NBA News Blog – Page 1548 – NBA Blog

2011 NBA All-Star weekend in Los Angeles

Los Angeles, a city with a reputation for producing highly successful sequels, and STAPLES Center, considered one of the world’s best arenas for sports and entertainment, have been selected to host NBA All-Star 2011, marking the fifth time The City of Angels and the second time STAPLES Center will be the site of the annual celebration, NBA Commissioner David Stern announced at a press conference today in Los Angeles. AEG President and CEO Timothy J. Leiweke and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa joined Stern at the announcement.

The 60th NBA All-Star Game will be played on Sunday, February 20 at STAPLES Center which will also host the Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam and NBA All-Star Saturday Night. NBA All-Star Jam Session, the hugely successful interactive basketball celebration, will return to the Los Angeles Convention Center. Additionally, the NBA has the ability to activate the great hospitality and event spaces across the street from STAPLES Center within L.A. LIVE including the new Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott hotels. Los Angeles becomes the first city to host five NBA All-Star Games.

“Its state-of-the-art facilities, passionate fans, and first-class hospitality and entertainment options make Los Angeles an ideal host for NBA All-Star,” said Commissioner Stern. “We thank the city and STAPLES Center for welcoming us once again.”

The 2010-11 season will mark the 27th year that Turner Sports will provide NBA All-Star coverage, and the ninth consecutive year the All-Star Game will be televised in primetime on TNT. The All-Star Game will be seen by a worldwide television audience in more than 200 countries and will be broadcast in more than 40 languages.

“L.A. LIVE was truly designed to be a home for great events like the NBA All-Star game,” said Leiweke, President & CEO AEG, owners of STAPLES Center and L.A. LIVE. “We are fortunate that this will be the second All-Star weekend STAPLES Center will host in the last ten years and our ability to incorporate one of the best weekends in all of sports into our 100-acre campus is exactly what L.A. LIVE was created for. We are privileged to be partners with the NBA and welcome them back to Los Angeles and L.A. LIVE.”

“There is no better place to host the action and drama of the NBA All-Star Game than the stage of so many award winning performances,” said Mayor Villaraigosa. “On behalf of the City of Los Angeles, we look forward to welcoming NBA fans and players from across the country and around the globe to the entertainment capital of the world.”

STAPLES Center last played host to NBA All-Star in 2004, when the Los Angeles Lakers’ Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant combined for 44 points as the West edged the East 136-132. O’Neal earned MVP honors with 24 points and 11 rebounds. L.A. also hosted the All-Star Game in 1963, 1972 and 1983. The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena hosted All-Star in 1963, while the Forum hosted the other ’72 and ’83 games. The 1972 classic saw the Lakers’ Jerry West thrill the hometown fans with a last-second jumper that gave the West a 112-110 victory and netted him MVP honors.

NBA All-Star competitions will get underway on Friday, Feb. 18, as the league’s top rookies and second-year players square off in the Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam. The following day’s festivities will feature an

all-inclusive skills showcase known as NBA All-Star Saturday Night, which is comprised of Haier Shooting Stars, a competition featuring NBA and WNBA players and NBA Legends; PlayStation® Skills Challenge, a contest of

top guards working against the clock to complete a series of passes, free throws, lay-ups and agility drills; the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout, a long-standing staple of the evening; and the ever-entertaining Sprite Slam Dunk Contest.

During NBA All-Star 2011, the NBA will continue to celebrate its tradition and commitment to social responsibility with a schedule of NBA Cares events. NBA Cares will partner with schools, government, and local non-profit organizations in Los Angeles and surrounding areas to highlight the league’s grassroots and community initiatives that reach millions of young people and their parents while providing critical resources to community-based programs.

One of the event’s most popular attractions is NBA All-Star Jam Session, which will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. At Jam Session, fans can have the once-in-a-lifetime experience of participating in the NBA All-Star excitement, with the chance to meet and collect free autographs from NBA Players and Legends. Jam Session is nonstop basketball action, as fans can shoot, slam, dribble, and drive all day; compete against their friends in skills challenges; or get basketball tips from NBA Players and Legends. Young fans can hang out at Kids Zone – with hoops and interactive activities that are the perfect size for kids’ slam dunks, three-pointers, and jump shots. For fans who want NBA entertainment, Jam Session features the NBA’s favorite players, celebrities, mascots, and dance teams as they hit Center Court in a variety of basketball competitions, including the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game and the NBA All-Star Practice.

David Stern, AEG, mayor of Los Angeles making Sunday announcement

There is a press conference in Los Angeles Sunday at 7:15 p.m. ET with David Stern (NBA Commissioner), Timothy J. Leiweke (President & CEO AEG), Antonio Villaraigosa (Mayor of Los Angeles) and Jan Perry (Councilwoman Ninth District).

The Los Angeles Times (Mike Bresnahan) reports: The NBA is expected to announce today that the 2011 All-Star game will be held at Staples Center. The event was also held in Los Angeles in 2004.

Assistant Kenny Gattison leaving the Hornets

The AP reports: New Orleans Hornets assistant coach Kenny Gattison is leaving the franchise after six years. His contract expires at the end of this month. The team says the Hornets and Gattison agreed he could pursue other opportunities.

InsideHoops.com says: The Hornets had a good season in 2008-09 but disappointed a bit, mostly because of injuries to Tyson Chandler, Peja Stojakovic and Morris Peterson, who missed plenty of games and when on the court were often playing hurt.

Orlando Magic Finals home game tickets sell out

The Orlando Sentinel (Anika Myers Palm) reports: Tickets for the three Orlando games in the National Basketball Association finals series sold out before 11 a.m. today, leaving the hundreds of people remaining in line grumbling and upset. “This is ridiculous for the true fans,” said Derek Bonilla of Lake Mary, who had arrived at Amway Arena about 11 p.m. Friday to stand in line for what Orlando Magic officials had said were just 1,000 tickets for each of the three local games… He was one of many to complain about the Magic’s system for selling the much-coveted tickets. Many who had queued for the tickets said it wasn’t fair they stood in line for hours only to be slighted in the lottery system and forced to the back of the line. Orlando Magic officials said the team chose to use to lottery to prevent anyone from being hurt or trampled in a stampede for tickets, which were available online, by phone or at the arena.

Toronto Raptors hire Marc Iavaroni and Alex English as assistant coaches

The Toronto Raptors announced Friday they have hired Marc Iavaroni and Alex English as assistant coaches. The pair has a combined 42 years of experience coaching and playing in the NBA. They will support Jay Triano, who signed a three-year contract as head coach May 11. Per team policy, financial terms were not announced.

“I am very excited to continue working with Alex and to add Marc to the staff,” said Triano. “They share our philosophy on the direction of the team, yet possess different skill sets that will be valuable to me.”

Iavaroni brings 11 seasons of NBA coaching knowledge to Toronto. He served the past two seasons as the head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies and prior to that was an assistant in Phoenix, Miami and Cleveland. He spent five seasons (2002-07) with the Suns, during which time they made four trips to the NBA Playoffs, including two appearances in the Western Conference Finals. In Miami (1999-2002), Iavaroni worked under Hall of Fame coach Pat Riley. He was also the director of player development for the Heat. With the Cavaliers, he served under longtime NBA coach Mike Fratello.

Iavaroni played seven seasons in the NBA with Philadelphia, San Antonio and Utah. He was a starter as a rookie on the 76ers’ 1983 World Championship team, voted one of the 10 best teams of all-time by the media as part of the league’s 50th anniversary celebration in 1996. Iavaroni’s teams qualified for the playoffs every season of his playing career.

Triano has worked in the past with Iavaroni at the annual Eurocamp in Italy.

English returns for his sixth campaign with the Raptors and his eighth on an NBA coaching staff. He joined the Raptors after spending the 2003-04 season as an assistant coach with Philadelphia. He served as director of player personnel and assistant coach with the Atlanta Hawks during the 2002-03 campaign. English began his post-playing coaching career in 2001-02 as the head coach of the National Basketball Development League’s North Charleston (S.C.) Lowgaters. In his lone season at the helm, he guided his team to a 36-20 record and a berth in the finals of the first NBDL Championship.

English was elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997 and finished his 16-year playing career with 25,613 points, which ranks 12th all-time in league history. He was an eight-time NBA All-Star and was selected to the all-league second team three times (1982, 1983 and 1986). A second-round selection by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1976 (23rd overall), English played two seasons in Milwaukee, two with the Indiana Pacers, and 11 with the Denver Nuggets before finishing his career in 1990-91 with the Dallas Mavericks.

Kobe 40, Lakers beat Magic in Finals Game 1

The AP reports: Kobe Bryant, playing like a man possessed, scored 40 points and the Los Angeles Lakers, who have waited nearly one year for a chance to erase bitter memories of a Boston beatdown and a championship they felt belonged to them, pounded the Orlando Magic 100-75 in Game 1 on Thursday night… Not even the return of All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson from a four-month layoff following shoulder surgery could help the Eastern Conference champions. Orlando center Dwight Howard was engulfed by two and three Lakers every time he touched the ball and scored 12 points—10 on free throws—on just 1-of-6 shooting… The Magic went just 8-of-23 on 3s and shot only 30 percent overall… Bryant, who added eight rebounds and eight assists, knows the Magic are still dangerous.

The AP reports: Bryant usually waits until the final quarter to close out his opponents but he buried the Magic with an 18-point third quarter in front of a sellout crowd of 18,997 at Staples Center on Thursday. “I was taking what they gave me. They want to back off and give me a shot, I am happy to take it,” Bryant said. “We wanted to keep our energy up and make sure we stayed the aggressor.” Pau Gasol had 16 points and Lamar Odom 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who trying to make amends for losing in last year’s final to the Boston Celtics. Bryant, who wants to prove he can win an NBA ring without former Lakers teammate Shaquille O’Neal, showed once again that he can raise his level of play and intensity with each new playoff series.

The AP reports: The Lakers shot 46 percent from the field and 15-of-18 from the free-throw line as they smothered Orlando’s three-point shooters. The Lakers took the lead for good 34-33 on a Bryant jump shot with 7:05 left in the first half.

The AP reports: Stan Van Gundy surely wanted to put his hands over his eyes in the fourth quarter Thursday night as the Los Angeles Lakers mopped up what was left of his Orlando Magic. He had seen more than enough of Kobe Bryant, more than enough of a surprisingly tough Laker defense that kept Superman from getting airborne. “There was nothing I liked,” Van Gundy said. “What was there to like?” David Stern might have said the same thing. The NBA commissioner did his best just before the game to hype the finals as a fitting climax to one of the league’s best seasons ever, though he was probably secretly waving the pom-poms for the Kobe-LeBron matchup that never came.

The AP reports: All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson returned to the Orlando Magic for Game 1 of the NBA finals, playing the entire second quarter before struggling in the second half against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night. Nelson finished with six points on 3-of-9 shooting in 23 minutes of the Magic’s 100-75 loss. “I thought he played well in the second quarter. I was happy. I thought he was getting in the paint on his pick-and-rolls,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “I thought he was making really good plays.”

Frank Gehry no longer architect for Brooklyn Nets arena

The New York Times (Charles V. Bagli) reports: It’s official. Frank Gehry is out as the architect for the Barclays Center, an exotic, $1 billion glass-walled arena that is the centerpiece of the long-delayed and financially challenged Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn, according to government officials and real estate executives who have been briefed on the plans. The design by Mr. Gehry, the award-winning architect behind the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, has been replaced with a less-expensive, $800 million arena. The new design comes from Ellerbe Becket, an architectural firm based in Kansas City, Mo., that specializes in convention centers, stadiums and arenas, and designed Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, where the Indiana Pacers play.

Comcast, NBA Digital enter NBA TV-related deal

Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK), the nation’s leading provider of entertainment, information, and communications products and services, has entered into a long-term agreement with NBA Digital to expand its distribution of NBA TV, providing live games, original programming, and exciting video on demand (VOD) and broadband content to millions of customers.

Comcast will make NBA TV, the league’s 24-hour digital television network that offers more than 100 live NBA games, available to millions of Comcast’s Digital Classic customers before the 2009-10 NBA regular season. Additionally, these customers will have access to a wide array of NBA content On Demand, including Top 10 Plays of the Night, nightly game recaps, basketball news of the day, and NBA Entertainment-produced specials. Comcast will also offer NBA content on its online properties, including Comcast.net.

“We appreciate the commitment of our longtime and valued partner Comcast to expand NBA TV’s distribution and provide more of its customers with the network’s wall-to-wall NBA coverage and innovative programming,” said NBA Deputy Commissioner and COO Adam Silver. “Through this agreement, millions of additional fans will be able to experience NBA TV’s more than 100 live NBA games, its signature studio shows and Emmy award-winning on-air talent.”

“We are excited to bring more NBA action live, on demand, and online to our Digital Classic customers,” said Matt Bond, Executive Vice President of Content Acquisition at Comcast Cable. “Whether a fan of the hometown team or one of the NBA’s incredible players, our customers will have access to all of the great NBA moments in time for next season.”

Comcast will continue to offer NBA LEAGUE PASS, the league’s subscription package that provides subscribers with up to 40 out-of-market, live NBA games each week. As part of the package, subscribers will have access to NBA games online at no additional cost through NBA LEAGUE PASS BROADBAND.

“This is a perfect marriage of two multiplatform strategies,” said NBA Digital Senior Vice President and General Manager Bryan Perez. “Through this expanded agreement, NBA Digital and Comcast will deliver millions of fans the finest in NBA content via broadcast, VOD, and broadband distribution.”

Blake Griffin to work out for Clippers Saturday

College star forward Blake Griffin will work out for the Los Angeles Clippers Saturday afternoon.

Griffin is widely considered the best player in the upcoming 2009 NBA draft, and the Clippers have the #1 selection in the first round.

They are expected to select Griffin, but it’s still standard for the player to work out for the team, meet his future employers, let the two sides get to know each other a little better, talk about their favorite colors, etc.

And, seeing Griffin on the basketball court having him do whatever they tell him to will help the Clippers get an even better read about what he’s good at, which helps make roster decisions. Par for the course.

There are some rumblings that the Clippers are open to trading the first pick, but nothing serious. And frankly, every team in the draft is always “open” to trading any player or pick, if the price is right.

Hornets guard Devin Brown exercises player option

The New Orleans Hornets announced today that guard Devin Brown has exercised his player option for the 2009-10 season. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not released.

Brown (6-5, 210) averaged 5.2 points and 1.9 rebounds in 13.8 minutes off the bench for New Orleans during the 2008-09 season after being signed as a free agent on August 22, 2008. He has appeared in 415 career games (90 starts), averaging 7.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 19.2 minutes per game during his seven-year career.

The undrafted product of the University of Texas-San Antonio had his best season as a pro with the Hornets during the 2006-07 season, averaging a career-high 11.6 points in 58 games (49 starts). He also had career-highs in minutes per game (28.7), rebounds (4.3) and assists (2.6).

Brown was a member of the 2004-05 NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs and has appeared in 32 career playoff games with Cleveland, New Orleans and San Antonio.