NBA News Blog – Page 962 – NBA Blog

Trail Blazers will open training camp with J.J. Hickson starting at center

And although this Blazers season will be littered with a heavy dose of new — from coach to general manager to an overhauled roster that features five rookies — Stotts says he will open training camp with Hickson at center, in part, because of his history with the team.

“J.J. is the incumbent,” Stotts said. “I’m not saying he’s going to be the starting center opening night. We’ll have to see how training camp goes, see how the preseason goes, and then we’ll make that determination. Meyers (Leonard) has played very well (this summer). But it’s just like politics: J.J. has been here, he’s the returner, so going into it he has the advantage.”

Who starts at center is just one of many questions looming over the franchise as the Blazers prepare for a rebuilding season that is sure to feature plenty of bumps and bruises along the way. The Blazers’ 15-man roster averages just 25.0 years old, likely making it one of the youngest in the NBA this season.

— Reported by Joe Freeman of the Oregonian

Matt Barnes pleads no contest, gets probation

Los Angeles Clippers forward Matt Barnes has pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of unlicensed driving and resisting arrest.

Barnes, who was not present in court, entered his plea Tuesday through his attorney.

Superior Court Judge Burt Pines sentenced him to two years of probation. The judge also ordered Barnes to complete 30 hours of community service and attend 13 counseling sessions with a private therapist.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Sacramento Kings still a draw for advertisers

They’ve alienated elected officials, many of their fans and some of their sponsors. Yet the Sacramento Kings remain a powerful brand in this community – and a compelling draw for corporations and advertisers.

The team today will announce a partial lineup of corporate partners for 2012-13, including new sponsors Nokia Siemens and Wal-Mart, and a returning former sponsor, Verizon Wireless. For Nokia Siemens, the deal is the first with a professional American sports team, Kings officials said.

The list represents “more sponsorship commitments than at any point during the Kings’ 27-year tenure in Northern California,” the team said.

— Reported by the Sacramento Bee

Time Warner Cable spending big on Lakers

Although neither the company nor the Lakers would comment on the terms of their 20-year rights deal, industry insiders estimate the value at $3 billion. Time Warner Cable spent an additional $55 million for rights to the Galaxy soccer team for 10 years, and more than $30 million building a facility with three studios in El Segundo to house the networks.

Time Warner Cable has more on its shopping list and is eyeing the Dodgers, whose deal with Fox’s Prime Ticket expires next season.

But, to make the channels pay off, Time Warner Cable must get other distributors in the area to carry the networks as well. So far none is rushing to sign a contract.

Time Warner Cable is hoping its heavy investment in original programming beyond the games and forgoing infomercials — which fill most local sports channels when a game isn’t on and provide a steady stream of cash — will help sell the networks to other distributors.

— Reported by Joe Flint of the Los Angeles Times

Rasheed Wallace unsure about joining Knicks

It’s up to Rasheed.

The Knicks are willing to take a gamble on 6-foot-11 power forward Rasheed Wallace, who retired two seasons ago after finishing a disappointing one-year stint as a Celtic.

But Wallace, who worked out with Knicks players Saturday at their training facility, still has not decided whether he is willing to dedicate himself to getting himself back in NBA shape at age 38. Clearly, he’s nowhere close now.

Knicks coach Mike Woodson, who was on Larry Brown’s staff in 2004 when the Pistons won the title with Wallace as a linchpin, wants this to happen. The Knicks feel they have nothing to lose for the veteran’s minimum of $1.7 million.

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

New contract for Josh Smith is unlikely this season

Josh Smith is entering the final year of his current contract with the Hawks but it is “unlikely” that he will be re-signed before the end of the upcoming season. The forward is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Don’t panic yet Hawks fans.

Under the rules of the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, it could be advantageous for Smith, and to some degree the Hawks, to wait on a new contract. In simplest terms, if Smith re-signs with the Hawks before June 30, the extension can be for only a maximum of three years. If he waits until after his contract expires, he can re-sign for up to five years.

According to Hawks general manager Danny Ferry, Smith and his agents have said he would like to remain in Atlanta.

— Reported by Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution

D.J. White signs with Shanghai Sharks in China

Free-agent forward D.J. White has reached agreement on a one-year contract to play for owner Yao Ming and the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association, sources told Yahoo! Sports.

White, who played for the Charlotte Bobcats last season, has a chance to become an elite player in the CBA and could help elevate Yao’s franchise into serious contention.

Yao bought the cash-strapped Sharks in 2009 and has resurrected one of China’s proudest basketball franchises. White will play for respected American coach Dan Panaggio for the Sharks. After numerous injuries, Yao retired from the Houston Rockets in 2011.

— Reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports

Nets are playoff team on paper, says GM

“I think we have a lot of talent,” Nets general manager Billy King said Tuesday at his preseason press conference at the team’s practice facility in East Rutherford, N.J. “I think we’ve got a good team. … I think we have a team that’s a playoff team on paper. I think we have a team that can withstand injuries, because we have depth.

“But, as I’ve always said, can we win a championship? Yes. But it takes luck in an NBA season to do that. You have to be healthy, for the most part. You’ve gotta get some breaks… the ball has to bounce your way sometimes when it doesn’t.”

Having a roster King thinks is a potential title contender is a far cry from the team he put together the past two seasons. But after trying to land first Carmelo Anthony, then Dwight Howard, waiting to see what Deron Williams would decide, and revamping the entire roster this summer, King admitted it’s a different feeling entering this season.

— Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post

Milwaukee Bucks sign Marquis Daniels

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed free-agent guard-forward Marquis Daniels (6-6, 200), General Manager John Hammond announced today. Terms of the contract were not disclosed in accordance with team policy.

Despite going undrafted in the 2003 NBA Draft, Daniels, 31, has carved out a nine-year NBA career with stops in Dallas, Indiana and Boston. The Auburn University product has averaged better than 10 points per game in a season on two occasions (10.2 ppg with Dallas in 2005-06; 13.6 ppg for Indiana in 2008-09), and he owns career averages of 8.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 489 games (113 starts). Daniel’s best statistical season came in 2008-09 when, in addition to the 13.6 points per game, he added 4.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals while starting 43 of the 54 contests in which he appeared.

Daniel’s teams have advanced to the postseason in five of his nine NBA seasons, where he has averaged 4.3 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 62 career playoff appearances. Daniels appeared in 20 playoff games with Dallas in 2006 when the Mavericks reached the NBA Finals before falling to Miami in six games.

Bobcats add Jeff Adrien, Paris Horne, Josh Owens, DaJuan Summers to training camp

The Charlotte Bobcats have signed free agents Jeff Adrien, Paris Horne, Josh Owens and DaJuan Summers to their training camp roster.

A 6-7 forward, Adrien has appeared in 31 career NBA games over two seasons for the Warriors and Rockets, averaging 2.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per game. He played in eight games with the Rockets last season, averaging 2.6 points and 2.8 rebounds.

A 6-3 guard, Horne appeared in three games with the Bobcats Summer League team in Las Vegas, averaging 5.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 20.3 minutes. He spent the 2011-12 season with BG Gottingen in Germany, where he averaged 10.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 31.1 minutes in 40 games played.

A 6-8 forward, Owens appeared in four games with the Bobcats Summer League team in Las Vegas, averaging 5.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in 9.8 minutes. Last season as a senior at Stanford, he was named Second Team All-Pac-12 after averaging 11.6 points and 5.8 rebounds, while ranking third in the conference in field goal percentage (.571).

A 6-8 forward, Summers has appeared in 81 career NBA games over three seasons for the Pistons and Hornets, averaging 3.4 points and 1.0 rebound in 10.0 minutes per game. The 35th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, he played in 15 games for the Hornets last season, averaging 4.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in 13.9 minutes.

The Bobcats training camp roster stands at 18 players.