On this day in NBA history in 1948, Nate "Tiny" Archibald was born in New York City. The undersized guard would go on to enjoy a 14-year career spent mostly with the Kansas City Royals and the Celtics. Inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in 1991, Archibald averaged 18.8 PPG and 7.4 APG over the course of his career.
Here's the latest news and headlines from around the league:
- Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News examines how the Mavericks could end up with Al Jefferson next summer. The center will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2012/13 season and will be available for a less than maximum deal. If the Mavs are able to sign Jefferson, they should be able to add another top player to complement him.
- The Heat's decision to guarantee Dexter Pittman's contract confuses Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel but understands it takes just one team to lose him. If Pittman went to another team, it would make LeBron James the heaviest player on the roster with Chris Bosh 15 pounds behind him. Nonetheless, Pittman will have to demonstrate that he's worth keeping around during training camp as continued poor judgement on his end could leave him off the roster at the season's start.
- Dwight Howard took out a one page ad in Sunday's edition of the Orlando Sentinel to thank fans for their support, writes the Sentinel's own Josh Robbins. The move can be viewed as questionable given how childish Howard had acted over the last year with regard to his future with the Magic.