Yardbarker: Royal Ivey

Sixers sign Speights, working on Louis Williams contract

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:39:18 -0500

Lost in the shuffle of the excitement over the Eagles training camp, a few bits of Sixers news has fallen through the cracks. Well, it's better late than never. First, the Sixers signed first-round pick Marreese Speights. Second, the Sixers are working on a new contract with Louis Williams.

Sixers Sign Royal Ivey

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:03:05 -0500

According to the Philadelphia Daily News, the Sixers have agreed to a two year deal with free agent guard Royal Ivey, although the deal will not be official until Monday. Ivey spent last season with the Milwaukee Bucks. In 75 games, Ivey averaged 5.6 points and 2.1 assists in just over 19 minutes per game. He has spent four years in the NBA since being drafted out of Texas in 2004. He spent his first three seasons with the Atlanta Hawks. Ivey finished his college career as the Longhorns' all-time leader in starts with 126 in 133 games. During his time in Texas, the Longhorns reached the NCAA Tournament four times and the Sweet Sixteen three times.

Sixers sign Royal Ivey, "Nut-puncher"

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:02:41 -0500

The Sixers have yet to take care of their two restricted free agent guards, Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams, but they are still working to fill out their roster, signing guard Royal Ivey to a 2 year contract. Ivey spent last season with the Milwaukee Bucks after starting his career with the Atlanta Hawks and has developed into a solid defensive player off the bench. He doesn't put up great offensive numbers (he averaged a career-high 5.6 points per game last season) but he is a decent role player. Click the link for Royal Ivey's career stats. Not a bad depth signing, but how about signing Iggy and Lou now?

Sixers Sign Royal Ivey - and more Sixers talk

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:30:05 -0500

The Daily News is reporting that the Sixers have reached an agreement with back-up point guard Royal Ivey. I have been a big fan of this guy from watching him play at Texas. He is a lock-down defender with good size for the point guard position. I believe the Sixers got a nice quality back-up to Andre Miller. Since I won't be very active on the blog over the next few days, I want to address a comment from a loyal reader about the signing...

Rumors and Free Agent Updates - Six Degrees of Separation Edition

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:37:01 -0500

On the day that James Posey was introduced in New Orleans and vows to do whatever the coach asks of him for a team he sees poised to make a run at the title, the Celtics officially re-signed Eddie House and Tony Allen. On Sports Tonight, Tony said that the math was simple. If Posey signed, he and Eddie would have had to find a home elsewhere. It was one or the other. Danny said that Doc was worried about letting Tony go because he feels that Tony is going to have a break out year after watching him practice at the end of last season. Another player who would have fit nicely on the Celtics is off the market. The Rocky Mountain News reports that Chris Andersen is returning to the Nuggets. The Birdman had visited Boston for 2 days early in the free agency period and Danny seemed to have interest in him and vice versa. Now, Andersen has agreed to a one year contract with the Nuggets and will continue his NBA comeback in Denver where he was a fan favorite from 2001-2004. I was hoping the Celtics would sign him, even though they already signed Patrick O'Bryant to back up Perk since O'Bryant may be more of a project than immediate help and Andersen would come in with athleticism and energy off the bench at the center position. Good signing by the Nuggets. Denver was reported to be seriously considering signing Francisco Elson to replace the recently departed Marcus Camby. With Andersen signing in Denver, that leaves Elson out and looking for another team that may want him. Depending on how quickly Patrick O'Bryant develops, a one year league minimum contract to Elson might make sense for the Celtics. Although, it would remain to be seen how KG would feel about playing with a guy who called him gay. Another player who had been linked to the Celtics as a possible Posey replacement was Maurice Evans. Mercury News reports that the Warriors have signed Evans to a three-year, $6.4 million deal. This means that the Warriors will not match the offer that their restricted free agent Kelenna Azubuike signed with the Clippers. Evans would have made sense to replace Posey because he is an athletic swingman who's known as a solid defender and good three-point shooter and would have filled those roles left vacant by Posey's departure. The Clippers and Jazz have swapped point guards. The Clippers will receive Jason Hart from the Jazz and will send Brevin Knight to Utah. Last season, when the Celtics were in the market for a back up point guard, Knight was considered a serious candidate but signed with the Clippers instead while Sam Cassell was bought out by the Clippers and ended up signing with the Celtics. This is starting to feel like a game of 6 degrees of separation. In David Thorpe's chat on ESPN.com, he was asked what he thought about JR Giddens and whether he will amount to anything or if Danny wasted a pick on him. Thorpe's response was that his athleticism could be a help off the bench. And when asked which 3rd year guy he sees improving the most from his sophomore season, Thorpe mentioned that Rondo should improve his game overall for next season. The Portland Trail Blazers signed guard-forward Nicolas Batum on Wednesday. Batum played the past three seasons in the French ProA League. He was the 25th overall pick in the draft by Houston who traded his rights to Portland. Leading up to the draft, Batum was a popular choice on the mock drafts for the Celtics with the 30th pick. The OC Register reports that the Lakers are no longer pursuing a trade for Ron Artest. Instead of the Ron Ron rumors in Laker land, there is talk that the Lakers have joined a list of teams interested in signing Luol Deng. The Bulls and Deng are having a hard time coming to an agreement on a deal and so rather than risk losing him, they may resort to a sign and trade and the Lakers are interested in making an offer if it comes to that. I can see a pattern to the players that the Lakers are pursuing this off season. Both Artest and Deng are known for giving Paul Pierce a hard time on defense. One of the problems the Lakers had in the Finals was trying to stop Paul Pierce. Getting either Artest or Deng would assure them of having a player who has given Pierce problems in the past. Now, if they only had an answer for KG, Ray Allen and Leon Powe, they would be all set. The Sixers have reached an agreement with Royal Ivey, who spent last season with the Milwaukee Bucks. Ivey will not officially sign the minimum-salary contract until Monday, which is believed to be for 2 years and include a significant guarantee. Ivey will come off the bench to complement Lou Williams, that is, if the Warriors don't lure Williams away from Philly. That will give the Sixers 9 players under contract. Now that Josh Childress has made the leap to play in Europe next season, there is a lot of talk going around about other's following suit. Perhaps the most interesting is Jason Kidd talking about going to Europe when his contract is up. Playing in Europe could extend a player's career by a few years because they don't play the physical game that is found in the NBA. This is also why many European players have trouble adjusting to the NBA as they aren't used to the physical play that they run into when they come here. Carl Landry is also considering a jump to Europe if he can't get a satisfactory offer from an NBA team. Nenad Krstic is also considering joining fellow Nets free agent Bostjan Nachbar in accepting an offer to play overseas if he can't get the right deal from an NBA team. On the other hand, Bobby Brown, who made a big impression with his summer league play, rejected several offers to play overseas and is set to sign a 2 year deal with the Sacramento Kings. It seems that Brown was in demand as the Hornets pursues him along with Israel's Maccabi Tel-Aviv and Spanish giant Barcelona before he decided to accept the Kings' offer.

Wizards Future Part IVb: New Additions (Wings and Guards)

Sun, 11 May 2008 14:21:46 -0500

Part 4 of a 4 part series assessing the future of the Washington Wizards is hosted on Bullets Forever. Part 4 is actually broken up into 3 parts, 4b focuses on free agent wings and guards.

Video - Royal Ivey suspended for pinging Gray's jewels

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:53:48 -0500

When we heard the news of Royal Ivey's three-game suspension for cockpunching Aaron Gray, we had to see it for ourselves. Unfortunately, the Milwaukee broadcast focuses on the career performance of Ramon 'Memo Man' Sessions and not the injured Gray. This is all the video evidence we have.

Live Game 42 Blog: Washington Wizards @ Milwaukee Bucks

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 02:21:18 -0500

After a crazy comeback which involved the Wizards going on an 11-0 run in the span 74 seconds to end regulation and tie the game, sending it into OT......Mo Williams, aka Wizard Killer showed his stuff that a career high 40 points from Caron Butler could not overcome.

2004 Draft Class Rankings

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 21:30:45 -0500

There are 30 players in the NBA from the 2004 draft class with only 1 undrafted player remaining. So far, #1 pick Dwight Howard is the clear leader of the class and is a strong contender for the MVP. See who's the best this year so far and if your team has a player drafted in '04. Player (Draft #) Current Team Averages 1. Dwight Howard (1) Orlando Magic PPG 22.9 RPG 15.5 APG 1.5 SPG 0.9 BPG 2.8 2. Josh Smith (16) Atlanta Hawks PPG 17.1 RPG 8.1 APG 3.5 SPG 2.0 BPG 3.2 3. Al Jefferson (15) Minnesota Timberwolves PPG 20.4 RPG 12.1 APG 1.5 SPG 1.1 BPG 1.3 4. Andre Iguodala (9) Philidelphia 76ers PPG 18.9 RPG 5.6 APG 4.8 SPG 2.0 BPG 0.7 5. Kevin Martin (26) Sacramento Kings PPG 24.5 RPG 4.9 APG 2.1 SPG 1.4 BPG 0.1 6. Emeka Okafor (2) Charloette Bobcats PPG 13.2 RPG 10.6 APG 0.6 SPG 1.0 BPG 1.8 7. Luol Deng (7) Chicago Bulls PPG 18.4 RPG 6.8 APG 2.2 SPG 1.0 BPG 0.5 8. Ben Gordon (3) Chicago Bulls PPG 19.0 RPG 3.8 APG 2.8 SPG 0.9 BPG 0.2 9. Andris Biedrins (11) Golden State Warriors PPG 10.6 RPG 9.9 APG 1.2 SPG 0.8 BPG 1.4 10. Jameer Nelson (20) Orlando Magic PPG 11.5 RPG 3.9 APG 6.0 SPG 0.9 BPG 0.1 11. Devin Harris (5) Dallas Mavericks PPG 13.9 RPG 2.6 APG 5.4 SPG 1.8 BPG 0.1 12. Sebastian Telfair (13) Minnesota Timberwolves PPG 10.0 RPG 2.2 APG 5.9 SPG 1.2 BPG 0.2 13. Beno Udrih (28) Sacramento Kings PPG 13.8 RPG 3.6 APG 4.5 SPG 1.1 BPG 0.1 14. Josh Childress (6) Atlanta Hawks PPG 11.2 RPG 5.2 APG 1.0 SPG 0.8 BPG 0.2 15. J.R. Smith (17) Denver Nuggets PPG 10.2 RPG 2.1 APG 1.9 SPG 0.9 BPG 0.1 16. Shaun Livingston (4) Los Angeles Clippers PPG 7.4 RPG 3.1 APG 4.8 SPG 0.9 BPG 0.5 (Career)* 17. Delonte West (24) Seatte Supersonics PPG 8.2 RPG 2.7 APG 3.5 SPG 0.6 BPG 0.3 18. Anderson Varejao (30) Cleavland Caviliers PPG 7.3 RPG 7.9 APG 1.0 SPG 0.8 BPG 0.4 19. Dorell Wright (19) Miami Heat PPG 7.0 RPG 4.7 APG 1.1 SPG 0.7 BPG 1.0 20. Kris Humpheries (14) Toronto Raptors PPG 7.0 RPG 4.6 APG 0.5 SPG 0.4 BPG 0.5 21. Chris Duhon (38) Chicago Bulls PPG 5.8 RPG 2.0 APG 3.4 SPG 0.5 BPG 0.0 22. Robert Swift (12) Seattle Supersonics PPG 4.8 RPG 4.2 APG 0.2 SPG 0.3 BPG 1.0 (Career)** 23. Sasha Vujacic (27) Los Angeles Lakers PPG 6.3 RPG 1.5 APG 1.1 SPG 0.3 BPG 0.1 24. Trevor Ariza (43) Los Angeles Lakers PPG 5.1 RPG 2.7 APG 1.2 SPG 0.7 BPG 0.4 25. Tony Allen (25) Boston Celtics PPG 5.2 RPG 2.1 APG 1.5 SPG 0.9 BPG 0.2 26. David Harrison (29) Indiana Pacers PPG 4.8 RPG 2.3 APG 0.5 SPG 0.5 BPG 1.1 27. Royal Ivey (37) Milwaukee Bucks PPG 4.4 RPG 1.3 APG 1.6 SPG 0.7 BPG 0.0 28. Luke Jackson (10) Miami Heat PPG 4.2 RPG 1.7 APG 1.2 SPG 0.5 BPG 0.0 29. Kirk Snyder (16) Houston Rockets PPG 4.0 RPG 1.5 APG 1.0 SPG 0.1 BPG 0.1 30. Andre Brown (U) Memphis Grizzilies PPG 2.0 RPG 1.6 APG 0.2 SPG 0.1 BPG 0.1 Best Scorers 1. Kevin Martin (24.5) 2. Dwight Howard (22.9) 3. Al Jeffeson (20.4) 4. Ben Gordon (19) 5. Andre Iguodala (18.9) Best Rebounders 1. Dwight Howard (15.5) 2. Al Jefferson (12.1) 3. Emeka Okafor (10.6) 4. Andris Biedrins (9.9) 5. Josh Smith (8.1) Most Assists 1. Jameer Nelson (6) 2. Sebastian Telfair (5.9) 3. Devin Harris (5.4) 4. Andre Iguodala (4.8) 5. Beno Udrih (4.5) Most Steals 1. Josh Smith, Andre Iguodala (2) 3. Devin Harris (1.8) 4. Kevin Martin (1.4) 5. Sebastian Telfair (1.2) Best Shot Blockers: 1. Josh Smith (3.2) 2. Dwight Howard (2.8) 3. Emeka Okafor (1.8) 4. Andris Biedrins (1.4) 5. Al Jefferson (1.3) 1st Team C-Dwight Howard F-Al Jefferson F-Josh Smith G-Andre Iguodala G-Kevin Martin 2nd Team C-Andris Biedrins F-Emeka Okafor F-Luol Deng G-Ben Gordon G-Jameer Nelson Best Player: Dwight Howard (1) PPG 22.9 RPG 15.5 APG 1.5 SPG 0.9 BPG 2.8 Best Defender: Josh Smith (16) PPG 17.1 RPG 8.1 APG 3.5 SPG 2.0 BPG 3.2 Best 2nd Round Pick: Anderson Varejao (30) Cleavland Caviliers PPG 7.3 RPG 7.9 APG 1.0 SPG 0.8 BPG 0.4 Best Bargain: Kevin Martin (26) Sacramento Kings PPG 24.5 RPG 4.9 APG 2.1 SPG 1.4 BPG 0.1 (U) Undrafted *Shaun Livingston hasn't played this season. **Robert Swift has only played 5 games this season and is expected to return this month.

The Nuggets Rout Another Lottery Team in the Mile High City, the Bucks, 125-105

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 17:05:30 -0500

According to the under development Real Team Ratings, which no one has seen yet because they have yet to be posted for the first time, there are only 5 teams in the NBA worse than the Milwaukee Bucks. So since the Nuggets, unlike last year when they could and did lose to anyone anywhere, have been going to town on almost all of the lottery teams that have come to the Mile High City, it was no surprise that the Nuggets routed the Bucks 125-105. The Nuggets assumed the lead 5 minutes into the game on a mid-range Allen Iverson jumper and never looked back. The Nuggets led 28-17 after the 1st quarter, 68-38 at halftime, and 95-66 after 3 quarters. Therefore, the entire 4th quarter was garbage time, also known as J.R. Smith time in George Karl's brain. The Nuggets defeated the lottery bound Bucks 125-105 after surrendering 39 points in garbage time with garbage defense, while scoring 30 in that period themselves. And there is no injury list for brains that are not thinking straight, though if there were one, I know for a fact that George Karl thinks that J.R. Smith would be on it most of the season. Above are the first two paragraphs and the last paragraph of the full game report which, along with unique statistics that allow you to see who really did well and who didn't, are available at the link.