Ellis will miss the first month of the regular season after severely spraining his ankle. Ellis, who got a six-year contract extension worth $66 million from the Warriors this summer, sprained his ankle and tore a deltoid ligament while working out at his home in Jackson, Miss., Warriors spokesman Raymond Ridder said.
Analysis: Ellis underwent surgery Wednesday to repair the ligament. Ellis' ankle will be immobilized for six weeks, followed by at least six weeks of off-court rehab before the guard can return to basketball workouts. Ellis is expected to play a major role this season for the Warriors after Baron Davis' abrupt departure for the Los Angeles Clippers as a free agent. He averaged 20.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists last season, all career bests.
Crawford, the Los Angeles Lakers' only selection in the NBA draft last June, signed a contract with the Western Conference champions on Wednesday.
Analysis: Crawford, the 58th overall pick, averaged 11.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in four years at Kentucky, where he played in 127 games, 76 of them starts. The 22-year-old 6-foot-5 guard ranked fourth in the SEC in scoring as a senior with a team-leading 17.9-point average, and then averaged 11.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in six Summer League games for the Lakers last month.
The Suns acquired Singletary from the Rockets on Monday in exchange for D.J. Strawberry.
Analysis: Singletary was the 42nd overall pick in the 2008 draft by the Sacramento Kings, who sent him to Houston in the Ron Artest deal. The 6-foot guard was a member of the Kings' Las Vegas Summer League team, where he averaged 5.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists playing in each of the club's five games. A four-year standout at Virginia, Singletary was a three-time All-ACC selection who led his team in scoring with 19.8 points per game last season.
Analysis: The 6-foot-5 point guard, the 30th pick in the draft, averaged 16.3 points and 8.8 rebounds for New Mexico during his senior season. Giddens said he has matured in the last few years. He pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge after being stabbed at a bar fight in May 2005 while playing for Kansas. He transferred to New Mexico, where he was suspended twice in his first season.
The Mavericks re-signed George on Monday, nearly six months after the veteran player blocked a trade to the New Jersey Nets.
Analysis: George averaged 3.7 points and 2.6 rebounds a game for the Mavericks last season. The 6-foot-8 forward has averaged 5.8 points and 3.3 rebounds a game during his NBA career.
Sun, a second-round pick in the 2007 NBA draft, signed a multiyear contract with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers. Sun played for the Beijing Aoshen Olympians of the American Basketball Association for the past three seasons, and was a first-team All-ABA selection each of the last two years.
Analysis: The 23-year-old Sun, a 6-foot-9 guard taken with the 40th overall selection by the Lakers in last year's draft, averaged 6.8 points, 1.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.33 steals in six games for China in the Olympic Games in Beijing.
Ginobili, Argentina's leading scorer, left Friday's Olympic semifinal against the U.S. with an apparent left ankle injury. His club eventually lost 101-81, meaning the U.S. advances to face Spain in Sunday's gold-medal game.
Analysis: The U.S. lead was already 10 points when Ginobili, who came in leading the tournament with 20.3 points per game, went down in a play away from the ball. He limped to the sideline and took off his left sneaker after re-injuring the same ankle that slowed him so badly in the NBA Western Conference finals. Ginobili later left the bench, a crushing blow for a team that already had to deal with an injury that kept Andres Nocioni from being at full speed.
The Nuggets re-signed Smith, a restricted free agent, to a multi-year contract on Friday.
Analysis: The 22-year-old guard averaged 12.6 points for the Nuggets over the past two seasons. He shot nearly 40 percent from 3-point range, the best percentage in team history for players with at least 100 3-pointers. Smith was acquired from Chicago in 2006 in exchange for Howard Eisley and two second-round draft picks. He was drafted by the New Orleans Hornets in the first round and 18th overall in 2004.
The Spurs re-signed Finley on Friday, but terms of the deal were not released.
Analysis: Finley started 61 games last season, with sixth man award winner Manu Ginobili providing a spark for San Antonio behind him. Finley averaged 10.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists, playing in all 82 games in his 13th NBA season. He shot 37 percent from 3-point range. Finley averaged 6.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and one assist during 17 playoff games last season. Finley, a two-time All-Star, was first signed by the Spurs in September 2005.
The Celtics signed Miles, who missed the last two NBA seasons because of knee injuries.
Analysis: Celtics general manager Danny Ainge said Friday that Miles worked out twice for the team before signing. Miles played for Portland in the 2005-2006 season. Portland waived Miles after it was determined his right knee was damaged enough to qualify as a career-ending injury. Miles was selected third overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2000 NBA draft.
The Hornets turned to a familiar face to fill an opening in the backcourt, signing Brown on Friday.
Analysis: Brown, formerly of Cleveland, played with New Orleans two seasons ago and was brought back to bolster the depth in the backcourt depth. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The move was made following the departure of backup guard Jannero Pargo, who joined a team in Russia. Brown likely will be the primary backup to All-Star point guard Chris Paul and will join recently signed James Posey as a backup shooting guard. Brown, like Posey, can also play forward.
The Celtics signed second-round draft pick Bill Walker. Celtics general manager Danny Ainge praised Walker's "hard work and skill development" over the summer in announcing the signing Friday. Terms of the deal were not announced.
Analysis: Boston obtained the rights to the 6-foot-6 forward out of Kansas State for cash after he was chosen with the 47th pick by Washington in this year's NBA draft. Walker had minor arthroscopic surgery on his right knee last month after injuring it in a pre-draft workout in June. He missed the Celtics' rookie camp. Walker had surgery on the same knee as a high school freshman. In two seasons with the Wildcats, Walker averaged 15.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in 37 games.
The Heat re-signed forward Dorrell Wright on Thursday.
Analysis: The Heat tendered the restricted free agent an offer sheet months ago, but the sides didn't reach a deal until Thursday. Wright has played all four of his NBA seasons with Miami. He appeared in only 44 games last season, missing much it with a knee injury. However, it was still Wright's best season. He averaged a career-high eight points and five rebounds.
Ratliff returned to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, seven years after he was traded from the team during its run to the NBA Finals.
Analysis: Terms of Ratliff's deal with the Sixers weren't disclosed. Ratliff has played for six teams during his 13 NBA seasons, including parts of four years with the Sixers from 1997-2001. The Sixers have been busy this summer after reaching the playoffs for the first time in three years. They signed two-time All-Star forward Elton Brand, added free-agent guards Royal Ivey and Kareem Rush last week.
The Clippers re-signed Davis on Monday, giving Los Angeles three players named Davis on their 15-man roster. He joins Baron Davis and Ricky Davis, another pair of free-agent additions.
Analysis: Paul Davis averaged 2.5. points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 22 games with the Clippers before sustaining a season-ending injury to his right knee last Dec. 21. The Clippers picked the 24-year-old former Michigan State star with the 34th overall selection in the 2006 draft, and he played a total of 53 games with them during the last two seasons.
The Philadelphia 76ers re-signed Iguodala on Sunday, giving the forward a six-year contract worth a reported $80 million. An official announcement is expected Monday.
Analysis: Iguodala, who was a restricted free agent, helped the 76ers reach the playoffs for the first time in three years. The guard-forward averaged 19.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.1 steals in 82 games last season. He struggled in the playoffs against Detroit, averaging 13.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 5.0 assists. Retaining Iguodala was a top priority for Philadelphia. He's been durable, missing just six games in four years.
Pargo signed a one-year deal with Dynamo Moscow of the Russian League, agent Mark Bartelstein told The Associated Press in a phone interview Friday.
Analysis: The one-year deal is worth nearly $4 million and is about twice what Pargo made for the Hornets last season, Bartelstein said. Pargo joins a growing defection of NBA players lured overseas by higher salaries. "Jannero's probably one of the higher profile players to go over," Bartelstein said. Pargo averaged 8.1 points and 18 minutes a game as a reserve for the Hornets last season, and was the team's fourth-leading scorer in the playoffs with 10.2 points per game.
Roy will have arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a tear in the meniscus of his left knee. An MRI, taken Tuesday revealed the tear, the team said Wednesday. Surgery is scheduled for Thursday.
Analysis: Roy had a breakout season with Portland in 2007-08, averaging team-highs of 19.1 points and 5.8 assists to go along with 4.7 rebounds.
The wife of O'Neal said Thursday that her marriage to the NBA star is on the mend.
Analysis: During an interview about the launch of her new video-sharing Web site, Shaunie O'Neal told The Associated Press that the couple plans to stop divorce proceedings soon. Shaquille O'Neal filed for divorce in Miami-Dade Circuit Court in September 2007, after nearly five years of marriage.
© 2008 by STATS LLC.