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Nets hire P.J. Carlesimo and Mario Elie as assistant coaches

The New Jersey Nets have named P.J. Carlesimo and Mario Elie as assistant coaches, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.  Carlesimo and Elie join assistant coaches Popeye Jones and Tom Barrise and assistant coach/player development Doug Overton on Head Coach Avery Johnson’s staff.  In addition, the Nets have named Dr. Jeremy Bettle as the team’s strength and conditioning coach.

P.J. Carlesimo brings over 35 years of coaching experience to the Nets, most recently serving as an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors in 2010-11.  A three-time NBA head coach, Carlesimo previously held the top job in Portland (1994-97), Golden State (1996-2000) and Seattle/Oklahoma City (2007-09).  In seven NBA seasons, Carlesimo had an overall NBA coaching record of 203-284 (.417).  In addition, Carlesimo spent five seasons (2002-2007) as Gregg Popovich’s lead assistant with the San Antonio Spurs, where they captured three NBA titles in 2003, 2005 and 2007.

Carlesimo began his coaching career as an assistant at Fordham University in 1971, before serving as head coach at New Hampshire College, Wagner College, Seton Hall University, where he guided the Pirates to the NCAA Tournament championship game in 1989.

Carlesimo served as an assistant coach for USA Basketball for the gold-medal winning team at the 1992 Olympic Games, the 1990 World Championships, the 1990 Goodwill Games and the 1988 Olympic Trials. In addition, Carlesimo was the head coach of three other U.S. Teams, including the 1991 World University Games squad, winners of the gold medal, and at the Olympic Festival in Norman and Oklahoma City in 1989.

A native of Scranton, Pennsylvania, Carlesimo graduated from Fordham University in 1971.  He has been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame (1992 USAB Dream Team), Pennsylvania Hall of Fame, the Wagner Hall of Fame and the Seton Hall Athletic Hall of Fame. His father, the late Pete Carlesimo, was the long-time executive director of the NIT.  Between coaching stints, Carlesimo has been a broadcaster for NBC Sports, Turner Sports and Spurs Television.

Mario Elie comes to the Nets after spending the last two seasons as an assistant with Sacramento.  Following an 11-year playing career, Elie entered the coaching ranks as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs in 2003-04.  From there, Elie went on to serve as an assistant coach for Golden State (2004-06) and Dallas (2007-09), before joining the Kings in 2009.

Elie enjoyed a successful NBA playing career averaging 8.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 732 regular season games with Golden State, Philadelphia, Portland, Houston, San Antonio and Phoenix. He also played in 116 career playoff contests, winning three NBA Championships with Houston (1994 & 1995) and San Antonio (1999).

A native of New York City, Elie was drafted in the seventh round by the Milwaukee Bucks (160th overall pick) in 1985 out of American International College – a Division II school in Springfield, Mass.  Elie played in Portugal, Argentina, Ireland, the USBL, the WBL and the CBA before making his NBA debut with the Philadelphia 76ers in December 1990.

Dr. Jeremy Bettle joins the Nets after serving at UC Santa Barbara as Director of Sports Performance and most recently, assistant athletics director.  At UCSB, he was directly responsible for the strength and conditioning of all 20 intercollegiate programs.  Prior to joining UCSB, Bettle was the Director of Wellness and Athletic Programs for Hayashida Physical Therapy in Santa Barbara, while also serving as the regional strength and conditioning coach for USA Rugby.

Bettle has also held positions as a strength and conditioning coach at Middle Tennessee State University, a technical manager for USA Rugby, and a speed development consultant with Viadana Rugby, the premier professional rugby organization in Italy.

Bettle holds a Ph.D in Human Performance from Middle Tennessee State.  He also has a Master’s in exercise science from Middle Tennessee State and earned a degree in sports and exercise science from Leeds University (England).  He holds a CSCS certificate from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).

Spurs to use amnesty clause on Richard Jefferson

Richard Jefferson

The Richard Jefferson era in San Antonio appears over.

According to an NBA source, the Spurs plan to exercise their amnesty provision on Jefferson’s contract, once that option becomes available to them upon completion of the new collective bargaining agreement. A source familiar with the Spurs front office’s thinking said the team is awaiting to see the finalized amnesty rule before coming to a final decision, but the team is strongly considering jettisoning Jefferson.

The move, first reported by Yahoo! Sports, would wipe from the books the remaining three years of  Jefferson’s contract worth nearly $30.5 million, $9.2 million of which is due this season, and give the Spurs financial freedom to pursue a new starting small forward in free agency.

That  replacement, in fact, might be already be in San Antonio.

Not long before word of Jefferson’s impending release broke, free agent Caron Butler wrapped up a visit in San Antonio his agent, Raymond Brothers, said “went flawlessly.”

— Reported by Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-New Blog

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Phoenix Suns likely to waive Vince Carter

Vince Carter

Vince Carter isn’t a free agent yet, but sources close to the situation say the eight-time All-Star will be thrust onto the open market shortly after the end of the lockout.

Based on an amendment in his contract obtained by ESPN.com, Carter must be waived by the Phoenix Suns within 72 hours of the official start of free agency or his $18 million salary for the 2011-12 season becomes fully guaranteed.

The Suns, sources said, have already decided to waive Carter within that window.

The Suns and Carter amended the contract in June to delay the guaranteed-salary date in Carter’s final contract year until after the lockout ended.

— Reported by Marc Stein and Chris Broussard of ESPN.com

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Deron Williams will not sign extension with New Jersey Nets

Deron Williams

Deron Williams’ agent said his client will play out this season and take his chances as a free agent.

“Deron will not be signing the extension,” Jeff Schwartz told The Record this afternoon. “Based on the new rules it doesn’t make any sense for him to sign the extension. It has nothing to do with how much he likes New Jersey. Because of the rules, he’s going to play the season out and opt out of his deal.”

As The Record reported in today’s editions, sources with knowledge of the Nets thinking had been resigned to the fact that the chances of Williams’ signing an extension were slim.

According to the new rules, Williams can get a two-year extension from the Nets for roughly $39 million that would be tacked on to the two years, $31 million he has remaining on his deal. If Williams opts out after the season, he could get five years, and about $101 million from the Nets or four years and $73 million from another team.

— Reported by Al Iannazzone of the Bergen Record

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Kris Humphries files for annulment against Kim Kardashian, says he was defrauded

Kris Humphries

TMZ has learned … Kris Humphries just filed for an annulment against Kim Kardashian, on grounds Kim defrauded him into marrying her.

Sources close to Kris tell TMZ … Kris was not in on the alleged fraud, meaning he did not stage the marriage for Kim’s reality show.  We’re told Kris wanted this to be a genuine marriage, but Kim was never really on board.

Kim has already filed for divorce — but according to the docs, obtained by TMZ — Kris wants Kim to pay his attorney’s fees.

— Reported by TMZ

Nets GM denies Dwight Howard trade talks

Dwight Howard

Nets general manager Billy King vehemently denied rumors Wednesday that he was in trade discussions with the Orlando Magic regarding All-Star center Dwight Howard.

“I’ll go on the record that I haven’t talked to Orlando about a trade since February, right before the trade deadline,” King said at a press conference at the team’s practice facility. “I have not had any conversations at all with my good friend Otis (Smith, the Magic general manager).

“So, I don’t know where that is coming from.”

There were published reports which stated the Nets were in talks with the Magic about trading two first-round draft picks and center Brook Lopez in return for Howard, who is in the final year of his contract and will be a free agent next June.

King also promised that if a trade does happen involving any Nets, it won’t be a long, drawn-out process like the three-month pursuit of Carmelo Anthony was last season. Several Nets were subjected to daily rumors throughout the early part of last season and Anthony eventually ended up landing with the Knicks.

— Reported by the Associated Press

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Nets set to offer Brook Lopez in trade package for Dwight Howard

Dwight Howard

The Nets see the Knicks holding Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire and hope to raise the stakes with Deron Williams and Dwight Howard.

As they prepare for their long-awaited move to Brooklyn next year, the Nets are set to offer a trade package which included center Brook Lopez and two future first-round picks to Orlando for Howard, the superstar center, before he becomes a free agent in 2012, according to an ESPN.com report.

Howard’s presence would be another lifeline for a franchise that has won 36 games over two years. The Nets believe Howard would lead to Williams, who can opt out after this season, into signing up long term, but right now, the best chip the Nets have is money. Williams ultimately can get five years and $100 million for the Nets. Other teams could pay $70 million over four. Howard and Williams together could give the Nets the needed big splash for their Brooklyn move.

The report said the Nets, to make the deal work, would slap their amnesty clause on Travis Outlaw and would take back Hedo Turkoglu with three years and $35 million remaining. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, if the Nets were able to acquire Howard before his opt-out decision, they only could extend his deal one year.

— Reported by Fred Kerber of the New York Post

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Nenad Krstic named Euroleague MVP for November

Nenad Krstic

For the first time in its eight-year history, the Euroleague Basketball’s award for the best player each month will go to the same team twice in a row as Nenad Krstic of CSKA Moscow has been chosen bwin MVP for November. CSKA is one of just two Turkish Airlines Euroleague teams undefeated through six games, and Krstic has had everything to do with preserving that perfection in November.

The 28-year-old center, playing his first season for CSKA, got more and more efficient as the month progressed. CSKA followed a pair of road victories, over KK Zagreb and Panathinaikos Athens, with a pair of home wins against Unicaja and Zalgiris Kaunas. Krstic had a key role in all four games, but was biggest when it counted most. In the middle of the month, he posted his first double-double of the season against previously undefeated Panathinaikos. To end it, he had his career-high performance index rating against Zalgiris days after CSKA faced the sudden loss of its leader and the bwin October MVP, forward Andrei Kirilenko, to a broken nose and concussion.

In the precise game when teammates could have been brought down by uncertainty, Krstic stepped up to make CSKA the first team to qualify for the Top 16. His extraordinarily solid, month-long effort was more than enough for Krstic to be chosen the bwin MVP for November…

By the time November was over, Krstic ranked fourth among all Euroleague players during the regular season in average index rating (21.7 per game), 13th in scoring (15.2 ppg.), 10th in rebounds (6.7 rpg.) and second in offensive rebounds (4 orpg.) On a per-minute basis, he ranks behind only Kirilenko in performance index rating, a remarkable coincidence of two ultra-efficient big men on the same team. And CSKA fans will get to celebrate their good fortune when Nenad Krstic receives his bwin MVP award for November at an upcoming home game.

— Reported by Euroleague.net

Syracuse fires Bernie Fine

Syracuse University fired associate head basketball coach Bernie Fine on Sunday in the wake of an investigation of child molestation allegations against him.

“At the direction of Chancellor Cantor, Bernie Fine’s employment with Syracuse University has been terminated, effective immediately,” Kevin Quinn, the school’s senior vice president for public affairs, said in a statement.

The 65-year-old Fine was in his 36th season at his alma mater. He had the longest active streak of consecutive seasons at one school among assistant coaches in Division I.

Fine’s firing comes in the wake of new revelations Sunday, including a third accuser. Syracuse had placed Fine on paid administrative leave when accusations first surfaced.

“The allegations that have come forth today are disturbing and deeply troubling. I am personally very shocked because I have never witnessed any of the activities that have been alleged,” said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim in a statement. “I believe the university took the appropriate step tonight. What is most important is that this matter be fully investigated and that anyone with information be supported to come forward so that the truth can be found. I deeply regret any statements I made that might have inhibited that from occurring or been insensitive to victims of abuse.”

— Reported by ESPN.com

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