NBA News and Notes

OKC sell out season tickets in 5 days…Cav’s re-sign West…LaFrentz to have surgery…Garrity retires…

OKC sell out season tickets in 5 days
OKLAHOMA CITY — Season tickets for Oklahoma City’s new NBA franchise have sold out in just five days.

Chairman Clay Bennett says the last of approximately 13,000 Thunder season tickets were sold Friday, and the team has put names on a waiting list for games at the Ford Center.

About 4,000 seats have been withheld for single-game, group and partial-season ticket sales. Tickets to individual games are to be sold next month.

Source: AP NEWS

Cav’s re-sign West
CLEVELAND — Two prolonged contract holdouts early last season hurt the Cleveland Cavaliers, damaging their chances of getting back to the NBA Finals.

They made sure it wouldn’t happen again.

The club signed restricted free agent guard Delonte West to a two-year contract Friday, a deal that includes a third-year club option for 2011-12.

Financial terms were not immediately known. West and his representatives had been seeking a deal worth $5 millon per season.

West was acquired last season from Seattle as part of the three-team, 11-player megatrade before the Feb. 21 deadline. Filling a major void at point guard, the 6-foot-3 West averaged 10.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 26 starts for the Cavaliers.

He was one of Cleveland’s best players during the postseason, averaging 10.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 13 games for the Cavs, who pushed the NBA champion Boston Celtics to seven games before losing in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Cavs didn’t want a repeat of last year when forwards Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic, both restricted free agents, held out of training camp. They eventually signed deals, but when they came back both players struggled getting into shape, got injured and the Cavaliers’ chemistry was affected by their absences.

The 25-year-old West can play either position in the backcourt. He will likely back up point guard Mo Williams, who was acquired in a trade this summer from Milwaukee. West could also get time at shooting guard along with Daniel Gibson, another restricted free agent signed by the Cavaliers during the offseason.

“He’s a tremendous defender and he’s about what we want to be about on that end of the floor,” Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry said.

Ferry said West’s decision to work out at the Cavaliers’ training facility this summer assured both sides that he wanted to stay in Cleveland.

“It was a very healthy thing for the process. It kept the relationship on a good, positive level,” Ferry said. “He wanted to be part of what we’re working toward. We’ve said all along that we want Delonte on this team. He’s a good player and can make us a better team.”

Ferry is excited about Cleveland’s potential this season. Williams will give the Cavaliers a second, bona fide perimeter scoring threat to complement superstar LeBron James.

“We have guys who really love to play and love to compete,” Ferry said. “We have really good depth everywhere and we have a solid balance of youth and experience.”

Source: AP NEWS

LaFrentz to have surgery
PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Trail Blazers center Raef LaFrentz will have shoulder surgery later this month.

The surgery to repair a tear in the labrum of his right shoulder will be performed Sept. 26 at Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic in Los Angeles.

A timetable for his return to the team will be determined after the surgery.

LaFrentz injured his shoulder during a game against Seattle on Feb. 22.

“I was hopeful that an offseason regiment of physical therapy and treatment would heal the injury, but unfortunately it’s become clear now that I need to move forward with surgery,” he said.

Source: AP NEWS

Garrity retires
ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando Magic forward Pat Garrity is retiring from the NBA.

Garrity, 32, played 10 pro seasons — nine with the Magic — after spending his rookie year with the Phoenix Suns. He appeared in 513 games for Orlando, second most in franchise history.

Garrity averaged 7.3 points in 20 minutes per game. He led Orlando in 3-point shooting from 1999 to 2003.

He was a free agent after last season.

AP NEWS