NBA News Blog – Page 843 – NBA Blog

Denver Nuggets re-sign center Timofey Mozgov

The Denver Nuggets have re-signed center Timofey Mozgov to a multiyear contract, general manager and executive vice president of basketball operation Tim Connelly announced today.

Mozgov, 7-1, 250, usually plays limited minutes and adds frontcourt depth off the bench. He averaged 2.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in 8.9 minutes while shooting .506 from the field in 41 games for the Nuggets last season. In 130 career games (50 starts) with Denver and the New York Knicks, he has averaged 3.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in 12.1 minutes.

“Like all players, Timo just needs an opportunity to play,” Connelly said. “He’s got a great attitude and mindset toward improving his game, and we’re confident that he will help us on the interior in the seasons to come.”

Originally signed by New York as an undrafted free agent in 2010, Mozgov joined the Nuggets as part of a three-team trade on Feb. 22, 2011.

In addition to his three seasons in the NBA, Mozgov is a longtime member of the Russian national team program. He played a key role in helping Russia secure the bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics. Mozgov also represented his country at the 2010 World Championships and the 2011 European Championship.

Gerald Henderson to stay with Charlotte Bobcats

The Charlotte Bobcats and shooting guard Gerald Henderson have agreed in principle to a three-year, $18 million contract extension, a knowledgeable source confirmed Friday night.

The deal, first reported by Yahoo Sports, will give shooting guard Henderson the option to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2014-15 season.

A restricted free agent, Henderson was second on the Bobcats in scoring last season at 15.5 points per game. He finished strong, averaging 23.9 points over the last 23 games, on 48 percent shooting from the field and 86 percent from the foul line.

Reported by Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer

Dallas Mavericks sign guard Wayne Ellington

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed free agent guard Wayne Ellington.

According to ESPN Dallas, “Ellington signed a two-year deal worth $5.3 million. The Mavs used the “room” exception to sign him.”

Ellington (6-4, 200) is a four-year veteran shooting guard with career averages 6.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 19.5 minutes in 267 games (34 starts) with Minnesota, Memphis and Cleveland. He provides backcourt depth for the Mavs, who recently signed scoring guard Monta Ellis.

On January 22, 2013 Ellington was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, along with Marreese Speights, in exchange for Josh Selby and future first round draft pick. Once in Cleveland, Ellington put up career numbers averaging 10.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 25.9 minutes in 38 games (17 starts) with the Cavaliers.

The Wynnewood, Pa., native, was a standout at the University of North Carolina. As a junior, Ellington won a National Championship with the Tarheels and was named the 2009 Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player. He was drafted in the first round (28th overall) by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2009 NBA Draft.

Milwaukee Bucks sign center Miroslav Raduljica

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed free-agent center Miroslav Raduljica (7-1, 280; MEER-oh-slav rah-DOO-liht-zah), General Manager John Hammond announced today.

Raduljica, 25, enters the NBA after a successful seven-year career in various top pro leagues in Europe. The native of Serbia spent the 2012-13 season with the Ukrainian club Azovmash, leading the team to the Ukrainian Superleague Finals and earning Eurobasket.com All-Ukrainian Superleague Second Team honors after averaging 14.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.1 blocks in 53 league games. Raduljica has also spent time with professional teams in Serbia, Germany and Turkey, earning numerous awards and honors along the way including All-Serbian League Most Improved Player of the Year in 2010 and All-Serbian League Center of the Year in 2012.

A regular in the Serbian National Team program, Raduljica first represented his country in international competition at the European U16 Championships in 2004, and was later a member of the gold-medal-winning Serbian squads at the U19 World Championships in 2007 and European U20 Championship in 2008 (where he was named MVP of the tournament).

Memphis Grizzlies sign second round draft pick Jamaal Franklin

The Memphis Grizzlies signed 2013 second round draft selection Jamaal Franklin to a multi-year contract, the team announced today.

Franklin (6-5, 191) was selected by Memphis in the second round (41st overall) of the 2013 NBA Draft after leading San Diego State in scoring (17.0 points), rebounding (9.5), assists (3.3) and steals (1.61) last season as a junior. He was the only Division I player to pace his team in all four categories.

The 22-year-old was named the 2011-12 Mountain West Player of the Year after leading the conference in scoring (17.4 points) as a sophomore, becoming the first sophomore to win the award since Andrew Bogut in 2005. Franklin helped guide the Aztecs to three consecutive Mountain West titles and three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including the first three NCAA Tournament victories in program history.

The Moreno Valley, Calif. native finished his collegiate career ranked in the top 20 in SDSU history in points (1,181, 17th), rebounds (605, 14th), three-point field goals (100, 13th), free-throw percentage (.783, 10th) and blocks (51, T-16th).

Center Bernard James is back with the Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have re-signed center Bernard James.

James (6-10, 240) was originally waived by the Mavericks on July 19, 2013 and cleared waivers on July 21, 2013. He played in 46 games (11 starts) last season in his rookie year. He averaged 2.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 9.9 minutes per contest.

The former Florida State Seminole was the 33rd overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. The Mavericks acquired James’ draft rights, along with the draft rights to 24th overall pick Jared Cunningham and 34th overall pick Jae Crowder from the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for guard Kelenna Azubuike and the draft rights to 17th overall pick Tyler Zeller.

The Savannah, Ga., native is a former Staff Sergeant who served six years in the Air Force including three tours to Iraq, Afghanistan and Qatar. In his senior season at Florida State, James averaged 10.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks while being named to the Atlantic Coast Conference All-Defensive team. James also won the Most Courageous Award by the United States Basketball Writers of America.

Milwaukee Bucks waive Gustavo Ayon

The Milwaukee Bucks have requested waivers on center Gustavo Ayon, General Manager John Hammond announced today.

Ayon (6-10, 250) appeared in 12 games for the Bucks last season after being acquired from Orlando on Feb. 21, averaging 4.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists per contest. The native of Tepic, Mexico, has appeared in 109 career games over two seasons split between New Orleans, Orlando and Milwaukee, with career averages of 4.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.

Atlanta Hawks sign Pero Antic

The Atlanta Hawks have signed forward/center Pero Antić, President of Basketball Operations/GM Danny Ferry announced today.

Antić, a 6-foot-11, 260-pound big man, has played with Olympiacos in the Greek Basketball League and the Euroleague the last two seasons, helping the club to back-to-back Euroleague championships. Last year, he averaged 6.2 points and 3.3 rebounds in 15.2 minutes in 30 games (.432 FG%, .321 3FG%, .714 FT%).

“Pero is a skilled and versatile big man who will add depth to our frontcourt,” Ferry said. “He will fit in well with what we’re building and we’re excited to add him to the team.”

A native of the Republic of Macedonia, Antić has played professionally since 1999, beginning with Rabotnički in his home country. He has also played with AEK Athens (Greece), Red Star Belgrade (Serbia), Academic Sofia (Bulgaria), Lokomotiv Kuban (Russia) and Spartak St. Petersburg (Russia).

Additionally, the 30-year-old Antić is the captain of the Macedonian National Team, helping the team to the semifinals of EuroBasket 2011 in Lithuania. He averaged 11.5 points and 8.8 rebounds over 11 games in the tournament, while collecting three double-doubles.

Knicks officially re-sign Kenyon Martin

New York Knicks Executive Vice President and General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has re-signed forward Kenyon Martin.

Martin provides toughness, defense, rebounding, and some offense. Every team needs an enforcer or two, and Martin helped serve that role on the Knicks last season.

“Kenyon did a fantastic job for us once he signed in February,” Grunwald said. “He strengthened our frontline going into an important stretch of the season with some very impressive performances. We are happy to have him back.”

Martin, 6-9, 230-pounds, averaged 7.2 points, on 60.2-percent shooting, and 5.3 rebounds over 23.9 minutes in 18 games (11 starts) with New York this past season. In 12 post-season games (one start), he averaged 5.8 points, on 58.0-percent shooting, 4.5 rebounds and 1.42 blocks over 21.1 minutes. He originally signed the first of two consecutive 10-day contracts on Feb. 23, 2013 and then, for the remainder of the season on Mar. 15.

The Saginaw, MI-native, holds career averages of 12.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 31.4 minutes in 13 seasons with New Jersey, Denver, the L.A. Clippers and New York. In 112 postseason games (88 starts), he has averaged 12.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 32.1 minutes. He was selected by New Jersey, following a four-year collegiate career at the University of Cincinnati, with the first overall pick of 2000 NBA Draft. Martin was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2001 and represented the Eastern Conference at the 2004 NBA All-Star Game.

Toronto Raptors add to coaching staff

The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday the additions Bill Bayno and Jesse Mermuys (MER-miss) to Head Coach Dwane Casey’s staff as assistant coaches. The team also announced the promotion of Jama Mahlalela (JAM-ah MA-la-LAY-La) to assistant coach/player development.

Bayno brings more than 20 years of coaching experience to Toronto at the NBA, college and international levels. He recently completed his second season with Minnesota as an assistant coach for Rick Adelman. Bayno previously spent five seasons with Portland as an assistant coach.

A native of Newburgh, New York, Bayno began his coaching career in 1985 as a graduate assistant for former Raptors assistant coach P.J. Carlesimo at Seton Hall. He also worked for Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown at Kansas and John Calipari at UMass before landing his first head coaching job at UNLV in 1995. Bayno guided the Runnin’ Rebels for five seasons, earning NCAA Tournament bids in 1998 and 2000 and winning four conference championships. He was named co-Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year for the 1999-2000 season after compiling a 23-8 record.

During the offseason Bayno has participated in the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program each year since 2005. He has also worked overseas at the Adidas Eurocamp in Treviso, Italy and was head coach of the Talk ‘N Text Phone Pals in the Philippine Basketball Association.

Mermuys was a member of Kevin McHale’s staff in Houston last season, serving as assistant coach/director of player development. He worked with the Denver Nuggets for four years, first as video coordinator in 2008-09 then promoted to advance scout where he was responsible for scouting upcoming opponents throughout the league. He was elevated to assistant coach/advance scout for the 2011-12 campaign.

Mermuys, a native of Tucson, Arizona, had served in a variety of roles at the collegiate level, including director of basketball operations for the University of Arizona, assistant coach at Southern Utah and Pima Community College and video coordinator at New Mexico State.

Mahlalela moves to the bench following two seasons working in the Raptors’ front-office as director of player development. He started with the Raptors on the community development staff in 2006, leading the Raptors Basketball Academy and various clinics throughout Canada. Mahlalela was named director of basketball operations for NBA Asia in 2009 and oversaw the League’s clinics, youth programs and elite-level development from his base in Hong Kong.

Mahlalela was a four-year starter at the University of British Columbia and an assistant coach for four seasons at the University of Toronto.