NBA News Blog – Page 779 – NBA Blog

Dallas Mavericks sign Richard Jefferson

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed free agent forward Richard Jefferson.

Jefferson (6-7, 234) is a 13-year veteran with career averages of 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 32.1 minutes in 934 games (772 starts) with New Jersey, Milwaukee, San Antonio, Golden State and Utah. He appeared in two NBA Finals as a New Jersey Net alongside former Mavericks Jason Kidd and Vince Carter and won a bronze medal as a member of Team USA at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

Last season, Jefferson played in all 82 games (78 starts) for Utah averaging 10.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 27.0 minutes while shooting .450 from the field, .409 from three-point range and .741 from the foul line.

A standout at the University of Arizona, Jefferson led the Wildcats to the 2001 NCAA Championship Game before being drafted by the Houston Rockets with the 13th overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft.

Hornets sign Marvin Williams

Charlotte Hornets General Manager Rich Cho announced today that the team has signed free agent forward Marvin Williams. According to multiple media outlets, the deal may be for two years, $14 million.

“We’re excited to add a player of Marvin’s caliber to our team,” Cho said. “He will be a key piece of our frontcourt rotation with his versatility and ability to play both forward positions.”

The 6-9 Williams was the second overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft after one season at the University of North Carolina and earned All-Rookie Second Team honors. In nine NBA seasons, he has played in 626 total games for the Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz, with career averages of 10.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 29.1 minutes. He has shot .447 from the field (2431-5444), .335 from beyond the three-point line (353-1054) and .804 from the free-throw line (1533-1907).

Williams saw action in 66 games for the Jazz last season, averaging 9.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 25.4 minutes. He made a career-high 84 three-point field goals and his three-point percentage of .359 (84-234) was the second highest of his career.

Bulls re-sign Kirk Hinrich

The Chicago Bulls announced today the team has re-signed guard Kirk Hinrich.

According to the Associated Press, it is a two year deal that will pay Hinrih $2.7 million next season.

“Kirk has always been a big part of creating the professional culture we want day in, day out surrounding our club,” said Chicago Bulls General Manager Gar Forman. “He helps our team in so many ways and Kirk had other opportunities elsewhere, but we are very happy he chose to remain in a Bulls uniform.”

An 11-year veteran of the NBA, the 33-year old Hinrich (6-4, 190) has played in 767 (636 starts) regular-season games and averaged 11.8 ppg, 5.2 apg, 3.1 rpg and 1.19 spg in 32.3 mpg. He owns career shooting averages of .413 from the field, .377 from downtown and .802 from the line. Hinrich has also appeared in 55 (46 starts) NBA playoff games where he has posted 13.0 ppg, 4.8 apg, 3.2 rpg, 1.29 spg, 33.8 mpg and shot .428 from the field, .399 from behind the arc and .745 from the stripe.

Bucks land Kendall Marshall via waiver wire

The Milwaukee Bucks have been awarded the contract of guard Kendall Marshall (6-4, 195) on a waiver claim, General Manager John Hammond announced today. Marshall was waived by the Los Angeles Lakers on July 18.

Appearing in 54 games for the Lakers in 2013-14, Marshall, 22, averaged 8.0 points, 8.8 assists and 2.9 rebounds per contest. In his best stretch of the season in January, he tallied at least 10 assists and scored at least 10 points in five consecutive games. He ranked fifth in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.18) and shot a career-high 39.9 percent from the 3-point arc. Prior to being called up by the Lakers, Marshall appeared in seven games for the Delaware 87ers of the NBA D-League and averaged 19.4 points, 9.6 assists and 4.7 rebounds.

Originally drafted by Phoenix with the 13th overall selection in the 2012 NBA Draft, Marshall appeared in 48 games for the Suns as a rookie and averaged 3.0 points, 3.0 assists and 0.9 rebounds per game. Prior to the 2013-14 campaign, Marshall was traded by Phoenix with Marcin Gortat, Shannon Brown and Malcom Lee to Washington for Emeka Okafor and a 2014 first round draft pick. Marshall, Brown and Lee were waived by the Wizards on October 28, 2013.

Marshall played two seasons (2010-12) at the University of North Carolina where he teamed with current Bucks forward John Henson. As a sophomore, Marshall averaged 8.1 points, 9.8 assists and 2.6 rebounds and was named AP Third-Team All-America, The Sporting News First-Team All-American and received the Bob Cousy Award as the top collegiate male basketball point guard.

Clippers re-sign Glen Davis

The Los Angeles Clippers announced today that they have re-signed free agent forward Glen Davis.

Davis, 28, appeared in 23 games for the Clippers last season, averaging 4.2 points and 3.0 rebounds in 13.4 minutes per game. He averaged 3.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in 12.2 minutes per game during the postseason. A native of Baton Rouge, LA, Davis was reunited with Clippers head coach Doc Rivers last season on February 24, who coached him for four seasons in Boston and together were a part of the 2008 NBA Championship Celtics team.

An eight-year NBA veteran, Davis has appeared in 440 career games (121 starts) with the Clippers, Orlando and Boston, averaging 8.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 22.6 minutes per game.

Originally drafted by Seattle with the 35th overall selection in the second round of the 2007 NBA Draft, Davis was traded to Boston along with Ray Allen as part of a Draft Day trade. After four years with the Celtics, Davis joined the Magic on Dec. 12, 2011 along with Von Wafer in exchange for Brandon Bass.

The power forward has made 82 career Playoff appearances, averaging 7.6 points and 4.0 rebounds in 20.4 minutes.

Davis enjoyed a successful college career, playing three seasons at Louisiana State University. He averaged 16.7 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.16 blocks in 95 games (93 starts) at LSU, with his best year coming in 2006 when he led the Tigers to the Final Four and was named the SEC Player of the Year and a first-team All-American, leading the SEC in scoring (18.6) and rebounds (9.7)

Dallas Mavericks sign Rashard Lewis

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed free agent forward Rashard Lewis.

Lewis (6-10, 235) is a 16-year veteran and two-time NBA All-Star (2005, 2009). He has career averages of 14.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 32.0 minutes in 1049 career games (842 starts) for Seattle,
Orlando, Washington and Miami.

The Pineville, La., native returns to the state where he played his high school basketball. Lewis was a standout and Alief Elsik High School in Houston. He entered his name in the 1998 NBA Draft out of high school and
was selected with the 32nd overall pick by the Seattle Supersonics.

Lewis spent the past two seasons in Miami Heat and was a member of the Heat’s 2013 NBA Championship Team. Last season, he averaged 4.5 points, 1.8
rebounds and 16.2 minutes in 60 games (6 starts). In the 2014 NBA Playoffs, Lewis increased his averages to 5.3 points and 2.1 rebounds while also being moved into the Heat’s starting lineup. The Heat fell to San Antonio in the NBA Finals.

Miami Heat re-sign Chris Andersen

The Miami HEAT announced today that they have re-signed forward/center Chris Andersen.

“Chris Andersen has had two great seasons with us and without him, we would not have been able to win the 2013 NBA Championship,” said HEAT President Pat Riley. “I’m happy he decided to come back and we’re looking forward to a great season from him in the power rotation.”

Andersen, a 12-year NBA veteran has appeared in 596 career NBA regular season games (10 starts) and averaged 5.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.53 blocks and 17.8 minutes while shooting 52.9 percent from the field. Last season, Andersen appeared in 72 regular season games with the HEAT and averaged 6.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.35 blocks and 19.4 minutes. He shot a career-high 64.4 percent from the field, after previously shooting a career-high 57.7 percent from the field in his first season with Miami in 2012-13. He also blocked six shots off the HEAT bench on March 9 at Chicago, tying the team single-game record for blocks by a reserve. Additionally, Andersen shot a perfect 7-of-7 off the bench on January 7 vs. New Orleans, tying the second-most made field goals without a miss by a HEAT reserve in franchise history. That effort also tied the best shooting performance of his career with his perfect 7-of-7 game vs. Washington on March 25, 2011.

Andersen has appeared in 38 postseason career games with the HEAT, spanning two seasons, and averaged 5.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.05 blocks and 16.3 minutes while shooting 69.3 percent from the field, helping Miami to consecutive NBA Finals appearances, including the 2013 NBA Championship.

Knicks sign center Jason Smith

New York Knicks President Phil Jackson announced today that the team has signed center Jason Smith

Smith, 7-0, 240-pounds, holds career averages of 6.0 points, on 47.2-percent shooting, and 3.5 rebounds over 16.7 minutes in 331 games (65 starts) over six seasons with Philadelphia and New Orleans. This past season for the Pelicans, he averaged 9.7 points, on 46.5-percent shooting, and a career high 5.8 rebounds over 26.8 minutes in 31 games (27 starts).

The Greeley, CO native was originally selected by the Miami Heat 20th overall in the 2007 NBA Draft as a junior out of Colorado State University, before having his draft rights traded to Philadelphia that night.

Miami Heat re-sign Udonis Haslem

The Miami HEAT announced today that they have re-signed forward Udonis Haslem.

“Udonis Haslem has been a fixture in Miami over the last 11 years,” said HEAT President Pat Riley. “He’s a team player, an encompassing all-purpose player, that would play just about any position or role in order to win. It’s been such a privilege and honor to have him with the organization and I’m so happy that he decided to come back.”

Haslem, a three-time NBA Champion, has played his entire 11-year NBA career with the HEAT, appearing in 715 regular season games (473 starts) averaging 8.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 28.0 minutes while shooting 49.5 percent from the field and 76 percent from the foul line. He became the HEAT’s all-time offensive rebound leader, surpassing Alonzo Mourning (1,505), on April 11 vs. Indiana. Additionally, Haslem was already Miami’s franchise leader in defensive and total rebounds, becoming the first non-drafted player in NBA history to be their team’s all-time rebounding leader. Among the HEAT’s all-time franchise leaders, he ranks first in total rebounds (5,332), defensive rebounds (3,821) and offensive rebounds (1,511), second in games played, games started, minutes played (19,987), third in double-doubles (130), fourth in double-figure points off the bench (70), sixth in field goals made (2,484), eighth in total points (6,127), ninth in free throws made (1,159) and 10th in steals (390) and blocked shots (231).

The Miami native appeared in 46 games (18 starts) with the HEAT last season, averaging 3.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 14.2 minutes while shooting 50.7 percent from the field, his sixth season shooting at least 50 percent from the floor. He served as a team captain for the seventh-straight year, tying Alonzo Mourning for the franchise mark. He finished second on the team in charges drawn (17) and blocked a career-tying three shots on January 18 at Charlotte. He also scored his 6,000th career point on December 28 at Portland and grabbed his 1,500th career offensive rebound on April 2 vs. Milwaukee.

Haslem, who along with Dwyane Wade, is only one of two players to have played on each of the HEAT’s three NBA Championship teams, has appeared in 138 postseason career games (84 starts) and averaged 5.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 22.5 minutes while shooting 47.9 percent from the field. Last season, he appeared in 16 postseason games (six starts) and averaged 2.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in 10.6 minutes of action while shooting 45.9 percent from the field. He helped lead Miami to a perfect 6-0 record in each of the games he started as the HEAT made their fourth consecutive NBA Finals appearance.

Tulsa 66ers will relocate to Oklahoma City

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s NBA Development League affiliate, the Tulsa 66ers, will be moving to Oklahoma City, the Thunder announced today.

The 66ers have played home games the last two seasons at the SpiritBank Event Center in Bixby, Okla., but team officials were notified recently that the facility will no longer offer arena space for lease. The move will take place prior to the start of the D-League regular season, which begins in mid-November and extends through early April.

“Our two seasons in Bixby were successful and we were pleased to be there, but circumstances beyond our control made it necessary to look for a new home for our Development League team,” said Danny Barth, executive vice president and chief administrative officer of the Thunder.

“We explored several potentially viable options, but were unable to find a facility in the Tulsa area that meets all of our business and basketball needs, so we made the decision to bring the team to Oklahoma City,” Barth said. “We offer our sincere thanks to the communities of Tulsa and Bixby, and to all of the 66ers fans and sponsors in the area for their loyal support over the past few years.”

The Professional Basketball Club, LLC, which owns the Thunder, purchased the 66ers in 2008.

Thunder officials are currently in discussions with the City of Oklahoma City to play the team’s 24 regular-season home games at the Cox Convention Center in downtown Oklahoma City, directly across the street from Chesapeake Energy Arena. Along with the move of the team, the business and basketball operations of the D-League team will also relocate to Oklahoma City. The team will train at the Thunder Community Events Center in Edmond, the original training home of the Thunder from 2008-11. The move of the 66ers is subject to NBA D-League approval.