NBA Teams – Page 1106 – NBA Blog

Victor Oladipo received advice from Kevin Durant before the season

Here’s the Orlando Sentinel with a cool item about Magic rookie Victor Oladipo getting some useful career tips from someone who knows things:

Victor Oladipo admired Kevin Durant from afar for a long time, and now Oladipo is happy and honored to call Durant a friend.

They grew up in the Washington, D.C., area, so Oladipo always was attuned to Durant’s accomplishments. But since Oladipo is four years younger than Durant, they hadn’t met face-to-face until this past summer when Oladipo visited a basketball camp that Durant was running in Washington.

“For him to be able to talk to me and for him to give me advice was kind of crazy,” Oladipo said. “But at the same time, it definitely was humbling and definitely nice for him to do — a credit to him for doing that. He didn’t have to, but he did it anyway.”

Both Oladipo and Durant were selected second overall in the NBA Draft — Durant in 2007 and Oladipo in 2013.

Clippers give super-sub Jamal Crawford a start

Here’s the Los Angeles Times reporting on Clippers scoring guard Jamal Crawford making a rare appearance in the starting lineup:

To his surprise, Jamal Crawford started for the Clippers when they played the Washington Wizards on Saturday night at the Verizon Center.

Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said he started Crawford in place of Willie Green because he wanted more spacing for the first unit and to take some of the ball handling pressure off Chris Paul.

It worked out, as Crawford scored 17 points in the Clippers’ victory over the Wizards.

Crawford started his first game since April 9, 2012, when he was with the Portland Trail Blazers.

“You can be a lot more patient when you’re a starter, because you know you’re going to be out there some,” Crawford said. “When you come off the bench, you kind of have to make a positive impact immediately, whether it’s scoring or assisting. But as a starter, you can pick your spots a lot.”

Utah Jazz assign Ian Clark and Rudy Gobert to D-League

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has assigned rookie guard Ian Clark and rookie center Rudy Gobert to its NBA Development League (D-League) affiliate, the Bakersfield Jam. Both are expected to be in uniform for the Jam’s game Sunday at the Reno Bighorns in Reno, Nev.

A 6-3, 173-pound guard out of Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., Clark was named 2013 NBA Summer League Championship Game Most Valuable Player and was signed by the Jazz as an undrafted rookie free agent on July 29. The 22-year-old has appeared in eight games as a reserve for the Jazz, averaging 2.8 points in 8.8 minutes.

Gobert, a 7-1, 245-pound center, was a 2013 first-round draft pick (27th overall) whose rights the Jazz acquired in a draft-night trade with Denver that sent the Nuggets the rights to the 46th overall pick and cash considerations. The 21-year-old native of Saint Quentin, France, has made 17 appearances for the Jazz in a reserve role, averaging 2.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 0.82 blocks in 10.7 minutes.

Clark and Gobert become the seventh and eighth different players in Jazz history to be assigned to the D-League. Other players on the current Jazz roster with D-League experience include Jeremy Evans, Diante Garrett, Mike Harris and John Lucas III.

Bucks guard Carlos Delfino out at least eight weeks after foot surgery

Milwaukee Bucks General Manager John Hammond announced that guard Carlos Delfino (6-6, 220) underwent successful surgery this morning on his right foot. The surgery was performed at Sanatorio de la Trinidad in San Isidro, Buenos Aires, by Dr. Donato Villani, Argentinian National Soccer Team physician, who specializes in orthopaedics and traumatology. Dr. Villani was assisted by Dr. Javier Swiatlo and Dr. Pablo Pechervsky, with Bucks team physicians Dr. Michael Gordon and Dr. Samuel Idarraga present.

Delfino, 31, will have his foot immobilized and be placed on non-weight bearing restrictions for a period of eight weeks. Updates on his recovery will be provided as appropriate.

Currently in his ninth NBA season, Delfino has career averages of 8.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He was signed to a free agent contract on July 17 and has not played in a game this season.

Omri Casspi loving NBA life with Houston Rockets

Here’s the Houston Chronicle on Israeli forward Omri Casspi, who has been a great fit as a supporting cast member of the Rockets this season:

A career that had gotten off to a promising start in Sacramento had seemed to hit bottom in Cleveland. He did not know where basketball would take him next but had begun to accept that he could be headed back to Europe, rather than back to Sacramento this weekend as such a vital part of the Rockets rotation.

Then with one voice message that he still won’t delete from his phone, everything changed. With that call, he not only knew where his career was headed, the confidence that had become so fractured, taking much of his game with it, was revived. All that had gone wrong seemed to have been made right again.

“Coach (Kevin) McHale left me a message over the summer when they started recruiting me and we started talking,” Casspi said. “I still have it. He said he wanted me to play the three and the four. He explained I could spread the floor and help the team win and that he liked the way I compete. That was one of the main reasons I came here. I still have that message and I still listen to it once in a while.

“It was the first time I really talked to a coach that really talked to me. This team was obviously was supposed to be good whether I was going to be here or not. But to be a part of the team that can compete and compete for a championship, after what I’d been through, and then he left me this message that said he loves me and wants me to come and play hard and help and do the things I do. That was just an emotional day, you know.”

Brandan Wright back soon for Mavericks

Here’s the Fort Worth Star-Telegram blog on the 13-10 Dallas Mavericks, who are set to enjoy some added depth:

Brandan Wright said he likely will see his first action of the season Saturday night when the Dallas Mavericks host the Milwaukee Bucks at 7:30 at American Airlines Center.

The Mavs’ center played in the preseason opener against New Orleans, then suffered a small non-displaced fracture of his left shoulder during an Oct. 8 practice session. Since then, Wright has gone through a litany of treatment sessions in an effort to get his shoulder back up to speed.

“If everything goes well tomorrow I should be able to go (Saturday),” Wright said after today’s practice. “I feel alright.

Mike D`Antoni suggests Pau Gasol needs to play harder

There’s drama in Los Angeles. Here’s the Los Angeles Daily News blog on an interesting Lakers situation:

Pau Gasol still doesn’t like how he’s featured in D’Antoni’s offense. He didn’t speak to reporters following morning shootaround Friday here at Chesapeake Energy Arena, but the Lakers’ forward in recent days has attributed his 14.4 points per game average on a career-low 41.7 percent shooting toward D’Antoni’s system not featuring him enough in the post.

D’Antoni’s response?

“It’s also a nice excuse not to play hard,” D’Antoni said. “That’s a classic, ‘I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.’ Well, you don’t have trouble getting up to the paystub line. You know what you need to do to get your check. You know what to do. They will. They’ll figure it out.”

“That’s one thing. They don’t want to do it that way. I understand that. That’s when you have to accept it or not. But there’s no reason not to play hard.”

Ty Lawson set to return for Nuggets

Here’s the Denver Post on the Nuggets getting healthier and stronger:

Nuggets guard Ty Lawson is over a hamstring injury and officially set to go for Friday’s game against the Utah Jazz. That’s just in time to face a Jazz team that looks wholly different from the one the Nuggets beat on Nov. 11 in Utah — a victory that at the time kicked off a stretch of 10 wins in 12 games.

The differences between that Utah team and this one start at point guard.

Rookie point guard Trey Burke, a lottery pick out of Michigan, returned to the team not long after that early November matchup, and he’s been the catalyst for a Jazz team that has put a much more competitive product on the court of late.

“We talked about with the team, don’t expect to see the same Utah team we saw a month ago,” Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said.

Warriors center Jermaine O`Neal out after wrist surgery

Golden State Warriors center Jermaine O’Neal underwent successful arthroscopic surgery this morning to address a torn ligament in his right wrist, the team announced.

Following the procedure, which was performed by Dr. Jeff Yao at the Stanford Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine Clinic, O’Neal will begin rehabilitation immediately and his progress will be monitored throughout the recovery process.

O’Neal has appeared in 17 games this season (one start), averaging 6.2 points and 4.5 rebounds in 18.6 minutes per contest.

It isn’t clear how long O’Neal will be out. Usually, an NBA team provides an estimate after surgery takes place, but perhaps it’s not yet known by the squad how much time the veteran may miss.

Atlanta Hawks recall John Jenkins from D-League

The Atlanta Hawks have recalled guard John Jenkins from the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Danny Ferry.

Jenkins was assigned to Bakersfield on December 6, 2013. He appeared in four games for the Jam, all starts, and averaged 21.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 steals in 36.3 minutes (.418 FG%, .800 FT%).

Jenkins will be in uniform and available tonight against the Wizards.