Category: NBA Teams

NBA teams blog

Timberwolves waive Theo Ratliff

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has requested waivers on center Theo Ratliff after reaching a contractual buyout agreement. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Several newspapers in Detroit have reported that Ratliff may sign with the Pistons.

“Theo indicated to us that he wasn’t sure of his plans in the future – whether he was going to play or not – and there was an indication that he would not re-sign with us if he did choose to continue playing,” said Timberwolves Vice President of Basketball Operations Kevin McHale. “This provides us an opportunity to play our younger post players – Craig Smith and Chris Richard – and give us more time to continue to evaluate them. I cannot say enough about Theo’s professionalism throughout the entire season and we wish him the best of luck in the future.”

Ratliff, in his first season with the Wolves, appeared in 10 games (six starts) for the Timberwolves this season, and posted averages of 6.3 points (.511 FG%), 3.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 21.4 minutes per game. He missed 45 games this year due to soreness in his right knee, and underwent arthroscopic surgery on Dec. 18. The 13-year NBA veteran has career averages of 8.0 points (.497 FG%), 6.2 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game in 689 career NBA contests. The 6-10 center was acquired by Minnesota in a trade with Boston on July 31, 2007.

Save the Sonics: A long-time overseas fan rant

By DJ Leon Smith

I’ve been a Seattle Supersonics fan pretty much since I’ve been a basketball fan. Back to the days of Michael Cage, watching them draft Shawn Kemp, the first-round heartbreak against the Denver Nuggets, the 1996 NBA Finals… everything. Now, their new owner Clay Bennett, wants to move them to his hometown of Oklahoma City, after essentially holding the team to ransom against the city of Seattle. He wants the city to build a half-a-BILLION dollar stadium, when they built built a new stadium in 1995 and the city has offered to pay for upgrades to the Key Arena. Oh by the way, and the stadium in Oklahoma City is far worse and holds less people than Seattle’s Key Arena.

The worst part about the whole deal? David Stern has sided with Bennett and is letting the whole thing happen – even though one of Bennett’s partners, Aubrey McClendon, admitted they bought the team purely to move them (very smart move, since Seattle is the 14th largest market in the US and OKC is the 45th, meaning less profits for the league and other team owners if the Sonics are moved) after Bennett had been saying for months that they want to keep the team in Seattle and are doing their best to keep them there. McClendon also admitted they don’t mind if the team loses more money in OKC than in Seattle, as long as the team is moved there. This should have been a deal-breaker in itself.

Essentially, because Stern and Bennett are old buddies, he’s prepared to lose millions of dollars and alienate the entire city of Seattle (and every rational NBA fan) by letting them move the team. I’m not even from Seattle, so I’d like to think I’m in an even better position to comment on this because I’m not blinded emotionally by city loyalties, but anyone with half a brain can see this whole situation reeks.

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DJ Leon Smith is one of Australia’s top DJs and basketball journalists. He’s worked with artists including Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lil Jon and Usher and has also written for every Australian basketball publication and several US magazines, including SLAM and XXL. You can visit him on MySpace here or check out his blog here.

Cassell, Clippers have buy-out

The Los Angeles Clippers today waived point guard Sam Cassell. The official report is here.

It’s too bad that Elton Brand and Shaun Livingston got injured. I’d have liked to see the Clippers this season with those guys alongside the improved Chris Kaman (yes, Brand being hurt did put more responsibility on Kaman’s shoulders, but he also did really get better). They looked like a decent team, but fell off for a bit, and now Cassell is gone. Of course, he’s not the future – Shaun Livingston, if he can recover from serious injury, and meet his potential, is.

If Cassell does wind up signing with the Boston Celtics, I think it’ll work out in a big way. What better backup point guard than a guy like him? He’s a smart player, and a scoring point guard, but he does it in a manner that helps a team. As opposed to scoring point guards that take bad shots and don’t fit into a total team offense.

I assume that on Boston, Rajon Rondo would continue to start and play the bulk of minutes, but Cassell would get plenty of time off the bench. And Cassell will help Rondo improve in practice.

CBA: Atlanta Krunk home games cancelled

The Continental Basketball Association today announced that due to unsafe playing conditions, the remaining home contests of the Atlanta Krunk have been cancelled.  The Morris Brown College Arena has been determined to fail to meet the arena standards set forth by the CBA.
 
“We gave the present ownership group one last shot at trying to bring the arena up to standards that are the bare minimum to stage a CBA game and they were unsuccessful,” stated CBA Deputy Commissioner Dennis Truax.  “The arena as it stands now is unacceptable and is unsafe for our players, coaches, referees, and fans.  It is in the best interest of the CBA to move ahead and try to find a suitable arena for next season now in Atlanta.”
 
The Krunk will play their remaining games on the road this season.  They will travel to Pikeville to take on East Kentucky on March 2.  They will then play the remaining road games of the defunct Great Falls franchise on March 5 in Yakima and March 7 and 8 in Minot.

Clippers sign Nick Fazekas to 10-day contract

The Los Angeles Clippers today signed free agent forward Nick Fazekas to a 10-day contract. Drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in the second round (34th overall selection) of the 2007 NBA Draft, Fazekas appeared in four games with Dallas this season, averaging 1.0 point and 0.8 rebounds.

A three-time Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Player of the Year at the University of Nevada, Fazekas played 28 games with the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League this season and was selected to the D-League All-Star Game, but did not play in the game. Fazekas averaged 19.1 points per game. 10.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.0 steal while shooting 53 percent from the floor.

Fazekas was a star in college for the Wolfpack, averaging 20.4 points and 11.1 rebounds as a senior while ranking fifth in the nation in rebounding. During his senior year the Arvada, Colorado product was a consensus Second Team All-American and member of the Wooden Award All-American Team. Fazekas finished his collegiate career as the all-time leading scorer and shot blocker in Nevada history and is one of only six players in NCAA history to score 2,000 points, grab 1,000 rebounds, and shoot 50 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free throw line.

Daequan Cook, Joel Anthony to D-League

The Miami Heat announced today that Daequan Cook and Joel Anthony have been assigned to the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League. The Energy was assigned as the Heat’s D-League affiliate prior to the start of the 2007-08 season. They are also the affiliate of the Chicago Bulls.

Cook has appeared in 38 games (two starts) for the HEAT this season, averaging 7.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 19.5 minutes per game. He was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 21st pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, and acquired by the HEAT in a draft day trade. Prior to his time with the HEAT, Cook played one season at The Ohio State University before becoming an early entry candidate, averaging 9.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 39 games. He was also named Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year and earned Honorable Mention All Big Ten honors.

Anthony has appeared in four games for the HEAT this season, and is averaging 7.8 minutes per game. He was signed by the HEAT as a free agent on July 3, 2007 and played in four summer league games, averaging 1.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.25 blocks in 21.5 minutes per game. Prior to that, he played two seasons at UNLV and averaged 3.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.31 blocks in 68 games.

Anthony and Cook will practice with the Energy beginning on Thursday, February 28, and will be available to play when the Energy travel to Albuquerque to face the Thunderbirds on Sunday, March 2.

Hakim Warrick getting buckets and boards

Memphis Grizzlies forward Hakim Warrick has taken advantage of increased playing time since the team traded Pau Gasol to the Los Angeles lakers.

Checking out his recent games:

Feb. 12: Against the Kings, Warrick shot 10-of-16 for 24 points and 13 rebounds.

Feb. 13: Against the Sixers, Warrick shot 11-of-17 for 23 points and 8 rebounds.

Feb. 19: Against the Sonics, he shot 10-of-18 for 22 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Feb. 20: Against the Clippers, Warrick shot 8-of-14 for 20 points and 7 rebounds.

Feb. 22: Against the Mavericks, he shot just 5-of-15 but got to the line enough for 15 points and 9 rebounds.

Feb. 24: Against the Cavs, Warrick shot 8-of-15 for 21 points and 9 rebounds.

Feb. 26: Against the Suns, he shot 8-of-12 for 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Now the bad news. Warrick is barely getting any assists, literally just 1 or 2 per game. And the only game the Grizzlies won was that Feb. 13 game against the Sixers. They’ve lost every single other game, not only above, but since a January 26 win over the Clippers. They’ve lost 12 of 13.

Still, for Warrick as an individual player, it’s progress.

Mavericks sign Jamaal Magloire

The Dallas Mavericks announced today they have signed center Jamaal Magloire.  Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. InsideHoops.com hears it may be a one-year contract for the league minimum. But that isn’t confirmed.
 
Magloire (6-11, 265) played 24 games for New Jersey this season and averaged 1.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 10.8 minutes.  The eight-year pro has career averages of 8.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.0 block while shooting 47.9% from the field in 530 total games with four different franchises (Charlotte/New Orleans, Milwaukee, Portland and New Jersey).
 
In 2004 with New Orleans, Magloire was selected as a reserve for the Eastern Conference All-Star Team.  He finished with 19 points, 8 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal in 21 minutes for the East.  During that season, he ranked fifth in the NBA in offensive rebounds, tied for seventh in overall rebounds and tied for 27th in field goal percentage.  Additionally, he was one of only four players in the Eastern Conference and 11 players in the entire NBA to average a double-double.
 
Magloire was the 19th overall selection in the 2000 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets after playing four years for the University of Kentucky.  He was a member of the Wildcats 1998 National Championship team.

Reaction to Yao Ming being out for season

Rockets All-Star center Yao Ming has been lost for the remainder of the 2007-08 NBA season due to a stress fracture in his left foot.

I feel sorry for Rockets fans. They don’t deserve this. Between Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady the team over the last few years has had more injuries than the local hospital.

Here’s what they should probably do now:

– Give Luis Scola a bigger role. If he’s good enough to carry top international teams to victory, he can do more for the Rockets than he’s been asked to so far.

– Tell Rafer Alston to bust out some streetball moves during games. It may make the team lose, but it’ll entertain. He should bounce the ball off Dikembe Mutombo’s head, while moonwalking.

– Put Gerald Green out there and let him try to dunk three-pointers.

– Tell Luther Head to make like Leandro Barbosa and try to score 20 whenever possible.

– Let Mutombo give inspirational speeches to the fans during halftime while dressed like the cookie monster. It’ll amuse the kiddies.