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Indiana Pacers sign Paul George to multi-year contract extension

The Indiana Pacers announced Wednesday they have signed veteran guard/forward Paul George to a multi-year contract extension. According to the Indianapolis Star, “George is eligible for a five-year contract that will pay him approximately $80 million to $90 million, according to the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement. If he is named to one of the league’s three All-NBA teams at the end of next season, he would be eligible for more than $90 million. If not, he could make almost $80 million.”
According to the Associated Press, “We’re all in this year,” Larry Bird said. They proved it Wednesday by officially singing George to a five-year max contract extension that guarantees him between $80 and $90 million and could be worth even more if George reaches an escalator clause. George’s deal comes after David West’s new three-year, $36 million contract, Bird’s offseason spending spree to improve the bench and last year’s expensive deals to keep center Roy Hibbert and point guard George Hill. The Pacers are almost certain to have their core nucleus together for several more years. And with the Pacers coming off back-to-back playoff runs in which they pushed Miami, the expectations are soaring.”

The 6-7, 225-pound George is considered one of the rising stars in the NBA. Last season, his third in the NBA, George averaged 17.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game. He made his first All-Star appearance as a reserve for the East in the NBA All-Star Game, was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player while also being named to the All-NBA third team and the All-Defensive second team. George was the Pacers’ No. 1 draft pick (10th overall) in the 2010 draft.

“I want to thank the Pacers for believing in me when they drafted me,” said George. “To continue my career with the Pacers was a very easy decision. We have great ownership, a great front office, great fans and I’m blessed with great coaches and great teammates. I use great a lot because that is what this franchise is and I’m hopeful we can be part of great things in the future.”

“Paul represents not only what our team and franchise is about, but what a professional athlete should be,” said President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird. “He strives every day to be the best he can be, as a player, as a teammate, as a person and as a representative of this franchise.”

Associated Press: “George showed up for the news conference in a nifty gray suit, dapper shoes, trendy eyeglasses and neatly trimmed hair. But he didn’t sound different from the blue-collar guy who has been impressing Pacers coaches and teammates since he was taken 10th in the 2010 draft.”

New York Knicks sign center Cole Aldrich

New York Knicks Executive Vice President and General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has signed center Cole Aldrich. We assume this is a non-guaranteed contract that merely brings Aldrich to training camp, where he will then try to earn a regular season contract. He may have potential to be a decent NBA backup, though so far, early in his career, he’s been more of an end-of-the-bench type of player.

Aldrich, 6-11, 245-pounds, holds career averages of 2.0 points, on 54.-percent shooting, with 2.3 rebounds over 7.9 minutes in 89 games over three seasons with Oklahoma City, Houston and Sacramento. Last season, he averaged 2.2 points and 2.7 rebounds over 8.6 minutes in 45 games for the Rockets and Kings.

The Burnsville, MN native was originally selected by New Orleans in the first round (11th pick overall) of 2010 NBA Draft following his junior season at the University of Kansas, and then, had his draft rights traded to Oklahoma City. He was a member of the 2008 NCAA Championship team and finished his collegiate career with averages of 9.4 points and 7.7 rebounds.

Memphis Grizzlies hire Elston Turner, Duane Ticknor, Shawn Respert as assistant coaches

The Memphis Grizzlies today announced that the organization has hired Elston Turner, Duane Ticknor and Shawn Respert as assistant coaches to join returning assistant coach Bob Thornton on Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger’s staff.

Additionally, the Grizzlies have hired Chattin Hill as athletic performance coach, promoted Jason March to advance scout, promoted Steve Jones to video coordinator/player development and hired Mark Sanford as assistant video coordinator/player development.

Known in league circles for coaching defense on offensively-minded ball clubs, Turner joins the Grizzlies as the lead assistant with 17 seasons of experience as an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns (2011-13), Houston Rockets (2007-11), Sacramento Kings (2000-06) and Portland Trail Blazers (1996-00).

Turner served as the lead assistant for Phoenix after spending six seasons in the same role in Houston under current Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Rick Adelman. He also worked under Adelman in Sacramento, where he was a part of two Western Conference All-Star coaching staffs (2001, 2003), and Portland.

Turner’s career coaching responsibilities have included handling the team’s game plan, individual skill work with players and advance scouting. He also served as the Rockets’ summer league head coach. His coaching career began in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) as an assistant coach for the Quad City Thunder and as a player/coach for the Chicago Rockers.

Drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in the second round (43rd overall) of the 1981 NBA Draft, Turner played eight seasons in the NBA with the Mavericks (1981-84), Denver Nuggets (1984-86, 1988-89) and Chicago Bulls (1986-88) and spent five seasons in the CBA. He played three more years in Spain, Italy and Greece following his NBA career.

The Knoxville, Tenn. native played four seasons at Ole Miss, where as a senior he teamed with current Grizzlies TV analyst Sean Tuohy to lead the Rebels to the school’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1981. The university honored Turner’s collegiate accomplishments by inducting him into the Ole Miss M-Club Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000.

A veteran on the minor league coaching circuit, Ticknor will rejoin Joerger on the sidelines after the latter worked as the former’s assistant for one season (1999-00) with the International Basketball Association’s (IBA) Dakota Wizards.

Ticknor spent last season as head coach of the NBA Development League’s Fort Wayne Mad Ants, leading the club to a 27-23 record (.540) and an appearance in the 2013 D-League Playoffs.

Before his stint in Fort Wayne, Ticknor served two seasons as an assistant coach with the D-League’s Sioux Falls Skyforce (2009-11), two more as head coach of the Dakota Wizards (2007-09) and one season in Korea (2011-12). He also spent time in the CBA as head coach of the Gary Steelheads (2002-05) and as an assistant for the Rapid City Thrillers (1989-92) and the IBA as head coach of the Black Hills Posse (1995-99), Dakota Wizards (1999-00) and Siouxland Bombers (2000-01).

A four-time IBA Coach of the Year (1996-98, 2000), the Vermillion, S.D. native led his teams to the IBA Finals three times and won the 1997 IBA Championship while helming Black Hills.

Thornton returns for a third season on the Grizzlies sidelines after joining the organization prior to the 2011-12 season. Before joining the Grizzlies, Thornton spent the previous four seasons (2007-11) as the advance scout for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Los Angeles native has experience as an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls (2002-04) and Minnesota Timberwolves (2005-07) and served as the head coach for the CBA’s Quad City Thunder (2000-01) and the D-League’s Huntsville Flight (2001-02).

Drafted by the New York Knicks in the fourth round (87th overall) of the 1984 NBA Draft, Thornton played professionally for 11 years, including eight NBA seasons with the Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Timberwolves, Utah Jazz and Washington Bullets. He also played in Spain, Italy and the CBA.

Respert comes to Memphis after serving the previous two seasons (2011-13) as an assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves and three seasons (2008-11) as director of player development for the Houston Rockets. He also served two years (2007-08) as director of player development in the D-League offices in New York and two-and-a-half years (2005-07) as director of basketball operations at Rice University.

Named the 1995 NCAA Player of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) as a senior at Michigan State, Respert was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round (eighth overall) of the 1995 NBA Draft. After his draft rights were traded to Milwaukee, Respert played four NBA seasons (1995-99) with the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns before finishing his professional career playing in Italy, Greece and Poland.

The Detroit native was inducted into the Michigan State University Athletics Hall of Fame on Sept. 20, 2012.

Hill joins the Grizzlies as athletic performance coach after recently serving six seasons as the strength and conditioning coach for the Atlanta Hawks. He is responsible for the development and implementation of strength, conditioning and nutritional programs for the Grizzlies roster. The Washington State native also served one season as the assistant strength coach for the Seattle SuperSonics, two years as the head strength coach of the WNBA’s Seattle Storm and worked in a similar capacity at the University of Washington, where he focused his efforts primarily on the men’s and women’s basketball teams.

Entering his seventh season with the organization, March now will serve as advance scout after spending last season as director of basketball information and technologies. Before joining the Grizzlies, he spent two seasons as the assistant video coordinator for the Phoenix Suns, where he was part of the team that advanced to the 2006 Western Conference Finals. A graduate of Florida State University, the Frostproof, Fla. native also spent two seasons as the video coordinator for the Phoenix Mercury, who won the 2007 WNBA championship.

Entering his third season with the club, Jones will take over the role of video coordinator/player development after working two seasons under March as basketball information and technologies associate. Jones, who played collegiately for UNLV and Arizona State University, will prepare scouting videos and game plans for upcoming opponents for the coaching staff. The Portland, Ore. native also will assemble a library of game action clips in preparation of the annual NBA Draft.

Sanford enters his first season with the Grizzlies as assistant video coordinator/player development after spending four years at Northwood University, where he served two years as an assistant to the men’s basketball team and his final two years as head coach of the women’s team. Drafted by the Heat in the second round (31st overall) of the 1997 NBA Draft, Sanford enjoyed an 11-year professional career that included NBA stints with Miami, Sacramento and New Jersey, appearances in the CBA and ABA, and international stints in Belgium, France, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Japan, Israel, Venezuela, Spain, the Philippines, Australia, Lebanon, South Korea and Chile. The Dallas native earned First Team All-Pac 10 honors twice at the University of Washington and declared for the NBA Draft following his junior season.

Shaq joins Sacramento Kings ownership group

Shaquille O’Neal

Wealthy, retired players like to buy stuff

Shaquille O’Neal will be introduced as the newest member of the Sacramento Kings ownership group Tuesday morning at the Kings practice facility.

O’Neal, the four-time NBA Champion and 2000 league MVP, is best known for tormenting the Kings during his run of dominance with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The future Hall of Famer retired prior to the 2011-12 season and has worked as an analyst for TNT the last two seasons. He met with majority owner Vivek Ranadive in June and offered to tutor DeMarcus Cousins, who he believes has the talent to be the best center in basketball.

Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (Blog)

During the height of his career with the Los Angeles Lakers, O’Neal fueled the rivalry with the Kings with his play on the court and his personality off of it.

O’Neal handed Sacramento its biggest blow by rallying the Lakers from a 3-2 deficit to win the 2002 Western Conference finals, which is still a sore spot for Kings fans. The 7-foot-1 center even labeled the franchise the “Sacramento Queens” and accused fan favorite Vlade Divac — whom he referred to as “she” at one point during the series — of flopping.

Reported by Antonio Gonzalez of the Associated Press

Pacers, Paul George finalizing huge contract extension

Paul George

Must get even better to validate this huge contract

All-Star forward Paul George and the Indiana Pacers are finalizing a five-year, $90 million-plus maximum contract extension, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

A deal is expected to be signed this week, league sources told Yahoo.

For the Pacers and George, who was voted the 2013 NBA Most Improved Player, the five-year deal will cement the gifted young forward as Indiana’s designated franchise player. George’s extension will begin with the 2014-15 season. He will make $3.2 million this season.

In three NBA seasons, George has developed into one of the league’s most thrilling young talents, blossoming into a starring role in the Pacers’ march to a Game 7 against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals last season.

Reported by Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports

Lakers sign rookie forward Ryan Kelly

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed rookie forward Ryan Kelly, it was announced today.

Kelly, a 6-11 forward out of Duke, was selected by the Lakers in the second round (48th overall pick) in the 2013 NBA draft. The former McDonald’s All-American, who earned a 2010 NCAA Championship as well as two ACC Championships with Duke, played all four seasons for the Blue Devils where he averaged 7.5 points and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 46 % from the field. As a senior, Kelly was named ACC Player of the Week twice and earned honorable mention All-ACC honors despite missing 13 games due to injury. Kelly finished his final season with the Blue Devils averaging 12.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.6 blocked shots in 28.9 minutes.

According to the Los Angeles Daily News blog, “The Lakers selected Kelly, however, because the 6’11′ Duke forward could space the floor with his trusty shooting. That skill enabled Kelly his senior season with the Blue Devils to average 12.9 points with a 42 percent mark from three-point range. Should Kelly fully heal, he would compete for a roster spot during training camp against Marcus Landry, Elias Harris, Xavier Henry and Shawne Williams, all whom signed one-year deals this summer with the Lakers. The Lakers have a league-maximum 15 players under contract, though they’re expected to field 18-20 players during training camp.”

Sean Marks is now a San Antonio Spurs assistant coach

The San Antonio Spurs today announced several front office promotions and additions entering the 2013-14 NBA season. Sean Marks assumes the role of assistant coach for the Spurs after serving the past season as director of basketball operations/Toros GM. Brian Pauga, currently director of scouting, adds Austin Toros general manager to his duties. Additionally, Will Hardy has been promoted to video coordinator, Anthony Falsone joins the Spurs as the athletic performance coordinator and Matt J. Herring assumes the role of athletic performance associate.

Marks, a native of New Zealand, began in the Spurs front office in 2011 as a basketball operations assistant before being promoted to director of basketball operations/Toros GM prior to last season. An 11-year NBA veteran, Marks played for San Antonio from 2003-06 and was a part of the Spurs 2005 NBA Championship team. He joins new assistant coach Jim Boylen and Ime Udoka on Gregg Popovich’s staff.

Pauga adds Toros general manager duties to his title after spending the past year as the director of scouting. The Michigan State graduate began his career in the Spurs front office as a basketball operations intern during the 2007-08 season before being elevated to scouting team coordinator.

Hardy takes over the role of video coordinator after spending the past two years as the assistant video coordinator for San Antonio. Hardy, who attended Williams College in Massachusetts, began with the Spurs as a video intern in 2011.

Falsone spent 10 seasons as the strength and conditioning coach for the Houston Rockets from 1995-2005. He also served as the personal strength coach for Hakeem Olajuwon from 1993-95 and for Yao Ming from 2005-06. While assisting Ming, Falsone worked with the Chinese men’s basketball team in preparation for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece and for the 2006 FIBA World Championships in Sapparo, Japan.

Herring comes to the Spurs after spending the past year in Bermuda as the principal, strength and conditioning coach and fascial stretch therapist for Rhino Training. In the past year he has also worked for the Peak Performance Project in Santa Barbara, Calif., where he assisted with strength and conditioning preparation for athletes prior to the 2013 NBA Draft.

Spurs foward Jeff Pendergraph changes his last name to Ayres

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that forward Jeff Pendergraph has formally changed his last name to Ayres.

Ayres is the family name of his biological father, James. It replaces the surname of Jeff’s former stepfather.

According to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express News, “I didn’t know who my dad was until I was a senior in high school,” Jeff Ayres said Wednesday, during a break from pickup games at the Spurs’ practice gym. He was born Jeff Orcutt, using his mother LaDona’s maiden name, and became Pendergraph in elementary school when she married. Growing up in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., 45 miles east of Los Angeles, the future Jeff Ayres dreamed his biological father was someone famous, such as Denzel Washington or Shaquille O’Neal. A doctor. A musician. Somebody who was somebody. “It turns out it was a mechanic named James,” Ayres said.”

Paul George says he will sign Pacers contract extension soon

Indiana Pacers All-Star forward Paul George said today the team’s fans don’t need to worry about him going anywhere.

Indianapolis is his professional home and he plans to be here for a long time.

“(A long-term contract) is going to get done,” George told The Indianapolis Star. “There will be a deal signed and sealed on the table before the season. We’re (George and Pacers management) on the same page.”

George is entering the final year of his contract and the odds seemed long that he would leave Indiana even before Wednesday’s comments. The Pacers would have the right to match any offer he received next summer and have indicated they would do just that.

Reported by Michael Pointer of the Indianapolis Star

Golden State Warriors hire Lindsey Hunter as assistant coach

The Golden State Warriors have hired Lindsey Hunter as an assistant coach on Head Coach Mark Jackson’s staff, the team announced today.

Hunter comes to the Warriors after completing the 2012-13 campaign as the interim head coach of the Phoenix Suns, where he compiled a 12-29 record at the helm. Prior to being elevated to interim head coach, Hunter served as the Suns’ player development coordinator, having originally joined the team’s scouting department in 2012.

Hunter enjoyed a 17-year NBA career as a player (1993-2010), appearing in 937 regular-season games with the Detroit Pistons (1993-00, 2003-08), Milwaukee Bucks (2000-01), Los Angeles Lakers (2001-02), Toronto Raptors (2002-03) and Chicago Bulls (2008-10). In 17 seasons, Hunter advanced to the playoffs 12 times, playing in 147 postseason contests and capturing NBA titles with the Lakers (2002) and Pistons (2004).

Originally selected by the Pistons with the 10th overall pick in the 1993 NBA Draft, the Jackson State University alum averaged 8.5 points, 2.7 assists and 2.2 rebounds in 24.8 minutes per game during his NBA career. Following his retirement from the NBA in 2010, Hunter worked with the Bulls as a player development assistant before joining the Suns.