NBA News Blog – Page 791 – NBA Blog

Pat Riley statement on LeBron James entering free agency

The following statement was released today from Pat Riley of the Miami Heat:

“I was informed this morning of his intentions. We fully expected LeBron to opt-out and exercise his free agent rights, so this does not come as a surprise. As I said at the press conference last week, players have a right to free agency and when they have these opportunities, the right to explore their options. The last four seasons have been historic and LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Erik Spoelstra have led the Miami HEAT to one of the most unprecedented runs in the history of the NBA. We look forward to sitting down with LeBron and his representatives and talking about our future together. At the moment, we are preparing for the opportunities in the Draft and Free Agency as we continue with our goal of winning NBA Championships.”

LeBron James to become free agent

What would you do if you were LeBron James? Continue on with your Heat contract, hope that Dwyane Wade’s knees hold up, and hope the team adds a better bench? Opt out, test free agency, but perhaps wind up staying with the Heat? Or leave South Beach (well, Miami) and take your talents elsewhere? Here’s ESPN.com with news on this situation:

LeBron James’ agent, Richie Paul, has informed the Miami Heat that James will exercise his early termination option and become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Opting out does not mean James has decided to leave the Heat, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press, who spoke on condition of anonymity because neither the four-time NBA MVP nor the team had made any public announcement.

James had until June 30 to decide whether to opt out of the final two years of his contract with the Heat. He was scheduled to make $20 million next season.

Enes Kanter will have procedure on right knee

Following medical consultation, Jazz center Enes Kanter has elected to receive a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection in his right knee to treat quadriceps tendinitis. The procedure will be performed Tuesday in Chicago by Dr. Michael Terry, and Jazz head athletic trainer Gary Briggs will accompany Kanter.

Following the treatment, the estimated return-to-activity timeline is approximately two weeks.

Kanter (6-11, 247, Kentucky) appeared in 80 games (37 starts) for the Jazz in 2013-14, averaging career-highs of 12.3 points and 7.5 rebounds in 26.7 minutes. He registered 24 double-doubles last season, and scored in double figures in 53 games, reaching 20-plus points 12 times. The 22-year-old native of Turkey is entering his fourth NBA season, all with Utah, after he was originally selected by the Jazz in the first round (third overall selection) of the 2011 NBA Draft.

Cavs name Tyronn Lue associate head coach

Tyronn Lue has joined Cleveland Cavaliers Head Coach David Blatt’s staff as associate head coach, Blatt and General Manager David Griffin announced today.

“Over the past several weeks, it became clear that Ty could play a key role in our team’s future success,” said Griffin. “Ty fits our culture and vision for the franchise. His successful experience as both a player and coach is going to help us tremendously. Tyronn Lue joining Coach Blatt’s staff is more than exciting to all of us here in Cleveland. The leadership and knowledge of Ty is going to be critically important as we move into a new era of competitive Cavaliers basketball.”

Lue was most recently an assistant coach on head coach Doc Rivers’ staff with the Los Angeles Clippers, who captured the Pacific Division title with a 57-25 record in 2013-14. Prior to the Clippers, Lue spent four seasons as a member of Rivers’ Boston Celtics staff, the last two as an assistant coach. Lue began his time in Boston as the Director of Basketball Development in 2009-10.

“I could not be happier that Ty will be joining the Cavaliers’ coaching staff as my top assistant. I look forward to leveraging all of his experiences and expertise into our team’s development,” said Blatt. “This is a character guy and winner himself who played and worked with some of the greatest talents and successful leaders in NBA history. I am thrilled to have him by my side as we get to work in Cleveland.”

A native of Mexico, Missouri, Lue played 11 seasons in the NBA and appeared in 554 career games with the Los Angeles Lakers, Washington, Orlando, Houston, Atlanta, Dallas and Milwaukee. The former University of Nebraska star won NBA Championships in 2000 and 2001 with the Lakers.

“First, I wouldn’t be in the position to make this career move and advancement without the deep support, mentorship and friendship that I have received and enjoyed from Doc Rivers. I want to thank Doc for helping prepare me so well for this next step and challenge,” said Lue. “Cleveland is a great opportunity. I am looking forward to joining Coach Blatt, David Griffin and the entire Cavaliers organization at a very exciting and promising time for the franchise. Through numerous discussions with David and Griff, I felt Cleveland is a great situation for me. I believe my background will help me play a key part in helping achieve the vision that the leadership of this franchise has for its team. I can’t wait to get to work with Coach Blatt and our players.”

Tim Duncan exercises player option to stick with Spurs next season

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that forward Tim Duncan has exercised his player option for the 2014-15 NBA season.

The 6-11 Duncan was selected by San Antonio with the first pick in the 1997 NBA Draft. In his 17 seasons, Duncan has led the Silver and Black to 11 division titles and the playoffs every year. After helping guide the Spurs to the 2014 NBA Championship, Duncan became one of only five players in NBA history to win five championships and five MVP awards (regular season or NBA Finals). Other players on the list include Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Over the 17-year span San Antonio has posted a 950-396 regular season record, giving the team a winning percentage of .706, which is the best winning percentage in all of professional sports over that span and the best winning percentage over any 17-year span in NBA history. Over the span, the team has accumulated four 60-win seasons and currently owns an NBA-record 15 consecutive campaigns of 50-plus victories.

The 38-year-old Duncan, who leads all active players in career wins (898), has captured the NBA’s MVP Award two times (2002, 2003) and has earned NBA Finals MVP honors three times (1999, 2003, 2005). Duncan has appeared on both an All-Defensive Team and an All-NBA Team in the same season an NBA-record 14 times. The 1998 Rookie of the Year, Duncan has been an NBA All-Star 14 times and has been named the NBA Player of the Week on 22 occasions over the course of his career.

In 1,254 regular season games Duncan has averaged 19.9 points, 11.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.23 blocks in 34.8 minutes. He is the Spurs all-time NBA leader in games played, points (24,904), field goals made (9,651) and attempted (19,074) and rebounds (13,940). He ranks second in blocks (2,791), fourth in assists (3,832) and sixth in steals (915). Duncan leads all active players in career double-doubles (796) and this past postseason passed Magic Johnson for the most career double-doubles in NBA playoff history (158).

Duncan has appeared in 234 playoff games, averaging 21.3 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.33 blocks in 38.0 minutes. His 234 games played in the postseason ranks first among active players and fourth all-time in NBA history. After winning the 2014 title, Duncan joined John Salley as the only players in NBA history to win a championship in three separate decades.

Darrell Arthur and Nate Robinson exercise options to stay with Nuggets

Denver Nuggets guard Nate Robinson and forward Darrell Arthur have exercised their contract options for the 2014-15 season, General Manager/Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced today.

Arthur, acquired in a draft-night trade on June 27, 2013, averaged 5.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in 68 games with Denver last season. He also made a career-high 24 3-pointers – 19 more than his previous four seasons combined.

In 315 career games with Denver and Memphis, Arthur is averaging 6.5 points and 3.7 rebounds.

Robinson, signed as a free agent last July 26, averaged 10.4 points and 2.5 assists in 44 games with Denver before suffering a season-ending knee injury on Jan. 29.

Preparing to enter his 10th NBA season, Robinson has averaged 11.4 points, 3.0 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 574 games with Denver, Chicago, Golden State, Oklahoma City, Boston and New York.

Nick Collison undergoes knee surgery

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Nick Collison underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, the team announced today.

This past season, Collison appeared in 81 games and averaged 4.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 16.7 minutes per game.

Collison is expected to miss 4-6 weeks before returning to normal offseason activities.

Charlotte Hornets hire Steve Hetzel as assistant coach

Charlotte Hornets General Manager Rich Cho announced today that the team has added Steve Hetzel as an assistant coach on the staff of Head Coach Steve Clifford.

Hetzel joins the Hornets after spending last season as head coach of the Canton Charge in the NBA D-League. Under Hetzel’s leadership, the Charge posted a 28-22 record, finishing second in the East Division and earning the seventh seed in the D-League playoffs.

Before moving to Canton, Hetzel spent four seasons with the Detroit Pistons as player development coach, where he was responsible for identifying the strengths and weaknesses of individual players and assisting with their growth throughout the season. Prior to joining the Pistons, Hetzel served as video coordinator for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2006-09. He got his start in the NBA as assistant video coordinator with the San Antonio Spurs in 2005-06.

Timberwolves hire Sam Mitchell as assistant coach

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced Sam Mitchell as an assistant coach on head coach Flip Saunders staff.

“We are excited to add Sam Mitchell to our coaching staff,” said head coach Flip Saunders. “As a player, Sam was always one of our more vocal leaders in the locker room and was a great influence on our team. Additionally his coaching experience, both as an assistant and as a head coach in Toronto, will make Sam a valuable member of our coaching staff.”

The 2006-07 NBA Coach of the Year, Mitchell brings four-plus seasons of head coaching experience to the Wolves bench, previously serving as head coach of the Toronto Raptors from 2004-2008. Mitchell led the Raptors to two playoff appearances as head coach, including a 47-35 record in 2006-07, a 20-game improvement from the previous season. Mitchell has also served two stints as an assistant coach, coaching under Avery Johnson in New Jersey during 2010-11 and George Karl in Milwaukee from 2002-04.

As a player Mitchell spent 13 years in the NBA, originally selected by the Houston Rockets in the third round of the 1985 NBA Draft. He played a couple of seasons in the minor leagues and overseas before finally landing in the NBA with the Wolves in 1989-90. Mitchell spent 10 seasons in Minnesota, including averaging 12.7 points in 80 games for the Wolves during the inaugural season. He appeared in 757 games with the Wolves in his career, averaging 9.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. He also played three seasons with Indiana, making an Eastern Conference Finals run with the Pacers in 1994-95.

Mitchell finished his career appearing in 994 regular season games and 59 postseason contests, missing just 40 games to injury or illness throughout his career. He finished his career with averages of 8.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.

Timberwolves hire Sidney Lowe as assistant coach

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced Sidney Lowe as an assistant coach on head coach Flip Saunders staff. This will be Lowe’s fourth time coaching alongside Saunders, previously serving as an assistant under him in Minnesota both from 1999-2000 and 2003-05, and in Detroit from 2005-06. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not announced.

“We are excited to add Sid Lowe to our coaching staff,” said head coach Flip Saunders. “I have great respect for Sid. He has a great basketball mind and an extensive coaching background as a head and assistant coach in both the NBA and collegiate levels, which will be extremely valuable on our staff. Sid relates well with players and will play an important role in the development of talent on our roster.”

Lowe’s ties with Minnesota originally began in 1989-90 as a player with the organization in its inaugural season, appearing in a career-high 80 games and averaging 21.8 minutes per game. He retired after the season, remaining with the organization as the team’s television color analyst for the 1990-91 season. He became an assistant coach the next season under then-head-coach Jimmy Rodgers, eventually being promoted to head coach midway through the 1992-93 season and remaining in the position through the 1993-94 season.

Prior to re-joining Saunders’ staff, Lowe served three seasons (2011-14) as an assistant with the Utah Jazz on former Timberwolves teammate Tyrone Corbin’s staff after previously serving as the head coach at North Carolina State University (2006-11). In his first season on the sidelines, he became just the third NC State coach to win 20 games and defeat the other three North Carolina institutions in the ACC (Duke, North Carolina and Wake Forest). He is one of only four NC State coaches to have coached in the ACC Championship game in his first year.

Following five seasons as an assistant with Cleveland (1994-99) and one season with Minnesota (1999-2000), Lowe was named head coach of the Vancouver Grizzlies in June of 2000, eventually moving with the team to Memphis before stepping down shortly into the 2002-03 campaign.

As a player, Lowe was originally selected by the Chicago Bulls with the first pick of the second round (25th overall) in the 1983 NBA Draft, whom immediately traded his rights to Indiana, where he spent the 1983-84 season. In 1984-85, Lowe spent time with both the Pistons and Atlanta Hawks. Over the next three years, Lowe was a point guard in the Continental Basketball Association, leading his teams to three consecutive CBA titles. He started the 1988-89 season with the Rapid City Thrillers before signing with the Charlotte Hornets. In 1990, Lowe joined the expansion Timberwolves.

The rest of Saunders’ staff will be announced at a later date.