Thunder sign Antonio Anderson to 10-day contract, waive Matt Harpring

Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced that the team has signed Antonio Anderson to a 10-day contract.

Anderson, 24, is a free agent call-up from the NBA Development League’s Rio Valley Grande Vipers where he has averaged 15.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.3 steals and 39.6 minutes in 32 games (32 starts). A 6-6, 215 pound guard who went undrafted out of Memphis in 2009, Anderson went to training camp with the Charlotte Bobcats. He appeared in five games, averaging 3.4 points, 1.8 assists and 1.4 rebounds in 14.2 minutes before being waived on October 22.

With his signing, Anderson becomes the 14th Call-Up from the D-League this season.  He will wear uniform #8.

In order to accommodate Anderson, Oklahoma City has waived forward Matt Harpring who was acquired along with Eric Maynor in a trade with the Utah Jazz on December 22.

Allen Iverson away from Sixers indefinitely for personal reasons

Allen Iverson away from Sixers indefinitely for personal reasons

Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson will not be with the team for the remaining three games of the current road trip and is out indefinitely for personal reasons related to a family matter.

“At this time, we feel that it is in the best interest of the Sixers, Allen and his family that he be allowed to deal with a very serious issue that is far greater than the game of basketball,” said President and General Manager Ed Stefanski.

The Iverson family kindly requests that their privacy be respected during this time.

The team will release any additional updates on Iverson’s status as they become available.

Timberwolves recall Nathan Jawai from D-League

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the club has recalled second-year forward Nathan Jawai from the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League. Jawai appeared in two games for the Skyforce, averaging 6.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 25.0 minutes per game.

Jawai has appeared in 36 games for the Wolves this season, averaging 3.3 points and 2.7 rebounds in 10.8 minutes per game.

The Wolves obtained Jawai from the Dallas Mavericks on Oct. 20, 2009 in exchange for a conditional second-round draft pick in 2012. The native of Australia played in six games for the Toronto Raptors in 2008-09.

Per NBA rules, a first- or second-year player can be assigned to the team’s D-League affiliate a maximum of three times in a season.

Spurs recall Malik Hairston from D-League

The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have recalled guard Malik Hairston from the Austin Toros, the NBA Development League team owned and operated by the Spurs.

Hairston, who was assigned to Austin on 1/14, has appeared in 15 games for the Toros and averaged 29.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 40.8 minutes.

Hairston has appeared in 21 games for the Spurs this season and averaged 0.5 points in 3.5 minutes.

Last season Hairston split the year between San Antonio and Austin. In 15 games with the Spurs he averaged 3.3 points and 1.9 rebounds. In Austin, he earned All-D-League Honorable Mention after averaging 22.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 30 games.

Hairston will join the Spurs tonight for their game at Detroit.

Richard Jefferson moved to bench

Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News reports:

Richard Jefferson moved to bench

Gregg Popovich has moved Jefferson — a starter in 548 of 623 career games — to the bench, partially in hopes of producing a long-awaited spark from his team’s defining offseason acquisition.

Jefferson has appeared as a reserve in both the Spurs’ games since the All-Star break, replaced at forward by Keith Bogans in a lineup shuffle that also moved Matt Bonner to center in place of Antonio McDyess.

The results for Jefferson have been mixed so far — one solid game in a victory over Indiana, one inconsequential outing in a 106-94 loss at Philadelphia.

Jefferson has accepted his new role, even if it isn’t his preference.

“I prefer to start, but I prefer winning more,” said Jefferson, who had a streak of 232 consecutive starts snapped by injury Jan. 18 in New Orleans. “I trust Pop and what he’s trying to do.”

New Knicks provide thrilling spark in overtime home loss to Thunder

Behind huge games from Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, Saturday night in New York the Oklahoma City Thunder topped the Knicks 121-118 in overtime. Durant (10-of-25, 14-of-15 free throws) scored 36 points, while Westbrook (13-of-23) was dominant with 31 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists.

For the Knicks, tonight marked the debut of new squad members Tracy McGrady, Eddie House and Sergio Rodriguez. And although victory narrowly eluded them, the results were more positive than anyone could have expected.

While Rodriguez provided a much bigger spark than his five points and six assists suggests, the Knicks were carried by David Lee’s 30 points (12-of-16), 10 rebounds and six assists, McGrady’s 26 points and five assists, and Eddie House’s 24 points and five rebounds off the bench.

Here’s what Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said after the game about McGrady and House:

“I thought it was really, really good. Just their intensity. Just the little things, getting the ball here and there. Talking in the timeouts. Talking going on the floor, understanding who they got. Just all the intangibles that they’re bringing. It’s something that we really work on, in a sence, that’s pretty good. As soon as they get used to each other a little bit better, Tracy gets his legs a little bit more. He kind of ran out of gas toward the end. Foul shots were tough, you saw it. But, not having played all year, a couple of years, almost, 26 points, not bad against a team that defends really well. They’re long and athletic. They’re palying well.”

More D’Antoni thoughts on McGrady:

“His basketball IQ is way up. He does that. He makes the soccer pass or the hockey pass, whatever you want to call it. Butu he does that. Obviously, he can score. He’s very intelligent on defense. He’s pointing and talking. The guy has been around and been an all-star a long time.”

Although the Knicks lost tonight, this was the most fun night of pro basketball Madison Square Garden has enjoyed in years. Unless you love watching amazing individual performances where one superstar shines while everyone else watches. Then, the shows LeBron James and Kobe Bryant put on in recent seasons eclipse tonight.

As for Rodriguez, he was a one-man carnival. In a good way. The guard flung himself all over the court on both ends of the floor, made tons of brilliant passes, and was an absolute  joy to watch.

Great showing by the new Knicks, even in a loss.

Good first half in Tracy McGrady debut

Starting at shooting guard alongside Chris Duhon, Tracy McGrady looked very good and certainly better than expected in his New York Knicks debut Saturday night as the team hosts the Oklahoma City Thunder in Madison Square Garden.

T-Mac came out gunning and shot 7-of-12  for 19 points, two rebounds, three assists (two turnovers) and a steal in 17 first half minutes.

The Knicks lead 57-52 at the break.

Also in the first half, David Lee shot 6-of-9 for 16 points and five rebounds.

For the Thunder, Russell Westbrook (6-of-9) has 15 points and four rebounds. Kevin Durant (4-of-10) has 14.

The Knicks had 14 first half assists, the Thunder just six.

McGrady played six games for the Houston Rockets and has not been on the court since December 23 until tonight.

Ronnie Brewer out 3+ weeks with hamstring injury

Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports:

Grizzlies swingman Ronnie Brewer will miss at least three weeks with a partially torn right hamstring.

Brewer, who was injured Friday during the Grizzlies’ 100-87 double overtime loss to Miami, had his condition confirmed this morning after a magnetic resonance imaging exam.

Brewer did not travel this afternoon with the team to New Jersey where the Griz will face the Nets on Sunday evening. The Grizzlies are officially saying that Brewer will be out indefinitely and a timetable for his return will be set in a week.

Jon Brockman out two to four weeks

Sacramento Kings forward Jon Brockman will miss two to four weeks of action with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee, which was confirmed by an MRI taken yesterday.

Brockman, currently in his rookie season, is averaging 3.0 points (.511 FGs, .600 FTs) and 4.6 rebounds per game through 44 outings of which he has started in four.

Rockets waive Brian Cook, keep Garrett Temple 10 more days

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed guard Garrett Temple to a second 10-day contract and has waived forward Brian Cook.

Temple (6-6, 190, LSU), who has averaged 6.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in three games with Houston, signed his first 10-day contract with the Rockets on Feb. 8, marking his first-ever GATORADE Call-Up to the NBA. Temple was playing with Houston’s single-affiliation NBA D-League partner Rio Grande Valley, where he was averaging 14.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 30 games (30 starts) with the Vipers. He was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by Houston on Sept. 22, 2009. Temple averaged 2.5 points and 0.3 assists in four preseason games with the Rockets before being waived on Oct. 21. He also averaged 4.6 points and 0.4 assists in five games with Houston in the 2009 NBA Summer League.

Cook (6-9, 250, Illinois), who was in his second season with the Rockets, averaged 1.4 points and 0.6 rebounds in 15 games this season. He was acquired by Houston from Orlando in a three-team trade on Feb. 19, 2009, and exercised the player option on his contract for the 2009-10 season on June 22.