NBA News Blog – Page 708 – NBA Blog

James White signs with team in Croatia

Here’s Euroleague.net with news on James “Flight” White:

Cedevita Zagreb added experience and athleticism to its roster at once by signing James White. The high-flying small forward arrives from Russian side Unics Kazan. Last season White (2.01 meters, 32 years old) averaged 10 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in 10 Turkish Airlines Euroleague appearances. He also posted 13.4 points and 3.3 boards in 12 Eurocup games to help the club reach that competition’s semifinals and 9.0 points and 3.8 rebounds in the VTB United League as Unics advanced to the quarterfinals.

Hawks forward Mike Scott arrested

Here’s the Atlanta Journal Constitution reporting on some legal trouble for Hawks reserve Mike Scott, who last season 7.8 points and 2.9 rebounds in 16.5 minutes per game:

Hawks forward Mike Scott faces felony drug charges after he was arrested in Banks County on Thursday morning.

Scott, who just completed his third season with the Hawks, was arrested along with his brother, Antonn Imhotep Scott, for possession of marijuana and MDMA, known as Molly.

According to a report from the Banks County Sheriff’s office, deputies attempted to stop a Chevrolet Tahoe on Interstate 85 driven by Antonn Scott for following too closely to other vehicles at 9 a.m.

The vehicle failed to yield to police and reached a speed of up to 98 mph.

Nancy Lieberman to become NBA assistant coach

Here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting cool news on the women’s basketball front:

The Kings are expected to hire Nancy Lieberman, the 1996 Hall of Fame inductee and assistant general manager of the Dallas Mavericks’ D-League team, as an assistant coach.

“Definitely I’m going to offer her a job,” Kings vice president Vlade Divac said Thursday. “George (Karl) and I talked about bringing her back after she helped us at Summer League (in Las Vegas). She was terrific. She brings a different dimension. I think is a nice opportunity for her.”

Lieberman said Thursday she will accept the offer. Divac said he expects to make an announcement next week.

Thunder sign forward Josh Huestis

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed forward Josh Huestis to a contract, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

“We are excited to add Josh to our roster as he allows us to continue to increase our depth through his athleticism and versatility,” Presti said. “Josh knows our culture and our organization as a result of his time with the Blue and we look forward to his continued development with the Thunder.”

Huestis (6-7, 230) joins the Thunder after spending the past season with the Oklahoma City Blue where he appeared in 44 games (43 starts) and averaged 10.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.57 blocks (13th in NBADL) in 33.1 minutes per game.

The Thunder selected Huestis with the 29th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.

The Great Falls, Mont. native spent four seasons at Stanford and averaged 7.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.41 blocks in 135 career games. During both his junior and senior seasons, he was named to the Pac-12 Defensive Team and at the conclusion of his sophomore season, he received Pac-12 Defensive Team Honorable Mention honors.

Trail Blazers waive Brendan Haywood

The Portland Trail Blazers have waived center Brendan Haywood, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey.

Portland acquired Haywood, guard Mike Miller and two future second round draft picks from the Cleveland Cavaliers on July 27 in exchange for cash considerations.

According to the Oregonian, “the Blazers acquired Haywood on Monday, along with sharpshooter Mike Miller, in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cleveland moved Haywood to shed his $10.5 million salary and gain luxury tax relief, and the Blazers — who acquired two second round draft picks in the deal — never planned to keep him on their roster.”

Mavericks sign center Salah Mejri

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed center Salah Mejri.

Mejri (7-2, 235) played in 34 games with Real Madrid last season and averaged 4.3 points and 2.1 rebounds in 8.6 minutes on the way to winning the Spanish League title. He increased those averages to 5.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 10.3 minutes in eight Euroleague games as Real Madrid went on to also capture the Euroleague Championship with a win over Greek-power Olympiacos in the final game.

A native of Jendouba, Tunisia, Mejri was a member of the Tunisian National Team that competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The team secured its bid to the London Olympics by winning the 2011 FIBA African Championships where Mejri was named Most Valuable Player.

Knicks waive Ricky Ledo

New York Knicks President Phil Jackson announced today that the team has waived guard Ricky Ledo.

Ledo, 6-7, 195-pounds, averaged 7.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists over 19.4 minutes in 12 games with New York last season. He signed the first of two consecutive 10-day contracts on Mar. 19 and then signed for the remainder of the season on Apr. 8.

Knicks re-sign Lou Amundson

New York Knicks President Phil Jackson announced today that the team has re-signed forward Lou Amundson to a contract.

Amundson, 6-9, 225-pounds, was acquired this past season as part of a three-way deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Jan. 5, 2015 and signed his first 10-day contract with New York on Jan. 10, 2015. The Ventura, CA-native averaged 6.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 41 games for the Knicks in 2014-15. The nine-year NBA pro holds career averages of 3.8 points and 3.7 rebounds over 399 games.

He’ll mostly provide frontcourt depth off the bench and will likely play fairly limited minutes.

Andre Miller to join Timberwolves

Here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune reporting that crafty, talented super-veteran point guard Andre Miller will be joining the squad:

It was less than two weeks ago that Flip Saunders, Wolves president of basketball operations, said his team might be in the market for a veteran point guard.

He has arrived.

A source confirmed a report that Wolves had come to an agreement on a one-year contract with veteran Andre Miller, who visited the Wolves on Wednesday.

It marks an evolution in Saunders’ thinking. Immediately after moving up to draft former Apple Valley star Tyus Jones late in the first round of the draft, Saunders sounded like he might be happy with Jones as Ricky Rubio’s backup. But the fact that Rubio is coming off ankle surgery and Jones is a rookie ultimately changed Saunders’ mind.

Raptors announce assistant coaching staff

The Toronto Raptors announced Wednesday they have hired Rex Kalamian (kah-LAY-mee-an), Andy Greer and Jerry Stackhouse as assistant coaches on head coach Dwane Casey’s staff.

“I am pleased to add Rex, Andy and Jerry to our coaching staff,” said Casey. “They are established winners at the NBA level, and bring valuable experience and a passion for the game to our team.

“Together with Nick and Jama, we have a group that will challenge our players daily to improve and compete.”

Kalamian joins the Raptors after six seasons with Oklahoma City, including the last two as lead assistant. The Thunder posted a 316-160 (.664) mark during the regular season and was 39-34 (.534) in the postseason during Kalamian’s tenure with the club, reaching the Western Conference finals three times with one NBA Finals appearance. Oklahoma City won eight-of-13 playoff series.

Kalamian participated in two All-Star games (2012, 2014) as an assistant coach and served as a head coach for the 2014 BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge during All-Star Weekend in New Orleans.

In addition to Oklahoma City, Kalamian had previous assistant coaching stints with Sacramento (2007-09), Minnesota (2005-07, where he was on Casey’s staff), Denver (2004-05) and the Los Angeles Clippers (1995-2003). He was a West Coast scout for Philadelphia during the 2003-04 season and was in the scouting department for the Clippers from 1992-95 before being elevated to assistant coach.

Prior to the NBA, Kalamian worked for two seasons as an assistant at his former school, East Los Angeles College. As a player, Kalamian was named team captain at East Los Angeles where he led the South Coast Conference in three-point shooting percentage during the 1988-89 season.

A graduate of Cal Poly Pomona, Kalamian earned a bachelor’s degree in business management.

Greer had spent the past five seasons as an assistant with the Chicago Bulls. During his time in Chicago, the club posted a .647 (255-139) regular-season winning percentage and ranked in the top 10 each season for opponent scoring average and opponent field goal percentage.

Greer’s NBA coaching resume also includes assistant positions with the Memphis Grizzlies (2007-09), Houston Rockets (2003-07) and New York Knicks (2001-03).

Before joining the NBA coaching fraternity, Greer coached at the collegiate level for nearly two decades. He spent four years at Northern Illinois University, where he logged three-and-a-half seasons as an assistant coach and a half-season as the team’s interim head coach, and four years as the head coach at the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Greer also coached collegiately at Mansfield University, Brandeis University, Boston University and the University of Southern California. He received his first coaching job as an assistant coach at Genesee Community College in 1983.

Greer holds a bachelor’s degree in physical education from SUNY Brockport and a master’s degree in education from Mansfield University.

Stackhouse played 18 seasons in the NBA, averaging 16.9 points, 3.3 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 31.2 minutes in 970 regular season games (564 starts). He also appeared in 75 playoffs contests and reached the NBA Finals in 2006 with Dallas. During the 2008-09 season, Stackhouse played under Casey while the latter was an assistant on Rick Carlisle’s staff.

A two-time All-Star with Detroit (2000, 2001), Stackhouse posted career highs of 29.8 points (second in the NBA) and 5.1 assists in 80 games during the 2000-01 campaign. He averaged at least 20 points in a season five times, including four consecutive years from 1999-2003.

The North Carolina product was selected third overall by Philadelphia in the 1995 NBA Draft and was a first-team All-Rookie selection with the 76ers.

During his playing career Stackhouse saw action with Philadelphia (1995-97), Detroit (1997-2002), Washington (2002-04), Dallas (2004-09), Milwaukee (2009-10), Miami (2010-11), Atlanta (2011-12) and Brooklyn (2012-13).

Although an early entrant for the NBA Draft, Stackhouse continued working on his degree and earned his bachelor’s in African American Studies from North Carolina in 1999.