Memphis Grizzlies assistant GM Kenny Williamson passes away

The Memphis Grizzlies announced today that Assistant General Manager Kenny Williamson has passed away. Williamson, who had been battling advanced cancer, was 65 years old.

Williamson, a respected and well-connected member of the basketball community with over 30 years of basketball experience, had just entered his sixth season with the Grizzlies serving as Assistant General Manager. Known affectionately in basketball circles as “Eggman,” Williamson previously served three seasons with the Charlotte Bobcats, leading the club’s scouting of college and high school prospects while assisting with the team’s international scouting efforts.

Williamson worked six seasons (1997-03) as a scout for the New York Knicks before joining the Bobcats and aiding the team’s preparations for the 2004 Expansion Draft and NBA Draft. Prior to the Knicks, he spent 21 years as an assistant coach in the collegiate ranks, including stints with legends Lou Carnesecca, Denny Crum and Jim Valvano. Williamson served as an assistant coach at St. John’s, Seton Hall, Columbia and Louisville and was associate head coach at Iona and Florida State under Pat Kennedy. During his college coaching tenure, he worked with numerous future NBA players including Sam Cassell, Doug Edwards, Pervis Ellison, Adrian Griffin, George Johnson, Jeff Ruland, Felton Spencer, Bob Sura, Irving Thomas and Charlie Ward.

A native of Harlem, N.Y., he was a well-known fixture at historic Rucker Park in Harlem and was featured in the television basketball documentary “Hallowed Ground,” as well as an NBA-produced film on the Entertainers Basketball Classic in Rucker Park. The graduate of City College of New York is survived by his wife, Nicole, as well as five children and four grandchildren. The Grizzlies will announce plans to honor Williamson in the upcoming 2012-13 season and funeral arrangements at a later date.

The team has issued the following statements on behalf of the team’s ownership, CEO Jason Levien, General Manager Chris Wallace and longtime friend and colleague, Director of Player Personnel Tony Barone, Sr. on the passing of Williamson:

“On behalf of the Grizzlies organization, I want to express our sincere condolences to the entire Williamson family, especially his wife Nicole, his five children and four grandchildren. Kenny and his vibrant personality touched so many people throughout his years in the basketball community and each and every one of us will miss him dearly. Not only was Kenny a great basketball mind, anyone who knew him knows he was a devoted family man, a trusted colleague and an outstanding friend to all.” – Memphis Grizzlies CEO and Managing Partner Jason Levien

“Anyone who ever met ‘Eggman’ will never forget him. He had a huge personality and was extremely well respected, both professionally and personally. Kenny was as true and committed a friend as one will ever have. He deeply cared for his friends and the youth of Memphis and of every community he touched. He was the greatest people person I have ever known. Every place I ever traveled with him, from Argentina to Turkey and throughout the U. S. he made an indelible impression and made countless friends. He was well known is all basketball circles, both domestically and internationally, and his presence will be sorely missed. – Memphis Grizzlies General Manager Chris Wallace

“The business that we are in is a very stressful and difficult business and one thing that I knew for a fact was that every day that I came into the office with Kenny, my day was going to be a better day. He was a caring person who thought more about other people than he thought about himself.” – Longtime friend and Memphis Grizzlies Director of Player Personnel Tony Barone, Sr.

Rondo leads Celtics to 101-95 win over Bulls

Rajon Rondo had 20 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Boston Celtics to a 101-95 win over the Chicago Bulls on Monday night.

Rondo took advantage of Bulls point guard Nate Robinson for three quarters, helping the Celtics build a 12-point lead on 56-percent shooting. He extended his streak of consecutive games with 10 or more assists to 31, the longest in the NBA since John Stockton had 37 straight between Feb. 27 to Nov. 29, 1989.

Brandon Bass led four other Celtics in double figures with 16 points as Boston held off a furious late Chicago rally to snap a five-game losing streak at the United Center. Kevin Garnett had 15 points.

Luol Deng led the Bulls with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Joakim Noah added 17 points and 11 boards and led Chicago’s fourth quarter rally with nine points.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Jazz beat Raptors in triple overtime

Paul Millsap scored seven of his 34 points in the third overtime, Al Jefferson had 24 points and 17 rebounds, and the Utah Jazz picked up their first road win of the season, beating the Toronto Raptors 140-133 Monday night.

Utah rallied after trailing by 11 in the fourth quarter, and no was basket bigger than Jefferson’s 3-pointer with two seconds left in regulation, a shot that bounced around the rim before falling through. It was just the second 3-pointer of Jefferson’s nine-year career. He came in 1 for 25 from 3-point range.

Mo Williams had 17 points and 14 assists, Randy Foye scored 20 points and Marvin Williams had 17 as the Jazz opened a four-game trip by avoiding their first 0-5 start away from home since 1987. Derrick Favors scored 15 and Gordon Hayward added 12.

DeMar DeRozan matched his career high with 37 points, Jose Calderon had 20 points and 17 assists, and Amir Johnson fouled out with 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Raptors, who lost their fourth straight.

Linas Kleiza fouled out with 20 points and Andrea Bargnani scored 19 for the Raptors, who lost their eighth straight home game against Utah.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Brandon Jennings scores 33, Bucks beat Sixers

Brandon Jennings bobbled the ball once, twice, then let it fly.

His shaky ballhandling was erased by the steady aim of his 3-point shot. Jennings hit the go-ahead 3 late in the fourth quarter and finished with 33 points, eight assists, and four steals to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 105-96 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night.

”It was actually a big shot for us because they had the momentum,” Jennings said. ”It just gave us back the momentum.”

Monta Ellis scored 18 points and had seven assists, and Mike Dunleavy had 13 to help the Bucks improve to 3-0 on the road for the first time since they won their first four in 2001-02. Jennings and Ellis combined to make 20 of 41 shots with 10 rebounds and 15 assists…

Jrue Holiday had 25 points and a whopping eight turnovers for the Sixers. Jason Richardson scored 20 points and Wright had 14. The Sixers made 10 of 24 3-pointers.

— Reported by Dan Gelston of the Associated Press

Lakers officially hire Mike D`Antoni as new head coach

Lakers officially hire Mike D`Antoni as new head coach

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed Mike D’Antoni to a multi-year contract as head coach, it was announced today by Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak.  Per multiple reports, it is a three-year deal for $12 million, and the Lakers have a team option for a fourth year.

“After speaking with several excellent and well-respected coaching candidates, Dr. Buss, Jim and I all agreed that Mike was the right person at this time to lead the Lakers forward,” said Kupchak.  “Knowing his style of play and given the current make-up of our roster, we feel Mike is a great fit, are excited to have him as our next head coach and hope he will help our team reach its full potential.”

D’Antoni, who becomes the 24th head coach in franchise history and 20th in the Los Angeles era, owns a 388-339 (.534) overall NBA head coaching record in 10 seasons with Denver, Phoenix and New York.

Prior to joining the Lakers, D’Antoni most recently served as an assistant coach under Mike Krzyzewski on the gold medal-winning US Men’s National Basketball Team during the 2012 London Olympics.  In what was his second stint with the Men’s Senior National Team, D’Antoni was also an assistant coach for Team USA’s gold medal run at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Hired to become the 24th head coach in Knicks franchise history on May 13, 2008, D’Antoni guided the 2010-11 team to their first winning season since 2000-01 and concluded his four-year tenure in New York with a 121-167 (.420) overall record.  In each of his three full seasons on the Knicks bench, his teams finished in the Top 10 league-wide in scoring (4th in 2009, 9th in 2010 and 2nd in 2011).

Prior to joining the Knicks, D’Antoni spent five seasons with the Phoenix Suns (2003-08), compiling a 253-136 (.650) overall record.  In his four full seasons as head coach in Phoenix (2004-08), D’Antoni was named 2004-05 NBA Coach of the Year after leading the Suns to a franchise record 62-20 (.756) mark, posted four straight 50-plus win seasons (two 60-plus win seasons), won three Pacific Division titles and a recorded a 232-96 (.707) record over that span.

D’Antoni, who also spent four years in the NBA as a player and another 13 playing in Italy, made his NBA head coaching debut with the Denver Nuggets during the lockout shortened 1998-99 season.  After posting a 14-36 (.280) record in one season with Denver, he moved on to Portland, where he served one season as an assistant coach (2000-01).  Returning to coach one final season in Italy (2001-02), where he had previously coached for seven years from 1990-97, D’Antoni came back to the NBA as an assistant coach with the Suns in 2002 and served in that capacity until assuming head coaching duties 21 games into the 2003-04 season.

No Andrew Bynum for Sixers until mid December at earliest

Andrew Bynum health update: He’s still not healthy

No Andrew Bynum for Sixers until December, or beyond

The Philadelphia 76ers continue to be cautious in projecting an on-court date for the return of Andrew Bynum, and are carefully listening to the team of medical professionals who are closely monitoring the healing of Bynum’s knee.

In mid-September 2012, Bynum suffered a bone bruise of his right knee. He was examined at that time by Dr. David W. Altchek of New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery, Bynum’s longtime personal doctor who is acting as the lead orthopedist in caring for Andrew’s knee. It was initially communicated to the Sixers that Bynum should refrain from basketball activity for a period of four weeks to allow the knee to heal. His knee was re-evaluated on October 22 by Dr. Altchek, who extended by an additional four weeks to November 19 the time for Andrew to refrain from basketball activity.

Andrew received a fresh MRI and was seen again by Dr. Altchek this past week on Monday, November 5.

At that evaluation, Dr. Altcheck extended Andrew’s return date for a second time by an additional three weeks. However, in what the Sixers believe is an optimistic sign, Dr. Altchek also indicated that Andrew could immediately resume low impact exercise. Low impact exercise for a period of two weeks is to be followed by three weeks of conditioning on an anti-gravity treadmill.  The doctors and the team will be closely watching how Bynum’s knee responds during this five week regimen. Upon successful completion, Bynum is expected to be able to resume normal basketball activity.

If the current prognosis holds unchanged, Bynum would be cleared to resume normal basketball activity by approximately December 10. In addition, the team estimates that Bynum in turn will need an additional 1-4 weeks thereafter for conditioning, training and practice before being able to resume game play with significant minutes.

Tony DiLeo, the 76ers General Manager said, “We know that Sixers fans are eager to see Andrew Bynum play and shine in a 76ers uniform. We also know that no one is more eager to see Andrew play for the Sixers than Andrew himself. He fully realizes the key contribution he can make to the team. Hopefully, that day is coming soon.”

LeBron James, Kenneth Faried named Players of Week

The Miami Heat’s LeBron James and the Denver Nuggets’ Kenneth Faried were today named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Nov. 5, through Sunday, Nov. 11.

James guided the Heat to a 3-1 week with averages of 21.0 points on .569 shooting from the field, a conference-best 11.0 rebounds (tied with the Brooklyn Nets’ Kris Humphries), and 6.0 assists. James grabbed his 5,000th career rebound on Nov. 9 during Miami’s 95-89 win over Atlanta. James posted a point-rebound double-double in all four of Miami’s contests on the week and handed out six or more assists in three-of-four games.

Faried helped the Nuggets to a 4-0 week, posting three point-rebound double-doubles in the process. Faried averaged 16.8 points on .563 shooting from the field to go alongside 12.8 rebounds (second in the conference to Memphis’ Zach Randolph’s 14.3 rpg), 1.8 blocks and 1.0 steals. Faried tallied 18 points, 17 rebounds, three blocks and two steals during a 107-101 victory at Golden State to close the week.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were New York’s Carmelo Anthony, Memphis’ Zach Randolph, Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka, Philadelphia’s Jrue Holiday and Charlotte’s Kemba Walker.

Lakers hiring Mike D`Antoni, not Phil Jackson, as new head coach

Lakers to hire Mike D`Antoni as new head coach

The Los Angeles Lakers have hired Mike D’Antoni, signing the former coach of the Suns and Knicks to a four-year contract to replace Mike Brown.

The Lakers and D’Antoni’s agent, Warren LeGarie, confirmed the deal late Sunday night, two days after the Lakers fired Brown five games into the season.

D’Antoni got the high-profile job running the 16-time NBA champions after negotiations broke down with former Lakers coach Phil Jackson. The 11-time NBA champion coach spoke to the club’s top brass Saturday about a return.

Lakers owners Jerry and Jim Buss instead went with D’Antoni, who spent five seasons coaching Lakers point guard Steve Nash in Phoenix. Nash won two MVP awards while running D’Antoni’s signature up-tempo offense, and they won at least 54 games in each of D’Antoni’s last four seasons.

— Reported by Greg Beacham of the Associated Press 

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Timberwolves forward Chase Budinger injures knee, needs surgery

Chase Budinger injures knee, needs surgery

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that forward Chase Budinger suffered a lateral meniscus tear of his left knee during yesterday’s game at Chicago. Budinger suffered the injury at the 6:00 mark of the fourth quarter in Minnesota’s 87-80 loss to the Bulls. Surgery will be scheduled later this week. A timetable for his return will be determined after the surgery.

Budinger is averaging 11.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in six games for the Wolves this season. He was acquired by Minnesota in a trade with Houston on June 26, 2012.

Nets finish home-and-home sweep of Magic

Brook Lopez

The Brooklyn Nets knew it wouldn’t stay this easy, even if five quarters of evidence said otherwise.

The game did get close, and unlike last Monday’s meltdown, this time the Nets handled it.

Brook Lopez scored 20 points, Kris Humphries added 14 points and 21 rebounds, and the Nets beat the Orlando Magic 82-74 on Sunday to complete a home-and-home sweep.

Deron Williams finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and a couple key plays down the stretch after what once appeared to be another blowout got tight. The Nets beat the Magic 107-68 at Orlando on Friday and jumped out to an early 20-point lead in this one.

But after losing a 22-point lead at home against Minnesota on Monday, Brooklyn almost coughed up another huge cushion, letting Orlando get within five in the final 2 minutes…

Glen Davis had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic, who have dropped four in a row after opening with two wins in their first season since trading Dwight Howard.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press