Unicaja Malaga kept building its roster for the new Turkish Airlines Euroleague season by announcing Monday the addition of point guard, Marcus Williams, who signed a two-year contract with the Spanish club. Williams (1.91 meters, 26 years old) arrives to Unicaja from a season spent in China with the Jiangsu Dragons, with whom he averaged 11.1 points, 3.8 assists and 3.2 rebounds. Unicaja will become the second European club for Williams, who played the 2010-11 season with Enisey Krasnoyarsk of the Russian League. In Krasnoyarsk, he averaged 15.3 points, 6.8 assists and 3.6 rebounds over 28 games.
Five people were shot on a Harlem basketball court Wednesday night during an annual basketball tournament, officials and witnesses said.
Gunfire erupted around 10 p.m. at the Holcombe Rucker Park court on Frederick Douglass Boulevard near W. 155th St. after a dispute during a game for the Entertainers Basketball Classic, witnesses said.
“They started arguing, about a bad call or something like that,” said Rodney Harris, 47. “The guy was standing no more than five feet away from me. He pulled a gun out of his pocket and shot once. He then shot one more time. Everyone started running.”
“He was real close to me,” Harris said. “I thought I got shot.”
Nate Robinson, a former point guard for the Knicks, was at the game but escaped unscathed, witnesses said.
The NYPD conducts an investigation after a shooting occurred during a basketball tournament at Rucker Park on Wednesday.
Five people were shot last night at a basketball game at Harlem’s famed Rucker Park where ex-Knicks guard Nate Robinson was among those scrambling for safety during the chaos, authorities and witnesses said.
The mayhem broke loose just before 11 p.m. at the courts on West 155th Street and Eighth Avenue during the annual Entertainers Basketball Classic, which has featured numerous NBA superstars.
“All of a sudden the game stopped because an argument broke out in the stands,” said witness Rodney Harris Jr., 47, who was five feet from the melee.
The Brooklyn Nets have signed forward Tornike Shengelia, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.
“Toko had a very good summer league which led us to signing him for this season,” said King.
Shengelia (6-10, 230), whose draft rights were acquired by Brooklyn from Philadelphia in exchange for cash considerations, was selected in the second round (54th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft. Shengelia has been a member of the Republic of Georgia’s National Team since 2008. He played the 2011-12 season for Belgacom Spirou where he averaged 8.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 18.4 minutes in 20 Belgium League games. He helped his team qualify for Euroleague play, and posted 8.3 points and 4.3 rebounds during nine games over the season. Shengelia represented the Republic of Georgia at 2011 Eurobasket, averaging 8.8 points and 4.6 boards for the Senior National Team.
Playing in five games for the Nets in the 2012 Orlando Pro Summer League, Shengelia posted averages of 10.2 points and 3.6 rebounds in 21.2 minutes per game, while shooting .529 from the field and .824 from the free throw line.
As expected due to reports from last week, the Brooklyn Nets have signed guard C.J. Watson, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.
Watson played in 49 games for Chicago in 2011-12, making 25 starts. The 6-2 guard averaged 9.7 points and a career-high 4.1 assists in 23.7 minutes per game for the Bulls. As a starter, Watson posted averages of 11.3 points and 4.6 assists in 29.2 minutes per game. In the 2012 postseason, Watson started five of the Bulls’ six playoff games and averaged 7.3 points and 5.5 assists in 27.3 minutes per game.
After going undrafted out of the University of Tennessee in 2006, Watson was signed by the Golden State Warriors as a free agent call-up from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League in January of 2008. After two and a half seasons with the Warriors, Watson was traded to Chicago prior to the 2010-11 season. Over five NBA seasons, Watson holds career averages of 7.8 points and 2.6 assists in 305 games. Watson has made postseason appearances in each of his two seasons with the Bulls. In 22 career playoff games, he has averaged 4.3 points and 2.9 assists in 13.6 minutes per game.
Count Kris Humphries among those looking forward to a true Knicks-Nets rivalry now that the Nets are moving to Brooklyn.
“I’m excited for it,” Humphries said Friday at a press conference announcing his re-signing with the Nets. “I think it’s always great playing in there, and now when they come over to us, we’re gonna have a lot of our support over there, too. It’s exciting … it’s the Garden. Anytime you’re in the Garden for whatever you’re doing, it’s so much history, the fans are passionate in New York, and we hope to have the same passion in our building, and excitement.
“It should be good.”
Humphries got a good taste of the passion of the Knicks crowd last season, when he was showered with boos each time he touched the ball in his three appearances there last season following his brief marriage to reality television star Kim Kardashian.
The Brooklyn Nets have signed guard Keith Bogans, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.
Bogans, (6-5, 215), appeared in five games, including one start, with the Nets in 2011-12. The nine-year NBA veteran suffered a season-ending ankle injury on February 8, 2012 vs. Detroit.
Prior to joining the Nets, the former Kentucky Wildcat started in all 82 games for the Chicago Bulls in 2010-11, averaging 4.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 17.8 minutes per game. Originally drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 43rd overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, Bogans began his career in Orlando, before moving on to Charlotte, Houston, Orlando again, Milwaukee, San Antonio and Chicago. In 591 career NBA games, he holds averages of 6.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Bogans has appeared in 34 career playoff games, with averages of 4.7 points and 2.0 rebounds. He started in all 16 postseason contests for Chicago in 2011 while leading the league in postseason three-point shooting, hitting on 42.4% of his shots from behind the arc.
Dwight Howard’s camp is leaking to the media that he’s now open to signing an extension with the Lakers, clearing a small hurdle on the path to a deal that always seemed to make the most sense.
Whether or not Howard will land in Los Angeles with Kobe Bryant – thereby killing Brooklyn’s aspiration of acquiring the All-Star center by February’s trade deadline – is still up to Orlando, which is in no rush. Howard had previously stated he’d only sign an extension with the Nets.
Magic GM Rob Hennigan is hesitant about the Lakers’ main trade chip, Andrew Bynum, because of a history of injuries and, most importantly, his contract expires after next season. The Magic don’t want to deal Howard for a one-season Bynum rental, so other teams are reportedly being recruited into joining a potential three-team blockbuster.
The Brooklyn Nets have made an agreement in principle on a contract with forward Kris Humphries, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today. According to multiple reports, it is a two-year deal worth $24 million.
“Kris has been a very consistent player for us over the past two years,” said King. “He has developed into one of the top rebounding forwards in the league, and we are very pleased to welcome him back.”
According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, “His pending signature gives the Nets a starting 5 certainly worthy of a playoff spot – PG Deron Williams, SG Joe Johnson, SF Gerald Wallace, PF Humphries and C Lopez – although the team’s total payroll is set to exceed $80 million, or about $10 million above the luxury tax threshold. “Kris is really excited to be playing for the new, cool team – the Brooklyn Nets,” Humphries’ agent, Dan Fegan, said. Humphries had been eager for a lucrative deal after consecutive years averaging a double-double, and he targeted Brooklyn — a team yearning for a rebounding power forward and capable of paying him more than any other team because they hold his Bird Rights.”
Humphries rejoins the Nets after a career-year in 2011-12 that saw the 6-9 forward average personal bests of 13.8 points and 11.0 rebounds, while shooting .481 (323-671) from the field in 62 games. He has now averaged a double-double in consecutive seasons, 2010-11 and 2011-12. The eight-year veteran out of Minnesota ranked 4th in the NBA in rebounds per game last season, tallied 29 double-doubles (10th in NBA) and scored 20+ points 12 times. He recorded a career-high 31 points vs. Milwaukee on March 12 and tallied a season-high 21 rebounds vs. Toronto on March 14.
Humphries originally came to the Nets as part of a mid-season trade in 2009-10. Selected 14th overall in the 2004 NBA Draft by Utah, he went on to play for Toronto and Dallas before joining the Nets. In 493 career NBA games, Humphries holds averages of 6.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
The Atlanta Hawks today requested waivers on guard Jordan Farmar, it was announced by President of Basketball Operations/GM Danny Ferry.
Farmar was acquired from Brooklyn on July 11, along with Anthony Morrow, DeShawn Stevenson, Johan Petro, Jordan Williams, a first- and second-round pick, and other draft considerations, in exchange for Joe Johnson.
The Brooklyn Nets have signed free agent guard/forward Jerry Stackhouse, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.
Stackhouse appeared in 30 games with Atlanta in 2011-12. The 17-year NBA veteran averaged 3.6 points in 9.1 minutes per game while shooting .370 (37-100) from the field. He did not appear in any of Atlanta’s six playoff games.
Selected third overall by Philadelphia in 1995, the North Carolina product was a First Team All Rookie section with the 76ers during the 1995-96 campaign. He was traded to Detroit after two-plus seasons in Philadelphia and spent the next four-plus seasons with the Pistons where he made two All Star teams (2000, 2001).
In 80 games during the 2000-01 campaign, Stackhouse had his best year as a pro, ranking second in the NBA in points per game at 29.8, while averaging 3.9 rebounds, a career-best 5.1 assists and 1.2 steals in 40.2 minutes per contest.
In September of 2002, he was traded to Washington where he spent two seasons appearing in a combined 96 games. In June of 2004, he was sent to Dallas where he stayed for five seasons until 2009. The last three seasons, Stackhouse has spent one season respectively with Milwaukee, Miami and Atlanta. Over 17 NBA seasons and 933 games, he holds career averages of 17.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 31.8 minutes.
