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Lou Amundson’s agent has had an ongoing dialogue with the Knicks about bringing the bruising center to New York.
Several teams, including some with more money to offer than the Knicks, have also expressed interest in Amundson.
According to Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida, Amundson has drawn interest from Charlotte, which can offer the $2.5 non tax-payer exception.
The Knicks can offer only the veteran’s minimum to Amundson.
— Reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York
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Haywood, who grew up in Greensboro, made it clear he’s coming back to the Carolinas with the goal of helping the Charlotte Bobcats turn things around after they finished with the worst record (7-59) in the NBA last season.
Claimed off waivers last week from the Dallas Mavericks, the 7-foot Haywood was introduced Thursday at a news conference along with free-agent acquisition Ramon Sessions, a point guard who opted out of his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers to sign with the Bobcats.
“Myself and Ramon will be great additions to this team,” Haywood said. “We’re looking forward to getting this thing started and help this team be better than it was last season.”
Haywood still owns a home in Charlotte and has frequently worked out at the Bobcats facility in the past during the offseason.
He called returning to Charlotte “a blessing.”
— Reported by the Associated Press
Charlotte Bobcats President of Basketball Operations Rod Higgins announced today that the team has withdrawn its qualifying offer to forward Derrick Brown. Brown now becomes an unrestricted free agent.
Selected by the Bobcats with the 40th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, Brown averaged career highs of 8.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 22.2 minutes in 65 games played last season. In 171 games over three NBA seasons with the Bobcats and Knicks, he has career averages of 5.2 points and 2.4 rebounds in 14.9 minutes played.
Bobcats Sports & Entertainment owns the Charlotte Bobcats and operates Charlotte’s Time Warner Cable Arena.
Charlotte Bobcats President of Basketball Operations Rod Higgins announced today that the team has been awarded center Brendan Haywood off waivers from Dallas. Haywood was designated by the Mavericks as the team’s amnesty player.
According to ESPN.com, “NBA.com reported the Bobcats’ winning bid was just more than $2 million, which means Dallas must pay roughly $6.3 million of Haywood’s $8.3 million salary in 2012-13. Releasing Haywood via amnesty wiped the $27.2 million he’s owed over the next three seasons off the Mavericks’ books for salary-cap and luxury-tax purposes. The Bobcats now will assume more than $6 million of that financial obligation.”
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An 11-year NBA veteran, the 7-0 Haywood has played in 733 career games for the Wizards and Mavericks, with 531 starts. He has career averages of 7.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 23.7 minutes. His career field goal percentage of .534 ranks seventh among active players and 28th in NBA history.
Haywood was a member of Dallas’ 2011 NBA Championship team, and has appeared in 53 career playoff games, averaging 6.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks, while shooting .564 from the field.
The Greensboro, NC native played four seasons at the University of North Carolina before being selected by Cleveland with the 20th overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft. His rights were traded on draft night to Orlando, who later traded him to Washington.
Charlotte Bobcats President of Basketball Operations Rod Higgins announced today that the team has signed second-round draft pick Jeffery Taylor. The Bobcats selected Taylor with the 31st overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.
The 6-7 Taylor finished his career at Vanderbilt ranked second in career scoring (1,897), sixth in rebounding (752) and eighth in steals (146), becoming the only player in school history to rank in the top 10 in all three categories. During his senior season, he appeared in 36 games and averaged 16.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 32.1 minutes. He was named First Team All-SEC in 2012 and Second Team in 2010 and 2011, while also being named to the SEC All-Defensive team in each of the last three seasons. In 2008 Taylor played for the Swedish National Team in the FIBA Under-20 European Division B Championships, where he averaged 19.4 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in eight games.
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Charlotte Bobcats President of Basketball Operations Rod Higgins announced today that the team has signed free agent guard Ramon Sessions.
“Ramon is a quality point guard who can both distribute and score,” Higgins said. “We are excited to be adding a player of his caliber and ability to our franchise.”
A five-year NBA veteran, the 6-3 Sessions has played in 323 career games with the Bucks, Timberwolves, Cavaliers and Lakers, posting averages of 11.1 points, 5.0 assists and 3.1 rebounds in 25.4 minutes. The Myrtle Beach, SC, native was originally selected by Milwaukee with the 56th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft after three seasons at the University of Nevada, where he helped the Wolf Pack to three straight Western Athletic Conference championships.
Sessions split the 2011-12 season between the Cavaliers and Lakers, with overall averages of 11.3 points, 5.5 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 26.7 minutes. He also shot a career-best .443 from beyond the three-point line, making 43 three-point field goals on the season after totaling only 13 in his first four NBA seasons combined. Following a trade to the Lakers on March 15, Sessions averaged 12.7 points, 6.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds in 30.5 minutes, starting 19 of his 23 regular-season games with Los Angeles. While with the Lakers, Sessions shot .479 from the field and .486 from beyond the three-point line.
Sessions’ first name is pronounced ruh-MAHN.
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The Indiana Pacers announced Friday they have signed free agent guard D.J. Augustin to a contract. Per club policy terms of the contract were not released.
“D.J. is an excellent pick-up for this team,” said Pacers General Manager Kevin Pritchard. “He’s an amazing kid that will fit well here with the Pacers’ family. His experience will be valuable as we move our franchise forward. Our priority is to keep our own players and then to fill in the holes that exist. D.J. helps us accomplish that.”
The 6-0, 180-pound Augustin joins the Pacers after spending the first four seasons of his NBA career with the Charlotte Bobcats. Drafted as the ninth overall pick in the NBA Draft by the Bobcats, he has career averages of 10.9 points and 4.4 assists per game. As a rookie, he was named to the 2008-09 All-Rookie Second Team after averaging 11.8 points, 3.5 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 72 games played.
“I’m very excited,” said Augustin. “It’s a great organization basketball-wise, they made the playoffs last year and to be part of a winning organization feels great.”
The Indiana Pacers agreed to a one-year deal with unrestricted free-agent point guard D.J. Augustin on Thursday, filling the vacancy created when Darren Collison was dealt to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.
Augustin’s $4 million qualifying offer as a restricted free agent was withdrawn by the Charlotte Bobcats, who had been negotiating a sign-and-trade deal with Indiana. When the offer was rescinded, Augustin officially became an unrestricted free agent able to sign with any team.
— Reported by the Sports Xchange
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Charlotte Bobcats President of Basketball Operations Rod Higgins announced today that the team has withdrawn its qualifying offer to D.J. Augustin. Augustin now becomes an unrestricted free agent.
Augustin was initially selected by the Bobcats with the ninth overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. In four NBA seasons, he played in 282 total games for the Bobcats, with averages of 10.9 points, 4.4 assists and 2.0 rebounds. In 2011-12, he saw action in 48 games, averaging 11.1 points, 6.4 assists and 2.3 rebounds.
According to the Charlotte Observer, the Bobcats are expected to sign free agent guard Ramon Sessions.
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The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they re-signed forward Boris Diaw. Per club policy details of the contract were not released.
“Boris was a key addition to our team late last season and we are happy to have him back,” Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said. “The depth of his game and his basketball IQ make him a special player.”
Diaw, signed last season by the Spurs on March 23, played in 20 games (seven starts) with the Silver and Black, averaging 4.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 20.3 minutes while shooting .588 (40-68) from the field. In the postseason, Diaw started all 14 games for the Spurs and averaged 6.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 24.7 minutes.
The 6-8, 235-pound Diaw started the 2011-12 season with the Charlotte Bobcats before being placed on waivers on March 21. In 37 games with the Bobcats, Diaw averaged 7.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 27.5 minutes.
A nine-year NBA veteran, Diaw was originally drafted by the Atlanta Hawks with the 21st overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. He was traded to the Phoenix Suns on Aug. 19, 2005. In his first season with the Suns, Diaw won the 2006 Most Improved Player Award, after averaging 13.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists in 35.5 minutes over 81 games.
For his career, Diaw has appeared in 680 NBA games, averaging 9.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 30.1 minutes while shooting .492 (2,685-5,457) from the field, .333 (301-904) from three-point territory and .708 (785-1,109) from the foul line. He has posted six triple-doubles during his career. Diaw has seen action in 53 playoff games, averaging 11.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 32.2 minutes.