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Retired NBA point guard Jason Williams, known as White Chocolate, threw an amazing pass in an overseas game. You need to see the video clip:
That’s just an absolutely beautiful assist. J-Will’s creativity with the basketball is really something special.
When the Wizards locked up Eric Maynor at the start of free agency more than a month ago, it was a given that A.J. Price wouldn’t return.
Price, who had the best statistical season of his four-year career with 7.7 pints, 3.6 assists and 35% three-point shooting in Washington, surprisingly still is a free agent.
Reached this weekend by CSN Washington, Price concedes that he was prepared to linger on the market and said he wouldn’t rule out jumping abroad if the money is there. He made just less than $900,000 under the veteran minimum after spending his first three with the Indiana Pacers. He thinks his value should be greater.
“No, I’m not surprised,” he said of the Wizards not bringing him back after his only season here.
Reported by J. Michael of CSN Washington
James Ennis’ professional career will begin in Australia.
Scott Nichols, Ennis’ agent, Friday confirmed to the Sun Sentinel the agreement between Ennis and the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League in Australia, an arrangement that provides the 2013 second-round pick out of Long Beach State the option to return to the Miami Heat this season if summoned.
The Heat, who obtained Ennis from the Atlanta Hawks the night of the draft, will retain Ennis’ rights going forward, without having to utilize one of their roster spots for the coming season on the athletic swingman.
Ennis had an uneven summer-league run with the Heat, at times displaying the 3-point shooting and defensive disposition that will continue to have him in the team’s long-range plans.
Reported by Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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Latvian champ VEF Riga made official on Friday the acquisition of big man Gani Lawal for the next season. Lawal (2.05 meters, 25 years old) arrives from Virtus Roma of Italy, where last season he averaged 13.7 points, led all players in rebounds with 8.4 and was second in blocks with 1.5 in 47 Italian League games. After that, he played two games in China with Guangzhou Liu Sui. Lawal played college ball at Georgia Tech from 2007 to 2010.
Reported by Euroleague.net
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Miami Heat 2013 second-round NBA Draft pick James Ennis likely will spend the coming season overseas, with the Heat maintaining his draft rights, agent Scott Nichols on Monday told the Sun Sentinel.
Nichols cited the Heat’s glut of veteran wings, the team’s position hard against the NBA luxury tax and the Heat’s number of expiring contracts after the coming season as reasons why a 2014-15 NBA debut with the team might make more sense for the swingman out of Long Beach State who was acquired in a draft-night trade with the Atlanta Hawks.
“It comes down to a numbers game and a tax game,” Nichols said, with a decision on his client’s 2013-14 playing status expected to be finalized later this week.
Reported by Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
While they won’t be playing for Canada in next month’s FIBA Americas tournament in Venezuela, give this country’s two newest NBA players credit for showing up.
No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett and No. 13 selection Kelly Olynyk are in Toronto for this week’s Canada Basketball camp, lending whatever they can to the group of players assembled.
“It’s tough — I always wanted to play, especially with (this) great group of guys,” said Bennett after watching practice at the Air Canada Centre on Friday. Bennett is still recovering from a shoulder injury, and with Olynyk on the shelf as well, their respective pro teams in Cleveland and Boston would have likely had serious reservations if the frontcourt players had suited up in the maple leaf.
“Everyone wants to be here,” said Olynyk. “It’s really nice to see that everyone is so keen to represent their country and do it as a team.”
Reported by John Chick, special to the Toronto Sun
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Lakers forward Pau Gasol was moved by his recent trip to Dohuk, Iraq, to visit with Syrian refugees.
“Most of the people didn’t know who I was. They didn’t know what I do,” Gasol told The Times on Friday via telephone from Spain. “They saw someone that cared for them who was there to help them. That was there to listen to them, to play with children and be their speaker and be their voice and carry a message for them. It was a great experience. ”
Armed conflict in Syria has caused more than 1.7 million people, many of them children, to flee their homes.
Gasol, an ambassador for UNICEF since 2003, found his visit both challenging and heart-warming.
Reported by Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Blog)
After failing to field any NBA offers that entailed guaranteed deals, Andrew Goudelock has accepted a one-year deal to play with the Russian basketball team BC UNICS Kazan.
The offer is worth “considerably more” than Goudelock would’ve made with an NBA minimum salary worth around $1 million, according to a source familiar with the details. But exact terms weren’t immediately provided.
The Lakers declined to grant Goudelock a $1.1 million qualifying offer, which would’ve made him a restricted free agent and enabled the Lakers to match any offer sheet he fielded.
Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Blog)
A floor general in basketball is always important. But when you take a group of stars and try to teach them to also play like smart role players, leadership is even more crucial than ever. With that said, Team USA could really use a point guard like CP3.
Chris Paul has changed his mind and is leaning toward playing in the 2016 Olympics.
The Los Angeles Clippers point guard, who was on the 2008 and 2012 gold medal teams, said he was leaning heavily toward bypassing the 2016 Games — until Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski announced he was returning to coach the team.
“If it had been another coach than Coach K, I was prepared to be done,” Paul told ESPN.com.
Paul will be 31 when the 2016 Olympics, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, take place. He will still likely be a major piece for the team, despite a strong crop of young and talented point guards that includes Derrick Rose, Kyrie Irving, Russell Westbrook and Stephen Curry.
Reported by Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com
So far, Kevin Durant and Kevin Love are in. It’ll be fun seeing who else joins the squad.
Canada Basketball is set to open camp ahead of the 2013 Americas Championship for men.
The event will take place in Venezuela and runs from Aug. 30 to Sept. 11. The top four teams qualify for next year’s World Cup in Spain.
Canada will tune up for the competition with its camp, which runs from July 31 to Aug. 15 at the Air Canada Centre, and with two games against Jamaica at the Jack Donohue Classic on Aug. 8 and 10 at Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre.
It’s not yet clear exactly who will comprise Canada’s roster, but NBA players Tristan Thompson (Cleveland), Cory Joseph (San Antonio), Kelly Olynyk (Boston) and Joel Anthony (Miami) will be on hand.
Reported by Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun