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Lakers rookie Ater Majok plays streetball in EBC at Rucker Park in NYC

Los Angeles Lakers rookie forward Ater Majok was in New York City Monday to play for the D.C. Power streetball team in the Entertainers Basketball Classic at Rucker Park. InsideHoops.com was at the park and watched the whole game.

Majok blocked plenty of shots, mostly as a help defender, but didn’t really stand out in other aspects, missing plenty of shots to finish with seven points and committing a fair amount of turnovers. He was solid as a rebounder as well, though simply by watching it was tough to say he really stood out on the glass.

But, this was not one of the better games, even by streetball standards, so of course it makes little sense to put much stock into Ater’s skills and future potential in the NBA based on one game in the park.

There weren’t many game highlights involving Majok worth showing, but here are two InsideHoops.com video clips.

Majok is No.12 in orange, with the mini-mohawk. Here he is blocking a shot, then rushing out to to defend a jumpshot (which misses) from the right baseline:

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Here, in the game’s final seconds, Majok gets to toss down an open dunk:

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Joe Bryant wins debut as L.A. Sparks coach

The AP reports:

The Los Angeles Sparks wasted no time in getting Joe Bryant a victory in his debut as their new coach.

Ticha Penicheiro scored 18 points and Los Angeles snapped a five-game losing streak with an 84-74 win over the San Antonio Silver Stars on Tuesday night…

Bryant, Kobe’s father, took over as coach of the Sparks (5-6) on Sunday after Jennifer Gillom was fired. Los Angeles had lost the first five games on their seven-game road trip, which ends Friday at Tulsa.

This is Bryant’s second stint as coach of the Sparks. He previously coached them from August 2005 until the end of the 2006 season.

He showed some fire early on, getting a technical in the second quarter for a non-call.

“If I don’t get them, they’ll get them, and that’ll throw them off their game,” he said.

Elton Brand to co-produce Tupac movie

The Philadelphia Daily News reports:

Elton Brand won’t accept failure.

Even if it has the propensity to lighten his already deep pockets.

That’s probably why the Sixers forward is trying his luck in the movie industry again, this time signing on as a co-producer for the upcoming film “Tupac,” a biopic on the life and death of the West Coast hip-hop artist.

This isn’t Brand’s first venture into the movie game. While in Los Angeles as a Clipper, Brand co-founded a small production company called Gibraltar Entertainment. According to a 2006 report from the Los Angeles Times, Brand’s outfit was hit with four separate lawsuits in a year span. Though none alleged any wrongdoing by Brand specifically, the report also claimed Brand dropped $250,000 out of his own pocket to settle a lawsuit.

However, with “Tupac,” Brand is merging with powerhouse Morgan Creek Productions. And the flick is being directed by Antoine Fuqua, of the Oscar-winning film “Training Day,” and Afeni Shakur-Davis, Tupac’s mother, will serve as executive producer. The film has not been rated, but production is under way in Los Angeles, New York, Georgia and Las Vegas.

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Los Angeles Sparks name Joe Bryant new head coach

The Los Angeles Times reports:

The Sparks have fired Jennifer Gillom as coach and replaced her with assistant coach Joe Bryant, the team announced Sunday.

The coaching change was made after the Sparks fell to fifth place in the six-team Western Conference with a record of 4-6. They have lost five games in a row, their worst skid since 2007. Three of those losses have come after 2008 WNBA most valuable player Candace Parker suffered a knee injury in a June 26 game; she is expected to be out about six weeks. Parker played in just 10 games last season after needing surgery on a dislocated left shoulder.

“This was a very difficult decision, but I felt it was necessary to take the team in a different direction at this point in the season,” Sparks General Manager Penny Toler said in a statement.

Bryant, a former NBA player, was first hired by the team as an assistant under Henry Bibby in 2005. Bibby was fired with five games remaining in the season, and Bryant took over as coach. He went 4-1 and the Sparks finished with a 17-17 record.

Lakers hire Ettore Messina as coaching consultant

The Lakers have hired Ettore Messina, who will serve as a coaching consultant for the team, it was announced today by Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

“I am honored to have received this opportunity from one of the greatest basketball organizations in the world,” said Messina. “I have great respect for Coach Mike Brown and I’m excited to work with him and his staff.”

Messina joins the Lakers after spending the last two years as the head coach of the Spanish League Club, Real Madrid. Prior to his stint with Real Madrid, Messina was head coach of CSKA Moscow for four seasons (2005-2009) where he led the team to two Euroleague Championships (2006, 2008) and four Russian SuperLeague titles (2006-2009).

Before coaching in the Russian League, Messina served as a coach in the Italian League for over 15 years. He earned two Euroleague Championships (1998 and 2001) as well as several Italian championships with Virtus Bologna, where he had two stints as head coach (1989-1993, 1997-2002). After leaving Bologna, Messina went on to coach Benetton Treviso from 2002-2005, guiding the team to an Italian championship in 2003.

Named one of the Euroleague’s 10 Greatest All-Time Coaches in 2008, Messina has earned numerous coaching accolades throughout his career including European Coach of the Year in 1998, Euroleague Coach of the Year in 2006 and 2008, and Italian Coach of the Year in 1990, 1993, 1998, 2001 and 2005.

A native of Catania, Italy, Messina also served as head coach of the senior men’s Italian national basketball team (1993-1997), where he led Italy to the silver medal at the EuroBasket in 1997.

Indiana Pacers to hire Brian Shaw

Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star reports:

Three of the pieces are in place, now all Frank Vogel has to do is find his final assistant to complete his coaching staff.

Vogel was introduced as coach of the Pacers on Wednesday during a press conference that didn’t reveal a lot since team officials are not permitted to talk about players due to the current NBA lockout.

Vogel and Larry Bird both said they hope to be able to announce the rest of the coaching staff next week. Brian Shaw will be the associate head coach and long time assistant Dan Burke will be on Vogel’s staff.

Vogel interviewed former University of Utah coach and NBA assistant Jim Boylen for the final assistant job earlier this week.

New Knicks radio announcer Spero Dedes arrested for drunk driving

Joe Kemp of the New York Daily News reports:

A newly minted sportscaster for the New York Knicks was arrested for drunken driving after he was pulled over for speeding down a Hamptons street, authorities said.

Spero Dedes, 32 – who just replaced Mike Crispino on ESPN 1050 radio – was pulled over by Southampton Town police on Sunday near Tuckahoe Road and Country Road 39 about 4:15 a.m., authorities and his lawyer said.

Marc Berman of the New York Post reports:

Dedes’ lawyer, Colin Astarita, told The Post yesterday that he believes a “complete dismissal” will take place, saying, “The early stages from the police paperwork show inconsistencies with the police allegations and what actually transpired that night.”

Dedes was stopped by Southampton police at 4:12 a.m. Sunday morning for speeding, according to the arrest report, while driving a 2006 BMW. The 32-year-old ex-Net broadcaster was then charged with DWI. He posted $500 bail Sunday and a hearing will take place today.

Joe Bryant would love an NBA job

Baxter Holmes of the Los Angeles Times reports on Kobe Bryant’s dad Joe, aka Jellybean Bryant:

He has been in the game almost 40 years. First, as a player — eight seasons in the NBA with the 76ers, Clippers and Rockets — then as a coach, with the WNBA’s Sparks and in Japan. Now, Bryant is back with the Sparks as an assistant.

For all his travels, Bryant has never escaped his son’s shadow. Is he OK with that?

“Yeah, because he’s my son,” he says.

Bryant was estranged from Kobe after his son’s marriage to Vanessa, but Joe says they are now on pretty good terms.

One day, Bryant would like an NBA job, not as a coach, but perhaps in a player development role where he could work with young players.

But to get there, he might have to deal with a double-edged sword: his lineage. That alone can give him instant credibility.

“Absolutely, hell yeah it should, because the first thing I wanted to know was, what drills did you do with Kobe?” says former Sparks center Lisa Leslie, who was the 2005-06 WNBA most valuable player when Bryant was her head coach.

But it may lead some to question his credibility.

“They’re probably thinking, ‘Just because your son is good doesn’t make you a great coach,'” Sparks General Manager Penny Toler says.

NBA says NYTimes.com blog was based on inaccurate info

The following is an official release from the NBA:

The information from Forbes that serves as the basis for this article is inaccurate and we do not know how they do their calculations. Forbes does not have the financial data for our teams and the magazine’s estimates do not reflect reality.

Precisely to avoid this issue, the NBA and its teams shared their complete league and team audited financials as well as our state and Federal tax returns with the Players Union. Those financials demonstrate the substantial and indisputable losses the league has incurred over the past several years.

The analysis that was posted this afternoon has several significant factual inaccuracies, including:

“(The NBA) is a fundamentally healthy and profitable business”

• The league lost money every year of the just expiring CBA. During these years, the league has never had positive Net Income, EBITDA or Operating Income.

“Many of the purported losses result from an unusual accounting treatment related to depreciation and amortization when a team is sold.”

• We use the conventional and generally accepted accounting (GAAP) approach and include in our financial reporting the depreciation of the capital expenditures made in the normal course of business by the teams as they are a substantial and necessary cost of doing business.

We do not include purchase price amortization from when a team is sold or under any circumstances in any of our reported losses. Put simply, none of the league losses are related to team purchase or sale accounting.

“Another trick…moving income from the team’s balance sheet to that of a related business like a cable network…”

• All revenues included in Basketball Related Income (“BRI”) and reported in our financial statements have been audited by an accounting firm jointly engaged by the players’ union and the league. They include basketball revenues reported on related entities’ books.

“Ticket revenues… are up 22% compared to 1999-2000 season”

• Ticket revenues have increased 12% over the 10 year period, not the 22% reported.

“17 teams lost money according to Forbes … Most of these losses were small…”

• Forbes’ claim is inaccurate. In 2009-10, 23 teams had net income losses. The losses were in no way “small” as 11 teams lost more than $20M each on a net income basis.

“The profits made by the Knicks, Bulls and Lakers alone would be enough to cover the losses of all 17 unprofitable teams.”

• The Knicks, Bulls and Lakers combined net income for 2009-10 does not cover the losses of the 23 unprofitable teams. Our net loss for that year, including the gains from the seven profitable teams, was -$340 million.

“Forbes’s estimates — a $183 million profit for the NBA in 2009-10, and those issued by the league, which claim a $370M loss…”

• Forbes’s data is inaccurate. Our losses for 2009-10 were -$340 million, not -$370 million as the article states.

“The leaked financial statements for one team, the New Orleans Hornets, closely matched the Forbes data…”

• This is not an accurate statement as operating income in the latest Forbes data (2009-10) is $5M greater than what is reported in the Hornets audited financials.

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Coach Jim Cleamons takes job in China

Xinhua reports:

Former Los Angeles Lakers’ assistant coach Jim Cleamons had been hired by the Zhejiang Guangsha of the Chinese Basketball Association league (CBA) on Sunday, local reports said.

Guangsha’s general manager Ye Xiangyu told media that Cleamons had arrived in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, on Saturday.

“There were several offers from teams of the National Basketball Association (NBA), but Mr. Cleamons finally chose the Guangsha,” Ye said.