Inside Hoops – Page 1740 – NBA Blog

Lebron James to market Dunkin Donuts in Asia

Dunkin’ Brands Inc. says NBA superstar Lebron James has agreed to market Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins ice cream in Asia.

Dunkin’ said in a statement Monday that the agreement will last at least two years and is worth at least $1 million.

Dunkin’ said James will promote its brands in China, Taiwan, India and South Korea through advertisements, online media and in-store marketing. James will also make personal appearances in Asia after the season ends in June.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Nets center Brook Lopez out 3 weeks

The 12-16 New Jersey Nets have received more bad news on the injury front.

Nets center Brook Lopez has been diagnosed with a sprained right ankle, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today. Lopez, who was injured in the third quarter of the New Jersey/Charlotte game on Sunday, March 4, will have his foot placed in a walking boot as a precautionary measure. Lopez is expected to miss three weeks of action. The Nets will issue an update on his rehabilitation on March 23.

Lopez has played in five games this season, with averages of 19.2 points and 3.6 rebounds in 27.2 minutes per game. He missed the first 33 games of the season with a fractured fifth metatarsal in his right foot.

The Nets are currently in 13th place in the Eastern conference.

Mavs recall Sean Williams from D-League

The Dallas Mavericks announced Sunday that they have recalled forward Sean Williams from the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League.Williams (6-10, 235) played three games with the Mavericks after signing on Dec. 21. In those appearances, he averaged 4.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 5.7 minutes while shooting .714 (5-7 FGs) from the field and 1.000 (4-4 FTs) from the free throw line.

On Jan. 6, Dallas assigned him to the Legends. He played 22 games with 21 starts for Texas and averaged 15.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 1.0 assist in 28.5 minutes while shooting .506 (124-245 FGs) from the field and .767 (79-103 FTs) from the free throw line.

Williams traveled with the team to Oklahoma City.

Orlando Magic interested in hosting 2016 NBA All-Star Game

Orlando Magic Chief Executive Officer Alex Martins said the franchise will bid to host the 2016 NBA All-Star Game at Amway Center if, as expected, city and county government officials support bringing the exhibition back to Central Florida for the second time in four years.

NBA Commissioner David Stern said during the recently completed All-Star weekend that Orlando is “a perfect city to host an All-Star Game with all things good, from the hotels to the golf courses to the spectacular Amway Center.”

Stern added: “We look forward to coming back, but I can’t say when.”

The league solicits bids for All-Star Games in two-year increments. The 2013 game already has been awarded to Houston, and the host city for the 2014 game will announced 12 to 18 months before the 2014 game is played.

In the next few months, the league will ask franchises to make bids to host the All-Star Game in either 2015 or 2016.

— Reported by Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel

Bill Walker out 4-6 weeks after elbow surgery

The Knicks announced reserve forward Bill Walker will be out four to six weeks because of elbow surgery and might be back for the playoffs.

Walker, who had been in the rotation for January and half of February, probably could’ve soldiered on if the Knicks needed him, but they are so deep, he probably lost his rotation spot.

Walker sat out the past six games. He injured himself vs. New Orleans on Feb. 17th, though the Knicks aren’t sure why his elbow blew up. Coach Mike D’Antoni said he hopes he’ll be back for the playoffs.

“We’ll see where the team is then,’’ D’Antoni said.

“Too bad. It’s weird the way it happened. I thought it would get better. He needs to get it well.’’

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post (Blog)

Deron Williams scored 57 on Bobcats

Deron Williams’ eyes grew a little wider when he realized the Charlotte Bobcats had opted not to double-team him off pick and rolls.

It’s something he hadn’t seen all season.

“I’m used to getting double-teamed on those,” Williams said. “It’s kind of refreshing not to be.”

Williams took full advantage, scoring a franchise-record 57 points to lift the New Jersey Nets to a 104-101 victory over the Bobcats on Sunday night. That’s the most points scored in the NBA this season and breaks the team record of 52 points shared by Mike Newlin and Ray Williams.

It was the second-most points scored against the Bobcats, one shy of Kobe Bryant’s 58 in 2006.

Williams, who came into the game averaging 21.7 points per game, shot 16 of 29 from the field and was a perfect 21 for 21 from the free-throw line. He did miss one at one free throw, but the Bobcats were called for a lane violation and it didn’t count.

— Reported by Steve Reed of the Associated Press

Kobe Bryant’s mask may be upgraded

For all the Lakers fans who’ve grown quite fond of the “Kobe Mask” through three exciting post-All-Star games, even its job isn’t secure as Bryant searches for the best way to maximize his performance while not 100 percent.

Lakers trainer Gary Vitti plans to meet Monday with the innovator of the basketball mask, Detroit-based Jerry McHale, to look into possible upgrade from the mask Bryant has been wearing to protect his broken nose.

McHale first introduced the mask into the NBA world for the Pistons’ Bill Laimbeer to play with an orbital fracture, and McHale also designed Richard Hamilton’s famous mask that is helped the Pistons beat the Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals and Hamilton continues to wear despite his broken nose having healed.

— Reported by Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register

Rondo drops monster triple-double on Knicks

There was never anyone quite like Rajon Rondo in the Ivy League when Jeremy Lin played at Harvard.

The game that was supposed to signal a changing of the guard in the Atlantic Division instead turned into the All Star point guard from the Boston Celtics schooling the Knicks young point guard.

Rondo recorded a triple-double as the Knicks, who elected not to foul in the final seconds of regulation and instead gave up game-tying 3-pointer to Paul Pierce, suffered a heart-breaking 115-111 overtime loss to the Celtics on Sunday.

Rondo finished with 18 points, 20 assists and 17 rebounds as Boston improved to 19-17 and beat the Knicks for the 11 straight time at TD Garden. The Knicks, who face the defending NBA champion Mavs on Tuesday in Dallas, fell to 18-19.

— Reported by Frank Isola of the New York Daily News

Nets owner Prokhorov won’t be president of Russia

The Nets can’t win in the NBA — or in Russia.

Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov was easily defeated in the Russian president election by Vladimir Putin on Sunday, according to multiple reports.

The Russian billionaire, who purchased a majority stake in the Nets in May of 2010, announced his intentions to run for president of his native country in December.

Despite campaigning, it was widely believed that Prokhorov had no chance of winning the election.

— Reported by Mike Mazzeo of ESPN New York

Spurs assign Cory Joseph to D-League

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have assigned rookie Cory Joseph to the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League.

Joseph, a 6-3 guard, has seen action in 25 games for the Spurs this season, averaging 1.8 points and 1.2 assists in 8.0 minutes.

Joseph was assigned to the Toros earlier this year from Jan. 4-11 and saw action in four games, averaging 11.3 points, 3.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 31.8 minutes.

The Spurs selected Joseph out of the University of Texas with the 29th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. In his lone season with the Longhorns he was named to the Big 12 All-Rookie Team and earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention.

Joseph will be uniform tonight when the Toros visit the Texas Legends at 7 p.m.