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Former professional basketball player Kenny Williams has been sentenced to nine months in prison and ordered to pay more than $660,000 in restitution for failing to pay child support.
The 44-year-old Williams was sentenced in federal court in Raleigh on Tuesday.
The U.S. Attorney’s office said Williams earned a salary playing for the NBA’s Indiana Pacers, played overseas and drove luxury cars while his former wife and three children were on welfare.
Reported by the Associated Press
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Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today that the club has signed free agent forward/center Josh Harrellson to a contract.
Harrellson will provide bench depth in the frontcourt. He will likely play limited minutes for the Pistons.
Harrellson was drafted 45th overall in the 2011 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Hornets and traded to the New York Knicks on draft night. In 37 games with the Knicks in 2011-12, he averaged 4.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 14.6 minutes. He also saw action in four playoff games where he averaged 2.5 points and 2.0 rebounds in 6.3 minutes per game.
A 6-10, 275-pound native of St. Charles, MO, Harrellson played six games with the Miami HEAT last season and also played in Puerto Rico (Brujos de Guayama) and China (Chongqing Fly Dragon).
Harrellson, 24, played collegiately at the University of Kentucky from 2008-11, reaching the NCAA Final Four in 2011. As a senior, he averaged 7.6 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting 61.1% from the field with the Wildcats.
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Charlotte Bobcats President of Basketball Operations Rod Higgins announced yesterday that the team has signed free agent forward Anthony Tolliver.
“Anthony is a quality young big man who will add depth to our front line,” Higgins said. “We are glad to add a player of his caliber to our roster.”
The 6-8 Tolliver is a veteran of five NBA seasons, having played in 243 career games for the Spurs, Trail Blazers, Warriors, Timberwolves and Hawks. He has career averages of 6.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 19.9 minutes, while shooting .413 from the field (506-1225), .325 from beyond the three-point line (176-542) and .782 from the free-throw line (298-391).
Tolliver played in 62 games last season with the Hawks, averaging 4.1 points and 2.5 rebounds in 15.5 minutes. He shot .380 from the field (82-216), .338 from beyond the three-point line (45-133) and a career-best .863 from the free-throw line (44-51). Tolliver also saw action in six playoff games for Atlanta, averaging 4.0 points on .571 shooting from the field (8-14) and .636 three-point shooting (7-11), to go with 1.5 rebounds, in 11.3 minutes.
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The Utah Jazz announced today that the organization has named Justin Zanik as the team’s assistant general manager. In this newly created position, Zanik will participate in all areas of day-to-day management of the team. Zanik is expected to assume his new role on September 1.
“Justin possesses an extensive amount of international experience, an intimate knowledge of the collective bargaining agreement and a noted ability to work with players, agents and NBA management,” said Utah Jazz General Manager Dennis Lindsey. “He is a high-character individual with a strong work ethic and will be a tremendous addition to the Jazz basketball operations staff. I am very happy to welcome Justin, his wife, Gina, and their children to the Jazz family.”
A National Basketball Players Association certified agent since 2003, Zanik has been involved in all aspects of athlete representation for the past 15 years. He comes to the Jazz from ASM Sports, where he has served as Vice President of the Andy Miller-led agency since 2004. Zanik oversaw all aspects of career management for ASM’s basketball clients, ranging from contract negotiations to career planning and client services, including the creation of marketing opportunities and community initiatives. He was also an integral part of all of ASM’s contract and statistical analysis during preparation for free agency, and also developed and customized ASM’s pre-draft training, interview and workout programs.
Prior to joining ASM, Zanik spent four years as Vice President of Basketball Operations for Priority Sports & Entertainment from 1998 to 2002, where he managed European player contract negotiations and assisted in negotiation, research and recruitment of Priority’s NBA clients.
Zanik graduated from Northwestern University in 1998 with a degree in Economics.
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The Brooklyn Nets have added John Welch, Joe Prunty and Charles Klask to Jason Kidd’s staff as assistant coaches, General Manager Billy King announced today. The three new hires round out the coaching staff which also includes Lawrence Frank, Roy Rogers and Eric Hughes.
In addition, the Nets have named Jim Sann as advance scout.
Welch joins the Nets following eight seasons as an assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets under George Karl. Before joining the Nuggets, Welch spent two seasons as an assistant coach/workout coach for the Memphis Grizzlies. Prior to his arrival in Memphis, he spent seven seasons as an assistant coach at Fresno State, serving under head coach Jerry Tarkanian. Welch joined Fresno State in 1995 and helped the Bulldogs to two consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, six consecutive 20-win seasons and seven straight postseason appearances. Welch began his coaching career with a three-year stint as a graduate assistant at UNLV, including when they advanced to the NCAA Final Four in 1986-87. When the Rebels’ season ended, Welch also served as a player and coach in the New Zealand Professional Basketball League from 1986-89. Welch then served as an assistant coach under Seth Greenberg at Long Beach State from 1993-95. As a player, Welch spent three seasons at the University of Nevada, Reno and transferred to UNLV for his senior year. Welch played under Tarkanian for one year when the Rebels compiled a 33-5 record and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
Prunty enters his 18th NBA season and 22nd overall in coaching, most recently serving as an assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers for three seasons after joining the club in July 2010. Prior to his stint in Cleveland, Prunty was an assistant coach during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, after serving three seasons (2005-08) with the Dallas Mavericks as an assistant. He spent the previous nine seasons with the San Antonio Spurs where he won NBA Championships in 1999, 2003 and 2005. The Sunnyvale, Ca. native played collegiately at De Anza College in Cupertino, CA and is a 1991 graduate of California Poly San Luis Obispo.
Charles Klask joins the Nets following two seasons as an assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons, where his responsibilities included game-plan preparation, statistical analysis and scouting. Prior to his stint in Detroit, Klask was on the staff of the Orlando Magic from 2002-2011, where he worked as a video coordinator, advance scout and the last three years as the scouting information manager. Klask began his NBA career with the Pistons in 2001, when he served as a video intern before being named the video coordinator of the Detroit Shock of the WNBA. A native of Livonia, MI, Klask is a graduate of Michigan State University.
Sann begins his second stint with the Nets organization, previously serving as assistant coach/coaching associate from 2005-06 to 2009-10, before joining the Chicago Bulls as an assistant coach/video coordinator the following season. Prior to the Nets, Sann was the advanced scout for the Houston Rockets during the 2004-05 season and served as an assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors in 2003-04. He began his professional basketball career with the New York Knicks organization, holding various positions over 11 seasons, eventually rising to director of basketball administration. The Larchmont, NY native graduated from the University of Colorado in 1991.
The Memphis Grizzlies signed guard Nick Calathes, the team announced today.
Calathes (6-6, 213) was named the 2012-13 EuroCup MVP after recording 12.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists on .521 shooting in 17 games during the EuroCup competition last season.
The 24-year-old also posted 12.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists on .547 shooting in 14 games for Lokomotiv Kuban of the Russian Professional Basketball League (PBL) and averaged 13.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists on .555 shooting in 30 games in the VTB United League.
Calathes played his first three professional seasons in Greece for Panathinaikos Athens, helping guide the club to back-to-back Greek League Championships in 2010 and 2011 as well as a Greek League Finals appearance in 2012. Panathinaikos won the 2011 Euroleague Championship and advanced to the 2012 Euroleague Final Four.
Drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round (45th overall) of the 2009 NBA Draft, Calathes’ draft rights were traded to the Dallas Mavericks on draft night for a 2010 second round draft pick. Memphis acquired the draft rights to Calathes from Dallas in exchange for lifting the protection on a 2016 second round pick already owed to the Mavericks (via Denver) on July 22, 2013.
A two-time Florida Mr. Basketball, the Winter Park, Fla. native played two seasons at the University of Florida, where he was named SEC Co-Freshman of the Year in 2008 and selected First Team All-SEC as a sophomore in 2009. He led the Gators in scoring and assists per game in each of his two collegiate seasons, setting the school single-season record for assists (231) as a sophomore. Despite playing only two seasons, Calathes ranks third in school history in assists (452).
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The Milwaukee Bucks have signed Larry Sanders (6-11, 235) to a multi-year contract extension, General Manager John Hammond announced today. Sanders had a breakout year for the Bucks in 2012-13 when he posted career highs across the board with averages of 9.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game (2nd in the NBA). According to multiple reports, the extension is for four years, $44 million.
“By combining his God-given ability with hard work and determination, Larry has developed into one of the top young defensive players in the league,” said Hammond. “He is a very important part of what we are doing in Milwaukee, and we’re excited to announce his contract extension.”
The 24-year-old center is entering his fourth year with the Bucks and owns career averages of 6.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. Last season, he notched a team-leading 26 double-doubles, one of which was his first career triple-double with 10 points, 12 rebounds and a franchise-record-tying 10 blocks at Minnesota on Nov. 30. Sanders and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are the only players in Bucks history with a 10-block game. He finished the season with 201 blocks – just the fourth 200-block season in Bucks history and the first since Elmore Smith in 1975-76 – and had a string of 40 consecutive games with at least one blocked shot from Nov. 28 – March 4, the longest streak by a Buck in the last 25 years. Beginning with the 10 blocks at Minnesota, Sanders swatted 22 shots over a three-game stretch from Nov. 30 – Dec. 3 which stands as the most blocks in a three-game span in Bucks history, and he blocked four or more shots in five consecutive games from Jan. 2 – 9, which was the longest such streak since Abdul-Jabbar had a five-game streak in 1973.
Sanders, the 15th-overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, finished third in Most Improved Player voting after the 2012-13 season and earned the attention of USA Basketball with his play last year. He was invited to attend the 2013 USA Basketball Men’s National Team Mini-Camp in Las Vegas in July.
Community involvement is a priority of Sanders’ commitment to Milwaukee. He is active in supporting the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee and earned the organization’s Community Champion Award in March after donating a scoreboard to the Pieper-Hillside location. He has also distributed Thanksgiving meals at the House of Peace, donated toys to patients at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, tickets to all Bucks home games for Milwaukee youth and community groups, and he hosts an annual “Larry Sanders Basketball Camp” for kids in his hometown of Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Ty Lawson, the Denver Nuggets’ star point guard, was charged with physical harassment and criminal mischief stemming from a Saturday night domestic violence arrest.
Lawson’s girlfriend, Ashley Nicole Pettiford, was also arrested, Grayson Robinson, Arapahoe County Sheriff told The Denver Post.
A mandatory restraining order was issued after charges were filed surrounding a domestic violence incident, according to court records.
“They were yelling at each other and broke each other’s phones,” Robinson said. “I don’t believe it was physical otherwise.”
Reported by Ryan Parker of the Denver Post
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The Portland Trail Blazers signed guard Dee Bost to a contract, it was announced today by General Manager Neil Olshey. We assume this is a nonguaranteed contact that will bring Bost to training camp, where the team will evaluate him further.
Bost (6-2, 176) played four seasons at Mississippi State, where he averaged 15.8 points and 5.6 assists as a senior. Bost finished his career with 633 assists, tops in Mississippi State history and eighth all-time in the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
Last season he played for Buducnost Podgorica in Montenegro where he averaged 8.3 points and 1.8 assists in 21.5 minutes per game.
Bost, 23, becomes the 17th player on the Trail Blazers’ current roster.
Charlotte Bobcats assistant coach Bob Beyer was arrested in upstate New York on Thursday night following an incident in a Saratoga Springs restaurant.
Beyer, 51, was charged with second-degree obstructing governmental administration, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
A Bobcats spokesman said Beyer is still employed by the team and issued the following statement: “We are aware of the incident. It is a legal matter and we will have no further comment until the legal process has run its course.”
Reported by Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer