HoopsHype.com Rumors

Sunday, September 20

Visit the HoopsHype.com Forums to discuss the latest news and rumors in the NBA / You also can check out rumors from back in the day in the Rumors Archive

Chris Mannix: Just bumped into Antoine Walker at the MGM, says he is talking to four teams and plans on being in a camp on a non-guaranteed deal next week. Twitter.com

For a few die-hards, it was a chance to deliver a message to James, who can become a free agent next summer. The Cavaliers offered James a contract extension this summer, but the 24-year-old has not yet signed it, saying he wants to keep his options open for the future, a stance that has some Cleveland fans worried he'll go to another team. "Don't leave us, man," one fan said as James scrawled his name. "I ain't leaving," James said, smiling. ESPN.com

Iverson’s presence, he said, is intended to add fire to an organization that seemed content to lose as long as it competed into the fourth quarter. Iverson may want to start, and may want the ball 40 times per game, but he will play hard. “The passion in which he plays the game every night, the intensity, the desire to win, the frustration when he loses, those qualities will be noticed by his teammates and will help us immensely,’’ Wallace said, “because even during the controversial days of his career, I never once read an article that said Allen doesn’t care, Allen is a good loser, or Allen doesn’t play hard. Boston Globe

“No offense to Pau, who is obviously a terrific player and greatly enhanced the Lakers and I think put them over the top, but it just wasn’t happening in the direction we were going,’’ said Wallace. “I am not a critic who is going to assess this from afar, [but] you have to do what is best for your franchise, and if the Lakers win a championship as a byproduct, God bless them.’’ Boston Globe

Cedric Simmons(2.06-PF) might not be playing for Peristeri after all, according to sportnet.gr. Simmons was found to be physicall unfit and the administration of the team might waive his contract and look swiftly for a replacement. The article says that Simmons has not trained for the last 3 days due a sprained ankle but the team of Peristeri are already looking for a replacement. The Hoop

Former Boston College guard Tyrese Rice has signed with Panionios in Greece, while former first-round pick Troy Bell will continue playing with Vanoli Cremona in Italy. Bell averaged 20.6 points in 43 games last season. Boston Globe

Michael Beasley Sr. said Saturday that his son is scheduled to be released from a Houston rehab center Sunday and expects the Miami Heat to experience a more mature player upon the second-year forward's return to the practice court. "He said he learned a lot about himself in this process," the elder Beasley said by phone, "and it was a wake-up call for him that he needs to take his career more seriously." South Florida Sun-Sentinel

His father said the two spoke for more the two hours on the eve of the forward's scheduled release. "He's OK. He's got his head together. He's happy," Michael Beasley Sr. said. "He talked about the decisions he made that got him where he was. And once he took responsibility for that, then he took the program more seriously." South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Asked if he believed his son had a substance-abuse problem, the elder Beasley said, "I wouldn't say it was a problem. I don't think it was a problem. If it was, it got caught before it even escalated into something else. So I don't think it was a problem. I think it was just God's timing to put him where he needed to be, to work on him." South Florida Sun-Sentinel

His father said those offerings were made out of annoyance. "He was frustrated about being in the program, that was what that was about," he said. "That wasn't about him personally depressed about doing something to himself. "He talked about the decisions he made that got him where he was, and once he took responsibility for that, then he took the program more seriously." South Florida Sun-Sentinel

The last 12 months have been a constant and complex balancing act for West and the Cavaliers, who dearly love their hard-nosed guard’s personality and ability. What to do about this latest situation might prove the most dicey. Though they would never talk about these issues publicly and discuss it very little privately, it has been a challenge for the team on how to handle West. Last August, West was charged with marijuana possession in Prince George’s County, Md., while he was a restricted free agent and the Cavs were in a contract stalemate with him. The team had a difficult decision because it places a high value on character within the locker room. Usually this would be a red flag on any free agent. Cleveland Plain Dealer

West then went out and had the best season of his career, his first as a full-time starter. He was a significant factor in the Cavs winning 66 games. But behind the scenes there was never a doubt that he was often battling with his emotional problems. Some games West would sit in his uniform at his locker for an hour after the game staring into space. Sometimes he would refuse to talk to anyone. Other times he would be his jovial self, cracking up the locker room and fitting into the team’s pregame “family photos.” He filmed several segments for the ESPN show “Jim Rome is Burning,” showcasing his dry sense of humor that made him a YouTube hit. Cleveland Plain Deale

But he also often came to games late, even showing up to a home playoff game an hour before tipoff. Once, at a game in Los Angeles, West wasn’t on the bench when he was introduced as a starter and no one on the team seemed to know where he was for a few minutes. Those episodes, however, never seemed to affect his play. Trying to be supportive, the team apparently gave him plenty of space. The media, appreciative of how open he’d been and sensitive to his battle, looked the other way. Cleveland Plain Dealer

It was the same this summer when another YouTube video appeared of West and a friend waiting for their food to be cooked in a KFC drive-thru. Making jokes and freestyle rapping, West was quite funny. But numerous people left comments that it wasn’t funny because it appeared he was under the influence of something. Whatever the circumstances, the image couldn’t have made the team happy even as they continued to try to be supportive of West’s issues. Cleveland Plain Dealer

"All I can say is Delonte was looking behind his back and protecting himself," (his father) said. "Bottom line is there's a lot of not-too-nice people out here." News-Herald

You still have to play a game for the fifth place... Tony Parker: I don't think I'll be on the floor.. Now that qualification (for the World Championship) is assured, I will not take risks. If any bad thing happens to me physically, I may have big problems with the Spurs. We saw Boris (Diaw). He was diagnosed a sprained ankle that will keep him from playing for at least a month. BasketUSA.com

Suns guard Goran Dragic sat out a third consecutive European Championship game Friday because of the medial-collateral ligament sprain he suffered when his left knee was banged in a game a week ago. It was a precautionary decision Dragic made before his Slovenian national team's quarterfinal win against Croatia in Poland, Suns Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin said. Dragic remains day to day but is expected to play in Slovenia's first-ever semifinal appearance, Saturday against Serbia. Arizona Republic

Center Sasha Kaun, who the Cavs drafted in the second round in 2008, has had a bit of a rough summer dealing with some back problems. After a promising rookie season with CSKA Moscow, one of the top teams in Europe, the former Kansas star was set to be a part of the Russian National Team in the European Championships in Poland this month.But Kaun started feeling some pain and Alexander Chernykh, an excellent Russian basketball journalist, tells us that Kaun has been diagnosed with a herniated disc. Right now doctors are advising him to rest and so he was unable to play for Russia in Poland. Kaun is still under contract for two more years in Moscow, but there is a chance he could examine coming to the Cavs next year because of an out clause in his contract. Cleveland Plain Dealer

Wallace is not making such gaudy predictions in Memphis, but he has used the Celtic model to add talent and youth to a franchise that has been an NBA afterthought. “I really believe now, and this is my third year here, that the heaviest of the lifting is behind us,’’ said Wallace. “I think we’ll see more tangible results this year and we’ve got a good group of talent that we’re high on, we can develop, and we’re going to have a tremendous future here. Boston Globe

The Russian billionaire who is on the verge of funding the Nets' long-awaited move to Brooklyn is a hard-partying bachelor who was arrested in 2007 on suspicion he was involved in an upscale prostitution ring. Mikhail Prokhorov, recently named the 40th wealthiest man in the world by Forbes, has an estimated net worth of $9.5 billion. And while Forbes estimates that the 43-year-old tycoon lost approximately 51% of his fortune in the last year, Prokhorov is still reportedly close to issuing a $700 million bond through his investment firm, Onexim, that would help Nets owner Bruce Ratner build the long-delayed Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn. New York Daily News

Prokhorov, who reportedly could also take over a majority stake in the team if a deal is reached, was arrested in January 2007 while on vacation at a French ski resort when police cracked down on a suspected prostitution ring. According to numerous reports at the time, Prokhorov told investigators that he flew beautiful women in from Russia because he enjoyed their company. However, investigators suspected that Prokhorov had supplied the women as prostitutes to his wealthy friends and kept the billionaire in custody for several days before releasing him and dropping the charges. Prokhorov later told the French press that "my winter vacation in France was spoiled by local police, who arrested me and my friends without giving any reasonable explanations." A Ratner spokesperson refused to comment on Prokhorov's controversial past. New York Daily News

Either way, Kirilenko told RussiaToday.com he believes it would be a great thing. "I know him very well. He is a huge fan of basketball," Kirilenko said. "If you take a look at the local level, he turned (Russian pro team) CSKA into one of the best teams in Europe. I'm pretty sure his goal with the New Jersey Nets is to do the same thing." Deseret Morning News

	Want to follow HoopsHype.com on Twitter too? Click here.

The NBA has invited 45 replacement referees to a meeting in New York this week, the next step in the escalating showdown between the league and its locked-out referees. According to an internal memo obtained by CBSSports.com, the replacement referees will meet in New York Sept. 24-27. Among the potential replacements invited to the meeting is Michael Henderson, the ref who was the focal point of a showdown between the officials' union and David Stern in 2004. Henderson was publicly reprimanded and suspended after an inadvertent whistle during a game between the Lakers and Nuggets. The mistake led to the Lakers' 112-111 win. CBSSports.com

The Suns' Aaron Nelson was named the 2008-09 NBA Athletic Trainer of the Year by the National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association. The award is for injury prevention and effective rehabilitation during the season, in which Nelson and his staff were hailed for Hill's first 82-game season, Shaquille O'Neal's improved health and keeping Nash healthy despite a chronic spine condition. Arizona Republic

A new scoreboard will be the primary attraction when the Ford Center reopens in two weeks. But a key factor in team chairman Clay Bennett deciding to move the NBA team from Seattle last summer was additional revenue streams such as 48 loge boxes constructed during five months of renovation. By adding 700 club level luxury seats, the Thunder has the capability to collect $3 million more a season in ticket revenue. Include potential sales from suites and the Thundercan collect nearly $17 million more a season in ticket revenue compared to Seattle’s KeyArena, according to research conducted by The Oklahoman. Oklahoman

The Thunder’s new locker room on the south side of the Ford Center will be much larger than the previous one and will grow even larger when the third and final phase is completed in the summer of 2010. Oklahoman

Lietuvos Rytas, one of the top two Lithuanian teams, will travel to the United States in October to play a friendly against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA preseason. This was announced a few days ago by the Lithuanian press and the game is scheduled for 21 October at Oracle Arena. Those who know how crazy the Lithuanian fans are about basketball will probably tell you that the whole arena will be filled and hoping for a remake of the Maccabi Tel Aviv win over Toronto. BallinEurope.com

What Hasheem Thabeet can do on the basketball court remains to be seen, but his skill on the pitch made a good impression Saturday. Thabeet, selected No. 2 in this year's NBA draft by the Memphis Grizzlies, showcased his soccer ability at Steve Nash's Showdown in Downtown charity game. The seven-foot-three centre from Africa scored twice and set up Nash for another as the team of ringers led by the Phoenix Suns' point guard schooled a squad from the Vancouver Whitecaps residency program 10-5. AP

"I'm impressed," said Nash, who scored three goals during the eight-a-side kick-around on a small pitch that encouraged fancy footwork and gave fans a feeling of intimacy with the players. "I know they love (soccer) in Africa. He played a lot as a kid and that's probably why he's such a highly regarded young basketball player. "His footwork was very impressive. He put on a show. He was the big surprise of the day." AP

Soccer helped his footwork on the hardwood, said Thabeet. "You've got to run and kick the ball at the same time. It helped me a lot. I still believe I've got (soccer) skills. I'd watch moves on YouTube and go back and try to practise them." AP

Visit the HoopsHype.com Forums to discuss the latest news and rumors in the NBA.

Any rumor missing? E-mail us at hoopshype@hoopshype.com.