Brooklyn Nets Blog – Page 96 – NBA Blog

Kris Humphries and Kim Kardashian get married

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:

Kim Kardashian and New Jersey Nets player and former Minnesota Gopher Kris Humphries were married Saturday in a twilight wedding ceremony at a private estate in Montecito, Calif., People magazine reported on its website.

About 440 guests were present, including Demi Lovato, Babyface, Vera Wang, Mario Lopez, Mark Ballas, Ciaro and Carmelo Anthony, Eva Longoria and Eduardo Cruz, Alan Thicke, Sugar Ray Leonard, Venus and Serena Williams, Kathy Lee Gifford, Greta Van Susteren, Jillian Barberie, Avril Lavigne, Scottie Pippen and Lindsay Lohan.

Stepfather Bruce Jenner walked Kardashian, 30, down the aisle, wearing an ivory custom-designed Vera Wang gown, People reported.

The groom, 26, sported a white peak lapel tuxedo jacket, black tuxedo pants with white tuxedo shirt and white bow tie – all by Ermenegildo Zegna – and the couple exchanged rings by Lorraine Schwartz, People reported.

The Toronto Star reports:

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the price tag for the wedding — with 500-plus invited guests — will be $10 million U.S., but the cost might be covered by a number of side deals, including an exclusive contract with People magazine to publish wedding photos, said to be worth $1.5 million. Humphries, whose last contract with the New Jersey Nets was worth $9.6 million over three seasons, also reportedly received a discount on a $2 million ring, while Kardashian was given three $20,000 Vera Wang dresses to choose from.

Members of Nets given OK to attend Kim Kardashian, Kris Humphries wedding

The New Jersey Nets can accept their invitation to Kim Kardashian’s wedding.

A team official says the Nets have been granted permission to attend the reality star’s marriage to forward Kris Humphries on Saturday in California.

General manager Billy King and other members of the Nets’ basketball operations department are expected to attend the ceremony of their free agent forward, the official told The Associated Press on Tuesday on condition of anonymity because the guest list was to remain private.

— As reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Former Nets star Jayson Williams to be moved to Rikers Island

The AP reports:

Retired NBA star Jayson Williams is preparing to move from a prison in New Jersey’s farmlands to New York’s Rikers Island.

Williams will be transferred from Mid-State Correctional Facility in Wrightstown next Friday after he finishes an 18-month sentence for aggravated assault. From there, he’ll begin serving a one-year sentence for driving while intoxicated in New York City.

Knicks seek to host 2014 NBA All-Star game

The 2012 NBA All-Star game, assuming it gets played, will be in Orlando. The 2013 game, according to just about every Houston media outlet in existence, will be in Houston. It should be around a full year before the 2014 weekend gets a home, but the New York Knicks hope to land the honor.

Marc Berman of the New York Post reports:

With Houston reportedly getting the 2013 All-Star Game, the new Garden figures to be the top candidate for the 2014 event when the three-year transformation is finally complete. The Knicks have applied to host the game. The Nets and Brooklyn’s Barclay Center also could be considered.

I assume the Knicks or Nets are favorites to be named host in 2014 (and maybe also 2015), because by then the Nets will have been in Brooklyn for two years. That’s two fresh arenas, ready to pack fans in.

Read NBA fan opinion or discuss your views in this basketball forum topic.

Kenyon Martin seeks new agent as he preps for free agency

Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post reports:

Longtime Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin will enter NBA free agency –- whenever that’ll be –- without his longtime agent. Martin confirmed via text message that he’s parted ways with Brian Dyke, the passionate agent who had been with the power forward since the early days in New Jersey.

Martin confirmed he is seeking new representation as he prepares for what could be the last big contract of his career. The 2010-11 season was the last on that seven-year, $90-plus million contract, which had been the topic of conversation – and, to some, consternation – for years here in Denver. Before last season began, Martin had expressed desire to get an extension, but that didn’t happen.

Read fan opinion and discuss your views in this basketball forum topic.

Vince Carter donates $2.5 million to Carolina Basketball Family Fund

Robbi Pickeral of ACC Now, on News Observer, reports:

“Letterman’s Lane,” the brick walkway between the Smith Center and Koury Natatorium on North Carolina’s campus, will now be named for one basketball letterman in particular: Vince Carter.

The school announced today that the former All America player has made a $2.5 million donation to the Carolina Basketball Family Fund, which paid for the renovations to the Smith Center basketball offices in 2010 and will support the operating endowment for the men’s basketball program.

It is the largest gift, to date, to the fund, earning him more than a brick on the walkway that honors every varsity player, coach, trainer and manager in the history of UNC basketball.

“My days as a Carolina student, both pre-NBA and during the summers after I was drafted, will always be special to me,” Carter said in a prepared statement. “It goes without saying that I am a Tar Heel. For several years, I have been thinking about something I could do to leave a legacy at UNC. Lettermen’s Lane is a perfect fit.”

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

Forward Sean Williams to sign in Israel

Marc Stein of ESPN reports:

After an All-Star season with the Texas Legends, Sean Williams is headed to Israel.

Sources with knowledge of the big man’s plans told ESPNDallas.com that Williams has agreed to a contract with Israeli club Maccabi Haifa, which has been trying feverishly to capitalize on the NBA lockout by signing players with NBA experience.

Williams’ deal, according to one source with knowledge of the terms, includes an out clause that would enabled the 24-year-old to return to the NBA when the lockout ends and if he gets an NBA offer.

Houston lands 2013 NBA All-Star Game

Mark Berman of My Fox Houston reports:

NBA sources told FOX 26 Sports the Houston Rockets and the City of Houston landed the NBA All-Star Game in 2013. The game will be played at Toyota Center on Feb. 17, 2013. NBA All-Star week will be Feb. 15-17. The Rockets and Toyota Center also hosted the game in 2006.

Click2Houston reports:

The entire NBA All-Star Weekend will be in the Bayou City from February 15-17, 2013. Hilton Americas Marketing Director Janice O’Neill-Cox spoke with Local 2 Sports Wednesday afternoon, saying, “We played a key role in working with the league to make sure availability was in place. It’s a big boost for our city to land the game, and we’re excited about it.”

InsideHoops.com editor says: I don’t get why Houston is getting the game again. They just had it in 2006. Meanwhile, other teams haven’t hosted it in a long time. Also, Madison Square Garden renovations will be mostly complete in time. And the new Brooklyn Nets arena will exist by mid 2012. Unusual call to send the big weekend back to Houston so soon.

New Jersey Nets name Milton Lee GM of minor league operations

The New Jersey Nets have named Milton Lee as the team’s general manager of minor league operations, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.

Lee, who had been the team’s director of basketball operations, will now oversee the basketball operations of the Nets’ D League affiliate, the Springfield Armor. Lee’s duties will include selection of the team’s head coach and coaching staff as well as assembling the Armor roster for the upcoming 2011-12 season.

“Milt is a natural fit for this position,” said King. “He has a strong history with young players and his experience with the Nets basketball operations department will allow for a seamless integration of philosophies between the two teams.”

Prior to joining the Nets, Lee started his own basketball services company where he worked in various capacities with the NBA, teams and players. Lee personally worked as a skills coach with several NBA players currently in the league. Previously, Lee served as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers summer league team in 2008 and 2009, and has been a consultant to the NBA at the past six Pre-Draft Combines.

Earlier in his career, Lee worked as a proprietary trader on Wall Street for ING Barings and SAC Capital. Lee interned for the NBA at three consecutive Olympic Games, including 1992, for the original “Dream Team.”

A native of Bergen County, New Jersey, Lee is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a member of the junior varsity basketball team.

The Nets, as reported by InsideHoops.com, entered into a hybrid agreement with the Armor on May 1. The hybrid affiliation is a structure similar to other minor leagues, allowing for the Nets to secure control over and cover the expenses related to the basketball operations of the Armor, while partnering with existing local ownership, which maintains responsibility for the team’s off-the-court business operations.

Jordan Farmar signs in Israel

Euroleague.net reports:

Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv moved to shore up its backcourt by signing point guard Jordan Farmar, a two-time NBA champion, to a one-year deal on Wednesday. Farmar (1.88 meters, 24 years old, arrives from New Jersey of the NBA, where he averaged 9.6 points and 5 assists in 24.6 minutes per game. Farmar played the his first four years as a pro with the Los Angeles Lakers, winning NBA titles in 2009 and 2010 while coming off the bench for 18 minutes per game, averaging 6.8 points and 2 assists. His best season statistically with Los Angeles was 2007-08, when he put up 9.1 points and 2.7 assists in 20 minutes per game.

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