NBA News Blog – Page 856 – NBA Blog

Shawne Williams will work out for Knicks

Ex-Knick and current free agent Shawne Williams will work out for New York on Monday, agent Happy Williams confirmed.

Shawne Williams had a breakout season with the Knicks in 2010-11, averaging 7.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and nearly one block, while shooting 40.1 percent from downtown.

He has struggled in the two seasons since. He signed with the Nets in the 2011 offseason and was traded to Portland in the Gerald Wallace deal.

Williams, a 2006 first-round pick, was also arrested on drug charges late last year.

Reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York

More NBA teams will wear uniforms with sleeves next season

Hoping in part to push along sales of NBA jerseys, more teams will wear uniforms with sleeves next season.

An NBA source told ESPN.com that as many as five teams will wear the short-sleeve jerseys as an alternate jersey for as much as 12 games during the season.

“We are interested in doing more short-sleeve jerseys when it makes sense,” said Patrik Nilsson, president of adidas North America.

Nilsson said Wednesday that adidas is motivated to get more fans wearing jerseys while also innovating the game jersey for the players. The company pays roughly $35 million a year to be the official apparel provider of the league through the 2016-17 season.

Reported by Darren Rovell of ESPN.com

Jay-Z is now a licensed NBA agent

Will Jay-Z actually represent clients of his newly built sports agency Roc Nation Sports in contract negotiations?

Ron Berkowitz, a spokesman for Roc Nation Sports, confirmed to ESPN.com that, as of this week, Jay-Z is now licensed to work as an NBA agent. Juan Perez, president of Roc Nation Sports, also is now certified with the National Basketball Players Association.

The news was first reported by the Sports Business Journal.

What’s not clear is how soon Jay-Z actually can represent players. A source close to the situation said that, as of Wednesday, the hip-hop mogul had not sold his small share (less than 1 percent) of the Brooklyn Nets.

Reported by Darren Rovell of ESPN.com

Jerry Sloan returns to Utah Jazz as a senior basketball adviser

Utah Jazz President Randy Rigby announced today the return of Hall of Fame coach Jerry Sloan to the franchise as a senior basketball adviser.

In this role, Sloan will support the Jazz basketball operations and coaching staff through player evaluations at workouts, camps, and summer league; limited pro and regional college scouting; occasional practice observation; and as host of an annual prep and college coaches clinic.

“The basketball knowledge and experience that Jerry brings is invaluable, and his insights will help in our pursuit of becoming a championship-caliber team,” said Rigby. “We are pleased to formally welcome Jerry back into the organization as an adviser.”

“I am glad Jerry is going to continue to be involved with our organization,” said Jazz head coach Tyrone Corbin. “We will benefit from his wealth of basketball experience. I am looking forward to his continued contributions.”

“In my new role with the Jazz franchise, I hope to help the basketball operations staff and Ty in any way that I can to achieve their goals,” said Sloan. “I would like to thank the Miller family for the opportunity to be part of the organization again.”

During his 23 seasons as head coach of the Jazz (1988-2011), Sloan guided the Jazz to 19 playoff appearances, two NBA Finals (1997, 1998), seven division titles, a streak of 16 consecutive winning seasons (1988-2004), 13 seasons with 50-plus wins and three with 60-plus wins. Sloan was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Sept. 11, 2009.

Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey will return for 2013-14 season

Toronto Raptors President and General Manager, Basketball Operations Masai Ujiri announced Wednesday that Head Coach Dwane Casey will return for the 2013-14 season.

“I’m excited about moving forward and growing this team with Coach Casey,” said Ujiri.

Casey is in the final year of a contract extension signed following the 2011-12 campaign.

An announcement will be made in the future regarding the club’s assistant coaching staff.

Monta Ellis tells Milwaukee Bucks he will opt out of contract

Monta Ellis will be an unrestricted free agent July 1 after informing the Milwaukee Bucks he is opting out of the final year of his contract.

Ellis had an $11 million option for the upcoming season. But he told the Bucks on Monday that he would not be exercising it.

Ellis was Milwaukee’s leading scorer with 19.2 points per game last season, his only full season with the Bucks. He also led the team in minutes (37.5 per game), and was the only Milwaukee player to appear in all 82 games.

Reported by the Associated Press

Denver Nuggets name Tim Connelly executive VP of basketball operations

The Denver Nuggets have named Tim Connelly as executive vice president of basketball operations, team president Josh Kroenke announced today.

Connelly, 36, joins the Nuggets front office after three seasons as assistant general manager of the New Orleans Pelicans, where he worked closely with general manager Dell Demps. Connelly’s duties included scouting, draft preparation, trade negotiations and player contracts.

“We are extremely excited to have Tim join the Denver Nuggets organization,” Kroenke said. “He comes from a great basketball background, possesses an incredibly strong work ethic and is a wonderful person. His passion and energy for the game of basketball are contagious and I am confident that he will be a great fit with us in Denver.”

Prior to his time in New Orleans, Connelly spent 10 years with the Washington Wizards organization, rising to director of player personnel. His role included overseeing scouting, salary cap and database management, player evaluation and assisting the vice president of player personnel with all front office duties.

A native of Baltimore, Connelly began working with the Wizards as an intern in the basketball operations department in 1996 and joined the team full-time as the assistant video coordinator in 1999. He became a full-time scout in 2000 and spent four years in that role before becoming the director of player personnel.

Milwaukee Bucks hire Nick Van Exel and Bob Bender as assistant coaches

General Manager John Hammond announced today that Bob Bender and Nick Van Exel will join Larry Drew’s staff as assistant coaches for the Milwaukee Bucks. Bender joins the Bucks after nine seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, including the last three with Drew as head coach. Van Exel also worked with Drew as a member of the Hawks staff from 2010-12 as the player development instructor.

“Bob and Nick were both important pieces of my staff in Atlanta, and I’m excited that they are joining me on the bench in Milwaukee,” said Drew. “Bob’s merits as a coach have been proven through his past experience, and Nick’s successful career in the NBA gives him a strong platform to mentor and coach our players. They will be dedicated to the task of teaching and building up our young men in order for the Bucks to put a hard-working, committed team on the court.”

Prior to his time on Atlanta’s staff, Bender was with the Philadelphia 76ers from 2002-04, first as their assistant coach/player development and then as an assistant coach on the bench. His coaching career began as an assistant under Mike Krzyzewski at Duke, and he continued in the college ranks for 13 years.

Bender was first named a head coach at Illinois State in 1990, where he earned two Missouri Valley Conference Championships, one conference tournament title and an NCAA Tournament berth. He then spent nine years at the University of Washington (1994-2001), where he directed the Huskies to four consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament from 1996 to 1999. Bender was named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year in 1996.

A Duke graduate and Quantico, Va., native, Bender is the only individual to play on two different teams in two different NCAA Championship games – one as a freshman on Bob Knight’s undefeated 1976 Indiana team and the other as a guard at Duke in the 1978 title game against Kentucky. He was drafted by the San Diego Clippers in the sixth round before his senior year, but did not play.

Kenosha, Wis., native Van Exel enjoyed a 13-year career as a player in the NBA, including 76 playoff games and one All-Star appearance (1998) from 1993-2006. He put up career averages of 14.4 points, 6.6 assists per game and 2.9 rebounds per game. Van Exel was selected by the L.A. Lakers in the second round of the 1993 NBA Draft (37th overall) and was named to the NBA’s All-Rookie team in 1994.

Prior to his two seasons as the Hawks’ player development instructor, Van Exel worked as an assistant coach at Texas Southern University during the 2009-10 season.

Pete D’Alessandro to be new general manager of Sacramento Kings

In a surprise twist, Nuggets assistant general manager Pete D’Alessandro, considered a top candidate for the Denver GM job, instead has agreed to take the GM job with the Sacramento Kings. Nuggets president Josh Kroenke confirmed the report tweeted by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.

The Kings, under new ownership, have a revitalized spirit and are have been looking to lock in budding talent such as D’Alessandro and coach Mike Malone.

It’s unclear what direction the Nuggets will go now. One name floated out is Tony Di Leo, a former Philadelphia executive.

Previously asked about D’Alessandro, friend and former Golden State exec Chris Mullin said: “He’s the ideal guy. He’s got the experience now and he’s the whole package. He’s like one of the players that you don’t see coming, like (the Pacers’) Paul George, a star in the making. He knows his strengths, he empowers people around him. I loved working with him.”

Reported by Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post

Atlanta Hawks hire Darvin Ham as assistant coach

The Atlanta Hawks have named Darvin Ham as an assistant coach, Hawks Head Coach Mike Budenholzer announced today. Ham spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Darvin has a great feel for the game and knows what it takes for a team to be successful and compete at a high level,” Budenholzer said. “He was a smart player who played with intensity and toughness every night and he has gone about coaching the same way.”

Prior to his stint with the Lakers, Ham was the head coach of the New Mexico Thunderbirds of the NBA Development League in 2010-11 and an assistant coach with the Thunderbirds from 2008-10. As a player, the eight-year veteran appeared in 417 career games (45 starts) with Denver, Indiana, Washington, Milwaukee, Atlanta and Detroit, averaging 2.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in 12.4 minutes (.518 FG%). He also played in 55 postseason games (with the Bucks and Pistons; 11 starts), putting up 1.3 points and 1.2 rebounds in 7.4 minutes (.569 FG%), starting 11 times.

He was a member of the Hawks during the 2002-03 season, playing in 75 contests, and averaging 2.4 points and 2.0 rebounds in 12.3 minutes (.447 FG%). The Saginaw, MI native starred collegiately at Texas Tech.