Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Lamar Odom now in Los Angeles

Here’s the Orange County Register reporting the latest on former NBA star Lamar Odom:

Lamar Odom now in Los Angeles

Lamar Odom was transported by helicopter Monday to a Los Angeles hospital, according to multiple reports, where he will continue his rehabilitation after being found unconscious at a Nevada brothel last week.

KTLA/5 reported Odom has been admitted to Cedar-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

His estranged wife, Khloe Kardashian, reportedly accompanied him. The reality TV star has been a constant presence at his side since Odom arrived at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas last Tuesday.

Blake Griffin scores 29 in preseason win

Here’s the Los Angeles Daily News blog reporting on the Clippers and star power forward Blake Griffin, who appears ready for regular season action to begin. The Clippers on paper look like a championship contender, but the problem there is, plenty of other Western conference teams do as well. As for yesterday:

Blake Griffin scores 29 in preseason win

Clippers forward Blake Griffin led everyone with 29 points, J.J. Redick scored 15 and DeAndre Jordan had 10 points, 10 rebounds and four steals and the Clippers demolished Golden State 130-95 on Tuesday night in exhibition play at Staples Center.

Three reserves – Austin Rivers, Jamal Crawford and Josh Smith – all scored in double figures with Rivers getting 16 and Smith and Crawford 13 apiece.

The Clippers – now 2-3 in exhibition play – had lost their previous three games. They lost their most recent game – to Charlotte in China – by 42 points.

Lakers waive Michael Frazier II and Robert Upshaw

The Los Angeles Lakers have waived guard Michael Frazier II and center Robert Upshaw, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

Frazier II, an undrafted rookie from Florida, was originally signed by the Lakers on August 25. He appeared in four preseason games for Los Angeles, averaging 2.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 13.5 minutes per game.

Upshaw saw action in four of the Lakers’ seven preseason contests, averaging 2.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 0.75 blocks in 14.1 minutes per game. The undrafted rookie out of Washington was originally signed on September 14.

The Lakers roster now stands at 17.

Nets waive Ryan Boatright, Quincy Miller, Chris Daniels

The Brooklyn Nets have requested waivers on guard Ryan Boatright, forward Quincy Miller and center Chris Daniels, General Manager Billy King announced today.

Boatright (6’0”, 170) signed with Brooklyn as a free agent on July 2 after going undrafted out of Connecticut in the 2015 NBA Draft. In four preseason games with the Nets, Boatright posted averages of 4.3 points, 1.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 13.9 minutes per game.

Miller (6’9”, 210) was acquired by the Nets from the Detroit Pistons on July 13 in exchange for guard Steve Blake. In four preseason appearances with Brooklyn, Miller averaged 1.5 points and 2.0 rebounds in 7.4 minutes per game.

Daniels (6’9”, 265) signed with the Nets as a free agent on September 23 and averaged 7.4 points and 2.8 rebounds in 13.0 minutes per game across five preseason appearances with Brooklyn.

The Nets roster now stands at 17 players.

Jazz waive Bryce Cotton and Treveon Graham

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has waived guard Bryce Cotton and guard/forward Treveon Graham.

Following the moves, Utah’s roster now stands at 15 players.

Cotton (6-1, 166, Providence) appeared in two preseason games for Utah, averaging 6.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 17.1 minutes per game. He saw action in 15 games for the Jazz last season after being called up from the NBA Development League’s Austin Spurs.

Graham (6-6, 226, VCU) appeared in two preseason games for the Jazz, averaging 1.0 rebounds in 9.1 minutes of action. He was signed as a free agent on Aug. 17.

Warriors sign Xavier Henry and Chris Udofia

Warriors sign Xavier Henry and Chris Udofia

The Golden State Warriors have signed free agent guard/forward Xavier (zah-vee-ay) Henry and free agent forward Chris Udofia to contracts, the team announced today.

Henry, 24, averaged 2.2 points and 9.6 minutes in nine games with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2014-15 before suffering a ruptured left Achilles tendon in practice on November 24, 2014. In five NBA seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies (2010-11), New Orleans Hornets (2011-13) and Lakers (2013-15), the 6’6” swingman holds career marks of 5.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 15.7 minutes over 185 games (23 starts). Henry was originally selected by the Grizzlies with the 12th overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft following his freshman season at the University of Kansas.

Udofia, 23, appeared in 28 games with Elitzur Yavne in Israel last season, compiling averages of 10.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.68 blocks in 27.8 minutes. The 6’6” forward played four seasons at the University of Denver, averaging 12.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.06 blocks, 1.14 steals and 29.5 minutes in 124 games (98 starts). Udofia, who finished his career as Denver’s all-time leader in blocks (256) and games played, was named the Summit League Defensive Player of the Year in 2013-14 and the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year in 2011-12.

Golden State’s training camp roster currently stands at 19 players.

Heat sign Briante Weber, waive Corey Hawkins

Heat sign Briante Weber, waive Corey Hawkins

The Miami HEAT announced today that they have signed guard Briante Weber and waived guard Corey Hawkins.

Weber played all four seasons at Virginia Commonwealth, appearing in 127 games (65 starts) and averaged 6.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.94 steals and 23.4 minutes while shooting 42.6 percent from the field. He finished as VCU’s all-time career steals leader (374), shattering the previous 29-year old record by 117, capping his career third on the NCAA’s steals list, just 12 shy from becoming the all-time career leader before missing the final 10 games of his senior season due to injury. He became the first player in conference history to be named the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year in three consecutive seasons, including his senior, junior and sophomore seasons, and also set a program record with a recorded 45.5-inch vertical leap.

As a senior, Weber appeared in 20 games (19 starts) and averaged 8.1 points, 4.3 assists, 3.90 steals, 3.7 rebounds and 26.5 minutes while shooting 40.1 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from three-point range. Despite missing the last 10 games of the season, he led the team in steals (78) and finished second in assists (85). Additionally, he dished out a career-high 10 assists against Oregon on November 25 and recorded a season-high nine steals vs. Toledo on November 18.

Weber will wear number 25.

Hawkins appeared in two games with the HEAT this preseason totaling six points, two rebounds and an assist in 14 minutes of action.

Health of Lamar Odom is improving

Here’s the Los Angeles Daily News reporting good news on Lamar Odom:

The conversations surrounding Lamar Odom have taken a swift departure.

No longer do they contain dire predictions about Odom’s slim chances of survival. That seemed understandable, given the former Lakers and Clippers forward was rushed to a Las Vegas hospital last week after falling unconscious at a local brothel.

Instead, Odom has shown enough steady improvement in recent days at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center that he has started physical therapy, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.

Odom has not experienced any setbacks after breathing without the help of a ventilator in the past three days. He showing marked improvement with his breathing, vision and the ability to have simple conversations, sources said.