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James White signs with team in Croatia

Here’s Euroleague.net with news on James “Flight” White:

Cedevita Zagreb added experience and athleticism to its roster at once by signing James White. The high-flying small forward arrives from Russian side Unics Kazan. Last season White (2.01 meters, 32 years old) averaged 10 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in 10 Turkish Airlines Euroleague appearances. He also posted 13.4 points and 3.3 boards in 12 Eurocup games to help the club reach that competition’s semifinals and 9.0 points and 3.8 rebounds in the VTB United League as Unics advanced to the quarterfinals.

Hawks forward Mike Scott arrested

Here’s the Atlanta Journal Constitution reporting on some legal trouble for Hawks reserve Mike Scott, who last season 7.8 points and 2.9 rebounds in 16.5 minutes per game:

Hawks forward Mike Scott faces felony drug charges after he was arrested in Banks County on Thursday morning.

Scott, who just completed his third season with the Hawks, was arrested along with his brother, Antonn Imhotep Scott, for possession of marijuana and MDMA, known as Molly.

According to a report from the Banks County Sheriff’s office, deputies attempted to stop a Chevrolet Tahoe on Interstate 85 driven by Antonn Scott for following too closely to other vehicles at 9 a.m.

The vehicle failed to yield to police and reached a speed of up to 98 mph.

Pelicans hope to keep Norris Cole

Norris Cole is a good backup guard. And he has a cool haircut. Here’s the New Orleans Times Picayune reporting on the Pelicans, who hope to keep Cole on their squad. Last season in 28 games for New Orleans, Cole averaged 9.9 points and 3.2 assists in 24.4 minutes per outing:

The Pelicans declined last week to withdraw their qualifying offer of $3 million to Cole. The chances for New Orleans to retain Cole improves as he remains unsigned. Most of the teams in the NBA have already made their most important deals in free agency.

At this point, the Pelicans’ qualifying could end up as the most money Cole may be offered on the open market in free agency. Although the Philadelphis 76ers have been one of the teams that have expressed interest, according to sources, the Pelicans can also match any offer Cole receives.

”Of course, I would love to see Norris back,” Pelicans forward Quincy Pondexter said earlier this week. ”I know that he’s trying to figure what’s best for himself and family. Norris is such a huge part of our team, a huge part of our success last year. I don’t think we make the run without him and so to have him back and have Jrue Holiday and Ryan Anderson healthy, I think it’s going to be a great year for our team.”

Nancy Lieberman to become NBA assistant coach

Here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting cool news on the women’s basketball front:

The Kings are expected to hire Nancy Lieberman, the 1996 Hall of Fame inductee and assistant general manager of the Dallas Mavericks’ D-League team, as an assistant coach.

“Definitely I’m going to offer her a job,” Kings vice president Vlade Divac said Thursday. “George (Karl) and I talked about bringing her back after she helped us at Summer League (in Las Vegas). She was terrific. She brings a different dimension. I think is a nice opportunity for her.”

Lieberman said Thursday she will accept the offer. Divac said he expects to make an announcement next week.

Thunder sign forward Josh Huestis

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed forward Josh Huestis to a contract, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

“We are excited to add Josh to our roster as he allows us to continue to increase our depth through his athleticism and versatility,” Presti said. “Josh knows our culture and our organization as a result of his time with the Blue and we look forward to his continued development with the Thunder.”

Huestis (6-7, 230) joins the Thunder after spending the past season with the Oklahoma City Blue where he appeared in 44 games (43 starts) and averaged 10.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.57 blocks (13th in NBADL) in 33.1 minutes per game.

The Thunder selected Huestis with the 29th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.

The Great Falls, Mont. native spent four seasons at Stanford and averaged 7.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.41 blocks in 135 career games. During both his junior and senior seasons, he was named to the Pac-12 Defensive Team and at the conclusion of his sophomore season, he received Pac-12 Defensive Team Honorable Mention honors.

Trail Blazers waive Brendan Haywood

The Portland Trail Blazers have waived center Brendan Haywood, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey.

Portland acquired Haywood, guard Mike Miller and two future second round draft picks from the Cleveland Cavaliers on July 27 in exchange for cash considerations.

According to the Oregonian, “the Blazers acquired Haywood on Monday, along with sharpshooter Mike Miller, in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cleveland moved Haywood to shed his $10.5 million salary and gain luxury tax relief, and the Blazers — who acquired two second round draft picks in the deal — never planned to keep him on their roster.”

Mavericks sign center Salah Mejri

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed center Salah Mejri.

Mejri (7-2, 235) played in 34 games with Real Madrid last season and averaged 4.3 points and 2.1 rebounds in 8.6 minutes on the way to winning the Spanish League title. He increased those averages to 5.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 10.3 minutes in eight Euroleague games as Real Madrid went on to also capture the Euroleague Championship with a win over Greek-power Olympiacos in the final game.

A native of Jendouba, Tunisia, Mejri was a member of the Tunisian National Team that competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The team secured its bid to the London Olympics by winning the 2011 FIBA African Championships where Mejri was named Most Valuable Player.

Knicks waive Ricky Ledo

New York Knicks President Phil Jackson announced today that the team has waived guard Ricky Ledo.

Ledo, 6-7, 195-pounds, averaged 7.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists over 19.4 minutes in 12 games with New York last season. He signed the first of two consecutive 10-day contracts on Mar. 19 and then signed for the remainder of the season on Apr. 8.

Knicks re-sign Lou Amundson

New York Knicks President Phil Jackson announced today that the team has re-signed forward Lou Amundson to a contract.

Amundson, 6-9, 225-pounds, was acquired this past season as part of a three-way deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Jan. 5, 2015 and signed his first 10-day contract with New York on Jan. 10, 2015. The Ventura, CA-native averaged 6.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 41 games for the Knicks in 2014-15. The nine-year NBA pro holds career averages of 3.8 points and 3.7 rebounds over 399 games.

He’ll mostly provide frontcourt depth off the bench and will likely play fairly limited minutes.

Andre Miller to join Timberwolves

Here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune reporting that crafty, talented super-veteran point guard Andre Miller will be joining the squad:

It was less than two weeks ago that Flip Saunders, Wolves president of basketball operations, said his team might be in the market for a veteran point guard.

He has arrived.

A source confirmed a report that Wolves had come to an agreement on a one-year contract with veteran Andre Miller, who visited the Wolves on Wednesday.

It marks an evolution in Saunders’ thinking. Immediately after moving up to draft former Apple Valley star Tyus Jones late in the first round of the draft, Saunders sounded like he might be happy with Jones as Ricky Rubio’s backup. But the fact that Rubio is coming off ankle surgery and Jones is a rookie ultimately changed Saunders’ mind.