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As expected thanks to a zillion newspaper reports saying it was going to happen, the Suns have signed Gordan Giricek. No word if Giricek will invite Jazz coach Jerry Sloan to his house to celebrate.
Giricek isn’t exactly a speed demon, but the dude can shoot. He shot a career-best 42.6 percent from beyond the arc in 2006-07 with the Jazz and owns a 36.7-percent career three-point average. And in the 24 playoff games he’s played, Giricek has hit 46.3% of his threes.
Chris Paul lost to Deron Williams in the final round of the 2008 Skills Challenge. Here’s what CP3 said after the event:
Q: What are your thoughts on your rivalry with Deron Williams?
Chris Paul: Always, always. But it was fun. That was my first time getting to the second round. You know, I thought I had a shot going second, but then he got 25.8 and I can’t mess up. He set the bar real high but it was fun.
Q: What do you remember the most from watching All-Star Weekend when you were a kid?
Paul: Just all the excitement behind this and seeing all the glitz and glamor and flashing lights – and now to be a part of it is something that I would have never imagined.
Q: Is there one player you always looked up to and were amazed by?
Paul: MJ, all day long. It seems like he won MVP every year or the dunk contest or something like that. To actually know him on a personal basis now makes it even crazier.
Q: If you could add an event or change something about this weekend, what would it be?
Paul: Probably “Horse.” I play “Horse” just about every day with one of my teammates, Jannero Pargo, so we have a lot of crazy shots we do.
It’s 2008 NBA All-Star Weekend and the Saturday Night events are on. Now up is the Skills Challenge competition.
Deron Williams went first, missing a straight-in pass and one of the top-of-the-key shots, finishing in 31.2 seconds.
Jason Kidd went second and was flawless until shooting the top of the key shot, which he missed five times (after five misses a player can stop shooting and continue with the course), finishing in 39.7 seconds.
Chris Paul was up net, missing a bounce pass, but otherwise running the whole course perfectly, flying in at 29.0 seconds.
Last up was Dwyane Wade, who fumbled the ball during the obstacle-dribble in the beginning and had to go chase it, then missed three from the top of the key and quickly fired the next two up just to get through it, blew some passes, and slowly dribbled to the end, but then missed the layup, and missed the follow, for a disgustingly awful performance of 53.9 seconds.
CP3 and D-Will advance to the second and final round.
In the final round, D-Will went first. He dunked the first shot, ran the dribbling, hit the straight-in pass, and the bounce pass, swished the top-of-the-key jumper, hit the next straight-on pass, and ended it with a dunk, finishing with in terrific 25.5 seconds time, setting the all-time record best time for this event.
Paul is up and has to be virtually perfect for a shot at winning. He hit the first layup, dribbled the obstacles, missed the first straight-on pass, hit the bounce pass, missed once from the top of the key, hit the last straight-on pass, and hit the layup, getting 31.2 seconds — a respectable time but D-Will wins it with a brilliant performance.
A gold medal and MVP honours at EuroBasket 2007 and another strong showing for club side the Utah Jazz all add up the FIBA Europe Player of the Year Award for Andrei Kirilenko of Russia. The 2.09m forward takes home the prize after winning a vote of both fans and a panel of basketball experts, media and coaches from 25 different countries.
Last year’s winner, Dirk Nowitzki finished second while Jose Calderon of EuroBasket silver medallists Spain came in third.
Kirilenko led the surprise Russian side at EuroBasket 2007; averaging 18 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.2 steals to go with nearly two blocks per game. He had 29 points and eight rebounds in a crucial semi-final win over Lithuania and 17 points in the final against Spain.
On club level Kirilenko helped lead the Utah Jazz to the NBA’s Western Conference Finals where they fell to eventual champions the San Antonio Spurs. Kirilenko is currently averaging 11.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.8 blocks per game for the Jazz.
Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today that the team has re-assigned rookie guard Morris Almond to the Utah Flash of the NBA Development League (D-League). Almond joins fellow rookie Kyrylo Fesenko, who is already on assignment with the Flash.
Almond, a 6-6, 225-pound guard out of Rice was selected by the Jazz in the first round (25th overall selection) of the 2007 NBA Draft. He has appeared in six games for the Jazz, totaling three points, one assist and one steal in 25 minutes of action. He appeared in two games for the Jazz during his most recent stint with the team, averaging 1.5 points and 0.5 assists in 7.0 minutes per game.
Almond was previously assigned to the Jazz’s D-League affiliate from December 6 – January 8 and appeared in 10 games (all starts) for the Flash, averaging a league-leading 29.8 points, along with 3.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals in 37.6 minutes per game. He was named D-League Player of the Week (Dec. 17-23) after averaging 43.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.0 steals while shooting 32-of-68 (.471) from the field. During that week, Almond scored a D-League record-tying 51 points in a win over the Austin Toros on December 21.
Almond will join the Flash for its game vs. Sioux Falls tonight.
Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today that the team has recalled rookie guard Morris Almond from the Utah Flash of the NBA Development League (D-League).
Almond, a 6-6, 225-pound guard out of Rice has appeared in three games for the Jazz, playing a total of 12 scoreless minutes. Almond was selected by the Jazz in the first round (25th overall selection) of the 2007 NBA Draft.
Almond was assigned to the Jazz’s D-League affiliate on December 6 and appeared in 10 games (all starts) for the Flash, averaging a league-leading 29.8 points, along with 3.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals in 37.6 minutes per game. He was named D-League Player of the Week (Dec. 17-23) after averaging 43.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.0 steals while shooting 32-of-68 (.471) from the field. During that week, Almond scored a D-League record-tying 51 points in a win over the Austin Toros on December 21.
Almond will join the Jazz for its game vs. Indiana tonight.
InsideHoops.com NewsWire: Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced today that the Sixers have acquired guard Gordan Giricek and a first-round pick from the Utah Jazz in exchange for guard Kyle Korver.
“We are excited about acquiring a player of Gordan’s ability, as well as an additional asset in the form of a first-round draft pick,” Stefanski said. “This move will provide us with increased salary cap flexibility this off-season and also allows us to continue our evaluation and development of the young talent we have on this team.”
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Morris Almond tied the NBA Development League scoring record, pouring in 51 points to lift the Utah Flash to a 118-116 overtime victory over the Austin Toros Friday at the McKay Events Center.
“It all came in the flow of the game.” Almond said of his record-tying offensive performance. “I am just happy to be able to get some minutes and contribute. Everybody contributed to this win.”
The Flash (6-5) complete a six game homestand by hosting the Bakersfield Jam on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. The Toros (7-4) return home to face the Tulsa 66ers, after finishing 0-3 on a three-game road trip and dropping from first place in the Southwest Division.
Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today that the team has recalled center Kyrylo Fesenko from the Utah Flash of the NBA Development League (D-League).
Fesenko, a 7-1, 288-pound center had been re-assigned to the Flash on December 6 following an earlier Flash stint from November 10-30.
Overall, Fesenko has appeared in six games (all starts) for the Flash, averaging 16.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.67 blocks while shooting .625 from the floor. Fesenko appeared in two games for the Flash during his most recent stint, averaging 21.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.50 blocks while hitting 18-28 shots (.643).
The 20-year-old native of the Ukraine has appeared in one game for the Jazz, scoring six points and grabbing seven rebounds in 17 minutes in a 120-96 Jazz win over the Los Angeles Lakers the night he was first recalled.
Originally selected by Philadelphia with in the second round (38th overall selection) of the 2007 NBA Draft, the Jazz acquired Fesenko’s rights in a draft night deal that sent the draft rights to Herbert Hill (55th overall pick) and trade considerations to the 76ers.
Fesenko will join the Jazz for their game at Portland on Friday.
The Utah Jazz has assigned rookies Morris Almond and Kyrylo Fesenko to their D-League affiliate, the Utah Flash, Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today.
Fesenko, a 7-1, 20-year-old center, was originally sent to the Flash on Nov. 10. There he played four games, averaging 13.8 points and seven rebounds before being recalled by the Jazz on Nov. 30. The native of Ukraine appeared in his lone Jazz game the night he was recalled, scoring six points and grabbing seven rebounds in a 120-96 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Almond, a 6-6, 225-pound guard from Rice, was selected in the first round of the 2007 NBA Draft (25th overall) and has appeared in four Jazz games this season.
The Utah Flash now has the maximum number of assigned players allowable on their roster. Almond and Fesenko join Gabe Pruitt and Brandon Wallace, who are on assignment from the Boston Celtics, the other parent club for the Utah Flash. The only other time a D-League team has had the maximum number of assigned players was from Jan. 3-10, 2006 when the Florida Flame had four players on assignment from the Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat.
“As a coach for our organization I’m obviously excited to have four NBA guys on our roster,” Flash head coach Brad Jones said. “This is a good accolade and tribute to what Freddy (Flash GM David Fredman) and (owner) Brandt (Andersen) are doing that NBA teams feel comfortable enough to send players our way. The challenge for the coach is I have to get these guys to mesh together, play as a team and get better every day.”
The Flash is 3-3 and in third place in the D-League’s West Division.