NBA News Blog – Page 881 – NBA Blog

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

Hedo Turkoglu suspended 20 games for violating NBA anti-drug program

Hedo Turkoglu of the Orlando Magic has been suspended without pay for twenty games for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program by testing positive for methenolone, it was announced today by the NBA.

Turkoglu’s suspension will begin tonight when the Magic play host to the Atlanta Hawks at Amway Center.

Statement from Turkoglu: “While I was back home in Turkey this past summer, I was given a medication by my trainer to help recover more quickly from a shoulder injury. I didn’t know that this was a banned substance and didn’t check before taking it. “I take full responsibility for anything that goes into my body. This was a complete error in judgment on my part and I apologize to the Orlando Magic organization, the league, my teammates, and the Magic fans. I know I have let down a lot of people and I am truly sorry for my mistake.”

Statement from Orlando Magic General Manager Rob Hennigan: “Hedo unknowingly took a banned substance. There are more than 125 banned substances on the NBA List, and we spend a lot of time educating our players on the contents of that list and will certainly continue to do so moving forward. We believe this was an honest mistake.”

According to the Associated Press, “Turkoglu is making about $11.8 million this season. He has one more year remaining on his current deal. He was picked as the NBA’s most improved player in 2008 while with Orlando.”

A glance at Brooklyn Nets trade assets

Kris Humphries, who will have a $12 million expiring contract next season, is their main one. Then there’s MarShon Brooks, the highly talented/sometimes mistake-prone 24-year-old swingman who has struggled to gain confidence while playing sporadic minutes. Brooks is making just $1.16 million this season and won’t be eligible for restricted free agency until the 2015-16 campaign.

The Nets also have several future first-round picks at their disposal, and Tyshawn Taylor’s career-high 12-point, 34-minute performance on Monday night only increased his value in a potential deal.

Smith, 27, becomes a free agent at season’s end. He’s averaging 17.1 points and 8.6 rebounds, and would certainly be an upgrade at power forward, assuming the Nets could land him. Just imagine a lineup featuring Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace, Smith and Brook Lopez

— Reported by Mike Mazzeo of ESPN New York

Lousy loss cancels shootout, creates lengthy film session for Cavs

Cavaliers practice on Tuesday was easy on the legs, but hard on the eyes. Instead of a rigorous workout, coach Byron Scott turned the day’s practice into a film session that lasted more than two hours.

There was plenty not to like following Monday’s dismal loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Cavs apparently went through it all frame by frame. After it was over, Scott told his players to forget about it and get ready for the San Antonio Spurs, who will carry the league’s best record into Quicken Loans Arena tonight.

“We’re going to throw this game away and focus on tomorrow,” Scott said. “I said my piece as far as some things guys needed to hear. I also said enough of this talk. You’ve got to start doing what you’re supposed to do every single night. It can’t be three or four games where we come out and play hard, then two or three games where we don’t. If you really are serious about winning and getting better as a team, you’ve got to compete every single night. Pretty simple.”

— Reported by Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal

Chicago attorney convicted in slaying of Eddy Curry`s ex-girlfriend, infant daughter

A Chicago attorney was convicted Tuesday night by a Cook County jury of fatally shooting a former girlfriend of ex-Bulls player Eddy Curry and an infant daughter Curry had with the woman.

The seven-woman, five-man jury deliberated a little more than four hours before convicting Frederick Goings, 40, of two counts of first-degree murder.

Nova Henry, 24, and her 10-month-old daughter, Ava, were found shot to death inside their South Loop town house in January 2009. Her 3-year-old son was unharmed.

— Reported by Patrick Svitek of the Chicago Tribune

Lakers may not shake things up in trade department

The Lakers are scrambling just to scrape into the playoffs, but coach Mike D’Antoni sounds skeptical that any move before the Feb. 21 trade deadline would do anything beneficial to the team’s fortunes.

“It would add somebody who doesn’t know what they’re doing and it could take a while,” D’Antoni said. “You’re playing games you have to win and we might not even play them. That’s a hard thing. As an organization, I’m sure we’ll keep looking and talking and if something makes sense, we’ll do it.”

But Lakers fans shouldn’t get their hopes up after D’Antoni spoke with Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak last weekend in Miami.

“We are who we are,” D’Antoni said. “It’s good. We have that mindset. But I’m sure he’s always looking, thinking and talking to everybody.”

— Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Blog)

Celtics guard Leandro Barbosa out for season with torn ACL

The Boston Celtics announced today that guard Leandro Barbosa underwent an MRI this morning at New England Baptist Hospital after his left knee injury last night against the Charlotte Bobcats. The MRI revealed that Barbosa suffered a torn ACL in his left knee. No surgery date has been scheduled and he will be out for the remainder of the season.

Barbosa has appeared in 41 games for the Celtics this season and has averaged 5.2 points, 1.1 rebound, 1.4 assists in 12.5 minutes per game. He has shot 38.3% from three-point range which leads the Celtics. Barbosa posted a season-high of 17 points against Brooklyn on November 15 and has recorded 10 or more points in seven games this season.

According to the Boston Globe, “Barbosa was hurt, like Rondo, in non-contact fashion, twisting the knee awkwardly as he drove to the basket late in the third quarter of the Celtics’ 94-91 loss to the Charlotte Bobcats. Barbosa immediately passed the ball to Jeff Green and then crumbled to the floor near the photographer’s area. He was carried off the floor by head trainer Ed Lacerte and rookie center Fab Melo without placing any pressure on any leg. He was able to walk out of the arena under his own power but a post-game examination indicated that it was a ligament tear.”