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Kyrie Irving likely No.1 pick in NBA Draft

The NBA Draft is awesome and, perhaps aside from the first day or so of free agency is the biggest roster-related day of the year. And it’s coming, this Thursday.

This is considered a down year when it comes to new talent, but there are still plenty of players to be excited about. Especially the guy probably going first overall.

Al Iannazzone of the Bergen Record reports:

As the NBA Draft nears, Kyrie Irving has been looking back on all he’s experienced. But the former Duke point guard anxiously looks forward to Thursday.

Irving grew up in West Orange, attended Montclair Kimberley Academy and graduated from St Patrick High School in Elizabeth. On Thursday night, when commissioner David Stern announces the draft’s first pick in Prudential Center — which is less than 15 minutes from Irving’s house — Kyrie’s name is expected to be called.

“It’s something I’m thinking about every single day now,” Irving said. “I don’t really think about my reaction. I think about my sister’s and my father’s reaction.

“It will be a dream come true.”

Irving lost his mother when he was 4 years old and is very close to his father, Drederick, and sister, Asia. They will be among roughly 100 family and friends attending that night.

If the Cleveland Cavaliers use the No 1 pick on Irving, who averaged 17.5 points and 4.3 assists as a Duke freshman, he would be the first New Jersey high school graduate to be taken No. 1 overall. Shaquille O’Neal, the No. 1 choice in 1992, is from Newark, but graduated from San Antonio’s Cole High School. Plainfield’s Jay Williams, who also attended Duke, went second in 2002.

Can’t wait to see what happens.

NBA heads to 2011 offseason of uncertainty

The AP reports:

“It’s an odd position, when the game is the best it’s ever been, when the ratings are the highest they’ve ever been, when the excitement is the greatest it’s ever (been),” Players Association attorney Jeffrey Kessler said last week. “It’s sort of odd to see the owners say we’re going to destroy this game unless you change this whole system. Players just want to play.”

Nobody can predict when they’ll get that chance again. When the Dallas Mavericks finished off the Miami Heat on Sunday night in Game 6, it sent the NBA into a most uncertain offseason.

Owners and players are nowhere close on a new collective bargaining agreement to replace the one that expires June 30. Without a new deal, players say they have been told by the owners they will be locked out.

The NBA was reduced to a 50-game season by a work stoppage in 1998-99, and the loss of games is a threat now. Citing leaguewide losses of about $300 million this season, the league hasn’t budged on its desire for significant changes to the financial structure, ranging from reductions in the length of contracts and the amount of guarantees, to an overhaul of the salary cap system that would prevent teams from being able to exceed it, as they can now under certain exceptions.

And Stern said the record TV ratings and all the other positive attention the league has received doesn’t make him any more motivated to get this settled, since he’d want to do it anyway.

“I don’t need any external prod to want to be able to make a deal,” he said…

The sides are scheduled to meet twice this week and say they hope for frequent discussions before the end of the month. Should those fail, the NBA could follow the NFL’s labor situation right into the court system, which both sides say they want to avoid. So although a work stoppage in July wouldn’t seem to have much effect since games aren’t going on, Stern insists “we very much feel the weight of the deadline.”

Nets Dancers to perform at NBA 5 United Tour 2011 in Moscow

The New Jersey Nets Dancers will perform at the NBA 5 United Tour 2011 in Moscow, Russia tomorrow and Sunday, June 12. NBA players Dwight Howard and Andrei Kirilenko will also attend the event at Luzhniki Stadium.

The NBA 5 United Tour 2011 is a grassroots tour that combines competitive outdoor 5-on-5 tournaments with fun interactive basketball elements.

The visit to Moscow continues the NETS Dancers’ global tour, in which they have performed during the past year in China, England, and Mexico.

“We are thrilled for the NETS Dancers to perform in Moscow, as we strive to be Russia’s ‘home’ team,” said Petra Pope, the NETS Senior Vice President of Event Marketing, who oversees the team’s entertainment division. “This trip is a great opportunity to continue the goal of expanding our reach and globalizing the NETS’ brand.”

Barclays Center of Brooklyn names John Sparks GM

The Barclays Center of Brooklyn has named John Sparks as its General Manager, in which he will oversee the operations of the world-class sports and entertainment venue set to open September 28, 2012.

One of the nation’s most experienced major facility managers, Sparks will be responsible for food and beverage, security, event coordination/services, and parking.

Sparks will also be involved in several aspects of the development of the Barclays Center, including the completion of the standard operating procedures.

Sparks joins the Barclays Center after nine years with Spurs Sports & Entertainment, which included his serving as Vice President/General Manager of San Antonio’s AT&T Center since November 2004. Sparks had been charged with overseeing AT&T Center construction and establishing day-to-day operational procedures for the building.

Prior to joining Spurs Sports & Entertainment, Sparks was director of operations for Philips Arena during which he helped to open the Atlanta sports and entertainment venue.

“John has significant experience in launching major new sports and entertainment facilities,” said Brett Yormark, president and CEO of Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, the sales and marketing arm of the Barclays Center. “He brings to us a wealth of best practices and will be instrumental in guiding our operational transition to Brooklyn.”

A native of Los Angeles, Sparks served in the Navy from 1977-97, retiring as a Master Chief Petty Officer.

Kim Kardashian engaged to Kris Humphries

US Magazine reports:

Sorry, fellas: Kim Kardashian is officially off the market!

The reality superstar and mogul is engaged to basketball beau Kris Humphries, her rep confirms to Us Weekly.

Kim Kardashian engaged to Kris Humphries

Kardashian, 30, and New Jersey Nets forward Humprhies, 26, began dating in December, and the duo quickly became serious.

Indeed, last month, a Kardashian insider told Us that the E! star planned to move to NYC in order to be closer to her man. “This is it for her,” the source said. “I foresee an engagement this summer.”

People magazine reports:

It was a dream come true for Kim Kardashian when she walked into her Beverly Hills home May 18. Her boyfriend of six months, New Jersey Nets forward Kris Humphries, was waiting in her bedroom on bended knee with four words written in red rose petals: “WILL YOU MARRY ME?”

“I didn’t expect this at all,” Kardashian, 30, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview (out Friday) of the romantic, surprise proposal. “I was in such shock. I never thought it would happen at home, and I never thought now.”

InsideHoops.com editor says: As someone who dates Kim Kardashian lookalikes on a regular basis, I know how Humphries is feeling right now. Good for him!

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Nets owner to head Russian political party

The AP reports:

Russian tycoon and New Jersey Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov says his decision to head a pro-Kremlin political party was an “uneasy” one.

Prokhorov said Monday he would head the Just Cause party – what he later called in televised remarks “an uneasy and somewhat surprising decision.”

Just Cause hopes to win legislature seats in December parliamentary elections.

Reuters reports:

A Russian billionaire declared on Monday he sought to lead a party backing a second term for President Dmitry Medvedev, a move that could undermine an unwritten rule that tycoons stay out of politics.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, expected by many to run for president again in elections next year, cracked down on powerful “oligarchs” during his eight years in the Kremlin. Oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky was stripped of his fortune and imprisoned. Others have left the country.

Mikhail Prokhorov, one of those who has made his peace with the Kremlin, said on Monday he hoped to lead Right Cause, a party with a mainly middle-class constituency which supports a liberal free market economy. It has no seats in parliament and was formed only two years ago.

For sale: Seats from Madison Square Garden

Over the next few summers, Madison Square Garden is renovating. It’ll look pretty different next Knicks season, and vastly different a year later. So naturally there’s plenty of stuff in MSG worth collecting (or throwing out, depending on how big a fan you are). Here’s the info:

The Madison Square Garden Company and Steiner Sports Collectibles announced today that they are partnering to offer collectors and avid fans the chance to own a piece of The World’s Most Famous Arena. MSG-Steiner Collectibles which already offers fans rare and unique artifacts, memorabilia and hand-signed items for the Knicks, Rangers, and Liberty, will now be offering fans a variety of unique exclusive Madison Square Garden memorabilia as a result of The Garden Transformation. The first items that will be available beginning today are authentic seats from The Garden. The announcement was made by Steiner chairman Brandon Steiner and Scott O’Neil, president of MSG Sports.

“While construction crews work around the clock to transform The World’s Most Famous Arena into the world’s most spectacular arena, we were intent on preserving some history for our best and most loyal fans. We have the seat you sat in for the ’94 Stanley Cup run and Larry Johnson’s 4-point play, and the seat you stood next to when you went to see Elton John or Billy Joel for the fifth time,” said O’Neil. “MSG-Steiner Collectibles is offering these seats as well as other one-of-a-kind pieces that represent not just Madison Square Garden’s history, but New Yorkers and visitors from around the world’s history at Madison Square Garden.”

“What a showcase item,” said Steiner. “It will be a kick to watch a game televised on MSG Network at home, sitting in a Garden chair.”

Madison Square Garden is currently undergoing a comprehensive top-to-bottom transformation that will make the Arena a state-of-the-art building. During the current Knicks and Rangers offseason the arena is shut down to complete work on the lower bowl. When the building opens for the 2011-12 seasons it will include all new lower bowl seating area, expanded Madison Concourse (lower concourse) with city views and additional food and beverage offerings, all new Event Level Suites and club spaces. The current Madison Square Garden opened in 1968; this is the fourth location for the Arena. Additional memorabilia from The Garden will be available through MSG-Steiner Collectibles at a later date.

The Madison Square Garden seats are priced at $899.99 for a pair and $549.99 for an individual seat, and are available in two colors, fuchsia and teal. To order call 800-759-SCORE or log onto www.PieceofTheGarden.com.

Nets center Brook Lopez has right arm surgery

New Jersey Nets center Brook Lopez underwent successful surgery on his right upper arm today, May 4, at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan, Nets General Manager Billy King announced.

The surgery, performed by Nets team orthopedic Dr. Riley Williams III and Dr. Andrew Weiland, involved the removal of bone mass and calcium deposits from Lopez’s right upper arm.

“Brook was bothered this year by a bony lump that developed after he was hit in the arm early this year,” said Dr. Williams. “The mass was successfully removed today. A full recovery is expected, and Brook should be able to return to basketball activities in approximately six weeks.”

Lopez will wear a sling for approximately one week and begin rehabilitation in two weeks. He is expected to fully participate in training camp for the 2011-12 NBA season.

Lopez, who has never missed a game due to injury in his three-year career, averaged a team-high 20.4 points along with 6.0 rebounds per game throughout the 2010-11 season.

Fan reaction to the minor news is in this forum topic.

In case of lockout, Deron Williams looks into playing overseas

The potential lockout coming to the NBA has resulted in plenty of players considering alternatives should the world’s best basketball league take a break for a while so the millionaires and billionaires can figure out how to better divide their money.

It makes sense for players to glance at the idea of playing overseas. Can’t hurt. Any contract that an NBA star signed to play in Europe or elsewhere would surely have an immediate out clause the second the NBA resumed operations.

New Jersey Nets point guard Deron Williams is doing what’s logical. Jared Zwerling of ESPN The Magazine reports:

Although the NBA’s current collective bargaining agreement expires in nearly two months — July 1, to be exact — New Jersey Nets point guard Deron Williams is already considering taking his talents abroad.

“I’m already looking into playing overseas,” said Williams, who was in Santa Monica, Calif., Tuesday taking part in an event featuring his favorite video game series, Call of Duty. “I haven’t looked anywhere in general; I’m just looking into the possibility of playing over there. But I’m not going to make a decision until after the CBA.”

Beyond that, D-Will had nothing more to say about the labor negotiations between the NBA owners and players.

“I’m not even going to talk about it,” Williams said. “I’m going to let that work itself out. I think a lot of people open their mouths and shouldn’t be talking about the CBA. Let the people handle it that need to handle it. I don’t know enough about it to be running off at the mouth.”

I still hope this all works out, and soon.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Nets begin single affiliation with Springfield Armor D-League team

The New Jersey Nets today began their single affiliation with their NBA Development League affiliate, the Springfield Armor, assuming full control of the Armor’s basketball operations. The Nets become the second NBA team, along with the Houston Rockets (Rio Grande Valley Vipers), with such a partnership, also known as a ‘hybrid affiliation,’ and are now the fifth NBA team with a single-affiliated NBA D-League team.

“This is an exciting time for The Nets as we head into this new partnership,” said Nets General Manager Billy King.

In a structure similar to other minor leagues, this model allows for NBA teams to secure control over and cover the expenses related to the basketball operations of an NBA D-League team, while partnering with existing local ownership, which maintains responsibility for the team’s off-the-court business operations.

“The Nets now become the fifth NBA team to have a ‘one-to-one’ relationship with their NBA Development League affiliate for next season, which reflects our importance and success as a development engine for the NBA,” said NBA D-League President Dan Reed. “It’s a great time for the NBA Development League, and we’re looking forward to a very successful future for the Springfield Armor.”

After entering into a hybrid affiliation with the Houston Rockets prior to the 2009-10 season, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers have led the NBA D-League in Call-Ups the last two seasons, sending eight different players to the NBA 13 times. The other NBA teams that were solely affiliated with an NBA D-League team during the 2010-11 season were the Dallas Mavericks (Texas Legends), Oklahoma City Thunder (Tulsa 66ers) and San Antonio Spurs (Austin Toros). Both the Thunder and the Spurs fully own and operate their affiliates, while the Legends are owned by Mavericks General Manager and President of Basketball Operations Donnie Nelson.

The Nets shared their affiliation with the Armor this season with the Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks. The Sixers’ and Knicks’ new NBA D-League affiliations will be announced at a later date.