Author Topic: Official NBA Thread (Read 604178 times)

RatBastich · « **Reply #1960 on:** February 19, 2008, 04:08:49 AM »

Mavericks back on track with Nets to get Kidd

It looks as though Jason Kidd's start for the road team in the NBA All-Star Game was indeed his farewell to the Eastern Conference.

As long as the New Jersey Nets and Dallas Mavericks can clear one last trade hurdle.

The Nets and Mavericks are again on the brink of a deal that would send Kidd back to his original team, according to NBA front-office sources. The teams have reached an agreement in principle on the two major changes needed to save a blockbuster swap that appeared to be crumbling as recently as Friday. One source close to the process told ESPN.com that a conference call with the league to review the trade details is tentatively scheduled for Monday.

RatBastich · « **Reply #1961 on:** February 19, 2008, 07:33:11 PM »

Kidd trade to Mavs will cost Dallas $11 million more than original deal

The trade limbo that has ensnared the New Jersey Nets, Dallas Mavericks and Jason Kidd for almost a week is finally over.

"It's done," Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told ESPN.com via e-mail Tuesday afternoon. "J-Kidd is a Mav."

The trade of Kidd back to his original team is the second deal that the teams have hashed out since last Wednesday. Both teams had been operating under the assumption that they finally had a binding agreement since Monday night, when Kidd was excused from the Nets' first practice after the All-Star break and immediately made plans to travel to Texas on Tuesday.

Perhaps no NBA swap has ever tested the never-done-until-it's-done maxim more than this one, but sources close to the process say the teams received formal league approval in a conference call that ended at roughly 12:30 p.m. ET Tuesday, after Keith Van Horn appeared to have clinched the deal Monday night with his highly anticipated sign-off.
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Report: Suns, Nuggets will play October game in open-air arena

Taking a page out of the NHL's playbook, the NBA is heading to the great outdoors when the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets square off in an October exhibition game, according to a published report.

The matchup will be held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif., on Oct. 11, The Arizona Republic reports. The stadium seats 16,100 fans and annually hosts the Pacific Life Open tennis tournament.

According to the newspaper, the Suns visited the game site last summer and put down a basketball court on the tennis surface. The Suns are also expected to bring a scoreboard and video boards for the game.

An official announcement of the game is expected Tuesday.

Once before, according to the paper, an NBA game has been played outdoors. Phoenix was also part of that event when it faced Milwaukee in Puerto Rico in 1972.

Kamesan · « **Reply #1962 on:** February 19, 2008, 11:10:36 PM »

Quote from: L-san on February 19, 2008, 07:33:11 PM

Report: Suns, Nuggets will play October game in open-air arena

That's a great idea. I hope the weather cooperates and it actually happens.

RatBastich · « **Reply #1963 on:** February 21, 2008, 02:09:53 AM »

Spurs reportedly send Barry, Elson to Sonics for Thomas

The San Antonio Spurs have added some frontline help, trading for Seattle Sonics forward/center Kurt Thomas, a league source told Yahoo.com on Wednesday.

According to the report, Seattle will receive guard Brent Barry, center Francisco Elson and a 2009 first-round draft pick.

Former Sixers GM Billy King told ESPN that the teams are in the process of finalizing the deal with the league.

"For everything he's done in the NBA and what he brings to a team and what he brought to this team, I learned a lot being around him," Sonics guard Earl Watson said, according to the Seattle Times. "Especially on the court and off the court. Rarely do you get a big man who knows the game like a guard. I expect to see his numbers improve because of the type of guys around him."

Thomas, 35, was in his first season with the Sonics after being acquired in July 2007 from the Phoenix Suns. Seattle also received two first-round picks in that deal, as Phoenix tried to shed salary. He is now in the final year of a contract that pays him $8.1 million this season.

Thomas has averaged 9.9 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in a 13-year career. He is putting up 7.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game this season. Barry, 36, is averaging 7.3 points and making 1.6 3-pointers per game, while Elson, 31, is averaging 3.5 points and 3.3 rebounds.

My Spurs, The Champs, just made a trade move.
Now Timmy will have low post help thats solid, and Kurt has a helluva mid-range jumper.
Double Timmy, or not to double....teams gotta pick their poison.

Jsmurf · « **Reply #1964 on:** February 21, 2008, 07:28:47 PM »

Bell got his bell rung. nice elbow Shaq

daymn, some really good games yeshturday: Lakes vs Suns, GSW vs Celts, Duke vs Miami

Asmodai · « **Reply #1965 on:** February 21, 2008, 07:31:49 PM »

Ouch. I'm not surprised an elbow from Shaq would hurt though.

RatBastich · « **Reply #1966 on:** February 22, 2008, 02:42:43 AM »

Cavs get Wallace from Bulls, Szczerbiak from Sonics

CLEVELAND -- LeBron James finally got some help to win an NBA title.

In a complex, 11-player trade involving Cleveland, Chicago and Seattle, the Cavaliers acquired center Ben Wallace from the Bulls and forward Wally Szczerbiak from the SuperSonics, two players to possibly get James and the Cavs through the Eastern Conference and back to the Finals.

Cleveland general manager Danny Ferry, unable to finalize major deals in the past, pulled off a colossal one as the clock ticked down in the final hours before Thursday's 3 p.m. deadline.

The Cavaliers sent guard Larry Hughes, forwards Drew Gooden and Cedric Simmons, and guard Shannon Brown to Chicago for Wallace, one of the game's top inside enforcers, and forward Joe Smith.

Cleveland acquired the sharpshooting Szczerbiak and guard Delonte West from Seattle for forwards Ira Newble and Donyell Marshall.

The Cavaliers will also get Chicago's second-round pick in 2009. The SuperSonics will receive guard Adrian Griffin from the Bulls.

Kamesan · « **Reply #1967 on:** February 22, 2008, 12:50:08 PM »

That trade might work out best for the Sonics. They've got a bunch of future draft picks and should have lots of cap space after this season.

RatBastich · « **Reply #1968 on:** February 24, 2008, 05:19:28 PM »

Trade Grades: Who are the big winners and losers?

What a whirlwind February. Eleven trades went down in just three weeks; combined with the three deals consummated prior to that point, we've had an unusually high 14 trades since opening night. And most of them weren't two-scrubs-for-a-second-rounder swaps either -- nearly every trade involved at least one prominent player changing squads.

With the deadline past, it's time to hand out report cards. We'll do a quick recap of each trade this season and grade the outcome for the each team involved. Obviously, a lot of water can go under the bridge between now and season's end (and beyond) that will determine how history remembers these deals, but here's my instant analysis:

RatBastich · « **Reply #1969 on:** February 26, 2008, 08:14:26 PM »

Reports: Yao done for season with stress fracture in left foot

Yao Ming's season reportedly is over.

KRIV-TV in Houston and The Houston Chronicle are reporting that Yao has a stress fracture in his left foot and the Rockets are expected to announce he will have season-ending surgery later Tuesday.

The team has scheduled an afternoon news conference.

Houston, currently on a 12-game winning streak, is in fourth place in the Southwest Division. The streak followed a loss in the one game that Yao has missed all season.

The 7-foot-6 Yao is averaging 22.0 points and 10.8 rebounds in 55 games this season.

Talk about a serious blow to Rockets season, and they were on a 12 game winning streak.
Yao's season is done, and now the Rockets gotta buckle down for the remaining games in the regular season and try to make the playoffs without Yao.

RatBastich · « **Reply #1970 on:** March 04, 2008, 03:45:01 AM »

Mavs, Kidd Still Searching For Win Over Elite Team

LOS ANGELES -- Jason Kidd was on the court this time. It still wasn't enough.

Apparently, Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson learned from his much-criticized decision to leave Kidd on the bench in the final 34.5 seconds at San Antonio on Thursday. But the Mavericks also left Staples Center with the same lesson that has been repeated since the All-Star break: not even Kidd's presence is enough to bring them a road victory against the West's top teams.

They have lost to the Hornets, the Spurs and now the Lakers. They have battled, they have held fourth-quarter leads … they have yet to prevail. And you have to wonder how this translates to the playoffs. The 108-104 overtime loss to the Lakers left the Mavs three games behind the Lakers and four behind the Spurs in the loss column, which makes it all the more likely they'd start playoff series against those teams on the road.

Jsmurf · « **Reply #1971 on:** March 05, 2008, 12:34:59 AM »

good game
52pts for Ko8e and nails an old lady in the head with a towel

[youtube=425,350]Ht6huUnvhN8[/youtube]

RatBastich · « **Reply #1972 on:** March 06, 2008, 12:58:39 AM »

Nowitzki suspended one game for flagrant foul on Utah's Kirilenko

DALLAS -- Dirk Nowitzki was suspended without pay for one game by the NBA on Wednesday for his hard foul on Utah's Andrei Kirilenko.

Nowitzki will miss the Dallas Mavericks' next game, at home Thursday night against the divisional rival Houston Rockets, who recently passed them in the tight Western Conference standings.

Nowitzki received a flagrant-1 when he hit Kirilenko midway through the first quarter of a 116-110 loss to Utah on Monday. However, the league reviewed the play and decided to upgrade it to a flagrant-2. Had it been ruled a flagrant-2 at the time he would've been ejected.

Kirilenko injured his right hip in the fall and stayed down for several minutes before getting up gingerly. He made both foul shots before being helped to the locker room. He was taken for X-rays, which showed no break.

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About time on this, IMO.
It should've been ruled as a flagrant-2 from the beginning.

RatBastich · « **Reply #1973 on:** March 07, 2008, 08:34:28 PM »

Keeping it real: Why the Shaq trade isn't working out

"If it works, I'm a genius. If it doesn't, I'm a moron, I guess." -- Steve Kerr

Anyone who has dealt with Steve Kerr during his more than two decades as a player, writer, broadcaster and now general manager can attest that the man is no moron. In fact, he's one of the sharpest players of his generation.

However, that hasn't stopped his biggest move as Phoenix Suns general manager from looking foolish so far. Early returns on Kerr's trade of Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks for Shaquille O'Neal haven't been favorable, with the Suns going 3-5 with Shaq in the lineup and tumbling from first to sixth in the Western Conference by going 6-7 since the day of the trade.

To be fair, some of this can be explained by the schedule. Phoenix accumulated its 34-14 mark prior to the trade against an unusually soft slate, one that is far more difficult down the stretch. The Suns' average opponent in the first 48 games had a winning percentage of just .474; in the final 34 games, that increases to .550.

chroe · « **Reply #1974 on:** March 08, 2008, 12:41:45 PM »

What is wrong with the Pacers? It's kind of embarassing to be a Pacers fan with all this ****.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA030708.01C.BKNspurs.pacers.gamer.e6d381.html

With 25.6 seconds to play, Indiana's David Harrison, apparently none too happy about taking an elbow to the face during one of Bonner's fourth-quarter drives, informed an official of his plan for dealing with the scrappy Spurs forward.

"I'm going to (expletive) kill him," Harrison said.

That earned Harrison a technical foul. Harrison continued to stare Bonner down from the sidelines before being escorted to the locker room, where he received medical attention for the blow to his head.

Afterward, Bonner was oblivious to all of this. Informed of Harrison's comments, Bonner asked, "You only get a technical for that?"

RatBastich · « **Reply #1975 on:** March 09, 2008, 07:50:05 PM »

Suns' Problems Stem From Pre-Shaq Era

By Tim Legler
ESPN.com

Normally, eight games would never be enough time to draw any definitive conclusions on the long term prospects of an NBA team working to integrate a major new piece into the rotation. Cohesion takes time to perfect. Much like even the most ordinary of chemistry experiments, the data must be studied over time before a final analysis can be formulated.

Well, Shaquille O'Neal is hardly ordinary. The Phoenix Suns, likewise, have been anything but your typical NBA team over the past three and a half years. Three weeks ago, however, they were inextricably fused together in some sort of odd NBA laboratory experiment. The scientists involved, Steve Kerr and Mike D'Antoni, who wanted to determine if the most explosive scoring machine on the planet could be mixed with the most dominant force of his generation, to create an unstoppable hybrid of speed and power.

To say that something went terribly wrong in the lab would be an understatement.

RatBastich · « **Reply #1976 on:** March 17, 2008, 07:04:26 PM »

SuperSonics, Oklahoma City reach preliminary lease agreement

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Seattle SuperSonics and Oklahoma City have reached a preliminary agreement on a lease at the Ford Center pending NBA approval of the team's relocation.

The 15-year deal calls for the SuperSonics to pay the city $1.6 million annually for use of the building and reimburse $409,000 per year to replace revenue from naming rights for the arena currently paid by local Ford car dealerships.

"I'm very pleased with the deal," City Manager Jim Couch said. "I believe that this is the right decision for the city to go forward with this deal. ... We think that this is a very solid deal for the city of Oklahoma City."

OKC getting their team.

RatBastich · « **Reply #1977 on:** March 23, 2008, 11:32:21 PM »

Mavs Fall to Spurs, Lose Nowitzki to Leg Injury

DALLAS, March 23 (AP) -- Dirk Nowitzki started to grab the part of his left leg that hurt the most, then stopped. He might not have known what to rub first.

So the reigning league MVP dejectedly put a hand on his head. Then pounded the court.

Nowitzki was injured on an ugly looking fall in the third quarter of Dallas' 88-81 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, but left the arena without knowing how bad it is. The team termed it a "lower left leg injury'' and said more details would come Monday.

"I fell awkwardly and my left leg got caught underneath of me,'' Nowitzki said in a statement. "I am going to get re-evaluated in the morning and I hope to have more information then.''
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Man, that was ugly how Dirk went down.
Doesn't look too good for the Mavs if Dirk's injury keeps him out for the remainer of the regular season, and just might leave them on the outside come playoff time.

RatBastich · « **Reply #1978 on:** March 24, 2008, 12:39:51 PM »

Haslem to have season-ending surgery on left ankle

MIAMI -- Heat forward Udonis Haslem had season-ending surgery to remove a bone spur from his left ankle Friday, becoming the fourth Miami player to be officially shut down for the season because of an injury.

Haslem will be in a walking boot and on crutches before beginning rehabilitation, and the team expects he'll be able to resume basketball activity in about two months. Haslem, a Miami native and the Heat captain, averaged 12 points and nine rebounds in 49 games this season.

Miami had already lost All-Star guard Dwyane Wade, forward Dorell Wright and center Alonzo Mourning for the season, all with various knee injuries, and was reduced to playing with seven healthy players at Toronto on Wednesday -- when the Heat lost 96-54 in the worst offensive showing in franchise history.

To help alleviate the roster woes, the Heat signed forward Stephane Lasme and guard Blake Ahearn to a 10-day contracts Friday. Lasme averaged 10.6 points and 7.5 rebounds in 37 games with the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League. Ahearn averaged 19 points in the NBDL this season for the Dakota Wizards.
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Nuggets hope they're not first 50-win team to miss playoffs

The Denver Nuggets are closing in on their preseason team goal of 50 wins. But if things don't go their way, they could also make NBA history as the first 50-win team to miss the playoffs.

No NBA team has reached the 50-win mark and not advanced to the playoffs. But in the highly-competitive Western Conference, the Nuggets, or some other unlucky team, could become the first.

"I've never seen anything like it. I call it the Halley's Comet year of the NBA," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "Once every 99 years something like this happens. Why I have to be a part of it, I want to know why."

The Nuggets are 40-28 with 14 games left and 2½ games behind the Golden State Warriors (42-25) for the eighth and last spot in the Western Conference playoffs.

"We're on the outside looking in right now," Karl said Friday. "But if we win 10 or 11 of our last 14, which I think we're capable of doing, we've got to make the other people worry."

The top end of the conference race is also a dogfight, with three teams -- New Orleans, Houston and Phoenix -- within one game of the Los Angeles Lakers (47-21) for the top spot.

"History says that [50] will get us into the playoffs. I'm not sure it will get us to the playoffs," said Karl. "There are days I'm nervous it won't get us in, but to throw more than that out there, you're pushing the power of our positive thinking.

"We've got to do what we're capable of doing. I think 50 would be at the top end of that," added Karl, who in 20 seasons of NBA coaching has taken three different teams to division titles, including the Nuggets in 2005-06 with 44 wins.

"It would be a high level of success but it might not be a high level of success from a playoff standpoint. That's the sadness of what we're dealing with."

RatBastich · « **Reply #1979 on:** March 25, 2008, 01:04:59 AM »

Timetable for Nowitzki's return uncertain after diagnosis of ankle, knee injuries

Dirk Nowitzki insisted Monday that he doesn't know yet if he can make one of his trademark fast recoveries from the leg injuries he suffered in Sunday's crunching fall against San Antonio.

All he knows for sure, at this stage, is that he's extremely fortunate.

"It's a little disappointing now, but I think the good thing is [that] it could've been a lot worse," Nowitzki told reporters in Dallas after being diagnosed with a moderate high left ankle sprain and a mildly sprained left knee.