Briefly
Nets trade Kittles to Clippers for future 2nd-round pick
Kerry Kittles was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers for a future second-round draft pick Thursday, another step in the dismantling of the New Jersey Nets.
Kittles is the second starter to leave the Nets this month: Power forward Kenyon Martin went to the Denver Nuggets for three first-round draft choices.
To try and fill the void left by Kittles, who spent eight years with the Nets, the club signed free agent guards Jacque Vaughn and Rodney Buford.
Kittles, who is in the final year of his contract, has mixed emotions about leaving New Jersey.
“I’ve been there my whole career, had a good run, been to the finals twice, and had great teammates,” he said in a conference call. “Now changes are made, and I’m looking forward to getting on with my career.”
Kittles has averaged 14.3 points, 2.6 assists and 3.9 rebounds a game during his career. Last season, Kittles played in all 82 regular-season games and averaged 13.1 points and 4 rebounds.
The Clippers also declined to match Quentin Richardson’s six-year offer sheet with the Phoenix Suns worth about $45 million.
“The Charlotte Bobcats signed free-agent guard Corey Benjamin, a first-round pick by the Chicago Bulls in 1998, who played for the Bobcats in the Minnesota summer league. He played four positions in five games and averaged 7.4 points and 1.8 rebounds.
“The Washington Wizards signed free-agent guard Anthony Peeler, who led the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage last season (at 48.2 percent) as a backup with Sacramento.
“The Dallas Mavericks signed Pavel Podkolzin, a 7-foot-5 center acquired from the Utah Jazz after being selected 21st in the NBA Draft. The 19-year-old Russian originally was an early entry candidate for the 2003 draft before withdrawing his name. Last season, he appeared in 22 games for Varese in Italy’s top league and averaged 2.6 points and 2.3 rebounds.
Former UCLA player, ASU coach Patterson dies of cancer at 56
Steve Patterson, a center on three national championship basketball teams at UCLA who later played in the NBA and coached at Arizona State, died Wednesday from lung cancer at the age of 56.
Patterson’s family said he died at his Phoenix home. He had been undergoing radiation treatment after being diagnosed with cancer on June 30.
The 6-9 Patterson played at UCLA from 1969-71 and bridged the gap between the careers of Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Bill Walton.
He was a second-round pick of Cleveland in the 1971 NBA draft and played four seasons with the Cavaliers and spent 1975-76 with the Chicago Bulls.
Patterson coached Arizona State from 1985-89 and had a 48-56 record.
“Marcus Douthit, a second-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Lakers out of Providence College, was charged in Providence, R.I., with taking part in a wide-ranging identity theft and embezzlement scam and pocketing several thousand dollars. The 125-count indictment unsealed by a statewide grand jury accuses Douthit with allegedly participating in a phony car accident as part of a scheme to obtain money from insurance companies.
Miscellany
Agassi upset in Toronto
Andre Agassi was upset by Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-3, 6-3 in the second round of the Tennis Masters Canada tournament, a blow for the eight-time Grand Slam champion’s U.S. Open preparations.
Agassi, 34, won this hard-court event three times and isn’t sure whether he’ll be back for another edition. Melzer, ranked No. 61, dominated the 10th-seeded Agassi from the start.
“California fraud regulators shut down a Tennessee firm offering investments in thoroughbred race horses, alleging it scammed $15 million mainly from San Diego-area residents and church members.
TC Enterprises LLC, or Triple Crown Enterprises, promised investors annual returns of 30 percent to 80 percent or higher, according to its solicitation materials. The state alleges the firm illegally sold unregistered securities and overstated horses’ values.
“Injured goalie Dan Blackburn, the former Kootenay Ice standout, re-signed with the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. Blackburn missed all of last season with an injury to his left shoulder.
“Matej Kezman scored his third goal in two games as Chelsea beat AS Roma 3-0 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, the fifth game of a nine-team, 11-game North American exhibition soccer tour.