NBA Roundup: Cavs' top pick back on court
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Anthony Bennett, the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft in June, resumed playing five-on-five basketball for the first time in several months, according to Yahoo! Sports.
The former UNLV star had rotator cuff surgery on his left shoulder in May and was expected to be out for four months. He missed the team's summer league action in Las Vegas during his recovery.
The 6-foot-8, 240-pound Bennett, a Canadian, averaged 16.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game in his only season at UNLV in 2012-13 and was a dominant force in the Mountain West Conference.
---All-Star forward Paul George and the Indiana Pacers are ramping up negotiations on a long-term contract extension expected to be finalized before the regular season begins.
George, 23, is in the final year of his contract. He made $2.574 million in 2012 and would be a restricted free agent next summer if a new deal isn't in place. The Pacers have no intention of running that risk, despite owning refusal rights in contract talks next year.
"(The deal) is going to get done," George told Gannett. "There will be a deal signed and sealed on the table before the season. We're (George and Pacers management) on the same page."
---Forward Chris Wright and guards Carlos Morais and Julyan Stone signed with the Toronto Raptors.
Wright played for Toronto in the 2013 NBA Las Vegas Summer League and participated in 2012 training camp in Halifax. During five Summer League games, he averaged 10.0 points and 3.2 rebounds while shooting .588 (20-for-34) from the field.
Morais recently competed for Angola at the 2013 FIBA Africa championship, claiming MVP honors with averages of 15.9 points and 4.6 rebounds in seven games. He scored a team-best 21 points during the championship game against Egypt. Morais represented his country at the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2006 FIBA World Championship.
Stone appeared in 26 games with Denver from 2011 to 2013, averaging 1.7 points, 1.5 rebounds and 8.0 minutes. In four playoff games, he contributed averages of 1.0 points, 0.8 assists and 4.3 minutes. He spent the past two seasons in the NBADL with Iowa and Idaho.
