Phoenix Suns recall Diante Garrett from D-League

The Phoenix Suns have recalled guard Diante Garrett from the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League, the club announced today.

Originally assigned on Jan. 10, the 6-4, 175-pound guard averaged 15.1 points, 7.4 assists and 1.7 steals while appearing in seven games for the Jam (five starts).  During his seven-game assignment, the Jam compiled a 6-1 (.857) record, including a season-best six-game win streak.

Garrett shot 46.1 percent from the field (49-of-93), including a 62.5-percent clip from three-point range (10-of-16).  Both a scorer and a distributor, Garrett reached double figures in scoring in six of seven games, including four games of 15 or more points and one 20-point effort; he dished six or more assists in six of seven games, including two double-digit assist efforts.

Tornike Shengelia named D-League Performer of Week

Tornike Shengelia, playing for the Springfield Armor on assignment from the Brooklyn Nets, was today named NBA Development League Performer of the Week for games played Jan. 21-27. 

A 6-8, 207-pound forward from the Republic of Georgia, Shengelia played in two of the Armor’s four games last week, helping the team to a 2-2 record.  He began his assignment, the second of his career, by tying an Armor franchise record with 39 points on 17-of-21 shooting to go with a game-high 18 rebounds and six assists in a 123-115 home win of the Maine Red Claws.  He finished the week with a 24-point, 13-rebound performance in a 111-100 victory over the visiting Santa Cruz Warriors.

For the week, Shengelia averaged 31.5 points, 15.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 41.0 minutes.  He shot 76 percent from the floor (25-of-33) while going 4-of-7 (57 percent) from behind the three-point line.

Other top performers considered include Austin’s Rick Jackson, Bakersfield’s Damion James, Canton’s Kevin Jones, Erie’s D.J. Kennedy, Fort Wayne’s Luke Harangody, Idaho’s Coby Karl, Iowa’s Paul Harris, Los Angeles’ Elijah Millsap, Maine’s DaJuan Summers, Reno’s Walker Russell, Jr., Rio Grande Valley’s Terrel Harris, Santa Cruz’s Stefhon Hannah, Sioux Falls’ Donald Sloan, Texas’ Sean Singletary and Tulsa’s Jeremy Lamb, on assignment from the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Kyrie Irving and Tony Parker named NBA Players of Week

kyrie irving

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving and San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker today were named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Jan. 21 through Sunday, Jan. 27.

Irving led the league in scoring at 35.7 ppg, guiding the Cavaliers to a 3-0 week. He tallied at least 32 points in all three games, finishing the week with a .612 shooting percentage from the field (41-of-67 field goals) and a .950 shooting percentage from the foul line (19-of-20 free throws). Irving poured in 40 points on 16-of-24 shooting from the field in a 95-90 win over the Boston Celtics on Jan. 22.

tony parker

Parker led the Spurs to a 4-0 week behind averages of 24.5 points (fourth in the conference) and 9.5 assists (third in the conference). He posted back-to-back point-assist double-doubles on Jan. 23 and 25, in wins over the New Orleans Hornets and Dallas Mavericks. Parker connected on 40-of-66 field goals (.606) on the week, good for eighth best in the West.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Kyle Korver and Josh Smith, Denver’s Ty Lawson, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin, Miami’s LeBron James, Milwaukee’s Ersan Ilyasova, New Orleans’ Ryan Anderson, Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and Portland’s Nicolas Batum.

Mavericks re-assign Jared Cunningham to D-League

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have re-assigned Jared Cunningham to the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League.

Cunningham (6-4, 194) is headed for his second stint in the D-League this season. He was originally assigned to the Legends on Dec. 11 and averaged 18.1 points, 3.0 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 37.0 minutes in seven games.

The Mavericks 2012 first round pick has seen action in eight games this season with Dallas and holds averages of 2.0 points and 3.3 minutes per game.

Cunningham will play for the Legends on Feb. 1 when they take on the Santa Cruz Warriors at Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco, Texas at 7:00 pm.

Mavericks sign Mike James for rest of season

mike james

Mike James may be old, but he’s apparently still good enough to get a job in the league.

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed guard Mike James for the remainder of the season.

James (6-2, 188) signed the first of two 10-day contracts with the Mavericks on Jan. 8 and played in all nine games during the 20 days he was under contract. He averaged 2.9 points, 1.0 assists and 9.9 minutes in nine games off the bench.

The Copiague, N.Y., native is a 10-year veteran and has played in 548 games (263 starts) with Miami, Boston, Detroit, Milwaukee, Houston, Toronto, Minnesota, New Orleans, Washington, Chicago and Dallas. He holds career averages of 10.2 points, 3.5 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 24.7 minutes per game.

Indiana Pacers re-sign free agent Sam Young

sam young

Free agent Sam Young has an NBA job again. The Indiana Pacers announced Monday they have re-signed Young to a contract.

The Pacers originally signed Young on Sept. 12, 2012 and waived him on Jan. 6, 2013.  He played 28 games with the Pacers, averaging 3.6 points and 2.9 rebounds.

Young is a 6-6 small forward/shooting guard who played three NBA seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies and Philadelphia 76ers. He has career averages of 6.3 points per game and 2.4 rebounds per game. He was a second-round pick (36th overall) of the Grizzlies in the 2009 NBA Draft.

The 26-18 Pacers are currently the 5th seed in the Eastern conference.

Still unclear when Chris Paul will return for Clippers

Still unclear when Chris Paul will return for Clippers

There still is no set date for the return of injured Clippers point guard Chris Paul, Coach Vinny Del Negro said Sunday.

“Day to day, no timetable,” Del Negro said of Paul, the team’s star playmaker who is out because of a bruised right kneecap.

“With a bone bruise it’s just a matter of letting it calm down,” and then the Clippers have to wait “until he gets out on the court [in practice] and see how he reacts,” Del Negro said.

In the meantime, “it’s a matter of when [head trainer] Jasen [Powell] gives him the OK to get out there and start working,” Del Negro said.

— Reported by Jim Peltz of the Los Angeles Times

Milwaukee Bucks coaching change does wonders for Ersan Ilyasova

ersan ilyasova

[Coach Jim] Boylan’s vote of confidence in Ilyasova is paying huge dividends. Since Boylan assumed the coaching reins, Ilyasova has shot 47 percent from the field and a white-hot 51 percent from 3-point range. In that same 10-game span under Boylan, Ilyasova is averaging 15.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 28.3 minutes.

While those numbers are nice, his numbers in the last four games are off the charts: 25.5 points, 12.2 rebounds, 55 percent shooting and 63 percent 3-point shooting.

Oh, and one other not-so-insignificant number: 34. That’s his minutes average for the last four games.

Ilyasova’s sterling play has been one of the key reasons why the Bucks are surging, why they are 23-19 and why they have won seven of 10 games with Boylan at the controls.

— Reported by Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times

Rodney Stuckey benched in Pistons win over Magic

rodney stuckey

The Detroit Pistons escaped their three-game road trip with a 104-102 win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday, after which the media wanted to discuss one topic, the head coach declined, and the players expressed some level of confusion over it all.

Rodney Stuckey was inactive.  He was healthy and in a suit, though he was the last player to the bench in both halves.

Frank, who traditionally discloses his two inactive players at his press conference 90 minutes before the game, coyly said he hadn’t decided at that point who would be inactive.

A half-hour later, at the mandatory league-imposed time when inactives must be turned in, Stuckey’s name was on it.

Afterwards, Frank was just as coy about why.

“Just coach’s decision,” he said.  “That’s as far as I’m going.  I’m sorry to be evasive but that’s all I’m giving you.”

— Reported by David Mayo of Michigan Live

Sixers sign Shelvin Mack to a second 10-day contract

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that they have signed guard Shelvin Mack to a second 10-day contract.  He signed his first 10-day contract on January 17 and was the 15th GATORADE Call-Up of the 2012-13 NBA Development League season.

Mack (6-3, 207) has appeared in two games for the Sixers this season.  In nine total games for Washington and Philadelphia, he is averaging 4.3 points, 2.6 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 16.2 minutes per game.

At the time he left the Maine Red Claws to join the Sixers, Mack ranked third in the D-League in scoring (20.5 ppg) and first in assists (8.0 apg).