The Milwaukee Bucks’ Brandon Jennings and Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month, respectively, for games played in January.
Jennings ranks second among rookies in scoring (17.7 ppg) and first in assists (6.2 apg). He ranks third in three-point field goal percentage (39.4), free throw percentage (.814), steals (1.20 spg) and minutes (34.4 mpg). He recorded his second career double-double in a win over Minnesota on Jan. 23 (18 points, 13 assists). In addition, Jennings had two-games with double figure assists in January, bringing his yearly total to three games with double-digit assists. He also has the highest assist-to-turnover ratio amongst Eastern Conference rookies (3.0).
Among all rookies Curry ranked second in scoring (19.1 ppg), second in assists (5.1 apg), seventh in rebounds (4.4 rpg), first in steals (2.0 spg) and first in minutes (39.5 mpg) in January. He joined Kevin Durant as the only players in January to average at least 15.0 ppg while shooting at least 48% from the field. On Jan. 22, Curry had a career-high 32 points to go along with seven assists and four steals in a victory over the New Jersey Nets.
The Players' Union isn't likely to listen to the NBA if they are asked to give back a significant amount of money.
Lakers guard Derek Fisher, the president of the Union, implied as much in response to an SI.com report that owners will seek to cut the players' share of revenues from 57 to 45 percent.
"I don't foresee any situation where we agree to a deal that flips the percentage in that manner, but there are a lot of ways to get to a destination or a goal," Fisher told ESPN.com.
Owners are expected to make their first formal proposal to the players' union in the coming days.
I'd like to see them do some fine tuning on the cap, make it easier to make trades and such, maybe raise the match value a bit more. I think they took it from 15% to 25% in the last CBA, make it possible for vets to be traded for young players without needing to take in equal value contracts.
How about Darren Collison filling in for CP3 since his injury....
17 points & 18 assists against Memphis on Saturday, and 16 points & 14 assists tonight against the Suns. Not bad for a guy taken in the bottom 1/3 of the first round.
__________________ 2009 Adopt-a-Wing - #93 Johan "The Mule" Franzen - 12 GP, 7 Goals, 2 Assists 2009 Adopt-a-Piston - #22 Tayshaun Prince - 12.8 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 2.8 APG 2010 Adopt-a-Tiger - SP, Luis Marte
The Nets are still on schedule to move to Brooklyn in 2012, but a source familiar with the situation tells the New York Daily News that the team will likely play in Newark the next two seasons.
The franchise has reportedly reached a preliminary lease agreement with the Devils to play their home games at the Prudential Center.
The Nets and Devils reached the agreement last week and it's expected to become official this week, according to the source.
"It's going to happen," said a source familiar with the negotiations.
Bobcats president Michael Jordan has until the end of February to match an offer to purchase the team, sources told ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher.
Charlotte owner Robert Johnson has been trying to sell the team and former Houston president/CEO George Postolos has made a new offer for the franchise.
Jordan negotiated a right of first refusal after Johnson made it clear he intended to sell the Bobcats, according to a team source.
A source close to the situation said that Postolos does not plan to retain Jordan or his staff if he is successful in purchasing the Bobcats.
Denver Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups has been named by NBA Commissioner David Stern to replace injured West All-Star guard Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets in the 2010 NBA All-Star Game in Dallas.
Billups will be making his fifth All-Star appearance.
Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo is hinting that there are some locker room problems in Boston.
"We gotta make a change and do something about it quick," Rondo said last Friday after Atlanta finished a season sweep of Boston.
"Not a trade or anything, but just making some changes in the locker room, amongst ourselves. Every guy has to look in the mirror and hold themselves accountable."
When asked to elaborate this week, Rondo suggested to the Boston Herald that some players might have individual agendas.
"I can't really elaborate on it too much, but I think we've just got to be a team with no agendas," Rondo told the paper. "We've got to play unselfish, you know? That's on defense and offense. You've got to want the best for the next man out there regardless if you're in the game playing well or you're out of the game not playing well."
The first-time All-Star said that nothing has been discussed by the team.
"We haven't really been talking about it, but you've just got to know," Rondo continued.
"In the locker room, you can feel it. You don't feel like it's the same continuity and camaraderie in the locker room as it was the first year. The first year, it was a crazy spirit in the locker room. But now it doesn't feel the same. It's not the same right now. We've got to find a way to get that back somehow, some way."
At least one executive in the league office believes Nets' owner Mikhail Prokhorov has his eye on Toronto Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo to run the club.
Colangelo is popular in the international basketball community.
Others still believe Prokhorov will give Rod Thorn a chance to remain in charge.
The Los Angeles Clippers today announced that Head Coach and General Manager Mike Dunleavy will step away from his day to day coaching responsibilities and focus exclusively on the team’s personnel matters.
The decision was reached mutually during a meeting at the team’s Playa Vista Training Center on Thursday. In attendance at that meeting were Clippers’ President Andy Roeser, Dunleavy and Assistant General Manager Neil Olshey, who will continue in his role as Dunleavy’s top aide in Basketball Operations.
Current Clippers’ Assistant Coach Kim Hughes will immediately assume the role of Interim Head Coach, and will retain the position through the remainder of the ’09-’10 season.
I remember those nights..seems like it's been years..Denver's got a real shot to go deep this year.
__________________ 2010 AAT Jordan Cruz 2009 AAT Rick Porcello, 14-9 ROY.
A. Bacon can be added to any food to make that food better.
B. No food can be added to bacon to make bacon better.
C. Therefore, bacon is better than any other food.
Last edited by sportz4life; 02-06-2010 at 12:06 AM.
NBA owners have sent an initial proposal to the NBA Players Association and they are pushing for a "hard" salary cap, CBS Sports has learned.
In addition, owners are requesting a drastic reduction in player salaries.
The proposal was sent to the union earlier this week and seeks a reduction in the players' share of basketball-related income from 57 percent to well below 50 percent, according to a report.
Owners also are seeking some aspects of a hard cap -- a departure from the current luxury-tax system -- and a reduction in the length and amount of max contracts.
According to Ken Berger of CBS Sports, the two sides will meet during All-Star weekend for their first face-to-face bargaining session as they try to reach an agreement before the current deal expires in 2011.
Apparantly Isiah went to the Clippers offering them his services.
Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Zeke.
You didn't think Zeke was going to last forever at Florida International, did you? I think it would be a good thing for that university if Isiah left. The guy is a joke as a coach. I'm not sure if I want a kid to be led by Isiah.
__________________
The Red Wings are consensus favorites to win the Cup. The Blackhawks didn't play anywhere near their best yesterday. The final score reflects that." -- JB98 after Game 1 on his blog
USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo told FanHouse that Raptors forward Chris Bosh has committed to play for the team.
Colangelo added that he's optimistic that Cleveland star LeBron James will commit as well.
On Wednesday USA Basketball will announce between 25 and 28 names in the mix to play in Turkey at this summer's World Championships as well as in the 2012 Olympics in London.
"He's in," Colangelo said of Bosh.
"I feel very good about it. He's got his free agency situation, but he understands we'll want him at (a July minicamp in Las Vegas) even though he won't have to participate. If you show respect to somebody, respect comes back to you."
"If I were a betting man, I'd say yes," Colangelo said of LeBron playing for Team USA.
The National Basketball Association game scheduled for Saturday evening between the Atlanta Hawks and the Washington Wizards at Verizon Center has been postponed due to severe weather conditions in the Washington, D.C. area.
As a result of those conditions, neither the Hawks nor Wizards were able to fly to Washington after their respective games last night.
The date for the rescheduled game will be announced at a later time.
Daryl Morey: A Real Man of Genius by Patrick Harrel Patrick Harrel
Featured Columnist
Written on January 17, 2010 Handout/Getty Images Imagine this: You get a job as a general manager of an NBA team and you find out that your team has two oft-injured players sucking up more than half of the cap signed to long-term contracts. After a trade, you have only one power forward on your roster, Steve Novak, who is happy to get 10 minutes a game. Great situation, huh?
That's the exact situation Daryl Morey faced when he was hired in May of 2007. A surprising hire after working with the Boston Celtics for three years and then one year with the Houston Rockets, Morey has turned the Rockets into a team consistently surpassing expectation and never giving up.
Morey came in and, without waiting more than a week, started to make significant moves. First, he confidently put his stamp on the team, firing Jeff Van Gundy, a talented head coach who never had really been able to improve the Rockets' offense as much as he did with the defense, and replacing him with battle-tested veteran Rick Adelman.
Then Morey really started to show his brilliance in the 2007 draft, not drafting the prospects based upon the general consensus, but those he considered the best. In doing so, he netted Carl Landry and Aaron Brooks, arguably the Rockets' two best players this year. At the time, though, Morey drew much criticism for the draft, with Chad Ford remarking: "Morey is smart, and he might make me look very stupid in a few years for saying this, but I think the Rockets' draft was one of the worst of the night."
Next, in a steal that might be known as his best move yet just a few months later, Morey acquired Luis Scola for a second round pick and salary cap relief. This trade was crucial to the Rockets success, because he had finally acquired that bona fide starting power forward to play off of Yao and take a little pressure off him, instead of throwing him out there with Novak or Juwan Howard.
If you are taking notes at home, Morey transformed the Rockets' PF position from Steve Novak into two power forwards capable of starting for most teams in the league today. And all he gave up for both these players was a little bit of cap relief to the Spurs, two second round picks, and cash to the Sonics. This value helped the Rockets build a winning team despite the absurd money being paid to two unreliable superstars.
He did make some mistakes, however. Actually, just two that I can count. Signing Brent Barry and Steve Francis are moves I am sure he would love to reverse. Even so, both Barry and Francis only made about $2 million a year each, and were low-risk moves.
You see, Daryl Morey is brilliant because he makes solid, low risk moves instead of swinging for the fences and possibly whiffing. Even his "risky" move of trading for Ron Artest was relatively low-risk. He gave up a reserve guard and two late first round picks to acquire a defensive stopper and a third option in the offense.
While the trade did not transform the Rockets into title contenders as was hoped, it did not hamstring the team and actually got them further in the playoffs than they had been in the Yao Ming-Tracy McGrady era. I think any Rockets fan and Morey would probably say that giving up Donte Greene and Omri Casspi (who looks to be a very nice player) was well worth getting through the first round and having a magical run in the second.
In his next act of brilliance, in the 2009 draft, Morey got a player that was a perfect fit for the Rockets' offense in Chase Budinger, as well as two future contributing guards in Jermaine Taylor and Sergio Llull, all for only cash (a lot of it) and a future second round pick.
When Daryl Morey said Budinger was the real deal, I thought he was just saying the same old GM shtick, but he has been an absolute steal. He plays well without the ball, can shoot off screens, slashes equally well, and has the strong basketball IQ required for Adelman's offense. All of these qualities sound like qualities found in a lottery pick, but this guy was picked in the middle of the second round!
Finally, while met with the possibility of having neither Yao nor a contributing McGrady for the 2009-2010 season, Morey's reluctance to make shortsighted moves to improve the team by maybe a few wins but mortgage the future showed his incredible foresight in constructing the team.
While it could have been tempting to take whatever he could get for McGrady, Morey's prudence in the matter has set the Rockets up to either acquire an All-Star or have significant cap space this winter.
If you are wondering, if you combine his major trades mentioned above during his tenure he gave up around $10 million, two first round picks, two second round picks, Rafer Alston and Bobby Jackson for Luis Scola, Carl Landry, Ron Artest, and Kyle Lowry (one of the underrated true point guards in the game). That is incredible value. If that trade occurred today, Gregg Popovich might have an aneurysm and the Lakers would wonder whether they could get a deal like that.
To wrap things up, its not his Moneyball style that has earned him a reputation as one of the top GMs in the league, but rather his patience and his belief that a lot of low-risk, high-reward moves are more likely to improve a team more than a couple high-risk, higher reward moves. While he came into a team with a murky future, Morey has quickly transformed the Rockets into a franchise that looks to be a solid playoff team for years to come and, maybe with a little more Morey magic, a championship team.
This guy gets it, I'm not even discussing the revolutionary stats he keeps..
__________________ 2010 AAT Jordan Cruz 2009 AAT Rick Porcello, 14-9 ROY.
A. Bacon can be added to any food to make that food better.
B. No food can be added to bacon to make bacon better.
C. Therefore, bacon is better than any other food.
Last edited by sportz4life; 02-08-2010 at 12:35 PM.
Lakers guard Kobe Bryant could miss his second straight game with a sore left ankle.
Los Angeles will take on San Antonio on Monday night.
The Lakers defeated the Trail Blazers 99-82 on Saturday night without Bryant. It marked the first game he missed since March 7, 2007, when he was suspended for a game.
"I would say he is day to day," coach Phil Jackson said of Bryant.
"We have an opportunity here with two games before the All-Star break and there is some time there if he does need to take a longer time, we're trying to give him the liberty to do that."
Kobe hasn't missed back-to-back games since the first two contests of the 2006-07 when he sat out with a knee injury.
Players union vice president Adonal Foyle of the Magic said the offer put forth last week by commissioner David Stern's office was "ludicrous."
Foyle's comments were the first from a players' union official since NBA owners made a new collective bargaining agreement proposal a few days ago.
"I think it's a proposal that's far-reaching," said Foyle. "This [new proposal] has gone too far. It wants a hard cap, it basically will create no middle class, and which, in effect, means none of the Bird rules would apply."
In addition to a hard salary cap to replace the current system of a "soft" cap, owners have asked that contracts be shortened to a maximum of four years.
"I think when you look at the current CBA as it stands, it benefits both the players and owners. This is an agreement where we can quabble with different things within it, but it's an agreement that gives some things to both parties involved," Foyle told ESPN.com.
"A system like that would be too restrictive, and it doesn't jibe with what we think the league is. We have been willing to negotiate a guarantee that we don't get over a certain threshold, and no other businesses do that. We hold back 9 percent of our income so that the owners can make sure they are covered on the back end. We have given up a lot of stuff, and they have given up a lot of stuff, so I think to start off a negotiation in this rash a term, I think it's unfair."
Chris Kaman has been named by NBA Commissioner David Stern to replace injured West All-Star guard Brandon Roy (right hamstring strain) in the 2010 NBA All-Star Game in Dallas.
Kaman will be making the first All-Star appearance of his career.
Kaman was selected sixth overall in the 2003 NBA Draft. He joins fellow 2003 class members LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in this year's game.
USA Basketball revealed a list of 27 players who have been named to the 2010-2012 USA Men’s National Team program. The selections were announced in a press release by USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo. “This is another important step in the reassembling of the USA National Team for the next three years of competitions that will include the FIBA World Championship in 2010, and if we qualify, the 2012 Olympics in London. Unlike 2006-08 when we were first starting the program, this time we have the benefit of including players who were members of the last national team, while also incorporating players who were involved in our pipeline the last couple of summers,” said Colangelo, who also served as Managing Director of the 2006-08 USA National Team. “Special recognition and acknowledgment needs to go to the nine players returning from our 2008 Olympic Team. They have demonstrated that they are the heart and soul of our program and their commitment to continue to represent their country should not be overlooked. “This is the group from which we will build our 2010 World Championship squad. We are taking the Worlds very seriously and know that this is the most important basketball competition in international basketball and it needs to be respected accordingly. We won gold at the 2008 Olympics because of the team we were able to assemble and build and we’ll all be hard at work to do that again, and finish on top in Turkey this summer.” Returning to the USA National Team for 2010-12 are 2008 Olympic gold medalists Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets); Carlos Boozer (Utah Jazz); Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors); Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers); Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic); LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers); Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets); Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat); and Deron Williams (Utah Jazz).
Rounding out the list of Olympians on the national squad roster are 2004 Olympic bronze medalists Lamar Odom (Los Angeles Lakers) and Amar’e Stoudemire (Phoenix Suns). Completing the list of National Team players are LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland Trail Blazers); Chauncey Billups (Denver Nuggets); Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder); Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies); Eric Gordon (Los Angeles Clippers); Danny Granger (Indiana Pacers); Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers); Al Jefferson (Minnesota Timberwolves); David Lee (New York Knicks); Brook Lopez (New Jersey Nets); Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves); O.J. Mayo (Memphis Grizzlies); Kendrick Perkins (Boston Celtics); Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls); Gerald Wallace (Charlotte Bobcats) and Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder).
Nets president Rod Thorn refuted a published report in the New York Daily News that said Louisville coach Rick Pitino has contacted the Nets and expressed interest in taking over as their coach next season.
The Daily News story, citing unnamed sources close to Pitino and Thorn, said Pitino had reached out to Thorn in the last few days through intermediaries. It quoted a high-ranking Nets official as saying that “Pitino is interested in the job’’ but that the Nets don’t appear to be interested in Pitino.
Thorn, responding to a question from The Star-Ledger about the report, said via text message, “Have not had any contact with Pitino. To my knowledge, no one in our organization has, either.’’
The Daily News story said the Nets have drawn up a short list of candidates for the job, with former Knicks and Houston Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy at the top. Pitino is not on the list.
Amid growing whispers concerning the future of the Raptors’ chief architect, Richard Peddie set the record straight.
It was an emphatic proclamation, one that should finally put to rest whatever wild speculation U.S.-based media outlets intend to circulate.
“Bryan (Colangelo) is our general manager and he’s not going anywhere. It’s official," the president and chief operating officer of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment said on Wednesday.
Peddie confided that the MLSEL board convened recently to ensure that Colangelo sticks around beyond this season.
In theory, the board could have triggered a clause that carried an option to end Colangelo’s deal following this season.
And perhaps the existence of that option fuelled the rumours that linked Colangelo with the New Jersey Nets and even the New York Knicks, teams that are shaping up to undergo some major front-office change.
The truth, according to Peddie, is that Colangelo will continue in his role as GM and president of the Raptors through to the 2010-11 season.
“I’m delighted," Colangelo said. “I appreciate the vote of confidence the board has demonstrated.”
Colangelo celebrates his fourth anniversary in Toronto on Feb. 28.
Pitino is the NBA equivilant of the Isaih Thomas as a front office choice.
__________________ 2010 AAT Jordan Cruz 2009 AAT Rick Porcello, 14-9 ROY.
A. Bacon can be added to any food to make that food better.
B. No food can be added to bacon to make bacon better.
C. Therefore, bacon is better than any other food.
__________________ 2010 AAT Jordan Cruz 2009 AAT Rick Porcello, 14-9 ROY.
A. Bacon can be added to any food to make that food better.
B. No food can be added to bacon to make bacon better.
C. Therefore, bacon is better than any other food.
Last edited by sportz4life; 02-12-2010 at 10:19 AM.
New CBA Proposal Would Cut Salaries From Top To Bottom
The proposal the NBA sent to the players' association for a new collective bargaining agreement seeks a reduction in salaries from the league's biggest superstars all the way down to players that haven't even been drafted yet.
A person that has seen the proposed CBA told The Associated Press on Thursday that first-round picks would have their salaries reduced by about one-third and minimum salary players would have their deals cut by about 20 percent.
The total value of a maximum contract for a veteran also would drop below $60 million, which is less than half of what LeBron James could sign for this summer if he opts out of his current deal and re-signs with the Cavaliers.
The person said owners "have made it clear they intend to rein in player costs across the board from every segment of the player population."
At least one thing is certain: Rick Pitino is still the head coach at Louisville.
After denying reports that he had inquired about the Nets job and dealing with the ever-present rumors about possibly returning to New York to take another college job, Pitino was on the court yesterday at Madison Square Garden, guiding the Cardinals through practice. Louisville plays at Syracuse tomorrow -- the night after St. John's hammered them.
"The one thing I haven't done in my career is look for anything," Pitino said yesterday. "I've already spent eight years in the pros. I've already done that. And there's no college job as good as Louisville in the country, so why would anyone even think that?"
There had been signs that things on the NBA labor front would not be pretty and the NBA owners' first labor proposal delivered at the end of January was the first salvo in what's sure to be a long and protracted labor fight.
Today the NBA's labor committee met with the Players' labor committee and most of the All-Stars gathered in Dallas joined the meeting to talk though the owner's proposal. Most of the major names in the 2010 free agent class sat in, including LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.
Players' Union director Billy Hunter, surrounded by the Players' Executive committee that consisted of Union President Derek Fisher, Adonal Foyle, Keyon Dooling, Roger Mason Jr, Theo Ratliff and Maurice Evans addressed the media privately away from the NBA's All-Star events to make their case.
In what was labeled by the players as a "contentious 90 minute" meeting, the players voiced their opposition to every term in the Owners' proposal, saying it would trim some $740 million out of the Players' share of revenue.
The proposal delivered to the players was characterized as having a "hard" salary cap that according to the Players' would have been set at $45 million, a radical decrease from the $57.7 million the players are working under today.
The Players' also described an offer that would remove all of the known salary cap exceptions and a deal that would have a retro-active corrections to existing contracts, in essences forcing contract cuts to all of the existing deals in the league.
The language used by the Players' sent a very clear message and the fact that so many of the NBA's elite players attended the afternoon session and voiced their concerns over the severity of the owners cuts makes it a highly that the NBA is headed towards a work stoppage.
Celtics guard Rajon Rondo never received a call from USA Basketball, but told reporters that he'd love to play for his country.
Rondo wasn't among the 27 names on the roster for the 2010-12 USA Men's basketball team when it was announced earlier this week.
"I haven't spoken to anyone from USA Basketball," Rondo said. "No one's talked to my agent. I talked to my agent [Thursday], and he said the same thing. He thought I said something to the media or to someone about declining to play. But I haven't heard anything this year about USA Basketball."
Both Rondo and Team USA managing director Jerry Colangelo said Friday that the guard's omission was the result of crossed signals. Colangelo expressed interest in having Rondo on the team, and Rondo said he would "love" to play.
"There may have been a little miscommunication on that one," Colangelo said. "The last go-around he was unable to accept an invitation because he was going to be involved in Kendrick Perkins's wedding. I was advised that he would not have interest but that may have been misinformation.
"But he's a young player and there will be an opportunity in the future and we have a fluid roster to begin with. I've made that pretty clear. So we will revisit that. The door's not closed."
Magic assistant coach Patrick Ewing is still itching for an opportunity to become a head coach in the NBA.
Ewing wasn't initially interested in coaching until he was brought in by Michael Jordan as an assistant in Washington back in 2003.
"No, I never thought I'd be interested in coaching. After I retired," Ewing said. "I thought I'd just be with my kids, helping them grow up.
"Then Michael brought me to Washington and I found that I enjoyed it. You think that these kids wouldn't listen to an old guy like me; they'd want to do it their own way. But then they see how you can help them. And that's the reward."
Ewing has six years of experience under his belt, but he's yet to so much as get an interview for a top position.
"I have my fingers crossed," he said. "Maybe one day I'll feel like it's just not going to happen, but right now, I enjoy this. I just need a chance."
Stern just came out saying they will lose $400M this season as a whole.
Hence, why this CBA will revolutionize pro sports..every other sport is waiting to see what Stern can do..he has the most power and the highest degree of owner unity of any professional sports commisioner and for the first time he will gladly open their books.
__________________ 2010 AAT Jordan Cruz 2009 AAT Rick Porcello, 14-9 ROY.
A. Bacon can be added to any food to make that food better.
B. No food can be added to bacon to make bacon better.
C. Therefore, bacon is better than any other food.
NBA Info - February 2010
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