NBA Teams – Page 994 – NBA Blog

Pistons sign D.J. Augustin

The Detroit Pistons announced today that the club has signed free agent guard D.J. Augustin to a multi-year contract.

The 6-0, 183-pound guard had a resurgent year last season after signing with the Chicago Bulls and helping replace an injured Derrick Rose. He averaged 14.9 points, 5.0 assists, 2.1 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 30.4 minutes in 61 games with the Bulls, after appearing in 10 games to start the season with the Toronto Raptors.

Among NBA leaders, the 26-year-old Augustin ranked fifth in free throw percentage (.885) and tied for 19th in 3-point field goal percentage (.401). He posted a career-high 33 points (10-14 FG, 3-4 3FG, 10-10 FT) in 31 minutes during a 107-102 win at Boston (3/30). Augustin helped the Bulls claim the No. 4 seed in the NBA Playoffs and continued his strong play by averaging 13.2 points, 4.8 assists, 1.6 rebounds and 28.2 minutes in five postseason games. In Game 4 of the first round against the Washington Wizards, a 101-99 loss, he scored a team-high 25 points and dished out seven assists.

Memphis Grizzlies re-sign Beno Udrih

The Memphis Grizzlies re-signed guard Beno Udrih (BEHN-oh OO-dreeh) to a multi-year contract, the team announced today.

Udrih (6-3, 205) averaged 4.9 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists on .438 shooting in 15.7 minutes in 41 games (12 starts) for the New York Knicks and Memphis Grizzlies last season. He appeared in 10 regular season contests for the Grizzlies after being awarded to Memphis off waivers on Feb. 27, 2014.

The 31-year-old posted 7.9 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists on .467 shooting in 16.4 minutes in Memphis’ 2014 opening round playoff series with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He posted the three highest scoring totals of his playoff career during that seven-game series, netting a postseason career-high 14 points in Game 2 and recording 12 points in Game 3 and Game 7.

Udrih owns NBA career averages of 8.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists on .461 shooting in 23.1 minutes in 669 games (255 starts) in 10 seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, Sacramento Kings, Milwaukee Bucks, Orlando Magic, New York Knicks and Memphis Grizzlies.

A two-time NBA champion with San Antonio (2005, 2007), Udrih holds career postseason averages of 3.7 points, 0.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 43 playoff games (zero starts) for the Spurs and Grizzlies.

The Celje, Slovenia native was drafted by San Antonio in the first round (28th overall) of the 2004 NBA Draft. Prior to his NBA career, he played professionally in Slovenia (1998-2002), Israel (2002-03), Italy (2003-04) and Russia (2003-04).

Dallas Mavericks re-sign Dirk Nowitzki

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have re-signed 12-time NBA All-Star Dirk Nowitzki.

According to several reports, the deal may be for $3 years, $25 million.

During his 16-year tenure in Dallas, Nowitzki has guided the Mavericks toward many of the franchise’s greatest achievements. Nowitzki led Dallas to its first-ever 60 win season in 2002-03, first NBA Finals appearance in 2006, a franchise-high 67 wins in 2006-07 and to the organization’s first World Championship when the Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.

Nowitzki (7-0, 245), the most decorated Dallas Maverick in franchise history, is a 12-time NBA All-Star, earned All-NBA Team honors 12 consecutive years (2000-12), was named Most Valuable Player of the 2006-07 season and was MVP of the 2011 NBA Finals. He is a six-time Western Conference Player of the Month, a 17-time Western Conference Player of the Week and has competed in the All-Star Saturday Night Three-Point Contest four times.

The career Maverick holds averages of 22.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 35.9 minutes in 1188 career games (1157 starts) and holds the franchise’s top-spot in several categories including points, rebounds, field goals, three-point field goals, free throws, games, starts and minutes.

In the NBA Playoffs, Nowitzki’s game elevates to average 25.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 41.1 minutes in 135 postseason games (135 starts). He has led the Mavericks to three Western Conference Finals and two NBA Finals while moving into first place in several of the franchise’s postseason categories including points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals, field goals, free throws and games.

Last season, Nowitzki shot his way into the record books by moving into the Top 10 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list by passing the likes of Oscar Robertson, Dominique Wilkins, Alex English, Reggie Miller and Jerry West. He has

also served as a pioneer for European players becoming the first European-born player to earn First Team All-NBA (04-05), start an All-Star Game (2007, Las Vegas) and be named the MVP (06-07).

The Wurzburg, Germany native was the ninth overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft and was originally acquired through a draft day trade with the Milwaukee Bucks. He re-signed with the Mavericks on Oct. 22, 2001, signed a contract extension on Sept. 26, 2006 and then re-signed again on July 9, 2010.

Heat not ready to write off Mario Chalmers

Here’s the Miami Herald discussing the recent news that the Heat decided to re-sign guard Mario Chalmers:

LeBron James barked at Mario Chalmers for four years. Then, in the end, Chalmers was sent to the bench with James’ blessing.

In other words, you can count one guy, at least, who has already gotten over the news of James’ move back to Cleveland.

Chalmers is probably the only one, of course.

Heat president Pat Riley said all along that Chalmers would be back for next season, but there was a strong assumption that if James returned to the Heat, then Chalmers would be searching for another team. With James now long gone, the Heat announced officially on Monday that it had re-signed Chalmers. Reports put the deal at two years.

“It’s great to have Mario back,” Heat president Pat Riley said in a statement. “We’re happy that he wants to continue his career in Miami, he’s one of our core players, and I believe he will have a great season.”

Video: Rodney Hood puts up big summer league game

Enjoy these video highlights of Utah Jazz rookie Rodney Hood go wild in summer league:

Phil Jackson says Andrea Bargnani can step up for Knicks

Here’s the New York Daily News reporting some optimistic thinking from Phil Jackson:

Unable to move the expiring contract of Andrea Bargnani so far this summer, Phil Jackson instead attempted to talk up the No. 1 overall pick from 2006 during a televised interview on Monday.

“He’s overlooked. We think he’s going to really do well in the system we have,” Jackson said of Bargnani on MSG Network during the second quarter of the Knicks’ 95-72 Summer League victory over Charlotte. “We have a couple of guards he likes to play with, Jose (Calderon) and Pablo (Prigioni), and I think he’s going to be a surprise and a pleasant one for our fans.”

Bargnani, obtained from Toronto last summer, averaged 13.3 points over 42 games with the Knicks last season before suffering a season-ending elbow injury in January. The seven-foot Italian is owed $12 million in the final year of his contract.

Yes, new Knicks coach Derek Fisher thinks team can make playoffs

Yes, any coach of an NBA team pretty much has to say that his team is a playoff squad. Still, it’s fun to see the exact response to such a question. Here’s the New York Post reporting:

With Carmelo Anthony officially on board, Knicks rookie coach Derek Fisher guaranteed the Knicks will be a playoff team this season, and will eventually compete for a championship with Anthony as the “anchor.’’

The Knicks missed the playoffs during a miserable 37-45 campaign last season that nearly led Anthony out the door. Anthony had told confidants he didn’t want to ever experience a season like that again.

“My opinion is, based on our roster and who we’re going to become, we can compete for playing in the playoffs and playing for a championship in the Eastern Conference,’’ Fisher said Monday after the Knicks’ summer-league victory over Charlotte, in his first remarks since Anthony’s signing became official. “When that happens, putting dates on it, that’s not my job.’’

Paul George working on post-up moves

Here’s ESPN.com reporting on Paul George:

Indiana Pacers forward Paul George says he plans on adding a more physical dimension to his play next season.

“I plan on being a lot more physical this year,” George said, according to the Indianapolis Star. “I really plan [on] taking contact and wanting to get contact and finishing through contact. That’s the next step for me.”

The All-Star forward averaged a career-high 21.7 points per game last season but he posted up just 5 percent of the time, ranked 74th out of 74 NBA forwards with at least 50 plays, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

George told the Star that he has worked a lot on his post-up game this offseason.

Magic excited to add Channing Frye

Here’s the Associated Press reporting on the Orlando Magic, who recently added tall shooter Channing Frye to their very young mix:

In the 6-foot-11 Frye, that direction instantly gains an eight-year veteran and a proven long-distance shooter with the ability to spread out defenses — a coveted commodity in the NBA.

He sat out the 2012-13 season after being diagnosed with an enlarged heart, and went through an intense eight-month stretch that included him wearing a heart monitor and having closely monitored activity in which he was able to do only minimal exercise.

But he eventually worked his way back to the court and played all 82 games for the first time in his career last season.

“When something’s taken away from you, you just take step back, and you really appreciate it,” Frye said. “It’s not so much a job. This is a blessing and opportunity. Win or lose, I’m always going to have a smile on my face, because any moment this can be taken away.”

Mavs and Rockets want Mike Miller

Here’s ESPN Dallas reporting on old veteran sharpshooter Mike Miller:

Sources have told ESPN.com’s Marc Stein that the Mavs and Rockets have barged into the Mike Miller sweepstakes. The attempt is to acquire a perimeter oriented small forward and to keep LeBron James’ sharpshooting teammate from Miami away from Cleveland.

Last season, the Rockets preferred to keep Parsons on the floor as much as possible, playing him 37.6 minutes per game. That ranked as the seventh-most in the league and 1.1 minute per game shy of league-leader Carmelo Anthony.

Mavs guard Monta Ellis ranked eighth at 36.9 minutes per game.

“He’s the old Nellie (Don Nelson) point-forward, personified,” Cuban said regarding Parsons. “It gets us younger. The good news about all of the experience we had, it really allowed us to modify and give the Spurs a run for their money last year. The bad news is that we had to restrict minutes. Restricting minutes was the big challenge.

“He’s a guy that we can keep out there a lot longer. With Vince (Carter), ‘Trix (Shawn Marion) and Dirk (Nowitzki), we really had to balance minutes.”