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On Monday, the Indiana Pacers waived guard Travis Diener, who has been unhealthy most of the season. He played just four games, registering statistics too small to be worth posting.
But despite his lack of productivity, according to a report from Yahoo, the Portland Trail Blazers will sign Diener when he clears waiver.
The 6-1, 175-pound Diener has an NBA career average of 4.9 points and 2.5 assists per game, playing for the Pacers and Orlando Magic.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo reports:
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Still stunned to be traded from the Los Angeles Clippers, Marcus Camby said he’s quickly warming to the thought of being in the playoff hunt with the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Clippers traded Camby to the Blazers for forward Travis Outlaw, guard Steve Blake and cash in a deal that was completed Tuesday morning. Camby, however, learned of the potential trade – which was first reported by Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski – Monday evening while he was at a sponsors dinner with the Clippers at Ringside steakhouse in Portland.
Camby immediately left the restaurant after receiving the call from his agent, and those close to him said he was upset about the news, primarily because his family had settled comfortably in Los Angeles. Camby, who will be a free agent at the end of the season, had hoped to re-sign with the Clippers.
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The Portland Trail Blazers have acquired forward/center Marcus Camby from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for guard Steve Blake, forward Travis Outlaw and cash considerations, it was announced today by General Manager Kevin Pritchard.
In a related roster move, the Clippers also waived combo guard Ricky Davis.
“We are very excited to bring an experienced big man of Marcus’ caliber to the team and we feel he’ll help us a great deal down the stretch run,” said Pritchard. “He’s a fierce competitor and has been one of the league’s best defensive players for quite some time.
“On behalf of the organization, I’d also like to express my deep gratitude to Steve and Travis for their years of contributions both on and off the court. They’ve both played large parts in the reshaping of this franchise, and we wish them the best of luck in their careers.”
Camby (6-11, 235) is averaging 7.7 points, 12.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.94 blocked shots and 31.3 minutes in 51 games (all starts) for the Clippers this season. His rebound and blocked shot averages rank second and sixth in the NBA, respectively.
A 14-year NBA veteran, Camby, 35, holds career averages of 10.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 2.59 blocks with Toronto, New York, Denver and the L.A. Clippers. The 2006-07 NBA Defensive Player of the Year is one of only 11 players in NBA history to record at least 7,000 rebounds and 2,000 blocked shots.
Camby is a two-time member of the NBA’s All-Defensive Team (2006-08) and was twice named to the league’s All-Defensive Second Team (2004-06).
Blake, 29, is in his seventh NBA season and is averaging 7.6 points, 4.0 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 51 games in 2009-10. In his career, the former University of Maryland star has appeared in 470 NBA games, making 289 starts with career averages of 7.6 points, 4.2 assists and 2.6 rebounds. Originally drafted in the second round (38th overall pick) of the 2003 NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards, Blake is a career 39 percent three-point shooter and has played for a total of five teams, spending time with the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets as well as the Wizards and Trailblazers.
Outlaw, 25, was drafted by Portland with the 23rd overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft and has been limited to 11 games this season after undergoing surgery to repair a stress fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his left foot on Nov. 18, 2009. Currently fourth on the Blazers in scoring in 2009-10 averaging 9.9 points per game, the six-foot-nine forward has appeared in 377 career NBA games, starting 26 with career averages of 9.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.7 assists.
Davis, 30, in his 12th NBA season is averaging 4.4 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 36 games in 2009-10.
Los Angeles Clippers center Chris Kaman has been named by NBA Commissioner David Stern to replace injured West All-Star guard Brandon Roy (right hamstring strain) of the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2010 NBA All-Star Game in Dallas. Kaman will be making his first All-Star appearance.
The NBA All-Star Game will air live on TNT, ESPN Radio and in 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages worldwide at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 14.
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Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy will miss Portland’s next three games and the NBA All-Star Game with a right hamstring strain, it was announced today by General Manager Kevin Pritchard.
“Unfortunately, I’m not where I was hoping I would be physically at this point,” said Roy. “It’s a setback and I’m obviously disappointed, but my entire focus is getting back on the court, contributing and helping our team down the stretch.”
Roy initially injured his hamstring January 13 vs. Milwaukee and re-aggravated it January 20 at Philadelphia. He has missed 11 of Portland’s last 12 games heading into tonight’s game with the L.A. Lakers.
“This was not a decision that any of us wanted to make, but in the end we had to do what was best for Brandon,” said Pritchard. “We’re hopeful that this extended rest will put Brandon in the best possible position to return to the line-up shortly after the All-Star break.”
Roy will undergo Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy with Dr. Neal ElAttrache at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles on Monday.
Roy leads the team in scoring (23.1), free throws made (213) and minutes (38.3), and ranks second on the squad in assists (5.0) and steals (1.03). In just 40 games this season, he has led the team in scoring 25 times and assists on 15 occasions (including ties).
Jason Quick of The Oregonian reports (via blog):
With the NBA’s All-Star Weekend headed to Dallas on Feb.12-14, let’s hope the Mavericks and the NBA have a better handle on security than they did Saturday when the Trail Blazers were in town.
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During a timeout with 41 seconds left in regulation, two women walked onto the court and into the Trail Blazers huddle. One woman wrapped her arms around the waist of Blazers guard Rudy Fernandez from behind. Fernandez, who was not in the game but focused on the plays being diagrammed by coach Nate McMillan, was stunned.
“I was surprised,’’ Fernandez said. “I was listening to the coach on the bench and behind me, she touches me and says, ‘Rudy, I love you. Nice to meet you. Good game.’’ …
The women were ushered away from the huddle, and amazingly allowed to return to their courtside seats under the basket and watch the remainder of the game, which went to overtime.
The AP reports:
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Andre Miller missed badly on his first shot of the game. That was about the only thing that went wrong for Portland’s point guard.
Miller scored a career-high 52 points, including 25 in the fourth quarter and overtime, and Juwan Howard hit a jumper with 44.8 seconds left to lift the Trail Blazers past the Dallas Mavericks 114-112 Saturday night.
On Portland’s second possession of the game, Miller’s 15-foot jumper missed the rim the completely and hit the backboard. That was one of his few misfires as Miller finished 22 of 31 from the floor and 7 of 8 from the foul line.
InsideHoops.com reports:
Miller shot 22-of-31, 1-of-1 from three-point range, and 7-of-8 free throws. He also had five rebounds, just two assists (and two turnovers), and two steals.
Also for the Blazers, LaMarcus Aldridge shot 10-of-20 for 21 points and just four rebounds. And with Brandon Roy out, Jerryd Bayless started alongside Miller and shot 7-of-11 for 17 points.
For the Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki shot 9-of-19 for 28 points and nine rebounds.
Fan discussion of Andre Miller’s big night is in this forum topic.
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Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden has spent much of his first few NBA seasons injured and in street clothes. He didn’t play at all in 2007-08, played 61 games last season, and lasted just 22 this season.
When actually on the court playing, he’s been fairly solid and occasionally terrific for some stretches, but the story of his early pro career has been health issues. Still, there’s hope for the future.
Now, there’s a new distraction. Naked Greg Oden photos have surfaced. We at InsideHoops.com ignored all aspects of this story, made sure to avoid seeing the photos, and until now, didn’t even mention this on our site at all. But on Tuesday, reporters met with Oden, who apologized for the situation. Which basically confirms that the pictures are real. If you want to check them out, I’m sure Google can help you, but we’ll pass on guiding anyone to that sort of stuff.
Anyway, in the following video, Oden says the situation is embarrassing and that it was something that happened over a year and a half ago. Here’s Greg apologizing for the naked pictures:
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The AP reports:
Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy will miss four games because of a right hamstring injury, the team said Friday.
Roy re-injured the hamstring late in the first half of Portland’s 98-90 victory at Philadelphia on Wednesday night. He left the team for treatment in Seattle.
The two-time All-Star was originally hurt during the third quarter of the Blazers’ 120-108 home win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Jan. 13.
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Portland Trail Blazers guard Patrick Mills was re-assigned to the Idaho Stampede, Portland’s NBA D-League affiliate, it was announced today. Mills’ assignment is the 12th to an NBA D-League affiliate this season.
During his first assignment to the Stampede earlier this month, Mills appeared in two games, averaging 30.0 points, shooting 21-of-37 from the field, to go with 7.5 assists in 34.0 minutes. He scored a team-high 38 points against the Reno Bighorns on Jan. 1.
Originally selected by Portland with the 55th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, Mills has appeared in one game for the Trail Blazers this season, recording two assists in five minutes on Jan. 4 at the Los Angeles Clippers.
A two-year contributor at St. Mary’s (Calif.), Mills twice earned First Team All-West Coast Conference. Named West Coast Conference Newcomer of the Year as a freshman, Mills was also selected to the Naismith Trophy Award Mid-Season Top-30 list during his sophomore season.
Mills averaged a team-high 14.2 points to go with 2.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 steals in 23 minutes for his native Australia at the Beijing Olympics becoming the youngest player in Australian history to compete in the Olympic Games in basketball.