NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog
NBA Blog: The NBA basketball news blog section of Inside Hoops
NBA news blog
 |
The New Orleans Pelicans have signed free agent guard/forward Alonzo Gee.
Gee, 6-6, 220, appeared in 54 games last season for the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers, averaging 4.5 points and 1.7 rebounds.
Undrafted in 2009 out of the University of Alabama, Gee has appeared in 331 career games with Washington, San Antonio, Cleveland, Denver and Portland, holding averages of 7.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.
The Sacramento Kings today announced that free agent forward Luc Mbah a Moute has failed a physical examination administered by team medical staff. Subsequent to that finding, his contract signed on July 14 has been voided, according to Kings Vice President of Basketball and Franchise Operations Vlade Divac.
Mbah a Moute, 6-8, 230-pound forward is averaging 6.8 points (.444 FG%, .299 3PT%, .665 FT%), 4.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game in 466 career contests with four teams; Milwaukee (2008-09 – 2012-13), Sacramento Kings (2013-14), Minnesota Timberwolves (2013-14) and Philadelphia 76ers (2014-15).
Longtime Mavs executive Terdema Ussery to resign
|
The Dallas Mavericks announced today that Terdema Ussery will resign his position as President and CEO after 18 years of leadership effective August 30th to join Under Armour as President of Global Sports Categories.
In Ussery’s first season with the Mavericks, he led a successful campaign that resulted in $240 million in public funding for the construction of the American Airlines Center and actively participated in the architectural selection, design and construction of the building. Ussery was also intimately involved in securing the naming rights partnership with Dallas/Fort Worth based American Airlines for the downtown facility.
Under his direction, the club has more than tripled revenue and exponentially increased its media and digital footprint by establishing new and expanding existing media partnerships across multiple platforms. Additionally, the Dallas Mavericks Foundation has distributed over $1 million to over forty agencies whose aim and mission is to improve the lives of those in need in the DFW metroplex.
“It’s been an extraordinary honor to have sat in the CEO’s chair for the past 18 years. I want to thank Ross Perot, Jr. for the opportunity to come to Dallas and especially thank Mark Cuban, who invited me to stay. Working alongside him these past 15 years has been nothing short of amazing. I know the fans agree with me that we are extremely lucky to have him as the owner and steward of our Dallas Mavericks. Finally, I want to express my gratitude to the fans, our sponsors and most importantly, the incredible staff I’ve had the privilege of working with in Dallas. Our objective has always been to be the best organization in sports and I have full confidence that they will continue in that pursuit under the leadership of Floyd Jahner and the rest of the executive leadership team,” Ussery said.
The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have re-signed guard Jose Juan Barea.
Barea (6-0, 185), who began his NBA career with the Mavericks, returned to Dallas in 2014-15 after spending the previous three seasons with Minnesota. He averaged 7.5 points, 3.4 assists and 17.7 minutes in 77 games (10 starts) with Dallas during the 2014-15 campaign.
In 392 games (55 starts) with Dallas, Barea has averaged 7.2 points and 3.0 assists in 17.4 minutes. He has also reached the playoffs in each of his six seasons with the Mavericks, accruing averages of 8.1 points and 3.5 assists in 45 postseason games (nine starts). Barea helped lead the Mavericks to their first title in franchise history in 2011.
The nine-year veteran holds career averages of 8.2 points, 3.4 assists and 18.8 minutes in 586 games (69 starts) with Dallas and Minnesota. He has shot 79.9 percent from the foul line for his career.
The Mayaguez, Puerto Rico native went undrafted in the 2006 NBA Draft and was signed by Dallas as a rookie free agent on August 17, 2006. Barea attended Northeastern University where, as a senior, he averaged 21.0 points, 8.4 assists and 4.4 rebounds for the Huskies.
|
The Los Angeles Clippers waived backup guard Lester Hudson tiday.
Hudson originally signed with the Clippers on April 11, 2015 and appeared in five regular season games, averaging 3.6 points, 1.0 assists, and 1.6 rebounds in 11.2 minutes. The Memphis native played in seven Playoff games, averaging 2.0 points in 5.4 minutes.
In 57 career NBA regular season games Hudson owns averages of 4.7 points, 1.2 assists and 1.4 rebounds in 10.4 minutes with Boston, Memphis, Cleveland and the Clippers.
The Toronto Raptors announced Wednesday they have signed guard Norman Powell.
Powell, 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, was selected 46th overall by Toronto in the 2015 NBA Draft. Through three Summer League games in Las Vegas he leads the Raptors averaging 19.3 points and is shooting 22-for-37 (.595) from the field. Powell has led the team in scoring in all three Summer League games, including a team-high 20 points during his professional debut July 10 vs. Sacramento.
Powell appeared in 141 games over four seasons at UCLA and averaged a career-high 16.4 points during the 2014-15 campaign. He ranks 28th on the Bruins’ all-time scoring list with 1,376 career points. Powell helped UCLA reach the NCAA Tournament three times (2013, 2014 and 2015), including back-to-back trips to the Sweet 16 (2014 and 2015).
|
The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have re-signed forward Matt Bonner.
Bonner has spent the past nine seasons in San Antonio, the longest tenured player with the Silver and Black outside of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. The 6-10 forward has appeared in 602 games with the Spurs, averaging 5.6 points and 2.9 rebounds in 16.4 minutes while shooting .455 (1,264-2,781) from the field, .412 (641-1,554) from three-point range and .765 (215-281) from the foul line. Among Spurs all-time NBA leaders, Bonner ranks third in three-pointers made, sixth in three-point field goal percentage and ninth in games played. During the 2010-11 season he led the NBA in three-point shooting with a .457 (105-230) mark from beyond the arc. Bonner has appeared in 94 playoff games for the Silver and Black, averaging 2.8 points and 1.7 rebounds in 11.0 minutes.
An 11-year NBA veteran, Bonner was originally drafted by the Chicago Bulls with the 45th overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. His draft rights were traded to the Toronto Raptors where he spent his first two NBA seasons. For his career, the New Hampshire native has appeared in 762 NBA games, averaging 6.0 points and 3.1 rebounds 17.2 minutes while shooting .463 (1,720-3,711) from the field, .414 (782-1,889) from three-point territory and .780 (334-428) from the foul line. Among active players he ranks eighth in three-point field goal percentage.
The Utah Jazz announced yesterday the team has signed center Tibor Pleiss to a multi-year contract.
Pleiss (7-3, 262, Germany) most recently played for FC Barcelona of the Liga ACB in Spain, averaging 5.7 points and 3.8 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game last season. He also shot 62.3 percent from the floor (134-of-215) and was 71-of-82 from the free throw line (86.6 percent). The 25-year-old center logged a career-high 12.4 points on 58.3 percent shooting (270-of-463) and 6.0 rebounds in 21.8 minutes per contest with Laboral Kutxa Vitoria of Spain in 2013-14. A member of the Germany Men’s National Team, Pleiss began his career with Brose Baskets Bamberg of Germany in 2009.
The Jazz acquired the rights to Pleiss from Oklahoma City as part of a three-team trade, which also included Detroit, on February 19, 2015.
The German center was originally selected by the New Jersey Nets in the second round (31st overall pick) of the 2010 NBA Draft. His rights were then traded to the Atlanta Hawks before eventually being moved to Oklahoma City.
|
The San Antonio Spurs announced yesterday that they have re-signed guard Danny Green.
According to multiple reports, the deal is for four years, $45 million.
Last season, the New York native appeared in 81 games, averaging career-bests with 11.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.25 steals and 1.07 blocks in 28.5 minutes while shooting .436 (322-738) from the field, .418 (191-457) from downtown and a career-best .874 (111-127) from the free throw line. Green ranked seventh in the NBA in three-point field goal percentage and eighth in makes while also leading all NBA guards in blocks per game. He was the only guard in the NBA to average at least one steal (1.25) and one block (1.07) per game. His 191 three-pointers made in 2014-15 set a Spurs franchise record for most in a single season.
A six-year NBA veteran, Green originally joined the Spurs as a free agent on March 6, 2011 and re-signed with the Silver and Black on July 11, 2012. In his five seasons with the Spurs, the former North Carolina Tar Heel has appeared in 303 total games, averaging 10.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.05 steals in 25.7 minutes while shooting .440 (1,065-2,418) from the field, .423 (609-1,441) from beyond the arc and .832 (307-369) from the foul line. Among Spurs all-time leaders Green ranks fourth in three-pointers made (609) and fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.423). Last season he became the fastest Spurs player to reach 500 three-pointers made in a career.
Green was originally drafted with the 46th pick of the 2009 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. For his career, he has appeared in 323 NBA games, averaging 9.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.00 steals in 24.4 minutes, while shooting .440 (1,080-2,457) from the field, .420 (615-1,463) from three-point territory and .829 (311-375) from the foul line. His career .420 shooting percentage from beyond the arc ranks sixth in the NBA among active players and currently ranks 12th in NBA history.
Green has seen action in 69 career playoff games, averaging 8.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.00 blocks in 24.6 minutes. During the 2013 Finals he set an NBA record for three-pointers made in an NBA Finals series of any length, connecting on 27-of-49 (.551) treys. Green is one of seven active players to have won an NCAA Championship and an NBA Championship (Brandon Rush, Mario Chalmers, Corey Brewer, Marreese Speights, Jason Terry and Nazr Mohammad).
Charlotte Hornets General Manager Rich Cho announced yesterday that the team has signed free agent guard Aaron Harrison.
“Aaron Harrison played very well for us in Summer League,” Cho said. “He is a talented young player with a lot of potential and we look forward to seeing what he can do moving forward.”
Harrison played the last two seasons at the University of Kentucky. He saw action in 79 games, helping the Wildcats to back-to-back Final Fours, with averages of 12.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals in 29.2 minutes. In 2014-15, he was named Second Team All-SEC after averaging a team-high 11.0 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals in 25.8 minutes as Kentucky became the first team in NCAA history to start a season 38-0 before falling to Wisconsin in the national semifinals. Harrison, who was named to the SEC All-Tournament Team in each of his two seasons, also earned NCAA Midwest Regional All-Tournament Team honors in 2013-14, when he hit three consecutive game-winning three-point field goals in the Sweet 16, Elite Eight and Final Four.
Harrison, who was not selected in the 2015 NBA Draft, played in all five games for the Hornets at the Southwest Airlines Orlando Pro Summer League in Orlando. He scored in double figures in all five contests, averaging 13.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and team highs of 3.4 assists and 1.4 steals in 29.0 minutes. He led the Hornets with 14 made free throws and ranked second on the team with 24 total field goals.