June 2012 – Page 8 – NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog

Kings extend qualifying offer to Jason Thompson

The Sacramento Kings today extended a qualifying offer to Jason Thompson, making him a restricted free agent, according to Kings President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie.

Thompson averaged 9.1 ppg (.535 FG, .602 FT), 6.9 rpg and 1.2 apg through 64 outings with the Kings last season, of which he started 47. He was selected by Sacramento with the 12th overall pick of the 2008 NBA Draft and is averaging 10.5 ppg (.498 FG, .663 FT), 7.2 rpg, and 1.3 apg over his four-year career.

In accordance with the league’s collective bargaining agreement, in order for a team to retain its right of first refusal with respect to a restricted free agent, the team must tender the player a qualifying offer prior to June 30. A restricted free agent may sign an offer sheet with any team, but is subject to a right of first refusal with the team for which the player last played.

Grant Hill named to Presidential Delegation to opening ceremony of 2012 Olympics

President Obama announced the Presidential Delegation to the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London, which will include Phoenix Suns forward and 1996 Olympic gold medalist Grant Hill. First Lady Michelle Obama will lead the delegation this summer, accompanied by Olympic and Paralympic greats to attend the Opening Ceremony, meet with U.S. athletes, and encourage American children to be active in their daily lives.

The First Lady is working to turn the inspiration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games into action by getting more kids healthy and active. In May, the First Lady joined U.S. Olympians, Paralympians, and London hopefuls to announce a nationwide commitment to get more than 1.7 million American children active as part of her Let’s Move! initiative to solve the problem of childhood obesity in a generation. In March, Mrs. Obama welcomed Mrs. Samantha Cameron, wife of British Prime Minister David Cameron, to the United States by hosting a mini-Olympic event for local school children and in April, Mrs. Obama spoke at the Opening Ceremony for the 2012 Warrior Games.

“This summer I’ll be cheering on Team U.S.A. at the Olympic Games in London with this distinguished group of champions who truly represent the best of our country,” said First Lady Michelle Obama. “Olympians and Paralympians are true American heroes and role models for all of us, especially our young people. And I know that this delegation will help inspire a generation of young people to get into the Olympic spirit by getting active and healthy so they can reach their fullest potential and reach their dreams.”

Members of the Delegation

– First Lady Michelle Obama

– The Honorable Louis B. Susman, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

– Ms. Brandi Chastain, 2-time Olympic gold medalist (1996, 2004), 1-time Olympic silver medalist (2000), Women’s Soccer

– Ms. Dominique Dawes, Co-chair of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition and Olympic gold medalist (1996), 3-time Olympic bronze medalist (1992, 1996, 2000), Women’s Gymnastics

– Mr. Gabriel Diaz de Leon, Paralympic javelin gold medalist (1992), Paralympic discus silver medalist (1992), Paralympic shot put and discus bronze medalist (1988, 1996, 2000)

– Mr. Grant Hill, Member of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition and Olympic gold medalist (1996), Men’s Basketball

– Ms. Summer Sanders, 2-time Olympic gold medalist (1992), 1-time Olympic silver medalist (1992), 1-time Olympic bronze medalist (1992), Women’s Swimming

Hawks name Danny Ferry President of Basketball Operations and GM

The Atlanta Hawks announced today that Danny Ferry has been named President of Basketball Operations and General Manager.

“Over the past nine years Danny Ferry has earned tremendous respect as a front office executive in the NBA,” said Atlanta Hawks partner, Bruce Levenson. “His philosophy, character, and commitment to creating enduring and successful organizations exemplify exactly what we are looking for in a leader of the Atlanta Hawks. Danny’s systematic and value driven approach has helped him become one of the preeminent minds in basketball. He is passionate about building an organization the right way, knows how to win and knows how to forge winning teams. We look forward to having him as our leader of basketball operations.”

Ferry was previously with the San Antonio Spurs serving as the team’s vice president of basketball operations from 2010-2012. Prior to the Spurs, Ferry held the role of General Manager for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2005-2010, where the Cavaliers posted a 272-138 (.663) record, enjoyed the NBA’s best regular season record in both 2008-09 and 2009-10 and advanced to the 2007 NBA Finals, marking the franchise’s first, and only, trip to the NBA Finals.

Ferry’s NBA career included playing for the San Antonio Spurs (2000-2003) and the Cleveland Cavaliers (1990-2000). In his 13-year NBA career, Ferry averaged 7.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in 917 career games. Shortly after winning an NBA Championship with the San Antonio Spurs in 2003, Ferry then began his NBA front office career with the team as director of basketball operations. He remained with the Spurs through the 2004-05 season, when the team captured its third Championship.

“My family and I are thrilled to join the Hawks organization and Atlanta community,” said Hawks new President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Danny Ferry. “There were many components that made this the right fit for me but clearly my confidence in the ownership group and their dedication to building a Championship caliber franchise was most important. They are committed to building with the right people and investing in critical areas for development; both essential elements if we want to create sustained success. ”

A native of Hyattsville, MD, Ferry played four seasons at Duke (1985-1989) where he was named a First Team All-American as both a junior and a senior, received the 1989 Naismith Award and was inducted into the Duke Sports Hall of Fame in September of 2004.

Ferry’s contract is a multi-year deal the specifics of which were not disclosed.

Magic fire longtime assistant GM and 6 scouts

New Orlando Magic General Manager Rob Hennigan has started to reconfigure the franchise’s basketball operations department.

On Sunday, Hennigan fired Assistant General Manager Dave Twardzik and six scouts.

In addition to Twardzik, regional scout Tom Conrad, international scout Rudy D’Amico, international scouting coordinator Sam Foggin, pro scout Bob Staak, regional scout Greg Stratton and NBA advance scout Al Walker were let go, team spokesman Joel Glass confirmed.

Scouting coordinator Brian Wright will remain on the staff, Glass said.

Hennigan declined to comment.

Glass said Twardzik has been given the option to remain with the team through Thursday’s NBA draft, but it’s unclear whether Twardzik will do so.

— Reported by Josh Robbins and Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel

Tony Parker may miss Olympics due to eye injury from Drake vs Chris Brown fight

French basketball team leader Tony Parker could miss the Olympics because has not recovered as fast as expected from an injury to his left eye.

The San Antonio Spurs guard was injured in a New York nightclub 10 days ago and said he eventually had to undergo surgery to have a shard of glass removed from his eye, which he was at risk of losing.

Parker had expected to be back training after a week-long rest but said on Sunday he was still sidelined and may have to withdraw from the London Games.

“As required by the Spurs, I will go back to the U.S. on July 5… I will visit a specialist in New York, hoping he will give the green light to compete at the Games,” Parker said on his official website (www.tp9.net).

— Reported by Reuters

Luol Deng will not be shocked if Bulls trade him

Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng revealed this weekend that he will not be surprised if the Bulls trade him this offseason.

While at training camp in Texas with Great Britain’s national team preparing for the London Olympics, Deng said he does not believe the Bulls are shopping him in retaliation for his decision to delay the wrist surgery he needs until after the Games.

But Deng, 27, did acknowledge that he’s not dismissing recent reports suggesting the Bulls are willing to trade him for a top pick in Thursday’s NBA draft, with speculation mounting that Chicago could send Deng to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for the No. 7 overall pick.

“I believe there is always to some extent truth behind rumors,” Deng said. “But as an athlete, if you get caught up in them, you are really wasting your time because it’s not something you can control.

“If it’s not true, a GM could always come out and say it’s not true. But if a GM doesn’t come out and say it, there are probably talks. And there should be. If I was a GM I would be shopping players around too. I’ve got to show that I’m doing something.”

— Reported by Ian Whittell, special to ESPN Chicago

GM Rich Cho engineers scouting database for Bobcats

The Charlotte Bobcats’ new database scouting system has over 50,000 web pages.

You can instantly look up year-by-year statistics for Boston Celtics great Bill Russell … or any other player in NBA history. You can check the injury archive of a Slovenian playing in the Spanish league or whether a forward in the Development League was ever busted for drugs.

This is Charlotte Bobcats general manager Rich Cho’s baby, an Internet-friendly system that took six months and a six-figure cost to develop. Now it evolves daily and gets put to the test in Thursday night’s NBA draft, when the Bobcats select second and 31st following a 7-59 season.

Cho’s boss, president of basketball operations Rod Higgins, has a simple description for this complex tool: “One-stop shopping.”

The result, the Bobcats hope, is that quicker access to a buffet of information offers a competitive advantage in player evaluation.

When Cho interviewed with the Bobcats a year ago, he told Higgins and team owner Michael Jordan he thought the front office needed more staffing and fresh technology. When you’re dealing with decisions as consequential as the No. 2 pick, don’t you want the best tools available?

Jordan agreed, approving the hiring of three new support staff, including a Harvard graduate to oversee statistical analysis. Then Jordan tasked Cho with reviewing the Bobcats’ scouting system, to see whether it should be replaced.

The Bobcats were using “Hawkeye,” one of several plug-in scouting tools NBA teams can buy and adapt to their needs. Cho thought it wiser to start from scratch, to customize a Bobcats-only system. Among NBA executives, he has a rare background that qualifies him to do just that.

— Reported by Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer

Scott Brooks looking to discuss new contract with Thunder

The Thunder enter the offseason with coach Scott Brooks’ contract about to expire, Sixth Man of the Year James Harden and NBA blocks leader Serge Ibaka eligible for new deals and the future of veterans Derek Fisher and Nazr Mohammed up in the air.

It will be up to general manager Sam Presti to determine whether they all can still fit on a team where All-Stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are already locked into expensive, long-term deals.

“It’s going to be difficult decisions but we’ll see what happens,” forward Nick Collison said Saturday. “Obviously, we want everybody back. We feel like we’ve got a really good core group and we feel like we can get it done with our group, so hopefully it can happen.”

Brooks’ situation is the most urgent, with his deal expiring at the end of the month.

“I’m sure in the next couple of days we will sit down and get together. Definitely, I wish I was preparing or just finishing up practice going into Game 6,” Brooks said. “You definitely need a few days just to reflect on what we’ve done this year. But the next couple of days, we plan on getting together.”

— Reported by the Associated Press

James Harden hopes for contract extension with Thunder

The reigning Sixth Man of the Year says he doesn’t plan to be coming off anyone’s bench but Oklahoma City’s.

James Harden said Saturday that he “loves it” with the Thunder and expects a contract extension to be worked out between his agent and Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti.

“They’ll do a pretty good job of working it out,” Harden said. “I’m focused on several other things right now. But when the time is (right), they’ll figure it out and it’ll be done.”

In his third season, Harden averaged 16.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists while coming off the bench for the Western Conference champions and proved to be a key piece for the young and talented Thunder.

— Reported by ESPN.com news services

Deron Williams prefers Nets, Mavericks

When NBA free agency begins at midnight July 1, Brooklyn Nets star guard Deron Williams will be choosing from a two-team list that only features the Nets and the Dallas Mavericks, according to sources close to the situation.

Sources told ESPN.com on Saturday night that, while this summer’s No. 1 free agent remains “up in the air” about which team he’ll ultimately chose, Williams already has made the decision to narrow his list of potential destinations to those two franchises.

Other teams, including the Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets, had been hoping to lodge their own bids for Williams once free agency begins, sources said. The Los Angeles Lakers, likewise have continued to express interest in a sign-and-trade package built around Pau Gasol for Williams, sources say, despite the Nets’ longstanding insistence that they have no interest in Gasol and would only consider such a move if they were getting back All-Star center Andrew Bynum, whom the Lakers have not made available.

Sources say Williams, in any case, already has instructed his representatives to advise any team that calls starting at 12:01 a.m. July 1 that he intends to either re-sign with the Nets or return to his hometown with the Mavericks after a glittering high school career in the Dallas area.

— Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com