October 2011 – Page 12 – NBA Blog

Local Miami businesses hurt by NBA lockout

A normal day’s take at Bayside’s Los Ranchos steakhouse is roughly $7,000. On Miami Heat game nights, the restaurant usually clears a hefty $12,000.

At the Four Seasons on Miami’s Brickell Avenue, visiting NBA teams often book dozens of rooms at the $400-a-night hotel — with basketball-related revenues topping a half-million dollars per year.

And at Tickets of America, located across the street from the AmericanAirlines Arena, Heat basketball is its lifeblood. Owner Michael Lipman deals heavily in the floor seat market, with playoff passes reaching the tens of thousands of dollars.

But these are anxious times for all three businesses, as the prolonged NBA labor dispute this week reaches a critical stage. Due to the three-month-long lockout, the entire preseason has been scrapped. And if the owners and players’ union do not carve out an agreement Monday — a dubious prospect, at best — the first two weeks of the regular season are likely lost. The first home game is scheduled for Nov. 3.

That means no LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

No lines out the door at Los Ranchos, no lengthy room service bills at the Four Seasons, and quiet telephone lines at Lipman’s ticket shop.

— Reported by Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald

Carmelo Anthony expects NBA games to be canceled

With NBA commissioner David Stern saying the start of the regular season will be canceled if no deal is reached by Monday to end the lockout, Carmelo Anthony said he was not expecting a miracle.

“Right now, it looks like they’re going to cancel the first two weeks of the season,” the New York forward said after scoring 30 points as his Team Wade beat Team LeBron 141-140 on Saturday night in a charity game put together by Miami stars Dwayne Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh.

“Let’s be realistic,” Anthony added. “I don’t think nothing is going to happen between now and Monday. We just got to prepare for that and prepare for the lockout for the first two weeks of the regular season.”

— Reported by NewsCore via Fox Sports Florida

NBA`s loss has become China`s gain

Carrie Xu is used to rooting against the Nuggets. She’s a Los Angeles Lakers fan, after all. And this season, she’ll continue to root against the Nuggets. She’s a Shanghai Sharks fan, after all.

And three Nuggets of this past season are on rival teams in the Chinese Basketball Association — Kenyon Martin now plays for Xinjiang Gyang Hui, while Wilson Chandler and J.R. Smith play for Zhejiang Guangsha.

“I’m sad about the lockout and about the current status of the lockout,” said Xu, a former Nike employee who blogs for chinasportsbiz.com. “But I’m happy for the Chinese basketball fans, who can enjoy such great players.”

There should be some great ball in China this winter. The Nuggets players will likely put on a show, though the competition level is more Joel Anthony than Carmelo Anthony. To put it in perspective, the top scorer on the CBA’s top team last year was American Quincy Douby — and not many folks have even heard of Quincy Douby.

— Reported by Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post

Amar`e Stoudemire looks healthy and fit in South Florida charity game

Knicks superstars Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony keyed last night’s Team Wade 141-140 overtime victory over Team LeBron in the South Florida All-Star Classic hosted by Isiah Thomas and Florida International.

But neither player believes he is going to be keying victories for the Knicks any time soon.

“The way it looks right now they’re going to cancel the first two weeks of the season,” Anthony said after dropping 30 points and hitting a clutch, game-tying 3-pointer with two seconds left to force overtime.

Stoudemire dropped in 21 points to go with 10 rebounds and hit two of Team Wade’s final three buckets in overtime, scoring five points in the final 45 seconds. It wasn’t a bd showing for Stoudemire, who spent most of the summer rehabbing a pulled back muscle.

“I felt great,” Stoudemire said. “First time playing since the playoffs. I feel I’m in great shape. It’s the most I played since last season.”

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

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Raptors guard Jose Calderon to train with Barcelona

Barcelona says Toronto Raptors point guard Jose Calderon has followed the Gasol brothers and decided to train with the Spanish club during the NBA lockout.

Calderon is the latest Spanish international to practice with Barcelona after Los Angeles Lakers center Pau Gasol and his brother Marc of the Memphis Grizzlies linked up with the club earlier this week.

While the Gasol brothers are practicing with the first team, Calderon will train with the Barcelona B team from Sunday.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Hawks center Zaza Pachulia signs in Turkey

Days after qualifying for the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Regular Season, newcomer Galatasaray of Turkey announced on Friday the return of big man Zaza Pachulia to Europe’s top competition. Pachulia (2.10 meters, 27 years old) arrives from the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA, where last season he averaged 4.4 points and 4.2 rebounds in 79 appearances. Pachulia made his Euroleague debut during the 2001-02 season playing with Ulker Istanbul, where he stayed for two years.

— Reported by Euroleague.net

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Monday meeting reportedly canceled after players reject owners 50/50 BRI proposal

The NBA and its locked-out players are unlikely to meet again before Monday, almost assuring the first two weeks of regular-season games will be canceled.

Who’s to blame for scuttling a proposed weekend meeting between the sides depends on who you ask.

Sources told ESPN The Magazine’s Chris Broussard that the union asked for the meeting, and the owners agreed — on the condition the players agree to a 50-50 split of basketball-related income. When the union rejected that stance, the owners said there was no need to meet, the sources said.

NBA spokesman Tim Frank confirmed to ESPN The Magazine’s Ric Bucher that the owners are sticking to the 50-50 revenue split. But he said it was the players, not the owners, who declined to meet.

“We told the union today that we were willing to meet as early as Sunday,” Frank said. “We also advised them that we were unwilling to move above the 50-50 split of revenues that was discussed between the parties on Tuesday but that we wanted to meet with them to discuss the many remaining open issues. The union declined.”

As a result, the first two weeks of the season will almost certainly be canceled.

— Reported by Chris Broussard of ESPN the Magazine

Ed Stefanski in talks to become Raptors GM

Philadelphia 76ers executive Ed Stefanski is engaged in advanced talks with the Toronto Raptors to take over as general manager, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Stefanski would move into the franchise’s No. 2 basketball executive job under president Bryan Colangelo. Stefanski, who is in the final year of his deal in Philadelphia and has the GM title, knows he probably won’t be retained after his contract expires, sources said. Stefanski lost his spot as the Sixers’ top decision maker a year ago to Rod Thorn, and now the franchise is waiting for the NBA to approve the team’s sale to a New York investment group.

— Reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports

Kobe Bryant to appear on Extreme Makeover Home Edition

According to a post on the UC Irvine athletic department’s Facebook site, Bryant plans to appear on an episode of ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition, during which he will help coordinate rebuilding efforts for residents in the Joplin, Mo., area. A reported 160 people died from a tornado that swept through that region on May 22 and has been considered the seventh deadliest in U.S. history.

It remains unclear when filming will take place.

— Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times

Utah Jazz hire Sidney Lowe as assistant coach

When Tyrone Corbin was hired to be Jerry Sloan’s successor in February, the new Utah Jazz coach received a congratulatory phone call from an old friend.

About two months later, the same buddy — whom he played alongside two decades ago — dialed Corbin’s digits for a much different reason.

“Now,” Sidney Lowe told Corbin in that second conversation, “I’m calling for a job.”

Any extra-minute fees or roaming charges incurred back then proved to be well worth it.

Lowe, Corbin’s teammate in 1989-90 during Minnesota’s inaugural season, was introduced Thursday as the Jazz’s third assistant coach.

It took half of a year for Lowe’s job-seeking call to result in an offer, but the two-time NBA head coach and his new boss couldn’t be happier that the feeler chat led to them being on the same team again.

— Reported by Jody Genessy of the Deseret News