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.
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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.
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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.”
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Re: NBA News
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.
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Re: NBA News
Very sad day for us NBA fans
looks like it's gonna be a lockout season.Leave a comment:
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Re: NBA News
Riley lauds Heat season, says he won’t coach again
MIAMI (AP)—Pat Riley expects better days are ahead for the Miami Heat.
Speaking Tuesday, more than a week after the Heat season ended with a loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA finals, Miami’s team president said that not winning the title was a disappointment—but insisted the season still had plenty of successes.
“I’ll say it. I’m not afraid to say it,” Riley said at his annual end-of-season availability. “We are going to be multiple contenders, OK? I have no problem saying that. We will contend. That’s all it’s about. When you have a team that can contend for a championship, that’s what you want, because then you have a shot at winning.
MIAMI, FL - MAY 31: Team President Pat Riley of the Miami Heat looks on during halftime as the Heat take on the Dallas Mavericks in Game One of the 2011 NBA Finals at American Airlines Arena on May 31, 2011 in Miami, Florida.
“I know what everybody expected here, but it didn’t happen,” Riley added. “But we had a great season.”
Riley said the team would add more pieces to complement LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh next season, plus was looking forward to seeing what can happen with a healthy Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller, both of whom had their 2010-11 campaign marred by injuries.
He also said Erik Spoelstra would coach, shooting down any notion that the Hall of Famer was considering a return to the bench.
“No, I’m not going to,” Riley said.
Riley ended his Hall of Fame coaching career in 2008, before tapping Spoelstra as his replacement. Spoelstra has a 148-98 record in three regular seasons, along with a 18-15 mark in postseason play.
“It doesn’t mean that I don’t have the fire,” Riley said. “But we have a great young coach here and I want to support him and hope that he can grow like I did. This is just his third year.”
Riley said he expects Miami’s so-called “Big 3” to get better during the offseason as well, noting that Bosh will likely add some bulk in the weight room and that James wants to do more to round out his game, which has already earned him two MVP awards.
“He’s the most unique player in the NBA and we’re blessed to have him,” Riley said of James, adding that too much of the criticism for the team’s loss to Dallas in the NBA finals went his way.
Riley called the way last summer went, when he helped convince the three All-Stars to team up in Miami, one of the highlights of the season for both Miami and the NBA.
“The greatest thing in the history of South Florida sports was those guys coming together,” Riley said. “With the exception of the (undefeated 1972) Dolphins. Maybe.”
And he does expect that Miami, which has the first pick in the second round, No. 31 overall, can get better in Thursday night’s draft.
“My take on it is that we’re going to pick 31,” Riley said. “I’m not so sure we’re going to spend $3 million to move up.”
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Re: NBA News
Horry’s daughter dies after long illness
HOUSTON (AP)—The 17-year-old daughter of former NBA star Robert Horry died Tuesday after battling a rare genetic condition.
Ashlyn Horry was born in Houston in 1994 and eventually diagnosed with the 1p36 Deletion Syndrome, a rare chromosome disease that is characterized by intellectual disability, delayed growth, seizures and respiratory problems. Texas Children’s Hospital spokeswoman Nicole Terry says Ashlyn Horry died there.
Robert Horry and Ashlyn’s mother, Keva, set up a foundation in 2008 to provide support to families with children coping with similar illnesses. A message was left at the foundation’s office seeking comment.
Robert Horry won seven NBA championships with three teams in 16 NBA seasons. He earned the nickname “Big Shot Bob” for hitting several clutch shots in the playoffs and holds the record for 3-pointers made in the NBA finals (53).
The Houston Rockets selected Horry out of Alabama with the 11th overall pick in the 1992 draft. Horry helped the Rockets win NBA championships in 1994 and ’95.
“My deepest condolences go out to Robert and his family on the tragic passing of his daughter, Ashlyn,” Rockets owner Leslie Alexander said in a statement. “Ashlyn was born in Houston during Robert’s time with us and I know he shared a special bond with her. The entire Rockets organization is saddened by her passing and our thoughts are with Robert and his family during this trying personal time.”
Horry played for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1996-2003, and was a member of three more championship teams there. Former Lakers star Magic Johnson offered condolences on his Twitter account.
“My thoughts go out to Robert Horry and his family as they deal with the tragic loss of his daughter Ashlyn,” Johnson tweeted.
Horry finished his playing career in San Antonio, and won two titles with the Spurs to become the ninth player in league history to earn at least seven championship rings.
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Re: NBA News
Dallas 3-2
So looks like Miami will pull it out in 7 lol
C'mon King JamesLeave a comment:
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Re: NBA News
This is not so much news more like Trivia
name one NBA player that people don't really remember anymore?
I got one
Craig EhloLeave a comment:
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