November 2011 – Page 7 – NBA Blog

Andrei Kirilenko wins Euroleague Week 5 MVP

With a brilliant team-oriented performance that set a new standard for efficiency, CSKA Moscow forward Andrei Kirilenko made sure to keep his team undefeated while garnering Week 5 bwin MVP honors. Though Kirilenko, who was also the opening week MVP as well as the winner of the October MVP title, only recorded 3 shot attempts during his 35 minutes on the floor of CSKA’s 77-66 victory, he managed to score, rebound and play defense to the fullest. Kirilenko finished the night with 17 points on near perfect shooting – 1 of 2 two-pointers, 1 for 1 from behind the arc and 12 of 13 on free throws – plus 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 6 steals, 3 blocked shots and 7 fouls drawn to amass the highest performance index rating in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague yet this season: 39. Kirilenko now leads the league in performance index rating with an average of 29.4 per game. He is also the league-leader in both rebounding (9 rpg.) and blocked shots (3.2 bpg.) and ranked third in steals (2.2 spg.).

— Reported by Euroleague.net

Dwyane Wade will listen to overseas options, just in case

Dwyane Wade is ready to play basketball. Preferably in Miami.

And if that’s not an option, he’s preparing himself to start looking elsewhere.

Wade said Thursday that he has authorized agent Henry Thomas to listen to any viable offers that may be out there for him to play internationally this season — with the caveat that, until such time as all hope for an NBA season is gone, he won’t be signing any deal with any other club.

“I told my agent to just take a peek,” Wade said in an interview with The Associated Press. “It’s time. There’s a possibility that we’re not going to have a season. We’ve got to see what’s out there, what the possibilities are. I want to play competitive basketball this year. I’ve missed a year of basketball in my life before. I’m not trying to miss another. I don’t have too many years of basketball left.”

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

NBA owners hold conference call

NBA owners held a conference call Thursday to receive an update on the lockout, a person with knowledge of the details said.

Also Thursday, the antitrust lawsuit filed by players in California was reassigned to U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti. The first case management conference has been scheduled for March 9.

Though that would be too late to save the season, the sides could request the date to be moved up, or they could settle before it ever got that point. Attorney David Boies, representing players in an antitrust lawsuit against the league in California, said he hoped it wouldn’t be necessary to litigate the case all the way through.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Shaq rejected entrance by NYC club

Shaquille O’Neal couldn’t power his way through the lane at a New York nightclub this weekend — getting TURNED AWAY at the door … all because he was dressed like a lumberjack.

TMZ has learned … Shaq rolled up to nightclub/restaurant Mars 2112 on Saturday night wearing jeans, a sweatshirt, tennis shoes and a beanie (pictured above with random fan later that night).

But according to the club promoter, Mike Mogul, Shaq’s attire wasn’t up to club standards … so security politely informed the retired NBA star that he would not be allowed inside.

— Reported by TMZ

Suns guard Aaron Brooks signs in China

Phoenix Suns restricted free-agent guard Aaron Brooks has agreed to a one-year deal with Guandong of the Chinese Basketball Association, sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Brooks is a popular player in China from his days of playing with Yao Ming in Houston. He’s been talking on and off with Chinese teams for several months, and finally agreed to a deal believed to be worth more than $2 million for the season…

Brooks will play with Washington Wizards free agent Yi Jianlian in Guangdong. The roster also includes Americans Fred Jones and Lester Hudson.

— Reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports

J.J. Barea gets contract offer in China

The Xinjiang Flying Tigers in China this week added J.J. Barea to their wish list and have extended a contract offer to the Dallas Mavericks free-agent guard, according to sources close to the situation.

ESPN.com reported Monday that Xinjiang was also chasing Atlanta Hawks free agent Jamal Crawford to fill the void created by a long-term wrist injury suffered by former Sacramento Kings first-round pick Quincy Douby.

Crawford has since said in multiple interviews that he’s considering the offer, but Xinjiang wants to move fast after losing Douby — one of the best players in the Chinese Basketball Association last season — just days away from the Nov. 19 season opener.

Barea, though, has expressed interest in playing in Spain and, according to sources close to Puerto Rico national team star, continues to explore his options there as well.

— Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com

Doc Rivers keeping eye on son, Austin, at Duke

Freshman guard Austin Rivers came to Duke as one of the nation’s top players, the kind of lofty status that always generates a bunch of one (year) and done talk.

But with the NBA lockout already wiping out hundreds of games already – and more likely to come in the coming weeks – you have to wonder if he or any other highly-touted player is all that eager to make that jump.

Austin’s father, Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers, said his son hasn’t really paid too much attention to the many issues that have factored into the stalemate between the owners and the union.

“He’s just trying to be a better player. He’s had good games and bad games already as a freshman,” the elder Rivers said. “He’s just trying to not be a freshman.”

In three games for the Blue Devils (3-0), Rivers has averaged 12 points per game while shooting 37.5 percent from the field.

— Reported by A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE

Dirk Nowitzki is out of shape, says his personal coach

Dallas Mavericks’ German power forward Dirk Nowitzki, MVP in the Mavericks’ NBA finals triumph in June, is not ruling out the possibility of a move to Europe if the current NBA lock-out continues.

“This week we are going back to work, Dirk has not touched the ball since the European Championship at the end of September,” declared Nowitzki’s personal coach Holger Geschwindner, who also said the player was “ruling nothing out, even if he has no concrete ideas” about a switch to Europe.

“At the moment, Dirk is out of shape. We are going to work hard over the nex two weeks,” added Geschwindner.

“If he goes anywhere, he will be going there for the whole season.”

— Reported by AFP

Luol Deng may sign overseas

Add Luol Deng to the list of players more seriously considering European offers now that the NBA lockout is in the hands of lawyers.

Deng, who has been receiving offers for weeks to play overseas, is seriously considering four to five offers and could make a decision as early as next week, according to his Chicago-based agent Herb Rudoy. Any offer Deng signed would contain an opt-out clause should the NBA lockout end to salvage a shortened season, Rudoy said.

Deng, who is currently visiting family and overseeing charity work in his native Sudan, is a British citizen who has become the face of Great Britain’s national team since that country granted his family political asylum years ago. The offers that Deng is most seriously considering are based in Europe.

— Reported by K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune

Kevin Durant in talks with a basketball team in Germany

The agent for Kevin Durant confirmed an overseas media report Thursday that the Oklahoma City Thunder star is in talks with BBC Bayreuth about playing in Germany during the ongoing NBA lockout.

Agent Aaron Goodwin told ESPN.com on Thursday night that talks between the teams are “ongoing” but said the deal is not in the final stages as described by SPOX.com.

The SPOX report quoted Bayreuth general manager Bayreuth GM Uli Eichbaum as saying: “We’re in the final stages of a deal and I’m an optimist. It’s not looking bad.”

Over the weekend, Durant told Yahoo! Sports that he was also weighing offers from Maccabi Tel-Aviv in Israel and Valencia in Spain.

“I’m right on the fence with playing overseas and I’m about to jump over,” Durant said.

— Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com