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Toronto Raptors sign Rasho Nesterovic

The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday they have signed free-agent centre Rasho Nesterovic (for those of you who like to talk, it’s pronounced RAH-show Neh-STARE-oh-vitch). Per team policy, financial details were not disclosed. We’ll post contract info later today.

“Rasho brings us back a great veteran presence who has a familiarity with our coaching staff and several players. His leadership and personality will be great assets for this team,” said Bryan Colangelo, Raptors President and General Manager.

Nesterovic, 7-foot, 255 pounds, rejoins the Raptors following one campaign in Indiana with the Pacers. The 11-year NBA veteran played two seasons with Toronto (2006-08) averaging 6.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 20.9 minutes in 151 games. He appeared in 10 postseason contests with the Raptors averaging 4.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 14.8 minutes. He was originally acquired from San Antonio on June 21, 2006.

Nesterovic was a first-round selection (17th overall) by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1998. He signed with San Antonio as a free agent in the 2003 offseason. He has posted career averages of 7.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and 22.8 minutes in 769 career games, 587 of them as a starter. In 64 postseason contests, he has averaged 4.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 17.2 minutes. He was a member of the Spurs’ 2005 NBA Championship team.

Nesterovic joined the Timberwolves on May 4, 1999 after he had finished his season with Virtus Kinder Bologna of the Italian League. He averaged 13.5 points, shooting .653 from the field, 6.2 rebounds and 1.42 blocks for Kinder Bologna.

InsideHoops.com editor says: He’s big and can bump into people.

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

Mike Dunleavy working on his return

The Indianapolis Star (Mike Wells) reports: The Indiana Pacers shooting guard isn’t ready to pinpoint a date for his return from right knee surgery, but he has a “gut feeling” that he’ll be back sooner than the January date coach Jim O’Brien targeted last season. “We still have a ways to go and we don’t know how this thing is going to shake out, but I’m optimistic,” Dunleavy said. “January is a nice cushion for me. It takes all the pressure off, but I’m certainly working my tail off to get back a lot sooner than that.” Dunleavy, an iron man through his first six seasons, appeared in 18 games last season. He had surgery to remove a bone spur from his right patellar tendon and then had the tendon repaired in Colorado in March. Dunleavy also underwent a “minor” arthroscopic procedure on his left hip last month to clean up a “long-standing injury.”

Indiana Pacers sign Earl Watson

The Indiana Pacers announced Tuesday they have signed veteran point guard Earl Watson to a multi-year contract. Per club policy, terms of the contract were not released. We’ll post contract info later today.

The 6-1 Watson is an eight-year veteran who played last season with Oklahoma City. He averaged 6.6 points and 5.8 assists per game for the Thunder and in his career averages 7.3 points and 4.6 assists per game. Watson attended UCLA and was a second-round pick (40th overall) of Seattle in the 2001 NBA Draft. He has also played with Memphis and Denver in addition to the Seattle/Oklahoma City franchise.

“We’re very glad to have Earl as part of our team,” said Pacers President of Basketball Larry Bird. “I’ve been watching him for years. He’s a solid point guard that we know can help us on the defensive end.”

Indiana Pacers to waive Jamaal Tinsley

The Indiana Pacers announced Wednesday that a resolution has been reached between the team and guard Jamaal Tinsley, and as a result the grievance arbitration scheduled for next week has been canceled.

Tinsley will be waived by the Pacers Wednesday, and if he clears waivers, he will become a free agent. “This ends a very difficult period for all parties involved,” said Larry Bird, President of Basketball. “We are pleased to have this resolved.”

Pursuant to team policy, details of the resolution will not be disclosed. The team will have no further comment.

“Jamaal and I would like to thank the Pacers for working on a resolution to this and Jamaal and I are sorry things didn’t work out,” said Tinsley’s agent, Raymond Brothers. “We both wish the Pacers the best of luck in the future.”

Indiana Pacers re-sign Josh McRoberts

The Indiana Pacers announced Wednesday they have re-signed free agent forward Josh McRoberts to a multi-year contract. Per club policy, teams of the contract were not closed. We’ll post contract info tonight.

“We are very pleased to have Josh back,” said Pacers President of Basketball Larry Bird. “He’s another player who fits into the core group of guys we want to build around. He worked very hard the last year to improve his game, I know he will continue to work and improve and be part of what we are trying to build.”

The 6-10 McRoberts, acquired in a trade July 9, 2008, from Portland, played 33 games for the Pacers, averaging 2.4 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.

“I was thrilled last summer when the Pacers brought me back home,” said McRoberts, from Carmel, IN. “I have the same feeling now that they thought enough of me to bring me back. This is home and I want to be part of what the Pacers are trying to do.”

Toronto Raptors sign Jarrett Jack

The Toronto Raptors announced Monday they have signed restricted free-agent guard Jarrett Jack to an offer sheet. Per team policy, financial details were not disclosed. We’ll add contract info later today.

The Indiana Pacers received the offer sheet today. Under the terms of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, they will have seven days beginning Tuesday to match the Raptors’ offer.

Jack averaged a career-high 13.1 points, with 3.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 33.1 minutes in 82 games last season. He has appeared in 322 career games, averaging 10.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 28.6 minutes.

Jack, 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, has averaged 80.5 games a season in his four-year NBA career with Portland and Indiana.

JULY 20 UPDATE: PACERS DECLINE TO MATCH OFFER

The Indiana Pacers announced Monday they will not match the offer sheet Toronto issued to restricted free agent guard Jarrett Jack.

“It was a very difficult decision because Jarrett proved last season what he can bring to a team,” said Pacers President of Basketball Larry Bird. “We thank Jarrett for his contributions to the Pacers, both on and off the court, and wish him the best in Toronto.”

Jack was acquired by the Pacers in a five-player trade July, 9, 2008. In his one season with the Pacers, Jack played in all 82 games, averaging a career-high 13.1 points.

Indiana Pacers to sign Dahntay Jones

The Indianapolis Star (Mike Wells) reports: The Indiana Pacers have landed their first free agent acquisition of the offseason. The Pacers agreed to a four-year, $11 million deal with Denver Nuggets free agent guard Dahntay Jones late Wednesday night. The fourth year is a player option. “(Pacers president) Larry Bird and (general manager) David Morway contacted me the first night of free agency and expressed a lot of interest in Dahntay,” Jones’ agent, Mark Bartelstein, said. “The Pacers are getting somebody that competes with an edge and is a lockdown defender. He’s going to bring a defensive mind-set to the team.”

InsideHoops.com editor says: Jones could do very well on the Pacers, especially as the starting lineup is thinned by Mike Dunleavy’s continued injury woes.

Indiana Pacers sign first round draft pick Tyler Hansbrough

The Indiana Pacers announced Wednesday they have signed their No. 1 draft pick, Tyler Hansbrough, to a multi-year contract. Per club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Hansbrough, a 6-9, 250-pound forward from the University of North Carolina, is the all-time leading scorer in the Atlantic Coast Conference with 2,872 points. He is the only player in league history to earn First Team All-America and First Team All-ACC honors four times.

As a senior in 2008-09, he was named First Team All-America by Sporting News, USBWA, NABC and AP. He is the North Carolina Tar Heels’ all-time leading rebounder with 1,219 rebounds.

Hansbrough is currently playing with the Pacers’ summer league team which is participating in the Orlando Pro Summer League through Friday. The Pacers have won their first two games and play again on Wednesday (3:00 p.m.), Thursday (7:00 p.m.) and Friday (3:00 p.m.).

NBA team, D-League team affiliations announced

The National Basketball Association and the NBA Development League, the official minor league of the NBA, today announced the affiliation system for the 2009-10 season, including the announcement of a direct single-affiliation partnership between the Houston Rockets and Rio Grande Valley Vipers. For the fifth consecutive year, each NBA team has one NBA D-League affiliate to which it may assign players in their first or second NBA season.

The Rockets became the first NBA team to enter into a direct single-affiliation partnership with an NBA D-League team, granting the Rockets full control over the basketball operations of the Vipers. With the move, the Rockets will be the only parent-club of the team.

In a structure similar to other minor leagues, this new partnership model, previously referred to as the “hybrid affiliation,” allows for NBA teams to secure control over and cover the expenses related to the basketball operations of an NBA D-League team, while partnering with existing local ownership, who maintain responsibility for the off-the-court business operations of the team.

The list of affiliations is on our NBA D-League page.

Pacers, Nuggets to play preseason game in Taipei (Taiwan)

The National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced it will play its first-ever game in Taipei when the Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers tip off at the Taipei Arena on October 8, 2009. The announcement took place today in Taipei with NBA Greater China CEO Tim Chen, Mayor of Taipei Hau Lung-bin, Minister of the Sports Affairs Council Tai Hsia Ling, and President of Chinese Taipei Basketball Association Wang Ren-Da. Taipei will become the seventh Asian city to host an NBA game, following Beijing, Guangzhou, Macao, Shanghai, Tokyo and Yokohama.

More info on the NBA game in Taipei.