ESPN.com: Heat sign Alston off waivers

Rafer Alston got his wish, signing with the Miami Heat for the remainder of the season and getting the chance to play alongside Dwyane Wade again.

The 33-year-old point guard cleared waivers at 6 p.m. Thursday, and the Heat announced the signing about an hour later. Alston will be with the team when it opens a six-game road trip Friday in Phoenix.

Alston, who started all 23 playoff games with Orlando last season when the Magic reached the NBA finals, played with the Heat in 2003-04 -- Wade's rookie season. Alston's contract with the New Jersey Nets was bought out Tuesday, and he made it clear right away that Miami was atop his list of teams to join.

 

ESPN.com: Sixers guarantee Iverson's contract

The Philadelphia 76ers guaranteed guard Allen Iverson's contract for the rest of the season on Tuesday.

The Sixers could have waited until Wednesday -- the final day -- to guarantee the remainder of his prorated one-year contract worth $1.3 million. Iverson was signed by the Sixers as a free agent on Dec. 3.

Philadelphia is 4-5 with Iverson in the lineup. The 34-year-old also sat out four games with arthritis in his left knee.

Iverson is averaging 15.7 points and 4.7 assists in 33 minutes a game.

"Since his arrival, Allen has done everything asked of him and has been an excellent teammate," Sixers general manager Ed Stefanski said in a statement before the Sixers faced the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.

ESPN.com: Magloire, Jerebko suspended for fight

Miami Heat center Jamaal Magloire and Detroit's Jonas Jerebko have been suspended by the NBA for their altercation in a preseason game.

Magloire was penalized two games for starting the altercation and striking Jerebko in the face with 5:04 left in the fourth quarter of Detroit's 87-83 victory on Monday. Jerebko was suspended one game for retaliating and hitting Magloire in the face.

The NBA says Thursday that both players would serve their suspensions beginning with the first regular-season games they are physically able to play.

ESPN.com

ESPN.com: Cuban not sold on Artest with Lakers

DALLAS -- The Los Angeles Lakers opened the championship window for the rest of the Western Conference contenders by signing controversial swingman Ron Artest, according to Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

 

"I tell you what, now that they've got Ron Artest, I couldn't think of anything better," Cuban said during an appearance on Dallas' ESPN 103.3. "If you would have said, what one player -- and I'll get killed over this -- what one player would you like to see on the Lakers? Ron Artest.

"Could you imagine? Ron Artest has got the ball, and Kobe's standing there, 'Throw me the ball.' Thank you, Ron Artest."

Cuban didn't back down off the air when given an opportunity to clarify his comments or elaborate.

"I think he'll add some character to that team," Cuban said with a smirk. "Whether it will be positive or negative will be interesting to see."

Artest played for current Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle with the Indiana Pacers from 2003 until he was traded to Sacramento on Jan. 25, 2006. Artest was suspended for all but seven games of the 2004-05 season for brawling with Detroit Pistons fans at The Palace of Auburn Hills

"Ron Artest is a great player," Carlisle said Friday night. "My first year in Indiana, he was an All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year, so I know what he's capable of. It's just going to be tough [in the Western Conference]."

The Dallas Mavericks' road opener is against the Lakers on Oct. 30.

ESPN.com

ESPN.com: Murray to sign $1.99M deal

Free-agent guard Flip Murray has reached an agreement in principle to join the Charlotte Bobcats.

Murray and the Bobcats have a one-year deal at the NBA's bi-annual exception of $1.99 million, with a formal signing forthcoming as early as Friday, according to NBA front-office sources.

Murray's agent, Mark Termini, confirmed when reached Thursday by ESPN.com that his client is Charlotte-bound.

After averaging 12.2 points last season as an off-the-bench spark for the Atlanta Hawks, Murray also received interest earlier this month from the Denver Nuggets. But luxury-tax concerns prompted the Nuggets, who on Wednesday traded for Houston's James White, to limit their offer to the $1.1 million veteran minimum.

ESPN.com

Fróðleg skipti

Raptors
(-24,7m)
Raja Bell-5,2m
Alex Ajinca-1,3m
Gerald Wallace-9,5m
Bobcats
(-20,9m)
Andrea Bargnani-6,5m
Patric O'Bryant-855k
Jose Calderon-8,2m

ESPN.com: Cavs' West arrested in Maryland

 Cleveland Cavaliers guard Delonte West was arrested Thursday after officers pulled him over for speeding on a motorcycle while carrying two handguns and a shotgun in a guitar case.

Prince George's County police spokeswoman Sgt. Michelle Reedy said Friday the Cleveland Cavaliers player was arrested about 10 p.m. Thursday.

Reedy said West was riding a Can-Am Spyder motorcycle north on the Capital Beltway in Upper Marlboro when he cut off an officer, who pulled him over.

Police said a handgun was found in his pocket, another in his pant leg and a shotgun in a guitar case strapped to his back.

The 26-year-old West, who lives in Brandywine, was charged with speeding and weapons counts. Reedy said West was released on his own recognizance early Friday.

Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry said the team was aware of the situation.

"We have been in communication with Delonte and his family," Ferry said in a statement. "We are gathering more information and will not have further comment until the appropriate time."

ESPN.com

West

ESPN.com: Daniels, pick to Wolves

The New Orleans Hornets improved their depth Wednesday by completing a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves that sends guard Antonio Daniels to the Wolves for forward Darius Songaila and guard Bobby Brown.

The trade also sends a 2014 second-round pick to Minnesota.

"Darius brings toughness and experience to bolster our frontcourt," Hornets general manager Jeff Bower said. "[And] we know Bobby pretty well from when he played on our summer-league team and are excited to add his speed and scoring ability."

Minnesota acquired Songaila as part of the draft-week deal with the Washington Wizards that netted the No. 5 overall pick, which the Wolves used on Spanish guard Ricky Rubio. With Rubio deciding to spend at least the next two seasons in his native country with perennial Spanish club power Barcelona, Daniels is the latest veteran targeted by the Wolves to help fill the Rubio void.

(Daniels og Songaila spiluðu saman með
Wizards fyrir ekki svo löngu.

ESPN.com: Yao 'progressing well' from foot surgery

Yao Ming's return from foot surgery might come sooner than anyone expected.

In an interview with ESPN The Magazine's Sam Alipour, Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said Yao could return at some point in the 2009-10 season and the team no longer feels his broken left foot is a career-threatening injury.

"Yao Ming is progressing well. I don't think that [a career-ending scenario] is something that will happen, based on what I'm hearing from the doctors," Morey told Alipour. "They do know that the bone will heal and he'll get back on it. And they have not actually ruled out [his return] this season. I think that's less likely than likely, but they haven't ruled it out.

"And next season, the outlook is very good. He just took off the cast for a short period [two weeks ago], so the doctors could examine it, and everything is going well. Everything is on track."

The 7-foot-6 Yao, a seven-time All-Star, had surgery in July, more than two months after suffering a hairline fracture late in a playoff game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Surgeons grafted bone onto the tarsal navicular bone and realigned Yao's foot to reduce stress on the repair. At the time of the procedure, he was expected to be immobilized in a cast and using crutches for at least six to eight weeks.

"Once the cast is removed, he'll be able to start rehab on his foot, and the cast has a little ways, multiple weeks, to go," Morey told Alipour.

Yao played in 77 regular-season games in 2008-09, his most injury-free season since 2004-05, when he played in 80. Before last season, Yao missed chunks of the previous three seasons with leg and foot injuries.

 
Yao

ESPN.com: Free agent Jason Collins joins Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks have added more depth and size to their frontcourt by signing center Jason Collins, who spent last season with Minnesota.

The move comes about a week after the Hawks signed 6-foot-10 forward Joe Smith.

Hawks general manager Rick Sund said the 7-foot Collins, an eight-year veteran, will add size "and a good interior defensive presence," to the Hawks.

Sund said Collins, who played with the New Jersey Nets in the 2002 and 2003 NBA finals, also brings postseason experience.

Collins played in 31 games with Minnesota last season and averaged 1.8 points and 2.3 rebounds.

Collins.