June 2013 – Page 14 – NBA Blog

Jonas Jerebko excited about fresh start under new Pistons coach

With every new coach comes change and it’s likely none of the Detroit Pistons welcomes that more than Jonas Jerebko.

The veteran forward spent much of last season in former coach Lawrence Frank’s doghouse, getting buried on the bench for long stretches as the Pistons missed the playoffs for the fourth straight season.

Now, with Maurice Cheeks in place as the 33rd coach in Pistons’ history, Jerebko feels like he’s got a new lease on his professional life.

Like everybody else, he’s starting fresh with Cheeks.

“It feels good,” Jerebko said Thursday after Cheeks was introduced during a press conference at The Palace. “I want to start playing right now and it’s June. I’m just excited for a fresh start.”

No wonder.

After missing just four of 148 games during his first two NBA seasons, Jerebko saw action in 49 of 82 last season.

Reported by Brendan Savage of Michigan Live

Bucks seek wing players with shooting ability

Bucks director of scouting Billy McKinney recently said the team is looking for wing players with shooting ability.

And two of the top draft prospects fitting that description will work out for the Bucks on Saturday at the Cousins Center: 6-foot-6 Georgia sophomore Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Providence’s Ricky Ledo.

Also included in the workout session are Southern Mississippi shooting guard Dwayne Davis, Florida State shooting guard Michael Snaer and Oklahoma power forward Amath M’Baye. Minnesota’s Rodney Williams was a late scratch and replaced by Milwaukee native Tyrone Gordon, a guard who played at Dakota State.

The Bucks may have to trade up if they want to grab Caldwell-Pope, who has impressed in other team workouts and at the league’s draft combine in May. The Minnesota Timberwolves, with the No. 9 pick, and Portland Trail Blazers, drafting No. 10, both are thought to have serious interest in Caldwell-Pope.

Reported by Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Former WNBA player Chamique Holdsclaw pleads guilty to assault charges

Former professional women’s basketball player and Olympic gold medal winner Chamique Holdsclaw will have to take anger management classes after pleading guilty to charges that she shot into a player’s car and smashed the windows with a baseball bat, prosecutors said on Saturday.

Holdsclaw, 35, pleaded guilty on Friday to aggravated assault, criminal damage and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, prosecutors said. She will be on probation for the next three years.

The charges stem from a Nov. 13 incident involving Holdsclaw and Jennifer Lacy, a player for the Tulsa Shock Women’s National Basketball Association team.

Reported by David Beasley of Reuters

Gregg Popovich a man of few words in NBA Finals press conferences

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is known in NBA circles as a man of few words and the curt speaker has been in top form at this year’s Finals.

With media seeking sound bites during a two-day break in a best-of-seven series that is tied 2-2, the two-time NBA coach of the year was in no mood to deviate from his often hilarious style.

“I’d hate to be trite and say anything is possible. Your question demands my triteness,” Popovich told a news conference on Saturday when asked about his strategy for Sunday’s Game Five against the defending champion Miami Heat.

The crusty 64-year-old cut off another reporter mid-question when he was asked to offer his perspective on the state of the game of basketball.

“You’re not serious. You want me to talk about the state of the NBA?” Popovich replied.

Reported by Frank Pingue of the Associated Press

Clippers coaching search continues

The Clippers’ coaching carousel took many turns this week, as the team interviewed three candidates for their opening, while a fourth coach — Doc Rivers — popped up high on their wish list, said several NBA executives who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

The Clippers began by interviewing Indiana associate head coach Brian Shaw on Monday.

On Tuesday, the Clippers’ front office interviewed former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Byron Scott, followed by former Memphis Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins, who was in Los Angeles on Thursday and Friday.

But the real buzz in NBA circles involved the Clippers and Boston Celtics Coach Doc Rivers, who both expressed some interest in each other, according to the executives.

If Rivers were to become available, the Clippers would make him their No. 1 choice to become their head coach, the executives said.

Reported by Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times

C.J. Watson may opt out of Brooklyn Nets contract

It has been expected since the Nets saw their season end against the Bulls in the first round of the playoffs C.J. Watson would opt-out of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent.

Nets general manager Billy King all but confirmed that would be the case in a radio interview yesterday.

“I haven’t gotten the official letter yet, but I’m assuming he will,” King said. “Because the salary that he makes, he knows he can get that, and he wants to get more if he can.

“Jason and I have already discussed if that happens, and if we aren’t able to retain him we have some guys in mind that we’d like to replace him with.”

Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post

Jason Kidd to coach Nets entry in Orlando summer league

The first time Jason Kidd takes the floor as a head coach won’t be in some NBA arena this fall for the first Nets preseason game.

Instead, it’s going to be in the practice gym inside Orlando’s Amway Center next month, when he takes charge of the Nets entry in the annual Orlando Summer League.

“I think it’s the best thing to get right into it,” Kidd said during one of several radio interviews he did in his first full day as head coach of the Nets. “I know that a lot of times head coaches don’t coach summer league, but this gives me time to work on different parts of the game of learning to be a coach, but also my philosophy and plays and the defensive stuff that I get to put in as my system. So, I get to see if it works [and] if it doesn’t work, what changes I have to make and go from there.”

As Kidd said himself, it’s rare for the head coach of a team to actually run its summer league squad often passing the job off to an assistant.

Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post

Andre Iguodala expected to opt out of Denver Nuggets contract

Friday produced a trio of newsy Nuggets nuggets — Danilo Gallinari may return as soon as December from knee surgery, Andre Iguodala will opt out of his contract and become a free agent and Lionel Hollins will interview to be the team’s head coach…

As for Iguodala, it wasn’t a shock that he decided to opt out of his contract. Now, it’s just a question of whether he will re-sign with Denver.

The defensive-minded shooting guard would have made close to $16 million this coming season, but instead he chose the free-agent market in July.

If anything, it’s a sign that he’s considering other teams, though Denver can offer Iguodala a five-year deal while other teams can offer at most a four-year contract. Nuggets president Josh Kroenke has spoken highly of Iguodala and has said he will make a push to try to bring him back.

Reported by Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post

Tony Parker appreciates time to rest before NBA Finals Game 5

Tony Parker pushed his tender right hamstring as much as he possibly could in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, and it will be hard to find a player in this series that needs the two days of rest before Game 5 more.

Parker had 15 points and nine assists in San Antonio’s 109-93 loss to the Miami Heat that evened the series at 2-2. But he was held scoreless in the second half as the Heat pulled away. Now he gets two full days for rest and treatment before the two teams play again on Sunday.

”It’s going to be huge for me,” Parker said after the game. ”Obviously, definitely got fatigued in the second half. Those two days I’m going to make sure I do a lot of treatment and get to 100 percent. Tonight I was not 100 percent. By Sunday, that’s my goal, to be good to go.”

Parker said after the game that Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was hesitant to let him play after his star point guard tested it out in the morning shootaround and deemed himself ready to play. But Parker convinced his coach to let him start, and his strong play early sparked the Spurs before LeBron James and Dwyane Wade took over.

Reported by Jon Krawcyznski of the Associated Press

Marcus Camby plans to keep playing for Knicks

Camby’s agent Richard Kaplan told ESPNNewYork.com on Thursday that the 17-year-veteran is committed to returning next season to be the backup center.

“The game plan is still the same,” Kaplan said. “There’s no reason to believe he won’t be back and won’t take on a greater role next season.”

Camby is under contract through the 2014-15 season.

He only played in 24 games last season, averaging 1.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in about 10 minutes per game. He battled through injuries — including left plantar fasciitis toward the end of the season — but Kaplan said Camby was healthy in the playoffs. The agent is “not sure why [Camby] didn’t play.”

Camby only saw the court for about three minutes in the postseason, including only 12 seconds against the Pacers.

Reported by Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York