Category: General NBA insight

General NBA insight

NBA fines Clippers $250,000 due to unauthorized DeAndre Jordan endorsement opportunity offer

The NBA announced today that it has fined the Los Angeles Clippers $250,000 for violating NBA rules prohibiting teams from offering players unauthorized business or investment opportunities.

The violation involved a presentation made by the Clippers to free agent DeAndre Jordan on July 2 that improperly included a potential third-party endorsement opportunity for the player. While the NBA’s investigation ultimately concluded that the presentation of this opportunity had no impact on Jordan’s decision to re-sign with the Clippers (especially since he reportedly then agreed to sign with the Dallas Mavericks before later changing his mind), the team’s conduct nevertheless violated the league’s anti-circumvention rules.

The NBA’s anti-circumvention rules prohibit teams from, among other things, providing or arranging for others to provide any form of compensation to a player unless such compensation is included in a player contract or otherwise expressly permitted under the CBA.

NBA promotes Kiki VanDeWeghe to Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations

NBA promotes Kiki VanDeWeghe

The NBA announced today that Kiki VanDeWeghe has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations. VanDeWeghe, who has been serving as Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations, will lead the Basketball Operations department effective immediately.

The league also will hire a new President, League Operations. VanDeWeghe and Mike Bantom, Executive Vice President, Referee Operations, will both report to that person.

The moves come as two top executives depart the league office. President, Basketball Operations Rod Thorn retired this month after more than 50 years as a player, coach, and executive in professional basketball. In addition, President, League Operations Joel Litvin will be stepping down effective Sept. 1 after a 27-year career in the league office.

“Kiki is one of the sharpest basketball minds in the NBA,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “In addition to his storied UCLA and NBA playing career plus his extensive experience as a general manager, coach, and TV analyst, he has most recently helped drive innovations in analytics that are reshaping the league in areas such as scheduling, game statistics, and player health.”
VanDeWeghe joined the league office in April 2013 as Vice President, Basketball Operations and was promoted to Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations later the same year. He has been involved in a broad range of basketball matters, including the development of playing rules and interpretations, game analytics, and policies and procedures relating to the operation of NBA games.

Before his time with the league office, VanDeWeghe served as the general manager of the New Jersey Nets from 2008 to 2010 and the general manager of the Denver Nuggets from 2001 to 2006. His tenure in New Jersey included a stint as interim head coach during the 2009-10 season. He also worked as an NBA analyst for ESPN and Fox Sports.

VanDeWeghe’s NBA playing career spanned 13 years, with the Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers, New York Knicks, and Los Angeles Clippers, during which he averaged 19.7 points per game, made two All-Star appearances, and helped his teams reach the playoffs 12 times.

Bantom, an NBA executive for 26 years, has overseen the league’s officiating program since 2012. He was hired by the NBA in 1989 after a 16-year professional playing career. Bantom averaged 12.1 points and 6.4 rebounds in nine NBA seasons before playing seven more seasons in Italy.

NBA and Under Armour announce partnership

Under Armour and the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced today a multiyear global partnership that makes Under Armour the title partner of the NBA Draft Combine and presenting partner of the Jr. NBA, the league’s youth basketball program. Under Armour will also team with the league to launch an innovative NBA FIT mobile application powered by the brand’s Connected Fitness platform. This new marketing and merchandising agreement represents an expanded partnership between the NBA and Under Armour, a league partner since 2011.

This is pretty minor news from the general NBA fan standpoint. The Combine has limited visibility outside of the players involved and media in attendance.

As the title partner, Under Armour will become the outfitter of the NBA Draft Combine beginning in 2018, in addition to developing a retail line of NBA Draft Combine apparel for fans. The NBA Draft Combine is an invite-only showcase in which leading draft prospects participate in athletic testing, five-on-five games, and interviews with teams ahead of the NBA Draft presented by State Farm.

The Jr. NBA presented by Under Armour will launch its expanded efforts in the U.S. this October with the goal of engaging five million youth during the first two years of the program through a series of basketball clinics, skills challenges and regional tournaments. This program aims to develop a lifelong passion for basketball in boys and girls ages 6-14 by teaching them the fundamentals of the game, while emphasizing values like sportsmanship, respect, teamwork, and healthy living. The Jr. NBA will include ongoing programming from affiliated youth basketball organizations, resources for participating coaches, and instructional digital content for kids and parents.

“We’re proud to expand our partnership with the NBA and continue our shared commitment to help basketball players everywhere realize their potential, on and off the court,” said Adam Peake, Executive Vice President, Global Marketing, Under Armour. “The new elements of our partnership will allow Under Armour to leverage our leadership in athletic performance innovation and Connected Fitness to foster the worldwide growth of basketball.”

“Under Armour and the NBA share a commitment to basketball, fitness, and healthy living,” said Emilio Collins, NBA Executive Vice President, Global Marketing Partnerships. “Together we have a unique opportunity to teach the values of the game to millions of kids through the Jr. NBA program, and to give our fans the latest information on exercise and wellness through the NBA FIT app.”

Ray Allen is not retired from NBA yet

Here’s the Hartford Courant with the latest on Ray Allen, who is apparently still open to continuing his NBA career if the opportunity is right:

Ray Allen is not retired from NBA yet

Yes, Ray Allen cleaned out his closets this summer and gave away some of his shoes, leading fans on an Instagram-driven scavenger hunt around Hartford.

But don’t read into it. He still has lots of shoes, and he’s not yet retired.

“I haven’t said anything about that and I won’t officially retire,” Allen said Saturday during a break in his basketball camp for kids at East Granby High. “Because if something came to the table, contractually and situational-ly, I want to be able to take a strong look at it. I don’t want to be that guy that says he’s retiring and then is coming back.”

Allen, the former UConn star and the most accomplished three-point shooter in NBA history, turned 40 on July 20 and has now been out of the game a full season, though, he said “a quarter to half” the teams in the NBA contacted him about coming back in time for the playoffs last spring.

Roy Hibbert says he will dominate defensively for Lakers

Here’s the Orange County Register reporting on new Lakers center Roy Hibbert, who the Indiana Pacers basically traded to Los Angeles for nothing:

Roy Hibbert says he will dominate defensively for Lakers

To Larry Bird and others in charge in Indiana, Roy Hibbert was a lost cause. A lumbering center with little offensive game and a disinterested temperament, they were happy pawning him off for nothing more than a future second-round draft pick.

The Lakers, however, view Hibbert as a player who can not only regain his standing as an All-Star big man, but anchor their anemic defense, which last year ranked second-worst in the NBA.

“I expect to play at an All-Star defensive level, and everything else will come,” Hibbert said Wednesday.

Hibbert, 28, was introduced at the Lakers facility along with free agents Lou Williams and Brandon Bass, a clutch of veterans expected to help ease the burden on the team’s young core.

Baron Davis is making an NBA comeback attempt

Baron Davis was an awesome, explosive, fun, excellent point guard in his day. Then injuries and age kicked in as they tend to do, and he wasn’t B-Diddy anymore. But now in 2015, Baron reportedly good enough to give the NBA another shot. The odds are against him. But we’re rooting for him. Here’s the New York Post reporting:

Baron Davis is making an NBA comeback attempt

“This is the first time I’m going to put myself out there,” Davis said on Sirius XM NBA Radio. “I’m going to try out for some teams.”

The two-time All-Star last played a competitive game on May 6, 2012, in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, helping the Knicks secure their first playoff victory since 2001.

Nevertheless, Davis wasn’t be able to revel in the Knicks’ success, falling to the court late in the game after suffering a partial tear of the patella tendon in his right knee along with complete tears of his right MCL and ACL.