Pelicans sign Toney Douglas to 10-day contract

Pelicans sign Toney Douglas to 10-day contract

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that the team has signed guard Toney Douglas to a 10-day contract.

Douglas, 6-2, 185, most recently played for the Jiangsu Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association, appearing in 35 games while averaging 19.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.1 steals. Drafted 29th overall out of Florida State in 2009 by the Los Angeles Lakers, Douglas has appeared in 297 career NBA games with New York, Houston, Sacramento, Golden State and Miami, averaging 7.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists.

Douglas will be available for tonight’s game against Oklahoma City. He will wear #16 for the Pelicans. New Orleans’ roster now stands at 14.

Hornets sign Elliot Williams to 10-day contract, waive Jannero Pargo

Hornets sign Elliot Williams to 10-day contract, waive Jannero Pargo

Hornets sign Elliot Williams to 10-day contract, waive Jannero Pargo

Charlotte Hornets General Manager Rich Cho announced today that the team has signed guard Elliot Williams to a 10-day contract and waived guard Jannero Pargo. Williams joins the Hornets from the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA D-League, becoming the 30th Call-Up this season. He will wear No. 4. The Hornets roster remains at 15 players.

The 6-5 Williams has seen action in 19 games for the Warriors this season, averaging 20.1 points, 7.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 36.3 minutes. He ranks fourth in the D-League in assists, tied for eighth in scoring and 10th in minutes played. Williams has scored in double figures in all 19 games and has handed out 10 or more assists five times, tallying five double-doubles. He has scored 20 points or more 10 times, including eight straight games from Nov. 28-Dec. 20.

Williams earlier this season signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Utah Jazz, where he saw action in five games and averaged 3.6 points in 8.4 minutes.

Williams was initially selected with the 22nd overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, playing one season with the team in 2011-12 after missing the entire 2010-11 season due to a pair of knee surgeries. He has played in 96 career NBA games with the Trail Blazers, 76ers and Jazz, with career averages of 5.3 points 1.6 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 14.0 minutes.

Pargo originally signed with Charlotte on March 14, 2013. He played in a total of 56 games for the franchise, averaging 5.9 points and 1.7 assists in 10.8 minutes. Pargo saw action in nine games for the Hornets this season, his 11th in the NBA, averaging 4.6 points in 8.1 minutes. He missed the last 19 games due to low back soreness.

Sixers name Chad Biggs Senior VP of Corporate Development and Activation

The Philadelphia 76ers today announced that Chad Biggs has been named Senior Vice President of Corporate Development & Activation, effective immediately. In this role, Biggs will oversee all corporate partnership sales, retention and activation for the team’s burgeoning roster of partners, which includes Philadelphia 76ers Patriot Partners StubHub, partypoker, DraftKings and the Rothman Institute at Jefferson.

“Chad has been at the forefront of revolutionizing corporate partnerships in sports throughout his career, something we are entirely committed to doing here at the Sixers,” said Sixers Chief Revenue Officer Chris Heck. “With a broad base of experience spanning corporations, agencies and the NBA’s New York and China offices, we believe he will lead our outstanding team to even greater success as we create mutually-beneficial partnership solutions this season and beyond.”

Tony Wroten undergoes knee surgery

Philadelphia 76ers guard Tony Wroten underwent successful surgery to repair the partially torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee earlier today. The procedure was performed by Dr. James R. Andrews of the Andrews Institute in Gulf Breeze, Florida.

The Sixers will now work with Tony, his representatives and the team’s medical and sports performance staff to put in place a comprehensive recovery plan which outlines his next steps.

Clippers sign Dahntay Jones for remainder of season

The Los Angeles Clippers have signed guard Dahntay Jones for the remainder of the season.

Jones, 34, has appeared in nine games for Los Angeles and is averaging 0.4 points, 0.1 rebounds and 0.2 steals in 3.2 minutes. He originally signed with the Clippers on Jan. 14, the first of two consecutive 10-day contracts.

Jones, who was the 16th GATORADE call-up of the 2014-15 season, appeared in 19 games (15 starts) for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League and averaged 14.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 29.2 minutes.

A 10-year NBA veteran who has appeared in 597 career games (157 starts), has averaged 5.6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 16.2 minutes with Memphis, Sacramento, Denver, Indiana, Dallas, Atlanta and Los Angeles.

Originally drafted by the Boston Celtics with the 20th overall pick in the first round of the 2003 NBA Draft, Jones was traded to Memphis on Draft Day and spent four seasons with the Grizzlies.

A New Jersey native, the 6-foot-6 inch guard/forward played two seasons at Rutgers before transferring to Duke for his junior and senior season, where he and Clippers guard J.J. Redick were teammates during the 2002-03 season.

adidas Futurestar Boost basketball shoe

Today, adidas unveiled the Futurestar Boost basketball shoe, a new model that the company says pays homage to the iconic adidas Pro Model.

Designed in tandem with the 2015 NBA All-Star uniforms, adidas says that the Futurestar Boost design is inspired by the attitude and culture of New York City basketball, music and fashion.

The InsideHoops.com take is, these look cool. A simple, clean color scheme.

Deron Williams back in action for Nets

The Brooklyn Nets have been in need of a serious boost, and they got one in the form of Deron Williams Monday. Here’s the New York Post reporting:

Deron Williams made his return for the Nets on Monday night, coming off the bench after missing almost the entire month of January with fractured rib cartilage.

Williams played for the first time since playing just a few minutes against the Celtics. Jan. 7, before missing the next 11 games as the Nets went a dismal 3-12 in January.

But despite the lengthy layoff, it looked as if Williams had never left the court, as he finished with 15 points, three rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes off the bench, giving the Nets another creator on the perimeter and, more importantly, another 3-point threat for a team lacking them.

“It was good to be out there, but it was better to get a win,” Williams said after the 102-100 victory over the Clippers. “We didn’t get a win in all of January at home, so this one felt really good.”

Thunder sign Nick Collison to contract extension

Thunder sign Nick Collison to contract extension

Thunder sign Nick Collison to contract extension

The Oklahoma City Thunder has signed forward Nick Collison to a multi-year contract extension, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

According to Yahoo Sports, it’s “a two-year extension paying close to $8 million.”

“We are excited that Nick Collison will continue his tenure with the Thunder. Since our arrival in 2008, Nick has helped us establish the standards on and off the floor that we work by on a day-to-day basis,” said Presti. “He has accepted various roles, demonstrated professionalism in all aspects of his craft, and shown a commitment to an organizational philosophy that is rare in sports today. Nick is the type of player that will always be valued in Oklahoma City, and we are thrilled he will continue to be a foundational member of the Thunder moving forward.”

Collison, the longest tenured member of the Thunder organization holds career averages of 6.4 points and 5.5 rebounds in 791 career NBA games. Collison ranks among the franchise’s all-time career leaders in rebounds (3rd, 4,370 career rebounds), blocks (6th, 439 career blocks), field goal percentage (2nd, .537) and games played (2nd, 791 career games). The 6-10 University of Kansas product is currently averaging 3.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 15.9 minutes per game this season.

“I’m excited to continue my career with the Thunder, playing here in Oklahoma City. I feel fortunate to be a part of a great organization and to play with a great group of teammates,” said Collison. “Playing in Oklahoma City is unique, it’s a rare combination of a lot of things; great people in the organization starting with ownership, the most loyal fans, the opportunity to win at a high level and a true community impact. It’s been a great professional experience for me since the day I arrived. I’m proud of what we have built together and am grateful to be able to stay with the club and continue our work together.”

Drafted 12th overall in 2003 by the Oklahoma City franchise, Collison was an Associated Press First Team All-America selection and Big 12 Player of the Year as a senior at Kansas. He was also named to the 2003 NCAA All-Final Four Team after leading Kansas to the Championship Game. The Iowa Falls, IA native left KU as the second leading scorer (2,097 points) and third leading rebounder (1,143 rebounds) in school history.

Bradley Beal says Wizards are playing soft

Bradley Beal says Wizards are playing soft lately

The 31-18 Wizards have the 9th best winning percentage in the NBA, but a lot of those wins came earlier in the season. Currently, they’re on a three-game losing streak, and in general have looked very average lately. Here’s the Washington Post Blog reporting:

“I think we definitely took several steps back in these last five games, especially defensively,” Wizards guard Bradley Beal said. “We haven’t been the same team that got up and was physical and tough on them. We are pretty soft right now.”

Wizards Coach Randy Wittman offered a litany of reasons for the recent struggles.

“We point fingers and until we all get back on the same page and come out and play hard for 48 minutes, and look at ourselves in the mirror and say, ‘What can I do more?’ rather than point our finger and say ‘It’s not me,’ that’s where we are at,” Wittman explained. “Like I said, I’ll take the blame for that, of allowing us to get there.

“There are some good teams in this league that can maybe get away with coasting for a half, but we are not one of them. When we’ve played to get to where we were, it’s because we played hard every night and accepted coaching. We’ve had some success when we’ve taken it a little easy, but we are paying for it. That’s what the bottom line is. Until we play hard, all out, and have each other’s back rather than pointing fingers and saying, ‘It’s not my fault, it’s his fault,’ we are not beating anybody. That’s kind of it in a nutshell.”

Al-Farouq Aminu playing well for Mavs

Al-Farouq Aminu playing well for Mavs

The 33-17 Dallas Mavericks are enjoying some solid production from Al-Farouq Aminu these days. Here’s ESPN Dallas reporting:

Al-Farouq Aminu playing well for Mavs

Al-Farouq Aminu is doing everything he can to earn an exemption from the fickle nature of Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle’s bench rotation.

As Aminu stuffs the box score and provides highlight reel material, it’s almost hard to believe he picked up six DNP-CDs and had a couple other one-minute outings in a recent span of a month and a half. At this point, Aminu is arguably the Mavs’ most indispensable reserve.

His seven-point, five-rebound, two-steal, two-block, two-assist performance in Monday’s 100-94 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves epitomized the Aminu experience of late. He packed all kinds of energy and a few of the night’s most spectacular moments — a fast-break finish of an alley-oop from Raymond Felton, a chasedown swat of Andrew Wiggins and a two-handed slam over Gorgui Dieng — into his 21 minutes.