Tag: NBA lockout (Page 5 of 8)

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant is in the early stages of contract negotiations with the same Turkish team that has signed Deron Williams and has been pursuing Kobe Bryant, according to Durant’s agent.
Agent Aaron Goodwin told ESPN.com on Tuesday night that he has met with officials from Turkish club Besiktas and has likewise begun exploring opportunities for Durant in Spain and Russia. Goodwin added that playing in China is not something Durant is considering at this time.
“The Turkish option is very intriguing,” Goodwin said. “We’re looking at other countries as well. Kevin hasn’t agreed to play anywhere yet, but we’re looking for the best fit.”

The longer this lockout goes, more and more big name players will find somewhere else to play.

External Sports, NBA

NBA lockout

Could NBA players form their own league?

August 9, 2011 / John Paulsen

Ken Berger of CBS Sports doesn’t think it’s likely, but it doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

What if the top 25 or 30 players in the NBA — All-Stars and others deserving of that status — announced their intention to form a rival league? On many levels, it’s even more of a pie-in-the-sky dream for the players than getting a few million dollars from overseas teams. But short of a legal shock to the labor negotiations — for example, the issuing of a complaint against the NBA by the National Labor Relations Board in the next 60 days — it’s difficult to imagine a more effective leverage play than a breakaway league featuring the biggest stars in successful markets.
If someone could pull it off, it would beat the hell out of Sonny Weems signing in Lithuania as far as leverage goes.
How would Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan react if, say, Amar’e Stoudemire, Anthony and Paul joined forces on a team based in the New York metropolitan area and went on a mini barnstorming tour against such teams as an L.A.-based squad featuring Kobe Bryant, Blake Griffin and UCLA’s Russell Westbrook? How about instead of tearing up Rucker Park in his free time, Kevin Durant went back to Texas to play with Dirk Nowitzki, facing a Midwestern-based team starring Chicago natives Derrick Rose and Wade?

It’s an interesting thought, but who is going to put up the money for the league knowing full well that the owners would be back at the table in a New York minute?

Berger says that the potential for a spin-off league increases as the lockout goes deeper into the season

…if the two sides got deep into the fall — maybe all the way to Christmas — without a new CBA, the canceling of the season would open a window from, say, February to June for such an idea to work without the threat of the NBA resuming. The focus would then shift away from the failed efforts to save the season and toward the filling of a void in the marketplace for pro basketball. And there is a small pile of money to start with — the $188 million the league owes the players from last season’s escrow.

It’s an interesting idea that could work if the league’s biggest stars got together and could agree on format and financing.

External Sports, NBA

NBA lockout

Matt Barnes explains why he punched an opposing player

August 8, 2011 / John Paulsen

There’s no real good video of Matt Barnes punching an opponent in a Pro-Am game in San Francisco, but Barnes explains his actions after the game.

“He elbowed me and pushed me, so he got one,” Barnes told ESPN.com college basketball writer Diamond Leung.
“People just think they can talk any way or do anything to … me. You can’t. You can’t do that, ’cause you know people are men out here. So if you think you’re going to come out here and punk someone, that s— ain’t happening.”
Barnes said that he wasn’t the instigator and was just protecting himself.
“That’s part of the game, man. It’s physical,” he said. “You know what I mean? People come out here and think they can beat and push on me. There’s only so much I’m going to take. I’m a grown man first, so if you think you’re going to come out here and rough me up and cheap-shot, I’m not having that s—.”

I wonder what the nature of the “elbow” and “pushing” was to merit a punch to the face. It’s interesting that he’s taking the “I was just defending myself” defense here.

External Sports, NBA

Matt Barnes NBA lockout

Businessman Alex Meruelo to purchase Hawks

August 8, 2011 / John Paulsen

Per ESPN…

An emotional Alex Meruelo had to fight back tears as he talked about what it to means to be the NBA’s first Hispanic team owner.
His voice cracked as he talked about having dreamed of this day.
“I think we all do as boys — that I would one day play in the NBA,” said Meruelo, a California developer and pizza chain owner.
Meruelo, the son of Cuban immigrants, vowed to do everything he can to bring a championship to Atlanta if his deal to become the majority owner of the Hawks is approved by the NBA.
He became emotional again when he slipped on a red Hawks cap.
“I wasn’t quite fast enough, tall enough or quick enough, so those dreams didn’t quite get me that far,” he said. “But those dreams brought me the burning desire to be involved in the NBA. It’s something I’ve always wanted my entire life to somehow be a part of the NBA.”
Meruelo, 48, will have controlling interest of more than 50 percent of the Hawks, who will remain in Atlanta. The deal also includes operating rights to Philips Arena.

This is likely very good news for Hawks fans as they finally have an owner who seems committed to winning. The Hawks have been for sale for a while and the unstable management has resulted in a lack of direction (though the team did re-sign Joe Johnson to a monster extension last summer).

External Sports, NBA

Atlanta Hawks NBA lockout