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The NBA is coming back to London with a regular-season game between the Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks in January.
The NBA says the Pistons and Knicks will play on Jan. 17 at the O2 Arena, the site of this year’s Olympic gold-medal game.
The Toronto Raptors and New Jersey Nets played a pair of regular-season games at the same venue in March 2011, but the NBA skipped London on its preseason tour this year.
— Reported by the Associated Press
Celtics play an October 5 exhibition game in Turkey
After a flight that lasted about 12 hours with many players getting little to no sleep, it would have come as a surprise to no one if Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers gave his players the day off after they landed.
Nope.
Instead, Rivers put them through about an hour’s worth of practice with a simple goal in mind — to keep them awake.
Huh?
“That’s a rarity in the NBA where you try to make sure they don’t go to bed early,” Rivers said. “Usually it’s the exact opposite. But because of the time change and all that, I thought if we went straight and did nothing they would fall asleep at 6 p.m. and sleep the rest of the night away.”
— Reported by A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE
The Professional Basketball Alumni Association (PBAA) and Moore Management & Entertainment (MME) announce the teaming of 11-time All-Star Allen Iverson and former NBA point guard Jason “White Chocolate” Williams to its roster, when the All-Stars travel abroad to take on the 2012 Chinese Basketball Association’s champion Beijing Ducks, who feature former NBA star Stephon Marbury. “Allen and Jason are thrilled to be able to play together for the first time since being backcourt mates in high school,” says PBAA Chairman and CEO Charles D. Smith.
“As basketball continues to grow on the global stage, these events hone in on our efforts to continually use the sport of basketball to break down cultural barriers around the globe.” says Smith. We are equally excited for the chance to play against some of China’s best players. “We will give fans an exciting game where they can cheer for their basketball heroes.”
Coached by Hall of Famer Nate “Tiny” Archibald, they will take on the Beijing Ducks on Saturday, October 6, 2012 at the Beijing National Stadium.
In addition to Iverson and Williams, the roster will include Damon Jones, Charoy Bentley, Shane Burrell, Zendon Hamilton, J.R. Inman, J. R. Reid and an amazing dunker, Guy “Easy J” Dupuy.
Panathinaikos Athens found a stopper to reign in the paint by signing [forward] Stephane Lasme, who returns to the Euroleague after two years away. Lasme (2.03 meters, 29 years old) finished among the top vote-getters for the 2010 Best Defender Award after his last season with Maccabi Electra. He averaged 6.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and was third in the league with 1.4 blocks per game in a reserve role for Maccabi that season. He helped Partizan Belgrade and Maccabi to playoff appearances in both of his two previous Euroleague campaigns. Lasme is ranked second all-time with 1.46 blocks over his 39 career Euroleague games. Last season he played for Obradoiro CAB in the Spanish League, where he was worth 10.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 34 games.
— Reported by Euroleague.net
Free-agent forward D.J. White has reached agreement on a one-year contract to play for owner Yao Ming and the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association, sources told Yahoo! Sports.
White, who played for the Charlotte Bobcats last season, has a chance to become an elite player in the CBA and could help elevate Yao’s franchise into serious contention.
Yao bought the cash-strapped Sharks in 2009 and has resurrected one of China’s proudest basketball franchises. White will play for respected American coach Dan Panaggio for the Sharks. After numerous injuries, Yao retired from the Houston Rockets in 2011.
— Reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports
Cedevita Zagreb fortified its backcourt by signing point guard Curtis Stinson for one season. Stinson (1.91 meters, 29 years old) has played briefly in Europe before, but has found much of his success in the NBA D-League. He was that competition’s MVP two years ago after averaging 19.3 points, a league-best 9.8 assists and 5.7 rebounds in the regular season for Iowa. He then led the club to the league title with 24.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 8.8 assists in the playoffs. Stinson joined Krka Novo Meston of Slovenia at the start of last season and produced 8.3 points and 4.5 assists through four Adriatic League games, but later moved back to Iowa and compiled 11.3 points, 5.9 assists and 4.7 rebounds in 28 games the rest of the season.
— Reported by Euroleague.net
While taking in the basketball hall of fame enshrinement, several members of the Mavericks’ front office were on hand and as president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said, the Mavericks have a roster full with 15 players possessing guaranteed contracts.
That leaves little room for Brazil’s Rafael Hettsheimeir, a 6-10, 260-pound center who has drawn the attention of several NBA teams. The 26-year-old plays in the Spanish League and some international reports have suggested that the Mavericks have offered him a deal.
— Reported by Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News
Turkish Airlines Euroleague newcomer Cedevita Zagreb of Croatia has added veteran depth at forward in the person of Mickael Gelabale, who has played two previous seasons in the competition. Gelabale (2.01 meters, 29 years old) won the Eurocup title last season with Khimki Moscow Region of Russia. His Euroleague career so far has consisted of two seasons with Real Madrid of Spain between 2004 and 2006 during which he put up 8 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Gelabale started his career with Cholet of France, a team he returned to after spending three NBA seasons in the mid-2000s with Seattle and the Los Angeles Lakers. In 2010-11, Gelabale averaged a career-high 14.2 points for Asvel Basket of France, including 12.2 per game in six Eurocup appearances.
— Reported by Euroleague.net
Panathinaikos Athens fortified its frontline by signing center Hilton Armstrong, who will make his Turkish Airlines Euroleague debut this season with the Greens. Armstrong (2.08 meters, 27 years old) arrives from Asvel Basket Lyon Villeurbanne, with whom he played his first season in Europe last year. He averaged 10.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and was fifth in the Eurocup with 1.3 blocks in 11 Eurocup games last season, including a pair of impressive outings against Greek side Aris Thessaloniki. In fact, Armstrong earned Eurocup Last 16, Game 4 MVP honors after posting an 18-point, 8-rebound effort against Aris.
— Reported by Euroleague.net
According to Sportando, “Jacob Pullen won’t play in the Euroleague next season with Serbian Partizan Belgrade but in Israel with EuroCup regular Hapoel Jerusalem, as reported by David Pick. The ex-Kansas State combo guard who spent his pro rookie season in Italy’s Seria A with Angelico Biella, agreed to join Jerusalem over a tempting offer from Euroleague’s Partizan. The Chicago native will enjoy Jerusalem’s two games per week schedule, competing both in the Israeli Domestic League and the EuroCup competition.”