Charlotte Hornets Blog – Page 61 – NBA Blog

Charlotte Bobcats waive Erick Dampier

Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rod Higgins announced today that the team has waived center Erick Dampier.

“We explored several trade possibilities involving Erick, but ultimately we have been unable to find a viable option that we felt made our team better,” Higgins said. “Out of respect to Erick, we have decided to release him at this time so he may pursue opportunities with other teams prior to training camp.”

The Bobcats acquired Dampier, along with guard Matt Carroll and forward Eduardo Najera, on July 13, 2010, in exchange for centers Tyson Chandler and Alexis Ajinca.

In 14 NBA seasons, Dampier has played in 921 games for Indiana, Golden State and Dallas, with career averages of 7.8 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. In 55 games with Dallas last season, Dampier averaged 6.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks.

The Charlotte Bobcats, who became the NBA’s 30th team when they joined the league in 2004-05, finished the 2009-10 season with a franchise-best 44-38 overall record (31-10 at home) and first-ever playoff appearance.

Nets waive Sean May

The New Jersey Nets have requested waivers on forward Sean May, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.

“During a basketball workout last week, in preparation for the upcoming training camp and season, Sean May suffered a stress fracture to his left foot,” said King. “This injury has a four-eight week rehab period, which would not provide Sean a legitimate chance to make our team.”

May, who signed with the Nets on August 9, 2010, is a four-year NBA veteran with career averages of 6.9 points and 4.0 rebounds over 119 career games with Charlotte and Sacramento.

Bobcats sign Kwame Brown

Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rod Higgins announced today that the team has signed free agent center Kwame Brown. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. Several media outlets reported that the deal would be for one-year and the league minimum.

The 6-11 Brown will enter his 10th NBA season, with career averages of 6.7 points and 5.4 rebounds in 22.0 minutes over 510 games (217 starts) with Washington, the L.A. Lakers, Memphis and Detroit. In 18 career playoff games (12 starts), Brown averaged 8.7 points and 5.8 rebounds. Last season with the Pistons, Brown appeared in 48 games and averaged 3.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in 16.0 minutes.

“Kwame is a defensive-minded veteran who will add depth to our frontcourt rotation,” said Higgins. “At age 28, he has the size, strength and experience to be a solid contributor for this team.”

His best overall season came with Washington in 2003-04 when he posted career highs in points, rebounds and minutes played, averaging 10.9 points and 7.4 rebounds in 30.2 minutes. Additionally he posted 18 double-doubles (points-rebounds), including his 30-point, 19-rebound effort against Sacramento on March 17.

An early entry candidate, Brown became the first-ever player to be selected with the No. 1 overall pick out of high school when Washington chose him in the 2001 NBA Draft.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

38 Kwame Brown of the Detroit Pistons in action vs. the Sacramento Kings at Arco Arena in Sacramento, California. The Pistons beat the Kings 100-92 Photo via Newscom

Bobcats will reportedly sign Kwame Brown

NBA free agent Kwame Brown has reportedly found a new home.

According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, the center has agreed to a one-year, minimum-salary deal with the Charlotte Bobcats.

Michael Jordan, who recently purchased the Bobcats, drafted Brown as the #1 overall pick into the NBA back when Jordan was an executive on the Washington Wizards. Brown turned out to just be a bench player, however, and has had little impact in the league thus far.

For his career, Brown averages 6.7 points and 5.4 rebounds in 22.0 minutes per game.

Full 2010 preseason schedule

The NBA today released its 2010 preseason schedule, which is highlighted by a comprehensive international slate of games that includes seven contests in China, Europe and Mexico. The preseason slate tips off on Oct. 3, when the New York Knicks visit Armani Jeans Milano – the former team of Knicks forward Danillo Gallinari and head coach Mike D’Antoni – in Milan, Italy, and the New Jersey Nets host Maccabi Haifa.

As is the case these days, the action starts overseas, with a few NBA squads heading to Europe.

I’ve always had mixed feelings about teams playing preseason ball overseas. Because generally it’s just a warmup. I think if NBA fans overseas are going to get a rare taste of live NBA action, it should be the best basketball possible, and we usually don’t see that before the regular season begins.

See the complete 2010-11 NBA preseason schedule.

Nets sign Sean May

The New Jersey Nets have signed free agent forward Sean May, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released. Multiple reports have said the contract is not guaranteed.

May, 6’9”/266, is a four-year NBA veteran with career averages of 6.9 points and 4.0 rebounds in 15.7 minutes over 119 career games with Charlotte and Sacramento.

As the Most Outstanding Player in the 2005 NCAA Tournament, May helped North Carolina capture the 2005 National Championship.

He was selected by the Bobcats in the first round (13th overall) of the 2005 NBA Draft. In three seasons with Charlotte, May appeared in 82 games with his best season coming during the 2006-07 campaign, where he averaged 11.9 points and 6.7 rebounds in 23.9 minutes.

He signed with Sacramento as a free agent on August 3, 2009 and played in a career-high 37 games during the 2009-10 season, averaging 3.3 points and 1.9 rebounds in 8.9 minutes.

March 10, 2010: Sean May of the Sacramento Kings during the game between the Sacramento Kings and the Toronto Raptors at Arco Arena in Sacramento, CA. Ben Munn/CSM.

Bobcats sign Sherron Collins

Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rod Higgins announced today that the team has signed guard Sherron Collins. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The 5-11 Collins averaged 12.5 points and 2.8 assists in four games for the Bobcats at the 2010 AirTran Airways Pro Summer League in Orlando, while shooting .556 from the field (20-36) and .615 from beyond the three-point line (8-13), the best percentage of any player with more than six attempts.

As a senior at the University of Kansas last season, Collins was named Consensus First Team All-America, while also receiving the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award as the nation’s top player 6 feet or under and the inaugural Lute Olson Player of the Year Award, which is presented to the nation’s top Division I player who has played at least two seasons with his respective team.

During his four years at Kansas, Collins was named First Team All-Big 12 as a junior and senior, Big 12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player as a senior and Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year as a sophomore. A member of Kansas’ 2008 national championship team, Collins is the winningest player in school history with 130 victories, having helped the Jayhawks to four straight Big 12 regular-season championships and three Big 12 Tournament titles. One of only two players in school history to record at least 1,800 points and at least 500 assists, Collins finished his career fifth on Kansas’ all-time scoring list (1,888 points) and seventh on the all-time assists list (552).

Armed men break into home of Stephen Jackson

The Charlotte Observer reports:

Three armed men broke into the south Charlotte home of Bobcats’ Stephen Jackson and held his wife at gunpoint before locking her in a bathroom and stealing valuables, police say.

The home invasion robbery happened just after 7 a.m. Wednesday at the home on Leamington Lane – a gated community off Carmel Road.

The robbery report doesn’t list the victims’ names or say what the robbers got away with, but a police source told the Observer that the victim was Jackson’s wife and that he wasn’t home at the time of the crime.

Bobcats sign Dominic McGuire

Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rod Higgins announced today that the team has signed free agent forward Dominic McGuire. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The 6-9 McGuire was selected by the Wizards with the 47th pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. In three NBA seasons with Washington and Sacramento, McGuire has played in 200 games, averaging 2.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 15.4 minutes.

McGuire’s best statistical season came with the Wizards in 2008-09, when he averaged 4.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.5 in 26.2 minutes in 79 games, including 57 starts. His 57 games started ranked third on the team behind only All-Stars Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler. McGuire scored in double figures eight times and recorded double-figure rebounds 12 times that season, tallying four double-doubles.

McGuire earned Second Team All-WAC honors, and was also named to the conference’s All-Newcomer Team and All-Defensive Team, as a junior at Fresno State in 2006-07. McGuire averaged 13.5 points and 9.8 rebounds and ranked fifth in the nation with 3.6 blocked shots, while recording 15 double-doubles and two triple-doubles, in his lone season at the school after transferring from the University of California.

Bobcats sign Shaun Livingston

Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rod Higgins announced today that the team has signed free agent guard Shaun Livingston. The five-year NBA veteran averaged 6.9 points, 3.6 assists and 2.2 rebounds in 22.0 minutes in 36 games last season with Oklahoma City and Washington. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We’re excited to add a talented young player like Shaun to our team,” Higgins said. “He is a long, athletic point guard who we anticipate being a significant part of our rotation.”

The 6-7 Livingston was originally selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. He has career averages of 7.2 points, 4.4 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 196 games with the Clippers, Heat, Thunder and Wizards. He has scored in double figures 57 times and tallied double-figure assists in 12 games in his career.

Livingston signed with the Wizards on February 26, 2010 and saw action in 26 of the team’s final 27 games of the season, averaging 9.2 points, 4.4 assists and 2.2 rebounds in 25.6 minutes, while shooting .535 from the field. Livingston started the season’s final 18 games, averaging 11.2 points, 4.9 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 30.7 minutes. He scored in double figures in eight of the last nine games, including a career-high 25 points on April 9 at Boston, and recorded seven or more assists in seven of the final nine games.

Livingston averaged career highs of 9.3 points, 5.1 assists and 3.4 rebounds for the Clippers in 2006-07 before suffering tears to the ACL, MCL, PCL and lateral meniscus in his left knee, as well as patella and tibia/femoral dislocations, on Feb. 26 against the Bobcats that caused him to miss the final 26 games of the season and all of 2007-08. He later played four games with Miami in 2008-09 and 18 games with Oklahoma City during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons before signing with Washington.