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The Chicago Bulls announced today the team has re-signed forward Cartier Martin to a second 10-day contract. Martin, a 6-7, 220-pound forward, originally signed a 10-day contract with the Bulls on Jan. 10. In accordance with team policy, terms of the contract were not announced.
In three games with Chicago, Martin averaged 5.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg and 0.7 apg in 13.7 mpg. He also shot .625 from the field, .600 from behind the arc and .500 from the line.
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Charlotte Bobcats guard Kemba Walker is expected to miss 10-14 days after an MRI today confirmed a second degree sprain in his left ankle. Walker suffered the injury in the third quarter of last night’s game against Miami. X-rays taken at Time Warner Cable Arena following the injury were negative.
Walker has played in all 42 games for the Bobcats this season, averaging team highs of 18.7 points, 5.0 assists, 1.4 steals and 35.7 minutes, along with 4.2 rebounds. He has scored in double figures 37 times, including 18 games with 20 points or more and four games with 30 points or more. He entered today’s games ranked 22nd in the NBA in minutes played, tied for 26th in assists, ranked 27th in scoring and ranked 27th in steals.
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The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have assigned Ricky Ledo to the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League.
Ledo (6-7, 200) has seen action in nine games for the Mavericks and holds averages of 1.9 points and 3.3 minutes per game.
Ledo will join the Legends and be available for tonight’s game when they take on the Austin Toros at 7:00 pm CT at the Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco.
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The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that center Jason Smith will be out indefinitely with a right knee injury. An MRI revealed Smith suffered cartilage damage in his right knee. More details will be released as they become available.
In 31 games (27 starts) this season, Smith is averaging 9.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 26.8 minutes per game. The 7’0” center holds career averages of 6.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 331 games.
The Phoenix Suns announced today that they have signed guard Leandro Barbosa (lee-AN-dro BAR-bow-sa) to a second 10-day contract.
Barbosa signed his first 10-day contract with the club on Jan. 8. The 31-year-old guard has appeared in four games with Phoenix this season, averaging 9.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 21.5 minutes. In the Suns’ game at New York on Jan. 13, Barbosa came off the bench to score 21 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, in 30 minutes of action.
The 6-3, 194-pound Barbosa is in his 11th season in the NBA, the first seven of which were played with the Suns, as he averaged 12.6 points, 2.6 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 466 games with Phoenix from 2003-10. Barbosa won the 2006-07 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award with the Suns after posting career-highs of 18.1 points and 4.0 assists per game.
The Suns continue a season-long five-game home stand on Sunday night as they host the Denver Nuggets 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 620 (KTAR-AM).
The Oklahoma City Thunder has assigned forward Andre Roberson to the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.
Roberson has appeared in 16 games (four starts) for the Thunder this season, averaging 1.8 points and 2.3 rebounds in 8.7 minutes per game.
This will mark Roberson’s third assignment to the 66ers this season. In five previous games (all starts) with Tulsa, he has averaged 15.6 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.8 steals in 35.8 minutes per game.
He is expected to be in uniform tonight when the Tulsa 66ers take on the Bakersfield Jam at Dignity Health Event Center in Bakersfield, Calif.
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The Dallas Mavericks announced today that guard Gal Mekel underwent arthroscopic surgery to address a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee. The surgery was performed by TO Souryal at Texas Sports Medicine in Dallas.
No timetable has been set for his return.
According to the Dallas Morning News blog, “This means Shane Larkin will continue to log meaningful minutes, even when Devin Harris returns, possibly as soon as Saturday. Harris will not play in tonight’s game at Phoenix, but nobody would rule out the possibility that he could make his season debut Saturday in Dallas against Portland.”
The Oklahoma City Thunder have, as expected, been one of the league’s best teams this season. Even with star point guard Russell Westbrook injured, the team is a force.
But the team can still use a bit of help in their backcourt. And so enters Royal Ivey, who is a solid backup to have at the end of a bench for use in limited minutes.
Full news item: Thunder sign Royal Ivey to 10-day contract
You remember Hedo Turkoglu. He did fun things on the Orlando Magic years ago, but has largely been forgotten about for a couple seasons now.
Well, he’s back, and actually in a pretty good situation, jumping on board with the Los Angeles Clippers, who can use him in very limited minutes to keep their flow going. It’s a low-risk addition.
Full news: Clippers sign Hedo Turkoglu, keep Darius Morris, release Maalik Wayns
The Atlanta Hawks have signed forward James Nunnally to a 10-day contract, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Danny Ferry.
In 19 starts with the Bakersfield Jam this season, Nunnally has averaged 18.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 33.6 minutes (.448 FG%, .415 3FG%, .853 FT%). Following this week’s NBA D-League Showcase in Reno, NV, he was named to the All-Showcase first team by NBA scouts and basketball operations personnel.
Undrafted in 2012 out of UC Santa Barbara, he also played with the Jam last season, appearing in 49 contests (eight starts) and averaging 10.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 19.7 minutes (.430 FG%, .406 3FG%, .884 FT%). Nunnally was with the Phoenix Suns in training camp in 2013, and saw action in three preseason games.
As a senior at UC Santa Barbara in 2011-12, Nunnally put up 15.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 33.8 minutes (.458 FG%, .813 FT%).
Nunnally will wear uniform no. 2.