August 27, 2010

Ujiri in Nuggets' jungle

08/27/2010 - 11:25pm

Taking over as executive vice president of the Nuggets' basketball operations is analogous to walking into a Zaria game reserve.

Masai Ujiri, I presume.

"I love this opportunity. I would have taken the job if I had been offered $5. Who could say no to this great challenge?" A few people — including one who wanted more than $500,000 — did.

Most others would rather be surrounded by the lions, leopards, warthogs and cheetahs in Ujiri's homeland of Nigeria than these untamed Nuggets of Denver.

"Ma-Sigh You-Jeer-ee" is the first African-born and, as he says, "foreign" NBA de facto general manager, but he is not foreign to the Nuggets and knows exactly what he's getting into. He doesn't need a flashlight and a guidebook.

The cast of characters hasn't changed much since Ujiri left town in 2007, when he was a scout for the Nuggets. The ownership is passing from one Kroenke to another; the coach remains George Karl, and Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin, Nene and J.R. Smith are still around . . . at least for the moment.

"There are a lot of matters to address, and Josh (Kroenke), George and I will face them straight on. We will work well together," he said.

The Melo Matter is first and most crucial. "I will meet with him and say how important he has been and will be to our team and this city. I know that some days he feels one way, other days a different way. I'm hoping to catch him on a good day and convince him we want him here for his entire career.

"We've got to change the perception and attitude about the Nuggets. We're only one season away from the Western Conference finals, and the Lakers knew the Nuggets could have beaten them. Last year there was George's illness; there were injuries, and a lot of stuff happened, but we won 53 games and got to the playoffs. We must return to where we were before, and I will do everything possible to make that happen.

"If I succeed, this will provide chances for others because basketball is a global game. If I fail, nobody will care where I came from."

Source: Denver Post

NBA Suspends Evans one game for speeding

08/27/2010 - 11:04pm

Kings star Tyreke Evans, whose excessive speeding romp along Interstate 80 was captured on a CHP video, was suspended by the NBA for the opening game of the 2010-11 regular season.

Last season's Rookie of the Year will miss the Oct. 27 game at Minnesota.

The league on Friday also issued a five-game suspension against Indiana's Brandon Rush for violating the NBA's anti-drug program and a two-game suspension against Miami's Kenny Hasbrouck for pleading guilty to driving while intoxicated.

Evans, who was arrested May 31 after driving up to 130 mph on a nine-mile stretch of the interstate, pleaded no contest. His driver's license was suspended, he was sentenced to 80 hours of community service and was required to speak at the California Highway Patrol's Start Smart safe-driving class for teens.

The second-year guard has been in Sacramento the past several weeks, fulfilling the terms of the agreement.

Evans was unavailable for comment.

"You hate to see it," Kings co-owner Joe Maloof said Friday, "but you take your punishment and go on. I'm sure Tyreke is as disappointed as anybody. Everyone learns from their mistakes.

"The one positive thing I'm hearing ... is that he is very remorseful and is doing more than was asked of him. We all just have to get past this."

Source: Sacramento Bee

Three NBA players suspended for incidents

08/27/2010 - 2:37pm

The NBA has suspended Brandon Rush of the Indiana Pacers, Tyreke Evans of the Sacramento Kings and Kenny Hasbrouck of the Miami Heat for separate incidents.

The league announced the suspensions in a statement Friday.

Rush has been suspended without pay for five games for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program. He started 64 games for the Pacers last season and averaged 9.4 points.

Evans, the NBA's Rookie of the Year, has been suspended without pay for one game for pleading no contest to reckless driving in California. He averaged 20.1 points last season.

Hasbrouck, a former Siena guard, has been suspended without pay for two games for pleading guilty to driving while intoxicated in New York.

Source: Associated Press

Kiszla: Carmelo Anthony divorce best for Nuggets

08/27/2010 - 2:31pm

A serious problem the Nuggets will encounter in trading Carmelo Anthony has been revealed in how Melo is spending his summer vacation.

While Team USA headed to the world basketball championships in Turkey, Anthony has set his sights on China to film a movie.

The task of receiving anywhere near market value for Anthony in trade only figures to be more difficult with a growing perception the 6-foot-8 Denver forward is more interested in winning an Oscar than an NBA title.

As a league executive told me: Anthony used to bleed basketball. But if you opened him up now and looked inside, what could be found closest to the player's heart? A love of the game? Or the desire to be a Hollywood star?

As teams from New Jersey to Los Angeles respond to not-so- subtle hints from the Nuggets that the trade market for Anthony is open for bidding, it's time to ask where the cracks in the relationship between Denver and its star scorer began.

Signs point to last summer, when Anthony switched representation for his business interests to Creative Artists Agency, whose more famous clients have included Derek Jeter and Julia Roberts.

It should be noted that LaLa Vazquez, a former MTV personality and Anthony's wife, also joined CAA as part of the deal.

In recent months, as the Nuggets got bounced from the NBA playoffs during the first round, Anthony made a plea for needing more help on the team and franchise management grew increasingly frustrated by the forward's stubborn refusal to sign a $65 million contract extension, team officials have privately cursed Vazquez's influence.

Source: The Denver Post

Coach K tries again to put US on top of the world

08/27/2010 - 2:20pm

Mike Krzyzewski's college kids were overmatched, his NBA All-Stars a bit unready. Now he will try with a team that's somewhere in between.

Two failures to win the basketball world championship is the only real hole in Krzyzewski's resume, something he gets to work on starting Saturday when the United States opens against Croatia.

The Americans have won the world championship only three times, a stunningly low total for a country that has dominated Olympic play. Krzyzewski wasn't all that surprised, because while the Americans have always viewed the worlds as a second-class event, it's the top priority to many of the nations that have been beating them.

"I think the world put such an emphasis on it and we send different teams all the time. Their countries send their main teams," the coach said Friday after the Americans practiced. "For a long time it was just the college players competing and then internationally for us it wasn't always that competition that brought everybody wanting to play for it like the Olympics.

"So we have unique teams that come here and I think the teams that we've sent have more room for error, just like ours. We have a really good team, but there's room for error because we're not big and we're not old."

Krzyzewski coached the last U.S. team comprised of college players, winning a bronze in 1990. He got another shot four years ago and ended up with bronze again after a team that included LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony lost to Greece in the semifinals.

His team now lacks that star power, and with an average age of around 24 is just as young. But many players on this squad have experience within the USA Basketball program, which is much more developed than it was in 2006.

"I just thought our culture wasn't set enough to do it," Krzyzewski said. "We were a little bit young like we are now ... we're younger now ...but we have a better culture in place, so we have I think a greater chance to win. It's not a done deal, there are a lot of good teams here. We won't take anything for granted, we know that we can get beat here."

Source: USA Today

Denver police investigating Nuggets guard J.R. Smith

08/27/2010 - 12:58pm

An assault investigation involving Nuggets guard J.R. Smith — stemming from an alleged choking incident during a pickup game at the Pepsi Center earlier this month — was reopened Thursday, according to the Denver Police Department.

Mary Dulaki, who is in charge of records for Denver police, said Thursday the case for the Aug. 13 incident at the Nuggets' practice gym has been reopened. The initial police report, which was requested by The Denver Post, is part of an open investigation and cannot be released.

"Additional information has come forward," Dulaki said. "A witness they hadn't gotten before, they've now interviewed and made a decision to reopen the case."

A Nuggets official said Thursday the team was aware of the situation and would have no comment on the matter until it is resolved.

During a pickup game, Smith and an unnamed player who is not in the NBA were engaged in physical play on the court. The situation escalated and a scuffle ensued, where Smith allegedly choked the player.

John White, a Denver police spokesman familiar with the incident, could not be reached for comment.

Before the case was reopened, White told the website FanHouse earlier this week that the case "was investigated and ultimately presented to the district attorney's office. . . . Ultimately, the district attorney's office, after being presented with the findings by the Denver Police Department, decided not to pursue charges."

Source: Denver Post

Knicks agree to terms with Ewing Jr.

08/27/2010 - 10:36am

The New York Knicks on Friday agreed to terms with forward Patrick Ewing Jr.

Details of the contract were not released, per club policy.

The 26-year-old Ewing was originally drafted by Sacramento in the 2008 NBA Draft as the 43rd overall selection. He was then traded to Houston on August 14, 2008 as part of a multi-player deal. The Rockets dealt Ewing to the Knicks for the draft rights to center Frederic Weis.

Source: TSN

Stephen Curry enjoying time with Team USA

08/27/2010 - 9:35am

Stephen Curry's world view isn't complete. But it's coming along.

"What do you call the people here?" he asked by phone from Istanbul. "Turkins? That's not right."

No, and we wouldn't suggest calling them Turkeys, either.

"Wait -- Turks," he said. "Yeah, Turks. They like us here. Except when we play Turkey."

Curry, the Warriors' soon-to-be second-year guard, has spent the summer with Team USA, which meets Croatia on Saturday in its opening game of the FIBA World Championship. Curry is the first Warriors player to make the U.S. national team since Chris Mullin in 1992.

It has made for a hectic summer. Workouts began in Las Vegas last month, then moved to New York. Team USA landed in Madrid for games Saturday and Sunday, victories over Lithuania and Spain. It routed Greece in Athens on Wednesday.

"We're in a pretty good position," Curry said. "We're playing well. We've been able to go through some different situations. Now we can come in Saturday and keep our momentum going."

Team USA may be lacking in superduperstar power -- which is to say it doesn't include any members of the Miami Heat -- but it is awash in exceptional young talent. Kevin Durant leads the team in scoring (17.3) and rebounding (7.3). Derrick Rose tops the team with 10 assists. Eric Gordon has made 7 of 15 3-point attempts. Old heads Chauncey Billups and Lamar Odom provide experience. But mostly this is a team of young pups.

Source: The San Jose Mercury News

Knicks Wrap Up Youthful Roster but May Be Without Azubuike

08/27/2010 - 9:34am

Landry Fields signed his rookie contract Thursday, completing a Knicks roster that is younger, deeper and more talented than any recent edition. It comes, however, with one minor asterisk.

Kelenna Azubuike, who was expected to compete for a starting job, may start training camp on the sideline, because of lingering concerns over his surgically repaired left knee.

Azubuike tore his patellar tendon last November while playing for the Golden State Warriors. He missed the rest of the season, and the Warriors expected he would need a full year to recover.

The Knicks are taking a similarly conservative approach.

“We’re not sure,” said the team president Donnie Walsh, who described a torn patellar tendon as “one of the worst injuries in the league.”

Azubuike spent most of the summer rehabilitating with a private trainer. He just began working with the Knicks’ staff this week, so team officials do not yet have a firm assessment. Azubuike is not yet running or jumping, which suggests that he is a long way from playing high-level basketball.

“I think it’s 50-50 whether he’ll be ready for training camp right now,” D’Antoni said. “He thinks he will be.”

Source: The New York Times

New Sixers president Thorn likes what he sees so far

08/27/2010 - 9:32am

Evan Turner, the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA draft, taken by the 76ers, signs a multiyear shoe contract with Chinese company Li Ning. Turner will have his own signature shoe and apparel, which will be available globally in his second season. The money apparently is significant.

Rod Thorn, the Sixers' new president, comes from a different era. He played eight NBA seasons, starting in 1963, and - like a lot of us - wore Converse low cuts.

"A new company came along in Baltimore, Bata Bullets," Thorn recalled, laughing.

"They gave me $1,000 to wear their shoes."

At the end of his career, Thorn found himself wearing adidas.

"Some players today wear a new pair every day," Thorn said. "It's as if the shoes are made to wear out quickly. But that year, I wore two pair the whole season. They wouldn't wear out."

That's Thorn the storyteller, the historian, the West Virginia legend who was the No. 2 overall pick by the Baltimore Bullets in '63. That's Thorn, who started out in college as a pre-med major, who eventually got a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Washington, who thought he was going back to West Virginia to enter politics.

Since then, he has been an assistant coach, head coach, general manager and team president. He even spent 14 years as the league's vice president of basketball operations.

Source: The Philadelphia Daily News