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Bobcats waive Ben Gordon

Charlotte Bobcats President of Basketball Operations Rod Higgins announced today that the team has requested waivers on guard Ben Gordon. The Bobcats roster now stands at 14 players.

“With the recent acquisition of additional backcourt depth to our roster, we believe this is in the best interests of both parties,” Higgins said. “We want to thank Ben for his contributions over the past two seasons and wish him the best as he moves on in his career.”

According to Yahoo Sports, “Gordon couldn’t reach an agreement with a playoff-bound team to get eligible for a postseason roster before Saturday’s deadline, so contenders are no longer interested in signing him. Nevertheless, there is interest among some non-playoff bound teams, sources said, and Gordon is weighing those opportunities against sitting out the rest of the season and preparing for summer free agency.”

Acquired from the Detroit Pistons along with a future first-round draft pick on June 26, 2012, in exchange for Corey Maggette, Gordon played in 94 games for the Bobcats with averages of 10.0 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 19.6 minutes. Gordon saw action in 19 games this season, averaging 5.2 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 14.7 minutes.

According to the Associated Press, “Gordon was making $13.2 million this season.”

Thunder sign Caron Butler

The rich get richer once again.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, already loaded with talent, have signed forward Caron Butler to a contract, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti. A team that really didn’t need any additional help now has an even stronger bench.

Butler (6-7, 217), a two-time NBA All-Star, has appeared in 764 career regular season games (710 starts) and recorded averages of 15.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.42 steals in 33.9 minutes per game during his 12-year NBA career.

“We are pleased to welcome Caron Butler to the Thunder organization and to Oklahoma City,” said Presti. “Caron represents what we look for in a Thunder player and will positively impact our team. His toughness, hard-nosed defense, resiliency and highly regarded professionalism will only enhance our depth and bring additional versatility to the roster.”

This move has been expected for days, but became official this evening.

The 10th overall selection in the 2002 NBA Draft, he has appeared in 47 career postseason games (all starts) and posted averages of 13.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.45 steals in 34.6 minutes per game.

The Thunder roster now stands at 14.

Sixers sign Jarvis Varnado to 10-day contract

The Philadelphia 76ers today announced that they have signed forward Jarvis Varnado to a 10-day contract. He is the 26th “Call-Up” of the 2013-14 NBA Development League season.

Varnado was originally the 41st overall pick by Miami in the 2010 NBA Draft. He began his professional career overseas and joined Boston briefly during the 2012-13 season before eventually signing with the Heat during its championship run.

This season, Varnado was named a D-League All-Star for the Iowa Energy and is averaging 14.1 points along with a league-high 4.7 blocks while also ranking second in rebounding with 11.0 rpg. He signed a 10-day contract with Chicago on February 18, 2014 and appeared in one game.

Varnado played collegiately at Mississippi State and joined David Robinson as the only players in NCAA history to record at least 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 blocks. He finished his career as the NCAA’s all-time leading shot blocker with 564.

Suns sign Shavlik Randolph, waive Slava Kravtsov

The Phoenix Suns have signed forward Shavlik Randolph for the remainder of the season and waived center Slava Kravtsov, the team announced today.

The 6-10, 240-pound Randolph is a six-year NBA veteran who has appeared in 111 career games (seven starts) with Philadelphia, Portland, Miami and Boston. Randolph, who competed collegiately at Duke, played with Philadelphia for three seasons from 2005-08, with Portland in the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons and with Miami in 2009-10, as well. Most recently in the NBA, Randolph appeared in 16 games for Boston last season, in addition to seeing action in one playoff contest. Earlier this season, Randolph spent time with the Foshan Long Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association. Between his NBA appearances with the Heat and the Celtics, Randolph played professionally in China and Puerto Rico.

He will be available for tomorrow night’s game vs. Atlanta.

Kravtsov, in his second NBA season, appeared in 20 games for the Suns this season, averaging 1.0 points and 0.9 rebounds in 3.0 minutes.

The Suns continue a four-game home stand on Sunday night as they host the Hawks with tip-off scheduled for 6:00 p.m. (Phoenix time). The game will be televised on FOX Sports Arizona, and carried on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

The Suns’ roster still stands at 15.

Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday out for season

Already facing a tough season with some key injuries, the 23-34 New Orleans Pelicans just lost a key piece to their puzzle.

The Pelicans announced today that guard Jrue Holiday underwent a successful surgery to correct a stress fracture in his right tibia. He will miss the remainder of the season.

In 34 games played for the Pelicans this season, Holiday has averaged 14.3 points, 7.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game in 33.6 minutes. He last appeared for New Orleans on January 8th, 2014 and has missed the ensuing 23 games.

Clippers sign Danny Granger

The rich get even richer. Roster-wise, at least.

The Los Angeles Clippers announced today that they have signed free agent forward Danny Granger.

Granger, 30, appeared in 29 games (two starts) this season with the Indiana Pacers averaging 8.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 22.6 minutes per game. He played his entire eight-year NBA career with the Pacers. He holds career averages of 17.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 544 games (425 starts) over 32.5 minutes per game.

The New Orleans native has appeared in 22 playoff games (19 starts) throughout his career, averaging 15.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists over 34.8 minutes per game. Granger’s best season with the Pacers came in 2008-09 when he averaged a career-high 25.8 points to go along with 5.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists while averaging 2.7 three-pointers per game. For his efforts, he was selected to the Eastern Conference All-Star Team and was voted the NBA’s Most Improved Player.

Originally drafted 17th overall in the 2005 NBA Draft, Granger started his collegiate career at Bradley where he played for two seasons. He transferred to the University of New Mexico after his first semester of his sophomore year and played two seasons for the Lobos. A First Team All-Mountain West selection, Granger was the only player in the NCAA that averaged 18.8 points and 8.9 rebounds while also averaging at least 2.0 blocks (2.1), 2.0 steals (2.0) and 2.0 assists (2.0) his senior season.

Boston Celtics lose Gerald Wallace for season

Here’s the Boston Globe reporting on the Celtics, who have already been facing an uphill battle all season and now get even weaker due to injury:

There was a time where the Celtics’ roster was loaded with players, depth wasn’t an issue for coach Brad Stevens.

Those days are long gone after an eventful Friday at the team’s practice facility, when Stevens revealed that veteran forward Gerald Wallace has a torn meniscus and bone spurs in his ankle and is out for the season.

Team president of basketball operations Danny Ainge confirmed Wallace is out for the season and will need surgery. He has two more years on his contract. Also, Stevens said Vitor Faverani had a second opinion on his sore left knee and may also need surgery, although Ainge said it was “premature” to assume the burly center will miss the rest of the season.

Celtics sign Chris Babb to 10-day contract

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have signed guard Chris Babb to a 10-day contract.

Babb, a 6’5” guard was playing for the Celtics’ NBA Development League affiliate, Maine Red Claws where he averaged 12.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.18 steals and 37.5 minutes in 33 games. He is the 26th Gatorade Call-Up this season from the NBA Development League and the third time the Celtics have signed someone from the D-League this season joining Chris Johnson and Vander Blue. Babb was on the Celtics roster during the 2013 preseason where he appeared in five games for the Celtics and averaged 3.2 points in 6.0 minutes per game while shooting 44.4 percent from three-point territory.

Gustavo Ayon out for season after shoulder surgery

Hawks forward/center Gustavo Ayon had surgery today to repair a right shoulder injury. The surgery was performed at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta by Dr. Xavier Duralde and accompanied by Hawks Team Physician Dr. Michael Bernot from the Peachtree Orthopaedic Clinic.

Ayon will now undergo a period of rest, treatment and rehabilitation. He will be out through the remainder of the season.

At the time of his injury, Ayon had averages of 4.3 points on .510 shooting, 4.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 blocks in 16.5 minutes per game in 26 games (14 starts).

Milwaukee Bucks waive Caron Butler

The Milwaukee Bucks have requested waivers on forward Caron Butler (6-7, 228), General Manager John Hammond announced today. The two sides agreed on a contract buyout.

“When you talk about being a professional and handling yourself with class, that’s what Caron has done here in Milwaukee,” Hammond said. “We thank him for his many positive contributions both on and off the court and wish him and his family well.”

Butler, 33, appeared in 34 games (13 starts) for the Bucks this season, averaging 11.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per contest. The native of Racine, Wis., scored in double figures in 18 games, including a season-high 38 points on Nov. 22 at Philadelphia. He also tallied a game-high 30 points in a win over Detroit on Jan. 22, giving him multiple 30-point games in a season for the first time since 2008-09. He notched two point/rebound double-doubles this season, giving him multiple double-doubles for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign.

“It’s been a dream come true to wear the Milwaukee uniform which so many of my idols growing up wore,” Butler said. “I’d like to thank Sen. Herb Kohl, John Hammond and Larry Drew for the opportunity to live out my dream of playing for the Bucks. The entire organization has treated me and my family in a first-class manner that we will never forget. I would be remiss if I didn’t also thank the great fans of Milwaukee, Racine and the entire state of Wisconsin for always standing with us during a challenging season. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.”

Butler was acquired by the Bucks from Phoenix on Aug. 29. Now in his 12th NBA season, he has played in 764 regular season games for Miami, the Los Angeles Lakers, Washington, Dallas, the Los Angeles Clippers and Milwaukee, and holds career averages of 15.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.