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NBA News
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| | Thursday, November 5 2009 |
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NBA TV Apologizes for Rick Kamla’s ’Chinaman’ Slip
In his NBA.com video recap of last Friday’s Magic-Nets game, NBA TV analyst Rick Kamla made the unfortunate mistake of referring to New Jersey forward Yi Jianlian as a "Chinaman." After FanHouse contacted Turner Sports about the remark, the video was pulled from NBA.com. It ran on NBA TV Friday and has been available on NBA.com since Friday night.
Turner Sports spokesman Jeff Pomeroy relayed to FanHouse an apology to anyone offended by the remark from Kamla and the network, which manages NBA TV and NBA.com. Pomeroy said Kamla was not aware of the connotations of the word, and meant nothing malicious or offensive by it.
Kamla’s ignorant slip is far less troubling than the fact this video was broadcast on NBA TV and had been available on NBA.com for five days. The NBA has made serious strides to reach out to all corners of America and to expand the league’s presence worldwide, with particular emphasis on Asia. Given the league’s emphasis on marketing product to Chinese Americans, for this to go unnoticed within the NBA’s digital arm for so long is disheartening.
http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/11/04/nba-tv-analyst-calls-yi-jianlian-a-chinaman-later-apologizes/
| Ray Allen Denies Apologizing to Chris Paul for Rajon Rondo
Allen denied part of a Yahoo! [YHOO] Sports report that claimed he later went into the New Orleans locker room to apologize to Paul for Rondo’s actions. Though he went into the locker room to meet with Paul, Allen said he didn’t apologize.
“Chris was giving us an autographed jersey for the High Hopes Fund,” Allen said of a charity his family supports that is sponsored by the Joslin Diabetes Center. “Chris and I share the tie of being Brand Jordan athletes, so we’re in contact.
“I did ask him, ‘What was going on between the two of you on the floor?’ and he said, ‘It was just the two of us out there competing, that’s all.’ ”
http://news.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view/20091104rajon_rondo-chris_paul_talk_lingers/
| Jason Terry: The NBA’s New Rims Stink Like the Composite Ball
Battier admits that he is not a fan, saying he believes they make the ball "more temperamental" when it bounces. And reigning NBA Sixth Man Award winner Jason Terry of the Dallas Mavericks was far stronger in his criticism, suggesting that the rims’ increased give has been a major factor in the unexpected struggles from the field that have plagued the Mavericks during their 2-1 start.
"I am not used to them yet," Battier said. "So as of now, no, I don’t like them."
Said Terry, who was shooting an uncharacteristic 35 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent on 3-pointers entering Tuesday’s game against Utah: "They stink. Why change something that works? Were the old rims [faulty]? It’s just like that [composite] ball they tried."
ESPN.com has also learned that one Eastern Conference team was so unnerved by the rim change during the preseason that it considered pursuing a grievance through the players’ union, reminiscent of the 2006-07 season when NBA commissioner David Stern eventually abolished use of a new composite ball after two months and switched back to the old leather ball after numerous player complaints.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4620192
| Dwight Howard: Don’t Give Me Free-throw Shooting Advice
C Dwight Howard, who looked like Larry Bird on the free-line line Sunday in Toronto, said he told everybody around him — teammates, coaches, etc. — to stop giving him advice.
Howard, a career 60 percent free-throw shooter, hit 14-of-16 against the Raptors after making only 7-of-17 coming into the game.
"Everybody is always asking me about it," Howard said. "Everybody telling me what to do and what not to do. I’m like, ’Just let me shoot. I’ve worked on it all summer.’ Now I just feel good. I’m not worried about making it or missing it."
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orlando-magic/orl-sportsmagic-notes-04110409nov04,0,878475.story
| Kevin Garnett: My History in Minnesota Has Passed
“It’s easy to come in here and focus, because they don’t have any of my old teammates here now,” he said. “My history from here has passed. I did take a moment tonight to look around, but there are so many changes here that I can’t relate to, so I have no reason to.”
Garnett (12 points, 11 rebounds) expressed hope that Timberwolves fans will be vocal in their demand for owner Glen Taylor and his new management team to put a winning product on the floor.
“There was separation for me the moment I was traded (to the Celtics),” Garnett said. “The guys I had a special relationship with had moved on, and I never looked back. When a new page in my book turns, I try to embrace that.
“Minnesota’s home, or my second home, or a home for me, but I don’t think of anything right now but playing in Boston. But this was nice.”
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1209769
| Charles Oakley: Teams Don’t Want to Pay Me to Coach
Charles Oakley is developing a cooking show for TV and producing a couple of movies. He’s a restaurateur and a car-wash mogul. But what he’d really like to be is an NBA coach.
So why, six years after he retired from the league, has the former Raptors forward – who made a name for his uncanny grasp of the game’s defensive intricacies – never counted himself a member of an NBA coaching staff?
"Teams don’t want to pay," Oakley was saying in the lead-up to his appearance Wednesday night at the Air Canada Centre, where he was feted with a warm ovation during the first quarter of the Raptors’ 110-99 win over the Pistons.
Money has always been central to Oakley’s value system; he grew up poor in East Cleveland and sees the green as the ultimate sign of respect. But surely there’s more to his absence from the league than the insufficiency of NBA assistant coach’s salaries, which can range from $100,000 to quite a few times that much.
http://www.thestar.com/sports/nba/raptors/article/721445—feschuk-oak-eyes-planting-roots-in-coaching-ranks
| Larry Bird: I Hope LeBron James Stays with Cleveland Cavaliers
Not that he wants his former boss, Donnie Walsh, to fail at rebuilding the Knicks, but Pacers president Larry Bird doesn’t want to see LeBron James come to New York next summer.
"I hope he stays in Cleveland," Bird said Monday. "He’s from Ohio and he means so much to that team and that state. I used to love to go and play in Cleveland because they love the game. And, I like to see the great players stay in the cities and with the teams that drafted them. It means so much for the league and the state. So I would rather see him stay."
Bird, who coached for Walsh and then joined the front office when the current Knicks president ran the Pacers, participated in a conference call with Magic Johnson to promote their new book, "When the Game Was Ours."
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/2009/11/03/2009-11-03_larry_bird_likes_lebron_james_as_cav_not_knick.html
| Ron Artest: I Lost $20 Million by Giving up Bird Rights
“I’ve been blessed to get paid to play basketball,” Artest said. “But 1 percent tells me I wish I could have been somewhere else so I could have exercised my Bird rights. It hurt me a lot, but I still managed to get a good contract — maybe $20 million off — but God is good, and he’s still taking care of my family, so everything is OK.”
Artest he signed a reported five-year deal with Los Angeles for $33 million, which is far lower than the Rockets could have offered him. But the organization chose not to make him an offer, opting to sign Trevor Ariza, a member of the Lakers, instead.
“No, I’m not upset,” he said. “I get to be in Hollywood, play with Kobe (Bryant), Lamar (Odom), Coach (Phil) Jackson — what do I have to be upset about?”
But he continued.
“Business-wise, there were things I wish I would have known (that would have) prevented some situations. Personally, I’m not upset. I’m still in the NBA.”
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/6704089.html
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| | Tuesday, October 27 2009 |
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Shaq’s New Nickname: The Big Witness Protection Program
Shaquille O’Neal has been many big things (Aristotle, Pythagorean Theorem, Cactus) in many places since 1992 when he arrived in Orlando wearing mouse ears. Of course, before this none of the places ever got snow, to say nothing of sleet and freezing rain.
Now, the Big Rust Belt?
"I’m just here," O’Neal said Monday, still trying out motifs. "So far, everyone likes the Big Witness Protection Program."
He’s actually a one-man touring company, the 21st century’s answer to vaudeville, even if the fun quotient dropped sharply in recent stops.
When the good times ran out in Miami, where he won a fourth NBA title to go with his three as a Laker, he was unceremoniously sent to Phoenix, where he fit as easily with the Suns as the jockey he played in a commercial, whose horse looked like a cocker spaniel under him.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-heisler27-2009oct27,0,7265185.column
| Charles Barkley Wants to Be a General Manager
Charles Barkley thinks he can do better than some of the general managers he criticizes on TV.
The Hall of Fame player and TNT analyst says he’d like his chance to run an NBA team, though he’s in no rush because he’d want the right job.
Barkley says some GMs have done a "bad job, plain and simple" in making draft picks. He adds that some executives worry only about keeping their jobs and some organizations aren’t concerned with winning.
http://www.nba.com/2009/news/10/26/barkley.gm.ap/index.html
| Delonte West’s Wife Files Domestic Abuse Charge
Cleveland Cavaliers player Delonte West and his wife reportedly got into a spat Saturday evening that ended with West’s wife filing a domestic violence report.
The two reportedly fought at their apartment when Delonte tried to take her wedding ring off. Mrs. West left their home and headed to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, where she filed a domestic violence report.
Cleveland Police tell 19 Action News there were no signs of abuse or injury. Mrs. West then got on her flight and flew out of Cleveland.
Tad Carper, Vice President of Communciatons with the Cleveland Cavaliers tells 19 Action News "the team was contacted and is aware of the situation but declined any further comment."
http://www.woio.com/global/story.asp?s=11379695
| Miami Heat to Retire Tim Hardaway’s #10 Jersey
No opponent did more to thwart point guard Tim Hardaway’s plans to help the Miami Heat raise a championship banner than the New York Knicks.
Ironic, then, that when Miami opens the season Wednesday against New York, Hardaway will finally see a new banner sway.
The Heat will retire Hardaway’s No. 10 jersey in a pregame ceremony, making him just the second player to receive that honor from the franchise. Alonzo Mourning’s No. 33 was hoisted last season by Miami, which also has paid tributes to the No. 23 Michael Jordan jersey and the No. 13 worn by Dan Marino.
"It’s going to be great," Hardaway said. "Words can’t describe how I feel. Two weeks ago, I wasn’t even thinking about it. But this week, I’ve been thinking about it every day, every night, like it’s opening night and I’m going to be playing basketball. I’m nervous, but I know it’s going to be a great night."
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4596340
| Big Baby Davis’ Thumb Injury Occurred in Fight with Ex-Teammate
Glen Davis’ season has taken a bad turn in an entirely regrettable incident. The third-year forward could be lost to the Celtics [team stats] for an extended period after injuring his right thumb in a private altercation with a friend, according to sources.
The Celts were saying officially yesterday that Big Baby had suffered an undetermined hand injury and had been sent for X-rays. But sources said there is some type of fracture in the thumb and that he will have to undergo further testing with specialists to determine whether there is greater damage that could necessitate surgery.
The injury occurred Sunday night during the incident between Davis and a former teammate, who had flown up from Louisiana, sources said. According to sources, Davis was defending himself at the time.
http://news.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view/20091026big_baby_suffers_injury_in_altercation/srvc=home&position=alsoe
| Derrick Rose on Conditioning: I’m Like an Old Man out there
Derrick Rose practiced for the second day in a row, but he still doesn’t feel like himself just yet.
The Chicago Bulls point guard admitted that his ankle injury is still bothering him.
"I told you, I’m like an old man out there," Rose joked after practice. "I have to wait 20, 30 minutes into practice where I’m really loosened up. I have to stretch a lot."
Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro knows he has to keep a close eye on Rose’s ankle over the next few weeks.
"His ankle was a little sore until he got it loose this morning, but then once he got it loose, he was fine," Del Negro said. "I think that will be a continual process for a while. He’s out of condition a little bit — the way we want to play and how we want him to play, get after the ball defensively. He’s rusty, so these next two days hopefully he can build like he did today and get better."
http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nba/news/story?id=4596814
| Maccabi Coach Apologizes for On-Court Tantrum at MSG
The president of Maccabi Tel Aviv has apologized to the NBA and the Knicks for its coach’s behavior during an exhibition game at Madison Square Garden.
Pini Gershon, the coach, also said he was sorry in letters that were sent Monday to league commissioner David Stern and Knicks president Donnie Walsh, and seen by The Associated Press.
"Having had time to reflect on my actions while our team was in New York, I would like to apologize to the New York Knicks franchise, the NBA and basketball fans not only at Madison Square Garden but throughout the country," Gershon wrote.
"Our trip to the U.S. was for a wonderful cause — the children of Migdal Ohr — and hopefully a few minutes of bad behavior on my behalf won’t detract from all the good that was accomplished by our spirited competition with the Knicks and the Clippers."
The game in New York benefited Migdal Ohr, the world’s largest orphanage. Maccabi Tel Aviv visited the Clippers two nights later.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4597409
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Talks with Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies added star power to their roster in the offseason with Allen Iverson. Now, they might be on the verge of hiring a Hall of Famer for the coaching staff.
Legendary NBA center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sat in on the Grizzlies’ practice Monday morning. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer will entertain joining the organization, several sources confirmed.
Grizzlies management had no comment about Abdul-Jabbar’s presence. Memphis, however, asked for and received permission from the Los Angeles Lakers to speak with Abdul-Jabbar.
Abdul-Jabbar, 62, is under contract with the Lakers after having tutored Andrew Bynum over the past several seasons. But the Los Angeles Daily News reported earlier this month that Abdul-Jabbar’s interaction with Bynum would decrease and he’d take a lesser role with the Lakers this season.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/oct/26/grizzlies-talks-kareem-abdul-jabar-about-joining-s/
| Mark Cuban: Dirk Nowitzki’s Numbers Will Go Down this Year
Mark Cuban made the proclamation on the first day of training camp that fans will see a different Dirk Nowitzki this season, and not just because he hasn’t had a haircut since the Olympic rings were shaved into his scalp in Beijing.
"I promise you Dirk’s numbers will drop this year," the owner said. "Dirk’s numbers go down when he has confidence in the rest of his team and he doesn’t have to score."
Of all the things Nowitzki has done in his career, proving that less is more is still on the to-do list. History indicates it might be the best thing that could happen to him and the Mavericks.
The last two NBA champions have featured superstars whose numbers dropped precipitously from previous seasons. They were surrounded by better talent and therefore deferred more often, scored less and won big. It happened with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers and with Kevin Garnett and the Celtics.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/102709dnspomavslede.3539611.html
| Blake Griffin Breaks Kneecap, Will Miss Six Weeks
Los Angeles Clippers’ rookie forward Blake Griffin may miss up to six weeks with a stress fracture of his left patella suffered during the Clippers’ last preseason game vs. the New Orleans Hornets on Friday, October 23rd.
Further information regarding Griffin’s course of treatment will be made available later. Team officials will be available following shootaround on Tuesday, October 27th at the Los Angeles Clippers Training Center at approximately 10:30 AM.
http://www.nba.com/clippers/news/breakingnews091026.html
| Rajon Rondo Wants to Be Paid Like a Top-Five Point Guard
A meeting between Bill Duffy, the agent for Rajon Rondo, and Celtics GM Danny Ainge apparently netting nothing but major difference in how each side perceives Rondo’s worth. Duffy, according to Yahoo! Sports, wanted Rondo amongst the top 5 highest paid point guards while the Celtics didn’t feel that strongly.
That means unless the two sides suddenly close the gap and reach agreement on deal by Friday, Rondo will be a restricted free agent at season’s end, leaving the guard open to ponder offers from other clubs. The Celtics will have the right to match any offer.
"We’re not going to do an extension right now,” Duffy told Yahoo!. “The conversation has been cordial. We’ve been talking the last couple of weeks. There is a difference between the perception of him in their eyes and our eyes. With that being said, the focus is on Rajon to have a fantastic season and concentrate on winning a championship.”
http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/2009/10/agent_rondo_won.html
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| | Thursday, October 15 2009 |
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Exploding Exercise Ball Injured Francisco Garcia
Yet most of this season was taken from Garcia when the exercise ball on which he lay while lifting two 90-pound dumbbells exploded. The accident, Garcia said, is as surreal now as it was when it happened.
"Just a regular day, lifting weights," he said. "I was out there, on the PhysioBall. We’ve got an understanding that the exercise was good. We’d been doing that, and it exploded on me. I didn’t have time to react or anything. It’s crazy, man. I keep reflecting in my head. It’s crazy."
Garcia said he hopes to travel occasionally with the team and maintain a strong connection.
"I want to be here as much as I can, be on the road as much as I can," he said. "I just want to be there with them, as a teammate, as a friend, as a leader. I think they really need me out there, even if I’m not playing."
http://www.sacbee.com/sports/story/2252150.html
| Phil Jackson: Lakers Aren’t Aiming for 73 Wins
73-9?
The Lakers went 65-17 last season with Andrew Bynum missing 32 games because of a knee injury. Can they come close to the Chicago Bulls’ record-setting 72-10 season in 1995-96?
"I don’t want the players to set that as a goal. That’s not a goal," said Jackson, who also coached that Bulls team. "The goal is to go through the season in orderly fashion and build momentum to the end of the year."
Jackson has often said that a centrally located team such as Chicago has the best chance at regular-season success because of shorter flights than a team on the West or East coasts.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lakers-fyi14-2009oct14,0,3153732.story
| Stephen Jackson: I’m as Good as Kobe Bryant
Jackson took his beef with Kobe to a public level. I don’t think he’s ever been a fan of Kobe. Especially to an official street dude like Jax, Bryant isn’t going to get the benefit of the doubt. So if he really called Jax young fella (though they’re the same age), better believe Jax really didn’t like that. In essence, Jax got dissed by a suburbanite. On top of what he thought was some dirty play.
JACKSON: “I’m not going to bow down. I’m not a fan of Kobe. I’m not somebody who looks up to him. I’m a grown man myself. So when I go out there and play the game, I play the game. I feel like I’m just as good as him. I might not get the publicity or notoriety he gets, but I feel like I can play with anybody in the NBA any given night.”
http://www.ibabuzz.com/warriors/2009/10/14/jax-v-teammates-jax-v-kobe-baron-v-randolph-and-other-warriors-stuff/
| Damon Jones Signs One-Year Deal in Italy
Veteran guard Damon Jones, who made a habit over the years of calling himself the "best shooter in the world," is going international.
After playing sparingly last season with the Milwaukee Bucks, Jones has signed a one-year deal with Napoli in Italy’s top division, according to agent Andy Bountogianis of Cleveland-based Mark Termini Associates.
In his second stint with Milwaukee, Jones did not join the team until late December after a mutual agreement with the Bucks for Jones to search for a new team via trade. When no trade could be struck and buyout talks stalled, Jones spent the final four months of the season with the Bucks to complete the four-year, $16 million contract he received from the Cleveland Cavaliers in the summer of 2005.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4560829
| Larry Hughes Thinks LeBron James Will Stay with Cleveland Cavaliers
Larry Hughes understands that the chances of him returning to the Knicks next season are slim to none. Unfortunately, the same may be true of one Hughes’ best friends as well.
Hughes reiterated Wednesday that he believes LeBron James, the Knicks’ primary free agent target, will re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers when James becomes a free agent next summer.
"I still feel that way," Hughes said following the Knicks’ practice in Greenburgh, N.Y. "He’s got a good opportunity to win there. And I know a lot of people talk about him playing in a big market, but he just wants to win a ring. It’s not about playing in a big market."
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/2009/10/15/2009-10-15_knicks_larry_hughes_lebron_james_will_stay_a_cleveland_cav.html
| Andrei Kirilenko Flies to Russia for Personal Reasons
Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko has left the team to return to his native Russia and tend to a personal, undisclosed family matter there.
The absence is "excused," a team spokesman said.
Kirilenko will miss the Jazz’s exhibition games Thursday night at home vs. Portland and on Saturday against the Clippers in Los Angeles.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705336788/Utah-Jazz-Kirilenko-returns-to-Russia-for-personal-reasons.html
| Warriors: We Were Offered Garbage for Stephen Jackson
So, Jackson returned to practice and told his bosses he no longer wants to be a captain. Warriors general manager Larry Riley has been working the phones for a trade, but there’s nothing out there. Privately, the Warriors have said they’ve just been offered “garbage” for Jackson and four years and $35 million left on his contract.
For now, the Warriors are privately griping that Jackson’s belligerence could dramatically impact Monta Ellis(notes), the player whom management believes can be most easily influenced, sources said.
The Warriors are stuck with Jackson and his contract, and deservedly so. Behind the back of now deposed GM Chris Mullin, Golden State’s meddlesome president Robert Rowell cut a contract extension directly with Jackson. Those close to Jackson believe Rowell convinced Jackson to terminate his high-powered agent, Dan Fegan, and do a deal directly with ownership. As much as ever now, Jackson could use Fegan’s stewardship, but he’s on his own.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AsYzot.8MwYNoKt.HG.eLHC8vLYF?slug=aw-nelsonjackson101509&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
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