Boston Celtics Blog – Page 85 – NBA Blog

Celtics and Leo Papile part ways

The Celtics and Leo Papile have parted ways after more than 14 years.

The team has made no official announcement, but sources confirmed he is no longer with the club.

Papile had no comment when reached last night, but other people close to the situation said it was time for both to move on.

Since coming aboard in 1997 with the hiring of Rick Pitino, Papile has served under various titles but mainly has been a talent evaluator.

Having founded the Boston Amateur Basketball Club in 1977, his AAU ties gave him good access to on- and off-court information regarding young players who might come on the Celtics’ radar as draft picks or free agents. Papile was last listed as senior director of basketball operations.

— Reported by Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald

Nenad Krstic named Euroleague MVP for November

For the first time in its eight-year history, the Euroleague Basketball’s award for the best player each month will go to the same team twice in a row as Nenad Krstic of CSKA Moscow has been chosen bwin MVP for November. CSKA is one of just two Turkish Airlines Euroleague teams undefeated through six games, and Krstic has had everything to do with preserving that perfection in November.

The 28-year-old center, playing his first season for CSKA, got more and more efficient as the month progressed. CSKA followed a pair of road victories, over KK Zagreb and Panathinaikos Athens, with a pair of home wins against Unicaja and Zalgiris Kaunas. Krstic had a key role in all four games, but was biggest when it counted most. In the middle of the month, he posted his first double-double of the season against previously undefeated Panathinaikos. To end it, he had his career-high performance index rating against Zalgiris days after CSKA faced the sudden loss of its leader and the bwin October MVP, forward Andrei Kirilenko, to a broken nose and concussion.

In the precise game when teammates could have been brought down by uncertainty, Krstic stepped up to make CSKA the first team to qualify for the Top 16. His extraordinarily solid, month-long effort was more than enough for Krstic to be chosen the bwin MVP for November…

By the time November was over, Krstic ranked fourth among all Euroleague players during the regular season in average index rating (21.7 per game), 13th in scoring (15.2 ppg.), 10th in rebounds (6.7 rpg.) and second in offensive rebounds (4 orpg.) On a per-minute basis, he ranks behind only Kirilenko in performance index rating, a remarkable coincidence of two ultra-efficient big men on the same team. And CSKA fans will get to celebrate their good fortune when Nenad Krstic receives his bwin MVP award for November at an upcoming home game.

— Reported by Euroleague.net

NBA owners and players resumed talks today

NBA owners and players resumed talks Friday aimed at ending the 148-day lockout in time to save the league’s Christmas Day schedule.

That deadline has created a sense of urgency because the Dec. 25 schedule is traditionally a showcase for the league. This season’s three-game slate was to include Miami at Dallas in an NBA final rematch, plus MVP Derrick Rose leading Chicago into Los Angeles to face Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.

After a secret meeting earlier this week, the sides have returned to the table for more discussions. Commissioner David Stern has said the league needs about 30 days from an agreement to when games could be played.

Participating in the talks for the league were Stern, deputy commissioner Adam Silver, Spurs owner Peter Holt, the chairman of the labour relations committee, and lawyer Rick Buchanan and Dan Rube. The players were represented by executive director Billy Hunter, president Derek Fisher, vice-president Maurice Evans, attorney Ron Klempner and economist Kevin Murphy.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Austin Rivers is a work in progress

The Duke Blue Devils are 5-0 after a hard-fought win against Tennessee in the opening round of the Maui Invitational. Mike Krzyzewski now has a historic 905 wins and counting.

But for Krzyzewski’s star freshman, Austin Rivers, things are still a work in progress. Rivers led all Duke scorers with 18 points Monday in Maui. But it was an inefficient 18. He shot 6-for-15 from the field, made critical turnovers and passed on wide-open jump shots for contested shots at the basket.

Four games into his career, he sometimes looks like the star he was billed to be. Other times like a former high school stud who suddenly finds himself in over his head at the next level.

Rivers’ inconsistency was on display for a huge contingent of NBA GMs and scouts to see. He started the game by missing five of his first six shots. He drove wildly into the teeth of the defense. He looked to shoot every time he touched the ball.

And just as quickly, as scouts started to shake their heads and jot down derogatory notes in their iPads, Rivers exploded. First it was a pair of 3-pointers toward the end of the first half. Later, in the second half, he hit a couple of beautiful floaters in the lane.

— Reported by Chad Ford of ESPN.com

InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner says: It’s too early to really judge Rivers or any other freshman one way or another. It’s certainly fine to start to form an opinion, but we will learn a lot more in the coming weeks and months.

Man arrested after trying to punch Rajon Rondo in a club

On the eve of a charity basketball game he hosted at Harvard University, Rondo was involved in an incident at a nightclub in downtown Lowell. Eric Valarezo, 31, of Haverhill, was charged with disorderly conduct, when he allegedly attempted to punch Rondo, who was exiting the club. No one was injured in the incident. Valarezo is expected to be arraigned today in Lowell District Court…

According to The Sun newspaper in Lowell, officer Michael Kandrotas noticed a scuffle around Rondo and his entrourage — including Atlanta’s Josh Smith, Memphis’ Rudy Gay and former Celtics backup guard Nate Robinson — as patrons exited Brian’s Ivy Hall. According to the paper, police and co-owner Kevin Hayhurst said members of Rondo’s group wrestled Valarezo to the ground after the alleged punch attempt.

— Reported by the Boston Herald

Former dunk champ Dee Brown says he can still throw down

Brown, who is now an assistant for Pistons coach Lawrence Frank, just laughed when asked about his dunking prowess.

“Yes, I can,” he said Thursday night at the Palace during an event where needy families were fed. “I work out every day and I still dunk.”

But the 42-year-old won’t be winning dunk titles any time soon.

“I always like to tell people (I used) to have hops, but now I just have hopes,” he said with another laugh. “I can still get up a little bit.”

— Reported by Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press

Kendrick Perkins still hurt that the Celtics traded him

“Hurt, surprised, I think it really still hasn’t hit me yet — not really,” he said later. “I think everything happened so fast, last year coming back from my ACL injury and getting traded to Oklahoma City where I had to be a leader.

“It still hurts that I got traded, but then the city of Oklahoma has been great to me. They’ve embraced me with open arms, and I have no complaints about the city of Oklahoma and the whole organization.” …

“I never knew I missed it as much as I did until I got in there,” Perkins said. “I missed the whole city of Boston, the whole of New England, and it just felt good playing basketball here. It’s always overwhelming. You try to catch yourself from dropping a tear, but like I always say, the city has been good to me since I came into the NBA at a young age at 18. I’ll never take it for granted, and I definitely appreciate all of the support when I come back to New England. I hated to leave. God does everything for a reason, but my heart is still in Boston and New England. It was just fun to be back.”

— Reported by Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald

Lester Hudson playing basketball in China

Lester Hudson hasn’t put on hold his dream of continuing to play in the NBA.

The Memphis native simply is no longer waiting for an end to the lockout…

Under Chinese Basketball Association rules, Hudson must play the full season without an opt-out clause should the NBA lockout end. The CBA’s regular season runs through the middle of February.

Hudson, 27, will play with Washington Wizards free agent Yi Jianlian and former Indiana Pacer Fred Jones. Phoenix Suns restricted free-agent guard Aaron Brooks has agreed to a one-year deal with Guangdong, according to Yahoo! Sports.

Hudson last played for Guangdong in January after he was waived by the Washington Wizards. The Boston Celtics originally selected Hudson with the 58th pick in the 2009 NBA Draft.

— Reported by Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal

Shaq rejected entrance by NYC club

Shaquille O’Neal couldn’t power his way through the lane at a New York nightclub this weekend — getting TURNED AWAY at the door … all because he was dressed like a lumberjack.

TMZ has learned … Shaq rolled up to nightclub/restaurant Mars 2112 on Saturday night wearing jeans, a sweatshirt, tennis shoes and a beanie (pictured above with random fan later that night).

But according to the club promoter, Mike Mogul, Shaq’s attire wasn’t up to club standards … so security politely informed the retired NBA star that he would not be allowed inside.

— Reported by TMZ

Doc Rivers keeping eye on son, Austin, at Duke

Freshman guard Austin Rivers came to Duke as one of the nation’s top players, the kind of lofty status that always generates a bunch of one (year) and done talk.

But with the NBA lockout already wiping out hundreds of games already – and more likely to come in the coming weeks – you have to wonder if he or any other highly-touted player is all that eager to make that jump.

Austin’s father, Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers, said his son hasn’t really paid too much attention to the many issues that have factored into the stalemate between the owners and the union.

“He’s just trying to be a better player. He’s had good games and bad games already as a freshman,” the elder Rivers said. “He’s just trying to not be a freshman.”

In three games for the Blue Devils (3-0), Rivers has averaged 12 points per game while shooting 37.5 percent from the field.

— Reported by A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE