’t particularly in love with his basketball ability or brains. Eddie Jones is all washed up at this point and doesn’t really count. Second rounders don’t have much value these days. And then there’s the cash. It’s basically Williams for second rounders and cash. Which sounds like a somewhat even deal, assuming Williams avoids getting arrested and turns out to be good enough to help the Dallas bench sometime in the near future.
Bucks waive TJ Cummings
The Milwaukee Bucks have requested waivers on forward T.J. Cummings, General Manager John Hammond announced today.
In one preseason game with the Bucks, Cummings scored four points while adding one rebound, one assist and one steal. Cummings, 27, signed a free agent contract with Milwaukee on October 2.
The Bucks preseason roster currently stands at 18.
Wizards waive Taj McCullough
Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has waived forward Taj McCullough.
McCullough appeared in two preseason games for Washington and averaged 3.0 points in 9.5 minutes per game. McCullough originally signed with Washington on September 22, 2008.
The Wizards roster (attached) now stands at 17.
Shawne Williams to Mavs
The Indianapolis Star (Mike Wells) reports via blog: The Indiana Pacers have traded swingman Shawne Williams to Dallas, two people with knowledge of the situation said today. The Pacers will receive guard Eddie Jones, two second-round picks and approximately $1.8 million in cash. Williams averaged 6.7 points in two seasons with the Pacers, but several off-court incidents put the franchise in a bad light and made him expendable.
UPDATE: The trade has happened and is official. Read this.
Tony Battie breaks finger
The Orlando Sentinel (Brian Schmitz) reports: Orlando Magic center-forward Tony Battie sustained a fractured ring finger on his left hand in Friday’s shootaround and will miss tonight’s exhibition against CSKA Moscow… He is expected to return to practice Sunday and play with it wrapped.
InsideHoops.com editor says: I once played with two broken arms and two broken legs. It’s all about toughness, folks.
Martell Webster out 8-10 weeks
The Portland Trail Blazers announced that guard Martell Webster underwent surgery today to repair a stress fracture in his left foot. He is expected to be sidelined for 8-10 weeks.
Dr. Jay Crary performed the surgery at Southwest Washington Regional Surgery Center in Vancouver, Wash. As part of the procedure, Webster had a screw inserted into his fifth metatarsal bone.
The injury occurred during Tuesday night’s preseason game against the Sacramento Kings.
InsideHoops.com editor says: The Blazers are pretty crowded at the swingman spots, so this opens a door for some other guys to get minutes they weren’t going to get while Webster heals up. Watch Travis Outlaw, Rudy Fernandez and Nicolas Batum and see who rises the most (chances are it’ll be Travis and Rudy). And on a hugely important side note, when Martell Webster lies down, he’s about as tall as TV’s Webster when he stands up.
Wolves sign David Harrison
The Minnesota Timberwolves today signed free-agent center David Harrison, bringing the team’s training camp roster to 19 players.
Harrison, a 7-0 center from Colorado, was selected by the Indiana Pacers in the first round (29th overall) of the 2004 NBA Draft. He has appeared in 189 games (33 starts) in four seasons with the Pacers, averaging 5.0 points and 2.9 rebounds per game while shooting over 50 percent from the field in each of his four NBA campaigns (53.0% for his career).
A three-year standout at Colorado, Harrison left as the school’s all-time leader in blocked shots (225; fourth all-time in the Big 12) and field goal percentage (60.2 percent). He earned First Team All-Big 12 and AP All-America Honorable Mention honors following his junior season.
Magloire breaks left hand
Miami Heat center Jamaal Magloire suffered a fracture of the third metacarpal in his left hand during the third quarter of play in today’s preseason contest against the New Jersey Nets in Paris, France. Magloire was taken to a local Paris hospital for x-rays which confirmed the fracture.
Magloire will not accompany the team to London, England for their second of two preseason games against New Jersey in Europe and will be reevaluated upon his return to Miami.
Magloire was signed by Miami as a free agent on September 2, 2008.
GS waives D.Dowell, J.Williams
The Golden State Warriors have waived guard/forward Dion Dowell and center Justin Williams, Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Mullin announced today.
Dowell, who was originally signed as a free agent training camp invitee on September 9, appeared in one of Golden State’s first two preseason games, registering one rebound, one assist and three blocks in 11 minutes last night at Portland.
Williams, who signed as a free agent training camp invitee on September 27, also appeared in one of Golden State’s first two preseason games, logging one point, one rebound and two blocks in five minutes at New Orleans on October 5.