(Bakersfield, Calif., Feb. 25, 2008) – The Bakersfield Jam, members of the NBA Development League, today announced two moves, signing former NBA and Michigan State guard Mateen Cleaves and trading point guard Andre Barrett to the Austin Toros for power forward Justin Reed.

“Mateen is a proven leader and winner who will provide great leadership on the court,” said Bakersfield Jam head coach Scott Roth. “By bringing him (Cleaves) back, that allowed us to acquire a great inside presence in Reed. There’s no doubt in my mind we just got better.”

Last season, the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Cleaves started 15 of 22 games after joining the Jam in February, averaging 16.5 points and nearly nine assists a game to help the Jam finish strong in their initial campaign. Cleaves was the Jam’s first selection, ninth overall, in the 2006 D-League Expansion Draft.

After leading Michigan State to the National Championship in 2000, Cleaves was selected by the Detroit Pistons with the 14th overall pick of the 2000 NBA Draft. Cleaves has played for the Pistons, Sacramento Kings, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Seattle SuperSonics over the past seven seasons. Cleaves was signed by the New Jersey Nets last November, but was released before the start of the season and went on to play with Panionios in Greece until joining the Jam.

Michigan State’s only three-time consensus All-American, Cleaves led the Spartans to a Big Ten title in 1998. Despite missing 13 games with a broken foot as a senior, he led Michigan State to the 2000 NCAA title, averaging 12.1 points and 6.9 assists, and earning the Most Outstanding Player award at the Final Four.

Reed joins the Jam after appearing in 15 games, seven starts, with Austin. The former NBA veteran was averaging 14.5 ppg and 6.7 rpg, including 11 straight games scoring in double figures from January 12 through February 5. The 26-year old was a second round draft pick of the Boston Celtics in 2004 and has appeared in 136 NBA games with Boston and Minnesota from 2004-2007, averaging 3.5 points and 1.4 rebounds per game. The 6’8”, 240 pound forward attended the University of Mississippi where he was a four-time All-SEC selection, leading the team to its first Sweet 16 appearance in school history his freshman year.

The NBA Development League is the NBA's official minor league, and the first-ever basketball league with direct affiliations to NBA teams. Now in its seventh season the D-League’s goals are to provide affordable, NBA-caliber entertainment to fans of its 14 teams, as well as continue to develop players, coaches, referees and front-office personnel for the NBA.

As the single source for in-season player "call-ups" to the NBA, fans of the D-League enjoy the highest caliber of basketball played outside the NBA. In fact, former D-League players represented 10 percent of NBA players on 2007-08 opening day rosters, numbering 44 in total. In addition, the D-League has produced 25 percent of current NBA referees and 17 current NBA coaches, including head coach Sam Vincent with the Charlotte Bobcats.

The D-League is an innovative and rapidly growing sports property that also serves as an experimental testing ground for new initiatives like the live web-streaming of all games available free to fans at d-league.com. The League also provides continuing education and professional development resources for its players, and is committed to serving its local communities through D-LEAGUE CARES and grassroots efforts.