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InsideHoops.com NewsWire: The Golden State Warriors have waived center DJ Mbenga, Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Mullin announced today.
Mbenga, who originally signed with Golden State as a free agent on November 17, 2007, appeared in 16 games for the Warriors, averaging 1.2 points and 1.9 rebounds in 8.9 minutes per contest.
The Warriors roster now stands at 14 players.
Golden State Warriors swingman Stephen Jackson is stepping up this season. Here’s what he’s done lately:
Posted a team-high 28 points, a career-high 12 rebounds, five assists and two steals in Monday’s victory at Memphis.
Has scored 20-or-more points in seven of the last 10 games.
For the season, is averaging 20.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists (all career highs) after averaging 14.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game for his career entering the campaign.
Ranks 4th in the NBA in minutes per game (39.7 mpg).
The Warriors are 13-5 since his return to action, after starting 1-6 without Captain Jack.
The San Jose Mercury News reports: Ann Barnes, mother of the Warriors’ Matt Barnes, died Tuesday after battling cancer. Matt has apparently told the Warriors that he wants to play tonight in Sacramento, which is home for him and is where he returned to be with his mother often over the last few fateful weeks. I can’t say anything more than his teammates have already said: They’re with him, they support him, they want whatever’s best for him.
The Golden State Warriors have assigned center Kosta Perovic (COAST-a PEAR-a-vich) to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League, Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Mullin announced today.
Perovic, 22, has not appeared in any of Golden State’s first seven games during the 2007-08 regular season, spending the first five games on the inactive list. The 7-2 center, who was originally drafted by Golden State with the 38th overall selection in the 2006 NBA Draft out of Serbia, is a rookie this season after staying overseas to play the 2006-07 campaign in Serbia.
Perovic is the sixth player assigned to the D-League from the NBA following Ramon Sessions (Milwaukee Bucks), Kyrylo Fesenko (Utah Jazz), Steve Novak (Houston Rockets), Brandon Wallace (Boston Celtics) and JamesOn Curry (Chicago Bulls).
The D-League is way ahead of last years pace in terms of NBA player assignments. During the 2006-07 season there hadn’t been one NBA player assigned at this point. The first player sent to the NBA Development League occurred on November 22, 2006 when Ryan Hollins of the Charlotte Bobcats was assigned to the Fort Worth Flyers from the Charlotte Bobcats.
Perovic joins a Bakersfield club led by head coach Jim Harrick who won the 1995 NCAA Championship with UCLA. The team tips off their second season in the NBA Development League on November 24 when they visit the Austin Toros, the affiliate of the defending NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs.
The Golden State Warriors, who with a 1-6 record have been one of the league’s worst teams in the still-young season, have signed free agent center DJ Mbenga to a contract, it was announced today by Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations, Chris Mullin. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not announced.
Mbenga (Ben-ga), 27, was not drafted by an NBA team, but was signed as a free agent by the Dallas Mavericks prior to the 2004-05 season. He played three seasons with the Mavericks (2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07) prior to being waived before the start of this season (October 30). A native of the Congo, Mbenga has averaged 1.3 points and 0.9 rebounds in 79 career regular season games. He appeared in a career-high 43 games with the Mavericks during the 2005-06 campaign and logged a career-best 237 minutes overall.
Mbenga will join the Warriors in New York on Monday and will wear uniform #28.
The Golden State Warriors have waived forward Stephane Lasme, it was announced today by Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations, Chris Mullin.
Lasme, 24, was selected by the Warriors in the second round of the 2007 NBA Draft (46th overall). He appeared in one regular season game (11/8 vs. Dallas) and did not register a stat line. The 6’8″ native of Gabon, Africa appeared in four preseason games with Golden State, averaging 5.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.25 blocked shots in 16.3 minutes.
Dallas edged Golden State 120-115, but the great play of Warriors point guard Baron Davis is worth noting.
Shooting 14-of-26, including 3-of-6 three-pointers, B-Diddy finished with 37 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
Despite their good fight, the Warriors are still winless in the short NBA season with an 0-5 record.
Magic Johnson, speaking on TNT, said that Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks should consider punching the Warriors in the face. The Contra Costa Times reports:
Johnson was taping a promotional spot for TNT’s broadcast of Thursday night’s game when he told colleagues Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley what he had in mind for Nowitzki.
“If I’m Dallas, I gotta start a fight,” Magic Johnson said. “No, I’m serious. If I’m Dallas, Dirk has gotta go swing on somebody. Send a message. You know why? Golden State, as we say on the street, punked them. … This game, if I’m Dirk, I will walk up and just smack somebody.”
Don Nelson, who always tells it like it is and serves up the best quotes in the history of coaches, said this to the paper:
“I love Magic Johnson,” Nelson said, “but that’s about the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Someone needs to go tell Stephen Jackson that Magic was just kidding, so he doesn’t show up to games with protection.
Golden State Warriors swingman Matt Barnes, who is only playing 18 minutes per game this season so far, has a dislocated finger. The AP reports:
Barnes, who missed Wednesday’s practice, dislocated the knuckle on the ring finger of his right hand. The injury could sideline him when Golden State hosts Dallas on Thursday night in a rematch of last season’s playoff shocker, when the Warriors became the first No. 8 seed to beat a No. 1 seed.
The Warriors are off to a winless start to the 2007-08 season.