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Clippers Sign Johnson, Plaisted, Thorns

September 29th, 2012 at 12:33pm CST by Zachary Links

The Clippers have signed Chris Johnson, Trent Plaisted, and Hank Thorns to non-guaranteed deals, according to Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld.  The trio, along with previously reported camp invites Marqus Blakely and Courtney Fortson, all appear to be longshots to make what is already a full roster.

Johnson, a guard who starred at the University of Dayton, had interest from a handful of clubs as a second-round pick but went undrafted this June.  Plaisted was tabbed by the Sonics in the second-round of the 2008 draft after his junior year at BYU and has since played for a handful of teams overseas.  Thorns, a diminutive 5'9" guard, made the All-Mountain West First Team in his senior season at TCU.

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Spurs Plan To Keep DeJuan Blair

September 29th, 2012 at 12:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Over the summer it was widely reported that Spurs forward DeJuan Blair was frustrated with his lack of playing time in last year's playoffs and would be open to a trade.  The Spurs tried shopping the 23-year-old, but General Manager R.C. Buford says that the club has been unable to find anything suitable in return, writes Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News.

“We understand the way he feels,” the GM said. “If we were in his shoes we may feel similar. Having said that, DeJuan helped us win a lot of games and we have not had anything presented to us that puts our team in a better position than moving forward with DeJuan.”

Blair unquestionably helped the Spurs win games last season as he started 62 games and saw 21.3 minutes per contest.  However, he was effectively squeezed out of the rotation during the postseason and averaged just 7.6 minutes in 10 games.  The former Pitt star is entering his walk year and will earn just a shade over $1MM.

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Magic Sign Armon Johnson, DeQuan Jones

September 29th, 2012 at 11:47am CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 29: The Magic confirmed the signings via press release.

SEPTEMBER 19: The Magic expect to sign Armon Johnson and DeQuan Jones to contracts, according to Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel (via Twitter). The additions, if and when they become official, would brings Orlando's roster to a total of 19 players.

Johnson, 23, was said to be seeking an NBA roster spot earlier this summer. He'll likely be on a non-guaranteed deal with the Magic and will face an uphill battle earning a spot on the roster, but given the team's lack of point guard depth, he should get a long look in training camp. The 6'3" guard has appeared in 47 games with the Trail Blazers and Nets over the last two seasons after being drafted 34th overall in 2010.

Jones, a 6'8" forward, was part of the Magic's summer league roster in Orlando this summer, averaging 6.0 points and 4.5 rebounds in four games. The 22-year-old went undrafted in June out of the University of Miami, where he played just 17.3 minutes per contest in his senior year.

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Hoops Links: Nets, White, Raptors, Bulls, Harden

September 29th, 2012 at 10:06am CST by Zachary Links

On this date in 1993, the NBA awarded an expansion franchise to the city of Toronto.  Two years later, the Raptors burst on to the scene armed with a team of expansion draft selections and some of the least attractive jerseys in league history.  Of course, things would improve from there as the Raptors would welcome Marcus Camby in 1996, Tracy McGrady in 1997, and Vince Carter in 1998.

Will we see another expansion team in the near future?  Given the current economic climate, it doesn't seem terribly likely.  Seattle investor Chris Hansen appears to have all the pieces in place to bring an NBA team back to the city, but the team to fill the Sonics' shoes will likely be a relocated franchise rather than the Association's 31st club.

If you have a great blog piece that you think we should feature in Hoops Links, then send it to me at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.  Here's this week's look around the blogosphere..

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.

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Al Thornton To Sign With Chinese Team

September 29th, 2012 at 8:34am CST by Zachary Links

Forward Al Thornton has signed with the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association, according to a report from Sina.com.cn passed along by Sportando.  The former 14th overall pick of the 2007 draft was in mini-camp with the Nets earlier this year and was reportedly in the mix for a roster spot.

Thornton, 28, spent last season with Puerto Rico's Guayama where he averaged 18.7 PPG.  The forward's last stint in the NBA came in 2010/11 when he played in 71 games with the Wizards and Warriors, including 23 starts in Washington.  For his career, Thornton has averaged 11.9 PPG and 4.2 RPG in 28 minutes per contest.

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Lakers Sign Ronnie Aguilar

September 28th, 2012 at 10:40pm CST by Ryan Raroque

FRIDAY, 10:41pm:  According to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter), Aguilar has a half-decent shot at making the roster considering Howard's back complications.

THURSDAY, 7:35pm:  According to RealGM, the Lakers have signed 7'1 center Ronnie Aguilar. The 25-year-old big man played collegiately for Colorado State from 2006-2008 and was a member of the Bakersfield Jam during the 2011-2012 season, averaging 2.2 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 11.2 MPG in six total games. 

The team now has 19 players on their roster for training camp, and as Chuck Myron pointed out in assessing the roster sizes of the Western Conference, the Lakers already have 15 players under contracts that are either guaranteed or partially guaranteed. Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles thinks that along with Reeves Nelson and Greg Somogyi, Aguilar is a long shot to make the team. 

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Mavericks Links: Media Day, Dirk, Brand, Nash

September 28th, 2012 at 9:34pm CST by Alex Lee

As we saw yesterday, the Mavs look like they're putting the finishing touches on their training camp roster, adding Josh Akognon, D.J. Mbenga and Tu Holloway to what look to be non-guaranteed deals.  The team, coming off a dissapointing offseason, held their media day on Friday.  Here are some of the links that have come across the wire since:

  • Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram has some additional quotes from Rick Carlisle, who thinks that the Mavs have what it takes to win an NBA championship this season.  Carlisle references the NFL and MLB as leagues where wild cards routinely win titles, and he likens it to his 2011 title team.  It is a tough sell, as those leagues are parity striken unlike the NBA.  But Carlisle's optimism should nevertheless be encouraging for the Mavericks faithful.

Earlier updates:

  • Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News provides us with some more content from Rick Carlisle and Elton Brand.  With the presence of Nowitzki and Kaman, Brand is excited to, for once, not draw the opposition's best defensive big.  Carlisle expects good chemistry to develop between Brand and Kaman.
  • Dirk Nowitzki was predictably the most popular quote of the day.  According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas, Nowitzki addressed the loss of former running mates in Jason Terry and Jason Kidd, and was particularly surprised with Kidd's departure.  Nowitzki said: “We won the championship together, so they’re like brothers to me. That was tough to see those two guys go somewhere else. It’s going to be weird to see them in different uniforms, for sure.”
  • MacMahon adds that Nowitzki said that the Mavs, despite missing out on Dwight Howard and Deron Williams, are still of a "heck of a team" without either of them.
  • After missing out on Howard and Williams, the Mavs added Elton Brand, Darren Collison, Chris Kaman and O.J. Mayo.  Brand said that group could combine to give Dallas what adding two superstars could have, according to Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News.  Earl Sneed of NBA.com tweets that Brand looks in "insane shape" entering camp.
  • Nowitzki also commented on the Lakers compilation of stars, and more specifically on their addition of his good friend and former teammate, Steve Nash, via Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.   “On paper, they’re really, really good,’’ he said.  “You look at their starting lineup, it’s almost an All-Star Game starting lineup. They’re stacked. They’re going to be great. They’re going to be tough to beat if they stay injury free.’’
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Odds & Ends: Atlantic, Previews, Draft

September 28th, 2012 at 9:22pm CST by Alex Lee

Here are a few odds and ends from around the NBA on Friday night:

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T-Wolves Introduce Andrei Kirilenko

September 28th, 2012 at 8:30pm CST by Alex Lee

After signing Andrei Kirilenko in July, the Timberwolves formally introduced the versatile Russian on Friday at a news conference at the Target Center, says Wolves beat writer Jerry Zgoda.  Zgoda also provides a link to video interview he did with Kirilenko, who seems convinced that the team's eclectic mix of talent will mesh without issue.

Due to last season's lockout, Kirilenko returned to Russia and played the entire season for CSKA Moscow, winning the 2011-12 Euroleague MVP in the process.  Before that, of course, he spent 10 years with the Jazz.  While Kirilenko is no longer the All-Star caliber player he was in his prime, his last four years in Utah were remarkably consistent.  From 2007 to 2011, the rangy forward averaged between 11 and 12 points and 4.5 and 5.1 rebounds per game. 

He should provide plenty of value and veteran stability to an up-and-coming roster in Minnesota. 

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Knicks Links: Wallace, Age, Felton, Questions

September 28th, 2012 at 7:59pm CST by Alex Lee

We learned earlier today that Rasheed Wallace will officially join the Knicks in the next few days, which will put their training camp roster at the maximum number of 20, 14 of which would have guaranteed contracts including Wallace.  With Sheed joining Marcus Camby, Kurt Thomas and Jason Kidd, the Knicks will have four of the six oldest players in the NBA, tweets Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com.  The two non-Knicks in that ignominious group are Grant Hill and Steve Nash.

Let's round up all things Knicks on Friday night right here:

  • ESPN New York's Ian Begley provides his Knicks' training camp primer.  Begley's preview includes five pivotal questions about the Knicks, most of which center on their veteran, but retooled roster. 
  • Al Iannazzone of Newsday has his own list of five Knicks questions.  Iannazzone wonders about the club's chemistry, the club's age and if Raymond Felton's second trip through New York will be similar to the first.
  • Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld isn't sure that Wallace can help the Knicks.  Ingram says that when he hung up his hightops after a 2009-10 season in Boston, it appeared that Wallace has "left it all on the court."
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