Charlotte Hornets Blog – Page 53 – NBA Blog

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

Stephen Curry uninjured in car crash

Former Davidson basketball star Stephen Curry had a car accident in the Charlotte area last week, but he walked away from the crash uninjured, according to his father.

“He’s fine,” Dell Curry told the Observer in a brief phone interview Tuesday night. “He ran into the back of someone who stopped short.”

— Reported by Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer

Stephen Jackson NBA lockout rap song video

Here’s Milwaukee Bucks small forward Stephen Jackson in his NBA lockout-themed rap song.

The lyrics and the video are not safe for work. There’s lots of cursing.

Boris Diaw may sign in France

Sportando reports:

As reported by 20minutes.fr, Boris Diaw is on his way to sign with JSA Bordeaux, where he is also the president. The French forward has to settle few details but his arrival in the Pro B team is almost done. His debut is scheduled for October 7th.

SIG Strasbourg is seeking the market looking for a replacement of Nicolas De Jong, out for two months with a fractured bone in his hand. The main target of the French team coached by Vincent Collet is Ian Mahinmi. The coach of the French NT confirmed the negotiation between the two parts at DNA.fr. Mahinmi won the NBA title with Dallas Mavericks in the season 2010-11.

NBA postpones training camps, cancels October 9-15 preseason games

The NBA announced today that player training camps for the 2011-12 season have been postponed indefinitely because a new collective bargaining agreement has not been reached with the National Basketball Players Association. Training camps were scheduled to open on October 3.

In addition, the league canceled all preseason games scheduled from October 9 through October 15.

“We have regretfully reached the point on the calendar where we are not able to open training camps on time and need to cancel the first week of preseason games,” said NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver. “We will make further decisions as warranted.”

Read NBA fan reaction or share your views in this basketball forum topic.

Charges dropped against Bobcats forward Dante Cunningham

Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer reports:

Drug- and pellet gun-possession charges against Charlotte Bobcats forward Dante Cunningham were dropped Tuesday, regarding an April traffic stop in a Philadelphia suburb.

After those charges were withdrawn, Cunningham paid a $225 fine to resolve additional charges of unsafe equipment on his car and a noise violation.

In a brief statement to the Observer on Tuesday, Cunningham’s attorney, Theodore Simon, emphasized the drug and gun charges were “unequivocally withdrawn” and the equipment and noise violations “are not criminal offenses.”

Mike Mattson, a spokesman for the Delaware County district attorney’s office, said the arresting officer and presiding judge signed off on withdrawing the three charges against Cunningham.

NBA reportedly fines Michael Jordan 100K

Chris Broussard of ESPN reports:

The NBA fined Michael Jordan $100,000 for public comments he made last month about the lockout and one of the league’s players, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

NBA spokesman Tim Frank confirmed that Jordan had been fined, but said the league would not comment on the total.

In an Aug. 19 interview with The Herald Sun, a newspaper in Australia, the Charlotte Bobcats owner spoke extensively about the need for revenue sharing and mentioned Milwaukee Bucks’ Australian center Andrew Bogut.

That violated the league’s policy that bars team owners and employees from discussing the lockout or any players during the work stoppage. The NBA sent out a league-wide memo just before the lockout began on July 1 stating that anyone who broke the rules could be fined up to $1 million.

Kemba Walker insists he is a point guard

Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe reports:

Scouts questioned whether Walker was a pure point guard or just an undersized shooting guard. That is not an issue with him.

“I’m a 1 – there’s no question that I am a point guard,’’ said Walker, who averaged 24.6 points last season, primarily as a shooting guard. “I can just score the basketball, that’s it.

“Why can’t I do both? Why can’t I do everything? Pass, score, rebound. That’s what I have been doing my whole life. I’m an all-around player.’’

The Bobcats are in desperate need of a signature player. They traded Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace last season, leaving the opportunity for Walker and 19-year-old rebounding menace Bismack Biyombo to become cornerstones.

Mike Krzyzewski enters Duke Hall of Fame

The AP reports:

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski is entering yet another hall of fame.

He was being inducted into the Duke Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday night along with Bobby Hurley, the point guard of his first two national championship teams with the Blue Devils. Krzyzewski was selected after the school changed its rules to make active personnel eligible for induction.

“When I heard that I was in, I was wondering if (athletic director) Kevin White was trying to get me out of here,” Krzyzewski quipped. “It’s kind of neat to do it while you’re still coaching because you get to bring all the guys in, and it’s a little bit of a renewal or revival.”

Krzyzewski, a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, enters his 32nd season at Duke with 900 career wins, two shy of matching Bob Knight for the Division I men’s coaching record.

Michael Jordan’s Steak House Chicago opens Tuesday

MJ is coming to the Magnificent Mile.

Michael Jordan’s Steak House Chicago will make its debut Tuesday in the InterContinental Chicago hotel (505 N. Michigan Ave. 312-321-8823), taking over that property’s sprawling, architecturally fascinating second-floor dining space (which accommodates 160, plus a couple of 20-seat private spaces). The restaurant also is taking over the hotel’s lobby-level bar space, which will be expanded to hold 90.

“It’s an upgrade, to say the least,” says executive chef James O’Donnell.

— Reported by Phil Vettel of the Chicago Tribune