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2014 Atlanta Hawks preseason schedule

The Atlanta Hawks today announced the seven-game 2014 preseason schedule, which includes contests at Philips Arena against the New Orleans Pelicans, Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets.

The Hawks play host to the Pelicans on Monday, Oct. 6 (7:30 p.m.), the Pistons on Saturday, Oct. 18 (7:30 p.m.) and the Hornets on Monday, Oct. 20 (7:30 p.m.).

Atlanta will take to the road for four games during exhibition play – Saturday, Oct. 11 at Memphis (8 p.m.), Tuesday, Oct. 14 at Miami (7:30 p.m.), Thursday, Oct. 16 at Chicago (8 p.m.) and Wednesday, Oct. 22 at San Antonio (8:30 p.m.).

The games against the Heat, Bulls and Spurs will be broadcast live on the Hawks flagship radio station, SportsRadio 92.9 The Game, with the Voice of the Hawks Steve Holman announcing the action.

2014 HAWKS PRESEASON SCHEDULE (all times ET)

DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME (ET)

Monday, Oct. 6 NEW ORLEANS Atlanta, GA (Philips Arena) 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 11 at Memphis Memphis, TN (FedEx Forum) 8:00 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 14 at Miami Miami, FL (American Airlines Arena)

Thursday, Oct. 16 at Chicago Chicago, IL (United Center)

Saturday, Oct. 18 DETROIT Atlanta, GA (Philips Arena) 7:30 p.m.

Monday, Oct. 20 CHARLOTTE Atlanta, GA (Philips Arena) 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 22 at San Antonio San Antonio, TX (AT&T Center)

Utah Jazz announce staff additions

The Utah Jazz today announced that the team has hired Patrick Beilein and Lamar Skeeter as player development/video analysts, and named Taylor Snarr as coordinator of analytics.

For the past two seasons, Beilein served as the head coach at West Virginia Wesleyan, a Division II school location in Buckhannon, W.V. He took the team to a 20-12 record during the 2013-14 season, an eight-win improvement over his inaugural campaign. Prior to his first head coaching job, Beilein served as the Director of Basketball Operations at Bradley University for one season (2011-12) and as an assistant coach at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire during the 2010-11 campaign. From 2008-10, he served as a graduate assistant at the University of Michigan under his father, John Beilein.

Beilein also played for his father at West Virginia University, helping to lead the Mountaineers to appearances in the Sweet 16 and the Elite Eight. He finished his four-year career with 1,001 points and ranks second in school history in career three-point field goals with 241, just the third player to surpass 200 in a career.

Skeeter spent the past season with the Atlanta Hawks, serving as the basketball operations intern in the summer of 2013 before transitioning to the player development/video intern for the 2013-14 campaign. Prior to his stint in Atlanta, he spent one season (2012-13) as the basketball operations intern for the Canton Charge of the NBA Development League then former head coach and current Jazz assistant coach Alex Jensen. Skeeter also spent one season as a graduate assistant at Walsh University, his alma mater, in North Canton, Ohio.

A native of Dayton, Ohio, Skeeter graduated from Walsh with both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in business management. He also competed for the school’s Division III basketball team from 2007-11.

Snarr spent the 2013-14 campaign as the basketball analytics intern for the Jazz, working directly with SportVU’s player tracking system. A graduate of BYU-Hawaii, Snarr has over five years of professional experience with data and research analysis. Most recently, Snarr worked with the Utah Department of Corrections as a research consultant from 2011 through June 2014.

Rockets re-sign Francisco Garcia

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced that the team has re-signed unrestricted free agent guard/forward Francisco Garcia.

Garcia (6-7, 195, Louisville) has averaged 8.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 535 career games (137 starts) with Sacramento and Houston. Last season with the Rockets, Garcia averaged 5.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 19.7 minutes. Acquired by the Rockets in a trade with the Kings on Feb. 20, 2013, Garcia averaged 6.4 points, 1.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 0.78 steals in 18 games (five starts) during his first season with Houston. He was also a big contributor in Houston’s 2013 playoff series with Oklahoma City, averaging 10.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists in six games (three starts) against the Thunder. Garcia, who was the longest tenured King when acquired by the Rockets, averaged 5.2 points, 1.7 boards and 1.1 assists in 17.8 minutes per outing over 40 games (15 starts) with Sacramento in 2012-13. Entering his ninth NBA season, Garcia was originally selected by the Kings as an early entry candidate out of Louisville with the 23rd overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft.

Hornets sign first-round draft pick P.J. Hairston

Charlotte Hornets General Manager Rich Cho announced today that the team has signed first-round draft pick P.J. Hairston. The Hornets acquired the rights to Hairston (26th overall pick) and guard Semaj Christon (55th overall pick), along with a 2019 second-round draft pick and cash considerations, from the Miami Heat in exchange for the rights to guard Shabazz Napier (24th overall pick).

The 6-6 Hairston became the first NBA D-League player to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft. He was named to the D-League All-Rookie Second Team in 2013-14 as a member of the Texas Legends. Hairston averaged 21.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 32.3 minutes, while shooting .453 from the field (183-404), .358 from beyond the three-point line (73-204) and .870 from the free-throw line (127-146). A participant in the 2014 Boost Mobile NBA D-League Three-Point Contest during NBA All-Star Weekend, Hairston posted eight games of 29 points or more, including a pair of 40-point outings.

Hairston played two seasons at the University of North Carolina, averaging 10.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 71 career games from 2011-13. As a sophomore in 2012-13, he led the Tar Heels in scoring, averaging 14.6 points, and posted the second-best single-season three-point field goal total in school history (89). Hairston was also selected First Team All-ACC Tournament as a sophomore.

Thunder name Mark Daigneault coach of their D-League team

The Oklahoma City Thunder named Mark Daigneault as the head coach of its D-League team, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

The Thunder are moving the Tulsa 66ers to OKC, and it’s possible that the team’s nickname may change.

“Mark has placed a high value on development throughout his career and we feel that he is well aligned with the goals of our organization,” said Presti. “His experience at Florida under Coach Donovan has provided him the platform to apply his intelligence and relationship skills to help strengthen the program. We are excited about Mark joining the organization and continuing his professional growth.”

Daigneault joins the Thunder organization after spending the past four years working under Billy Donovan at the University of Florida where he most recently held the position of Assistant to the Head Coach. Last season, the Gators became the first SEC team to go 18-0 in conference play, and during Daigneault’s four years at Florida, the program posted a 120-30 record (.800) while advancing to the Elite Eight each season.

“Mark has been a valuable member of our staff the past four seasons, and I’m very happy to see him get this opportunity with a great organization,” said University of Florida Head Coach Billy Donovan. “We all wish him the best of luck and know he’ll do a tremendous job.”

Prior to arriving at Florida, the Leominster, Mass. native spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Holy Cross.

“I have had a great deal of respect for the Thunder organization throughout my career, and I’m excited to immerse myself in the culture there, and focus on the continued development of the program,” said Daigneault. “The University of Florida, Coach Donovan, the Florida basketball staff and players that I had the privilege of working with contributed to my personal and professional growth, and for that I am grateful as I embark on this opportunity with the Thunder organization.”

A 2007 graduate of the University of Connecticut, Daigneault served as a student manager with the Huskies under Jim Calhoun from 2003-07.

Daigneault, who holds a master’s degree in Sports Management from the University of Florida, will replace Darko Rajakovic as head coach of the Thunder’s D-League affiliate. Amongst multiple front office members and coaches who have been called up from its D-League affiliate, Rajakovic was the third straight head coach of the Thunder’s D-League affiliate to make the move to an NBA bench, after he accepted an assistant coaching position on Scott Brooks’ staff last month.

Derrick Rose sits out USA vs Dominican Republic exhibition game

Here’s ESPN.com reporting on Team USA:

Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose was a last-minute scratch Wednesday night from Team USA’s exhibition game against the Dominican Republic at Madison Square Garden.

Rose was scheduled to play Wednesday despite sitting out practices Monday and Tuesday to rest his sore knees after making his return to a game for the first time in eight months Saturday night in an exhibition victory over Brazil in Chicago.

One source familiar with Team USA’s plans told ESPN.com that Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski decided to hold Rose out of the Dominican Republic game to make more minutes available for players vying for one of the squad’s last few roster spots as final cuts approach.

Rose participated in shootaround Wednesday morning and, according to one source present, moved “well” throughout the session after sitting out the last two practices.

Team USA moves on without Kevin Durant

While Kevin Durant takes a step back, the U.S. national team is moving forward.

Durant stunned the Americans when he decided to withdraw after practicing with the team during its first week of training camp. Now that they’ve had time to get over the surprise, they aren’t dwelling on it.

“I’m through talking about Kevin,” U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said Tuesday after the Americans practiced for the upcoming Basketball World Cup.

“We’re done with that. We’re on to this group. What a coach does, a coach coaches who he has, not who he doesn’t have. You’re married, you’re with that woman, you’re not thinking about who you dated.”

Durant pulled out Aug. 7, shortly after the Americans finished working out in Las Vegas, where a year earlier he announced his plans to play for the team this summer.

— Associated Press

Michael Jordan takes the ice bucket challenge

Here’s the Charlotte Observer reporting on yet another famous person who has dumped very cold water on their head for a good cause:

Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan accepted the ALS ice bucket challenge, going the extra mile and donating money as well as taking an ice bath.

David Beckham, Ray Allen and Derek Jeter challenged Jordan to take the challenge, which has taken on a viral nature and has raised more than $31.5 million for ALS research from July 29 to Aug. 20.

Warriors guard Nemanja Nedovic injures foot

Here’s the Bay Area News Group blog reporting:

Warriors guard Nemanja Nedovic fractured the fifth metatarsal in his right foot, Serbian national team doctor Dragan Radovanovic said in a statement Wednesday.

The Warriors had previously been informed that there was a stress fracture in the foot that sidelined Nedovic, who went down Aug. 3 while playing in an exhibition game in Italy and now appears to be out for the FIBA World Cup.

Radovanovic delivered the news based on what he said was new information after previously announcing Aug. 8 that tests could not confirm the fifth metatarsal fracture.

Atlanta Hawks add Charles Lee and Ben Sullivan to coaching staff

The Atlanta Hawks have added Charles Lee and Ben Sullivan to the coaching staff, it was announced today by Head Coach Mike Budenholzer.

“Charles and Ben bring unique skills and abilities to our staff. Both have strong backgrounds in player development that will complement our emphasis on internal team improvement,” Budenholzer said. “We feel very fortunate to add them and are excited to see how they positively impact our group.”

Lee, who spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Bucknell, was the 2006 Patriot League Player of the Year for the Bisons and ranks 22nd on the school’s all-time scoring list. After graduating with a degree in business management, the Gaithersburg, MD native played professionally in Israel, Belgium and Germany.

Sullivan most recently worked in basketball development and as an assistant video coordinator with the San Antonio Spurs. He played collegiately at Cal-State Northridge and University of Portland, competing professionally in China, Germany and Chile following graduation. Sullivan joined University of Portland’s coaching staff in 2009, then was an assistant coach at Lewis & Clark College in Portland before joining the Spurs.

Lee and Sullivan join Kenny Atkinson, Darvin Ham, Taylor Jenkins and Neven Spahija on Budenholzer’s staff. Additionally, Jim Thomas, a member of the coaching staff in 2013-14, has been moved into a front office role as a scout, a position he previously served in with Oklahoma City, New York and Toronto.