Brent Barry joins NBA TV

NBA TV today announced the addition of two-time NBA Champion and 14-year veteran Brent Barry to its announcer roster for the 2009-10 season.  Barry will work as a studio analyst for NBA GameTime, the network’s live studio show filled with highlights, analysis, commentary and live look-ins at games being played across the league. Barry will join on Monday nights, beginning Monday, Nov. 2, alongside host Andre Aldridge and analyst Eric Snow.

Barry is the newest studio analyst on the network’s impressive roster which includes Hall of Famer Kevin McHale, five-time NBA All-Star Chris Webber, 14-year veteran Steve Smith, Snow and Scott.  Barry is best known for his three-point shooting in which he currently ranks 10th all-time in career three-point field goals made. Barry spent 14 years in the NBA with six teams including the L.A. Clippers, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, Seattle SuperSonics, San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets.

NBA TV will take the court for its first week of Tuesday Fan Night with the Lakers @ Thunder match-up, as voted upon by fans on NBA.com. The game will air on Tues., Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. (ET) with host Ernie Johnson and analysts Chris Webber and Kevin McHale on-hand for studio coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. (ET).

Timberwolves today

Sunday Night’s Recap

Phoenix 120, Minnesota 112: In the team’s first road game of the 2009-10 campaign, the Wolves dropped a 120-112 decision to the Phoenix Suns at U.S. Airways Center. Despite falling down by 17 points in the fourth quarter, the scrappy Wolves fought back, trimming the Suns lead to as little as five points on a Ryan Hollins 15-foot jumper with 3:13 remaining. However, on the next possession, Grant Hill answered with a three-pointer pushing the Suns lead back to eight points and the Wolves could not get any closer. Ryan Gomes led the way with season-highs of 23 points and 15 rebounds. Al Jefferson added 21 points and Corey Brewer scored a career high with 19 points. All five Phoenix starters scored in double figured topped by Channing Fry’s 25 points. Minnesota is now 1-2 on the season.

Leader of the Pack: Wolves point guard Jonny Flynn entered last night’s game leading all rookies in scoring with 17.5 ppg. The 6-0 guard led the Wolves in scoring in the first two games with 18 points (13 points in the fourth quarter) and 17 points respectively. His 35-point two-game total to start his career is the second-most by a Wolves rookie. Donyell Marshall had 38 points in his first two games to start the 1994-95 campaign. Flynn finshed with 11 points vs. Phoenix.

Big Al: Entering last night’s game, Al Jefferson has feasted on the Suns since joining the Wolves. In the six games he has played against Phoenix as a member of the Wolves, Big Al has posted averages of 28.7 points and 15 rebounds. Jefferson finished with a season-high 21 points and 8 rebounds in last night’s game.

Monday’s Game: Minnesota at L.A. Clippers, 9:30 p.m. – FSN/KFAN-AM: The Timberwolves wrap up their brief two-game road trip tonight at STAPLES Center as they battle the L.A. Clippers beginning at 9:30 p.m. Minnesota won last year’s season series by a 2-1 count, with both wins coming in Los Angeles. In the all-time series, the Wolves hold a 43-35 advantage and are 17-22 in Los Angeles. There will be a couple of familiar faces on the Clippers roster as Minnesota goes against former teammates Craig Smith and Sebastian Telfair, who were traded to the Clippers during the summer.

Alan Ogg dies

The AP reports:

Alan Ogg, a 7-foot-2 shotblocker who played for UAB and spent parts of three seasons in the NBA, died Sunday from complications from a staph infection, a university spokesman said. He was 42.

UAB spokesman Norm Reilly said Ogg died at UAB Hospital.

Ogg averaged around 2.2 points per game in his short NBA career.

Condolences go out to his friends and family.

Pacers exercise options on Roy Hibbert and Brandon Rush

The Indiana Pacers announced Sunday they have picked up the options on second-year players Roy Hibbert and Brandon Rush.

Rush, a 6-6, 210-pound guard, entered the league in the 2008-09 season and averaged 8.1 points and 3.1 rebounds in 24.0 minutes per game.

Hibbert, a 7-2, 278-pound center, also began his NBA career last season and averaged 7.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 14.4 minutes per game.

Nuggets sign Renaldo Balkman to contract extension

The Denver Nuggets have signed forward Renaldo Balkman to a contract extension, team Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentien announced today. Per league policy, terms of the deal were not released. We’ll post details Sunday or Monday.

Last season, Balkman averaged a career-high 5.0 ppg and 3.8 rpg while shooting a career-high .558 from the field in 53 games with the Nuggets.

Balkman was acquired by trade from the New York Knicks on July 28, 2008 in exchange for guard Taurean Green, forward Bobby Jones and a 2010 second round draft pick.

Balkman was originally selected by New York in the first round (20th overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft out of the University of South Carolina and has averaged 4.4 ppg and 3.8 rpg and has shot .517 from the floor in 186 career games.

Nuggets exercise Arron Afflalo option

The Denver Nuggets have exercised the fourth-year option on guard Arron Afflalo’s contract, team Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentien announced today.

In his first two games with Denver, he has averaged 1.5 ppg and 1.0 apg in 18.5 minutes.

Afflalo was acquired by trade from the Detroit Pistons on July 13 in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

The UCLA product was selected by the Pistons in the first round (27th overall)   of the 2007 NBA Draft and averaged 4.3 ppg and 1.8 rpg in 14.8 minutes per contest in two seasons in Detroit.

Video game losses motivate Kevin Durant

Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman reports:

Video game losses motivate Kevin Durant

If you had one guess, what would you say is driving Kevin Durant this season?

The scoring title? An All-Star appearance? A playoff berth?

How about video games?

“People might not believe me, but when I go home (after practice) I play video games and I lose all the time,” Durant said. “And I get so mad that I come back and I want to win everything. Something that small puts that winning mentality into my head.”

The NBA’s sixth leading scorer last season is off to a good start after Wednesday’s season-opening 102-89 victory over Sacramento. A stiffer test is in store tonight as the Thunder rolls into Detroit to take on a more talented Pistons team. But the goal of winning remains the same.

“That’s what this year is all about,” Durant said. “We have the right group of guys here and we all want to win, so that makes it easier as well.”

The Thunder are a fun, young team off to a nice little 2-0 start, and in the two wins Durant averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists.

Jazz exercise Kosta Koufos option

Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today that the team has exercised its third-year option on center Kosta Koufos for the 2010-11 season.  Per team policy, financial terms were not released.

Koufos (7-0, 265, Ohio State) appeared in 48 games (seven starts) as a rookie in 2008-09, averaging 4.7 points and 2.9 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per game.  In 10 games (all starts) for the Utah Flash of the NBA D-League, Koufos posted 16.7 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 2.0 assists in 29.8 minutes per game.  A dual citizen of both Greece and the United States, he competed for Greece in the 2009 EuroCup.

Originally drafted by the Jazz in the first round (23rd overall) of the 2008 NBA Draft, Koufos played one season for Ohio State, where he averaged 14.4 points and 6.7 rebounds in 37 games, earning NIT MVP honors after leading the Buckeyes to the 2008 NIT title.

Suns exercise options on Jared Dudley, Robin Lopez

The Phoenix Suns today announced that the club has exercised the team options on the contracts of third-year forward Jared Dudley and second-year center Robin Lopez for the 2010-11 season.   The Suns have declined the 2010-11 team option on the contract of third-year swingman Alando Tucker.

Dudley, 24, enters his first full season with the Suns and third career campaign after being acquired along with Jason Richardson and a 2010 second-round pick for Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and Sean Singletary on Dec. 10, 2008.  The Boston College product appeared in 48 games for Phoenix in 2008-09, including 30 of 31 games following the All-Star break when he became one of the Suns’ most consistent reserves.  Dudley, who averaged 7.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.03 steals after the break, shot a career-high 39.4 percent from three-point range after joining the Suns.  The 6-7 forward made 26 three-pointers in 48 games with Phoenix after making a total of 12 in his first 93 career games with Charlotte.

The 7-0, 255-pound Lopez was the Suns’ first-round selection in the 2008 NBA Draft (15th overall).  A two-year collegiate standout at Stanford, Lopez averaged 3.2 points, 2.0 rebounds, 0.68 blocks and 10.2 minutes in 60 appearances (seven starts) for the Suns last season.  His 51.8-percent field goal accuracy as a rookie would have been third-best among rookies and 17th-highest in the league overall if he’d tallied enough attempts to qualify (min. 300 field goals made).  Lopez, who averaged 11.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks for the Suns’ 2009 Las Vegas Summer League entry, is currently recovering from a broken fifth metatarsal in his left foot, suffered during this season’s training camp.

Originally selected by the Suns with the 29th overall pick in the first round of the 2007 NBA Draft, Tucker is a two-year pro who has appeared in 36 career games with Phoenix.  The 6-6, 205-pound forward, who saw action in 30 games last season, owns career averages of 4.4 points and 1.1 rebounds.