NBA News Blog – Page 1166 – NBA Blog

Mavericks will not get their championship rings on Christmas Day

The Mavericks will unveil their championship banner on Christmas, but won’t be getting their rings, which is not unusual considering the lockout has thrown everything out of balance.

Mark Cuban wants to convene with Dirk Nowitzki , Jason Terry and Jason Kidd on the design of the rings and contact between players and owners/management remains off limits until the new collective bargaining agreement becomes official next week.

The Mavericks will have the rings designed after input from the players and will have them presented at a later game.

— Reported by Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News

Chuck Hayes hopes to stay with Rockets

While weighing offers from four teams, Rockets center Chuck Hayes’ agent said Hayes’ preference remains to return to the Rockets, his only team in his six NBA seasons.

Hayes has received offered from the Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings and Toronto Raptors, agent Calvin Andrews said. Andrews has also spoken with Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, though not about a specific offer. Hayes turned down an extension offer from the Rockets last June worth roughly $2.5 million per season and Andrews said offers have exceeded that.

— Reported by Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle

Will Lakers start Odom, Gasol and Bynum?

The Lakers’ first headache will be to determine who’s on their team when training camp starts next Friday. Their next one will be figuring out a starting lineup.

When Andrew Bynum returns from a five-game suspension, Coach Mike Brown might take a long look at a large frontcourt of Bynum, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, an idea tossed around as a curiosity piece the last few years but never fully employed by Phil Jackson’s staff.

The move would send World Peace to the bench, which goes hand in hand with the Lakers’ concern about his physical shape. They hadn’t been allowed to contact him during the lockout, but he looked heavier when he arrived at the training facility, adding some of the weight he dropped last season.

Heavy or not, the Lakers will not use their amnesty provision on him or Luke Walton this season unless they acquire a starting small forward in a trade or free agency in the next few weeks. The Lakers need to keep World Peace right now because they’re not sure what free agents they can get with their limited spending power.

— Reported by Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times

2011-12 NBA season Christmas Day schedule

The NBA today announced that the league’s 66th season will tip off Christmas Day with a five-game slate, contingent on timely ratification of the new collective bargaining agreement.

NBA Tip-Off ’11 will launch on TNT with one of the NBA’s oldest and most intense rivalries. The Boston Celtics, featuring their All-Star foursome of Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Rajon Rondo, visit the New York Knicks (12 p.m. ET) with their dynamic tandem of Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire.

The action then will shift to ABC for an afternoon doubleheader when in a rematch of The Finals, 2011 Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki and All-Star Jason Kidd lead the reigning champion Dallas Mavericks against the Miami Heat and its power trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh in the first game (2:30 p.m. ET). Prior to tip-off, Dallas will raise its NBA championship banner. The second game features 2011 NBA MVP Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls, who won a league-best 62 games last season, visiting the Los Angeles Lakers (5 p.m. ET) with perennial All-Star Kobe Bryant making his record-tying 13th Christmas Day appearance.

ESPN will round out the day with a pair of matchups. Two-time NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant leads the Oklahoma City Thunder against the Orlando Magic, which features three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard (8 p.m. ET). Afterward, the Los Angeles Clippers and 2010-11 NBA Rookie of the Year Blake Griffin visit the Golden State Warriors and rookie head coach and former NBA great Mark Jackson (10:30 p.m. ET).

The 2011-12 NBA season will feature each team playing a 66-game schedule. The full regular-season and broadcast schedules will be released at a future date.

Last season, NBA games and programming were available in 215 countries and territories in 46 languages.

NBA CHRISTMAS DAY GAMES SCHEDULE

Boston Celtics at New York Knicks 12 p.m. ET, TNT

Miami Heat at Dallas Mavericks 2:30 p.m. ET, ABC

Chicago Bulls at Los Angeles Lakers 5 p.m. ET, ABC

Orlando Magic at Oklahoma City Thunder 8 p.m. ET, ESPN

Los Angeles Clippers at Golden State Warriors 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

NBA players authorize return of union

NBA players have authorized the return of the players’ association, with more than 300 submitting the necessary signatures to a third-party accounting group.

The union must re-form before players and owners can continue negotiating a collective bargaining agreement. The hope is to complete the CBA next week so both sides can ratify it in time to open training camps Dec. 9.

When talks with the NBA broke down Nov. 14, the NBPA disclaimed interest in representing the players, paving the way for them to file an antitrust lawsuit against the league. But negotiations continued despite the litigation, and a tentative agreement was reached early last Saturday.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Charles Oakley will not return to Bobcats coaching staff

Charlotte Bobcats President of Basketball Operations Rod Higgins announced today that Charles Oakley will not return as an assistant coach on Paul Silas’ staff.

“I’ve known Charles Oakley for a long time and his work ethic as a coach mirrored the intensity he displayed during his playing career,” Higgins said. “While we are disappointed that things did not work out the way we had hoped, we want to thank Charles for his efforts last season and wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

Deron Williams will not sign extension with New Jersey Nets

Deron Williams’ agent said his client will play out this season and take his chances as a free agent.

“Deron will not be signing the extension,” Jeff Schwartz told The Record this afternoon. “Based on the new rules it doesn’t make any sense for him to sign the extension. It has nothing to do with how much he likes New Jersey. Because of the rules, he’s going to play the season out and opt out of his deal.”

As The Record reported in today’s editions, sources with knowledge of the Nets thinking had been resigned to the fact that the chances of Williams’ signing an extension were slim.

According to the new rules, Williams can get a two-year extension from the Nets for roughly $39 million that would be tacked on to the two years, $31 million he has remaining on his deal. If Williams opts out after the season, he could get five years, and about $101 million from the Nets or four years and $73 million from another team.

— Reported by Al Iannazzone of the Bergen Record

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Danny Ainge says Celtics not looking to trade Rajon Rondo

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said Thursday that he has no intentions of trading point guard Rajon Rondo and suggested he’s unsure where the rumors that insinuated that he was lusting over New Orleans star Chris Paul originated this week.

After noting that he wanted to keep his core together and later identifying that core as the team’s four All-Stars (Rondo, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett), Ainge was asked point blank if he was planning to trade Rondo.

“I’m not, no,” bottom-lined Ainge during a press conference with coach Doc Rivers to discuss the team’s post-lockout agenda.

“I”ll talk to Rondo,” Ainge added. “But I won’t tell you what I’ll say to him. Rondo will be fine, Rondo knows that we love him. He knows that we like him. He’s excited to come back and play basketball, in my opinion. He gets a lot of attention; He’s a great player. There’s a lot of people that call me and aks me about Rondo. So, how these rumors get out, it’s unfortunate, but we didn’t leak those rumors out. We’ll deal with it. He’ll be fine.”

— Reported by Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston

Pacers president Larry Bird preaching patience

Patience.

That’s what Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird and general manager David Morway say is their approach in using up their projected $21 million in salary cap space once the free agency period begins Dec. 9.

“We’re not going to spend all of our money right away,” Bird said. “We come off more next year.”

Bird and Morway have been actively working the phones trying to find a starting power forward and another scorer.

— Reported by Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star

Trail Blazers deny that team has made decision on Brandon Roy

The Trail Blazers have not made any decisions on using the amnesty provision to waive Brandon Roy.

Team president Larry Miller, in a packed news conference at the Rose Garden on Wednesday, was adamant a that column by The Oregonian’s John Canzano — which quoted a source saying Portland had decided to waive Roy — was dead wrong.

“We have not, and regardless of what’s been said by John Canzano and others out there, (made a) decision on amnesty as of yet,” Miller said.

In addition to Canzano, KATU.com and at least one national website reported that the Blazers intended to use the amnesty clause to jettison Roy’s contract from the salary cap.

— Reported by Mike Tokito of the Oregonian