Thunder trade Rodrigue Beaubois, future 2nd rounder to Mavericks for BJ Mullens

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have acquired guard Rodrigue Beaubois and a future second round pick from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for the Mavericks’ 24th overall selection B.J. Mullens. Beaubois (6-2, 182) was selected with the 25th overall pick.

The Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe native appeared in 29 French Pro A games in 2008-09 and averaged 10.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals in 22.3 minutes per game. Beaubois showed marked improvement from his 2007-08 campaign when he averaged 5.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 15.1 minutes per contest.

The 21-year-old (2/24/88) point guard has participated as a member of France’s junior national team and was discovered at a basketball camp by current Orlando Magic guard Mickael Pietrus.

“We could not be happier with the addition of Rodrigue,” President of Basketball Operations Donnie Nelson said. “His dynamic athleticism will add versatility and energy to our backcourt. He was one of the highest-rated athletes this draft.”

Nets trade Vince Carter to Magic

Nets to trade Vince Carter to Magic

The Orlando Magic have acquired eight-time NBA All-Star guard Vince Carter and forward Ryan Anderson from the New Jersey Nets in exchange for guard Rafer Alston, forward-center Tony Battie and guard Courtney Lee, General Manager Otis Smith announced this evening.

“Vince (Carter) gives us a veteran, go-to scoring presence, especially at the end of games,” Smith said.  “Our goal remains the same – to win a championship.  Any time you can add an All-Star to help you reach your goals, you have to do it.  Vince has been a bonafide scorer in this league for 11 seasons and we are excited to add both him and Ryan (Anderson) to our team.  We thank Rafer, Tony and Courtney for their efforts and wish them success in the future.”

Carter (6’6”, 220, 1/26/77) played in 80 games last season for New Jersey, averaging 20.8 ppg., 5.1 rpg., 4.7 apg. and 1.03 stlpg. in 36.8 minpg.  He scored in double figures 71 times, had 20+ points 44 times, scored 30+ points 13 times and had 40+ points once, a season-high 41 points on Mar. 15 at L.A. Clippers.  Carter led (or tied) the Nets in scoring 35 times, in rebounding 17 times and in assists 23 times.  He recorded eight double-doubles and one triple-double last season.  Carter ranked 16th in the NBA in scoring, tied for 26th in minutes played and tied for 30th in assists.

This is an interesting trade. It helps the Nets save some money, as they were going to say goodbye to Carter in the future anyway and aren’t winning much with him. Out with the old, in with the new. The team is basically building around Devin Harris and youth.

As for the Magic, with a healthy Jameer Nelson, Alston would have come off the bench and played limited minutes. Tony Battie is replaceable. But losing Courtney Lee’s hustle may actually hurt. Vince won’t bring that. But the Magic must feel that the scoring and defensive attention Carter draws adds more to their team than what they’re giving up.

More on this tonight. Hit our board to discuss it.

Warriors trade Jamal Crawford to Hawks for Acie Law, Speedy Claxton

Warriors trade Jamal Crawford to Hawks for Acie Law, Speedy Claxton

The Golden State Warriors have acquired guards Acie Law and Speedy Claxton from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for guard Jamal Crawford, the team announced today.

Law, 24, has appeared in 111 regular-season games over two NBA seasons, averaging 3.6 points, 1.0 rebound and 1.8 assists in 12.8 minutes per contest.  Originally selected with the 11th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft out of Texas A&M, Law averaged 2.9 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 55 contests this past season.  A native of Dallas, TX, he has also appeared in 13 playoff games.

Claxton, 31, has appeared in 334 regular-season games over eight seasons with Philadelphia, San Antonio, Golden State, New Orleans and Atlanta, averaging 9.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.51 steals in 25.6 minutes per contest.  The Hempstead, NY, native has been slowed by a left knee injury over the past two seasons – missing all of the 2007-08 campaign and playing in just the final two regular-season contests of 2008-09 and one game in the 2009 NBA Playoffs in April.  Claxton spent one-plus seasons with Golden State (2003-04 and part of 2004-05), averaging 11.7 points and 5.2 assists in 106 games before being traded, along with Dale Davis, to New Orleans in exchange for Baron Davis on February 24, 2005.

Crawford, 29, averaged 19.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 54 games with Golden State last season after being acquired from New York on November 21 in exchange for Al Harrington.  A nine-year NBA veteran, Crawford owns career averages of 15.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.04 steals and 32.6 minutes in 597 regular-season games with Chicago, New York and Golden State.

Suns trade Shaq to Cavaliers

Shaq traded to Cavs

The Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired center Shaquille O’Neal from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for forward/center Ben Wallace, guard/forward Sasha Pavlovic, Cleveland’s second round pick in the 2010 NBA Draft (top-40 protected) and cash considerations, General Manager Danny Ferry announced today.

“It is a really unique and rare opportunity to bring in a player of Shaq’s caliber. We are excited to see how his presence, experience and play positively impacts our team,” Ferry said. “We truly appreciate all that Ben and Sasha gave to this team and community in their time here. They were good teammates and we wish them nothing but success.”

O’Neal, a 15-time NBA All-Star and four-time NBA Champion, played in 75 games (all starts) during the 2008-09 season, averaging 17.8 points on an NBA-best and career-high .609 shooting, 8.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 blocks in 30.1 minutes per game.  His 75 games played were the most in a season since the 1999-2000 season and his scoring average of 17.8 was his highest since the 2005-06 season. He was named an all-star during the season for the 15th time, the second-most in NBA history, and shared All-Star Game MVP honors with the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, following a 17-point, five-rebound, three-assist outing in the West’s 146-119 victory. Following the season, he was named to the All-NBA Third Team, marking the 14th time he has earned All-NBA honors.

The 17-year veteran finished the season as the fifth-leading scorer in NBA history with 27,619 career points and joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players in NBA history to total at least 27,000 points, 12,000 rebounds and 2,500 blocks in their careers. In leading the NBA in field goal percentage for the 10th time, he set an NBA record, breaking the mark he previously shared with Wilt Chamberlain. He owns the 2nd highest field goal percentage in NBA history with a career percentage of .582. He currently ranks 7th on the NBA’s all-time blocked shots list with 2,628 and 15th in rebounds with 12,566 total rebounds. O’Neal is also the NBA’s active leader in points (27,619), offensive rebounds (4,068), total rebounds (12,566), free throw attempts (10,895) and field goal percentage (.582).

The 7-foot-1, 325-pound center has won four championships in his career: three straight with the Los Angeles Lakers from 2000-2002 and one in 2006 with the Miami Heat, and has reached the NBA Finals on six occasions. He was named Finals MVP in all three of the Lakers championship victories. With 122 postseason wins, he is the fifth-most winningest player in NBA playoff history. He ranks first all-time in NBA postseason history in free throw attempts (2,268), second in field goal percentage (.564), third in points (5,121) and fourth in rebounds (2,447) and games played (203). He has postseason career averages of 25.2 points on .564 shooting, 12.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.2 blocks in 38.6 minutes per game.

In 1,117 regular season games, ‘The Diesel’ has career averages of 24.7 points on .582 shooting, 11.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.4 blocks in 35.7 minutes per game and his teams are a combined 751-366 (.672). He was the youngest player named to the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players in NBA history in 1997 and was voted NBA MVP following the 1999-2000 season, in which he led the NBA in scoring (29.7 points) and joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players in NBA history to average more than 29 points, 13 rebounds (13.6), three assists (3.8) and three blocks (3.0) in a season. O’Neal is also a three-time All-Star Game MVP (2004, co-MVP in 2000 and 2009) and three-time All-NBA Defense selection (second team in 1999-2000, 2000-01 and 2002-03). He also led the US Olympic Team to a gold medal in the 1996 Olympics.

Pavlovic played in 66 games (12 starts) during the 2008-09 season with the Cavs, averaging 4.6 points and 1.9 rebounds in 15.9 minutes per game. In 302 games with Cleveland, he averaged 6.1 points on .417 shooting, including shooting .374 from three-point range, and 1.9 rebounds in 18.0 minutes per game.

Wallace, acquired by the Cavaliers on Feb. 21, 2008 from Chicago, played in 78 games with Cleveland and posted averages of 3.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 24.2 minutes per game. A four-time Defensive Player of the Year and all-star selection, Wallace has career averages of 6.2 points on .472 shooting, 10.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in 30.9 minutes per game.

Phoenix currently owns the 14th, 48th and 57th overall selections in tonight’s 2009 NBA Draft.

Read basketball fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Players announced for USA National Team mini-camp

Twenty-five top rising NBA players have accepted invitations from USA Basketball to participate in the 2009 USA Basketball Men’s National Team mini-camp that will be conducted July 22-25 in Las Vegas, Nev. The selections were announced by USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo.

The July USA Basketball Men’s National Team mini-camp will feature practice sessions on July 23 and July 24 at Valley High School, and the mini-camp will be capped by the USA Basketball Showcase, a Blue-White intra-squad game, on Saturday, July 25, 8 p.m. (PDT) at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of UNLV.

The player list is on the InsideHoops.com USA Basketball page.

Mavericks trade no.22 to Blazers for no.24, no.56, 2010 second rounder

The Portland Trail Blazers moved up two spots in the 2009 NBA Draft, acquiring the 22nd overall selection from the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for the 24th pick, 56th pick, and a second-round pick in 2010, it was announced today by General Manager Kevin Pritchard.

With Wednesday’s transaction, the Trail Blazers now hold the 22nd, 33rd, 38th and 55th overall selections in Thursday’s NBA Draft.

The 2010 second-round pick sent to Dallas will be the worse of the two picks Portland currently owns in next year’s NBA Draft, which are the team’s own selection and Chicago’s. The Trail Blazers acquired the Chicago pick in a three-way draft day trade in 2008.

“The depth of the second tier in this year’s draft has given us the opportunity to trade down, pick up two second round picks and not lose ground in terms of talent,” said Mavericks President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Donnie Nelson.  “This will give us added flexibility for the future.”

Terrence Williams feels big love from a team

Louisville forward Terrence Williams was the only top NBA draft prospect I spoke to on Wednesday who seems to know exactly where he’s going.

He’s not telling who, though.

I’m not going to dig up the exact quotes right now, but the entertaining, personable player made several statements that made it pretty clear a team has probably promised to take him. And he believes the team, whoever they are.

But Williams isn’t too worried about dropping. If it happens, fine. Williams knows that simply being invited to the NBA Draft ‘Green Room’ is a big victory, and unless something crazy happens the versatile player who works equally hard on both ends of the floor will go first round for sure, and probably higher than most.

After reporters were done speaking to the players, Williams pulled out a handheld and interviewed guard Johnny Flynn, his buddy and another top prospect.

In the fun interview of his friend, Williams asked Flynn if he knows where he’s going to be selected, and then said “I do!”

The 2009 Draft is Thursday night.

Left foot of Yao Ming not healing properly

Left foot of Yao Ming not healing properly

Rockets center Yao Ming underwent a medical evaluation by Rockets Team Physician Dr. Tom Clanton today which revealed that the hairline fracture in Yao’s left foot has not responded to the current treatment program.  A bone scan conducted Wednesday night at Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute revealed that the hairline fracture on the top of the foot has not yet healed.

Yao and the Rockets will consult with doctors who have previously participated in his care before proceeding with a new course of action.  No timeline has been set for his return to basketball activities.  There will be no further comment by the team until the best course of action has been determined.

“Yao is not experiencing any pain in his left foot, however, the results from the CT and bone scans we performed over the past two days indicate that the hairline fracture has not responded to the degree that we expected,” said Clanton.  “We will review a variety of treatment options before proceeding.”

The hairline fracture was discovered following the Rockets’ May 8th loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals.  The original treatment plan called for Yao to cease all physical training and to use a walking boot in order to immobilize the foot and promote healing.

Brandon Jennings played limited overseas minutes

The New Orleans Times-Picayune (Andrew Lopez) reports: The Oak Hill Academy product played in 43 games this season in Italian Lega A as well as in Euroleague, primarily as a backup point guard. When he did play, Jennings production was solid but not mind-blowing. He averaged 6.3 points and 2.0 assists in 17.8 minutes. Despite his production, Jennings feels he is a better basketball player because of the experience. “I’m more mature,” Jennings said after a recent workout with Golden State, who have the seventh pick in the draft. “I think more than the other guys because of the year I had in Europe, just not even playing. Going through that, tough times up and down, the challenges that I faced. So I think I have the upper hand against some of these guys.”

Bucks trade Richard Jefferson to Spurs for Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto and Kurt Thomas; Spurs trade Oberto to Pistons

Bucks trade Richard Jefferson to Spurs for Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto and Kurt Thomas

The Milwaukee Bucks have acquired guard/forward Bruce Bowen, forward/center Kurt Thomas and forward Amir Johnson in a three-team trade with San Antonio and Detroit, General Manager John Hammond announced today.  As part of the deal, the Bucks send forward Richard Jefferson to San Antonio, while the Spurs trade Fabricio Oberto to Detroit.

“The trade we made today provides us with much needed options in both the short and long-term planning for our franchise,” said Hammond.  “We acquired a young, long, athletic forward in Amir Johnson, along with two proven, tough-minded veterans in Bruce Bowen and Kurt Thomas.  The trade also provides us with additional opportunities, both now and in the future, to consider adding more pieces to our roster.”

Bowen (6-7, 200) spent the past eight seasons with the Spurs.  He appeared in 80 games for San Antonio last season, averaging 2.7 points and 1.8 rebounds in 19.0 minutes per game.  It was his seventh consecutive season of playing in at least 80 games and the eighth of his career.  The 38-year-old has been named to the NBA’s All-Defensive Team eight times.  He went undrafted out of Cal State Fullerton and spent time in France and the CBA before signing with the Miami Heat during the 1996-97 season.  He has also spent time with Boston and Philadelphia and owns NBA career averages of 6.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists over 873 total games.

Thomas (6-9, 240) comes to Milwaukee having played for six teams over 14 NBA seasons.  Last season, he appeared in 79 games (10 starts) for San Antonio and averaged 4.3 points and 5.1 rebounds in 17.8 minutes.  Thomas, 36, was originally drafted by the Miami Heat with the 10th overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft.  He has played in 896 career NBA games with Miami, Dallas, New York, Phoenix, Seattle and San Antonio, and owns career averages of 9.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists.  He has appeared in 77 playoff games, including 20 during New York’s run to the NBA Finals in 1999.

Johnson (6-9, 210) was selected by Detroit in the second round of the 2005 NBA Draft (56th overall) out of Westchester High School (CA).  Last season, the 22-year old, four-year pro appeared in 62 games with a career-best 24 starts.  He averaged 3.5 points and 3.7 rebounds in a career-high 14.7 minutes per game, while leading the Pistons in field goal percentage (.595).  In 135 career games, Johnson has averaged 3.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocked shots in 13.6 minutes per game.

“Richard was a true professional during his time in Milwaukee,” Hammond remarked.  “He came ready to practice and play every day and always gave it his best effort.  We wish him well in San Antonio.”

Jefferson (6-7, 225) started in all 82 games during his lone season in Milwaukee.  He averaged 19.6 points (T-22nd in the NBA), 4.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting .439 from the field and .397 from three-point range.  He led the Bucks in scoring a team-best 35 times, including seven games of 30 or more.  He also scored the 10,000th point of his NBA career on April 4 against Memphis.  The 29-year-old Jefferson came to Milwaukee following seven seasons with the New Jersey Nets.  The Arizona product was originally drafted after his junior season by the Houston Rockets (13th overall) in the first round of the 2001 NBA Draft.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.