NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog
NBA Blog: The NBA basketball news blog section of Inside Hoops
NBA teams blog
Lakers guard Jordan Farmar underwent successful surgery today to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee, it was announced by the team.
The surgery, which took approximately 30 minutes, was performed by Dr. Clarence Shields of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Group. Farmar is expected to be out approximately eight weeks.
Farmar suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of the Lakers game at Miami on Friday night. He is averaging 7.9 points and 2.4 assists in 19.6 minutes this season.
The Memphis Grizzlies reacquired its 2009 second-round draft pick from the Houston Rockets and also received guard and former Grizzlies draft selection Steve Francis, and cash considerations in exchange for a 2011 conditional second-round pick, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.
Fans are discussing the trade here. Join in and share your opinion.
Houston originally received Memphis’ 2009 second-round pick along with the draft rights to Donté Greene (28th overall pick) in exchange for forward Darrell Arthur (27th) in a draft night trade on June 26, 2008. Arthur, a 6-9, 235-pound forward, ranks in the top 10 among NBA rookies in rebounds (4.6, 9th) and blocks (0.81, 7th) and is also averaging 5.8 points in 19.6 minutes in 26 games (21 starts) in 2008-09.
Francis, a three-time All-Star (2002, 2003, 2004), has averaged 18.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 6.0 assists 37.6 minutes in 576 career games (543 starts) in nine NBA seasons with the Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic and New York Knicks.
The 6-3, 210-pound guard was originally selected in the first round (2nd overall) of the 1999 NBA Draft by the Vancouver Grizzlies, but his draft rights were traded by the Grizzlies to Houston on August 27, 1999 in a three-team, 11-player deal.
The 31-year-old, who rejoined the Rockets as a free agent on July 20, 2007, has yet to appear in a game with the Rockets this season. Francis averaged 5.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 10 games (three starts) in 2007-08, but underwent successful season-ending surgery to repair a torn quadricep tendon in his right knee on Feb. 26, 2008.
The Grizzlies’ roster now stands at 14 players. Memphis will next host the Indiana Pacers at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 26 at the FedExForum.
The Memphis Grizzlies have recalled center Hamed Haddadi from the Dakota Wizards of the NBA Development League, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.
Haddadi posted 6.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.55 blocks in 17.7 minutes in 11 games (seven starts) with the Wizards. Memphis assigned the 7-2, 280-pound center to the Wizards on Nov. 24.
Signed by Memphis on Aug. 28, the Ahvaz, Iran native has yet to make his NBA debut.
The Phoenix Suns have signed free-agent guard Daniel “Dee” Brown to a contract, the club announced today.
A two-year NBA performer, Brown was originally selected by the Utah Jazz with the 46th overall pick (second round) in the 2006 NBA Draft. The 6-0, 181-pound guard spent his rookie season in Salt Lake City where he appeared in 49 regular season games off the bench and eight more in the playoffs. The 24-year-old played in Turkey for Galatasaray Café Crown in 2007-08 where he averaged 12.3 points during the regular season and 14.7 points, 3.8 assists and 2.5 rebounds during postseason play. Brown signs with the Suns after appearing in 17 games (11 starts) and seeing 13.7 minutes of action with the Washington Wizards to begin 2008-09. He now owns career averages of 2.0 points, 1.0 rebound and 1.8 assists in 68 NBA contests.
Brown’s stellar career at the University of Illinois was highlighted by his 2006 win of the Bob Cousy Award as the nation’s top point guard in his senior season. The Illini standout led the Big Ten in assists (5.8) and ranked 18th in the nation overall. Brown posted those numbers while leading his team in scoring average (14.2), steals (1.61), minutes (35.8) and free-throw percentage (.757) and leading the team in scoring in 15 of 33 games.
Nicknamed “The One Man Fastbreak” in college due to his quickness, Brown was selected the Sporting News’ National Player of the Year and named the Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year as a junior. Most notably, he became the first consensus First Team All-American at Illinois since 1952 after helping to lead the Illini to a 29-0 start and a berth in the national title game.
Brown is a graduate of Proviso East High in Maywood, Ill., the same high school attended by Celtics coach Doc Rivers and San Antonio Spurs guard Michael Finley.
The Rocky Mountain News (Chris Tomasson) reports: Denver Nuggets reserve big man Chris Andersen ranks third in the NBA in blocked shots, but that’s just a start. He has an overwhelming NBA lead in blocks per minute. Andersen is averaging 2.3 blocks, putting him behind Orlando’s Dwight Howard (3.65) and the Clippers’ Marcus Camby (2.83). But Andersen is averaging 6.36 blocks per 48 minutes, well ahead of second-place Howard’s 4.84. “I’ve always been a real good shot blocker,” said Andersen, thanking coach George Karl for having the “confidence” in him to “roam on defense a little bit.”
The AP reports: LaMarcus Aldridge scored 22 points, Brandon Roy added 19 and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Denver Nuggets 101-92 on Tuesday night. Joel Przybilla had 19 rebounds and 10 points, going 4-of-4 on free throws in the final 2:40 to help Portland (18-11) tie the Nuggets atop the Northwest Division… Linas Kleiza had 20 points, including five 3-pointers, for the Nuggets, who lost three in a row before beating Portland 97-89 on Monday night in Denver. Nene had 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Chauncey Billups added 17 points on 4-of-12 shooting.
The AP reports: The Dallas Mavericks don’t need their ‘A’ game to beat the Memphis Grizzlies. Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points, Jason Terry added 17, and the Mavericks stretched their winning streak against the Grizzlies to 13 games with a 100-82 victory on Tuesday night. Josh Howard added 14 points, and Erick Dampier contributed 13 points and nine rebounds for the Mavericks, who have won 14 of 18… Hakim Warrick had 17 points, and Rudy Gay added 16 points and nine rebounds for Memphis. Kyle Lowry scored 15 points for the Grizzlies, coming off a nine-point home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night.
The AP reports: Tony Parker keeps finding ways to hurt the Minnesota Timberwolves. Manu Ginobili just keeps getting hurt. Parker scored 36 points on 13-of-17 shooting to lead the Spurs to a 99-93 victory over Minnesota on Tuesday night, handing the Timberwolves their 13th consecutive loss. Ginobili, who missed the first 12 games of the season because of left ankle surgery, limped slightly to the sideline with about four minutes left. He returned two minutes later and played until 15 seconds remained in the game… Tim Duncan added 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs (18-10), who have won nine of 11 and head into a Christmas day matchup against the Suns in Phoenix… Al Jefferson led the Timberwolves with 28 points. Randy Foye added 26 points and a career-high 16 rebounds.
The AP reports: Kobe Bryant scored 26 points, Pau Gasol added 20, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the New Orleans Hornets 100-87 on Tuesday night. The performance was more dominant than the final score indicated and precisely what the Lakers needed after stumbling through much of a four-game road trip… Chris Paul finished with 17 points and 10 assists for the Hornets, who had won 11 of their previous 13 games and were looking to move closer to the Lakers in the Western Conference… Andrew Bynum scored 13 points for Los Angeles, which also got 11 points from Derek Fisher and 10 from Trevor Ariza. Butler scored 17 points for New Orleans. Morris Peterson added 16 and David West 13 on 5-of-15 shooting.
The AP reports: The Milwaukee Bucks shot 1-of-16 from 3-point range and 39 percent from the field. That probably would have meant a blowout loss not long ago. Not anymore. Michael Redd scored 27 points Tuesday night to lead the surging Bucks to their third win in a row and fifth in six games, 94-86 over the Utah Jazz. “It’s huge for us,” said Luke Ridnour, who had 11 points, 11 assists and six steals… Reserve Andrei Kirilenko scored a season-high 22 for Utah. Deron Williams added 17 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, but had seven of Utah’s 24 turnovers… The Jazz were playing without center Mehmet Okur, who sat out with back spasms, and forward Carlos Boozer, who missed his 18th straight with a strained left quad tendon.