Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Wizards waive Josh Childress, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Xavier Silas

josh childress

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has waived forwards Josh Childress and Pops Mensah-Bonsu and guard Xavier Silas.

Childress appeared in four preseason games averaging 2.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in eight minutes per contest.

Childress said he won’t forget his time with the team. “It was great,” said Childress to the Washington Post of the experience. “To be the first NBA game in Brazil, it was a big deal. I think culturally, not for myself, but for a lot of guys, it was a great experience for guys, to see a different world, a different culture, so the NBA did a great job with that. Without a doubt, over the past month, guys have bonded. There are lot of guys I did not know before I got here and now we’re friends and we’ll keep in touch throughout the year and in the summer.”

Mensah-Bonsu appeared in four preseason games averaging 0.5 points and 1.3 rebounds in five minutes per contest.

Silas appeared in three preseason games averaging 4.0 points in three minutes per contest.

The Wizards roster now stands at 15.

Charlotte Bobcats waive Patrick O`Bryant

Charlotte Bobcats President of Basketball Operations Rod Higgins announced today that the team has waived center Patrick O’Bryant. The Bobcats roster now stands at 16 players.

A 7-0 center, O’Bryant was initially selected with the ninth overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors. He appeared in one preseason game with the Bobcats, scoring two points and grabbing five rebounds.

Assistant coach Brendan Malone leaves the Sacramento Kings

The Sacramento Kings announced today the team has accepted the resignation of Assistant Coach Brendan Malone, effective immediately. No replacement will be made at this time and moving forward, Chris Jent will assume responsibilities as the lead assistant on Head Coach Michael Malone’s staff.

“As a veteran of 27 seasons in the NBA coaching ranks, Brendan brought a wealth of experience and knowledge to our organization, and we were all fortunate to have had an opportunity to work with him,” said Kings General Manager Pete D’Alessandro. “His departure is not indicative of a loss of passion for the game or his desire to help our franchise succeed, but rather a decision based on factors associated with the rigors of coaching in the NBA.”

“I’m thankful that I had my father on our staff during the summer and throughout training camp as I transitioned into a head coaching role,” said Michael Malone. “He was my father long before we became colleagues, and while I’ll miss his presence on the bench, he will always be an invaluable source of counsel on all matters basketball and otherwise.”

Malone Sr. joined the Kings in June after five seasons with the Orlando Magic under Head Coach Stan Van Gundy. During his tenure in Orlando, the Magic notched four straight seasons of 50 or more wins, three consecutive Southeast Division titles (2007-08 – 2009-10), and a 2009 NBA Finals appearance. Malone also worked under Hall of Famer Chuck Daly and was part of two NBA championships with the Detroit Pistons (1989 and 1990), where he orchestrated defensive sets to thwart Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. He spent seven seasons (1988-89 – 1994-95) with the Pistons before becoming the first-ever head coach of the expansion Toronto Raptors.

His coaching career includes three stints with the Knicks as an assistant coach (1986-87 – 1987-88, 1997-98 – 1999-00, and (2003-04). In between his second and third stays in New York, he served as an assistant coach with the Indiana Pacers for three seasons (2000-01 – 2002-03). In 1996, Malone worked as a consultant for the Seattle Supersonics during their run to the 1996 NBA Finals.

Cavaliers exercise contract options on Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters, Tyler Zeller

The Cleveland Cavaliers announced today that the team has exercised the fourth-year options on guard Kyrie Irving and forward Tristan Thompson, as well as the third-year options on guard Dion Waiters and center Tyler Zeller.

Irving was the first overall pick in the 2011 draft by the Cavaliers and owns career averages of 20.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.3 steals in 32.8 minutes through 110 career games with the team. A 2013 NBA All-Star, Irving participated in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge and also won the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest that weekend. Last season he averaged 22.5 points on .452 shooting, 3.7 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.5 steals in 34.7 minutes in 59 games. His 22.5 points per game were the highest for any player age 22 or younger in 2012-13 and the most among all Eastern Conference point guards.

Thompson was selected in the first round (4th overall) by the Cavaliers in 2011 and owns career averages of 10.2 points and 8.2 rebounds in 28.1 minutes through 142 (107 starts) games played. Last season, he posted 11.7 points on .488 shooting, 9.4 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 31.3 minutes. He set a franchise record for most offensive rebounds in a single-season with 306, which ranked second in the NBA, surpassing Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ 299 during the 2004-05 season. During NBA All-Star weekend, Thompson was selected to participate in 2013 BBVA Rising Stars Challenge.

Waiters was the fourth overall pick of the Cavaliers in the 2012 draft and appeared in 61 games last season, averaging 14.7 points on .412 shooting, 2.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steal in 28.8 minutes. He was also named to the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team. During NBA All-Star weekend, Waiters was selected to participate in 2013 BBVA Rising Stars Challenge.

Zeller was selected in the first round (17th) overall in the same draft class as Waiters by Dallas, but was later acquired by the Cavaliers in a draft day trade. In 77 games last season, he averaged 7.9 points on .438 shooting and 5.7 rebounds in 28.0 minutes. He was named to the NBA’s All-Rookie Second Team and was selected to participate in the 2013 BBVA Rising Stars Challenge during All-Star Weekend.

Irving , Waiters and Zeller were among the 27 NBA players who participated in the three-day USA Basketball minicamp held in Las Vegas July 22-25, while Thompson led the Canadian National Team during the FIBA Americas Championship tournament.

NBA Finals changes back to 2-2-1-1-1 game location format

The NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved a change to the format of The Finals effective with the 2013-14 season, the league announced today.

Over the previous 29 seasons, The Finals featured a 2-3-2 setup in which the team with home-court advantage hosted Games 1, 2, 6 and 7, while the opponent hosted Games 3, 4 and 5. Beginning with The Finals 2014, the format will shift to a 2-2-1-1-1 schedule, where the team with home-court advantage will host Games 1, 2, 5 and 7, and the opponent will host Games 3, 4 and 6. The format change will include an extra day between Games 6 and 7.

The change, which was recommended by the NBA’s Competition Committee at its meeting on Sept. 17, aligns The Finals format with every other round of the NBA Playoffs. The NBA previously used the 2-2-1-1-1 schedule for The Finals from 1957 to 1984 (except 1978).

“The Competition Committee felt strongly that a consistent format should be used for each round of our playoffs,” said Rod Thorn, President, Basketball Operations. “With improvements in team air travel and technology, the reasons the 2-3-2 format made sense for us in the past largely do not exist anymore, so creating consistency became the priority.”

We at InsideHoops.com like this decision. Even better would be a 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 format, but that would probably be too demanding on players, media, league employees, etc. travel-wise.

Wolves to pick up Derrick Williams, Ricky Rubio contract options

Ricky Rubio

The Wolves will pick up Derrick Williams’ $6.7 million contract option for 2014-15 and do the same with Ricky Rubio’s $5 million option as well, a team source confirms.

The decision on Rubio’s contract before next week’s season opener is nothing but a formality.

The Williams’ decision pretty much was one, too, despite all the Internet chatter whether they’d really commit to another contract that could leave them fairly handcuffed right near the luxury tax.

Reported by Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Blog)

Atlanta Hawks waive James Johnson

Atlanta Hawks waive James Johnson

The Atlanta Hawks have waived James Johnson, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Danny Ferry.

Johnson appeared in four preseason games for the Hawks.

The training camp roster stands at 17.

It feels to us like it’s too early for Johnson to fall out of the NBA. We expect another NBA team to give him a shot soon.

Clippers waive forward Brandon Davies

The Los Angeles Clippers announced today that they have waived forward Brandon Davies. The Clippers roster now stands at 15 players.

Davies appeared in five preseason games for the Clippers, averaging 3.4 points and 2.8 rebounds in 11.2 minutes of action.

Davies, 22, was a member of the Clippers 2013 Summer League team in Las Vegas, averaging 5.8 points and 4.0 rebounds in 15.8 minutes of play over five games. He was undrafted out of BYU in the 2013 NBA Draft.