Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Cavs recall forward Kevin Jones from D-League

The Cleveland Cavaliers have recalled forward Kevin Jones from the Canton Charge, the Cavaliers exclusively owned and operated NBA Development League team, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

Jones played in yesterday’s Charge game against Idaho, recording 24 points to go along with nine rebounds in 39 minutes. He has appeared in eight games for the Charge this season, averaging 23.1 points and 12.1 rebounds in 39.8 minutes per game. He has six double-doubles for the Charge on the season.  Jones has played in 18 games for the Cavs this season and is averaging 2.1 points and 1.8 rebounds in 9.3 minutes per game.

Mayor Kevin Johnson reveals bid to keep Kings in Sacramento

For more than a year, Southern California grocery tycoon Ron Burkle and his business associates have pursued a plan to build a new arena in Downtown Plaza to cement the Kings’ future in Sacramento.

On Thursday, that interest finally burst into the open. Standing on a stage at the Memorial Auditorium in front of 3,000 cheering Sacramentans gathered for his State of the City address, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced that Burkle and 24 Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov were teaming up on a bid to buy the Kings and construct an arena at the site of downtown’s lagging open-air mall.

The bid for the team, which will be filed with the National Basketball Association today, will serve as Sacramento’s counteroffer should the NBA board of governors next month reject the Kings’ deal to move the franchise to Seattle.

While the amount of the Burkle and Mastrov bid was not revealed Thursday, the mayor said it would be “very strong and competitive.” Seattle hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen and Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer have a binding agreement with the Maloof family to buy the Kings in a deal that values the franchise at $525 million, or about $341 million for the 65 percent they control.

A source familiar with the Mastrov offer said it’s expected that the NBA will look over the proposal and forward it to the Maloofs, who have the right to “entertain” other offers as backups in case the NBA rejects the Seattle bid. Beyond that, the process isn’t quite clear.

— Reported by Ryan Lillis, Dale Kasler and Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee

Dennis Rodman, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hang out at Harlem Globetrotters game

Ex-NBA star Dennis Rodman hung out Thursday with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un on the third day of his improbable journey with VICE to Pyongyang, watching the Harlem Globetrotters with the leader and later dining on sushi and drinking with him at his palace.

“You have a friend for life,” Rodman told Kim before a crowd of thousands at a gymnasium where they sat side by side, chatting as they watched players from North Korea and the U.S. play, Alex Detrick, a spokesman for the New York-based VICE media company, told The Associated Press.

Rodman arrived in Pyongyang on Monday with three members of the professional Harlem Globetrotters basketball team, VICE correspondent Ryan Duffy and a production crew to shoot an episode on North Korea for a new weekly HBO series.

The unlikely encounter makes Rodman the most high-profile American to meet Kim since the young North Korean leader took power in December 2011, and takes place against a backdrop of tension between Washington and Pyongyang. North Korea conducted an underground nuclear test just two weeks ago, making clear the provocative act was a warning to the United States to drop what it considers a “hostile” policy toward the North.

Kim, a diehard basketball fan, told the former Chicago Bulls star he hoped the visit would break the ice between the United States and North Korea, VICE founder Shane Smith said.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Metta World Peace retroactively given flagrant foul

ron artest

The NBA has retroactively given Metta World Peace a flagrant foul for a play in Denver against the Nuggets on Monday.

In the final seconds of the third quarter, World Peace connected with an elbow to what looks like the face of Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried. No foul was called live by the officials (which would have meant an ejection), but the league upgraded the call on review.

World Peace now leads the league in flagrant foul points with five, tied with teammate Dwight Howard.

— Reported by Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Blog)

Michael Jordan buys new $2.8M Charlotte-area home

michael jordan

Bobcats owner Michael Jordan has bought his second Charlotte area property in three years – this time on the shores of Lake Norman.

First Community Bank sold the 12,310-square-foot home in the Peninsula Club in Cornelius to The Jordan Family Gift Trust for $2.8 million, according to property records. It closed Feb. 19 after more than 460 days on the market.

In 2010, the former University of North Carolina star and six-time NBA champion invested $3.15 million in two combined top-floor penthouses at The Trust condos in uptown Charlotte.

Jordan also recently built a $12.4 million mansion with 11 bedrooms and 28,000 square feet on a 3-acre property in Jupiter, Fla., according to the Chicago Tribune.

— Reported by Elisabeth Arriero of the Charlotte Observer

Nets re-assign Tornike Shengelia to D-League

The Brooklyn Nets have re-assigned forward Tornike Shengelia to the Springfield Armor of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by General Manager Billy King.

This will be the third time this season Shengelia has been assigned to the Armor. In his three appearances, the 6’8’’ Georgia native is averaging 28.3 points, 13.7 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 3.0 steals and 1.7 blocks on 64.6% shooting. Shengelia recorded a triple-double in his NBA D-League debut 12/21 vs. Erie, and followed that showing with a 39-point outburst 1/24 vs. Maine, tied for the second-most points scored in the NBA D-League this season on 17 field goals (league-best).

Shengelia, acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers after being drafted 54th overall in the 2012 NBA Draft, has appeared in 13 games for the Nets this season, averaging 1.4 points, 1.0 assists and 0.7 rebounds per game.

Shengelia will be in uniform when the Armor take on the Fort Wayne Mad Ants on Friday March 1st at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne.

Spurs recall Cory Joseph, assign Aron Baynes to D-League

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have recalled guard Cory Joseph from the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League. The team also announced that it has assigned center Aron Baynes to the Toros.

Joseph has appeared in 26 games in five stints with the Toros this season, averaging a team-high 19.4 points, 5.5 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.92 steals in 38.5 minutes, while shooting .458 (175-382) from the field, .479 (35-73) from three-point range and .804 (119-148) from the free throw line. The University of Texas product ranks fourth in the D-League in both points and steals while ranking second in three-point field goal percentage.

Joseph has appeared in 10 games this season for the Spurs, averaging 1.9 points, 1.3 assists and 1.0 rebounds in 6.8 minutes.

This will mark Baynes’ second stint with the Toros this season. Assigned to Austin on Feb. 1, the Australian native played in two games and averaged 18.0 points and 9.0 rebounds in 27.5 minutes.

Baynes has appeared in eight games with the Spurs this season, averaging 1.9 points and 1.6 rebounds in 5.6 minutes.

Celtics sign D.J. White to 10-day contract

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have signed forward D.J. White to a 10-day contract.

White, a 6’9” forward, appeared in 32 games for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association this season averaging 21.6 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 33.0 minutes per game. White has posted career averages of 6.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in 16.2 minutes in 124 games split between Charlotte and Oklahoma City. White was originally drafted by the Detroit Pistons with the 29th pick in the first round of the 2008 NBA Draft.

LeBron, Kobe named Players of Week through February 24

Miami Heat forward LeBron James and Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant today were named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Tuesday, Feb. 19 through Sunday, Feb. 24.

James led the Heat to a 4-0 week, which included road wins over the Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls and Philadelphia 76ers. He averaged 23.5 points (fifth in the conference), 9.3 assists (second in the conference), 2.25 steals (third in the conference) and 7.8 rebounds. James posted two double-doubles and a 16-point, 11-assist, 10-rebound triple-double on Feb. 23 at Philadelphia as the Heat became the first club in the East to reach 40 wins. At 40-14 (.741), Miami owns a six-game advantage over the next closest Eastern Conference team, the Indiana Pacers (35-21, .625).

Bryant led the Lakers to a 3-0 week, which included wins over the Boston Celtics and Portland Trail Blazers. He finished second in the conference in scoring at 31.3 ppg, and added 7.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists. Bryant closed the week with a 38-point, 12-rebound, seven-assist performance in Dallas, a 103-99 Lakers’ win. At 28-29 (.491), the Lakers are 2.5 games behind the Houston Rockets (31-27, .534) for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Al Horford, Boston’s Jeff Green, Charlotte’s Kemba Walker, Golden State’s Jarrett Jack, Houston’s James Harden, Indiana’s Paul George, Memphis’ Zach Randolph, Miami’s Dwyane Wade, Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, Phoenix’s Goran Dragic and Toronto’s Rudy Gay.