Minor Moves: Leslie, Walker, Williams
We'll track the day's notable international and D-League-related transactions here:
- The Clippers have re-assigned Travis Leslie to their D-League affiliate, the Bakersfield Jam, tweets Scott Schroeder of Ridiculous Upside. It's Leslie's second assignment of the season.
- The D-League's Idaho Stampede will re-sign Antoine Walker today, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The Stampede released Walker last week to allow him to tend to a personal matter, intending to bring him back.
- Former NBA big man Justin Williams will join the D-League's Los Angeles D-Fenders, according to Sam Amick of SI.com (via Twitter). Williams played 49 career NBA games from 2006 to 2008, 48 for the Kings and a single game for the Rockets, averaging 3.4 points and 3.3 rebounds in 9.3 minutes per game.
Odds & Ends: Powell, Lakers, Azubuike, Curry
Here are a few Wednesday afternoon odds and ends from around the NBA:
- Josh Powell, who was thought to be drawing interest from a handful of NBA teams, has decided to play in Puerto Rico, as he announced on his Twitter account. According to Sportando, Powell will play for Brujos de Guayama.
- Lakers legend Magic Johnson will become the face of Los Angeles Dodgers ownership, after his bidding group reached an agreement to buy the MLB franchise for a staggering $2.15 billion. Check out MLB Trade Rumors' story for more details.
- Current Laker Andrew Bynum stirred up some drama when he was benched following a misguided three-point attempt, says Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Bynum, who will have his 2012/13 option exercised by the team, didn't seem to have any regrets: "I guess 'don't take threes' is the message, but I'm going to take another one and I'm going to take some more, so I just hope it's not the same result."
- Kelenna Azubuike won't play a significant role on the Mavericks' 2011/12 squad, but Dallas intends to exercise its team option for next season, barring a setback, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes.
- Jonathan Abrams of Grantland.com takes an interesting look at the next step for an NBA player when he finds out he's been traded.
- Byron Mullens is becoming a larger part of the Bobcats' future plans, according to an Associated Press report (via NBA.com).
- The Warriors will re-evaluate Stephen Curry in two weeks to determine if he's ready to ready to return to action, the team announced today. There's been speculation that Golden State would prefer Curry not play this season, in part because the team would like to retain its top-seven-protected pick that's ticketed for Utah. Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group hears that Warriors management wouldn't mind Curry sitting out the season, though they'd be happy to have him return to the lineup if he's healthy.
Wizards Sign Cartier Martin To 10-Day Contract
The Wizards have officially signed Cartier Martin to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. Martin will take Edwin Ubiles' spot on the roster, after Ubiles' 10-day deal expired.
Martin played 30 games in China this season, averaging 26.3 points per contest. He joined the Dakota Wizards after returning from overseas, and averaged 18.3 PPG with a .556 3PT% in seven D-League games. The 27-year-old has appeared in 103 NBA games over the course of his career, including 52 for Washington last season.
Scott Schroeder of Ridiculous Upside first reported that the Wizards were expected to sign Martin to a 10-day contract.
Rockets Sign Courtney Fortson For Rest Of Season
A day after his 10-day contract expired, the Rockets have decided to keep Courtney Fortson for the rest of the season, with a non-guaranteed contract next year, also. According to the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen, this means Fortson can go through the Rockets' offseason program and summer league, and, hopefully, be a part of their training camp.
Fortson was waived by the Clippers after signing a 10-day contract with the team on January 27th. Since signing with Houston on March 18th, Fortson has appeared in five games, posting averages of 2.8 PPG and 0.8 APG.
The Rockets have been in search of backcourt stability since losing Kyle Lowry to a mysterious bacterial infection a few weeks ago. Days after acquiring Derek Fisher at the trade deadline, Houston agreed to a buyout with the former Laker point guard, and yesterday they signed 13-year veteran Earl Boykins to a 10-day contract.
Rockets Sign Malcolm Thomas To 10-Day Contract
TUESDAY, 5:25pm: The Rockets made the move official, announcing (via Twitter) that they've signed Thomas to a 10-day contract.
MONDAY, 9:11pm: Los Angeles D-Fenders forward Malcolm Thomas is expected to be called up by the Rockets on Wednesday, reports Yahoo! Sports writer Marc J. Spears (via Twitter). Thomas, 23, saw limited action in three games earlier this season with the Spurs before being released in early February. The rookie out of San Diego State is currently averaging 13.8 PPG and 9.3 RPG in 19 games with the D-Fenders.
Spurs Sign Patrick Mills
The Spurs have officially signed former Blazer Patrick Mills, the team announced today. The two sides had reached an agreement earlier, but visa issues held up Mills' arrival. The deal will reportedly include a player option in the second year, worth about $1MM.
According to a tweet from Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, the Pistons also wanted to sign Mills. The Rockets were interested in the guard as well, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reported. San Antonio had been searching for a point guard after the abrupt retirement of T.J. Ford, who was subsequently shipped to Golden State for financial reasons in the Stephen Jackson–Richard Jefferson deal.
Mills, a 2009 second-round pick out of St. Mary's College, averaged 5.1 points and 1.5 assists in two seasons as a backup in Portland. He signed with a Chinese team earlier this season, but received FIBA clearance to join an NBA team. The Blazers held Mills' rights as a restricted free agent, but renounced them, allowing him to sign with any team.
The agreement was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, Sam Amick of SI.com, and Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News added details.
Chuck Myron and Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Raptors Sign Ben Uzoh To 10-Day Contract
The Raptors have officially signed Ben Uzoh to a 10-day contract, according to a team press release. Doug Smith of the Toronto Star reported today that the team was expected to add Uzoh.
Uzoh, 24, played 42 games for the Nets last season, averaging 3.8 points and 1.6 assists in 10.4 minutes per contest. He had seen limited NBA time this season, having been waived by the Bobcats before the season began, then playing a pair of games with the Cavs on a 10-day contract in February. He's spent much of the season in the D-League, averaging 14.8 point in 20 games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
For the Raptors, Uzoh is their second 10-day addition in as many days, after signing Alan Anderson last night. Uzoh will provide backcourt depth as DeMar DeRozan and Jerryd Bayless continue to battle injuries. Toronto had two open roster spots, so the team won't need to make a corresponding move to make room for the 6'3" guard.
Raptors Sign Anderson To 10-Day Contract
The Raptors have signed guard Alan Anderson to a 10-day contract according to an announcement made by the team today. Anderson, 29, was averaging 21.5 PPG and 4.6 RPG in eight games with the D-League's Canton Charge.
The former Michigan State standout has limited experience in the NBA spread over two seasons with the Bobcats after signing with the team as a free agent prior to the 2005/2006 season. With the Raptors' roster now at 13 players, the team did not need to make a corresponding move upon Anderson's signing.
Rockets Agree To Sign Earl Boykins
The Rockets and Earl Boykins have agreed to terms on a 10-day contract, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Houston had a pair of open roster spots, and won't need to make a corresponding move to make room for Boykins.
Boykins, 35, told Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype last month that he was talking to a couple teams and hoped to find a deal soon. The Rockets will be the tenth team Boykins has played for in 13 NBA seasons. Although the 5'5" guard hasn't played in the NBA yet this year, he appeared in 57 games for the Bucks in 2010/11, averaging 7.2 points and 2.5 assists in 15.1 minutes per game.
Clippers Sign Bobby Simmons For Rest Of Season
The Clippers announced that they have re-signed free agent forward Bobby Simmons, whose second ten-day contract expired on March 18. Los Angeles decided to make the commitment after an MRI on Mo Williams' injured big toe ruled him out for Saturday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies, writes Arash Markazi of ESPN.com.
Simmons, 31, has averaged 3.5 points and 2.7 rebounds per contest in 13 games for the Clippers this season.