Hooped Up

The mediocre talent drain to Europe continues and Earl Boykins is the latest player with passport in hand.

Unrestricted free agent Earl Boykins signed a one-year, US$3.5-million deal Tuesday to play with Virtus Bologna of the Italian league, the latest NBA player to sign a deal with an overseas club. Andy Bountogianis of the Cleveland-based Mark Termini Associates Inc. sports agency, confirmed the signing. The 32-year-old point guard will be the highest-paid player in Italy for the 2008-09 season. He also will participate in the sponsorship and marketing income of the team. 

AP/Toronto Sun

Staring at an Eastern Conference where there’s no such thing as eight teams with winning records, the Bobcats made a little move in pursuit of the playoffs. Thursday they signed 5-foot-5-inch point guard Earl Boykins — the second-shortest player in NBA history — for the rest of the season. Boykins is diminutive (5-foot-3 Bobcats radio analyst Muggsy Bogues was the only NBA player shorter), but he can light up the scoreboard with his quickness and shooting ability.

Charlotte Observer

The NBA trading deadline is Feb. 21. There’s more urgency as far as Denver is concerned. The Nuggets have a $2.95 million trade exception that expires Jan. 11, a year from when they dealt Earl Boykins and Julius Hodge to Milwaukee for Steve Blake. It’s hard to see the Nuggets, deep into the luxury tax, taking on much extra salary, but they’ve made creative deals before.

Rocky Mountain News

“The Denver Nuggets need some breathing space from luxury-tax territory. The Milwaukee Bucks need backcourt scoring to counter their injury crisis. That’s why the teams, according to NBA front-office sources, are combining on a trade featuring Earl Boykins that will be announced later Thursday. Now 10 games into the Allen Iverson Era, Denver has agreed to send Boykins and little-used guard Julius Hodge to the Bucks for guard Steve Blake. The surging Boykins has scored 20 points or more in eight of his 10 games alongside Iverson, but his shots and minutes were certain to dwindle when Carmelo Anthony returns from suspension on Jan. 22.”

ESPN.com