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Spurs waive Mike Finley

Today, to honor Michael Finley’s request to be released from his contract, the San Antonio Spurs waived the veteran guard. This move will allow Finley to sign with another team and be eligible to participate in the 2010 NBA Playoffs.

“Michael Finley was an outstanding professional during his time with the Spurs,” said Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich. “Both on and off the court he was great example for all to follow.”

The 6-7, 225-lb Finley appeared in 347 games over five seasons with San Antonio. He averaged 9.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 25.3 minutes while shooting .417 (1,212-2,905) from the field, .382 (490-1,282) from three-point land and .849 (309-364) from the line. Finley ranks fourth all-time for the Spurs in three-pointers made and attempted. In 55 postseason games with San Antonio he averaged 9.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 26.9 minutes per game.

Finley was originally signed by the Spurs on 9/2/05. The two-time All-Star has also spent time with the Phoenix Suns and the Dallas Mavericks. Over his 15-year NBA career, he has appeared in 1,082 games and has averaged 15.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 34.8 minutes. Finley has also appeared in 101 career postseason games and averaged 13.0, 3.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 33.3 minutes.

Michael Redd to have more knee surgery

Milwaukee Bucks guard Michael Redd is scheduled to undergo surgery tomorrow to repair the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee, General Manager John Hammond announced today.

The surgical procedure will be performed by orthopedic surgeon Dr. Brian Cole, M.D., in Oak Park, IL. Redd, 30, will begin rehabilitation immediately following surgery.

Redd injured his left knee on January 10 in the Bucks game against the Lakers at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles. In 18 games this season, Redd averaged 11.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.06 steals in 27.3 minutes.

A 10-year NBA veteran, Redd passed Bob Dandridge (11,478) for fourth in franchise history (January 5 at New Jersey) for scoring and stands at 11,510 points, 85 points from passing Sidney Moncrief (11,594) for third. At 568 games played, Redd is tied with Glenn Robinson for seventh in Bucks annals. Along with Junior Bridgeman and Sidney Moncrief, Redd is one of three players to play ten seasons in a Milwaukee Bucks uniform.

Timberwolves waive Mark Blount

Minnesota Timberwolves center Mark Blount has no particularly special basketball skills. He’s tall, though.

As great as that sounds, the Timberwolves today announced the team has waived Blount.

The Timberwolves acquired Blount from Miami on August 13, 2009 in exchange for Quentin Richardson. Blount did not appear in a game for the Wolves this season.

A 7-0 center, Blount has appeared in 605 career games over his nine-year NBA career, including stops in Boston, Denver, Minnesota and Miami. Originally selected by Seattle with the 54th overall pick of the 1997 NBA Draft, Blount owns career averages of 8.2 points and 4.6 rebounds. He played for the Wolves in 2005-06 and 2006-07, averaging 11.6 points and 5.7 rebounds in 124 games.

It’s possible Blount does get signed by another team in the near future, but it would likely be an unguaranteed deal for the league minimum.

Report: Blazers to sign Travis Diener

On Monday, the Indiana Pacers waived guard Travis Diener, who has been unhealthy most of the season. He played just four games, registering statistics too small to be worth posting.

But despite his lack of productivity, according to a report from Yahoo, the Portland Trail Blazers will sign Diener when he clears waiver.

The 6-1, 175-pound Diener has an NBA career average of 4.9 points and 2.5 assists per game, playing for the Pacers and Orlando Magic.

Pacers waive Travis Diener

The Indiana Pacers announced Monday they have waived guard Travis Diener.

The 6-1 Diener had played in just four games this season, largely due to an injury to the big toe on his left foot that required surgery. In his previous two seasons with the Pacers, Diener played in 121 games and averaged 5.4 points and 3.0 assists. He was signed as a free agent in 2007 after playing two years in Orlando.

“We want to thank Travis for his time with us,” said Pacers President of Basketball Larry Bird. “Unfortunately, he struggled with injuries while with us and that held him back. He’s a tough player who I’m sure will contribute somewhere in the NBA. We wish him the best.”

Andray Blatche scores 36 on Nets

The AP reports:

Andray Blatche is starting to give Washington Wizards’ fans something to be excited about in a season of turmoil highlighted by the gun-related suspension of Gilbert Arenas and a couple of high-profile trades.

The 23-year Blatche continued to thrive being the new leader of the Wizards, scoring a career-high 36 points and adding 15 rebounds in an 89-85 comeback victory over the New Jersey Nets on Sunday night.

Newark native Randy Foye provided the winning margin with two jumpers in the final 44 seconds but Blatche, who has averaged 24 points and 12 rebounds over his last seven games, almost single-handedly carried Washington in this one.

Timberwolves suspend Al Jefferson after arrest

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:

Timberwolves basketball player Al Jefferson was arrested and booked into jail early this morning for allegedly driving drunk, according to jail records, and the Wolves immediately responded by suspending their leading scorer for two games.

Jefferson was arrested by the State Patrol at 1:08 a.m., a little more than three hours after the Wolves’ 110-91 loss to Portland at Target Center, and was brought to the Hennepin County Jail shorty after 2 a.m., according to the State Patrol and jail records. He was released at 3:19 a.m…

That’s a penalty that will cost Jefferson, the Wolves’ highest-paid player who earns $12 million in the second season of a five-year, $65 million contract, roughly $293,000 in lost wages.

Shaq to have right thumb surgery

Cavaliers center Shaquille O’Neal traveled to Maryland today with Cavaliers Head Team Physician Dr. Richard Parker from The Cleveland Clinic for additional evaluation of his right thumb sprain by Dr. Thomas Graham at the National Hand Center in Baltimore.

O’Neal is now scheduled to undergo surgery to repair the thumb Monday morning at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore. The surgery will be performed by Dr. Graham, with Dr. Parker assisting.

His status will be updated following the surgery and a time table for his return to play will be established at that point. We’ll update you here on InsideHoops.com when more is known.

Fun, unlikely idea: LeBron James to Lakers

Almost no chance Lakers ever get LeBron James

Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James will be the star of this summer’s NBA free agent market. And as is the case with all players who expect the league maximum salary (or anything even remotely close), the safest bet is that he remains with his current team.

While LeBron’s teammates in Cleveland are not the best supporting cast in the world, they’re good enough to form a squad that currently sports a league-best 46-14 record. He’s in a winning situation. The team is one of only a few legitimate championship contenders in the league. Mainly due to LeBron. But the skills of his teammates fit in well around him.

While select other teams can offer LeBron a maximum contract this summer, the Cavs can offer a longer deal, with more money involved. And most of the teams with cap room this summer are flawed, rebuilding squads that won’t offer LeBron a better shot at a championship than his current team offers.

How about LeBron James to the Lakers? Would he entertain the notion? Sure, why not! Human beings tend to entertain lots of notions. Have you entertained the notion of marrying Jessica Alba? Is it likely? Heck no.

The Lakers have no cap room. So LeBron would have to sign at a bargain rate and make less money than Jerome James (0.0 ppg) makes on the Chicago Bulls this season.

How about trades? The Cavs will never trade LeBron James. They’d consider it only if they knew for a fact he was going to sign elsewhere, and even then the team would probably refuse to believe LeBron was really leaving and would do everything possible to change his mind if there was any indication he might take off.

Does LeBron want to be a Laker? I’m sure the thought has entered his mind. They’re the NBA champions. Every good player probably imagines themselves joining the league’s best, somehow, at some point. At least in conversation with their buddies on a rainy day.

There certainly are positives to LeBron sacrificing his NBA salary for the sake of signing with the Lakers. His market value would increase being in Los Angeles. He’d be playing on a team pretty much guaranteed to win lots of championships. As Kobe Bryant gets old, LeBron would still be improving (if that’s even possible). So as Kobe faded, LeBron would gain even more glory. It’s fun stuff to think about. But likely? No.

I’d say there’s a 70 percent chance the Cavaliers keep LeBron. A 15 percent chance the Knicks get him. A 14.5 percent chance some other team in the league gets him. And a 0.5 percent chance (make sure you understand, that’s half of one percent) the Lakers get him.

So, it’s not impossible!

It’s also possible you win the lottery tomorrow. Good luck with that!

Grizzlies assign Lester Hudson to D-League

The Memphis Grizzlies assigned guard Lester Hudson to the Dakota Wizards, the team’s NBA Development League’s affiliate, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.

Hudson, who will make his third D-League appearance this season, has averaged 4.3 points and 1.3 rebounds on 38.2 percent shooting in 7.4 minutes in eight appearances with Memphis after he was claimed off waivers on Jan. 8. The 6-3, 190-pound guard has posted 2.3 points and 0.8 rebounds on 38.5 percent shooting in 5.4 minutes in 24 total games this season with the Grizzlies and Boston Celtics, who originally selected him with the 58th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft.

A native of Memphis, Tenn., Hudson averaged 14.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists on 39.7 percent shooting in 28.0 minutes in five games with the Maine Red Claws during his first two D-League stints (Dec. 15-20, Dec. 26-30). The 25-year-old scored a D-League career-high 25 points on Dec. 16 at Erie while also collecting seven rebounds and a D-League career-best six assists.