Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Bulls sign Ronnie Brewer for rest of season

The Chicago Bulls announced today the team has signed free agent guard/forward Ronnie Brewer for the remainder of the season.

Brewer (6-7, 235) is currently in his eighth year in the NBA. After being drafted by the Utah Jazz with the 14th pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, Brewer spent three-plus seasons in Utah. In addition to the Jazz, Brewer has also played for the Memphis Grizzlies, the Chicago Bulls, the New York Knicks, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets. Earlier this season, he appeared in 23 games (three starts) with the Rockets, and averaged 0.3 ppg and 0.6 rpg in 6.9 mpg.

In seven-plus seasons in the NBA, he has played in 501 regular season games (304 starts) and averaged 7.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.7 apg, and 1.24 spg in 23.0 mpg. The 29-year old Brewer has also made six trips (47 games; 17 starts) to the NBA playoffs, where he has averaged 5.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg and 1.2 apg in 18.2 mpg.

Brewer will wear No. 11.

Chicago’s roster now stands at 13 players.

Sixers sign Adonis Thomas to 10-day contract

The Philadelphia 76ers today announced that they have signed guard/forward Adonis Thomas to a 10-day contract. Thomas is the 44th “Call-Up” of the 2013-14 NBA Development League season.

In 34 games for the Springfield Armor of the D-League this season, Thomas averaged 17 points, including 25 ppg over the final four games. He also shot 47% from three-point range, which placed him third in the league.

Thomas was also called up by the Orlando Magic on February 25, 2014 and appeared in four games.

An early entry candidate for the 2013 NBA Draft following his sophomore season at Memphis, Thomas was an All-Conference USA third-team selection and C-USA All-Tournament performer in his final season with the Tigers.

Thomas was the state of Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year in 2011 and appeared in the McDonald’s All-American Game, the Jordan Brand Classic and the Nike Hoops Summit.

Kevin Garnett returns to action for Nets

Here’s the New York Post reporting on Kevin Garnett, who has finally returned to active duty for the 42-34 Brooklyn Nets. Garnett this season is averaging 6.8 points and 6.6 rebounds in 20.8 minutes per game:

Kevin Garnett returns to action for Nets

Kevin Garnett had been away from the Nets for so long that some teammates, and even coach Jason Kidd, joked with him prior to Saturday night’s game against the 76ers that he should be treated like a rookie. And despite being in the 19th year of a Hall of Fame career, Garnett admitted to feeling nervous before stepping on the floor.

But after missing 19 games over the last five weeks because of an ongoing bout with back spasms, Garnett looked as if he hadn’t missed a day, let alone a month. Moving fluidly, Garnett finished with 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting to go with four rebounds, an assist and a block in 13 minutes as the Nets earned a 105-101 victory over the hapless Sixers.

“I’ve been working my [butt] off to get back to where I’m at,” Garnett said after coming through the game with no further back issues. “Obviously I’m not to where I want to be but I felt good, I felt strong. … It’s been a journey to get back to this point, so I’m just trying to contribute at this point.”

Utah Jazz sign Erik Murphy, waive Andris Biedrins

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has claimed rookie forward Erik Murphy off waivers from Chicago. In a related move, the Jazz requested waivers on center Andris Biedrins.

Following the moves, the Jazz roster remains at 15 players.

The 23-year-old Murphy (6-10, 230, Florida) was waived by Chicago on April 3 after appearing in 24 games for the Bulls, averaging 2.6 minutes per contest. He was selected by Chicago in the second round (49th overall) of the 2013 NBA Draft.

Murphy played in 136 games (67 starts) over a four-year career at the University of Florida (2009-13), finishing with career averages of 7.7 points and 3.7 rebounds in 18.3 minutes, shooting .514 from the field, .435 from three-point range and .757 from the line. As a senior in 2012-13, Murphy earned First Team All-SEC and AP Honorable Mention All-American accolades after posting 12.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.69 blocks and 0.64 steals in 26.4 minutes per game for the Gators. He also shot .516 from the floor, an SEC-leading .453 from deep (72-159 3FG) and .784 from the line. Murphy was named to the All-SEC Tournament team in both 2012 and 2013.

Born in Lyon, France, Murphy is the son of former NBA forward Jay Murphy (1984-88) and Finland national team player Paivi Murphy, and holds dual U.S. and Finnish citizenship.

Murphy will wear jersey No. 33 for the Jazz.

Biedrins (7-0, 250, Latvia) appeared in six games this season for Utah, averaging 0.5 points and 2.8 rebounds in 7.4 minutes per game. He was acquired from Golden State as part of a three-team trade that also included Denver on July 10, 2013.

Bucks sign Chris Wright to 10-day contract

Bucks sign Chris Wright to 10-day contract

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed free-agent forward Chris Wright (6-8, 225) to a 10-day contract, General Manager John Hammond announced today. Wright is the 43rd “Call-Up” of the 2013-14 season from the NBA D-League.

This marks Wright’s second stint with the Bucks this season, after also spending 10 days with the club from March 14-23. He appeared in two games with the Bucks, averaging 6.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 16.5 minutes per game.

Wright returns to the Bucks from the D-League’s Maine Red Claws, where he’s appeared in 41 games this season and posted averages of 19.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per contest. He’s notched 14 double-doubles on the year, including seven in his last 11 appearances. Wright also played for the Red Claws during the 2012-13 season, when he average 18.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, and has been named to the D-League All-Star Game in both of his seasons in Maine.

After going undrafted out of Dayton in 2011, Wright was selected by the Red Claws with the third overall pick in the 2011 D-League Draft. He appeared in four games for the Red Claws, averaging 17.0 points and 10.8 rebounds, before signing with the Golden State Warriors on Dec. 24, 2011. Wright appeared in 24 games during his lone NBA season and posted 2.9 points and 1.9 rebounds per contest. Earning the start in Golden State’s season finale, Wright tallied a career-best 25 points and eight rebounds while shooting 11-of-14 from the field on April 26, 2012, at San Antonio.

Wright will wear #15 for the Bucks.

Wizards bring Glen Rice back from D-League

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that guard Glen Rice has been recalled from the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League. Rice will be with the team for tonight’s game vs. Chicago.

In two separate assignments with the Energy, Rice has appeared in 19 games while averaging 17.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.7 steals in 28 minutes per game.

Rice has appeared in 11 games, including one start, for Washington this season while averaging 2.9 points in 10 minutes per game.

The 40-36 Wizards recently clinched a spot in the Eastern conference playoffs. They are currently the 6-seed, but could move up to five or drop to seven depending on how the rest of the season plays out.

Warriors fire assistant coach Darren Erman

The Golden State Warriors have relieved Assistant Coach Darren Erman of his duties with the organization due to a violation of company policy, it was announced today. Erman, 37, was in his third season with the Warriors after spending four years with the Boston Celtics.

It is not yet known what actual violation took place.

“This is the type of decision that would be made across the board and irrespective of position within the organization,” said Warriors’ General Manager Bob Myers. “Obviously, the timing is unfortunate, but we hold all of our employees, whether in Basketball Operations or other aspects of the business, accountable for their actions and to the same standard. We move forward and thank Darren for his contributions.”

Another Warriors assistant coach, former NBA player Brian Scalabrine, was recently demoted.

The team is 47-29 and close to clinching a Western conference playoff berth.

According to the Bay Area News Group, “Head coach Mark Jackson said he remained confident in his staff, which now is down to three assistant coaches following his decision to remove Scalabrine from the bench last week due to a “difference in philosophies” along with Erman’s firing. “He made a mistake,” Jackson said of Erman. “He owns it. He’s done a lot for me. He’s done a lot for this organization, and I’m pulling for him to make a comeback. I’m pulling for him to move on and become a great coach, and I believe that can happen. “It’s just tough. I’m pulling for him. The right decision was made, and we move forward, but certainly I’m pulling for him to bounce back and get back on the road that he was on.”

Sixers sign guard Casper Ware to second 10-day contract

The Philadelphia 76ers today announced that they have signed guard Casper Ware to a second 10-day contract. He signed his first 10-day contract on March 24, 2014.

Ware has appeared in five games for the Sixers this season. After graduating from Long Beach State in 2012, Ware played in Italy. He spent the 2012-13 season with A.S. Junior Casale and was named MVP of Legadue Basket. Prior to joining the Sixers this season, Ware was with Virtus Bologna of Lega Basket Serie A.

Grizzlies recall Jamaal Franklin from D-League

Grizzlies recall Jamaal Franklin from D-League

The Memphis Grizzlies have recalled guard Jamaal Franklin from their NBA Development League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the team announced today.

Franklin (6-5, 191) recorded 17.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.69 steals on .475 shooting (.418 3FG shooting) in 29.0 minutes in 13 games after he was re-assigned to Fort Wayne on Feb. 26.

The 22-year-old played an integral role for the Mad Ants, helping the team to an 11-2 record during his third assignment. He scored 10-plus points 12 times, 20-plus points four times and 30-plus points twice, including a D-League career-high 32 points on March 6 at Maine.

Franklin tallied three double-doubles in his latest stint with Fort Wayne, posting 31 points and a D-League career-high 11 assists on March 1 vs. Iowa, 19 points and 10 assists on March 9 at Maine, and 23 points and a D-League career-best 15 rebounds on March 14 at Delaware.

The Hawthorne, Calif. native has averaged 15.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.75 steals on .433 shooting in 28.1 minutes in 16 games through three assignments with Fort Wayne this season.

Drafted by Memphis in the second round (41st overall) of the 2013 NBA Draft after three collegiate seasons at San Diego State, Franklin has averaged 1.5 points and 1.1 rebounds in 7.9 minutes in 19 appearances as a rookie for the Grizzlies.