'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol:12

[nasty daddy]

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/sixe ... ineup.html

Ex-Sixers Shavlik Randolph and Bobby Jones are bound respectively for Portland and Sacramento. Joel Bell, the agent for both young players, says Randolph is ''100 percent, maybe 110'' after last season's fractured and dislocated ankle.

[nasty daddy]

http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/sierra ... gn-emmett/

Free agent guard Andre Emmett will soon sign a contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, HoopsHype.com has learned. Emmett, who averaged 23.9 ppg and 4.7 rpg in the Belgian League last season, played one year in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies.

[nasty daddy]

http://lakers.freedomblogging.com/2008/ ... b-seeking/

As reported previously in this blog, the Lakers’ glut at the forward position is what made swingman Ira Newble expendable and is the reason why - despite his arduous work ethic, multiple skills and great locker room presence - that he was not re-signed.

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said Wednesday that he did not expect the 33-year old Newble to cross the waters and play overseas this season. “I haven’t talked to his agent since early this summer but I think (Newble) still wants to play over here,” Kupchak said. “And he can still play.”

If Newble is signed by another NBA team, it almost surely would be for the veteran’s minimum. But as a veteran of eight NBA seasons, Newble would be eligible to be paid approximately $1.2 million. “I don’t know if that same opportunity exists over in Europe for him,” Kupchak said.

[nasty daddy]

http://lakers.freedomblogging.com/2008/ ... to-lakers/

The signing of Mbenga pushes the Lakers’ training-camp roster number up to 19, one under the maximum number that a NBA team can have in training camp at any time.

“We’re done at 19,” Kupchak said.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 03240.html

Juan Dixon was a free agent shooting guard without an NBA team this summer. But he ultimately found a home in a familiar place -- with the Washington Wizards, the team that drafted him out of the University of Maryland in 2002.

Dixon won't wear the No. 3 he sported during his earlier, three-year stint with the Wizards -- that number is now the property of two-time all-star forward Caron Butler -- but even in choosing new digits, Dixon will be going back to his roots. "Nah, I can't get that number back, but I'm going to go back to number 12, where it all started," Dixon said of the number he wore while starring at Baltimore's Calvert Hall High School. Dixon is hoping that another turn with the Wizards will revive a professional career that has included stops in Portland, Toronto and Detroit.

The Trail Blazers traded Dixon to Toronto during the 2006-2007 season and he averaged 11.1 points on 42.5 percent shooting for the Raptors. He was shipped to Detroit last season, where he was quickly relegated to the bench behind rookies Arron Afflalo and Rodney Stuckey. "I want to take advantage of it," Dixon said of returning to the Wizards. "I've learned so much over the last three years and didn't realize how good I had it here." According to his agent, former Wizard Mitchell Butler, Dixon received interest from several teams over the summer, including New Jersey, Denver and New Orleans, plus a few European teams, but a big offer never materialized. As the free agent market dried up and roster spots diminished, the Wizards and Dixon agreed to a deal that made sense for both sides.

[nasty daddy]

http://blog.nola.com/hornetsbeat/2008/0 ... ndler.html

Hornets starting center Tyson Chandler has been working out at the New Orleans Arena for the past week, but when training camp opens on Saturday he won't be at 100 percent.

Chandler said he is still experiencing some minor soreness in his big toe that kept him from participating as an alternate on the U.S. Olympic basketball team this summer. "I'm not at 100 percent, but obviously I feel better because I've been able to take a little time off,'' Chandler said. "But I have continued to work on my skills, but with not as much movement.''

Regardless, Chandler's sore toe is not expected to keep him from participating in the majority of drills set for camp. Chandler moved without limitations during Wednesday's volunteer workout at the New Orleans Arena. He quickly took jump hook shots and bank shots from each side of the lane. Chandler initially injured his toe during the regular-season finale against the Dallas Mavericks this past April. He aggravated it during the Hornets' second-round playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs. In July, Chandler could not practice with the U.S. Olympic Basketball team because his big toe remained inflamed.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PaulCoro/34085

There is a strong chance that Amare Stoudemire will be held out of some night scrimmages at training camp next week in Tucson.

Suns General Manager Steve Kerr said Stoudemire tweaked a previously sprained left ankle two weeks ago and has been examined by Suns team physician Thomas Carter and Los Angeles ankle specialist Richard Ferkel. Stoudemire flew to L.A. on Tuesday to see Ferkell for about 90 minutes.

The doctor, who performed Manu Ginobili's surgery three weeks ago, concurred with Carter's evaluation that Stoudemire only needed some rest. Stoudemire will still be able to do all of the morning session's non-contact work with walking through offenses and defenses and shooting, Kerr said.

[nasty daddy]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=t ... &type=lgns

The Portland Trail Blazers added another piece to their strong frontline on Thursday, signing forward Shavlik Randolph.

Randolph averaged 2.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in 79 games over three seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers. He was limited to nine games in the 2007-08 season after suffering an ankle injury.

The 24-year-old joins Greg Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge, Martell Webster, Ike Diogu, Joel Przybilla, Channing Frye and Travis Outlaw among the frontcourt players in Blazers’ camp. Randolph played three seasons at Duke before signing with the 76ers as an undrafted free agent in 2005.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_10550131

Footnotes. Nuggets fans will notice a slim, trim Kenyon Martin this season. The athletic forward has dropped 12 pounds, playing at 228 this time around, he said, from 240 last season. The reason? He pointed at his knees. "Take pressure off of these." ... Expect Nick Fazekas, former standout at Arvada's Ralston Valley H.S., to be part of the Nuggets preseason roster.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.newsok.com/article/3302443

Thunder point guard Earl Watson's fractured thumb has healed, and he was recently cleared to resume full-contact practice.

"Earl's been looking good,” said Thunder coach P.J. Carlesimo. "He's been playing in pick-up games and doing dribbling and shooting drills with the players. He's good to go.”

Watson, the team's starting point guard most of last season and the only challenger to rookie Russell Westbrook for minutes at the position this season, injured his thumb in late June and underwent surgery in July. He was originally expected to miss the majority of training camp.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.newsok.com/article/3302443

Swift injured: Center Robert Swift recently suffered a broken bone in his right hand and has been unable to fully participate in the team's voluntary workouts. He is likely to be limited in training camp and the preseason.

Swift is entering this season recovering from March surgery to repair a torn meniscus.

"Robert has been unable to play less because of his leg and more because of his hand,” Carlesimo said. "That's prevented him from playing in any of the live stuff. He does individual stuff with (assistant coach) Mark Bryant. But he's doing most of it with his left hand. We're just trying to go as slow as we can, and hopefully by next week he'll be ready to go. "We're hopeful, but we're prepared that maybe he can't go the whole practice or maybe he can't go two practices in a row. It's probably going to be to his tolerance.”

[nasty daddy]

http://www.newsok.com/article/3302443

•Wilcox battling virus: Chris Wilcox, who started 55 games last season before missing the final 14 games with a sprained right pinkie finger, has been battling what could be a possible virus in recent days while in Houston.

When Wilcox spoke with Carlesimo on Wednesday morning, he said he hasn't been feeling good the last few weeks.

"We're anxious to see him,” Carlesimo said. "First, we need to evaluate the finger, which I don't think will be a concern, and then look at his conditioning. The quicker we get him in condition and 100 percent physically, no question that's going to be critical.”

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baske ... tar-1.html

Although Gallinari doesn't have a timetable for his return and said he has been limited to only a little bit of shooting, he remains positive about his chances of participating. "It's feeling better, so much better, so I'm real optimistic about being in the training camp," Gallinari said. "It's improving in the right way."

While it was widely believed that Gallinari first injured his back in the Knicks' first summer-league game back on July 15, the 20-year-old forward disclosed Wednesday that he actually first felt the soreness flare up before that.

"It was a little bit before the summer league, when we were in Las Vegas," said Gallinari. "The reason was not just that game, when I fell down. It was not that. I think many reasons, probably. I don't know. I feel better than when I was in Vegas, for sure."

[nasty daddy]

http://www.insidehoops.com/blog/?p=1760

The Portland Trail Blazers signed forward Shavlik Randolph, General Manager Kevin Pritchard announced today. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

InsideHoops.com editor says: I assume this is just a training camp, nonguaranteed signing. Though, unlike tons of training camp signees, Randolph actually belongs in the league. Here’s more: A member of the Philadelphia 76ers for three seasons, Randolph averaged 2.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in 79 games, including seven starts. He averaged careers highs of 4.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.77 blocks in 13 games in 2006-07.

Randolph, 24, played three seasons at Duke University, averaging 6.3 points, a 506 field-goal percentage, 4.3 rebounds and 1.40 blocks during his college career. The 1.40 blocks per game are seventh all-time in Duke history. The Raleigh, N.C., native shot .591 from the field in a sophomore season that saw the Blue Devils reach the Final Four in 2004. The signing of Randolph sets the Trail Blazers’ 2008 training camp roster at 18 players. He will wear jersey number 42.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.insidehoops.com/blog/?p=1759

The New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh announced today that free agent guard/forward Dan Grunfeld has been signed to a contract. As per club policy, terms of the deal will not be disclosed.

InsideHoops.com editor says: This contract is so nonguaranteed it was probably written on a napkin. It’s a training camp signing. And here’s more on the news: Grunfeld, 6-6, 215-pounds, was undrafted out of Stanford University and spent the last two seasons playing overseas. The River Hills, WI native spent the 2007-08 season in Spain, where he averaged 14.7 points and 3.3 rebounds for Aguas De Valencia. Grunfeld averaged 12.1 points and 3.9 rebounds per game for Oldenburg in Germany during the 2006-07 campaign. As a collegian, Grunfeld played four years at Stanford, highlighted by his junior season in 2004-05 when he earned First Team All-Pacific 10 Conference honors after averaging 17.9 points per game.

Grunfeld is the son of current Washington Wizards president, Ernie Grunfeld. The older Grunfeld was a part of the Knicks organization for over 17 years as a player (1982-86), broadcaster (1986-1989), assistant coach (1989-1990) and general manager (1991-1999).

[nasty daddy]

http://www.insidehoops.com/blog/?p=1758

The AP reports: The Rockets matched the Bobcats’ three-year, $9 million offer sheet for restricted free-agent Carl Landry on Thursday, keeping the forward in Houston. The Rockets took less than 24 hours to make the move, leaving Charlotte still searching for frontcourt depth before the start of training camp next week. “We obviously thought it was a good opportunity to get the guy,” Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins said. “But it’s part of the business.”

InsideHoops.com editor says: This was expected. Landry is a decent player and signing him for $3 million per season is a reasonable deal.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.insidehoops.com/blog/?p=1757

Lakers guard Sun Yue, who arrived in Los Angeles from China on Sunday, was taken to the emergency room of a local hospital last night after becoming ill. He has tested positive for mononucleosis, it was announced today by the team.

He is not expected to be ready to practice by Tuesday when the Lakers open training camp and will be out indefinitely. His condition will be monitored on a regular basis.

InsideHoops.com editor says: I hope he didn’t catch mono from kissing random Los Angeles girls. And I will immediately point out that I’m kidding and have no idea if he’s single or married or whatever, so don’t go spreading that as a rumor or something you crazy wackos.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.insidehoops.com/blog/?p=1756

New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh announced today that guard Allan Houston has been re-signed as a free agent.

InsideHoops.com editor says: I’m assuming this is as nonguaranteed as a contract can get. Also, the Knicks don’t actually need Houston, since right now the best guard on the team who doesn’t seem likely to be waived or traded anytime soon is shooting guard Jamal Crawford. They need to clean house and move big contracts that aren’t expiring in the next season or two away. On the positive side, fans really like Houston (”H20″) and seeing him around, even briefly, is cool. He can wave at them a bit, and stuff. And, here’s more on the news: Originally retiring on Oct. 17, 2005 following training camp three seasons ago, Houston is the team’s fourth leading scorer in franchise history during the regular season (11,165) and eighth leading scorer during the playoffs (1,139). Only NBA legends Patrick Ewing, Walt “Clyde” Frazier and Willis Reed have scored more points during their regular season careers with the orange and blue. On Oct. 4, 1999, he was named a team captain, and held that title for six seasons. He was selected to be a member of the 2000 and 2001 NBA All-Star teams and was a member of the Gold medal-winning United States team at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney.

On May 16, 1999, the Louisville, KY native authored one of the most memorable shots in club history with a game-winning runner at Miami in the closing seconds of Game Five in the first round of the 1999 NBA Playoffs. After defeating the Heat, the Knicks went on to defeat the Atlanta Hawks in the conference semifinals and Indiana Pacers in the conference finals to make their first NBA Finals appearance since 1994. Recognized for his work through the “Father Knows Best” program offered under the Allan Houston Legacy Foundation, Houston was recently named as the national spokesman for the National Fatherhood Initiative. Houston will be wearing jersey No. 14 in honor of his father, Wade, one of the first African-American basketball players at the University of Louisville. “My father has been a great model of a man, and hopefully I can continue to carry what he taught me back to the court with the Knicks. Off the court, this is also symbolic to encourage men to be committed fathers as their role remains one of the most important factors in the lives of our youth.”

[nasty daddy]

http://www.insidehoops.com/blog/?p=1755

The Atlanta Hawks have exercised the contract options for the 2009-10 season on forward/center Al Horford and guard Acie Law, it was announced today by Executive VP/General Manager Rick Sund. Per team policy, financial terms were not disclosed.

A unanimous selection to the NBA All-Rookie First Team and runner-up for Rookie of the Year honors, Horford had an outstanding season in helping the Hawks reach the postseason for the first time in nine years. The first Atlanta pick to earn first team All-Rookie since Stacey Augmon in 1991-92, he nearly averaged a double-double a year ago, recording 10.1 points and 9.7 rebounds in 81 contests. During the playoffs, the 6-10 forward/center from Florida increased his totals, scoring 12.6 points and grabbing 10.4 rebounds in the seven games against Boston. Despite battling injuries much of the 2007-08 campaign, Law was fifth among rookies in assists and third on the Hawks, to go along with 4.2 points per game. He saw action in 56 contests and is coming off a fine summer effort at the Rocky Mountain Revue, where he was named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging 16.2 points, 3.6 assists and 2.2 rebounds.

InsideHoops.com editor says: Standard and expected, especially for Horford. Law needs step up a bit this season so the Hawks can keep the faith.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.insidehoops.com/blog/?p=1754

The Sacramento Kings and swingman Francisco Garcia today reached an agreement in principle on a multi-year contract extension, it was announced by Kings’ President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. “We are all gratified we were able to reach an agreement in principle with Francisco on a contract extension,” said Petrie. “He embodies a lot of qualities we feel are necessary for our team to continue to improve. He’s a competitive leader and he’s gotten better every year. We’re looking forward to watching him grow even more this season.”

Garcia, a three-year NBA veteran, amassed career averages of 8.1 points (.440 FGs, .357 3FGs, .792 FTs), 2.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game through 225 outings with the Kings. His best year, statistically, occurred during the 2007-08 campaign when he averaged 12.3 points (.462 FGs, .391 3FGs, .779 FTs), 3.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game over 79 contests. Garcia started in 20 games last season (2007-08), averaging 16.4 points (.448 FGs, .370 3FGs, .798 FTs), 4.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. He recorded a career-high 31 points in 35 minutes at Phoenix on November 21, 2007. “I feel great,” explained Garcia. “It’s good to know that I’m going to be here for years to come. This is a great organization that’s moving in the right direction. We have the best owners in the league. Our general manager is one of the best. And we have a good coaching staff with a lot of talented players. I’m looking forward to the upcoming season.”

Garcia was selected in the first round (23rd overall) of the 2005 NBA Draft by the Kings as an undergraduate out of Louisville. He enjoyed a three-year career for the Cardinals, averaging 14.4 points (.448 FGs, .369 3FGs, .849 FTs), 3.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.48 steals per game through 98 outings, of which he started 80. “It’s very exciting to sign Francisco to a contract extension,” said Kings’ Owner Gavin Maloof. “He’s been a wonderful member of our organization both on and off the floor. We love his tenacity and leadership skills. He’s never afraid to take the big shot or make the big play. Francisco is a major part of our young core going forward.”