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Early this morning, Steve and Alejandra Nash became the proud, delighted parents of a healthy baby boy, Matteo Joel Nash. Baby Nash weighed 7 pound, 7 ounces.
Mom and baby are doing fine.
Nash will be in uniform tonight when the Suns take on the Sacramento Kings at 7 p.m. at US Airways Center.
The sale of the Golden State Warriors to an ownership group headed by Joe Lacob and Peter Guber was formally completed today, the team announced. GSW Sports LLC, a group of six board members and multiple investors, headed by Lacob and Guber, have officially assumed full control of the NBA organization.
“This announcement has been much-anticipated,” said Lacob. “Now that the process is officially complete, I am incredibly anxious and excited to take the helm of the Golden State Warriors organization. It’s a great day for me and my family, and a great day for Warriors fans. The unmatched passion of this Bay Area fan base played a huge role in my pursuit of this dream come true, and I’m looking forward to a tremendous ride on our journey to the return to greatness. We will work extremely hard to represent you as the championship organization that you deserve, and the team that you will be proud to be a part of.”
“This is a tremendous opportunity for new ownership, the Warriors franchise and its great fans,” Guber said. “I’m convinced that we have formed a passionate and well-diversified group. With the financial and intellectual commitment of the board members and investors, and Warriors fans as the truly key partners in this endeavor, we will not fail.
“We all understand that in sports business, it’s about winning, but we will also strive to make sure that the Warriors are recognized among our industry leaders in innovation and business practices. Joe and I have assembled a group of highly successful and well-respected individuals, each of whom will provide expertise in various aspects of our business. This will be an extremely strong, productive and creative partnership.”
The sale of the Warriors to GSW Sports LLC was unanimously approved by the NBA Board of Governors earlier today. Game Plan LLC, a Miami Beach-based investment banking firm, represented GSW Sports LLC on the sale, while Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP served as legal counsel for this record-breaking transaction.
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports:
Stan Van Gundy is doing the right thing — for now.
He has stopped spinning the roulette wheel with the lineup. He said Friday after shootaround that he is going with Quentin Richardson as the starter at small forward.
“It’s good, good to stabilize things,” Richardson said.
InsideHoops.com editor says: Q-Rich has struggled to start the season, shooting just 26.7 percent from the field for 5.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, though doing so in limited minutes. I assume his FG% will improve as he gets more minutes and continues to adjust to his role and the squad.
The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has signed free-agent guard Sundiata Gaines. To make room on the roster, the Wolves last night requested waivers on guard Maurice Ager.
Gaines, a 6-1 point guard, appeared in 32 games for the Utah Jazz in 2009-10, averaging 3.3 points and 1.2 assists in 6.8 minutes per game. He is probably best known for hitting a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Jazz a 97-96 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 14, 2010. It was the first NBA three-pointer of his career. Gaines also appeared in five playoff games with Utah in 2010, averaging 2.2 ppg.
Prior to joining the Jazz, Gaines played in 14 games with the Idaho Stampede of the NBA D-League in 2009-10, averaging 23.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6.9 assists.
Gaines played for the University of Georgia from 2004-07, averaging 11.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg and 3.9 apg in 123 career games. He finished his career as Georgia’s all-time leader in steals (259) and second in assists (476).
The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has waived guard Maurice Ager.
Ager appeared in four games for the Wolves this season, averaging 3.8 points in 7.3 minutes. He was originally signed by the Wolves as a free agent on Sept. 24, 2010.
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Andres Nocioni of the Philadelphia 76ers has been fined $25,000 for throwing his mouthpiece into the stands, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President Basketball Operations.
The incident occurred with 2:08 remaining in the first quarter of Philadelphia’s 109-103 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on November 10 at Oklahoma City Arena.
The Springfield Armor, the New Jersey Nets, and the NBA Development League announced today that the Nets and Armor have entered into a single affiliation partnership beginning during the 2011-12 season, giving the Nets full control over the basketball operations of and making them the sole affiliate for the Armor. The Nets are the second NBA team to enter into a single affiliation with an NBA D-League team, joining the Houston Rockets and the 2009-10 NBA D-League Champion Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
In a structure similar to other minor leagues, this partnership model, also referred to as the “hybrid affiliation,” allows for NBA teams to secure control over and cover the expenses related to the basketball operations of an NBA D-League team, while partnering with existing local ownership, which maintains responsibility for the team’s off-the-court business operations.
“The New Jersey Nets’ decision to enter into a single affiliation partnership with the Springfield Armor is yet another example of NBA teams understanding how integral the NBA D-League can be to their success, and an important step in our continued evolution as a true minor league for the NBA,” said NBA D-League President Dan Reed. “With twenty percent of NBA players having used the NBA D-League as a springboard, it’s no surprise that the Nets join a growing number of NBA teams that have acquired the benefits of a one-to-one relationship with their NBA D-League affiliate.”
“The Nets organization is very pleased to enter into this agreement with the Springfield Armor,” said Nets General Manger Billy King. “We feel that the ‘hybrid’ arrangement will allow our basketball team to maximize its affiliation with the NBA D-League and allow Springfield to serve as a fertile training ground for our players, coaches and front office personnel, only strengthening our basketball product.”
“The Springfield Armor organization is thrilled to be entering into this single affiliation partnership with the New Jersey Nets,” said Armor Managing Partner Michael Savit. “This is the wave of the future in the NBA D-League, and we’re pleased to be getting in on the ground floor as a partner with one of the NBA’s most exciting teams. It reflects very positively on the NBA D-League, our organization and the City of Springfield.”
During the 2010-11 season, the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers, along with the Nets, will serve as affiliates for the Armor.
The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have waived guard Garrett Temple. Temple appeared in three games this season totaling 2 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 21 minutes.
Temple was signed originally by San Antonio on March 13, 2010. He appeared in 12 games during the 2009-10 season, averaging 6.2 points and 1.1 rebounds in 14.8 minutes.
The Spurs roster now stands at 13.
Frank Hanrahan of CSN Washington reports:
John Wall had a homework assignment this week. After turning the ball over too many times in his first 5 games, Wizards coach Flip Saunders told his prized rookie point guard to watch some game film of one the greatest point guards that ever played in John Stockton.
The shorts were super tight but so was Stockton’s game leading the Utah Jazz for 19 seasons. Stockton was the master of the pick and roll and it didn’t hurt to have another Hall of Famer running that two game man game with him in Karl Malone. Stockton left the NBA in 2003 as the all time assist and steals leader and later was a deserved Hall of Famer.
“It was about a 45 minute tape of Stockton that John (Wall) watched the last two days leading up to the Rockets game,” Saunders said. All he (Wall) was talking about was how Stockton was so deliberate and how he played under control.”
Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:
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On Wednesday, Beasley scored a career-high 42 points — 18 of them in the game’s first 10 minutes, 27 in the first half alone — on 17-for-31 shooting and on a bruised left hip that delivered the Wolves their first victory since the season’s second game.
“I had my popcorn ready, just watching the show,” Wolves injured point guard Jonny Flynn said as he sat in a joyous locker room afterward. “And that was definitely a show. Mike Beasley put on a show.”
Their nine-point victory followed Tuesday’s five-point loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles, ended a six-game losing streak and avenged a one-point, opening-night loss to the Kings at Target Center.
All this after they lost their first four road games by an average of 30 points.
It also was the Wolves’ first road victory since they won at Miami last February against a Heat team that included a guy named Beasley.
Beasley’s 42-point night puts him among such names in franchise history as Tony Campbell, Wally Szczerbiak, Isaiah Rider, Randy Breuer, Stephon Marbury, Al Jefferson and, of course, Kevin Garnett, all players who scored 40 or more points in a game.