Washington Wizards Blog – Page 53 – NBA Blog

Roger Mason may return to Washington, DC

The Wizards are close to bringing back District native Roger Mason Jr. Players are unable to reach oral or written deals with teams until the new collective bargaining agreement is ratified but Mason is set to have his second run with his hometown team, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation.

One person, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions, said on Wednesday that Mason is expected to join the team for the first day of training camp on Friday. The deal is expected to be for one year at the veteran minimum.

— Reported by Michael Lee of the Washington Post (Blog)

President Obama to host exhibition basketball game

President Obama hasn’t hid his desire for the NBA lockout to end, but he is taking advantage of the league’s work stoppage by luring some of the game’s top stars to participate in a fundraising game on Dec. 12 in the District.

Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Chris Bosh, Blake Griffin and Wizards guard John Wall are among the players who have committed to play, according to the Obama campaign Web site. Tickets for the first “Obama Classic” start at $100 and courtside seats can be purchased for $5,000.

Proceeds from the game will go to the Obama Victory Fund to support the president’s 2012 reelection campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said both the venue and Obama’s participation in the event have yet to be determined.

— Reported by Michael Lee of the Washington Post

The venue for the game has not been finalized, but a number of former and current NBA players already have committed to participate. They include: Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Ray Allen and Chris Bosh.

Sources also said Baron Davis, Vince Carter, Alonzo Mourning. Jamal Crawford, Rudy Gay, Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, Amare Stoudemire, Blake Griffin, Tyler Hansbrough, Derek Fisher, Antawn Jamison, Juwan Howard, Quentin Richardson, Dahntay Jones, Brandon Knight, Jerry Stackhouse, John Wall, Dikembe Mutombo, Patrick Ewing and Doc Rivers are expected to play. Veteran WNBA star and all-time leading scorer Tina Thompson and former USC great Cheryl Miller also is expected to participate.

— Reported by Ric Bucher of ESPN the Magazine

John Wall will play in Carmelo Anthony NYC-area exhibition game

John Wall says he plans to play in Carmelo Anthony’s exhibition game in New York, if and when it’s scheduled.

“Yeah, I’ve got to,” Wall said last week. “Carmelo’s like a big brother or a big homey to me. I listen, take a lot of advice from him. So I wouldn’t mind playing in his game.”

Anthony has said he wants to host an exhibition game in the area featuring LeBron James, Chris Paul and Kevin Durant, among others. So Wall would only add to the star power.

The game is expected to be scheduled for late November and may take place in the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J.

— Reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York

Josh Howard charity basketball game in Dallas

Josh Howard announced that he will host an all-star charity basketball game in Dallas, Texas featuring an all-star cast of professional basketball players. The Josh Howard Celebrity All-Star Basketball Game Presented by Free Move Texas will be held Saturday, Nov. 12, 6 p.m., at the P.C. Cobb Center, at the city’s fair grounds.

On November 11 it was announced that Howard has added Kevin Durant to the lineup. Dallas-area fans will be treated to basketball at its best in the charity game featuring Josh Howard, Kevin Durant, John Wall, LaMarcus Aldridge and many others at the P.C. Cobb Center and via live web-stream on TheBasketballChannel.net. Tip-off is 6 p.m. Central Time / 7 p.m. Eastern Time.

Team White: Josh Howard, John Wall, Reggie Evans, Marquis Daniels, Quinton Ross, DeSagana Diop, Anthony Randolph, Damon Jones, Jeremy Evans and Kevin Durant. Coach is Jason Terry.

Team Blue: LaMarcus Aldridge, Andray Blatche, Hamady N’diaye, Nick Young, Corey Brewer, Damion James, Isaiah Thomas, Jarrett Jack, Jason Maxiell and Damien Wilkins. Coach is Trevor Booker.

Tickets for The Josh Howard Celebrity All-Star Basketball Game Presented by Free Move Texas are available at www.JoshHowardFoundation.com,The Fade Shop and Ten Sports Grill. Ticket prices are: $15 in advance, $25 on-site and $50 for floor seats.

The Josh Howard Celebrity All-Star Basketball Game in Dallas, Texas will benefit The Josh Howard Foundation: all money will be used to continue its mission. During the past six months Howard has hosted multiple events in Dallas, Texas, Winston-Salem, N.C. and Mauldin, S.C. to fundraise, and has supported an equal number of charity events hosted by other professional basketball players.

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Maurice Evans completed college degree while trying to help resolve NBA labor dispute

As a vice president with the National Basketball Players Association, Maurice Evans had made getting the players a new, fair collective bargaining agreement his primary goal since the season ended. The players’ union and the NBA owners have yet to meet that objective without losing regular season games, but Evans can still feel a sense of accomplishment about this offseason.

Because in the midst of attending numerous bargaining sessions in New York, running regional players meetings in Chicago and Las Vegas, and going over strategies with union president Derek Fisher and executive director Billy Hunter, Evans managed to finally get his degree in education from the University of Texas.

“I was very proud of that,” Evans said this week. “Unfortunately, that doesn’t make as much news as the bargaining sessions, but I’ve had a great and productive summer.”

Evans, 32, left Texas after his junior season in 2001, hoping to be drafted in the first round but wound up going undrafted. He scrapped his way into a NBA and has outlasted 12 first-rounders from that draft, but he always felt the void of not having his degree. “I know I’m a leader on and off the court and before you can commence in anything, you have to finish stages and that was the stage left open due to me continuing my NBA career,” Evans said. “Once I had a break due to this lockout, I was able to find the time.”

— Reported by Michael Lee of the Washington Post Blog

Barack Obama heartbroken over NBA lockout

At a fundraiser in Orlando last night, President Barack Obama expressed frustration that the Basketball season has been delayed.

Here’s what he had to say, according to the White House pool report:

THE PRESIDENT: I love you back. (Applause.) I do. Although I have to say that backstage I had the chance to see Dwight Howard — (applause) — and Dwight is a great friend, and I told him I’m a little heartbroken that the NBA season is getting delayed here. (Laughter.) So I’m hoping those guys are back on the court soon. In the meantime, I’m here because I need all of your help. I need your help. (Applause.)

— Reported by Zeke Miller of Business Insider

Two stars from Psych on USA network give InsideHoops shoutouts

The show Psych on USA Network is an InsideHoops.com favorite. I watch it, and tons of our message board members love it as well. Several pro-Psych forum discussions exist and it’s almost all positive. The general consensus is that it’s an extremely fun show.

So it was cool when InsideHoops.com was recently invited to cover a USA network event called “Psych Fan Appreciation Day,” celebrating the upcoming new Psych season with dedicated fans of the show. We were treated to an advance preview of the season premiere, and met virtually the entire cast.

We’ll post some interview quotes in the next day or two, but right now we’ll jump right to the extra good stuff and present video clips of two Psych stars welcoming you to InsideHoops.com:

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Yi Jianlian will play in China, with out-clause for NBA return

Until the NBA and its players’ union can come to a resolution on a new collective bargaining agreement, Yi Jianlian is returning to the place where his professional basketball career started.

Jarinn Akana, one of Yi’s representatives, confirmed that his client has signed a contract with the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association which will have an NBA out for whenever the labor dispute is settled.

The CBA allowed its teams to sign only free agent NBA players, and Yi is an unrestricted free agent after the Wizards declined to extend his $5.4 million qualifying offer for next season. Wilson Chandler, J.R. Smith and Kenyon Martin have all signed to play in China since the league decided to lock out its players on July 1, but the CBA does not allow foreign players to leave until the conclusion of the season.

Akana explained in a telephone interview that since Yi is a local player, the CBA and the Southern Tigers have both afforded him the privilege of leaving whenever he signs another deal in the NBA.

— Reported by Michael Lee of the Washington Post blog

Celtics may target Josh Howard in free agency

A free agent who could be on the Celtics’ radar is former Wizard and Maverick Josh Howard, who is healthy after tearing an anterior cruciate ligament in February 2010. Howard played in 18 games for the Wizards last season, averaging 8.4 points in 10 starts ….. One agent said he believes the NBA will not want to start the season after Christmas, as it did with the lockout in 1998-99. That season was pushed back to February and 50 games were squeezed into two months ….. Celtics second-round draft pick E’Twaun Moore has begun the exhibition season with Benetton Treviso, averaging 10.4 points in four games for the Italian team. Ex-UConn standout Jeff Adrien and ex-Celtic Brian Scalabrine are also on the roster.

— Reported by Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe

Tickets for Drew League vs Goodman League rematch go on sale Wednesday

Pedro Moura of ESPN.com reports:

Tickets for the much-anticipated rematch between the Goodman League and Drew League, scheduled for Oct. 9, will go on sale at midnight Wednesday, Drew League commissioner Dino Smiley confirmed to ESPNLosAngeles.com.

The game will be played at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, where the Long Beach State 49ers play basketball and volleyball games. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 9, with doors opening at the arena at 4 p.m. and a 5 p.m. celebrity game featuring still-to-be-determined participants…

Capacity at the Walter Pyramid, including standing-room only, is 5600, Smiley said. The original Drew-Goodman game in August was played at the 1600-seat gymnasium at Trinity University in D.C.

Tickets, available through the Long Beach State ticket office, will start at $25 for assigned seating and go up to $100 for courtside seats.

Following the game, there have also been preliminary talks to hold a home-and-home series with Jamal Crawford’s Summer League in Seattle, Smiley said, which could be as soon as later in October.