Inside Hoops – Page 1874 – NBA Blog

Thunder still have hope for center Cole Aldrich

Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman reports:

The Thunder dealt two first-round picks to trade up to snag Aldrich at No. 11 in the 2010 draft, and the organization hasn’t put Aldrich on any sort of timetable for when he should sprout. If anything, though, Mohammed’s presence should speed Aldrich’s development rather than delay it.

But because Aldrich was limited to 18 games and only 7.9 average minutes in his rookie season, it becomes easy to view Mohammed’s return as a detriment. A better way of looking at Mohammed’s re-signing, however, is to focus on the impact he can have on a young player.

There is no guarantee that Mohammed remains ahead of Aldrich in the rotation. It’s possible Aldrich bumps Mohammed next season and becomes the full-time backup center to Kendrick Perkins. But even if Aldrich doesn’t crack the rotation, he’ll have Perkins and Mohammed, as well as Nick Collison, to learn from in practice.

And Aldrich has proved to be a willing learner.

“He’s a humble guy, he works hard and he can play,” Perkins said. “I think he’s going to provide some good minutes for us next year. He’s just got to be ready. One thing I’ve learned about Coach (Scott) Brooks is he’s not just going to give you minutes. He’s going to have to come in and earn his minutes.”

Aldrich has dedicated this summer to sharpening his skills. He said his main goal is “just to get better.”

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Ben Wallace wants to go to law school after basketball career ends

Terry Foster of the Detroit News reports:

Ben Wallace wants to be the first friendly face a troubled youth sees when he is on the wrong side of the law.

He’ll be dressed in his best blue suit with briefcase in hand, ready to tackle another case in court. When Wallace hangs up his basketball sneakers, he wants to go to law school.

But will the Pistons want Wallace for the one more season he would like to play? NBA players are locked out, so Wallace packed up and headed to his Virginia home. He can’t work out at the Pistons’ practice facility and can’t have contact with Pistons personnel. Until the lockout is over and Wallace has a conversation with Pistons president Joe Dumars, Big Ben won’t know if he’ll get one more shot in Detroit.

“We will see how it goes,” Wallace said.

He knows the end of his NBA career is just around the corner. Wallace, 36, averaged just 2.9 points and 6.5 rebounds in 22.9 minutes over 54 games last season. But Wallace believes he still can be a mentor to young Pistons like Greg Monroe.

Wallace not only wants to represent clients, he wants to tell them his long-shot story and make them realize their lives are not over despite youthful mistakes. Wallace is doing plenty of research now into law schools. The thought has been brewing for years, and he even spoke to former Pistons coach John Kuester about it three years ago when Wallace played in Cleveland.

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After coaching the team, Nancy Lieberman taking Texas Legends front-office job

Marc Stein of ESPN reports:

After a groundbreaking season coaching NBA hopefuls, Nancy Lieberman is moving to the Texas Legends’ front office.

The women’s basketball pioneer told ESPNDallas.com that she will be switching to the personnel side of the D-League team’s operations starting next season, after taking the expansion Legends to the playoffs as the first female to coach a men’s team under the NBA’s umbrella.

Lieberman said Sunday night that she debated the switch for weeks after the Legends’ season ended in April, ultimately deciding that her long-held goal of “making it normal” for a woman to coach men at the game’s highest level would have to be temporarily placed on hold for family reasons.

“I have one son and he has one senior year,” Lieberman said, referring to son T.J. Cline, who plays basketball at Plano West. “It’s not to say I’ll never coach again, because T.J. goes to college in a year, but I felt like this was the right thing to do right now. I don’t want to have any regrets as a mom. I want him to look up and see me in the stands.”

Coaches in the D-League generally work on one-year contracts, but Lieberman, 52, had been promised the option when she took the job of choosing whether to stay on as Legends coach or move into management after the 2010-11 season.

Gary Forbes to play for Team Panama in FIBA Americas Tournament

Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe reports:

It’s been a mind-boggling year for former UMass standout Gary Forbes, who earned a roster spot with the Nuggets, became a key rotation player, watched the whole Carmelo Anthony saga unfold firsthand, and participated in the NBA playoffs.

Forbes is now hosting a basketball camp in his hometown of Brooklyn. It includes a lesson on eating better and education on diabetes, which Forbes was diagnosed with in 2005.

And while he ponders whether to return overseas during the lockout, Forbes will be playing for his native Panama in the FIBA Americas tournament in August, hoping to land a berth in the 2012 London Olympics.

Report: Marcin Gortat to sign in Russia

Eurobasket.com (using a foreign-based fan as a journalist who may be jumping the gun) reports:

Spartak Saint Petersburg made a strong market move. They have reportedly agreed on terms of contract with Marcin Gortat (213-C-84). The 27-year-old centre has been playing in the NBA since 2007. Last season Marcin Gortat started in the Orlando Magic. He tallied 4.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. In December the centre was traded into the Phoenix Suns. There his stats came up to 13.0 points, 9.3 boards and 1.3 blocks per appearance. Before moving to the NBA Marcin Gortat had spells for Koeln and Lodz. Marcin Gortat is the member of Polish National Team. The centre posted 18.0 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 1.6 assists per game in 2011 EuroBasket Qualifying Round.

UPDATE: Several reports say that Gortat’s agent denies that the signing has taken place.

Brian Shaw learned he did not get Lakers coaching job by watching TV

ESPN Los Angeles reports:

Brian Shaw, the former Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach once thought by many to be the heir apparent to Phil Jackson, said the way he learned he didn’t get the job to replace Jackson was by hearing about it on TV.

Shaw, in an interview with Andy and Brian Kamenetzky on “The Mason & Ireland Show” on 710 ESPN Radio on Friday, said he first learned that Mike Brown had been hired as the Lakers coach during a television interview with Brown on ESPN at halftime of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals.

“I wasn’t really told anything,” said Shaw, who had the public backing of players Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher, among others, to take over for Jackson. “Unfortunately, I found about not getting the job and who was hired for the job on ESPN. I didn’t really talk to anyone for about three weeks after that.”

Just this week, Shaw was hired by the Indiana Pacers to be their associate head coach. He will work alongside Pacers coach Frank Vogel, a man he knows from their days on the Lakers staff together during the 2005-06 season.

Jason Kidd wants to play three more years

ESPN Dallas reports:

Jason Kidd has some time to enjoy himself after a long playoff run that resulted in the Dallas Mavericks’ first NBA title. What better way than joining the likes of Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and former Stars Mike Modano and Brett Hull?

When asked of his future plans Saturday during an on-course interview with Jimmy Roberts during the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship at Lake Tahoe, Kidd had this to say:

“Hopefully I got three years left. I have a year on my deal and then I would like to get past 40 and then watch the young guys play.”

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Rumor: Heat want Dalembert, Battier

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports:

The Heat has strong interest in Samuel Dalembert, a better rebounder and defender than Curry, but Miami will be in the mix for Dalembert only if there’s a mid-level exception in the new labor deal. Regardless, the Heat again will check on Curry after the lockout, then decide whether to offer him a minimum-salary deal.

Curry, drafted fourth overall in 2001, averaged 19.5 points and 7.0 rebounds for the Knicks in 2006-07 but played in just 10 games over the past three years because of injuries. He was out of the league last season…

Regardless of whether James Jones re-signs (and there’s mutual interest), we hear forward Shane Battier will be very much on the Heat’s radar after the lockout. The Houston Chronicle, after interviewing Battier, said “don’t be surprised” if he signs with the Heat or Bulls.

The Heat long has admired Battier and fellow free agents Tayshaun Prince and Grant Hill, but the question is if any will take less money to sign here. Hill told The Arizona Republic “it would be nice” to re-sign with Phoenix. Detroit wants to keep Prince.

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Eddy Curry is still very overweight

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports:

Eddy Curry’s predicament is clear: If he loses at least 40 more pounds during the lockout, then the Heat likely will have renewed and genuine interest because Pat Riley remains highly intrigued by the 7-foot center. The question is whether he has the discipline to achieve that mighty challenge.

Curry, 28, reportedly topped 350 pounds during his late March workout for the Heat. He lost a lot more weight — in excess of 20 pounds — between that point and late June, when he auditioned again for the Heat over several days.

But he entered the lockout still at least 40 pounds overweight, according to a league official briefed on the situation. “You watch him shoot and he’s got great touch, good hands,” said a player source who was invited to Curry’s multiplayer Heat workouts in late June. “He’s very skilled. But it’s a question of whether he gets more serious. He’s got a long way to go.”

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Marcus Slaughter signs in Germany

Euroleague.net reports:

German champion Brose Baskets Bamberg kept loading up for 2011-12 with the signing on Saturday of forward Marcus Slaughter for the upcoming Turkish Airlines Euroleague Regular Season. Slaughter (2.04 meters, 26 years old) arrives from Valladolid of the Spanish League, where he averaged 9.9 points and 6 rebounds in 34 games last season. Although he has already played in five European countries, Slaughter will make his Euroleague debut with Bamberg. He started his career in Turkey with Pinar Karsiyaka, averaging 13.3 points over 29 games in 2006-07. His next stop was Israel, where he played only five Eurocup games with Hapoel Jerusalem before moving in the same season to BCM Gravelines Dunkerque of France.