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Cavs deliver beating to Thunder

In a battle between teams on a very short list of NBA championship contenders, the Cavs Sunday unleashed a beatdown on the Thunder. Here’s the Akron Beacon Journal blog reporting:

Kevin Love scored 29 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in one of his finest performances of the season and the Cavaliers handed the Oklahoma City Thunder their worst loss of the season Sunday, 115-92, despite severe limitations in their backcourt.

LeBron James had 25 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds on a day the Cavs were without Iman Shumpert, Mo Williams and Kyrie Irving. Shumpert missed the game with a sprained left shoulder, Williams was out with a sore knee and Irving departed in the first quarter with flu-like symptoms and did not return.

Melo not super-excited about Jimmer

It sounds like Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony is not quite ready to throw a ticker-tape parade about the team’s signing of Jimmer Fredette

When asked by The Post Saturday night about the imminent signing of D-League sensation Jimmer Fredette to a 10-day contract, Anthony said, “Who are we getting? To be honest with you, I haven’t seen Jimmy play in a long time. I’ve been hearing about what’s he’s doing down there in the D-League but I haven’t seen him play in action for a long time.”

Anthony didn’t seem overly jacked about the Knicks filling their final roster spot with the former lottery pick out of upstate Glens Falls. Anthony joked with The Post: “I thought you were telling me we were about to sign someone.”

— New York Post

No Vince Carter retirement announcement yet

Vince Carter isn’t ready to call it a career. Not today, at least.

Vince Carter sounds pretty confident this won’t be his last time on the court in Toronto.

Carter and a vastly different Memphis lineup than the one the league was seeing even three games ago, are in town to take on the Raptors Sunday and Carter is giving no indication that fans will be witnessing his Toronto swan song.

“Not now, not yet,” Carter said when asked if he goes into a game like Sunday’s thinking this might be his last time on this particular court.

“I just go year by year and listen to the body. Every now and then I’ll think about ‘When I do know (it’s time), how do I approach that?’ It’s just tough accepting it because I enjoy playing still. I think when I don’t enjoy playing I will definitely let it be known.”

— Toronto Sun

Nets waive Andrea Bargnani

The Brooklyn Nets have requested waivers on Andrea Bargnani, General Manager Sean Marks announced today. It was a buyout agreement between the two sides.

Bargnani, who signed with the Nets on July 17, 2015, appeared in 46 games for Brooklyn, with averages of 6.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per game.

The Nets roster now stands at 14 players.

Clippers sign Alex Stepheson to 10-day contract

The L.A. Clippers announced today the team has signed forward/center Alex Stepheson to a 10-day contract.

Stepheson, 28, appeared in 31 games (all starts) for the Iowa Energy in the NBA Developmental League this season and was a 2016 D-League All-Star, averaging 15.9 points, a league-high 13.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks

The Los Angeles native and former Harvard-Westlake star has played professionally in Greece, Slovenia and Turkey since finishing his collegiate career at the University of Southern California.

The 6-foot-10 inch forward/center averaged 12.3 points and a league-leading 9.2 rebounds in 26.8 minutes over 29 games (21 starts) during the 2014-15 season for Istanbul Buyuksehir Belediyesi.

Undrafted in the 2011 NBA Draft, Stepheson also made three appearances for the Dallas Mavericks during the 2015 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

Suns sign Phil Pressey to 10-day contract

The Phoenix Suns have signed point guard Phil Pressey to a 10-day contract. An NBA veteran in his third season, Pressey played in 14 games with the Philadelphia 76ers earlier this season and has averaged 13.0 points and 6.4 assists in 25 games with the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League.

A 5-11, 175-pound guard, Pressey has played in 139 NBA games (11 starts) with Boston and Philadelphia, most recently averaging 3.9 points and 3.3 assists in 12.1 minutes in 14 games with the 76ers earlier this season. The 25-year-old played his first two seasons with the Celtics, averaging 3.1 points and 2.9 assists in 13.9 minutes in 125 games over 2013-14 and 2014-15. After going undrafted in 2013, Pressey recorded four of his seven career double-digit scoring games as a rookie with Boston, including a career-high 20 points at Washington on Jan. 22, 2014. Pressey twice recorded his career-high of 13 assists in the 2013-14 season.

Originally the first GATORADE Call-Up in the NBA this season when he signed with Philadelphia on Nov. 4, Pressey has averaged 13.0 points, 6.4 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 25 games with Idaho since being waived by the 76ers on Dec. 4. His averages in assists and steals rank fifth and 11th, respectively, among D-League leaders this season. Pressey has twice recorded his season-high of 21 points with the Stampede and has posted three double-doubles, including 20 points and a season-high 13 assists against Los Angeles on Feb. 8.

A native of Dallas, Texas, Pressey competed collegiately at the University of Missouri where he played three seasons and helped the Tigers reach the NCAA tournament in each. Pressey earned First Team All-SEC honors in 2012-13 after averaging career-highs of 11.9 points and a conference-best 7.1 assists. Pressey’s father, Paul Pressey, played 11 seasons in the NBA with Milwaukee, San Antonio and Golden State and is now an assistant coach with the L.A. Lakers.

Pressey will wear number 25. The Suns’ roster now stands at 15

Hornets sign Jorge Gutierrez to 10-day contract

The Charlotte Hornets have signed guard Jorge Gutierrez to a 10-day contract. Gutierrez joins the Hornets from the Canton Charge of the NBA D-League, becoming the 17th D-League to NBA “Call-Up” this season. He will wear No. 12.

Gutierrez provides bench depth. Like most players on a 10-day deal, he isn’t expected to have a big role.

The 6-3 Gutierrez has appeared in 22 games (20 starts) for the Charge this season, averaging 11.3 points, 5.7 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 2.2 steals in 27.8 minutes per game. He currently ranks fourth in the D-League in steals and eighth in assists. Gutierrez has scored in double figures in 13 games and has handed out 10-or-more assists twice. He recorded his first D-League triple-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists on Jan. 9 vs. the Los Angeles D-Fenders at the NBA D-League Showcase.

The Chihuahua, Mexico, native has appeared in 35 career NBA games (three starts) over two seasons with the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks, averaging 3.3 points, 1.5 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 12.0 minutes. He saw action in 15 games with the Nets in 2013-14 and played in 10 games each for the Nets and Bucks last season. Gutierrez began the 2015-16 season as a member of the Bucks preseason roster, but was waived on Oct. 21.

After a four-year career at the University of California, Gutierrez initially joined the Charge in 2012-13. Since then, he has played in 122 games (103 starts) for the team, with career averages of 12.0 points, 5.6 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 30.9 minutes per game. In 2013-14, while playing for current Hornets assistant coach Steve Hetzel, he earned First Team All-Defensive and Second Team All-D-League honors after averaging career highs of 13.9 points, 6.9 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 32.7 minutes played.

The Hornets roster now stands at 15 players.

Sixers expect Joel Embiid to play next season

I know you aren’t holding your breath regarding anything about the Philadelphia 76ers and their rebuilding plan, but the following expectation, as reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer, is perfectly reasonable:

Joel Embiid isn’t likely to play during the summer league, but 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie expects him to be ready for the 2016-2017 NBA season.

Embiid’s status was of major interest as Hinkie held a press conference at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine on Friday as part of a state of the Sixers update.

Selected No. 3 overall in the 2014 NBA draft after his freshman season at Kansas, Embiid has yet to play following a second surgery on his right foot in August.

I still don’t know what to expect from Embiid impact-wise, or what would happen if he does turn out to be worthy of big-time minutes and as a result creates a logjam in the frontcourt, because there are only so many minutes that he, Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor would be able to share. But having to trade one of their big men due to all of them being too talented to sit on the bench would be a nice problem for Philly to have, so no worries there.

Nuggets waive J.J. Hickson and Steve Novak

The Denver Nuggets have waived forwards J.J. Hickson and Steve Novak, General Manager and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced today.

Hickson, 27, appeared in 162 games (69 starts) for Denver over the past three seasons, averaging 9.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 22.1 minutes per game. The eight-year NBA veteran has played in 519 career games (307 starts) for Cleveland, Portland, Sacramento and Denver, averaging 6.9 points and 4.4 rebounds in 22.7 minutes. He was drafted by Cleveland out of North Carolina State University with the 19th overall pick of the 2008 NBA Draft. He joined Denver as a free agent on July 11, 2013.

Novak, 32, has appeared in seven games for the Thunder this season, averaging 2.4 points in 3.4 minutes of action. He has appeared in 456 career games (six starts), averaging 4.7 points and 1.3 rebounds while shooting 43.2% from three-point range in 10 seasons with New York, L.A. Clippers, Houston, Toronto, San Antonio, Utah, Dallas and Oklahoma City. The Marquette University product was drafted by Houston with the 32nd overall pick of the 2006 NBA Draft.

The Nuggets roster currently stands at 13 players.

Celtics waive David Lee

The Boston Celtics have waived little-used forward/center David Lee.

“We thank David for his contributions to our organization and wish him nothing but the best in the future,” said President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge.

Lee has appeared in 30 contests for the Celtics during the 2015-16 season and averaged 7.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 15.7 minutes per game over that span. He recorded a season-high 14 points, to go along with one rebound and one assist, in 15 minutes on November 18, 2015 against the Dallas Mavericks.

The 6’9” forward/center was originally acquired by the Celtics on July 27, 2015 and owns career averages of 14.4 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists over 725 regular season games.