Month: July 2008

Pacers president and coach speak on deals

“We’re very excited about the trades we made,” said Pacers President of Basketball Larry Bird. “We know we got some good character guys and good players. I just want to help the franchise move forward and we feel with the draft, we know we picked up two good guys that our fans are going to be very supportive of and excited about.”

Added Pacers Coach Jim O’Brien: “I think Larry and (General Manager) David Morway did an outstanding job in changing around our basketball team, both with the trades and the picks. Our team will have a completely different look next year. Overall, the seven new players we have give us a completely different look than we had last year and we have maintained the guys that got the majority of playing time at the end of last season.

“An area of particular concern for us last year was the point guard spot. We certainly feel with Travis (Diener) returning and the addition of T.J. Ford and Jarrett Jack we have solidified that position. We feel getting Maceo, Rasho and Josh really gives us solid depth up front. Brandon gives us a guy who can very quickly impact both ends of the court. Defensively, we think he can be a high-level stopper and we also think Brandon has the potential to create his own shot on a regular basis as well as give us spacing on the court. Roy gives us size and low-post scoring. At the end of every game, he’s still going to be 7-2, which is a real important factor for us.”

The deals:

–  Pacers trade Jermaine O’Neal to Raptors for T.J. Ford in six-player deal

– Blazers trade J.Jack, J.McRoberts, B.Rush to Pacers for J.Bayless, I.Diogu

James Donaldson to run for Seattle City Council

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Dan Raley) reports: Unlike his former NBA team, James Donaldson won’t be leaving town soon. The one-time Sonics center is interested only in making a deeper connection to Seattle. On Wednesday, Donaldson, 50, will announce plans to run for Seattle City Council in 2009, describing himself as a made-to-order leader and a person devoted to his hometown of the past 30 years… A California native and Washington State alumnus, Donaldson played 14 seasons with five teams in the NBA, the first three years for the Sonics. Teaming with Jack Sikma and Lonnie Shelton, he was part of a huge Seattle front line that was nicknamed “the Winnebago Wall.” He was an All-Star selection for the Dallas Mavericks.

Lakers raise ticket prices

The Los Angeles Times (Mike Bresnahan) reports: Courtside seats were raised from $2,300 to $2,500 a game, an 8.7% hike that moved beyond the typical annual increase of 4.5%. Seats in six lower-level sections between the baskets — 101, 102, 110, 111, 112 and 119 — were raised from $230 to $245, a 6.5% increase that also topped the team’s normal action on such seats. The league average for ticket-price increases is usually 3% to 4%. Other tickets in the lower bowl at Staples Center will be $210, $147, $110, and $85, increases of 4.8% to 6.3%.

Gerald Green must learn fundamentals

The Dallas Morning News (Eddie Sefko) reports:  Fundamentals were never ingrained in Gerald Green because he could always get by on his outrageous physical talent. Carlisle said Green jumps higher than any player he’s ever seen and that he’s also a good outside shooter. But Green has never learned to translate his physical gifts into great defense or ball-handling ability. “I just didn’t take advantage of my opportunities,” Green said. “I blame myself, nobody else. … I’m a new guy and ready to get after it.” Green averaged better than 10 points with Boston in his second NBA season, which is partly why he was included in the trade that brought Kevin Garnett (and a championship) to Boston.  A struggling Green was traded to Houston, which cut him after one game.

2008-09 Salary Cap set to $58.680 million

The  National  Basketball  Association today announced  that  the  Salary  Cap  for  the  2008-09 season will be $58.680 million.   The  new  Cap  goes  into  effect  immediately  as  the league’s “moratorium  period”  has ended and teams can begin signing free agents and making trades.

The  tax level for the 2008-09 season has been set at $71.150 million.  Any team whose team salary exceeds that figure will pay a $1 tax for each $1 by which it exceeds $71.150 million.

The  mid-level  exception  is $5.585 million for the 2008-09 season and the minimum  team  salary,  which  is  set at 75% of the Salary Cap, is $44.010 million.

For  the 2007-08 season, the Salary Cap was set at $55.630 million, the tax level was $67.865 million and the mid-level exception was $5.356 million.

Raptors sign Hassan Adams

The Toronto Raptors announced Tuesday they have signed free-agent guard-forward Hassan Adams to a two-year contract. Per team policy, financial details were not disclosed. Adams attended the Raptors’ free agent camp held June 20-22 at Air Canada Centre.

Adams, 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, played in Italy last season. He signed in November with Ignis Draghi Novara (Lega2), where he averaged 20.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 3.0 steals in 12 games. In March, he moved to Siviglia Wear Teramo (SerieA) and averaged 13.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals in eight games.

Adams was selected 54th overall in the 2006 NBA Draft by the New Jersey Nets. He appeared in 61 games with New Jersey in the 2006-07 season, averaging 2.9 points, 1.3 rebounds and 8.1 minutes. He averaged 4.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 18.3 minutes in eight starts. He led the Nets in scoring twice, in steals five times and in blocks four times. He posted career highs of 16 points and eight rebounds at Boston on November 29, 2006. He saw action in six postseason games with the Nets.

The native of Los Angeles averaged 14.0 points and 5.4 rebounds during his four years at the University of Arizona. He earned first-team All-Pac-10 honours as a senior, averaging a career-best 17.5 points. He finished his collegiate career as the only player in Pac-10 history to record 1,800 points, 700 rebounds and 200 steals.

Adams will participate for the Raptors’ entry in the Las Vegas Summer League (July 11-19).

Joe Prunty is new Blazers assistant

The Portland Trail Blazers named Joe Prunty an assistant coach, it was announced today by general manager Kevin Pritchard.

Prunty spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks. Prior to his time in Dallas, he served for nine seasons with the San Antonio Spurs as assistant video coordinator, video coordinator, advance scout and most recently, assistant coach. During his time with the Spurs, the team won three NBA Championships.

More info on Prunty is here.

The big story about the Blazers going into next season is that they expect to have the full services of center Greg Oden. Hopefully that serious surgery he had doesn’t have a permanent effect. It could prevent him from being 100 percent for a full season. Or two. Or forever.

Acie Law working hard

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Sekou Smith) reports: Save for a two week break, Acie Law’s been working out relentlessly since the Hawks’ playoff run ended. He said he’s hungry as ever and will not let up come mini-camp and summer league (next week in Atlanta for mini-camp and the following week and a half in Salt Lake City for mini-camp). Coach Mike Woodson was all smiles seeing Law on the floor so early and already having worked up a ferocious sweat while working on his shot and an assortment of other things during his early morning workout. Law retired to the weight room (allowing me a few minutes to trade questions and answers with Woodson for an upcoming piece on Law) and when he finished with that part of his routine he headed out the door for a therapy session for his injured wrist that caused him problems during his rookie season (he said the wrist feels fine and that the therapy three days a week has done wonders).

Rumors Talk: Maggette should join a contender

July 7: If Corey Maggette has to forget about getting more than the mid-level exception and is going to take a long contract that lasts for years, he might as well do it on a team that can compete for a championship. He’d make a nice scoring option off the bench for the Celtics, though defensively he has a lot to learn. He’d also help the Pistons or Spurs… Chris Duhon is a real point guard who is limited by his athletic ability. Keyon Dooling is super-athletic but not a real point guard… The Heat cut some dude named Jonny Reibel. I’d have cut him just because of the spelling of his first name. Remember Ralph Sampson? If his name was spelled “Ralfie” or something, I’d have sent him packing… I understand teams like the Knicks and Nets focusing on 2010 free agency, but it’s kind of a bad message to send to fans: ‘We plan on being lousy in the hope that two years from now, of two or three really great players out there, one of them agrees to sign with us.’ … The Nuggets may keep Anthony Carter? That’s like the Celtics getting Kevin Garnett. Similar impact. Give or take… So will Elton Brand stick with his Clippers team or bail on them and head to the Warriors for a lot more money? Must be an extremely tough decision… The Celtics should really give James Posey a mid-level exception deal if that’s what he wants… I still don’t know what Al Harrington’s ideal NBA position is. Do you? … NBA summer league games are good for seeing your favorite rookies. Other than that, they don’t bring much to the table. Fortunately, every team has at least two or three guys worth watching.

This commentary is in response to today’s NBA rumors… Go Inside Hoops every day… Talk with other fans on the InsideHoops basketball message board.

Earl Watson has right thumb surgery

General Manager Sam Presti announced today that guard Earl Watson underwent successful surgery yesterday in Los Angeles for a fracture of the right thumb. Watson suffered the injury on Monday while preparing for the upcoming season in a basketball game in Los Angeles. Watson is expected to make a full recovery and be available for the start of the 2008-09 season.

Last season, Watson averaged career highs in points (10.7), assists (6.8), rebounds (2.9) and minutes (29.1). Over his seven-year NBA career, Watson has averaged 7.4 ppg, 4.5 apg and 2.2 rpg in 529 games.

InsideHoops.com says: Either Watson or Luke Ridnour (probably Ridnour) may be traded by the time next season starts.