July 2011 – Page 3 – NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog

Karl Malone joining USO tour

Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune (blog) reports:

Jazz legend Karl Malone, “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart and illusionist David Blaine will join Admiral Mike Mullen this summer during a USO (United Service Organizations) tour overseas, the NBA announced Thursday.

Mullen is about to end his four-year appointment as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He has led nine USO tours to 13 different countries, lifting the spirits of more than 74,300 service men and women.

Malone, a two-time NBA most valuable player, will join Mullen on a two-country, seven-day trip.

Steve Nash prefers to stay home during lockout

Elderly people tend to want to stay at home a lot.

How’s that for an intro?

Of course, Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash is only “elderly” by NBA standards. But still, his main focus now is to stay healthy as his NBA career presumably winds down over the next few seasons.

China Daily reports:

Although hailing the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league as a fine destination for NBA players, the Phoenix Suns’ MVP guard, Steve Nash, believes he will stay with his family during the current league lockout.

“Like I said before, if I did not have three daughters to take care of I would like to come and play in the CBA,” Nash said during a press conference on Monday in Shanghai.

The event was hosted by his sponsor, Luyou, and unveiled the all-star guard’s personal logo while he shared some of his favorite moves and shots with local fans.

“I know I have got a lot of diehard fans here, it’s incredible. The basketball league here is also awesome. It’s definitely a good league for all players worldwide. But I would like to stay with my family during the holidays,” said Nash, who arrived in China last Saturday for a four-day charity visit organized by the sports company.

Before the press conference, Nash paid a visit to Banqiao High School in Yunnan province, where he raised donations to build a new sports ground.

China is considered the leading destination for players to pursue overseas jobs once the select elite spots in Europe fill up. But no prominent players have agreed to play there during this lockout just yet.

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Caron Butler hopes to stay with Mavs

Generally, when a team wins an NBA championship, the players who were on the squad don’t mind returning. Such is the case with small forward Caron Butler, who unfortunately was hurt and unable to contribute on the court to his team’s playoff success.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News reports:

Caron Butler’s right knee has been diagnosed as good to go, agent Raymond Brothers confirmed Wednesday. Where he will be playing when the NBA returns from its lockout remains to be seen.

Brothers said Butler, a free agent, was cleared to play by the Mavericks’ medical staff several days ago. Butler ruptured his patellar tendon in a New Year’s Day loss at Milwaukee. He missed the rest of the Mavericks’ championship season.

“He would have been able to play in Game 7 against the Miami Heat,” Brothers said. “But now we have the official clearance.”

Game 7 of the NBA Finals wasn’t necessary as the Mavericks wrapped up the league title in six games.

Brothers said the 6-7 forward prefers to return to the Mavericks. Butler was the team’s third-leading scorer when his season ended.

The Mavs proved they can win in a big way without Butler’s help, but they still could have used his services. We’ll see how this plays out.

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Jalen Rose sentenced to 20 days in jail for drunk driving

MyFOXDetroit.com reports:

Former Michigan star and NBA player Jalen Rose was sentenced to 20 days in jail on a drunken driving charge after crashing his sport utility vehicle on a snowy suburban Detroit road earlier this year.

FOX 2’s Al Allen reports Rose will begin serving his sentence on Tuesday.

Rose was arrested March 11. He told a judge in May that he had six martinis the night he veered off the West Bloomfield Township road.

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Former NBA player Rodney White faces drug charges

The AP reports:

A former college basketball star has been arrested and accused of operating a sophisticated marijuana growing operation from his North Carolina home.

Thirty-one-year-old Rodney White was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Iredell County. White is facing conspiracy to manufacture marijuana and other charges. He was arrested this week at his home with Nicole Jackson, who also is also facing drug charges.

Sheriff’s Capt. Darren Campbell said police found an elaborate underground bunker for growing pot at White’s home.

Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony open to playing basketball in China

We all hope that the NBA lockout ends in August or September, or perhaps sometime in early October, so that no regular season games are lost.

No one really expects a mass exodus of top NBA talent in the near future. But if the entire regular season is to be lost? That’s another story.

The AP reports:

Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony say they will consider offers to play professional basketball in China if there is no resolution to the NBA lockout.

Both players are on a promotional tour of China while monitoring news from home about the NBA’s labor impasse.

With Kobe Bryant reportedly negotiating a deal to play in Turkey, New Orleans Hornets’ Paul and New York Knicks forward Anthony said they were also considering overseas moves.

Asked by SNTV where they would go, Anthony replied “China.” Paul said “Same, no question.”

The answers may have been designed to compliment their hosts, but Anthony added “it’s a lot of history here, the fans are great; why not, why not try it out?”

Again, it’s smart for players to simply declare that they will keep all their options open, rather than ruling stuff out. So if an NBA star is asked if China interests him as a basketball destination, the obvious answer is to say yes. But this stuff will become more believable in the coming months.

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Jalen Rose to be sentenced for drunken driving

The AP reports:

Former Michigan star and NBA player Jalen Rose is scheduled for sentenced on a drunken driving charge after crashing his sport utility vehicle on a snowy road earlier this year.

He’s to appear this morning in Bloomfield Hills District Court.

Rose pleaded guilty and faces up to 93 days in a jail, a $500 fine and court costs.

Rose was arrested March 11. He told a judge in May that he had six martinis the night he veered off the West Bloomfield Township road.

UPDATE: Jalen Rose was sentenced to 20 days in jail.

Aaron Brooks can envision future with Suns

Paola Boivin of the Arizona Republic reports:

“It was hard joining a team mid-season like that,” Brooks said. “It’s a different situation when you’re in camp together, working together. It didn’t go the way I wanted it to.”

Team executives would never say it publicly, but it is clear they had given up on Dragic. You can’t blame them. For all the early promise, his struggles never went away.

It’s easy to be critical about Brooks, but people forget that attractive options are few. What Brooks has going him for him is a lot of upside and one really solid season. That’s better than many other choices, which tend to be older, less talented or less promising.

If the Suns are faced with a reasonable offer to match, they should do it.

Brooks will never be Nash but with confidence and more time in the system he can make sure the Suns have one less hole to address.

Part of the problem, of course, is that all point guards who go through Phoenix are compared to Nash. It’s a no-win approach because few are as adept as Nash at improving everyone else around them.

He’ll be gone soon. And the Suns need to figure out ways to make the segue less painful.

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Jerome Jordan to play in Slovenia

So far, just under one month into the NBA lockout, the only big star to sign overseas has been Deron Williams — and he’ll return to the New Jersey Nets when the lockout ends.

Other than that, the handful of players that have headed overseas were on the NBA fringe anyway.

And now, another bench guy will cross the ocean.

Marc Berman of the New York Post (blog) reports:

Ailing Amar’e Stoudemire can tease about playing in Europe. Knicks rookie Jerome Jordan is simply going to do it without the posturing.

The center agreed in principle Tuesday to play in Slovenia for the Krka club with an “out clause,’’ his agent Todd Ramasar told The Post.

Ramasar said final terms should be worked out Wednesday.

The out clause will allow 7-foot Jordan the option to leave Slovenia when the NBA lockout ends to join the Knicks, who are desperate for size and have the Tulsa product penciled in on the roster.

The Knicks acquired Jordan’s rights for $1 million after the Bucks took him with the 45th pick of the 2009 NBA Draft. Jordan played in Serbia last season.

“This will give him an opportunity to train, give him an opportunity to play and be in game shape when the lockout is over,’’ Ramasar told The Post. “He wants to prepare himself as much as possible. He doesn’t want to sit on the bench his rookie year.’’

Jordan should have a future in the NBA as a backup center, when he returns.

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Will Ron Artest be on Dancing With the Stars?

I never watch Dancing With the Stars. But if Ron Artest was on it, I’m pretty sure I’d roll with it for at least an episode or two.

TMZ reports:

Ron Artest has a back-up plan in case the NBA lockout torpedoes next season — we’re told, Mr. World Peace is currently in talks with “Dancing with the Stars” … and is seriously thinking about competing.

Nothing’s official yet — but sources tell us, both Artest and “Dancing” producers have been in touch to hash out a possible deal … and Ron’s pretty excited about the prospect.

But here’s the catch — “Dancing” won’t end ’til November and basketball season typically starts in October … which means if the lockout ends early, Ron could be S.O.L.

The Orange County Register reports:

The popular TV show is scheduled to finish taping in November, while the NBA season is set to begin in October — that is, if the lockout ends early and the season begins on time.

Athletes have done well on DWTS. NFL star Hines Ward won the mirrored trophy last season, while Emmitt Smith, Apolo Ohno, Helio Castroneves, Kristi Yamaguchi and Shawn Johnson all have won in the past.

Artest has kept busy since the Lakers were eliminated in the second round by Dallas with a reality show, possibly playing basketball in England, a name change, numerous TV interviews and stand-up comedy.

We’ll see if this idea really materializes.

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