Month: September 2013

Nick Young spends Labor Day playing flag football

Nick Young spends Labor Day playing flag football

He will run up and down the court with bursts of athleticism, offering something the Lakers sorely need. Young will rarely meet a shot he won’t like, driving everyone crazy when they don’t go in and making everyone go wild when he goes on a scoring spree. And Young likely won’t play much defense since, well, he hardly has for much of his 6-year NBA career.

But at least for Labor Day, Young stayed away from the hardwood and stepped foot on the gridiron for an informal game of flag football at Rowley Park in downtown Los Angeles. As shown on Young’s Instagram account, he teamed up with former Washington Wizards teammate Gilbert Arenas among others to beat a team led by Detroit Pistons guard and former Dominguez High standout Brandon Jennings.

Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Blog)

J.J. Barea would happily return to Mavs in the future

J.J. Barea would happily return to Mavs in the future

What the Dallas Mavericks will do in future offseasons remains a mystery especially with Mark Cuban running the show.

While the Mavericks appear to be building for the future at point guard with Shane Larkin, a reunion with J.J. Barea is not out of the question. Dallas did show some interest this offseason, and Barea said he wouldn’t mind returning in the near future.

“It’s a great relationship with Mark Cuban. If they want to bring me back to Dallas, I am very [good] with it,” he told ESPN.com.

Reported by the Dallas Morning News staff

Two Pistons forwards in EuroBasket 2013

Pistons forwards Jonas Jerebko and Luigi Datome will play for their respective EuroBasket 2013 teams this week in Slovenia.

Datome and Italy open with Russia on Wednesday. Jerebko and Sweden play Greece the same day.

Pistons president Joe Dumars and assistant general manager George David were scheduled to leave for Slovenia on Monday to watch both in the tourney, according to pistons.com.

Reported by the Detroit Free Press staff

Gary Payton is still a huge Kobe Bryant fan

Gary Payton
Gary Payton is still a huge Kobe Bryant fan
Great recognizes great

Q: As a former Los Angeles Laker, what do you think about the situation with Dwight Howard leaving the Lakers?

Gary Payton: “It’s a player doing what he wants to do. The Lakers knew what they were getting into when they got him. They gambled and lost the game. Kobe Bryant, to me, is still the best basketball player in my mind. He played with me and he was in my era. I still love him to death. He’s a little brother to me. They’re going to struggle for a little while, and Kobe is on his way out. He has two more years to his contract and they will probably sign him back another two years and try to rebuild. They’re going to struggle. It’s going to be a hard time to the Lakers fan, but they will come back. It’s going to be a transition that they will get through.”

Reported by Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports

Dennis Rodman to visit North Korea again

[Former] basketball star Dennis Rodman is heading to North Korea for the second time this year for what he says is a friendly visit to his friend, the communist nation’s leader, Kim Jong Un.

But he is playing down speculation his trip is aimed at freeing jailed American missionary Kenneth Bae — saying there’s been “nothing promised.” Rodman spoke briefly to reporters Tuesday while transiting at Beijing’s airport on his way to Pyongyang.

“I’m going to North Korea to meet my friend, Kim,” he said. “It’s a friendly gesture.”

Reported by the Associated Press

“I’m not going to North Korea to discuss freeing Kenneth Bae,” Rodman told Reuters in a telephone interview before he left Beijing for Pyongyang. “I’m just going there on another basketball diplomacy tour.”

Kim, the third of his line to rule North Korea, is a basketball fan and appeared to get on well with Rodman on the earlier visit, with the two of them pictured laughing, eating and drinking together and watching an all-star basketball match.

Rodman’s latest trip is being sponsored by Irish bookmaker Paddy Power.

Wearing his trademark dark sunglasses, the 6-foot 7-inch (2.01 metre) Rodman pushed through a throng of journalists on Tuesday as he made his way to his plane at Beijing’s international airport, a common waystation for travellers to North Korea.

Reporters by Reuters

Cory Joseph shining for Canada at FIBA Americas

Cory Joseph shining for Canada at FIBA Americas

Another victory to close the opening round-robin portion of the FIBA Americas would ensure Canada enters the next phase 2-1 and would enhance the odds of advancing further. Victories against teams previously eliminated do not carry forward.

The squad has been able to come together and play well quicker than most anticipated.

That’s largely been because of how good Pickering’s Cory Joseph has been. While manning the point, Joseph has been treating opponents like his adversaries in the NBA Development League, where he was a standout months ago. He’s been stuffing the stat sheet, racking up points and assists, even leading Canada in rebounding against Brazil. Joseph looks like a veteran on the court. Reaching the NBA Final and being developed by the league’s best organization, San Antonio, has been huge for the former first-round pick. And he’s playing like a star. Practising every day against MVP candidate Tony Parker surely has something to do with that, as well.

Reported by Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun

Mavericks: A glance at Devin Harris

Devin Harris
Mavericks: A glance at Devin Harris
Older but presumably wiser

Devin Harris: Signed to a guaranteed one-year, $884,293 contract.

Much like DeJuan Blair, the Mavs were able to take advantage of acquiring Harris as a veteran minimum signing. Harris is actually being paid $1,272,797, the salary for a nine-year veteran, but the league is paying the remaining amount over the $884,293 total due to the collective bargaining agreement.

Harris comes back to Dallas slightly more polished on offense and more versatile on defense. His progression in Atlanta, where he played alongside point guard Jeff Teague, provided some unique flexibility as he defended the shooting guard position with moderate success.

Reported by Bryan Gutierrez of ESPN Dallas

Heat D-League team to offer tryouts in Miami

Walk into AmericanAirlines Arena and try out for the Miami Heat? That’s not going to happen. Try out for the Heat’s D-League affiliate? You only need apply.

The Sioux Falls (S.D.) Skyforce, whose basketball operations were purchased by the Heat earlier this year, have announced open tryouts in both Sioux Falls and South Florida.

Per the release issued by the Skyforce:

“The Sioux Falls Skyforce, the exclusive NBA Development League affiliate of the back-to-back NBA Champion Miami Heat, announced today that the team will hold open tryouts for the 2013-14 season in Sioux Falls on Saturday, Sept. 21 and Miami on Saturday, Oct. 12.

“Open tryouts offer players an opportunity to showcase their talents in front of Skyforce coaches and Heat personnel while they compete to earn an invite to the NBA D-League team’s training camp in November.

Reported by Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel