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| Thursday, July 17 Nuggets sign Carmelo Anthony Associated Press |
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"This is an exciting day for the Nuggets organization and our fans," Vandeweghe said. "Carmelo is a special player and we look forward to seeing him in a Nuggets uniform for years to come."
Anthony averaged 22.2 points and 10.0 rebounds as a freshman at Syracuse last season. He led the Orangemen to the national championship and was named the Final Four's Most Valuable Player.
Arenas was stopped June 4 in San Francisco. Police noticed the clip of a gun in the glove compartment, and a handgun was found in a bag on the back seat during a search, prosecutor Stephen Wagstaffe said Thursday.
Arenas has a permit to carry the weapon in Arizona, where he attended college, but not in California, Wagstaffe said.
Arenas' attorney, Michael Gaines, did not return a call seeking comment.
The arraignment was delayed until Aug. 5 at the request of
Gaines.
Ollie said he expects his role to be, in part, counselor for the 18-year-old James, the top selection in the NBA draft out of high school. The 6-foot-8 James is being groomed as a point guard. Ollie played with Milwaukee and Seattle last season, averaging 6.5 points and 3.5 assists per game. Ollie, 30, had the league's best assists-to-turnovers ratio at 4.0. Ollie said he looks forward to providing James the benefit of his experience of playing with nine NBA teams since 1997. "Hopefully, he can bounce some stuff off me and with my experience in the league I'll be able to help him. And I'll just be there for him," Ollie said. "A great tool for LeBron is to listen, sit back and just listen, and take in all the information he can get." Cavaliers general manager Jim Paxson would not disclose terms of Ollie's deal, except to say it is multiyear. The Plain Dealer and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the Cavaliers offered Ollie a five-year, $15 million deal. "We made a very strong commitment to Kevin, based on what we felt we needed, and we felt it was something we wanted to do to get him here," Paxson said. "In the scheme of things, I don't think this is going to go down as one of the worst contracts in the history of the NBA."
"It was a mutual decision," Cavs summer league coach Stephen Silas said.
A less-than-capacity crowd of about 2,100 showed no outward signs of disappointment when the Cavs took the floor for warmups and James emerged wearing a blue T-shirt, blue sweat pants, gold medallion and diamond-studded watch.
James had been in Los Angeles on Wednesday night for the ESPYs, a cable television sports awards show. He was nominated for Breakthrough Athlete and Play of the Year but did not win.
"With all the things that go on at the ESPYs, I'm amazed he's
even here," Silas said. "Just for him to be
here and support the team is great for us."
Mengke, the second Chinese player to join the NBA, spent last season with San Antonio and averaged less than one point and one rebound in 12 games. Since signing with Denver on Feb. 26, 2002, the 6-foot-11 Mongolian native has played in just 39 games. "Bateer is an established international player who hasn't had an opportunity to prove himself at the NBA level," Toronto general manager Glen Grunwald said. "We feel he can provide our team with needed size and strength in the middle." Mengke will be a backup on the front line behind Antonio Davis, Jerome Williams, Michael Bradley, Chris Bosh and Jerome Moiso.
The Raptors signed Moiso and point guard Milt Palacio to
two-year deals on Wednesday.
Strickland, 29, joins the Bucks after spending the 2002-03 season with the Indiana Pacers. Strickland appeared in 71 games for Indiana last season, averaging 6.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists. "Finding a veteran point guard was a priority, and we are very pleased to have Erick Strickland in the fold," general manager Larry Harris said. "Erick is a solid defender who can push the ball, shoot the three, and he is a true professional. He will add toughness and leadership to our team, on and off the court." Skinner, 27, spent the 2002-03 season in Philadelphia, appearing in 77 games and averaging a career-best 6.0 points and 4.8 rebounds in 18.0 minutes per game, while shooting 55 percent from the field. With three more field goal attempts, Skinner would have finished third in the NBA in field goal percentage. "Brian is a player that his teammates and the fans will enjoy because he's an effort guy who will defend, get to the offensive glass and create his own scoring opportunities," Harris said. "He's another young, athletic player who will play hard and allow us to play up-tempo basketball." Santiago spent two seasons with the Phoenix Suns (2000-02) before spending the 2002-03 in Italy, where he averaged 12.0 points and 7.8 rebounds for Lottomatica Roma. "Daniel will have an opportunity to compete for minutes on this team," Harris said. "He adds an offensive dimension to our frontcourt, and has the ability to score facing or with his back to the basket." |
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