Bulls Sign Gray

RealGM has the press release

The Chicago Bulls re-signed center Aaron Gray on Tuesday.Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Spurs Sign Bogans

NBA Fanhouse reports

Free-agent swingman Keith Bogans will sign a one-year contract with the San Antonio Spurs, sources confirmed Monday to FanHouse.

Bogans, a solid defensive player, is being looked at as an heir apparent to Bruce Bowen, who retired recently after being San Antonio’s perimeter defensive stopper throughout much of the decade. The Spurs had been grooming Ime Udoka for that role, but they are electing not to bring him back as a free agent after he played two seasons with the team.

Flip Murray

Beware The Career Year

Last season Flip Murray had a career year in scoring efficiency. It wasn’t just his best season to date, it was by far his best season, unlike anything he’d ever produced before.

Check it out:

Year	eFG%	TS%
2003-04	46.2%	49.7%
2004-05	39.4%	43.3%
2005-06	44.2%	48.7%
2006-07	43.2%	47.4%

Lakers Ink Gelabale

RealGM reports

Mickael Gelabale will join the Lakers in training camp.”It’s a dream come true for me,” Gelabale told HoopsHype. “It’s a legendary team, with guys like Magic, Kareem, Kobe … I was a fan of the team as a kid.”

Gelabale will sign a non-guaranteed contract with Los Angeles prior to camp.

Link: A.Parker On His Euro Experiences

There’s a very good interview on Cavs.com with Anthony Parker discussing his experiences playing in Europe.

Talk about the social-political aspect of playing in Tel Aviv? You were exposed to the violence right away. What was that like, living with that threat while trying to focus on basketball?

Parker: That was an interesting story, because two weeks after we got there the whole second Intifada started. Ariel Sharon went to the Temple Mount and basically the whole situation blew up. And the conflict was essentially 45 minutes from our doorstep.

But when you’re in Israel and you’re in the country, you don’t feel it. People are going to the mall, people are going out to eat. Kids are going to school. Life is normal. But you know that 45 minutes away, there’s a war going on.

Portland Signs Juwan Howard

RealGM reports

The Portland Trail Blazers have signed free agent forward Juwan Howard to a one-year contract, it was announced today by General Manager Kevin Pritchard. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.“Juwan Howard will add a wealth of experience and veteran savvy to our young, talented roster,” said Pritchard. “We look forward to Juwan’s contributions on the court and in the locker room.”

Bargnani vs Player X

I am going to compare Bargnani to made up player.

Introducing Player X

Player X is a set of general characteristics — average defender + average rebounder while being a slightly below average scorer with poor scoring efficiency.

Also, let’s assume Bargnani and Player X are equal as passers + screeners + turnovers per minute. To avoid overly complicating things.

Pacers Sign Luther Head

Conrad Brunner reports

Just such a player was snagged today when the Pacers signed free agent Luther Head, a combo guard who spent most of his first four seasons with Houston.

“Luther is a guy we have had our eye on,” Bird said in a statement released by the team. “He can shoot, he has speed and quickness and he will fit in well in our up-tempo game. I think he’s going to be a good addition to our basketball team.”

KG Injury Update

The Boston Globe reports

The Celtics are looking forward to the return of Kevin Garnett. And Garnett is progressing in his recovery from knee surgery, according to president of basketball operations Danny Ainge.

“Kevin looks good, he’s in here working out every day,” Ainge said today from the team’s practice facility in Waltham. “He’s doing his training but he’s not playing fullcourt basketball, yet.

Bargnani’s Rookie Season

Let’s wind our memories back to Andrea Bargnani’s rookie season.

Andrea Bargnani improved consistently throughout his rookie year. He got off to a rocky start in November, but improved considerably in December and January, and then took his game up to another notch in February. Unfortunately the young Bargnani would suffer an injury, one that would disrupt his strong finish to the season.

Chuck Swirsky was convinced that Bargnani’s strong play from February onwards would have continued, and he even felt that Bargnani may improve on his performances. I mention this because I agree with Chuck, not with the rookie of the year vote, but that Andrea Bargnani was rolling and only likely to get better before the season ended.

So let’s have a look see at how Bargnani was performing back then.