NBA News Blog – Page 967 – NBA Blog

Grizzlies guard Tony Allen back in action following knee surgery

Memphians might have noticed Grizzlies guard Tony Allen in the community recently at block parties and autograph signings at retail stores.

However, the best news regarding Allen these days is that he’s back on the basketball court while recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery. The Grizzlies’ stalwart on defense underwent a minor procedure during the offseason to repair cartilage in his left knee.

Allen has been in town working out in FedExForum and declared that he’ll be ready when training camp opens Oct. 2.

“I’m definitely getting myself back to being that thirsty dog,” Allen said. “I don’t want to rush it. But I’ll be back for the first game, Oct. 31, against the (Los Angeles) Clippers. I guarantee that.”

— Reported by Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal

Lawrence Frank pleased with Pistons work ethic

Lawrence Frank wouldn’t say whose idea it was to bring a ping-pong table to the practice facility, but the Pistons coach admitted he was pleased with the competitive spirit of the 11 players who have participated in unofficial workouts and are expected to make the roster.

“I mean, this is all voluntarily; they don’t have to be here, and we can’t force them,” Frank said. “Eleven of the 15 have been here, and we expect Jonas (Jerebko) and Slava Kravtsov to be here Tuesday.”

Jerebko and Kravtsov have been at the Eurobasket 2013 qualifying tournament, with Jerebko playing very well and Kravtsov showing promise.

With camp just weeks away, Frank has the luxury of having time to work his players, unlike last season when he, like all teams and coaches, had to deal with a lockout and playing just about every other day.

— Reported by Perry A. Farrell of the Detroit Free Press

Mike Miller says he will be ready for Heat season

Three months later, he’s still in one piece, his limbs attached to all the right places. For the first time with the Miami Heat, Mike Miller might actually start a regular season in uniform.

After considering retirement during the NBA Finals and then contemplating back surgery at the completion of the Heat’s championship run, Miller is up and running and looking forward to the Sept. 29 start of training camp at AmericanAirlines Arena.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” he said Saturday.

Instead of gaining a $2.9 million injury exception for a replacement player, the Heat apparently will have the real thing, with Miller hoping to pick up where he left off, which just happened to be with seven 3-pointers in the Game 5 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder that gave the Heat their second championship.

— Reported by Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Ronnie Brewer says Knicks defense can shine this season

So, just how good can this team be on the defensive end?

“I think the sky’s the limit,” Brewer said on Friday night.

After struggling to get stops for much of the Mike D’Antoni era, New York made a significant improvement on defense last year.

With Chandler in the middle, the Knicks finished fifth in the league defensive efficiency (a measure of points allowed per 100 possessions), up from 21st in 2010-11. Chandler was named Defensive Player of the Year and Shumpert established himself as one of the top young perimeter defenders in the league.

Brewer believes that the addition of himself and Camby, among others, can make the Knicks even more stingy this year.

“I think with those ingredients, we’re going to a very dangerous,” he said.

— Reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York

Kirilenko, Shved on their way to Minnesota

New Timberwolves Andrei Kirilenko and Alexey Shved today finish up the four-day Basketball Without Borders camp they are working in Moscow with Wolves player development coach David Adelman and fellow NBA players Timofey Mozgov, MarShon Brooks, Danny Green and Brian Cardinal.

Next stop: Target Center.

Kirilenko plans to arrive in about 10 days for training camp that begins in Mankato on Oct. 2.

Until then, he will spend these final days of summer at home in Russia, where he, Shved and their national team teammates brought home the Olympic bronze medal last month.

That performance sent them to the Kremlin and a visit with Russian president Vladimir Putin that delayed Kirilenko’s introductory Target Center news conference until he arrives here the last week of September for camp.

He has spent these last four days in what he calls “giving back” to the game that already has given him a 10-year NBA career and now leads him to Minnesota and a two-year, $20 million contract and to his home country where basketball now has produced its first Olympic medal in the sport since the Soviet Union’s breakup and this season is sending countryman Shved to the NBA as well.

— Reported by Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune

Lakers sign second-round pick Darius Johnson-Odom

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed rookie guard Darius Johnson-Odom, it was announced today.

Johnson-Odom, the 55th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, was acquired by the Lakers from Dallas on draft night. The 6-2 guard out of Marquette averaged 15.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 105 career games. As a senior, the Raleigh, North Carolina native led his team in scoring (18.3ppg) and earned First Team All-Big East honors in addition to being named an Honorable Mention All-American by the Associated Press.

Most recently, Johnson-Odom played on the Lakers 2012 Summer League team in Las Vegas, averaging 3.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 15.8 minutes.

Utah Jazz sign second-round pick Kevin Murphy

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has signed second-round draft pick Kevin Murphy.

The 6-7, 185-pound guard out of Tennessee Tech was selected 47th overall by the Jazz in the 2012 NBA Draft. In five games (two starts) for the Jazz entry in the 2012 Orlando Pro Summer League, Murphy averaged 8.6 points and 2.4 rebounds in 23 minutes of action.

A native of Atlanta, Ga., Murphy amassed 2,019 points, 535 rebounds and 248 assists in four years at Tennessee Tech. During his senior season in 2011-12, he averaged 20.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 34.5 minutes.

Murphy, who ranks second all-time at Tennessee Tech in scoring, was twice named to the All-Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) First Team (2011, 2012) as well as the OVC All-Tournament Team (2011, 2012). Following his freshman season, he was named to the 2009 OVC All-New Comer Team.

Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov respects rap

Mikhail Prokhorov is a big fan of the deadpan delivery, so it’s easy to imagine a straight-faced towering man explaining to DETAILS Magazine why he won’t be rapping with Jay Z at the opening of the Barclays Center.

“I respect rap greatly but don’t consider myself a fan,” said the billionaire owner of the Nets, who previously rapped on Russian television while calling himself “a real Russian Eminem.”

“It was a complete surprise when I was asked to rap. But when I set myself to something, I always achieve great heights. So I don’t think it would be fair to rap with Jay. I could cause irreparable damage to his professional career.”

So Prokhorov won’t be kicking any rhymes at Jay Z’s concert on Sept. 28, but he is attending next week’s ribbon cutting ceremony at the Barclays Center.

— Reported by Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News

Chris Bosh OK with playing center

Chris Bosh said he’s open to returning as the center of attention.

One of the Miami Heat’s big three with LeBron James and Dwayne Wade, Bosh told ESPN.com that he expects to open the 2012-13 as the team’s starting center.

“It’s becoming natural to me,” Bosh told ESPN.com. “I have a very unique opportunity to do something very special for myself and my team. I think all the time that you have to evolve and get better. This is me evolving as a player.”

— Reported by the Sports Xchange

Clippers sign Matt Barnes

The Los Angeles Clippers today signed free agent forward Matt Barnes.

With Carol Butler as the likely starter at small forward, Barnes should be able to provide nice bench depth.

The Clippers also have Lamar Odom, who can fill in at either forward spot but is more of a big-man than a small forward.

The nine-year NBA veteran has averaged 7.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 21.3 minutes over his career. In 63 games played for the Lakers last season, Barnes tallied 7.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.

This marks Barnes’ second stint with the Clippers. After signing with Los Angeles as a free agent rookie in 2003-04, he averaged 4.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 19.1 minutes in 38 games played that season.

Barnes turned in his most productive NBA campaign with the Phoenix Suns during the 2008-09 season. In 77 games played (40 starts) with the Suns, Barnes averaged a career-high 10.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 27.0 minutes per game.

Aside from the Clippers, Lakers and Suns, Barnes has also played for the Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors and Orlando Magic over his career.

Barnes was originally drafted in the second round (46th overall selection) of the 2002 NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies but was traded to Cleveland prior to the start of his rookie season. After being waived by the Cavaliers during training camp, Barnes played 50 games for Fayetteville of the NBA D-League averaging 9.7 points and 3.3 rebounds during the 2002 season.

During his four-year collegiate career at UCLA (1998-2002), Barnes tallied 8.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 22.6 minutes per game. Barnes helped lead the Bruins to NCAA Tournament appearances in all four of his seasons at UCLA, including three straight appearances in the Sweet Sixteen.