Nets guard Markel Brown has broken hand

Brooklyn Nets guard Markel Brown has been diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture of the fourth metacarpal in his right hand, General Manager Billy King announced today. Brown, who was injured while working out in Las Vegas earlier today, had his hand placed in a cast and will be held out of basketball activities for a period of 4-6 weeks.

Brown, the 44th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, was acquired from the Minnesota Timberwolves on draft night in exchange for cash considerations. He recently completed his senior season at Oklahoma State, averaging 17.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 35.3 minutes per game and earning All-Big 12 Second Team honors for the second consecutive season. During his junior season, Brown averaged 15.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 34.1 minutes per game.

Over the course of four seasons, the 6’3” guard played in 134 games, averaging 12.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.00 steals in 30.5 minutes per game. He became the only player in Oklahoma State history to record 300 assists, 100 steals and 100 blocked shots in his career and his 969 career points in Big 12 games are an Oklahoma State record. Brown was named Louisiana’s Mr. Basketball in 2010 after a standout career at Peabody Magnet High School in Alexandria, Louisiana.

John Wall gives Sam Cassell some credit for his development

Here’s CSN Washington reporting on Wizards point guard John Wall:

John Wall gives Sam Cassell some credit for his development

John Wall’s development over his first four NBA seasons led to his first All-Star selection and a leading role in the Wizards’ run to the Eastern Conference semifinal playoff round. Having three-time NBA champion point guard turned assistant coach Sam Cassell to learn from helped the growth process.

“He was a big part of it,” Wall said. “Definitely helped me with my jump shot. Just being a mentor, somebody who was a point guard who knew the game very well. It was big.”

The key word used multiple time in that quote is “was.” Cassell left Washington for an assistant coaching job with the Los Angeles Clippers last week.

Al Harrington signs with team in China

Here’s the Washington Post Blog with an update on veteran forward Al Harrington:

Al Harrington signs with basketball team in China

Al Harrington spent some of his summer as a de facto assistant coach for the Wizards’ summer league outfit in Las Vegas, but will not be returning to the team in any capacity at least to start the upcoming season. The veteran forward announced on Instagram Sunday that he will play in China for the Fujian SBS Xunxing Sturgeons. Harrington signed a one-year deal, according to Bleacher Report.

“Looking forward to the Challenge at hand,” part of Harrington’s Instagram caption read. “To help my team reach the Playoffs and WIN once we get there. Secondly I wanna say THANK YOU to the Washington Wizards Organization…”

Cavaliers sign center Alex Kirk

cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed free agent center Alex Kirk, Cavaliers General Manager David Griffin announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

An early entry candidate, the 7-0, 245-pound center went undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft after appearing in 101 games (86 starts) over three seasons at the University of New Mexico. He averaged 10.0 points on .488 shooting, 6.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 25.3 minutes per game over his collegiate career, where he was also a two-time All-MWC Defensive Team selection. Last season, he averaged 13.3 points on .490 shooting from the field, 8.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in 32.0 minutes per game, while receiving his second All-MWC Defensive Team honor.

During the 2014 Samsung NBA Summer in Las Vegas, Kirk played five games for the Cavaliers Summer League team entry and averaged 5.2 points on .524 shooting and 3.4 rebounds in 15.4 minutes per game.

Detroit Pistons name coaching staff

Detroit Pistons name coaching staff

Detroit Pistons Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations Stan Van Gundy announced Thursday that the team has named Tim Hardaway and Malik Allen as assistant coaches, Jeff Nix as assistant general manager and Quentin Richardson as director of player development. The club also added Jon Ishop as Director of Sports Medicine and Anthony Harvey as strength and conditioning coach.

“We are pleased to announce the addition of some quality people to our coaching and basketball operations staffs and the Detroit Pistons Organization,” Van Gundy said. “These are all highly-qualified individuals who bring a wide range of experience and will all play very important roles in helping to shape our vision.”

Hardaway enters his first season as an assistant coach with the Pistons. A 13-year NBA veteran, he averaged 17.7 points, 8.2 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 867 career games with Golden State, Miami, Dallas, Denver and Indiana. A five-time NBA All-Star, Hardaway also earned All-NBA honors five times (First Team once, Second Team three times and Third Team once). Drafted 14th overall by the Warriors in the 1989 NBA Draft, he was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 1989-90 and was a member of the USA Men’s Senior National Team which captured the gold medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Hardaway played collegiately at the University of Texas at El Paso and was named the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Player of the Year in 1989.

Allen enters his first season as an assistant coach after a 10-plus year playing career in the NBA with Miami, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, New Jersey, Milwaukee, Denver and Orlando. He averaged 4.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 15.2 minutes in 478 career games and last played for the Orlando Magic during the 2010-11 season. A native of Medford, NJ, Allen played four seasons at Villanova University, averaging 9.0 points and 5.7 rebounds in 125 career games.

Richardson enters his first year as director of player development. A 13-year NBA veteran, Richardson was the 18th overall pick of the 2000 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. In 783 career games, he averaged 10.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists with the Clippers, Suns, Knicks, Heat and Magic. He averaged a career-high 17.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 2003-04 with the Clippers. A native of Chicago, IL, Richardson played two seasons at DePaul University where he averaged 17.9 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. As a freshman, he was elected both the Conference USA Player of the Year, and Freshman of the Year.

Nix brings a wealth of basketball experience both at the professional and collegiate levels. He spent 15 years in the New York Knicks organization serving as assistant coach (1992-2000), assistant general manager (2000-2005) and director of scouting (2005-2007). He was a key member of the Knicks front office staff when the team won two Eastern Conference titles in 1994 and 1999. Nix spent the last two-plus seasons as director of basketball operations for the Wake Forest University Men’s basketball team. He’s held assistant coaching positions with Canisius College, St. Francis University, Loyola College, Xavier University and University of Notre Dame. Nix played basketball at Canisius College and graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration and a Master’s in Sports Administration.

Ishop comes to the Pistons from the New Orleans Pelicans where he spent the last four seasons as director of sports medicine/head athletic trainer. With the Pelicans, Ishop oversaw healthcare, prevention and rehabilitation of injuries and daily training room operations. Prior to the Pelicans, Ishop served as an assistant athletic trainer with the NFL’s Houston Texans for eight seasons. A certified athletic trainer, he is also a National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) Performance Enhancement Specialist, Graston Technique Certified, a kinesiotape practitioner and a licensed massage therapist. Ishop received his Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology from the University of Texas at Austin and his master’s degree in sports administration from the University of Houston.

Harvey spent the last two seasons as an assistant strength and conditioning coach with the Orlando Magic. Previously, he worked at Florida A&M University from 2005-12 serving as a senior personal trainer, interim director of strength and conditioning and finally as an assistant strength and conditioning coach. Harvey earned his BS in Health Science Pre-Physical Therapy at Florida A&M.

The club also announced that Arnie Kander will remain as the team’s physical therapist, overseeing injury prevention and recovery, while Mike Abdenour will serve in a newly created administrative role as Director of Team Operations.

2014-15 NBA schedule may come out August 13

Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel with a report on the NBA league schedule:

The formulation of the NBA schedule is a delicate process, the league’s 2014-15 calendar still a work in progress until it formally will be unveiled Wednesday.

But when it erupts, it will arrive with four blasts of LeBron-vs.-Miami Heat drama that could overshadow the rest of what the league has to offer to Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and what remains of James’ former team.

According to a league source familiar with the preliminary schedules forwarded recently to teams, the Heat’s first meeting with James’ Cavaliers is scheduled for Christmas at AmericanAirlines Arena, in what the preliminary schedule lists only as a “night” game.

Team USA tells Paul George he has a spot on the 2016 Olympic team

Here’s the Washington Post blog with an update on Paul George and Team USA:

Team USA tells Paul George he has a spot on the 2016 Olympic team

Paul George may be down for now when it comes to Team USA, but he’s not out. USA Basketball plans to keep a roster spot open for the injured Indian Pacers star so he can play in the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

“We’ve told him we have a spot for him in ’16,” USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo told NBA.com. He noted the offer was unconditional and not dependent on how George comes back from his injury.

“We thought it’s the right thing to do,” Colangelo said. “We didn’t give thought to all the detail. Just that when a guy goes down and all these things, the circumstances, his career passes before him, he’s out for a year, a year-plus, he’s not able to participate now with us — we wanted to throw that out and say, ‘We’re counting on you. You’ve got a spot in ’16.’ ”