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Serbian police say Predrag Danilovic, who played for the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks, is seriously injured after being stabbed in a fight.
Police say Danilovic was hurt during a brawl early Saturday in a cafe in a residential part of the capital, Belgrade. Doctors say Danilovic underwent an operation to treat injuries to his abdomen, head and arms.
— Reported by the Associated Press
Not many were calling Victor Oladipo a potential top-10 draft pick when he was a freshman defensive specialist at Indiana.
The general consensus was that he had to improve offensively to be considered an NBA prospect.
Guess NBA teams already have an idea of Oladipo’s work ethic.
Flash-forward two basketball seasons. It will stun analysts if Oladipo doesn’t hear his name called among the top-10 players during the NBA draft June 27.
Oladipo talked about his meteoric rise over the past two days at the NBA predraft combine and even he has a hard time believing his good fortune.
“I remember back a couple of months ago I wasn’t getting any attention, a couple of years ago I wasn’t getting any attention so it’s all kind of surreal for me every time,” Oladipo said at the Attack Athletics gym. “It just drives me. I know what it feels like to be at the bottom and be overlooked and every thing like that. I’m just going to use the experience to keep working hard and staying in the gym.”
— Reported by Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press
C.J. McCollum remains intrigued with the 76ers even though they didn’t request to interview him at the NBA draft combine.
“I was [attending college] pretty close to Philadelphia, out in Bethlehem,” the Lehigh senior guard said. “So I will be interested to see if they are taking a guard or a post player in this draft.”
The organization’s biggest needs are a post player and a backup point guard. However, one could argue that McCollum could be a solid addition to a team planning to make offseason moves via trades and free agency.
“I’m a fan of the Philadelphia 76ers,” McCollum said. “So it will be interesting to see what happens.”
— Reported by Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer
Once his purchase of the Kings is finalized, Vivek Ranadive should take a pick and a shovel, perhaps borrow a battering ram and a bulldozer, and obliterate the section of Sleep Train Arena that houses the team’s basketball operations.
While this is regarded as a weak draft class, there is no shortage of talent on the front-office or coaching markets.
Veteran coaches Jerry Sloan, Nate McMillan, Jeff and Stan Van Gundy are available, as are highly regarded assistants Mike Malone and Brian Shaw. Established front-office types eager to join or take over a staff include Larry Bird, Don Nelson and Chris Mullin. And while Warriors special assistant Jerry West undoubtedly would push Golden State’s Travis Schlenk, another famous former coach is itching to become involved in personnel.
Phil Jackson here, Jeanie Buss down there? Dare we be tempted to discuss?
Who knows? New bosses tend to hire people they know, so keep an eye on current Warriors. And Ranadive has yet to even reveal the extent of the anticipated overhaul. But his track record within the software industry suggests someone who moves swiftly.
— Reported by Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee
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Damon Stoudamire was one of most popular players in Arizona history — an electrifying, high-scoring guard with a cool nickname.
Now, Mighty Mouse is headed back to the desert.
The former Portland Trail Blazers point guard and Wilson High School graduate was hired as an assistant coach under Sean Miller on Friday, a move that’s sure to be a big hit with one of college basketball’s most fervid fan bases.
“We are thrilled to welcome back Damon Stoudamire to the University of Arizona to become a part of our coaching staff,” Miller said in a statement. “Damon is an immensely talented recruiter, and is also very comfortable teaching and coaching the game. More importantly, his credibility in all aspects of our game is unmatched — he simply has ‘been there and done that’ at the highest level. I believe strongly that he will be invaluable in helping many of our current and future student-athletes do the same.”
— Reported by the Associated Press
Saturday night, the Knicks either take a giant step toward South Beach by forcing a Game 7 at the Garden or their season is over.
The Knicks didn’t break their 40-year championship drought Thursday night in a season-saving 85-75 victory, but coach Mike Woodson may have found the formula to beat Indiana and zoom into the Eastern Conference Finals in Miami.
Woodson discovered a new second-half rotation that lacks Jason Kidd and a rusty Amar’e Stoudemire with rookie scoring ace Chris Copeland and point guard Pablo Prigioni taking their places. It spread the floor and made the Knicks look like themselves again.
Perhaps the basketball gods are finally smiling on this cursed franchise as the Knicks try to become only the ninth team to ever rally back from a 3-1 hole.
— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post
Rudy Gobert was the biggest prospect at the NBA draft combine.
The center from France stands 7 foot 1/2 in his socks and 7-2 in his sneakers. He has an incredible 7-81/2 wingspan and massive hands.
Yet the 20-year-old is a raw talent. He needs to get stronger and polish up his post game in order to contribute in the NBA.
However, his athleticism and size are why he’s projected to be a mid-first-round pick in June’s draft. The 76ers, who are likely to get the 11th pick, interviewed Gobert here on Friday.
— Reported by Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer
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Rookie forward Draymond Green walked out of Golden State’s practice facility Friday holding a yellow ”We Are Warriors” shirt, taking home the small souvenir to savor the team’s captivating playoff run.
Even though the season ended so painfully, the Warriors will carry more positive memories from the 2012-13 campaign than they ever imagined back in training camp. No banner will be raised and no rings will be awarded, but there was a sense of accomplishment all around.
”The expectations for us this year, we exceeded all of them plus way more,” Green said.
The Warriors overcame injury setbacks all season to earn a rare playoff berth, pulled off a first-round upset against Denver and pushed the four-time champion San Antonio Spurs to six games in the Western Conference semifinals. The franchise won more postseason games than it had in 36 years and might be on the brink of something even more special.
If Stephen Curry and Andrew Bogut can find a way to stay healthy, the Warriors believe they can be a major championship contender in the coming years.
— Reported by Antonio Gonzalez of the Associated Press
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The Miami Heat have LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The Spurs have dominated for years with the trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
Now the Memphis Grizzlies, who traded their leading scorer in January, have surged into their first Western Conference finals behind an unlikely Big Three of their own.
Marc Gasol still is Pau’s little brother to some. Memphis thought about trading guard Mike Conley, the son of a track star, early in his career. And Memphis is Zach Randolph’s fourth NBA team.
”Me, Marc and Zach, we all tried to take the team and put them on our back and say, ‘Hey, this is what we’re going to do. This is what we’ve got to do to be great and get to where we want to go,”’ Conley said Friday. ”We knew we had to step up, and we all did that.”
That they have.
The Grizzlies never won a playoff series with Gay on the court. When they beat the Spurs in the first round in 2011, it came with Gay sidelined by an injury.
— Reported by Teresa M. Walker of the Associated Press
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Pacers guard George Hill will have another concussion test before Saturday’s home playoff game.
Hill missed Thursday night’s game after complaining of headaches. He was diagnosed with a concussion. NBA policy requires players to pass a concussion test before returning to action. Hill did not practice Friday, and coach Frank Vogel said he had not spoken with him. Vogel said Hill was expected to meet with doctors later Friday.
— Reported by the Associated Press