NBA Teams – Page 1069 – NBA Blog

LeBron, Battier have big respect for Spurs

Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel with quotes from LeBron James and Shane Battier of the Miami Heat on the San Antonio Spurs. The two teams face each other on Thursday, for the first time since last season’s NBA Finals:

James, in fact, scoffed at the notion of the Spurs growing too old.

“I never buy into that,” he said. “I’ve always been asked about that. I’ve bought into the Celtics team with Ray [Allen] and K.G. [Kevin Garnett] and all those guys, they were talking about they were too old and they were in the Finals again, so I never bought into it.”

And there the Spurs are, again near the top of the West, San Antonio again potentially the Heat’s final destination of the season.

“They’re awesome, they’re awesome,” forward Shane Battier said. “The fact they’ve done it so long and everyone is just waiting for them to fall off, and they haven’t. Not that they care about what everyone else thinks. But it’s awesome, it’s awesome.”

Lakers considering a lineup change at PG

Here’s the Los Angeles Times blog reporting on the Lakers, who entering Wednesday’s games are tied with the New York Knicks for the 5th worst record in the NBA:

The Lakers appear to be mulling over a lineup change.

Since joining the team in December after the franchise suffered a slew of injuries at point guard, Kendall Marshall has made 33 appearances and 24 starts.

On Tuesday night, in a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, Marshall started the first half but not the second.

Instead, Coach Mike D’Antoni told Jordan Farmar to take Marshall’s place at halftime.

“Jordan told me that coach told him that he was going to start the second half, and that’s fine,” Marshall said after the Lakers’ 132-125 loss to the Pelicans.

Raptors re-assign Dwight Buycks to D-League

The Toronto Raptors announced Wednesday they have reassigned guard Dwight Buycks to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League. Buycks will continue to be included on the Raptors’ roster and will remain on the team’s inactive list.

Buycks is expected to be in uniform tonight when Bakersfield faces the Texas Legends in Frisco, Texas (8 p.m. ET).

This is Buycks’ second stint with the Jam this season. He appeared in five games from January 4-11, averaging 12.4 points, 4.0 assists and 26.4 minutes. He scored in double figures three times, including 19 points January 4 against the L.A. D-Fenders.

Buycks has appeared in 13 games for the Raptors this season recording 41 points, 10 assists, 20 rebounds and six steals in 124 minutes. He posted a season-best 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals December 10 versus San Antonio.

This will be Buycks’ third assignment in the NBA D-League. He is averaging 14.7 points, 2.8 assists and 26.7 minutes in 33 career games (two starts). Buycks appeared in 28 games with Tulsa during the 2011-12 season.

Buycks, a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, signed as a free-agent July 16, 2013 after participating on the Raptors’ Las Vegas Summer League squad. He played overseas during the 2012-13 season for BCM Gravelines in France.

Cavs re-assign Sergey Karasev to D-League

The Cleveland Cavaliers have assigned guard/forward Sergey Karasev to the Canton Charge, the Cavaliers exclusively owned and operated NBA Development League team, Cavaliers acting General Manager David Griffin announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

Karasev has appeared in 12 games for the Charge with averages of 13.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals in 30.0 minutes per game.

Karasev will be available for Saturday’s Charge game against the Springfield Armor at the Canton Memorial Civic Center at 1:00 p.m.

Tyson Chandler unsure of future in New York

Here’s the New York Post reporting on the Knicks and center Tyson Chandler, who as a collective are struggling badly this season:

Knicks center Tyson Chandler is so disillusioned, he isn’t sure he wants to be part of the team’s long-term future.

With the Knicks in chaos, owner James Dolan is going to look to rebuild or reload at season’s end. Whether Chandler, who is starting to show signs of age, is part of the blueprints is unclear. And Chandler may not want to stick around either.

“That’s something I have to visit during the offseason,’’ Chandler said. “We’re all going to have a lot of decisions to make.’’

With his contract expiring in 2015, the Knicks could shop Chandler for draft picks and another asset. Chandler eagerly signed a free-agent four-year, $65 million contract in 2011, thinking he had a chance to win a second title.

Mavericks assign Gal Mekel to D-League

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have assigned rookie guard Gal Mekel to the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League.

Mekel (6-3, 202) is averaging 2.4 points, 2.1 assists and 9.6 minutes in 30 games (one start) this season.

He has missed the last 21 games of the season after undergoing arthroscopic surgery to address a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee.

Mekel (6-3, 191) spent two seasons at Wichita State University (2006-07, 2007-08) before leaving school early and beginning his professional career in Europe. In his first season overseas, he was named the 2009 All-Israeli League Newcomer of the Year.

Last season, the point guard led Maccabi Haifa to an Israeli League Championship en route to claiming his second Most Valuable Player award. Mekel averaged 13.3 points, 5.4 assists, 2.6 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 32.3 minutes in 30 games while shooting .525 from the field and .779 from the free throw line.

The Petah Tikva, Israel native is just the second Israeli-born player to sign with an NBA team. He follows in the footsteps of veteran forward Omri Casspi.

Steve Nash plans to keep playing for Lakers next season

Here’s the Los Angeles Times reporting on old veteran point guard Steve Nash, who apparently wants to keep earning money playing for the Lakers:

There was a gust of certainty Monday, a rarity in one of the most uneasy seasons in Lakers history.

Steve Nash clearly wants to return next season.

“I want to come back for sure,” he said Monday.

It’s a longshot he’ll even be back this season from recurring back soreness, but he’s already looking to the future, where he’s scheduled to earn $9.7 million in 2014-15 as the final part of a three-year, $28-million contract.

The Lakers have until Sept. 1 to determine whether they want to waive Nash via the “stretch provision,” in which his salary is spread out over the next three years. Or they can bring him back for one more season and try to play him while paying him.

Cavaliers sign Arinze Onuaku to second 10-day contract

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed forward/center Arinze Onuaku from the Canton Charge, the Cavaliers exclusively owned and operated NBA Development League team, to a second 10-day contract, Cavaliers acting General Manager David Griffin announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

Onuaku has appeared in 27 games for the Charge this season with averages of 14.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.0 block in 24.2 minutes per game. He will be available for tonight’s Cavs game against the San Antonio Spurs at Quicken Loans Arena.

Bucks sign forward Tony Mitchell to 10-day contract

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed free-agent forward Tony Mitchell (6-6, 216) to a 10-day contract, General Manager John Hammond announced today. Mitchell is the 28th “Call-Up” of the 2013-14 season from the NBA D-League.

Mitchell has spent the better part of the last two seasons with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Milwaukee’s affiliate in the D-League. After going undrafted out of the University of Alabama in 2012, Mitchell signed with Fort Wayne and appeared in 48 games during the 2012-13 D-League season, averaging 21.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Mitchell was named the D-League Rookie of the Year and earned All-NBA D-League First Team honors following the season.

After appearing in 11 games for the Jilin Northeast Tigers in China last fall, Mitchell returned to the Mad Ants in January and has averaged 19.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks in 27 appearances (7 starts) this season. Mitchell is a two-time NBA D-League Slam Dunk Contest champion after successfully defending his 2013 crown at NBA All-Star Weekend in New Orleans last month.

Mitchell will wear #18 for the Bucks.

Gerald Wallace out for season after surgery

The Boston Celtics announced today that forward Gerald Wallace underwent successful arthroscopic surgeries on his left knee and his left ankle this morning at New England Baptist Hospital. The surgeries were performed by Celtics team physician Dr. Brian McKeon and was assisted by Dr. Mark Slovenkai. Wallace will be out for the remainder of the season.

Wallace, a 6’7” forward appeared in 58 games for the Celtics this season and averaged 5.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals in 24.4 minutes per game. Wallace made 16 starts for the Celtics this season where he averaged 7.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.2 steals in 33.3 minutes per game. He recorded a season-high of 17 points against Charlotte on November 25.