NBA Free Agent News
Ben Uzoh Has Been Outstanding In NBA D-League
It was just a couple of days ago when your's truly sent out a message on Twitter saying that Rio Grande Valley Vipers guard Ben Uzoh deserves to be on an NBA roster. I apparently wasn't alone in that assessment, though, as the NBA Development League announced on Monday afternoon that the former New Jersey Net was named the most recent D-League Performer of the Week.
Uzoh, a 6-foot-3 guard that's probably best described as a combo at this point in his career, averaged 22.3 points, 8.3 assists and 7.3 rebounds while shooting a blistering 66 percent from the field in three games last week. Since joining the D-League just five games ago, Uzoh is averaging an impresive 20.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and 6.0 assists while shooting 57 percent from the field.
Those numbers aren't all that unexpected considering the former Tulsa guard was known to fill up the box score in college, but his season with the New Jersey Nets last year -- as an undrafted rookie free agent -- didn't indicate that Uzoh would be able to shoot anywhere close to 57 percent from the floor, small sample size be damned considering he's already attempted one-third as many shots he put in the NBA all of last season.
Devin Brown Is Latest NBA Vet To Sign With D-League
The NBA Development League had quite the week leading up to the annual D-League Showcase as players flocked to the NBA's official minor league to get extra eyes on them as representatives from all 30 NBA teams flocked to lovely Reno, Nev., for the annual scouting event.
It's been one week since the Showcase was completed, however, and the NBA veterans continue to sign with the D-League in hopes of showing talent evaluators that they're in shape. The latest, according to league sources, is eight-year NBA veteran Devin Brown.
Brown is no stranger to the D-League as the 6-foot-5 swingman won the league's MVP and Rookie of the Year awards in 2003 before embarking on a fairly successful trip to the NBA. The former Fayetteville Patriot has fallen on hard times as of late, however, as he was cut earlier this year in Poland after sitting out all of last season as a free agent.
Mikki Moore, Willie Warren Sign To Play In NBA D-League
The NBA Development League continues to stockpile former NBA players as it creeps closer to next week's D-League Showcase in Reno, Nevada. The league added four assigned players on Tuesday and then went ahead and signed a pair of former NBA players for good measure.
Mikki Moore and Willie Warren both signed D-League contracts on Tuesday, according to a league source. Both former NBA players will clear waivers on Thursday and join their new team for a weekend of play before being thrust in front of an audience featuring representatives from all 30 NBA teams next week in Reno.
D-League Showcase Luring Plenty Of NBA Prospects
The NBA Development League doesn't have the best reputation, but it certainly has been improving over the past several seasons. That reputation, along with the upcoming D-League Showcase, has brought plenty of prospects to the NBA's official minor league as of late.
The Showcase is happening in lovely Reno, Nev., next Monday, January 9, and continues through the 12. The annual event is looked at as the most important part of the D-League season for many -- even more important than the league's playoffs -- and it seems many players are signing with the league in order to get into basketball shape prior to heading to Reno.
Ricky Davis Will Begin NBA Comeback With D-League's Maine Red Claws
Ricky Davis averaged over 20 points per game for the Cleveland Cavaliers nine seasons ago. The 32-year-old swingman with 12 years of NBA experience will now attempt to get back to that point in his career, but his NBA comeback will begin with a stint in the D-League with the Maine Red Claws.
Davis, who bounced around overseas after being cut by the Los Angeles Clippers midway through the 2009-10 NBA season, signed an NBA Development League contract last week and was claimed off of waivers by the Red Claws on Tuesday afternoon. The NBA veteran will join a roster that includes NBA training camp invites Xavier Silas, Durrell Summers, Paul Harris, Kenny Hayes and Mike Tisdale.
Davis is likely hoping to join the D-League, work his way into shape over the next two weeks and be ready to showcase his talents in front of all 30 NBA teams during the annual D-League Showcase in Reno when the event tips off on Jan.9. Until then, however, it'll be fun to watch him showcase his wares among his Development League counterparts.
Ricky Davis, Greg Ostertag Join NBA D-League In Blast From The Past
Former NBA starters Ricky Davis and Greg Ostertag have decided to make an NBA comeback through the NBA Development League, league sources told Ridiculous Upside on Thursday night. Both players have signed D-League contracts and will find out their new teams after clearing waivers on Tuesday afternoon.
Davis, 32, last played in the NBA for the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2009-10 season before being released midseason after the team acquired Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw. The high-scoring swingman has since spent time playing abroad in France, Turkey and China, but has apparently decided the best route toward an NBA comeback is by signing to play in its official minor league.
Davis is probably best described as a bit enigmatic, but the swingman was known as a gifted scorer during his 12-year NBA career -- beginning as a first round draft pick of the Charlotte Hornets in 1998. The former Iowa Hawkeye has averaged 13.5 points per game during his NBA career thus far, but scored a career-high 20.3 points per contest for the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2002-03 season.
Eddie Robinson And Rodney Buford Are Going To Play Basketball Again
Eddie Robinson and Rodney Buford are both rather infamously remembered for their NBA careers. Now, thanks to a wondrous new basketball league north of the border, the two will be united on the basketball court for the upcoming season.
Robinson and Buford were announced as the newest players for the Halifax Rainmen on Monday. Despite each player having played previously in the NBA, the announcement was probably a bit of a let down to the locals considering how the general manager teased their signings last week.
"It's history," Andre Levingston said in an interview Thursday. "This is gonna be big."
Unfortunately, Robinson and Buford are two of the bigger letdowns in recent memory as their seemingly fixable problems -- Buford's meandering around marijuana and Robinson's issues with headbands, among other things -- ended each players' NBA career right when they should have been taking off in the league.
NBA Caliber Players Starting To Follow Wilson Chandler's Lead To China
Technically it was Earl Clark, not Wilson Chandler, who signed in China first this offseason. The Denver Nuggets' wing was the first to sign in China following the Chinese Basketball Association's decision to not allow any opt-outs, however, so credit from yours truly is going to Chandler for the most recent exodus of players taking their talents to the CBA.
Before we get to that, however, let's catch everyone up on the Chinese basketball landscape. China ruled last month that any player with a current NBA contract isn't eligible to sign in the CBA. Additionally, Asia's top basketball league isn't allowing any sort of opt-outs in its contracts so that players can return stateside once the NBA lockout is over, seemingly further complicating the league's ability to vulture NBA talent this offseason. That hasn't turned out as poorly as I originally thought, however, as Jon Pastuszek explained over the holiday weekend.
Pastuszek noted that along Clark, Chandler, Quincy Douby and Stephon Marbury, a few more players with either NBA on their résumé or the skills to eventually make it in the world's top league have recently signed in China.
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