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Heat trade Brian Roberts to Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers have acquired guard Brian Roberts and a future second-round pick from the Miami Heat in exchange for cash considerations, it was announced today by president of basketball operations Neil Olshey.

“Brian is an experienced player and a quality person,” said Olshey. “He has a skill set we value and fills a positional need as we head into a critical time in the season.”

In four seasons with New Orleans and Charlotte, Roberts, 30, is averaging 7.4 points (41.2% FG, 35.2% 3-PT, 91.9% FT), 1.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists over 252 games (57 starts).

Roberts (6-1, 173) was traded to Miami from Charlotte on Tuesday, and did not play for the Heat.

One of the league’s top shooters from the free throw line, Roberts has made at least 90 percent of his free throws in three of four seasons, including an NBA-best 94 percent in 2013-14.

Three-team NBA trade sends Shelvin Mack to Jazz, Kirk Hinrich to Hawks

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has acquired guard Shelvin Mack from the Atlanta Hawks, pending the outcome of a physical, as part of a three-team trade with the Hawks and Chicago Bulls. As part of the deal, the Jazz traded a future second-round pick to the Bulls, who also received guard Justin Holliday from Atlanta while sending the Hawks guard Kirk Hinrich.

Mack (6-3, 203, Butler) has appeared in 24 games for the Hawks this season, averaging 3.9 points and 1.6 assists in 7.5 minutes of action.

Originally selected in the second round (34th overall selection) of the 2011 NBA Draft by Washington, the 25-year-old has appeared in 247 career games (14 starts) over five seasons with Washington, Philadelphia and Atlanta, and owns career averages of 5.3 points, 2.7 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 15.0 minutes. He has also appeared in a total of 21 playoffs games over the last three seasons, averaging 5.0 points, 2.0 assists and 1.5 rebounds, including 10.0 points, 1.7 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 21.7 minutes during the 2015 Eastern Conference Finals.

Prior to the NBA, Mack played three seasons at Butler University (2008-11), helping the Bulldogs to the Championship game in each of his final two seasons, and was selected to the All-Tournament Team at the 2011 Final Four. For his collegiate career, Mack appeared in 108 games and averaged 14.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists while helping Butler to an 87-21 record in those games. During his first two seasons at Butler, Mack teamed with current Jazzman Gordon Hayward, as the pair led Butler to the school’s first ever Final Four and an appearance in the 2010 title game.

A native of Lexington, Ky., Mack was also chosen to the 2010 USA Select Team which helped Team USA prepare for the FIBA World Championship, and was captain of the gold medal-winning USA U19 World Championship team during the summer of 2009.

Cavaliers trade Anderson Varejao to Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers have acquired a future first-round draft pick and forward Anderson Varejao from the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for a future second-round pick, it was announced today by president of basketball operations Neil Olshey.

“This was an opportunistic way to use our cap room to acquire a valuable asset,” said Olshey.

Varejao, 33, holds career averages of 7.6 points (51.2% FG, 63.2% FT), 7.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists over 12 seasons with the Cavaliers. He is posting averages of 2.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 10.0 minutes in 31 games this season.

Trail Blazers waive guard Tim Frazier

The Portland Trail Blazers have waived guard Tim Frazier, it was announced today by president of basketball operations Neil Olshey.

Frazier, 25, averaged 1.5 points, 1.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 7.8 minutes in 35 games (one start) for the Trail Blazers this season.

Signed as a free agent on March 30, 2015, Frazier posted averages of 1.9 points, 1.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 8.5 minutes in parts of two seasons with the Trail Blazers.

Clippers, Grizzlies trade Lance Stephenson, Jeff Green

The Clippers beat the trade deadline buzzer Thursday by sending Lance Stephenson and a lottery-protected first-round draft pick to the Memphis Grizzlies for Jeff Green in a move that bolsters their frontcourt.

Green can play both forward positions and could presumably fill in at power forward until Blake Griffin returns from a broken right hand and a four-game suspension that is expected to sideline him until next month.

Then Green, 29, could switch to small forward, one of the Clippers’ biggest needs in recent seasons as it started Matt Barnes and Luc Mbah a Moute.

The 6-foot-9, 235-pound Green, who is in the final season of a contract that pays him $9.4 million, was averaging 12.2 points and 4.5 rebounds for the Grizzlies. Green spent two seasons playing for Clippers Coach Doc Rivers in Boston while also sitting out the 2011-12 season because of a heart condition.

— Los Angeles Times

Markieff Morris traded from Suns to Wizards

The Phoenix Suns (14-40) have reportedly granted forward Markieff Morris his wish and traded him.

According to The Vertical/Yahoo Sports, Morris is being sent to the Washington Wizards.

And according to CBS Sports, the Wizards send Kris Humphries, DaJuan Blair and a future first to Phoenix for Morris.

The NBA trade deadline is today at 3 p.m. ET, though deals are often announced after the deadline.

Morris this season averaged 11.6 points (39.7% FG) and 5.2 rebounds in 24.8 minutes per game for the Suns, though ever since Earl Watson took over as head coach Morris had been playing a leading role on the team and putting up impressive stats.

Heat trade Jarnell Stokes to Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans have acquired forward Jarnell Stokes and cash considerations from the Miami HEAT in exchange for a future second round draft pick.

Stokes, 6-9, 255, has appeared in 26 career NBA games with Miami and Memphis, holding career averages on 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in 5.5 minutes per game. Stokes has appeared in 16 games this season for Miami’s D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, averaging 20.6 points on .673 shooting from the floor to go along with 10.2 points, 1.1 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks in 30.9 minutes per game while earning a selection to the 2016 D-League All-Star Game in Toronto.

The Memphis native was selected with the 35th overall pick by Utah in the 2014 NBA Draft after a three-year career at the University of Tennessee.

Nets hire Sean Marks as General Manager

The Brooklyn Nets announced today that the team has named Sean Marks as General Manager.

“After an exhaustive vetting process, we are delighted to have Sean as our General Manager,” Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov said. “His experience on the court, in coaching and management gives him a 360 degree view of the job at hand. His background helping to build one of the greatest teams in the NBA gives him an unparalleled frame of reference. And he impressed us all with his vision, his values, his personality and his enthusiasm for the club. The vote to select him from an incredible list of talent was unanimous. We welcome Sean into our Nets family and look forward to his strong leadership and independent thinking as we build our own success story.”

“I am very excited to be named the General Manager of the Brooklyn Nets, and to become a member of the vibrant and dynamic organization that represents Brooklyn,” Marks said. “I would like to thank Nets’ ownership for giving me this opportunity, and I look forward to the challenge of creating a unified culture and building a winning team.”

Marks joins the Nets after spending the past five years with the San Antonio Spurs, including the last two seasons as the team’s assistant general manager. Prior to serving as assistant general manager, Marks spent one season as an assistant coach on the Spurs’ 2014 NBA Championship team, one season as the team’s director of basketball operations and general manager of the Spurs’ NBA Development League affiliate, the Austin Spurs, and one season as a basketball operations assistant.

A veteran of 12 NBA seasons, Marks was originally selected with the 44th pick in the second round of the 1998 NBA draft by the New York Knicks. Over the course of his playing career, he suited up for six different franchises, including the Toronto Raptors (1998-00), Miami Heat (2001-03), Phoenix Suns (2006-08), New Orleans Hornets (2008-10) and Portland Trail Blazers (2010-11). He also spent two seasons with the Spurs (2004-06) and was a member of the 2005 NBA Championship team.

Prior to embarking on his NBA career, Marks spent played four seasons at the University of California, Berkeley, where he served as a captain during his senior season (1997-98). He earned his degree in political science from the school in 1998.

Marks is a native of Auckland, New Zealand, representing the country in the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games. He was also a part of the team that finished fourth at the 2002 FIBA World Championship.

Kings fire assistant coach Vance Walberg

The Sacramento Kings announced today a change to its coaching staff, parting ways with assistant coach Vance Walberg, according to Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Vlade Divac.

“This was a tough decision made after consideration of what is best for the team moving forward,” Divac said. “We want to thank Vance for his contributions to the organization and wish him the very best in his future endeavors.”

Walberg joined the Sacramento bench on February 23, 2015.

Thunder assistant coach Mo Cheeks out after hip surgery

Thunder assistant coach Mo Cheeks out six weeks

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced that assistant coach Maurice Cheeks underwent successful hip surgery today. Cheeks will return to the team in a week for practices and meetings, and will be back on the Thunder bench for games in approximately six weeks.

Oklahoma City Blue Head Coach Mark Daigneault will join Thunder Head Coach Billy Donovan’s staff as an assistant for the remainder of the season. Blue assistant coach Jarell Christian will assume Daigneault’s role with the Blue for the rest of their 2015-16 campaign.

Daigneault becomes the third coach to be called up to the Thunder from its D-League team. Darko Rajakovic was hired as Thunder assistant coach in July 2014 after serving two seasons as the head coach of the Thunder’s D-League team, and Royal Ivey was hired at the start of the 2015-16 campaign as a player development assistant following his stint as an assistant for the Blue during the 2014-15 season.