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Sacramento Kings swingman Francisco Garcia today fractured his right forearm during a weight lifting session before practice. He will undergo surgery tomorrow morning. Garcia is currently in his fifth NBA season (all with the Kings).
With a career average of 9.1 points and 3.0 rebounds, Garcia has shown a nice ability to score, but he’s still best used as bench depth.
The AP reports: Greg Oden had 18 points and nine rebounds in the Portland Trail Blazers’ 98-86 victory over the Sacramento Kings in the preseason opener for both teams on Tuesday night… LaMarcus Aldridge had 20 points for Portland and Andre Miller, signed as a free agent in the offseason, came off the bench to score 16 and heat up the competition with Steve Blake for Portland’s starting point guard spot… Rookie Tyreke Evans started for the Kings after bruising his left knee at the start of training camp. The fourth overall pick from Memphis had 12 points and five rebounds in 24 minutes.
Good NBA seats are expensive. Fans shelling out big money to sit near the court should expect a good view of the action.
But what about when players get off the bench and remain standing for a while? On the one hand, it’s nice to see guys cheer their teammates. On the other, these giants prevent fans from seeing what they paid to see.
The Cavs are one team with players who remained standing a lot, and now the league office has reportedly taken action.
Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports:
The NBA has issued a memo to its teams directing players on the bench to remain seated during games. Game officials will be keeping a closer eye and will issue faster warnings and possible technical fouls if not followed. Players are permitted to cheer, but standing during regular-game action and blocking the fans’ views apparently isn’t going to be allowed.
That goes for Tuesday night’s first preseason game at The Q, where the Cavs will host the Charlotte Bobcats in the first of eight practice games before the season opener.
The Cavs weren’t exactly thrilled that their custom has been legislated.
“It is hard to take that out of the game,” LeBron James said. “Part of the game is emotions, your teammates are all you have. That was part of the reason we played great basketball, because we cheered each other.”
I support the league protecting the paying fan’s view.
The Sacramento Kings have wanted a new arena for quite some time, and now former NBA star and current mayor Kevin Johnson is adding his voice to the mix. The Sacramento Bee reports:
After learning that Arco Arena is considered unsuitable to host a major college basketball tournament, Mayor Kevin Johnson said Tuesday that Sacramento could lose the Kings if efforts for a new arena aren’t stepped up.
“If we don’t have a clear path to an arena in the not too distant future, then we as Sacramentans need to know that (the Kings) very well may look elsewhere,” Johnson said.
The mayor made his statements after finding out the NCAA had bypassed Sacramento’s bid to host the regional round of the men’s basketball tournament. Arco Arena has hosted the money-making event four times since 1994.
That was one loud arena back in the days of good Kings basketball. A scary place for opponents. But that’s old news. For years now it’s just been considered a problem. Sad.
The Sacramento Kings today signed free agent guard-forward Desmond Mason to a contract, according to Kings’ President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Mason, a nine-year NBA veteran, has amassed career averages of 12.2 points (.449 FGs, .260 3FGs, .740 FTs), 4.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game through 638 outings with the Seattle Sonics (2000-03), Milwaukee Bucks (2002-05 and 2007-08), New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets (2005-07) and Oklahoma City Thunder (2008-09).
The Sacramento Kings today signed rookie forward Jon Brockman to a contract, according to Kings’ President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Brockman was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the second round (38th overall) of the 2009 NBA Draft and his draft rights were acquired by the Kings along with guard Sergio Rodriguez and cash considerations in exchange for the draft rights to Jeff Pendergraph, who the Kings selected with the 31st pick.
In four seasons (2005-06 – 2008-09) with the University of Washington, Brockman averaged 13.8 points (.534 FG%, .612 FT%), 9.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game in 131 career games. The 6-7, 255-pound forward finished his collegiate career as the Huskies’ all-time rebounder with 1,283 boards and second-leading scorer with 1,805 points. Brockman became the first player in school history to record more than 1,800 points and 1,200 rebounds, a feat achieved by only four players in Pac-10 history. A two-time All-Pac-10 First Team selection, Brockman averaged a double-double in each of his last two seasons (14.9 ppg and 11.5 rpg in 2008-09 and a career-best 17.8 ppg and 11.6 rpg in 2007-08). Brockman was a teammate of current Kings center Spencer Hawes during the 2007-08 season at Washington.
The Portland Trail Blazers signed rookie forward Jeff Pendergraph, General Manager Kevin Pritchard announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Also announced today, Pendergraph will undergo surgery on Wednesday, Sept. 9, to correct a left hip impingement.
“It feels great to officially be a part of the Trail Blazers organization,” said Pendergraph. “I’m here to help this team and contribute in any way that I can. While this is a challenging week with my surgery, it doesn’t change the fact that I’ve accomplished a dream and can proudly wear the Blazers logo. I will do all that I can to recover and get back on the floor.”
“We’re really excited to add Jeff to our team,” said Pritchard. “It’s a bittersweet day, but Jeff has worked his tail off this summer and we know he’s going to put every bit as much into his rehab as he has preparing for the NBA.”
Dr. Marc Philippon of Vail, Colo., will perform the surgery. A timetable for Pendergraph’s return will be determined upon completion of the procedure.
The Trail Blazers acquired the draft rights to Pendergraph from Sacramento in a draft day trade on June 25 in exchange for Sergio Rodriguez, the draft rights to Jon Brockman and cash considerations.
Pendergraph, 22, played four seasons at Arizona State, where he finished with career averages of 12.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.04 blocked shots and a 58.0 percent shooting percentage. As a senior, Pendergraph averaged 14.5 points and was named to the Pac-10’s First Team. His 66.0 percent field goal mark led the nation.
He started all five games for the Trail Blazers in the 2009 NBA Summer League, averaging 10.8 points (55.3% FG), 7.6 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.2 blocked shots.
Pendergraph becomes the 13th player on the Trail Blazers’ current roster. He will wear jersey number 31.
Sacramento Kings swingman Francisco Garcia fractured his right ring finger while playing for the Dominican Republic in the 2009 FIBA Americas Championship. He will not play in the remainder of the tournament and will return to Sacramento late next week, at which time the injury will be further evaluated. Garcia is entering his fifth NBA season (all with the Kings).
Sacramento Kings’ guard Beno Udrih strained his left knee while playing for the Slovenian national team. Per Udrih’s representatives, an MRI was taken and was negative. He will remain with the Slovenian team and be evaluated by the Kings’ medical staff when he returns to Sacramento in late September. Udrih is entering his sixth NBA season, and third with the Kings.
The Golden State Warriors have signed free agent center Mikki Moore to a contract, the team announced today. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that it’s a one-year, $1.3 million contract.
Moore, 33, is an 11-year NBA veteran who owns career averages of 5.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 18.2 minutes per contest in 534 regular-season games combined with Detroit, Boston, Atlanta, New Jersey, Utah, the Los Angeles Clippers, Seattle and Sacramento. For his career, he has shot 55.0% from the field and 74.3% from the free throw line. Additionally, he has appeared in 25 playoff games, averaging 6.7 points and 3.8 rebounds in 20.3 minutes per contest.
“We’re happy to add a veteran with Mikki’s experience to our squad,” said General Manager Larry Riley. “He’ll provide additional depth at the center position for our team and we think that is important, especially when you consider the number of injuries that we had last season. He’s played a significant role on a couple of teams in recent years and that experience will prove beneficial for us when he is called upon during the course of the season.”
Last season, the seven-foot center appeared in 70 regular season games with Sacramento (46 games, 20 starts) and Boston (24 games), averaging a combined 3.9 points and 3.7 rebounds in 17.2 minutes per game. He also appeared in 10 postseason games with the Celtics, averaging 1.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in 6.6 minutes.
In the two years prior to last season, Moore posted arguably the two best campaigns of his NBA career. In 2007-08, he appeared in all 82 games for Sacramento, making 79 starts, and averaging 8.5 points and a career-high 6.0 rebounds in a career-high 29.1 minutes per game. The previous season (2006-07) with New Jersey, Moore appeared in 79 games (55 starts), averaging a career-high 9.8 points and 5.1 rebounds in 26.4 minutes, while shooting a career-high 60.9% from the field.
Mikki (pronounced MY-key) will wear uniform #33.