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Indiana Pacers forward Paul George has been fined $35,000 for public criticism of officiating and using profanity in a live television interview, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.
George made his comments following the Pacers’ 104-97 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Dec. 18 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The Philadelphia 76ers today announced the team has agreed to terms with Mike D’Antoni to become Associate Head Coach. D’Antoni brings 25 years of coaching experience to the Sixers’ staff, including 12 seasons as an NBA head coach.
D’Antoni most recently served as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers from 2012-2014 after four seasons at the helm for the New York Knicks (2008-2012), five seasons for the Phoenix Suns (2003-08) and one season for the Denver Nuggets (1998-99). All told, D’Antoni owns a NBA coaching record of 455-426 for his career.
In Phoenix, D’Antoni amassed a 253-136 record with the Suns, where he coached point guard Steve Nash to back-to-back Most Valuable Player Awards in 2005 and 2006. The Suns eclipsed the 60-win mark in 2004-05 – after which D’Antoni was named NBA Coach of the Year—and in 2006-07. The Suns made back-to-back appearances in the Western Conference Finals in 2005 and 2006.
D’Antoni has also served on the USA Olympic Basketball coaching staff under head coach Mike Krzyzewski, where he helped guide Team USA to gold medals in 2008 and 2012. He has nearly a decade of additional international head coaching experience.
Originally a second round selection by the Kansas City-Omaha Kings in the 1973 NBA Draft out of Marshall University, D’Antoni went on to play out a 13-year career for Olimpia Milano of the Italian League and became the club’s all-time leading scorer, winning multiple league championships.
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The Detroit Pistons announced today that guard Brandon Jennings has been assigned to the team’s NBA Development League (D-League) affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive. Jennings, who is continuing his rehabilitation process, will see his first game action on Saturday, December 19 vs. the Iowa Energy.
The six-year NBA veteran missed 41 games last season and has not played this season after suffering a ruptured left Achilles tendon at Milwaukee on January 24, 2015. The 6-foot-1, 170-pound guard was acquired in a trade from Milwaukee on July 31, 2013 and has averaged 15.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.2 steals in 121 games with Detroit.
“This is a great example of the many benefits our D-League team offers, supporting Tom Gores’ vision to push for a hybrid affiliation with the Grand Rapids Drive,” said Jeff Bower, general manager of the Detroit Pistons. “It gives Brandon an opportunity to go play in a game, work on his conditioning and compete in a similar system that’s being run by Otis Smith and his staff.”
Jennings will join Festus Ezeli of the Golden State Warriors as one of the most notable NBA players to play in a D-League game on a rehab assignment to date. Ezeli played in two games with the Santa Cruz Warriors in late January 2015 after missing 16 games due to sprained left ankle. He returned to help the Warriors win the 2015 NBA Championship. Other prominent NBA players who practiced with D-League teams, but did not play, while on rehab assignments include Rajon Rondo, Amar’e Stoudemire, Kawhi Leonard and Carl Landry.
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Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert experienced a right groin strain during the Cavaliers game Tuesday night in Boston. He is Out for tonight’s game in Cleveland vs. Oklahoma City and will continue to receive treatment. His status will be Questionable thereafter pending further evaluations.
Shumpert recently returned to action from injury and has played in just two games so far this season, coming off the bench both times. It’s likely that he may eventually return to the starting lineup. But for now, J.R. Smith has played 19 games and started all 19 of those outings at the shooting guard spot.
The Cavs are an Eastern conference-best 16-7 so far this season, and still waiting the return of point guard Kyrie Irving.
Here’s the Detroit Free Press reporting on Pistons guard Brandon Jennings, who is still in recovery from injury but expects to return soon:
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Detroit Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings told reporters he is planning a rehabilitation stint with NBA Development League affiliate Grand Rapids.
And as he nears a return to the NBA from the ruptured left Achilles that ended his 2014-15 season, Jennings is set on playing Saturday, when Grand Rapids hosts the Iowa Energy.
“There’s about an 80% chance I will be playing in the D-League on Saturday,” he said at the Pistons practice facility after team preparations for tonight’s game against the Boston Celtics (7:30 p.m., FSD). “I don’t care. I just want to play, man. I just want to get out there and hoop and see where it’s at.”
Here’s the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel with good news on the Bucks, whose center Greg Monroe doesn’t expect to miss much time:
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Milwaukee Bucks center Greg Monroe said he was confident his knee injury would not keep him out too long, even before he underwent a magnetic resonance imaging exam Wednesday.
The exam revealed a left knee medial collateral ligament sprain, similar to an injury that sidelined him for 11 games last season when he was with the Detroit Pistons.
“I know how it felt last season and this is not nearly as much,” Monroe said in the Bucks locker room before they met the Los Angeles Clippers.
Monroe missed his second game on the road trip after injuring his knee during a drill at the Bucks’ shootaround Tuesday at Beverly Hills High School. The Bucks lost to the Los Angeles Lakers, 113-95, on Tuesday night after Monroe warmed up but could not go because of the injury.
X-rays performed this afternoon at Kaiser Permanente in Sacramento revealed that Kings forward Eric Moreland will require surgery after sustaining a fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his left foot during practice today. He is out of action indefinitely.
A timetable for his procedure and recovery will be provided as updates become available.
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Memphis Grizzlies forward/center Brandan Wright will undergo a surgical procedure on his right knee, the team announced today. The surgery will be performed by team physician Dr. Fred Azar and Dr. Barry Phillips tomorrow at the Campbell Clinic. There currently is no timetable for his return.
Wright (6-10, 210) has averaged 6.6 points on 60.0 percent shooting, 3.4 rebounds and 1.43 blocks in 17.1 minutes in seven games with the Grizzlies this season.
The eighth overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft from the University of North Carolina, the 28-year-old owns NBA career averages of 7.1 points on 60.6 percent shooting, 3.7 rebounds and 1.02 blocks in 16.4 minutes in 367 games (54 starts) over eight seasons for Golden State, New Jersey, Dallas, Boston, Phoenix and Memphis.
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Milwaukee Bucks guard Greivis Vasquez underwent successful surgery Tuesday to remove a bone spur and loose bodies from his right ankle, General Manager John Hammond announced today. The surgery was performed by Dr. Martin O’Malley at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. An update on Vasquez’s recovery period will be provided after post-surgical consultation with Dr. O’Malley.
In 16 games this season, Vasquez averaged 7.1 points, 4.4 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 22.6 minutes per contest.
Statement from Sacramento Kings guard Rajon Rondo:
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“Yesterday, I said that my words toward Bill Kennedy were unacceptable and did not reflect my feelings toward the LGBT community. Some have interpreted my comments as a non-apology. I want to be clear, from the bottom of my heart that I am truly sorry for what I said to Bill. There is no place on or off the court for language that disrespects anyone’s sexual orientation. That is not who I am or what I believe and I will strive every day to be a better person.”