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Suns sign guard Shannon Brown

The Phoenix Suns today signed guard Shannon Brown to a one-year deal, the team has announced.

In Brown, the Suns add an athletic 26-year-old guard, who is a two-time NBA Champion (2009, 2010) and both a dynamic finisher in the open floor and a respected three-point shooter.

The 6-4, 210-pound Brown is a five-year veteran who has played for the Cleveland Cavaliers (2006-07), Chicago Bulls (2007-08), Charlotte Bobcats (2008-09) and Los Angeles Lakers (2009-11). Originally selected by the Cavaliers with the 25th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, Brown was chosen by a Cleveland front office that featured current Suns General Manager Lance Blanks. Brown signed a free agent deal with the Bobcats before the start of the 2008-09 season and was briefly a teammate of current Suns forward Jared Dudley before Dudley was acquired by the Suns. Ultimately, Brown was acquired by the Lakers (along with Adam Morrison in exchange for Vladimir Radmanovic) from the Bobcats before the 2009 trade deadline, and became a valuable part of the Lakers’ bench as the club won back-to-back league titles.

The Michigan State product joins the Suns after his two best seasons as a professional. Brown played a full 82 games in both 2009-10 and 2010-11, averaging a then-career high 8.1 points in 2009-10 before besting that number with an 8.7-point clip a season ago. Over the last two seasons, Brown averaged 8.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 19.9 minutes, despite seeing limited action behind Laker guard Kobe Bryant. Brown owns career NBA averages of 6.9 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 256 games (16 starts).

Estimated to have a 44.5-inch vertical leap, one of the highest in the league, Brown is known for his high-flying, highlight-reel dunks. A mainstay on Youtube, Brown participated in the 2010 Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star weekend in Dallas. In addition, Brown has added increased long-range accuracy to his repertoire, setting career highs in three-pointers made in each of the last three seasons (74 in 2010-11). Brown is a career 33.7-percent three-point shooter who made 34.9 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc in 2010-11.

Brown was a three-year performer at Michigan State (2003-06), who averaged 17.2 points as a junior before being named All-Big Ten Second Team and to the Big Ten’s All-Defensive Team. A graduate of Proviso East High School in Maywood, Ill., Brown was a First Team Parade All-American, McDonald’s All-American, Illinois Mr. Basketball and co-MVP of the Jordan Capital Classic (with LeBron James) as a senior in 2003.

Ron Artest arrives at Lakers training camp out of shape

Without prompting, he admitted he entered the first day of training camp on Friday out of shape. He revealed he had an Achille’s tendon injury during last season’s playoffs and couldn’t fully heal it during the offseason because the lockout prevented visits to trainer Gary Vitti. And World Peace acknowledged taking a full two months off this summer, when he played very little basketball.

“When David Stern says there’s going to be a nuclear winter, I’m thinking the season isn’t starting anytime soon,” said World Peace, who will wear the No. 15 jersey number this season. “So a little more martinis in November and then, boom, David Stern says no nuclear winter and we have a season.”

— Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times (Blog)

Hawks sign forward Vladimir Radmanovic

The Atlanta Hawks today signed forward Vladimir Radmanovic, according to Executive Vice President/General Manager Rick Sund. Per team policy, terms were not disclosed.

Radmanovic spent last season with the Golden State Warriors, averaging 5.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg and 1.1 apg in 15.8 mpg (.431 FG%, .405 3FG%, .882 FT%), appearing in 74 games (six starts), and ranking 23rd in the league in three-point percentage.

The 10-year veteran brings career numbers of 8.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg and 1.4 apg in 23.0 mpg to Atlanta (.417 FG%, .381 3FG%, .759 FT%). He’s also seen action in 44 playoff games (25 starts), posting 7.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg and 1.2 apg in 21.9 mpg (.440 FG%, .392 3FG%, .735 FT%). Selected by Seattle 12th overall in the 2001 NBA Draft, Radmanovic has also played for the LA Clippers, LA Lakers and Charlotte.

Lakers sign Jason Kapono

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed free agent guard/forward Jason Kapono, it was announced today. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.

Kapono, an eight-year NBA veteran, comes to the Lakers with the sixth highest career three-point field goal percentage (.437) in NBA history. A two-time winner of the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout during All-Star Weekend in 2007 and 2008, Kapono was also a member of the NBA Champion Miami Heat in 2006-07, leading the NBA with a .514 three-point field goal percentage that currently ranks as the sixth-highest single season total in NBA history.

Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round (31st overall) of the 2003 NBA Draft after concluding his four-year college career at UCLA ranked third on the Bruins’ all-time scoring list, Kapono has played in 482 career NBA games with Cleveland, Charlotte, Miami, Toronto and Philadelphia, averaging 6.9 points (.443 FG%, .437 3FG%), 1.7 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 18.3 minutes.

Odom late for first day of Lakers training camp

Pau Gasol reported for the first day of training camp but fellow Lakers forward Lamar Odom did not, according to a team official Friday.

Odom hinted he would not appear at camp in an interview Thursday with The Times, saying, “Maybe I’ll see you there, but I doubt it. You don’t want to go to no place you’re not wanted.”

Odom and Gasol were involved in a trade Thursday for New Orleans guard Chris Paul that was blocked by the NBA. It is unknown how long Odom will be away from the team.

— Reported by Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times Blog

UPDATE: Reports say Odom did wind up going to camp, about 1.5 hours late, and only stayed around 15 minutes.

David Stern statement on the Chris Paul to Lakers trade that will not happen

In response to inquiries, NBA Commissioner David Stern released the following statement:

“Since the NBA purchased the New Orleans Hornets, final responsibility for significant management decisions lies with the Commissioner’s Office in consultation with team chairman Jac Sperling. All decisions are made on the basis of what is in the best interests of the Hornets. In the case of the trade proposal that was made to the Hornets for Chris Paul, we decided, free from the influence of other NBA owners, that the team was better served with Chris in a Hornets uniform than by the outcome of the terms of that trade.”

Lamar Odom in stunned disbelief over almost being traded

Lamar Odom is still a Laker, but he doesn’t sound completely thrilled about it.

Odom admitted that he was “shocked” and “surprised” when told Thursday afternoon that the Lakers agreed to trade him to the New Orleans Hornets as part of a deal for point guard Chris Paul. But this evening when he heard that the NBA had killed the trade, Odom said he was in “total disbelief” over these new developments…

“Maybe I’ll see you there tomorrow [at practice],” Odom said. “But I doubt it. You don’t want to go to no place you’re not wanted. I’ll try to give them what they want as much as possible.”

Odom also felt bad for Gasol.

“Imagine how Pau feels,” Odom said. “Pau came to the Lakers and played here for four years, went to the Finals and lost, won two NBA championships and then got swept [by the Dallas Mavericks this year]. Wow! Imagine how he must feel.

“Man, I’m just in total disbelief about all of this,” Odom continued. “They don’t want my services, for whatever reason. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I was proud to be a Laker, so I’ll try to help them in the process as much as possible.”

— Reported by Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Blog)

David Stern cancels Chris Paul trade to Lakers

On the eve of the sport’s formal re-opening for business after a five-month lockout, NBA commissioner David Stern sent shockwaves throughout the league Thursday night by nixing the league-owned New Orleans Hornets’ plans to trade guard Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Within an hour of the Hornets striking an agreement in principle with the Lakers and Houston Rockets on a three-team trade that would have landed Paul in the same backcourt as Kobe Bryant, Stern informed the Hornets that they couldn’t make the trade, stunning team officials who had been working around-the-clock for days in hopes of bringing an end to the Paul saga before the season officially started.

Amid a stream of reports that angry owners were demanding the trade be vetoed, on the same day those owners had gathered in New York to ratify a new labor pact purportedly designed to foster competitive balance and prevent small-market teams from being raided for their stars, league officials tried to dispute claims of a revolt by insisting that the decision was Stern’s.

“It’s not true that the owners killed the deal,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said. “The deal was never discussed at the Board of Governors meeting and the league office declined to make the trade for basketball reasons.”

Yet in an email to Stern obtained by Yahoo! Sports and The New York Times, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert called the proposed deal “a travesty” and urged Stern to put the deal to a vote of “the 29 owners of the Hornets,” referring to the rest of the league’s teams.

— Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com

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Shannon Brown, Sebastian Telfair to join Suns

In 2007 draft revisionist history, it is often said how the Suns could have had Rajon Rondo if they had not traded the pick in a money-saving move to Boston.

Actually, with concerns about Rondo’s shooting, some Suns staffers said at the time that Phoenix might have been more apt to draft Shannon Brown if it had kept the pick.

Four and a half years later, Brown will be a Sun. The Suns will sign Brown to a one-year, $3.5 million contract and the 6-foot-4 off-guard will join the team Friday.

The Suns, who also are expected to sign point guard Sebastian Telfair, pick up an athletic 26-year-old who averaged 8.7 points in 19.1 minutes per game for the Los Angeles Lakers last season.

— Reported by Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic

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Chris Paul reportedly wants no part of Celtics

Amid reports that New Orleans’ discussions had cooled with the Clippers and Warriors over what each team was willing to trade for Chris Paul, the Celtics were in a holding pattern last night.

Though the Celtics appear willing to trade Rajon Rondo and perhaps Glen Davis to the Hornets for Paul despite a sizable risk of losing the high-scoring point guard to free agency next summer, the gamble could make for a very brief attempt at the 18th title in franchise history.

Though the combination of Paul, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen sounds intriguing, especially over the short span of a 66-game season, it still doesn’t appeal to the 26-year-old star.

A source who has spent time recently with Paul insisted yesterday that the Hornets star considers the Celtics a non-starter for his career, and has no intention of signing an extension to play with the C’s in the long term.

The team is simply too old to stir his interest.

— Reported by Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald