NBA News Blog – Page 982 – NBA Blog

Guard Dontaye Draper signs in Spain

The Turkish Airlines Euroleague’s most potent offense last season has put extra speed in the backcourt as Real Madrid on Monday announced the signing of playmaker Dontaye Draper to a two-year contract. Draper (1.80 meters, 27 years old) arrives from Cedevita Zagreb, where he averaged 13.8 points, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals in 5 Eurocup games last season. Draper helped Cedevita reach both the Croatian League finals and the Adriatic League title game. Draper was chosen as the 2010-11 Eurocup MVP – also earning All-Eurocup first team honors – by leading Cedevita from the Qualifying Round to the Finals.

— Reported by Euroleague.net

Andre Iguodala should fit in nicely with Nuggets

The Nuggets, you may have heard, like to run. They push the basketball in transition at every opportunity. Iguodala should fit right in with his rebounding, speed and hustle. Sebastian Pruiti is a D-League assistant coach and blogs about intricate basketball stats. He wrote that 18.1 percent of Denver’s possessions last season were in transition, tops in the league and that Denver had the third-highest offensive efficiency in transition. Iguodala gets out on the break and gets the ball in the basket. In situations in which he wasn’t handling the ball in transition, he shot 79.2 percent last season.

JaVale McGee knows the guy’s game. The Nuggets center, acquired from the Washington Wizards last season, had often battled Iguodala in the Eastern Conference.

“He’s just a real good addition to the team — and he’s definitely a defensive threat,” McGee said. “And he’s very athletic. It’s good to have more defensive-minded people on the team, because you can score a lot of points but you have to also be able to defend.”

— Reported by Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post

Russia beats Argentina to win Olympic bronze

Alexei Shved scored 25 points — 13 in the fourth quarter — and Russia won its first medal in Olympic men’s basketball with an 81-77 win on Sunday over Argentina, whose players angrily confronted the referees after the final horn following a wild scramble in the closing seconds.

Andrei Kirilenko added 20 points and Vitaliy Fridzon 19 for Russia, which finished ninth at the Beijing Games four years ago.

Manu Ginobili scored 21 and Andres Nocioni 16 for Argentina, which was looking to add another bronze to its Olympic collection after winning one in China and gold eight years ago in Athens.

Fridzon’s layup with 5.2 seconds left sealed it for Russia, which came away with the ball after it changed hands several times near midcourt. When the game ended, several Argentine players surrounded referees Bill Kennedy, Jose Carrion and Juan Arteaga in protest and guard Pablo Prigioni kicked an electronic clock off the scorer’s table…

Down by six points early in the second quarter, Russia reeled off 12 straight points to open a 33-27 lead. Shved made a 3-pointer to start the run and Kirilenko, who will also being playing with the Timberwolves next season, capped the spurt with a jumper.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Full coverage of Olympic basketball is here.

Age limit unlikely for 2016 Olympic basketball games

NBA commissioner David Stern’s push to see an age limit of 23 for the men’s Olympic basketball tournament is losing steam.

At least when it comes to the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.

FIBA chief Patrick Baumann, secretary general of the sport’s international governing body, said Saturday: “My feeling is that we will not be proposing a 23 age limit for the 2016 Olympic Games.”

“The NBA has come up with the idea to go with under 23 and at the same time to promote younger athletes,” Baumann said. “And also to make a (distinction) between the (new) World Cup and the Olympic Games (by making only the World Cup open to NBA players of all ages).

“From FIBA’s perspective, we understand the perspective from USA Basketball and the NBA,” Baumann continued. “I’m not sure (we) necessarily have the same idea, but we understand the owners’ concerns.”

— Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com

Lakers will have massive payroll in 2012-13

The Lakers will again have the NBA’s highest payroll in the coming season, paying $27.8 million to Bryant, $19.5 million to Howard and $19 million to Gasol alone. They will endure the luxury-tax penalties until the summer of 2014, when Bryant and Gasol come off the books and the club plans to get under the luxury-tax plateau just when the NBA’s new repeater penalties would kick in.

Howard, 26, is aware of the hopes for championships until then.

“Everybody’s going to expect a lot out of us,” he said. “I know for myself, I’m going to give you 100 percent. I’m going to have fun. I’m going to smile. I’m going to dunk.”

Howard, who had missed just seven games in his first seven NBA seasons, professed renewed love for the game after April 20 surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back.

“I’ve grown a lot in these four months,” he said.

— Reported by Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register

Phoenix Suns agree to terms with Jermaine O’Neal

In the shadow cast by Superman’s arrival in Los Angeles, the timing of Jermaine O’Neal’s choice to commit to the Suns on Friday was unfortunate as an unrelated move.

Given the caliber of remaining NBA free-agent centers, O’Neal’s commitment to sign a one-year, $1.35 million contract with Phoenix could be fortuitous if — and it’s a huge if — O’Neal can be healthier than he has been for the later half of his 16-year career.

The Suns had only a backup center role and a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract to offer with a franchise that is in transition. The Suns came away with a six-time All-Star who is still only 33 years old because he entered the NBA out of high school.

— Reported by Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic

Deron Williams happy the Dwight Howard saga is over

How Deron Williams reacted to Magic trading Dwight Howard to Lakers

Deron Williams happy that the Dwight Howard saga is over

Deron Williams had checked out of the Dwight Howard rumors after Team USA’s Las Vegas training camp. Honestly. Too many twists and turns.

So when he woke up Friday and found out Howard was headed to the Lakers, his disappointment was only marginal.

“We went down that road,’’ the Nets’ franchise player said after Team USA made it to the gold-medal game by trouncing Argentina Friday night.

“Mentally I wasn’t in the Dwight sweepstakes anymore. It just got kind of old. I’m happy for him. I know he wanted to get out of Orlando. He did that and he’s going to a great franchise and I wish him the best of luck.’’

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

Kobe Bryant reaction to Dwight Howard trade

The Lakers revamped their roster by acquiring Steve Nash in a sign-and-trade with Phoenix, and with the addition of Howard, the NBA’s most dominant big man who was left off the Olympic roster following back surgery.

“I’ll probably play two or three more years and (after that) the team is his,” Bryant said. “I’m excited for the Lakers franchise. Because this is a guy who can carry the franchise well after I’m gone. So it should be his. He should be willing to accept the challenge.”

Bryant whispered as he spoke to a large group of reporters after the U.S. defeated Argentina for the third time in three weeks. He was trying to play it cool but after expressing disappointment in December when the NBA voided a deal that would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers, Bryant couldn’t contain his excitement.

“All of a sudden, that gets pulled out from underneath us,” Bryant said of the rejected Paul trade. “Then (the Lakers front office) regroups and they come up with something that’s even better. It’s . . . it’s unprecedented.”

— Reported by Frank Isola of the New York Daily News

Bulls keeping tight lid on Derrick Rose recovery

The Bulls are keeping such a tight lid on Rose’s recovery that they won’t even address whether his knee has recovered enough to allow him to begin shooting.

Because trainer Fred Tedeschi said Rose would begin spot-shooting 12 weeks after the surgery he had May 12, though, it’s fair to assume he has been shooting while working out in Southern California. That begs this question:

Given how hard Rose works and how much time he spends in the gym, how much better a shooter can he become if that’s all he is allowed to do for the majority of the offseason?

‘‘He can only do three things,’’ said former NBA point guard Tim Hardaway, who missed the 1993-94 season after suffering a similar injury. ‘‘He can dribble — not run and dribble, just dribble walking up and down the court; he can shoot a bunch of free throws; and he can shoot a bunch of set shots like he’s playing

H-O-R-S-E every day, all day.

‘‘But that’s going to make him better. If you shoot 1,000 jump shots a day, 1,000 free throws a day, you’re going to get better. That made my shot better. It

really made my jump shot and free-throw percentage better.’’

— Reported by Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times

Dwight Howard traded to Lakers in 4-team deal; Bynum to 76ers, Iguodala to Nuggets

The Orlando Magic have acquired six players and five future draft picks in a four-team, 12-player trade, General Manager Rob Hennigan announced today.

Orlando acquired guard Aaron Afflalo (ah-FLAH-low) and forward Al Harrington from Denver, forward Maurice Harkless and center Nikola Vucevic (KNEE-coal-uh VOOCH-uh-vitch) from Philadelphia, as well as forward Josh McRoberts and guard/forward Christian Eyenga (eye-EN-gah) from the Los Angeles Lakers.

In addition, the Magic have also acquired five additional draft picks over the next five years. Orlando receives: a second round pick from Denver in 2013, a first round pick from either Denver or New York in 2014, a conditional first round pick from Philadelphia and a conditional second round pick from the L.A. Lakers in 2015, and a conditional first round pick from the L.A. Lakers in 2017.

The Magic have traded center Dwight Howard, guard Chris Duhon and forward Earl Clark to the L.A. Lakers, while sending guard Jason Richardson to Philadelphia. As part of the deal, Philadelphia has acquired center Andrew Bynum, while Denver has acquired guard/forward Andre Iguodala.

“A primary goal for our basketball team is to achieve sustainability while maintaining a long-term vision. We feel this deal puts us in a position to begin building in that direction,” said Hennigan. “In addition to the six players joining our team, we will be in a position to maximize our salary cap flexibility in the near future, as well as utilize the multiple draft picks we have acquired going forward.”

“Dwight Howard accomplished tremendous success on and off the court during his eight years in Orlando,” said Hennigan. “We wish him, Chris (Duhon), Earl (Clark) and Jason (Richardson) all the best in the future.”

Afflalo (6’5”, 215, 10/15/85) played and started in 62 games last season with Denver, averaging a career-high 15.2 ppg., 3.2 rpg. and 2.4 apg. in 33.6 minpg. He shot .471 (329-699) from the field, .398 (88-221) from three-point range and .798 (197-247) from the free throw line. Afflalo ranked 24th in the NBA in three-point field goal percentage and 39th in scoring. He led (or tied) the team in scoring 11 times, in rebounding twice and in assists once. Afflalo scored a career-high 32 points on Mar. 5 vs. Sacramento. He also played and started in seven playoff games, averaging 10.9 ppg., 3.6 rpg. and 2.7 apg. in 32.7 minpg.

Harrington (6’9”, 245, 2/17/80) played in 64 games last season (one start) with Denver, averaging 14.2 ppg., 6.1 rpg. and 1.4 apg. in 27.5 minpg. He scored in double figures 53 times, and had 10 games with 20-or-more points, including a season-high 31 points on Feb. 20 vs. Minnesota. Harrington also appeared in seven playoff outings, averaging 9.7 ppg. and 4.3 rpg. in 23.3 minpg.

Harkless (6’8”, 210, 5/11/93) was selected in the first round (15th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft by Philadelphia. He played and started all 32 games as a freshman last season with St. John’s University, averaging 15.5 ppg., 8.6 rpg., 1.5 apg., 1.59 stlpg. and 1.41 blkpg. Harkless ranked second in the nation in rebounding among freshmen and sixth in scoring. He was named the 2011-12 Big East Conference Rookie of the Year.

Vucevic (7’0”, 240, 10/24/90) played in 51 games (15 starts) during his rookie campaign last season with Philadelphia, averaging 5.5 ppg. and 4.8 rpg. in 15.9 minpg. He ranked among all NBA rookies in rebounding (t-sixth), blocked shots (t-sixth) and field goal percentage (.450, eighth). Vucevic led (or tied) the Sixers in scoring four times and in rebounding nine times. He also played in one playoff outing.

McRoberts (6’10”, 240, 2/28/87) played in 50 games last season (six starts) with the Lakers, averaging 2.8 ppg., 3.4 rpg. and 1.0 apg. in 14.4 minpg. He scored a season-high 16 points on Apr. 26 @ Sacramento. McRoberts also played in six playoff contests.

Eyenga (6’5”, 210, 6/22/89) played in seven combined games last season with both Cleveland and the Lakers, averaging 2.4 ppg. and 2.0 rpg. in 14.7 minpg. He was acquired by Los Angeles along with Ramon Sessions in exchange for Luke Walton, Jason Kapono, a future first round pick and other considerations on Mar. 15. Eyenga also played in three playoff contests.

Howard appeared in 621 career regular season games with Orlando from 2004-12, averaging 18.4 ppg., 13.0 rpg., 1.5 apg., 2.16 blkpg. and 1.01 stlpg. in 36.2 minpg. He was named to the All-NBA First Team five times (2007-12), was a six-time NBA All-Star (2007-12) and was the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year for three consecutive seasons (2009-11).

Clark played in 78 regular season games during his two seasons with Orlando (2010-12), averaging 3.3 ppg. and 2.7 rpg. in 12.2 minpg.

Duhon played in 114 regular season games during his two seasons with Orlando (2010-12), averaging 3.2 ppg., 2.4 apg. and 1.4 rpg. in 17.5 minpg.

Richardson played and started in 109 regular season games during his two seasons with Orlando (2010-12), averaging 12.8 ppg., 3.8 rpg., 2.0 apg. and 1.09 stlpg. in 32.2 minpg. He also shot .377 (229-608) from three-point range.

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