The Denver Nuggets acquired forward Renaldo Balkman from the New York Knicks on Monday for guard Taurean Green, forward Bobby Jones and a second-round draft pick in 2010.

The Nuggets also get cash in the deal announced by Mark Warkentien, Denver’s vice president of basketball operations.

A former first-round pick, Balkman was going to struggle to find minutes in a crowded forward rotation. The Knicks took another forward, Danilo Gallinari, with the No. 6 selection in the June draft.

“Renaldo really had no role after we drafted Gallinari, and with the emergence of Wilson Chandler his minutes would be nonexistent,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said in Macau, where is on the U.S. Olympic team staff. “So it really wasn’t fair to him to keep him in a spot that he wouldn’t play and also gives us an opportunity to clear up a roster spot and move on.”

The 6-foot-8 Balkman averaged 3.4 points and 3.3 rebounds in 65 games for the Knicks last season. He has averaged 4.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in two seasons with the Knicks, shooting .499 from the field.

Police arrested a passenger in a car driven by Shawne Williams of the Indiana Pacers for marijuana possession, an incident that team president Larry Bird said jeopardizes the forward’s future with the Pacers.

Williams was not arrested but was written up for a window tint and seat belt violation after the police stop about 6 p.m. Friday in Carmel, said Lt. Jeff Horner, a spokesman for police in the northern Indianapolis suburb. The car did not belong to Williams.

A passenger, 21-year-old Darrell Smith Jr. of Williams’ hometown of Memphis, Tenn., was arrested on a misdemeanor charge after police found he had a small amount of marijuana, Horner told The Indianapolis Star. Smith was not in custody Sunday and his whereabouts were not clear.

Bird said Saturday he planned to meet with Williams to discuss the latest incident.

“While Shawne Williams was not involved in any arrest or any criminal wrongdoing, we are extremely upset and hugely disappointed he once again has put himself in a position that jeopardizes Shawne’s future as a member of the Indiana Pacers,” Bird said in a statement released by the team.

Williams’ agent, Happy Walters, said Williams had not heard from the team and hoped to talk with Bird on Monday. Walters said the incident was blown out of proportion and noted that Williams hadn’t been charged.

“He’s not going to be charged. He did nothing wrong,” Walters said Sunday.

Last month, Bird had said Williams was on “thin ice” with the team.

Suddenly, basketball matters in Iran.Normally the sport is an afterthought given the popularity of soccer, weightlifting and wrestling. But that has all changed now that Iran’s national basketball team is preparing for its first Olympic appearance in 60 years.

“For every athlete, it is like a dream to participate in the Olympic Games — especially for us because basketball in Iran is not that … important,” captain and forward Samad Bahrami said. “Everyone is looking for you and taking care of you.”

By beating Lebanon for the FIBA Asian Championship last year, Iran clinched its first Olympic basketball berth since 1948—a different era for both the Olympics and the world. The ‘48 Games took place in London, which was still cleaning up the rubble left by years of bombing raids during World War II. Iran itself was only a decade removed from being known as Persia.

Eddie House had virtually disappeared from the Boston rotation during the Celtics’ run to the NBA title. When he got in the game, though, he showed his worth.

House, who made a key 3-pointer while pouring in 11 points in 25 minutes in Game 4 against the Los Angeles Lakers, agreed to terms with the defending champions on Monday. Tony Allen, another backup guard whose development slowed when he tore ligaments in his knee during the 2006-07 season, also re-upped with the team.

The Celtics lost sixth man James Posey to free agency last week, but Monday’s deals give the team a chance to return most of its key players when it goes for an 18th title next season. All five starters are under contract, and only injured Scot Pollard and aging veterans P.J. Brown and Sam Cassell are left on the market.

Although better suited as a shooting guard, House was the backup to point guard Rajon Rondo for most of the regular season, averaging 7.5 points and 19 minutes per game. After Boston signed Cassell in March, House’s role was reduced. He played a total of 2 minutes over six games late in the Eastern Conference finals and early in the NBA finals against Los Angeles.

But in Game 4 against the Lakers, House scored nine of his 11 points in the second half, including a baseline jumper with 4:07 left to give Boston its first lead of the game, 84-83. The Celtics went on to win in six games for their unprecedented 17th NBA championship.

Allen was coming into his own as a rising star, averaging 19 points in a 14-game span for the otherwise woeful Celtics in December 2006 before he blew out his knee on a meaningless breakaway dunk and missing the rest of the season. He has shown signs of returning to that form, but his minutes have largely gone elsewhere.

With great reluctance, the Los Angeles Lakers decided at Friday’s deadline they wouldn’t match Golden State’s offer for Ronny Turiaf, meaning the former second-round draft choice will move up the California coast to play for the Warriors.

“There are emotional ties with Ronny that go beyond basketball,” Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said on a conference call. “I think that makes it difficult. I think organizations that draft players who turn out to be good players, it’s hard for them to let go of those players. And if you know Ronny, you know he’s a special kid.”

The Warriors signed Turiaf, a restricted free agent, to a four-year, $17 million offer sheet last week. By rule, the Lakers had seven days to decide whether to match it. The three-year veteran from Gonzaga averaged 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 78 games with the Western Conference champions last season, making 21 starts.

The Lakers played much of last season without starting center Andrew Bynum, giving Turiaf the opportunity for more playing time than he would have had otherwise. But, Kupchak said, Bynum is expected to be healthy when training camp begins in early October, and Turiaf’s opportunities figured to be diminished significantly.

Kupchak said Bynum has been in New York and underwent physical therapy in 19 of the last 21 days and has been cleared to work out and play.

“He’s basically on his own to begin conditioning and basketball activity, starting today,” Kupchak said. “It’s a process. Based on what he did last year, I would expect him to come in in mid-September basically in great shape. I know that’s his goal. He’s coming back this weekend, we’re going to meet with him Monday. He will go to Atlanta late next week to begin his training for the upcoming season.”

The Toronto Raptors signed Croatian guard Roko Ukic to a three-year deal Wednesday.

Ukic, who was the Raptors’ second-round pick (41st) in the 2005 draft, played in Italy last season with Lottomatica Virtus Roma. He averaged 11.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.1 steals in 19 games, shooting 54.5 percent from the field.

He began his professional career in 2000 with KK Split in Croatia, where he spent four seasons. He played in Spain for two more years, winning the Spanish national championship twice.

Larry Bird’s impact on NBA basketball history was immediate. For the 1980 season Larry Bird led the Celtics to superstardom legacy. Bird was named the league’s Rookie of The Year and was voted onto the Eastern Conference All Star-Team. He was honored with this title all for all of his twelve seasons of his career in the NBA. He was scoring 12 points per game, 10 rebounds per game, an outstanding 143 steals and second in assists.

In Bird’s second professional season- he led the Celtics to the NBA Playoffs. Larry Bird helped the Celtics’ deficit by helping them overcome and winning the last three games, which propelled the Celtics into the NBA Finals. They defeated the Houston Rockets in six games.

In 1984 Bird earned the award for Most Valuable Player by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in a seven game final. The following year, the Boston Celtics would have another incredible winning year by defeating The Rockets in six games. Bird again was honored with the Finals MVP Award for that year, averaging 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

In 1987 Bird made his final appearance for the Celtics against the Milwaukee Bucks and the Detroit Pistons. That year the Celtics ended up losing to the unmatched Lakers in six games and to the Detroit Pistons in 1988.

Bird’s body continued to deteriorate to injuries to debilitating back problems and to bone spurs in his heels. Both these conditions would eventually lead to his retirement in 1992. Unwilling to stop due to injuries, he joined Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan to play in the United States basketball team for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Names the “Dream Team”- they defeated their competition to win the Gold Medal for the United States Basketball Olympic Team.

Larry Bird’s NBA honors include; elected to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall Of Fame (1988), NBA champion (1981, 1984, 1986), NBA Finals MVP (1984, 1986), NBA MVP ( 1984, 1985, 1986), Nine-Time All-NBA First Team ( 1980-88), All NBA Second Team (1990), All-Defensive Second Team (1982, 1983, 1984), NBA Rookie of The Year (1980), One of the Fifty Greatest Players in NBA History (1996), Olympic Gold Medalist (1992).

The Golden State Warriors signed first-round pick Anthony Randolph to a contract Tuesday.

Based on the league’s rookie scale, Randolph will make about $1.4 million his first season and about $1.5 million in his second as the 14th overall pick. All rookie contracts for first-round picks are guaranteed the first two years, with options for the next two.

Randolph, who turned 19 on Tuesday, averaged 15.6 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.26 blocked shots per game in his one college season at LSU.

Randolph is currently playing in the summer league for the Warriors, where he scored 30 points in his debut last week.