Video: Magic Johnson likes Larry Bird. Not then, but now

Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson and Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird weren’t friends in their playing days. Sure, they respected each other — the same way you might respect a tornado flying towards your home and loved ones — but there was a friendly competitive hatred there.

These days, though, with their playing days long behind them, the memories remain, but feelings of dislike have been left in the past.

Here’s a video clip of Magic Johnson, at a Los Angeles Times-related event, talking about liking Larry Bird:

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Tyson Chandler takes big loss on Chicago-area home sale

Tyson Chandler

The Chicago Tribune reports:

Former Chicago Bulls center Tyson Chandler who was part of this year’s NBA title-winning Dallas Mavericks team, has taken a huge loss on his 20-room, brick-and-limestone mansion in north suburban Northfield, selling it for $2.1 million.

The 7-foot-1 Chandler, 28, took one of the biggest housing losses of any area celebrity in recent years, selling his mansion for slightly more than half of what he paid for it in mid-2006. As the Red Eye newspaper reported in September 2006, Chandler paid $4 million for the mansion — just weeks before he was traded to the New Orleans Hornets after five seasons with the Bulls.

Chandler first listed the three-story mansion in 2007 for $4.99 million, and over the years reduced his asking price many times. Its final asking price was $2.895 million.

Custom-built in 2004 and covering about 11,000 square feet, the six-bedroom mansion has six full baths, two half baths, three fireplaces, a two-story great room, custom travertine and walnut floors, chef’s kitchen with a large breakfast room, wine cellar, a home theater, an exercise room, spa, mudroom, four-car garage, and a first-floor master suite with a large onyx bath. The mansion is on a 0.91-acre parcel.

Chris Mullin impressed with new direction of Warriors

The AP reports:

Chris Mullin harbors no hard feelings toward the Golden State Warriors, and the Hall of Famer says he would go back to work for them under the new regime if the fit were right.

He’s not ruling that out, either. Mullin — set to be enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame next Friday night — counts new coach Mark Jackson among his close friends. He worked with assistant general manager Bob Myers when Myers was an agent and Mullin was Golden State’s executive vice president of basketball operations.

Jordan Hamilton switches agents

jordan hamilton

Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated reports:

Denver rookie Jordan Hamilton didn’t even wait until he had signed his first contract to change agents. The former Texas swingman, who can’t sign his deal as the No. 26 pick until the lockout lifts, said Saturday that he had fired agent Arn Tellem recently and was looking for new representation. On Thursday, a source close to him said he has opted to go with Gregory Nunn, who recently opened the basketball division at Premier Sports.

Milwaukee Bucks second round pick Jon Leuer signs in Germany

Marc Stein of ESPN reports:

Milwaukee Bucks second-round pick Jon Leuer, selected 40th overall in the June draft from the Wisconsin Badgers, has signed a contract to play with Skyliners Frankfurt in Germany, according to his agent.

Agent Mark Bartelstein told ESPN.com on Friday that the deal includes an opt-out clause that will allow Leuer to make an immediate return to the NBA when the lockout ends.

Many foreign teams are insisting that players who don’t have existing contracts sign deals that commit them to stay abroad for the entire season. But Leuer is the second Bartelstein client to secure the opt-out provision, joining Boston Celtics second-rounder E’Twaun Moore, who recently signed a deal with Benetton Treviso in Italy.

Wizards forward Trevor Booker excited to play in Israel

Michael Lee of the Washington Post (blog) reports:

Trevor Booker

No one knows for sure when the next NBA season will begin, but Wizards forward Trevor Booker has already ensured that he will be playing professional basketball this fall. Booker signed a one-year deal on Thursday with Israeli Basketball League team Bnei HaSharon that has an opt-out clause that will allow him to return to the Wizards whenever the lockout ends.

Booker is the first member of the Wizards to sign with a team overseas since the lockout began on July 1. Booker’s agent, Andy Miller, said that Booker had been “getting an earful for about 40 days” about the possibility of playing overseas until the right deal came along with the team that plays in the top division of Israeli basketball. Wizards General Manager Ernie Grunfeld’s son, Dan, played for Bnei HaSharon last season.

Booker has traveled overseas to Turkey and Serbia and said he was “definitely open.” After speaking with his parents, Booker decided to take advantage of the opportunity. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“I’m real excited,” Booker said in a telephone interview on Thursday. “I get to play against some competition again. I think it will be a neat experience, so I’m definitely excited.”

Stan Van Gundy says Magic arena is like a ghost town during NBA lockout

Stan Van Gundy, former headcoach Miami Heat

Zach McCann of the Orlando Sentinel (blog) reports:

The lockout has essentially turned the Amway Center into a big, shiny office.

Some of the Magic communications and marketing people still work there during the day, and GM Otis Smith and coach Stan Van Gundy also spend time there, along with their staffs. But without the players, it just feels… different.

“Every time I go into the office it sort of gets depressing because there’s nothing going on,” Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “We’re used to have some number of guys in — depends on the day — but there’s always activity. … Now it’s like a ghost town in there. That part’s depressing. Certainly when you get to October, when training camp would be going, that’s when it will be really different.”

Van Gundy said his staff is still working like it normally would during the summer. The assistant coaches and video crew hold some meetings, talk about things they want to do differently, put together the playbook and plan out points of emphasis for when the season begins.

Patty Mills denies signing with team in Turkey

AAP via Fox Sports Australia reports:

Patrick Mills

A number of media outlets had reported that the Boomers star – after finishing his second season with the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA – had inked a one-year deal with the Anadolu Efes team in Istanbul.

Mills, 22, said his agent was in talks with a number of European clubs, including Anadolu Efes, but denied a deal had been signed.

“I want to make it clear I have not signed with any team in Turkey,” Mills said on Friday.

“I have received offers from teams, but I have not come to any agreements with any team there.”

Dirk Nowitzki will not consider overseas offers until after European championships

Dirk Nowitzki

Marc Stein of ESPN reports:

There have been offers from China, feelers from teams around Europe and, of course, aggressive interest from Bayern Munich and other top clubs in his native Germany.

But Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki isn’t ready to think about playing abroad in the event of an extended lockout.

Two weeks into his training for the upcoming EuroBasket tournament in Lithuania with the German national team, after a month of championship celebrations that he says went by way too fast, Nowitzki told ESPNDallas.com in a phone interview Thursday that he plans to wait until after the European championships before he thinks seriously about playing in a foreign league.

Spending the week in Berlin to combine a commercial shoot with private training sessions with longtime mentor Holger Geschwindner, Nowitzki said: “I’m going to play the Euros and then see where the lockout is after that. Until then, I’m not going to look at playing anywhere else.”

The EuroBasket tournament runs from Aug. 31 to Sept. 18.

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