International Basketball Blog – Page 59 – NBA Blog

Jorge Garbajosa retires from Team Spain

FIBA.com reports:

Jorge Garbajosa has called it quits with Spain’s national team.

The versatile power forward, who is 33, made the much-anticipated announcement early Tuesday afternoon at the Spanish Basketball Federation headquarters in Madrid.

“This is the day that I never wanted to experience,” Garbajosa said.

“I want to thank the coaches, the players, and especially (FEB president Jose Luis) Saez. To all the media for your treatment, to my wife, my family, my friends that I have denied many summers to them and they have not minded, on the contrary they have supported me.

“It´s a very hard day. It´s what I must do.

“I retire from the national team but not from the FEB. I will continue in basketball.”

A lynchpin in the side for a decade, Garbajosa has been as important as any player in the squad during a golden era for Spain.

Nets Dancers to perform at NBA 5 United Tour 2011 in Moscow

The New Jersey Nets Dancers will perform at the NBA 5 United Tour 2011 in Moscow, Russia tomorrow and Sunday, June 12. NBA players Dwight Howard and Andrei Kirilenko will also attend the event at Luzhniki Stadium.

The NBA 5 United Tour 2011 is a grassroots tour that combines competitive outdoor 5-on-5 tournaments with fun interactive basketball elements.

The visit to Moscow continues the NETS Dancers’ global tour, in which they have performed during the past year in China, England, and Mexico.

“We are thrilled for the NETS Dancers to perform in Moscow, as we strive to be Russia’s ‘home’ team,” said Petra Pope, the NETS Senior Vice President of Event Marketing, who oversees the team’s entertainment division. “This trip is a great opportunity to continue the goal of expanding our reach and globalizing the NETS’ brand.”

Raptors guard Leandro Barbosa considering playing in Brazil

Michael Grange of the Globe and Mail reports:

The Toronto Raptors may get an unexpected break as they try to remake their team in the wake of a 22-60 season.

Brazilian veteran Leandro Barbosa is considering opting out of the final year of a contract scheduled to pay him $7.6-million for 2011-12.

According to his brother Arturo, the shooting guard is receiving feelers from some top club teams at home who want to bring back the top Brazilian player of his generation.

“The situation is this: it would not be responsible of me as his brother to not consider the Brazil option,” said Arturo Barbosa. “Leandro loves Toronto he loves the fans and the relationships with everybody, but business is business. An athlete’s career is short and there are a lot of sponsorship opportunities [in Brazil] especially with the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016.”

The leading candidate for Barbosa’s services, apparently, is Flamengo, Brazilian basketball champions in 2008 and 2009 who play in Rio de Janeiro. The club’s soccer side recently brought soccer star Ronaldinho back to the fold to finish his career after his run in Europe.

Celtics center Nenad Krstic signs in Russia to play for CSKA Moscow

Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston reports:

Celtics center Nenad Krstic has agreed to a two-year, euro6 million euro ($8.8 million) deal with CSKA Moscow, according to a report by the Russian International News Agency.

Requests to confirm the potential deal, which likely cannot be completed until Krstic’s NBA deal officially expires later this month, were not immediately returned by Krstic’s European management firm, Invictus Sports Group. Krstic joined Invictus late last month to manage his overseas opportunities.

Since the Celtics were bounced from the playoffs by the Miami Heat last month, there have been numerous reports of overseas interest in Krstic, who will be an unrestricted free agent. The Serbia native is no stranger to international ball and it should come as no surprise that he’d be interested in potentially playing there during an NBA work stoppage.

Yao Ming still has ankle problems

China Daily reports:

China’s basketball icon, Yao Ming, says his baby daughter is a “tempting” incentive for him to continue his injury-plagued career, but his injured left ankle is only 30 percent of the way to a full recovery. ..

The Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) placed Yao on the national team’s roster for summer training last month and still hopes to count on him at next year’s London Olympics.

However, the giant stressed his future as a national representative depended on his rehabilitation after undergoing surgery to repair the ankle in January.

“Walking or jogging is OK for me now, but I need to get 80 percent of my strength back to play I have got only about 30 percent at most now. I also need exhibition games to assist my recovery, not only working out alone,” said Yao, who took off his protective boot two months ago.

The uncertain status of the NBA has also made this summer a decisive one for the 30-year-old.

Yao’s five-year contract with the Rockets, which is valued at $76 million, expires on June 30, and then there’s also the chance of a league lockout.

Ricky Rubio agrees to terms with Timberwolves

The AP reports:

Ricky Rubio is coming to Minnesota.

The Spanish point guard has agreed to join the Timberwolves next season, ending a two-year negotiation with the team that had a few stops and starts.

A person with knowledge of the agreement confirmed to The Associated Press on Wednesday night that Rubio will play in the NBA next season. The person requested anonymity because neither Rubio nor the Timberwolves planned to make an official announcement while he continues to play for Regal Barcelona in the Euroleague playoffs.

The Timberwolves drafted Rubio fifth overall two years ago despite a buyout of his Spanish contract that topped $6 million. The enormity of the buyout caused Rubio to stay overseas rather than immediately come to the NBA, and there was talk that the precocious teenager did not want to play in Minnesota.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Raptors decline option on head coach Jay Triano, retain him as consultant

Toronto Raptors President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo announced Wednesday the club will not exercise its option on head coach Jay Triano for the 2011-12 season. Triano will be retained as a consultant to the basketball team as a special assistant to the president and general manager.

The search for a new head coach will commence immediately. There is no definitive timetable for the completion of the search process.

“I have great respect for Jay Triano both as a person and as a basketball mind,” said Colangelo. “Jay deserves tremendous credit for developing our young players this past season and our most recent win-loss record does not appropriately reflect his many positive contributions to this organization.

“This was a difficult decision to make, but after almost three full seasons of observation and evaluation I believe that bringing in a new voice as head coach will accelerate the progress we are looking to make in the coming years.

“I am very pleased that Jay has agreed to stay on and help see through the plan that we have designed and initiated together.”

“I am grateful to the organization for the opportunity to be a head coach in the NBA,” said Triano. “I am proud of the work that I and the coaching staff have done with our young players and feel confident we have laid the foundation for a team that will continue to improve. I look forward in assisting Bryan to deliver a championship team to Toronto.”

Triano was promoted to head coach and signed to a three-year contract May 11, 2009. He finished with an 87-142 record (.380).

Triano served as an assistant to three coaches before being named interim head coach December 3, 2008 following the dismissal of Sam Mitchell.

A native of Niagara Falls, Canada, Triano became the first Canadian born and Canadian trained coach in the NBA when he joined Lenny Wilkens’ staff for the 2002-03 season.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Margo Dydek, 7-foot-2 ex-WNBA player, dies at 37

The AP reports:

Margo Dydek, a 7-foot-2 former WNBA player who led the league in blocks nine times, died Friday after being placed in a medically induced coma following a heart attack a week ago. She was 37.

Her death was confirmed to The Associated Press by Cathy Roberts, operations manager of the Northside Wizards in the Queensland Basketball League, where Dydek was the coach.

The Poland-born Dydek, pregnant with her third child, was stricken with a heart attack May 19 and collapsed at her home in Brisbane. Dydek was early in her pregnancy and the fetus died, Roberts said.

Dydek was once said to be the tallest active professional female basketball player. She was the No. 1 pick in the 1998 WNBA draft by the Utah Starzz. She also played for San Antonio, Connecticut and Los Angeles…

Dydek held the record for most blocks in a WNBA career (877 in 323 games) and led the league from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2005-07. In 2008, Dydek signed with the Los Angeles Sparks following time away from basketball to give birth to her first son.

WNBA President statement on the passing of Margo Dydek: “The WNBA is deeply saddened by the passing of Margo Dydek,” said WNBA President Laurel Richie. “She was a tremendous person, role model and athlete who touched the lives of her many fans and made an indelible mark on women’s basketball around the world. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family.”

InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner says: I met Margo once while I was a working media member at a game, and once off-the-court, and she seemed like an extremely nice person both times. Wish I had more to share. Anyway, I’m sorry that she’s gone and wish the best to her friends, family and fans.

Nets owner to head Russian political party

The AP reports:

Russian tycoon and New Jersey Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov says his decision to head a pro-Kremlin political party was an “uneasy” one.

Prokhorov said Monday he would head the Just Cause party – what he later called in televised remarks “an uneasy and somewhat surprising decision.”

Just Cause hopes to win legislature seats in December parliamentary elections.

Reuters reports:

A Russian billionaire declared on Monday he sought to lead a party backing a second term for President Dmitry Medvedev, a move that could undermine an unwritten rule that tycoons stay out of politics.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, expected by many to run for president again in elections next year, cracked down on powerful “oligarchs” during his eight years in the Kremlin. Oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky was stripped of his fortune and imprisoned. Others have left the country.

Mikhail Prokhorov, one of those who has made his peace with the Kremlin, said on Monday he hoped to lead Right Cause, a party with a mainly middle-class constituency which supports a liberal free market economy. It has no seats in parliament and was formed only two years ago.

Yao Ming sues Chinese sportswear maker

Reuters reports:

China’s NBA all-star Yao Ming has sued a Chinese sportswear maker over alleged name and image infringements, local media reported Friday.

The towering Houston Rockets center has filed a lawsuit against the company for using the label “Yao Ming Era” on its shoes without his consent, Yao’s management said.

Lu Hao claimed the sports maker also used Yao’s signature and portrait on their products while promoting them across the country.