Inside Hoops – Page 1866 – NBA Blog

Chris Bosh open to signing overseas should NBA lockout drag on

People, in general, are “open” to the idea of doing lots of things that involve making money for doing something fun.

NBA players are no different.

The latest player worth caring about to reportedly have interest in maybe, possibly going overseas should he feel like it is Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh.

The Miami Herald reports:

Not only is Dwyane Wade open to considering overseas overtures should the lockout extend into the season, but Chris Bosh is, too, according to their agent, Henry Thomas.

As InsideHoops.com has said many times, the vast majority of good or great NBA players will not be signing overseas anytime soon. Things only might start to get a bit more serious if September and October roll around and there’s still no inkling that the league lockout is close to ending.

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Reggie Jackson stopped draft workouts due to injury

Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman reports:

Around these parts the Thunder’s mysterious pre-draft dealings with 24th overall pick Reggie Jackson stands as one of the most fascinating occurrences in the franchise’s short history.

Already owning a reputation for his draft night wheeling and dealings and seemingly a yearly propensity to pluck a sleeper pick, Thunder general manager Sam Presti added another dimension to his unpredictable draft strategy when he allegedly promised Jackson he’d be a Thunder if he was still around at 24…

The part where conspiracy theorists feast is when Jackson shut down all private workouts and interviews shortly after a workout in Oklahoma City. Jackson pulled the plug on his other stops because of a knee injury, leading many to think it was simply a smokescreen. But Jackson swears it was legitimate.

“After a workout for Oklahoma City, I came back and played pickup at my school,” Jackson said. “My knee, normally I could feel it tweaking, but it always got better. But it got worse. I went to the doctor and found out I couldn’t go for about a month. I was supposed to come back. I tried to and I just couldn’t compete, so I had to shut it down. That’s about it. I was supposed to have workouts for other teams, but I honestly couldn’t go. And that was that.”

Jackson had tendinitis in his knee, something he says he played with since his sophomore season at Boston College. He just always played through the pain.

Rumor: Kobe Bryant closer to signing in China than Turkey, wants $1.5 million a month if he goes overseas

Marc J. Spears and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo report:

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant is engaged in far more substantive contract talks with teams in China than he is Turkish team Besiktas, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Besiktas coach Ergin Ataman tweeted Sunday that the team made an official offer to Bryant last week and plans to meet with Bryant’s agent in Los Angeles this week. However, a source close to Bryant said he hasn’t had conversations with the Turkish team in two weeks, and labeled Bryant’s chances of playing with Besiktas at “zero percent.”

Bryant, sources said, is still listening to offers to play overseas during the NBA’s lockout, and considers China a more likely option. He has exchanged proposals with Chinese teams, and one source said it’s unlikely Bryant would accept any deal that pays him less than $1.5 million per month. Bryant would be free to rejoin the Lakers as soon as the lockout ends.

Shawn Marion turns down offer to appear on Dancing With the Stars

TMZ reports:

Dallas Mavericks star Shawn Marion isn’t taking any chances with the NBA lockout — in fact, he just turned down “Dancing with the Stars” … to make sure he’s free to practice with his team this fall.

Sources close to Shawn tell TMZ, “Dancing” sent him an official offer to appear on the show, but the NBA champ wants to make sure he’s 100% available in case the lockout ends early … so it’s a no go.

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Ron Artest should officially become Metta World Peace in late August

TMZ reports:

Long story short — anyone looking to officially change their name in the State of California has to get a public declaration of the name change PRINTED in a local newspaper 4 times — once a week, 4 weeks in a row.

On July 19th, Ron’s LAST declaration to become Metta World Peace was published in the L.A. Daily Commerce — but the name change won’t become official until August 26th … when a judge is scheduled to sign the order.

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Marbury thinks Melo, Stoudemire would not cut it in China

Marc Berman of the New York Post reports:

Chinese basketball stalwart Stephon Marbury told The Post yesterday he does not think either Carmelo Anthony or Amar’e Stoudemire could cut it in China because they may not have the right mindset for the grittiness of the country’s basketball scene…

Citing the tough travel and rigorous training methods, Marbury said he doesn’t see the stars going to China, where the Coney Islander has spent the past two seasons.

“I don’t think those guys will want to go through it,” said Marbury, who is training in Los Angeles. “China is not for everybody — a whole ‘nother world. I don’t think they’re going to go there, not the big-time guys. Maybe they’d come for a little bit, but if the season is cancelled for the year, I don’t think they’d want to stay. They’ll want to go home.

“I don’t think Carmelo Anthony is going to run like they want to run in practice,” Marbury added. “They want to run you to death. The first time I got there, they ran in practice for two straight hours. I said, ‘Is that what we have to do every practice?’ “

Ron Artest plans to remarry former wife Kimsha

Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times (blog) reports:

Ron Artest sounded skeptical on appearing on “Dancing With the Stars”: “I haven’t thought about it yet. I like the show. Obviously, you have to dance. I play defense. I don’t know if I dance.”

He apparently is going to remarry his wife, Kimsha: “We’ve been together for 14 years. It doesn’t matter what our status is. We’re together. But we’re going to get married again. We’re planning to get married again. A nice big wedding. We’re good though.”

And in unprompted backstage moments before he was to appear on stage, Artest noted the “great timing” to have a comedy show because of what happened this week.

Bobcats rookie Bismack Biyombo will need buyout from team in Spain

Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Obsever (blog) reports:

Some of you have asked me what’s the significance of FIBA not clearing Bismack Biyombo to sign an NBA contract. It’s about money and leverage. That Spanish team doesn’t mind losing Biyombo to the Charlotte Bobcats, but they want every bit of a buyout of about $1.4 million to release him.

The Spanish Federation and, by extension, FIBA is backing the team. So Biyombo and the Bobcats will eventually have to pay up to get this resolved.

This is the pitfall of using high picks on International players. But as Dirk Nowitzki, the Gasol brothers and Tony Parker all demonstrate, foreigners can have huge impact on an NBA team’s success.

More from the Charlotte Observer:

In an email reply to an Observer inquiry, FIBA spokesman Andrew Robotham wrote:

“The NBA has indeed requested a Letter of Clearance (LoC) for the Player Bismack Biyombo. In accordance with the NBA/FIBA Agreement, FIBA has contacted the Spanish Federation in order to obtain the LoC.

“However, the Spanish Basketball Federation refused to issue the LoC in view of the fact that the Player is still under contract with a team in Spain.”

That Spanish team, Fuenlabrada, reportedly has Biyombo under contract for the next two seasons and expects a buyout of about $1.4 million to release him to the Bobcats. Though Biyombo expressed great confidence he’d be a Bobcat once the lockout ends ( “I’m going to play in the NBA next season for sure, 100 percent,” he said the day after the draft), FIBA’s recent action suggests things could get sticky.

Former NBA player Jay Vincent jailed ahead of Sept. 2 fraud sentence

The AP reports:

Former NBA player and Michigan State star Jay Vincent has been sent to jail, five weeks before he gets his sentence in a federal fraud case.

Defense lawyer Tom Clement says Vincent voluntarily revoked his bond and agreed to go to jail before a judge made a decision during a hearing Thursday in Grand Rapids.

Vincent is awaiting sentencing on Sept. 2 in a fraud case involving thousands of people who paid to become certified home inspectors.

Former NBA player Samaki Walker arrested on drug charges

Dave Hawkins of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports:

Arizona authorities allege former NBA basketball player Samaki Walker tried to eat marijuana as a Department of Public Safety officer approached his 2002 Mercedes-Benz following a routine traffic stop in Kingman on Thursday.

Officials said about 10 grams of marijuana was seized from the vehicle along with some prescription drugs and eight bottles of liquid steroids.

Police Sgt. Jamie Clark, the supervisor of a narcotics task force, said Walker was cooperative when interviewed by officers at the Mohave County Jail. He said Walker indicated that he uses the steroids to enhance his athletic ability as he still plays professionally in Syria.

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