Coast to Coast: 9/23/08

Let’s push the ball up the court as we go from coast to coast with the stories from around the league.

• The big news around the league, especially around the Knicks, has to do with the inevitable release of Stephon Marbury.  One thing to remember is that it is not official yet, but it is expected to be by the end of the week.  The only thing holding things up at the moment is the approval of The Clown himself, James Dolan.
• Henry Abbout of TrueHoop on Marbury: “He has had opportunities galore. He was Kevin Garnett’s sidekick — and it didn’t work out. He was supposed to be the point guard who lifted the Nets of Kenyon Martin to fulfill their potential … instead they did that the moment he left town was replaced by Jason Kidd. And the Knicks spent like drunken sailors to surround him with the best (or at least, most expensive) coaches and talent money can buy, and it became a cautionary tale for the ages.”
• The Wizards have lost Gilbert Arenas for a significant chunk of the season.  However, they did make a move on Tuesday by signing free agent Juan Dixon, as the AP has reported.  “Juan is a proven NBA player and we like what he brings to our team,” said Grunfeld.
• The Wizards also made other news with the interview involving Grunfield and coach Eddie Jordan.  Despite the loss of Agent Zero they are keeping expectations high as CBS Sportsline is reporting.  Good luck with that.  ”We feel very confident in the players that we have and the way we played last year, the way we shared the ball, moved the ball, played defense and made the playoffs,” Jordan said.
• However, the uncertainty around Arenas remains.  ”We don’t have a time frame for when he’s going to be back,” Grunfeld said. “It’s a process. We expect him to be back and be an outstanding player in this league. This, for us, is not a two- or three-month proposition. We’re looking at the long term here. He’s only 26.”
• Disgraced ex-NBA ref Tim Donaghy has reported to federal jail to serve his 15-month sentence, CBS Sportsline is reporting.  He may be removed from society for over a year, but the black cloud that his scandal has created over NBA officials remains.
• Miami Heat fans should be excited about their new trio of Shawn Marion, Dwayne Wade, and Michael Beasley.  However, the Miami Herald reports that he is on the last year of his deal and will likely head into the start of training camp without an extension.  So this trio may not be together for that long.  I think it also might be a good idea to see how the three of them coexist before giving Marion a big deal.
• The writing appeared to be on the wall this summer for Jamaal Tinsley.  The Pacers brought in point guards TJ Ford and Jarrett Jack to take over his job.  But the way they are pushing Tinsley out the door does seem a bit rough.  Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star reports, “Jamaal Tinsley remains on the roster, but the Pacers have taken steps to distance themselves from the point guard. They’ve removed Tinsley’s nameplate from the locker he used at Conseco Fieldhouse and he is not expected to be at the team’s media day Monday.”
• Good news for USA basketball: Jerry Colangelo is considering staying on board and taking aim at more success with the national team, as the Seattle Times is reporting.  ”I’m kind of leaning toward continuing, but we still have some things that we’re talking through just in terms of organization,” Colangelo said Monday at a luncheon benefiting the Special Olympics of Arizona. “I’m kind of inclined to continue because it is my connection to basketball.”  Maybe we will see him at the World Championships in 2010.

Coast to Coast: 9/2/08

Hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend.  Let’s go coast to coast.

• The Philadelphia Daily News is reporting that the 76ers are to sign free agent Donyell Marshall.  The contract is likely to be for the veterans’ minimum.  The team was in need of bolstering their outside shooting so Marshall seems to be a good fit for coming off the bench.
• The Ben Gordon saga appears to be far from over.  The Arlington Daily News is reporting that the Bulls are offering a 6-year, $59 million deal.  Gordon reportedly wants around $12 million a year.  Gordon has also stated that he expects a sign and trade soon.  However, league sources claim that there is not one credible rumor of a team that is seriously interested.  He also claims he’d rather play in Greece for one year at $10 million than stay for one awkward season with the Bulls.
• The Palm Beach Post is reporting that the Miami Heat will sign free agent Jamaal Magloire.  The Heat are in desperate need of some help at center and don’t have much cap room to spend.  But Jamaal Magloire won’t exactly help much.
• ESPN has come out with some of their preseason predictions.  You can see them here.  For the awards they are predicting LeBron James to win MVP, Michael Beasley to win Rookie of the Year, Elton Brand to be the best newcomer, and Baron Davis and Jermaine O’Neal to be the worst newcomers.
• ESPN has also released predictions for how they think the Eastern Conference will shake out.  According to them the playoff teams from the East will be Boston, Detroit, Cleveland, Orlando, Philadelphia, Toronto, Washington, and Miami.
• They have also come out with their predictions for the Western Conference.  The predicted playoff teams are Los Angeles, New Orleans, Houston, Utah, San Antonio, Phoenix, Dallas, and Portland.
• There are pictures flying around the internet of what the logos and uniforms of the Oklahoma City franchise will be.  It is expected that they will be named the Thunder but nothing has been official.  Everything is supposed to be announced this week.  But it can’t hurt to look at what the uniforms and logos are rumored to be.
• The USA Today is reporting that the Phoenix Suns and head coach Terry Porter are planning on limiting Steve Nash’s minutes in the regular season to make sure that he is fresh for the playoffs.  I’m not sure if this matters much.  Their championship window appears to have closed especially with how much the Western Conference has improved over the last couple years.
• Slow news day around the league.  Over the next couple months I’ll be posting my breakdown of each of the divisions in the NBA as well as my preseason power rankings.  So stay tuned.

Coast to Coast: 8/29/08

Let’s push the ball up the court as we go from coast to coast with the stories from around the league.

• The Grizzlies made the big move of the day as they have signed Iranian center Hamed Haddadi as the AP reports.  This was a move the Grizzlies wanted to make to improve the rebounding and defense on their front line.  Does this mean that the Zach Randolph to Memphis talk will die down?  Probably not since they still don’t have a true low post scorer but this was still a nice signing for Memphis.  Haddadi averaged 16 points and 11 rebounds at the Olympics in Beijing.  Terms of the deal have not been released.
• The Canadian Press is reporting that the New Orleans Hornets have signed free agent and former Sun Sean Marks.  Marks is a nine year veteran who is the first person born in New Zealand to play in the NBA.  This adds some needed depth to their frontline.
• The Oklahoma City franchise has not announced officially its nickname being the Thunder but it looks like that will happen soon.  The Oklahoman reports that there was a slip-up in the season ticket plans printout for the Orlando Magic.  For the December 5th game it says, “Magic vs. Thunder.”  You can see the slip here.  Nothing is official though as the announcement is not until September 3rd. 
• The Orange County Register is reporting that Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak has seen Andrew Bynum working out and likes what he is seeing.  He also expects Bynum to be healthy and ready to go for training camp which starts at the end of September.  I don’t expect Bynum to be great in his first year back from a knee injury that required arthroscopic surgery.  But the Lakers don’t need him to be great.  They just need a solid 12 points and 10 boards on average from him and they’ll be in great shape.  How about the starting five of Fisher, Kobe, Odom, Gasol, and Bynum?  That’s a lot of length and athletic ability that will be tough to matchup with.
• Also Andrew Bynum’s trainer has given some insight at AndrewBynum.com into the tough workout schedule Bynum has been going through lately to prepare for his comeback season: “It all begins on the track at about 7:30-8:00 a.m. each morning for a serious hour and a half workout. We must begin early because after all,……. this is “Hotlanta” and after 9:30 a.m. one could practically melt!  Immediately following extensive work on the track we move on to resistance (weight) training in the weight room for about a one-hour session.  Basketball is the last activity for the morning/afternoon session and varies from one to three hours.  Later that evening he is again put to the test for one more conditioning activity which usually lasts for about an hour and a half.  That only leaves time for healthy eating and much needed sleep.  This guy is a serious worker; you almost can’t give him enough.”
• The Seattle Post Intelligencer is reporting that even though the lawsuit for the city of Seattle against Clay Bennett and Co. cost the city $2.9 million, the city still came out of it ahead financially.  However, they still came out in the red where it really matters: -1 in the number of NBA franchises.
• The Houston Chronicle is reporting that Rockets forward Chuck Hayes had surgery to repair his broken nose and will be out four to six weeks.  But there is a good chance he will be ready to go for the start of training camp.
• The Miami Herlad has reported that Pat Riley has said that he plans on keep the core players of the current Miami Heat team intact.  So do not expect any major trades or shakeups prior to the start of the season.  However, you should expect some sort of move to help them with their weakness at center as Riley said, “Now, we’re just trying to fortify with pieces. We still need help in the post.”  Jamaal Magloire and DJ Mbenga won’t exactly be huge helps.
• The Miami Herald is also reporting that Thursday August 28th was declared as Wade Day by the City of Miami in honor of his gold medal winning accomplishment.  The Heat also unveiled a banner in his honor at AmericanAirlines Arena.  Some really cool stuff here.  He sure deserves it.
• I absolutely love the game of Rudy Fernandez from Spain who will be joining the Portland TrailBlazers this year.  Apparently I’m not the only one as the Oregonian has some thoughts from his new coach Nate McMillan: “I was so impressed with him that it was to the point where after the second time I saw him, I didn’t sleep that night because I was moving my rotations around.  I swear I did not sleep. I could not sleep thinking about him. Because I’m saying, ‘We can put him here, do this with him, do that with him and Brandon (Roy), and do this… So he’s playing for us. Oh yeah. I see that right now.” 

Coast to Coast: 8/28/08

Let’s push the ball up the court as we go from coast to coast with the stories from around the league.

• The big story of the day has to do with the devastating injury to Warriors PG Monta Ellis.  The AP is reporting that Ellis will be out 3 months after severely spraining his ankle in an offseason workout.  Last year Ellis averaged 20 points, 5 boards, and 3 dimes per game.  In the offseason he was given a 6-year, $66 million extension while Baron Davis signed on with the Clippers.  Monta Ellis was going to be the guy this year for the first time and now he will miss at least the first month of the regular season.  The Warriors do have Marcus Williams to step in but he isn’t ready to play at the level that Ellis does.  This officially crushes any hopes Golden State had at competing in the difficult Western Conference this year.  I did think that this year was going to be when Ellis was finally recognized as a star in this league.  Tough break for him and the organization.
• The AP is reporting that the Oklahoma City franchise will announce its team name and colors on September 3rd.  Apparently the franchise has applied for the trademarks to six names: Thunder, Energy, Marshalls, Wind, Barons, and Bison.  I hear that the Thunder is most likely to be the one that is announced.  That’s fine as long as they don’t end up as the Oklahoma City Wind.  I don’t think you would see much jersey popping by the players if it read WIND on the front.
• The Orange County Register is speculating that the Lakers should consider signing free agent Shaun Livingston.  Livingston is currently rehabbing his surgically repaired right knee.  Livingston is talented and just 22 so I think some team should take a chance on him.  But not the Lakers with Fisher, Farmer, Sun Yue on board.  Doesn’t make much sense for them.
• Meanwhile the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that the Warriors are looking at Livingston.  Chris Mullin is traveling to Chicago today to see him work out.  This makes much more sense to me.  Why not give him a chance when all you’ve got is Marcus Williams and C.J. Watson.
• According to ESPN, Mike Krzyzewski said that he will continue to be involved with Team USA by helping with the model that Jerry Colangelo introduced.  When asked if he would coach the team again he said, “I’ll help in some capacity in consulting, in whatever they need to do.”  Despite the superior talent, Coach K deserves more credit for the job he did in stressing defense and teamwork to the Redeem Team.
• The Boston Globe is reporting that an autopsy revealed that fromer Blazer Kevin Duckworth died after his enlarged heart failed.  He was 44.  Catch your Duck tribute here.
• The Miami Herald is reporting that Dwayne Wade has said that his mission is to bring the team back to being a title contender.  This coming off a league-worst 15-win season.  They will be better with the Wade-Marion-Beasley trio but their situation at center prevents them from being considered a title contender. 
• The Salt Lake Tribune is speculating that the Jazz should consider making a play at acquiring Ben Gordon from the Bulls.  This makes no sense to me especially with how expensive Gordon will be.  The Jazz don’t need his outside shooting ability.  Stick with Kyle Korver and be happy you don’t have to overhaul your roster while bringing in Gordon, who apparently wants Monta Ellis money.
• The Toronto Sun is reporting that second round draft pick Kyle Weaver has signed a contract with the Oklahoma City franchise.  I think Weaver will be a good role player in this league.  Weaver is a solid defender who also has a versatile offensive game and had a knack for making big plays while playing in college at Washington State.  Good value in the second round if you ask me. 
• Finally the Rocky Mountain News is reporting that the Milwaukee Bucks and the Golden State Warriors will be playing two preseason games in China this October. 

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Photo via AP

Knicks ‘08-’09 Schedule Released

The NBA has released this season’s upcoming schedule and the Knicks will start the seasonon October 29th by welcoming Dwayne Wade, Michael Beasley, and the Miami Heat to Madison Square Garden.  Also Larry Brown, the new coach of the Charlotte Bobcats, will make his return to the Garden on November 5th.  As is always true for each year, there are some very good matchups at MSG that will be sure to be hot tickets.   Lebron James and the Cavs are visiting on November 25th, the Detroit Pistons are in on December 7th, Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets are scheduled for December 28th, the defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics visit on January 4th, Mike D’Antoni’s former team, the Phoenix Suns, come in on January 21st, and Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers come to Broadway on February 2nd.  The Knicks will close the regular season with a home game against division rival New Jersey on April 15th.  It would be thought of as a good season if that game has any significance.

Of course the Knicks will be playing in six preseason games in the first couple weeks of October.  However, those games have yet to be announced.  Click here to see the entire schedule.  So it appears we are only a little over 2 months away from the opening tip of the regular season.