Re: NBA News
Popovich: Spurs’ Big Three will be healthy
SAN ANTONIO (AP)—Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili left being busy this summer to the rest of the San Antonio Spurs.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Tuesday that his two aging stars have taken it easier than usual this offseason to get healthy, while the Spurs front office was unusually active and swinging deals for major additions like Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess.
Duncan, hobbled by knee problems down the stretch and in the playoffs, has pushed back the normal start of his normal preseason regimen by a month. The 33-year-old will begin workouts next week that the All-Star typically gets going in early August.
Ginobili, meanwhile, has limited his summer activity to a treadmill and some walks after appearing in just 44 games last season because of bad ankles.
“He is healthy,” Popovich said. “He’ll come back out of shape but healthy.”
Popovich spoke to reporters Tuesday for the first time since the Spurs ended their busiest—and costliest—offseason in recent history. The typically frugal Spurs will be hit with the NBA’s luxury tax after picking up Jefferson’s remaining $29.2 million owed over the next two years in a trade with cost-cutting Milwaukee.
San Antonio also used their midlevel exception, about $5.85 million, to sign McDyess and give Duncan a hand in the frontcourt. The Spurs also signed veteran big man Theo Ratliffand drafted Pitt All-America forward DeJuan Blair.
Popovich said spending money was a necessity.
“The face of the league has changed significantly over the last two years,” Popovich said. “We’ve hung in there as long as we can, and this year we’re going to have to spend money like some other people.”
San Antonio approached the summer looking to spend and not squander the remaining years of the Duncan era. Between Duncan’s ailing legs and a weak supporting cast, the Spurs limped into their earliest summer since 2000 after a first-round playoff loss to Dallas.
Duncan sat out several back-to-backs down the stretch because of a nagging right quad injury that Popovich said has healed.
“He’s got more flexibility in that leg than he ever has,” Popovich said. “Significantly more. He’s cranking his knees during the day and at night when he goes to bed. It’s paid off.”
Tony Parker also gave the Spurs a scare this month when he hurt his right ankle playing for the French national team, but Popovich said the injury was minor.
-
Re: NBA News
Amare Stoudemire: (Eye) Back in Action
Update: Stoudemire took part in a workout Tuesday for the first time since having his eye drained on July 10, the Arizona Republic reports.
Recommendation: He didn’t do too much, being limited to shooting drills and some conditioning work, and he’s about two weeks away from being cleared for any kind of game action. Stoudemire has all the motivation in the world to prove both that he’s healthy and that he’s worth a huge contract extension, so while the Suns offense likely won’t be as potent as it was a few years ago, Stoudemire could be worth gambling on.
Leave a comment:
-
Re: NBA News
Parker injures right ankle against Austria
PARIS (AP)—Spurs guard Tony Parker(notes) has a sprained ankle and injured thigh after colliding with an Austrian player during a recent basketball game.
Parker is unlikely to be available to play for France in Thursday’s game in Paris against Hungary in Eurobasketball 2009, according to sports daily L’Equipe.
The Spurs’ star hurt his right thigh and ankle in a collision with Stjepan Stazic in a game Friday. Parker issued a statement saying he was hit in his thigh and turned his ankle.
The statement also said tests on Saturday showed no sign of ligament tears or other serious complications, and that he could resume training later in the week.
Leave a comment:
-
Re: NBA News
Bryant ‘optimistic’ Odom will re-sign with Lakers
SINGAPORE (AP)—Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant is optimistic the NBA champions will re-sign key free agent Lamar Odom.
“I’m optimistic that he’ll be back,” Bryant said Wednesday at a news conference in Singapore as part of a six-country Asian tour. “He makes us a much, much stronger team.”
Negotiations broke down last week and the Lakers retracted a contract offer to Odom. The Miami Heat are also wooing the 6-foot-10 forward.
Odom played a key role off the bench in the Lakers’ championship run, averaging 12.3 points and 9.1 rebounds during the playoffs.
Bryant said forward Ron Artest, who signed as a free agent with the Lakers earlier this month, will help bolster the team’s chances to repeat as champions.
“I think Ron’s going to be a great addition to us,” Bryant said. “It’s about how well we play together. No matter how much talent you have, it’s about how you put those pieces of the puzzle together.”
Bryant downplayed speculation that Lakers coach Phil Jackson may take some games off next season because of health problems.
“Who said he’s coaching less?” Bryant said. “Phil likes messing with you guys. He’ll be there all the time, unless he has a doctor’s appointment to get to.”
Bryant also said he was more likely to agree to play for Team USA at the World Championships in 2010 and the 2012 London Olympics now that Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has committed to lead the team.
Bryant and Krzyzewski won the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics last year.
“I’m very excited to see that he signed on,” Bryant said. “It influences all the guys just because we’ve been through that experience before and it becomes like a family.”
“It definitely influences me.”
Bryant, an 11-time All-Star, said a possible showdown against LeBron James(notes), former Lakers teammate Shaquille O’Neal(notes) and the Cleveland Cavaliers in next season’s finals would be “crazy.”
“Just the hoopla that surrounds it and all the stories that would come out of it,” Bryant said. “If that match up is to happen, we have to take it one day at a time, we can’t get caught up in it being a given that we’re going to be in the finals.”
“We have to take care of our business, but that being said, it would be a heck of a show.”
Leave a comment:
-
Re: NBA News
Grant Hill decides to stay with Suns
NEW YORK (AP)—Grant Hill(notes) is staying with the Phoenix Suns.
Hill decided to remain in Phoenix on Friday, rather than join a title contender in Boston or a rebuilding team in New York.
Lon Babby, Hill’s agent, said during a conference call that the deal is for two years, the second at Hill’s option, and he will be paid $3 million in the first year. He could have earned more next season in New York, where Babby said the Knicks offered the full midlevel exception, about $5.8 million, for one year or $10 million for three.
The Celtics and Knicks both provided the chance for Hill to reunite with former coaches: Doc Rivers in Boston and Mike D’Antoni in New York. The Celtics had under $2 million to offer and couldn’t guarantee Hill a starting spot, but Babby said all three teams were willing to give Hill everything he asked for.
“I will say this. He thought long and hard about the alternatives. He did not come to this decision easily or lightly,” Babby said. “The places had a lot to offer and very different things to offer and that’s what made it challenging for us to work our way through this.”
Hill has played the last two years for the Suns and averaged 12 points in 2008-09 while playing in all 82 games for the first time in his 14-year career. Though Phoenix missed the playoffs last season, traded Shaquille O’Neal(notes) and listened to offers for Amare Stoudemire, Babby said Hill expects Stoudemire to remain in Phoenix next year.
Hill’s decision was previously reported by Yahoo Sports, which said part of his decision was based on the belief the Suns were close to an extension with Steve Nash(notes).
“I think he’s quite confident the team that’s coming back next year is going to be a highly, highly competitive team and obviously that would include Steve Nash,” Babby said. “But you need to get those specifics from the Suns.”
The Knicks, previously turned down by Jason Kidd(notes), hoped Hill would be intrigued by the opportunities the city could provide. His wife, Tamia, is a Grammy-nominated recording artist.
“New York offers many things, including an important platform off the court as well as on the court,” Babby said. “I think the obvious advantages of each place were given careful consideration.”
A team spokesman said Babby called the Knicks on Friday to inform them of Hill’s decision, and that they were disappointed but understood and would now focus on other players and their own free agents. David Lee(notes) and Nate Robinson(notes) are both restricted free agents.
Hill is a seven-time All-Star who has averaged 18.5 points for Detroit, Orlando and Phoenix. Most of his six seasons with the Magic were ruined by injuries before the Suns signed him 2007. Babby said Hill considered the faith the Suns had in him two years ago, saying Hill, “didn’t want to leave Phoenix on a sour note.”
And the Suns strengthened their case with a late recruiting pitch after Hill had what Babby called a “very, very impressive visit” to New York. Team president Steve Kerr, owner Robert Sarver and coach Alvin Gentry then visited Hill, which Babby said might have been the deciding factor. (Grant Hill is already done, he should retire)
Leave a comment:
-
Re: NBA News
NBA pick's bad luck
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)—Portland Trail Blazers draft pick Patty Mills broke his right foot during practice and won’t play in the NBA’s summer league.
The Blazers said Friday that Mills fractured the fifth metatarsal in his right foot during practice Thursday night. He will have surgery on his foot on Monday, the team announced.
A timetable for the point guard’s return has not been determined.
“You never want to see a player get injured, but it is especially heart wrenching to see a young man go down on his first day of camp,” Portland general manager Kevin Pritchard said. “We’ll do everything we can to help Patty get back on track to realize his NBA future.”
After starring for Australia in the Beijing Olympics and for Saint Mary’s in college, Mills was selected by the Blazers with the 55th overall pick in the NBA draft last month.
The 6-foot, 175-pound Mills averaged career highs of 18.7 points, 4.0 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 2.5 steals during his sophomore season with the Gaels before deciding to turn pro.
Thursday was Portland’s first day of practice for the summer league, which starts Friday in Las Vegas. The Blazers open play Monday against Toronto.
The Blazers’ roster for the summer league includes second-year guard Jerryd Bayless and draft picks Jeff Pendergraph and Dante Cunningham.
Leave a comment:
-
Re: NBA News
Turkoglu's confusing day
Free agent Hedo Turkoglu(notes) has backed out of his commitment to the Portland Trail Blazers and plans to sign with the Toronto Raptors, multiple league sources told Yahoo! Sports on Friday night.
Turkoglu had agreed on a five-year, $50 million deal with the Blazers, but changed his mind and is headed for a five-year, $56 million deal with the Raptors. Toronto would have to renounce three free agents – Shawn Marion(notes), Carlos Delfino(notes) and Anthony Parker(notes) – to create the cap space for Turkoglu.
Apparently, the Blazers are already busy exploring other free-agent options for the $9 million in salary-cap space.
A source says Turkoglu’s wife wanted badly to live in Toronto, a far more European-style city, and that’s where it appears the Turkish native is headed. The Raptors have embraced the Euro game under GM Bryan Colangelo, building a roster that includes Euro talents Jose Calderon(notes) and Andrea Bargnani(notes).
Five years ago, Turkoglu was close to signing with the Phoenix Suns that Colangelo was running, but changed his mind and went to the Orlando Magic.
After opting out of his contract last week in Orlando, he became one of the hottest free agents on the market. Turkoglu, 30, averaged 16.8 points and 5.3 rebounds last season for the Magic.
Leave a comment:
-
Re: NBA News
Ex-Laker's huge blunder
More From Adrian WojnarowskiFree-agent buzz: Ariza to Rockets, Cavs eye Parker Jul 2, 2009 Pistons reach deals with Gordon, Villanueva Jul 1, 2009
Kobe Bryant(notes) always admired that Ron Artest(notes) never acted like he wanted an autograph when duty demanded that he defend him. He loved that Artest was combustible and crazy and always left people wondering: Is this the moment when Ron-Ron loses his mind again, when all hell breaks loose?
Deep down, Bryant wanted Artest on his side. Artest gives a thirtysomething Kobe what Dennis Rodman gave a thirtysomething Michael Jordan: A belligerent, tough guy bearing the burden of protecting the superstar’s back.
And as far back as the Western Conference playoffs, the Lakers believed Artest wanted to trade Houston for Hollywood, that the Rockets’ decaying cornerstone of Yao Ming(notes) and Tracy McGrady(notes) turned that team into a temporary rehab assignment.
“If they couldn’t get Trevor [Ariza] cheap,” said a source with knowledge of the Lakers’ free-agent plans, “they had Ron in their back pocket.”
Change is good for a defending champion. When the rest of the NBA’s elite – Cleveland, Orlando and Boston are getting better – the champion can’t just stand pat. As an executive and a player chasing repeat titles, Detroit’s Joe Dumars says, “I like to make one significant change in that second year.”
This gives the Lakers something to incorporate, to work through, across a long training camp and regular season. This way, they aren’t tempted to just coast until the playoffs. This changes the dynamic for everyone, and give Artest this: Around him, there’s never complacency.
Bryant never campaigned for Artest over Ariza, his loyalty with the hot-shooting kid who helped him win a championship without Shaquille O’Neal(notes). In the long run, the Lakers were wiser to keep the young Ariza to transition into a post-Kobe stardom. Yet, general manager Mitch Kupchak barely blinked when Ariza’s agent, David Lee, started talking like a tough guy, parading his client on what one rival GM called “a leverage tour.”
The Lakers don’t believe he’ll leave, Lee kept barking. Surprise, surprise: Lee didn’t think the Lakers would tell him to get lost, sign Artest and leave Ariza to take the five-year, $33 million deal in Houston he could’ve had in L.A.
“I told Mitch that it was never about the money; it was about respect,” Lee told NBA.com.
Well, take your respect and pack your client’s bags for post-Yao lottery land in Houston. Respect? Yes, there are American soldiers and missionaries in faraway lands cheering for David Lee and this noble stand for the neglected and disenfranchised everywhere. It is about respect, and God knows a $33 million offer for Ariza’s eight points and four rebounds a game rates a disgraceful act.
No, this wasn’t about the money, nor his client’s needs. This was a failed power play, an embarrassment of the highest order. Looking back, Ariza will rue the day. He’s a good player, but he’ll never be a star elsewhere. He’ll just be another player on another team.
“He was way too emotional about this,” said a league executive who had talked to Lee in recent days.
Yet, you can be a star without being a star with the Lakers. When L.A. is winning championships, the role players become commodities. They get endorsements. They get television careers. Ask Rick Fox. Or Derek Fisher(notes). Ariza was an L.A. kid living a dream, 24 years old, a gifted, young talent on the defending champion, and his agent’s bluff backfired.
Now, Artest trades places with Ariza, and the Lakers get a dimension they haven’t had in a long, long time. Perhaps three or four years ago, Artest couldn’t have handled living and playing in L.A. He gives the Lakers sheer nastiness, and as an executive with one of his past teams said Thursday night, “Ronnie will show everyone that he can win. I think he’s matured, and overall, he’ll be on his best behavior. Phil [Jackson] has been through this before with Rodman. He’ll handle this.”
Ultimately, it wasn’t Jackson who made it work for two titles with Rodman in Chicago, but Jordan. The locker room is policed by the superstar, never the coach. Artest is the right player, right time for Bryant. As Kobe hits his 30s, he can’t be chasing the best player on defense every night. Now, Artest gets the job. What’s more, Kobe gets a maniac who will want to please him, get his approval. Anything is possible with Ron-Ron running roughshod in Los Angeles.
“I hope it’s chaos,” a Western Conference GM texted Thursday night.
And maybe, in some ways, that won’t be the worst thing in the world for the Lakers. Chaos? That’s letting your agent’s agenda and big mouth get your butt shipped from the Los Angeles Lakers for lottery land in Houston. Kobe Bryant had been willing to take back his whole team, but Ariza made the mistake of giving the Lakers what they always wanted, what they always believed was available to them: the combustible and crazy Ron Artest.
Kobe Bryant gets his Rodman now, and yes, this is how all hell breaks loose in Hollywood.Leave a comment:
-
Re: NBA News
'Grim' news for NBA star
As the NBA draft approached, the grim truth about Yao Ming’s(notes) broken left foot hung like an anvil over the Houston Rockets. The fear isn’t that he’s just lost for next season, but longer.
The Rockets and Yao’s reps are frightened over his future, and the concern is the most base of all: Does Yao Ming ever play again?
“The realization has hit them that this is grave,” one NBA general manager said.
For now, the Rockets have privately told league peers it could be a full season before Yao might be able to return to basketball. Multiple league executives, officials close to Yao and two doctors with knowledge of the diagnoses are describing a troubling re-fracture of his navicular bone. Three pins were inserted a year ago, but the foot cracked in the playoffs and isn’t healing.
“It sounds like he’s missing most of next season, if not the entire 82 games,” one league executive who has had recent discussions with the Houston front office told Yahoo! Sports. “That’s all that [the Rockets] will concede quietly, but they know it’s probably much worse.”
Houston general manager Daryl Morey refused comment on Monday and a team spokesman said the Rockets will not have further comment until Yao undergoes additional medical tests.
There’s no reason for the Rockets to disclose the severity of the injury, nor the uncertainty over Yao’s future. Before the Rockets go public with a dire diagnosis, they plan to send him to three more specialists this week, a source said. For now, the Rockets have season tickets and sponsorships to sell. For now, the Rockets will publicly decry these doomsday revelations as premature, but this is the reality that they’re working under within the organization.
This has turned into an impossible situation for the Rockets’ capable GM. Even if Yao plays again, Morey knows it’s just a matter of time until his lower body breaks down. His feet and ankles just can’t support the mobility of his 7-foot-6 frame.
With four surgeries in three years, the Rockets worried they were reaching a breaking point. Well, it’s here. After missing 86 games in the previous three seasons, the 28-year-old Yao missed a mere five this past regular season before injuring his foot during the Rockets’ second-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers.
It wasn’t until last week when Houston issued a statement saying Yao’s fractured foot hadn’t healed properly, that he would be unavailable “indefinitely.” Prior to Thursday’s draft, Morey tried desperately to trade into the high lottery to take Spanish prodigy Ricky Rubio(notes). Houston needed a young star, but had too few assets to make a deal with Memphis or Sacramento. It seemed odd to teams that Houston had thrown Shane Battier(notes) and Aaron Brooks(notes) into offers within weeks of pushing the NBA champion Lakers to seven games in the Western Conference semifinals.
Now, the Rockets have tough decisions to make: Do they keep pushing Tracy McGrady(notes) and his expiring contract on the market or let the $22 million expire next summer? So far, Morey is getting offered bad contracts and junk talent for him. What’s more, does Houston re-sign Ron Artest(notes) to a $40 million-plus contract when contention is no longer viable? Why not create cap space for the summers of 2010 and 2011? Why not get younger now? Yao could opt out of his contract next summer, but odds are that Houston won’t be so fortunate.
The Rockets should do themselves a favor and just start over. That isn’t easy in a sophisticated and rabid NBA market like Houston, but what everyone long suspected has reached fruition: Yao and McGrady are no longer a faulty foundation, but a collapsed one. Houston needs to proceed with an understanding that they’re no longer chasing the Lakers, but beginning again.
Rest assured, Houston has long been fearful that Yao’s responsibilities to the Chinese national team were rapidly contributing to his breakdown, and perhaps they’ve finally been met. Yao wouldn’t have missed the Beijing Olympics for the world, but it was clear he wasn’t fully healed in those Games. The Rockets paid a price for his nationalism, his obligation and now the darkest fears are close to confirmation: It isn’t just a season on the brink for Yao Ming, but perhaps a career.
Leave a comment:
-
Re: NBA News
Magic agree to acquire Nets’ Carter
The New Jersey Nets have agreed in principle to send Vince Carter(notes) and Ryan Anderson to the Orlando Magic for Rafer Alston(notes), Tony Battie(notes) and Courtney Lee(notes), two league executives told Yahoo! Sports.
The Nets will draft Louisville shooting guard Terrence Williams at No. 11, if he’s still available.
The move frees the Nets of the three years and $52 million remaining on Carter’s contract. Only $4 million of his $18 million final season is guaranteed.
The trade comes one day after the Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Shaquille O’Neal to help them better match up with the Magic and center Dwight Howard. The Cavs and San Antonio Spurs both engaged in trade talks with the Nets about Carter before moving on to their options. The Spurs ended up trading for Milwaukee Bucks forward Richard Jefferson.
Less than two weeks after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, the Magic have added another potentially dynamic scorer to their lineup. Carter, 32, averaged 20.8 points last season and has the 3-point range needed to space the floor for Howard.
Considering how much money the Magic have invested in Carter, it appears less likely they will also spend heavy to re-sign Hedo Turkoglu.
Leave a comment:
Leave a comment: