Grizzlies waive Adonal Foyle

The Memphis Grizzlies reached a buyout agreement and waived center Adonal Foyle, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.

The 6-10, 270-pound center appeared in one game with the Grizzlies, logging three minutes on Feb. 24 at Cleveland, after the team acquired him from Orlando along with the Magic’s unprotected 2009 first round draft pick on Feb. 19.

As part of the three-team trade, also involving the Houston Rockets, the Grizzlies also received guard Mike Wilks and cash considerations, the Rockets acquired guard Kyle Lowry and forward Brian Cook, and the Magic received guard Rafer Alston.

A 12-year NBA veteran, Foyle is averaging 1.0 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.67 blocks in 5.3 minutes in six games with Memphis and Orlando this season.  The Canouan native holds career averages of 4.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.63 blocks in 729 career games (269 starts) with Memphis, Orlando and the Golden State Warriors, who originally selected him in the first round (eighth overall) of the 1997 NBA Draft.

The Grizzlies’ roster now stands at 14 players.

Knicks dislike Jermaine O’Neal’s bulky knee brace

This from Saturday’s Knicks vs Heat game in Miami – The New York Times (Howard Beck) reports: The game was delayed for several minutes in the second quarter after the Knicks complained about Jermaine O’Neal’s bulky knee brace. Wilson Chandler, Jared Jeffries and Nate Robinson all hurt themselves banging into the brace’s hard plastic. Ken Mauer, the lead referee, initially signaled for the Heat to replace O’Neal, but O’Neal chose to ditch the brace instead. He put it back on for the second half, with a sleeve over it.

Euroleague Top 16 Week 4 MVP: Tiago Splitter

Euroleague.net reports: A triumphant return from personal misfortune and family tragedy saw a signature Euroleague superstar earn MVP honors for Top 16, Week 4. All-Euroleague center Tiago Splitter put on a near-perfect performance as Tau Ceramica moved nearer to Quarterfinal Playoffs qualification by dominating Armani Jeans Milano 74-107 on the road Wednesday in Group D. It was Splitter’s first Top 16 game after an injury and the tragic passing of his teenage sister earlier in February as she lost a long battle with leukemia… Carlos Arroyo of Maccabi Electra was the best scorer of Top 16 Week 4 with 26 points in a losing effort against Real Madrid. Three players – Louis Bullock of Real Madrid, Igor Rakocevic of Tau Ceramica and Mirsad Turkcan of Fenerbahce Ulker – tie as the Top 16’s overall scoring leaders with 19 points per game each.

How LeBron can make the most money

The Cleveland Plain Dealer (Brian Windhorst) reports:  Purely from a financial perspective, LeBron James would probably be best to pick up his option for the 2010-11 season and then extend that contract this summer to 2013 or 2014 to protect himself from the expected salary cap drop and subsequent reduction in max salary. By setting the start of the extension at 2011, James would be in position to reap the rewards of a favorable new CBA for max contracts because his deal would be automatically revised to meet the new max level. But if the cap collapses he’d also be assured of getting a raise on his $17 million salary in 2010-11 and there’s a chance he could actually be above the max contract level after the cap goes down. He would also be wise to build in a series of termination options to continue to apply pressure to the Cavs to surround him with talent while protecting a massive salary for many years. In his position, he will get whatever he asks for as long as it is allowed under the CBA.

Okafor, Bell lead Bobcats over Clippers 100-95

The AP reports: The Charlotte Bobcats lost an inordinate amount of close games early in the season. They just hope it won’t come back to haunt them, now that they’re within striking distance of the franchise’s first playoff berth. Emeka Okafor had 28 points and nine rebounds, Raja Bell scored nine of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, and Charlotte beat the Los Angeles Clippers 100-95 on Saturday night for their third straight victory… Okafor made 11 of 17 shots, while Diaw added 15 points. Zach Randolph had 33 points and nine rebounds for Los Angeles, coming off a 98-86 loss at Sacramento that followed Wednesday’s stunning 93-91 upset of the NBA champion Boston Celtics.

Brewer scores 26, Jazz beat Kings 102-89

The AP reports: Ronnie Brewer scored a career-high 26 points and Utah increased its winning streak to seven straight with a 102-89 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night, hours after Jazz owner Larry Miller’s funeral in the same building. Mehmet Okur also scored 26 and Deron Williams added 16 points and 11 assists for the Jazz, who went 10-1 in February. The day started somberly for the Jazz with the funeral for Miller, who died eight days before of complications from diabetes, but ended with another win—a fitting send-off for their longtime owner. Kevin Martin had 19 points to lead the Kings, who haven’t won back-to-back games since November. Rashad McCants had 17 points and Bobby Jackson scored 14 for Sacramento.

Rose 16 in 4th, Bulls beat Rockets 105-102

The AP reports: Derrick Rose scored 16 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, and the Chicago Bulls rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat the Houston Rockets 105-102 on Saturday night. Trailing 99-82 with just under six minutes left, the Bulls outscored the Rockets 23-3 the rest of the way to pull out a dramatic win in their first home game since the deaths of franchise icons Norm Van Lier and Johnny “Red” Kerr… Artest, who scored a season-best 32 points, argued vehemently for a foul and had to be escorted away by Dikembe Mutombo… Yao Ming added 17 points, Luis Scola scored 16 while grabbing 11 rebounds, but the Rockets let what looked like their first road win in more than a month slip away.

Bucks shoot well, beat Wizards 109-93

The AP reports: Charlie Villanueva scored 25 points and Richard Jefferson added 22 to lift the Milwaukee Bucks to an easy 109-93 victory over the Washington Wizards on Saturday night. Milwaukee never trailed, opened up a double-digit lead in the opening minutes and was never seriously threatened to win its fourth straight over Washington and avoid losing three in a row for the first time since early December… Reserve Dan Gadzuric had 10 points and 11 rebounds and Ramon Sessions added 12 points and 10 assists. The Bucks also got 13 points from rookie Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and 12 from Charlie Bell… Washington would mount no such challenge despite getting 21 points and 14 rebounds from Antawn Jamison. Caron Butler scored 19 and Nick Young added 13 for the Wizards, who had an inspired 113-90 victory over Chicago on Friday night.

Green 27 and 10, Thunder beat Grizzlies 99-92

The AP reports: Jeff Green had 27 points and 10 rebounds, Russell Westbrook added 25 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 99-92 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night. The Thunder won despite playing without Kevin Durant, the league’s fourth-leading scorer with a 26.0 average, who suffered a right ankle sprain in Friday night’s 110-108 overtime loss to Dallas. Durant is listed as day-to-day. Thabo Sefolosha, playing only his fourth game for Oklahoma City after a trade from Chicago, recorded 15 points and 11 rebounds, season-highs in both categories. Nenad Krstic also scored 10 points. Rudy Gay scored 20 points to lead Memphis, which lost its seventh straight. O.J. Mayo finished with 18 points, while Mike Conley had 17.