Bucks sign Luc Richard Mbah a Moute

The Milwaukee Bucks signed Luc Richard Mbah a Moute to a multi-year contract, General Manager John Hammond announced today. Mbah a Moute (6-8, 230 lbs) was the 37th overall selection in the 2008 NBA Draft and will participate in the 2008 Las Vegas Summer League with the Bucks (July 12-20).

A native of Yaounde, Cameroon, Mbah a Moute played three seasons for the UCLA Bruins and left the school as the 15th leading rebounder with 775. In 107 games (106 starts) with the Bruins, Mbah a Moute averaged 8.7 points and 7.2 rebounds while shooting 50.3 percent from the field. As a junior he was named Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 and Honorable Mention All-Defensive Team as he produced 8.8 points and 6.0 rebounds (T-11th in the Pac-10). He has been a part of UCLA teams that reached the Final Four three consecutive years (2006-2008).

Mbah a Moute, pronounced Bah – ah – Moo-tay, will join Bucks first round draft pick Joe Alexander along with Ramon Sessions and Awvee Storey on the Bucks Summer League team. The five-game schedule kicks of Saturday against Memphis and includes games against Detroit (July 15), Denver (July 17), Minnesota (July 19) and Cleveland (July 20). Bucks.com will cover the all of Milwaukee’s Summer League action.

Heat sign Mario Chalmers

The Miami HEAT announced today that they have signed guard Mario Chalmers, the 34th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Chalmers, an early entry candidate after spending three seasons at the University of Kansas, was acquired by the HEAT in a draft day trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for two 2009 second round picks and cash considerations.

Chalmers was named Most Outstanding Player of the 2008 NCAA Tournament Final Four, and is a three-time Big 12 All-Defensive Team selection. He earned Second Team All-Big 12 honors in his junior season, and as a sophomore, was named Co-Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and earned Third Team All-Conference honors.

During his three seasons as a Jayhawk, he averaged 12.2 points, 3.8 assists and 2.57 steals, while shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from three-point range. He led the Big 12 in steals in all three of his seasons and currently ranks as the second all-time leader in Kansas history with 283 steals. He holds the single-season mark for steals in a season with 97, set during both his sophomore and junior seasons and also ranks sixth all-time in three-point field goals made (180), 12th in assists (420) and 24th in scoring (1,341).

Chalmers was born in Anchorage, Alaska and attended Bartlett High School. His cousin, Lionel Chalmers, played in the NBA with the L.A. Clippers. His other cousin, Chris Smith, played with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Nets sign Chris Douglas-Roberts

The New Jersey Nets have signed their second round selection in the 2008 NBA Draft, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Nets President Rod Thorn announced today.  Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.

Douglas-Roberts, selected by the Nets in the second round with the 40th overall pick, was named Conference USA Player-of-the-Year and averaged 18.1 points and 4.1 rebounds during his junior year to help lead Memphis to the national championship game against Kansas.  The 6-7 guard was also named First Team All-American for the 2007-08 season.  In three seasons at Memphis, Douglas-Roberts averaged 14.2 points and 3.7 rebounds in 109 career games.

Bucks will sign Andrew Bogut to extension

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Charles F. Gardner) reports: The Bucks are making a serious commitment to center Andrew Bogut, who will sign a five-year extension with salary and bonuses worth up to $72.5 million, according to agent David Bauman. Today is the first day for NBA free agents and players seeking extensions to sign contracts. The extension does not affect the $6.9 million he is owed for the coming season, the final year of his rookie contract. Sources indicated the guaranteed money in the extension is $60 million.

InsideHoops.com editor says: Bogut emerged last season as a quality center, though I think the Bucks are overpaying by around $10 or $20 million. He’s a good player but I haven’t seen him be a real difference-maker yet. Of course, his teammates didn’t help much in that department last season. Everyone that matters on the Bucks, including guards Mo Williams and Michael Redd, were disappointing. So it’s not Bogut’s fault that his stats mostly came by way of losses. Anyway, even if they’re paying a bit more than they should, the Bucks are making the right move. But let’s see if Bogut keeps improving once he signs the contract. Lots of guys, by total coincidence, seem to level off the season after they suddenly become zillionaires.

Steve and Barry`s chain declares for bankruptcy

Business Journal of Milwaukee reports: The men’s and women’s clothing store chain Steve & Barry’s will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to a release from the company Wednesday. The Port Washington, N.Y.-based Steve & Barry’s has more than 270 stores across the nation, including nine in Massachusetts. It has one local store at Southridge Mall in Greendale. The company said a number of factors went into the decision, including a liquidity shortfall as a result of credit market volatility and general economic conditions, which, in turn, have impacted the company’s store opening plans and borrowing capacity.

InsideHoops.com editor says: In case you forgot, that’s the chain that sold the Starbury sneakers. Everything at Steve and Barry’s costs around $5-$20 or something like that.  I’ve only been in their stores once, for the Marbury launch party back a few years ago which was held in their midtown Manhattan location, pretty close to Madison Square Garden. Seemed like a good store. I guess the prices were too low.

Zillions of NBA transactions today

WEDNESDAY NBA BASKETBALL NEWS AND FEATURES

Kings sign their second rounders
Grizzlies sign Marc Gasol
Kings re-sign Beno Udrih
Raptors re-sign Jose Calderon		 Mavericks sign DeSagana Diop
Heat sign James Jones
Knicks sign Chris Duhon
Updated NBA depth charts

Hornets sign Chris Paul to contract extension
Pacers trade Jermaine O’Neal to Raptors for T.J. Ford in six-player deal
Blazers trade J.Jack, J.McRoberts, B.Rush to Pacers for J.Bayless, I.Diogu
76ers trade Calvin Booth, Rodney Carney to Timberwolves
WNBA basketball: Taurasi hits 3,000 quicker than any other WNBA’er

Orlando summer league Day 2: The good: Brook Lopez, Russell Westbrook, Jeff Green, Kevin Durant, Courtney Lee, Mario Chalmers. The bad: Michael Beasley, Derrick Rose

Kings sign their second rounders

The Sacramento Kings today signed second round picks Sean Singletary and Patrick Ewing, Jr. to contracts, it was announced by Kings’ President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie. Per team policy, terms of the contracts were not disclosed.

Singletary, a 6-0, 185-pound guard out of Virginia, was the Kings’ 42nd overall selection while Ewing, Jr., a 6-8, 240-pound forward from Georgetown, was Sacramento’s 43rd overall pick of the 2008 NBA Draft.

Pacers president and coach speak on deals

“We’re very excited about the trades we made,” said Pacers President of Basketball Larry Bird. “We know we got some good character guys and good players. I just want to help the franchise move forward and we feel with the draft, we know we picked up two good guys that our fans are going to be very supportive of and excited about.”

Added Pacers Coach Jim O’Brien: “I think Larry and (General Manager) David Morway did an outstanding job in changing around our basketball team, both with the trades and the picks. Our team will have a completely different look next year. Overall, the seven new players we have give us a completely different look than we had last year and we have maintained the guys that got the majority of playing time at the end of last season.

“An area of particular concern for us last year was the point guard spot. We certainly feel with Travis (Diener) returning and the addition of T.J. Ford and Jarrett Jack we have solidified that position. We feel getting Maceo, Rasho and Josh really gives us solid depth up front. Brandon gives us a guy who can very quickly impact both ends of the court. Defensively, we think he can be a high-level stopper and we also think Brandon has the potential to create his own shot on a regular basis as well as give us spacing on the court. Roy gives us size and low-post scoring. At the end of every game, he’s still going to be 7-2, which is a real important factor for us.”

The deals:

–  Pacers trade Jermaine O’Neal to Raptors for T.J. Ford in six-player deal

– Blazers trade J.Jack, J.McRoberts, B.Rush to Pacers for J.Bayless, I.Diogu

James Donaldson to run for Seattle City Council

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Dan Raley) reports: Unlike his former NBA team, James Donaldson won’t be leaving town soon. The one-time Sonics center is interested only in making a deeper connection to Seattle. On Wednesday, Donaldson, 50, will announce plans to run for Seattle City Council in 2009, describing himself as a made-to-order leader and a person devoted to his hometown of the past 30 years… A California native and Washington State alumnus, Donaldson played 14 seasons with five teams in the NBA, the first three years for the Sonics. Teaming with Jack Sikma and Lonnie Shelton, he was part of a huge Seattle front line that was nicknamed “the Winnebago Wall.” He was an All-Star selection for the Dallas Mavericks.

Lakers raise ticket prices

The Los Angeles Times (Mike Bresnahan) reports: Courtside seats were raised from $2,300 to $2,500 a game, an 8.7% hike that moved beyond the typical annual increase of 4.5%. Seats in six lower-level sections between the baskets — 101, 102, 110, 111, 112 and 119 — were raised from $230 to $245, a 6.5% increase that also topped the team’s normal action on such seats. The league average for ticket-price increases is usually 3% to 4%. Other tickets in the lower bowl at Staples Center will be $210, $147, $110, and $85, increases of 4.8% to 6.3%.