Category: General NBA insight

Now that Kobe Bryant, strangely missing, has finally joined the fun, the U.S. appears complete.

Oh, there are some major defensive flaws, but that hardly matters to this suped-up, American-manufactured scoring machine that goes from zero to 100 points in seconds.

Overpowering and dominant in a way not seen since the 1992 Dream Team, the Americans are now two wins from a second straight Olympic gold medal.

Argentina awaits.

“We’re ready,” Carmelo Anthony said.

Pushed by teammate Kevin Durant to “turn it on,” Bryant scored 20 points – all in the second half – and the U.S. team stomped its way into the semifinals with a 119-86 win on Wednesday night over Australia, which scrapped as hard as it could until the world’s best team put the game away.

— Reported by Tom Withers of the Associated Press

Dwyane Wade’s recovery from knee surgery is right on schedule, and the All-Star guard expects to be ready to go when the Miami Heat open the defense of their NBA championship.

The way he was walking around London on Wednesday, it would have been tough to guess he had surgery a month ago.

”I feel good. Rehab is going very well,” Wade told The Associated Press. ”I’m happy with it. I’m more encouraged than I was, obviously, when I knew I had to get surgery. So I’m happy.”

Wade was in London making a promotional appearance at NBA House for Gatorade, one of his longtime sponsors, and its sports science institute.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

The Portland Trail Blazers have named Terry Stotts the team’s new head coach, it was announced today by General Manager Neil Olshey. Stotts becomes the 14th head coach in Trail Blazers history.

An 18-year coaching veteran, Stotts most recently served as an assistant coach with Dallas for four seasons from 2008-12. Under head coach Rick Carlisle, Stotts helped lead the Mavericks to the 2011 NBA Championship.

“Terry is one of the elite offensive minds in the NBA, has extensive experience with multiple organizations and was instrumental in the Dallas Mavericks winning the 2011 NBA Championship, said Olshey. “He understands the vision for the future of the franchise, appreciates the process involved and will create an environment on the court that will produce championship habits.”

Stotts, 54, has twice served as an NBA head coach, with two-year stints in both Milwaukee (2005-07) and Atlanta (2002-04). He has compiled an overall head coaching record of 115-168 (.406).

“I’m very pleased to be a part of a great franchise in a beautiful city with such a proud history,” said Stotts. “I look forward to working hard with Neil and our players toward the ultimate goal of bringing another championship to Portland.”

During his two seasons with Milwaukee, Stotts guided the Bucks to a 63-83 (.432) mark, including a playoff appearance in 2006. Stotts replaced Lon Kruger as head coach of the Hawks on Dec. 26, 2002, and accumulated a record of 52-85 (.380) in two seasons with Atlanta.

In between head coaching positions, Stotts worked as the lead assistant to Mike Montgomery at Golden State during the 2004-05 season.

Before becoming a head coach, Stotts served as an assistant under George Karl for 10 years, six with Seattle and four with Milwaukee. Those teams reached the postseason in nine of 10 seasons, including Seattle’s NBA Finals appearance in 1996.

A four-year starter at the University of Oklahoma, Stotts was selected by Houston in the second round of the 1980 NBA Draft. He played professionally for several seasons in Europe and with the CBA’s Montana Golden Nuggets, coached by Karl.

A native of Cedar Falls, Iowa, Stotts grew up in Illinois, Wisconsin, Guam and finished high school in Bloomington, Indiana. S

Rod Strickland, special assistant to University of Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari, was arrested Thursday morning on charges of driving on a suspended license, failure to signal and having no vehicle registration, according to the Fayette County Detention Center’s Web site.

Strickland, 46, was arrested at East Maxwell Street and South Martin Luther King Boulevard, according to the jail’s online report of inmates booked in the past 48 hours. He was released on bond about 11 a.m.

A UK athletics spokesman issued a statement about an hour later saying officials were investigating whether the arrest was the result of a clerical error. Strickland had been arrested in Lexington in 2010 for driving under the influence but had gotten his license reinstated the following year, according to court documents.

However, when a police officer pulled him over as Strickland was driving to work Thursday, his license showed up as suspended when the officer ran his information through the National Crime Information Center database, Lexington police spokeswoman Sherelle Roberts said.

— Reported by Daniel Moore and Josh Kegley of the Herald-Leader

One vote down and plenty more to go in the quest to build a new arena that could bring the NBA back to Seattle.

The Metropolitan King County Council took the initial step on Monday afternoon, approving the amended proposal from investor Chris Hansen by a 6-3 vote. After four hours of public testimony and statements from council members, the Hansen’s proposal – with a few tweaks – got the required number of votes to move forward.

Now the plan goes to the Seattle City Council, but if its actions earlier Monday are any indication, Hansen’s $490 million arena plan that includes nearly $300 million in private funds and $200 million in public contribution has plenty of adjustments and changes yet to come.

— Reported by Tim Booth of the Associated Press

The Utah Jazz and veteran Raja Bell are generously providing fans with some off-season drama.

Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune reports:

The Salt Lake Tribune learned Monday that Bell has not accepted a buyout with the Jazz, despite the veteran guard saying July 8 a verbal agreement had been reached between the sides and only formalities remained.

“We’ve been given the greenlight by Utah to go ahead and find something that works for us. We’ve agreed to the terms,” Bell said in July. “So I think it’s safe to say now we are in the market again and we’re entertaining our options at this point.”

Jazz General Manager Kevin O’Connor would not discuss Bell’s buyout when recently asked about the situation during Summer League in Orlando, Fla. But a league source confirmed Monday the Jazz have officially offered Bell a buyout. He has refused to accept the deal, though, stalling an already long-delayed process.

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak and Andrew Bynum’s agent spoke Wednesday about a contract extension for Bynum, an indication of the Lakers’ ongoing interest in locking Bynum beyond next season.

One conversation between Kupchak and David Lee is hardly grounds for a judgment that the Lakers won’t trade Bynum for disgruntled Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, but the Lakers have a decision to make with Bynum. He is set to make $16.1 million in the 2012-13 season, but if not extended he will become an unrestricted free agent. The Lakers have no one but newly acquired Steve Nash under contract for the 2014-15 season, when they are intent on dropping under the NBA’s luxury-tax plateau.

— Reported by Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register

The Memphis Grizzlies acquired guard/forward D.J. Kennedy from the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for guard Jeremy Pargo, a 2014 second round pick and cash considerations, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.

Kennedy (6-6, 215) made two appearances for Cleveland as a rookie last season, recording 6.0 points and 3.5 rebounds on .417 shooting in 29.5 minutes after being called up from the NBA Development League’s Erie Bayhawks on April 21,2012.

The 22-year-old posted 15.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists on .447 shooting in 37.3 minutes in 44 games (all starts) for Erie. He also averaged 14.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists in the Bayhawks’ three postseason games.

The Pittsburgh native enjoyed a four-year career (2007-11) at St. John’s University,where he became just the third player in school history to total at least 1,500 points, 750 rebounds and 150 steals, joining Malik Sealy and George Johnson.

Pargo (6-2, 219) averaged 2.9 points and 1.3 assists on .333 shooting in 9.6 minutes in 44 games (five starts) as a rookie for Memphis last season. The 26-year-old Gonzaga product originally was signed by the Grizzlies as a free agent on Dec. 10,2011.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have claimed forward Jon Leuer off waivers from the Houston Rockets, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts. The Rockets waived the forward on Wednesday, July 18.

Leuer, 23, averaged 4.7 points on .508 shooting and 2.6 rebounds in 12.1 minutes per game in 46 games (12 starts) during his rookie season in 2011-12. In his 12 starts, the 6-foot-10, 228-pound forward averaged 7.7 points on .560 shooting and 3.3 rebounds in 17.7 minutes per game.

“Jon is a young, athletic, hard-working post player. He will add depth and also bring a perimeter shooting element to our big positions,” said General Manager Chris Grant. “We’re happy to add Jon to our team and looking forward to his continued growth and development as a Cavalier.”

Prior to the start of the NBA’s 2011-12

regular season, Leuer, the 40 th overall selection in the 2011 NBA Draft, signed with the Fraport Skyliners Frankfurt team of the German Bundesliga. He appeared in 10 games and posted averages of 14.8 points on .495 shooting and 7.8 rebounds in 31.6 minutes per game.

He played all four seasons in college at Wisconsin and as a senior was named to the All-Big Ten First Team after averaging 18.3 points on .470 shooting and 7.2 rebounds in 33.5 minutes per game in 34 games.

The Portland Trail Blazers have signed guard Ronnie Price, it was announced today by General Manager Neil Olshey.

A seven-year NBA veteran, Price, 29, has played for Sacramento, Utah and Phoenix. In 355 career games (33 starts), he has averaged 3.6 points, 1.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 11.5 minutes per game.

“Ronnie gives us a different look in the backcourt and we feel he’ll be a nice complement to the players we have in place,” said Olshey. “He works out with Damian Lillard in the summer and has played with Wesley Matthews in Utah, so there is some built-in chemistry there that we like.”

Price (6-2, 190) appeared in 36 games, including eight starts, for Phoenix last season. The Friendswood, Texas, native averaged 3.6 points, 1.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 14.4 minutes in his only season with the Suns.

Undrafted out of college in 2005, Price signed with the Kings as a free agent. He averaged 24.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists as a senior at Utah Valley State.