August 2011 – Page 12 – NBA Blog

Detroit Pistons to introduce new head coach Lawrence Frank on Wednesday

Early Wednesday afternoon, the Detroit Pistons will introduce Lawrence Frank as their new head coach.

As Vincent Goodwell of the Detroit News reports, “Detroit native Steve Smith said Pistons coach Lawrence Frank’s first order of business is to wipe away the bad taste from the past two seasons. “The best course of action is he has to come in with a clean slate,” said Smith, an analyst for NBA TV who played 14 seasons in the NBA. “He has to give those guys a clean slate, too.” Whenever the NBA lockout ends, Smith said Frank will have to address the team, collectively and individually, to let them know what happened in the past won’t be held against them, but a repeat won’t be tolerated. “Some of the problems you’ve heard about you do address,” Smith said. “You listen and you don’t interject.”

It’ll be a difficult job for Frank, as the team is in transition and in need of a serious rebuild. They were led last season by guard Rodney Stuckey (15.5 points, 5.2 assists per game), forward Tayshaun Prince (14.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg), and guard Richard Hamilton (14.1 ppg, 3.1 apg). Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva also contributed in the scoring department.

One of the lone bright spots for the Pistons last season was the play of center Greg Monroe, who has been steadily improving. He’s still not a real building block, however. He may develop into one in the near future, but for now he’s merely a supporting player.

But the journey for Frank begins Wednesday at noon in Michigan. And when the NBA lockout ends, his real test begins.

Joakim Noah set to join French national team

The AP reports:

Injured Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah should be ready to join his France teammates later this week, the French Basketball Federation said.

Noah has been having treatment in Los Angeles on his right ankle. The French team’s osteopath and the Bulls’ physiotherapist are said to be happy that Noah’s injury has responded well to treatment.

“After seeing the conclusions from the two specialists, the franchise (Chicago Bulls) doctor should give his accord for Joakim Noah to return to the France team, without having to go to Chicago,” the FFBB said Monday on its website.

France is training in Pau this week ahead of the European Championship. France will play Latvia on Aug. 31.

InsideHoops.com editor says: Just to clarify, this has basically nothing to do with the NBA lockout. This is just the European championship and has nothing to do with next season, in the NBA or elsewhere.

NBA files unfair labor practice charge and federal lawsuit charge against Players Association

The NBA filed two claims today against the National Basketball Players Association: an unfair labor practice charge before the National Labor Relations Board, and a lawsuit in federal district court in New York. The unfair labor practice charge asserts that the Players Association has failed to bargain in good faith by virtue of its unlawful threats to commence a sham “decertification” and an antitrust lawsuit challenging the NBA’s lockout. The federal lawsuit seeks to establish, among other things, that the NBA’s lockout does not violate federal antitrust laws and that if the Players Association’s “decertification” were found to be lawful, all existing player contracts would become void and unenforceable.

“These claims were filed in an effort to eliminate the use of impermissible pressure tactics by the union which are impeding the parties’ ability to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement,” said NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Adam Silver. “For the parties to reach agreement on a new CBA, the union must commit to the collective bargaining process fully and in good faith.”

Update: In response to the above, here is a statement from NBPA Executive Director Billy Hunter regarding the legal actions filed by the NBA: “The litigation tactics of the NBA today are just another example of their bad faith bargaining and we will seek the complete dismissal of the actions as they are totally without merit. The NBA Players Association has not made any decision to disclaim its role as the collective bargaining representative of the players and has been engaged in good faith bargaining with the NBA for over two years. We urge the NBA to engage with us at the bargaining table and to use more productively the short time we have left before the 2011-12 season is seriously jeopardized.”

Kevin Durant scores 66 at Rucker Park

Monday night in New York City, a special thing happened at Harlem’s famed Rucker Park basketball court. A lanky, unguardable king of hoops by the name of Kevin Durant stepped onto the court. It was Durant’s debut game in the Rucker streetball world. And he made an impression on fans that will last a lifetime. Racking up 38 points through the first quarter quarters, Durant went insane in the fourth and finished with 66 points.

According to Joseph Staszewski of the New York Post, “The Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star shook off a slow start and poured in an astounding 66 points to lead DC Power to a 99-93 win over the Sean Bell All-Stars in front of a standing-room only crowd at the Entertainers Basketball Classic on Monday night at streetball’s most famous park. Durant, who led the NBA in scoring last season, connected on 9-of-11 3-pointers, including five straight from well beyond NBA range, early in the fourth quarter. The 6-foot-9 forward was mobbed on the court by fans standing along the sidelines after a fifth straight trey.”

According to Adry Torres of ESPN Deportes, “He opened up the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer and followed that by making one of two free throws. The NBA All-Star then added two points on a layup before lighting up the opposition with a barrage of four 3-pointers while doubled and even triple-teamed. The last bomb made the crowd react by spilling onto the court, mobbing Durant. DC Power’s point guard Randy (White Chocolate) Gill has known Durant since the scoring wiz was 15-years-old. He said he took a step back and let Durant do his thing. “It’s an honor and pleasure playing with the greatest player in the world, Kevin Durant. He’s young and hungry and it makes your job real easy playing with a guy like that,” Gill said after the game. “Most of the time just give him the ball and get out of the way. Go spot up and then when they’re doubling, triple teaming him, you know he’s even scoring on that. He’s an explosive scorer, a great shooter and the greatest player in the world,” he added.”

“So while NBA owners/players struggle to divide billions, the league’s No.1 scorer is dropping 66 for free in the park,” said InsideHoops.com on Twitter.

We’ll add to this on Tuesday, so reload this page, but for now, here are the available videos:

Kevin Durant Rucker Park video clips:

—–

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

Wife of Indiana Pacers owner may have saved a life today

The AP reports:

The wife of Indiana Pacers owner Herb Simon directed CPR efforts on a lawyer who suffered an apparent heart attack in a Los Angeles courthouse where Bui Simon and her husband are being sued by former household help.

Bui Simon immediately rushed over Monday and directed a man on how to do chest compressions as the victim lay motionless.

Bystanders say the stricken attorney walked out of another courtroom down the hall and suddenly fell to the ground. Bui Simon shouted commands to attorney Robert Vargas, who was doing the CPR and continued to urge him on until medical personnel arrived.

David Stern salary: What does the NBA commissioner get paid?

What salary does NBA commissioner David Stern make?

It seems no one is sure.

The New York Daily News, reporting in February of 2011, said that several sources suggest Stern earned $23 million the previous season.

And today, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo reports the following:

Strange, but the union never has the courage to bring up the mystery surrounding Stern’s salary. Many owners don’t even know what Stern makes. “I’d say three or less know,” one NBA owner told Yahoo! Sports. Several believe it’s somewhere in the range of $20 million to $23 million a year, but no one knows for sure. Maybe it’s more than that, but the fact that some owners don’t know the answer is beyond belief.

Mostly, it speaks to the authoritarian culture created within the league office, and how Stern carries it out through the NBA. Some younger owners have been warned to never push the issue with him, never ask, because it’s simply unadvisable to get on the wrong side of the commissioner.

Assuming this is in the general ballpark, it sounds like David Stern’s salary is at least $20 million for the season, and perhaps a bit more.

That’s a lot of money. But it’s a big job. Commissioners of top sports leagues, CEO’s of big companies, etc. are well-paid people.

Rick Adelman not rushing into his next coaching job

Chris Hagan of the Statesman Journal reports:

For the first time in five years Rick Adelman is going through his summer without an NBA coaching job, and for now he’s taking advantage of the free time.

“Right now I don’t plan on doing anything, just taking some time off,” Adelman said Monday at Illahe Hills Country Club in South Salem, hosting the 22nd Rick Adelman Golf Classic.

The event supports the Chemeketa Community College Foundation, which provides scholarships for Chemeketa student athletes.

“It’s a hard grind in the NBA and I’ve been doing it for 20-plus years,” he said. “I’m just looking forward to getting away from it.” …

Now back living in Portland, Adelman has been connected to a number of openings, including most recently the Minnesota Timberwolves and former Lake Oswego star Kevin Love. Still, the coach said he’s not planning on returning to the sidelines just yet.

“I don’t have any plans to next year, no,” Adelman said.

“They had me interviewing a couple of places that I never even went to,” he said. “It’s all part of it now. If you don’t have a job and you’ve coached in the league, the first thing that happens if a job opens up, they throw the same names out there.

“Sometimes you know things are happening, but until you hear from teams, I don’t believe a lot of things I read,” Adelman said.

Updated list of Raptors GM candidates

David Aldridge of NBA.com reports:

Don’t expect any movement on the Toronto general manager’s search for a couple of weeks. Team president Bryan Colangelo was in Europe last week and won’t start whittling down his group of candidates until the middle of the month. Sixers GM Ed Stefanski, former Hornets GM and coach Jeff Bower and Spurs assistant GM Dennis Lindsey are among the candidates, but former Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard is also believed to be in the hunt and is a strong candidate. Pritchard took a player personnel job with the Pacers earlier this summer, but has an out in his deal that would allow him to leave if a GM job became available.

Have a reaction? Discuss it with other NBA fans in this forum topic.

Knicks will reportedly interview Mike Woodson for assistant coach spot

David Aldridge of NBA.com reports:

When Tom Gores (Detroit Pistons) came aboard in early June, he said part of his job isn’t to agree with whatever Joe Dumars wanted, but “to challenge Joe, and hopefully that will make the outcome better.” And though Dumars never publicly indicated whom he preferred to succeed John Kuester as coach, several people around the league believe he preferred former Hawks coach Mike Woodson to Frank. But Frank blew Gores and his people away during the interview process.

Yet a source insisted this weekend that Dumars concurred with Gores that Frank was the right choice for the job.

(For his part, Woodson has moved on, interviewing for the Minnesota Timberwolves’ vacancy. And a source indicates he’ll be in New York early this week to talk with the Knicks about becoming their defensive coordinator, a job that management has mandated coach Mike D’Antoni, entering the final year of his contract, accept for next season.)

Read NBA fan analysis or share your own opinion in this forum topic.

Basketball Hall of Fame immune to NBA lockout, declared safe-zone for players, owners

Lacy J. Banks of the Chicago Sun-Times reports:

Despite the NBA lockout, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame ceremonies will go on as scheduled.

‘‘We have been declared a ‘safe zone’ in terms of current players interacting with NBA team managers,” Hall of Fame president and CEO John Doleva said in an interview Thursday. ‘‘We’re a separate entity from the NBA anyway. Our program is to always honor basketball at every level and the individuals who make it great.

‘‘So we have not been told there will be any restrictions about [management] and current players interacting or any seating restrictions at our reunion banquet, our pre-enshrinement cocktail and the enshrinement ceremony itself. NBA-TV cameras will be free to interview people, including current players.”

Doleva added that former Bulls assistant coach Tex Winter, severely hampered after a stroke in 2009, has said he will attend.

The three-day ceremonies in Springfield, Mass., will start Aug. 11.