Category: Los Angeles Lakers Blog

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Matt Barnes booked on domestic violence charge

The AP reports:

Matt Barnes booked on domestic violence charge

Los Angeles Lakers forward Matt Barnes has been arrested on suspicion of domestic violence, Sacramento County authorities said Wednesday.

Deputies arrested Barnes after responding to what was termed an incomplete 911 call from a residence around 4:16 p.m., according to sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran.

Deputies found Barnes and a woman both with visible injuries, but took Barnes into custody after determining he had been the primary aggressor, said Curran.

The name of the woman was not released, but she was described as “a woman who lived with him and with whom he had a dating relationship.”

Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register reports (via blog):

The woman would presumably be Gloria Govan, whose wedding to Barnes in Santa Barbara was recently called off although the two told VIBE they were continuing their relationship and would appear again on VH-1’s reality TV show “Basketball Wives.” The two have twin boys together.

Police said Barnes, 30, and the woman both suffered visible injuries and Barnes prevented her from completing a 911 call, prompting investigation.  Barnes was therefore also charged with maliciously obstructing the use of a telephone line. Barnes is scheduled to appear in court Monday.

Is Shaq marrying Hoopz from the VH1 Flavor of Love show?

I will assume this gossip story is NOT TRUE until proven otherwise, but check out what some blogs are reporting about Shaq and Nicole “Hoopz” Alexander:

The Clutch Blog on MTV.com reports:

Is Shaq marrying Hoopz from Flava of Love?

Remember Hoopz, the girl who won Flava Flav’s heart on the first season of “Flava of Love”? Apparently she’s marrying Shaq! We knew they were dating, but the St. Louis Post Dispatch says that things are about to get much more serious. According to the paper, they were together at a St. Louis restaurant when Shaq “brought a chair into the middle of the dance floor and he put a ring on her finger.” Sounds like a proposal to us.

And Blog.VH1.com reports:

Adding fuel to these (very speculative!) fires is a story on the (pretty reputable) sports website Sports By Brooks that says, and we quote, the site “has also been informed that O’Neal has spent much of his summer in Alexander’s hometown of Maryville, TN. In fact, the current Celtic now has a home with Alexander in Maryville’s Royal Oaks golf community.”

UPDATE: Mike Wise (Washington Post) wrote the following on Twitter (thanks to Howard Beck of the New York Times for spotting this): “The Daddy not engaged to Hoops. Shaquille O’Neal’s text message reply to my congrats: “What engagement dnt believe dat.”


Celebs enjoy the festivities during the gala opening of the Casino Club At The Greenbrier in West Sulfur Springs, West Virginia on July 2, 2010. Restriction applies: NO NEW YORK NEWSPAPERS Fame Pictures, Inc

2010 FIBA Hall of Fame Class announced

A total of 17 outstanding basketball personalities from 12 different countries will be inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame on 12th September during the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Istanbul (Turkey), the International Basketball Federation announced today.

National icons Oscar Schmidt (Brazil), Arvydas Sabonis (Lithuania), Dino Meneghin (Italy) and Vlade Divac and Dragan Kićanović (both from Serbia) are among the inductees for the 2010 Class of the FIBA Hall of Fame.

Two of the best female players of all time, Cheryl Miller (USA) and Natalia Zassoulskaya (Russia), complete the list of players.

A combined 14 Olympic medals and 15 FIBA World Championship medals underline the prominence of the seven players and three coaches inducted.

The selected referees and contributors were at the top of the game for decades and belong to the most decorated in their field.

“The 2010 Class has stardom, character and countless merits for the promotion of our game,” said FIBA President Bob Elphinston.

“The inductees were and still are brilliant on and off the court. We are very proud to host the 2010 ceremony in the presence of all these great women and men during the FIBA World Championship and give them the public platform they deserve.”

Here is the full list of the 2010 Class:

PLAYERS:

Vlade Divac Serbia
Dragan KiĆanoviĆ Serbia
Dino Meneghin Italia
Cheryl Miller U.S.A.
Arvydas Sabonis Lithuania
Oscar Schmidt Brazil
Natalia Zassoulskaya Russia

COACHES:

Lindsay Gaze Australia
Evgeny GomelskY Russia
Mirko Novosel Croatia

TECHNICAL OFFICIALS:

Jim Bain U.S.A.
Konstantinos Dimou Greece

CONTRIBUTORS:

George Killian U.S.A.
Hans-Joachim Otto Germany
Ernesto Segura de Luna (posthumously) Spain
Abdoulaye Seye Moreau Senegal
Al RAMSAY * Australia

* Al Ramsay was selected for the 2009 Class, but will officially be enshrined in 2010.

Two advance scouts pursue pay disputes with Clippers

Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times reports:

Two advance scouts for the Clippers have been locked in a pay dispute with the team.

Jerry Holloway, employed since the 2003-04 season, alleged the Clippers quit paying him this spring and breached his contract. Documents filed June 4 in the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia County said the Clippers owed Holloway $22,920 in unpaid salary.

After the suit was filed, the Clippers settled with Holloway for $20,000, a source familiar with the situation said. Court papers said Holloway asked for nearly $36,000, which included the unpaid wages, liquidated damages and legal fees.

Another scout, Scott Wissel, alleges he is owed slightly less than Holloway. Wissel, in an interview, said he is considering his legal options.

The Clippers contend the two scouts were “at-will” employees and did not have written contracts.

InsideHoops.com editor says: This owner is really setting himself apart from the rest, in a bad way. No other owner has consistently gotten into disputes of this nature so often.

Full 2010 preseason schedule

The NBA today released its 2010 preseason schedule, which is highlighted by a comprehensive international slate of games that includes seven contests in China, Europe and Mexico. The preseason slate tips off on Oct. 3, when the New York Knicks visit Armani Jeans Milano – the former team of Knicks forward Danillo Gallinari and head coach Mike D’Antoni – in Milan, Italy, and the New Jersey Nets host Maccabi Haifa.

As is the case these days, the action starts overseas, with a few NBA squads heading to Europe.

I’ve always had mixed feelings about teams playing preseason ball overseas. Because generally it’s just a warmup. I think if NBA fans overseas are going to get a rare taste of live NBA action, it should be the best basketball possible, and we usually don’t see that before the regular season begins.

See the complete 2010-11 NBA preseason schedule.

Jerry West open to NBA front office return

Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com reports:

Jerry West with a prominent role in the new Golden State hierarchy will apparently remain interesting what-could-have-been, but the legendary former personnel boss of the Lakers and Grizzlies confirms he is open to returning to the front-office world.

That could have been with the Warriors if Oracle boss Larry Ellison had bought the team. West has known Ellison for years and said the two talked several months ago about His Logoness as part of a possible management team in Oakland, West confirmed publicly for the first time. It appealed to West because of the relationship with Ellison and the proximity of an hour plane ride from West’s permanent home in Los Angeles, but became moot once Joe Lacob and Peter Guber beat Ellison to the Warriors in a surprise outcome.

Lakers sign Derrick Caracter

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed forward Derrick Caracter, it was announced today.  Per team policy terms of the agreement were not released.

Caracter, a 22 year-old early entry candidate selected by the Lakers with the 58th pick in  the 2010 NBA draft, played two seasons at Louisville before transferring to the University of Texas at El Paso, where he averaged 14.1 points and 8.1 rebounds in 27 games as a junior with the Miners. Named Second Team All-Conference USA last season, the 6’9” forward ranked second in the conference and 16th nationally in field goal percentage (.567).

Ranked as the best player in the country by some recruiting services heading into his senior year of high school, Caracter averaged 8.2 points and 4.3 rebounds in 53 games (14 starts) over two seasons at Louisville. For his college career, Caracter averaged 10.2 points (.560 FG%) and 5.6 rebounds in 80 games (36 starts).

Most recently, Caracter started all five games for the Lakers 2010 Summer League entry in Las Vegas, averaging 15.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 33.3 minutes.

Lakers sign second round rookie Devin Ebanks

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed forward Devin Ebanks, it was announced today.  Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.

Selected by the Lakers with the 43rd pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, Ebanks, a 20 year-old early entry candidate out of West Virginia University, played two seasons for the Mountaineers, averaging 11.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 69 games.  Named to the Big East All-Rookie and All-Tournament team as a freshman and selected All-Big East Third Team as a sophomore, the 6’9” forward posted 16 career double-doubles at West Virginia and led the team in rebounding during each of his two seasons.

Additionally, Ebanks started all five games for the Lakers 2010 Summer League entry in Las Vegas, averaging 15.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 33.3 minutes.

Lakers re-sign Shannon Brown

The Los Angeles Lakers have re-signed free agent guard Shannon Brown, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.  Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.

“Shannon was an important member of our team and played a valuable role in helping us win the last two NBA championships,” said Kupchak.  “We’re aware that he had several attractive offers from other teams and are very happy that he chose to remain a Laker.

Brown, a two-time NBA Champion with the Lakers, was originally acquired by the team on February 7, 2009 as part of a trade with the Charlotte Bobcats.  He appeared in 82 regular season games including seven starts last season, averaging a career-best 8.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 20.7 minutes.  In 23 postseason games, Brown averaged 4.9 points and 1.3 rebounds in 14.1 minutes.

A participant in the 2010 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest during All-Star Weekend, Brown led the Lakers in scoring this past season on three occasions and recorded his first career double-double with career-highs in points (27) and rebounds (10) in a February 16th victory over Golden State.