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Fans react to Houston being named 2013 NBA All-Star weekend host city

By Jeff Lenchiner

It was a surprise today learning that the Houston Rockets, after hosting NBA All-Star weekend in 2006, get to do it again in 2013. Many teams would love to host the big event, and there’s no particular reason for Houston to land the honor quite so soon.

So, using Twitter, I reached out to the over 55,800 people currently following InsideHoops and asked them to to chime in with guesses as to why Houston is again playing All-Star host while so many other cities continue to wait. Here are some of my favorite responses (some of which I may agree with, others not so much):

MarkEomurian: Houston wants to draw attention to the smog problem?

Pharoah2012: Cuz…”We Da Best Host City”! :)

Joco967: Brian scalabrine once dreamt about Houston. The rest is self-explanatory.

SupaSIGMA4: Cuz the Chi is too dangerous and they’ve been everywhere else significant.

Crawf33: They’ve gotta have SOMETHING to pep them up after Yao called it a day.

MySkizzle: With Yao gone and the lockout looming, Stern will probably do something around Yao that night to keep Chinese market.

djgray1: Because it’s always hot here. No worries about bad weather.

HoopsU: It’s warm.

dboy03: Losing Yao Ming. NBA feels sorry for them.

MemphisSportFan: The NBA will do anything to keep the all-star game out of Memphis. So they put it in Houston again.

ImmaSavedSinner: Cause all the hoes here in the H.

glazeduck: capitalizing on Asian market before the Yao effect wears off.

MeteAktas76: A consolation for Yao Ming’s early retirement maybe?

——

Many others also mentioned the Yao Ming factor. I’d say there’s something to that Perhaps Yao will be brought over and there will be a massive tribute to him, as a way to keep fans in China tuned in.

Also, a big part of NBA All-Star weekend is the hotel situation. There needs to be plenty of rooms available, right nearby. And there are also various hotel partnerships that may come into play, somehow.

Houston is also warmer in the winter than most places. It has an airport, with functional planes and everything! That’s probably the bulk of it.

So, here’s to a great weekend in Houston in 2013! But first, in February of 2012 we’ll head to sunny, warm Orlando.

Houston lands 2013 NBA All-Star Game

Mark Berman of My Fox Houston reports:

NBA sources told FOX 26 Sports the Houston Rockets and the City of Houston landed the NBA All-Star Game in 2013. The game will be played at Toyota Center on Feb. 17, 2013. NBA All-Star week will be Feb. 15-17. The Rockets and Toyota Center also hosted the game in 2006.

Click2Houston reports:

The entire NBA All-Star Weekend will be in the Bayou City from February 15-17, 2013. Hilton Americas Marketing Director Janice O’Neill-Cox spoke with Local 2 Sports Wednesday afternoon, saying, “We played a key role in working with the league to make sure availability was in place. It’s a big boost for our city to land the game, and we’re excited about it.”

InsideHoops.com editor says: I don’t get why Houston is getting the game again. They just had it in 2006. Meanwhile, other teams haven’t hosted it in a long time. Also, Madison Square Garden renovations will be mostly complete in time. And the new Brooklyn Nets arena will exist by mid 2012. Unusual call to send the big weekend back to Houston so soon.

Yao Ming primed to receive Hall of Fame nomination in 2012

Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com reports:

Yao Ming appears destined to be an unexpected member of the next Hall of Fame class.

Officials of the basketball museum said representatives from the Chinese Basketball Association and media in China signaled plans to nominate Yao in the contributor category and bypass the usual five-year waiting period for retired players.

While there is no such thing as certainty in a balloting so secretive that even the voters are never revealed, let alone the results, Yao being nominated as a contributor removes the debate that might have accompanied his nomination as a player after an injury-plagued career. Plus, after announcing his retirement from the Rockets in July, he would not have been eligible for enshrinement until 2017.

This unique approach would put Yao on the ballot that is submitted in late-2011 and faces two rounds of voting before inductees for the Class of 2012 are announced at the Final Four in New Orleans. The actual enshrinement would be later in the summer, likely August, in Springfield.

InsideHoops.com editor says: I wouldn’t put Yao Ming in the Hall of Fame as a player, because he simply didn’t play enough. A very good center who was often pretty great, Yao wasn’t as healthy as needed for a full career. But I have no objection to putting Yao in the Hall as a “contributor” to basketball, which is term that is extremely open to interpretation. And in this case, it seems reasonable. He helped bring millions of new fans to basketball, and inspired millions of others to care more. And lots of them will stick around and be a part of the sport, even as Yao’s playing days are finished.

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LeBron James trying to learn from Hakeem Olajuwon

The AP reports:

LeBron James is working out twice a day, trying to erase some of the sting that’s still there after the Heat lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA finals.

”Right now I’ve just been focusing on being a better player, working on my game every single day,” James said at a news conference before the AP interview. ”Like I said, the Dallas Mavericks were a great team and they deserved to win that championship. And I’ll just use that as motivation coming into this season.”

He’s also trying to deliver on his vow to be even better whenever the Heat resume play, saying he’s been in Houston at times this offseason to learn post play from one of the game’s all-time greats, former Rockets star Hakeem Olajuwon.

”I look at what he was able to do throughout his career,” James said. ”Unbelievable talent. Multiple champion. Just to see how he was able to dominate in the low post, for me as an individual, I just try to look at some of the things I feel I need to get better at and hit home at it. Our team becomes better if I continue to get better and that’s what it’s about.”

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Rafer Alston sued over fight in strip club

Christina Carrega of the New York Post reports:

Troubled ex-New Jersey Nets player Rafer Alston fouled out at a strip joint — bashing another man on the head with a beer bottle during a booze-fueled brawl, a new lawsuit charges.

The former NBA athlete, 35, who’s originally from Jamaica, Queens, attacked fellow Perfection Gentleman’s Club patron Erick Franceschini, 32, of Milford, Conn., during a knock-down-drag-out free-for-all in July 2010, according to papers recently filed in Queens Supreme Court.

Alston smashed Franceschini with the bottle during a dispute that began in the Woodside, Queens, club and spilled out on the street, said Franceschini’s lawyer, John Rapawy.

Alston was not involved in the fight in the bar, Rapawy said, but the lawyer claimed the hoopster attacked Franceschini in the street.

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Rick Adelman not rushing into his next coaching job

Chris Hagan of the Statesman Journal reports:

For the first time in five years Rick Adelman is going through his summer without an NBA coaching job, and for now he’s taking advantage of the free time.

“Right now I don’t plan on doing anything, just taking some time off,” Adelman said Monday at Illahe Hills Country Club in South Salem, hosting the 22nd Rick Adelman Golf Classic.

The event supports the Chemeketa Community College Foundation, which provides scholarships for Chemeketa student athletes.

“It’s a hard grind in the NBA and I’ve been doing it for 20-plus years,” he said. “I’m just looking forward to getting away from it.” …

Now back living in Portland, Adelman has been connected to a number of openings, including most recently the Minnesota Timberwolves and former Lake Oswego star Kevin Love. Still, the coach said he’s not planning on returning to the sidelines just yet.

“I don’t have any plans to next year, no,” Adelman said.

“They had me interviewing a couple of places that I never even went to,” he said. “It’s all part of it now. If you don’t have a job and you’ve coached in the league, the first thing that happens if a job opens up, they throw the same names out there.

“Sometimes you know things are happening, but until you hear from teams, I don’t believe a lot of things I read,” Adelman said.

Houston Rockets hire Greg Buckner as player development coach

Houston Rockets Head Coach Kevin McHale announced today that he has officially added Greg Buckner as a player development coach on his staff.

“Greg is going to handle player development for us,” said McHale. “He came up the hard way, really worked his way around the league. Greg is just a really good, blue-collar guy who understands the league. We are excited to have him on the staff.”

Buckner joins the Rockets after a successful 10-year playing career in the NBA. Selected by Dallas in the second round (53rd overall) of the 1998 NBA Draft, Buckner averaged 5.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 570 career games (117 starts) with the Mavericks, Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Memphis Grizzlies. Buckner was also regarded as an outstanding defensive player over his career. His teams reached the postseason in six of his 10 NBA seasons. Overall, he averaged 4.1 points and 2.6 rebounds in 38 career playoff games.

InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner on this hire: “I think it’s a good move. Buckner has a good basketball IQ and should be decent as a teacher.”

As a collegian, Buckner was regarded as one of the top players in Clemson history. He was the first Tiger to ever lead his team in scoring four straight years (1994-98) and guided Clemson to three NCAA Tournament bids. Buckner started all 122 games of his career and never missed a contest, setting the school record for consecutive games started. He finished with 1,754 career points and was the third Tiger player to log career totals of at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 assists. Inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005, Buckner remains the lone Tiger to ever win the ACC Rookie of the Year award (1994-95).

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Dwight Howard training with Hakeem Olajuwon again

If I was an NBA big-man, I’d follow guys like Hakeem Olajuwon and Kevin McHale around all day, offering to wash their cars and do their laundry if they’ll help me work on my low-post game and all-around moves.

And this summer, when he isn’t laughing, smiling, mugging for the camera, putting wigs on and doing other assorted fun wacky stuff, Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard will take some time to once again learn from one of the best:

Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports:

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard is training again with former NBA great Hakeem Olajuwon and says he’s working on shooting more and on raising his notoriously poor free-throw shooting to above 75 percent.

In messages back and forth with some of his Twitter followers, Howard said he’s in Houston working with Olajuwon for the second consecutive summer.

Asked whether he’s working on his outside touch, Howard responded that he is working on becoming “more complete” as a player.

When a follower asked what Howard meant, Howard answered: “shooting more” and “free throws above 75.”

Howard spent a couple of days last summer working with Olajuwon, and Howard has said the sessions made him more confident and made him more willing to try new things in games. In the season that followed, Howard unveiled a more diversified low-post arsenal that included some effective midrange bank shots.

I’m sure Magic fans look forward to seeing the results. Howard is already the NBA’s best center, but he can definitely keep refining his offensive moves.

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Aaron Brooks can envision future with Suns

Paola Boivin of the Arizona Republic reports:

“It was hard joining a team mid-season like that,” Brooks said. “It’s a different situation when you’re in camp together, working together. It didn’t go the way I wanted it to.”

Team executives would never say it publicly, but it is clear they had given up on Dragic. You can’t blame them. For all the early promise, his struggles never went away.

It’s easy to be critical about Brooks, but people forget that attractive options are few. What Brooks has going him for him is a lot of upside and one really solid season. That’s better than many other choices, which tend to be older, less talented or less promising.

If the Suns are faced with a reasonable offer to match, they should do it.

Brooks will never be Nash but with confidence and more time in the system he can make sure the Suns have one less hole to address.

Part of the problem, of course, is that all point guards who go through Phoenix are compared to Nash. It’s a no-win approach because few are as adept as Nash at improving everyone else around them.

He’ll be gone soon. And the Suns need to figure out ways to make the segue less painful.

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NBA Rookie Transition Program postponed

The NBA Rookie Transition Program, scheduled for August 9-11, has been postponed. The program, which provides first-year players with the skills and information necessary for a successful transition to the NBA, is run jointly by the NBA and the Players Association.

“Without a new collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players’ union, we will be unable to hold RTP as originally scheduled,” NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver said. “This is an important educational program for our incoming players, and it will be rescheduled once the parties agree on a CBA.”