NBA News Blog – Page 878 – NBA Blog

Kevin Garnett will not waive his no-trade clause

The Boston Celtics can discuss a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers or any other NBA team all they want, but Kevin Garnett says it won’t matter. Asked Saturday if there was any circumstance or team that could entice him to give up his no-trade clause and leave Boston, Garnett said, “No.”

Even so, the Clippers still believe they can get Garnett to accept a trade if the Celtics tell him they want to make a deal, a source told Yahoo! Sports.

“If Boston came to him with the trade and he knew they wanted to do it, he would change his mind,” the source said.

Publicly, at least, Garnett was pretty clear about his desire to stay in Boston.

“If it’s up to me,” Garnett said, “I will live and die green all day.”

— Reported by Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports

Billy Hunter voted out as director of NBA Players Union

Billy Hunter was ousted unanimously as executive director of the union by NBA players, who said Saturday they will “no longer be divided, misled, misinformed.”

“This is our union and we have taken it back,” players’ association president Derek Fisher said.

Fisher said it was a day of change for the union, one which had seemed inevitable since a review of the union last month was critical of Hunter’s leadership and urged players to consider whether they wanted to keep him.

They didn’t.

“We want to make it clear that we are here to serve only the best interests of the players,” Fisher said. “No threats, no lies, no distractions will stop us from serving our memberships.”

In brief remarks, Fisher said a new executive committee was elected, and he will remain as president. The Spurs’ Matt Bonner is vice president, Miami’s James Jones is secretary-treasurer and the Nets’ Jerry Stackhouse is first vice president. The Clippers’ Chris Paul and Willie Green, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Denver’s Andre Iguodala, and the Hornets’ Roger Mason, Jr. are vice presidents.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Derek Fisher, who has been at odds with Hunter, will remain president of the union, but was aggressively challenged in the meeting by Brooklyn Nets guard Jerry Stackhouse. Stackhouse criticized Fisher for his role in the union’s troubles.

Stackhouse was elected first-vice president. Miami Heat forward James Jones is treasurer. San Antonio Spurs forward Matt Bonner, Los Angeles Clippers guards Chris Paul and Willie Green, New Orleans Hornets guard Roger Mason and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry will make up the union’s next executive committee.

Hunter’s dismissal will likely set up a legal battle between him and the union for the remaining $10.5 million on his contract.

— Reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports

Joakim Noah gets treatment on right foot

Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah had platelet-rich plasma treatment on his right foot Thursday to help ease the pain of plantar fasciitis.

Noah, who will play in his first All-Star Game on Sunday, said the foot is feeling better. He missed almost a week of action recently because of ongoing issues with the foot.

“I’m happy that it’s not getting any worse,” Noah said. “I did the PRP thing on Thursday morning.

“It was very painful after the treatment. I can still feel it a little bit but I think it’s helpful, so I’m hoping with some rest today and some rest tomorrow I think I’ll be OK. I won’t do too much on Sunday. I won’t play 44 minutes, I’ll put it that way.”

Noah, who had the same treatment three years ago while battling plantar fasciitis in his left foot, appeared to be in good spirits as he spoke to the assembled media.

— Reported by Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago

Lakers GM denies Dwight Howard for Rajon Rondo trade talks

Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak denied a CBSSports.com report that the Lakers and Celtics were in preliminary talks to trade Dwight Howard for Rajon Rondo.

“I haven’t talked to Danny Ainge in weeks,” Kupchak told ESPN The Magazine’s Chris Broussard. “I made the statement a week or two ago that we’re not going to trade Dwight Howard and that hasn’t changed.”

When asked if a possible Howard-for-Rondo trade was discussed when he spoke to the Celtics weeks ago, Kupchak again said no. He said at no point this season has a Howard-for-Rondo trade been discussed.

— Reported by ESPN.com

Kevin Garnett downplays talk of retirement

Boston Celtics center Kevin Garnett downplayed any talk that he’s pondering retirement after the season, suggesting comments earlier this week about this being his last All-Star Game were simply his nod to young talent in the league.

In an interview with ESPN Radio on Friday from All-Star festivities in Houston, the 36-year-old Garnett said some are reading too much into his words after declaring with certainty on Wednesday that this would be his final All-Star appearance.

“I did say that, didn’t I?” joked Garnett. “I’m just being honest. To think that, first off, not to take this for granted and I’m more than honored and flattered. But to think that two years left, who knows what the future’s going to hold for me. I can’t say that I’m going to be an All-Star next year at 37-38 years old. That’s ludicrous.

“I’m learning this new journalism these days, they don’t really put out the whole question, they just ask the parts at which they want. So I’ll explain it. The question kinda came off as whether next year and [Garnett] making the All-Star [game], I was like, ‘Woah, woah, woah. This is probably my last,’ then went into that way and spoke on it. But yeah, I don’t anticipate — I never said that I wasn’t going to anticipate playing like an All-Star next year, I didn’t say that. But to sit up here with all those young guys and up-and-coming talent, I can’t just that. I’m not that brash, that egotistical of a guy say nothing like that. I’m more than honored to be here, it’s not by coincidence, I’m working hard like the next man. But to sit up there and say that next year [he’d be an All-Star], I would never disrespect the game like that.”

— Reported by Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston

Chris Bosh named injury-replacement starter for 2013 NBA All-Star game

Taking the suspense out of the equation early, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has selected Chris Bosh as a replacement starter for the East team in Sunday’s All-Star Game.

Spoelstra hinted two weeks ago that he would remain loyal to the Heat regarding any decisions he had to make in his first assignment as an All-Star coach.

Bosh will replace injured guard Rajon Rondo, who is recovering from season-ending knee surgery.

All-Star starters are chosen through fan voting.

Bosh will start alongside Heat teammates Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, with Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Garnett.

— Reported by Michael Wallace of ESPN.com

Billy Hunter responds to NBA Players Union

Unable to secure an invitation to address NBA players directly, embattled union executive director Billy Hunter has released online his response to a report that criticized his leadership.

Hunter’s lawyers say his 2010 contract extension was valid and the leave of absence he’s been placed on is not. They say if ratification of his contract had been needed, it was president Derek Fisher’s responsibility to get it, not Hunter’s.

Hunter’s contract was a central part of the review conducted by the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and released last month. The report urged players to discuss Hunter’s future this weekend and said they had ”powerful arguments” that the contract wouldn’t be legal if an attempt to remove Hunter led to litigation.

Hunter had hoped to attend the players’ meeting in Houston on Saturday during All-Star weekend, but he wasn’t invited.

”While we are terribly disappointed that the NBPA will not afford Mr. Hunter the opportunity to address the players directly, we stand ready to press his claims in the appropriate forum,” attorney Michael Carlinsky wrote in the rebuttal.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Lakers owner Jerry Buss in hospital with cancer

Lakers owner Jerry Buss has cancer and is at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to a report Thursday by Radaronline.com in which a source suggested Buss is nearing death.

Buss’ cancer was learned previously by the Register but not published out of respect for the Buss family’s wishes.

Buss, 79, has been called the greatest owner in pro sports history for his 10 NBA championships with the Lakers, in addition to being inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. Buss bought the Lakers in 1979 and currently owns 66 percent of the team.

On Aug. 22, Buss’ daughter and Lakers executive vice president of business operations Jeanie Buss posted to her Twitter account: “For all those who asked, Dr. Buss is doing really well, even spending time visiting with Kobe yesterday. My dad’s pumped for #Lakers season!”

— Reported by Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register

Danny Granger returning soon, but not yet, for Pacers

Danny Granger’s return to the Indiana Pacers will have to wait at least another week.

Any chance of the team’s leading scorer returning to game action tonight at Bankers Life Fieldhouse against the Charlotte Bobcats was derailed by the flu-like symptoms.

Coach Frank Vogel said Granger’s injured left knee “responded well” to Tuesday’s practice, but Granger might not have played tonight anyway.

“He probably wouldn’t be quite ready yet if he wasn’t sick,” Vogel said after the morning practice.

— Reported by Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star

Top NBA Draft prospect Nerlens Noel out for season with knee injury

University of Kentucky freshman Nerlens Noel will miss the rest of the 2012-13 season with a torn ACL in his left knee, the school announced Wednesday.

Noel suffered the injury during the second half of Tuesday night’s 69-52 loss at Florida.

Noel, who some have projected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, will undergo surgery in the next two to three weeks, UK said. The timetable for recovery is estimated at six to eight months.

“I’ve been coaching for 22 years and this is the first injury we’ve had of this kind during the season, which makes it even more devastating,” Coach John Calipari said in a statement released by UK. “I met with Nerlens earlier today. The meeting was really positive, and I loved his attitude. The way he is already dealing with this injury lets me know that he is going to come back stronger than ever. The good news is he is insured, so he would have been fine even if the injury would have been worse. Obviously this is not a career-ending injury and it’s one that athletes bounce back from all the time.”

Kentucky (17-7) has seven more regular-season games remaining.

The 6-10 freshman was leading the nation in blocks (106) and blocks per game (4.4) and ranked second in the Southeastern Conference in rebounding (9.5). He was also averaging 10.5 points per game for the Wildcats.

— Reported by the Lexington Herald-Leader