NBA Teams – Page 1048 – NBA Blog

Lakers agree to purchase land for new training center and offices

The Los Angeles Lakers announced today that they have entered into an agreement with CDC Mar Campus, LLC for the purchase of an approximately five acre undeveloped portion of the development known as Elevon at Campus El Segundo located in El Segundo, CA.

The site is at the northwest corner of Mariposa Avenue and Douglas Street.

The site is intended to be the future home of a brand new training center for the Lakers and its Development League team, the Los Angeles D-Fenders.

The facility will also house the business operations offices for both teams.

The completion of the purchase is subject to various conditions, including the approval by the City of El Segundo of the proposed use of the property by the Lakers.

Brandon Jennings fined $5,000 for flopping

Detroit Pistons guard Brandon Jennings has been fined $5,000 by the NBA for violating the league’s anti-flopping rules for the second time this season.

The incident occurred with 3:01 remaining in the fourth quarter of Detroit’s 116-111 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday, March 31 at Palace of Auburn Hills.

To view the play, click on this link.

Jason Kidd, Gregg Popovich named NBA Coaches of Month for March, 2014

The Brooklyn Nets’ Jason Kidd and the San Antonio Spurs’ Gregg Popovich today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in March.

Kidd guided the Nets to a 12-4 record in March, and the highest winning percentage (.750) in the Eastern Conference. Brooklyn posted a 9-0 record at Barclays Center and was the only Eastern Conference team to go undefeated at home. On March 12, the Nets defeated the Miami Heat 96-95, which improved Brooklyn’s mark to 3-0 this season against the defending champions. This is the second Coach of the Month award for Kidd this season (January).

Popovich led the Spurs to an NBA-best 16-0 record in March, propelling them to a 58-16 record, tops in the NBA. Eleven of San Antonio’s 16 wins in March were by 10-or-more points, and the Spurs scored 100-or-more points in 13-of-16 games. The Spurs closed the month with a 103-77 road victory over the Indiana Pacers on March 31, and enter April riding a franchise-record 18-game winning streak.

Other nominees for Coach of the Month were Charlotte’s Steve Clifford, Houston’s Kevin McHale, Los Angeles Clippers’ Doc Rivers, New York’s Mike Woodson, Oklahoma City’s Scott Brooks, Phoenix’s Jeff Hornacek and Toronto’s Dwane Casey.

No, DeMarcus Cousins is not putting out a music album

Here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting on Kings center DeMarcus Cousins and an early April 1 joke:

DeMarcus Cousins created a stir on the Internet on Sunday night.

And he had fun doing so.

Pictures surfaced of Cousins’ first “album” under the name Boogie Smooth titled “Misunderstood,” with the first single being a rhythm and blues groove titled “Emotional” featuring Chance The Rapper.

Cousins even asked via Twitter on Monday if he could be any worse than Shaquille O’Neal or Chris Webber, who also dabbled in music during their careers.

But Boogie Smooth’s career is all in fun. Cousins, who is friends with rap stars Drake and Rick Ross, is not about to become a part-time R&B crooner.

Cousins laughed when asked about the musical project, as did his teammates. Coach Michael Malone even found the musical venture comical.

Pacers playing unimpressive basketball lately

Here’s the Indianapolis Star with a look at the Pacers, who have been less than spectacular for a while now:

A slump? A hiccup? No, it’s a whole lot more than that. After Monday night’s 103-77 blowout loss to the San Antonio Spurs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the Pacers have lost 10 of their last 16 games and six of their last eight. After that 33-7 start, when they were the toast of the NBA and had everybody lauding their selflessness, the Pacers have now gone 19-16. That’s not a slump. That’s a month-and-a-half, two months’ worth of mediocrity. That’s who they are now.

This is just like the 2002-03 Isiah Thomas-coached Pacers, who ran out to the league’s best record the first half of the season, then sleep-walked the rest of the season before getting eliminated in the first round by the Boston Celtics.

For too long, they’ve been acting like they actually accomplished something, like they should be entitled to officials’ calls and special treatment. Paul George’s play and his whining have been especially galling. Remember when we talked about him in the same sentence with MVP front runners LeBron James and Kevin Durant? That seems like a million years ago.

George has been ordinary, or worse, since the All-Star break. Hibbert has disappeared for long stretches of time. David West, the nominal leader of this team, has been inconsistent. Evan Turner, the late-season acquisition, has been miserable, especially on defense.

Monday night, Lance Stephenson was the only Pacer who played with urgency and energy.

Future of Rudy Gay with Kings remains unclear

Here’s NBA.com reporting on the Sacramento Kings and Rudy Gay:

He says he has not made a decision on the $19.3 million on the table or whether he wants to remain with the Kings at any price. He has so not made a decision, Rudy Gay insists, that he is asked to list a couple factors that will go into the final call and responds, “I don’t know.”

It is long after another loss at Sleep Train Arena, this time to the Knicks, in a near-empty locker room after most teammates have left. Gay is sitting in front of his stall, showered and changed and contemplating the unexpected search for career stability.

Memphis for 6 ½ seasons, and then suddenly Toronto and Sacramento in a little more than 10 months, and the career intersection over whether to stay in the current contract with $19.3 million on the books for 2014-15 or declare himself a free agent is approaching. In that setting, feeling so undefined about the future is actually understandable.

“What does my gut tell me?” Gay says of the looming decision and possibly decisions, plural. “I don’t know. My gut tells me different things every day.”

Sacramento Kings sign Jared Cunningham to 10-day contract

The Sacramento Kings today signed guard Jared Cunningham to a 10-day contract, according to Kings General Manager Pete D’Alessandro.

In his second NBA season, Cunningham totaled two points (1-2 FG, 0-1 3pt, 0-2 FT), one rebound, three assists and 22 minutes in five games off the bench for the Atlanta Hawks before being waived on February 22.

Cunningham was selected out of Oregon State in the first round (24th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers before being traded along with Jae Crowder and Bernard James to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Tyler Zeller and Kelenna Azubike.

In his rookie campaign with the Mavericks, he recorded a total of 16 points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal in 26 minutes in eight contests off the bench.

The 6-4, 194-pound guard has also spent time in the D-League, playing for the Texas Legends (2012-13) and Bakersfield Jam (2013-14). With the Legends, Cunningham averaged 15.3 points (.335 FG%, .257 3pt%, .721 FT%), 2.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 34.5 minutes per game in 15 games, of which he started 13. Cunningham posted averages of 16.5 points (.394 FG%, .330 3pt%, .803 FT%), 3.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 31.1 minutes per game in 22 contests, starting 19 of those.

Keeping Sacramento Kings core together will be expensive

Here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting on the Kings, who likely face difficult economic decisions in the near future:

It was a bold move that signified the Kings would no longer see “cash considerations” as a primary asset gained through trades.

In December, new Kings general manager Pete D’Alessandro, with the blessing of principal owner Vivek Ranadive, acquired three players from Toronto, with the headliner being forward Rudy Gay and the approximately $37 million he could earn over two seasons.

The deal made Isaiah Thomas a starter, and he’s flourished as a scoring point guard. With center DeMarcus Cousins, Thomas and Gay, the Kings have the only trio of players averaging 20 or more points on the same team.

This summer, the Kings will see how much it costs to keep a trio like that together.

Cousins will be entering the first year of a four-year, $62 million contract. Gay has a $19.3 million player option for next season. He could opt out and become a free agent, forcing the Kings to pay a bigger salary to retain him.

Alec Burks back in action for Jazz

Here’s the Salt Lake Tribune reporting on a key member of the Utah Jazz returning to action:

After missing four straight games with a sprained left ankle, Jazz shooting guard Alec Burks was back in the lineup Sunday.

It took a moment to shake the rust off.

The attacking guard was in familiar position, getting back to the line quickly upon checking into the game. But he hit on just one of his first four free-throw attempts. Handling the ball in a first-quarter pick and roll, Burks dribbled right and lost it out of bounds.

“When I was talking to him on the court, he said he felt like he was moving a little too fast,” forward Marvin Williams said. “I told him, when you have time off your timing is the first thing to go. You just have to tell yourself to slow down a little bit. … He slowed down and he got back to the same old Alec.”

Knicks have legit shot at making the playoffs

Here’s the New York Post reporting on the Knicks, who despite their disappointing win-loss record have a very good shot at qualifying for the playoffs:

It’s down to one.

With Atlanta in freefall, the Knicks are lucky to be alive. And so they are very much, closing to one game of the final playoff spot with a 89-84 upset victory in a surprising defensive struggle over the Warriors at Oracle Arena, when they shut down Stephen Curry twice in the final 30 seconds.

The Knicks used rare gritty defense and a 15-0 run late in the second quarter to keep their postseason dreams alive. They had lost 10 of their last 11 games in Oakland before rising to the challenge — and bottling up Curry on the final possession.

“Our defense finally stepped up,’’ coach Mike Woodson said.

The Knicks moved to 2-2 on their five-game West Coast trip. With eight games left, the Knicks finish up the Western trip Monday in Utah. The Hawks face the Sixers.