June 2013 – Page 9 – NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog

Udonis Haslem savors his third championship with Heat

Mr. 305 can now boast of being a three-time champ.

In a locker room of cigar-toting, champagne-soaked Heat players late Thursday night, many of whom celebrated winning back-to-back rings, forward Udonis Haslem grinned as he reflected on his third title in his decade-long career.

The Miami native and Dwyane Wade are the only ones to have played on all three Heat championship teams, winning the franchise’s first together in 2006 and then the past two years as co-captains.

They’re two of just seven active NBA players with three or more championship rings — Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher have five, San Antonio’s Tim Duncan has four and Spurs teammates Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili each have three.

It’s something Haslem, who turned 33 years old on the day the Heat won Game 2 against the Spurs, didn’t envision after he left the University of Florida and played a year in France.

“I would have never guessed it,” Haslem said after the Game 7 triumph. “Undrafted, going overseas, I worked, man. I gave it my heart, my soul, sacrificed. And it all just paid off. I’m thankful. I’m blessed. I’m very blessed.”

Reported by Steve Gorten of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Dwyane Wade hopes to leave knee problems behind

Dwyane Wade knocked on the table at the interview podium.

He then asked, `Is this wood?”

That was his thinking after being asked if he would need surgery on his left knee that bothered him since early March. Wade said he doesn’t expect another procedure in the offseason and that rest is all he needs.

“Hopefully no surgery,” Wade said. “Obviously there will be a few treatments me and Doc will talk about, but it won’t be surgery. Treatments, I hope. A lot of rest is going to be key for them. My knees right now, they’re still on fire because I have this hot stuff on my legs. But hopefully no surgery at all.”

It was the second straight year Wade dealt with knee issues. He had surgery last summer on his right knee after the Miami Heat won the title. He played through pain for most of the past four months, but was in the lineup every game in the playoffs except for Game 4 against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round.

Reported by Shandel Richardson of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Clippers interested in Byron Scott for head coaching job

The Los Angeles Clippers have intensified discussions with Byron Scott about their head coaching position, according to league sources.

Clippers president Andy Roeser has broached financial parameters of a potential contract with Scott’s representatives, sources said. After talks with the Boston Celtics regarding Doc Rivers broke down again Friday, Roeser reached out to Scott’s camp.

It is not clear whether the Clippers’ recent contact with Scott means he is the front-runner among the non-Rivers candidates, a source said.

Sources told ESPN.com’s Ramona Shelburne the Clippers still intend to revisit the Rivers talks one more time, but are using the weekend to make sure they can quickly move on to one of the other three candidates — Scott, Lionel Hollins and Brian Shaw — should the talks with Boston go nowhere.

Reported by Chris Broussard of ESPN the Magazine

Shawne Williams will work out for Knicks

Ex-Knick and current free agent Shawne Williams will work out for New York on Monday, agent Happy Williams confirmed.

Shawne Williams had a breakout season with the Knicks in 2010-11, averaging 7.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and nearly one block, while shooting 40.1 percent from downtown.

He has struggled in the two seasons since. He signed with the Nets in the 2011 offseason and was traded to Portland in the Gerald Wallace deal.

Williams, a 2006 first-round pick, was also arrested on drug charges late last year.

Reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York

Dwyane Wade needed knee drained to play Game 7 of Finals

Dwyane Wade had his left knee drained one day before Game 7 of the NBA Finals, then got about eight hours of game-day therapy just so he could play in the title-clinching win for the Miami Heat.

Wade tells The Associated Press that his left knee was swollen ”like a coconut” after a collision with San Antonio’s Manu Ginobili in Game 6 of the finals. It was drained the following day, then was swollen yet again when he woke up on the morning of Game 7.

Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

City officials ban backpacks for Miami Heat championship parade

The Heat will have their championship parade Monday, and city officials say fans will not be allowed to carry backpacks.

An estimated 400,000 fans packed the route last season after the Heat won the 2012 title. The parade will be followed by an event for season-ticket holders at the team’s home arena, where the parade will end.

Several major events have not allowed fans to carry backpacks or bags of a certain size after the Boston Marathon bombings earlier this year, including the Penn Relays and horse racing’s Triple Crown races.

Reported by the Associated Press

Clippers will keep trying to land coach Doc Rivers

The Clippers will make another effort Monday to try to complete a deal with the Boston Celtics for Coach Doc Rivers, said NBA executives who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

The Clippers and Celtics talked again Friday but couldn’t make a deal.

“I think there is still some life left in it,” one executive said. “The door is not closed yet on getting a deal done.”

The Clippers won’t budge on their current offer of a second-round draft pick for the rights to Rivers, the executives said.

However, Boston wants a 2014 first-round pick for Rivers, the executives said, because that is considered a very good draft class.

Reported by Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times

San Antonio Spurs deserve respect

“I couldn’t love our guys more,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said after a gut-wrenching Game 7 defeat. “What they accomplished this year is something nobody would have ever expected. And they showed a lot of mental toughness and a lot of good play to get where they got. And I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

The Spurs are good for the game. Their professionalism and graciousness and talent have graced The Finals stage across NBA generations. They’ve bridged the gap from Jordan to Kobe and now to LeBron, winning four championships along the way.

This group, led from the start of this run by Tim Duncan and Pop, may never get its fifth. The reality that no one wanted to talk about, as Thursday night turned into early Friday, is staring the Spurs in the face.

“I’m not going to think about next season,” Popovich said. “I’m going to enjoy what they accomplished this season and feel badly about the loss all at the same time. I don’t know how you do that, but I’ll figure it out.”

San Antonio reached The Finals for the fifth time since 1999 going through a watered-down West, as potentials foils like Kobe Bryant and Russell Westbrook, especially Westbrook, fell by the injury wayside.

Reported by Art Garcia of Fox Sports Southwest

NBA Draft: Wizards look at point guard Korie Lucious

The Wizards latest workout session with NBA Draft hopefuls doubled as a nightmarish trip down memory lane for fans of the Maryland and Georgetown men’s basketball programs. If former Michigan State guard Korie Lucious or Ohio’s all-time assists leader D.J. Cooper start their pro careers in Washington, perhaps they can make it up to those crossover supporters by serving key backup minutes behind John Wall.

The engaging Lucious, who played his senior season at Iowa State, extended a playful olive branch after the lengthy workout and speaking with Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld and head coach Randy Wittman. Told that some locals might not be happy with him, the solidly built 5-foot-11 senior immediately knew the cause.

“Ah, the Maryland shot,” said Lucious, his smile expanding while thinking back to March 21, 2010. As a sophomore, his buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the top of the key pushed Michigan State past the Terps and into the round of 16.

Reported by Ben Standing of CSN Washington

President Obama calls Heat coach Erik Spoelstra

The White House says President Barack Obama has congratulated the Miami Heat’s head coach on winning the NBA championship the second year in a row.

Obama called Coach Erik Spoelstra on Friday afternoon. The White House says Obama pointed out the team’s relentless determination and noted it was a historic season for the team and for its MVP, LeBron James.

The White House says Obama told the coach that he’ll have the team to the White House to congratulate them in person on their victory.

Reported by the Associated Press