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A report from Sports Illustrated and confirmed by Comcast SportsNet Bay Area indicates that center Kyrylo Fesenko has agreed to a one-year deal with the Warriors.
According to Sam Amick, Fesenko’s one-year deal with Golden State is for the rest of the team’s cap space: approximately $1.07 million.
— Via CSN Bay Area
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The New Jersey Nets have acquired center Mehmet Okur from the Utah Jazz in exchange for their second round draft pick in 2015, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.
Okur’s contract, which pays him $10.8 million in 2011-12, reportedly expires at the end of the season.
“Mehmet will give us added scoring and size,” said King. “His ability to shoot the three will help space the floor.”
According to the Salt Lake Tribune, “The Jazz unexpectedly traded veteran reserve center Mehmet Okur to New Jersey on Thursday for a 2015 second-round pick and a trade exception. The exception is worth about $10 million, The Salt Lake Tribune learned, and is expected to expire in one year. The Tribune was informed Okur was completely caught off guard by the deal and unhappy about having to suddenly leave Salt Lake City. “It’s a lousy time to conduct business,” O’Connor said. “But the season’s starting when it is, and there was a necessity to do it now.”
Okur, a nine-year veteran from Turkey, holds career averages of 13.7 points and 7.1 rebounds in 617 NBA games with Detroit and Utah. The 2007 NBA All-Star is a career .460 shooter from the field, while posting a .377 mark from long range. Okur averaged double figures in scoring in six of his last seven NBA seasons, including a career-best 18.0 points to go along with 9.1 rebounds in 2005-06. The 6-11 center played in just 13 games for the Jazz in 2010-11 due to Achilles and back injuries, averaging 4.9 points and 2.3 rebounds. Okur holds postseason averages of 8.1 points and 5.9 rebounds in 71 career playoff games, including helping the Detroit Pistons win an NBA title in 2004.
More from the Salt Lake Tribune: “Okur’s sudden departure signals the end of an era: Paul Millsap and C.J. Miles are the only holdovers from a 2006-07 Jazz team that advanced to the Western Conference Finals.”
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Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today that the team has agreed in principle to a deal with free-agent forward/guard Josh Howard, pending the outcome of a successful physical. It is a one-year deal.
A 2007 All-Star, Howard holds career averages of 15.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in 453 games (381 starts) over eight professional seasons in Dallas and Washington, including career highs of 19.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists during the 2007-08 season. Howard initially joined the Wizards via trade from Dallas on February 13, 2010, and appeared in four games (three starts) for Washington in 2009-10. In his first three contests as a Wizard, he averaged 17.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game before a knee injury on February 22, 2010 vs. Chicago caused him to miss the final 28 games of the season. In 2010-11, he appeared in 18 games (10 starts) for Washington, averaging 8.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.
Howard was originally acquired by the Mavericks in the first round (29th pick) of the 2003 Draft, and later appeared in 62 career playoff games (57 starts) for Dallas, with averages of 15.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in postseason play. Howard averaged 16.7 points and 7.4 rebounds in 23 playoff games (all starts) for the Mavericks during their run to the 2006 NBA Finals. He was selected to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in 2004. Howard was teammates with current Jazz guard Devin Harris in Dallas from 2004-08.
A native of Winston-Salem, N.C., Howard played four seasons at Wake Forest. As a senior, he was named a First Team All-American by the Associated Press and was a unanimous selection as Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year after averaging 19.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 blocks. Howard was also the top vote-getter for the ACC All-Defensive Team as a senior.
Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today that the team has signed free-agent guards Jamaal Tinsley and Keith McLeod, and forward Trey Gilder. Per team policy, financial terms were not released. All three players were available to participate in training camp on Saturday at Zions Bank Basketball Center. Utah’s roster now stands at 15 players.
Tinsley (6-3, 195, Iowa State) is an eight-year NBA veteran who spent his first seven seasons with Indiana (2001-08) before playing the 2009-10 season for Memphis. The former first-round pick (27th overall by the Grizzlies in 2001) has appeared in 436 games (366 starts) and holds career averages of 9.8 points, 6.6 assists and 1.6 steals in 28.9 minutes. Most recently the Brooklyn, N.Y., native was the top overall selection in the 2011 NBA Development League Draft by the Los Angeles D-Fenders and appeared in eight games (all starts) this season, averaging 9.9 points, 7.6 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 2.4 steals in 34.1 minutes.
McLeod (6-2, 188, Bowling Green) has played four seasons in the NBA with four different teams, including the Jazz from 2004-06. McLeod averaged 6.6 points, 3.3 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 22.0 minutes for the Jazz, appearing in 119 games (79 starts) over two full seasons before being traded to Golden State, along with Devin Brown and Andre Owens, in exchange for Derek Fisher on July 12, 2006. McLeod, who started his career with Minnesota in 2004, last appeared in the NBA in 2006-07, when he split time between Golden State and Indiana. He has appeared in 200 career games (88 starts), averaging 5.5 points, 2.7 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 18.6 minutes. McLeod, who previously spent two seasons in the D-League with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds (2008-10), appeared in four games (all starts) this season with the Canton Charge in his Ohio hometown, where he was averaging 13.3 points, 5.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 31.5 minutes.
Gilder (6-9, 205, Northwestern State) began the 2009-10 NBA season with the Memphis Grizzlies, appearing in two games before being waived. He spent portions of the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons in the NBA Development League with Colorado, Maine and Albuquerque and was a 2010 D-League All-Star selection. The Dallas native spent the 2010-11 season with the Sydney Kings in the Australian National Basketball League, appearing in 20 games and averaging 13.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.1 steals in 25.9 minutes.
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Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today that the team has re-signed free-agent guard Earl Watson, pending the outcome of a successful physical. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not released.
Watson (6-1, 185, UCLA) owns career averages of 7.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists over 10 NBA seasons with Utah, Memphis, Denver, Seattle/Oklahoma City and Indiana. Watson has also appeared in eight postseason contests, all with Memphis in 2004 and 2005.
Last season the Kansas City, Kan., native appeared in 80 games (13 starts) with Utah, averaging 4.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 0.8 steals in 19.6 minutes.
Watson’s best statistical season came in 2007-08 with Seattle, when he appeared in 78 games (73 starts) for the SuperSonics, averaging 10.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 29.1 minutes.
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Utah Jazz center Al Jefferson’s girlfriend has been arrested on suspicion of domestic assault after authorities say she bit him during an evening attack at their home.
Cottonwood Heights police say Shirley Lewis was arrested Thursday and booked into the Salt Lake County jail. She was later released.
Authorities say Jefferson’s 38-year-old live-in girlfriend faces a charge of domestic violence in the presence of a child.
— Reported by the Associated Press
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Deron Williams’ agent said his client will play out this season and take his chances as a free agent.
“Deron will not be signing the extension,” Jeff Schwartz told The Record this afternoon. “Based on the new rules it doesn’t make any sense for him to sign the extension. It has nothing to do with how much he likes New Jersey. Because of the rules, he’s going to play the season out and opt out of his deal.”
As The Record reported in today’s editions, sources with knowledge of the Nets thinking had been resigned to the fact that the chances of Williams’ signing an extension were slim.
According to the new rules, Williams can get a two-year extension from the Nets for roughly $39 million that would be tacked on to the two years, $31 million he has remaining on his deal. If Williams opts out after the season, he could get five years, and about $101 million from the Nets or four years and $73 million from another team.
— Reported by Al Iannazzone of the Bergen Record
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The Turkish Airlines Euroleague’s top-rated player so far this season, forward Andrei Kirilenko of CSKA Moscow, could miss time in the competition after breaking his nose in a domestic game Saturday. Kirilenko didn’t move for several seconds after crashing to the floor in a Russian League game while blood flowing from above his eye pooled on the floor. Eventually, he could be seen talking as he was bandaged and walking off-court under his own power. CSKA issued a statement saying that in addition to the broken nose, Kirilenko received stitches for the cut, but apparently did not suffer a concussion. The statement said his nose will be fixed upon returning to Moscow for additional tests that will pay particular attention to the left shoulder he landed on while being tripped accidentally as he tried to make a steal against Krasnye Krylia in a Russian League game.
— Reported by Euroleague.net
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With a brilliant team-oriented performance that set a new standard for efficiency, CSKA Moscow forward Andrei Kirilenko made sure to keep his team undefeated while garnering Week 5 bwin MVP honors. Though Kirilenko, who was also the opening week MVP as well as the winner of the October MVP title, only recorded 3 shot attempts during his 35 minutes on the floor of CSKA’s 77-66 victory, he managed to score, rebound and play defense to the fullest. Kirilenko finished the night with 17 points on near perfect shooting – 1 of 2 two-pointers, 1 for 1 from behind the arc and 12 of 13 on free throws – plus 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 6 steals, 3 blocked shots and 7 fouls drawn to amass the highest performance index rating in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague yet this season: 39. Kirilenko now leads the league in performance index rating with an average of 29.4 per game. He is also the league-leader in both rebounding (9 rpg.) and blocked shots (3.2 bpg.) and ranked third in steals (2.2 spg.).
— Reported by Euroleague.net
The attorney for former NBA player Jose Ortiz says his client will plead guilty to drug charges in Puerto Rico following an agreement with federal prosecutors.
Hector Guzman Jr. filed a motion Thursday requesting a hearing so Ortiz can enter a new plea.
Ortiz was arrested in June after federal agents seized 218 marijuana plants at his house along with 40 rounds of ammunition. He was accused of possession with intent to distribute the plants.
— Reported by the Associated Press
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