NBA Teams – Page 1102 – NBA Blog

Gilbert Arenas hopes for NBA comeback

Here’s TMZ reporting on a former beloved NBA player who really should keep the sneakers hung up in the closet at this point. It’s unlikely that any team would sign Gilbert Arenas at this point, but here’s the story:

Gilbert Arenas has had a change of heart … telling TMZ Sports he’s abandoned his plans to retire from pro basketball … and he’s currently training to RETURN TO THE NBA!!

It was just last month, Agent Zero told us he was walking away from the sport forever … happily … ’cause he’s still got another $38 million coming his way from the $111 million contract he signed with the Washington Wizards back in the day.

Dirk Nowitzki, still an NBA star

Here’s the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki, who is still a force in basketball:

The greatness that is Dirk Nowitzki struck again Monday night at the Toyota Center.

Nowitzki poured in a game-high 31 points and converted 11-of-18 shots while leading the Dallas Mavericks to a 111-104 victory over the Houston Rockets. Afterward, leave it to forward Vince Carter to explain why Nowitzki will go down in history as one of the greatest to ever play in the NBA.

“He’s very confident and he understands who he is and how he can dominate the game,” Carter said. “And that’s a dangerous player to me is a guy who knows, ‘Hey, I might not take you off the dribble, but at the same time, I’m going to score all day.’

“He has you at his mercy, and I think he also does a great job of just letting [the game] come to him.”

Kevin Garnett discusses Nets struggles

The Brooklyn Nets are 9-18 and have had a very tough season. In their defense, injuries have played a big factor in their struggles. Still, the team is under-performing. Here’s the New York Daily News reporting:

Kevin Garnett discusses Brooklyn Nets struggles

A day after Jason Kidd blasted the Nets as being comfortable with losing, Kevin Garnett acknowledged they were a team without an identity – another depressing admission about a third into the season — but stopped short of seconding his coach.

“I wouldn’t agree with that. Personally, I can only control myself and I’d never step on the floor if I never was going to accept anything less than (wanting to win),” Garnett said ahead of Brooklyn’s Christmas noon showdown against the Bulls at Barclays Center. “I’m not built like that, and I don’t think my teammates are built like that. Obviously we’re going through a tough time. That’s (Kidd’s) assessment. I don’t think it’s true.”

Garnett, 37, again reiterated that his lack of production this season is a result of his reduced role, not a personal struggle or a decline in his game.

Still, he admitted — somewhat stubbornly — that might have to change with the season-ending injury to Brook Lopez. Garnett is averaging just 6.7 points while shooting 37.5% in 22 minutes per game – career lows, by far, if sustained.

Rasual Butler happy to be with Indiana Pacers

Here’s the Indianapolis Star on veteran Rasual Butler enjoying himself as a member of the Indiana Pacers. Butler plays just 5.8 minutes per game, but he’s a part of a winning team with legit championship aspirations.

Butler has recaptured his NBA career just by staying ready.

During 2011-12, he was waived by the Toronto Raptors and remained without an NBA job for the entire next season. Butler had bounced around five teams in 10 years, thought of as just a spot-up shooter and possibly, one close advocate believes, considered a veteran who wasn’t worth the trouble.

Forget one foot, Butler had nine toes out of the very exclusive club that no basketball player ever wants to be escorted away from. But he remained humble, hungry and, most of all, ready. After a year spent remaking his body then accepting the lowly assignments of Development League standout and Summer League old head, Butler has returned to the NBA.

“You don’t get too many of those,” says Geo Aispuro, the basketball trainer who worked out with Butler for nearly a year so he could return to the NBA. “You get a lot of guys that drop out but you just never get those guys that drop out and get back into the league.”

Butler has this old soul about him. He speaks like a late-night DJ spinning jazz records and even breaks up the uncensored jocularity in the Pacers’ locker room whenever he feels the ribbing could go too far. Butler carries the sophistication of well-traveled diplomat and shares wisdom like the neighborhood lifer. But really, he’s just a man who’s seen his share of twists and turns and now feels grateful for this time of stability.

Paul Pierce fined for hard foul on George Hill

Brooklyn Nets forward Paul Pierce has been fined $15,000 for making excessive and unnecessary contact with George Hill of the Indiana Pacers, it was announced today by Rod Thorn, President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, which was called a Flagrant Foul 2, occurred with 4:22 remaining in the third quarter of the Nets’ 103-86 loss the Pacers on Monday Dec. 23, at Barclays Center.

Matt Barnes fined $25,000 for failing to leave court in timely manner after ejection

Los Angeles Clippers forward Matt Barnes has been fined $25,000 for failing to leave the court in a timely manner upon his ejection, it was announced today by Rod Thorn, President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, which was called a Flagrant Foul 2 on the floor and downgraded to a Flagrant Foul 1 upon league office review, occurred with 56.8 remaining in the third quarter of the Clippers’ 120-116 OT victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday Dec. 22, at Staples Center.

Barnes has gained a reputation as an intense player who also sometimes loses his cool, resulting in hard fouls, techs and ejections. His ultra-competitiveness generally helps his team, except when it results in the opposing squad getting to shoot some extra free throws.

Bobcats forward Jeff Taylor out 6-9 months after surgery

Charlotte Bobcats forward Jeff Taylor underwent successful surgery today to repair the rupture in his right Achilles tendon that he suffered in Friday’s game at Detroit. The surgery was performed by foot specialist Dr. Bob Anderson.

Following four weeks of non-weight bearing, Taylor will begin the rehabilitation process. The standard timeline for recovery is 6-9 months.

Brook Lopez kept playing through injury

Here’s the New York Post with additional insight on the injury to Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez:

When Alan Anderson woke up Saturday morning, he got a text message from a friend saying Brook Lopez was “out” and didn’t know what to think.

“I thought they meant outside, like out somewhere,” Anderson said after Sunday’s practice, shaking his head. “Then I saw it on the screen and called the trainers and said, ‘This can’t be right.’ But they said it’s right.”

The news Lopez was lost for the season after suffering a fractured fifth metatarsal in his right foot during Friday night’s loss in Philadelphia caught everyone by surprise. The center played the final 10 minutes of regulation and overtime after initially getting hurt when he got tangled up with Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young midway through the fourth quarter.

“No one knew,” Nets coach Jason Kidd said. “That just shows how tough Brook is.”

Should the Chicago Bulls trade Luol Deng?

Here’s ESPN Chicago pondering a very important question for the Chicago Bulls:

It’s the question that Bulls fans continue to wonder about as another lost campaign rolls along. The question for the organization remains the same as it was the instant Derrick Rose went down Nov. 22 with a torn meniscus. How much is Deng, who will become a free agent at the end of this season, worth on the trade market — and the open market?

Let’s tackle the trade-market aspect of this first. I might be in a minority, but I’m still convinced that if the Bulls get the right package in return for Deng, they will deal him before the Feb. 20 trade deadline. The problem for them is that no team appears to be willing to give up a future first-round pick plus the expiring contracts it would take to get it done. The biggest hurdle for the Bulls in any potential Deng trade, aside from his impending free agency, is that he is making more than $14 million this season. That will take a lot of excess money to get something accomplished in order to make the numbers work. The Bulls love Deng, but they have a pretty clear indication that there is a wide gap between how they value him and how Deng and his agents value him in the future.

Knicks embarrassed on the boards in loss to Grizzlies

Here’s the New York Post on the latest Knicks struggles:

The coach admitted his team’s rebounding was embarrassing, and the star player acknowledged the home struggles have gotten into their heads. There was no denying either after the Knicks’ 95-87 defeat to Memphis Saturday, when they got humiliated on the boards and matched their home loss total for all of last season.

Mike Woodson tried to counter their matinee woes with a 10 p.m. curfew Friday night, and tried to match up against Memphis with a big lineup of Carmelo Anthony, Andrea Bargnani and Tyson Chandler. Neither worked, as they were badly out-rebounded and booed by the Garden crowd yet again. After going 31-10 at home last season, they fell to 4-10 at the Garden this season.

“You look at the rebounding, it was 55-29. That’s embarrassing, especially when you start a big lineup,’’ said Woodson, whose Knicks are 0-3 in noon starts. “Tyson, Bargnani, Melo, they’ve got to rebound the ball better. We’ve got to do it as a unit as well. That was the difference, then the fact that we gave so much up at the rim. … We couldn’t keep them out of the paint. That was the problem.’’