NBA News Blog – Page 1179 – NBA Blog

Knicks guard Andy Rautins moves home to save money during lockout

Like the rest of his NBA brethren, Andy Rautins is going to miss a few paychecks during the lockout.

To offset that, he’s found a way to save some money.

The Knicks guard has stayed in his parents’ home outside of Syracuse during the lockout, sleeping in his childhood bedroom.

“It’s nice to get some home cooked meals up here,” Rautins, a former Syracuse star, said in a phone interview. “It’s nice because it’s a rare opportunity to spend time with family and friends. Normally, you’d been in a busy season by this time. But I’ve been trying to see the positives in [staying home] and there’s a bunch so far. It’s saving me a lot of money right now and I think that’s a big concern for a lot of players.”

If the lockout extends, Rautins will consider pursuing an internship at his financial adviser’s Manhattan firm to learn about investment advice and financial planning.

— Reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York

InsideHoops.com editor says: I hope he gets allowance money, and some extra cookies if he mows the lawn and cleans his room.

Derek Fisher threatens legal action due to column

After a column by Fox Sports’ Jason Whitlock suggested that NBA Players Union President Derek Fisher was working with commissioner David Stern during labor negotiations, behind the back of his NBPA colleagues, Fisher has threatened legal action against Fox Sports if he does not receive a retraction.

Whitlock, who cited sources in this report, said that Fisher hopes to work with an NBA team or with the league after his retirement and was looking to work out a deal with Stern that would force the players to settle for a 50-50 split of basketball-related income. The players’ association is seeking a 52-48 split and those two percentage points are the main point of contention between the sides. The NBA lockout has lasted more than four months.

— Reported by Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe

Stephen Curry uninjured in car crash

Former Davidson basketball star Stephen Curry had a car accident in the Charlotte area last week, but he walked away from the crash uninjured, according to his father.

“He’s fine,” Dell Curry told the Observer in a brief phone interview Tuesday night. “He ran into the back of someone who stopped short.”

— Reported by Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer

DaJuan Summers ends time playing basketball in Italy early

Detroit Pistons forward DaJuan Summers is the latest NBA player coming home early from an overseas job. He left his Italian team after only four games.

Any other American NBA player considering making a similar job to Europe or Asia during the ongoing lockout might want to talk to Summers first.

“I would tell them to be prepared for any and everything because it’s a different world than what you are used to,” Summers told Yahoo! Sports in a phone interview from Italy.

Summers, 23, played for the Pistons the past two seasons, averaging 3.2 points as a reserve, but struggled to crack the team’s regular rotation given the number of forwards on the roster. Shortly after the lockout began, Summers signed a two-year contract with European powerhouse Montepaschi Siena. Siena finished third in the 2011 Euroleague Final Four and has won four straight Italian League championships.

“They were telling me how much they wanted me to be a part of the team,” Summers said. “With those things considered, I thought it was a good move to get that exposure with the top Italian League, as well as a top Euroleague team.” …

The team gave Summers and his girlfriend and son a nice three-bedroom house in Siena’s countryside. But though Siena is a popular Italian tourist destination, Summers had trouble adapting to living in a small town – and he thinks team officials picked up on it.

— Reported by Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports

Former NBA player Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje retires

Former Portland Trail Blazers center Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje is retiring immediately because of a heart condition.

Boumtje-Boumtje’s latest club Bayern Munich says the 33-year-old player decided to retire after a medical exam uncovered “new irregularities” that could have later consequences. The club gave no details Wednesday.

Boumtje-Boumtje says his “health and family are of the greatest importance.”

— Reported by the Associated Press

Oliver Miller pleads guilty to pistol whipping

A former professional basketball player has pleaded guilty to assaulting his girlfriend’s brother after a cookout in Maryland.

Oliver J. Miller, who played for the Phoenix Suns and other teams in the 1990s, pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and carrying a handgun Tuesday in court in Anne Arundel County.

According to prosecutors, Miller and his girlfriend’s brother argued at the cookout in April and Miller later hit him repeatedly in the head with a gun. The man required 11 staples to close his wounds.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Ben Wallace pleads guilty in alcohol case

Detroit Pistons center Ben Wallace has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and possessing a firearm while under the influence of alcohol.

Wallace entered the plea Tuesday in Oakland County Circuit Court in Pontiac. Sentencing is Dec. 13. He faces a maximum penalty of 93 days in jail.

In exchange, prosecutors agreed to drop a felony carrying a concealed weapon charge.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Jamaal Tinsley to enter D-League draft

Jamaal Tinsley hopes to return to the NBA, and he wants to use the Development League to help his efforts.

Tinsley has sent in the needed paperwork to enter Thursday’s NBA Development League draft, sources told Yahoo! Sports. Tinsley, 33, averaged 9.8 points and 6.6 assists per game through eight NBA seasons while starting 366 of 436 career regular-season games. He last played in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2009-10 season. The deadline to enter the D-League draft is Tuesday.

— Reported by Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports

LaMarcus Aldridge hosting hoop exhibition game Sunday

On Sunday, Portland forward LaMarcus Aldridge will host the Rip City Basketball Classic, an event in which teammates and other NBA players — including Thunder star Kevin Durant — will play in a charity game at the University Portland’s Chiles Center.

Other participants include Blazers players Brandon Roy, Wesley Matthews, Raymond Felton and Jeff Pendergraph, along with the former Blazer Steve Blake, Pacers guard T.J. Ford, Hawks guard Jamal Crawford and Wizards forward Josh Howard.

Tickets for the event go on sale at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Chiles Center box office, and on the web at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets are priced at $50 for lower level sideline seats, $40 for upper level sideline seats, $25 for upper level end zone bleacher seats, and $100 for courtside seats. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. while tip off is slated for 7:30.

— Reported by Matt Calkins of the Columbian

Knicks owner is happy that NBA salary cap will stay high

Knicks owner James Dolan is frustrated the lockout rages on and the club’s season opener tomorrow against the Heat at the Garden has been wiped out. But Dolan, part of the owners’ negotiating committee, is content about one of the agreed-upon aspects of a new collective bargaining agreement: the size of the salary cap will not go down.

More than any team in the NBA, that will benefit Dolan’s big-market Knicks the most, ironically.

According to multiple sources, one of the resolved issues in a new CBA is the 2011 salary cap will remain at the level as it was in 2010 — $58 million.

“That’s what we’ve been discussing, though the exact dollar amount is not set until the new deal is done,’’ said one league source, who added no new talks have yet been scheduled.

Economic projections from sources say the salary cap will then grow to about $60-$61 million in 2012, when the Knicks will have the largest cap space in the league and have room to woo either Chris Paul, Deron Williams or Dwight Howard, who are slated to become free agents. The Knicks could be at least $20 million under the projected 2012 cap.

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post