Category: NBA Teams

NBA teams blog

Finally, Nancy Lieberman is an NBA assistant coach

Here’s the Sacramento Bee with commentary on the recent news that Nancy Lieberman is now an assistant coach in the NBA:

The NBA is a game of angles and connections, which is why the hiring of Nancy Lieberman as a Kings assistant is such a head-scratcher.

What took so long? Lieberman’s robust Rolodex is probably trumped only by her life experiences. She has competed in the Olympics, starred at Old Dominion, played and coached in several professional leagues, worked as a television commentator. Years before joining George Karl’s staff, the Brooklyn, N.Y., native coached the Dallas Mavericks’ NBA Development League team into the playoffs, then moved into the front office as assistant general manager.

And somewhere along the way – well before the WNBA was conceived and the notion of women coaching men ever found the womb – Lieberman, 57, transformed Martina Navratilova into a superbly conditioned athlete and revolutionized the way female tennis players approach training.

So, again, what took so long?

“I think sometimes you can get taken for granted,” Lieberman said. “I’m like the loyal dog. My only frustration was wondering if this was ever going to happen – if somebody was ever going to take a look at me and say, ‘She can do this.’”

Jahlil Okafor aiming for Rookie of Year award

Here’s CSN Philly reporting on 76ers rookie Jahlil Okafor, who is certainly a leading contender to win the 2015-16 Rookie of the Year award:

Jahlil Okafor aiming for Rookie of Year award

Jahlil Okafor, speaking at the NBA and Panini America’s rookie photo shoot at MSG Training Center on Saturday, shared a few of his goals for the upcoming 2015-16 season.

The Sixers’ big man already has his eyes set on some hardware.

“I’d like to win Rookie of the Year,” he said. “Just want to get better every night for myself and my coaches with the Sixers. Try and win some big games.”

The last Sixer to win the award was Michael Carter-Williams in 2014. If Okafor could pull that off, it would signify the Sixers are inching closer to resembling a respectable NBA team.

Nuggets re-sign Darrell Arthur, Will Barton and Jameer Nelson

The Denver Nuggets have re-signed Darrell Arthur, Will Barton and Jameer Nelson to multi-year contracts, General Manager and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced today.

Arthur, 6-9, 225, appeared in 58 games (four starts) for Denver in 2014-15, averaging 6.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 17.0 minutes per game. The six-year NBA veteran has played in 373 career games (82 starts) for Denver and Memphis, averaging 6.5 points and 3.6 rebounds. He was drafted out of the University of Kansas with the 27th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Hornets and was dealt to the Grizzlies on draft night.

Barton, 6-6, 175, arrived in Denver via trade on Feb. 19, 2015 and averaged 11.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.21 steals in 28 games with the Nuggets. He has appeared in 172 career games (five starts) over four seasons with Portland and Denver, averaging 5.0 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 13.2 minutes per game. Barton was selected out of the University of Memphis with the 40th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers.

Nelson, 6-0, 190, appeared in 34 games (five starts) and averaged 9.6 points and 3.7 assists for Denver last season after being acquired in a trade from Boston on Jan. 13, 2015. The 11-year veteran and former NBA All-Star owns career averages of 12.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists while shooting .371 from three-point range in 714 career games (585 starts) with Orlando, Dallas, Boston and Denver.

Nelson spent the first 10 years of his career in Orlando where he reached the playoffs six times, including a run to the NBA Finals in 2009. He enjoyed his best statistical year in 2008-09, averaging a career-high 16.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists en route to an Eastern Conference All-Star selection. He currently stands as the Magic’s all-time leader in assists with 3,501. The Chester, Pa. native was drafted out of Saint Joseph’s University with the 20th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft by the Nuggets before his rights were sent to the Orlando Magic on draft-night in exchange for a 2005 first round pick.

Knicks sign Thanasis Antetokounmpo

New York Knicks President Phil Jackson announced today that the team has signed guard/forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo.

According to the New York Post, “Antetokounmpo passed up lucrative deals in Europe last summer to play for $25,000 in the D-League. He has been an enigma, with a boatload of energy, but low basketball IQ and an erratic jump shot.”

Antetokounmpo, 6-7, 215-pounds, averaged 13.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.70 steals and 1.68 blocks over 32.9 minutes in 47 games (all starts) during the inaugural season of the NBA D- League’s Westchester Knicks. He earned NBA D-League All-Defensive Second Team honors last season after a Third Team selection in 2013-14 as a member of the Delaware 87ers. He ranked in the D-League’s Top-10 in steals (fifth, 80), free throw attempts (seventh, 251) and blocks (eighth, 79).

The Greece native, who was born to parents of Nigerian descent, was selected by New York in the second round (51st overall) of 2014 NBA Draft with a pick acquired from Dallas. He played for New York’s entry in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, NV each of the last two summers after playing for Delaware in 2013-14 and Filathlitikos (Greece) in 2012-13. He is the older brother of Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Knicks sign Sasha Vujacic

New York Knicks President Phil Jackson announced today that the team has signed guard Sasha Vujacic. He is expected to play limited minutes as a reserve. And he is very familiar with the triangle offense, which the Knicks will still apparently stick with.

Vujacic, 6-7, 193-pounds, holds career averages of 5.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists over 15.9 minutes in 478 games over eight seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, New Jersey and Los Angeles Clippers. A two-time NBA champion with the Lakers alongside Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher in 2009 and 2010, he last played in the NBA for the Clippers, appearing in two games during the 2013-14 season.

The Maribor, Slovenia-native played for Laborla Kutxa (Spain) and Istanbul BB (Turkey) last season and has also played in Italy. He was originally selected by the Lakers in the first round (27th overall) of 2004 NBA Draft.

Report: Jazz interested in Garrett Temple

Here’s the Deseret News reporting on the Utah Jazz, who recently learned that talented young guard Dante Exum has suffered a torn ACL, which means he’s probably out for the season:

Report: Jazz interested in Garrett Temple

The Jazz are interested in pursuing a trade for Wizards guard Garrett Temple, the Deseret News has been informed.

According to a source, Jazz coach Quin Snyder is a proponent of the 6-foot-6 Temple, who would give the team a big defensive presence in Exum’s absence.

Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey refuted the notion that the Jazz are discussing potential temporary replacements for Exum. At this point, he believes that would be insensitive to Exum and his parents.

“There is a bunch of speculation out there right now,” Lindsey said during an interview with 1280 The Zone on Thursday.

Mavericks re-sign Charlie Villanueva

Mavericks re-sign Charlie Villanueva

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have re-signed forward Charlie Villanueva.

Villanueva (6-11, 238) holds career averages of 10.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 21.7 minutes in 594 games (159 starts) with Toronto, Milwaukee, Detroit and Dallas. Villanueva was named to the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team in 2005-06 after averaging 13.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 29.1 minutes in 81 games (36 starts). He had a breakout year in 2008-09 when he averaged 16.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 26.9 minutes in his final season with Milwaukee.

In his first season with Dallas, Villanueva averaged 6.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 10.6 minutes in 64 games (one start). He shot 37.6 percent (83-of-221) from beyond the arc in 2014-15.

The Queens, N.Y., native was a standout at the University of Connecticut where, as a freshman, he earned Big East All-Rookie Team honors and won an NCAA National Championship. As a sophomore, he led the team in scoring (13.6 ppg) and was named the team’s MVP. Villanueva declared for the NBA Draft following his sophomore season and was drafted seventh overall by the Toronto Raptors in 2005.

Mavericks sign Samuel Dalembert

Mavericks sign Samuel Dalembert

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed free agent center Samuel Dalembert.

This will be Dalembert’s second stint in Dallas. He signed with the Mavericks as a free agent in July, 2013 and averaged 6.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 20.2 minutes in 80 games (68 starts) during the 2013-14 season. After one year with the Mavericks, Dalembert was traded to the New York Knicks, along with guards Jose Calderon, Wayne Ellington and Shane Larkin and two 2014 second round picks, in exchange for Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton.

Dalembert (6-11, 255) has played a total of 886 games (694 starts) with Philadelphia, Sacramento, Houston, Milwaukee, Dallas and New York and has career averages of 7.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 24.4 minutes per game.

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Dalembert is the only Haitian-born player in the NBA. He spent 14 years in Haiti before moving to Montreal and becoming a Canadian citizen in August, 2007. He played collegiately at Seton Hall and averaged 7.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.83 blocks in 59 games over two years. He currently owns the school record for career blocked shots (267).