Spurs sign Da’Sean Butler

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have signed forward Da’Sean Butler.  Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Butler, a 6-7, 230-pound forward out of the University of West Virginia, will be placed on the inactive list while continuing to rehab from a torn left ACL which he suffered in the 2010 Final Four against Duke on April 3.

Butler was originally selected by the Miami Heat with the 42nd pick in the 2010 NBA Draft.  He signed with the Heat on August 30, but was later waived on October 25.

Butler played four seasons with the Mountaineers finishing his career with 107 career wins, the most in school history.  As a senior he was named First Team All-Big East, averaging a team-high 17.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 38 games.

As a junior Butler was named Second Team All-Big East, averaging a team-best 17.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.29 steals in 35 games.  During his sophomore season, Butler started all 37 games, averaging 12.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists while shooting a career-best .495 (186-376) from the field.  Butler was selected to the Big East All-Rookie Team as a freshman, averaging 10.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.28 steals in 36 games.

For his career Butler started in 110 of 146 games for the Mountaineers, averaging 14.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.06 steals while shooting .448 (741-1,654) from the field, .353 (205-581) from three-point range and .732 (408-557) from the foul line.  He scored 2,095 points during his career, ranking third in school history behind Jerry West and Hot Rod Hundley.  Butler also ranks among school leaders in career double-figure scoring games (1st, 108), field goals (3rd, 741), three-pointers (4th, 205), free throws (5th, 408), rebounds (11th, 800) and steals (12th, 154).

Butler will wear #1 for the Spurs.

Mavs reach 11th straight 50-win season

The AP reports:

Dirk Nowitzki had 30 points and 11 rebounds, Jason Terry added 18 points and the Mavericks rallied in the fourth quarter for a 104-96 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night, giving Dallas 50 wins for the 11th straight season.

Shawn Marion added 17 points and Peja Stojakovic had 16 to help the Mavericks win for the third time in four games.

Anthony Randolph had a career-high 31 points with 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who’ve lost their last five games and are without injured All-Star forward Kevin Love.

English basketball funding cut before London 2012 Olympics

The AP reports:

Funding for basketball has been cut in England just after the British team was granted a spot in the London 2012 Olympics.

Sport England says the organization that runs the national youth teams and grass roots basketball in England will have to cope with $1.9 million less for the next two years.

The cut is due to the number of adults playing basketball at least once a week dropping by almost 20 percent in the last two years to 154,100.

Sixers reassign Craig Brackins to D-League

Philadelphia 76ers forward Craig Brackins was reassigned to the Springfield Armor, the 76ers’ NBA Development League affiliate, it was announced today.  The assignment marks the 49th time in the 2010-11 season an NBA player has been assigned to an NBA D-League affiliate, and it is the third and final assignment this season for Brackins, a rookie out of Iowa State.

Brackins (6-10, 230) was assigned on Nov. 30 and Jan. 15. He appeared in 14 games (nine starts) with the Armor, averaging 19.9 points and 9.1 rebounds in 37.2 minutes. Brackins has appeared in three games this season for Philadelphia, averaging 2.7 points in 11.0 minutes.

An early entry candidate for the 2010 NBA Draft, Brackins was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round (21st overall) as part of a draft-day swap with the New Orleans Hornets, who then traded Brackins to Philadelphia in September.  In three seasons at Iowa State, Brackins averaged 16.0 points and 7.7 rebounds in 95 games, and was an AP All-America Honorable Mention selection in 2009.

Brackins is expected to join Springfield for its home game against New Mexico on Saturday.

Jeff of Inside Hoops, the editor of InsideHoops.com, in a Ron Artest rap video

OFFICIAL RON ARTEST GO LOCO VIDEO

The Ron Artest “Go Loco” official video is here:

RON ARTEST GO LOCO OFFICIAL VIDEO FILMING

By Jeff Lenchiner

ron artest go loco rap video

I’ve been visiting Los Angeles since 2011 NBA All-Star weekend in mid February and have enjoyed wild, fun adventures during my extended time in Hollywood. And just when I thought this week, which already featured three straight days of Playboy parties, including two days at the Playboy Mansion, couldn’t get any more interesting, I stumbled into getting cast as a giant panda in the new Ron Artest rap video for his song “Go Loco.”

Relaxing in a trendy hotel lounge in Hollywood Tuesday evening, I ran into famous rapper Fat Joe and his manager Macho, who I know well thanks to the wonderful world of street basketball. (Be sure to check out the great EBC Rucker Park streetball documentary “The Blackout,” featuring Fat Joe, Jay-Z and more.)

Fat Joe, it turned out, was there to film a rap video. I wound up getting invited to attend the taping, and headed downstairs to the video set in legendary exclusive spot Beacher’s Madhouse, for a Ron Artest song called “Go Loco.” Celebs on set for the shoot included Joe, B-Real of Cypress Hill, actor and basketball fan David Arquette, TV host George Lopez and others. Artest and fellow Los Angeles Laker Matt Barnes came later in the evening, a bit late after edging the Phoenix Suns in an intense triple-overtime thriller.

Also on hand for the Artest video shoot were several little people (the video features an area identified by a sign as a “Midget Bar”), a few other interesting characters, and a large heap of very pretty girls who were very good at shaking all sorts of body parts in a wide variety of directions.

Most of the Go Loco filming taking place that night focused on Artest and others relaxing in the club, bouncing around to the song’s beats. I mostly stayed in the back with friends of the rappers by the bar area.

As hours went by with most of the video successfully filmed, celebs and their friends called it a night, leaving me and a fairly small handful of people hanging out to watch until the very end. “Final set,” yelled one assistant.

A producer then came to me and asked how I’d feel about wearing a giant panda costume. I assumed he was kidding and that it was his way of telling me to move or get out. But he was serious; it was in the script. Very few guys were left in the room at the time, and the wearer of the costume had to be tall, so there were actually very few candidates. I stand 6-3 and could handle it.

Faced with a choice, I could call it a night and leave with no involvement in the video, or rock a panda costume in a club.

How could I pass on such a prestigious opportunity? I said yes.

jeff lenchiner

I’ll leave it to you to check out how the video turned out, but I will describe my scene: A flock of hot girls, a giant chicken and a panda bear (me, the editor of InsideHoops.com) enter the nightclub. And… that’s it. The rest got cut.

The video was fun. Check it above.

Rockets sign Mike Harris to 10-day contract

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed forward Mike Harris to a 10-day contract.

Harris (6-6, 235, Rice) returns to Houston after playing in China with the CBA’s Shanghai Sharks. The former Rice standout actually began this season in training camp with the Rockets before being waived on Oct. 18, 2010. Overall Harris owns NBA career averages of 3.0 points and 2.6 rebounds in 30 prior games with Houston and the Washington Wizards. He has also played in the NBA D-League with the Colorado 14ers (2006-07) and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2009-10). In 2009-10, Harris averaged a league-leading 27.1 points (.582, 363-624 FG), 10.5 rebounds (third in D-League), 1.9 assists and 1.18 steals in 34 games (31 starts) with Rio Grande Valley, guiding the Vipers to the 2009-10 D-League championship. He was also named NBA D-League MVP and earned First-Team All-NBA D-League honors last season.

Harris will wear jersey #33 with the Rockets. Houston’s roster currently stands at 15 players.

Nets recall Ben Uzoh from D-League

The New Jersey Nets have recalled rookie point guard Ben Uzoh from the Springfield Armor (D-League), Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.

Uzoh appeared in four games with the Armor, three starts, and averaged 16.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.25 steals in 33.3 minutes.  He shot .609 (28-46) from the field and had his best outing at Sioux Falls on 3/22 when he tallied 27 points, 12-14 FG’s, nine rebounds and five assists in 39 minutes.

In 32 games with the Nets this season, the Tulsa alum is averaging 3.4 points and 1.4 assists in 9.1 minutes.  He tallied a career-high 18 points in 22 minutes at Houston on 2/26.

Lakers edge Suns in 3OT

The AP reports:

Kobe Bryant scored a season-high 42 points, Ron Artest got five of his 18 points in the final 2 minutes of the third overtime, and Los Angeles outlasted Phoenix for a 139-137 victory Tuesday night in an enormously entertaining rematch of last season’s Western Conference finals.

“I wish we would have put them away when we should have,” said Lamar Odom, who had a season-high 29 points and 16 rebounds while playing over 55 minutes filling in for suspended center Andrew Bynum. “But we found a way to win, and that’s all that matters…

“We really needed this game,” said Phoenix’s Channing Frye, who had a career-high 32 points and 14 rebounds. “This one hurts.” …

Gasol added 24 points and 13 rebounds in just the Lakers’ fourth triple-overtime game since they moved to Los Angeles in 1960. The Lakers hadn’t hosted a triple-OT game since 1969.

The stakes were higher for the 10th-place Suns (35-34), who are scrapping to return the playoffs. Steve Nash had 19 points and 20 assists, while Marcin Gortat added 24 points and 16 rebounds in the Suns’ fifth loss in seven games.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson thinks city will lose Kings

The AP reports:

Sacramento’s Mayor is already preparing for life without the Kings.

In a strongly worded blog posted on his website Tuesday night, Mayor and former NBA player Kevin Johnson wrote the franchise’s possible relocation to Anaheim “feels like a slow death” and this “will likely be the Kings’ final weeks in Sacramento after 26 years.”

Johnson met with Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof last month and has believed since that the Kings will leave after this season.

After years of not receiving public dollars to build a new arena in Sacramento, the Maloofs began discussions with Anaheim officials about relocating the franchise to Orange County. An attorney representing the Kings also filed for at least four federal trademarks registrations: Anaheim Royals, Anaheim Royals of Southern California, Orange County Royals and Los Angeles Royals.

Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery

Rudy Gay

rudy gay
He’s lanky.

Memphis Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a left shoulder subluxation, as recommended by team physician Dr. Fred Azar of the Campbell Clinic. Gay also received this recommendation from Dr. Barry Phillips and Dr. Robert Miller of the Campbell Clinic and Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala.

The need for surgery has always been a possibility in the event that non-operative rehabilitation was unsuccessful.  The date of the surgery is yet to be determined.

The 6-8, 240-pound forward has missed the last 14 games, including last night’s 103-85 victory over Utah, since suffering the injury on Feb. 15 vs. Philadelphia.  Memphis is 8-6 over that span.

Gay averaged 19.8 points and 6.2 rebounds in his fifth NBA season while posting career highs in assists (2.8), steals (1.69), blocks (1.07), field goal percentage (.471), three-point field goal percentage (.396), free throw percentage (.805) and minutes (39.9, 3rd in the NBA).

The 24-year-old holds career averages of 17.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists on .457 shooting in 36.0 minutes in 372 games, all with the Grizzlies.

Gay is expected to be ready for the start of the 2011-12 season.