NBA News Blog – Page 975 – NBA Blog

Shelden Williams signs overseas in France

Elan Chalon fortified its frontcourt with the signing of big man Shelden Williams. Though this will be his first season playing in Europe, Williams (2.06 meters, 28 years old) has the right people to fall back on for knowledge; His brother-in-law is three-time European champion and two-time Euroleague MVP Anthony Parker. Williams has spent his entire professional career to date in the NBA, where he has totaled 361 regular season games over six seasons with seven teams. Last season he averaged 4.6 points and 6 rebounds over 58 games with New Jersey. He was a college basketball star at Duke University, where Williams remains the Blue Devils’ career leader in rebounds (1,262) and blocked shots (422). He was named Atlantic Coast Conference defensive player of the year and to the All-ACC First Team in both 2005 and 2006.

— Reported by Euroleague.net

Darius Songaila signs in Ukraine

BC Donetsk made veteran big man Darius Songaila its third addition to its frontline in the past week with the announcement that the sides signed a one-year contract. Songaila (2.06 meters, 34 years old) joins D’or Fischer and Kaloyan Ivanov as the newest Donetsk players. His contract is guaranteed for two months, after which both sides have the option to terminate the deal. With the Ukrainian champs, Songaila will attempt to navigate the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Qualifying Rounds for the second straight season. Last season he helped Galatasaray Medical Park win three straight games to qualify for the Euroleague regular season and then averaged 6.5 points and 2.8 rebounds over 15 minutes in 10 games as the club reached the Top 16 for the first time. He finished the season in Spain, where Songaila averaged 9 points and 4 rebounds in 10 games for Valladolid.

— Reported by Euroleague.net

Kris Humphries being sued for something gross

Kris Humphries has just been sued by a woman who claims he gave her herpes … TMZ has learned.

Kayla Goldberg claims she met Kris in August, 2010 at the Newsroom Cafe on Robertson Blvd. in L.A. They flirted, exchanged numbers, and she claims that night they met up at Trousdale nightclub on the Sunset Strip.

According to the suit, Kris came on to Kayla, touching, kissing and dancing with her. Kayla claims he took her to his hotel and they had sex multiple times … including oral sex. The suit claims during a portion of the sexual encounter Kris did not wear a condom.

— Reported by TMZ.com

AUGUST 30 Update — E! Online reports: Here’s some interesting news for you: Kris Humphries’ rep tells E! News that the NBA star does not have herpes.

Good to hear, but why even bring it up?

That would be because a woman has filed a lawsuit today in Los Angeles Superior Court against the basketball player for allegedly infecting her with sexual disease.

Trail Blazers hire Dale Osbourne as assistant coach

Portland Trail Blazers Head Coach Terry Stotts has added Dale Osbourne to the coaching staff, it was announced today by the team.

“I’m very excited about Dale joining our staff,” said Stotts. “His diverse coaching background and experience at the college and D-League level will be very valuable in the development of our younger players both on the court and off.”

Osbourne joins the Trail Blazers from the Tulsa 66ers, where he served as head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s NBA Development League affiliate. USA Basketball selected him as an assistant coach for the 2011 Pan American Games, where the team medaled for the first time since 1999.

Osbourne spent parts of three seasons as an assistant in Tulsa before being promoted to head coach in December 2011. He has also been an assistant with the D-League’s Utah Flash and Austin Toros, in addition to coaching tenures in the WNBA, CBA and USBL.

In seven years as an assistant at the University of South Alabama, Osbourne helped guide his alma mater to a pair of Sun Belt Conference titles.

Osbourne joins Kaleb Canales, Jay Triano, David Vanterpool and Kim Hughes on the Portland coaching staff.

The Trail Blazers tip-off training camp Tuesday, Oct. 2, in preparation for the NBA season opener vs. the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday, Oct. 31.

Houston Rockets waive forward Sean Williams

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has officially waived forward Sean Williams. He was acquired by Houston from the Boston Celtics as part of the Courtney Lee sign-and-trade on July 20.

Williams (6-10, 235, Boston College) owns career averages of 4.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 137 games (29 starts) with New Jersey, Dallas and Boston. He was originally selected by the Nets with the 17th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.

Washington Wizards sign Martell Webster

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has signed free agent guard/forward Martell Webster. It’s a one-year deal for $1.6 million, according to the Washington Post.

“Martell brings a combination of versatility and shooting in addition to his experience,” said Grunfeld. “Adding him to the roster provides us with another solid veteran presence and gives us flexibility with our lineups at both the shooting guard and small forward positions.”

Per the Post, “the Timberwolves bought out Webster for $600,000 last month rather than pay him the $5.7 million he would’ve earned, making him a free agent. He impressed the Wizards during a workout last week at Verizon Center and agreed to a deal shortly thereafter.”

Webster (6-7, 230) holds career averages of 8.4 points and 3.2 rebounds while shooting .374 from three-point range in 394 games (191 starts) over seven seasons with Portland and Minnesota. He was originally selected by the Trail Blazers with the sixth overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft as an early-entry candidate out of Seattle Prep High School. Webster averaged 9.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and a career-high .417 three-point percentage for the Timberwolves in 2010-11 and averaged career highs of 10.7 points and 3.9 rebounds for the Trail Blazers in 2007-08. He averaged 6.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in 47 games (26 starts) for Minnesota last season.

The Wizards’ roster now stands at 14 players.

Atlanta Hawks add Kenny Atkinson, Bob Weiss to coaching staff

The Atlanta Hawks announced today that Head Coach Larry Drew has added Kenny Atkinson to his staff as Assistant Coach/Player Development, and Bob Weiss as Assistant Coach/Consultant. They join Assistant Coaches Lester Conner and Bob Bender, and Player Development Instructor Nick Van Exel on the Hawks’ bench. In addition, Rick Sund has been named Senior Advisor, Basketball Operations, and Jeff Watkinson as Atlanta’s Strength and Conditioning Coach.

Atkinson comes to Atlanta after spending the last four years as an assistant with the New York Knicks where he helped the team reach the playoffs each of the last two seasons. Prior to joining the Knicks staff, he spent the 2007-08 campaign serving as the Director of Player Development for the Houston Rockets.

“Kenny has proven to be very successful in developing young players in this league, and his energy and enthusiasm are contagious,” Drew said. “We’re excited to add another dedicated and hard-working coach and teacher.”

Before starting his NBA coaching career, Atkinson spent three years as Director of Player Development/Assistant Coach for Paris Basket Racing Club in France (2004-06) and the summer of 2006 as Director of Player Development/Assistant Coach for the national team of the Republic of Georgia. He was also a Reebok EuroCamp Coach in Treviso, Italy during the summers of 2005-through-2010.

A standout collegiate player at the University of Richmond, Atkinson was an All-CAA First Team selection as a junior and senior (1989-90) and helped the Spiders to a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 1988. He went on to play professionally in France, Germany and Spain from 1991-2004.

Weiss is a former head coach for the Hawks (1990-93), San Antonio (1986-88), LA Clippers (1993-94) and Seattle (2005-06), and also spent time as an assistant coach with the Buffalo Braves, Dallas, San Antonio and Orlando. In 2008, Weiss coached Shanxi Zhongyu in the Chinese Basketball Association.

“Bob has been involved with the NBA game a long time, and brings a wealth of experience,” Drew said. “I’m looking forward to the contributions he’ll make to our staff.”

The 22nd overall pick in the 1965 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, Weiss played 12 NBA seasons for the Sixers, Seattle, Milwaukee, Chicago, Buffalo and Washington, averaging 7.6 ppg in 783 regular season contests.

Sund has over 37 years of NBA experience, including the last four years as Atlanta’s Executive Vice President/GM. The Hawks posted a record of 184-128 under his leadership, reaching the playoffs in each of his four seasons, and advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals three times. He’s also spent time as an executive with Milwaukee, Dallas, Detroit and Seattle.

He was a two-sport athlete at Northwestern University, where in basketball (as a 6-4 guard) he earned CoSIDA Academic All-America (third team) honors in 1973, and was twice named academic All-Big Ten, while also seeing action as a tight end and wide receiver on the football team. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Northwestern.

Watkinson owned his own business for the last two years, working with NBA players on their strength, conditioning and basketball development. Formerly the strength and conditioning coach at Indiana University from 2006-10, he has held similar positions at Missouri, Clemson, Charlotte and College of Charleston.

The suburban Chicago native began his college studies in 1989 at Kishwaukee College in Illinois, earning an associate’s degree in pre-medicine. He then earned a baseball scholarship to North Carolina State, playing two years with the baseball team and graduating with a pre-medicine degree in 1993. Watkinson earned his master’s in exercise science from Indiana in 1996.

San Antonio Spurs hire Ime Udoka as an assistant coach

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that Ime Udoka has been named an assistant coach.

“Ime Udoka possesses an outstanding work ethic as well as a natural inclination to teach. We are excited to add someone with his potential to our coaching staff,” said Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich.

Udoka returns to San Antonio after having played for the Silver and Black from 2007-09 and during the 2010-11 campaign. In his three seasons with the Spurs, he appeared in 160 games, averaging 4.5 points and 2.7 rebounds in 15.5 minutes.

Udoka spent seven seasons in the NBA playing in 316 career games, averaging 5.2 points and 2.9 rebounds in 18.1 minutes . He enjoyed his best campaign during the 2006-07 season when he started 75 games for Portland, averaging 8.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 28.6 minutes. Udoka also played for the L.A. Lakers in 2003-04, the New York Knicks in 2005-06, the Sacramento Kings in 2009-10 and the New Jersey Nets in 2011-12.

Undrafted out of college, Udoka spent time in NBA Development League, USBL, IBA and internationally in Spain and France. Udoka began his D-League career in 2002-03 with the Charleston Lowgators. In 2005-06 he was named to the All-NBA D-League First Team and was also the recipient of Jason Collier Sportsmanship Award after averaging 17.1 points and 6.2 rebounds in 45 games for the Fort Worth Flyers.

Udoka closed out his college career at Portland State where he led the Vikings in scoring, rebounding, steals and blocked shots during the 1999-2000 season. He was also named First Team All-Big Sky Conference and was selected as the league’s Newcomer of the Year. Udoka began his college career at Eastern Utah and spent a year at the University of San Francisco before arriving at Portland State.

Though American-born, Udoka’s late father was of Ibibio descent and was born in Nigeria which allowed Udoka to play for the Nigerian National Team. He represented Nigeria in multiple tournaments, including the 2005 African Championship, the 2006 FIBA World Championship, where he averaged 14.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists, and the 2011 African Championship where he helped lead Nigeria to a bronze medal.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to get statue outside Staples Center

It has been 23 years since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar last played for the Los Angeles Lakers, but soon fans headed to Staples Center will see him every day.

The Lakers plan to erect a statue outside the arena to honor The Captain, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.

The Lakers plan to announce the date of the official unveiling of the statue in the near future, according to a league source.

While Abdul-Jabbar’s on-court accomplishments were no-doubt stellar, racking up six championships and six MVPs during his 20-year career, his relationship with the Lakers had become strained in recent years. The team cut ties with Abdul-Jabbar as a special assistant following the 2010-11 season and the former 19-time All-Star also voiced his frustration at Jerry West receiving a statue before he did, after West’s statue was unveiled during the 2011 NBA All-Star weekend in Los Angeles.

— Reported by Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles

Spurs will reportedly interview Scott Layden for assistant GM job

Jazz assistant coach Scott Layden has accepted an invitation by Spurs management to interview for the organization’s assistant general manager vacancy, according to a source.

The meeting was scheduled for Monday night with general manager R.C. Buford and head coach Gregg Popovich in San Antonio, the source said. Spurs ownership will not be in attendance.

This San Antonio position opened three weeks ago when the Jazz hired then-Spurs assistant GM Dennis Lindsey to replace Kevin O’Connor as Utah’s general manager.

— Reported by Jody Genessy of the Deseret News