Daily Basketball
NBA and NCAA blogging on an occasionally daily basis
Archive for August, 2006
August 10, 2006 at 11:43 am · Filed under NBA
Kevin Garnett has decided that the Minnesota Timberwolves need to ramp up their rebuilding process quickly or he’ll request a trade to a contender. Garnett thinks acquiring Mike James was a good start, but gave a strange analogy: “My clock is ticking, man. I’m almost like a woman who’s trying to get pregnant. My years are limited, so my clock is definitely ticking.”
The new owner of the Seattle Sonics wants a new arena in Seattle, or the team may be on the move to Bellevue or Renton. Other options could include whichever city the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets leave.
Carmelo Anthony practiced with Team USA for multiple hours, proving reports that Anthony is just fine after hyperextending his knee.
The Denver Nuggets would like to acquire at least one of Bonzi Wells, Al Harrington, or Reggie Evans. The most likely player to join the team would be Wells, whose name hasn’t been in many other trade rumors like Harrington or Evans.
Former player Michael Curry has been named the new VP of Basketball Operations for the NBA. Curry retired last year, and will also oversee the NBA D-League.
Coach K isn’t thrilled that his team is be referred to as a Dream Team III, noting that technically this is the 7th version of the team built with NBA players and that it should simply be referred to as the national team, or USA Basketball. Coach K may also be wanting to avoid the title “Dream Team”, which referred to the 1992 and 1996 teams which commonly blew out their opponents by 50+ points.
August 9, 2006 at 12:15 pm · Filed under NBA
According to Denver Nuggets officials, Carmelo Anthony’s hyperextended knee wasn’t serious and he’s walking fine now. He is listed as “day-to-day”, but is pain-free. Still, it seems likely his minutes will be slightly cut back, at least through the exhibition games.
Arn Tellem, the newly hired agent of Al Harrington, said that they’re listening to offers from multipe teams and that there isn’t going to be an immediate deal with the Indiana Pacers. The Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors are two other suitors, but no deal is imminent.
Now that the Jared Jeffries deal has been finalized, the New York Knicks are going to consider a deal with the Portland Trailblazers to acquire Darius Miles for fellow friend Quentin Richardson. Apparenty, the two teams were close to a deal before the Knicks decided to sign Jeffries to an offer sheet.
Jannero Pargo is going to sign a two-year, $2.1 million contract with the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. Meanwhile, the team is trying to come up with a way to hold part or all of their training camp in New Orleans.
Reggie Evans has come up with a list of three teams he could end up playing for next season: the Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Evans says that he isn’t a Dennis Rodman or Ben Wallace-type player, and that he has an offensive game he hasn’t had the opportunity to show yet…
August 8, 2006 at 4:13 pm · Filed under General, NBA
Carmelo Anthony clashed with another Olympic team coach, but this time it was as he chased a ball near the sidelines and hyperextended his knee as he fell onto Mike Krzyzewski. The team doesn’t think the injury is serious, but only time will tell.
Meanwhile, the USA Basketball team escaped with a 90-86 victory over Brazil. The team came out fairly strong and led at halftime before Brazil had a 16-0 run which gave the Brazilians a lead. The Brazilian team was led by Leandro Barbosa of the Phoenix Suns and Anderson Varejao of the Cleveland Cavaliers. A few late turnovers by Brazil let the USA escape with a narrow victory.
Lorenzen Wright is waiting on Al Harrington to sign his contract before joining the Atlanta Hawks for the next two years.
Zoran Planinic and Jiri Welsch are just two of several players who will be leaving to NBA to return and play overseas. Sergei Monia was recently sent back to Russia, as well.
For any of you guys out there reading Daily Basketball who play competitive sports, you’ll definitely want to check out one of our new affiliates, The Sports Elite. The site is just a couple days old, but already has a large group of members on it’s forums.
Also, read what else his happening in the basketball blogosphere at LowPost.net.
August 7, 2006 at 8:51 am · Filed under NBA
LeBron James led the USA basketball team to a 119-73 victory over hometeam China. There isn’t a whole lot of information out there about the game yet, but a replay of the game will be on ESPN2 tonight, at 9:30 EST.
The Washington Wizards are going to let Jared Jeffries go to the New York Knicks. After signing DeShawn Stevenson to a two-year, minimum money deal, the team can better afford to let Jeffries go.
Keith Van Horn is considering retirement at age thirty. A few teams have shown minimal interest in bringing in Van Horn, but after making $15.7 million last year he’ll be playing for a lot less if he signs a new deal.
Kobe Bryant expects to have fully recovered in time for the Los Angeles Lakers‘ training camp this fall. Bryant says that the surgery he underwent which stopped him from play for the USA this summer has helped restore mobility to his knee.
The NBA is hoping to have the Hornets return to New Orleans after this season, and play all 41 of their home games there. In contrast, only six of the home games for this season will be played in New Orleans.
Even after firing his agent, it still looks like Al Harrington will end up with the Indiana Pacers. Several other teams have been rumored to have gotten re-involved after Harrington fired his agent, but Harrington may sign for less money in order for the deal to happen.
August 4, 2006 at 8:20 am · Filed under NBA
The game came out with a slow start where neither team could maintain a lead, but Team USA surged late in the second quarter. Carmelo Anthony led the team in scoring with 18, while LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Dwight Howard all had highlight dunks to impress the fans in Las Vegas before heading to Asia.
Amare Stoudemire was cut from the roster, as expected. Stoudemire will remain home to work on the rehab of his knee.
The NBA announced a rule change for the playoff format. Under the new rules, the three division winners and the next best team in each conference will be assigned the top seeds based on their overall records. The addition of ‘the next best team’ in the rule means that even if the team doesn’t win their division, they could still possibly get the #2 or #3 seed.
Congratulations to basketball, which is about to be named the state sport of Massachusetts.
The Phoenix Suns obviously value Leandro Barbosa as the team’s backup to Steve Nash. Barbosa signed a five-year extension worth $32 million. The team is also negotiating on an extension with Boris Diaw.
DeShawn Stevenson signed with the Washington Wizards, but not for the contract he was hoping for. The deal is two years for the league minimum, though Stevenson has the option to become a free agent again next summer.
If the New York Knicks don’t sign Jared Jeffries, there is a strong possibility Darius Miles will end up in a Knicks uniform. Hopefully, Miles isn’t hoping to play with one of his close friends Quentin Richardson, who would be involved in the deal.
Daily Basketball will be taking a break tomorrow, but check back on Monday for the latest news and rumors as usual.
August 2, 2006 at 10:45 am · Filed under NBA
Luckily for the Puerto Rico national team, the scrimmage against USA Basketball doesn’t count for anything. It’s the upcoming exhibition game, and opening round game of the world championships against the USA that the team will have to worry about. The scores were reset after the end of each quarter, otherwise the USA team would have won by 34 points.
Al Harrington has fired his agent after negotiations with the Indiana Pacers have stalled. Harrington may now consider talking with other teams after he hires Arn Tellem. It will take at least fifteen days for the paperwork to get done, and then it is likely that the whole negotiation process will have to start over again, if not with another team.
The NBA has released the schedule for the coming season. Once again, the Christmas special will include a Shaq-Kobe reunion. Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers will open up the season against the Phoenix Suns, where Kobe will wear #24 for the first time.
Even against a request from his agent, the Washington Wizards are hoping to match the offer for Jared Jeffries. It looks likely that the team will match the Knicks‘ offer, but if Jeffries continues to publicly resist the deal they may have to let him go.
All expectations are for Alonzo Mourning to re-sign with the Miami Heat. The deal will probably be for a little over the minumum. Also, Pat Riley plans to make his decision within the next three weeks as to whether he will return has head coach.
The Dallas Mavericks are going to sign Devean George for two years. The contract is worth $4.2 million.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have met with Reggie Evans about joining the team because Drew Gooden and the team haven’t been able to come up with a new deal.
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