Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Luol Deng will not be shocked if Bulls trade him

Luol Deng

Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng revealed this weekend that he will not be surprised if the Bulls trade him this offseason.

While at training camp in Texas with Great Britain’s national team preparing for the London Olympics, Deng said he does not believe the Bulls are shopping him in retaliation for his decision to delay the wrist surgery he needs until after the Games.

But Deng, 27, did acknowledge that he’s not dismissing recent reports suggesting the Bulls are willing to trade him for a top pick in Thursday’s NBA draft, with speculation mounting that Chicago could send Deng to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for the No. 7 overall pick.

“I believe there is always to some extent truth behind rumors,” Deng said. “But as an athlete, if you get caught up in them, you are really wasting your time because it’s not something you can control.

“If it’s not true, a GM could always come out and say it’s not true. But if a GM doesn’t come out and say it, there are probably talks. And there should be. If I was a GM I would be shopping players around too. I’ve got to show that I’m doing something.”

— Reported by Ian Whittell, special to ESPN Chicago

GM Rich Cho engineers scouting database for Bobcats

The Charlotte Bobcats’ new database scouting system has over 50,000 web pages.

You can instantly look up year-by-year statistics for Boston Celtics great Bill Russell … or any other player in NBA history. You can check the injury archive of a Slovenian playing in the Spanish league or whether a forward in the Development League was ever busted for drugs.

This is Charlotte Bobcats general manager Rich Cho’s baby, an Internet-friendly system that took six months and a six-figure cost to develop. Now it evolves daily and gets put to the test in Thursday night’s NBA draft, when the Bobcats select second and 31st following a 7-59 season.

Cho’s boss, president of basketball operations Rod Higgins, has a simple description for this complex tool: “One-stop shopping.”

The result, the Bobcats hope, is that quicker access to a buffet of information offers a competitive advantage in player evaluation.

When Cho interviewed with the Bobcats a year ago, he told Higgins and team owner Michael Jordan he thought the front office needed more staffing and fresh technology. When you’re dealing with decisions as consequential as the No. 2 pick, don’t you want the best tools available?

Jordan agreed, approving the hiring of three new support staff, including a Harvard graduate to oversee statistical analysis. Then Jordan tasked Cho with reviewing the Bobcats’ scouting system, to see whether it should be replaced.

The Bobcats were using “Hawkeye,” one of several plug-in scouting tools NBA teams can buy and adapt to their needs. Cho thought it wiser to start from scratch, to customize a Bobcats-only system. Among NBA executives, he has a rare background that qualifies him to do just that.

— Reported by Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer

Scott Brooks looking to discuss new contract with Thunder

scott brooks

The Thunder enter the offseason with coach Scott Brooks’ contract about to expire, Sixth Man of the Year James Harden and NBA blocks leader Serge Ibaka eligible for new deals and the future of veterans Derek Fisher and Nazr Mohammed up in the air.

It will be up to general manager Sam Presti to determine whether they all can still fit on a team where All-Stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are already locked into expensive, long-term deals.

“It’s going to be difficult decisions but we’ll see what happens,” forward Nick Collison said Saturday. “Obviously, we want everybody back. We feel like we’ve got a really good core group and we feel like we can get it done with our group, so hopefully it can happen.”

Brooks’ situation is the most urgent, with his deal expiring at the end of the month.

“I’m sure in the next couple of days we will sit down and get together. Definitely, I wish I was preparing or just finishing up practice going into Game 6,” Brooks said. “You definitely need a few days just to reflect on what we’ve done this year. But the next couple of days, we plan on getting together.”

— Reported by the Associated Press

James Harden hopes for contract extension with Thunder

james harden

The reigning Sixth Man of the Year says he doesn’t plan to be coming off anyone’s bench but Oklahoma City’s.

James Harden said Saturday that he “loves it” with the Thunder and expects a contract extension to be worked out between his agent and Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti.

“They’ll do a pretty good job of working it out,” Harden said. “I’m focused on several other things right now. But when the time is (right), they’ll figure it out and it’ll be done.”

In his third season, Harden averaged 16.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists while coming off the bench for the Western Conference champions and proved to be a key piece for the young and talented Thunder.

— Reported by ESPN.com news services

Deron Williams prefers Nets, Mavericks

deron williams

When NBA free agency begins at midnight July 1, Brooklyn Nets star guard Deron Williams will be choosing from a two-team list that only features the Nets and the Dallas Mavericks, according to sources close to the situation.

Sources told ESPN.com on Saturday night that, while this summer’s No. 1 free agent remains “up in the air” about which team he’ll ultimately chose, Williams already has made the decision to narrow his list of potential destinations to those two franchises.

Other teams, including the Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets, had been hoping to lodge their own bids for Williams once free agency begins, sources said. The Los Angeles Lakers, likewise have continued to express interest in a sign-and-trade package built around Pau Gasol for Williams, sources say, despite the Nets’ longstanding insistence that they have no interest in Gasol and would only consider such a move if they were getting back All-Star center Andrew Bynum, whom the Lakers have not made available.

Sources say Williams, in any case, already has instructed his representatives to advise any team that calls starting at 12:01 a.m. July 1 that he intends to either re-sign with the Nets or return to his hometown with the Mavericks after a glittering high school career in the Dallas area.

— Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com

After trade, New Orleans Hornets need a center

New Orleans Hornets General Manger Dell Demps said they cannot ignore the reality of not having a center currently on their roster after trading veterans Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza to the Washington Wizards earlier this week.

Okafor was the Hornets starting center, although he missed 39 games last season with a knee injury. Chris Kaman filled in, but he will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and is not likely to re-sign with the Hornets, according to sources.

But Demps said it’s still too early to say who they may select with the 10th overall pick in the first round of next Thursday’s draft because they are looking at every possible opportunity.

“We’re looking at all options,’’ Demps said.

— Reported by John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune

Jazz still deciding on DeMarre Carroll

DeMarre Carroll

Jazz General Manager Kevin O’Connor confirmed to the Salt Lake Tribune on Saturday morning that the organization indeed has a team option on small forward DeMarre Carroll, an option the Jazz are still deciding on.

There had been some confusion on this issue. But Carroll emerged from his exit interview with the team confident that he will remain with the organization for next season.

“He should be confident,” O’Connor said. “He did a lot of good things for us this year. He hustled, he played defense and he provided a spark.”

The Jazz have until June 30th to decide their team option on back-up point guard Jamaal Tinsley.

— Reported by Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune

Heat vs Thunder 2012 NBA Finals was big TV ratings success

Superstars LeBron James and Kevin Durant doing battle in the NBA Finals was as popular as expected.

The 2012 NBA Finals – the Miami Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder to become NBA Champions – generated the most-watched and highest-rated five-game average for The Finals since 2004 and the second most-watched in ABC history, according to Nielsen.

The Finals averaged 16,855,000 viewers (P2+) and 11,584,000 household impressions, up five percent from 16,084,000 viewers and 11,061,000 household impressions in 2011. The series generated a 10.1 household rating, up six percent compared to a 9.6 last year through five games.

Thursday’s Game 5 broadcast delivered a 10.9 HH rating, 18,461,000 viewers and 12,538,000 household impressions, up 1 percent compared to Game 5 last year (10.8 rating, 18,313,000 viewers and 12,472,000 household impressions).

NBA Finals Game 5 was the highest-rated program of the night and helped ABC win the night among all programs on broadcast and cable. This marks the 30th consecutive time the NBA Finals have led ABC to win the night.

2012 NBA Finals – Top 10 local markets: 1.Oklahoma City (43.8); 2.Miami (33.1); 3.Tulsa (26.9); 4.West Palm Beach (20.1); 5.Cleveland (17.4); 6.Memphis (15.9); 7.New Orleans (14.4); 8.Atlanta (14.2); 9.Chicago (14.1) 10.San Antonio (14.0).

If Brandon Roy makes NBA comeback, Warriors have interest

brandon roy

Warriors general manager Bob Myers said on Friday morning that the team has interest in former Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy, who has made it clear that he will try to play in 2012-13.

On Dec. 15, 2011, the Blazers announced that they had used the amnesty clause to waive Roy, and shortly after that Roy announced that his professional basketball career was over.

But Roy, 27, has been training over the past several months with the goal of joining an NBA roster for the start of the season.

There’s a connection between Myers and Roy; Myers used to be Roy’s agent.

— Reported by Matt Steinmetz of CSN Bay Area