The AP reports: Trevor Ariza scored nine points in his Rockets debut, helping Houston beat the San Antonio Spurs 99-85 on Tuesday night in the preseason opener for both teams. Carl Landry had 19 points to lead the Rockets, who are beginning the season without the cornerstones of their team. Yao Ming is out for the season after his broken left foot was slow healing, and Tracy McGrady is recovering from microfracture surgery on his left knee, and is not expect back until midseason… Rookie Chase Budinger had 15 points, Luis Scola 13 and Aaron Brooks 12 as the Rockets looked to the young players to step up.
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NBA tells bench players stay seated so fans can see
Good NBA seats are expensive. Fans shelling out big money to sit near the court should expect a good view of the action.
But what about when players get off the bench and remain standing for a while? On the one hand, it’s nice to see guys cheer their teammates. On the other, these giants prevent fans from seeing what they paid to see.
The Cavs are one team with players who remained standing a lot, and now the league office has reportedly taken action.
Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports:
The NBA has issued a memo to its teams directing players on the bench to remain seated during games. Game officials will be keeping a closer eye and will issue faster warnings and possible technical fouls if not followed. Players are permitted to cheer, but standing during regular-game action and blocking the fans’ views apparently isn’t going to be allowed.
That goes for Tuesday night’s first preseason game at The Q, where the Cavs will host the Charlotte Bobcats in the first of eight practice games before the season opener.
The Cavs weren’t exactly thrilled that their custom has been legislated.
“It is hard to take that out of the game,” LeBron James said. “Part of the game is emotions, your teammates are all you have. That was part of the reason we played great basketball, because we cheered each other.”
I support the league protecting the paying fan’s view.
Spurs sign Keith Bogans
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Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News reports: Keith Bogans, the 29-year-old journeyman guard who spent the final 29 games of last season playing with Jefferson in Milwaukee, has agreed to a one-year deal worth the veteran’s minimum of $1.03 million to join the Spurs. Bogans, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard, has averaged 7.5 points over a five-year career that includes stints with seven teams. He averaged 5.6 points in 65 games last season, split between the Magic and the Bucks. Like Bowen before him, however, Bogans has built his professional reputation on the defensive end.
SEPTEMBER 24 UPDATE
The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have signed guard Keith Bogans. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed. The San Antonio Express-News reports that it is “a guaranteed one-year deal worth the league minimum of $1.03 million.”
Bogans, 6-5, 215 pounds, split last season between the Orlando Magic and Milwaukee Bucks. He started the season with the Magic before being traded to the Bucks on Feb. 5 in exchange for Tyronn Lue. In 36 games with the Magic, he averaged 5.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in 21.9 minutes. Bogans appeared in 29 games for Milwaukee, averaging 6.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 16.7 minutes. For the season he appeared in 65 games, averaging 5.6 points and 3.1 rebounds in 19.6 minutes.
Originally drafted by Milwaukee in the second round of the 2003 NBA Draft (43rd overall), Bogans was traded to Orlando on draft night for cash considerations. A six-year NBA veteran, Bogans has spent time with Orlando, Charlotte, Houston and Milwaukee. His best season came in 2004-05 with the Charlotte Bobcats when he averaged 9.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 24.2 minutes per game. During the 2007-08 season Bogans appeared in all 82 games with the Magic and averaged 8.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists. In 425 career games, he has averaged 7.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 23.4 minutes.
Bruce Bowen retires
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The AP reports: Bruce Bowen won’t be pestering the NBA’s best anymore. The 38-year-old former San Antonio Spurs forward retired Thursday after 12 seasons and a reputation as one of the league’s most menacing defenders, hounding opponents with a tenacity that some players groused was more dirty than dogged. He called it quits after being waived this summer by Milwaukee, where the Spurs dealt him in a veteran dump-off for swingman Richard Jefferson — a decision Bowen said he understood. “You need to do things to better the business, and the Spurs definitely got better in the players they received, so I’m looking forward to continuously supporting the Spurs, but from more of a distance now,” he said in a news conference at his wife’s San Antonio salon. Bowen said he had been weighing retirement for the last five years.
ESPN.com reports: After helping the San Antonio Spurs win three championships and establishing himself as perhaps the premier perimeter defender of his generation, Bruce Bowen is retiring at 38. Bowen told ESPN.com that he will formally announce his retirement at a Thursday afternoon news conference and said he would elaborate more on his decision then. The announcement was scheduled to take place at the San Antonio spa/salon he co-owns and operates with his wife, Yardley… It was initially believed that Bowen would then sign in August with one of the Spurs’ championship rivals. Orlando, Boston and Cleveland were all mentioned as possibilities. But he has apparently decided instead to pursue his off-court business and community interests as well as a career in broadcasting.
Wizards sign Fabricio Oberto
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Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has signed free agent forward/center Fabricio Oberto. The Washington Times reports that the deal is for one year and $1.99 million.
“Fabricio is a proven winner with extensive playoff experience,” said Grunfeld. “He is a skilled big man and a rugged veteran that augments our frontcourt depth at both the center and power forward positions.”
Oberto (6-10, 245) has career averages of 3.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game with a .572 field goal percentage in four seasons with the San Antonio Spurs. Originally signed by San Antonio in 2005, Oberto was the starting center on the Spurs’ 2007 NBA Championship team. A native of Argentina, Oberto has been playing professionally since 1993 and helped guide his home country to the gold medal in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Previously this summer, Oberto was traded to Detroit as a key figure in the five-player deal that sent Richard Jefferson to San Antonio (he was subsequently waived by the Pistons).
InsideHoops.com editor says: With the experience Oberto has, he makes any bench stronger and is better than most backups at the center position. Which these days isn’t saying much. Still, decent pickup.
Read NBA fan discussion and share your own opinion in this forum topic.
Milwaukee Bucks waive Bruce Bowen
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The Milwaukee Bucks have requested waivers on guard/forward Bruce Bowen, General Manager John Hammond announced today.
Bowen was acquired from San Antonio on June 23 as part of the three-team trade that also brought the Bucks Kurt Thomas from San Antonio and Amir Johnson from Detroit. Richard Jefferson was sent to San Antonio while Fabricio Oberto went to Detroit to complete the trade.
Bowen, 38, is a 13-year NBA veteran who spent the previous eight seasons with San Antonio.
Read NBA fan reaction and discuss the news yourself in this forum topic.
Dallas Mavericks sign Drew Gooden
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The Dallas Mavericks announced today they have signed forward/center Drew Gooden. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. We’ll post contract details later today.
Gooden (6-10, 230) has seen action in 510 games with 396 starts. He holds career averages of 12.0 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 28.1 minutes per game while shooting .471 from the field and .732 from the foul line. Gooden played the final 19 games of last season with the San Antonio Spurs. He averaged 9.2 points and 4.4 rebounds in just 16.8 minutes per contest.
The seven-year veteran was originally selected in the first round (fourth overall pick) of the 2002 NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies and has seen action with six different teams (Memphis, Orlando, Cleveland, Chicago, Sacramento and San Antonio). Statistically, Gooden saw his best season in 2004-05 when we nearly averaged a double-double for Cleveland generating 14.4 points and 9.2 rebounds while playing in all 82 games (80 starts).
A native of Oakland, Calif., Gooden is a former standout at the University of Kansas where he was named Big 12 Player of the Year and First Team All-America by The Associated Press as a junior. In just three seasons at KU, Gooden was only the second player in school history (Danny Manning) to record 1,500 points, 900 rebounds, 100 blocks and 100 steals.
“We are very pleased to add Drew to our front line for the upcoming season,” President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Donnie Nelson said. “Drew is a veteran player with NBA Finals experience that is entering the prime of his career at 27 years old. He will provide valuable minutes at both the center and power forward positions with his tenacity in the paint, rebounding and ability to knock down shots.”
Tony Parker minor injury overseas
San Antonio Spurs swingman Manu Ginobili enjoys using the summer to ensure that he’ll never be fully healthy during the NBA regular season. Taking a cue from that, Tony Parker did his part. The San Antonio Express-News reports:
Spurs guard Tony Parker suffered two injuries to his right leg in a collision with an opponent while playing for the French national team against Austria on Friday night in Strasbourg, France. According to French sports newspaper L’Equipe, Parker left the game on a crutch after 12 minutes with a sharp pain in his right thigh after colliding with Austria’s Stjepan Stazic. Though that injury soon subsided, Parker’s right ankle became swollen. By Saturday morning, it was clear the ankle was the greater issue.
The report says that Parker feels he’ll be OK and that the sprain is minor.
San Antonio Spurs sign Theo Ratliff
The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have signed center Theo Ratliff. Per team policy terms of the deal were not disclosed. We heard it would be a one-year, minimum deal, but will check on that later today.
Ratliff has played for six teams (Detroit, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Portland, Boston and Minnesota) during his 14 NBA seasons. In 751 career games, he has averaged 7.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.53 blocks in 26.1 minutes. Ratliff has shot .498 (2,136-4,293) from the floor and .600 (1,357-1,913) from the line over his career. He has appeared in 39 playoff games averaging 5.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.72 blocks in 15.7 minutes per game. Ratliff enjoyed his best season in 2000-01, averaging 12.4 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.74 blocks and was voted as the starting center for the Eastern Conference All-Star Team (he missed the game due to injury).
A two-time NBA All-Defensive Second Team selection (1998-99, 2003-04), Ratliff is one of seven players in NBA history to lead the league in blocks in at least three seasons (2000-01, 2002-03 and 2003-04). He ranks 18th all-time in total blocks (1,902) and is fifth among active players.
The 6-10, 238-lb. Ratliff spent last season with the Philadelphia 76ers. He averaged 1.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.02 blocks in 12.6 minutes while appearing in 46 games.
InsideHoops.com editor says: Ratliff is old but smart and can try to do for the Spurs what Dikembe Mutombo was doing for the Rockets. He will contribute solid defense for a few minutes per half. Ratliff isn’t a day older than 58 at this point (being serious, he turned 36 in April) and can still block a shot and grab a rebound if he has his walker.
Security guard admits to stealing Jordan jersey from Tony Parker
The San Antonio Express-News (Craig Kapitan) reports: Security guard turned Bexar County Jail inmate Christopher James Carolan pleaded no contest Friday to stealing an autographed Michael Jordan jersey from Spurs star Tony Parker. Carolan, who wore orange jail scrubs and handcuffs as he stood before 186th District Judge Maria Teresa Herr, was arrested in June after Parker’s manager showed sheriff’s office investigators a Craigslist ad for the jersey that was posted a day after the collectors’ item went missing. The jersey, valued at $20,000, was sold for $120, court documents indicate.
InsideHoops.com editor says: So the guy steals something and immediately advertises it for sale on the Internet. And then sells it for less than 1/10th the approximate going rate for the item.