The Los Angeles Clippers today announced that they have re-assigned rookie guard Willie Warren to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League.

Warren, 21, has appeared in 19 games with the Clippers this season and is averaging 1.9 points and 1.4 assists in 7.1 minutes per game.

The former Oklahoma University standout was originally assigned to Bakersfield on Feb. 2 and appeared in six games with the Jam, averaging 21.0 points, 7.0 assists 5.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 50 percent from the field and 46 percent from 3-point land. The Jam went 5-1 with Warren in the lineup from Feb. 4 – 16.

Warren was selected by the Clippers in the second round (54th overall pick) of the 2010 NBA Draft.

By Jeff Lenchiner

Free agent forward Leon Powe may soon become the newest member of the Memphis Grizzlies.

According to a tweet from David Aldridge of NBA.com and TNT/Turner, a source of Aldridge says Powe and the Grizzlies have come to an agreement.

The 6-8, 240-pound Powe has a career average of 6.3 points and 4.0 rebounds in 14.3 minutes per game.

Injuries have hampered Powe throughout his NBA career, especially in recent years. He played just 20 games in 2009-10 and only 14 so far this season.

Joe Freeman of The Oregonian reports:

The devastating floods that wreaked havoc throughout Australia have slowly disappeared from the daily news cycle, but Patty Mills’ efforts to raise money and awareness about the plight of his homeland is just hitting its stride.

Mills teamed with the Blazers to raise nearly $5,700 through a variety of fund-raising efforts in January. Now, through a grass roots campaign to sell T-shirts that Mills helped create, the Australian point guard has set a new goal of raising $50,000 to aid his battered country.

“When you’re on the other side of the world, when you’re far away from your family and friends, you really feel helpless,” Mills said. “So I’m trying to do all I can to help out.”

Mills came up with the idea to sell T-shirts with friend Josh Unruh, a former South Salem and St. Mary’s basketball player who owns a T-shirt company (WheresMyShirt.com) that raises money for charities. Mills designed the shirt and the two made an initial batch of about 300 to sell at a women’s basketball game at St. Mary’s during the NBA All-Star break.

The shirts sold out.

“So we made some more,” Mills said. “We’ve just been getting batch after batch because they just keep going out.”

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports:

As Mike Bibby mulled where he wanted to play, the decision quickly became obvious.

“It was a clean choice,” the Heat’s new point guard said Thursday morning after participating in his first shootaround with Miami. “They’re on TV a lot and you’re just in awe of the way they play. It looks like everybody has the right attitude. You can tell the guys here have a winning mentality. Great chance to win a championship. I feel I could help this team.”

Bibby, who was traded from Atlanta to Washington last week, was asked if friends or family questioned his decision to give up all of his $6.2 million salary for next season as part of buyout terms with the Wizards.

“It’s not their decision to make,” said Bibby, who signed for the rest of the season at a prorated share of the $1.2 million veteran’s minimum. “I make the money. I decide what to do with it. It’s always tough to give up money. [But] this part of my career I want to be happy. This was the best place as far as winning.”

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed forward Corey Brewer. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Brewer (6-9, 188) was originally the seventh overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves. He holds career averages of 9.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 25.7 minutes in 232 career games (147 starts) with Minnesota.

Brewer played in 79 games (35 starts) as a rookie for the Timberwolves in 2007-08, but sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament 15 games into 2008-09 campaign that cost him the remainder of the season. He returned for the 2009-10 season to start all 82 games and average career highs in points (13.0), rebounds (3.4), assists (2.4) and minutes per game (30.4).

Brewer has played in 56 games this season averaging 8.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.6 steals in 24.3 minutes before being traded to the New York Knicks as a part of the 12-player deal that also landed Carmelo Anthony in New York. Brewer joins the Mavericks after the Knicks requested waivers on him on Mar. 1.

The former University of Florida standout was a two-time national champion with the Gators in 2006 and 2007 and was named Most Outstanding Player of the 2007 NCAA Tournament. In three years at Florida, Brewer also won three Southeastern Conference Championships to go along with two national titles and recorded the first triple-double in Florida basketball history on Dec. 18, 2005.

The native of Portland, Tenn., was a 2004 McDonald’s All-American after averaging 24.9 points and 12.8 rebounds in his senior season at Portland High School.

Brewer is also active with both the American Diabetes Association and Juvenile Diabetes Association to create awareness for the disease that has impacted his family.

Brewer will wear number 13 for the Mavericks.

Read fan reaction and share your own opinion in this forum topic.

The Portland Trail Blazers have assigned rookie forward Luke Babbitt to the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by General Manager Rich Cho.

Babbitt, 21, is averaging 1.1 points, 0.9 rebounds and 4.8 minutes over 21 games with the Trail Blazers.

Babbitt was assigned to the Stampede earlier this season on Dec. 8, posting averages of 18.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 27.3 minutes in four games before The Trail Blazers recalled him on Dec. 18.

Babbitt is the 41st NBA player assigned to the D-League this season, and is one of two players assigned by the Trail Blazers (Armon Johnson, Jan. 28 - Feb. 22).

Portland acquired the University of Nevada-Reno product from Minnesota in a draft day trade on June 24, 2010.

By Jeff Lenchiner

The top teams in the NBA have been adding the best available free agents these last few days, and the trend continued Thursday as the Chicago Bulls signed free agent guard/forward Rasual Butler. In accordance with team policy, terms of the contract were not announced.

Butler (6-7, 215) is currently in his ninth year in the NBA. Drafted by the Miami Heat with the 53rd pick in the 2002 NBA Draft, Butler has played for Heat, the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets and the Los Angeles Clippers. He appeared in 41 games (two starts) this year with the Clippers, and averaged 5.0 ppg, 1.9 rpg and 0.7 apg in 18.1 mpg.

In eight-plus seasons in the NBA, he has played in 598 regular season games (249 starts) and averaged 8.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg and 0.9 apg in 24.1 mpg, and shot .401 from the field, .361 from behind the arc and .751 from the line. The 31-year old Butler has also made three trips (27 games, six starts) to the NBA playoffs, where he has averaged 4.8 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 14.7 mpg, .407 field goal shooting, .414 from downtown and .833 from the free throw line.

Chicago’s roster now stands at 13 players.

With a 41-18 record, the Bulls are currently the third seed in the Eastern conference.

Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports (via blog):

It was a year ago today when Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Terry and Minnesota Timberwolves forward Corey Brewer had an up close and personal meeting.

Terry was amazingly whistled for a foul on a play in which he received an elbow in the nose from Brewer. Blood was spewing from Terry’s nose as he laid sprawled on his back on the floor.

Terry went to the locker room and was back in the game about three minutes later with cotton sticking from his left nostril. And he wound up scoring a game-high 26 points as the Mavs edged the T-Wolves, 112-109.

After an examination, it was revealed that Terry had to undergo facial surgery after he fractured his left orbital bone. The surgery, ironcially, occurred Mar. 5, which is Brewer’s birthday.

Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rod Higgins announced today that the team has re-signed forward Dominic McGuire.  Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.  In addition, the team has waived forward Sean Marks.

The 6-9 McGuire appeared in 34 games this season (four starts) for the Bobcats, averaging 3.1 points and 3.7 rebounds in 13.2 minutes.  He was waived on Feb. 24 in order to create the requisite number of roster spots for the trade in which the Bobcats acquired Joel Przybilla, Dante Cunningham, Sean Marks and two first-round draft picks from Portland in exchange for Gerald Wallace.

Initially selected by the Wizards with the 47th pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, McGuire is in his fourth NBA season, with career averages of 2.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in 15.1 minutes in 234 games played for Washington, Sacramento and Charlotte.

Marks was acquired by the Bobcats on Feb. 24.  He did not appear in a game for Charlotte.

By Jeff Lenchiner

The Boston Celtics aren’t playing around. They keep doing what any team with championship aspirations should be trying to do and padding their roster with as many proven veterans as possible. Thursday morning they took another positive step by signing guard/forward Sasha Pavlovic. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it was presumably a pro-rated, league minimum signing.

Pavlovic, a 6’7” guard/forward, has posted career averages of 5.4 points and 1.8 rebounds in 466 career games with stops in Utah, Cleveland, Minnesota, New Orleans and Dallas.

The native of Bar, Montenegro was a part of the 2006-07 Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers and was a starter in each game on their run to the Finals.  During that 2006-07 regular season he posted a career-high average of 9.0 points per game and shot 40.5% from three-point range in 67 games.

Pavlovic also shot a career-high 41.0% from three-point territory during the 2008-09 season.

He has played in 10 games so far this season split between Dallas and New Orleans was a starter in seven of those contests. He has averaged 4.6 points, 1.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists and shot 50.0% from the three point line in 17.9 minutes per game in those starts.

Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee reports:

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson has finally met with the Maloofs.

Johnson met with the owners of the Sacramento Kings Wednesday evening at Power Balance Pavilion, the mayor’s special assistant, R.E. Graswich, told The Bee.

Graswich would provide no details of the 40-minute meeting, other than to say “the mayor felt it was a positive meeting.”