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Derek Fisher denies rift within NBA players union

Derek Fisher denied a rift in union leadership in a letter to NBA players Monday, telling them there have been “no side agreements, no side negotiations or anything close” with league officials.

A story Saturday on Foxsports.com titled “Is Fisher in Stern’s pocket?” said there was a disagreement between Fisher and players’ association executive director Billy Hunter and that the Lakers guard had promised NBA Commissioner David Stern that he could deliver a deal with a 50-50 split in basketball-related income.

The story said Hunter confronted Fisher last Friday, the day talks with the league broke down and led to the cancellation of the entire November schedule.

“Usually I wouldn’t even dignify absurd media reports with a comment.

But before these reports go any further, let me say on the record to each of you, my loyalty has and always will be with the players,” Fisher wrote in the letter, obtained by The Associated Press and other media outlets. “Anyone that questions that or doubts that does not know me, my history, and what I stand for.

“And quite frankly, how dare anyone call that into question. The Players Association is united and any reports to the contrary are false. There have been no side agreements, no side negotiations or anything close. We are united in serving you and presenting the best options and getting everyone back to work.”

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry to headline Matt Barnes charity game

It will happen at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 5 at the San Jose State Event Center, where the current team will match up with the 2007 squad — a fan favorite because of its first-round playoffs upset as an eighth seed against the top-ranked Dallas Mavericks.

Lakers forward Matt Barnes, who played for the 2007 team, will be putting together a list of players until Monday, but there are already a handful who have committed.

That includes current Warriors Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry, David Lee, Dorrell Wright, Lou Amundson, Charlie Bell and Jeremy Bell.

— Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times Blog

Lakers hire Darvin Ham as assistant coach

The Los Angeles Lakers have hired Darvin Ham as an assistant coach it was announced today by Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

“I’m very happy to have Darvin join our coaching staff,” said Lakers Head Coach Mike Brown. “ I’ve known Darvin since his rookie year in Denver and have watched him make the transition from player to coach. He has put in the hard work that is necessary to have success at this level and I look forward to having him on our staff.”

Ham joins the Lakers after spending last season serving as the head coach of the New Mexico Thunderbirds of the NBA D-League. Prior to assuming his role as head coach, Ham spent two seasons (2008-2010) as an assistant coach for the Thunderbirds. He joined the coaching ranks after a 12-year playing career, which included eight seasons in the NBA as well as stints overseas and with the NBA D-League.

“I’m truly honored and grateful for Mike Brown, Mitch Kupchak and the entire Lakers organization for presenting me with this amazing opportunity,” said Ham. “I look forward to making my contribution in sustaining the championship tradition that the Lakers have established throughout their history in the NBA. I’m very excited about our staff and players, and am ready to get to work to help bring another championship to this prestigious franchise.”

Ham, who played for Texas Tech from 1993-96, was originally signed as a free agent with the Denver Nuggets in 1996. He played for six different teams (Denver, Indiana, Washington, Milwaukee, Atlanta and Detroit) over his eight-year NBA career, averaging 2.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 417 games. In 2004 he won an NBA Championship as a member of the Pistons. In addition, he spent one season (1998-99) playing for CB Granada in Spain. After his NBA career, Ham played in the Philippines and Puerto Rico before being drafted by the Thunderbirds with the third overall pick in the 2007 NBA D-League Draft. He joined the team as a player/coach and played in 43 games before being traded to the Austin Toros to finish the season. In 2008, Ham returned to the Thunderbirds, joining the coaching staff as an assistant.

Matt Barnes and Gloria Govan break up

In the wake of postponed wedding plans, a dropped domestic-violence charge and reality television show scrutiny, Lakers forward Matt Barnes announced in an emailed statement Monday that he and his fiancée, reality television star Gloria Govan, have mutually parted ways.

“I’d like to address the rumors surrounding mine and Gloria’s relationship,” Barnes’ statement read. “We have reached the difficult decision of ending our relationship and will be going our separate ways at this time. We will work together to raise our sons and wish each other only the best.”

Because Barnes and Govan never married, it remains unclear to what degree they’d share custody of their 3-year-old twins Carter Kelly and Isiah Michael, and whether they’d divide certain assets, including their Palos Verdes home. It also remains unclear if they’d continue working together with Athletes vs. Cancer, a foundation Barnes founded in 2008 that Govan has said raised $225,000 for local cancer-screening programs. Barnes and Govan could not be reached for further comment.

— Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times Blog

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Mike Brown will use Lakers assistants differently than Phil Jackson did

Brown plans to handle his coaching staff differently than former coach Phil Jackson. Jackson assigned specific scouting responsibilities to his four assistants, Brian Shaw, Jim Cleamons, Frank Hamblen and Chuck Person. Brown said at a recent appearance for the release of the video game NBA2K12 that he plans to have all of his assistants, including Person, John Kuester, Quin Snyder and Ettore Messina, coach in all phases of the game.

“Our guys need to hear my voice quite a bit,” Brown said. “I’ll lead the charge in a lot of areas on both ends of the floor. But I’m not one to have my coaches sit back and do nothing. They have to get out there and work. I don’t care what side of the ball we’re on. I don’t care what we’re teaching at that particular time. They’re all coaches. None of them are specialists. They can all coach at both ends of the floor.”

— Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times Blog

NBA talks resume Wednesday morning after 16-hour session

NBA owners and players are meeting for a second straight day, shortly after finishing a 16-hour marathon with a federal mediator.

The sides resumed talks about 10 a.m. Wednesday, about eight hours after they broke for the night.

No bargaining had been expected Wednesday or Thursday, since the owners have board meetings. But instead their labor relations committee came back for further discussions with the players’ association executive committee.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

NBA labor meeting with mediator last 16 hours; more talks planned

NBA players and owners spent a marathon 16 hours meeting with a federal mediator and planned to return early Wednesday to continue the talks.

They didn’t emerge with the deal Commissioner David Stern wanted Tuesday, but things went well enough that owners decided to alter their plans after previously saying they weren’t available Wednesday.

The sides met beginning at 10 a.m. Tuesday and went late into the night, finally breaking after 2 a.m. Wednesday. It was more than twice as long as any previous negotiating session since owners locked out players when the old collective bargaining agreement expired June 30.

Both sides left the meeting without commenting at the request of federal mediator George Cohen…

Although the fact that talks didn’t break off is good news, one person with knowledge of the process said not to presume there was any serious progress. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because of Cohen’s request.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

NBA owners and players will resume their labor negotiations with a federal mediator on Wednesday following a 16-hour session that generated minimal progress, a league source involved in the talks told Yahoo! Sports.

The league and players union emerged from their longest labor meeting of the 111-day lockout “still not anywhere near a deal,” a league source said. Representatives from both sides refused to comment publicly on the nature of talks, citing a gag order from mediator George Cohen.

Asked if the sides had closed any gaps between them, a source in the meeting told Y! Sports: “On small stuff. Hard to see where this is going.”

— Reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports

Bologna still working on deal for Kobe Bryant

The Italian club Virtus Bologna says “unexpected engagements” have made it impossible to sign Kobe Bryant(notes) this month, but both sides will keep working toward a deal in November.

Bologna President Claudio Sabatini told The Associated Press this month he had reached a tentative deal with Bryant’s agent or a 10-game contract worth more than $3 million.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Tiger Woods bummed out by NBA lockout

Tiger Woods, when asked about the NBA lockout:

“Yeah, of course I’m bummed,” he said. “I think anybody who is an NBA fan is certainly bummed. I know that probably one person who is happy is probably Doc Rivers. I mean, with the age of his team, it’s nice for them to only play half-a-season. It’s true. It’s a fact, come on.”

Woods then shifted gears to the his hometown team.

“But as far as us out west, I’m looking forward to the Lakers getting back there and we’ll see what they do,” he continued. “The problem is, you can’t talk to anybody. You can’t see who is potentially on the block of being traded, what kind of deals can we do? Nothing can be happening.

“So as a fan, it’s disconcerting because I’m excited about what we could add to the team, but it’s also I understand this is business, and everyone in this business wants to make money. I know the owners were losing a bunch of money, and some of the markets were feeling the effects. They can’t draw certain players, so they’re just trying to make it fair for everybody so everybody can win.”

— Reported by Jessica Camerato of CSNNE.com

Two stars from Psych on USA network give InsideHoops shoutouts

The show Psych on USA Network is an InsideHoops.com favorite. I watch it, and tons of our message board members love it as well. Several pro-Psych forum discussions exist and it’s almost all positive. The general consensus is that it’s an extremely fun show.

So it was cool when InsideHoops.com was recently invited to cover a USA network event called “Psych Fan Appreciation Day,” celebrating the upcoming new Psych season with dedicated fans of the show. We were treated to an advance preview of the season premiere, and met virtually the entire cast.

We’ll post some interview quotes in the next day or two, but right now we’ll jump right to the extra good stuff and present video clips of two Psych stars welcoming you to InsideHoops.com:

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