Memphis Grizzlies Blog – Page 67 – NBA Blog

Jazz trade Ronnie Brewer to Grizzlies

Ross Siler of the Salt Lake Tribune reports (via blog):

In a deal completed five minutes before the NBA’s 1 p.m. MDT trade deadline, the Jazz sent Ronnie Brewer to Memphis for a protected future first-round draft pick, general manager Kevin O’Connor said.

The Jazz’s starting shooting guard for the past three seasons, Brewer first was linked to Memphis in trade talk last month. The pick the Jazz will receive belongs to the Grizzlies and first can be conveyed beginning in 2011.

By trading Brewer, the Jazz will ease their logjam of wing players, freeing minutes for Wesley Matthews, C.J. Miles and Kyle Korver. The Jazz also will ease their luxury-tax burden, with the Grizzlies having the cap space to absorb Brewer’s $2.7 million salary.

Ross Siler of the Salt Lake Tribune reports (via blog):

The primary reason for the trade, of course, is that Brewer plays the same position as Kyle Korver, C.J. Miles, Wesley Matthews and — to a lesser extent — Andrei Kirilenko.

Coach Jerry Sloan was having a difficult time finding minutes for everyone, so somebody had to either be traded or buried on the bench alongside young “bigs” Kosta Koufos and Kyrylo Fesenko.

Shawne Williams indicted, arrested on drug charges

Hank Dudding of the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports:

Former Memphis Tigers basketball player Shawne Williams, who was waived by the NBA’s New Jersey Nets today, was indicted by a Shelby County Grand Jury on Tuesday on eight drug charges.

According to the Shelby County District Attorney’s office, Williams was indicted on four counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture/deliver/sell, and four counts of conspiracy to manufacture/deliver/sell a controlled substance, a codeine-based syrup. Both are considered Class E felonies and carry standard sentences of 1-2 years, if convicted.

Williams turned himself into authorities and was booked today into the Shelby County Jail. His bond has been set at $16,000. He is one of 24 defendants indicted following the Memphis Police Department’s “Operation: Lockdown” investigation.

Grizzlies arena evacuated over broken water pipe

TMZ reports: Basketball fans in Memphis went streaming for the exits in droves during the third quarter during a game between the Grizzlies and the Los Angeles Clippers — after signs informed fans there was an emergency — but it was all a false alarm. Law enforcement sources tell TMZ the drama was all over a busted water main.

The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports: FedExForum was evacuated tonight when a broken water line caused fire alarms to go off in the building, stopping the Grizzlies’ game against the Los Angeles Clippers. With 47.8 seconds left in the third quarter, a message came on the scoreboard for the crowd at the game to evacuate the building.

InsideHoops.com reports: The game has resumed play. The arena is now almost completely empty.

Grizzlies hope to keep Lionel Hollins

Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports:

Lionel Hollins was told he had 11/2 seasons to prove that he could be a quality NBA head coach when he took over the Grizzlies less than a year ago.

Hollins wasted little time convincing the man who made that declaration.

Griz owner Michael Heisley has initiated negotiations toward a contract extension for Hollins, who is working on a 17-month deal he signed Jan. 25, 2009.

Heisley instructed general manager Chris Wallace to contact Hollins’ representative last week for the purpose of determining where both sides stand. However, the Grizzlies’ Chicago-based, billionaire owner made clear that he intends to keep Hollins in charge beyond this season.

Grizzlies sign Lester Hudson

The Memphis Grizzlies claimed Memphis native Lester Hudson off waivers, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced Friday (January 8). Hudson was available after being waived by the Boston Celtics on Jan. 6.

“We are excited to acquire Lester Hudson off waivers,” Wallace said. “Lester is a player we thought of highly in the pre-draft process. He earned favorable reviews for his performance during his brief time with the Celtics. He is an athletic, tough combo guard who was one of the most prolific scorers in college basketball over his two years at the University of Tennessee at Martin. It is a wonderful day for the Grizzlies to be able to bring this Memphian back home to continue his NBA career.”

The 6-3, 190-pound rookie guard averaged 1.4 points and 0.5 assists in 4.4 minutes in 16 appearances this season with the Celtics, who selected him in the second round (58th overall) of the 2009 NBA Draft. Boston also assigned Hudson to two different stints with their NBA Development League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, where the 25-year-old posted 14.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 28.0 minutes in five games.

One of the most explosive scorers in the NCAA in recent years, Hudson ranked second in the nation in scoring in 2008-09 behind current Golden State Warriors rookie Stephen Curry, averaging 27.5 points as well as 7.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.34 steals in his senior season with the University of Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks. In his junior year, Hudson became the first men’s player in Division I history to record a quadruple-double with 25 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals on Nov. 13, 2007 vs. Central Baptist College.

The native Memphian transferred to UT-Martin after playing his first two seasons at Southwest Tennessee Community College in Memphis.

The Grizzlies’ roster now stands at 14 players.

Lakers sign Pau Gasol to contract extension

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed forward/center Pau Gasol to a multi-year contract extension, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

According to the Los Angeles Times, “Gasol officially signed a three-year extension worth up to $64.7 million, depending on the NBA salary-cap figures to be determined in 2011.”

According to ESPN.com, “The year-by-year breakdown of the extension: $18,714,150 in 2011-12, $19,000,000 in 2012-13 and $19,285,850 in 2013-14.”

Since being acquired by the Lakers on February 1, 2008 as part of a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies, Gasol has helped Los Angeles to a 101-23 (.815) regular season record in games he has appeared in. In the postseason, the Lakers have posted a 30-14 (.682) record with Gasol, winning the Western Conference in both trips to the playoffs since he joined the team as well as the franchise’s 15th NBA Championship in 2009.

Gasol, currently a reigning NBA Champion, FIBA World Champion (Tournament MVP) and European Champion (Tournament MVP), earned a silver medal with Spain at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, falling just shy of the gold against the United States. Named the 2008 European Player of the Year, he earned All-NBA Third Team honors in 2009 as well as his second trip to the NBA All-Star game (2006, 2009).

“Over the past year and a half, Pau has quickly developed into one of the best all-around players in the NBA,” said Kupchak. “The impact he has had on and off the court for the Lakers is significant, and we look forward to watching Pau continue as one of the best players in the league for years to come.”

“Coming to terms on an extension for Pau is another step for the organization in its goal of trying to keep the core of this team together for the foreseeable future,” continued Kupchak. “The Buss family recognizes this opportunity and will continue to do whatever is possible to put the organization in position to contend for NBA championships.”

The fourth player in NBA history to go straight from Europe to the NBA and score 10,000 career points, Gasol concluded the 2008-09 season ranked among league leaders in points (25th/18.9), rebounds (8th/9.6), field goal percentage (5th/.567) and blocks (27th/1.00) while appearing in 81 games.

In 16 games this season, Gasol is averaging 17.0 points on .543 shooting from the field, 12.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.75 blocked shots in 36.1 minutes.

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

Marko Jaric signs in Spain

The Hoop reports:

Real Madrid have reached a deal with the Memphis Grizzlies’ Marko Jaric, who will join the club for the remainder of the season pending a physical.

Marko Jaric was born on 12 October 1978 in Belgrade, Serbia and is the son of Yugoslav basketball legend Srecko Jaric. He began his career in 1996 with Greece’s Peristeri and two years later withdrew his name from the NBA draft to move to Italy.

Euroleague.net reports:

Real Madrid gave its fans an early holiday present on Tuesday when it announced the signing of former Euroleague champion Marko Jaric for the remainder of the season, pending medical tests. Jaric will be reunited with head coach Ettore Messina at the end of a decade that they started by winning the 2001 Euroleague title together with Kinder Bologna. Jaric (201, 31) arrives from Memphis of the NBA, where he had not played this season. Last season, he took part in a total of 53 games for Memphis, averaging 2.5 points per night. Jaric started his career in Peristeri of the Greek League in 1996.

Grizzlies aim to sign Von Wafer

With a 9-12 record, the Memphis Grizzlies are doing a bit better than many expected this season.

The Allen Iverson experiment only lasted three games and ended long ago, but the young team has played well. Led by Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, O.J. Mayo and Marc Gasol, Memphis has a decent core. But they can certainly keep improving and would be aided by a boost off the bench.

Enter Von Wafer, reportedly.

Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports:

The Grizzlies are attempting to sign former Houston Rockets guard Von Wafer in an effort to improve their perimeter shooting, particularly from beyond the 3-point arc.

Wafer will join the Grizzlies next week if certain dominoes fall as expected, sources told the Commercial Appeal.

Wafer, a 6-5 Florida State alum, first needs to complete a divorce with his current team, Olympiakos, a European club that reportedly has Wafer under contract for $2 million but for whom he hasn’t logged significant playing time.

Wafer played 63 games for the Rockets last season, averaging 9.7 points and 1.8 rebounds in 19.4 minutes per game. His career three-point shooting percentage is 33.7%, but he hit 39% in 2008-09.

No Allen Iverson for Knicks

The Memphis Grizzlies and guard Allen Iverson recently came to an understanding that things simply weren’t going to work out. Iverson was waived, and became a free agent.

There have been rumblings that the Knicks were strongly considering adding the former All-Star and league MVP, but apparently it isn’t going to happen.

Howard Beck of the New York Times reports:

The Knicks’ pursuit of Allen Iverson is dead.

In an abrupt reversal, Knicks officials decided late Thursday not to offer Iverson a contract, putting an end to their brief flirtation, according to a person close to the deliberations.

Although team officials were highly intrigued by Iverson, a four-time scoring champion, they finally decided that he posed too great a risk because of his long history of problems on and off the court.

Team officials spent three days weighing the potential merits and pitfalls of signing Iverson, and alternately talked themselves into and then out of making the move.

Iverson is obviously seen by most teams as more trouble than he’s worth right now, but it still made sense for the Knicks to consider adding him. Although he’s best as a scorer, Iverson could have been used as a starting point guard, since Chris Duhon and rookie Toney Douglas are best suited as reserves. The Knicks currently aren’t winning very often. And they don’t really have a lot of top-level youth that would be affected by Iverson being there.

But, Iverson reportedly won’t be heading to New York.

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

Grizzlies waive Allen Iverson

The Memphis Grizzlies today released the following statement from General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace.

“The Grizzlies and Allen Iverson have come to a mutual agreement that because of personal matters that forced him to leave the team on November 7, Allen will step away from the game at this time, allowing him to focus on those matters.

“As a result, we will be ending our contractual agreement with Allen, which will allow both parties to move forward. We wish Allen the best.”

EARLIER MONDAY:

The Memphis Grizzlies experiment with disgruntled guard Allen Iverson will reportedly end.

According to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal, the two sides have agreed to part ways. The team will waive Iverson.

It has not been reported what the terms of the agreement are and how much money Iverson will come away with.

Iverson has been unhappy coming off the Grizzlies bench, behind young guards Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo. Though, he was still regaining health as the season began, and it’s possible he might have gained a starting spot in the near future. But even coming off the bench early on was simply more than he could take.

Iverson only played three games — all losses — for the Grizzlies this season, the last being against the Sacramento Kings on November 2. He came off the bench all three times, and averaged 12.3 points and 3.7 assists in 22.3 minutes per game.

NOVEMBER 17 UPDATE

The Memphis Grizzlies waived guard Allen Iverson, the team announced today.

The 6-0, 165-pound guard averaged 12.3 points and 3.7 assists in 22.3 minutes in three games with the Grizzlies this season after signing as a free agent on Sept 10, 2009. The 2000-01 NBA Most Valuable Player and 10-time All-Star became the 16th player in league history to score 24,000 career points on Nov. 4 at Golden State, netting a season-high 18 points.

The 34-year-old holds career averages of 27.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.21 steals on 42.5 percent shooting in 41.4 minutes in 889 games (877 starts) over 14 seasons (1996-09) with the Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies.

The roster now stands at 14 players.

The Grizzlies will seek their second consecutive victory tomorrow when they host the Los Angeles Clippers at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at FedExForum.

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