Re: NBA News
Iverson has gone back to his hometown Philadelphia after the 76ers have resigned him for minimum salary.
He is playing his old team the Nuggets tonight @ 6pm
the full story is on
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Re: NBA News
It has been anounced, officially the worst start in NBA History belongs to the New Jersey Nets
0-17.
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Re: NBA News
Clippers announcers meet with Haddadi before game
LOS ANGELES (AP)—Clippers play-by-play man Ralph Lawler and color analyst Michael Smith met with Grizzlies center Hamed Haddadi(notes) before Sunday’s game at Staples Center, where they expressed regret for an incident that earned the TV broadcasters a one-game suspension.
It was the first meeting between the teams since Lawler’s and Smith’s off-the-cuff remarks about the Iranian-born center during the final minutes of the Clippers’ 106-91 loss at Memphis on Nov. 18. One offended viewer sent an e-mail to the Fox Sports Prime Ticket network.
“It went really well,” Lawler told the Associated Press, about an hour before tipoff. “It was really good to get a chance to shake his hand and look him in the eye. We reached out to him, he reached back, and I feel real good about it.”
Before Lawler and Smith spoke with Haddadi in the Grizzlies’ dressing room, they had a conversation with his agent and three representatives of the Alliance of Iranian Americans in another room that coach Mike Dunleavy uses for his postgame press conferences.
“He doesn’t speak a whole lot of English, so we had his manager translate for us,” Lawler added. “He basically indicated that he’s seen a number of our shows and thought that some people kind of took what we said out of context. He understood there were no ill intentions and understood our humor.”
By sheer coincidence, Sunday was Iranian Heritage day.
“I think it’s very fitting,” Lawler said. “He said he’s got a gift for us that the manager was going to bring to us later, just as a token of the good will that exists. So I couldn’t be more pleased. I’m glad to finally put it behind us.”
Last Monday, when he and Smith returned to the microphones, Lawler spoke at the top of the broadcast about how much the duo regretted the remarks and the firestorm it created.
“He’s totally aware,” Lawler said of Haddadi. “He had read the transcript, he had seen the video and was perfectly fine with it.”
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Re: NBA News
End of the Road
Nets fire Frank after 0-16 start:
New Jersey Nets management wanted to give Lawrence Frank a chance to get several injured players back on this Western trip, end a historic losing streak and allow him to stay a little longer on the job.
As the consecutive losses to start the season have reached 16, the return of several key players has done little to improve the Nets’ performance and that will cost Frank his job, multiple sources told Yahoo! Sports on Saturday night.
Management has made the decision to fire Frank, a move that will be carried out when the team returns to New Jersey after Sunday night’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers, the sources said. Even if the Nets beat the Lakers, Frank is still expected to be fired.
The plan is for Nets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe to take over as interim coach, but there is still some support within the organization for veteran assistant John Loyer. The new coach is expected to be on the bench when the Nets play host to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night in New Jersey, sources said. The Nets could set an NBA record for futility with an 18th straight loss against the Mavs.
Vandeweghe has been on the Nets’ Western trip, studying the team’s personnel and formulating a plan to coach the team. Vandeweghe has wanted to dismiss Frank as far back as last season, sources say, but Thorn has resisted until now.
Sources say Nets management has come to believe that Frank has lost much of the team, a fact that has played out in losses to Denver and Sacramento in the past week. Once the Nets played so poorly against the Kings – believed to be the most winnable game on the trip – management decided it could no longer go on with Frank as coach.
Frank is in the final year of his contract, earning $4 million for the season.
Despite the return of point guard Devin Harris and shooting guard Courtney Lee, the Nets have played long stretches of uninspired basketball. “Most of the guys have tuned him out,” one source with direct knowledge of the locker room environment said. “This isn’t all Lawrence’s fault, but everyone knows that this can’t go on anymore.”
Vandeweghe was an assistant coach in Dallas for two seasons and also has worked as an executive for the Mavericks and Denver Nuggets since retiring as a player. If Vandeweghe takes over the Nets as expected, it will be for a similar reason that New Orleans GM Jeff Bower did after the dismissal of Byron Scott earlier this month: With cost-cutting, there was no assistant coach deemed capable of navigating the interim job.
With the Nets bleeding money and awaiting NBA approval of Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov’s ownership, New Jersey simply doesn’t have the money to look outside the organization for a coach now.
Frank took over for Scott as New Jersey’s coach in January of 2004, winning his first 13 games on the bench. Frank led the Nets to the playoffs three times, including two Atlantic Division titles. Frank has a close relationship with Thorn and has repeatedly said that Thorn has stood by him in the past couple seasons when other executives would’ve probably fired him. Frank has a 225-241 record in parts of six seasons, and most league executives believe that he’ll work again as a head coach.
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Re: NBA News
He was a hell of a scorer and left it all out on the court when he played but the bad attitude caught up with him.Leave a comment:
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Re: NBA News
Iverson plans to retire-for now
Without a clear-cut suitor emerging to sign him, All-Star guard Allen Iverson(notes) announced his retirement on Wednesday.
Iverson, who has played 14 seasons in the NBA, thought he was close to signing with the New York Knicks last week only to be told team officials had a change of heart.
“I would like to announce my plans to retire from the National Basketball Association,” Iverson said in a statement released to Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Stephen A. Smith, who first announced Iverson’s decision on his personal web site. “I always thought that when I left the game, it would be because I couldn’t help my team the way that I was accustomed to. However, that is not the case.
More From Marc J. SpearsVan Gundy's light touch lifts Magic Nov 21, 2009 Garnett still feels pain of lost season Nov 20, 2009 “I still have tremendous love for the game, the desire to play, and a whole lot left in my tank. I feel strongly that I can still compete at the highest level.”
The question: Will Iverson stay retired?
League sources insist Iverson will still listen if a team is interested in signing him. For now, however, no offer appears imminent.
Iverson signed a one-year, $3 million contract to play for the Memphis Grizzlies this season, but played just three games and complained about his role off the bench. The Grizzlies granted him a leave of absence to attend to some personal matters, but the two sides eventually reached agreement to part ways and Iverson was waived.
“Wonderful career. Right thing to do for his family,” Iverson’s manager, Gary Moore told Yahoo! Sports. “It’s no secret that Allen has been unfairly treated through all this. The fact is his family needs him more.”
Iverson thanked his fans, family and friends and former coaches and teammates in his statement.
“To Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, Charles Barkley and Larry Bird, you guys gave me the vision to play the game that will be forever in my heart,” Iverson said. “To my Mom, who encouraged and inspired me to play every day, and to all of my family and friends who stood by me from the beginning. Thank you!”
The Philadelphia 76ers made Iverson the NBA’s No. 1 draft pick in 1996, and he enjoyed his greatest success with the team. He was named the NBA’s MVP in 2001 and also took the Sixers to the NBA Finals that season.
“The years in Philly were unforgettable,” Moore said. “He will never forget the crowd. …He’ll retire always being known as a Sixer.”
The Sixers traded Iverson to the Denver Nuggets on Dec. 19, 2006. He played two seasons with them before they sent him to the Detroit Pistons for Chauncey Billups. Iverson became upset when the Pistons made him come off the bench and later complained he couldn’t trust first-year coach Michael Curry. The team sent him home before the playoffs, saying he had an injured back.
Iverson is a 10-time All-Star and has won four scoring titles. He ranks 17th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
Former Boston Celtics point guard Bob Cousy said Iverson’s problems from the past two seasons will detract from his legacy in the minds of some people, but he doesn’t doubt his Hall of Fame credentials.
“It’s in the eye of the beholder,” Cousy said. “You always remember what last happened. But he’ll be in the Top 10 [scorers].
“He was an outstanding guard. I don’t know where he fits in whether he is a point guard or a [shooting] guard. But he was talented as a [scorer].”
During an interview with Yahoo! Sports early this month, Iverson said he could see himself walking away from the NBA.
“I’m not playing basketball no more to make money or anything like that or fame,” he said. “I’ve been there and did that. I just want to be happy doing what I love to do.
“If I felt I had to sell myself or sell out to be somebody that I’m not, then I wouldn’t do it anymore. I’d be playing at the YMCA.”
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Re: NBA News
Nate Robinson shoots on wrong basket, D'Antoni snaps
Funny moment from Saturday's marquee Anti-NBA Finals game: 0.5 seconds left in the first quarter. New York Knicks inbound the ball to guard Nate Robinson. The New York guard, for whatever reason, turns and purposely heaves a 30-foot shot at the wrong basket. Goes in.Leave a comment:
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