Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Timberwolves sign Tayshaun Prince

Timberwolves sign Tayshaun Prince

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has signed veteran forward Tayshaun Prince.

“We’re excited to add a veteran like Tayshaun,” said Timberwolves president of basketball operations and head coach Flip Saunders. “Having coached Tayshaun for three seasons in Detroit, I know that his experience and defensive mindset will benefit our younger players. He also has shown that he can shoot from long distance, which will help our ability to stretch the floor.”

Prince give the Wolves yet another highly experienced veteran to help teach the tricks of the trade to young building blocks like Andrew Wiggins.

Prince, a 6-9 forward, averaged 7.5 points and 3.6 rebounds in 24.1 minutes per game over 58 contests between Memphis, Boston and Detroit last season. He began the season with the Grizzlies, appearing in 26 games before being acquired by Boston on Jan. 12 in a three-team trade. Prince played nine games with the Celtics before finishing the season in Detroit after a three-team deal on Feb. 19.

Prince spent the first 10-plus seasons of his 12-year career with the Pistons before being traded to Memphis on Jan. 30, 2013 in a three-team trade. He has career averages of 11.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 940 games. Prince’s played in all 82 games in six consecutive seasons (2003-04 – 2008-09), averaging a career-high 14.7 points on a career-best 48.7 percent from the field in 2004-05. He played under current Wolves head coach Flip Saunders from 2005-08.

Originally selected with the 23rd overall pick by the Detroit Pistons in the 2002 NBA Draft, Prince has appeared in 140 playoff games with Detroit and Memphis, averaging 11.4 points and 5.2 rebounds in 35.6 minutes. He averaged a career-high 16.4 points in 18 games for the Pistons in the 2006 NBA Playoffs and averaged 9.9 points and 6.0 rebounds as Detroit won the 2004 NBA Championship.

Raptors 905 selects players in D-League expansion draft

Raptors 905, the NBA Development League affiliate of the Toronto Raptors, has selected the rights to 16 players in the 2015 NBA D-League Expansion Draft. Raptors 905 will hold the rights to these players for two seasons.

And now, a useful reminder from InsideHoops.com: Just because a D-League team has the rights to a player doesn’t mean that player is definitely playing for that team. Some of these players may get an NBA contract, or sign overseas. But if they want to play in the D-League, they’ll be on the Raptor 905’s.

The players selected in today’s Expansion Draft will form Raptors 905’s Returning Player List in advance of the inaugural season. Each of the 2014-15 NBA D-League teams were able to protect the rights of up to 12 players as part of the draft process. Raptors 905 then selected from the pool of unprotected players from the 2013-14 and 2014-15 NBA D-League rosters, with no more than two selections coming from any one team.

Seven of the 16 players selected by Raptors 905 have NBA experience, including former first-round draft picks Earl Clark, Nolan Smith and Dahntay Jones.
Following are the complete results of the 2015 NBA D-League Expansion Draft:

PLAYER POS HT WT COLLEGE PREVIOUS NBA D-LEAGUE TEAM

Dee Bost Guard 6-3 176 Mississippi State Idaho Stampede (2013-14)

Earl Clark* Forward 6-10 234 Louisville Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2014-15)

Abdul Gaddy Guard 6-3 214 Washington Maine Red Claws (2013-14)

Luke Harangody* Forward 6-8 240 Notre Dame Texas Legends (2014-15)

Dahntay Jones* Guard 6-6 225 Duke Fort Wayne Mad Ants (2014-15)

Kevin Jones* Forward 6-8 250 West Virginia Canton Charge (2013-14)

Ricky Ledo* Guard 6-7 195 South Kent HS Texas Legends (2014-15)

C.J. Leslie Forward 6-9 209 North Carolina State Idaho Stampede (2013-14)

Ramone Moore Guard 6-6 190 Temple Delaware 87ers (2013-14)

Mustafa Shakur* Guard 6-3 190 Arizona Oklahoma City Blue (2013-14)

Will Sheehey Forward 6-7 200 Indiana Los Angeles D-Fenders (2014-15)

Nolan Smith* Guard 6-2 185 Duke Delaware 87ers (2014-15)

Scott Suggs Forward 6-6 190 Washington Santa Cruz Warriors (2013-14)

Ty Walker Centre 7-0 230 Wake Forest Reno Bighorns (2014-15)

Mitchell Watt Centre 6-10 225 Buffalo Santa Cruz Warriors (2014-15)

Michael Williams Guard 6-2 185 Cal State Fullerton Sioux Falls Skyforce (2014-15)

* – denotes players with NBA experience

Hawks sign Jason Richardson

Hawks sign Jason Richardson

You forgot about Jason Richardson. But he still exists and still plays basketball. And now he adds depth to the bench of a very good Eastern conference squad.

The Atlanta Hawks have signed Richardson, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations/Head Coach Mike Budenholzer.

A 13-year NBA veteran, Richardson has played in 857 career regular season games (842 starts) with Golden State, Phoenix, Orlando, Charlotte and Philadelphia, averaging 17.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals in 34.1 minutes. In 37 postseason games, he has put in 17.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals in 34.1 minutes.

In 19 games last season with the 76ers, Richardson averaged 9.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 21.9 minutes.

NBA promotes Kiki VanDeWeghe to Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations

NBA promotes Kiki VanDeWeghe

The NBA announced today that Kiki VanDeWeghe has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations. VanDeWeghe, who has been serving as Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations, will lead the Basketball Operations department effective immediately.

The league also will hire a new President, League Operations. VanDeWeghe and Mike Bantom, Executive Vice President, Referee Operations, will both report to that person.

The moves come as two top executives depart the league office. President, Basketball Operations Rod Thorn retired this month after more than 50 years as a player, coach, and executive in professional basketball. In addition, President, League Operations Joel Litvin will be stepping down effective Sept. 1 after a 27-year career in the league office.

“Kiki is one of the sharpest basketball minds in the NBA,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “In addition to his storied UCLA and NBA playing career plus his extensive experience as a general manager, coach, and TV analyst, he has most recently helped drive innovations in analytics that are reshaping the league in areas such as scheduling, game statistics, and player health.”
VanDeWeghe joined the league office in April 2013 as Vice President, Basketball Operations and was promoted to Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations later the same year. He has been involved in a broad range of basketball matters, including the development of playing rules and interpretations, game analytics, and policies and procedures relating to the operation of NBA games.

Before his time with the league office, VanDeWeghe served as the general manager of the New Jersey Nets from 2008 to 2010 and the general manager of the Denver Nuggets from 2001 to 2006. His tenure in New Jersey included a stint as interim head coach during the 2009-10 season. He also worked as an NBA analyst for ESPN and Fox Sports.

VanDeWeghe’s NBA playing career spanned 13 years, with the Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers, New York Knicks, and Los Angeles Clippers, during which he averaged 19.7 points per game, made two All-Star appearances, and helped his teams reach the playoffs 12 times.

Bantom, an NBA executive for 26 years, has overseen the league’s officiating program since 2012. He was hired by the NBA in 1989 after a 16-year professional playing career. Bantom averaged 12.1 points and 6.4 rebounds in nine NBA seasons before playing seven more seasons in Italy.

Dorell Wright to play in China

Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting on Dorell Wright, who will reportedly take his talents to the other side of the world:

Dorell Wright to play in China

Although he had expressed interest in a reunion with the Miami Heat as early as a month ago, free-agent forward Dorell Wright on Monday agreed to play the coming season in China.

Wright confirmed on his Twitter account the one-year contract with the Chongqing Soaring Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association.

Wright, 29, was drafted by the Heat with the No. 19 pick in the first round of the 2004 NBA Draft, spending his first six NBA seasons with the team. He spent the past two seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, utilized primarily for his 3-point shooting.

Bucks sign forward Marcus Landry

Bucks sign forward Marcus Landry

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed free agent forward Marcus Landry, General Manager John Hammond announced today.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Bucks blog, “Landry’s contract is not guaranteed, but it gives him the opportunity to demonstrate his skill and compete for a roster spot during training camp. Earning a roster spot may be difficult — but not impossible — as the Bucks are currently carrying 15 guaranteed contracts. NBA teams can invite up to 20 players to training camp, but are only allowed 15 rosters spots during the regular season.”

Landry, 29, was undrafted after a four-year collegiate career at the University of Wisconsin. A Milwaukee native, Landry has played professionally in the NBA, the NBA D-League and internationally since wearing the Badgers uniform from 2005-09.

Last season, Landry played 49 games for CAI Zaragoza in Spain where he averaged 10.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists. He played parts of the 2013-14 and 2011-12 seasons in Spain, as well as stints internationally in Puerto Rico, China and Venezuela.

Landry began his professional career with the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics in 2009. He also played for the Maine Red Claws and Reno Bighorns in the D-League. He was named to the Futures All-Star roster for the 2013 NBA D-League All-Star game and won the Three-Point Shootout.

Utah Jazz sign Treveon Graham

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has signed free agent guard/forward Treveon Graham (TRAY-vee-on).

Until we hear otherwise, we will assume this is a non-guaranteed deal that merely brings Graham to training camp.

Graham (6-6, 220, VCU) played four seasons at Virginia Commonwealth University, serving as team captain and averaging 16.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists during his senior campaign. He was also named to the All-Atlantic 10 First Team for the second-straight year (2014, 2015). He ranked eighth in the conference in scoring during the 2014-15 season and logged 28 games of 10-or-more points. Graham also led VCU to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (2012-15). In 2013, he competed for Team USA at the 2013 University World Games in Kazan, Russia.

A native of Temple Hills, Md., Graham played high school basketball at St. Mary’s Ryken High School in Leonardtown, Md.

Pistons arena being renovated

It’s always fun to see the new version of an NBA arena after it’s been renovated. Even slight changes, if done well, can make a place seem new. Looking forward to the final result. Here’s the Detroit Free Press reporting:

For those fans hoping that the Pistons eventually would move back to downtown Detroit: Forget about it.

Owner Tom Gores has put $40 million into renovations in the Palace over the past four years.

The current project is replacing all the seats in the Palace and refurbishing the floors, a project that will take three years to complete, according to Kevin A. Grigg, vice president of public relations for Palace Sports & Entertainment and the Pistons.

“This is the first phase of what’s going to be a three-year seating renovation inside the Palace,” Grigg said Wednesday. “The first stage that you see now will be completed per the start of the preseason. That involves from the lower-level suites all the way down to the floor. We’ll have new courtside seats and new seats going into the stands up to the first-level suites.”

Kings to hire Roland Beech for analytics job

Here’s ESPN.com reporting on the Sacramento Kings, who have found themselves a new analytics guy:

The Sacramento Kings have come to terms with Roland Beech to hire the longtime NBA sabermetrician to head up their analytics department, according to league sources.

Sources told ESPN.com that Beech is poised to join the Kings as their vice president of analytics under Vlade Divac, Sacramento’s new head of basketball operations.

Beech will thus fill a void created after another of the league’s foremost analytics experts — Dean Oliver — recently left the organization.