Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Mavericks players are against idea of no championship rings

When you win an NBA championship, you are supposed to get a championship ring.

That’s just how it is.

And after winning the 2011  championship, Dallas Mavericks players want to be able to show off the same type of bling other previous winners have gotten to show off.

The AP reports:

dallas mavericks

Mark Cuban’s idea to celebrate an NBA championship with something other than a ring is being soundly rejected by his players, his coach and the top guy in the front office.

“We’ve got to talk to him about that,” said Dirk Nowitzki, the finals MVP. “I don’t think the last word has been spoken yet. We know he always wants to do something different, something bigger. But the ring is just so classic. I think I would vote for a ring. I mean, I’m a man. I don’t know how I’d feel about a bracelet.”

Donnie Nelson, the president of basketball operations, even made a bold offer.

“I’ll pay for them,” he said. “Now, they might have to be plastic.”

Cuban called rings “old school … done,” adding that he wants to “take it to the next level and do something different.”

I will assume Cuban will give the players what they want.

Production of comedic movie starring LeBron James delayed again

Jeff Sneider of Variety reports:

lebron james

LeBron James will have to wait at least another year to make his Hollywood debut.

The Miami Heat forward has been attached to star in Universal/Imagine’s sports comedy “Ballers” since September 2009, and after an initial yearlong delay to accommodate his summer 2010 free agency, production was pushed to next month. However, in the wake of Miami’s NBA Finals loss to the Dallas Mavericks, exec producer Michael Rosenberg told Variety that because the script is still being developed, “we are not shooting this summer.”

Story follows five guys who attend the LeBron James Adult Basketball Camp in Las Vegas, but end up dragging the phenom into their myriad life issues.

Malcolm D. Lee (“Undercover Brother”) remains attached to direct and is working on a new draft of the screenplay originally written by Babaloo Mandel and Lowell Ganz and re-written by Peter Steinfeld.

Bulls annoying local reporters with lack of workout info

Lacy J. Banks of the Chicago Sun-Times reports:

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau and general manager Gar Forman have gone
underground.

For the first time in the 43 years I’ve covered the team for Ebony magazine and the Sun-Times, the Bulls are refusing to tell the media about which players they’re bringing in for summer tryouts, refusing to make them available for interviews and refusing to grant interviews themselves.

Or is it just me?

A Bulls spokesman explained: ‘‘Well, we have a new coaching staff now. They want to do things differently. And this is one of the areas they’re making changes.’’

Thus, unless Thibodeau and Forman become media-friendly again in terms of supporting offseason coverage, we might never know which players succeeded in their tryouts until next season.

That is, if there is a next season.

Chris Bosh sued by the mother of his child

Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports:

chris bosh

The mother of Chris Bosh’s child is suing the Miami Heat star, alleging that Bosh prevented her from appearing on the reality show “Basketball Wives.”

Allison Mathis, Bosh’s ex-girlfriend, claims in a lawsuit filed Monday in Orange County Circuit Court that Bosh “intentionally, knowingly, maliciously and without justification interfered” in her employment, prompting the television show’s production company to fire her.

In early May, Bosh sued Mathis and Shed Media, the show’s production company, alleging that they were trying to exploit her former relationship with Bosh for “commercial gain.”

Suns swingman Mickael Pietrus exercises option to stay with Phoenix

Phoenix Suns guard/forward Mickael Pietrus has exercised the one-year player option on his contract and will return to Phoenix for the 2010-11 season, the club announced today.

The 6-6, 215-pound swingman appeared in 38 games (4 starts) for the Suns, averaging 7.4 points and 2.2 rebounds.  An eight-year NBA veteran with Phoenix (2010-11), Orlando (2008-10)  and Golden State (2003-08), Pietrus owns career averages of 8.5 points and 3.1 rebounds in 496 games (150 starts), and is a 35.9-percent three-point shooter.

Phoenix acquired Pietrus on Dec. 18, 2010 in a six-player trade with the Orlando Magic that included eight-time NBA All-Star Vince Carter, center Marcin Gortat, this year’s first-round draft pick and cash considerations in exchange for Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu and Earl Clark.

Pietrus, whose nationality and play earned him the nickname “Air France,” grew up in Les Abymes on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, which is located approximately 310 miles southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico.  He left the island for France at the age of 15 to join the junior program of French powerhouse Pau Orthez (PO OR-tez), and played four seasons professionally for Pau Orthez after making his debut at the age of 17.

Pietrus, 28, was originally selected with the 11th overall pick of the 2003 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors and spent his first five career seasons in Oakland before signing a free-agent deal with Orlando on July 10, 2008.  A key reserve during the Magic’s run to the 2009 NBA Finals, Pietrus averaged 10.5 points while appearing in all 24 games that postseason.

Kings extend qualifying offer to Marcus Thornton

marcus thornton

The Sacramento Kings today extended a qualifying offer to Marcus Thornton, making him a restricted free agent, according to Kings’ President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie.

Thornton, a two-year NBA veteran, averaged 21.3 points (.450 FGs, .361 3FGs, .805 FTs), 4.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.67 steals per game through 27 outings with the Kings last season, of which he started 23. He was acquired by Sacramento along with cash considerations from New Orleans on February 23, 2011, in exchange for Carl Landry.

In accordance with the league’s collective bargaining agreement, in order for a team to retain its right of first refusal with respect to a restricted free agent, the team must tender the player a qualifying offer prior to June 30. A restricted free agent may sign an offer sheet with any team, but is subject to a right of first refusal with the team for which the player last played.

Shaq reportedly in middle of kidnapping, robbery, sex tape case

TMZ reports:

Shaquille O’Neal is embroiled in a criminal case in which 7 gang members allegedly kidnapped, beat up and robbed a man who claimed to have a tape showing Shaq having sex with other women while he was married to Shaunie.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ … Ladell Rowles — a member of the Main Street Mafia Crip Gang in L.A. who is friends with Shaq — along with 6 other members went on a search and destroy mission in L.A. on February 11, 2008.  They believed a man named Robert Ross had the sex tape and they tried getting it back with the help of a gun or two.

According to the police report, the 7 gang members met up with Ross at a convenience store — Pink Dot — on the Sunset Strip.  The men allegedly surrounded Ross’ Rolls Royce Phantom with guns drawn, jumped into Ross’ car and ordered him to drive to Rowles’ house in South Central L.A.

Once there, Rowles allegedly pistol whipped Ross and demanded that he turn over the sex tape.  Ross said he would get the tape and bring it back to them.  The 7 men then allegedly took Ross’ Rolex, diamond chain and earrings, along with $15,000 in cash — then let Ross go.

The 7 men have been arrested and charged with robbery, kidnapping and other crimes.

InsideHoops.com says: Well, this all sounds like anyone’s typical morning. But seriously, of course being a fan of Shaq like everyone else, I certainly hope the report isn’t accurate.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Clippers exercise options on Blake Griffin, Al-Farouq Aminu and Eric Bledsoe

The Los Angeles Clippers today exercised the club’s fourth-year contract option on forward Blake Griffin and the third-year contract options on forward Al-Farouq Aminu and guard Eric Bledsoe.

Griffin, originally selected by the Clippers as the first overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, begins his third NBA season and is now signed through the 2012-13 campaign. Aminu and Bledsoe, the eighth and 18th overall selections in the 2010 NBA Draft, are now also signed through the 2012-13 NBA season. Under the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Clippers had the right to exercise these contract options.

The unanimous winner of the 2010-11 T-Mobile Rookie of the Year Award, Griffin turned in one of the most spectacular rookie campaigns in NBA history. He tallied a rookie and team-leading 22.5 ppg (12th overall), 12.1 rpg (fourth overall) and 63 double-doubles (third overall) and was the only player in the NBA to average at least 20 points, 12 rebounds and three assists. Griffin became the first rookie to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds since Elton Brand (20.1 ppg, 10.0 rpg) in 1999-2000; and he was only the fourth rookie to total at least 1,600 points, 900 rebounds and 250 assists, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1969-70), Elgin Baylor (1958-59) and Sidney Wicks (1971-72).

A six-time T-Mobile Western Conference Rookie of the Month selection, Griffin became the first rookie to appear in an NBA All-Star Game since Yao Ming in 2003 and the first rookie to be voted in by the coaches since Tim Duncan in 1998. Griffin also participated in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge and won the Sprite Slam Dunk contest. On March 23, he recorded the first triple-double of his NBA career — 33 points, 17 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists in the Clippers’ double-overtime win over Washington, becoming the first rookie to record a triple-double of at least 30 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists since Jerry West did it on Feb. 26, 1961 (38 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists).

Aminu averaged 6.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 17.9 minutes in 81 games played during his rookie campaign. He finished the season ranked fourth among all rookies in three-point field goal percentage (.315) and fourth among rookies in free throw percentage (.773).

Bledsoe, who was named to the 2010-11 T-Mobile All-Rookie Second Team, averaged 6.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 22.7 minutes in 81 games played (25 starts). He led the Clippers with 92 steals and played in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge during NBA All-Star Weekend. Amongst NBA rookies, Bledsoe finished 15th in scoring and 4th in assists.

Clippers extend qualifying offer to center DeAndre Jordan

The Los Angeles Clippers today extended a qualifying offer to center DeAndre Jordan, making him a restricted free agent.

Jordan averaged 7.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.78 blocks in 25.6 minutes per game during a breakout year in which he played in 80 games, making 66 starts. Completing his third NBA season, Jordan shot a team-high and career-high 68.6 percent from the field (234-341 FG) and owned the highest field goal percentage of any player in the NBA with over 300 field goal attempts.

In accordance with the league’s collective bargaining agreement, in order for a team to retain its right of first refusal with respect to a restricted free agent, the team must tender the player a qualifying offer prior to June 30. A restricted free agent may sign an offer sheet with any team, but is subject to a right of first refusal with the team for which the player last played.