Phoenix Suns Blog – Page 48 – NBA Blog

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.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson gets married

The AP reports:

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and former Washington, D.C., schools chancellor Michelle Rhee were married over the weekend in a private ceremony in Tennessee.

The wedding came almost a year to the day after the couple’s originally scheduled wedding date. Johnson’s office announced Tuesday that the ceremony was held Saturday at Blackberry Farm near Knoxville.

“We had a small ceremony with an intimate group of family and friends and are thrilled to be starting our lives together,” Johnson said in a statement.

The former NBA star and the education reform advocate had planned to marry on Sept. 4, 2010, in a much larger ceremony in Sacramento, but they rescheduled the nuptials after a wave of intense public interest.

Raptors guard Leandro Barbosa signs in Brazil

Leandro Barbosa doesn’t feel like sitting around doing nothing if the NBA lockout extends into the basketball season.

The AP reports:

Toronto Raptors guard Leandro Barbosa has signed a deal to play in his native Brazil.

Barbosa signed with Rio de Janeiro-based club Flamengo. The deal includes a clause that would allow him to return to the NBA if the lockout ends.

A statement on Flamengo’s website says Barbosa signed Thursday. Details of the deal weren’t released.

Barbosa was the third leading scorer on the Raptors last season, averaging 13.3 points per game. The team had the third worst record in the league, finishing 22-60.

It’s likely that over the next couple weeks, plenty of other bench-level NBA players will take this route.

No Marcin Gortat for Poland in EuroBasket 2011 due to insurance problem

FIBA reports:

Poland have just announced that their only NBA player, Marcin Gortat of the Phoenix Suns, will not feature this summer because of the failure to acquire an insurance policy he requires to take part.

Most of the burden of obtaining insurance for NBA players fell on the basketball federations when the NBA lockout began and league operations were shut down.

In a statement on the Polish Basketball Federation’s website, Polish Basketball Federation president Grzegorz Bachanski said: “Marcin really wanted to play but the situation that occurred this year, I of course mean the lockout, meant that this is not possible.

“Of course it is sad for us, but I am trying to think more broadly in the next few years.

“And Marcin Gortat in the future we will be needed.”

Gortat was the face of EuroBasket 2009 when the tournament was staged in Poland.

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

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.

Earl Clark signs in China

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo reports:

Orlando Magic free agent Earl Clark has reached an agreement on a one-year contract with Zhejiang of the Chinese Basketball Association, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

The deal will pay Clark in the “high six figures,” one source said.

Clark, a 6-foot-10 forward, has played 93 games for the Magic and Phoenix Suns in parts of two NBA seasons. He will stay the full season in China without an out clause to return to the NBA should the league-imposed lockout end.

Charges dropped in alleged kidnapping over Shaq sex tape

The AP reports:

Los Angeles County prosecutors have dropped the case against seven gang members accused of kidnapping a music producer who claimed to have a sex tape of Shaquille O’Neal.

At the prosecution’s request, a judge Tuesday dismissed kidnapping, assault and robbery charges.

District attorney’s spokeswoman Jane Robison says prosecutors believed Robert Ross was attacked but his credibility as a witness was undermined by some of his own testimony and behaviour outside court. No details were provided.

Suns swingman Mickael Pietrus on mend after knee surgery

Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports:

The good thing these days about a minor July knee surgery on a NBA player is that the lockout leaves next to no concern that he will miss any training camp or games.

The better thing about Suns swingman Mickael Pietrus’ surgery is that it was apparently routine. Pietrus’ agent, Bill McCandless, said Pietrus had a right knee arthroscopy to remove loose bodies almost three weeks ago in France and will be finished with rehabilitation by the end of this month.

“One piece of loose cartilage was lodged in a spot that impinged his movement and caused him pain during the season,” McCandless said. “He says he’s much, much better. The good news is he’s been forced to work. He has his strength back and no pain.”

Pietrus rented a house across the street from his rehabilitation center in France.

Steve Nash prefers to stay home during lockout

Elderly people tend to want to stay at home a lot.

How’s that for an intro?

Of course, Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash is only “elderly” by NBA standards. But still, his main focus now is to stay healthy as his NBA career presumably winds down over the next few seasons.

China Daily reports:

Although hailing the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league as a fine destination for NBA players, the Phoenix Suns’ MVP guard, Steve Nash, believes he will stay with his family during the current league lockout.

“Like I said before, if I did not have three daughters to take care of I would like to come and play in the CBA,” Nash said during a press conference on Monday in Shanghai.

The event was hosted by his sponsor, Luyou, and unveiled the all-star guard’s personal logo while he shared some of his favorite moves and shots with local fans.

“I know I have got a lot of diehard fans here, it’s incredible. The basketball league here is also awesome. It’s definitely a good league for all players worldwide. But I would like to stay with my family during the holidays,” said Nash, who arrived in China last Saturday for a four-day charity visit organized by the sports company.

Before the press conference, Nash paid a visit to Banqiao High School in Yunnan province, where he raised donations to build a new sports ground.

China is considered the leading destination for players to pursue overseas jobs once the select elite spots in Europe fill up. But no prominent players have agreed to play there during this lockout just yet.

Read NBA fan opinion or share your own views in this forum topic.

Aaron Brooks can envision future with Suns

Paola Boivin of the Arizona Republic reports:

“It was hard joining a team mid-season like that,” Brooks said. “It’s a different situation when you’re in camp together, working together. It didn’t go the way I wanted it to.”

Team executives would never say it publicly, but it is clear they had given up on Dragic. You can’t blame them. For all the early promise, his struggles never went away.

It’s easy to be critical about Brooks, but people forget that attractive options are few. What Brooks has going him for him is a lot of upside and one really solid season. That’s better than many other choices, which tend to be older, less talented or less promising.

If the Suns are faced with a reasonable offer to match, they should do it.

Brooks will never be Nash but with confidence and more time in the system he can make sure the Suns have one less hole to address.

Part of the problem, of course, is that all point guards who go through Phoenix are compared to Nash. It’s a no-win approach because few are as adept as Nash at improving everyone else around them.

He’ll be gone soon. And the Suns need to figure out ways to make the segue less painful.

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