NBA News Wire
NBA roundup: Lakers claim Black off waivers
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
The Los Angeles Lakers claimed forward/center Tarik Black off waivers on Sunday.
Black, 23, was released Friday by the Houston Rockets, who needed a roster spot to sign forward Josh Smith.
To make room on the roster for Black, the Lakers waived forward Xavier Henry.
The 6-foot-11, 257-pound Black is on a two-year, non-guaranteed deal at $507,336 for the current season, and $845,059 for 2015-16, according to the Los Angeles Times. The Lakers can make him a restricted free agent before the 2016-17 season with a $1.2 million qualifying offer.
Black, an undrafted rookie from Kansas, appeared in 25 games (12 starts) for the Rockets this season, averaging 4.2 points and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 54.2 percent from the field in 15.7 minutes per game.
–The Charlotte Hornets designated forward Jeffrey Taylor to the Austin Spurs of the NBA Development League for assignment.
Taylor, a third-year forward from Vanderbilt, was suspended for 24 games by the NBA in November after he pleaded guilty to domestic violence charges.
Using the NBA’s flexible assignment rule, the Hornets assigned Taylor to Austin instead of its affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. At the time of Taylor’s designation, the Mad Ants already had two NBA wing players on its roster.
The Hornets also assigned forward Noah Vonleh to the D-League.
–The Boston Celtics assigned rookie guard/forward James Young to the Maine Red Claws of the NBA D-League.
The 6-foot-6 Young has appeared in five games for the Red Claws this season and is averaging 22.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.8 steals in 32.0 minutes per game.
Young, who was the 17th pick overall in the 2014 draft, is averaging 2.2 points in 3.5 minutes per game in five contests with the Celtics this season.
–The Atlanta Hawks assigned forward/center Mike Muscala to Fort Wayne of the NBA D-League.
Muscala has appeared in nine games with the Hawks this season, averaging 4.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in 9.5 minutes.
–The Dallas Mavericks recalled guard Ricky Ledo and center/forward Dwight Powell from the Texas Legends of the NBA D-League.
A second-round pick out of Providence in 2013, Ledo has briefly appeared in two games for the Mavericks this season, while Powell has averaged 1.5 points and 0.2 rebounds in six NBA games.
Powell, a second-round pick out of Stanford this year, was acquired in the trade that also brought point guard Rajon Rondo to the Mavericks earlier this month.
