Warriors trade Corey Maggette to Bucks

Warriors trade Corey Maggette to Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks have acquired forward Corey Maggette (6-6, 225) and a 2010 second round draft pick (44th overall) from the Golden State Warriors for guard Charlie Bell and center Dan Gadzuric, General Manager John Hammond announced today.  The Bucks now have four draft choices in Thursday’s 2010 NBA Draft including one in the first round (15th overall – from Chicago) and three second round selections (37th overall – from Philadelphia, 44th overall from Golden State via Portland and Chicago, and 47th overall).

An 11-year NBA veteran, Maggette averaged 19.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 70 games for Golden State last season.  He ranked 17th in the NBA in scoring average and 19th in field goal percentage (.516), while holding the distinction of owning the league’s highest scoring average for a player who logged fewer than 30.0 minutes per game (29.7 mpg).  Maggette was one of seven NBA players to average at least 19.0 points and shoot at least 50 percent from the field, and one of five NBA players to average double figures in scoring, shoot 50 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free throw line.  His 7.9 free throw attempts per game ranked 7th in the NBA last season.

“Corey has been a consistent scorer throughout his career,” said Hammond.  “He shoots a solid percentage from the field and has shown the ability to get to the free throw line.  We’re looking forward to having him in a Bucks uniform.”

A native of Melrose Park, IL, Maggette, 30, was originally drafted by Seattle (Oklahoma City Thunder) in the first round (13th overall) of the 1999 NBA Draft and traded on draft night to Orlando along with Dale Ellis, Don MacLean and Billy Owens for Horace Grant and two future second round draft picks.  Following his rookie campaign with the Magic, Maggette was sent to the L.A. Clippers with Derek Strong, the draft rights to Keyon Dooling and future considerations for a future first round draft pick.  After eight seasons with the Clippers, Maggette signed as an unrestricted free agent with Golden State prior to the 2008-09 season.  In 710 career NBA games, Maggette has averaged 16.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting .458 from the field and .821 from the free throw line.

Gadzuric (6-11, 245) appeared in 32 games for the Bucks last season and averaged 2.8 points and 2.9 rebounds in 9.8 minutes per game.  Selected by Milwaukee with the 34th overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft, Gadzuric, 32, has played in 483 games for the Bucks over his eight-year NBA career with averages of 4.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.  He ranks 8th all-time in franchise history in blocked shots (418).

Bell (6-3, 200) played in 71 games for Milwaukee last season and averaged 6.5 points, 1.5 assists and 1.9 rebounds per game.  In five seasons with the Bucks, Bell averaged 9.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 350 games.  He ranks 4th in team history in three-point field goals made with 432.  Bell, 31, began his NBA career with Phoenix and Dallas during the 2001-02 season.  He played in the Italian League from 2001-04 and led the league in scoring (25.5 ppg) for Virtus Kinder Bologna in 2003-04.  He played for Breogan in the Spanish League during the 2004-05 season and was named to the First Team with averages of 27.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.

Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:

The Bucks completed a trade late Tuesday afternoon to acquire forward Corey Maggette from the Golden State Warriors in exchange for guard Charlie Bell and center Dan Gadzuric, according to basketball sources.

Marcus Thompson of the Contra Costa Times blog reports:

The Warriors get rid of one of their biggest contracts (3 years, $31 million), which aids in their bid to add a difference-maker this offseason.

The Warriors now have two expiring contracts worth more than $13 million in Gadzuric and Vladimir Radmanovic.

Lamar Odom concerned about left shoulder

Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register reports:

Lamar Odom played the postseason with a light brace on his right knee but said Tuesday his greater concern in the offseason is his left shoulder that also has been bothering him.

Odom hurt the shoulder on a dunk in a Feb. 18 game against Boston. He has had trouble with the shoulder before — including a torn labrum — but said he’ll take some time off before getting it checked out.

Odom had a vacation planned soon to Mexico with his wife but has more immediate plans to rest.

Kevin Durant named cover athlete for NBA ELITE 11

Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman reports:

Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant will grace the cover of NBA ELITE 11, the EA SPORTS videogame formerly known as NBA LIVE.

An action shot of Durant dribbling while donning a white Thunder jersey appears on the cover of the game. It is the second time in Durant’s career that he’s been featured as a cover athlete for a mainstream videogame. He appeared on the cover of NCAA March Madness 08 as well, sporting his Texas Longhorns’ No. 35 jersey. Durant becomes only the third player in EA SPORTS history to be featured on an NCAA and an NBA licensed product.

“I’ve always been a fan of EA Sports,” Durant said in a release. “This has been an exciting year for me and the team, and capping it off with being on the cover of NBA ELITE 11 is cool.”

2010 NBA Draft green room players

The following 15 players have been invited by the NBA to be at the 2010 NBA Draft. These are the “green room” guys — they’ll be at the tables close to the stage. It means the NBA thinks these guy all should go in the first round, mostly lottery (or somewhat close):

Cole Aldrich (Kansas)
Al-Farouq Aminu (Wake Forest)
Luke Babbitt (Nevada)
DeMarcus Cousins (Kentucky)
Ed Davis (North Carolina)
Derrick Favors (Georgia Tech)
Paul George (Fresno State)
Gordon Hayward (Butler)
Xavier Henry (Kansas)
Wesley Johnson (Syracuse)
Greg Monroe (Georgetown)
Patrick Patterson (Kentucky)
Evan Turner (Ohio State)
Ekpe Udoh (Baylor)
John Wall (Kentucky)

Lamar Odom gets Rolls-Royce from wife

As editor of InsideHoops.com, I am known for giving cars away as gifts. I toss them around like candy. But I can’t say I’ve given away more than 10 or 20 Rolls-Royces in the last year, so this story was a nice surprise:

WENN.com reports:

Khloe Kardashian gave her basketball player husband Lamar Odom a handsome reward for winning the NBA championship.

She bought him a brand-new Rolls Royce.

Odom helped the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics in the NBA Final last week, and his reality TV star partner purchased the $400,000 US luxury car to congratulate him.

Warriors belong to Stephen Curry

Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle reports:

Warriors belong to Stephen Curry

The Warriors are Stephen Curry’s team, and general manager Larry Riley will consider who best fits with the point guard when choosing a draft pick Thursday.

“It’s obvious and true that Curry is a guy who is going to have the ball in his hands a lot, and we’re going to play right through him a great deal,” Riley said. “He’s the point guard of this team, and Monta (Ellis) plays the two, and that’s the direction we’re going.

“You don’t build your team around a two-guard. You build around a point guard.”

Curry had a historic rookie season, averaging 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.9 steals per game. He is the only rookie in NBA history to shoot at least 45 percent from the field, 40 percent from three-point range and 85 percent from the free-throw line.

Robert Dozier breaks left foot

Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports:

Robert Dozier might remain Mr. Irrelevant for another year.

Selected with the 60th and final selection of last year’s NBA Draft by the Miami Heat, the 6- foot-9 forward out of the University of Memphis broke his left foot while drilling last week at AmericanAirlines Arena.

After spending this past season with a second-tier team in the Greek League, Dozier had returned to South Florida recently to begin workouts in advance of the Heat’s participation in the July NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

But after breaking a bone in his foot during non-contact work, surgery was required, with the procedure handled by Heat team physician Harlan Selesnick leaving Dozier sidelined for 12 weeks.

Nuggets make qualifying offer to Linas Kleiza

Nuggets make qualifying offer to Linas Kleiza

The Denver Nuggets have made a qualifying offer to restricted free agent Linas Kleiza, Nuggets Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentien announced today. Per team policy, terms of the offer were not released.

Kleiza, 6-8, 245, averaged 8.3 ppg and 3.5 rpg in 301 games with the Nuggets in four seasons (2005-2009) with the team since being acquired in a draft-night trade with Portland on June 28, 2005. During the 2008-09 season, his most recent season with the Nuggets, he posted averages of 9.9 ppg and 4.0 rpg in 22.2 mpg.

He spent the past season in Greece, helping Olympiakos reach the Euroleague Championship game while leading the Euroleague in scoring with an average of 17.1 ppg.

Warriors and Trail Blazers trade second round picks

The Portland Trail Blazers have acquired the 34th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft from the Golden State Warriors in exchange for the 44th overall selection and cash considerations, it was announced today by General Manager Kevin Pritchard.

The Trail Blazers now hold the 22nd and 34th overall picks in Thursday’s NBA Draft.

Suns pick up Alvin Gentry contract option

Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports:

Suns Managing Partner Robert Sarver picked up the team option in coach Alvin Gentry’s contract for the 2011-12 season.

The performance of Gentry’s team to make the playoffs last season already had guaranteed a portion of that season’s salary. Picking up the team option guarantees another portion but half of his $2.15 million salary for that season remains subject to whether there is a lockout once the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement expires in July 2011…

Gentry still ranks among the lowest paid coaches for the coming season at $1.95 million, which is less than the $2.5 million Terry Porter will receive from Phoenix for being a fired coach. Suns GM Steve Kerr had advocated picking up Gentry’s option and adding a year to the contract.