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The AP reports:
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Charlotte Bobcats forward Boris Diaw has exercised his player option for next season that will pay him $9 million.
Agent Doug Neustadt said Tuesday they informed the Bobcats of the decision earlier this week.
Diaw said after the season that with the potential labor uncertainty this summer, it was a “no-brainer” to pick up the option and avoid becoming a free agent until 2012.
The Dallas Morning News reports:
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Dirk Nowitzki is considering joining the German national team this summer to help their chances of qualifying for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Nowitzki told ESPN 103.3 FM on Tuesday that he would decide within a few weeks.
Germany must finish among the top six of the 24 teams at the EuroBasket tournament to be eligible to qualify for the next Olympics.
Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:
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“Absolutely not, no ifs ands or buts,” Kahn said. “Kevin will be on this team next year and I expect Kevin, as I’ve said numerous times, to be on this team for many, many years. I see him as being a very important part of our future.”
He took the same stance on Rubio, even though it’s conceivable Cleveland could take Arizona’s Derrick Williams first in Thursday’s NBA draft. That would leave Duke point guard Kyrie Irving available two days after the Wolves welcomed Rubio to the franchise.
“Ricky Rubio will not be traded by the Timberwolves,” Kahn said. “You can go to sleep on it. He’s here for a long, long time.”
Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports:
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The Griz are reluctant to part with players in their rotation, according to a source with knowledge of Heisley’s thinking. Heisley has swiftly rejected any trade offers for Gay. He’s also panned deals for O.J. Mayo because they haven’t presented a significant upgrade over the third-year guard.
Heisley is said to have informed the Grizzlies’ front office that he will no longer sign off on any deals he perceives as cheap, like the failed February transaction that would have sent Mayo to Indiana for forward Josh McRoberts and a first-round pick.
However, the Griz have gauged interest in Mayo, and he appears to be the player most likely to be moved this summer if offers for him improve.
Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times reports:
For the last several days, there have been rumors the Bucks were seriously exploring the possibility of moving back from their No. 10 position in Thursday night’s NBA draft.
Bucks general manager John Hammond conceded he’s had on-going discussions with several teams but declined to go into details. There has been widespread speculation the Bucks have had in-depth talks with the Houston Rockets, who have two first-round picks — Nos. 24 and 23 — and are desperately trying to move up in an attempt to select a much-needed center.
But it appears discussions between the Bucks and Rockets involve more than just exchanging picks. The scuttlebutt is both teams are receptive to swapping players as well.
The teams have tossed around different trade scenarios with Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova being prominently mentioned.
Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register reports:
Spero Dedes had hoped in April a deal would work out for him to move from radio to the Lakers’ TV job. But things changed during negotiations that included Dedes wanting to continue periodic work for CBS on the NFL and college basketball and other national jobs — and Dedes is instead headed to be a radio and TV play-by-play man for the New York Knicks, who will allow him to do some national work.
“We had a verbal agreement with Spero to be our new TV play-by-play announcer,” Lakers spokesman John Black said. “However, prior to getting a finalized contract, he had a change of heart and decided to pursue another job.”
Joe Lacob, co-Executive Chairman and CEO of the Golden State Warriors, announced today that President Robert Rowell has elected to step down from his position as top executive of the club’s business operations to pursue other business endeavors. The 2010-11 NBA season marked Rowell’s eighth season as the team’s president, and 16th overall with the NBA franchise.
As part of the mutual agreement Rowell will remain on an interim basis to assist Lacob and co-owner Peter Guber in their transition, as an executive search for his replacement will begin immediately.
“Peter and I felt that this was really the right time to mutually come to this decision,” Lacob said. “Bob Rowell has done a good job running the business side of this organization for many years. He has been extremely professional and diligent since the first day that we met him in the acquisition process. We spent a lot of time evaluating this decision and believe that now is the appropriate time for the new ownership team to put our complete stamp on the entire organization.
I want to personally thank Bob for 16 years of commitment to this organization. We believe that previous ownership really put him in a publicly challenging position over the past few years and I have a great deal of respect for how he has conducted himself as a professional.”
“I am thankful for the opportunity to have worked with the best, brightest and most dedicated staff in professional sports,” Rowell said. “Together we were able to achieve many of our business objectives and goals, and laid the framework for some of the future success of this franchise. I also want to thank the many great Warriors fans, as well as the many Bay Area business and community partners, for their unconditional support of Warriors Basketball.
I wish Joe and Peter all the best in their quest to raise the next banner at Oracle Arena, and know that great things lay ahead for this franchise under their commitment and leadership.”
The Los Angeles Lakers have hired longtime Southern California area broadcasters Bill Macdonald (television) and John Ireland (radio) as the team’s play-by-play announcers for the upcoming 2011-12 season.
A four-time local Emmy Award-winning announcer and host, Macdonald will call all televised Lakers games on FS West and KCAL 9 alongside former Laker and long-time color commentator Stu Lantz, who will be entering his 25th season broadcasting Lakers games.
A fixture on FS West/Prime Ticket since its inception in 1985, the versatile Macdonald has broadcast in a variety of capacities for the network over the years as host, field reporter and play-by-play announcer for professional basketball, baseball and hockey among other sports. The current host of FS West’s pre- and post-game shows “Lakers Live,” “Angels Live” and “Ducks Live,” Macdonald has also served as the play-by-play voice for UCLA men’s basketball and football and Los Angeles Avengers football. A graduate of the University of Southern California, Macdonald has filled in as the Angels, Ducks and Kings play-by-play announcer over the years as well as the Lakers play-by-play announcer on both television and radio, most notably calling Kobe Bryant’s historic 81-point game on January 22, 2006.
Ireland, the team’s sideline reporter on KCAL 9 since the 2002-03 season, will call each and every Lakers game on 710 AM ESPN Radio alongside former Laker and two-time NBA Champion Mychal Thompson, who will be entering his ninth season as the Lakers radio color commentator.
Another winner of four local Emmy Awards for best sports reporting, Ireland currently co-hosts the Mason and Ireland Show on 710 AM ESPN Radio while also serving as a regular sports anchor and reporter for the KCBS/KCAL sports team. A UCLA graduate, Ireland’s career path took him to stations in Monroe (LA), Beaumont (TX) and San Diego (CA) before ultimately finding a home at KCAL 9 in 1995. In 1997, Ireland added the Los Angeles Clippers radio play-by-play announcer responsibilities to his resume, working five seasons in all for the team on a fill-in basis before joining the Lakers beat as sideline reporter in 2002. A two-time recipient of the Southern California Sports Broadcasters (SCSB) Irv Kaze Radio Talk Show Host Award, Ireland has also previously filled in on radio play-by-play duties for both UCLA and Lakers basketball games.
Fernando Gonzalez, entering his 15th season as Lakers Spanish play-by-play announcer, and Jose “Pepe” Mantilla, who has served as color commentator for Lakers Spanish broadcasts since 1993, will once again broadcast every game on 1330 ESPN Deportes, the team’s Spanish language flagship.
The Milwaukee Bucks have made a qualifying offer to restricted free agent forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (6-8, 230), General Manager John Hammond announced today. The offer gives the Bucks the right to match any contract offers made to Mbah a Moute by other NBA teams.
In 79 games (52 starts) last season, Mbah a Moute averaged 6.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 46.3 percent from the field. He recorded a career-high eight point/rebound double-doubles, and led the team in steals 17 times and in rebounds in 11 games.
A second round draft pick (37th overall) from UCLA in 2008, Mbah a Moute, 24, has appeared in 234 games (166 starts) over his three year NBA career. He has averaged 6.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 26.0 minutes per game, while shooting 46.7 percent from the field and 71.3 percent from the free throw line.
Does an NBA superstar need some sort of clearly-defined go-to move? A first-option offensive maneuver that the player almost always tries to execute before he allows the defense to force him to try something else?
Pat Riley says no. Not if a player’s entire game is one giant go-to entity of sheer awesomeness.
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports:
As difficult as the ending was for the Miami Heat just over a week ago, coming up two victories short against the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, the Heat’s president said Tuesday he does not envision the need for dramatic changes.That includes the need for LeBron James to reinvent himself, as some have suggested.
“He’s got a go-to game. He doesn’t have to have a go-to move,” Riley said during an informal season-ending media session at AmericanAirlines Arena. “I mean, I love reading all the people who’ve never coached in their life, that all of a sudden became experts about he needed a ‘go-to.’ He’s got a go-to game.
“He knows what he needs to do to get better as a player. He’s 26 years old and I think there’s another huge upside for him.”
LeBron is definitely capable of scoring at will when he actively and aggressively attacks the rim. But when he just stands outside like he did for stretches of the Finals? Not so much.
What’s your opinion? Read fan reaction and discuss it in this forum topic.
