The Miami Herald (Patrick Danner) reports: The Miami Heat is putting a full-court press on premium-seat holders and sponsors it claims haven’t paid up. The Heat or affiliate Basketball Properties, which operates the AmericanAirlines Arena, have filed 16 lawsuits in the past year against companies and people they claim owe about $1.6 million — if not more. At least a few of the cases have been resolved. The Heat has taken the most litigious approach among South Florida sports franchises to force customers and clients to honor agreements. By comparison, the Florida Panthers and affiliate Arena Operating Co., which operates Sunrise’s BankAtlantic Center, filed three suits in 2008 to collect about $100,000.
Category: NBA News Blog
NBA news blog
Male driver sues Eddy Curry for sexual harassment
OK, before I even get into this, remember that everyone is innocent until proven guilty, and professional athletes are world famous stars known by tens, sometimes hundreds of millions of people. And, there are a lot of crazy people out there who will do whatever it takes to get money.
As for this lawsuit in particular, the New York Post reports that the guy who is suing Eddy Curry is a convicted criminal who spent three years in prison. So he’s not exactly trustworthy.
Until there’s reason to do otherwise, InsideHoops.com officially supports Eddy Curry.
With that said, here’s what’s up:
New York Newsday (Jim Baumbach and Alan Hahn) reports: The former driver for Eddy Curry is seeking $5 million from the Knicks’ center in an explosive lawsuit alleging sexual harassment and racial discrimination, the driver’s attorney told Newsday last night. After last night’s Knicks game, Curry said he is “just shocked.” His lawyer called it “extortion.” The lawsuit states that Curry approached his driver, David Kuchinsky, in the nude on two separate occasions and “kept asking him to look and to touch him,” said Kuchinsky’s attorney, Matthew Blit. Blit also said the lawsuit alleges that Curry referred to Kuchinsky in racially offensive terms.
The New York Times (Howard Beck) reports: A man who worked for three years as Eddy Curry’s driver is suing Curry, alleging sexual harassment and a failure to pay him tens of thousands of dollars. In a lawsuit filed Monday in federal court, the former driver, Dave Kuchinsky, claimed that Curry, the Knicks’ center, owed him $68,000 in back wages and another $25,000 for charges made on Kuchinsky’s credit card. In the suit, Kuchinsky also described two incidents in which he claimed Curry dropped his pants and made lewd and suggestive remarks. Curry steadfastly denied the allegations Monday. Curry’s lawyer, Kelly Saindon, called the allegations “preposterous” and added, “In my opinion, it’s extortion.”
Newsday continues: “He had approached my friends and me a while back trying to get money and stuff like that,” Curry said. “I just never thought – especially with the past that me and him had – I never thought that it would go past where it did, which is idle threats; ‘I want some money or else’ kind of stuff. I guess it’s just like a prime example of you just got to watch who you have around you. This is a guy who I really thought was my friend up until the last four or five months. I can’t even believe this has happened.”
The New York Daily News (Thomas Zambito) reports: Curry said Kuchinsky has been making idle threats and money demands for several months, since Curry fired him. “I guess this is just a prime example of you just gotta watch who you have around you,” he said. Curry’s attorney, Kelly Saindon, characterized the lawsuit, which also charged Curry made Kuchinsky clean up towels soiled by sex acts, as an extortion try.
Newsday continues: Curry said, “He tried to contact a friend of mine about a month ago, two months ago. He actually tried to contact him on several occasions; every time it was something different. The first time it was to curse me out. ‘Eddy’s not this, Eddy’s not that.’ The second time was to apologize. The third time was to say to tell me if Eddy doesn’t call me or somebody doesn’t call me on his behalf, I’m going to sue him. I didn’t.”
The New York Post (Melissa Jane Kronfeld, Bruce Golding and Marc Berman) reports: Curry, a former Chicago Bull, said last night he was “shocked” at the allegations. “It’s false, and everyone who knows me knows I’m not a racist,” he said after the Knicks beat the Hornets in New Orleans. “I’ve never made a comment like that, playing, or nothing. . . . That’s incredible, man.”
The Post continues: Curry’s lawyer, Kelly Saindon, said Kuchinsky began making a series of claims for unpaid wages several months ago, upping the ante each time. Saindon said Curry took a chance on hiring Kuchinsky despite the driver’s criminal record, which includes a three-year prison sentence for a 1992 burglary in New Jersey. He also got three years’ probation in a 2004 resisting-arrest case in the Garden State, records show. “It’s shocking that Eddy opened his home to a convicted felon out of prison, and gave him a job when he couldn’t find a job, and this is what comes out of it,” Saindon said. Kuchinsky’s lawyer conceded his client’s “troubled past,” but said that was all behind him.
Elton Brand returns to practice
The Philadelphia Inquirer (Kate Fagan) reports (via blog): During Monday’s practice at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), injured forward Elton Brand hit the practice floor and participated in contact half-court drills. Brand did not look to be favoring his left arm or shoulder, but he did say afterwards that “It’s not 100 percent, I can feel that, but it’s pretty good.” Brand scrimmaged in a half-court setting, but did not go full court. He said he plans to go full during tomorrow’s practice… “Wednesday might be out, but I’ll be practicing tomorrow,” Brand said. He, and coach Tony DiLeo, said they would consult the medical staff and determine when Brand will be back in the lineup. But it looks to be very soon.
Tracy McGrady out 2 weeks
Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that guard Tracy McGrady is expected to miss the next two weeks for physical conditioning.
“Tracy was not able to execute his standard pre-season training regimen due to his offseason procedure. He has been fighting through this in order to help the team get past a difficult early season schedule. Coach Adelman and I felt that it was in his best interest to take these two weeks to get himself physically prepared for the second-half of the season.”
Cavaliers sign Jawad Williams to 10-day contract
The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed forward Jawad Williams to a 10-day contract, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry announced today.
Williams (6-9, 220 pounds) has played in three games this season with the Cavaliers. In four total minutes, Williams scored two points and recorded one steal. He was waived by the Cavaliers on January 7th.
The Cavaliers roster now stands at 15.
Al Horford bone bruise
Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford will miss this afternoon’s contest against the Philadelphia 76ers with a bone bruise to his right knee. He is out indefinitely and will not travel with the team on their West Coast trip (Phoenix, LA Clippers and Golden State).
Horford this season is averaging 10.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.6 blocks on 51.7% shooting in 32.9 minutes per game.
Euroleague Week 9 MVP: Immanuel McElroy
Euroleague.net reports: Not only did his outstanding performance allow Alba Berlin to register its first Euroleague road win this season and put one foot in the Top 16, but Immanuel McElroy played well enough in his team’s most pivotal game that he also earned the Week 9 MVP honor with an index rating of 38. Thanks to his near-perfect scoring show, Alba was able to steal a 75-79 road win against DKV Joventut in a Group C showdown for survival on Thursday. McElroy dominated the game and finished with 26 points, missing only one shot all night.
Yi Jianlian out 4-6 weeks
The New York Post (Fred Kerber) reports: The Nets finally saw the Yi Jianlian they wanted, the 7-foot bundle of emerging talent they felt was worth dealing Richard Jefferson to obtain. The past few weeks, Yi was good. The past few games, Yi was very good. But now the development will be shelved for up to six weeks after Yi broke his right pinkie in Friday’s 104-102 defeat at Milwaukee. “Lousy timing,” team president Rod Thorn said. “He’d been playing well the last 2½, 3 weeks. Even in games he didn’t score a lot in, he’s been playing well. So it’s a tough time for him to get hurt.” Yi, who said he heard a “little pop” as he swiped at the ball in the third quarter, had 16 points in 25 minutes against Milwaukee, well on his way to a third straight 20-point game. In his last three games, he shot .538 (21-of-39), averaged 19.3 points – plus 7.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists.
Boozer out 4+ weeks
Utah Jazz forward Carlos Boozer underwent a successful arthroscopic procedure on his left knee performed by Dr. Richard Ferkel in Los Angeles on Friday. All loose pieces of cartilage in the knee area were removed and microfracturing will not be required. Everything else in the knee joint was found to be fine. Boozer will now undergo a four-week rehabilitation program, after which his return to activity will be re-evaluated.
“I had a successful surgery and the loose bodies that were floating around and causing my pain were removed,” said Boozer following the procedure. “My knee is now on its way to recovering and getting completely healthy so that I can return to help my team.”
Grizzlies sign Darius Miles to 10-day contract
The Memphis Grizzlies have re-signed forward Darius Miles to a 10-day contract, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today. Miles, who was waived by the Grizzlies on Jan. 7, cleared waivers and subsequently became an unrestricted free agent.
In two games with Memphis, Miles collected two rebounds and two blocked shots in a total of nine minutes of action. The 6-9, 235-pound forward also served a 10-game league suspension, which concluded following the Jan. 2 game vs. San Antonio.
“Darius did everything asked of him in his initial stint with the Grizzlies and was well received by his teammates,” Wallace said. “In the last Minnesota game (Jan. 6), his length, experience, rebounding, shot blocking and defense on one of the elite post scorers in the league, Al Jefferson, were all impressive. Our young team is short on frontcourt players and can use a veteran with his attributes.”
Miles was signed by the Grizzlies as a free agent on Dec. 13 after missing all of the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons following microfracture surgery on his right knee. The 27-year-old signed a free-agent contract with the Boston Celtics on Aug. 22, 2008 and appeared in six preseason games, averaging 1.8 points and 1.3 rebounds in 10.4 minutes before his release on Oct. 20.
The third overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft became the first player in league history drafted straight out of high school (East St. Louis High School) to earn All-Rookie honors when he posted 9.4 points and 1.54 blocks for the Los Angeles Clippers in 2000-01.
The Bellville, Ill. native holds career averages of 10.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.15 blocks in 27.6 minutes in 414 career games (190 starts) with Memphis, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Portland Trail Blazers.
Memphis will return to action next to face LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. CST at the FedExForum The Grizzlies’ current roster stands at 14 players.