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Montepaschi Siena kept adding perimeter help on Friday with the signings of Matt Janning, a shooting guard who will make his Turkish Airlines Euroleague debut next season. Janning (1.97 meters, 24 years old) made his debut in the Italian League last season with Casale Monferrato, which whom he averaged 12.7 points over 25 games.
— Reported by Euroleague.net
On a roster that has only Joel Anthony and Dexter Pittman under contract at center, Miami Heat President Pat Riley has reiterated that he sees no need to aggressively pursue a veteran in free agency.
“We definitely are going to continue to look for somebody in that spot, but unless there’s an injury, we really don’t need a center,” Riley said during an appearance on WQAM.
Among veteran big men who remain available are Darko Milicic, Chris Andersen, Jermaine O’Neal, Ben Wallace, Lou Amundson, Joel Przybilla and Andray Blatche. But as he has since the Heat won the 2012 NBA championship with Chris Bosh as the team’s starting center, Riley said he believes the team is covered at the position.
“We signed Chris, basically, in my mind, fully in my mind, not in the back of my mind, he was probably going to be our center in critical situations,” Riley said on the Joe Rose Show. “And, so, Chris Bosh is a power forward, he’s a Tim Duncan-type player, but when you watch the San Antonio Spurs play, Tim is in the middle. That’s all there is to it.”
— Reported by Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Flagrant Fouls: None
Technical Fouls: None
“I think Clyde has always been jealous of Michael (Jordan), to be honest with you,” Barkley said on “The Waddle & Silvy Show” on ESPN 1000. “I think he’s always wanted to be compared to Michael.
“Hey, we all want to be compared to Michael, but we’re not. Clyde was a great player, but there was always that jealousy of Michael. That was one of the incidents and things about the Dream Team, Clyde was trying to play like it was Game 7 against Michael, and that’s probably not a good idea. When Michael is driving his kids to school, he thinks it’s Game 7.”
— Reported by ESPN Chicago
The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has signed unrestricted free-agent center Greg Stiemsma to a contract.
“Greg had a fine rookie season for the Boston Celtics and is just beginning to mature as a player,” said David Kahn, Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations. “The physical nature of his game and his ability to rebound and block shots will be a welcome addition to our front court.”
Stiemsma, 26, spent the 2011-12 season with Boston, averaging 2.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.55 blocks in 55 games, and appeared in 19 playoff games. He ranked 14th in blocked shots per game and second in blocked shots per minute (5.32).
The 6-11 center was previously signed by the Wolves on April 13, 2010 and waived on Sept. 10, 2010. Stiemsma played for the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the NBA D-League in 2009-10, averaging 8.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.6 blocks in 45 games and was named the NBA D-League Defensive Player of the Year. He appeared in four games for Sioux Falls in 2011 before signing with the Celtics. Stiemsma also played in South Korea in 2009-10 and Turkey in 2008-09 and 2010-11. He was a member of the 2011 USA National Team that won a bronze medal at the Pan-American Games in Guadalajara. The Randolph, Wis., native played collegiately for four years at the University of Wisconsin.
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China’s already slim chances in men’s basketball just took a serious blow when star forward Yi Jianlian went down with a knee injury.
Yi appeared to twist his right knee late in a loss to Australia on Thursday.
Yi had to be helped off the floor by teammates and he was still limping badly when the game was over.
— Reported by Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press
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After attracting attention from the Wizards, New Orleans, Chicago, Oklahoma City and the Los Angeles Lakers, among others, Mason eventually settled on the Hornets. He agreed to a one-year deal worth the veteran minimum on Wednesday, effectively going from one former No. 1 pick from Kentucky (John Wall) to another (Anthony Davis).
“I’m excited. They told me from the start that they wanted me. They stayed in touch. They have a clear role for me, as far as me not just being a veteran leader, but a guy that can contribute on the court,” Mason said in a telephone interview. “I just love the direction the franchise is going. So I’m looking forward to heading down there.”
Mason, 31, will be surrounded by some familiar faces in New Orleans, having already worked with Hornets General Manager Dell Demps while the two were in San Antonio and with assistant general manager Tim Connelly, the former director of player personnel for the Wizards. He has also spoken with Hornets Coach Monty Williams, a District native, several times during the recruiting process.
— Reported by Michael Lee of the Washington Post (Blog)
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If you’ve poked around on the internet, you’ve probably seen the pictures of Dirk Nowitzki in traditional Kenyan clothing and partying at some sort of ceremony in Africa with his fiance, Jessica Olsson.
His lady’s mother is from Kenya and her father from Sweden. The pictures that made it to cyberspace were accompanied with various stories and quotes attributed to Nowitzki. The stories suggested that it was a marriage ceremony. Nowitzki didn’t specify that, however.
So we went to the Mavericks to figure out what’s what. And spokesfolks from the team are adamant that Nowitzki remains single, for the moment. There are wedding plans, but they haven’t taken place yet.
— Reported by Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News (Blog)
New York Knickerbockers Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations and General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has signed free agent guard Chris Smith to a contract.
Smith, 6-2, 195 pounds, played two years at Louisville University to average 9.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists over 27.5 minutes in 40 games (38 starts), helping lead the Cardinals to reach the NCAA Final Four during his senior season in 2011-12.
The Millstone, N.J native represented the Knicks entry at the 2012 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas and is the younger brother of Knicks guard J.R. Smith.
According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, “J.R. is close with his brother, paid for Chris’s college at Louisville after he agreed to have the program take away his scholarship in order to recruit more players. Chris Smith has J.R.’s knack for offbeat tweets as yesterday he posted a photo of him signing a document by GM Glen Grunwald’s side. The Knicks have three point guards on the roster in Raymond Felton, Jason Kidd and Pablo Prigioni.”
Eight female badminton doubles players were disqualified from the London Olympics after trying to lose matches to receive a more favorable place in the tournament, Indonesia’s team leader said Wednesday.
The Badminton World Federation investigated two teams from South Korea and one each from China and Indonesia. It accused them of “not using one’s best efforts to win a match” and “conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport” in matches Tuesday night.
Erick Thohir, the head of Indonesia’s Olympic team, told The Associated Press that the Indonesian team will appeal. He also accused China of losing on purpose in the past.
“China has been doing this so many times and they never get sanctioned by the BWF,” Thohir said. “On the first game yesterday when China did it, the BWF didn’t do anything. If the BWF do something on the first game and they say you are disqualified, it is a warning for everyone.”
— Reported by the Associated Press