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The Orlando Sentinel reports:
The Orlando Magic have promoted longtime assistant athletic trainer and performance enhancement specialist Keon Weise to the head athletic trainer’s job.
Magic spokesman Joel Glass on Monday confirmed the move.
Weise, 31, will replace Tom Smith, who was let go after four seasons as the team’s head athletic trainer.
The Toronto Raptors announced Monday the addition of Scott Roth as an assistant coach. Roth brings 25 years of experience as a player, scout and coach in the professional and international ranks to head coach Jay Triano’s staff.
“Scott and I have a long history dating back to playing professionally at the same time in Turkey,” said Triano. “He is a coach who brings to us experience from many different levels of basketball – International, D-League and the NBA.”
Roth comes to Toronto following one season as an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors. Prior to that he was the head coach of the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA D-League in 2008-09 and guided the team to its first post-season appearance with a 26-24 record.
Roth has served seven seasons in the NBA as an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks (1996-2000) and Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies (2000-02), and four seasons as a scout and advisor for the Milwaukee Bucks.
In 2000, Roth was the head coach of the Turkish National Team when they claimed a silver medal at the European Championships held in Istanbul. A year later he guided Turkey at the 2001 World Championships in Indianapolis. Most recently, he was the head coach of the Dominican Republic National Team in 2007 and 2008, earning a silver medal at the CBC Caribbean Championships in Puerto Rico.
Following a standout collegiate career at the University of Wisconsin, Roth was selected in the fourth round of the 1985 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs. He opted to begin his professional playing career overseas with Efes Pilsen in Turkey. He returned to North America in 1987 and appeared in 160 NBA games with the Utah Jazz (1987-88), San Antonio Spurs (1988-89) and Minnesota Timberwolves (1989-90) before returning to Europe to finish his career.
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Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today that the club has signed free agent guard/forward Tracy McGrady. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.
McGrady, 31, played 30 games last season with the Houston Rockets and New York Knicks averaging 8.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 22.4 minutes per game. He scored a season-high 26 points (10-17 FG) vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder (2/20) and recorded 21 points (6-12 FG, 2-2 3FG) and season-high-tying eight assists against the Pistons (3/3).
A seven-time NBA All-Star and two-time NBA scoring champion, McGrady holds career averages of 21.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 814 games. He led the NBA in scoring in 2002-03 (32.1 ppg) and 2003-04 (28.0 ppg) and averaged 24-plus points in seven consecutive seasons from 2000-01 to 2006-07. He’s been named to the All-NBA First Team twice (2002, 2003), All-NBA Second Team three times (2001, 2004, 2007) and All-NBA Third Team twice (2005, 2008). McGrady was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2000-01 when he averaged 26.8 points with the Orlando Magic, an improvement from 15.4 points the previous season. He’s recorded 2,000-plus points in a season twice (2000-01, 2002-03) and has scored 1,000-plus points in nine of his 13 seasons. McGrady scored a career-high 62 points against the Washington Wizards (3/10/04) and has scored 40-plus points 45 times in his NBA career. He ranks 10th amongst active players in career points (17,534) and has appeared in 38 career playoff games, averaging 28.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists.
The 6-8, 223-pound native of Bartow, FL, was drafted by the Toronto Raptors in the first round (ninth overall) of the 1997 NBA Draft. Drafted out of Mount Zion Christian Academy High School (NC), McGrady was honored earlier in his career as one of the “Good Guys in Sports” by The Sporting News for his community relations efforts.
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The Toronto Raptors announced Monday they have waived forward-centre Dwayne Jones. Jones was acquired with guard Leandro Barbosa on July 14 from the Phoenix Suns.
For his career, Jones averages 1.3 points and 2.3 rebounds in 7.8 minute per game.
The Raptors roster now stands at 15.
The Orlando Magic have signed forward Stanley Robinson, President of Basketball Operations Otis Smith announced today.
Robinson was originally selected by Orlando during the second round (59th overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft. Per team policy, terms of the deal are not disclosed.
Robinson played on the Magic’s summer league team in the 2010 AirTran Airways Pro Summer League, where he averaged 5.4 points and 5.2 rebounds and shot 50 percent from the floor.
Robinson (6’9”, 210, 7/14/88) appeared in 126 career games (103 starts) at the University of Connecticut, averaging 9.8 ppg., 6.2 rpg., 1.0 apg. and 1.03 blkpg. during his four-year collegiate career. As a senior (2009-10), he averaged 14.5 ppg., a team-high 7.6 rpg., 1.0 apg. and 1.21 blkpg. for the Huskies. Robinson helped UConn reach the NCAA Final Four in 2009.
Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star reports:
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Just days after feeling good about making what they think is their best trade in years, the Pacers were knocked down Sunday when rookie guard Lance Stephenson was arrested and charged with third-degree assault after he allegedly pushed his girlfriend down a flight of stairs in Brooklyn, N.Y., early Sunday.
“We have been made aware of a situation involving Lance Stephenson early Sunday morning in Brooklyn,” Pacers president Larry Bird said in a statement released from the team. “We are currently in the process of gathering information and will have further comments as we learn more facts.” …
Stephenson was charged with sexual abuse for allegedly groping a girl at a bus stop near his high school in New York his senior year. The charge was dismissed and he ended up pleading to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct.
John Lauinger of the New York Daily News reports:
Stephenson, 19, a legendary player at Brooklyn’s Abraham Lincoln High School, roughed up Jasmine Williams, 21, at her Brooklyn apartment building about 5 a.m., police said.
The 6-foot-5 rookie point guard’s cowardly shove sent Williams – the mother of Stephenson’s child – tumbling headfirst down 10 steps, requiring her to be treated at a hospital for injuries to her head and neck, cops said…
He was also booked on charges of third-degree assault, harassment and menacing. Prosecutors added a charge of criminal possession of a weapon, but a spokesman could not specify what the weapon was.
The Denver Nuggets have waived C Brian Butch and G Coby Karl, the team announced today.
Both players were signed by the Nuggets on April 11 but did not appear in any games during the 2009-10 regular season or the playoffs.
Karl averaged 14.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists in four games with Denver’s summer league team in Las Vegas. Butch appeared in two summer-league games, averaging 7.0 points and 6.0 rebounds.
Luisa Yanez of the Miami Herald reports:
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Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem was stopped by the Florida Highway Patrol Sunday and drugs were found by a trooper, FHP has confirmed.
The incident began as a traffic stop somewhere in Miami, said FHP spokesman Lt. Mark Wysocky. Details were sketchy Sunday. It’s unclear where Haslem was stopped or what type of drugs were found.
TMZ reports:
Haslem was pulled over by Florida Highway Patrol officers for, we’re told by sources, having tinted windows. We’re told there were three other guys in the car with Haslem.
According to sources, officers searched the car three times for drugs — an initial search and then a search with drug dogs yielded nothing. We’re told when officers searched the car a third time, they discovered less than 20 grams of marijuana.
August 16 update:
Miami Heat President Pat Riley released the following statement today concerning the incident involving Udonis Haslem yesterday afternoon. “We are aware of the incident involving Udonis Haslem yesterday afternoon, and while we fully support our players, since this is a pending legal matter we will have no further comment at this time.”
Another August 16 update:
Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem released the following statement today. “First and foremost, I’d like to thank the Arison family, Coach Riley, Coach Spoelstra, the HEAT organization and fans who have shown me their support during this incident. I am confident that once the judicial process runs its course, I will be cleared.”
Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com reports:
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Ariza’s ability to contribute in multiple ways, on both ends of the floor. New Orleans has given significant minutes to several somewhat one-dimensional players at the wing positions over the past few seasons, but Ariza is regarded as an above-average defender and is an improving offensive player (career-best 14.9 scoring average in 2009-10).
As frequent jump shooters, neither Peja Stojakovic nor James Posey – the Hornets who’ve logged the bulk of the playing time at small forward – finish well at the rim on fast breaks, but that’s an area where Ariza has excelled. Monty Williams also envisions the 6-foot-8, long-armed and athletic Ariza giving New Orleans the ability to throw a few varied looks at opposing offenses.
Williams: “He brings some things to the table that we just didn’t have. He’s a guy I can use in transition, he’s become a better shooter throughout his career and he’s a guy who’s going to allow me to put in a 3-2 zone and put him at the top of the zone, and put him in a number of spots. He’s a guy that can switch on pick-and-rolls (due to his combination of size and athletic ability), and guard some of the power forwards in this league. He can rebound.”
With several of the NBA’s top stars unavailable for this year’s edition of Team USA, another group of guys have been handed the reigns. And as the team that scores the most points is the one who wins, super-scorer Kevin Durant plays a huge role on the squad.
Pete Thamel of the New York Times reports:
Durant, 21, became the youngest N.B.A. scoring champion last season, and the world championship offers him a platform to move into the elite constellation of N.B.A. stars. His supple jump shot and freakish athleticism will be on display Sunday at Madison Square Garden, where the United States plays France before heading to Europe.
And Durant, a player hallmarked by loyalty and humility, will get a forum on the world stage at a time when James’s off-season free-agency spectacle prompted eye rolls.
So with no players from the 2008 Olympic Redeem Team representing the United States this summer, the coalescence of Durant’s talent and image could not be a better one.
“He’s the whole package,” said Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball’s managing director. “This is his opportunity to come forth on an international stage.”
It’ll be interesting to see how Durant gets his points. What moves he makes to generate offense and how they will differ in international spacing vs NBA play.
