NBA Teams – Page 1701 – NBA Blog

Dirk Nowitzki, Germany bounced from EuroBasket

The AP reports:

After an off night by Dirk Nowitzki, Germany is out of the European Championship. And that means the NBA finals MVP will not be at next year’s Olympics.

Nowitzki’s poor shooting doomed his country to an 84-75 loss against Lithuania on Sunday. Germany missed out on a spot in the quarterfinals of the continental tournament and a chance to qualify for the London Games.

Germany needed to win by 11 points to advance, but never came close. Nowitzki was limited to 16 points on 4-for-17 shooting, and Lithuania made it to the knockout round.

“It’s my fault. I was not in condition to play a good tournament,” said Nowitzki, who led the Dallas Mavericks to their first NBA title last season.

Andray Blatche looking to make changes

Michael Lee of the Washington Post blog reports:

After determining that he had yet to truly turn his potential into more than flirtations of production, Blatche has taken some steps toward getting better. He recently hired powerful agent Andy Miller after going without representation for all of what turned out to be a difficult season — even after he had secured a lucrative extension with the Wizards. And he also decided to separate himself from people who weren’t interested in his personal development.

Blatche has been more visible with his community projects this summer. He spent most of his offseason working out in Miami, with the hope that the results will be noticeable in the upcoming season.

“I’m 25 years old,” said Blatche, who celebrated his birthday last month with John Wall, Hamady Ndiaye, Josh Howard and Trevor Booker in South Beach. “I’ve been in the league six years now. I know my goal. I want to be an all-star. And to be an all-star, I have to make changes, and those are the changes that I have to make now.

“I took the time to cut back on some friends and some people, and built myself around better people that know what’s best for me,” he said. “I’m sorry that it took so long for me to realize it, but it’s all about growing and maturing and that’s basically what I’m doing.”

Chris Douglas-Roberts to play in Italy

Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports:

Douglas-Roberts averaged 7.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in 44 games with the Bucks last season, after arriving from New Jersey in a trade for a 2012 second-round draft pick.

The former Memphis star missed 15 games at the start of the season after undergoing right eye surgery.

Udonis Haslem expects NBA season to be saved

The AP reports:

Udonis Haslem hopes to be ready — and able — to play soon.

The Miami Heat forward says he believes the NBA’s players and owners will come to terms on a new labor deal in time to save the season. Haslem says players have been told “both sides want to get a deal done.”

Labor talks are scheduled to resume Tuesday.

Kenyon Martin weighing China offers

Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post reports:

A third free agent who played for the Nuggets last year is in serious talks to play in China.

Kenyon Martin has received significant interest from two professional teams in the Chinese Basketball Association, which would make him the highest-paid player in the history of that league, a source said today.

The CBA will not allow players contract opt-outs should the NBA season begins before the CBA’s season ends. The NBA is currently in a labor lockout.

The longtime Nuggets power forward is currently weighing his options. If he signed with a team he would make more than the reported $3 million that Nuggets teammate J.R. Smith would make for a Chinese team, the source said.

Lionsgate sued over music used in LeBron James documentary

HollywoodReporter reports:

Lionsgate has been hit with a quirky copyright infringement lawsuit over a piece of music used in documentary More Than A Game, which chronicles basketball superstar LeBron James’ rise during his high school days in Ohio.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday in Georgia federal court comes from Mason Hall, a songwriter who says he authored a copyrighted composition entitled, “We Ready.”

Hall is suing Lionsgate as well as what may or may not be a LeBron James label at Interscope Records (“Interscope Lebron LLC”) for using his composition in the film without license.

Before this lawsuit even touches upon the question of fair use, the plaintiff’s first task may be convincing a judge that the song in question is really his.

Man gets 97 years for Antonio Burks shooting in Memphis

The AP reports:

A man has been sentenced to 97 years in prison for shooting Memphis Grizzlies guard Antonio Burks.

Criminal Court Judge Mark Ward on Thursday sentenced 20-year-old Darquan Lynneral Swift for the July 2009 shooting and attempted robbery during a dice game behind a vacant duplex. Burks, who played at the University of Memphis, and another man were critically injured and several others were robbed.

President and CEO Rick Welts is leaving the Phoenix Suns

Rick Welts will leave his position as President & CEO of the Phoenix Suns effective September 15, announced today by Welts and Suns Managing Partner, Robert Sarver. Sarver also announced that the Suns business organization will report to General Counsel, Jason Rowley, as the team launches a national search for the position of President. Lon Babby remains the President of Basketball Operations.

Welts joined the Suns in 2002 as President and had the additional title of CEO the past two seasons. Rowley came to the Suns in 2008 as General Counsel.

“I’m at a point in my life where my focus is to align my personal and professional life in a way I’ve never been able to achieve before,” said Welts. “The most important people in my personal life are not in Phoenix, and the Suns have been completely understanding and supportive of my request to leave in advance of the end of my contract.”

“My nine-plus years at the Suns have been incredibly rewarding thanks to a group of employees second to none in professional sports and the support of great ownership,” Welts continued. “The Suns organization has always been a special place to work, and I leave knowing that will continue to be true in the future.”

Sarver said, “The entire Suns organization thanks Rick for his tireless work on behalf of the Suns. While he will be missed, we understand his desire to relocate outside of Arizona for personal reasons. We have a very talented executive team including Jason Rowley, whose familiarity with the Suns organization will allow him to manage the business operations seamlessly as we conduct our search for a new team president. Our search will include both internal and external candidates.”

Welts has worked in the NBA virtually his entire life, starting as a ball kid with the Seattle Supersonics in 1967 and including a 17-year stint at the NBA League Office in New York City, where he left in 1999 as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer.

In a front-page New York Times story on May 16 of this year, Welts revealed he was gay, the most senior professional sports executive ever to take that step.

“The response from fans, co-workers, players and ownership of the Suns to my announcement has been the most gratifying experience of my life, one for which I will forever be grateful,” added Welts.

Russian bank part-owned by Nets owner raided by law enforcement officials

Reuters reports:

Armed, masked law enforcement officers on Thursday raided a bank part-owned by Mikhail Prokhorov, a billionaire Russian magnate who is leading a political party into a December parliamentary election, officials and lawyers said.

The head of the International Finance Club bank, known by its Russian acronym MFK, said the evening raid on the bank’s office in central Moscow had nothing to do with Prokhorov’s Right Cause party or even with the bank’s operations.

“Investigative actions were conducted in relation to one of our borrowers. This has nothing to with Right Cause or Onexim,” the bank’s chief, Oksana Lifar, told Reuters by telephone. Onexim is Prokhorov’s investment vehicle.

But the raid raised eyebrows in a country where critics of the authorities face harassment and law enforcement officers are sometimes employed to put pressure on opponents in business disputes.

Ricky Rubio OK with role on Team Spain

FIBA Europe reports:

Ricky Rubio is comfortable with his role in a Spain team that many wondered if he would make this summer.

The playmaker should make his much anticipated debut in the NBA this coming season with the Minnesota Timberwolves if the lockout ends and he’s hoping it will be a breath of fresh air because there were some tough times at Barcelona.

Rubio doesn’t possess a great jump shot but passes extremely well and plays as good a defense as any player at the EuroBasket.

He didn’t score in the 77-68 win over Germany on Wednesday and frankly, he doesn’t care.

“Little by little, I’m getting better as the tournament goes on,” he says.

“I feel more comfortable, although I still have to improve in shooting.

“I think I’ve done well in other facets of the game and that boosts my confidence.

“I know my limitations and my strengths and I have to take advantage of those.

“My strength is defending and hopefully I will see my shots go in but it does not worry me.”