August 2010 – Page 4 – NBA Blog

NBA suspends Delonte West 10 games

Delonte West, who played last season for the Cleveland Cavaliers, has been suspended without pay for ten games for pleading guilty to carrying a concealed weapon and wearing, carrying, and transporting a handgun, in violation of the law of the State of Maryland, the NBA announced today.

West is currently a free agent. If he signs a contract to play again in the NBA, West’s suspension will begin with the first game of the NBA regular season for which he is eligible and physically able to play.

InsideHoops.com editor says: Despite his personal issues, I still think West eventually will get signed, though probably to a short and possibly non-guaranteed contract. He’s too good a player to fall out of the league.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 16: Hells Angels bikies leave after the funeral for Melbourne crime figure Macchour Chaouk at Preston Mosque on August 16, 2010 in Melbourne, Australia. 61-year old Chaouk was gunned down in the backyard of his Melbourne home on Friday. A man from the rival Haddara family has been questioned by police over the shooting but released without charge. Chaouk will be buried next to his son Mohammed Ali Chaouk who was shot dead by police in a home raid in 2005. (Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images)

Bucks sign Earl Boykins

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed guard Earl Boykins (5-5, 133) to a contract, General Manager John Hammond announced today.

An 11-year NBA veteran, Boykins played 35 games for Milwaukee during the 2006-07 campaign after a mid-season trade with the Denver Nuggets. He enjoyed his best statistical season in 2006-07 when he combined to average 14.6 points, 4.4 assists and 2.1 rebounds over 66 games with the two teams.

Last season, Boykins played in 67 games (one start) for the Washington Wizards and averaged 6.6 points, 2.6 assists and 1.1 rebounds in 16.7 minutes.

Not drafted out of Eastern Michigan in 1998, Boykins began his NBA career with the New Jersey Nets in the 1998-99 season. He has also played with Cleveland (1999, 2000), Orlando (1999-2000), Los Angeles Clippers (2000-02), Golden State (2002-03), Denver (2003-07) and Charlotte (2007-08). In 2008-09, Boykins played 14 games for La Fortezza Bologna in Italy and averaged 14.4 points, 5.5 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 33.1 minutes per game.

Boykins, 34, has played in 587 career NBA games (34 starts) and holds averages of 9.1 points, 3.3 assists and 1.4 rebounds per contest.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

March 03, 2010 Milwaukee, WI. Bradley Center..Washington Wizards Earl Boykins brings the ball up the court, Boykins had 8 points coming off the Wizards bench..Milwaukee Buck won over the Washington Wizards 100-87. Mike McGinnis/CSM.

Skittles makes Derrick Rose a custom candy machine

Darren Rovell of CNBC reports:

Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose is known to eat a lot of candy. So when the folks at Wrigley found out that he likes to down their Skittles brand, they decided to do something a little special for the hometown boy.

Earlier this month, they brought a custom, tricked-out Skittles vending machine to his house and promised to keep it stocked with Skittles for at least three years.

Rose gets the machine and the Skittles for free; the Skittles brand has a chance of getting more love from Rose; and the Bulls, I guess, hope Rose’s sugar highs peak at the right time.

InsideHoops.com editor says:

I wonder if the machine has 22-inch rims and a booming sound system.

2010 FIBA Hall of Fame Class announced

A total of 17 outstanding basketball personalities from 12 different countries will be inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame on 12th September during the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Istanbul (Turkey), the International Basketball Federation announced today.

National icons Oscar Schmidt (Brazil), Arvydas Sabonis (Lithuania), Dino Meneghin (Italy) and Vlade Divac and Dragan Kićanović (both from Serbia) are among the inductees for the 2010 Class of the FIBA Hall of Fame.

Two of the best female players of all time, Cheryl Miller (USA) and Natalia Zassoulskaya (Russia), complete the list of players.

A combined 14 Olympic medals and 15 FIBA World Championship medals underline the prominence of the seven players and three coaches inducted.

The selected referees and contributors were at the top of the game for decades and belong to the most decorated in their field.

“The 2010 Class has stardom, character and countless merits for the promotion of our game,” said FIBA President Bob Elphinston.

“The inductees were and still are brilliant on and off the court. We are very proud to host the 2010 ceremony in the presence of all these great women and men during the FIBA World Championship and give them the public platform they deserve.”

Here is the full list of the 2010 Class:

PLAYERS:

Vlade Divac Serbia
Dragan KiĆanoviĆ Serbia
Dino Meneghin Italia
Cheryl Miller U.S.A.
Arvydas Sabonis Lithuania
Oscar Schmidt Brazil
Natalia Zassoulskaya Russia

COACHES:

Lindsay Gaze Australia
Evgeny GomelskY Russia
Mirko Novosel Croatia

TECHNICAL OFFICIALS:

Jim Bain U.S.A.
Konstantinos Dimou Greece

CONTRIBUTORS:

George Killian U.S.A.
Hans-Joachim Otto Germany
Ernesto Segura de Luna (posthumously) Spain
Abdoulaye Seye Moreau Senegal
Al RAMSAY * Australia

* Al Ramsay was selected for the 2009 Class, but will officially be enshrined in 2010.

Wade reacts to idea of surpassing 72 wins

Kyle Koster of the Chicago Sun-Times reports:

Wade discusses the idea of surpassing 72 wins

Winning, and winning with historic regularity, is something this Heat squad is expected to do. NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy recently predicted the Wade-James-Bosh triumvirate could surpass the NBA-record 72 wins notched by the 1995-96 Bulls.

While Wade isn’t discounting the possibility, he said it’s not the Heat’s top priority.

”I don’t think about it, and I don’t think the guys are really worried about it. At the end of the day, we have to go out and play the game. People can say whatever they want, but you’ve got to go out there and play. We’ve got a lot of work to do.

”I look at it, and I can’t believe [the Bulls that year] only lost 10 games. That’s unbelievable. I’m sure that’s one of the hardest feats that’s ever happened in sports. It’s nothing that I’m looking at, though. We’re going to go out there and be the best team we can be. If it isn’t 70 wins and we have a great season and win the championship, I don’t think anyone’s going to be mad.”

InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner says:

I don’t think it’ll happen. Maybe in the future, but not in 2010-11. Building chemistry takes time, and while winning will come easy quite often for the Heat, there are plenty of very talented NBA teams who can and will beat these guys. But as the supporting cast presumably improves in the future, so will the possibility of winning 70 or more regular season games.

Apr. 25, 2010 - Miami, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES - epa02131631 Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (L) drives the ball past Boston Celtics guard Tony Allen (R) during the first half of their conference quarterfinals round game at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida USA 25 April 2010. The NBA playoffs begin 17 April and end with the NBA Finals in mid-June.

Stephen Curry hopes for quick recovery from ankle sprain

The AP reports:

Stephen Curry is eager to overcome an ankle injury, hopeful it won’t impact his chances of making the U.S. roster for the world championship.

Curry didn’t practice Thursday after suffering a mild sprain to his left ankle a day earlier. The U.S. team said Curry’s recovery was ”progressing” but he remained day to day.

With one player still to be cut from the 13-man squad — and most likely a guard — Curry looked slightly anxious after watching his teammates practice.

InsideHoops.com editor says:

It’ll be close. The ankle sprain definitely hurts Curry. I think he had around a 50 percent chance of sticking with the squad before getting hurt. Now I’d guess it’s around 25 percent.

Kenyon Martin not sure Nuggets have improved

Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post reports:

Kenyon Martin, like his coach, is wondering what will happen with Melo. He’s a friend of Melo’s, but said he hasn’t talked with him recently.

“He’s got a lot of people in his ear already,” Martin said. “But I understand what he’s doing and what he’s going through. I’ve been there. I turned down $66 million in New Jersey and everybody thought I was crazy. . . . My thing is, everybody is rushing this man to sign the extension. Why are they rushing him? He has until July to sign the thing, so why rush? The money will still be on the table.”

Asked about Anthony’s mind-set, Martin said the uncertainty surrounding the franchise has to be on his mind.

“Personally, my thinking is — I can’t see where we got better this summer. Al (Harrington, a free-agent signing) is cool, Al’s my man, but I can’t see how we got better. You know, I’m going to be out and (Andersen) is going to be out (to start the season), so did we get better? I can’t say that we did.”

With his expiring contract, Martin said he wouldn’t be surprised to get traded but expects to play the season out.

“I’ve got one more year, so we’ll go from there,” he said.

Apr. 25, 2010 - Salt Lake City, UTAH, USA - epa02132055 Denver Nugget's Kenyon Martin makes a gesture after missing a free throw in a game against the Utah Jazz's in the second half of their Western Conference first round playoff game at the Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, 25 April 2010. The Jazz beat the Nuggets 117-106 to take a 3-1 lead in the series.

Two advance scouts pursue pay disputes with Clippers

Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times reports:

Two advance scouts for the Clippers have been locked in a pay dispute with the team.

Jerry Holloway, employed since the 2003-04 season, alleged the Clippers quit paying him this spring and breached his contract. Documents filed June 4 in the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia County said the Clippers owed Holloway $22,920 in unpaid salary.

After the suit was filed, the Clippers settled with Holloway for $20,000, a source familiar with the situation said. Court papers said Holloway asked for nearly $36,000, which included the unpaid wages, liquidated damages and legal fees.

Another scout, Scott Wissel, alleges he is owed slightly less than Holloway. Wissel, in an interview, said he is considering his legal options.

The Clippers contend the two scouts were “at-will” employees and did not have written contracts.

InsideHoops.com editor says: This owner is really setting himself apart from the rest, in a bad way. No other owner has consistently gotten into disputes of this nature so often.

Mavericks re-sign Tim Thomas

The Dallas Mavericks announced today they have re-signed free agent forward Tim Thomas. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Thomas (6-10, 230), a 13-year veteran, was the seventh overall selection in the 1997 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers and has played with seven teams during his career (Philadelphia, Milwaukee, New York, Chicago, Phoenix, L.A. Clippers and Dallas), including two stints with both New York and Chicago. In 824 career games, he holds averages of 11.5 points and 4.1 rebounds, while shooting .437 from the field, .369 from behind-the-arc and .758 from the foul line.

In 2009-10, Thomas played in 18 games with Dallas (starting once) and averaged 7.5 points and 2.3 rebounds. He missed the first 11 games of the season due to right knee surgery and 41 games due to personal reasons.

The Patterson, N.J., native has seen action in seven different Playoff runs (55 games). Thomas’ postseason averages show an increase in every major category over his career regular season numbers with averages of 13.3 points and 5.1 rebounds while shooting .468 from the field, .436 from three-point range and .772 from the foul line.

Thomas was a standout at Villanova University where he played for one season before making himself eligible for the NBA Draft. In his only season as a Wildcat, Thomas averaged 16.9 points and 6.0 rebounds. He was named The Sporting News Freshman of the Year and Big East Rookie of the Year.

Al Harrington talks to InsideHoops

Forward Al Harrington has been around the block and now finds himself in a good situation with the Denver Nuggets.

Assuming that Carmelo Anthony and Kenyon Martin are around to start at the two forward spots, Harrington can back either guy up and be a big part of the team.

InsideHoops.com met with Harrington and talked about his situation. Harrington names the team that also really wanted him, and his goal of a longer-than-usual NBA career.

Read: Al Harrington interview.