NBA Teams – Page 1297 – NBA Blog

Obama picks Indiana to win NCAA basketball championship

President Barack Obama on Wednesday picked Indiana University to win the NCAA annual men’s college basketball tournament, joining in the “March Madness” office pool craze that sweeps America every spring.

The president, an avid sports fan, forecast that Indiana would defeat the widely favored University of Louisville in the championship game.

“I think this is Indiana’s year,” he said in an interview on ESPN, the sports cable network.

Obama, who began a three day trip to the Middle East on Wednesday, taped the interview on Tuesday.

— Reported by Mark Felsenthal of Reuters

Kiki VanDeWeghe to become NBA VP of Basketball Operations

E.M. ‘Kiki’ VanDeWeghe III, an All-American basketball player at UCLA, first-round draft pick, former two-time NBA All-Star, and successful NBA general manager and coach, will join the NBA as Vice President, Basketball Operations effective April 1, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations Stu Jackson announced today.

In his new role, VanDeWeghe will be involved in a broad range of basketball matters, including the development of playing rules and interpretations; game analytics; disciplinary matters; and policies and procedures relating to the operation of NBA games. He will also serve as a key interface between the league and the teams, drawing upon his years of experience as a general manager and coach. VanDeWeghe will report to Jackson.

“Kiki has a lifetime of basketball experience, including an NBA career spanning more than three decades as a player, coach, and general manager, which provides him with a tremendous amount of insight into our game,” Jackson said. “We’re looking forward to drawing upon his expertise on a wide range of matters involving our game.”

For the past two years, VanDeWeghe has been a contributor to FOX Sports West as a writer and analyst covering the Los Angeles Clippers. Previously, he was the general manager, and for one season the interim head coach, of the New Jersey Nets from 2007 to 2010. Before joining the Nets, he was a broadcast analyst for two years with ESPN. Prior to his time with ESPN, VanDeWeghe was the general manager of the Denver Nuggets from 2001 to 2006.

VanDeWeghe’s NBA playing career spanned 13 years, with the Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers, New York Knicks, and Clippers, during which he averaged 19.7 points with a 52.5% field goal average, 87.2% free throw average, made two All-Star appearances, and helped his teams to the postseason 12 times.

Kendall Gill gets into fight with another broadcaster

Comcast SportsNet Chicago Bulls analyst Kendall Gill has been removed temporarily from his on-air duties after a physical altercation with Big Ten Network analyst Tim Doyle in the CSN newsroom Tuesday evening.

The incident followed the taping of “Sports Talk Live,” a panel discussion on Comcast SportsNet Chicago that featured me, Mr. Doyle and Chicago Sun-Times reporter Herb Gould. Mr. Gill confronted Mr. Doyle in the newsroom over critical comments he had made on the air about Mr. Gill’s analysis of the controversial final moments of Monday’s Chicago Bulls-Denver Nuggets game. The referees ruled that what at first appeared to be a last-second basket by the Bulls would not be allowed, thus giving the win to the Nuggets.

The altercation happened right in front of me as Mr. Doyle and I were walking through the CSN newsroom on our way out of the building.

— Reported by Danny Ecker of Chicago Business / Crain’s Blog

Celtics sign D.J. White to multi-year contract

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have signed forward D.J. White to a multi-year contract. More details later today.

White, a 6’9” forward, has appeared in four games for the Celtics since he was signed to his original 10-day contract on February 28. In those four games, White has averaged 2.8 points and 1.5 rebounds in 6.8 minutes per game. He recorded a high of six points against Charlotte on March 16 and recorded four rebounds also against Charlotte on March 12.

Jazz decide not to keep Travis Leslie

Travis Leslie emerged from the locker room before practice in sweats. He walked over to the few players and coaches already on the court. He shook hands and disappeared back into the locker room and back to the D-League.

Ten days after it began for Leslie, his stint as a member of the Utah Jazz was over.

The Jazz opted not to sign Leslie to a second 10-day contract after the athletic D-League All-Star Game MVP, who before his call-up played for the Santa Cruz Warriors, did not appear in a game in a brief stint with the team.

“He did nothing wrong,” coach Tyrone Corbin said.

— Reported by Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune

Tony Parker participates in practice for Spurs

All-Star point guard Tony Parker participated in his first full practice since suffering a Grade 2 left ankle sprain almost three weeks ago, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said Tuesday.

Popovich ruled Parker out for Wednesday’s home game against Golden State, but said again that the Frenchman will likely beat the initial one-month timeline given after his injury against Sacramento on March 1. The Spurs follow the Warriors with Utah at home on Friday, Houston on the road on Sunday and Denver at home next Wednesday.

“I think it will be sooner than four weeks, but it won’t be tomorrow,” Popovich said. “He did everything today. It’s very encouraging.”

The Spurs are 5-2 without Parker, a likely MVP candidate in the midst of arguably his best season.

— Reported by Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News (Blog)

How Chris Wright found out he had multiple sclerosis

An innocent slip of the foot turned into a life-changing experience for Chris Wright.

That slip, which occurred last March while Wright was playing basketball in Turkey, ultimately led to the 6-1 point guard discovering that he was suffering from multiple sclerosis, a disease which impacts the brain and spinal cord when the protective sheaths around the nerves are damaged.

“I was in practice running sprints and at the end of practice I went down to touch the line and came up and I slipped,’’ Wright said. “My foot gave out and I thought nothing of it.

“I thought I just slipped, but eventually it got worse and I had numbness in my right foot, and then it started the next month to progress to the whole right side of my body. I lost basically all sensation, and I went to the doctor and that’s when they diagnosed me with MS.’’

— Reported by Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Andray Blatche chasing minutes and wins in upcoming free agency

Andray Blatche says money won’t mean much when he negotiates his next contract this summer, and there are complicated circumstances that give you reason to believe him.

In other words, Brooklyn – which won’t have cap space and doesn’t own Blatche’s Bird Rights – has an opportunity to re-sign its top free agent.

“I’m very aware (of my unique situation),” Blatche told the Daily News. “That’s what I’m saying. Everybody is probably thinking I’m looking to get that big check. I’m not. Not at all. I’m looking at what’s best for me.”

So what is best for the 26-year-old center?

“An opportunity to continue to play and win.”

— Reported by Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News

Injuries have forced Lakers to use tight rotation

Did Coach Mike D’Antoni run his players into the ground with heavy minutes on back-to-back nights?

Sure, but did that have anything to do with the loss in Phoenix on Monday night?

“We’ve been playing a seven-man rotation, and I think it caught up with us,” said Steve Nash after the game.

It’s not like D’Antoni had any other choice. He could have tried to work in Robert Sacre, Darius Morris, Chris Duhon or Devin Ebanks, but D’Antoni would have certainly preferred Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol or even Jordan Hill — but none was available.

Injuries have been the reality for the Lakers all season. D’Antoni won’t get a full roster for his entire initial season with the team. It hasn’t happened and it won’t with Hill out for the year (hip).

— Reported by Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Blog)

Remaining schedule looks tough for Hornets

Of the 14 remaining games this season, 11 come against teams that are playoff-locks or opponents on the fringe (Lakers, Utah, ) with attainable post-season aspirations.

“It’s not an easy stretch, but it’s the type of challenge you want,” Mason said. “For us, I think it will be a good measure of where our heart is at and how we compete going into next season.

“We have to learn. Obviously this has been a tough stretch here. No one is going to come to save us. It’s going to come (from) within. I think we have a resilient group. I’m excited about these next few games to see how we respond. It’s always run to see how things go when there’s a challenge ahead. And we have a challenge ahead right now, but I think we’ll be OK.”

The biggest challenge for the Hornets, though, will be to rediscover how to play defense.

— Reported by Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune