Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Jared Sullinger may have back problem

Ohio State Buckeyes big man Jared Sullinger has been medically red flagged by NBA doctors, multiple league sources told ESPN.com on Monday.

Sullinger, who is projected to be a lottery pick in the 2012 NBA draft, underwent a series of medical tests at the NBA draft combine a week ago. According to sources, the doctors who looked at Sullinger were concerned with Sullinger’s back.

A number of NBA team doctors have reviewed the information from the NBA and have told their front office staff that Sullinger’s back issues could shorten his NBA career and some have advised their teams not to draft him in the first round.

Sullinger’s agent, David Falk, when reached via phone by ESPN.com said that he was not in a position to comment on the story.

Sullinger’s father, Satch Sullinger, said he believes the issue isn’t that serious.

— Reported by Chad Ford of ESPN.com

New Charlotte Bobcats coach is Mike Dunlap

St. John’s assistant coach Mike Dunlap was selected on Monday as the fifth head coach of the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats. Dunlap, who was an assistant coach for George Karl’s Denver Nuggets from 2006-08 and was a two-time national championship head coach at NCAA Division II Metro State in Denver, Colo. (1997-06), between assistant coaching stops at Arizona (2008-09), Oregon (2009-10) and St. John’s (2010-12), is believed to be the first NCAA Division I assistant coach to make the leap to NBA head coach.

“The Johnnies basketball family is ecstatic for Coach Dunlap’s opportunity. Mike’s selection as the Charlotte Bobcats’ head coach is a well-deserved honor. To make the unprecedented jump from college assistant to NBA head coach is testament to both Mike’s abilities as a teacher and our basketball program’s marked improvement over the past 27 months,” said St. John’s head coach Steve Lavin. “Naturally after a 25 year association at the highest levels of college basketball I have short list of elite coaching candidates and will now begin the process of replacing Coach Dunlap. With our back to back stellar recruiting classes now in place we have the luxury of being able to move forward in a deliberate manner to find the best fit for our program.”

Lavin’s elite and formidable basketball staff was anchored by veteran mentor Dunlap, who has built a reputation as one of professional and college basketball’s leading strategists and on-court instructors. With assistant coach Rico Hines and Special Assistant/Advisor Gene Keady, Dunlap is one of three St. John’s basketball staff members with NBA coaching experience.

As part of Lavin’s staff, Dunlap, Hines and assistant coach Tony Chiles helped the Johnnies return to the NCAA Tournament for the 27th time in program history in 2011 – and for the first time following a nine-year hiatus. In addition, St. John’s catapulted back into the national rankings for the first time in 10 seasons, climbing as high as No. 15 in the country.

The 2011-12 season saw Dunlap take on an amplified role as Lavin recovered from prostate cancer surgery. The men’s basketball squad and its “Fresh Five” all-rookie starting lineup posted six BIG EAST victories and closed out the season with home wins over UCLA, DePaul and No. 20/18 Notre Dame. Freshman Moe Harkless was named the 2011-12 BIG EAST Rookie of the Year and now looks to become a NBA lottery pick on June 28, while BIG EAST All-Rookie teammate D’Angelo Harrison set a new all-time freshman scoring record with 544 points.

Dunlap, 54, joined the St. John’s basketball family in 2010-11 after serving as the associate head coach on Pac-10 staffs during the previous two seasons. Arizona went 21-14 in 2008-09, advancing to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 before ending the season with a loss to top-seeded Louisville in the NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinal game. Dunlap joined Oregon’s staff in 2009-10, with the Ducks posting a 16-16 record.

Prior to his appointments at Arizona and Oregon, Dunlap spent two seasons in the NBA, working for the Denver Nuggets under Karl. The Nuggets compiled a 95-69 (.579) record during his tenure and made two playoff appearances, including a 50-win season for the 2007-08 Denver squad, a first for the organization in 23 seasons.

Before his time in the NBA, Dunlap was a two-time NCAA Division II national championship mentor (2000 and 2002) and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Coach of the Year (2000 and 2002) at Metropolitan State College in Denver, Colo., leading the Roadrunners to nine NCAA Tournament appearances in each of his nine seasons as head coach (1997-2006). Dunlap posted a 248-50 (.832) record en route to three NCAA Division II title game appearances, three North Central Regional championships, five Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) titles, two RMAC Coach of the Year awards and in the process, became Metro State’s all-time winningest coach.

Prior to his tenure at Metro State, Dunlap served three seasons as the head coach of the Adelaide 36ers, a professional basketball team in Australia. The 36ers posted a 59-33 (.641) record during his tenure and advanced to the National Basketball League Final Four in 1995 and 1996 after appearing in the Grand Final in 1994.

Celtics might want center Omer Asik

omer asik

Asik is a restricted free agent on the books for a $2.3 million qualifying offer from the Bulls. If the Celtics bring back Garnett, they will almost certainly be over the cap and that means Boston will have only the taxpayer’s mid-level exception ($3 million) available to lure anything more than a minimum-salary player (at least for a free-agent of which they don’t already own the rights to). All of which is to say, Asik would almost certainly command more money from another team and — even if he didn’t — the Bulls can still match the price tag, so don’t expect an Asik-Garnett pairing. Now, if Garnett does not return, clearly the Celtics might be interested in a young defensive-minded center who already has knowledge of their system having played for Tom Thibodeau in Chicago. Alas, the question becomes whether Asik is a long-term answer worthy of an elevated price tag.

— Reported by ESPN Boston

Kris Humphries having trouble with ex-girlfriend Myla Sinanaj

kris humphries

Kris Humphries’ ex-flame Myla Sinanaj threatened to release sordid details about her relationship with Kris … and TMZ has the voicemail.

Sources say … after photos of Myla and Kris began leaking, Kris broke off all contact with her. Myla became enraged after trying in vain 17 times to reach Kris and then called one of his friends.

Myla left a message, demanding that Kris stop stonewalling her and return her calls.

Myla says, “If he’s going to play me like that, I have way more sh*t I can put out.”

The voicemail does not show alleged extortion on Sinanaj’s part, as Humphries claims. Nonetheless, we’re told Kris’ lawyers gave it to the FBI when they made their extortion complaint.

— Reported by TMZ

Thunder, coach Scott Brooks to discuss new contract after Finals

scott brooks

For Brooks, everyone is clamoring for dramatic change now. They want Harden moved into the starting lineup, and he’s wisely not doing it. He understands his young team pressed at home, that the Thunder were caught up in the euphoria of a city that had never imagined hosting the NBA Finals so quickly. To lose Game 2 and then shift Harden into the starting lineup would exude a measure of panic that is the furthest thing from what these Thunder need now.

What’s more, Brooks is still working to solidify his own future as Oklahoma City coach. GM Sam Presti wants him back when his contract expires at the end of the Finals, but league sources say Presti has offered a three-year deal worth just under $11 million that Brooks and his agent weren’t willing to accept in the past. They’ve set aside talks for the playoffs, and compromise could come with a guaranteed fourth year. The Thunder needed to see Brooks take one more step with this young team before committing too far into the long term, and Brooks delivered with a conference final victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

It isn’t beyond possibility that Brooks tries to use the Portland and Orlando jobs as leverage at season’s end, but it’s hard to imagine him walking away from this Thunder core – with or without a title.

— Reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports 

Iman Shumpert aims for January return

Iman Shumpert

Iman Shumpert is back on his feet, but he is a long way from getting back on the basketball court.

The Knicks guard, who made an appearance yesterday at a Sprint NBA Nation event at South Street Seaport, is back walking under his own power after surgery early last month to repair a torn ACL in his left knee. But he is still expecting to miss the first two months of the season.

“The target date [for my return] is January,” Shumpert told The Post.

That means Shumpert is expecting his return to be closer to eight months, the long end of the six-to-eight-month initial projection for his recovery from the surgery.

— Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post

Tim Donaghy wins $1.3 million civil suit against book publisher

Remember Tim Donaghy?

Delco native. Ex-referee in the NBA. Recovering gambling addict. Felon.

Yeah, that guy. A Florida jury wants to make him a millionaire.

After 5 rough years that included banishment from the NBA, gambling and wire-fraud convictions for betting on basketball games, and even 2 weeks spent in solitary confinement “like Charles Manson” while serving a 15-month prison term, Donaghy can finally put one in the win column.

According to Donaghy and his lawyer, a St. Petersburg jury on Friday awarded Donaghy $1.3 million in his civil suit against Shawna Vercher and her now-defunct company VTi Group, which published Donaghy’s tell-all book about the NBA and its referees.

“The lady made my life a living hell and basically tortured me through the press by putting fictitious stories out there,” Donaghy said Sunday. “I knew, at some point, my time would come. And my time was Friday.”

— Reported by William Bender of the Philadelphia Daily News

Atlanta Hawks promote three within organization

The Atlanta Hawks announced today the promotion of three current team members. Phil Ebinger and Scott Wilkinson have each been promoted to Executive Vice President while Ailey Penningroth will now serve as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for the organization. The promotions are effective immediately.

“The Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena are fortunate to have three team members who have dedicated their time and talent to enriching our corporate strategy, and enhancing the experience of our guests and presence of our brands,” said Bob Williams, Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena president. “I look forward to our future with excitement about the opportunities that lie ahead as we continue to grow as an organization.”

Ebinger who has been with the organization since 2004 and previously served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will continue to oversee the finance and accounting related to the Hawks, Philips Arena and the Atlanta Hawks Foundation, in addition to now leading the organization’s Human Resources function. Prior to his role with the Hawks and Philips Arena, Ebinger held controllership positions at The Coca-Cola Company and served as Chief Financial Officer of Fitzgerald & Co, an Atlanta advertising agency that is part of the Interpublic Group of Companies. While at Coca-Cola, Ebinger was responsible for all financial matters relating to sports and entertainment marketing, advertising and media spending for the North America division.

Wilkinson, who formerly served as Senior Vice President/ Chief Legal Officer and Atlanta Hawks Assistant General Manager, will maintain responsibility of negotiation and drafting of contracts for players, coaches and other staff; trade research; salary cap management; collective bargaining agreement issues; insurance/risk management; and scheduling of the club’s preseason games. He will also continue to manage all legal matters for the Atlanta Hawks, HTPA Holding Company and the Atlanta Hawks Foundation. Wilkinson was previously Assistant General Counsel for Turner Sports, Inc., providing legal support to all Turner Sports properties, including the Hawks, the Atlanta Braves, World Championship Wrestling and The Goodwill Games.  Prior to that, he was a litigation attorney at Moore & Van Allen, PLLC; a founding partner and sports agent with the Buoniconti Sports Management Group and began his career as a defense counsel in the U. S. Marine Corps.

In her new role as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Penningroth will oversee all marketing, advertising and brand strategy as well as corporate communications. Before joining the Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena in 2004, Penningroth served in various roles for the National Basketball Association for seven years.

Jason Terry hopes to stay with Mavericks

jason terry

At a festive, daddy-daughter bash on Father’s Day, Jason Terry delivered some tough news for Mavericks fans to hear.

If the 2011 NBA champions elect to rebuild their team with one-year contract “rentals,” Terry will be playing elsewhere next season.

Terry, whose six-year, $57 million contract ends on July 1, when he becomes an unrestricted free agent, said Sunday he wants to sign another multiyear deal, preferably with the Mavericks. But as the Mavericks’ free-agent possibilities start to take shape, it won’t happen for one year.

“It’s a tough situation,” Terry said. “I’m finally in a position where I can kind of predict my own future, so to speak. I want to stay here in Dallas. That’s always been my goal. But it needs to be long-term. If they’re not ready to step up and do that, then I’ll have to make my home elsewhere.”

— Reported by Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News