NBA News

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Person, Snyder hired as Lakers assistants

EL SEGUNDO, California (AP)—Chuck Person and Quin Snyder have been hired by the Los Angeles Lakers as assistants to new coach Mike Brown.

They join John Kuester, the former Detroit Pistons head coach, on Brown’s staff.
Mike Brown, the new head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers , during his introductory news conference at the team's training facility on May 31, 2011 in El Segundo, California. Brown replaced Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who retired at the end of this season.

Person spent the last two seasons working with the Lakers under retired coach Phil Jackson. Previously, he spent two seasons each as an assistant with Sacramento and Indiana, where he played 13 years in the NBA.

Snyder spent last season as an assistant with Philadelphia. Previously, he coached the Austin Toros in the NBA D-League for three years. Snyder coached seven years at Missouri, where his tenure ended in NCAA violations that led to probation and off-the-court problems with players.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Aoi5twMo8Y0.xtltIfEd1Ri8vLYF?slug=ap-lakers-assistants

[MrHyeSev]

Re: NBA News

NBA lays off about 114 league employees

NEW YORK (AP)—The NBA laid off about 114 people over the last two days, planned cost-cutting moves that a league spokesman said Thursday are “not a direct result of the lockout.”

The laid off employees represent about 11 percent of the league office workforce in New York, New Jersey and internationally.

Spokesman Mike Bass told The Associated Press the layoffs are “not a direct result of the lockout but rather a response to the same underlying issue; that is, the league’s expenses far outpace our revenues.”

“The roughly 11 percent reduction in headcount from the league office is part of larger cost-cutting measures to reduce our costs by $50 million across all areas of our business,” Bass said.

The league said it lost $300 million this season after losing hundreds of millions in each previous year of the collective bargaining agreement that expired at the end of the day June 30.

Owners locked out the players after the sides remained far apart in their final proposals. Commissioner David Stern said at the time it was too early to think about how it could affect staff, but acknowledged that the league would “have to go back and look at everything now with our operations.”

But the reductions had already begun. The NBA and teams had trimmed staff by about 275 since October 2008, either through layoffs or by leaving positions vacant when employees departed.

The league has also cut administrative costs, travel and new technology. It consolidated offices in Europe and Asia, closing offices in Paris and Tokyo, and is shutting down the studio in Secaucus, N.J. where it annually holds the draft lottery. The NBA Store on 5th Ave. in New York has been closed, though the league has said it will reopen in another location.

Already at least two teams, Detroit and Charlotte, have cut staff since the work stoppage was announced exactly two weeks ago. Stern said that day a lockout “has a very large impact on a lot of people, many of whom or most of whom are not associated with either side.”

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=ArgLaQLHDyPmZ.ueyOCAbgS8vLYF?slug=ap-nbalayoffs

[MrHyeSev]

Re: NBA News

Lamar Odom was involved in a serious car accident in New York on July 14, when his driver hit a 15-year-old boy and a motorcyclist.




Odom was in Jamaica, Queens for his cousin's funeral when the driver of his car service struck the two victims. The basketball player was not injured, but was reportedly visibly upset about the accident.

"Thank you for your support and prayers!" Odom wrote on Twitter on Monday.

MediaTakeOut.com, who first reported the incident, said that the pedestrian and motorcyclist were seriously injured in the crash. Odom's wife, Khloe Kardashian was not in the vehicle.

"Khloe wasn't in the car. It was a driver, and Lamar was in the back seat," Kardashian's publicist told the New York Post.
Odom, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers and is the star of the TV realty show "Khloe & Lamar," married Khloe Kardashian in 2009 after dating for a month. The premiere of "Khloe & Lamar" was watched by an estimated 2.6 million viewers. The ratings were lower than those seen for the January debut of another "Kardashian" series, "Kourtney and Kim Take New York," which attracted 3 million viewers, the Hollywood Reporter said.

Kardashian and Odom, who married in 2009, had told OnTheRedCarpet.com earlier this month that cameras were not off-limits anywhere while filming their new reality show.

http://www.ontheredcarpet.com/Lamar-Odom-involved-in-a-near-fatal-car-accident--report-says/8257484&rss=rss-wabc-ent_story-8257484%27%20rel=%27nofollow

[MrHyeSev]

Re: NBA News

Bryant mulling offers to play in China

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant(notes) is engaged in far more substantive contract talks with teams in China than he is Turkish team Besiktas, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Besiktas coach Ergin Ataman tweeted Sunday that the team made an official offer to Bryant last week and plans to meet with Bryant’s agent in Los Angeles this week. However, a source close to Bryant said he hasn’t had conversations with the Turkish team in two weeks, and labeled Bryant’s chances of playing with Besiktas at “zero percent.”
Kobe Bryant recently returned from a three-week trip that included a stop in China.

Bryant, sources said, is still listening to offers to play overseas during the NBA’s lockout, and considers China a more likely option. He has exchanged proposals with Chinese teams, and one source said it’s unlikely Bryant would accept any deal that pays him less than $1.5 million per month. Bryant would be free to rejoin the Lakers as soon as the lockout ends.

Bryant, a source close to him said, also has become irritated with Besiktas officials making public proclamations on the status of talks with him.

Bryant was in Washington over the weekend to participate in a celebrity soccer game held by Mia Hamm and Nomar Garciaparra. He recently returned from a three-week trip in which he spent time in China as well as the Philippines where he played in two exhibition games.

Besiktas already has agreed on contract terms with New Jersey Nets point guard Deron Williams to play next season in Turkey until the lockout ends. Allen Iverson played for Besiktas last season, but an injury cut short his stay.

Bryant said during his recent trip to China that he would consider playing in China or Turkey during the lockout.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AoECcrQnNBOkCq1dgmb.xJ.8vLYF?slug=ys-kobe_bryant_china_073111

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Re: NBA News

Ex-NBA player arrested on drug charges in Arizona


PHOENIX (AP)—Authorities say a former NBA player is facing drug charges in western Arizona after he was arrested last week.

An Arizona Department of Public Safety officer pulled over 35-year-old Samaki Walker on Thursday near Kingman, the agency said Monday.

As the officer approached Walker’s car, he could smell marijuana, said agency spokesman Capt. Stephen Harrison. A search of the vehicle produced one gram of marijuana, 259 prescription pills and eight bottles of an unknown prescription, Harrison said.

Walker did not have a prescription for the drugs and the basketball player said some of them were steroids, Harrison alleged.

Officials are conducting tests on the substances to identify them.

It was unclear why Walker was in the area, Harrison said. Court records show he lives in Woodland Hills, Calif.

Walker was booked into Mohave County Jail and has been charged with destruction of evidence, possession of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and prescription drugs. He was released Friday evening after posting bail, according to the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office.

According to Kingman Justice Court records, Walker does not have yet have an attorney.

Walker played for the University of Louisville and was a first-round draft pick by Dallas in 1996, according to ESPN.com. He spent 10 years in the NBA, playing for San Antonio, Los Angeles and Miami.

Walker was a part of the 2001-2002 Los Angeles Lakers team that won the NBA championship.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Arrdp.0zHLdZBjGg6vn1B468vLYF?slug=ap-nbaplayer-drugcharges

[MrHyeSev]

Re: NBA News

LeBron: I’m ‘optimistic’ NBA season can be saved


AKRON, Ohio (AP)—LeBron James stood before 360 third-graders on Monday, telling them their futures are bright.

Plenty of ominous signs notwithstanding, he believes the same is true for the NBA.

In an interview with The Associated Press, the Miami Heat forward said he is not considering offers to play internationally during the NBA lockout—with one catch. He’s committed to the 2012 Olympics and trying to help the United States defend the gold medal he helped win at the Beijing Games.

“I’m optimistic that we will have a season this year,” James said. “Very optimistic.”

A little anxious, too.

He’s working out twice a day, trying to erase some of the sting that’s still there after the Heat lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA finals.

“Right now I’ve just been focusing on being a better player, working on my game every single day,” James said at a news conference before the AP interview. “Like I said, the Dallas Mavericks were a great team and they deserved to win that championship. And I’ll just use that as motivation coming into this season.”

He’s also trying to deliver on his vow to be even better whenever the Heat resume play, saying he’s been in Houston at times this offseason to learn post play from one of the game’s all-time greats, former Rockets star Hakeem Olajuwon.

“I look at what he was able to do throughout his career,” James said. “Unbelievable talent. Multiple champion. Just to see how he was able to dominate in the low post, for me as an individual, I just try to look at some of the things I feel I need to get better at and hit home at it. Our team becomes better if I continue to get better and that’s what it’s about.”

So even with signs of major trouble afoot in the NBA—union chief Billy Hunter told a conference of attorneys in Baltimore last week that he would bet against there being a 2011-12 season “at this moment”—James remains hopeful.

He said he understands why someone like star guard Deron Williams(notes) would feel compelled to seek a deal overseas and why Kobe Bryant(notes) appears to be flirting with the notion. It’s just not for him, he said.

“We all love the game of basketball so much,” James said. “And the love of the game is always going to be there. Guys love the game.”

The Olympics count as a motivating force as well. And in time, he hinted he may even try recruiting some of his NBA pals in an effort to convince them to play in London next summer.

Not yet, though.

“I love representing my country and doing it the way I love to do it and that’s playing the game of basketball,” James said. “So I would love to be a part of the 2012 team traveling to London and defending our gold medal.”

James was in his hometown Monday to open “Wheels for Education,” a program he’s doing in conjunction with corporate partners State Farm, HP and Nike to provide hundreds of third-graders from Akron Public Schools academic tools they need. The program will follow those kids through their high school graduations in 2021, and James wants the initiative to continue growing annually—plus even sees a chance to take it beyond his hometown, maybe to South Florida, maybe even internationally.

Doused by rain on his 2-mile bike ride through Akron with 22 children ambassadors for the program pedaling alongside him, James said it still resonates deeply within in when he hears screams of joy in his hometown. Some people carrying signs in support of James showed up at the event more than two hours beforehand, hoping just for a glimpse of the two-time NBA MVP.

“He just lives in Miami,” said Doris Thomas, who brought her grandson. “He’s one of us. He’s Akron.”

The kids all get a laptop, a backpack with school supplies, and a bike.

“I believe LeBron is a better person than he is a basketball player,” Akron Mayor Donald Plusquellic said. “And I believe he’s the best basketball player that ever lived. So that puts it in perspective, because he cares. He gives back. He doesn’t have to do this. Riding around the city street, taking a chance on falling or something, giving back here and having some jerk yell something like they yell at me … there’s a sincerity inside of him.”

Monday’s event was part of a busy two days for James: On Tuesday, a new $240,000 clubhouse—some of the $3 million generated from his `Decision’ show last summer—at Akron’s Boys & Girls Club will be named in his honor, and later that night James and four of his high school teammates will be added to the athletic Hall of Fame at their alma mater, St. Vincent-St. Mary High School.

“I’m just using what I have, using my ability, for better and good,” James said.

James touched on a variety of other topics in his interview with The AP, including:

— How he finds motivation to work, even with many people expecting the NBA season to be delayed, at least: “I believe that Billy Hunter and the owners and (NBA Commissioner) David Stern are going to work toward having a season this year. And I’ll be ready for it.”

— His upcoming trip to China, which starts later this week: “I look at it as an opportunity for me to go there and to continue to see the growth of the game of basketball. I’ve been there, I think this is going to be my fifth time being there and every year I continue to see the growth of the game and how inspired they are by the game of basketball. And mostly the game is played outdoors. That’s another thing that I hit home … when I grew up, that’s all we had.”

— How he is still overwhelmed by the reaction when he makes appearances in Akron and around the world, especially from kids: “It’s very humbling that not only I can get a great reception here in my hometown but also when I travel abroad I get the same reception. It was never like a dream of mine, but at the same time, it’s very satisfying to see that these kids love the way I play the game of basketball and respect the way I play the game of basketball every night.”

James seemed completely relaxed. He was surrounded Monday by nearly his entire inner circle: Longtime girlfriend Savannah Brinson, his mother, his two sons, many of his closest friends and advisors, even former teammates like Damon Jones(notes).

He urges fans to relax as well. James had a message for NBA fans, suggesting they not abandon hope for the season.

“Stay positive,” James said. “The game of basketball, we all love it. And we’re going to try everything in our power to make sure that this game stays at a high level. And for me personally, I do it because of the fans. Every night I go out on the basketball court, I try to showcase my talent at the highest level because of the fans. They are our league. Our fans are our league.”

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Aokhk55vvZpPZ_aiZAcQ9gq8vLYF?slug=ap-heat-jamesinterview

[MrHyeSev]

Re: NBA News

Delonte West is seeking out a hardware store job to outlast the lockout

Delonte West apparently wants to work at Home Depot during the NBA's current lockout. And whether this is a Twitter joke or a legitimate attempt to build up his bankroll one hour at a time, can you blame the guy?

The history of NBA players taking a gig on the side is long and unheralded. Some choose sneaker endorsements, because the sneaker companies choose them. Some, before the NBA really got off the ground, chose selling insurance in the 1950s and 1960s during the offseason. Former scrub Reggie Harding (who famously yelled "come on, man. It ain't me!" when a liquor store clerk recognized his 7-foot frame) held up businesses with a gun and a ski mask. On the flip side, Mark West became a licensed broker years before his NBA career ended.

Then there's Ron Artest, who famously applied for a summertime gig at Circuit City -- back when there was a Circuit City -- to take in the company's 15 percent employee discount. The Bulls quickly put the kibosh on that second job attempt once they found out what was going on.

West? A free agent in a lockout that possibly might not end for another 14 months? This might run a little deeper. Via his Twitter account.

Delonte swears he's on the up and up about working at Home Depot:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Delonte-West-is-seeking-out-a-hardware-store-job?urn=nba-wp7562

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Re: NBA News

Report: NBA to cancel training camps, some preseason games

NEW YORK (AP) -- No labor deal, no training camps and no telling what else the NBA could lose.

The lockout is about to start inflicting damage on the preseason schedule -- and neither players nor owners can say what will happen to the real games.

The league will cancel training camps and some exhibition games Friday after failing to reach a new collective bargaining agreement with its players, a person with knowledge of the plans told The Associated Press on Thursday on condition of anonymity because the league had yet to announce its plans.

Training camps were expected to begin Oct. 3, and the exhibition openers were set for Oct. 9.

But the cancelations, first reported by Yahoo Sports, became unavoidable after another meeting between players and owners Thursday failed to end the lockout, which began July 1.

While providing no details of the meeting, Commissioner David Stern acknowledged that "the calendar is not our friend" when it comes to keeping the season intact.

Stern said he had "no announcement to make today" regarding any postponements or cancelations, but they became a certainty with no breakthrough Thursday. Talks are not expected to resume until next week.

The league is at about the same point as when it postponed camps in 1998, the only time it lost games to a work stoppage. The decision then came on Sept. 24 for camps that were set to begin Oct. 5.

The regular season is scheduled to open Nov. 1, with the NBA champion Dallas Mavericks hosting the Chicago Bulls in the first game. Though both sides repeatedly have said there is still time for a deal that would leave the regular season unaffected, neither would say so Thursday - with union president Derek Fisher of the Lakers using nearly the same words as Stern about the coming weeks.

"I don't have control of that part of it, that would be more of a Commissioner Stern, Adam Silver question in terms of logistics of starting the season on time," Fisher said. "I'm not going to try and make a guess on that one. The calendar's obviously not our friend, but we're not going to give up on the process because of the time."

Asked again if he thought things were far enough along to still believe in a Nov. 1 start, Stern said: "I don't have any response to that. I just don't. I don't know the answer."

Stern celebrated his 69th birthday Thursday but didn't appear in a festive mood after meeting for about five hours with leaders from the union. He was joined by Silver, the deputy commissioner, Spurs owner Peter Holt, who leads the labor relations committee, and NBA senior vice president and deputy general counsel Dan Rube. Fisher, executive director Billy Hunter, attorney Ron Klempner and economist Kevin Murphy represented the union.

Those small groups had good talks in recent weeks, but things went poorly last Tuesday when they were rejoined by their full committees. Hunter said after that meeting that players planned to make a "significant" financial concession, only to find that owners refused to agree to their condition of leaving the current salary cap system as is.

Fisher said he didn't believe Thursday's talks, following a small meeting Wednesday that included Silver and staff members from both sides, moved the situation beyond where it was last week.

Stern said the owners' labor relations committee would talk Friday, and both sides said they hoped to meet again next week.

"We'll keep working at it until we figure this thing out, but right now there isn't anything to really report or say," Fisher said. "I don't have any answers to any questions, other than we'll keep working until we find some solutions."

http://www.nba.com/2011/news//09/22/labor-update.ap/index.html

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NBA on brink of canceling start of season

NEW YORK – As labor negotiations between NBA players and owners once again reached an impasse, commissioner David Stern said the league will cancel the first two weeks of the 2011-12 regular season if a deal is not reached by the start of next week.

Stern announced the cancellation of the remaining two weeks of the preseason and set Monday as the deadline to save the Nov. 1 start of the regular season. The league and players union don’t have another negotiating session scheduled after talks broke down Tuesday.

There were moments in Tuesday’s negotiations when a deal appeared to be within reach. Now, the question is: How long until the two sides can get that close again?
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“We’d like to not miss the first two weeks of the season, but it doesn’t look good,” Stern said.

After Players Association president Derek Fisher(notes) declared Tuesday’s meeting “huge” in determining whether the regular season would start on time, union and league officials couldn’t narrow the economic gap between them enough to close an agreement.

“We find ourselves where we expected to be: a lockout that may jeopardize a part, or our whole season,” Fisher said after the four-hour session at a Times Square hotel.

Fisher said the players have agreed to reduce their share of the league’s basketball-related income from 57 percent in the previous collective bargaining agreement to 53. Union executive director Billy Hunter said the owners’ latest proposal had the players receiving 47 percent of the BRI, but Stern said the two sides discussed a 50-50 revenue split – “a concept, not an offer,” Stern said – that the players didn’t accept.

CBSSports.com reported that Stern proposed a split that would have guaranteed the players no worse than 49 percent with a cap of 51 percent. The owners were reportedly prepared to sign off on the offer when the players proposed a deal that would have guaranteed them a minimum of 51 percent with a cap of 53. The league, CBSSports.com reported, rejected that offer.

In spite of all the rhetoric, the midpoints of the two offers indicates the gap between the two sides is just two BRI percentage points.

The owners, Stern said, have moved off their demands for a hard cap and rollbacks on existing player contracts.

Six of the league’s top agents who have been pushing for the union to decertify are expected to talk with their clients within the next day and determine what next step to take. Hunter said decertification is “something we have to give some thought to.”

Kobe Bryant(notes), Kevin Garnett(notes) and Paul Pierce(notes) were among the players who attended Tuesday’s meeting. Garnett was extremely emotional in a meeting with players before the full negotiating session, sources said. He rallied the players, who would begin to miss paychecks around Nov. 15, to hold firm on the BRI split.

“The thought among some of the owners is that once the players started missing checks, they would cave,” Hunter said.

Hunter said it would be wrong for the owners to test the players’ resolve.

“Our guys have indicated a willingness to lose games,” Hunter said.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Ao6TbOf_qYC8Q4zcEcbIiVy8vLYF?slug=aw-wojnarowski_nba_labor_meeting_100411

[MrHyeSev]

Re: NBA News

Stern: ‘Rational thing’ for union is to take deal

NEW YORK (AP)—NBA players are facing a Wednesday afternoon deadline to accept the league’s current proposal or face a harsher one that calls for rolling back their salaries, and Commissioner David Stern said Monday “the only rational thing to do is for us to make that deal.”

“We think that there’s a great offer on the table and what we told the players is it’s getting late, the only rational thing to do is for us to make that deal because given what’s going on in our business and our industry, it’ll get worse from there,” Stern said during an interview on ESPN.

That proposal calls for players to receive anywhere between 49 and 51 percent of basketball-related income, though players argue it would be nearly impossible for them to get anywhere above 50.2. Stern said the next one will call for a 53-47 split in the owners’ favor, along with essentially a hard salary cap.

The second proposal also calls for “existing contracts rolled back in proportion to system changes in order to ensure sufficient market for free agents,” a person who has been briefed on its contents told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the contents were supposed to remain private.
Derek Fisher fears the entire NBA season will be lost.



The rollbacks were previously reported by CBSSports.com and The New York Times, which obtained a copy of the letter Stern sent to union executive director Billy Hunter on Sunday along with both documents.

The league had sought to roll back existing contracts to conform to a new collective bargaining agreement during an earlier proposal, but had since taken it off the table.

Stern set the deadline early Sunday morning after owners and players met for more than eight hours with federal mediator George Cohen. Owners have been insistent on not going beyond a 50-50 split of revenues, though some would prefer the league had already demanded the 53-47 split.

League officials said they lost $300 million last season, when players were guaranteed 57 percent of BRI. Stern said the league believes it can profit at 50-50 with expanded revenue sharing among its teams, though owners believe some teams would still lose money with a 50-50 split.

The sides are also still divided over some issues related to the salary cap system, mostly related to spending rules for teams that are over the luxury tax level. Players want those big-market teams to remain free agency options.

No bargaining session has been set before the deadline, though player representatives will be in New York on Tuesday for a union planning meeting. Players’ association president Derek Fisher said Sunday it was still too early to give members anything to vote on.

Stern downplayed the threat of decertification of the union, an option that could be more strongly considered if the backup proposal gets put on the table. A lengthy court fight would almost certainly wipe out the entire 2011-12 season.

A month of games has already been canceled.

“We’re all really concerned. This is our livelihood. This is our job,” Charlotte point guard D.J. Augustin said Monday after playing a pickup game with other NBA players in Houston. “For ourselves, we want to get back playing. But we’re also not going to take just any deal. We’re going to stay united, stay strong and just be ready whenever they call us back.”

Though frustrations are high and nasty rhetoric remains—the league and union briefly argued about their proposals through Twitter feeds Monday—the reality is they’ve grown closer on paper. Players offered Saturday to reduce their BRI take to 51 percent, with 1 percent going to a fund for retired players’ benefits, after previously saying they wouldn’t go below 52.5.

The question is whether they can erase the remaining issues before Wednesday’s deadline—and what happens if they don’t.

“We just want a fair deal, and I believe the players’ union is just trying to get the fairest deal possible,” Washington forward Rashard Lewis said. “They gave us a deadline on Wednesday, but our side is meeting today or tomorrow. So let’s just see what happens.”

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AlmxUBZfYOAaeUNydS8IOVK8vLYF?slug=ap-nbalabor