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Sixers sign Kareem Rush

Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced today that the team has signed free agent guard Kareem Rush. Per team policy, terms of the agreement are not disclosed.

“As we continue to build our team, we’re fortunate that we were able to sign a player as talented as Kareem Rush,” Stefanski said. “We feel his abilities on both ends of the floor and his range as a three-point shooter will be assets to us this season.”

In five NBA seasons, Rush (6-6/215) has appeared in 314 games with 77 starts, averaging 6.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 18.1 minutes per game while shooting 40.2% from the floor, 36.0% from 3-point range and 69.8% from the line. Rush has also played a total of 31 playoff games, averaging 3.6 points while shooting 39.3% from 3-point range.

Last season, Rush saw action in 71 games with 15 starts for Indiana, averaging 8.3 points, a career-high 2.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 21.2 minutes per game. After not hitting more than 57 3-pointers in any of his first four NBA seasons, Rush drilled 102 3-pointers in 2007-08 on a career-high 38.9% shooting. He recorded at least two made three-pointers in 33 games, including three or more 13 times. Andre Iguodala led the Sixers in games with multiple three-pointers made last season with 30.

Rush was originally selected by Toronto with the 20th overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft before his rights were traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. In his second season, the Lakers advanced to the NBA Finals with Rush averaging 14.3 minutes per game playing alongside Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone, Shaquille O’Neal and Gary Payton. In the deciding Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals vs. Minnesota, Rush hit six three-pointers en route to scoring a playoff career-high 18 points.

In December of 2004, the Lakers traded Rush to the expansion Charlotte Bobcats, where he would average 10.7 points over the next season and a half. Rush signed as a free agent with Seattle in October of 2006, but was hindered by a groin injury and was waived before appearing in a game. In January, he joined Lietuvos Rytas of Vilnius, Lithuania was later named the ULEB Cup’s Import Player of the Year and All-ULEB Cup First Team by Eurobasket.com.

Rush played all three of his collegiate seasons at the University of Missouri, earning All-American Honorable Mention his sophomore and junior seasons. His older brother, JaRon, played basketball at UCLA and his younger brother, Brandon, won the NCAA Championship with Kansas back in April and was the 13th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.

Sixers sign Royal Ivey

Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced today that the team has signed free agent guard Royal Ivey. Per team policy, terms of the agreement are not disclosed.

“We’re happy that we were able to add Royal Ivey to our roster,” said Sixers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski. “As we continue to add to our team, we feel that his versatility, ability to handle the point guard duties and defensive strength will bolster our depth and provide us with additional options in our backcourt.”

In four NBA seasons, Ivey (6-4/215) has appeared in 263 games with 109 starts, averaging 4.0 points, 1.5 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 14.3 minutes per game while shooting 42.1% from the floor, 33.1% from 3-point range and 71.4% from the line. He has averaged just 0.7 turnovers for his career.

Last season for Milwaukee, Ivey saw action in 75 games with 20 starts, averaging career-highs of 5.6 points, 2.1 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 19.2 minutes per game. He hit 35 3-pointers in 2007-08 after having just 12 3FGM total his first three seasons combined. Ivey scored in double-figures 15 times last season after doing so a total of 14 times his first three seasons.

Ivey was originally selected by Atlanta with the 37th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft. He played his first three seasons with the Hawks and made 66 starts for them in 2005-06. That season, Ivey committed just 23 turnovers in 73 games played.

A four-year starter at the University of Texas, Ivey helped guide the Longhorns to the NCAA Tournament each season, including three consecutive “Sweet 16” berths and one Final Four appearance. He was a two-time Big 12 Conference All-Defensive team selection and was named third-team All-Big 12 by the media his senior season.

How to determine schedule for any team

The Oklahoman (Mike Baldwin) reports on a team’s 82-game regular season schedule: “Four games against division opponents. Four games against six out-of-division conference opponents. Three games against the remaining four conference teams. Two games against teams in the opposing conference. A five-year rotation determines which out-of-division conference teams are played only three times.”

Sam Dalembert may be off Team Canada

The Globe and Mail reports: Could Samuel Dalembert’s brief career with the Canadian national team be over almost as soon as it started? The Philadelphia 76ers centre is no longer with the senior men’s side at the Olympic qualifying tournament in Athens. “He’s not on the team, I’ll leave it at that,” said head coach Leo Rautins after Canada’s heart-stopping comeback against Korea assured them of a quarter-final game against Croatia on Friday. Dalembert missed three of Canada’s five tune-up games due to problems with his hip this summer and struggled badly in the opening game against Slovenia on Tuesday, shooting just 1-of-8 from the floor and grabbing only four rebounds.

2008-09 Salary Cap set to $58.680 million

The National Basketball Association today announced that the Salary Cap for the 2008-09 season will be $58.680 million. The new Cap goes into effect immediately as the league’s “moratorium period” has ended and teams can begin signing free agents and making trades.

The tax level for the 2008-09 season has been set at $71.150 million. Any team whose team salary exceeds that figure will pay a $1 tax for each $1 by which it exceeds $71.150 million.

The mid-level exception is $5.585 million for the 2008-09 season and the minimum team salary, which is set at 75% of the Salary Cap, is $44.010 million.

For the 2007-08 season, the Salary Cap was set at $55.630 million, the tax level was $67.865 million and the mid-level exception was $5.356 million.

Sixers want Josh Smith

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Joe Juliano) reports: With more than $11 million in salary-cap space available, the 76ers dove into free agency shortly after the bell rang at 12:01 a.m. yesterday and targeted Josh Smith, the young and talented forward of the Atlanta Hawks, as their primary prospect, but not their only one. The 6-foot-9 Smith, a restricted free agent, was contacted by the Sixers almost immediately. A team spokesman said Smith and his representatives planned to meet today with president and general manager Ed Stefanski. The spokesman also said the Sixers contacted Smith’s teammate, 6-8 forward Josh Childress, yesterday and expect to bring him to Philadelphia, but did not say when.

Sixers want to swipe Josh Smith

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Sekou Smith) blogs the following report: “Josh Smith is being targeted by Philadelphia with their $11 million-plus in available cap space. I know there is a small segment of people out there that think the Sixers might be using all this hype as a smokescreen and really be interested in making a sneak attack for Corey Maggette or even Elton Brand (if he does indeed opt out of his deal, we’ll know later today if he does or not). But Smith is the guy. And if the offer to Smith is frontloaded (think of the structure of the Hawks’ offer to Joe Johnson three years ago), things will get really complicated. The worst part is the Hawks had a 6-7, 235-pound cautionary tale on the roster in Johnson the last three years and still ignored it so they could dip their toes into the shark-infested waters this summer. It’s crazy.”

Several Sixers become unrestricted

The Philadelphia Daily News (Phil Jasner) reports: “Because the Sixers did not make qualifying offers, forwards Shavlik Randolph, Louis Amundson and Herbert Hill have become unrestricted free agents, joining guard Kevin Ollie. Backup center Calvin Booth exercised his player option to return for about $1.1 million . . . Published reports indicate that the Sixers have invited former Saint Joseph’s University shooter Pat Carroll and Arizona guard Jawaan McClellan to join their summer league team in Las Vegas. The Sixers will open a rookie camp out there on Sunday . . . As expected, Samuel Dalembert was named to Canada’s national team that will compete in an Olympic qualifying tournament in Greece, July 14-20.”

Sixers extend qualifying offers to Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams

Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced today that the team has extended qualifying offers to restricted free agents Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams. Per team policy, financial details were not disclosed.

In accordance with the league’s collective bargaining agreement, in order for a team to retain its right of first refusal with respect to a restricted free agent, the team must tender the player a qualifying offer prior to June 30. A restricted free agent may sign an offer sheet with any team, but is subject to a right of first refusal with the team for which the player last played.

Iguodala started all 82 games last season, averaging 19.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.09 steals in 39.5 minutes per game. He joined Washington’s Caron Butler as the only players among qualifiers to average at least 19.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.00 steals in 2007-08. Iguodala has played in 322 of a possible 328 games in his four-year career and has the third-most steals of any player dating back to the start of the 2004-05 season.

Williams appeared in 80 games last season and emerged as one of the NBA’s top sixth men, averaging 11.5 points, 3.2 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 1.01 steals in 23.3 minutes per game. He had the fifth highest point/rebound/assist total for any player coming off the bench last season. The 21-year-old also hit 55 three-pointers in 2007-08 after recording just 14 total his first two seasons in the league.

Allen Iverson stays with Nuggets

The Rocky Mountain News (Chris Tomasson) reports: With Friday the deadline for Iverson to opt out of the final year of his contract, the star guard decided not to do so and will return to the Nuggets next season for $20.84 million. The move first was reported by the Rocky Mountain News after Iverson’s agent, Leon Rose, confirmed his client’s intentions in a phone interview. “Things have gone well for him (in Denver),” Rose said of Iverson, traded from Philadelphia in December 2006. “He’s looking forward to taking the team (further).” Iverson’s decision wasn’t a surprise. But his personal manager, Gary Moore, had told the Rocky on May 30 that Iverson’s camp had discussions with the Nuggets about Iverson possibly opting out and signing a multiyear deal.