HoopsHype.com Rumors

Four days after wondering if he could “do the grind all over again,” Kidd announced his retirement yesterday, ending a 19-year NBA career that will land the point guard in the Hall of Fame. “He told me recently he wanted to leave the game when he still enjoyed it,” a Kidd confidant told The Post. “It was the hardest year he’s had mentally and physically, especially the second half of the season. You can tell he was tired. No specific injury. Just harder to keep his body in shape.’’ New York Post

New York Knicks, Jason Kidd, Hall of Fame 

Mike Woodson gave strong indications he will stick with the same rotation for tomorrow's do-or-die Game 6 that didn’t include Jason Kidd in the second half but the Knicks coach still supported the future Hall of Famer who appears to be running on fumes. New York Post

New York Knicks, Mike Woodson, Jason Kidd, Hall of Fame 

Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson is scheduled to arrive in the Detroit area today and begin consulting the Pistons on their coaching search, a source with knowledge of the situation told the Free Press this morning. But the source reiterated that Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars is “running the show,” and Jackson will be here strictly to assist Dumars. Detroit Free Press

Detroit Pistons, Phil Jackson, Coaching, Hall of Fame 

Lakers Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor will be auctioning off memorabilia, awards and personal items on May 31 with the help of Julien's Auctions. Baylor, whose No. 22 jersey is retired at Staples Center, is making available his 1959 All-Star Game MVP Trophy, his 1971-72 championship ring and a number of rare items accumulated over his legendary career. "I worked and played as hard as I possibly could. My college coach said just give it your best effort and then you can feel good about what you've done," Baylor told Michael Mink of Investor's Business Daily. "I was always competitive. I always wanted to win regardless of what I was doing. I would just keep going until I wore my opponent out. That was my approach," the 6-foot-5 former forward said. Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Lakers, Hall of Fame, Elgin Baylor, Merchandising 

Despite the never-ending list of gaudy statistics he's compiled during his surefire Hall of Fame career, Knicks guard Jason Kidd is routinely credited for his on-court smarts before his God-given talent. "His mind is brilliant," teammate Tyson Chandler said of Kidd recently. "Hopefully we can freeze it, or something like that. Leave it for the next generation." Wall Street Journal

New York Knicks, Jason Kidd, Hall of Fame 

Haywood's exclusion for another year looks even more assailable when his groundbreaker past and superior playing accomplishments are cast against the Hall's non-transparent selection process, one of the most secretive in American sports. Neither the voters nor even vote totals are announced. "Is it a mystery? A conspiracy? Ahh, I don't know," the 63-year-old Haywood said Tuesday, shortly after his flight from Atlanta touched down in his current hometown of Las Vegas. "I've been told not to talk to the press or anything, it will mess up my future Hall of Fame chances, blah, blah, blah. But I don't believe in muzzling myself … I'm just tired of being the person that fights battles." Laughing a little resignedly, he added, "I just want to be like a hippie in the Sixties now. Peace and love." ESPN.com

Hall of Fame, Spencer Haywood 

So how could there still be confusion on Haywood's part by Friday when he should've gotten the bad news Wednesday? "Ask him," says Ross. "I don't know -- I can't be a private eye, running my mouth or running around, trying to figure out what happened," Haywood says. "I don't think the Hall needs banged on the head anymore … For a while last week, I was on top of the world, and the next day my pockets were dragging on the ground. It was embarrassing. Then I ran into Gary Payton and some of the guys at Friedman's Shoes in Atlanta [a longtime destination for basketball players], and I felt that all this controversy took something away from their journey. I felt like a heel in a way, you know?" ESPN.com

Hall of Fame, Spencer Haywood 

"John Doleva and I spoke a little after it was all said and done, and he was consoling me pretty good," Haywood says. "It will happen. I have faith in the Hall that they will do the right thing. I really do. It's just that …" Just that what? "When they say 'You gotta wait, you gotta wait' -- hell, I have waited. Since 1988," Haywood says. "And the pain is a mother. I don't want to give anyone an excuse to say, 'Hey, let's really [work] him over now.' But how long do I wait? How long?" ESPN.com

Hall of Fame, Spencer Haywood 

Stackhouse looked up to James Worthy, who had starred at the University of North Carolina and went on to have a Hall of Fame career with the Los Angeles Lakers from 1982-94. Worthy wore No. 42 in the NBA. “I wore that number way back in junior high school because I was a really big James Worthy fan when he was with the Lakers,’’ said Stackhouse, a Kinston, N.C., native who would go on to don that number while also starring for the Tar Heels. “It was only later that I learned more about Jackie and his story.’’ FOXSports Florida

Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets, Jerry Stackhouse, Hall of Fame, James Worthy 

When Worthy starred at North Carolina from 1979-82, he wore No. 52. But the forward knew that after being taken by the Lakers with the No. 1 pick in the 1982 draft he wouldn’t be donning that number anymore. “I had worn No. 52 since high school and when I got to Los Angeles Hall of Famer Jamaal Wilkes had it,’’ Worthy said of the Lakers forward who was inducted into the Hall last year, nine years after Worthy had been enshrined. “I was talking to my dad and I said, ‘You know, 52 is out of the question,’ and I thought about 50 or 51.’’ FOXSports Florida

Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets, Jerry Stackhouse, Hall of Fame, Jamaal Wilkes 

Gary Payton, the first Heat player to make the Hall of Fame, hopes Alonzo Mourning can join him in Hall next yeaer. “I think there’s a great chance,’’ Payton said in a phone interview Wednesday with FOX Sports Florida. “I think it can happen and I think it should happen. He’s got great stats and he came back from the kidneys and stuff (a kidney disease that derailed Mourning’s career). I think he’ll be there, for sure.’’ Sulia

Miami Heat, Gary Payton, Alonzo Mourning, Hall of Fame 

Pitino, who was preparing to lead Louisville in the NCAA championship game against Michigan Monday night at the Georgia Dome, became eligible two years ago. For King and Guerin, the recognition was regarded by many as long overdue. "This was not on my radar, so it came as a little bit of a surprise," said King, 56, a Knick from 1982-87. "I'm just deeply honored to know I'm going to be included in the Hall among the all-time greats. I'm delighted and moved." Guerin, 80, said he is glad it happened "before I go to the other side of the grass." Guerin, a Knick from 1956-63 before going to the Hawks as a player-coach, was chosen by the Veterans Committee. "It's very special," he said. "You always dream that someday it might happen. As it got further and further along, you started to doubt it that much more." Newsday

Coaching, Hall of Fame, Rick Pitino 

The players from the 1972-73 team were honored at Friday's Knicks game and will be recalled again Sunday when MSG replays Game 5 of the '73 Finals against the Lakers -- thanks to an unlikely story of discovery and recovery. (More on that later.) Frazier lamented that the 1973 Knicks had been somewhat overlooked compared with '70 "because of the hoopla with Willis [Reed] and the way he came out in Game 7, and we won it at home." When I asked which team was better, he said without hesitation it was 1973, a deeper, more versatile squad. One of the biggest reasons was sitting beside him: Earl Monroe. The occasion was a luncheon at Frazier's restaurant, Clyde Frazier's Wine & Dine, near the Garden at which the former backcourt mates watched parts of that title-clinching 102-93 victory at the Forum on May 10, 1973. Both men acknowledged it was a somewhat surreal experience to watch their far younger selves sometimes play less well than memory suggested, but well enough to dethrone the defending champs. Said Monroe: "When you think back on the game, you don't [remember] all the mistakes that were made . . . But the reason we won is we just had better players." Newsday

New York Knicks, Hall of Fame, Earl Monroe, Bernard King 

Jason Terry: Gotta say well deserved to my og the glove #HOF thanks for pavin the way town bizness Twitter @jasonterry31

Boston Celtics, Gary Payton, Hall of Fame, Jason Terry 

Mark Jackson: Congrats to Coach Pitino on getting into the Hall of Fame! Best Coach I ever had! All the Best 2night! Twitter @JacksonMark13

Coaching, Mark Jackson, Hall of Fame, Rick Pitino 

File this under the "It's About Time" category, but former Knicks' legend Bernard King was finally named to the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame. King, 56, played from 1982-87 with the Knicks. although his brilliant career was shortened by knee trouble. One of the elite small forwards of his era, King averaged 22.5 points per game in his career (26.5 points during his Knicks' tenure) -- including a career-high 32.9 points for the Knicks in the 1984-85 season. Newark Star-Ledger

New York Knicks, Hall of Fame, Bernard King 

Spencer Haywood will not be announced Monday as having been elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame, despite his former agent having told FOX Sports Florida on Friday he would be. Al Ross, who was Haywood’s agent in the early 1970s when he sued and won the right through the Supreme Court to enter the NBA as an underclassman, had said Friday that Haywood had told him he had been called and told he had made the Hall of Fame. However, Ross sent this email Saturday afternoon to FOX Sports Florida: “I just heard from Spencer that he has not been selected to the HOF after the NBA office contacted him to say that he was chosen,’’ Ross wrote about Haywood, who is a finalist for election. “This is a travesty, disgraceful and despicable. Whomever did not vote for him should be ashamed of themselves and be thrown off the committee. If Spencer asks me to follow up on his behalf I will get to every television and news media in the country and I will personally chastise the committee and it's (sic) members.’’ FOXSports Florida

Hall of Fame, Spencer Haywood 

Several generations of players owe thanks to Haywood for his courage to take on the NBA and pave the way for them to become multimillionaires earlier than they would have been entitled. But that courage has come with a price. Curt Flood, who had fought baseball for the right to play where he wanted to, told Haywood his life would be hell for doing what he did. Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, heard the case and told Haywood afterward that he would be ostracized. They may have been right. Haywood compiled a Hall of Fame-worthy resume during 14 NBA seasons — he averaged 20.3 points and 10.3 rebounds, was a two-time All-NBA first-team selection and a four-time NBA All-Star and won an NBA title in 1980. He also won an Olympic gold medal in 1968. Yet, he still has not taken the call from the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. “I’m still suffering,” said Haywood, who lives in Las Vegas and owns a construction business. “If you look at all the things I did on the court, I would have been in a long time ago. But the (Supreme) court fight is the reason I’m not in. But I believe this is going to be my time.” Las Vegas Review Journal

Hall of Fame, Spencer Haywood 

Haywood, 63, is one of 12 finalists, among them former UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian and fellow Las Vegas resident and former NBA star guard Gary Payton. Speaking at the Discovery Children’s Museum, where his company installed the flooring and tiles in the bathrooms, Haywood talked candidly about his life — a life that was never about taking the safe route. “It was that kind of time in American sports,” said Haywood, referring to the early 1970s, during which Flood challenged baseball’s reserve clause and boxing great Muhammad Ali fought for his right to refuse induction into the U.S. Army and not have to fight in Vietnam. “Here’s the thing — I wasn’t looking for trouble. I just wanted to earn a living playing basketball. So when Seattle signed me (in 1970), and the NBA said I couldn’t play, I was angry. I couldn’t provide for my family. So I did what I had to do.” Las Vegas Review Journal

Gary Payton, Hall of Fame, Spencer Haywood 

With the support of SuperSonics owner Sam Schulman, who had signed Haywood to a $1.5 million, six-year contract, and a sharp legal team headed by Pete Brown and Al Ross, Haywood sued. But when he tried to play, he was served an injunction just prior to tipoff, and he had to leave the arena. “The P.A. announcer would say to the crowd, ‘We have an illegal player on the Seattle roster,’ and that’s how I was introduced,” Haywood said. “Then I’d have to leave the building after they’d serve me with the injunction. I remember being in Cincinnati, and we were playing the Royals and I stood outside of Cincinnati Gardens in the snow waiting for the game to end so I could rejoin the team. I went through a lot of humiliation.” Las Vegas Review Journal

Hall of Fame, Spencer Haywood