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Sixers hire Jeff Ruland as assistant coach

Jeff says: Ruland, a former NBA big-man, is a big dude. For all you size-challenged people out there, if Ruland ever decides to fall asleep while standing up, and you happen to be near him, move away, quickly. Why would he fall asleep standing up? No reason at all. Just saying, if for some absurd reason that ever happened, get out of the way. Anyway, here’s the news release:

Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced today that Jeff Ruland has been hired as an assistant coach. Ruland’s main area of concentration as part of Head Coach Maurice Cheeks’ staff will be to work with and help develop the Sixers post players.

“That I am able to add a coach with the experience and credentials of Jeff Ruland to my staff is exciting,” Cheeks said. “He’ll be an invaluable resource for our players – particularly our big men – and an asset to the organization as a whole.”

“I’m excited to re-join the 76ers and have the opportunity to help the organization reach the goal of winning a championship, as well as return to a city that is very close to me and my family,” Ruland said. “I owe a lot to the Thunderbirds and the ownership there. Sam Bregman and David Kahn played a large part in my move back to the NBA. I am a shining example of how the NBA Development League continues to prosper and promote, not only players, but coaches as well.”

An eight-year NBA veteran, Ruland most recently served as head coach of the Albuquerque Thunderbirds of the NBA Development League during the 2007-08 season. Prior to that, Ruland was head coach of his alma mater Iona, helping the Gaels secure three NCAA Tournament berths during his nine seasons at the helm.

A two-time NBA All-Star, Ruland appeared in 332 career games with 189 starts, averaging a point-rebound double-double with 17.4 ppg and 10.2 rpg. His best season came with Washington in 1983-84 when he led the NBA in minutes played while averaging 22.2 points, 12.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists.

In June of 1986, the Sixers acquired Ruland and Cliff Robinson from the Bullets in exchange for Moses Malone, Terry Catledge and two first round draft picks. However, a knee injury forced Ruland to retire after just five games with the Sixers. Five years later, he came out of retirement to join the Sixers during the 1991-92 season, but suffered a torn Achilles after appearing in 13 games.

Following his second retirement from the NBA in 1993, Ruland again returned to the Sixers, this time as an assistant coach on Fred Carter’s staff during the 1993-94 season. In 1995, Ruland was hired as an assistant coach at Iona College by Tim Welsh, who most recently completed a 10-year run as head coach at Providence College.

During his playing career at Iona, Ruland was coached by the legendary Jim Valvano. Ruland played for several coaches during his NBA career, including two current members of the Sixers staff, assistant coach Jim Lynam and scout Gene Shue.

Web viewing of NBA games may soon exist

The Oklahoman (Mel Bracht) reports: Say you’re working late and can’t make it to the Ford Center to watch Oklahoma City’s new NBA team play its game that night. Instead, you log on to your computer and watch streaming video of the team’s game broadcast. Sound far-fetched? Not if the NBA has its way. The league is aggresively promoting three new Internet elements — video streaming in home markets, interactive TV and video-on-demand — for the upcoming season. Ed Desser, a media consultant for Oklahoma City’s team, said many details have yet to be worked out, and didn’t expect the team to offer the Internet elements anytime soon.

Pistons sign Kwame Brown

The Pistons have added Kwame “Shut up about the ‘Bust’ stuff already” Brown to their roster. He’ll provide bench depth and help play backup to Antonio McDyess and Rasheed Wallace. Here’s the news:

Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today that the club has signed free agent center Kwame Brown to a contract. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

“We are pleased to add Kwame Brown to our roster,” said Dumars. “Kwame is a player that gives us depth at the center position and we feel that he will have the opportunity to grow within our system.”

Brown, 26, appeared in 38 games (15 starts) last season with the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies averaging 4.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 18.8 minutes per game. He was acquired by the Grizzlies on February 1 from the Lakers along with Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, the rights to Marc Gasol, two future first round picks and cash considerations in exchange for Pau Gasol and a 2010 second round pick. He scored in double figures four times a year ago, including a season-high 11 points at New York (4/2). Brown grabbed 10-plus rebounds on three occasions, including a season-high 11 rebounds vs. Denver (1/21) and New York (1/29).

The former No. 1 overall draft pick by the Washington Wizards (2001) has career averages of 7.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 23.7 minutes in 404 NBA games. He averaged a career-high 10.9 points and 7.4 rebounds during the 2003-04 NBA campaign as a member of the Wizards. Brown has posted 40 career double-doubles and 12 20-plus point performances.

How to determine schedule for any team

The Oklahoman (Mike Baldwin) reports on a team’s 82-game regular season schedule: “Four games against division opponents. Four games against six out-of-division conference opponents. Three games against the remaining four conference teams. Two games against teams in the opposing conference. A five-year rotation determines which out-of-division conference teams are played only three times.”

Etan Thomas recovering

The Washington Post (Ivan Carter) reports: Etan Thomas won’t test himself in an NBA game until October, but yesterday the veteran center took an important step in that direction by going full speed in a practice session with the Wizards’ summer league squad. Even better, Thomas said he felt great afterward. That’s excellent news considering that Thomas missed all of last season after undergoing surgery to repair a leak in his aortic valve. His heart is fine, but Thomas had to allow his sternum to fully heal after it was separated during the surgery.

Wizards sign Dee Brown to offer sheet

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has signed restricted free agent point guard Dee Brown to an offer sheet. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not released. The Utah Jazz will now have seven days to match the Wizards’ offer under the terms of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.

“Dee is a player who can bring quickness and energy to our team” said Grunfeld. “We like that he gives us depth and a different look at the point guard position.”

Brown (6-0, 185) played last season for Galatasaray Café Crown in Turkey, where he averaged 12.3 points per game. He was originally drafted by Utah with the 46th overall pick of the 2006 NBA Draft and averaged 1.9 points and 1.7 assists in 49 games for the Jazz during the 2006-07 season. Brown is a product of the University of Illinois, where he finished his four-year career as the winningest player in school history (114 games, 114-23 overall record) and helped lead the Illini to the NCAA Championship Game as a junior in 2005.

Spurs to sign Roger Mason

The Washington Times (Mike Jones) reports: Roger Mason Jr. is cashing in on his career year with the Washington Wizards, signing a two-year deal with the San Antonio Spurs, Mason said in a phone conversation just a few minutes ago. Mason had been wooed by the Spurs last summer, but instead chose to sign a one-year $770,610 with the beleif that he could benefit from the continuity he had with the Wizards.

2008-09 Salary Cap set to $58.680 million

The National Basketball Association today announced that the Salary Cap for the 2008-09 season will be $58.680 million. The new Cap goes into effect immediately as the league’s “moratorium period” has ended and teams can begin signing free agents and making trades.

The tax level for the 2008-09 season has been set at $71.150 million. Any team whose team salary exceeds that figure will pay a $1 tax for each $1 by which it exceeds $71.150 million.

The mid-level exception is $5.585 million for the 2008-09 season and the minimum team salary, which is set at 75% of the Salary Cap, is $44.010 million.

For the 2007-08 season, the Salary Cap was set at $55.630 million, the tax level was $67.865 million and the mid-level exception was $5.356 million.

Gilbert Arenas agrees to new Wizards deal

The Washington Times (Mike Jones) reports: Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas has informed Wizards team president Ernie Grunfeld he will agree to a six-year deal worth $111 million, in his words, giving back roughly $16 million of the max, $127 million deal the team offered him Tuesday morning. “This is in line with what I’ve been saying the whole time,” Arenas said Thursday evening in a telephone conversation from China. “You see players take max deals and they financially bind their teams. I don’t wanna be one of those players and three years down the road your team is strapped and can’t do anything about it.”

Wizards sign Antawn Jamison to contract extension

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has signed forward Antawn Jamison to a contract extension. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not released.

“Signing Antawn to a contract extension was a top priority for us this summer,” said Grunfeld. “He has been a leader for us both on and off the court over the last four seasons, and we’re proud to reward his efforts by bringing him back.”

Jamison led the Wizards in scoring (21.4 ppg) and rebounding (a career-high 10.2 rpg) last season to earn his second career All-Star appearance. He was one of only five players in the NBA to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds and posted a career-high 44 double-doubles.

The 6-9 forward has averaged 20.4 points and 8.9 rebounds in 299 career games with the Wizards. Jamison has been a captain and led the Wizards to the playoffs in each of his four seasons with the club. In 2006, Jamison represented the United States at the FIBA World Championships in Japan. He was originally acquired by the Wizards (along with cash considerations) from Dallas in exchange for Jerry Stackhouse, Christian Laettner and the draft rights to Devin Harris on June 24, 2004.