Author Topic: Official NBA Thread (Read 604588 times)

RatBastich · « **Reply #2440 on:** July 20, 2009, 10:32:03 PM »

Shaq to test skills in other sports

ESPN.com news services

Maybe Shaquille O'Neal's new nickname should be the Big Experimenter.

In a new ABC reality television series that begins filming this week, Shaq will take on other top athletes in their own sports.

"Shaq Vs.," which is set to premiere Aug. 18 at 9 p.m. ET, begins filming Wednesday in Pittsburgh, where Shaq will take on Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in football.

Future episodes of the hour-long show will feature Shaq against Olympic swimming sensation Michael Phelps, boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya, St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols, tennis star Serena Williams and beach volleyball Olympians Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh.

Shaq told USA Today that he came up with the idea as a way to train for the NBA season. Shaq figured Americans "would really want to see an athlete play another sport," according to the newspaper. The Cleveland Cavaliers, Shaq's new team, have cleared the 37-year-old O'Neal to take part in the show.

He is scheduled to report for the Cavs' opening of training camp on Sept. 15.

According to USA Today, the episodes will feature preliminary challenges, news conferences, quality time with needy kids and negotiations of a handicap between Shaq and his competitors. Each episode will climax with a main event.

There's no cash prize for the winner. "Bragging rights are always better than any monetary prize," O'Neal told USA Today.

Shaq will train with a coach for one week leading up to each challenge.

"These athletes may be on top of their game, but I am up for the challenge," O'Neal said. "I plan to train hard and win, so look out."

RatBastich · « **Reply #2441 on:** July 21, 2009, 03:38:29 AM »

NBA defends age limit policy in letter

Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- The NBA defended its minimum age requirement to Congress, but a critical lawmaker was unmoved and is asking to meet with top league officials to discuss it, according to letters obtained Monday by The Associated Press.

The rule, which is part of the league's collective bargaining agreement with the players union, requires that players be at least 19 years old and a year out of high school before entering the league. Last month, Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., urged the league and union to scrap the requirement in the next collective bargaining agreement, calling it unfair.

NBA president Joel Litvin told Cohen in a recent letter the purpose of the requirement is to promote the league's business interests by "increasing the chances that incoming players will have the requisite ability, experience, maturity and life skills" to perform at a high level. The policy also helps teams make informed hiring decisions, he wrote.

RatBastich · « **Reply #2442 on:** July 21, 2009, 08:45:42 PM »

Agent: Nash re-ups with Suns

By Marc Stein
ESPN.com

After receiving an improved offer last week and taking a few more days to deliberate, two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Steve Nash notified the Phoenix Suns over the weekend that he is accepting their two-year extension offer worth $22 million.

Nash's agent, Bill Duffy, has confirmed that his client will formally sign the extension as early as Tuesday after ESPN.com reported the deal earlier Monday.

The Suns offered Nash, 35, the longest contract extension allowed by league rules for a player his age two weeks ago: $20 million over two years. They then increased the money to $22 million, along with the $13.1 million Nash is owed next season, in a meeting in Las Vegas last Wednesday attended by Suns owner Robert Sarver, president of basketball operations Steve Kerr and Duffy.

RatBastich · « **Reply #2443 on:** July 22, 2009, 02:17:44 AM »

Coack K to return to Team USA

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS -- Mike Krzyzewski coached the Americans back to the top and he's sticking around to help them stay there.

USA Basketball announced Tuesday that Krzyzewski will return to lead the United States in next summer's world championships and when it defends its gold medal in the 2012 Olympics.

The Americans won the championship last year in Beijing and will bring the leadership of that team back for another run. Krzyzewski's entire staff of assistants will also return -- New York's Mike D'Antoni, Portland's Nate McMillan and Jim Boeheim of Syracuse.

"We all felt as a staff the work wasn't over," Krzyzewski said at a press conference. "Our goal this time is to make it even better."

USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo, who hired Krzyzewski to lead the national team in 2005, had already committed to returning.

RatBastich · « **Reply #2444 on:** July 22, 2009, 10:30:09 PM »

Yao has surgery on broken foot

Associated Press

HOUSTON -- Rockets center Yao Ming had surgery Tuesday to repair a broken bone in his left foot.

The team announced the surgery was performed at Memorial Hermann Hospital by Dr. Tom Clanton, the Rockets' team physician, along with Dr. Bill McGarvey.

Surgeons grafted bone onto the tarsal navicular bone and realigned his foot to reduce stress on the repair. The seven-time All-Star is slated to remain in the hospital for several days.

"Everything went according to play, and we were able to achieve not only fixation of the broken bone but also realignment of the bones to improve the stress pattern on his foot," Dr. Clanton said in the statement. "We expect him to be immobilized in a cast and using crutches for at least 6-8 weeks."

Yao is expected to miss the 2009-10 season, but be ready to go for training camp in 2010.

Yao suffered the hairline fracture late in a May 8 playoff game against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Rockets said late last month that the injury had not healed and he was out indefinitely. Last Friday, the 7-foot-6 center announced that he'd have the surgery.

The injury had raised questions, especially in his native China, about Yao's playing future. But on July 8, he said through his agent that he was "optimistic about the future and I will return to playing basketball when my foot has fully healed."

Yao played in 77 regular-season games in 2008-09, his most injury-free year since 2004-05, when he played in 80. Before last season, Yao missed chunks of the previous three seasons with leg and foot injuries.

In 2006-07, Yao missed 32 games after breaking his right leg. He sustained a stress fracture in his left foot in 2007-08, underwent surgery and sat out 26 games.

Yao is due to make more than $16 million next season, with a player option for 2010-11 that would pay him more than $17 million.

He has averaged 19.1 points and 9.3 rebounds in his career.

RatBastich · « **Reply #2445 on:** July 23, 2009, 02:37:15 AM »

Kobe: Odom makes us stronger

Associated Press

SINGAPORE -- Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant is optimistic the NBA champions will re-sign key free agent Lamar Odom.

"I'm optimistic that he'll be back," Bryant said Wednesday at a news conference in Singapore as part of a six-country Asian tour. "He makes us a much, much stronger team."

Negotiations broke down last week and the Lakers retracted a contract offer to Odom. The Miami Heat are also wooing the 6-foot-10 forward.

Aioros · « **Reply #2446 on:** July 23, 2009, 03:11:06 AM »

Clip(s) of Lebron getting dunked on by that college kid during a pickup game

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Witnesses-at-last-Video-of-LeBron-getting-dunke;_ylt=AvxpnAiBiRyucz1Z4iKuAsC8vLYF?urn=nba,178138

kiikoi · « **Reply #2447 on:** July 23, 2009, 04:42:44 PM »

^LMAO poor lebron

RatBastich · « **Reply #2448 on:** July 23, 2009, 08:24:59 PM »

James admits pot use in book

Associated Press

CLEVELAND -- LeBron James struggled with sudden fame after appearing on Sports Illustrated's cover as a 17-year-old and admits he smoked marijuana during his junior year in high school.

Those are two of the revelations in a book chronicling James' rise from Akron, Ohio, hoops prodigy to NBA superstar.

In "Shooting Stars," written by James and co-author Buzz Bissinger, James said the SI cover and the media attention he and his high school teammates received was difficult to handle.

"We had become big-headed jerks, me in particular," James said, "and we are to blame for that, but so are adults who treated us that way and then sat back and smugly watched the self-destruction."

RatBastich · « **Reply #2449 on:** July 23, 2009, 11:19:31 PM »

Rubio plans to leave DKV Joventut

Associated Press

GERONA, Spain -- Ricky Rubio plans to part ways with Spanish basketball club DKV Joventut even if the Minnesota Timberwolves cannot reach a deal to bring their first-round draft pick to the NBA.

Timberwolves president David Kahn was in Spain this week to try and help the fifth overall pick negotiate a buyout of his contract with Joventut. Rubio is at odds with his boyhood club over a buyout clause that could cost the 18-year-old point guard as much as $6.6 million. The NBA's collective bargaining rules limit the Timberwolves' contribution to $500,000.

Regardless of whether Rubio makes the trip across the Atlantic next season, he won't be playing at Joventut.

RatBastich · « **Reply #2450 on:** July 24, 2009, 04:46:38 PM »

Youth abounds at U.S. minicamp

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS -- More than 20 players agreed to come to USA Basketball's minicamp this week, and most of them will be home next summer when it's time to play games.

The big names could come back then and reclaim their roster spots. Even so, the young players who committed to play this week say it will have been worth it.

"It's just an opportunity that nobody's going to not take," said Portland center Greg Oden, finally getting to work out with the Americans after being injured the last three summers.

The minicamp opened Thursday and the Americans will practice again Friday before ending the week with an intrasquad exhibition game Saturday night.

The goal is to play well enough to get invited back next year to compete for a spot on the roster for the world championships.

RatBastich · « **Reply #2451 on:** July 24, 2009, 08:54:20 PM »

Sports leagues sue to block betting

Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- The four major pro sports leagues and the NCAA sued Delaware Friday, seeking to block the state from implementing sports betting.

Delaware's sports betting plan "would irreparably harm professional and amateur sports by fostering suspicion and skepticism that individual plays and final scores of games may have been influenced by factors other than honest athletic competition," the leagues and NCAA say in a lawsuit filed in federal district court in Delaware.

Congress banned sports betting in 1992 but grandfathered four states -- Delaware, Nevada, Montana and Oregon -- that had already offered it. But the lawsuit argues that Delaware's plan to allow single-game betting would violate the legislation because Delaware has never offered single-game betting before.

Under the 1992 law, the leagues and NCAA said, a state like Delaware may only reintroduce sports betting if it had been conducted between 1976 and 1990.

They also argue that Delaware's plan is illegal because it allows betting on all sports, going beyond the professional football betting program that constituted the state's brief failed experiment in 1976.

The suit was filed by Major League Baseball, the NFL, the NBA, the NHL and the NCAA.

Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, who proposed sports betting to help solve a budget shortfall, signed legislation authorizing it this year.

State officials hope to have it in place for this year's NFL regular season in September.

Markell's office had no immediate comment on the lawsuit.

In May, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled that the new state law allowing sports betting didn't conflict with the state constitution, but the justices also said, "we cannot opine on the constitutionality of single game bets."

RatBastich · « **Reply #2452 on:** July 24, 2009, 11:49:31 PM »

Records shed light on feud

Associated Press

DALLAS -- The feud between Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and former coach Don Nelson stretches back nearly seven years and has some $7 million at stake. But just how ugly and dysfunctional their relationship has been is only now being revealed.

Previously secret testimony and e-mail, now in the public record as part of legal proceedings initiated in the last 10 months, paint the picture of a spat that has turned two of the NBA's best-known figures into bitter adversaries.

There's deposition testimony from Cuban in which he acknowledges that he withheld consulting fees from Nelson in 2006 because he believed the former coach had "badmouthed" the team during the NBA finals and should be made to "beg" for the money. There's also testimony from Nelson in which he describes being so disgusted with Cuban that he signed a contract to stay on as coach in 2003 only after friends "got me drunk."

RatBastich · « **Reply #2453 on:** July 25, 2009, 10:59:32 PM »

Iverson's future with Grizzlies in limbo

By Chris Sheridan
ESPN.com

Suddenly, another power forward has become available on the unrestricted free-agent landscape -- and it could impact Allen Iverson's chances of possibly playing for the Memphis Grizzlies next season.

That power forward is Hakim Warrick, who was taken by surprise Thursday night when the Grizzlies rescinded their $3 million qualifying offer to him to give themselves more flexibility on the free-agent market.

The 27-year-old former Syracuse standout averaged 11.6 points and five rebounds last season when he shared time with Darrell Arthur at power forward, but Memphis acquired Zach Randolph earlier this summer to play that position, making Warrick both expendable and expensive.

Warrick will remain on Memphis' cap for the time being at $6.2 million -- 300 percent of his salary last season -- but the Grizzlies could move about $9 million below the cap if they formally renounce their rights to him or move him in a sign-and-trade deal.

RatBastich · « **Reply #2454 on:** July 26, 2009, 06:14:40 AM »

Ratner seeking investors for Nets

Associated Press

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- New Jersey Nets owner Bruce Ratner has been getting feelers from individuals interested in buying a piece of the struggling NBA team that hopes to move to Brooklyn in 2011.

"We have received interest from potential investors in the team," Nets chief executive Brett Yormark said in a statement the team sent on Friday. "That interest is growing as it is clear that we are moving to Brooklyn. Our ownership group is as committed as ever to the success of the Nets and to the Barclays Center."

A real estate developer who heads Forest City Ratner, Ratner bought the Nets in 2004. The team has seen its attendance drop the past two years as it missed the playoffs.

Despite the troubled economy, Ratner has never expressed an interested in selling the team.

However, Rod Thorn has cut salary over the same span, trading Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter, who was dealt to Orlando last month.

Ratner must start construction of the arena by the end of 2009 to qualify for tax-exempt bonds. The Nets have maintained that they will break ground before the deadline and move into the new arena for the 2011-12 season.

The arena is part of a project known as Atlantic Yards, where more than a dozen skyscrapers are planned on a 22-acre site. The project has been stalled by financing problems in a crippled real estate market, high-priced designs and lawsuits by residents opposing the use of some condemned property to build the arena. New York's top appeals court has agreed to hear a challenge to the state's use of eminent domain to obtain all the land for the project.

Ratner recently released Frank Gehry from designing the arena and all the other buildings in the project.

RatBastich · « **Reply #2455 on:** July 26, 2009, 09:50:28 PM »

Durant, Gay lead way in exhibition

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS -- Kevin Durant had 20 points and eight rebounds to lead the way to a 100-81 win in a Team USA intrasquad exhibition game on Saturday night.

Rudy Gay scored a game-high 27 points for the losing Blue team.

Durant, playing for the White team, continued to make his case for a spot on the national team roster. The Oklahoma City Thunder forward has a chance to be a part of next year's team at the world championships in Turkey. It is possible there will be two or three open spots on the roster.

"I can only control what I do," Durant said. "I gave it the best I could and that's all I can do. It went well."

The 20-year-old former Texas star went 9 for 9 from the free throw line, 5 for 12 from the field and 1 for 4 from 3-point range.

"He is an explosive player and he plays hard," U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Ten seconds to go and he's trying to block shots."

Greg Oden, the first pick in the 2007 draft, scored seven points and added eight rebounds to cap his first experience with the national team. The Portland Trail Blazers center had missed the past three national team summer camps with injuries.

New Jersey Nets center Brook Lopez scored 18 points and added five rebounds for the Blue team.

The game at the Thomas & Mack Center on the UNLV campus capped a minicamp.

Krzyzewski and USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo watched the game from the sideline. Toronto Raptors coach Jay Triano oversaw the minicamp.

RatBastich · « **Reply #2456 on:** July 27, 2009, 03:21:04 AM »

Sources: Miller's deal worth $21M

By Chad Ford and Chris Sheridan
ESPN.com

Free-agent point guard Andre Miller has signed with the Portland Trail Blazers, the team announced on Friday.

Miller's contract is a three-year deal worth $21 million, with $14 million guaranteed and $7 million included as a third-year team option, sources close to the process said.

Miller, an unrestricted free agent, had been balking at signing a one-year offer from the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Blazers were one of only two teams with the money to give him more than the mid-level exception.

The Blazers had been looking for a veteran point guard for the past couple of seasons and have flirted with everyone from Jason Kidd to Kirk Hinrich.

"He is one of the league's ironmen who brings a wealth of veteran leadership to our team and is a great fit for our young and improving roster," Portland general manager Kevin Pritchard said in a statement.

RatBastich · « **Reply #2457 on:** July 27, 2009, 07:45:53 PM »

Pregnancy, DNA tests ordered

ESPN.com news services

DALLAS -- The jailed ex-girlfriend of Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki must undergo pregnancy and DNA testing, a family judge ordered on Friday.

The Dallas Morning News reported that family court Associate Judge Randall Grubbs ordered the tests on Cristal Taylor, who claims Nowitzki is the father of her unborn child.

Medical records show that Taylor, 38, is pregnant, but Grubbs wanted his own test, according to the Morning News.

The test and results will determine whether DNA testing is necessary as Nowitzki seeks sole custody of the child Taylor claims to be carrying.

"We know the first one has to happen," Grubbs said during a hearing on Friday, according to the Morning News. "The other one may be moot."

In addition, Grubbs sealed the proceedings; attorneys told the newspaper they could not comment.

Taylor was arrested May 6 at Nowitzki's home in Dallas on a 2006 theft of services charge in Beaumont, Texas, for allegedly failing to pay for $10,000 worth of dental work.

She was transferred on June 30 to a jail in St. Charles, Mo., because of probation violations in a 1997 forgery and stealing case. She remains in that jail, after a judge refused to lower her $25,000 cash-only bond during a hearing on July 6. Her next hearing in that case is Aug. 24.

Taylor's St. Louis attorney, Matthew Fry, had argued that Taylor should be released because she needed outside medical care for a pregnancy that was deemed "higher risk," the Morning News reported in July.

St. Charles Circuit Court Judge Nancy Schneider said she saw no reason Taylor's medical needs couldn't be taken care of in jail, and added that while she was not doubting Taylor's pregnancy, "It is my understanding these [health screening reports] are self-reported by an inmate," the newspaper reported.

Attorney Scott Renick of Beaumont said he only represents Taylor on the criminal matter in Texas and declined comment on the case involving Nowitzki.

RatBastich · « **Reply #2458 on:** July 28, 2009, 06:34:42 PM »

Center swap: Okafor for Chandler

ESPN.com news services

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Hornets have officially found a taker for Tyson Chandler in the Charlotte Bobcats, signaling an unexpected shift in thinking that suggests New Orleans does plan to try to keep up with the contenders and spenders in the Western Conference.

Emeka Okafor was dealt to the Hornets on Tuesday for Chandler in a deal involving 26-year-old centers.

Just days after star guard Chris Paul wondered aloud about the team's relative inactivity this offseason at the NBA's annual summer league in Las Vegas -- "I'm not sure if we're going to make any moves," Paul told ESPN.com's J.A. Adande -- New Orleans stunned numerous league observers by moving ahead with a deal that will bring them limited savings next season and force them to take on three extra years of eight-figure salary commitments to Okafor.

The deal will save the Hornets money in 2009-2010, but also commits them to the final five years of a six-year $72 million contract. Chandler has two years remaining on his contract, including a player's option for 2010-2011 worth $12.7 million.

The Hornets have been trying to unload the 7-foot-1 Chandler. Last season they sent him to Oklahoma City, but the trade was rescinded after Chandler failed a physical amid concerns aver a lingering toe injury.

RatBastich · « **Reply #2459 on:** July 29, 2009, 03:58:27 AM »

Source: Lakers reduce offer for Odom

By Marc Stein
ESPN.com

As Lamar Odom continues to mull his future, still hopeful that an improved offer for the Los Angeles Lakers is forthcoming, Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade is trying as hard as he can to convince Odom to end his free-agent wait.

Wade announced via his Twitter account late Sunday night that he has flown to Los Angeles to "bring Odom bac (sic)" to the Heat. That was Wade's follow-up to an earlier weekend tweet in which he implored Odom to "come back to where it started for the both of us."

Although it's unclear how much impact Wade's ongoing recruiting efforts will have on his former teammate -- or if Heat president Pat Riley, who's also in L.A. this week, will be meeting with Odom -- one source with knowledge of the talks told ESPN.com that a resolution to the monthlong Odom saga is likely "in the next few days."

Odom's options, as of Monday, were choosing between an offer from the Lakers that has been reduced from its high point two weeks ago or taking one of the multiple fallback proposals from the Heat that are thought to be sufficiently attractive to coax him to Miami.