Jeff says: Sean Marks basically hangs out, waves a towel, says hi to his teammates, maybe plays a few minutes, tosses an outside shot or two up, tells some jokes, etc. And now the Hornets have acquired his services. Here’s the news release:
The New Orleans Hornets announced today that they have signed free agent forward/center Sean Marks. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not released.
?We are excited for Sean to join our team,? said Hornets General Manager Jeff Bower. ?He is a veteran leader, who has been on winning teams and will be a great addition to our frontcourt.?
Marks (6-10, 250) is a nine-year NBA veteran with career averages of 3.1 points and 1.9 rebounds in 9.1 minutes per game. He has played with four different teams?Toronto, Miami, San Antonio and Phoenix. When he made his debut as a rookie on March 16, 1999 with the Raptors, he became the first native of New Zealand to play in the NBA.
Most recently with the Suns, Marks played in 19 games during the 2007-08 season, shooting 53.5% (23-of-43) from the field and averaging 3.1 points per contest. He scored in 13 of 19 appearances, including a season-high 16 points and career-high 13 rebounds in the Suns’ season finale Apr. 16 against Portland.
A native of Auckland, New Zealand, Marks played at California, appearing in 86 career games. As a senior, he averaged 9.8 points and 7.6 rebounds in 26 contests.

The Miami Herald (Joan Fleischman) reports: It’s official: Shaq and Shaunie will remain a team. NBA star Shaquille O’Neal’s attorney Ira Elegant wrote to Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Roberto Pineiro: “The parties have reconciled.” Pineiro signed the dismissal order on Friday. “A happy ending,” says Shaunie’s lawyer, Marsha Elser. Elegant agrees. “An excellent result.” Shaq filed last September, when he played for the Miami Heat.

The Dallas Morning News (Brad Townsend) reports: Jason Kidd retired Sunday. From USA Basketball competition, not his job with the Dallas Mavericks, with whom he is entering the final season of his $20 million-a-year contract. There is no better way for Kidd to bow out of international basketball, having earned his second gold medal Sunday while extending his record to 56-0 in Olympics, Olympic qualifying and exhibition games.  “I’m undefeated,” Kidd, 35, said. “I told them I can retire now from international ball, but LeBron [James] threw out something I didn’t like. He said he won’t play in 2012 unless I’m there.”

The Phoenix Suns announced today that the club has acquired rookie guard Sean Singletary from the Houston Rockets in exchange for guard D.J. Strawberry.
?Sean gives us depth at the point guard spot,? said Suns President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Steve Kerr.  ?We like his instincts and his ability to run a team.  He also puts a lot of pressure on the ball defensively. We thank D.J. for his contributions and wish him well.?
In Singletary, the Suns acquire a dynamic 6-0, 185-point rookie guard, who was the 42nd overall selection (second round) of the Sacramento Kings in the 2008 NBA Draft.  Singletary was then traded to the Rockets along with Patrick Ewing, Jr. in the deal that sent Ron Artest to Houston in exchange for Donte Green, Bobby Jackson and a future first-round pick on August 14, 2008.  Singletary was a member of the Kings’ 2008 Las Vegas Summer League squad, averaging 5.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 32.2 minutes with appearances in each of the club’s five games.
A four-year standout at Virginia, Singletary was a three-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference First Team selection.  During his senior season of 2007-08, the soon-to-be 23-year-old led his team in scoring for the second-straight season (19.8 points) and was the lone Division I player to rank in the top 40 in both scoring and assists.  That production earned Singletary an Honorable Mention All-America Selection from the Associated Press and made him a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award, given annually to the nation’s top collegiate point guard.
A three-time co-captain for the Cavaliers, Singletary finished his career as the only player in ACC history with 2,000 career points, 500 assists, 400 rebounds and 200 steals.  Singletary’s jersey was retired by Virginia before his final home game.
Strawberry was selected by the Suns with the 59th overall pick (second round) of the 2007 NBA Draft.  In his rookie campaign with Phoenix in 2007-08, the 6-5, 201-pound guard averaged 2.2 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 8.1 minutes, appearing in 33 games.

The Oklahoman (Mel Bracht) reports: Say you’re working late and can’t make it to the Ford Center to watch Oklahoma City’s new NBA team play its game that night. Instead, you log on to your computer and watch streaming video of the team’s game broadcast. Sound far-fetched? Not if the NBA has its way. The league is aggresively promoting three new Internet elements ? video streaming in home markets, interactive TV and video-on-demand ? for the upcoming season. Ed Desser, a media consultant for Oklahoma City’s team, said many details have yet to be worked out, and didn’t expect the team to offer the Internet elements anytime soon.

Jeff says: Finley, now at age 82, a full 23 years older than Greg Oden, is at the end of his career and I don’t think he should play more than a few minutes per quarter as a backup. That said, he’s probably still useful off the bench, plus his Spurs experience makes him more useful to them than many other ancient veterans would be. Here’s the news release:
The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have re-signed guard Michael Finley. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.
The 6-7, 225-lb Finley was one of two Spurs (Fabricio Oberto was the other) to appear in all 82 games during the 2007-08 season. He averaged 10.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 26.9 minutes and shot .414 (315-761) from the field, .370 (132-357) from three-point land and .800 (64-80) from the line. Finley scored in double figures 47 times and had 20-or-more five times on the season. The University of Wisconsin product saw action in all 17 of San Antonio’s playoff games, averaging 6.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 23.0 minutes per game.
Finley was originally signed by the Spurs on 9/2/05. The two-time All-Star has also spent time with the Phoenix Suns and the Dallas Mavericks. Over his 13-year NBA career, he has appeared in 976 games and has averaged 16.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 32.8 minutes.

The Phoenix Suns have signed free-agent forward Louis Amundson to a contract, the club announced today.
?Louis is a talented, versatile young player who brings a lot of energy and skill to our roster,? said Suns President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Steve Kerr.  ?He gives us added depth in the frontcourt and we think he’ll fit in well with our team.?
The 6-9, 238-pound Amundson is a two-year NBA veteran who has appeared in 27 career games with the Utah Jazz and most recently the Philadelphia 76ers.  As a Sixer, the 25-year-old tallied career-highs of eight points, 11 rebounds, including eight offensive, and four blocks in 23 minutes of play at the Detroit Pistons on April 15, 2007.  Amundson, who saw action in two of the club’s first-round playoff games against Detroit in 2008, averaged 2.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in 5.0 minutes in the series.
The Ventura, Calif.-native was a productive member of the Golden State Warriors’ 2008 NBA Summer League squad, posting 6.2 points and 5.4 rebounds in 17.6 minutes in five games.  In 2006-07, Amundson’s 11.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.48 blocks in 25 games for the Colorado 14ers of the NBA Development League earned him a spot on the All-D-League First Team as well as D-League Rookie of the Year honors.
Undrafted out of college, the University of Nevada-Las Vegas graduate played five seasons for the Runnin’ Rebels after receiving a medical redshirt for his sophomore season.  Amundson became the first player in Mountain West Conference history to record two career games of at least 20 points and 20 rebounds.

The East Valley Tribune (Jerry Brown) reports: As the calendar turns to August, the Suns continue to work the phones in the hope of bringing second-round draft pick Goran Dragic to Phoenix this fall ? with the idea of making the 22-year-old the full-time backup to Steve Nash at the point. Spanish newspapers and Web sites are reporting that Tau Ceramica, the Spanish team that owns Dragic’s rights, is looking into backup plans to replace him if he heads to the NBA this summer. Tau has had talks with former Sun Andre Barrett, offering about $800,000 for his services. Veteran point guard Earl Boykins is also a consideration. Dragic has a buyout clause (1 million euros, or about $1.5 million U.S.) in his contract with Tau after this season.

Skinner, who at this point is best described as “a crafty veteran,” can come off the bench and slam into people a lot, get a rebound or two, take up space, cheer teammates who play well, and sit on the bench.
Here’s the full news release:
The Los Angeles Clippers signed veteran forward Brian Skinner, Vice President of Basketball Operations announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not announced.
Originally drafted by the Clippers in the first round (22nd overall pick) of the 1998 NBA Draft, Skinner is a 10-year NBA veteran who returns to Los Angeles after playing 66 games last season with the Phoenix Suns. Skinner averaged 3.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.2 assists for Phoenix in 2007-08.
?Brian Skinner is a veteran NBA player who will give us both size and depth in the middle,? Baylor said. ?We are familiar with Brian, and know that he will be a good fit in his return to the Clippers.?
Skinner has averaged 4.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 538 career NBA games with eight different teams. The six-foot-nine forward started his career with the Clippers in 1998-99 and played three seasons in Los Angeles.
?We are very pleased to add Brian to our front line,? Clippers head coach Mike Dunleavy said. ?He adds great size, presence and veteran experience to our team.?
In addition to the Clippers and Suns, the Texas native has also played for Cleveland, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Sacramento and Portland during his NBA tenure and has played in 21 career playoff games.

The Oklahoman (Mike Baldwin) reports on a team’s 82-game regular season schedule: “Four games against division opponents. Four games against six out-of-division conference opponents. Three games against the remaining four conference teams. Two games against teams in the opposing conference. A five-year rotation determines which out-of-division conference teams are played only three times.”