November 2010 – Page 12 – NBA Blog

Charlie Villanueva wants to fight Kevin Garnett

Kevin Garnett is known for trash-talking, and every now and then he rubs someone the wrong way, in a big way. Such is the case now.

Chris Iott of Michigan Live reports:

Charlie Villanueva wants to fight Kevin Garnett

The Detroit Pistons’ Charlie Villanueva and Boston Celtics’ Kevin Garnett were whistled for technical fouls at the same point in the third quarter of Tuesday night’s game.

Villanueva Twitter quotes from after midnight Tuesday night

First: “KG talks a lot of crap, he’s prob never been in a fight, I would love to get in a ring with him, I will expose him.”

Then: “KG called me a cancer patient. I’m pissed because, u know how many people died from cancer, and he’s tossing it like it’s a joke.”

And then: “I wouldn’t even trip about that, but a cancer patient, I know way 2 many people who passed away from it, and I have a special place 4 those.”

InsideHoops.com editor says: Assuming KG really did say what’s quoted above, of course I gotta support Villanueva in this one, who is angry for the right reasons. Though as for KG, I’ll say that the purpose of trash-talking is to piss the other guy off and in this case it appears to have worked. Of course, there are ways to trash-talk that don’t involve mentioning diseases, death, etc. — and that’s what Villanueva is quite rightly annoyed about.

Blazers dedicate season to Maurice Lucas

The Portland Trail Blazers today announced plans to celebrate the life of Trail Blazers great Maurice Lucas throughout the 2010-11 NBA season.

The team will officially tip-off the season-long dedication to the “Enforcer” beginning with a moment of silence at the Trail Blazers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder game Thursday night, November 4. Special team tributes honoring Lucas will be featured throughout the game, on Trail Blazers broadcasts and on a special tribute page on trailblazers.com.

Trail Blazers players will wear a memorial jersey patch for all games this season bearing Lucas’s jersey number No. 20. Replicas of the memorial patch will be available for fans to purchase beginning Thursday night at the Trail Blazers Fan Shop with proceeds going to The Maurice Lucas Foundation.

The team will also establish an award that will be given annually to a Trail Blazers player who best represents the true spirit of Maurice Lucas by being a Trail Blazer both on the court and in the community.

A public memorial service for Maurice Lucas will be held in the Memorial Coliseum on Monday, November 8th at noon. Doors will open at 11 a.m. The family has asked, in lieu of flowers, that donations be made to the Maurice Lucas Foundation, supporting youth sports and cancer awareness. For more information on the foundation or to make a donation, please visit the following link: http://lucasswoopesbasketball.com/maurice-lucas/

Grizzlies sign Mike Conley to contract extension

The Memphis Grizzlies signed point guard Mike Conley to a multi-year contract extension, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deal, which was completed minutes before the deadline last night, were not disclosed. Several reports said the contract is for five years and somewhere between $40-45 million.

“We are excited about completing a contract extension with our starting point guard Mike Conley,” Wallace said. “Mike has improved significantly during his brief time in the league, and we are optimistic that the best is yet to come for him. With the signing of Rudy Gay last summer and now Mike, the organization has shown that it is serious about keeping the Grizzlies’ core together into the future.”

Conley, who is posting career highs in scoring (15.0 points), assists (8.3, T-9th in the NBA) and steals (an NBA-high 3.67) through three games this season, has steadily increased those averages in all of his four professional seasons. The 6-1, 185-pound guard is also grabbing a career-best 5.7 rebounds this season, making him one of only four NBA players (Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Brandon Jennings) to average at least 15 points, eight assists and five rebounds in 2010-11.

The 23-year-old, who tied a career-high with 11 assists and matched his own franchise record with seven steals in Memphis’ first home win this season on Oct. 30 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, has led the Grizzlies in assists every season since entering the league.

Currently ranked sixth in franchise history in assists (1,026) and eighth in three-point percentage (.383), Conley holds career averages of 11.0 points, 4.7 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.17 steals in 30.1 minutes in 218 games (190 starts) with Memphis.

The Fayetteville, Ark. native was drafted fourth overall in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Grizzlies after helping lead Ohio State University to the NCAA National Championship Game as a freshman alongside current Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden.

Magic at Knicks game postponed due to MSG asbestos-related debris issue

The Orlando Magic at New York Knicks game scheduled for tonight (November 2) will instead be played another night, and it’s possible that additional games in Madison Square Garden may have to be relocated.

Here is the information sent out by the Knicks:

Following last night’s Rangers game, during overnight maintenance of Madison Square Garden, which included cleaning asbestos-related materials in the attic above the ceiling, some debris fell into the Arena.

Out of an abundance of caution, we are postponing tonight’s Knicks v. Magic game. We will be working with the city and independent experts, ATC Associates and GCI Environmental Advisory, to evaluate and determine the most appropriate course of action. As the safety of our customers and employees are our top priority, we will not reopen the Garden until we are absolutely assured the Arena is safe.

Ticketholders are advised to retain their tickets, and return to nyknicks.com for rescheduling information. We will announce information about future events as soon as they have been determined.

Madison Square Garden apologizes for any inconvenience.

Suns sign Jared Dudley to contract extension

The Phoenix Suns have signed forward Jared Dudley to a multi-year contract extension, the club has announced. The Arizona Republic reports that the deal is for five years with $21.25 million guaranteed and another $1.25 million in playoff incentives.

“Jared Dudley is a valued member of what makes this franchise special,” said Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby. “The uncertain future made these discussions challenging; but in the end, good will prevailed and we are delighted to have reached an agreement.”

Winner of the team’s 2009-10 Dan Majerle Hustle Award, the 6-7, 220-pound Dudley has established himself as one of the team’s best defenders and one of the league’s premier three-point shooters while becoming a fan-favorite in Phoenix. The fourth-year performer enjoyed a break-out year in 2009-10 in his first full season with the Suns, averaging a career-high 8.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and career-best 1.4 assists while seeing action in all 82 games. Dudley also led the Suns with a career-high 81 steals last season.

In addition to his defensive tenacity and trademark hustle, it was Dudley’s improved long range shooting that made him indispensable to the Suns’ attack. On a team that shot the second-best three-point percentage in NBA history, Dudley connected on a team-best and career-high 45.8 percent of his three-point attempts, fourth-best in the NBA. “JD” made 120 threes overall, 116 of which came in a reserve role, third-most of any NBA bench player (2010 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford, J.R. Smith). Dudley entered last season with 38 career three-pointers.

Originally selected by the Charlotte Bobcats with the 22nd overall pick of the 2007 NBA Draft, the Boston College product and 2007 ACC Player of the Year was acquired by the Suns along with Jason Richardson and a 2010 second-round pick (used to select Gani Lawal) on Dec. 10, 2008. He owns career averages of 6.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 223 games (23 starts), including 7.2 points and 3.3 rebounds in 130 games (one start) with Phoenix.

Hawks sign Al Horford to contract extension

The Atlanta Hawks announced this morning that the team has agreed to terms on a multi-year extension with center Al Horford, according to Executive Vice President and General Manager Rick Sund. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the deal is for five years and $60 million.

“From the moment he arrived in Atlanta, Al has been a large part of our success,” said Sund. “The winning tradition he brought to the franchise as a rookie out of Florida has extended to three consecutive playoff seasons in a Hawks uniform. In addition, he was deservedly recognized as an All-Star last year, and we certainly look forward to his continued development as we move forward.”

In his three seasons with the Hawks, Horford has played in 93 percent of his games (229 of 246 regular season contests) and totaled 12.0 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 blocks in 33 minutes of action (.527 FG%, .753 FT%). In 81 games a year ago, he turned in career bests in points (14.2 ppg) and rebounds (9.9 rpg), in addition to becoming the first Atlanta draft selection to earn an All-Star berth since Kevin Willis (in 1992).

Eighth in the NBA in field goal percentage, Horford was also among the league’s leaders in rebounding (10th), offensive rebounding (tied for ninth) and blocks (26th). He recorded a team-leading 39 double-doubles (11th in the NBA) and posted 12 20-point games and a career-high 31 on February 7 at the Los Angeles Clippers.

Having reached the postseason in every one of his three seasons, he has averaged 11.5 points and 8.3 rebounds in 27 games, with a 20/10 performance in his playoff debut (the first Hawk to do so) – 20 points and 10 boards against the Boston Celtics.

The third overall selection in the 2008 NBA Draft from the University of Florida, and Horford was the only player unanimously picked to the NBA All-Rookie first team, and he was also runners-up for league Rookie of the Year honors.

Greg Anthony joins NBA TV as regular guest analyst

NBA TV today announced that NBA veteran Greg Anthony will join the roster of NBA TV talent for the upcoming season, making select appearances throughout the year as a regular guest analyst.

In his new role, Anthony will provide the league’s 24-hour network with team analysis, player insights and game situation breakdowns, based on his 11 seasons in the NBA. He will join host Matt Winer and analyst Kenny Smith for NBA Game Time on Wednesday nights.

In addition to his work on NBA TV, Anthony will continue to work with CBS Sports as a college basketball analyst. Anthony’s broadcasting career included a period as an analyst for NBA coverage on ESPN and ABC.

During his professional basketball career, he played for the New York Knicks (1991-1995), Vancouver Grizzlies (1995-1997), the former Seattle Supersonics (1997-1998), Portland Trail Blazers (1999-2001), Chicago Bulls (2001 – 2002) and Milwaukee Bucks (2002). During his college playing years, Anthony was the career assists leader at UNLV and helped the Runnin’ Rebels win the National Championship in 1990. He was a two-time Honorable Mention AP All-American in 1990 and 1991 before being drafted by the New York Knicks.

Also appearing on NBA TV throughout the pre and regular season are hosts Ernie Johnson, Matt Winer, Ahmad Rashad, Rick Kamla, Marc Fein and Kyle Montgomery, analysts Kevin McHale, Chris Webber, Brent Barry, Steve Smith, Dennis Scott and NBA Insider David Aldridge. In addition, TNT’s Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Steve Kerr, Reggie Miller, Mike Fratello, Craig Sager and Cheryl Miller will all make select appearances on NBA TV.

NBA TV is currently in more than 55 million U.S. homes and will feature up to 275 live games this year, more than any other professional sports league television network.

Timberwolves exercise options on Michael Beasley, Kevin Love, Kosta Koufos, Wayne Ellington and Jonny Flynn

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that the team has exercised the fourth-year option on forwards Michael Beasley and Kevin Love and center Kosta Koufos. The team has also exercised the third-year option for guards Wayne Ellington and Jonny Flynn.

Beasley, acquired this summer from Miami, has appeared in three games for the Wolves, averaging 14.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. The second overall pick of the 2008 NBA Draft, Beasley owns career averages 14.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 162 games.

Love, the fifth overall pick in the 2008 draft by Memphis, was acquired by Minnesota on draft night and has played each of his 144 career games in a Wolves uniform. Love has career averages of 12.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game, including 14.0 points and 13.0 rebounds per game in three contests this season. Love has recorded double-doubles in each of his three games this season and in 68 of his 144 games overall.

Minnesota acquired Koufos this summer in the deal that sent Al Jefferson to Utah. Originally selected with the 23rd overall pick in the 2008 draft, Koufos has appeared in 87 career games, averaging 3.3 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.

The Timberwolves added Wayne Ellington with the 28th overall pick in the 2009 draft. Ellington has started each of the first three games for Minnesota this season, averaging 10.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. In 79 career games, Ellington has averaged 6.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists while shooting 42.2 percent from behind the arc.

Flynn, the sixth overall pick by Minnesota in last year’s draft, started each of the 81 games he appeared in as a rookie last season. He averaged 13.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists as a rookie before missing the season finale with a hip injury that ultimately required offseason surgery.

The Wolves will play LeBron James and the Miami Heat tomorrow night (Tuesday) in Miami. The game can be seen on WFTC My29 with tip-off at 6:30 p.m. This is the first of 12 Timberwolves games that will air on WFTC My29 this season.

Goran Jagodnik wins Euroleague MVP for month of October, 2010

Euroleague.net reports:

It has been seven years since Union Olimpija started a Euroleague season with two victories and the same amount of time since the pride of Ljubljana reached the Top 16. Basketball fever never left the Slovenian capital, but this week it will reach some of its highest temperatures ever, with the new 13,000-seat Stozice Arena sold out a week in advance of Olimpija’s showdown Thursday with Panathinaikos for first place in Group D of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Regular Season.

One man who has everything to do with Olimpija’s early-season resurgence is Goran Jagodnik, who is Euroleague Basketball’s choice as Sportingbet MVP for October. Having returned to Slovenia this season after 11 years abroad, the 35-year-old forward has made his a homecoming to remember so far.

Jagodnik’s scoring late in the team’s opening game helped Olimpija pull out an inspirational double-overtime victory against mighty Efes Pilsen before 9,000 pumped-up fans at home in Ljubljana. Last week, Jagodnik again saved his best for last, with 12 points in the final 11 minutes of another comeback, this time to beat Armani Jeans Milano in what was Olimpija’s first Euroleague road win in 21 months.

Among players on the seven teams undefeated through two games, Jagodnik ranks first in scoring with 20 points per game and second in performance index rating with 18.5 on average. He concentrated those great stats into late-game heroics that unexpectedly have Olimpija as a group co-leader, making Goran Jagodnik a more-than-logical Sportingbet MVP for October!

Delonte West, Von Wafer fight is resolved

Frank Dell’Apa of the Boston Globe reports:

Celtics guard Delonte West said after practice yesterday that his conflict with teammate Von Wafer has been resolved. West and Wafer scuffled during a workout before Friday night’s game.

“It’s not that serious,’’ West said. “We’ve moved past that, you know. We’re competitive guys being competitive. I’m competitive, he’s competitive. Hopefully, it’s for the betterment of the team. There’s nothing wrong with healthy competition and pushing each other to get better. Things went a little too far but, at the same time, we’re able to move past that. We’re professionals and we’re on to something different, we’ve forgotten all about it. We actually laughed about it [yesterday].

“I read the reports and a lot of things were taken out of [context], and facts were made up that were not true, how things played out. Guys get into scuffles, or whatever you want to call it, but at the end of the day we’re brothers in here and we had a big laugh about it. We’re trying to win, we’re competitive, we have fiery guys in here and, you know, you’ve got to get to the next thing, next game, next challenge.’’

InsideHoops.com editor says: The rumor that Delonte showed up to practice next day dressed up like Rambo is false.