CAVS To Sign David Wesley/SONICS To Make Yotam Halperin NBA's First Israeli

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Guard Wesley close to signing

Saturday, September 02, 2006
Branson Wright
Plain Dealer Reporter

Free-agent guard David Wesley is expected to sign a two-year deal with the Cavaliers with the first year guaranteed.

But the deal will hinge on Wesley passing Friday's physical.

The Cavaliers will learn the results of that physical today or Sunday. General Manager Danny Ferry said he will not comment on Wesley until the results of the physical are in.

 Wesley, 35, has been in the league since the 1993-94 season. He averaged 9.9 points per game with the Houston Rockets last season and that was the first time he didn't average in double figures since his second year in the NBA. His best year was during the 2002-03 season when he averaged 16.7 points per game and shot 42.4 percent from 3-point range for New Orleans.

Wesley, at 6-1 and 185 pounds, is one of the shortest shooting guards in the league.

The addition of Wesley would cause a logjam at the guard position. Wesley would join guards Eric Snow, Damon Jones, Larry Hughes, Ira Newble, Daniel Gibson, Sasha Pavlovic, Shannon Brown, Luke Jackson, Stephen Graham and newly acquired Eddie Basden.

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Sonics to make G Halperin NBA's first Israeli

Guard Yotam Halperin is believed to be close to signing a deal with the Seattle SuperSonics, according to a report in The Jerusalem Post, which would make him the NBA's first Israeli player.

Halperin, who had signed with the Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv, played with Seattle during their summer league, much to the ire of the Israeli National Team, which was concerned about his level of fatigue.

The 22-year-old's agent -- an American -- was expected to arrive in Israel with his contract Monday.

Friends close to Halperin have said recently that no deal was certain, either with the Sonics or Maccabi.

Halperin has said in past interviews that he would prefer to wait for developments with the Sonics or other European teams before finalizing matters with Maccabi.

The Sonics chose Halperin with the 53rd pick in June's draft.




I think Wesley is a nice little addition to the Cavs, now they got a deeper PG rotation...As for the NBA's first Israeli signing with Seattle, should be interesting, I hear good things about him (he shot 64% from the field for the last team he was on )...Sonics have a nice little roster, though I still see them struggling for that playoff spot, pretty much just like Golden State...They got some growth going, so they should be interesting to watch, but it's still not enough. Check:


Cavs-
PG Eric Snow...Damon Jones/David Wesley
SG Larry Hughes...Eddie Basden/Shannon Brown
SF LeBron James...Luke Jackson/Ira Newble
PF Drew Gooden...Donyell Marshall/Aleksandar Pavlovic
C Zydrunas Ilgauskas...Anderson Varejao/Scot Pollard

Sonics-
PG Luke Ridnour...Earl Watson/Mike Wilks
SG Ray Allen...Damien Wilkins/Yotam Halperin
SF Rashard Lewis...Mickael Gelabale
PF Chris Wilcox...Danny Fortson/Nick Collison/Saer Sene
C Robert Swift...Johan Petro/Noel Felix

[GangstaBoogy]

Cavs lookin kinda deep.

As for the Sonics, if all goes as planned, I'm going to win the lottery soon and buy that team then move them to San Diego. That's right...The San Diego Supersonics 

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Cavs lookin kinda deep.

As for the Sonics, if all goes as planned, I'm going to win the lottery soon and buy that team then move them to San Diego. That's right...The San Diego Supersonics 

LOL...And stop being a Laker fan in favor of them, huh?

[Citizen-Y]

If Wesley can shoot the ball better than last year he'll be a fine addition.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Halperin stays with Maccabi Tel-Aviv

Yotam Halperin will play for Maccabi Tel Aviv next season after signing a new threeyear contract with the team on Tuesday.

Halperin grabbed most of the attention at Maccabi's season-opening press conference Tuesday evening in which all of Tel Aviv's new players and coaches were introduced.

The 22-year-old guard was the subject of intensive speculation in recent weeks that claimed he may be joining the Seattle SuperSonics of the NBA. However, Halperin ended the uncertainty about his future on Tuesday with the signing of his new contract.

"I'm coming home," he said at the press conference. "I've decided that this is the best place for me and therefore I'm staying. The NBA remains a dream, at least for this season, and now I'm only thinking of achieving success with Maccabi."

Halperin is the latest part of Maccabi's rebuilding process, with the team replacing its entire coaching staff and adding five new players.

One of the new players is American guard Will Bynum.

"There is a good atmosphere in the club. There are excellent players here," Bynum said Tuesday. "There is pressure everywhere, but I'm ready. I want to win wherever I play."

Coach Neven Spahija was selected as the man to move the club forward, and he will need to cope with the huge expectations right from the start.

"I'm not asking for patience because I know I won't get it," Spahija said at Tuesday's press conference. "My goal is to prepare the team the best way I can and win games."

The 43-year-old Croatian claimed that he had not decided on a particular style of play for the team, saying: "We will see what we have after the training camp and then decide how we will play. I hope to emulate the offense Maccabi played last year. However, I would like to improve the defense."

Maccabi will fly out to Slovenia on Wednesday for a 10-day preseason training camp. It will play three NBA teams in its preseason games. The first game will be against the San Antonio Spurs on October 8 in Koln, Germany. Nine days later Maccabi will play the Cleveland Cavaliers in the US, and two days later will face the Toronto Raptors in Canada.