HoopsHype.com RumorsFriday, May 4Visit the HoopsHype Forums to discuss the latest news and rumors in the NBA. |
| » 04:32 PM ET Update » 10:53 AM ET Update |
|
» Update: 04:32 PM ET |
 Bucks owner Herb Kohl confirmed at a news conference Friday that general manager John Hammond will not work with a contract extension during the coming season. Scott Skiles agreed last week to return for the final year of his contract. Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel But the Bucks owner said he is confident the team can take the steps necessary to become a playoff team. Milwaukee finished the past season with a 31-35 record and was eliminated from playoff contention in the final week. "Scott is one of the best coaches in the league, and I'm very pleased he's going to be with us next year," Kohl said at the team's Cousins Center training facility. "It's true about John Hammond. It's an outstanding team, I believe. "This is a results kind of business we're in, and you measure at some point, we all do, we measure ourselves by our results. We were supposed to be in the playoffs. We didn't get there. We should still be playing. We're not still playing. "So if you want to know whether or not we're happy, no we're not happy. Why should we be happy? But we're planning for next year, and I think with this continuity and the ability of Scott and John, as well as the staff and our players, there's a lot to be enthusiastic about. "And it's on that basis that we're going forward." Kohl said "we're looking for good and great results and a long and happy relationship." Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel  Gery Woelfel: Kohl: "We want a real quality big man." In other words, someone like Andrew Bogut. Twitter Three NBA scouts from the Portland Trailblazers were rumoured to of visited Unicaja Malaga's training facility today to watch Joel Freeland. According to Malaga-based website www.diariosur.es - the scouts were also there to keep an eye on Augusto Lima and Alex Abrines but the main focus was the Great Britain international. Freeland's agent Rafa Calvo has also met with the forward today. He is still on the Portland Trailblazers books and are exploring their options at this time. Freeland has two years left on his contract with Malaga but that contract incudes an NBA-opt-out. TalkBasket Powerade, Petron and Meralco already named their respective reinforcements for their campaigns in the season-ending conference late this month. The Tigers are tapping a proven scorer and playmaker in former NBA player and North Carolina standout Rashad McCants. Manila Standard-Today KC Johnson: Carlos Boozer: "I would love to get the ball in the paint more, work a little more on pick-and-rolls. But the biggest thing is defense." Twitter Al Jefferson "Tim Duncan doing a great job fighting me off the block. He know his job is done if he gets me off my sweet spot, but to me anywhere spot can be my sweet spot. I don't mind catching it off the block but it will be easier both for myself and my teammates if I catch it lower." Sulia  “I’m always a big team guy, and I don’t know if that generated from me being super close to my family, my brothers and sisters,” said Smith. “But I’m always looking to try and put another guy onto my teammates, because I’m so unselfish. Me and Rondo had similarities in that way too. Nobody understands the bond that me and him have as friends and teammates.” Boston Herald No one except Rondo, anyway. “He was very supportive. It was crazy how we became so close,” said Rondo. “We complemented each other. We were always looking for each other, we were passionate about winning. Very competitive. We made each other better, I think. We would race in practice, and we played each other one-on-one. We were like brothers.” Boston Herald “Our basketball IQs are through the roof,” said Smith. “We understand each other, we know each other’s games. He’s just a good friend. We can talk about anything. But whenever we have conversations, they are definitely intellectual.” Boston Herald The New York Knicks traded for Carmelo Anthony because they thought he would lead them to a championship. But considering the way Anthony's teams have performed in the postseason, the Knicks would be lucky to even win a game. Anthony played his 50th career playoff game Saturday, a 100-67 massacre at the hands of the Miami Heat. Heading into Monday's Game 2, Anthony now owns a 16-34 career postseason record (.320)—the worst of any player who has appeared in that many postseason games since 1991-92. Wall Street Journal Terry made a comparison between how poorly the Mavs played in that series and how they played in Game 3. But he then added: "This will be a little different." "I think we come out with pride and play hard, and execute our game plan," Terry said. "We haven't done that in this series for 48 minutes. Hopefully Saturday night we can get that done. "This is what it's all about, can you fight through adverse situations, come together as a team and get it done? I believe we can. People say I'm crazy. Go see a doctor." Dallas Morning News  Adrian Wojnarowski: Atlanta's Josh Smith will not play in Game 3 against Boston tonight, league source tells Y! "Knee is just too ... http://m.tmi.me/ptBZE Twitter Mike Woodson telling reporters at Knicks practice that he believes Amare Stoudemire will play in Sunday's Game 4 against the Heat. Can't wait for those pregame introductions. Sulia "It's still doubtful," Stoudemire said after working out with padding and a large bandage on his left hand. "(I've) still got to make sure the reaction off today's practice is not severe. We'll see how I feel tomorrow, and even after tomorrow. ... So I'm gonna be doubtful probably until up to game time." If Stoudemire can get through the next two days of practice without any setbacks, he wants to take the court Sunday. The Heat have a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. "I'll wait and see how the reaction is after work today. So we'll see tomorrow how it feels. If it feels great tomorrow, then I'll practice again tomorrow and then we'll see for Sunday," he said. ESPN.com Emiliano Carchia: After six years, Walter Hermann was called by the Argentinean National Team and he will play a couple of friendly games in May Twitter Paul Silas was quietly relieved of duties this week. Who are your best bets to take over that train wreck? Well, Silas' son, Stephen, is on the list. But that wouldn't be a very inspiring choice for a franchise that badly needs a big name and proven coach to stabilize a dreadful situation. CBSSports.com Of the two unemployed Team USA assistants, Nate McMillan and Mike D'Antoni, McMillan certainly makes the most sense. I see D'Antoni as a better fit in Washington, where he'd have the point guard he needs to run his system (John Wall) and a legit pick-and-roll big man in Nene -- plus a young, athletic roster. The brief working relationship that Charlotte executive Rich Cho and McMillan had in Portland shouldn't be discounted. But let's face it: The Bobcats job is not very attractive, depending on how the draft lottery works out. Short of landing No. 1 pick Anthony Davis, it's hard to envision the Bobcats being able to attract a proven winner to a franchise that has taken rebuilding to new depths. CBSSports.com When I asked Brown at the end of the regular season whether he would have voted for himself for Coach of the Year, his answer said everything about the way he has made this thing work -- by not making it about him. "No, I think we have some guys who are capable of winning some awards, being on the All-Defensive team," he said. "I think Kobe should definitely be in the mentioning for MVP, because we've had a lot of transition here, and if you think about the teams that are in front of us, there's no other team that had as much change as we had. You're talking about a shortened season -- no practice, no training camp -- and the expectations that are placed on this team. "With the help that I've gotten from the staff, with the help I've gotten from the team, especially the captains and Kobe and Pau, it's made the transition easier for me. I think overall we've done a solid job this year, with all the changes." SI.com Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings wants another important part of his Los Angeles hometown to be with him at all times. The Compton native tweeted a pic of his latest arm tattoo – the logo for LA’s famous Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles. EURweb.com You might think this callous right about now, in the short period after the news broke that Adam Yauch — better known to millions as MCA, one-third of the Beastie Boys — died Friday at the age of 47. I can understand that, but in all honesty, it's not clickbait; it's just sort of working it out. What you see above is an archived video of an event streamed on the Internet last year, when the Beastie Boys debuted their most recent album, "Hot Sauce Committee Part Two," at center court of an emptied Madison Square Garden, just hours after a blowout loss to the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2011 NBA playoffs. The headline on Y! brother site The Amplifier read, "Beastie Boys Outplay the Knicks at Madison Square Garden." Whether or not you like the record, that basically couldn't have been wrong, if you watched the Knicks' home games last postseason. Let's listen to it, together, and remember not only the art that Yauch made while he was alive, but the way it interacted with and was informed by his love of the game we love. Yahoo! Sports Howard Beck: Sad, stunning news about Adam Yauch. Met him at the NBA draft a few years ago. Big hoops fan. Couldn't have been nicer. RIP. Twitter In a way, Phil Mushnick's aside about Jay-Z's influence on the Brooklyn Nets is almost too stupid to be racist. I honestly don't think Mushnick has some sort of deep-seated enmity for African-Americans when he "points out" (?) that the rapper and Nets co-owner should rename the team after some of the nastier and more derogatory terms Jay-Z has used in his songs. I just think Mushnick, the longtime New York Post columnist, was just being a moron. An inexcusable, potentially fire-worthy moron. Look at this quote from Friday's column: As long as the Nets are allowing Jay-Z to call their marketing shots — what a shock that he chose black and white as the new team colors to stress, as the Nets explained, their new "urban" home — why not have him apply the full Jay-Z treatment? Why the Brooklyn Nets when they can be the New York N------s? The cheerleaders could be the Brooklyn B----hes or Hoes. Team logo? A 9 mm with hollow-tip shell casings strewn beneath. Wanna be Jay-Z hip? Then go all the way! Yahoo! Sports |
|
» Update: 10:53 AM ET |
 Jackson isn’t enthralled with the Knicks' roster, a source who talks to him said, but that doesn’t mean he’d completely rule out the job. New York matters to him, and, so does money, the kind of money only the desperation of Dolan could dole out. Yes, Kentucky’s John Calipari will listen should the Knicks come calling with $8 million or $9 million a year, but New York doesn’t need Cal’s insecurities and frailties taking over the Garden. He’s a great college coach, but commanding the respect of teenagers and decidedly different pros have little in common. There’s no correlation getting big-time talented college kids to play together and keeping ‘Melo from telling you to “Bleep off,” when you challenge him. Yahoo! Sports The end of this inevitable Eastern Conference playoff sweep on Sunday promises the beginning of a most inevitable pursuit: Dolan chasing his next savior, Phil Jackson. Along the way, Dolan ought to forget selling Jackson on his New York Knicks nostalgia and sentiment, on the joys of coaching Anthony. Jackson knows his own history here, and knows he never would’ve won a solitary title with the Lakers and Bulls had ‘Melo been one of his cornerstones. Dolan doesn’t need to come with the elaborate recruiting presentation that he did for James for a simple reason: Above everything else, this is a cash deal. No salary cap, no limits. Yahoo! Sports In so many ways, this simplifies everything for Dolan. Madison Square Garden management gets to play to the boss’ strength, perhaps his greatest gift as a sport owner: overspending. Jackson has 13 championship rings – 11 as a coach and two as a Knicks player – and Dolan could need to pay him $1 million a year for every one of those titles. The Knicks aren’t chasing a coach, but a max-salary star with no max-salary restrictions. Three years, $40 million-plus ought to do it. Yahoo! Sports  Andrei Kirilenko denied rumors that he has agreed to a three-year deal with the Brooklyn Nets, calling them "not true" and "nonsense", but adding "The situation may change at any moment." NetsDaily On Thursday, Russia's Sport-Express asked AK-47 about the rumors, first reported by Wendell Maxey on Crossover Chronicles. "It's not true. I have no one to negotiate," said Kirilenko. "The fact that there was ... this is nonsense. The situation may change at any moment, but so far it's just unsubstantiated rumors." NetsDaily  Paul Coro: Sarver to KTAR-AM on whether Nash will remain a Sun: "If the situation's right, both parties would like to continue working together." Twitter Dot (Oakland Twp., Mich.): What’s the deal with Kyle Singler? Is he still a part of the team and, if so, will he come back next season? Langlois: The Pistons still own Singler’s NBA draft rights. The expectation is that he will be a part of the team’s summer league entry in Orlando this July. After that, it’s a matter of negotiating a contract for him. It appears Singler is very much open to playi NBA.com Mets de Guaynabo made official the signing of former NBA forward Joey Graham. Graham replaces James Maye in the roster of the Puerto Rican team. The forward has played 377 games in the NBA averaging 5.9ppg and 2.8rpg and in 2010 -11 for 39 games he wore the jersey of the Cavaliers (5.2ppg and 2.2rpg). Graham has played 12 games with the Erie BayHawks in the current year scoring 19.3ppg and adding 6.5rpg. Sportando  Brian Schmitz: BREAKING: Ryan Anderson to be named Most Improved Player Twitter The Knicks played without Amar’e Stoudemire, Iman Shumpert and Jeremy Lin. As it turns out, they also played without Carmelo Anthony. Anthony said before the game he had to be “great’’ and instead he became a great no-show. Before a fired-up Garden crowd that never quit being loud until the final six minutes, the Knicks fought for most of three quarters but fell apart in the fourth as Anthony disintegrated and failed to lead a depleted roster to a big upset. With Anthony’s wire-to- wire dud performance highlighting a sickly offense that shot 31.9 percent, the Knicks set the NBA record with their 13th straight playoff loss. Their last playoff victory came April 29, 2001, when LeBron James was a high school sophomore in Akron. New York Post Melo started hearing groans late in the fourth after one of his missed jumpers as the Garden wonders where its superstar hid his greatness. “We’re not moping around, hanging our heads,’’ said Anthony, who is shooting 34.4 percent in the series. “I won’t let them do that.’’ Several Knicks cleared out of the locker room quickly before reporters arrived — even typically accessible guys like Steve Novak and Landry Fields. “Offensively, we just didn’t have it,’’ said interim coach Mike Woodson, who has now lost six straight playoff games by double-digits dating to his days with the Hawks. “We were so stagnant. I have to take the blame for it.’’ New York Post Mike Woodson took some blame but not Carmelo Anthony. Actually Melo never does. "I think they just try to make it hard for me,'' Anthony said of Miami's defense spearheaded by Battier. "They beat me up as much as they can. They throw everything at you. You drive the lane and they make it hard for you.'' Sulia Mike Woodson on Carmelo Anthony's struggles: "They're loading up on him, they're doubling him and they're forcing him to take tough shots. We got to get other guys feeling comfortable about shooting the ball.'' Sulia  Sean Deveney: # Knicks G JR Smith: "My game isn’t really based on scoring. It’s based on getting the most plays for everybody else." Twitter Steve Novak had no points starting for Amar’e Stoudemire. The one three he made was waived off because of a Miami foul off the ball. Novak was 0-for-2 in 22 minutes. “They not leaving him,” Mike Woodson said. “I thought by him being out there it would at least open up our pick and roll, but they were really good in terms of showing on the pick and rolls and then supporting and getting back out to Novak when the ball was swung to him that he just didn’t have any looks.” Sulia  Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki said before the game that it was important to get off to a quick start. The Mavericks instead fell behind, 25-11, while showing obvious frustration with the officials and an inability to slow the Thunder. Both Nowitzki and Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle were whistled for technical fouls by referee Marc Davis. "Our goal was to obviously come out swinging with great energy, get the building going. We just couldn't get anything going offensively. "I thought we played two really solid games up in OKC, didn't find a way to steal one. Tonight we just picked a bad time to put a stinker out there." Dallas Morning News Diaw at 15 was tall and raw and the son of Elisabeth Riffiod, one of France's greatest female basketball players when he arrived at school. Parker, one month younger, was already a well-known entity in French hoop circles. "Everybody was talking about this 15-year-old kid who was playing in Paris," Diaw said. "I had already heard the stories. I wouldn't say he was a legend. But he was already above the pack back then." They became fast friends, the whippet-like guard who idolized Michael Jordan and the taller, stronger forward who grew up a fan of Magic Johnson. "I guess I patterned myself after Magic," Diaw said. "I was always going to be tall. I could see over everyone. I liked to pass. I guess you try to play like who you see. I guess it was subconscious. Really, I was just playing. That's what we all were doing -- just playing." NBA.com They were quite a pair. Parker practically burned rubber up and the down the court, while Diaw was always smoother than pate foie gras, cooler than the other side of the pillow. "Basketball came easy to him," Parker said. "He sees everything in advance."What Parker saw was a path to the NBA, where no French player had ever gone before then. "Everyone thought about playing one day in the NBA -- it was always out there," said Diaw. "But for Tony, there just wasn't any doubt in his mind. He was going to do it." NBA.com "When Pop said that Boris was in the starting five it felt like a dream," Parker said. "Growing up and going to high school together, both dreaming about the NBA, I never thought I would ever be in the starting five with him and with the Spurs, the best team in the NBA. "It's not every day you can play with one of your best friends on an NBA team and be starting and can be trying to win an NBA championship. It's a great experience and hopefully we can go very far this year. "Definitely, there are a lot of French journalists, a lot of stories about us. They have been following us for a long time, because we have been together on the national team for a long time." NBA.com Rondo was asked about the appreciation he showed to his teammates — he ran down the tunnel at Philips Arena and hugged Kevin Garnett — and whether he felt he let his teammates down by missing the game. “I didn’t feel like I needed to say thank you for getting this win,” Rondo replied. “We’re trying to get as many wins as possible. You know, they’ve won without me before, so it’s not the first game I’ve missed. I’ve missed (for) injuries and suspensions. It’s just a big win because this is the playoffs. You know, every win counts.” And about the letting them down thing? “No,” he told the TV reporter. “Do you feel like I let them down?” Boston Herald Two summers ago when Wallace, as the Grizzlies' general manager, was trying to lure then-free agent Allen from the Celtics, he called Cyprien, who happened to be on Josh Pastner's University of Memphis staff. "Glynn Cyprien is the guy who got Tony to sign with us," said Wallace, whose signing of Allen in July 2010 to a three-year, $9.7 million contract cemented the gritty style of play that has gotten the Grizzlies to the playoffs two consecutive seasons. Memphis Commercial Appeal The photo was posted late Wednesday, of Chris Bosh with a bag over his shoulder, a plane behind him and darkness all around. The caption? "Thank God for private flights. Hurry Home baby. :)" The Instagram message was from his wife, Adrienne, who was not expected to give birth until later in May. Jackson Bosh wouldn't wait, however. So, a few hours after landing in New York, Bosh returned to Miami. At 3 a.m. Thursday Jackson was born, Bosh's second child, and the first for the couple that wed last summer. Adrienne tweeted the good news, and the only question was whether Bosh - who missed three games earlier this season following the death of his grandmother - would make it back for Game 3 in New York. He did, arriving at Madison Square Garden roughly 30 minutes before tipoff, as Erik Spoelstra was addressing the team. "I barely made it," said Bosh, who slept from 6 to 10 a.m. in Miami, and then again on the flight back to New York. "But I made it." Palm Beach Post Lamar Odom: being the best basketball player i can possibly be will allow 2 become the next P.Diddy . i know whats fly! Dis the Year . ThecomeBackKid! Twitter Question: How does it feel to be widely considered the best dunker of all time? Vince Carter: “Oh man, I don't know. That's says a lot. I just think of all the players who've electrified the NBA for years. Dominique (Wilkins), M.J., Larry Nance, Kenny Walker. I mean, it's always a great feeling. But it's always a debate. Even with my friends I argue back and forth. Which dunkers were you a fan of? “I was a Dominique fan. I'm a Dr. J fan No. 1. But I studied the art of the dunk for so long. I still have VHS tapes of dunk contests from back in the day that I used to watch to understand the thinking behind every dunk that they were doing. That's how I approached it, like what was Dominique trying to get out of the two-hand windmill dunk? Was he just doing it to say, ‘Hey, I can do a two-hand windmill dunk?' Or was he showing technique? I'm more into the technical side. I feel like you understand more about the move that he was trying to do. You have more of an appreciation for it.” Oklahoman Marc J. Spears: Hawks F Josh Smith will test sprained left knee out during shoot around Friday in Boston to determine if he play in Game 3, source tells Y!. Twitter If Amar’e Stoudemire is playing in Game 4, that’s news to Mike Woodson. Stoudemire, who missed Game 3 with a lacerated left hand, had said on Wednesday that there was a “great” chance he’d be ready to rejoin the Knicks on Sunday. “That’s going to be a doctor’s decision,” Woodson said on Thursday. “He just had his hand worked on. Nobody has come to me and said anything about him playing Sunday.” Stoudemire had surgery on Tuesday after cutting his non-shooting hand when he punched a glass door that protects a fire extinguisher in Miami following the Knicks’ Game 2 loss to the Heat Monday night. New York Daily News Mike Woodson isn’t expecting Amar’e Stoudemire to return for Game 4 after needing a procedure on his left hand for hitting a fire extinguisher. “That’s going to be a doctor’s decision,” Woodson said. “He just had his hand worked on. Nobody has come to me and said anything about him playing Sunday.” Sulia Lin, a restricted free agent, said he doesn’t think “the timing’’ is good for his return for Sunday, because he still needs more scrimmages and more confidence his left knee will hold up. “I haven’t been able to jump or explode or drive by somebody the way I want to, so it’s going to be longer than that,” Lin said before the Knicks’ 87-70 loss to the Heat in Game 3. New York Post Milwaukee Bucks forward Carlos Delfino underwent surgery to repair a sports hernia Thursday and will not be able to return to on-court basketball activities for six to eight weeks, the Bucks announced. The sports hernia was related to the right groin injury Delfino suffered in a game March 26 at New York. The surgery was performed by William Meyers in Philadelphia. Delfino was hampered at the end of the season by the right groin injury and missed 10 games, including the last four. He played in 54 games (53 starts) and averaged 9.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Matt Barnes returned to an empty arena. It was 11:15 p.m., about an hour after the Lakers' 104-100 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night, and there was Barnes back on the court doing something he had struggled with all night: shooting. Barnes has made only two of his 11 shots in the two playoff games, going 0 for 7 from three-point range. Though he described his sprained right ankle as only 75%-78% recovered, Barnes worked out with Lakers development coach Phil Handy, taking a wide range of jumpers from the baseline, the elbows at the top of the lane and from three-point range. Los Angeles Times  Although New Orleans Hornets guard Eric Gordon missed 55 games due to knee and back injuries this season, he made the pool of finalists for the United States Olympic men's basketball team that was announced on Thursday. When asked about the possibility of playing for the Olympic team last week, Gordon said he's interested but hadn't thought about it much. Gordon said he plans to take a month off before resuming workouts. New Orleans Times-Picayune Lamar Odom: puffs designs name is Sean John. i want the people 2 pick mine! Joseph LaMar or Joseph London. miss that Court ! Olympics here we come USA! Twitter  Chris Tomasson: Jerry Colangelo said the additions of Anthony Davis and James Harden today complete the list of Olympic finalists. No one else will be added Twitter Chris Tomasson: Jerry Colangelo said members of the Select Team that are confirmed are Kyrie Irving, John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins. Twitter Chris Tomasson: Colangelo said Greg Monroe in mix for Select Team but nothing is assured with him of yet. Colengelo said has 18 names will cut to 15. Twitter  On a day USA Basketball added Oklahoma City guard James Harden and University of Kentucky center Anthony Davis to an injury-depleted group of Olympic finalists, Colangelo told FOX Sports Florida on Thursday he's optimistic the deadline for when the final 12-man roster is named will be pushed back to as late as the second week in July. Players will meet in Las Vegas for a camp July 5-12. "We're requesting additional time, and I think it will be honored, sometime in the middle of that week (of the camp)," said Colangelo, who initially had believed the latest the team could be named would be June 18, more than a month before the Olympics start July 27 in London. "We want as much time as we can in order to select the team, with all the injuries etc., and the (NBA) Finals don't end until (as late as June 26)." FOXSports Florida Asked why he's so optimistic about the deadline being extended, Colangelo said from his Phoenix office, "A wind blew down from Colorado Springs (home of USA Basketball and the US Olympic Committee) that said they're thinking very positively" of that. FOXSports Florida  Former roommates 25 years ago with the Albany Patroons of the CBA, Brooks and Carlisle are longtime friends, but got into a war of words after Game 1 concerning the physicality of play in their playoff series. When he spotted Carlisle walking toward him roughly 30 feet away, Brooks playfully put up both fists in a boxer's pose, smiled and said, “OK, let's end this right now.” Carlisle smiled back. The former roomies shared a brief hug and wished each other luck. Oklahoman Bill Ingram: Absolutely no truth to Steve Kerr taking GM job in Portland ... he tells HOOPSWORLD he's very happy doing what he's doing now. Twitter A Charlotte sports-marketing executive paused when asked this week how he would try to convince fans and sponsors to buy into the Bobcats. After an excruciating silence — which offered the chance to ponder the team’s cratering attendance, the worst winning percentage in NBA history and the dismissal of a head coach for the second time in the past two seasons — he said, “Pass.” Business News Marc Berman: Great cast of celebs tonight led by Kate Upton but for some reason LeBron's and Carmelo's agent, Leon Rose, heads the list given to media. Twitter The Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars apparel shop inside the American Airlines Center features its own Lamar Odom rack, complete with what has to be around 75 replica jerseys and some other stuff. The sign above the rack reads, "All Odom gear 50 percent off." Doesn't matter. According to the saleswoman working in the store, "We can't give this stuff away" she said. Fort Worth Star-Telegram NBPA certified basketball agent Brian Samuels has been a busy man as of late. He recently signed Fairfield University forward Rakim Sanders and the Sacramento Kings’ Hassan Whiteside to representation agreements. Samuels and his company, Evolution Management + Marketing, have also begun marketing efforts for two-time Super Bowl MVP Terry Bradshaw and 2011 NBA Draft pick Enes Kanter. businessinsider.com The newest addition for Samuels is Florida International University (FIU) forward Dominique Ferguson. Ferguson was a highly touted recruit coming out of high school, and it was somewhat of a shocker that he decided to enroll at FIU, which is far from a basketball powerhouse. That said, Isiah Thomas was the head coach, and he brought a lot of clout with him to the program. Since then, Thomas has been dismissed from FIU and Ferguson attempted to transfer to be closer to his family. The request and subsequent appeal were denied. businessinsider.com One that ought to be equally prominent is "No wagering on the teams or players you're covering." ESPN's Bill Simmons has just learned that latter lesson in a very public way. He has given back his ballot for the NBA's MVP award, because it was well known that he had bet on LeBron James to win. USA Today ESPN, which also doesn't seem overly concerned with the matter, felt compelled to issue yet another statement this week concerning an employee who likes to gamble. (Seems to be happening a lot lately.) Here was the word from on high: Bill (Simmons) had never received a ballot before and didn't find out he had one until two-thirds of the season had passed. By that time he had made multiple MVP bets, two of which he had discussed on podcasts. He ended up withdrawing his MVP vote to avoid the perception of any conflict. Deadspin.com The Pacers training staff wanted to make sure there were no other accidents involving fire extinguishers in Florida. With Indiana playing Game 3 of their opening-round series in Orlando on Wednesday night, team staff put masking tape and a “Please do not hit” tag on the fire extinguisher leading to the team’s locker room. New York Post  Cops rushed in to break up a heated late night exchange between several members of the Indiana Pacers and a pack of angry clubgoers in Orlando early this morning ... and the whole thing was caught on tape. TMZ obtained footage ... showing 7'1" Kyrylo Fesenko confronting a group of people outside of Club 23 around 2:45 AM. Sources at the scene tell us ... the whole thing began when one of the clubgoers angrily accused Kyrylo of "bumping into him" ... and then unleashed a flurry of verbal attacks at the NBA star. TMZ.com As Kyrylo tried to walk away from the situation ... the mob grew in numbers and the taunts became louder. That's when Kyrylo's teammate Danny Granger charged towards the clubgoers ... only to be restrained by some of his friends. Multiple bike cops peddled to the scene and diffused the situation ... with Granger and Kyrylo calmly walking away without further incident. TMZ.com A rep for the Pacers tells TMZ ... "Our players were provoked into a verbal confrontation and ended up walking away from the confrontation. To make something more out of this than what it was is ludicrous." TMZ.com |
|
Any rumor missing? E-mail us at |
Loading
Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Bobcats
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks
Denver Nuggets
Detroit Pistons
Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Team USA
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
FULL MENU
TUNE IN
CONTACT US
Got something to tell?
E-mail us at
hoopshype@hoopshype.com
© 2002-2013 HOOPSHYPE | Part of the USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties
Terms of Service | Privacy Notice | Ad Choices
No part of this website may be copied, transferred, or re-created without the express consent of HoopsHype.
HoopsHype reserves the right to take legal actions against anyone who does not respect its intellectual property rights.
Terms of Service | Privacy Notice | Ad Choices
No part of this website may be copied, transferred, or re-created without the express consent of HoopsHype.
HoopsHype reserves the right to take legal actions against anyone who does not respect its intellectual property rights.
