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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
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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
[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
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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
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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
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
Here’s an InsideHoops.com photo of Michael Rapaport at last week’s Elite 24 high school all-star game in Brooklyn, New York. The man loves basketball:
InsideHoops.com was with the Oklahoma City Thunder rookies a few weeks ago, at Rookie Photo Shoot day. Here they are, posing together:
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Butler will be starting his 12th pro season this fall and believes he has plenty to offer to a revamped Bucks squad.
“Everything was handled the right way, in a very classy way,” Butler said of the Suns. “The Bucks had made inquiries about me, and I thought this would be a great opportunity for me and my family. My son (Caron Jr.) will be in eighth grade this year in Racine.”
Even though Butler was a starter for a Clippers team that won a franchise-record 56 games last season, he played just 24 minutes a game.
“After I got back healthy, I actually wanted to play more,” Butler said. “I had to accept the role I was given.
“I felt I was back to my old self. It’s never been hard for me to score. As long as I’m out there, I’ll find a way.”
Reported by Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Bob Myers got his man. He got Andre Iguodala. But before the forward signed with the Warriors, Myers was convinced that he wasn’t going to get Iguodala.
In an interview with Sporting News, Myers was very candid in his persuit of the 2011-12 All-Star.
“Andre was still a longshot, too,” Myers told Sporting News. “And it looked like more of a longshot as we were going through the process. I remember walking into my house late at night, just about every night that week, and telling my wife, ‘This is disappointing because no one cares about the work you put in, they just care about the result.’ We were ready to not get the result. You can say you tried really hard, but no one wants to hear that. Many times it looked futile. I killed it, five, 10, 20 different times. I said, ‘We’re not getting him, we can’t do it.’”
Reported by CSN Bay Area
