Matt Bonner still trying to get dual American-Canadian citizenship

Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News (blog) reports:

Matt Bonner

Canadian national basketball coach Leo Rautins really, really wants Matt Bonner to play for his team. One problem: Bonner is still not Canadian.

The Spurs forward has been trying for years to gain dual citizenship, and he would seem to have a cut-and-dried case considering he’s married to a Canadian, has a Canadian daughter and grandfather and lives most of the offseason in Toronto.

His nickname — “The Red Rocket” — is decidedly Canadian,  homage to Toronto’s public transit system.

But Bonner is still not Canadian, and thus ineligible to play for Canada in various Olympic qualifying tournaments. The feet-dragging has left Rautins almost apoplectic, according to the London Free Press (h/t to Project Spurs for the find).

“I see a lot of Canadians who are less Canadian than Matt Bonner,” Rautins told the Canadian newspaper. “His daughter’s Canadian. His wife’s Canadian. His grandfather’s Canadian. He’s got a home here. When he’s not playing for the San Antonio Spurs, he’s here (in Toronto).”

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Marcus Landry signs in France

Euroleague.net reports:

BCM Gravelines improved its roster for the upcoming Turkish Airlines Euroleague Qualifying Round by inking versatile forward Marcus Landry to a one-year deal, the club announced Tuesday. Landry (2.01 meters, 25 years old) arrives from Maratonistas de Coamo, where he averaged 11.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in 10 Puerto Rican League games this season. He started the 2010-11 season with Reno in the NBA Development League, averaging 17.6 points and 4.4 rebounds in 53 games and helped this team to reach the D-League semifinals before joining Coamo.

Union plans player meetings as NBA lockout drags on with no progress

Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated reports:

There will be labor-related meetings in the near future.

They just aren’t the kind that typically lead to collective bargaining progress.

According to sources close to the situation, the National Basketball Players Association is planning a series of player sessions in as many as six cities over “the next month or so,” as a way to help with its planning during the lockout and update players on the state of negotiations with the NBA. Unless things unexpectedly change, there won’t be much to report on that front.

While mid-level staffers from both sides met on Friday to finalize the numbers related to basketball-related income (BRI) for the 2010-11 season, no negotiating sessions involving commissioner David Stern or NBPA executive director Billy Hunter have been scheduled. Sources said the BRI numbers were not finalized Friday and more similar sessions are forthcoming to that end, but the union is focused on fortifying from within rather than exchanging proposals with the owners, who are pushing for a hard salary cap as part of a drastic overhaul to the current system.

InsideHoops.com editor says: Basically, the two sides are considering their various options and possible proposal changes, amongst themselves. There’s no way of knowing if either side plans to make any changes the next time they make offers to each other, when they do eventually meet again. I’m just guessing here but it sounds like the earliest the NBA lockout could even possibly end is early August. But that’s not expected, because it sounds like both sides remain pretty far apart.

Dwyane Wade sues computer hackers

Bill Hethcock of the Dallas Business Journal reports:

Dwyane Wade

Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade claims in a lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in Sherman that somebody is hacking into his personal email and social media accounts and stealing confidential business and personal information.

The hackers, who aren’t named in the complaint, got into Wade’s Yahoo!bizWatch and Twitter accounts, according to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas…

The hacking happened between Jan. 2007 and June 2011, and involved modifying account settings and changing account passwords, according to the suit. The hackers reviewed years worth of confidential and private information, including documents between Wade and his attorneys, communications between Wade and his ex-wife, business associates, advisers, family and friends, the complaint states. The hackers also sent sometimes vulgar and threatening emails purporting to be from Wade and used Wade’s likeness request private documents, the complaint says.

Celtics guard Avery Bradley exploring overseas options

Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston reports:

Avery Bradley

Avery Bradley’s agent said Monday that he is exploring overseas options for his client but stressed that any deal would be contingent on an out clause that would allow Bradley to return stateside should the NBA lockout end, as his focus is on being with the Boston Celtics.

The Celtics only have six players under contract for next season and, beyond Bradley, the other five are All-Stars who have combined to earn a whopping $749.5 million in NBA contracts alone during their careers. The 20-year-old Bradley earned $1.4 million during his rookie campaign last season.

Trekking overseas would have little to do with money for Bradley, however. As agent Mitchell Butler of Lagardère Unlimited stressed, his client simply needs playing time in a structured environment in order to aid his development.

Bradley underwent surgery to remove a chipped bone in his left ankle immediately after inking his rookie deal with Boston last July. He missed summer league, nearly all of training camp (engaging only in non-contact skeleton drills), and the entire preseason. Bradley didn’t make his NBA debut until Nov. 22 in Atlanta and logged only 162 minutes in 30 total appearances.

That’s not a lot of basketball for a player whose last extended action came as a freshman at the University of Texas.

No, NBA players probably cannot file for unemployment benefits yet

Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Obsever reports:

Former North Carolina basketball star Ty Lawson, now with the Denver Nuggets, tweeted this recently:

“I wonder if I can file for unemployment. …”

Larry Parker, spokesman for the N.C. Employment Security Commission, emailed this response to an Observer question about whether NBA and NFL players might qualify for unemployment benefits:

“The answer right now is no,” Parker replied. “NBA players would not be eligible for benefits, mainly due to fact the NBA season is not in session. There is a reasonable expectation on the players part that they may play once the season begins.”

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Timberwolves interview Terry Porter for coaching job

Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:

Terry Porter

The Timberwolves reached into their past — summoning a former player brought to the franchise long ago to help mentor budding superstar Kevin Garnett — to find the first candidate who interviewed for their vacant head-coaching position.

And it wasn’t Sam Mitchell.

Former Milwaukee and Phoenix head coach Terry Porter was that first candidate who formally interviewed with president of basketball operations David Kahn and likely owner Glen Taylor on Monday, league sources with knowledge of the team’s search said.

The process will continue this week. Don Nelson — who has won more games (1,335) than any other NBA coach — is believed to be among those due into Minneapolis to interview.

Porter is a former two-time All Star who played point guard — the same position as just-signed Ricky Rubio — for 17 NBA seasons with Portland, the Wolves, Miami and San Antonio.

He also is a guy who was fired by Phoenix in February 2009 after four months on the job when his attempt to emphasize defense and slow down the Suns’ breakneck offense enough to incorporate Shaquille O’Neal was deemed a failure by then-General Manager Steve Kerr.

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

Tyrone Corbin honored by his hometown of Columbia, S.C.

Jody Genessy of the Deseret News reports:

Anybody who needs to get into Columbia, S.C., should seek out Tyrone Corbin.

The Utah Jazz coach and South Carolina sports hero will receive a key to his hometown city this afternoon when he is honored by Columbia.

“We are proud to have this opportunity to celebrate Tyrone Corbin and all he has accomplished both on and off the court,” Columbia mayor Steve Benjamin said in a release put out by the Jazz. “He is one of Columbia’s brightest stars and an example to our children of what is possible if you work hard and dream big.”

“Congratulations to Ty,” Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor said. “This is a well-deserved honor for someone who has excelled in life as well as his chosen profession of basketball.”

Yao Ming set to retire from basketball Wednesday

The AP reports:

Yao Ming

Yao Ming is likely to make it official on Wednesday, announcing what is expected to be his retirement from the NBA and a sport that made him a household name in China.

The 7-foot-6 center for the Houston Rockets played eight seasons in the NBA, but has missed 250 regular-season games over the past six years.

His career, including frequent appearances for the Chinese national team at Olympics and world championships, has included leg and foot injuries.

On Wednesday, a large reception hall at a hotel in the Pudong section of Shanghai—Yao’s hometown—has been booked for what will likely be the country’s media event of the year.

Hundreds of media have been accredited to attend the restricted event and are expected to arrive hours early to go through security checks. It is expected to be broadcast live in China and in many countries around the world.

Reports have been circulating for nearly two weeks that the 30-year-old star would retire, but the Rockets have not commented due to the NBA lockout and his management refused to confirm the reports. The NBA said it has not received official retirement paperwork from Yao.

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Texas Legends name Nancy Lieberman assistant general manager

Nancy Lieberman has been a collegiate National Champion, an All-American, Olympian, the first woman to play in a men’s professional league, WNBA player, Hall-of-Famer, WNBA head coach, and the first female coach of a men’s team under the NBA umbrella.  Today, the team’s first head coach has accepted a new position as the Legends’ Assistant General Manager.

Lieberman led the Legends to a playoff berth in their inaugural season last year – becoming only the third coach in the NBA or NBA D-League to lead an expansion team to the play-offs. Now, she will have an opportunity to contribute to even more success from the front office.

“Nancy took on a tremendous challenge in becoming our head coach,” Legends owner Donnie Nelson commented. “And she embraced that challenge like she has throughout her life.  She was everything I could have hoped for as a head coach.”

Lieberman’s path from the coaching bench to the front office mirrors Nelson’s successful move of the same nature in 2001. After nine seasons as an assistant coach in the NBA, Nelson moved to the Dallas Mavericks’ front office, where he is now President of Basketball Operations and General Manager of the NBA champions.

“I have no doubt that Nancy will be successful in her new capacity,” Nelson added.  “Her experience as a coach will only make her a stronger asset in the front office.”

Lieberman’s 31 years in professional basketball have been filled with firsts, including her role as the first woman coach of a professional men’s team in the NBA or NBA D-League. She was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996.

“Coaching with the Legends has been a dream,” Lieberman commented. “The players did a tremendous job throughout the season.  Their respect for the coaching staff, work ethic, and team-first attitude was everything I wanted to see in a team.  That being said, I have always been very intrigued with management at the NBA level.  The opportunity to work with Donnie in this capacity is too great an opportunity to pass up.  I am looking forward to continuing to build the Legends organization and strengthening its reputation as the standard-bearer in the NBA D-League.”

The move not only moves Lieberman into management with a team under the NBA umbrella, but also will allow her to spend more time with her son as he finishes high school.

“My family is tremendously important to me,” Lieberman added.  “The challenge of balancing my family life with my professional aspirations has long been one that I have embraced.  I truly believe that every woman can attain both their personal and professional goals.  My position as Assistant General Manager allows me to balance my schedule while maintaining my professional goals.  I look forward to working with Donnie, Del, and Spud as we move towards our goal of winning an NBA D-League championship.”

Lieberman joins basketball legends Del Harris (1995 NBA Coach of the Year) and Spud Webb (1986 NBA Slam Dunk Champion) in the Legends front office.  Lieberman, Harris, and Webb will play an integral role in a national search for her replacement as Legends’ head coach.

“Nancy has left big shoes to fill on the sidelines,” Nelson concluded.  “She will have a lot of valuable insight for the next head coach.  I’m excited as our team only gets stronger with Nancy taking on this new responsibility.”