Former MSU player Keith Appling arrested again

Here’s the Detroit Free Press with an unfortunate update on a former MSU player:

For the third time since May, former Michigan State University basketball player Keith Appling has been arrested and once again a gun is involved, police say.

Appling, 24, was arrested at about 9 p.m. Sunday on Detroit’s east side after first driving away from a traffic stop and then stopping his car following a short pursuit, Detroit police said in a news release this morning.

Expect an up-tempo Heat offense next season

Expect an up-tempo Heat offense this season

How will the Heat be different this upcoming season, their first in many years without star shooting guard Dwyane Wade? According to their head coach, they plan to speed things up. With Chris Bosh’s return still uncertain due to health reasons, the squad is built around Goran Dragic, Tyler Johnson, Josh Richardson, Justise Winslow and Hassan Whiteside. Here’s the Palm Beach Post blog reporting:

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra’s latest video clip on the team’s website is a message to Heat fans to expect more of what you saw the second half of last season when the Heat, behind point guard Goran Dragic, scrapped its lumbering style for an up-tempo offense.

“The style of offense when you’re pushing the tempo and you’re attacking and you’re looking for opportunities in the open court, that’s a fun style of basketball,” Spoelstra said. “Our guys enjoy playing that style, they’re committed to the conditioning level and the work ethic. … they’re willing to do it because they want to have fun they want to express athleticism and I think that’s what Heat fans can expect from this team next year.”

Pacers sign Julyan Stone and Alex Poythress

Pacers sign Julyan Stone and Alex Poythress

The Pacers signed Julyan Stone and Alex Poythress today.

Stone is a 6-6 guard that is a three-year veteran of the NBA, spending time with both the Denver Nuggets and the Toronto Raptors. He has NBA career averages of 1.3 points and 1.1 assists per game. He also played in the D-League, where he averaged 4.7 points and 4.3 assists per game. He played collegiately at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP).

Alex Poythress is a 6-8 forward from the University of Kentucky. Heplayed four seasons for the Wildcats and in his senior year he averaged 10.2 points and 6.0 rebounds. He also played for the Orlando Magic this past summer in Summer League.

New Sacramento Kings arena costs rise

New Sacramento Kings arena costs

The Kings will soon have a new home in Sacramento to call their own. Here’s the Sacramento Bee with the latest:

Barely a month before opening, the Sacramento Kings continue to pour money into their new downtown arena, bringing the latest estimate of Golden 1 Center’s construction costs to $556.6 million.

The estimate has risen by $21.7 million in just a month, according to a construction consultant’s report submitted to Sacramento city officials late last week. The $556.6 million price represents a more than $79 million increase since the Kings broke ground in October 2014 on what was envisioned as a $477 million project. When the arena was first proposed to city officials, in 2013, Kings officials said it would cost $447 million –bringing the total increase in price to around $109 million.