Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

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

Atlanta Hawks may want Danny Ferry as next general manager

The Atlanta Hawks have spoken with Danny Ferry about becoming the club’s next general manager, according to league sources.

Ferry, currently the vice president of basketball operations for the San Antonio Spurs, would replace Rick Sund as the Hawks’ lead basketball decision maker.

Sund’s contract ends on June 30 and, sources say, he is not interested in returning for a fifth year as the Hawks’ GM. Sund could either remain with the organization as a consultant or move on altogether.

— Reported by Chris Broussard of ESPN the Magazine

Thousands of fans greet Oklahoma City Thunder at airport

More than 2,500 Oklahoma City Thunder fans found their way to Will Rogers Airport Friday afternoon to welcome their team home.

The team landed in Oklahoma City around 2 p.m.

Fans packed a designated area just north of the airport to watch the team deplane and waited near a temporary stage, where players and coaches were expected to address the crowd.

— Reported by RJ Young of the Oklahoman

Here is a photo. 

Players Association wins Early Bird Rights ruling. But, NBA will appeal

Here is now Jeremy Lin got NBA contract Bird Rights 

The NBPA ANNOUNCED:

Arbitrator Kenneth Dam today affirmed the National Basketball Players Association’s position that players claimed off waivers retain their valuable “Bird” and “Early Bird” rights when they become free agents. As a result of the arbitrator’s decision, Jeremy Lin and Steve Novak of the New York Knicks will enter the 2012-13 free agency period with “Early Bird” rights, and Chauncey Billups of the Los Angeles Clippers and J.J. Hickson of the Portland Trailblazers will enter the 2012-13 free agency period with full “Bird” rights. Future players claimed off waivers will likewise benefit from today’s ruling.

“Bird and Early Bird rights are the lynchpin of our Soft Cap system, and we’re pleased that Professor Dam recognized that a player does not forfeit these important rights unless he makes an affirmative decision to sign with a new team as a free agent,” NBPA Executive Director Billy Hunter said. “Players fought hard for a Collective Bargaining Agreement that allows maximum flexibility for free agent players while also permitting teams to retain their core free agents, and today’s decision affirms both of these important principles.”

THE NBA LATER ANNOUNCED:

The NBA announced today that a decision has been issued in the recent arbitration proceeding brought by the Players Association on behalf of Jeremy Lin, Steve Novak, Chauncey Billups, and J.J. Hickson.  In that decision, arbitrator Kenneth Dam ruled that players who are claimed off of waivers have the same “Bird” or “Early Bird” rights that they would have if they were traded.  The NBA will appeal the ruling.

Tony Parker sues NYC club over eye injury

tony parker

San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker is suing a New York City club and its operators for $20 million over a scratched cornea he says he suffered during a fight involving singer Chris Brown and members of hip-hop star Drake’s entourage.

The suit was filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan on Thursday. It says the W.i.P club in SoHo and its operators were negligent in security and supervision, which allowed the fight to take place.

Chris Brown, his girlfriend and his bodyguard were among eight injured during the fight inside the club last week.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Mike Miller goes 3-point crazy in NBA championship win

mike miller

Mike Miller wrote himself into NBA Finals lore with 23 points on 7 of 8 from three-point range. It was a career postseason high in scoring for Miller in what might have been his last game. Miller hinted towards retirement in his postgame news conference.

“I’ve got to make the best decision, not only for the organization, for the players that work every night, for the Arisons who believed in me, for Coach Riley for bringing me here, and then for my family,” Miller said. “Just got to make sure it’s the best one.”

Miller has three years left on his contract. He’ll meet with doctors in the next week to determine the extent of his injuries. If he needs surgery (or surgeries), Miller might call it quits and retire. It’s a tricky situation. Miller would rather have the Heat use its amnesty clause on him. It would allow him to be paid the full amount of his contract.

Miller’s seven three-pointers was one shy of the Finals record, set by Ray Allen in 2010.

— Reported by Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald (Blog)

Miami Heat win 2012 NBA championship

lebron james

The decision is final: LeBron James made the right call coming to Miami.

Finally an NBA champion, it’s all worth it now.

James had 26 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists, and got the kind of help that was worth leaving home for, leading the Heat in a 121-106 rout of the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night to win the NBA Finals in five games.

Best player in the game, best team in the league.

James has found it all since taking his talents to South Beach.

”It means everything,” James said moments after the win. ”I made a difficult decision to leave Cleveland but I understood what my future was about … I knew we had a bright future (in Miami). This is a dream come true for me. This is definitely when it pays off.”

He left the game along with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh for good with 3:01 remaining for a round of hugs and the start for a celebration he’s been waiting for since arriving in the NBA out of high school as the No. 1 pick of the 2003 draft.

James hopped up and down in the final minutes, shared a long hug with opponent Kevin Durant, and watched the confetti rain down from the rafters.

The Heat took control in the second quarter, briefly lost it and blew it open again in the third behind their role players, James content to pass to wide-open 3-point shooters while the Thunder focused all their attention on him.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

As the Miami Heat’s lead skyrocketed Thursday night from five just after halftime to an insurmountable 24 by the end of the third quarter, their fans outside the AmericanAirlines Arena decided it was time to celebrate the team’s second NBA championship in six years.

The thousands gathered in bars, restaurants and a park near the arena screamed in joy late Thursday as the Heat dropped one three-point shot after another, using the fourth quarter to get an early start on their party as they watched their team coast to a 121-106 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Heat won the series 4-1.

The promise made to South Florida fans 23 months earlier when LeBron James and Chris Bosh added their talents to Dwyane Wade’s had arrived.

— Reported by David Fischer of the Associated Press

It was Miami’s second NBA title following a 2006 triumph and the first for three-times league Most Valuable Player James, who finally realized his dream of winning a championship ring in his third trip to an NBA Finals.

Three-times NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant led the young Thunder team with 32 points with Russell Westbrook and James Harden adding 19 points for the losers.

— Reported by Larry Fine of Reuters

Favorites coming into the series, the Thunder fell in Game 5 of the finals Thursday night, as Miami finished off its run to a championship by beating the Thunder 121-106. Oklahoma City’s 11-point win in Game 1 is long forgotten and irrelevant now, considering that for the first time in more than three years, the Thunder have lost four straight games.

At the absolute worst time, on the absolute biggest stage, no less.

”When you play against the best, you learn,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said.

Kevin Durant had 32 points and 11 rebounds, and Russell Westbrook finished with 19 points for the Thunder, though Westbrook’s night – one game removed from a 20-for-32 performance from the field – came on a night where he shot 4 for 20. They came out with 4:44 left, the outcome long decided, the Heat fans going delirious.

James Harden scored 19 points and Derek Fisher added 11 for the Thunder.

Down 10 at the half, the Thunder cut the deficit in half by the time the third quarter was a minute old. It was the last gasp of the season – Miami put the game, and the title, away with a 34-13 burst that pushed the lead to 93-67 on a three-point play by Dwyane Wade with 1:23 left in that pivotal quarter.

Mike Miller connected on his sixth 3-pointer of the night, and Miami’s 13th, on the first possession of the fourth quarter. Miller would soon add another, for good measure.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press