Inside Hoops – Page 1234 – NBA Blog

George Karl signs deal to work for ESPN

For seven NBA seasons George Karl told TV viewers — in his low-key style — about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat while coaching the Nuggets.

Karl, who recently signed a multiyear agreement with ESPN, will utilize that style as a national NBA analyst, working in a variety of studio shows, including “SportsCenter,” “NBA Coast to Coast” and “NBA Tonight.”

Part of Karl’s job will be assessing the organization that fired him at the end of last season, after he led Denver to a 57-25 record and earned NBA coach-of-the-year honors.

“ESPN contacted me in August,” Karl said from his Denver home. “Obviously, I was intrigued. I’ve spent my life in basketball. I auditioned in Bristol (ESPN’s Connecticut headquarters), and we signed a deal.”

Reported by Dusty Saunders, special to the Denver Post

Detroit Pistons may speed up. Or not.

The Palace crowd at the open practice saw Cheeks unleash a quiet wrath early on Saturday, when the players didn’t seem to take a drill too seriously and he made them run wind sprints to get them refocused.

But running as a whole is something Pistons players have privately bemoaned and sometimes publicly hinted at in recent seasons — which Cheeks agrees with in theory, not necessarily in application when having a bigger frontline.

“All players say they want to play fast and want to run, but it’s not that easy to do,” Cheeks said. “Particularly when you have a couple big guys. If you play fast, you have to wait for them.”

Andre Drummond and Josh Smith can fly up and down a floor on a quick turnaround or turnover, and while Greg Monroe isn’t the fastest big man, he’s still mobile enough to beat opposing bigs down the floor for positioning.

Reported by Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News

Phil Jackson gave Nuggets coach Brian Shaw lesson in patience

If you’re wondering if the Phil Jackson pupil has sought the advice of Phil Jackson, the answer is yes.

To a point.

Nuggets coach Brian Shaw has reached out to the former Lakers coach, a man he played for and coached with during his time in Los Angeles, and the best piece of advice he received from Jackson was patience.

“I’m laid back by nature, anyway,” Shaw said. “Phil had a lot of patience and he allowed for the players to kind of figure some things out on their own. I’ve been kind of trying to do the same thing, not spoon feeding them everything, but just enough and see who has the ability to figure out what they need to do.”

Reported by Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post

Timberwolves want Alexey Shved to show his love of the game more

Riffing off a theme, new Timberwolves center Ronny Turiaf spends his days, among many other things, urging teammate Alexey Shved to smile more.

Last season, TNT’s wired microphone caught Ricky Rubio imploring Shved to “Change your face, be happy, enjoy it” coming out of a timeout in a video snippet that careened around the Internet.

Now Turiaf unknowingly has joined the chorus, encouraging the second-year Russian guard to play with more joy and less concern for his errors while coach Rick Adelman just wants Shved to become more “engaged” when he’s playing off the ball.

“If Alexey smiles, everything else takes care of itself,” Turiaf said. “If he doesn’t smile, he’s a different player.”

Much has changed for Shved since a rookie season in which his ball-handling and playmaking tantalized at times. But as plain as day, he also slammed into that rookie wall in the final months during a year when he played more minutes than anyone imagined.

Now he is a year wiser and stronger — “I make muscles,” he says — even if the wiry 6-6 combo guard still weighs the same starting a season when he no longer has fellow countryman Andrei Kirilenko by his side.

Reported by Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune

Xavier Henry playing through sprained wrist

Nothing appears will stop Xavier Henry from trying to prove he’s worthy of cracking the Lakers’ roster.

The team divulged he suffered a moderately sprained right wrist during the Lakers’ 97-88 preseason loss Sunday to the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center. But both Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni and Henry downplayed the severity of the injury.

D’Antoni revealed Henry had been nursing the injury for “a couple weeks,” apparently hurting the injury during a pick-up game before training cap began eight days ago. Henry said the pain simply worsened because he “fell on it hard” Sunday during an undisclosed play.

“I’m okay,” Henry said.

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

Wesley Johnson to get MRI on strained left foot

The Lakers are holding out hope that it’s nothing serious, but forward Wesley Johnson will undergo an MRI Monday after straining his left foot in the Lakers’ 97-88 preseason loss Sunday to the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center.

Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni said Johnson experienced a “burning sensation” in his foot, but it seems unclear what caused the injury.

“He doesn’t know,” D’Antoni said.

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

Memphis Grizzlies waive Josh Akognon and Derrick Byars

The Memphis Grizzlies waived Josh Akognon and Derrick Byars, the team announced today.

Akognon (5-11, 185) averaged 1.7 points in 3.0 minutes in three games for the Dallas Mavericks and also played for the Liaoning Jiebao Hunters in China last season. The 27-year-old Cal State Fullerton product was claimed off waivers by Memphis on July 23 after he was waived by Dallas on July 21.

Byars (6-7, 220) competed for ALBA Berlin in Germany and Caciques de Humacao in Puerto Rico last season. Memphis signed the 29-year-old Vanderbilt product as a free agent on Sept. 29.

The Grizzlies’ roster now stands at 16 players.

Floyd Mayweather sits in on Miami Heat practice

Mayweather was a surprise guest at Heat practice Sunday morning, sitting courtside with team president Pat Riley, managing general partner Micky Arison and other members of the franchise’s brain trust. It’s rare for any outsider to get invited into Heat practice, though Mayweather’s resume – unbeaten in 45 fights and generally considered the best fighter of his era – certainly earned him the ultra-VIP access.

”We’re trying to defend two titles. He’s been defending for a long time,” Heat star LeBron James said. ”He definitely knows where we’re coming from. It’s exciting at the end of the day to have someone, one of the greatest of all-time, to be in the presence. It’s something you can talk about years from now. … We’re honored and blessed to have him in the building.”

Mayweather, who left just as practice was ending, gave the Heat a brief speech, reminding the two-time defending NBA champions about the need for hard work and dedication.

Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Danny Granger will have important role on Pacers, whether he starts or not

Although Lance Stephenson walked out on the floor with the starters on Saturday night, Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel has not yet settled on his top five.

“Obviously, if Danny Granger comes back to the level that he was playing at before, then he’s our starter and it’s going to be an exciting group, and Lance comes in and gives us some spark off the bench,” Vogel said. “But look, there’s a lot of different ways that you can use guys, and I haven’t made any final decisions.”

San Antonio’s Manu Ginobili and James Harden, during his time with Oklahoma City, set the precedent of sixth men who play major minutes and finish games. If Granger were to remain on the bench, he would play a similar role.

Reported by Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star

New-look Detroit Pistons already having fun

The scene, featuring a boisterous, wise-cracking bunch of players, was a glimpse into how things are going under Cheeks, who completed his first training camp as Pistons coach Saturday with an open scrimmage at the Palace.

The work is getting done, but it’s being done with an energy and sense of fun that has been lacking in Pistons territory for quite some time. And the players who have been around for a while say it’s attributable to the presence of Cheeks, the fourth coach in six seasons.

Cheeks scoffed at his impact and said all 30 teams are probably having fun this time of year.

“It’s zero-zero so it’s a lot of fun for everybody right now,” Cheeks said. “I don’t know if it’s something I’ve done or not.

Reported by Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press