NBA News Blog – Page 816 – NBA Blog

Warriors sign center Dewayne Dedmon

The Golden State Warriors have signed free agent center Dewayne Dedmon as a Call-Up from the Warriors’ D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz, the team announced today.

Dedmon, 24, appeared in two preseason games with the Santa Cruz Warriors, averaging 13.5 points, 12.0 rebounds, 4.00 blocks and 1.50 steals in 27.5 minutes, securing double-doubles in both contests and converting on 11-of-17 shots from the field (64.7 percent). He is the second player this season to be called up to the NBA from the D-League (joining Utah’s Diante Garrett) and is the 18th D-League Call-Up in Golden State Warriors history.

The 7’0’’ center was originally signed by Golden State as a free agent on September 23 and appeared in five preseason games with the club, tallying 3.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.00 blocks in 10.3 minutes. He was waived on October 25.

Dedmon was not selected in the 2013 NBA Draft following a two-year career at USC, where he averaged 7.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.67 blocks over 51 games (49 starts). In 31 games (29 starts) as a redshirt junior this past season, he averaged 6.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.13 blocks and 1.10 steals in 22.3 minutes per contest. Dedmon did not play organized basketball until his senior year of high school due to religious reasons and played one season at Antelope Valley College in his hometown of Lancaster, CA, before transferring to USC.

He will wear uniform #21.

Pelicans center Greg Stiemsma out 6-8 weeks with knee injury

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that center Greg Stiemsma suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee. An MRI confirmed the injury, which occurred during the second quarter of Tuesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Stiemsma is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.

The Pelicans are off to a 3-6 start. From an efficiency standpoint, their offense is fairly average for the league, but their defense has been a disappointment. Their star so far has been Anthony Davis, who is playing like an all-star this season, averaging 21.8 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game.

NBA fines Matt Barnes $25,000

Los Angeles Clippers forward Matt Barnes, a talented, competitive, good player who generally makes his team better, continues to have a bit of a problem controlling his temper.

Barnes has been fined $25,000 for failing to leave the court in a timely manner upon his ejection and using inappropriate language on his Twitter account during the game following his ejection, in violation of NBA rules, it was announced today by Rod Thorn, President, Basketball Operations.

The ejection occurred with 6.2 seconds remaining in the second quarter of the Clippers’ 111-103 victory over the Thunder on Wednesday, Nov. 13, at Staples Center.

Lakers assign Ryan Kelly and Elias Harris to D-League

The Los Angeles Lakers have assigned Ryan Kelly and Elias Harris to the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the team’s NBA Development League affiliate.

The assignments are the ninth and tenth of the 2013-14 NBA D-League campaign and are the first for both Kelly and Harris, who become the sixth and seventh NBA players to be assigned to their NBA D-League affiliate this season.

Magic fine Glen Davis for incident in motel

The Orlando Magic have fined forward Glen Davis an undisclosed amount following his actions on Saturday, Nov. 9, General Manager Rob Hennigan announced today.

“We will not tolerate or condone this type of behavior,” said Hennigan. “As we have stated repeatedly, when a player puts on an Orlando Magic uniform, he is representing something much greater than himself. We expect our players to uphold a certain standard of conduct and character at all times.”

According to the Orlando Sentinel, the team fined Davis “for his role in an incident early Saturday morning at a downtown Orlando motel lobby in which he threw a keyboard belonging to the motel against a wall.”

Utah Jazz sign guard Diante Garrett

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has signed guard Diante Garrett of the NBA Development League’s Iowa Energy, marking the NBA’s first D-League Call-Up of the 2013-14 season. Per team policy, financial terms were not released. Following the move, the Jazz roster now stands at 15 players.

The 23-year-old Garrett (6-4, 190, Iowa State) was participating in training camp with the Energy after spending the 2013 NBA training camp and preseason with the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he averaged 3.2 points and 1.5 assists in 10.2 minutes in six preseason games before being waived on October 25. Garrett spent the 2012-13 season with the Phoenix Suns, appearing in 19 games (all as a reserve), averaging 2.1 points and 1.6 assists in 7.8 minutes of action. Garrett also saw action last season with the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League while on assignment from the Suns, playing in eight regular season games (six starts) and averaging 17.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.63 steals while shooting .491 (54-110) from the floor and .619 (13-21) from three-point range, in 32.6 minutes per contest. In addition, Garrett started two games in the 2013 D-League Playoffs for the Jam, producing 21.0 points on .500 (17-34) shooting, while contributing 6.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.0 steal in 34.5 minutes per game. He also played for KK Zagreb in Croatia and JSF Nanterre in France during the 2011-12 season.

The Milwaukee native played four collegiate seasons at Iowa State University (2007-11), and finished his career as the Cyclones’ all-time leader in games played (128), ranking second in career assists (611), ninth in steals (153), 13th in three-pointers (98) and 16th in scoring (1,364). His 611 assists also rank fifth in Big 12 Conference history and he is one of only three players in Big 12 history to amass at least 1,300 points and 600 assists (Kirk Hinrich, Kansas; John Roberson, Texas Tech).

As a senior (2010-11), Garrett earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors after averaging 17.3 points, 6.1 assists and 1.7 steals and was one of only two players in the nation (Nate Wolters, South Dakota St.) to average at least 17.0 points and 6.0 assists. He is also one of only nine players in Big 12 history to rank in the top five in the conference in both assists (first) and scoring (fifth).

The son of former NBA player Dick Garrett (1969-74), Garrett’s first name is pronounced “Dee-ahn-tay,” and he will wear uniform #8 for the Jazz.

Lou Williams set to return for Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks are off to a solid 4-3 start to the new season. And the team should get even better with the return of scoring guard Lou Williams. Here’s the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Lou Williams has been cleared for full-contact practice and his return to the Hawks lineup could come soon.

A day after Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer acknowledged that Williams has participated in full-contact drills, he said Williams has been medically cleared and is now getting in game shape. The veteran guard is rehabbing from a torn right ACL suffered in January.

“He is basically competing full-go now,” Budenholzer said Wednesday morning before the Hawks took on the Knicks.

Warriors guard Toney Douglas out at least two weeks

Golden State Warriors guard Toney Douglas was examined by team doctors today, who diagnosed him with a stress reaction in his left tibia.

Douglas is expected to miss a minimum of two weeks to rest the injury, after which he will be re-evaluated.

In seven games this season, Douglas is averaging 6.4 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 16.0 minutes per contest. He is a backup, and comes off the bench.

Utah Jazz waive Jamaal Tinsley

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has waived guard Jamaal Tinsley. Following the move, Utah’s roster now stands at 14 players.

Tinsley (6-3, 188, Iowa State) appeared in eight games this season for Utah, averaging 1.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 13.8 minutes per game.

Tinsley was signed as a free agent on October 26.

This could be one of Tinsley’s final stops in the NBA. We won’t be surprised if another team picks him up, though. But this certainly feels close to the end of the road for the crafty point guard.

Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders out 6 weeks after thumb surgery

Already facing a challenging season, the road to success in 2013-14 just got even tougher for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Bucks center Larry Sanders underwent successful surgery on Monday to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb, General Manager John Hammond announced.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Curt Crimmins, a hand specialist, at the Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin. Sanders will be sidelined for approximately six weeks and updates will be provided when available.

Sanders injured his thumb on Nov. 3 while involved in an off-court incident.