NBA News Blog – Page 1187 – NBA Blog

Antoine Walker re-signs with Idaho Stampede of D-League

The Idaho Stampede has announced three-time NBA All-Star Antoine Walker has signed with the NBA Development League and will report to training camp with the Idaho Stampede, which begins November 14.

Walker (6-9, 245, Kentucky) played 43 games (39 starts) with the Stampede in 2010-11, averaging 16.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 33.4 minutes per game.

Walker had four double-doubles on the season, all coming in the last six games of the year. Walker scored a season-high 29 points at Dakota on Jan. 16 and grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds on March 26 at Austin.

“I can’t wait to get back to Boise,” Walker said. “It’s a great place to live and I’m hoping I can help this team make the playoffs and win a championship – we’ve got some unfinished business to tend to.”

A veteran of 12 NBA seasons, Walker has career averages of 17.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 893 games (707 starts). Walker made All-Star game appearances in 1998, 2002 and 2003, starting alongside Michael Jordan in the 2002 game in Philadelphia.

Walker has played for the Boston Celtics (seven-plus seasons), Dallas Mavericks (one season), Atlanta Hawks (part of one season), Miami Heat (two seasons) and Minnesota Timberwolves (one season). His last stint in the NBA was in 2007-08 with the T’Wolves, playing 46 games (1 start).

In the NBA playoffs, Walker has career averages of 16.1 points, 7.1 Rebounds and 2.9 assists per game in 64 games. Walker averaged 13.3 points per game with the Miami Heat in 2005-06 when the club won its first-ever NBA Championship.

Walker was the sixth overall selection in the 1996 NBA Draft, making the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 1997. Stampede Head Coach Randy Livingston was taken 42nd overall in that same draft class.

Before his professional career, Walker played two seasons at the University of Kentucky under coach Rick Pitino. The Wildcats won the NCAA Championship in 1996 with Walker averaging 15.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.

Born August 12, 1976, Walker is a former McDonald’s All-American from Mount Carmel High School in Chicago, Ill.

Walker last played in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2008-09; he then signed with the Guaynabo Mets, a team in the Puerto Rican Baloncesto Superior Nacional basketball league.

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Nicolas Batum wins Euroleague Week 2 MVP

With one spectacular play after another, supertalent Nicolas Batum made the first home game of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague season one to remember for the home fans in Nancy as the hosts pulled away to their first victory, 87-73 over Bizkaia Bilbao Basket on Thursday. Batum not only played nearly the entire game and flirted with a triple-double, but took over with 11 points in a 15-0 run in the final three minutes. The final boxscore showed the mercurial small forward to have a Euroleague career high 26 points – including making 11 of 12 free throws – plus 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 11 fouls drawn.

That impressive performance left Batum with a performance index rating of 36, which was the most of any player in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague this week and earned Batum the bwin MVP honor for Week 2 of the regular season.

Though Batum’s was the best, it was not the only impressive showing of the week. Olympiacos Piraeus forward Georgios Printezis and KK Zagreb big man Sean May tied for the second-best index ratings of week 2 with 31. Printezis had his best scoring night in two-and-a-half seasons with 21 points on perfect shooting and also recorded 7 rebounds, 1 assists, 1 steal and 1 block in an 81-74 victory over Fenerbahce Ulker.

— Reported by Euroleague.net

Michael Beasley sues ex-agent, AAU coach over improper benefits

Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley is accusing his former agent and an AAU coach of conspiring to forge a relationship with him from the age of 14 and giving his mother improper cash benefits while Beasley starred at Kansas State, all in an effort to land the basketball prodigy as a client.

Beasley laid out the allegations in a lawsuit filed in Maryland a month ago in response to agent Joel Bell’s wrongful termination lawsuit against him. Beasley said Bell gave his mother, Fatima Smith, living expenses when he went to college, which likely would violate NCAA rules and federal regulations governing sports agents.

The Associated Press left messages for attorneys representing Beasley and Bell seeking comment. An attorney for AAU coach Curtis Malone and Malone himself vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

“The allegations of impropriety against Mr. Malone are baseless as a matter of law and he denies them,” attorney Bill Heyman said.

— Reported by the St. Paul Pioneer Press wire services

Former NBA player Jose Ortiz to plead guilty to drug dealing

The attorney for former NBA player Jose Ortiz says his client will plead guilty to drug charges in Puerto Rico following an agreement with federal prosecutors.

Hector Guzman Jr. filed a motion Thursday requesting a hearing so Ortiz can enter a new plea.

Ortiz was arrested in June after federal agents seized 218 marijuana plants at his house along with 40 rounds of ammunition. He was accused of possession with intent to distribute the plants.

— Reported by the Associated Press

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Did Danilo Gallinari turn down a chance to date Kim Kardashian for reality TV?

Before Kim Kardashian met Kris Humphries she allegedly had her eye on another NBA player, former Knicks hoopster Danilo Gallinari. And, according to Web site Wetpaint.com, Kardashian specifically was in the hunt for a piece of arm candy from the NBA.

Kardashian was so eager to land a basketball player, the site says, that she had producers at E!, the home of her reality shows, contact NBA teams about potential beaus. Sources say that producers at the network called the Knicks to find out if the team’s handsome Italian import, Gallinari, was single.

“They asked if he would be interested in dating her and being on a reality show,” a source told the site. “Danilo said he would love to meet Kim but was not interested in dating her or being on a reality show … Even though E! explained it would be great for his career, Gallinari turned the offer down.”

— Reported by Page Six of the New York Post

Cavs forward Christian Eyenga to play in Spain during lockout

Christian Eyenga has become the second Cavalier to sign with an overseas club during the NBA lockout. A third Cav could be right behind him.

Eyenga agreed to a deal with the Spanish side Joventut Badalona, according to a tweet from his agent Andy Miller. The swingman can return to the Cavaliers once the NBA work stoppage ends. He was playing in Spain before the Cavs signed him last season.

The Congolese international played in 44 games last season with the Cavs, averaging 6.9 points and 2.8 rebounds.

— Reported by Tom Reed of the Cleveland Plain Dealer

Kevin Garnett still plans to play in World All-Star Classic

The World All-Star Classic has lost some of its shine recently, with some of the NBA’s top players opting to not participate.

But there’s one perennial all-star – Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett – who, according to his agent, is very much still in the mix…

Others tentatively scheduled to participate include Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Kevin Love, Steve Nash, Carlos Boozer, Amar’e Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer, Tyson Chandler and Chris Kaman.

— Reported by A. Sherrod Blakely of the CSNNE Blog

Sale of Atlanta Hawks hits snag with NBA

The proposed sale of the Atlanta Hawks to Los Angeles businessman Alex Meruelo has hit a significant snag in the NBA approval process, according to people familiar with the situation.

It not clear at the moment whether the deal, announced Aug. 7 subject to NBA approval, will get completed.

“I have more than ample resources to purchase and operate the Hawks in a first-class manner,” Meruelo said in a statement provided to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution tonight.

— Reported by Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Toronto Raptors hire Ed Stefanski as VP of basketball operations

The Toronto Raptors announced Wednesday they have hired Ed Stefanski as the team’s executive vice president of basketball operations. Stefanski joins the Raptors from upper management positions with the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets, where his teams qualified for the NBA playoffs in eight of the past nine seasons. In his position, Stefanski will report to Raptors President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo.

“Ed Stefanski embodies everything I was hoping to attain when the search began for a top level basketball executive to join our staff,” said Colangelo. “Ed brings to the table experience, smarts and a great feel for the game and of people.”

“I am very excited to join Bryan Colangelo and the Raptors organization,” Stefanski said. “Toronto is a world class city and the Raptors fans are strong supporters.

“The team has a young nucleus of players that have a big upside. And with the addition of Head Coach Dwane Casey I am looking forward to witnessing their growth and improvement.”

Stefanski, who has earned a reputation throughout the NBA as an excellent evaluator of talent, spent the past four seasons in a president and general manager role with Philadelphia. With the 76ers, Stefanski returned the franchise to playoff status via trades, the re-signing of key performers and the acquisition of athletic, younger players in the NBA Draft. Despite having only mid-first round picks in three of his four drafts, Stefanski was able to add lottery-level talent to the team.

Prior to joining Philadelphia, Stefanski spent nine seasons with the Nets. He was promoted to general manager of the club in the summer of 2004 following a one-year stint as the team’s senior vice president of basketball operations and four seasons as the team’s director of scouting.

While with the Nets, Stefanski oversaw the team’s basketball operations and was heavily involved in the club’s roster development and player personnel matters. He helped to build New Jersey’s back-to-back Eastern Conference Championship teams in 2002 and 2003.

A 1976 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton School of Business), Stefanski played three seasons for Penn, where he was coached by Hall-of-Famer Chuck Daley. Stefanski was a member of two Ivy League Champions (1974 and 1975), helping the Quakers reach the NCAA Tournament in both of those seasons.

In 1979, Stefanski also began a 20-year run as a colour analyst for Big Five basketball and ESPN’s Atlantic 10 basketball coverage.

LeBron, Melo, CP3 will not play in NBA world lockout tour

The proposed world tour of NBA elite amid the league’s lockout won’t include at least one of the Miami Heat’s Big Three.

LeBron James, whose name had been thrown into the mix for the two-week tour that opens Sunday in Puerto Rico and is scheduled to then include stops in London, Macau and Australia, will not be among the participants.

A source close to the Heat forward Wednesday told the Sun Sentinel that James had never committed to the tour and added that James is not participating, “due to previous commitments.”

…

In the wake of the Sun Sentinel being informed of James not joining the tour, ESPN reported that New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony and New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul also would not be participating. With Wade close to those two, his interest could also be waning.

— Reported by Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel