August 2012 – Page 13 – NBA Blog

Kobe Bryant reaction to Dwight Howard trade

The Lakers revamped their roster by acquiring Steve Nash in a sign-and-trade with Phoenix, and with the addition of Howard, the NBA’s most dominant big man who was left off the Olympic roster following back surgery.

“I’ll probably play two or three more years and (after that) the team is his,” Bryant said. “I’m excited for the Lakers franchise. Because this is a guy who can carry the franchise well after I’m gone. So it should be his. He should be willing to accept the challenge.”

Bryant whispered as he spoke to a large group of reporters after the U.S. defeated Argentina for the third time in three weeks. He was trying to play it cool but after expressing disappointment in December when the NBA voided a deal that would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers, Bryant couldn’t contain his excitement.

“All of a sudden, that gets pulled out from underneath us,” Bryant said of the rejected Paul trade. “Then (the Lakers front office) regroups and they come up with something that’s even better. It’s . . . it’s unprecedented.”

— Reported by Frank Isola of the New York Daily News

Bulls keeping tight lid on Derrick Rose recovery

The Bulls are keeping such a tight lid on Rose’s recovery that they won’t even address whether his knee has recovered enough to allow him to begin shooting.

Because trainer Fred Tedeschi said Rose would begin spot-shooting 12 weeks after the surgery he had May 12, though, it’s fair to assume he has been shooting while working out in Southern California. That begs this question:

Given how hard Rose works and how much time he spends in the gym, how much better a shooter can he become if that’s all he is allowed to do for the majority of the offseason?

‘‘He can only do three things,’’ said former NBA point guard Tim Hardaway, who missed the 1993-94 season after suffering a similar injury. ‘‘He can dribble — not run and dribble, just dribble walking up and down the court; he can shoot a bunch of free throws; and he can shoot a bunch of set shots like he’s playing

H-O-R-S-E every day, all day.

‘‘But that’s going to make him better. If you shoot 1,000 jump shots a day, 1,000 free throws a day, you’re going to get better. That made my shot better. It

really made my jump shot and free-throw percentage better.’’

— Reported by Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times

Cleveland Cavaliers sign center Micheal Eric

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed center Micheal Eric to a contract, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

Eric, 24, played in 101 games (68 starts) at Temple, averaging 6.0 points on .503 shooting, 4.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 16.9 minutes per game. As a senior in 2011-12, he played in 19 games (15 starts) and averaged 9.0 points on .521 shooting while leading the team in rebounds (8.8) and blocks (2.1) in 25.1 minutes per game. He missed 13 games during the season due to a fractured right patella.

The 6-foot-11, 240-pound native of Nigeria played in five games with the Cavaliers in the 2012 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas and averaged 4.0 points on .667 shooting and 3.8 rebounds in 12.6 minutes per game.

Dwight Howard traded to Lakers in 4-team deal; Bynum to 76ers, Iguodala to Nuggets

The Orlando Magic have acquired six players and five future draft picks in a four-team, 12-player trade, General Manager Rob Hennigan announced today.

Orlando acquired guard Aaron Afflalo (ah-FLAH-low) and forward Al Harrington from Denver, forward Maurice Harkless and center Nikola Vucevic (KNEE-coal-uh VOOCH-uh-vitch) from Philadelphia, as well as forward Josh McRoberts and guard/forward Christian Eyenga (eye-EN-gah) from the Los Angeles Lakers.

In addition, the Magic have also acquired five additional draft picks over the next five years. Orlando receives: a second round pick from Denver in 2013, a first round pick from either Denver or New York in 2014, a conditional first round pick from Philadelphia and a conditional second round pick from the L.A. Lakers in 2015, and a conditional first round pick from the L.A. Lakers in 2017.

The Magic have traded center Dwight Howard, guard Chris Duhon and forward Earl Clark to the L.A. Lakers, while sending guard Jason Richardson to Philadelphia. As part of the deal, Philadelphia has acquired center Andrew Bynum, while Denver has acquired guard/forward Andre Iguodala.

“A primary goal for our basketball team is to achieve sustainability while maintaining a long-term vision. We feel this deal puts us in a position to begin building in that direction,” said Hennigan. “In addition to the six players joining our team, we will be in a position to maximize our salary cap flexibility in the near future, as well as utilize the multiple draft picks we have acquired going forward.”

“Dwight Howard accomplished tremendous success on and off the court during his eight years in Orlando,” said Hennigan. “We wish him, Chris (Duhon), Earl (Clark) and Jason (Richardson) all the best in the future.”

Afflalo (6’5”, 215, 10/15/85) played and started in 62 games last season with Denver, averaging a career-high 15.2 ppg., 3.2 rpg. and 2.4 apg. in 33.6 minpg. He shot .471 (329-699) from the field, .398 (88-221) from three-point range and .798 (197-247) from the free throw line. Afflalo ranked 24th in the NBA in three-point field goal percentage and 39th in scoring. He led (or tied) the team in scoring 11 times, in rebounding twice and in assists once. Afflalo scored a career-high 32 points on Mar. 5 vs. Sacramento. He also played and started in seven playoff games, averaging 10.9 ppg., 3.6 rpg. and 2.7 apg. in 32.7 minpg.

Harrington (6’9”, 245, 2/17/80) played in 64 games last season (one start) with Denver, averaging 14.2 ppg., 6.1 rpg. and 1.4 apg. in 27.5 minpg. He scored in double figures 53 times, and had 10 games with 20-or-more points, including a season-high 31 points on Feb. 20 vs. Minnesota. Harrington also appeared in seven playoff outings, averaging 9.7 ppg. and 4.3 rpg. in 23.3 minpg.

Harkless (6’8”, 210, 5/11/93) was selected in the first round (15th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft by Philadelphia. He played and started all 32 games as a freshman last season with St. John’s University, averaging 15.5 ppg., 8.6 rpg., 1.5 apg., 1.59 stlpg. and 1.41 blkpg. Harkless ranked second in the nation in rebounding among freshmen and sixth in scoring. He was named the 2011-12 Big East Conference Rookie of the Year.

Vucevic (7’0”, 240, 10/24/90) played in 51 games (15 starts) during his rookie campaign last season with Philadelphia, averaging 5.5 ppg. and 4.8 rpg. in 15.9 minpg. He ranked among all NBA rookies in rebounding (t-sixth), blocked shots (t-sixth) and field goal percentage (.450, eighth). Vucevic led (or tied) the Sixers in scoring four times and in rebounding nine times. He also played in one playoff outing.

McRoberts (6’10”, 240, 2/28/87) played in 50 games last season (six starts) with the Lakers, averaging 2.8 ppg., 3.4 rpg. and 1.0 apg. in 14.4 minpg. He scored a season-high 16 points on Apr. 26 @ Sacramento. McRoberts also played in six playoff contests.

Eyenga (6’5”, 210, 6/22/89) played in seven combined games last season with both Cleveland and the Lakers, averaging 2.4 ppg. and 2.0 rpg. in 14.7 minpg. He was acquired by Los Angeles along with Ramon Sessions in exchange for Luke Walton, Jason Kapono, a future first round pick and other considerations on Mar. 15. Eyenga also played in three playoff contests.

Howard appeared in 621 career regular season games with Orlando from 2004-12, averaging 18.4 ppg., 13.0 rpg., 1.5 apg., 2.16 blkpg. and 1.01 stlpg. in 36.2 minpg. He was named to the All-NBA First Team five times (2007-12), was a six-time NBA All-Star (2007-12) and was the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year for three consecutive seasons (2009-11).

Clark played in 78 regular season games during his two seasons with Orlando (2010-12), averaging 3.3 ppg. and 2.7 rpg. in 12.2 minpg.

Duhon played in 114 regular season games during his two seasons with Orlando (2010-12), averaging 3.2 ppg., 2.4 apg. and 1.4 rpg. in 17.5 minpg.

Richardson played and started in 109 regular season games during his two seasons with Orlando (2010-12), averaging 12.8 ppg., 3.8 rpg., 2.0 apg. and 1.09 stlpg. in 32.2 minpg. He also shot .377 (229-608) from three-point range.

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Kobe Bryant reportedly received Olympic drug test after 20-point game

So what was Kobe Bryant’s reward for his 20-point second-half outburst in Team USA’s quarterfinal victory over Australia on Wednesday night? An Olympic drug test.

According to a source, Bryant was the USA player chosen to take the mandatory random drug test after the late-night contest and was unable to ride back to the team hotel with his teammates. With the game beginning at 10:15 p.m. here, Bryant didn’t arrive back at the hotel until 2 a.m.

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

Lamar Odom joins attack on Power Balance bracelets

Lamar Odom and Shaquille O’Neal are back on Kobe Bryant’s team … in the celebrity attack on the Power Balance bracelet empire … TMZ has learned.

TMZ has obtained court papers, which show Odom claims the company stiffed him out of $133,870 before it filed for bankruptcy back in November.

Lamar was a minority investor in the company … and swore by the non-scientifically proven magical powers the hologram-embedded bracelet is said to possess.

— Reported by TMZ.com

Courtney Lee may start at SG for Celtics

Lee’s currently pegged as the team’s starting shooting guard, due to Terry’s preference to come off the bench and Bradley’s recovery from shoulder surgeries, but that could change if Bradley’s ready to play at the start of the season. Lee chose to stay tight-lipped on the conversations he’s had with Rivers about his role, but he did say he’ll come off the bench if that’s what the team requires.

“I just want to win. I’m not the coach, so whatever Doc feels will help the team, it’s his decision,” Lee said. “So I’m just going to go out there and just play.

“[Coming off the bench is] the same as starting the game. You’ve just got a job and a role to go out there and fulfill. You’ve just got to be professional and handle that.”

Having cited Boston as a playoff-caliber team, Lee was pleased to see Ainge execute the other moves he did in order to keep the C’s competitive for seasons to come, namely the re-signings of players like Garnett, Brandon Bass, Jeff Green and Chris Wilcox.

— Reported by Greg Payne of ESPN Boston

Lakers have deal to get Dwight Howard; Bynum to 76ers, Iguodala to Nuggets

The Los Angeles Lakers have a deal in place to acquire Dwight Howard from Orlando in a four-team, eight-player trade also involving Denver and Philadelphia, and the NBA has scheduled a conference call Friday with the four general managers to finish the deal, according to multiple reports…

Philadelphia would get Andrew Bynum from Los Angeles and Jason Richardson from Orlando, while Denver would get Andre Iguodala from the 76ers.

Orlando would receive Arron Afflalo and Al Harrington from Denver, Nikola Vucevic and Moe Harkless from Philadelphia, and lottery protected first-round picks from each of the three teams.

— Reported by the Associated Press

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Carmelo Anthony nursing a sore hamstring

The Knicks small forward has been nursing a sore hamstring for several days and insists that the injury is not serious. He will be available for Friday’s Olympics semifinal against Argentina.

“I’m fine,” he said before Thursday’s practice. “It’s nothing serious.”

The Knicks, however, are taking all the necessary precautions to make sure Anthony returns to the States healthy. The club sent a trainer to monitor Anthony over the final four days of the Olympics, which conclude with Sunday’s gold medal game.

— Reported by Frank Isola of the New York Daily News

Washington Wizards hire Jerry Sichting as assistant coach

The Washington Wizards announced today that Jerry Sichting will join Randy Wittman’s staff as an assistant coach.

Sichting brings 24 years of experience as an NBA player, coach and talent evaluator to the Wizards’ bench, including 11 seasons serving as an assistant both alongside and under Wittman with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“I’m obviously very familiar with what Jerry will add to our staff and I’m thrilled to have him on board,” said Wittman. “His experience playing, teaching and evaluating the game will be valuable on the bench and on the practice court as we continue to develop our players and establish this team’s identity.”

Sichting originally began his career with Minnesota in 1995-96 as the team’s director of scouting and player development before moving to the bench and adding assistant coach to his title for the next nine seasons (seven of which were spent alongside Wittman). After a stint as an assistant with Marquette University in 2006-07, Sichting returned to the Timberwolves for two seasons as an assistant under Wittman, who had been promoted to head coach. He returned to the front office as director of pro personnel in 2009-10 before joining the Golden State Warriors as an assistant coach for the 2010-11 campaign. Sichting most recently stepped in to coach Martinsville (Ind.) High School, his alma mater, following the abrupt retirement of the team’s head coach during the 2011-12 season.

As a player, Sichting averaged 6.9 points and 3.3 assists over 598 games and 10 seasons with Indiana, Boston, Portland, Charlotte and Milwaukee. He began his playing career in 1980 with the Pacers, and averaged a career-high 11.5 points per game during the 1983-84 season. Sichting went on to help the Celtics capture the 1986 NBA Championship, averaging 6.5 points per game off the bench. He returned to Boston after his playing career ended, spending four seasons (1991-95) as an analyst on the Celtics’ radio broadcasts.

Sichting was originally a fourth-round selection (82nd) overall by the Golden State Warriors in the 1979 NBA Draft out of Purdue University, where he was the captain of the 1978-79 Boilermakers squad that captured the Big 10 Championship. He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.