Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

David Harrison suspended for drugs

David Harrison of the Indiana Pacers has been suspended without pay for five games by the NBA for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program.

Harrison’s suspension will begin with Saturday night’s game when the Pacers visit the Sacramento Kings.

Statement from Pacers’ President of Basketball Operations, Larry Bird, regarding the suspension of David Harrison by the NBA: “We are very disapppointed with the news that David Harrison has been suspended. This is a private matter and we will do what we can to provide David any help going forward.”

Persuant to the Collective Bargaining Agreement, only the league disciplines for violations of the anti-drug program.

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Cavs recall Cedric Simmons from D-League

The Cleveland Cavaliers have recalled forward Cedric Simmons from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry announced today.

Simmons was assigned to Rio Grande Valley on Jan. 2 and played in three games for the Vipers. He averaged 9.3 points on .450 shooting, 5.3 rebounds and 4.3 blocks in 28.7 minutes per game. Against the Austin Toros on Jan. 5, Simmons scored 13 points, grabbed three rebounds and blocked a game-high seven shots.

In four games for the Cavaliers this season, he has grabbed 11 rebounds in 43 minutes.

Grizzlies sign Bobby Jones to 10-day contract

The Memphis Grizzlies signed forward Bobby Jones to a 10-day contract, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.

The 6-7, 215-pound forward owns career averages of 2.8 points and 1.3 rebounds in 8.1 minutes in 67 games (five starts) in two seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers (2006-07) and Denver Nuggets (2007-08).

Jones became available after the Nuggets waived him on Jan. 7 after averaging 3.3 points and 1.4 rebounds in 23 games (no starts) this season. Jones, who celebrated his 24th birthday yesterday, was acquired by Denver from Philadelphia on September 10, 2007 along with Steven Hunter for Reggie Evans and the draft rights to Ricky Sanchez. The Nuggets briefly assigned him to the Forth Worth Flyers of the NBA Development League from Nov. 28-Dec. 8, where he averaged 13.7 points and 8.0 rebounds in three contests for the Flyers.

Originally selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round (37th overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft, Jones was acquired by the 76ers in a draft night trade in exchange for a 2007 second round draft pick and cash considerations. The Compton, California native appeared in 44 games in his rookie season with Philadelphia, and started five of the final six games, where he averaged 9.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.20 steals on 53.8 percent shooting in 27.2 minutes per game.

The four-year letterman at the University of Washington was the co-winner of the John Meyers Defensive Player Award at the team’s postseason banquet along with teammate and 2006-07 NBA Rookie of the Year Brandon Roy as a senior in 2005-06.

Jones, who will wear jersey No. 6 with the Grizzlies, joined the team this morning for the club’s shootaround in Sacramento. The Sacramento Kings host the Memphis Grizzlies 9 p.m. (Central time) tonight at ARCO Arena.

The roster currently stands at 14 players.

Spurs sign Jeremy Richardson

The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have signed guard/forward Jeremy Richardson.  Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.

The 6-7, 195-pound Richardson was signed by the Memphis Grizzlies on 12/20.  He did not register a point in three games with Grizzlies and was waived on 1/7.  Prior to joining the Grizzlies, Richardson was with the Fort Wayne Mad Antz in the NBA Development League.  He was averaging a league-high 28.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.63 steals in 41.5 minutes in eight games.  The 23-year-old spent the 2007 preseason with the Miami Heat before being cut on 10/29.

The Delta State alum had two call-ups last season, first with the Atlanta Hawks and then the Portland Trail Blazers, averaging 1.3 points in six games. The 23-year-old spent the majority of the 2006-07 season with the Forth Worth Flyers in the D-League where he earned All-NBA Development League Second Team honors.  Richardson averaged 17.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 34 games with Fort Worth.

Latest All-Star vote results are in

In the fourth and final update before All-Star starters are announced on Jan. 24, Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics and LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers remain the leaders in the Eastern Conference, while Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets continue to pace Western Conference players after the fourth returns of 2008 NBA All-Star Balloting program.

Here are the current starters:

East: Kidd, Wade, LeBron, Garnett, D-Howard
West: Kobe, McGrady, Melo, Duncan, Yao

For more info and full vote totals, see the InsideHoops NBA All-Star voting results page.

Riley not stepping down

The AP reports: Pat Riley has no definitive plans to go anywhere, dismissing published reports that he was leaning toward vacating his coaching role with the Miami Heat after the season to focus on his front-office duties. Riley said before Miami’s game Wednesday night against Milwaukee that he was being philosophical when talking about the dual roles he holds and potentially stepping aside.

Grant Hill out 2-3 weeks

The AP reports: Phoenix Suns forward Grant Hill underwent an appendectomy on Wednesday and is expected to be sidelined for two to three weeks. Hill felt ill after arriving at the US Airways Center for Wednesday morning’s shootaround. At first, the Suns assumed he had the same flu that teammate Raja Bell recently had. But after being taken to see a physician, it was determined to be more serious.

Blazers assign Josh McRoberts to D-League

The Portland Trail Blazers assigned rookie forward Josh McRoberts to the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League, it was announced Wednesday by Trail Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard.

“We look forward to seeing Josh gain more experience through increased floor time with the Stampede,” said Pritchard. “Giving him the chance to log some minutes will help Josh with his professional development this season.”

McRoberts, 20, is averaging 1.3 points, 0.7 rebounds and 2.3 minutes in three games with the Trail Blazers this season after being selected by Portland with the 37th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.

The Duke University product becomes the 23rd NBA player assigned to the D-League this season, and the fifth in Trail Blazers history.

This is the first season the Trail Blazers are affiliated with the Boise-based Stampede.

Low attendance may allow Hornets to move

The Hornets were getting low attendance before Katrina messed the city up, and even fewer fans have been going to home games since the team returned. And it may turn out that the lack of home fan support may result in the team being allowed to leave, this time probably for good. The Boston Globe (Marc Spears) reports:

The Boston Globe has learned that the New Orleans Hornets are expected to announce today that if they don’t average close to 15,000 fans in home games starting with tonight’s contest against the Los Angeles Lakers through all home games until February of 2009, the franchise will be allowed out of their lease with the New Orleans Arena by the State of Louisiana, according to an NBA source.

I hate to say it, but if I owned the Hornets, I’d definitely want to move the team elsewhere. Ideally they’d have stayed in Oklahoma City. I feel badly for the fans in the city that are going to games and supporting the team. I wish there were more of you. But it seems like there aren’t.

Kidd third straight triple-double

The AP reports: Jason Richardson scored 25 points and the hot-shooting Charlotte Bobcats overcame Jason Kidd’s third consecutive triple-double to beat the New Jersey Nets 115-99 on Wednesday night. Gerald Wallace added 21 points and 11 rebounds and Emeka Okafor and Nazr Mohammed added 17 points apiece for the Bobcats, who shot 59 percent in their highest-scoring game of the season… The Nets had their five-game winning streak snapped despite Kidd’s 13 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists. He became the first player since Detroit’s Grant Hill 11 seasons ago to have three straight triple-doubles.