NBA News Blog – Page 897 – NBA Blog

Andrew Bogut confident he will play again this season

Andrew Bogut confident he will play this season

Australian NBA star Andrew Bogut is confident he will overcome a serious ankle injury to play for the Golden State Warriors again this season.

Warriors owner Joe Lacob and the team’s coach Mark Jackson have refused to put a timeline on Bogut’s return to the court, raising the prospect that his season could be over.

However, the 28-year-old former No.1 draft pick was clear about his prospects despite missing the past 28 games.

“I’ll definitely play this season,” Bogut said on Saturday. “I think I’ll be ready to play this season. It’s just a matter of when.”

— Reported by AAP via The Age

Amare Stoudemire says he is finally being taught to play defense

Amar’e Stoudemire went with the reliable “taken out of context” defense regarding his comments that indicated he was never taught defense before Mike Woodson was promoted to Knicks head coach.

The remarks appeared to be a thinly veiled shot at Mike D’Antoni, his former coach in Phoenix and New York. On Friday, D’Antoni called Stoudemire’s comments “mind-boggling.”

“It wasn’t meant to be as exaggerated as it was,” Stoudemire said on Saturday. “For the simple fact: Woodson is a defensive coach. He’s known to be a defensive coach. So his strategies he’s teaching me now is different from what I learned before. He puts a lot of emphasis on the defensive end — more than I ever had before.

“It wasn’t a knock on any of my previous coaches. I had great success with Coach D’Antoni. He had to be doing something right because we won many games. It was more a compliment to Coach Woodson.’’

— Reported by Frank Isola of the New York Daily News

Raymond Felton thinks he can return for Knicks in late January

Raymond Felton is relieved that he didn’t need surgery on his right hand and believes he can return in late January, the week after the Knicks return from London.

Felton said if he had required surgery to repair the fracture in his right pinkie that he suffered Dec. 25 against the Lakers, he would have missed eight to 12 weeks because “they would have had to put in pins and screws.” No surgery made it four to six weeks. Felton is shooting for closer to four.

“Once my bone heals, it’s probably up to my comfort,” he said. “Hopefully the bone will heal before we leave for London.”

The Knicks are scheduled to fly to London Jan. 14. He’s targeting Boston on Jan. 24 or Philadelphia on Jan. 26.

— Reported by Al Iannazzone of New York Newsday

Chicago Bulls sign guard Daequan Cook

The Chicago Bulls announced today the team has signed free agent guard Daequan Cook.

Cook (6-5, 210) is currently in his sixth year in the NBA. Drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 21st pick in the 2007 NBA Draft (his draft rights were traded by the 76ers along with their 2009 second-round draft pick and cash considerations to the Miami Heat for the draft rights to Jason Smith), Cook has played for the Heat, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets.

In five-plus seasons in the NBA, he has played in 295 regular season games (49 starts) and averaged 6.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg and 0.8 apg in 19.4 mpg, and shot .374 from the field, .365 from behind the arc and .814 from the line. The 25-year old Cook has also made three trips (40 games) to the NBA playoffs, where he has averaged 3.4 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 11.6 mpg, .363 field goal shooting, .330 from downtown and .750 from the free throw line. In 2009, Cook won the Foot Locker Three-point Shootout at NBA All-Star Weekend in Phoenix.

Chicago’s roster now stands at 14 players.

Allen Iverson wants new judge in divorce case

NBA legend Allen Iverson wants a new judge in his divorce case — claiming the current judge unethically does legal favors for campaign contributors, and he’s afraid she will screw him just like she did Usher’s estranged wife.

Iverson filed a motion for the judge to recuse herself last month, claiming she has accepted campaign donations from his estranged wife’s attorney — and has a track record of making biased decisions for contributors.

As for the Usher connection — the lawyer who repped the singer in his child custody showdown with Tameka Raymond is also repping Iverson’s ex.

— Reported by TMZ.com

Mark Cuban mad at officiating

With his team eight games under .500 for the first time since his first few months as the Dallas Mavericks’ owner, Mark Cuban is firing away at one of his favorite targets: NBA officials.

“Im sorry NBA fans. Ive tried for 13 yrs to fix the officiating in this league and I have failed miserably. Any Suggestions ? I need help,” Cuban tweeted after the Mavs’ 99-96 overtime loss Saturday night to the New Orleans Hornets, the team with the worst record in the Western Conference.

After Vince Carter’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the rim and to the hardwood, Cuban marched to midcourt and engaged in an animated discussion with referee Bill Kennedy.

Via email, Cuban declined to specify why he was upset with the officiating after the Mavs’ eighth loss in nine games or otherwise elaborate on the incident.

However, prior to the game, Cuban complained about the officiating late in regulation of the Mavs’ overtime loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday, a game he watched from his vacation home in the Cayman Islands.

— Reported by Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas

Kevin Love re-fractures right hand

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Image) taken this afternoon at TRIA Orthopadedic Center revealed that forward Kevin Love suffered a re-fracture of his third metacarpal in his right hand. The injury occurred during the third quarter of Thursday’s game at Denver.

Love will be examined by Dr. Andy Weiland, a hand specialist at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, later this week. An update to Love’s status will be provided after that examination.

Love initially suffered a fracture of his third and fourth metacarpal in his right hand on Oct. 17. For the season, Love has played in 18 games and leads the Wolves in scoring (18.3 ppg), rebounds (14.0 rpg) and double-doubles (14).

Miami Heat waive guard Terrel Harris

The Miami Heat announced today that they have waived guard Terrel Harris.

Harris appeared in seven games with the Heat this season, averaging 1.4 points and 1.3 rebounds in 4.1 minutes per game. Last season, he appeared in 22 games (one start) and averaged 3.6 points and 2.3 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per game.

He originally signed with Miami as a free agent on December 10, 2011 and was re-signed by the Heat on September 10, 2012.

The Heat’s roster now stands at 14.

The team is rebounding very badly this season. It’s possible they look to add a power forward or center to come off the bench and help hit the boards.

Lakers re-assign Robert Sacre to D-League

The Los Angeles Lakers have re-assigned center Robert Sacre to the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League, it was announced today.

Sacre has played in 13 games with the Lakers this season, averaging 0.5 points and 0.8 rebounds in 4.2 minutes.

Selected by the Lakers in the second round (60th overall pick) of the 2012 NBA Draft, Sacre finished his collegiate career at Gonzaga ranked second all-time in school history in career blocks (186), while averaging 9.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 135 games.

Starting at center for the D-Fenders’ first three games of the season, Sacre averaged 7.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 27.0 minutes. Sacre, on his third assignment with the D-Fenders this season, will join the team for tonight’s game against the Sioux Falls Skyforce (NBA Affiliates: Miami, Minnesota, Orlando, Philadelphia) at 6:30 pm in El Segundo.

Pau Gasol not seeking trade from Lakers

After he endured his fourth benching in the fourth quarter since Mike D’Antoni was hired as coach, there is no denying Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol is having a hard time fitting in with the team he once helped win two championships.

The Lakers ultimately could decide they just can’t make it work with the former four-time All-Star; however, it won’t be Gasol pushing his way out of town.

“No, oh, that’s radical,” Gasol said when asked whether he would request a trade following the Lakers’ 107-102 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday. “I still believe. I still have faith in what we have. I still have faith that I can be a big part in helping this team succeed. Right now, I’m not being able to do that very often.”

Gasol finished with just two points on 1-for-6 shooting along with four rebounds and two assists in 27 minutes against the Clippers. He sat the entire fourth quarter until Dwight Howard fouled out with 1:07 remaining and Gasol finished off the game in his stead.

— Reported by Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles