Newsmakers

Promoted Former NBA player Kiki VanDeWeghe has been promoted to executive vice president of basketball operations for the NBA. VanDeWeghe had been serving as senior vice president of basketball operations. He joined the league office in 2013 after working as general manager with the New Jersey Nets and Denver Nuggets. NBA commissioner Adam Silver calls VanDeWeghe “one of the sharpest basketball minds in the NBA” who has “helped drive innovations in analytics that are reshaping the league in areas such as scheduling, game statistics, and player health.”

Granted Two days after Canadian teen Brooke Henderson won on the LPGA Tour, she won the right to be a member. LPGA commissioner Mike Whan said he has granted membership immediately to the 17-year-old Henderson. She won the Cambia Portland Classic on Sunday for her first LPGA victory. The LPGA Tour has a minimum age requirement of 18. Whan denied Henderson’s request for a waiver last year. He had only granted two exceptions to the rule – Lydia Ko and Lexi Thompson, mainly because both had already won.

Treated Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid is recovering after undergoing surgery for the second time on his right foot, this time a bone graft procedure. Embiid had two existing screws replaced and a bone graft of the site was done using bone from his hip. The 7-footer from Kansas was the third overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft. He missed his entire rookie season after having surgery to repair a stress fracture in his foot in June 2014. Embiid likely will miss another season.

Signed The Atlanta Hawks have signed guard-forward Jason Richardson. Richardson, a 13-year veteran, played in 19 games with the Philadelphia 76ers last season. He averaged 9.1 points before his season was shortened by a knee injury. Richardson, 34, has been an effective scorer. His career average is 17.1 points, including three seasons over 20 points per game. He set a career high with 23.2 points per game with Golden State in the 2005-06 season.