NBA News Blog – Page 840 – NBA Blog

OKC Thunder sign forward Ryan Gomes

The Oklahoma City Thunder has signed forward Ryan Gomes, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

An intelligent veteran, Gomes should do nicely providing bench depth at the forward spots.

Gomes (6-7, 245) has appeared in 482 games (371 starts) with Boston, Minnesota and the LA Clippers, owning career averages of 10.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 27.9 minutes per game. The 50th overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft most recently played for the Artland Dragons of the Basketball Bundesliga in Germany.

The forward from Providence College, led the Big East in scoring his senior year, averaging 21.6 points per game as he was named Honorable Mention All-American. The two time All-Big East First Team selection finished his career as Providence’s all-time leading scorer with 2,138 points.

Dallas Mavericks sign DeJuan Blair

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed free agent forward/center DeJuan Blair.

We at InsideHoops.com were always impressed by Blair when he was given minutes by the Spurs. He showed flashes of extremely solid talent, and seems like a good signing for the Mavs.

Blair (6-7, 270) is a four-year veteran who was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs in the second round (37th overall pick) of the 2009 NBA Draft. He has averaged 7.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 18.9 minutes in 288 career games (166 starts) with San Antonio.

As a rookie, Blair played in all 82 games and garnered All-Rookie Second Team honors. He emerged as the Spurs’ starting center in just his second season. From 2010-2012, Blair started 127 of the 145 games in which he suited up for San Antonio and averaged 8.9 points and 6.3 rebounds over that two-year span.

Blair boasts two career 20-point/20-rebounds games. One of which came at the expense of the Mavericks on April 14, 2010 when Blair finished with 27 points and 23 rebounds.

The Pittsburgh native attended and played his collegiate basketball at the University of Pittsburgh. He was a two-year starter for the Panthers before entering the NBA Draft following his sophomore season. As a sophomore, Blair was Co-Big East Player of the Year and named consensus All-American by both Associated Press and The Sporting News.

Greg Oden passes physical, officially joins Miami Heat

Greg Oden is signed, sealed and delivered.

After Oden passed his team physical earlier this week, the Miami Heat announced Wednesday that the injury-plagued center is now under contract.

Oden, who agreed to terms Friday, signed a two-year, $2.1 million contract that pays the veteran minimum of $1 million this season, with a player option for 2014-15.

Upon adding Oden, the Heat issued a quote from the center that read, “I am very excited and happy to be here. I’m thankful to the Miami Heat organization for bringing me in and I’m ready to get to work.”

In a statement, Heat President Pat Riley said, “After many months of discussion, evaluations and speaking with Greg, we felt it was the perfect time for him to make his comeback and re-enter the NBA with the Miami Heat.”

Reported by Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

New York Knicks sign Jeremy Tyler

Big Jeremy Tyler played well summer league this year, and has been rewarded with a contract.

New York Knicks Executive Vice President and General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has signed Tyler. Terms of the deal aren’t yet known, but will be added to this page tonight or tomorrow.

Tyler, 6-10, 260-pounds, holds career averages of 3.6 points and 2.5 rebounds over 10.1 minutes in 63 games (23 starts) over two seasons with Golden State and Atlanta. He appeared in 21 games with the Warriors and Hawks last season, recording 22 total points and 20 rebounds over 68 minutes, before finishing the season with Santa Cruz of the NBA D-League.

The San Diego, CA native averaged 12.8 points and 6.4 rebounds over 17.6 minutes in five games for New York’s entry in the 2013 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, NV. He was originally selected by Charlotte in the second round (39th overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft before having his draft rights traded to Golden State. Tyler left San Diego HS, following his junior season, to play internationally with Maccabi Haifa (Israel) and Tokyo Apache (Japan) for two seasons, before becoming draft eligible.

Blazers guard Terrel Harris suspended 5 games for drug violation

The NBA announced today that Terrel Harris of the Portland Trail Blazers has been suspended without pay for five games for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program.

Harris’ suspension will begin with the first game of the next NBA regular season for which he is eligible and physically able to play.

According to the Associated Press, “Harris was acquired by the Blazers from the Pelicans in July as part of a three-way trade that brought Robin Lopez to Portland and sent guard Tyreke Evans went to the Pelicans and guard Greivis Vasquez to the Kings. Harris, a three-year veteran, has played for Miami and New Orleans, averaging 2.3 points and 1.8 rebounds in 42 games.”

Former NBA player Chris Gatling pleads guilty to theft, forgery

A former NBA All-Star accused of squatting at a Paradise Valley home and then trying to list the house for rent on Craigslist has pleaded guilty to theft and forgery charges.

Chris Gatling entered the guilty pleas to one count of theft and one count of forgery on Thursday in Maricopa County Superior Court.

His sentencing is set for Oct. 4.

Gatling was accused of breaking in the key box at the home and living there for about a year.

Reported by the Associated Press

Note from InsideHoops.com: Gatling did make an All-Star team, but was generally a supporting-cast talent, and not an All-Star level player.

Detroit Pistons sign second round draft pick Peyton Siva

Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today that the club has signed draft selection Peyton Siva to a contract.

Siva was drafted by Detroit with the 56th pick in the second round of the 2013 NBA Draft. The 6-foot-1 guard averaged 10.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 5.7 assists as a senior last season while leading the University of Louisville to the NCAA Championship. He scored in double figures in 23-of-40 games last year, including 18 points and five assists in the championship game. A native of Seattle, Wa., Siva was named to the All-Big East Third team and the Final Four All-Tournament Team as a senior. He finished his collegiate career as Louisville’s second all-time assist leader with 677 assists.

According to the Detroit Free Press, “A roster spot opened for Siva when the Pistons traded Brandon Knight, Slava Kravtsov and Khris Middleton for Brandon Jennings last month. The Pistons already signed their other draft picks, guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and forward Tony Mitchell.”

DeMarre Carroll joins the Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks have signed forward DeMarre (de-MAR-ay) Carroll, President of Basketball Operations/GM Danny Ferry announced today. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, “Carroll agreed to a two-year, $5 million contract on July 5th, the same day the team agreed to a deal with his Jazz teammate Paul Millsap. The delay in signing was for salary cap reasons as the Hawks rebuilt much of their roster this offseason.”

Prior to signing Carroll, the Hawks requested waivers on DeShawn Stevenson.

“DeMarre is a great fit for our program,” Ferry said. “He is an unselfish, highly competitive player. His versatility in defending multiple positions will make him a valuable contributor to our basketball team.”

According to HawksBasketBlog, “Carroll is a more than capable offensive player, as shown by his 15.5 PER and 53.5 True Shooting percentage last season. He is most effective attacking the basket on off-ball cuts, running in transition, and scoring after offensive rebounds. In transition, Carroll was excellent last season shooting 64.6% from the field on 65 transition field goal attempts, per Synergy Sports. He will look to become a more proficient spot-up shooter this season, as he shot just 34.7% on 118 spot-up attempts last season. However, being surrounded by other shooters such as Korver, John Jenkins, Lou Williams, and others, Carroll’s spot up shooting will likely not be a prominent spot-up shooter. On offense, Carroll’s role will likely be small and he will be asked to attack the basket and bring pace and energy to the offense. The main focus for Carroll will be on the defensive end where he will look to come in and be a key defender for the Hawks on the wing.”

Carroll, 27, posted career highs last season with the Utah Jazz in nearly every statistical category including points (6.0), rebounds (2.8), assists (0.9), steals (0.9), minutes (16.8) and starts (12). He played in 66 games, scoring 10 or more points 15 times (the Jazz were 11-4 in those games) and playing at least 20 minutes on 27 occasions. The Jazz were 16-11 in those games and his averages jumped to 9.3 points on .514 shooting, including .429 from three-point range, and 4.1 rebounds in 24.0 minutes per game. His +/- average of +1.8 led the Jazz.

Before joining the Jazz on Feb. 8, 2012, the four-year veteran spent time with the Memphis Grizzlies, Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets. The 6-foot-8, 204-pound forward attended Missouri and is from Birmingham, Alabama.

Greg Oden decision: Miami Heat it is

Greg Oden’s NBA comeback will be launched on South Beach.

Oden told ESPN.com on Friday night that he has chosen the two-time defending champion Miami Heat as his new team, capping a monthlong recruiting process which culminated with Oden spending this entire week making his final selection from a list of six suitors.

Referring to Miami, home of the two-time reigning champions, as the “best place” and “best fit” after years of knee troubles, Oden will report to the Heat on Monday and, according to sources close to the process, sign a two-year deal at the league minimum with a player option for Year 2.

The contract will pay $1.03 million in 2013-14 and $1.14 million in 2014-15 if Oden picks up that option. The 25-year-old has earned nearly $24 million in salary since being drafted No. 1 overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in 2007 but has appeared in only 82 career NBA games because of his many knee troubles.

Reported by Marc Stein and Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com

Orlando Magic waive Al Harrington

In a move that aids their future financial flexibility and also accommodates the wishes of a veteran player, the Orlando Magic requested waivers on veteran power forward Al Harrington on Friday.

The transaction allows Harrington, 33, to become an unrestricted free agent and possibly join another contending team. The 15-year NBA veteran said after last season that he understandably wasn’t in the plans for the transitioning Magic and hoped to finish out his career with a team in the playoff race.

Harrington’s contract called for him to be owed $14.7 million over the next two seasons, but only half of his salary in 2013-14 and 2014-15 was guaranteed. Magic GM Rob Hennigan worked on several trade possibilities for Harrington, but ultimately reached a buyout compromise that best-suited both the franchise and the player.

The Magic have yet to reach an agreement with small forward Hedo Turkoglu, another veteran player whose contract is only partially guaranteed for next season.

Reported by John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com