August 2011 – Page 8 – NBA Blog

Charges dropped in alleged kidnapping over Shaq sex tape

The AP reports:

Los Angeles County prosecutors have dropped the case against seven gang members accused of kidnapping a music producer who claimed to have a sex tape of Shaquille O’Neal.

At the prosecution’s request, a judge Tuesday dismissed kidnapping, assault and robbery charges.

District attorney’s spokeswoman Jane Robison says prosecutors believed Robert Ross was attacked but his credibility as a witness was undermined by some of his own testimony and behaviour outside court. No details were provided.

Kevin Garnett helped Marquis Daniels during scary injury

Jessica Camerato of CSNNE reports:

It began like a routine play. Marquis Daniels caught the ball near the baseline and attempted to drive to the basket against Gilbert Arenas. The two players collided and . . . in an instant, everything changed.

His right arm crashed into the parquet first, followed by his face. Daniels lay flat on the court, unable to feel his body but still conscious. He thought about his two young children – “Man, I can’t raise my kids like this. This can’t be it.” – as the crowd of 18,624 at the TD Garden came to a deafening hush, waiting – and hoping – to see any sign of movement.

Daniels heard a voice. In that moment, the most intense player on the court was suddenly the calming assurance he needed.

“I just remember I kept hearing Kevin [Garnett] telling me, ‘You’re gonna be alright. You’re gonna be alright,’” Daniels told CSNNE.com in a telephone interview. “I was like, ‘I can‘t move.’ He said, ’What do you mean?’ He kept telling me I was gonna be alright. I think that helped me out a lot, just hearing his voice telling me I was going to be alright. I stayed calm, I didn’t panic.

“It was a trying time for me. I didn’t take anything for granted. I was going to take everything seriously from now on.”

Yao Ming primed to receive Hall of Fame nomination in 2012

Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com reports:

Yao Ming appears destined to be an unexpected member of the next Hall of Fame class.

Officials of the basketball museum said representatives from the Chinese Basketball Association and media in China signaled plans to nominate Yao in the contributor category and bypass the usual five-year waiting period for retired players.

While there is no such thing as certainty in a balloting so secretive that even the voters are never revealed, let alone the results, Yao being nominated as a contributor removes the debate that might have accompanied his nomination as a player after an injury-plagued career. Plus, after announcing his retirement from the Rockets in July, he would not have been eligible for enshrinement until 2017.

This unique approach would put Yao on the ballot that is submitted in late-2011 and faces two rounds of voting before inductees for the Class of 2012 are announced at the Final Four in New Orleans. The actual enshrinement would be later in the summer, likely August, in Springfield.

InsideHoops.com editor says: I wouldn’t put Yao Ming in the Hall of Fame as a player, because he simply didn’t play enough. A very good center who was often pretty great, Yao wasn’t as healthy as needed for a full career. But I have no objection to putting Yao in the Hall as a “contributor” to basketball, which is term that is extremely open to interpretation. And in this case, it seems reasonable. He helped bring millions of new fans to basketball, and inspired millions of others to care more. And lots of them will stick around and be a part of the sport, even as Yao’s playing days are finished.

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Suns swingman Mickael Pietrus on mend after knee surgery

Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports:

The good thing these days about a minor July knee surgery on a NBA player is that the lockout leaves next to no concern that he will miss any training camp or games.

The better thing about Suns swingman Mickael Pietrus’ surgery is that it was apparently routine. Pietrus’ agent, Bill McCandless, said Pietrus had a right knee arthroscopy to remove loose bodies almost three weeks ago in France and will be finished with rehabilitation by the end of this month.

“One piece of loose cartilage was lodged in a spot that impinged his movement and caused him pain during the season,” McCandless said. “He says he’s much, much better. The good news is he’s been forced to work. He has his strength back and no pain.”

Pietrus rented a house across the street from his rehabilitation center in France.

LeBron James trying to learn from Hakeem Olajuwon

The AP reports:

LeBron James is working out twice a day, trying to erase some of the sting that’s still there after the Heat lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA finals.

”Right now I’ve just been focusing on being a better player, working on my game every single day,” James said at a news conference before the AP interview. ”Like I said, the Dallas Mavericks were a great team and they deserved to win that championship. And I’ll just use that as motivation coming into this season.”

He’s also trying to deliver on his vow to be even better whenever the Heat resume play, saying he’s been in Houston at times this offseason to learn post play from one of the game’s all-time greats, former Rockets star Hakeem Olajuwon.

”I look at what he was able to do throughout his career,” James said. ”Unbelievable talent. Multiple champion. Just to see how he was able to dominate in the low post, for me as an individual, I just try to look at some of the things I feel I need to get better at and hit home at it. Our team becomes better if I continue to get better and that’s what it’s about.”

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Glancing at guard Carlos Arroyo

Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times (blog) reports:

Carlos Arroyo, 32, a nine-year veteran who last season played 49 games with the Miami Heat and 15 with the Boston Celtics, wouldn’t cost much, and he would feel comfortable and experienced enough to run an offense. This would by no means be a splash signing, and wouldn’t fully address the Lakers’ point guard needs. But with the Lakers strapped financially and looking at a market that doesn’t have many promising point guards, this might be one of the “tweaks” the Lakers could get in the lineup. For the past three seasons, Arroyo has eclipsed his career shooting mark. He can handle the ball. He’s solid in promoting good ball movement and finding the open man. Mix all of those ingredients together, and you at least have a steady option to lower to some degree the minutes logged by Derek Fisher and Steve Blake.

Actress who played Snoop on The Wire pleads guilty in drug case

Tricia Bishop of the Baltimore Sun reports:

Felicia “Snoop” Pearson, who overcame a troubled childhood and a murder conviction to launch an acting career as a drug-gang assassin on HBO’s “The Wire,” pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy to sell heroin.

She was sentenced to seven years in prison, with all of the time suspended except for the five months she has already served while awaiting trial, most of it spent at home, under electronic monitoring. She could be sent back to finish the term if she violates probation over the next three years.

“While I’m delighted to have you here, I don’t want to see you again,” Baltimore Circuit Judge Lawrence P. Fletcher-Hill told the actress, expressing a sentiment shared by her fans, many of whom were crushed by the news of her March arrest in an early-morning sting operation…

Pearson and several dozen others were arrested in a series of March raids on allegations that they ran a vast heroin conspiracy throughout the city. The scheme was discovered after authorities recorded key players discussing the alleged operation on a wiretap — a case of life imitating “The Wire,” which depicted Baltimore’s drug trade and law enforcement efforts to battle it.

Dwight Howard wants Magic fans to be louder during regular season

Zach McCann of the Orlando Sentinel (blog) reports:

A Magic fan named Otiga Ogubi, under the twitter handle of @tstreetz77, sent a Twitter message to Howard saying, “we sell out the Orena and 85% r just there to look good until the playoffs.”

Howard agreed, expressing concern about the Amway Center crowd.

Howard wrote back, “that upsets me cuz I don’t wait till the playoffs to play hard. I give y’all my best everynite. Y becuz some people don’t get a chance to be at everygame. And I want them to always remember the nite they saw me play. So. I play for y’all. I feed off the fans. ESP at home. It’s a different atmosphere in the playoffs at the arena. That same atmosphere should be during the season.”

If you’re not adept at Twitter-speak, Howard said he plays hard every night because he wants every fan to remember the time he or she saw Howard play. Because he’s bringing his best every night, he wants fans to bring playoff intensity every night.

Ben Gordon ruled out of EuroBasket 2011

FIBA reports:

Ben Gordon will not be making his international debut for Great Britain this summer after all.

British Basketball on Monday confirmed that the Detroit Pistons guard won’t be a part of Chris Finch’s charges as they head for EuroBasket in Lithuania at the end of the month.

The 28-year-old guard decided to sit out because of complications regarding the NBA lockout and the proposed insurance coverage.

“We are obviously very disappointed that Ben is not able to join us this year but we fully understand and respect his decision,” said British Basketball Performance Director Chris Spice.

Atlanta Hawks reach sale agreement

The Meruelo Group, led by founder Alex Meruelo, and Atlanta Spirit LLC have reached an agreement on the sale of a majority ownership stake in the National Basketball Association’s Atlanta Hawks and the Philips Arena operating rights, it was announced today. Completion of the sale is subject to approval by the NBA Board of Governors and terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“I am a lifelong basketball fan, a student of the NBA game, and this is a dream come true for me,” stated Alex Meruelo, founder and chief executive officer of the Meruelo Group. “I am committed to winning and look forward to engaging with our wonderful fans, our dedicated season ticket holders, our committed corporate partners and this passionate community. I believe that both the Hawks and Philips Arena have unlimited potential for the future. I am honored to be a part of that future”

With roots dating to 1986, the Meruelo Group is a diversified holding and management company owned and controlled by prominent U.S. Hispanic business executive Alex Meruelo. The Meruelo Group has diverse holdings in banking and financial services, restaurants and food services, construction and engineering, real estate, hotel/casino operations and private equity.

The Atlanta Hawks will remain a long-term tenant of Philips Arena and Alex Meruelo will serve as the Hawks’ Governor to the NBA.

The transaction is expected to close in late 2011, subject to NBA approval and customary closing conditions. In keeping with the terms of their confidentiality agreement and NBA regulations, both parties have agreed not to comment further on the transaction pending a final close.