March 2013 – Page 13 – NBA Blog

Thunder hire Jason Ranne as Director of Strategic Planning

The Oklahoma City Thunder hired Jason Ranne to the position of Director of Strategic Planning, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

In his new role, Ranne will work with Thunder basketball operations on various initiatives, including team payroll, player acquisitions and long-term operational planning.

“We are pleased to have the opportunity to add Jason to our front office staff,” Presti said. “He adds a diverse skill-set as well as many years of experiences within the industry of sport. We are confident that he will make a positive contribution to our operations as we continue to build and grow as an organization.”

Ranne spent the last six years with the Wasserman Media Group, most recently as the organization’s Senior Vice President of Team Sports. In this position, Ranne oversaw the operational, legal and strategic aspects of Wasserman’s basketball, baseball and football groups as well as the athlete marketing and digital divisions related to those sports. Prior to his stint at Wasserman, Ranne spent four years as a guard on the Arizona Wildcats (2000-04), including a turn as the team captain during his senior season.

The Tulsa, Okla. native also owns a law degree from the University of Minnesota.

Paternity suit against Michael Jordan dropped

An Atlanta woman who says basketball legend Michael Jordan is the father of her 16-year-old son has dropped her paternity suit against him.

Pamela Smith, 48, filed a paternity suit against Jordan last month seeking child support. Jordan denies he is the father of the child and has also filed a counterclaim seeking sanctions against Smith for making false claims.

Smith acknowledged in a previous divorce proceeding that her now ex-husband is the father of the child, according to Jordan’s lawyers.

The case has not been settled, Smith’s attorney, Randy Kessler, told Reuters on Monday. His client has voluntarily dismissed the case “without prejudice” which means she can re-file it later if she chooses, Kessler added.

— Reported by David Beasley of Reuters

Kosta Koufos delivering as post man for Nuggets

His fans don’t know how to spell his name.

Nor do some opponents.

But word is getting around about Kosta Koufos.

A benchwarmer much of last season, Koufos has blossomed as the Nuggets’ starting center. He is coming off his best week of the season with dominating performances against the Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks and Memphis Grizzlies, which led to numerous fans texting on that postgame scroll on Altitude. Fans praised his game but often misspelled his name. There was a “Koufas” a couple of times and a “Koufus.”

And even Wednesday, on the pregame dry-erase board in the Knicks’ locker room, a New York coach had written “Koufas.”

— Reported by Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post

Injured DeMarcus Cousins misses second straight game

Once again, the Kings had only 11 players available for a game.

Center DeMarcus Cousins missed his second consecutive game because of a left quadriceps contusion when the Kings faced the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on Sunday night.

Cousins, who did not travel to Los Angeles, will test his quad today at practice to see if he might play Tuesday against the visiting Los Angeles Clippers.

“He did some things on the floor (Saturday) but more treatment than anything else,” coach Keith Smart said. “He won’t do anything until (today).”

— Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee

Another strain for ailing Tyson Chandler

So now Tyson Chandler has a stiff neck too. Wonderful.

The Knicks announced yesterday Chandler missed his second straight game not because of his badly bruised left knee but because of a strained muscle in his neck. However, Chandler limped out of the locker room yesterday and didn’t stop to talk to reporters.

While Carmelo Anthony’s recently drained right knee is not expected to be ready for combat tonight in Utah, Chandler is closer to action. It’s become strange why Anthony even bothered to fly back to Los Angeles.

The Knicks said Chandler’s knee is virtually healed and the Knicks center has played through a sore neck earlier this season. Chandler said Wednesday night after the Denver game that he is very willing to play hurt, especially with the Knicks on the verge of an embarrassing 0-5 West Coast trip that will be hard to live down.

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

Heat set for hostile Celtics environment on Monday

A few days ago, Paul Pierce said he wanted not only for the Heat’s streak to end, but for Miami to lose every game for the rest of the season.

The Heat, which won its 22nd game in a row on Sunday, plays the Celtics at TD Garden on Monday. Dwyane Wade expects a hostile crowd. The game represents arguably the most difficult game of the streak because the Heat is 0-5 in Boston in the regular season since 2010.

“It’s always a great atmosphere when we go there but obviously now they’re going to want to see us lose,” Wade said of Celtics fans. “They’re going to want to see [the Celtics] beat us. We’ve got to step up to the challenge at the beginning of the game. It’s going to be loud.”

The Celtics are without Rajon Rondo, who suffered sustained a season-ending knee injury before the All-Star break, and Kevin Garnett is questionable because of soreness in his hip. On paper, the loss of Rondo and Garnett would seemingly give the Heat a definitive advantage, but the Heat knows those things sometimes don’t matter in Boston.

— Reported by Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald

Kenyon Martin does not wish good things for the Clippers

Knicks forward Kenyon Martin played for the Clippers last season, but it’s clear the breakup between the two sides was a bit messy and Martin still holds some bitterness.

When asked about the Clippers, Martin quickly snapped: “I don’t care what they do, to be honest with you. I hope they lose every game.”

After a few more game-related questions, the topic of the Clippers’ fast breaking and dunking style arose, and Martin said, “They can’t do it in the playoffs, so it doesn’t matter. Regular season, it’s all up-and-down. We know how the game goes in the regular season.”

Finally, I asked him why there was bad blood between him and the Clippers and he simply said, “Next question.”

— Reported by Jovan Buha, special to ESPN New York

Rodrigue Beaubois out indefinitely with fractured hand

The injury bug bit [Dallas Mavericks guard] Rodrigue Beaubois once again.

Beaubois exited Sunday night’s game against the Thunder after fracturing the second metacarpal in his left hand during the second quarter. He is out indefinitely.

The fourth-year guard had played his way back into Rick Carlisle’s rotation with two strong performances this week. Carlisle called Beaubois 18-point, five-assist outing in Friday’s win “by far” his best game of the season.

— Reported by Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas

Chris Paul leads Clippers over banged-up Knicks

Without Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler and Amare Stoudemire, the New York Knicks are hardly a team that should present many problems for the Los Angeles Clippers.

Although the Clippers caused a few problems for themselves, they solved them in plenty of time to keep moving toward their franchise’s first Pacific Division title.

Chris Paul had 20 points and eight assists, Caron Butler added 14 points, and the Clippers beat the injury-depleted Knicks 93-80 Sunday in a meeting of division leaders.

Blake Griffin had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers, who shook off a turnover-plagued start and pulled away in the second half of their first home win since February 2009 over New York, silencing the cadre of taunting Knicks fans that invades Staples Center for each visit.

”We want them to be at full throttle with Melo and Tyson just for the competition of it,” said Chauncey Billups, who scored 12 points. ”When they’re not playing, it’s just human nature to have a subconscious letdown, but you have to find a way to just scrap through it.”

— Reported by Greg Beacham of the Associated Press

Monta Ellis scores 39, Bucks beat Magic

Bucks coach Jim Boylan was hardly in the mood to celebrate even though his team came back from a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

Monta Ellis scored a season-high 39 points, including 25 in the fourth quarter, and Milwaukee rallied for a 115-109 over the Orlando Magic on Sunday.

Losers of three consecutive games coming into the matchup with the Magic, who own the second-worst record in the NBA, the Bucks trailed most of the way before Ellis took over in the fourth. He connected on all five of his 3-point attempts in the period, and his 25 points were the most by an NBA player in one quarter this season.

”Monta was pretty amazing there in the fourth quarter. I’m happy that we won the game, but I am really concerned with the way we are playing right now,” Boylan said. ”It’s not good enough. We need to play better. Right now we are not a very good team. You can’t rely on scoring 45 points in the fourth quarter in order to pull a game out at home.”

The Bucks, who hold the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, are looking to improve their position heading into the season’s final stretch.

— Reported by Rich Rovito of the Associated Press