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

[nasty daddy]

http://www.hoopsworld.com/HeadlineStori ... 926&lc=NBA

Undrafted free-agent guard Jason Richards will be carried on the final 15-man roster, despite already being declared out for the season due to a torn ACL in his left knee. In essence, that will leave the team with only 14 roster spots for active players at the start of the season.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.hoopsworld.com/HeadlineStori ... 926&lc=NBA

Sun Yue will feel quite at home with Phil Jackson’s triangle offense, with Kobe Bryant’s play, and with the Los Angeles Lakers when they open training camp next week.

The rookie point guard said he studied the triangle for many years while growing up a Lakers fan in his native China. He also played against Bryant during the Beijing Olympics, so he knows what to expect from his new backcourt teammate.

Sun played three seasons for the Beijing Aoshen Olympians in the American Basketball Association, including 2005-06, when they played their home games at Azusa Pacific University in the Los Angeles suburbs. So he’s familiar with Southern California.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/336/story/214375.html

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." The 6-foot-9 Landry had been unable to reach terms with Houston since free agency began this summer. His agent threatened that Landry could sign with an overseas team as the two sides haggled over money. The Bobcats stepped in with an offer Wednesday. But even with decent depth up front, Houston decided to keep Landry, who can play power forward and center.

Houston acquired the second-round pick in a draft-night trade with Seattle last year. Landry averaged 8.1 points and 4.9 rebounds in 42 games. "We're really excited to have him back," Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said. "We're going to have a great set of players in for training camp." Landry's playing time increased late in his rookie season after Rockets center Yao Ming was lost to injury. He scored 22 points in a game at Indiana and was voted to the all-rookie second team. Landry missed time late last season because of a bruised right knee, and Morey said the former Purdue star will undergo a physical. Morey said the Rockets are willing to take a chance with Landry's health. "We've got a good sense of the state of the knee," Morey said. "We feel like we're in a season where we've got to take risks and we've got to bring in all the best players possible. We feel like this has a chance to be a special season and we're excited Carl will be a part of it."

Landry declared himself 100 percent healthy and said he feels better than he was before the injury. "I would say getting drafted was the best day ever in my life and signing this contract will have to be second," Landry told Houston TV station KRIV. "I am happy to be back in Houston." Landry's potential intrigued the Bobcats, who are looking to get help for last season's starters at power forward and center, Emeka Okafor and Nazr Mohammed. "We'll continue to look for ways to improve, that never changes," Higgins said. Some help could come from injury-riddled forward Sean May. Higgins said May should be close to full strength when new coach Larry Brown opens training camp. May missed all of last season after undergoing microfracture knee surgery."Sean is working out and is starting to look comfortable out there," Higgins said. "He'll be ready to start on Tuesday."

[nasty daddy]

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/bask ... rticleFull

That counts doubly for Allen, who has had four seasons marred by two knee surgeries and subsequent confidence issues.

“I thought Tony was important last year,” Rivers said. “It wasn’t his fault. He had to get over a knee injury, and then he wasn’t getting regular time. He’s a player who needs the minutes to produce.

“But he’s playing without the (knee) brace, and he looks great. He’s working out hard. Our guys know what they have to do. You don’t have to tell them.”

[nasty daddy]

http://www.hoopsworld.com/HeadlineStori ... 926&lc=NBA

Sixers president Ed Stefanski said Thursday that he hasn’t talked to veteran point guard Andre Miller’s agent about a possible contract extension. Miller didn’t have an agent for most of the offseason until recently agreeing to have Andy Miller (no relation) represent him.

Miller’s contract is set to expire after he makes $10 million this season. When asked the day after the Sixers were eliminated by the Pistons about staying here beyond 2008-09, Miller didn’t seem too thrilled with the idea.

Speaking of the 32-year-old Miller, Cheeks visited him over the summer in California because he “wanted to just sit down and talk to him and see how he’s doing and get a feel for him.” Miller was the only Sixers player visited by Cheeks.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.hoopsworld.com/HeadlineStori ... 926&lc=NBA

The Orlando Magic signed free agents Dwyane Jones (F/C, 6-11, 251, Saint Joseph's), Jeremy Richardson (G/F, 6-7, 195, Delta State) and Mike Wilks (G, 5-10, 180, Rice).

[nasty daddy]

http://www.hoopsworld.com/HeadlineStori ... 926&lc=NBA

The Portland Trail Blazers signed forward Shavlik Randolph on Thursday.

A member of the Philadelphia 76ers for three seasons, Randolph averaged 2.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in 79 games, including seven starts.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/bask ... 0397.story

•Forward Dorell Wright could wind up limited throughout training camp, as he rehabilitates from the meniscal tear of his left knee that sidelined him for the final 24 games last season. The team revealed that the surgery was more complicated than initially disclosed, putting his availability in question for the Oct. 29 season opener in New York.

•Forward Udonis Haslem has been limited by sprained left foot, likely leaving him sidelined for the start of camp.

•Due to luxury-tax concerns, the Heat currently does not have the funds to add another player, even one at a minimum salary. Riley said the team stands $415,000 in payroll from triggering the dollar-for-dollar luxury tax. •Because of that, undrafted free-agent guard Jason Richards will be carried on the final 15-man roster, despite already being declared out for the season due to a torn ACL in his left knee. In essence, that will leave the team with only 14 roster spots for active players at the start of the season.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/336/story/214634.html

The Portland Trail Blazers signed forward Shavlik Randolph on Thursday.

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 career highs of 4.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.77 blocks in 13 games in 2006-07.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.hoopsworld.com/HeadlineStori ... 926&lc=NBA

Amir Johnson, a late second-round pick in 2005, was drafted by the Detroit Pistons primarily because of his potential. No longer a project, Johnson appears ready to play a significant role this season.

For the first time as a Piston, Johnson comes into camp -- which begins next week -- with a legitimate shot at becoming a starter.

Pistons coach Michael Curry is considering moving power forward Antonio McDyess back to the bench, which would free up a spot in the starting lineup. In addition to Johnson, Curry also is looking closely at Jason Maxiell and Kwame Brown.

[nasty daddy]

http://blogs.phillyburbs.com/tom-moore

Sixers president Ed Stefanski said Thursday that he hasn’t talked to veteran point guard Andre Miller’s agent about a possible contract extension. Miller didn’t have an agent for most of the offseason until recently agreeing to have Andy Miller (no relation) represent him.

Miller’s contract is set to expire after he makes $10 million this season. When asked the day after the Sixers were eliminated by the Pistons about staying here beyond 2008-09, Miller didn’t seem too thrilled with the idea. Speaking of the 32-year-old Miller, Cheeks visited him over the summer in California because he “wanted to just sit down and talk to him and see how he’s doing and get a feel for him.” Miller was the only Sixers player visited by Cheeks.

Miller averaged career-highs in scoring (17.0) and field goal percentage (49.2) last season.

[nasty daddy]

http://blogs.phillyburbs.com/tom-moore

The Sixers have added five free agents to their training camp roster, including swingman Andre Emmett and center Jared Reiner. Emmett averaged 23.9 points in Belgium last season and spent one year with the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies. Reiner played a total of 46 games with the Bucks and Bulls.

Philly native Maureece Rice, former Temple standout Antywane Robinson and Justin Reed are also headed to Penn State for Tuesday’s start of camp that follows media day Monday in Philadelphia.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/20 ... to-roster/

Looking to add maturity and defensive intensity on the wing, the Grizzlies are expected to sign free agent Quinton Ross today, increasing their roster to 14 players with training camp set to begin Tuesday.

The 6-6, 193-pound swingman will sign a minimum, non-guaranteed deal.

He must first earn a roster spot and then avoid being cut by several key dates to remain for the rest of the season.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.sacbee.com/kings/story/1267550.html

The Kings' push to secure a young core took another step forward Thursday as they agreed in principle to a contract extension for fourth-year swingman Francisco García. A source with knowledge of the negotiations said the deal is for five years and $29.8 million. The fifth year is a team option, although it is believed to be partially guaranteed. The Kings had until Oct. 31 to complete an extension with García, who would have become a restricted free agent next summer otherwise. "It feels good, man," said García, 26, who was drafted 19th overall out of Louisville in 2005. "I'm happy because I love the city, I love the organization, I love the style we play, I love my teammates."

The Kings' push to secure a young core took another step forward Thursday as they agreed in principle to a contract extension for fourth-year swingman Francisco García. A source with knowledge of the negotiations said the deal is for five years and $29.8 million. The fifth year is a team option, although it is believed to be partially guaranteed. The Kings had until Oct. 31 to complete an extension with García, who would have become a restricted free agent next summer otherwise. "It feels good, man," said García, 26, who was drafted 19th overall out of Louisville in 2005. "I'm happy because I love the city, I love the organization, I love the style we play, I love my teammates."

García's career appeared to have stalled last summer, as his role under then-coach Eric Musselman was minimal in the 2006-07 season and he averaged fewer than 18 minutes per game. But in the first season under coach Reggie Theus, under whom García played at Louisville, he flourished as a high-energy reserve. García played 26.3 minutes per game, averaging 12.3 points and shooting a career-high 46.3 percent from the field, including 39.1 percent from three-point range. "I'm real happy for him," Theus said. "I think he's still got another level to go. You have to remember that he learned the game relatively late. He has the ability to be even more effective when he's off the ball. He can catch and shoot, put it on the floor. There's room to grow."

[nasty daddy]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/s ... nba26.html

Golden State guard Monta Ellis suffered a severely sprained ankle in a moped accident in his native Mississippi last month, the Warriors confirmed. Ellis originally told the team he was hurt while working out. Ellis underwent surgery last month to repair a torn deltoid ligament. The Warriors still haven't decided whether Ellis will be fined for participating in an offseason activity prohibited in the guard's new six-year, $66 million contract. Ellis will miss training camp and at least several weeks of the regular season.

[nasty daddy]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/s ... nba26.html

The Rockets matched the Charlotte Bobcats' three-year, $9 million offer sheet for restricted free agent Carl Landry, keeping the forward in Houston.

Allan Houston signed with the New York Knicks and will attempt another comeback with his former team. Houston is fourth on the Knicks' career scoring list, trailing only Hall of Famers Patrick Ewing, Walt Frazier and Willis Reed.

Los Angeles Lakers rookie Sun Yue has mononucleosis and is expected to miss the opening of training camp next week.

[nasty daddy]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/s ... nba26.html

• Swingman Francisco Garcia agreed to a multiyear contract extension with the Sacramento Kings. Garcia averaged 12.3 points and 2.9 rebounds last season.

• Forwards Udonis Haslem (foot) and Dorell Wright (knee) are expected to be sidelined because of injuries when the Miami Heat opens training camp Saturday morning.

[nasty daddy]

http://lakers.freedomblogging.com/2008/ ... monitored/

The next week or two will be extremely important for the Lakers’ medical staff in treating rookie guard Sun Yue, who was diagnosed Wednesday with mononucleosis.

The disease, which is a member of the herpes group, is highly contagious, causes severe fatigue in individuals that contract it and because it can cause the spleen to enlarge, raises the risk of rupture in that body organ. Although it commonly is called the “kissing disease,” because it often is contracted that way, specifically by the exchange of saliva between two parties, it also can be contracted in other ways, such as the sharing of a canned soda or water bottle. Although there has been no timetable set on when Sun can resume basketball activity, typically for athletes mononucleosis can stay in the body’s system for as short as a week or for as long as two months. “Anything longer than six weeks is pretty serious,” said Davion White, the head trainer for athletics, at Southern California powerhouse Long Beach Poly High School.

White said once an athlete is diagnosed with mononucleosis, then physical contact must stop, to lessen the risk of a ruptured spleen. “I would allow the athlete to perform limited conditioning, unless they complained of extreme fatigue,” White said. “And of course, anything they did do, I’d first coordinate with their doctor.”

[nasty daddy]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 135ISB.DTL

Hidden amid all the Monta Ellis hoop-de-blah is another quieter truth floating at the edges of the Warriors' upcoming season, namely this: The Mullin-Nelson Era is working on its last year, and the fact is that the Ellis issue is linked to the Mullin-Nelson thing. For the record, both vice president Chris Mullin and head coach Don Nelson are working on the final year of their contracts. Neither has begun talks with owner Chris Cohan or his right-hand man Bobby Rowell on a new one, and neither seems terribly bothered about that, at least not outwardly.But the problem of Ellis' punishment for mopedding his six-year, $66 million contract into jeopardy impacts Mullin and Nelson, because it seems clear that Cohan and Rowell want to make Ellis a bigger issue than Mullin and Nelson do, and if they aren't incredibly deft at getting their point across without alienating Ellis, they will have lost the face of their franchise over a principle that can be solved in any number of other and more creative ways. And they will have forced the two men who gave them their only real taste of good times into the position of starting over, an unappealing prospect under normal circumstances, and unnecessarily so this time.

The statement Rowell issued Thursday made the club's intention clear - they would "gather all the pertinent facts and information," and "have scheduled a meeting with Monta's representatives to take place within the next 7 to 10 days." In other words, they want to make this a big deal. At least a bigger deal than either Nelson or Mullin seem to want to. For the record, neither Mullin nor Nelson wanted to touch the Ellis issue Thursday in their back-to-back media chats. They know that this is a hot button issue for Cohan and Rowell, and they are getting out of the way for simple prudence. But they are also deeply invested. They need Ellis happy, focused and healthy when he returns, rather than resentful and less committed to the franchise than he was when he signed the deal. Starting over again is not an option. At least not a sensible one. So even if Cohan and Rowell think Ellis needs a lesson in contract law, the fact that they have waited so long to publicly address a problem they've had for nearly a month, and still haven't even met with Ellis' agent to deal with the issue, suggests that they've been stewing over this too long already. And that puts Mullin and Nelson in an even bigger jackpot than the one Ellis put them in when he decided to go motorbikin'. They need not only a playoff season, but one without the stresses and strains that come from a recalcitrant star, or from an unhappy owner. Because if this goes badly, and there are more ways for it to go badly by seeking out vengeance on Ellis, Cohan will not go quietly into the 2009-10 season. People will have to answer for this year, and the two handiest targets are Mullin and Nelson.

Nelson may just retire anyway. He owns half of Hawaii already, and can smoke cigars anywhere. Mullin, though, has always been a Warrior, even when he was a Pacer, and Cohan's history with other basketball hires is fairly miserable. No lesson is worth starting over again, with all those 29-win seasons, the people laughing at him and calling him the worst owner in the Bay Area, and the rest of the Warrior Nostalgia Package. So Cohan must tread lighter than he seems to want to here, and not just because Ellis might get pouty. He can leave the abuse to the media and fans if he wants to impart a lesson, but he can't go overboard just to prove a point. And overboard means risking the basketball people that gave him his one fleeting moment of glory since buying the team from Jim Fitzgerald back in the First Chris Webber Era. Now maybe Cohan is ready for regime change. Maybe the fact that Mullin and Nelson come up for re-signing at the same time is fortuitous for him. Maybe he views this as an opportunity to fix what wasn't broken, because owners do that from time to time for no earthly reason whatsoever. But he should at least know that is part of the risk involved here. Monta Ellis threw a lot of things into turmoil when he went riding that fateful evening, and now he sees just how extensive that turmoil could be. That might just be punishment enough.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/hornets/news/Hornets ... 78-31.html

The New Orleans Hornets announced today that they have signed free agents Courtney Sims and Jared Jordan to training camp contracts. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not released. The addition of Sims and Jordan puts the Hornets’ training camp roster at 16.

Sims (6-11, 245) played three games for the Indiana Pacers last season before being signed by the NBDL’s Iowa Energy. The center averaged 15.5 points and 6.5 rebounds for the Energy and shot 64.4% from the field. The former Michigan Wolverine never missed a contest in his collegiate career, playing 133 consecutive games. He finished sixth all-time with 111 career starts, and second all-time with 213 blocked shots. Sims finished his career with 1,329 points and 728 rebounds. Sims is a native of Roslindale, Mass., and was undrafted by an NBA franchise in the 2007 NBA Draft.

Jordan (6-2, 190) saw action in six preseason games last year for the New York Knicks prior to playing in 11 games for Lietuvos Rytas (Lithuania), where he averaged 1.0 points and 0.8 assists in 8.2 minutes per game. A graduate of Marist (N.Y.), the guard led the country in assists for two-straight seasons, becoming the first NCAA Division I player to do so since Avery Johnson, former coach of the Dallas Mavericks. He averaged 8.7 assists per game for his career and won the 74th Haggerty Award as the 2006-07 All-Metropolitan Division I men’s college basketball player of the year.Jordan is a native of Hartford, Conn., and was drafed in the second round (45th overall) by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2007 NBA Draft.