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Having recently helped the Heat win a second-consecutive NBA title, Chris Bosh will turn his attention to helping the league conquer a new frontier.
The eight-time All-Star will visit Mumbai, India, July 16-18, to participate in a series of activities to help grow interest in the game. Having gained a stronghold in China, the NBA has targeted India and its population of more than 1 billion as the next lucrative international market.
Reported by Craig Davis of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
The Dallas Mavericks are set to add Israeli point guard Gal Mekel in free agency.
Mekel’s agent, Sam Porter, says the 6-foot-3 Mekel has agreed to join the Mavericks on a three-year deal with $2.3 million guaranteed. Free agents can’t sign until July 10.
The Mavericks added Mekel after getting Miami point guard Shane Larkin in the NBA draft last week. Mekel and the son of Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin are expected to battle for the backup job.
— Reported by the Associated Press
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Writing a first-person commentary for the Argentine newspaper “La Nación,” veteran guard Manu Ginobili made his strongest comments yet about his desire to return for another season with the Spurs.
Ginobili admitted it took him three days after the conclusion of the NBA Finals, a Game 7 loss to the Miami Heat, before he could focus on his future.
Now, he can’t see himself not continuing his Spurs career.
“After much thinking, going over and over the bad plays, I feel better and content in spite of the bad outcome, and I find it difficult to believe that I won’t play anymore,” he wrote in La Nación.
“I don’t feel exhausted or frustrated playing basketball, I mean not enough to say I’m done. I don’t know about everything; I haven’t made a decision, but I see it is unlikely that I will not play anymore.
“I try not to let the tree in front of me block the forest. This is practically an unbeatable situation in sports. A moment of anger and frustration should not cloud the day-to-day and how well I am doing over here.”
Reported by Mike Monroe and Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News
The Brooklyn Nets will play against the Atlanta Hawks in London at The O2 on Thursday, January 16, 2014 as part of NBA Global Games London 2014.
This will be the Nets’ third trip to London, which has included a preseason game in 2008 and two regular season games vs. the Toronto Raptors in 2011, the league’s first regular-season games in the UK. The Nets-Hawks game will be the eighth NBA game played at The O2 since 2007.
“We are very excited to once again represent the NBA in London,” said Brooklyn Nets General Manager Billy King. “The fans have always been very supportive, and we look forward to once again entertaining them with Brooklyn Nets basketball.”
“It is always an honor to represent the league overseas,” said Nets guard Deron Williams. “Playing in London has a playoff-like intensity, and the energy in the building is great for the players on both teams. It should be very exciting.”
Since Mikhail Prokhorov’s majority purchase of the team in May 2010, the Brooklyn Nets have continued their commitment to extending their global brand. In addition to their games in London, the Nets played two preseason games in Beijing and Guangzhou in the NBA China Games in 2010.
Globalization extends to the Nets dance team, the Brooklynettes, which has performed in seven different countries in the past year, as well as to the Brooklyn Nets Web site, which has been made available in Russian at www.netsrussia.com.
Reinforcing the global appeal of the team, the Nets home borough of Brooklyn has become a melting pot with more than 150 nationalities. Furthermore, Barclays, the naming rights partner for Barclays Center, the team’s home arena, is based in London.
Tickets for the game in London will go on sale in October.
One of the NBA’s sleeper free agents is becoming more and more of a common name.
Point guard Gal Mekel, fresh off leading little Maccabi Haifa to an upset of Euroleague Final Four regular Maccabi Electra Tel-Aviv for the Israeli championship earlier this month, appears to be inching closer to an NBA roster for next season.
Mekel had an eye-opening workout last week with the Milwaukee Bucks, according to sources close to the situation, and will audition Monday for the Dallas Mavericks. Sources told ESPN.com that the Toronto Raptors, meanwhile, are the latest team to express interest in Mekel, who has made major progress since his days at Wichita State from 2006-2008 and increasingly appeals to NBA teams thanks to his size, ability to read the game and, most of all, his pick-and-roll proficiency.
Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com
Offended by criticism that Dennis Rodman’s basketball diplomacy was a marketing gimmick for their season finale on North Korea, the creators of “Vice,” a new HBO newsmagazine with a penchant for daredevilish themes, said Wednesday that Mr. Rodman had improved the program but was not even their first choice.
At a preview screening of the finale, the creators said they would have preferred to have recruited another former N.B.A. star, Michael Jordan, whose autograph adorns a basketball presented to Kim Jong-il, the father of North Korea’s current leader, Kim Jong-un, by Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright during her visit to North Korea in 2000 — when relations were comparatively warmer than they are now.
“Jordan wasn’t interested,” said Shane Smith, the founder and chief executive of the Vice Media Group, the HBO partner that conceived the North Korea trip and helped persuade the authorities there to permit it.
However, Mr. Smith said, Mr. Rodman’s ready acceptance of the idea turned out to be a blessing. “It fit right into our wheelhouse, because it’s absurd,” Mr. Smith said.
Reported by Rick Gladstone of the New York Times
Mike Krzyzewski had decided to remain coach of the U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team.
Krzyzewski will try to lead the Americans to a third straight gold medal, a person with knowledge of the decision said Wednesday. Originally expected to step down, Krzyzewski will hold a press conference to confirm his return Thursday at Duke, the person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no official announcement has been made.
The Hall of Fame coach has led the Americans since 2005, winning gold at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, and the 2010 world basketball championship. His return was first reported by Sports Illustrated.
Reported by the Associated Press
Serbian police say Predrag Danilovic, who played for the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks, is seriously injured after being stabbed in a fight.
Police say Danilovic was hurt during a brawl early Saturday in a cafe in a residential part of the capital, Belgrade. Doctors say Danilovic underwent an operation to treat injuries to his abdomen, head and arms.
— Reported by the Associated Press
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FC Barcelona Regal big man Nate Jawai will miss the rest of the season due to his foot injury, the club announced in a press release Sunday morning. Accordingly, Jawai will not dress for the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four third place game nor will he be available for the Spanish League playoffs. Jawai was first injured in a Spanish League game against Joventut Badalona just before the Final Four. He tried to play injured in the semifinal against Real Madrid on Saturday, but could only last one minute on the floor.
— Reported by Euroleague.net
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For years, the Lakers claimed a steady fan base in the sprawling Korean American community, but this season the intensity has been amplified — with games now broadcast in Korean, a first in the NBA.
Time Warner Cable, which invested nearly $3 billion for regional TV rights to Lakers games for the next two decades, hired four Korean Americans as play-by-play announcers and color commentators, adding a fifth person just days ago.
For Park and others, it has brought a new intimacy to the action.
“I’m learning who the players really are, not their names only,” says Park, a grocery store clerk who grew up in Seoul.
Daniel Lee, an attorney who practices in Koreatown, said that while it’s a “big deal” for his parents’ generation to now be able to follow the local basketball team, the broadcasts add a new dimension for him as well.
— Reported by Anh Do of the Los Angeles Times