NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog
NBA Blog: The NBA basketball news blog section of Inside Hoops
Dwight Howard is professing his love for the city of Orlando and its fans.
Howard purchased a full-page ad in today’s Orlando Sentinel to convey the message.
In that ad, which appears on Page C7, Howard said, “To play the game of basketball in the NBA is a blessing and to have had the opportunity to play before the Orlando fans for eight years was truly a privilege and an honor.”
— Reported by Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (And, link to Dwight’s ad)
Scott Layden, the Utah assistant coach and former general manager who the Spurs interviewed early this week, has agreed to become the team’s new assistant general manager. Yahoo Sports! first reported the move, which has not yet been formally announced.
Layden was the Jazz general manager from 1992-99, helping to orchestrate two NBA finalist appearances in Utah. He also served as the GM in New York from 1999-2003, but enjoyed considerably less success there.
— Reported by Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News
Former Utah Jazz reserve point guard Blake Ahearn is expected to sign a partially guaranteed contract with the Indiana Pacers, a league source informed The Salt Lake Tribune on Saturday.
Ahearn was signed by the Jazz via a 10-day contract last season. He remained on Utah’s roster throughout the playoffs and was a member of the Jazz’s Summer League team.
— Reported by Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune
|
The Nets’ ongoing search for frontcourt depth has led them to Houston, and a meeting with Andray Blatche, who was cut this summer by the Washington Wizards.
Blatche, 26, has been working out in Houston with a number of other N.B.A. players, under the guidance of John Lucas. He was set to meet with Nets Coach Avery Johnson sometime this weekend, according to two people with knowledge of the meeting. It was not clear whether the Nets were prepared to make Blatche an immediate offer or were simply exploring their options.
— Reported by Howard Beck of the New York Times (Blog)
|
A source familiar with the Knicks’ free-agency plans told ESPNNewYork.com that the team is considering signing forward-center Sean Williams, who was waived by the Rockets this week.
There has been some speculation that the Knicks are interested in unrestricted free agent Josh Howard, but according to the source, they are not into him. Instead, the team wants to add a big man — likely to serve as a backup to Amare Stoudemire on the depth chart. Currently, they don’t have one.
There are more attractive bigs on the market, like Kenyon Martin, Andray Blatche, Louis Amundson, Chris Andersen and D.J. White. But those players have been looking for more than the veteran’s minimum, which is all the Knicks can offer.
— Reported by Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York
Turkish Airlines Euroleague newcomer Cedevita Zagreb of Croatia has added veteran depth at forward in the person of Mickael Gelabale, who has played two previous seasons in the competition. Gelabale (2.01 meters, 29 years old) won the Eurocup title last season with Khimki Moscow Region of Russia. His Euroleague career so far has consisted of two seasons with Real Madrid of Spain between 2004 and 2006 during which he put up 8 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Gelabale started his career with Cholet of France, a team he returned to after spending three NBA seasons in the mid-2000s with Seattle and the Los Angeles Lakers. In 2010-11, Gelabale averaged a career-high 14.2 points for Asvel Basket of France, including 12.2 per game in six Eurocup appearances.
— Reported by Euroleague.net
It’s game, set, heartbreak for Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova.
The blond beauty confirmed Friday that she and former Nets player Sasha Vujacic called off their engagement and that she has been on her own “since the end of spring, actually.”
“I was waiting for someone to actually ask me that question, but nobody did, directly,” she said. “It was obviously a challenging decision, you know, from both of our ends.”
— Reported by Kevin Armstrong of the New York Daily News
C.J. Watson recently tweeted out a picture of his diploma.
Six years after leaving Tennessee to pursue his dreams of being a professional basketball player, the Nets guard now holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the university.
“Every year since [I left] I’ve been going back and doing classes every summer,” Watson told the Post on Friday in a phone interview from Johannesburg, South Africa, where he’s participating in Basketball without Borders. “This summer I didn’t have to go back to campus, I could do it online.
“It feels great. It feels like a little burden off my shoulders. I’m glad that I’ve got it over and done with.”
— Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post
Panathinaikos Athens fortified its frontline by signing center Hilton Armstrong, who will make his Turkish Airlines Euroleague debut this season with the Greens. Armstrong (2.08 meters, 27 years old) arrives from Asvel Basket Lyon Villeurbanne, with whom he played his first season in Europe last year. He averaged 10.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and was fifth in the Eurocup with 1.3 blocks in 11 Eurocup games last season, including a pair of impressive outings against Greek side Aris Thessaloniki. In fact, Armstrong earned Eurocup Last 16, Game 4 MVP honors after posting an 18-point, 8-rebound effort against Aris.
— Reported by Euroleague.net
 |
Kawhi Leonard, future star?
Fan Question: What kind of season do you see Kawhi Leonard having next season? Also, where do you see him in five years?
San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich: I think he’s going to be a star. And as time goes on, he’ll be the face of the Spurs I think. At both ends of the court, he is really a special player. And what makes me be so confident about him is that he wants it so badly. He wants to be a good player, I mean a great player. He comes early, he stays late, and he’s coachable, he’s just like a sponge. When you consider he’s only had one year of college and no training camp yet, you can see that he’s going to be something else.
— Reported by Spurs.com