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Carmelo Anthony immortalized in wax at Madame Tussauds

A wax replica of New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony was unveiled today at Madame Tussauds in Times Square, in the middle of Manhattan.

In case you can’t tell, the real Melo is the guy in the suit on the right.

Larry Bird will leave the Indiana Pacers

Larry Bird has decided to call it quits as president of the Indiana Pacers.

Bird is “100 percent sure” he will not return as president of the team, a person with direct knowledge of the situation told The Star on Monday.

Bird, 55, is expected to meet with owner Herb Simon today to finalize his departure.

Bird’s departure will end what had become annual speculation about his future. He and Simon operated under a yearly handshake agreement because Bird was not interested in a long-term commitment.

— Reported by Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star

Bobcats open to trading no.2 pick

New Charlotte coach Mike Dunlap says the idea of trading down from the No. 2 spot in the NBA draft to acquire extra picks “makes a lot of sense” for a young team like the Bobcats.

After finishing 7-59 and with the worst winning percentage (.106) in NBA history, the Bobcats have a variety of holes to fill this offseason.

Dunlap recognizes that.

That’s one of the reasons he said the Bobcats are taking a “hybrid thinking” approach to Thursday night’s draft, which means evaluating the talent available at No. 2 while simultaneously looking into the feasibility of moving down and picking up an additional first-round draft pick.

He said the option of trading down “is on the board.”

— Reported by the Associated Press

Bulls have considered trading Luol Deng

The Bulls have considered the possibility of trading Deng for a high pick in this year’s draft. The reason has nothing to do with how much they appreciate Deng or any disappointment that he’s planning to postpone wrist surgery to play in the Olympics. It’s more about creating some financial flexibility on a team with four high-salaried players – Deng, Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah.

So far, it looks like there aren’t any takers. It’s very possible no team wants to take on that much salary ($27 million over the next two years) for a guy who’s likely to miss the start of next season recovering from wrist surgery.

There was talk that Golden State, with the No. 7 pick, was interested. But that makes no sense because the Warriors already have a bloated payroll featuring Andrew Bogut, David Lee, Richard Jefferson and Andris Biedrins – not to mention a pending extension for Stephen Curry.

— Reported by Mike McGraw of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald

Donnie Walsh taking job with Indiana Pacers

Ex-Knicks president Donnie Walsh, ousted by Garden chairman Jim Dolan last June after he was offered a 40% pay cut, is returning to the Indiana Pacers.

Walsh, the long-time Indiana CEO before he came to New York to rebuild the Knicks, will be leading the Pacers in their efforts to land free agents starting when the period opens Sunday, league sources said Monday. The team’s No. 1 priority is to re-sign point guard George Hill, a restricted free agent, and sources said Walsh will be spearheading the team’s efforts to keep Hill.

Walsh, 71, has a close relationship with Pacers owner Herb Simon and has been attending the team’s pre-draft workouts in recent weeks.

— Reported by Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News

Trail Blazers extend qualifying offer to Nicolas Batum

The Portland Trail Blazers have extended a qualifying offer to forward Nicolas Batum, it was announced today by General Manager Neil Olshey.

Batum will become a restricted free agent on July 1, ensuring that the Trail Blazers will have right of first refusal should another team try to sign him. The move gives Portland the right to match any contract offer he will receive.

Batum, 23, holds averages of 10.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 26.2 minutes in 255 games (202 starts) with the Trail Blazers over four NBA seasons. A native of Lisieux, France, Batum was acquired by Portland in a draft day trade with Houston in June 2008.

Kings extend qualifying offer to Jason Thompson

The Sacramento Kings today extended a qualifying offer to Jason Thompson, making him a restricted free agent, according to Kings President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie.

Thompson averaged 9.1 ppg (.535 FG, .602 FT), 6.9 rpg and 1.2 apg through 64 outings with the Kings last season, of which he started 47. He was selected by Sacramento with the 12th overall pick of the 2008 NBA Draft and is averaging 10.5 ppg (.498 FG, .663 FT), 7.2 rpg, and 1.3 apg over his four-year career.

In accordance with the league’s collective bargaining agreement, in order for a team to retain its right of first refusal with respect to a restricted free agent, the team must tender the player a qualifying offer prior to June 30. A restricted free agent may sign an offer sheet with any team, but is subject to a right of first refusal with the team for which the player last played.

Hawks name Danny Ferry President of Basketball Operations and GM

The Atlanta Hawks announced today that Danny Ferry has been named President of Basketball Operations and General Manager.

“Over the past nine years Danny Ferry has earned tremendous respect as a front office executive in the NBA,” said Atlanta Hawks partner, Bruce Levenson. “His philosophy, character, and commitment to creating enduring and successful organizations exemplify exactly what we are looking for in a leader of the Atlanta Hawks. Danny’s systematic and value driven approach has helped him become one of the preeminent minds in basketball. He is passionate about building an organization the right way, knows how to win and knows how to forge winning teams. We look forward to having him as our leader of basketball operations.”

Ferry was previously with the San Antonio Spurs serving as the team’s vice president of basketball operations from 2010-2012. Prior to the Spurs, Ferry held the role of General Manager for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2005-2010, where the Cavaliers posted a 272-138 (.663) record, enjoyed the NBA’s best regular season record in both 2008-09 and 2009-10 and advanced to the 2007 NBA Finals, marking the franchise’s first, and only, trip to the NBA Finals.

Ferry’s NBA career included playing for the San Antonio Spurs (2000-2003) and the Cleveland Cavaliers (1990-2000). In his 13-year NBA career, Ferry averaged 7.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in 917 career games. Shortly after winning an NBA Championship with the San Antonio Spurs in 2003, Ferry then began his NBA front office career with the team as director of basketball operations. He remained with the Spurs through the 2004-05 season, when the team captured its third Championship.

“My family and I are thrilled to join the Hawks organization and Atlanta community,” said Hawks new President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Danny Ferry. “There were many components that made this the right fit for me but clearly my confidence in the ownership group and their dedication to building a Championship caliber franchise was most important. They are committed to building with the right people and investing in critical areas for development; both essential elements if we want to create sustained success. ”

A native of Hyattsville, MD, Ferry played four seasons at Duke (1985-1989) where he was named a First Team All-American as both a junior and a senior, received the 1989 Naismith Award and was inducted into the Duke Sports Hall of Fame in September of 2004.

Ferry’s contract is a multi-year deal the specifics of which were not disclosed.

Magic fire longtime assistant GM and 6 scouts

New Orlando Magic General Manager Rob Hennigan has started to reconfigure the franchise’s basketball operations department.

On Sunday, Hennigan fired Assistant General Manager Dave Twardzik and six scouts.

In addition to Twardzik, regional scout Tom Conrad, international scout Rudy D’Amico, international scouting coordinator Sam Foggin, pro scout Bob Staak, regional scout Greg Stratton and NBA advance scout Al Walker were let go, team spokesman Joel Glass confirmed.

Scouting coordinator Brian Wright will remain on the staff, Glass said.

Hennigan declined to comment.

Glass said Twardzik has been given the option to remain with the team through Thursday’s NBA draft, but it’s unclear whether Twardzik will do so.

— Reported by Josh Robbins and Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel

Tony Parker may miss Olympics due to eye injury from Drake vs Chris Brown fight

French basketball team leader Tony Parker could miss the Olympics because has not recovered as fast as expected from an injury to his left eye.

The San Antonio Spurs guard was injured in a New York nightclub 10 days ago and said he eventually had to undergo surgery to have a shard of glass removed from his eye, which he was at risk of losing.

Parker had expected to be back training after a week-long rest but said on Sunday he was still sidelined and may have to withdraw from the London Games.

“As required by the Spurs, I will go back to the U.S. on July 5… I will visit a specialist in New York, hoping he will give the green light to compete at the Games,” Parker said on his official website (www.tp9.net).

— Reported by Reuters