Phoenix Suns Blog – Page 30 – NBA Blog

Suns recall Archie Goodwin from D-League

The Phoenix Suns have recalled guard Archie Goodwin from the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League, the team announced today.

Phoenix originally assigned the rookie guard to their D-League affiliate on Jan. 23. Selected with the 29th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, Goodwin appeared in two games for the Jam, averaging 29.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in 44.0 minutes. The 19-year-old tallied 32 points, shooting 15-of-18 from the free throw line, against Sioux Falls on Friday and scored 27 points against Reno on Saturday.

Goodwin will be with the Suns for their game tonight at the Cleveland Cavaliers. The contest will tip off at 4:00 p.m. (Phoenix time) and will be televised on FOX Sports Arizona with radio broadcast on Arizona Sports 620 (KTAR-AM).

Phoenix Suns assign Archie Goodwin to D-League

The Phoenix Suns have assigned guard Archie Goodwin to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League, the club announced today.

Goodwin (6-5, 198), a 19-year-old rookie from Kentucky, has appeared in 36 games with the Suns this season, holding averages of 3.0 points, 1.7 rebounds and 10.3 minutes. The first-round selection (29th overall) of the 2013 NBA Draft scored a season-high 16 points at Sacramento on Nov. 19.

Suns sign Leandro Barbosa to second 10-day contract

The Phoenix Suns announced today that they have signed guard Leandro Barbosa (lee-AN-dro BAR-bow-sa) to a second 10-day contract.

Barbosa signed his first 10-day contract with the club on Jan. 8. The 31-year-old guard has appeared in four games with Phoenix this season, averaging 9.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 21.5 minutes. In the Suns’ game at New York on Jan. 13, Barbosa came off the bench to score 21 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, in 30 minutes of action.

The 6-3, 194-pound Barbosa is in his 11th season in the NBA, the first seven of which were played with the Suns, as he averaged 12.6 points, 2.6 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 466 games with Phoenix from 2003-10. Barbosa won the 2006-07 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award with the Suns after posting career-highs of 18.1 points and 4.0 assists per game.

The Suns continue a season-long five-game home stand on Sunday night as they host the Denver Nuggets with tip-off scheduled for 6:00 p.m. (Phoenix time). The game will be televised on FOX Sports Arizona, and carried on Arizona Sports 620 (KTAR-AM).

NBA hands Nick Young a swag-lacking suspension

Nick Young is nicknamed “Swaggy P.” Swag flies through the air anytime Young does anything. You can never have enough swag, as Young is well aware.

Unfortunately, yesterday during a Lakers vs Suns game, Young’s swag emerged in the form of a punch, and that’s no bueno. The NBA suspended him one game as a result, and fined a pair of Suns players as well.

Full details here: Nick Young suspended for punch

Suns guard Eric Bledsoe out indefinitely after knee surgery

Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe today underwent successful arthroscopic surgery involving meniscus cartilage in his right knee, the team has announced.

The surgery was performed in Phoenix by renowned Suns team doctor and knee surgeon Thomas Carter. Bledsoe will immediately begin a recovery and rehabilitation program and will pursue a possible return to action during the second half of this NBA season.

Bledsoe has averaged 18.0 points, 5.8 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 24 games this season, his first with the Suns.

According to the Associated Press, “Bledsoe was having the finest season of his career after being acquired by the Suns from the Los Angeles Clippers in the offseason, averaging 18 points and 5.8 assists per game. He and Goran Dragic formed the double-point guard backcourt that had been the catalyst of the Suns’ surprising start to the season. This is the second time in a little over three years that the 24-year-old player has undergone surgery to repair a torn meniscus in the same knee. The first surgery was performed Oct. 7, 2011, during the NBA lockout of that season.”

According to Arizona Sports, “the Suns engaged with Bledsoe on extension talks but couldn’t reach an agreement before the NBA’s Nov. 1 deadline, though that seemed like the right move for Phoenix at the time because it could see Bledsoe’s production as the team’s centerpiece before committing to a major contract. But now the team may be burdened with the decision to match a maximum contract offer to Bledsoe despite the fact that he’s coming off a major injury.”

Phoenix Suns sign Leandro Barbosa to 10-day contract

The Suns have signed guard Leandro Barbosa (lee-AN-dro BAR-bow-sa) to a 10-day contract, the team has announced.

The 6-3, 194-pound Barbosa is a 10-year NBA veteran who played the first seven seasons of his NBA career with the Suns, averaging 12.6 points, 2.6 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 466 games with Phoenix from 2003-10. Barbosa won the 2006-07 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award with the Suns after posting career-highs of 18.1 points and 4.0 assists per game. The Suns advanced to the playoffs in five of Barbosa’s first seven seasons with the club as he ranks seventh in team history with 64 career playoff games, in which he averaged 10.2 points.

The 31-year-old guard has played for three NBA teams since being traded by Phoenix to Toronto in the summer of 2010, spending time with the Raptors (2010-12), Indiana Pacers (2011-12) and Boston Celtics (2012-13). Last season, Barbosa appeared in 41 games with the Celtics before suffering a torn ACL in his left knee on Feb. 11. He was traded to Washington on Feb. 21, but did not appear in a game with the Wizards as he recovered from injury.

A native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, this season Barbosa averaged 15.9 points and 3.1 assists in eight games for Sao Paulo-based Pinheiros/Sky of the Brazilian League.

The Suns continue a season-long five-game road trip tonight as they prepare to face the Minnesota Timberwolves with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. (Phoenix time). The game will be televised on FOX Sports Arizona and ESPN, and carried on Arizona Sports 620 (KTAR-AM).

Dwane Casey and Jeff Hornacek named NBA Coaches of Month for December, 2013

The Toronto Raptors’ Dwane Casey and the Phoenix Suns’ Jeff Hornacek today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in December.

Casey led the Raptors to an 8-6 (.571) record, including road wins over the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder. The six road wins Toronto posted tied for best in the conference in December (Maurice Cheeks led the Detroit Pistons to six road wins). The Raptors had five players account for double-digit scoring averages on the month, and closed December winning seven of their final nine games.

Hornacek guided the Suns to a 10-3 (.769) record, including wins over the Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers. Phoenix recorded a five-game winning streak between Dec. 4-15, the longest winning streak the Suns have had since January, 2011. The Suns, who rank eighth in the NBA in scoring at 103.7 ppg, eclipsed the 100-point plateau in 10 of their final 11 December contests.

Other nominees for Coach of the Month were Atlanta’s Mike Budenholzer, Golden State’s Mark Jackson, Indiana’s Frank Vogel, Los Angeles Clippers’ Doc Rivers, Miami’s Erik Spoelstra, Oklahoma City’s Scott Brooks, Portland’s Terry Stotts and San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich.

Luke Zeller joins Austin Toros of D-League

The Austin Toros today announced they have acquired center Luke Zeller. Zeller (6-11, 245, Notre Dame) joins the team in Tulsa and will wear jersey No. 21 when the Toros take on the 66ers tonight at 7:00 p.m. at SpiritBank Event Center.

A member of the Toros’ 2012 D-League championship team, Zeller played in 24 games during the 2011-12 season averaging 9.1 points and 5.3 rebounds in 25 minutes.

His last stop was with the Phoenix Suns during the 2012-13 season. Zeller’s professional career includes stints in Japan, Lithuania, and the D-League with the Bakersfield Jam.

Former Suns player Richard Dumas arrested

Here’s CBS 5 reporting on former NBA player Richard Dumas, who has gotten himself into some big trouble:

The U.S. Marshals Service has wrapped up a three-day pre-holiday sting appropriately dubbed “Operation Grinch Stopper 2” throughout Arizona in which more than 150 people were arrested, including a former Phoenix Suns player.

The operation targeted individuals with outstanding arrest warrants for property crimes, including armed robbery, larceny, burglary and any other Grinch-type crime, according to a U.S. Marshals spokesman.

There were 112 arrests made by officers from 27 agencies that participated in the operation in Maricopa and Pinal counties, and 39 arrests in and around Tucson, Yuma and Flagstaff…

Richard Dumas, 44, was wanted by Maricopa County prosecutors after being indicted for eight counts of organized retail theft. Dumas, a former Phoenix Suns basketball player, was located at the Dumas and Friends Athletic Association in Litchfield Park and arrested without incident.

Phoenix Suns off to nice start to season

Here’s Arizona Sports on the Phoenix Suns starting the new NBA season with a lot more wins than anyone expected:

For a team with 10 new faces and a roster that is the second-most inexperienced in the NBA, the Suns, who were not expected to win much, won more than they lost through the first month of the season.

Their 9-8 record is ninth-best in the Western Conference; though if they resided in the East, they would trail only Indiana (16-1) and Miami (14-3) for top honors.

“I guess we can’t complain,” head coach Jeff Hornacek said. “We’re above .500 right now.”

The Suns are one of the early season surprises, while also at times puzzling to observers.

For example, they handed Portland, whose 14 wins are tied for the most in the conference, two of its three losses and battled Oklahoma City and San Antonio down to the wire before losing close games on the road.

Then there are the two defeats to Sacramento, which has only two other wins on the year, and a bad home loss to Utah, which had not won on the road before Saturday’s 122-104 victory at US Airways Center.