Shawn Marion out two weeks with hip injury

Shawn Marion out around two weeks with hip injury

Shawn Marion out around two weeks with hip injury

Cavaliers forward Shawn Marion returned to Cleveland from New York to have his left hip examined at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health.

The results of the exam and imaging revealed a left hip strain. He will undergo a treatment and rehab process and is expected to be Out for approximately two weeks.

The Cavs are 35-22 this season, but have been a much-improved team in 2015. Marion gets decent minutes — 20.0 mins per game — but scores just 4.9 ppg and has played a limited, supporting role this season.

Kings hire Vance Walberg as assistant coach

Kings hire Vance Walberg as assistant coach

The Sacramento Kings today hired Vance Walberg as an assistant coach, according to General Manager Pete D’Alessandro.

A veteran of the coaching ranks with more than three decades of experience at the prep, collegiate and professional levels, Walberg joins George Karl’s staff after spending the last two seasons in a similar capacity with the Philadelphia 76ers. Prior to his tenure with the 76ers, he was an assistant for Karl on Denver’s bench.

Walberg is known for his innovative offensive ideas and credited with developing the dribble drive motion offense—implemented by John Calipari at the University of Memphis and later Kentucky. His coaching resume includes three seasons at UMass as an assistant coach (2008-2011) after serving two seasons as the head coach at Pepperdine University (2006-2008).

Prior to joining Karl in Denver for the 2011-12 campaign, Walberg led Fresno City College to a 133-11 (.924) record in his four seasons at the helm, including a perfect 34-0 mark culminating in a California state community college championship in 2005. His extensive head coaching background at the prep level includes stints at Clovis West, Newark Memorial, Los Altos and Mountain View High Schools. In 13 years at Clovis West (Fresno), Walberg guided his teams to a 343-68 record with nine league titles, 10 CIF Central Section Championship appearances, and three trips to the Southern State Championship Game.

An alumnus of Cal State Bakersfield, the College of Belmont and Saint Mary’s College, Walberg and his wife, Rose have four children: Jason, Heather, Jaimie-Rose and Ian.

Guard Bryce Cotton named D-League Performer of Week

Guard Bryce Cotton named D-League Performer of Week

Austin Spurs guard Bryce Cotton was today named NBA Development League Performer of the Week for games played Monday, Feb. 16 – Sunday, Feb. 22. The honor is the first of Cotton’s career and he is the second Spurs player to earn the award this season.

Cotton (6-0, 163, Providence) led Austin to a 3-0 record last week, averaging 30.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.3 steals. Cotton recorded an NBA D-League career-high 43 points to go with eight rebounds, nine assists and two steals in a 147-142 road win over Reno on Feb. 19, the night after he scored 32 points against the Bighorns. For the week, Cotton shot 54 percent (28-of-52) from the floor and 56 percent (10-of-18) from three-point territory. The three-victory week helps Austin extend a nine-game win streak that began on Jan. 27.

Selected as a 2015 NBA D-League All-Star, Cotton has appeared in 34 games for the Spurs this season, averaging 22.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 40.4 minutes.

Other top performers considered included Bakersfield’s Mac Koshwal, Delaware’s D.J. Seeley, Idaho’s Jack Cooley, Iowa’s Kalin Lucas, Oklahoma City’s Marquis Teague, Reno’s Sim Bhullar, Rio Grande Valley’s Clint Capela and Santa Cruz’s Elliot Williams.

Nets: Markel Brown finally getting some playing time

Here’s the New York Post reporting on a guy at the end of the Nets bench getting to stand up, leave the bench and play some basketball:

Everyone on the Nets has gotten an extended shot at playing time at some point this season.

Everyone, that is, except for Markel Brown.

The rookie guard, taken by the Nets with the 44th pick in last year’s draft out of Oklahoma State, has spent most of the season watching from the sidelines. Before Friday’s game against the Lakers, Brown had played in just 17 of the first 51 games — and had played more than 10 minutes just three times, all in blowout losses.

But after the Nets traded Kevin Garnett for Thaddeus Young at Thursday’s trade deadline and coach Lionel Hollins opted to go to a smaller lineup, Brown played 15 minutes in Friday’s win, finishing with nine points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal in 15 minutes, a performance that could lead to more playing time.

Kevin Garnett, Flip Saunders may team up and try to buy Timberwolves

Kevin Garnett, Flip Saunders may team up and try to buy Timberwolves

Here’s the St. Paul Pioneer Press reporting on a fun possibility in Minnesota:

Kevin Garnett, Flip Saunders may team up and try to buy Timberwolves

The contract extension Kevin Garnett, 38, will sign with the Timberwolves this summer will be for two years. During that period, Garnett and Wolves president-coach Flip Saunders are expected to try to form a group to buy the team from Glen Taylor.

Garnett has amassed more than $325 million in salaries during 20 seasons in the NBA. Saunders, who turns 60 on Monday, has made an estimated $40 million during 17 seasons as a NBA coach.

The Wolves, for whom Taylor paid $88 million in 1994, were valued at $625 million last January by Forbes. Taylor, who turns 74 in April, is amenable to taking in more limited partners. But he’s not interested in selling his team until he finds out what the Atlanta Hawks, who are for sale and currently are taking bids, end up going for.

Carmelo Anthony played through injury most of this season

Carmelo Anthony played through injury most of this season

New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony is out for the season after averaging 24.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 35.7 minutes per game this season. He played in 40 games, starting all 40. Here’s the New York Post reporting what he was dealing with along the way:

Carmelo Anthony played hurt most of this season

Carmelo Anthony played most of the season with a partial tear of the left patellar tendon, The Post has learned.

In new details, the debridement part of Thursday’s surgery was to clean out the calcium deposits that formed within the partial tear, so the tear could be repaired.

If Anthony had suffered a full tear of the patellar tendon — also known as a rupture — he could not have played on it this season. Ex-Knick Antonio McDyess suffered a full tear in 2000, as did the Giants’ Victor Cruz last season.

JaVale McGee hopes to stay with Sixers

JaVale McGee hopes to stay with Sixers

New Philadelphia 76ers center JaVale McGee has averaged 8.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game over his NBA career, though he’s received little playing time this season and hasn’t contributed much. But that was on the Denver Nuggets. There’s room for him to step up at least a little on the very-rebuilding Sixers, if given a shot. Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer reporting:

JaVale McGee hopes to stay with Sixers

Center JaVale McGee wants to remain with the 76ers for the rest of the season and beyond.

The Sixers, at least for the time being, are committed to giving him every opportunity to do just that.

“We are coming into this whole thing with an open mind,” coach Brett Brown said Sunday after the team’s morning shootaround at the Amway Center. “He is around a bunch of genuine people, coaches that care. That will give him every chance to keep moving and to be as good as he can be.

“And if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. But it’s not going to be on us.”

Hawks end Bucks` home winning streak

Here’s the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporting on Sunday NBA action:

Milwaukee’s seven-game home winning streak came to an end Sunday afternoon at the hands of the Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta Hawks.

The Bucks dug out of a deep hole to tie the game in the third quarter but could not survive a fourth-quarter surge by the Hawks and dropped a 97-86 decision at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Kyle Korver found his shooting touch and Paul Millsap finished with 23 points and 15 rebounds as the Hawks (44-12) avoided a three-game skid.

All five Hawks starters were in double figures, including Al Horford with 15 points, Korver with 12 and DeMarre Carroll and Jeff Teague with 10 each.

Sixers sign Ish Smith, waive Malcolm Thomas

Sixers sign Ish Smith, waive Malcolm Thomas

Sixers sign Ish Smith, waive Malcolm Thomas

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that the team has signed guard Ishmael “Ish” Smith.

Smith has appeared in 221 career NBA games and owns career averages of three points, two assists and over one rebound per game. He was selected by the Delaware 87ers during the team’s expansion draft in August, 2013.

Smith finished at Wake Forest as the first player in school history to record 1,000 points, 500 assists and 400 rebounds in a career.

In a related move, the Sixers have waived forward Malcolm Thomas.

Nuggets waive Victor Claver and Thomas Robinson

Nuggets waive Victor Claver and Thomas Robinson

Nuggets waive Victor Claver and Thomas Robinson

The Denver Nuggets have waived forwards Victor Claver and Thomas Robinson, General Manager and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced today.

Both Claver and Robinson were acquired along with Will Barton and a lottery-protected 2016 first round draft pick from the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Arron Afflalo and Alonzo Gee on February 19, 2015.