NBA News Blog – Page 689 – NBA Blog

Lakers hire Tracy Murray as shooting coach

Former Lakers player Tracy Murray has been hired by the team as a shooting coach, it was announced yesterday by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

In his position, Murray will work with head coach Byron Scott and his staff, focusing on improving the players shooting form and technique.

“I’ve known Tracy a long time, and he was one of the purest shooters I’ve ever seen,” said Scott. “I think he’ll be a benefit to our players, especially our young guys, and I look forward to working with him as a member of our staff.”

Most recently, the Los Angeles native spent eight seasons as a radio color analyst for the UCLA Bruins men’s and women’s basketball teams. During this time, Murray also spent three seasons (2007-09) as a player mentor and assistant coach for the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Developmental League and one season (2011) as an assistant coach for the WNBA’s Tulsa Shock.

Originally selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the 18th overall pick of the 1992 NBA Draft, Murray played for six teams (Portland, Houston, Toronto, Washington, Denver and Los Angeles) over his 12-year NBA career posting averages of 9.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 659 games. In 1995, Murray earned an NBA championship as a member of the Houston Rockets and on February 10, 1998 he recorded a career- high 50 points while playing for the Washington Wizards. Following the NBA, Murray played overseas with stints in Greece (Panathinaikos, 2004-05 and P.A.O.K., 2005-06) and France (Elan Chalon, 2006-07).

An alumnus of UCLA, Murray played for the Bruins from 1989-92 and was named to the Pac-10 All-Conference First Team during his sophomore and junior seasons. The former McDonald’s All-American averaged 18.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 98 career games and finished his career ranked fifth on UCLA’s All-Time Scoring list (1792).

Luke Babbitt suffers hamstring strain

The New Orleans Pelicans announced yesterday that forward Luke Babbitt suffered a left hamstring strain during Monday’s preseason game in Chicago. A timetable for Babbitt’s return will be determined at a later date.

Babbitt, 6-9, 225, appeared in 63 games (19 starts) for New Orleans during the 2014-15 season, averaging 4.1 points, while shooting .513 from three-point range, and 1.8 rebounds in 13.2 minutes per contest. Babbitt originally signed with the Pelicans as an unrestricted free agent on February 4, 2014, and re-signed with the club on July 20, 2015. In 90 career games with the Pelicans, Babbitt has averaged 4.7 points while shooting .452 from three-point range, and 2.2 rebounds.

Originally drafted by Minnesota with the 16th overall selection in the 2010 NBA Draft out of Nevada, Babbitt has played in 216 career NBA games with Portland and New Orleans, holding averages of 4.2 points and 2.1 rebounds.

Babbitt has appeared in three games this preseason, averaging 10.0 points while shooting .400 from three-point range, 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists.

Willie Reed suffers thumb injury

Brooklyn Nets forward/center Willie Reed has been diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb, an MRI confirmed today. The injury occurred during the first half of last night’s preseason game versus the Boston Celtics. Reed will undergo surgery on Friday, October 16 at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. A timetable for his return will be established following the procedure.

Reed, who signed with Brooklyn as a free agent on July 9, 2015, was making his preseason debut when the injury occurred.

Lakers exercise contract option on Julius Randle

The Los Angeles Lakers have exercised their team option for the 2016-17 season on forward Julius Randle, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

This was a widely-expected move, as the team hopes Randle will emerge as a serious building block for the future.

Randle, the seventh overall selection in the 2014 NBA Draft, only appeared in one game as a rookie, scoring two points in his professional debut on October 28th against Houston before suffering a fractured tibia in his right leg. The second-year player out of Kentucky has started in all five Lakers preseason contests in 2015, averaging 12.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.20 steals in 24.5 minutes.

Kings waive Marshall Henderson and Vince Hunter

The Sacramento Kings announced today they have waived guard Marshall Henderson and forward Vince Hunter, according to Kings Vice President and General Manager Vlade Divac. The Kings roster stands at 16. Both players logged two minutes off the bench in the October 13th game against the Lakers in Las Vegas.

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that the team has signed guard Bo McCalebb.

McCalebb, 6-0, 183, most recently played for Bayern Munich of the BBL in Germany. Undrafted in 2008, McCalebb is a seven-year veteran in Europe, playing in Turkey, Serbia and Italy, in addition to Germany. McCalebb’s professional highlights include five league championships, two All-Euroleague Second Team selections (2010, 2012), two Italian League Finals MVP awards (2011, 2012), the 2010 Serbian League Finals MVP, the 2012 Italian League MVP and the 2012 Alphonso Ford Trophy – awarded to the Euroleague’s scoring champion.

A New Orleans native, McCalebb played his high school basketball at O. Perry Walker before going on to star at the University of New Orleans. While at UNO, McCalebb held career averages of 20.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. McCalebb earned a handful of individual awards while at UNO, including the Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year (2004), Player of the Year (2007) and defensive player of the year (2008) in addition to being named to the All-Sun Belt Conference 3rd Team in 2004 and 1st Team in 2005, 2007 and 2008. His 2,679 points ranks first all-time at UNO and 24th all-time in NCAA Division I history.

New Orleans’ roster stands at 20.

Jazz waive Grant Jerrett

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has waived forward Grant Jerrett. Following the move, Utah’s roster now stands at 17 players.

Jerrett (6-10, 233, Arizona) appeared in three games as a reserve for the Jazz last season, averaging 3.0 points and 1.7 rebounds in 8.7 minutes per game. He has not seen action in the preseason.

Pelicans waive Corey Webster

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that the team has waived guard Corey Webster.

Webster, 6-2, 190, is a native of Aukland, New Zealand, who most recently played for the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian National Basketball League. In 32 games for the Breakers last season, Webster averaged 15.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.0 steals per game. Webster was signed by New Orleans on Sept. 23 and appeared in three preseason games, averaging 1.3 points and 2.0 assists per game.

New Orleans’ roster now stands at 19.

Spurs reveal new black alternate jersey

The San Antonio Spurs unveiled today their Black Signature Spur jerseys that will be worn during the 2015-16 NBA season. The new black alternate uniform’s efficient jersey design simply features the iconic Spurs logo prominently over the heart, while the player numbers rest on the right breast. The uniforms feature silver panels with silver, black and white trim and the accompanying shorts also include the Spur logo on each side.

The Spurs will debut the new uniforms at the home opener vs. the Brooklyn Nets on Oct. 30 and will be worn multiple times this season. The Black Signature Spur uniforms will join the lineup of traditional home white and away black uniforms, along with the camouflage military and silver alternate versions. The Spurs debuted the silver version of the Signature Spur uniforms in 2012 and they were the first-ever NBA jersey logo without any writing or peripheral design.

Photo here.

Thabo Sefolosha finally back on NBA court

Thabo Sefolosha, now healed after the NYPD LITERALLY BROKE HIS LEG (and DAMAGED A LIGAMENT — while it remains unclear what Thabo actually did wrong), is finally back in action as NBA preseason continues. Here’s the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporting:

Thabo Sefolosha was back – even if it was just for eight minutes.

Sefolosha played his first game since April 7 following a broken right leg and ligament damage suffered in an arrest outside a New York nightclub later that night. He missed the Hawks first two exhibition games during the trial where he was fully acquitted last week.

“It felt good,” Sefolosha said following the Hawks’ 100-86 exhibition win over the Spurs at Philips Arena. “I didn’t play heavy minutes but at the same time it was good just to have a feel for it and be out there. …

“It’s great to be back. That’s what I love doing. This group is special and it’s like being around family.”