NBA News Blog – Page 771 – NBA Blog

Wolves hire Mike Penberthy as shooting coach

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the hiring of Mike Penberthy as the team’s shooting coach and Jason Hervey as scout. In addition, Derek Pierce is being promoted from general scout to advance scout.

Penberthy will work on player development, specializing in shooting. Penberthy played collegiate basketball for The Master’s College in Santa Clarita, Calif., from 1993-97 where he was a two-time NAIA All-American and set the school record for most career points. Penberthy held the NAIA record for consecutive games with at least one three-pointer made, with 111, until it was broken in December of 2005. Penberthy played in 53 games with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000-01, averaging 5.0 points, 1.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists and shooting 39.6 percent (55-for-139) from three-point range as the Lakers won the NBA Championship. He also played in three games for the Lakers in 2001-02 before being waived. Penberthy’ professional playing career spanned from 1997–2008, including numerous stints overseas and in the NBA and ABA.

Hervey will serve as a college and NBA personnel scout for the Wolves. He comes to Minnesota from the Detroit Pistons where he held the title of director of basketball operations for the past two seasons. Prior to that, Hervey held positions of advance scout and video coordinator for the Washington Wizards from 2009-2012. He began his NBA career with the Detroit Pistons where he was the team’s assistant video coordinator from 2005-09.

Pierce will scout Wolves upcoming opponents to assist the coaching staff with game preparation. He served as both a college and NBA personnel scout for the Wolves over the previous five seasons. Before joining Minnesota, Pierce spent three seasons as advance scout with the Washington Wizards and two seasons as advance scout with the Golden State Warriors. Pierce also spent five seasons with the Indiana Pacers as video coordinator.

Lakers sign Ronnie Price

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed guard Ronnie Price, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

The nine-year NBA veteran holds career averages of 3.4 points, 1.5 assists, and 1.1 rebounds over 425 games (35 starts). The 31-year-old Price spent his first two NBA seasons with the Sacramento Kings (2005-07), followed by stints with the Utah Jazz (2007-11), Phoenix Suns (2011-12), Portland Trailblazers (2012-13) and most recently with the Orlando Magic last season.

The 6’2’’ Price averaged a career-high 2.1 assists per game in 2013-14 with Orlando, in addition to 2.4 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.8 steals in 12.2 minutes over 31 games (two starts). The Friendswood, TX native has appeared in the postseason four times (2006, ’08, ’09, and ’10) in his career.

Kings waive Scotty Hopson

The Sacramento Kings today waived guard Scotty Hopson, according to Kings General Manager Pete D’Alessandro.

Hopson was recently acquired from the Houston Rockets along with Alonzo Gee and a pair of second-round draft picks in exchange for guard Jason Terry and a trade exception.

Undrafted out of the University of Tennessee, Hopson appeared in two contests for the Cleveland Cavaliers last season before being traded to Houston during the offseason.

Mavericks sign Charlie Villanueva

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed free agent forward Charlie Villanueva. It is likely a non-guaranteed contract, giving Villanueva a chance to show that he’s worth holding on to.

Villanueva (6-11, 232) signs with the Mavericks after spending the last five seasons with the Detroit Pistons. He had a breakout year in 2008-09 when he averaged 16.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists in his final season with the Milwaukee Bucks. Villanueva holds career averages of 11.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 23.1 minutes in 530 career games (158 starts) with Toronto, Milwaukee and Detroit.

The former University of Connecticut standout was originally drafted by the Toronto Raptors with the 7th overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. After two seasons in Storrs, Conn., Villanueva declared for the NBA Draft. He earned Big East All-Rookie Team honors and a NCAA National Championship as a freshman and was the team’s MVP as a sophomore averaging a team-high 13.6 points per game.

Rockets sign Kostas Papanikolaou

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed forward Kostas Papanikolaou.

Papanikolaou (6-9 225, Greece) was drafted 48th overall in the 2012 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks. On July 16th, 2012 his rights were acquired by Portland in a trade that sent Raymond Felton to New York. Houston later acquired his rights in a trade that sent Thomas Robinson to Portland on July 10, 2013.

The Greek forward spent last season overseas playing for FC Barcelona of the Spanish Liga ACB, where he won the 2013-14 Spanish National Champiosnhip. Papanikolaou averaged 6.9 points and 3.4 rebounds in 25 minutes per game with FC Barcelona during the 2013-14 season. The 24 year old spent the previous four seasons (2009-2013) with Olympiacos BC in his native Greece. In his stint there, Papanikolaou won two Euroleague Championships (2011-12, 2012-13), the Greek League Championship (2012) and two Greek Cup Championships (2010, 2011). He was also named Euroleague Rising Star (2013), Greek League All-Star (2013), two-time Greek League Best Five Team (2012, 2013), and two-time Greek League Best Young Player (2009, 2012).

Kostas Papanikolaou has played with two current Rockets in his time overseas. He shared the floor with Joey Dorsey during the 2013-14 campaign on FC Barcelona and played alongside Patrick Beverley in 2012-13 with the Olympiacos.

Sacramento Kings sign Ramon Sessions

The Sacramento Kings today signed free agent guard Ramon Sessions, according to Kings General Manager Pete D’Alessandro.

Sessions was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round (56th overall) of the 2007 NBA Draft. He is averaging 11.7 points (.439 FG%, .311 3PT%, .800 FT%) and 4.7 assists in 25.8 minutes per game through 467 career contests in seven seasons with five teams – Milwaukee (2007-08 – 2008-09, 2013-14), Minnesota (2009-10), Cleveland (2010-11 – 2011-12), L.A. Lakers (2011-12), and Charlotte (2012-13 – 2013-14).

The former Nevada Wolf Pack guard averaged 12.3 points (.429 FG%, .282 3pt%, .807 FT%), 2.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 26.7 minutes per game in 83 contests last season with Charlotte and Milwaukee.

Dallas Mavericks sign Doron Lamb

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed free agent guard Doron Lamb.

Lamb (6-4, 200) is a three-year NBA veteran with career averages of 3.5 points, 1.0 rebound and 12.7 minutes in 100 games with Milwaukee and Orlando. Last season, the shooting guard averaged 3.6 points and 13.1 minutes in 53 games with the Magic.

The Queens, N.Y., native was a standout at the University of Kentucky where he was a member of the 2012 NCAA Championship squad. Lamb declared for the 2012 NBA Draft after averaging 13.7 points and 31.2 minutes while shooting .474 from the field and .400 from 3-point range during his sophomore season. He was drafted with the 42nd overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.

Chicago Bulls re-sign Nazr Mohammed

The Chicago Bulls announced today the team has re-signed center Nazr Mohammed (pronounced “NAH-zee”).

Last season with the Bulls, Mohammed saw action in 80 games (one start) and averaged 1.6 ppg and 2.2 rpg in 7.0 mpg. He also appeared in two of Chicago’s five playoff contests.

A 16-year veteran of the NBA, Mohammed has also played with the Oklahoma City Thunder (2010-12), the Charlotte Bobcats (2007-10), the Detroit Pistons (2006-08), the San Antonio Spurs (2004-06), the New York Knicks (2003-05), the Atlanta Hawks (2000-04) and the Philadelphia 76ers (1998-01). In 977 career games, he has posted averages of 5.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg and 0.65 bpg in 16.1 mpg. He owns career shooting averages of .487 from the field and .640 from the line.

Hornets add Justin Cobbs, Dallas Lauderdale, Brian Qvale to training camp roster

Charlotte Hornets General Manager Rich Cho announced today that the team has signed free agent guard Justin Cobbs, forward Dallas Lauderdale and center Brian Qvale to its training camp roster.

The training camp roster now stands at 17.

A 6-3 guard, Cobbs was not selected in the 2014 NBA Draft. As a senior at California last season, he averaged 15.6 points, 5.8 assists and 2.9 rebounds. Over his three-year career at California, he appeared in 102 games averaging 14.4 points, 5.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds in 34.1 minutes. Prior to joining the Golden Bears, Cobbs played one season at the University of Minnesota.

A 6-8 forward, Lauderdale was not selected in the 2011 NBA Draft. He averaged 7.5 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.1 blocks last season with the Idaho Stampede in the NBA D-League. Lauderdale, who also played one season professionally in Poland, spent four seasons at Ohio State, averaging 4.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 138 games.

A 6-11 center, Qvale was not selected in the 2011 NBA Draft and has spent the last three years playing internationally in Turkey, Belgium and Germany. He was named 2010-11 Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Big Sky Conference after averaging 14.9 points on .626 shooting (189-302) and 8.8 rebounds as a senior at Montana. The school’s all-time leader in blocks, Qvale appeared in 117 career games for the Grizzlies, averaging 9.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in 23.2 minutes.

Lakers sign Wayne Ellington

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed shooting guard Wayne Ellington, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

The five-year NBA veteran holds career averages of 6.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists over 312 games (35 starts) with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Memphis Grizzlies, Cleveland Cavaliers, and most recently, the Dallas Mavericks. Last season in Dallas, Ellington shot career-bests from the field (.437) and three-point range (.424), appearing in the postseason for the first time in his career.

The 26-year-old Ellington played three seasons at the University of North Carolina (2006-09), leading the Tar Heels to the NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship in 2009 while being named Final Four Most Outstanding Player.