Category: NBA Teams

NBA teams blog

Second arrest in three days for Dante Cunningham

Here’s the St. Paul Pioneer Press with the latest in the Dante Cunningham saga:

Second arrest in three days for Dante Cunningham

After posting bail for a felony domestic assault charge, Timberwolves forward Dante Cunningham is now accused of sending his girlfriend messages that were “direct and rose to a terroristic level,” said Ed Belland, Medina’s director of public safety.

Medina police responded to a call on a violation for an order of protection at Cunningham’s home at about 3 a.m. Sunday. Cunningham then turned himself in at about 11:45 a.m. Sunday. He is in Hennepin County jail facing a new possible charge of terroristic threats, jail records show.

Cunningham posted $40,000 bail Friday night on a felony domestic assault charge from an incident Thursday morning. Cunningham then had 12 points, six rebounds and played 33 minutes in the 100-92 loss Saturday in Orlando.

Bulls sign Ronnie Brewer for rest of season

The Chicago Bulls announced today the team has signed free agent guard/forward Ronnie Brewer for the remainder of the season.

Brewer (6-7, 235) is currently in his eighth year in the NBA. After being drafted by the Utah Jazz with the 14th pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, Brewer spent three-plus seasons in Utah. In addition to the Jazz, Brewer has also played for the Memphis Grizzlies, the Chicago Bulls, the New York Knicks, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets. Earlier this season, he appeared in 23 games (three starts) with the Rockets, and averaged 0.3 ppg and 0.6 rpg in 6.9 mpg.

In seven-plus seasons in the NBA, he has played in 501 regular season games (304 starts) and averaged 7.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.7 apg, and 1.24 spg in 23.0 mpg. The 29-year old Brewer has also made six trips (47 games; 17 starts) to the NBA playoffs, where he has averaged 5.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg and 1.2 apg in 18.2 mpg.

Brewer will wear No. 11.

Chicago’s roster now stands at 13 players.

Sixers sign Adonis Thomas to 10-day contract

The Philadelphia 76ers today announced that they have signed guard/forward Adonis Thomas to a 10-day contract. Thomas is the 44th “Call-Up” of the 2013-14 NBA Development League season.

In 34 games for the Springfield Armor of the D-League this season, Thomas averaged 17 points, including 25 ppg over the final four games. He also shot 47% from three-point range, which placed him third in the league.

Thomas was also called up by the Orlando Magic on February 25, 2014 and appeared in four games.

An early entry candidate for the 2013 NBA Draft following his sophomore season at Memphis, Thomas was an All-Conference USA third-team selection and C-USA All-Tournament performer in his final season with the Tigers.

Thomas was the state of Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year in 2011 and appeared in the McDonald’s All-American Game, the Jordan Brand Classic and the Nike Hoops Summit.

Kevin Garnett returns to action for Nets

Here’s the New York Post reporting on Kevin Garnett, who has finally returned to active duty for the 42-34 Brooklyn Nets. Garnett this season is averaging 6.8 points and 6.6 rebounds in 20.8 minutes per game:

Kevin Garnett returns to action for Nets

Kevin Garnett had been away from the Nets for so long that some teammates, and even coach Jason Kidd, joked with him prior to Saturday night’s game against the 76ers that he should be treated like a rookie. And despite being in the 19th year of a Hall of Fame career, Garnett admitted to feeling nervous before stepping on the floor.

But after missing 19 games over the last five weeks because of an ongoing bout with back spasms, Garnett looked as if he hadn’t missed a day, let alone a month. Moving fluidly, Garnett finished with 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting to go with four rebounds, an assist and a block in 13 minutes as the Nets earned a 105-101 victory over the hapless Sixers.

“I’ve been working my [butt] off to get back to where I’m at,” Garnett said after coming through the game with no further back issues. “Obviously I’m not to where I want to be but I felt good, I felt strong. … It’s been a journey to get back to this point, so I’m just trying to contribute at this point.”

NBA player advocates for marijuana: Larry Sanders defends his marijuana use

Here’s the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporting on Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders, who may be one of the first (if not the first) active NBA players to ever advocate for the use of marijuana:

NBA player Larry Sanders defends his marijuana use

Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders was apologetic about a five-game drug suspension but also vigorously defended his marijuana use in an interview Friday night before the Bucks played the Chicago Bulls at the United Center.

Sanders’ season-long saga took another wrong turn earlier Friday when he was penalized by the league for using marijuana in violation of the NBA/NBPA (National Basketball Players Association) drug program.

Sanders already was sidelined due to right orbital fractures suffered when he was elbowed inadvertently by Houston’s James Harden in a Feb. 8 game, an injury that required surgery…

“It’s something I feel strongly about, just to let you know something personal about me,” Sanders said in an interview with the Journal Sentinel and nba.com. “I will deal with the consequences from it. It’s a banned substance in my league. But I believe in marijuana and the medical side of it. I know what it is if I’m going to use it.

“I study it and I know the benefits it has. In a lot of ways we’ve been deprived. You can’t really label it with so many other drugs that people can be addicted to and have so many negative effects on your body and your family and your relationships and impairment. This is not the same thing.

“The stigma is that it’s illegal. I hate that. Once this becomes legal, this all will go away. But I understand for my work it’s a banned substance. I will deal with the consequences and I apologize again to my fans for that.”

Dirk Nowitzki passes Dominique Wilkins on NBA all-time scoring list

Here’s ESPN Dallas reporting on Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki, who is a scorer of historical proportions:

Dirk Nowitzki has climbed higher than “The Human Highlight Film.”

The Dallas Mavericks star passed Dominique Wilkins for 11th place on the all-time scoring list Friday night when Nowitzki hit a free throw with 8:47 remaining in the third quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Unbelievable,” said Nowitzki , who finished with 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting in the Mavs’ 107-95 win, giving him 26,678 points for his career. “It’s been a crazy ride. I used to be a big fan of Dominique. I watched all his dunk contests and the many ways he could score, sometimes missing his own shot and he’d be the person to dunk over two people. He was just so much fun to watch.

“It’s been surreal. It’s been a crazy ride for 16 years, and I’m going to keep competing for a couple more years.”

Magic push past banged-up Timberwolves

The Timberwolves are going to miss the playoffs. With a 38-38 record, they are a full seven games behind the Phoenix Suns. Here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune reporting on the latest Wolves loss, which came with multiple key players missing:

Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio sat slumped at his locker after Saturday’s 100-92 loss at Orlando that in every conceivable way did not resemble a double-overtime victory at Miami the night before.

Two large ice bags covered his knees while he soaked his feet in ice. A smaller ice bag wrapped his right shooting hand.

Not him, too?

“Well,” he said, looking up, “It has been a long season.”

It grew noticeably longer for at least one evening when the Wolves on Saturday turned the clock back to a season ago and a time when they regularly played with as few as nine healthy players.

On Saturday, they began without starters Kevin Love, Kevin Martin and Nikola Pekovic — just their three leading scorers — as well as Shabazz Muhammad and then lost Chase Budinger a minute into the game when he turned his ankle after he was fouled on a dunk attempt.

Sixers fight hard in loss to Nets

Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer reporting on the 76ers, who are at least working hard and trying to play competitive basketball

Give the 76ers credit: They didn’t quit.

Never mind that their fourth-quarter comeback came against the Brooklyn Nets’ reserves. The fact that the Sixers made things competitive was a moral victory for a team in search of silver linings.

In the end, the Nets escaped with a 105-101 victory Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

“Teams know that we are not going to lay down,” Sixers power forward Thaddeus Young said. “We are going to continue to fight, try to keep pushing.

“. . . We just kept playing, kept playing, kept playing, and then it started to click for us.”

Brooklyn (42-34) had a commanding, 21-point lead with 8 minutes, 28 seconds left in the third quarter. Chipping away, the Sixers (17-60) pulled within 12 points heading into the fourth quarter.