Bucks Sign Chris Wright
The Bucks have signed forward Chris Wright to a 10-day contract, according to Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (on Twitter). Milwaukee made room for Wright by not renewing Tony Mitchell after his 10-day contract expired.
Wright, a Dayton product, played for the Maine Red Claws this season. The 25-year-old was in training camp with the Raptors over the summer and was in a heated three-way battle for the final spot on the roster, but he and Carlos Morais ultimately lost out to Julyan Stone. Wright spent 24 games with the Warriors during the 2011/12 season and averaged 2.9 PPG and 1.9 RPG across 7.8 minutes per game.
And-Ones: Embiid, Union, White, Hairston
With only three games on the docket on Thursday evening, let’s begin to sort through all that is going on around the Association tonight:
- Sean Deveney of the Sporting News asked executives about Joel Embiid’s back injury and what it will do to his stock come draft time. “Obviously he has a ton of talent and he is as promising a big man as you can imagine,” one GM said. “But the back is going to be a question mark, and every team is going to want their doctors to look at whatever information there is now, and whatever comes out of the medical testing at the combine.“
- In a piece for ESPN.com, agent Jeff Schwartz opined that the process for the union’s executive director search must change. In his view, there has been a lack of transparency in the search since day one and he notes that even though there are said to be two finalists for the position, the union has yet to publicly acknowledge them.
- Royce White‘s stint with the Reno Bighorns was “a positive experience” for both White and the club, despite him not posting impressive numbers there, a source tells Gino Pilato of D-League Digest (on Twitter).
- While P.J. Hairston concedes it has been an adjustment, you can count him among the D-League advocates as well, writes SI.com’s Chris Mannix. The former Tar Heel, banished from North Carolina in December, hit the ground running with the Texas Legends and has all the makings of a first round pick this June.
Eastern Notes: Boozer, Woodson, Drew
No decision has been made on Carlos Boozer‘s future with the Bulls, but the veteran says that he feels unappreciated in Chicago, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Boozer has been moody with the media for some time now, and sources say that’s linked to his frustrations with the club. For his part, GM Gar Forman says no decision has been made on the forward. “People can say or think what they want, but that decision absolutely hasn’t been made,’’ Forman told Cowley. More out of the East..
- Knicks coach Mike Woodson was positive about the hire of Phil Jackson to run basketball operations and told ESPN Radio in New York that it can only “enhance” the organization, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.
- Bucks coach Larry Drew says that he holds no ill-will towards the Hawks for how things turned out, writes Charles F. Gardner of the Journal-Sentinel. “No bitterness whatsoever. This is just the NBA. Things happen. I certainly understood their position. Bruce Levenson (managing partner) was really good to me. The Gearons (managing partner Michael Gearon) were always in my corner from Day 1,” Drew said.
- Former Bobcats coach Mike Dunlap has landed as the new head coach of Loyola Marymount, according to an official announcement on the school’s website. Dunlap, an assistant with St. John’s before being tabbed by Bobcats owner Michael Jordan, was considered to be a shocking hire for Charlotte and lasted just one season.
Pacific Rumors: Nash, D’Antoni, Thompson
No one can accuse Steve Nash of not being honest. When asked by reporters today why he won’t retire, the Lakers guard said, “It’s just a reality. I’m not going to retire because I want the money. It’s honest,” according to Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (via Twitter links). “You’re going to have people say he’s so greedy he’s got to take this last little bit…Yes, I do. I have to take this last little bit. I’m sorry if that’s frustrating to some but if they were in my shoes they would do the exact same thing.”
- Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni says that he doesn’t think about his job status, despite the constant speculation, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. “My job is to finish up as good as we can. Then everybody huddles…and we’ll see what happens,” the coach said.
- D’Antoni also downplayed Kobe Bryant‘s recent criticism of the Lakers organization, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News tweets. There was also a report that Bryant is unhappy with D’Antoni and has no interest in playing for him next season.
- Jason Thompson, the subject of trade talk before February’s deadline, is trying to make the most of his benching by Kings coach Michael Malone, writes the Sacramento Bee’s Jason Jones.
Sixers Plan To Sign Darius Johnson-Odom
The Sixers plan to sign Darius Johnson-Odom to a 10-day deal, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). He has been playing with the Springfield Armor of the D-League.
Johnson-Odom, 24, auditioned for the Sixers on Tuesday. The shooting guard saw four games of NBA action with the Lakers last season, making him a more familiar name to fans than Scott Suggs, who also worked out for coach Brett Brown & Co. James Nunnally and Kevin Murphy tried out for the team, too.
Johnson joined the Lakers again for camp in the fall and split the season between China and the Nets D-League affiliate. Jorge Gutierrez recently edged out Johnson-Odom for a 10-day contract with Brooklyn, but it sounds like he’s found a (temporary) home elsewhere in the Atlantic Division.
The Sixers have 15 guaranteed contracts on their roster, so they’ll have to cut one of them to make room for Johnson-Odom. It initially appeared as though Philadelphia was looking to replace Jarvis Varnado, who had been on a 10-day contract, but he re-signed Wednesday for the rest of the season.
Warriors Audition D.J. White
TUESDAY, 4:36pm: Warriors GM Bob Myers confirmed on KNBR radio today that the team worked out White, but Myers is unsure if he’s a fit right now, suggesting that the team could invite the power forward to summer league. Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group passes the news along via Twitter.
MONDAY, 5:01pm: The Warriors are auditioning free agent D.J. White today, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The big man has spent time with the Celtics, Thunder, and Bobcats.
White spent time with the Bulls in camp over the summer but didn’t make the cut in the fall and wound up signing with China’s Sichuan Blue Whales. The 27-year-old appeared in 12 games last season for the Celtics and found himself in the Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce blockbuster but was promptly cut by the Nets. Although the former first-rounder didn’t see the court much in Boston, he has been reasonably productive in parts of five NBA seasons, recording a career PER of 14.6.
Celtics Sign Chris Babb To Second 10-Day
TUESDAY, 10:30am: The Celtics have formally announced the deal, via press release.
SUNDAY, 8:02pm: Chris Babb confirmed to reporters, including Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (on Twitter), that he has received a second 10-day deal from the Celtics. Babb had averages of 3.7 PPG and 2.0 RPG while playing 13.3 MPG heading into today’s contest against the Pistons.
Coach Brad Stevens recently offered up high praise for Babb, who initially joined the C’s on February 28th. “He’s a perfect fit for what we need as far as, he’s not going to play 38 minutes a game — he’s going to come in, get open shots, hopefully knock those open shots down, play off of other people, and then be a feisty defender for us. He really is an outstanding defender for a young guy,” Stevens said.
Babb went undrafted in 2013 but played in the summer league for the Suns afterwards. Babb played in 32 games for the Red Claws this season, and averaged 11.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 3.3 APG, and 1.2 SPG, while logging 37.5 MPG.
And-Ones: LeBron, Embiid, Diawara, Johnson
There has been some chatter that former GM Chris Grant could have been the key to bringing LeBron James back to the Cavs but that is nothing more than a tall tale, writes
Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio. If Grant had a grand plan to bring LeBron back to Cleveland, Amico surmises, then he probably would have made that known to owner Dan Gilbert . Here’s tonight’s look around the Association..
- Top draft prospect Joel Embiid will miss the Big 12 Tournament thanks to a back injury and at least one GM believes that it’s now a three-horse race for the No. 1 pick, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
- Yakhouba Diawara officially parted ways with French team Gravelines-Dunkerque, writes Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The French forward was averaging 11.9 PPG and 3.5 RPG in Pro A and 12.9 PPG in Eurocup. The four-year NBA veteran last appeared in the league with the Heat in 2010.
- Undrafted forward Karron Johnson has signed a contract in the NBA D-League, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter). Johnson, a product of Shaw University (Division II), left his Polish team last week.
- Thanks to the tremendous play of Al Jefferson, the extraordinary coaching of Steve Clifford, and the impressive development of Kemba Walker, the Bobcats have positioned themselves in the playoff hunt, writes Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.
Western Notes: Fisher, Warriors, Barbosa
Thunder guard Derek Fisher has said that he plans on calling it quits after this season, but Kevin Durant plans on speaking with his family this offseason about allowing him to delay his retirement, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) adds that the last time she spoke to Fisher, he joked that retirement was still the plan but he’d “go to Montana for a week after the year, then decide.” More from the Western Conference..
- The Warriors announced that they have assigned guard Nemanja Nedovic to the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Development League. Nedovic has appeared in seven games (five starts) for Santa Cruz this season, compiling averages of 15.6 points, 3.7 assists, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.14 steals in 26.6 minutes.
- Leandro Barbosa, who is recovering from a hand injury, doesn’t expect to return until the playoffs, the guard told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. The 31-year-old is averaging 7.5 PPG, 1.9 RPG, and 1.6 APG in 18.4 minutes per game this season for the Suns.
- The Blazers announced that they have assigned rookie guard Allen Crabbe to the NBA Development League’s Idaho Stampede. The 21-year-old is averaging 2.0 points, 0.2 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 4.9 minutes in 12 games for the Trail Blazers this season. Acquired by Portland in a draft day trade with Cleveland, Crabbe was the 31st overall selection in the 2013 NBA Draft out of California
Texas Notes: Ellis, Rockets, Spurs
All three Texas teams have the night off, but we’ve got plenty of news to keep those in the Lone Star state occupied..
- Monta Ellis described his first season with the Mavericks as escaping from “a deep hole,” saying he’s enjoying basketball as much as he has since his second season in the NBA, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. “I would have to say my last time feeling like this was 2007, when we made the playoffs,” Ellis said Monday, referring to the eighth-seeded Warriors, who upset the top-seeded Mavs in the first round. “This happy? 2007.“
- The Rockets have been focused on chemistry ever since their busy offseason and coach Kevin McHale believes that the team has made major strides, writes Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle. “They have much better collective chemistry,” McHale said. “I think that is one of the most underrated things in sports — how well does everybody play with everybody? How well do they know their strengths and weaknesses? And they have a common goal of being really good together and that common goal is overriding any of the little stuff that was happening earlier.”
- The Spurs boast the deepest roster in the NBA, but Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News wonders if that’s a good thing.