Carl Landry is rusty

Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reports:

carl landry

When it was relayed to Carl Landry that his coach said he wasn’t the “real” Landry at this point of training camp, the fourth-year forward agreed.

“It’s not,” Landry said. “I’m still struggling, still don’t have my bounce. And that’s why there’s preseason.”

After being effective after joining the Kings in the Kevin Martin trade in February, Landry hasn’t been the same player after almost two weeks of camp. He hasn’t looked as quick or explosive around the basket.

Landry spends a lot of time after every practice working on his footwork and offense. Kings coach Paul Westphal described Landry as “rusty” a week ago.

Rockets hire David Patrick as scout

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has hired David Patrick as a Personnel Scout.

Patrick, who was serving as associate head coach at Saint Mary’s College, joins the Rockets after spending a total of four seasons with the Gaels. He spent his previous three seasons as an assistant coach at Saint Mary’s after working one season as the Director of Basketball Operations. Patrick came to Saint Mary’s from Nicholls State University, where he was an assistant coach for the 2005-06 campaign.

Bermuda born, Patrick joined the coaching ranks in 2005 after playing four years of professional basketball overseas. Following his collegiate career, Patrick went on to be the first Bermudian to play professionally. Patrick went to Australia to play for the Camberra Cannons of the National Basketball League from 1999-2001. In 2000, following his first season with the Cannons, he was named the National Basketball League Rookie of the Year. He then joined the Chester Jets of England’s British Basketball League for the 2001-02 season where he garnered Second-Team All-League honors. His final professional season was spent in Spain as a member of Alcora of the LEB1 League in 2002-03.

Patrick spent one season at Syracuse University where he was a member of the 1996 NCAA Final Four team that finished as the national runner-up. He then transferred to the University of Louisiana-Lafayette where he was the point guard from 1997-2000. Patrick graduated from Louisiana-Lafayette in 2000 with a degree in criminal justice.

In high school, Patrick joined the Chapel Trafton Tigers from Australia as a senior. He led the team to the 1995 Class A State Quarterfinals and was named the Louisiana Player of the Year. He was selected as District Most Valuable Player and First-Team All-Parish League. Patrick was also chosen to participate in the Louisiana State High School All-Star Game. In addition, he was a member of Junior National Teams in Australia and was named as an All-Australian player from 1992-94.

Pistons players Jonas Jerebko and Terrico White have surgery

The Detroit Pistons announced today that forward Jonas Jerebko and guard Terrico White underwent successful surgical procedures performed by Dr. Art Manoli and team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Stephen Lemos.  The procedures were performed at Detroit Medical Center Surgical Center in Madison Heights, MI.

Jerebko underwent a successful procedure to repair a partially ruptured Achilles tendon on his right leg.  He is expected to miss the next five-to-six months.

White underwent a successful procedure to repair a fractured fifth metatarsal in his right foot.  The foot will be immobile during a recovery process lasting approximately six weeks and rehabilitation will begin immediately following that period.  White’s playing status will be updated once the rehabilitation process begins.

Jeff Pendergraph to have surgery for torn ACL in right knee

Portland Trail Blazers forward Jeff Pendergraph will undergo surgery in the coming days after an MRI today revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee, it was announced by General Manager Rich Cho.

A timetable for his return to the court will be determined upon completion of the procedure.

“Jeff has been playing well and has been a big part of the team, so this is an unfortunate setback,” said Cho. “With his work ethic and determination, we know he’ll work hard in his rehabilitation to return to the court.”

The injury occurred at the 10:48 mark of the second quarter in Thursday’s preseason game at Utah.

Pendergraph, 23, averaged 2.7 points and 2.5 rebounds in 39 games (four starts) as a rookie in 2009-10 with the Trail Blazers after being acquired from Sacramento in a draft day trade on June 25, 2009. The Arizona State product was the 31st overall pick in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft.

Steve Francis arrested for drunkenness at Los Angeles airport

The AP reports:

Los Angeles International Airport police say three-time NBA all-star Steve Francis has been arrested for public drunkenness.

Airport spokesman Albert Rodriguez says Francis was arrested at 11:30 p.m. Thursday because he was intoxicated, unable to care for himself and combative toward staff. Sgt. Belinda Nettles says the arrest took place in the Terminal 7 lobby near the United Airlines ticketing counter.

Future Brooklyn Nets arena gets vodka sponsor

Today Stolichnaya, a pioneer in the flavored vodka category, and Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, the sales and marketing arm of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, announced that Stolichnaya is embarking as a Founding Partner in a five-year alliance with the Barclays Center, the planned state-of-the-art sports and entertainment venue, and with NETS Basketball. The opening of the Barclays Center in late spring/early summer of 2012 will mark the return of major professional sports to Brooklyn for the first time since 1957, and Stoli will become the official vodka partner of the Barclays Center.

“This partnership represents Stoli’s first long-term foray into professional sports and we look forward to an exciting and successful partnership with the Barclays Center and NETS Basketball,” said Andrey Skurikhin, Partner at SPI Group, the Stolichnaya brand owner. “Stoli is a pioneering brand in the spirits industry and celebrates the same spirit of innovation that characterizes the development of the Barclays Center and the revitalization of the NETS. We look forward to engaging with our consumers in this much anticipated, exciting new venue.”

“We are thrilled to become partners with the most innovative and historic brand in the spirits industry,” said Brett Yormark, president and CEO of Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment. “The Barclays Center continues to align with renowned companies which seek to build their brands in the heart of world commerce. Stoli has made a major commitment to the Barclays Center and we look forward to building its brand with a year-round marketing platform.”

As part of the agreement with the Barclays Center, Stoli will receive numerous entitlements, including category exclusive branding throughout the new arena and the branding of six bars.

Blazers big-man Jeff Pendergraph injures right knee

Jason Quick of The Oregonian reports:

Second-year center Jeff Pendergraph left Thursday’s exhibition game at Utah with a right knee injury that appears to be serious.

Pendergraph crumpled to the court holding his right knee after Jazz center Kyrylo Fesenko drove and scored on him with 10:48 left in the second quarter. Blazers players immediately signaled for athletic trainer Jay Jensen. Pendergraph was unable to put pressure on the knee as he was positioned into a wheelchair on the court. He was wheeled off with his right knee extended and Jensen holding his foot.

InsideHoops.com editor says: The Blazers should just get rid of their entire roster, then sign 15 centers. And then have a contest: Player who remains healthy the longest wins a pony.

Kings name Shareef Abdur-Rahim assistant general manager

The Sacramento Kings have added Shareef Abdur-Rahim to the team’s front office as an Assistant General Manager, it was announced by Kings’ President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie. Abdur-Rahim, a 12-year NBA veteran, spent the previous two seasons behind the Kings’ bench as an assistant coach.

“I’m thankful that the Maloof family and Geoff Petrie have the confidence in me to provide the opportunity to continue to be a part of the Kings’ organization,” said Abdur-Rahim. “My family and I love this area and are excited to be involved with this young and upcoming team.”

Abdur-Rahim enjoyed 12 seasons in the NBA with four different teams (Vancouver 1996-97 to 2000-01, Atlanta 2001-02 to 2003-04, Portland 2003-04 to 2004-05 and Sacramento 2005-06 to 2007-08), amassing career averages of 18.1 points (.452 FGs, .297 3FGs, .810 FTs), 7.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game through 830 outings. His most productive season, statistically, occurred during the 1998-99 campaign in Vancouver when he averaged 23.0 points (.432 FGs, .306 3FGs, .841 FTs), 7.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game through 50 contests (NBA Lockout season). The following season (1999-00), Abdur-Rahim averaged double figures in both points (20.3) and rebounds (10.1) per game, in which he played in all 82 contests for the Grizzlies.

Abdur-Rahim was a member of the gold-medal winning United States Olympic team in 2000 while still with the Vancouver Grizzlies. He was selected to the Eastern Conference NBA All-Star Team where he scored nine points in 21 minutes as a member of the Atlanta Hawks in 2002.

On December 28, 2002, Abdur-Rahim became the sixth-youngest player in NBA history to reach the 10,000-point plateau when he scored 18 points at Washington at age 26, trailing only Kobe Bryant, Bob McAdoo, Shaquille O’Neal, Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with that distinction.

Selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies (now Memphis) as an undergraduate out of California with the third pick of the 1996 NBA Draft, Abdur-Rahim has a long-standing history of community service involvement. He was named by The Sporting News as the NBA’s Number 1 Good Guy for 2004 after funding the Reef House in Atlanta through his Atlanta-based Future Foundation with the purpose of assisting at-risk and underprivileged youth.