Inside Hoops – Page 1278 – NBA Blog

Injury to Rajon Rondo helped spur Celtics decision to rebuild

In Paul Pierce’s mind, there were many factors that went into the dismantling of the Celtics roster this offseason. That chain reaction, however, may have started on Jan. 27, 2013. It was on that winter day — one where the Celtics dramatically defeated the Miami Heat in double overtime at TD Garden — that the team learned point guard Rajon Rondo would need surgery to repair a tear in his ACL, ending his season.

With time growing shorter with every passing game for the old Celtics core and with Rondo’s health uncertain for the upcoming year as he rehabs his knee, Pierce acknowledged that the injury was a big reason why he is now wearing a Brooklyn Nets uniform and not the one he wore for the past 15 years.

“It would be hard to contend,” Pierce told the Herald yesterday, the last day of his camp at Basketball City in the shadow of the Garden. “I saw the vision. I saw all that. As a player, I’m selfish. I want what’s going to be good for me and the team. But you’ve got to look at the management looking at what’s down the road. If it’s up to me I would want to rebuild to win a championship by bringing players in. They were looking at the future, down the line.

“Rajon might not be here for the beginning of the year or however long he takes, so it would be tough for us to be a contender or get in a position to contend. Everybody saw that and I think that helped the decision on both sides.”

Reported by Tom Layman of the Boston Herald

Sixers hope to make Brett Brown their next head coach

The Sixers continual coaching search might be coming to an end.

San Antonio Spurs assistant Brett Brown has been offered the Sixers head coaching position.

If he accepts, Brown, 52, will become the 24th head coach in franchise history, and will take over a team that has fully embraced a rebuilding phase.

While many are relieved that the team has finally selected someone to you know, coach the players, Brown remains relatively unknown to the average NBA fan.

His dexterity at player development was tagged as his calling-card throughout the Sixers search, but Brown brings a lot more than that to the Sixers’ bench.

Brown’s impressive basketball background began in high school. He attended South Portland High (in Maine) where he played for his father, New England Basketball Hall of Fame coach, Bob Brown.

Reported by Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Philly.com

Brown should bring a winning attitude to an organization expected to struggle. He learned from three premier coaches on three levels: his father, Bob Brown; Rick Pitino; and Gregg Popovich.

Brett Brown joined Popovich’s Spurs staff in July 2002 as an assistant coach/director of player development. He moved to the bench as an assistant coach before the 2006-07 season.

The Spurs have won three NBA titles during his tenure. They just missed out on a fourth, losing in Game 7 of the NBA Finals to the Miami Heat in June.

Reported by Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer

2015 NBA All-Star weekend location may be New York City

The 2015 NBA All-Star Game almost certainly will be played in New York. The only question remaining for the Knicks, Nets and the league is in which arena the game will be played.

Despite the sometimes rocky relationship between the two franchises, they are working with the league to jointly host All-Star Weekend, which would mark the first time the event would be held in the metropolitan area since it was played at Madison Square Garden in 1998…

The key stumbling block will be which state-of-the-art arena — the Nets’ new Barclays Center or the Knicks’ refurbished Madison Square Garden — will host the game.

It’s likely the solution will feature one building playing host to the Saturday night festivities, including the 3-point and Slam Dunk contests, while the other will host the game Sunday night.

Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post

Beno Udrih discusses joining the Knicks

Q: How soon did the Knicks opportunity come about for you in free agency?

A: “They contacted my agent and the Knicks sent me a video of Madison Square Garden — actually on July 1. So they were always interested in me, but I just wanted to keep my options open and just look everywhere to see what would be the best situation for me. It took one month and the Knicks were really pursuing me. I talked to my wife and we thought this would be a very good fit, a good team. I’m very happy to be back on a playoff team and we definitely can make a run for a title.”

Q: What did you learn about what it takes to become a champion during your time in San Antonio, which you hope to bring to New York?

A: “What it takes is just to be a team and to definitely have good players. There has to be chemistry and everything has to be right. That’s how it was in San Antonio basically. Tim Duncan didn’t care who scored the most points. He’s a Hall of Famer, but he was more about the team. He just wanted us to win. Sometimes he scored 30, and the next day he scored 10, but he still was very, very productive in rebounding. Everybody has to work for each other, especially on the defensive end. I think we have enough scorers on our team now, but we definitely got to step up and basically defend first and then rebound the ball.”

Reported by Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York

Heat second round pick James Ennis to play in Australia

James Ennis’ professional career will begin in Australia.

Scott Nichols, Ennis’ agent, Friday confirmed to the Sun Sentinel the agreement between Ennis and the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League in Australia, an arrangement that provides the 2013 second-round pick out of Long Beach State the option to return to the Miami Heat this season if summoned.

The Heat, who obtained Ennis from the Atlanta Hawks the night of the draft, will retain Ennis’ rights going forward, without having to utilize one of their roster spots for the coming season on the athletic swingman.

Ennis had an uneven summer-league run with the Heat, at times displaying the 3-point shooting and defensive disposition that will continue to have him in the team’s long-range plans.

Reported by Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Charlotte Bobcats re-sign Jannero Pargo

Charlotte Bobcats President of Basketball Operations Rod Higgins announced today that the team has re-signed guard Jannero Pargo. We assume it’s for the league minimum, but this hasn’t been confirmed.

Pargo is considered bench support. He’s a reserve who can help a team in limited minutes.

The 6-1 Pargo joined the Bobcats on March 14, 2013, signing the first of two 10-day contracts before signing for the remainder of the season on April 3. He saw action in 18 games, averaging 8.4 points, 1.9 assists and 1.2 rebounds in 16.2 minutes. Pargo shot .401 from the field (57-142), .382 from beyond the three-point line (29-76) and .889 from the free-throw line (8-9).

A nine-year NBA veteran, Pargo has played in 461 career games with the Lakers, Raptors, Bulls, Hornets, Hawks, Wizards and Bobcats. He has career averages of 6.5 points, 2.0 assists and 1.5 rebounds, while shooting .389 from the field (1161-2987), .352 from beyond the three-point line (367-1042) and .868 from the free-throw line (309-356).

Gani Lawal will play basketball in Latvia

Latvian champ VEF Riga made official on Friday the acquisition of big man Gani Lawal for the next season. Lawal (2.05 meters, 25 years old) arrives from Virtus Roma of Italy, where last season he averaged 13.7 points, led all players in rebounds with 8.4 and was second in blocks with 1.5 in 47 Italian League games. After that, he played two games in China with Guangzhou Liu Sui. Lawal played college ball at Georgia Tech from 2007 to 2010.

Reported by Euroleague.net

Udonis Haslem continues recovery from knee surgery

There is no limp, no outward sign of the surgery on his right knee three weeks ago.

Whether Udonis Haslem makes it back for the Oct. 1 start of Miami Heat training camp has yet to be determined, but the veteran power forward said Thursday that last month’s procedure provided both physical and mental relief.

“I’m three weeks in now. I feel pretty good, actually,” he said during a promotional appearance at the Microsoft specialty store at Town Center. “It wasn’t as bad as we thought it was. I was fortunate. It was mostly just a cleaning, a lot of scar tissue, a couple of loose pieces in there, cleaning out the MCL.”

Haslem, 33, played during the second half of the regular season and then the playoffs with what was thought to be a torn right meniscus.

Reported by Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Lakers limited by NBA luxury tax

The Lakers have struggled to improve their current roster because they are limited by the NBA’s new labor contract. As a “luxury-tax team,” the Lakers have fewer tools to sign players than teams with much lighter payrolls.

For example, the move that allowed the Lakers last summer to bring in Steve Nash is gone. Nash, a free agent, was acquired via a “sign-and-trade” with the Phoenix Suns for draft considerations.

But as a tax-paying team, the Lakers are now forbidden to sign-and-trade for players — one of the many rule changes limiting big-budget franchises.

Longer-term, the Lakers’ rebuilding plans will depend in part on how willing they are to pay the NBA’s increasingly punishing taxes on teams carrying big payrolls.

Each year the NBA sets a spending limit that triggers the luxury tax. In eight of the last 10 seasons, the Lakers have willingly crossed that line. The penalty has been a dollar-for-dollar tax, costing the Lakers a cumulative $113.7 million since the 2002-03 season.

Reported by Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times

Mo Williams happy to join Trail Blazers

Williams said that he had other suitors, even teams where he could have filled in as the starting point guard. However, no destination seemed as tempting as Portland. In his eyes, Rip City is on the rise.

“I like everything that Neil (Olshey) is doing here,” said Williams, who has averaged 13.8 points (38.6 percent 3-point shooting), 5 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 10 NBA seasons. “When we talked, he was really passionate about making the playoffs and he knows the type of player and person that I am, that winning is really important to me.

“That’s why my decision took a long time because I wanted to make sure that I was in a position to win. That’s what I see here. That’s why I came here because I feel like I can be a piece of the puzzle for this organization, for these young guys.”

Reported by Candace Buckner of the Columbian