Inside Hoops – Page 1872 – NBA Blog

Billy Hunter tells InsideHoops that NBA lockout meetings may not resume until August

By Jeff Lenchiner

Wednesday evening in New York City I paid a visit to Dyckman Park for some streetball action. It was a big matchup of some top teams that has been anticipated for weeks, so the park was packed. Included in the crowd were rapper Jadakiss, Denver Nuggets forward Al Harrington, and the head of the NBA Players Union, Billy Hunter, among others.

Before the game, Hunter, bravely attempting to communicate as some top-notch rap music blasted from the park’s booming speakers at full volume, gave InsideHoops.com a very quick update on the current NBA lockout situation:

InsideHoops.com: What’s the latest?

Billy Hunter: We’re trying to find some way to re-open the negotiations. We’re not making very much progress. It looks like we’re going to be where we are, I would assume probably [until] August before we actually end up getting back together.

InsideHoops.com: How long might the lockout last?

Hunter: It’s unpredictable. It’s hard to say how long it’s going to go.

It sounds like NBA fans should not hold their breath waiting for positive developments just yet.

NBA 2K12 covers: Jordan, Bird and Magic

2K Sports announced today that NBA 2K12, the next installment of the top-rated and best-selling NBA video game simulation franchise, will offer three separate covers for the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system featuring three of the NBA’s greatest legends of all time, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.

The new stylized NBA 2K12 covers are a unique, one-time departure from the traditional 2K Sports brand artwork, and will spotlight each legendary athlete on his famous team: the Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics, and Los Angeles Lakers. The covers featuring Bird and Johnson will be available at launch in a limited quantity.

“Bringing Michael Jordan to the virtual hardwood last year was a huge success for NBA 2K11; however, we didn’t want to stop there,” said Jason Argent, vice president of marketing for 2K Sports. “We’re bringing ‘His Airness’ back to the NBA 2K franchise as part of a multi-year extended partnership, along with two other legendary icons – Larry Bird and Magic Johnson – for a special cover athlete collection representing the NBA’s greatest heroes.”

Here they are:

Have a reaction? Read video game fan opinions in this forum topic.

J.J. Barea and former Miss Universe Zuleyka Rivera expecting a child

SportsDayDFW.com reports:

Mavericks guard J.J. Barea and his girlfriend, actress and model Zuleyka Rivera are expecting a child, according to a report from Primerahora.com.

Rivera, a former Miss Universe, will have to leave production of her new project called “Passionate Heart.”

“All this took me by surprise, but I feel very lucky,” she wrote to Primerahora.com, as translated from Spanish. “I come from a very close family and I understand that a baby is a blessing. I’m sorry I had to leave this soap opera, it was another opportunity for my growth as an actress and achieve my professional goals. However, both JJ and I are happy to start a family together and I know God will reward us with a healthy baby and many more opportunities for both.”

Read NBA fan reaction and share your own opinion in this forum topic.

Nuggets center Timofey Mozgov signs in Russia

Euroleague.net reports:

BC Khimki Moscow Region brought a familiar face back and announced a new player with the signing of Timofey Mozgov and Chris Quinn on Thursday. Mozgov (2.16 meters, 25 years old) played four seasons with the club from 2006 through 2010. He averaged 6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 16 Euroleague games as a reserve in his final season with the club, 2009-10. Last season Mozgov played for New York and Denver in the NBA, where he amassed 3.6 points and 2.7 rebounds over 45 games. Mozgov grew up with LenVo St. Petersburg and also played for CSK VVS-2 Samara before joining Khimki for the first time. During his time with Khimki he helped the team reach the 2009 Eurocup title game and qualify for the Euroleague for the first time. He has also developed into a regular for the Russian national team, for whom he played at EuroBasket 2009 and at the FIBA World Championships last summer.

Lawsuit targets Alonzo Mourning, claiming hit-and-run crash

Mike Clary of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:

A Miami college student filed a lawsuit on Wednesday claiming he was injured and nearly killed three days ago, when a sports car driven by Alonzo Mourning smashed into his car on the Julia Tuttle Causeway and then fled the scene.

William Candelario, 21, was driving home from Miami Beach early Sunday morning when a blue Porsche the former Heat star was driving slammed into Candelario’s 2010 Audi, causing the car to flip over several times, according to Coral Gables attorney Spencer Aronfeld.

Sgt.Tom Pikul of the Florida Highway Patrol confirmed that Mourning, 41, was involved in the second of two separate crashes involving Candelario’s car.

He said Candelario’s car and another vehicle apparently had collided and were “stopped on the roadway” when the Porche that Mourning was driving struck Candelario’s car.

In Israel, Derrick Sharp retires as a player

Euroleague.net reports:

A legendary Euroleague career has come to an end with Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv announcing on Wednesday that captain Derrick Sharp has retired as a player to take a position as assistant coach on David Blatt’s coaching staff. Sharp, 39, has spent the past 15 seasons playing for Maccabi. During his time in yellow-and-blue, Sharp has amassed 27 titles. He is a three-time continental champion, having won the Euroleague in back-to-back season in 2004 and ’05 and the Suproleague in 2001. He has also collected 13 Israeli League championships and 11 Israeli Cups. He walks away from the game with his name entrenched in the Euroleague record books. His 195 games played are fifth most since the turn of the century. His 219 career three-pointers made are 13th most and his 42.8% three-point accuracy ranks 16th. He is seventh all-time in free throw accuracy at 88.9%. For his career he amassed 1,162 points in the Euroleague and took part in six title games and eight Final Fours, which ties him for the most of the Final Four era. Sharp, who played alongside 104 different players in his time with Maccabi, finishes his career in seventh place on Maccabi’s all-time list of scorers in European play (1,749 points).

Team France concerned with health of Bulls center Joakim Noah

FIBA.com reports:

One pressing concern for France, however, is the status of Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah.

While giving all the players medical examinations at INSEP in Paris last week, Team France doctors viewed an old injury of Noah’s dating back three months.

The FFBB said in a statement: “In an act of transparency, the FFBB sent the medical reports to his club and his agent.”

The federation said that the latter had wanted to study the situation and take stock in Chicago with the player.

The medical staff of Team France has proposed a rehabilitation protocol for treatment so the player can resume training with the Blues as soon as possible.

Matt Bonner still trying to get dual American-Canadian citizenship

Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News (blog) reports:

Canadian national basketball coach Leo Rautins really, really wants Matt Bonner to play for his team. One problem: Bonner is still not Canadian.

The Spurs forward has been trying for years to gain dual citizenship, and he would seem to have a cut-and-dried case considering he’s married to a Canadian, has a Canadian daughter and grandfather and lives most of the offseason in Toronto.

His nickname — “The Red Rocket” — is decidedly Canadian, homage to Toronto’s public transit system.

But Bonner is still not Canadian, and thus ineligible to play for Canada in various Olympic qualifying tournaments. The feet-dragging has left Rautins almost apoplectic, according to the London Free Press (h/t to Project Spurs for the find).

“I see a lot of Canadians who are less Canadian than Matt Bonner,” Rautins told the Canadian newspaper. “His daughter’s Canadian. His wife’s Canadian. His grandfather’s Canadian. He’s got a home here. When he’s not playing for the San Antonio Spurs, he’s here (in Toronto).”

Read NBA fan reaction or share your own opinion in this forum topic.

Marcus Landry signs in France

Euroleague.net reports:

BCM Gravelines improved its roster for the upcoming Turkish Airlines Euroleague Qualifying Round by inking versatile forward Marcus Landry to a one-year deal, the club announced Tuesday. Landry (2.01 meters, 25 years old) arrives from Maratonistas de Coamo, where he averaged 11.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in 10 Puerto Rican League games this season. He started the 2010-11 season with Reno in the NBA Development League, averaging 17.6 points and 4.4 rebounds in 53 games and helped this team to reach the D-League semifinals before joining Coamo.

Union plans player meetings as NBA lockout drags on with no progress

Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated reports:

There will be labor-related meetings in the near future.

They just aren’t the kind that typically lead to collective bargaining progress.

According to sources close to the situation, the National Basketball Players Association is planning a series of player sessions in as many as six cities over “the next month or so,” as a way to help with its planning during the lockout and update players on the state of negotiations with the NBA. Unless things unexpectedly change, there won’t be much to report on that front.

While mid-level staffers from both sides met on Friday to finalize the numbers related to basketball-related income (BRI) for the 2010-11 season, no negotiating sessions involving commissioner David Stern or NBPA executive director Billy Hunter have been scheduled. Sources said the BRI numbers were not finalized Friday and more similar sessions are forthcoming to that end, but the union is focused on fortifying from within rather than exchanging proposals with the owners, who are pushing for a hard salary cap as part of a drastic overhaul to the current system.

InsideHoops.com editor says: Basically, the two sides are considering their various options and possible proposal changes, amongst themselves. There’s no way of knowing if either side plans to make any changes the next time they make offers to each other, when they do eventually meet again. I’m just guessing here but it sounds like the earliest the NBA lockout could even possibly end is early August. But that’s not expected, because it sounds like both sides remain pretty far apart.