It will happen at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 5 at the San Jose State Event Center, where the current team will match up with the 2007 squad — a fan favorite because of its first-round playoffs upset as an eighth seed against the top-ranked Dallas Mavericks.
Lakers forward Matt Barnes, who played for the 2007 team, will be putting together a list of players until Monday, but there are already a handful who have committed.
That includes current Warriors Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry, David Lee, Dorrell Wright, Lou Amundson, Charlie Bell and Jeremy Bell.
Detroit Pistons’ Ben Wallace is in Oakland County Circuit Court Tuesday on weapon and drunken driving charges.
Wallace was arrested Sept. 24 at Telegraph and Long Lake Road after Bloomfield Township police officers said they saw his 2007 Cadillac Escalade swerving.
Police said they found an unloaded handgun and ammunition in a backpack in Wallace’s back seat.A field sobriety test showed Wallace was over the .08 legal limit. The handgun is registered to Wallace’s wife, police said.
Wallace said he drank four beers before he drove, police said.
— Reported by Santiago Esparza of the Detroit News
The Guangdong Southern Tigers in China are making a hard push to sign Detroit Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey, according to sources with knowledge of the negotiations.
The biggest hurdle for Guangdong to clear, though, is the same hurdle all Chinese teams face when trying to land NBA players: Stuckey would be unable to come back to the NBA until Guangdong’s season ends in the spring if he goes through with the deal.
If Stuckey elects to sign with the Tigers, he’d be obligated to stay with the Chinese team through the completion of the season in March even if the ongoing NBA lockout ends before that, thanks to rules instituted this season by the Chinese Basketball Association that prevent its teams from offering an in-season out to players signed away from the NBA.
Aside from attending a union meeting in June, Battier has kept up with the proceedings from afar, stating that it’s hard to have the necessary frame of reference if you’re not able to attend every meeting.
However, he has managed to stay in contact with members of the executive committee.
Having played for both a small market team in Memphis and a large market one in Houston, Battier has seen firsthand the discrepancy of revenue sharing, which is why he believes that could be one of the keys to getting a new CBA completed.
“Teams like Memphis, Milwaukee, Sacramento, they’re at a disadvantage because of the economics of their cities,” he said. “I would like to see us have a true partnership in every sense of the word. Let’s all share. This is an unbelievable game. This is an unbelievable opportunity for both owners and players. Let’s be partners. I think that extends to revenue sharing.”
— Reported by Marlon W. Morgan of the Memphis Commercial Appeal
In What is sure to be a common occurrence among NBA teams as the lockout continues, the 76ers yesterday let go of two of their employees – NBA scouts John Nash and Chris Ford.
At a news conference last Tuesday when the new ownership of the team was introduced, it was announced that general manager Ed Stefanski had been released of his duties…
Nash was GM of the Sixers from 1986 to ’90. His latest stint with the team started after he left the GM job with Portland after the 2005-06 season.
Ford, an Atlantic City native who went on to become a high school legend at Holy Spirit in South Jersey and a star at Villanova, coached 30 games for the Sixers during the tumultuous 2003-04 season. He replaced Randy Ayers, and the team went just 33-49 that season.
John Wall says he plans to play in Carmelo Anthony’s exhibition game in New York, if and when it’s scheduled.
“Yeah, I’ve got to,” Wall said last week. “Carmelo’s like a big brother or a big homey to me. I listen, take a lot of advice from him. So I wouldn’t mind playing in his game.”
Anthony has said he wants to host an exhibition game in the area featuring LeBron James, Chris Paul and Kevin Durant, among others. So Wall would only add to the star power.
The game is expected to be scheduled for late November and may take place in the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J.
The Los Angeles Lakers have hired Darvin Ham as an assistant coach it was announced today by Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak.
“I’m very happy to have Darvin join our coaching staff,” said Lakers Head Coach Mike Brown. “ I’ve known Darvin since his rookie year in Denver and have watched him make the transition from player to coach. He has put in the hard work that is necessary to have success at this level and I look forward to having him on our staff.”
Ham joins the Lakers after spending last season serving as the head coach of the New Mexico Thunderbirds of the NBA D-League. Prior to assuming his role as head coach, Ham spent two seasons (2008-2010) as an assistant coach for the Thunderbirds. He joined the coaching ranks after a 12-year playing career, which included eight seasons in the NBA as well as stints overseas and with the NBA D-League.
“I’m truly honored and grateful for Mike Brown, Mitch Kupchak and the entire Lakers organization for presenting me with this amazing opportunity,” said Ham. “I look forward to making my contribution in sustaining the championship tradition that the Lakers have established throughout their history in the NBA. I’m very excited about our staff and players, and am ready to get to work to help bring another championship to this prestigious franchise.”
Ham, who played for Texas Tech from 1993-96, was originally signed as a free agent with the Denver Nuggets in 1996. He played for six different teams (Denver, Indiana, Washington, Milwaukee, Atlanta and Detroit) over his eight-year NBA career, averaging 2.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 417 games. In 2004 he won an NBA Championship as a member of the Pistons. In addition, he spent one season (1998-99) playing for CB Granada in Spain. After his NBA career, Ham played in the Philippines and Puerto Rico before being drafted by the Thunderbirds with the third overall pick in the 2007 NBA D-League Draft. He joined the team as a player/coach and played in 43 games before being traded to the Austin Toros to finish the season. In 2008, Ham returned to the Thunderbirds, joining the coaching staff as an assistant.
In the wake of postponed wedding plans, a dropped domestic-violence charge and reality television show scrutiny, Lakers forward Matt Barnes announced in an emailed statement Monday that he and his fiancée, reality television star Gloria Govan, have mutually parted ways.
“I’d like to address the rumors surrounding mine and Gloria’s relationship,” Barnes’ statement read. “We have reached the difficult decision of ending our relationship and will be going our separate ways at this time. We will work together to raise our sons and wish each other only the best.”
Because Barnes and Govan never married, it remains unclear to what degree they’d share custody of their 3-year-old twins Carter Kelly and Isiah Michael, and whether they’d divide certain assets, including their Palos Verdes home. It also remains unclear if they’d continue working together with Athletes vs. Cancer, a foundation Barnes founded in 2008 that Govan has said raised $225,000 for local cancer-screening programs. Barnes and Govan could not be reached for further comment.
Knicks guard Roger Mason knows at least one owner who wished the NBA lockout ended with a labor agreement Thursday night: James Dolan.
Mason, vice president of the Players Association, has rubbed shoulders with the Knicks owner countless times this summer and fall in Manhattan hotel board rooms instead of the team’s plush practice facility.
“You can look at it and say the majority of owners don’t want a deal,” Mason told The Post yesterday from his Los Angeles home. “But there are owners eager to get a deal done. At this moment they are overshadowed by a contingent of owners who are trying to get everything they want in a new CBA.”
Asked if Dolan is one of the owners in the minority, Mason said: “Definitely. You feel excitement in the city. I know Dolan sees that, hears that. He’s definitely one of the owners who’s ready to get back to work.
Two-time scoring champion Kevin Durant can still fill up a stat sheet, Chris Paul can still orchestrate a team and LeBron James is still a highlight waiting to happen.
What they haven’t been able to do is find a deal with the NBA that they find acceptable enough to play real games again.
The All-Stars all took part in a charity exhibition game Sunday night in Oklahoma City, with hometown hero Durant recording a triple-double with 42 points, 26 rebounds and 11 assists to lead his team to a 176-171 victory in overtime.
Durant and a star-studded White team including James and Westbrook overcame a fourth-quarter deficit to beat a Blue team that featured Anthony and Paul.
James had three buckets—a pair of layups and a left-handed jam—in a 20-2 fourth-quarter run that put the White team ahead for the first time since the opening period. Durant finished it off with a 3-pointer from the right wing to make it 152-143.
Harden answered with back-to-back 3-pointers before Beasley’s fast-break dunk during a string of eight straight Blue points, and Harden hit another 3 from the top of the key for a 159-158 lead with 54.3 seconds left.
Durant answered with a 3 from the left wing with 30.4 seconds left, and Anthony’s layup with 13.1 seconds remaining sent it to overtime tied at 161.
Durant missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, and the game went to overtime. James put the White team ahead to stay with back-to-back jumpers early in the extra period.
Paul was the playmaker early on, dishing out 13 assists in the first quarter — more than one per minute. He zoomed past Durant for a layup, set up a pair of dunks by Beasley and just kept orchestrating the Blue offense. His last assist of the quarter came on a bounce pass that skipped high into the air for a James Harden alley-oop dunk, and then he finished off the period with a 3-pointer from the top of the key as the buzzer sounded.
— Reported by Jeff Latzke of the Associated Press
In a game featuring Durant, LeBron, Melo, Westbrook and Paul, would you believe me if I told you that Michael Beasley was the game’s top scorer? Be-Easy, as Rawls called him throughout the night, dropped a game-high 56 points and did it on an absurdly-efficient 25-for-35 from the field. But here’s something to keep in mind: Beasley did almost all of that during the first three quarters, when the game was an up-and-down, no-defense affair. When the game got serious in the final 11 minutes (including overtime), Beasley, who was on the floor, didn’t score, much less shoot.
The preferred shot of choice in this game? The 3. Of the 278 field goal attempts, 82 came from behind the 3-point arc (the Blue team finished 14-for-41 from 3, while the White was 13-for-41). The best shooter was Carmelo, who went 5-for-9 from deep. The biggest chuckers, though? Durant (7-for-17 from 3) and Harden (6-for-17) who went a combined 13-34 from deep.
Chris Paul had 25 assists for the game. While that number alone might impress you, consider this: He had 13 — yes, 13 — in the first eight minutes of the game. And they weren’t just easy alley-oops or drop-offs to Melo for a dunk. CP3 busted out an array of maneuvers and no-look passes to pile up his assists.
