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Q. How were you introduced to basketball growing up in Iran? Hamed Haddadi. I was 14 or 15. I was playing soccer. Before that, I was playing handball. Because I was tall, I just stayed home. I didn't have shoes. I couldn't find big-sized shoes. My neighbor told me, "I play basketball. You want to come play?" I said, "Sure, why not?" Next day, I go to my town college with no shoes and a soccer jersey. Q. Did you play in socks or bare feet? Hamed Haddadi. In socks. Then I took my socks off. I tried my outside shoes. That was tough for me. After six months, I find the shoes. My uncle sent me shoes from Germany. Then I went to a camp in Tehran with a new coach, and he taught me all of basketball. USA Today Sports

Phoenix Suns, Hamed Haddadi, Iran 

Q. What did you think of Argo? A. I saw it in my hotel room. I was not there at that time. It's a movie. They're making people watch it. Bad or good. They don't want it to be a boring movie. To make people watch it, it's just a little fake. USA Today Sports

Phoenix Suns, Hamed Haddadi, Iran 

Francisco Elson is set to join Iranian basketball team Mahram, according to the team’s sporting director. The 37-year-old Dutch professional basketball player has played in NBA teams such as Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz from 2003. “He (Elson) will train with Mahram for 10 days and we will decide about signing him,” Hamid-Reza Samadzadeh said. MehrNews.com

Francisco Elson, Iran, Mahram 

Emiliano Carchia: Former NBA player Smush Parker signed in Iran with Petro and will play WABA with the team. Petro also signed Joseph Forte Twitter

Smush Parker, Iran 

Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace confirmed Thursday that the team withdrew its $2 million qualifying offer from Haddadi, a 7-footer who hails from Iran. The move makes Haddadi, 26, an unrestricted free agent. He can sign with any NBA team without the Griz having a right to match offers. The Grizzlies' decision was primarily based on finances as they are trying to remain comfortably below the league's $70 million luxury tax. It is possible that the Griz and Haddadi will negotiate a multi-year deal, paying between $1 and $1.5 million per season. Memphis Commercial Appeal

Memphis Grizzlies, Free Agency, Hamed Haddadi, Iran 

However, Haddadi's biggest obstacle isn't earning playing time. It's making his way back to the U.S. from Iran. He is in Dubai trying to finalize the immigration process, meaning Haddadi has missed every Griz practice since training camp began Dec. 9. Memphis Commercial Appeal

Memphis Grizzlies, Free Agency, Hamed Haddadi, Iran 

Memphis Grizzlies center Hamed Haddadi joined Melli Haffari basketball team on Tuesday. The Ahvaz-based basketball team signed Haddadi on a short-term contract for an undisclosed fee. Tehran Times

Memphis Grizzlies, Lockout, Hamed Haddadi, Iran 

Memphis Grizzlies center Hamed Haddadi is likely to join Mahram Basketball team, according to the reports released by the Iranian media on Sunday. Haddadi, who failed to inspire Iran to win its third successive championship in Asia in late September, is now negotiating with Mahram. Tehran Times

Memphis Grizzlies, Lockout, Hamed Haddadi, Iran 

Iran's players have turned on teammate Hamed Haddadi after some crucial mistakes by the Memphis Grizzlies centre in their shock quarter-final 88-84 loss to Jordan at the Asian Championships. A day after defeat denied Iran a berth at the London Olympics, the two-time reigning regional champs spoke to the media after taking out their frustrations with a 98-66 consolation-round drubbing of Taiwan. "Hamed is good but sometimes not all the big NBA players can play good, he missed some shots and had some bad passes," point guard Mahdi Kamrany said. "We are very disappointed, but that happens, that is basketball. The loss was very bad for my country, we just couldn't make it happen." google.com

Memphis Grizzlies, Hamed Haddadi, Iran 

Before Iran came crashing back to earth, the giant Haddadi had promised another regional crown for Iran and proclaimed himself the best centre in Asia after Chinese superstar Yao Ming retired in July. "We will be champions, our biggest opponent is China, but we can beat them," Chinese media widely quoted Haddadi as saying. His comments did not help Iran's cause, said forward Samad Bahrami. "The media, the reporters, they helped Iran lose, they keep saying 'you are the best, you are the best', we had too much pressure," Bahrami told AFP. google.com

Memphis Grizzlies, Hamed Haddadi, Iran 

Iran's players have turned on teammate Hamed Haddadi after some crucial mistakes by the Memphis Grizzlies centre in their shock quarter-final 88-84 loss to Jordan at the Asian Championships. A day after defeat denied Iran a berth at the London Olympics, the two-time reigning regional champs spoke to the media after taking out their frustrations with a 98-66 consolation-round drubbing of Taiwan. google.com

Memphis Grizzlies, FIBA, Hamed Haddadi, Iran 

"Hamed is good but sometimes not all the big NBA players can play good, he missed some shots and had some bad passes," point guard Mahdi Kamrany said. "We are very disappointed, but that happens, that is basketball. The loss was very bad for my country, we just couldn't make it happen." google.com

Memphis Grizzlies, FIBA, Hamed Haddadi, Iran 

"We will be champions, our biggest opponent is China, but we can beat them," Chinese media widely quoted Haddadi as saying. His comments did not help Iran's cause, said forward Samad Bahrami. "The media, the reporters, they helped Iran lose, they keep saying 'you are the best, you are the best', we had too much pressure," Bahrami told AFP. "The best player in Asia is the player that wins the championship, you cannot say that one player is the best in Asia when his team finishes sixth or seventh. "Hamed is a very good player, but we should find the best player in the final." google.com

Memphis Grizzlies, FIBA, Hamed Haddadi, Iran 

Leave it to Memphis Grizzlies center Hamed Haddadi to at give us some finely-tuned choreography to help us through the NBA's current lockout. The Iran native helped lead his team to a third-straight Williams Jones Cup title on Monday, and his teammates decided to celebrate in a way that was more fitting of Sheboygan, Wisconsin than Iran's finest alleys. And we dig it. From Haddadi's Twitter account, here's the celebration. Yahoo! Sports

Memphis Grizzlies, Hamed Haddadi, Iran 

Hamed Haddadi played the entire 40 minutes, poured in a massive 36 points, collected an impressive 18 rebounds and effected an imposing 7 blocks as Iran completed a three- peat beating Korea 66-59 in the final of the William Jones Cup on Sunday. Iran powered ahead 20-15 in the first quarter, with Haddadi scoring 11 of them, and never looked back exacting revenge for the 59-77 defeat they had suffered in the Preliminaries here. FIBA Asia

Memphis Grizzlies, Hamed Haddadi, Iran 

Big signing for Iranian team Mahram which landed former NBA player Cheikh Samb. The big man has played last season just one game with Real Madrid but has experiences in NBA with Pistons, Nuggets and Knicks. Samb was also selected as 11th overall pick by Sioux Falls SkyForce at the last NBDL draft. Sportando

Iran, Cheikh Samb 

China may have the homecourt advantage but Iran is just as determined to retain its Asian Games basketball crown. That’s because Iran is tapping the services of NBA player Hamed Haddadi to beef up its rooster. According to Smart-Gilas Pilipinas Serbian mentor Rajko Toroman, Mahmoud Mashhoun, president of the Iran Basketball Federation has travelled to the United States recently reportedly to ask Haddadi’s team in the NBA – the Memphis Grizzlies – to allow the 7-foot-2 center to play in the Guangzhou Asian Games which starts tomorrow. “Maybe they made some agreement,” said Toroman, who left with the team for Guangzhou last Tuesday. “I don’t have any other information but Haddadi is not in the line up of the Grizzlies the last two games.” Manila Bulletin

Memphis Grizzlies, Hamed Haddadi, Iran 

Iranian basketball player Arsalan Kazemi said he is interested in joining an NBA team soon. Iran Sports Press

Free Agency, Iran, Arsalan Kazemi 

The United States team tried to keep the focus on the floor, with Krzyzewski saying he had played in Iran in the 1970s with an Armed Forces team and had great respect for the country. Krzyzewski was answering a question about turnovers in the postgame news conference when he noticed Iran Coach Veselin Matic to his left nodding in agreement. “That’s the first level of diplomacy,” Krzyzewski said, joking. “That’s one thing we’re in agreement with.” New York Times

USA Basketball, Mike Krzyzewski, Iran 

In the political arena, Iran versus the United States is a matchup that gets attention. In a basketball arena, that wasn’t the case on Wednesday. “For me, it’s a normal game,” said Mahdi Kamrany, Iran’s captain for the world championships in Turkey. The United States won easily, 88-51, in Istanbul to earn a top seed in the knockout round in the first meeting between two countries with a history of contentious relations. New York Times

USA Basketball, Iran