'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol:12

[nasty daddy]

http://www.hoopsworld.com/HeadlineStori ... TORY_12231

"I was disappointed at the way Flip (Saunders) did things, that was the frustrating thing about it," he said.

Hamilton didn't want to get into specifics, but his major point of contention with Saunders was that he didn't hold all players accountable for their actions. "Players like to be challenged, and they want discipline, even if they fight at times," coach Michael Curry said.

"Rip was frustrated because he didn't feel that everybody was being held accountable. Our goal as a coaching staff this year is to do a better job holding everybody accountable every day."

[nasty daddy]

http://www.hoopsworld.com/HeadlineStori ... TORY_12231

The Cavs have one open roster spot, and coach Mike Brown said they will likely keep one of the training camp invitees if he is impressive in the preseason.

One candidate is guard Michael Dickerson, a career 15-point-per-game scorer who had to retire in 2003 due to a bad sports hernia injury. He has not played in six seasons and is 33 years old, but has been impressive in early workouts. ''You can see he's a little rusty in terms of the lingo and the knowledge and his reactions,'' Brown said. ''But when it comes to competing, his athleticism and strength stands out.''The issue is the Cavs are deep at the guard spots, which would make it hard to keep Dickerson. His chances might have gotten longer because he had to leave training camp Wednesday night for personal reasons.

Another candidate would be forward Lance Allred, whom the Cavs picked up in March last season and kept throughout the playoffs.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.hoopsworld.com/HeadlineStori ... TORY_12231

Joey Graham is the second Raptors training camp casualty.

The fourth-year forward suffered a slightly strained right hamstring during the team's first pre-season scrimmage in Ottawa and sat out both practices yesterday. He had another examination yesterday and is listed as day-to-day.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.hoopsworld.com/HeadlineStori ... TORY_12231

I've watched Houston closely in the practices thus far. He moves fluidly, he can get up and down the floor and his J is still as sweet as honey. Laterally he may be slow as molasses, but there's time for that. It takes your groins a long time to get back to wanting to moving laterally (and, quite frankly, they really never want to). And, Fixers, let's be honest: Houston never really moved that quickly on D when he was healthy.

He took himself out of the scrimmage at the end of Tuesday's workout to rest his quad, which has been tightening up on him. He made it through both practices on Wednesday. "I just got to try to be smart," he said. "I feel pretty good, I feel pretty good, actually."

Houston's main concern are his muscles and how they handle the workload. The knees are not a problem. "I don't feel it in my knees," he said. "It's more just my body. Getting used to doing it again. Even when I was 30 years old, two-a-days were tough."

[nasty daddy]

http://www.hoopsworld.com/HeadlineStori ... TORY_12231

"To give it a fair chance in my situation, it’s probably not even smart to do everything [with] everybody, especially the first week," Houston said Wednesday following the first of two practices at Skidmore College. "As the season goes on, I’ll probably try to do everything, but two-a-days are a whole different ballgame than when you practice during the season."

It isn’t a lock the franchise’s fourth all-time leading scorer, who hasn’t played since midway through the 2004-05 season, will make it to opening night, Oct. 29. Coach Mike D’Antoni won’t promise Houston anything more, saying, "It’s definitely worth the chance to have his leadership and all that, being a veteran. But at the end of the day, your body has to hold up and you have to be able to perform at a level to be really effective with other players."

And even if Houston can reach that level, D’Antoni foresees a role for him as "a game-changer … a spot-up shooter ... a role-player."

[nasty daddy]

http://www.insidehoops.com/blog/?p=1816

The Chicago Bulls today announced that guard Ben Gordon agreed to accept the one-year qualifying offer ($6.4 million) that had been tendered to him by the team. Gordon will thus be under contract with the Bulls for the 2008-09 season, at which time he will become an unrestricted free agent.

The 6-3, 200-pound Gordon has appeared in 316 games, including 128 starting assignments, in four seasons with the Bulls. During that time, he has averaged 18.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg and 2.9 apg, while shooting .432 from the field and .416 from three-point range. Last season in 72 games, he led the team in scoring for the third consecutive season, posting 18.6 ppg and shot a career-high .908 percent (third in NBA) from the free throw line. Gordon was selected by the Bulls in the first round (third overall) in the 2004 NBA Draft.

InsideHoops.com editor says: Gordon should have taken the more-than-generous Bulls offer that was widely reported to be a multi-year deal for around $10 million per season. Assuming he plays as well as he usually does, the Bulls may wind up making the same offer next summer. Each year only a few teams are under the salary cap, and it’s doubtful any are going to offer Ben a better deal than what Chicago is.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.hoopsworld.com/HeadlineStori ... TORY_12231

Here we go again? Not according to Portland coach Nate McMillan. After missing his rookie season because of knee surgery, Trail Blazers center Greg Oden rolled his right ankle during the first day of training camp in Tualatin, Ore. "He's fine," McMillan said yesterday. "Everybody, he's fine. He's OK." Oden was injured during a drill while pushing fellow center Joel Przybilla for rebounding position.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.hoopsworld.com/HeadlineStori ... TORY_12231

The Golden State Warriors plan to meet with Monta Ellis's representative next week to discuss any potential disciplinary action or fine because of his moped-related ankle injury. The point guard signed a six-year, $66 million contract in July, then injured his left ankle in August in a low-speed moped crash - an offseason activity prohibited in his new deal. Ellis will miss training camp and at least several weeks of the regular season. To give themselves some insurance, Golden State signed Dan Dickau.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.hoopsworld.com/HeadlineStori ... TORY_12231

The Sacramento Kings hired Shareef Abdur-Rahim, 31, as an assistant coach on Reggie Theus's staff, a week after the veteran forward retired because of a persistent knee injury.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.hoopsworld.com/HeadlineStori ... TORY_12231

The Wednesday that Ben Gordon said he would practice with the Bulls started with him wearing sweats and casually scrolling through his hand-held device in the Berto Center lobby.

It ended with the virtually unprecedented move of a team releasing a statement at 11:04 p.m., confirming that the fifth-year guard had agreed to sign a one-year qualifying offer of $6.4 million.

That means Gordon will become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2009 and the Bulls could lose the third overall pick in the 2004 draft for nothing. General manager John Paxson is scheduled to address further the saga following Thursday’s morning practice session.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.hoopsworld.com/HeadlineStori ... TORY_12231

Eduardo Najera (wrist, X-rays negative), Lopez (leg bruise), Jarvis Hayes (hamstring) and Swift (eye poke) all sat out the scrimmage portion Wednesday, but the injuries are considered minor.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.hoopsworld.com/HeadlineStori ... TORY_12231

Yi could have his first full practice Thursday or Friday, depending on how his sore ankle responds after some drills he took part in Tuesday night.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.insidehoops.com/blog/?p=1817

The Golden State Warriors have signed free agent guard Dan Dickau to a contract, Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Mullin announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not announced.

Dickau, 30, has appeared in 300 regular-season games during his six-year NBA career, owning career averages of 5.8 points, 2.5 assists, 1.4 rebounds and 15.4 minutes per game with Atlanta, Portland, Dallas, New Orleans, Boston and the Los Angeles Clippers. The 6-0 guard spent last season with the Clippers, appearing in 67 games (eight starts) and averaging 5.3 points and 2.6 assists in 15.5 minutes, while shooting 41.9% from the field, 33.3% from three-point range and 82.9% from the free throw line. A native of Portland, OR, Dickau had his finest NBA season in 2004-05, averaging 12.5 points, 4.9 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.07 steals in 71 games combined with Dallas and New Orleans. Following his trade from the Mavericks to the Hornets on December 3, 2004, the Gonzaga University product received the most extended playing time of his career and appeared in 67 games (46 starts) for New Orleans, averaging 13.2 points, 5.2 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 31.0 minutes per game.

Dickau will wear uniform #10. With the signing, Golden State currently has 19 players under contract.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.hoopsworld.com/HeadlineStori ... TORY_12231

year ago he was an undrafted nobody with training-camp dreams. By this time next year, if all goes well, he'll have his new offseason address, a new baby girl and a new multi-million-dollar NBA deal. For a 28-year-old late bloomer who spent the better part of this decade toiling in the minor leagues from Mexico to Moscow – and who will earn the second-year veteran minimum of about $711,517 – this year, a contract year, is a big-stakes endeavour. "We've been down a long time," Moon has said of his family. So the truly big money, if and when it comes, will mean something to more him.

In this mean business, of course, Moon's mere presence into Toronto's starting lineup said something not-so-heartwarming about the Raptors last year. In a league in which a lot of the dominant players reside on the wing, the Raptors possessed unimposing depth charts at the shooting guard and small forward positions.

Last year's starting shooting guard, Anthony Parker, averaged all of 12.5 points a game. Moon, who started 75 games at small forward, averaged 8.5 points and 6.2 rebounds. In positions where so many teams boast score-in-bunches explosiveness, the Raptors put up with unspectacular steadiness.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/510046

Joey Graham is the second Raptors training camp casualty.

The fourth-year forward suffered a slightly strained right hamstring during the team's first pre-season scrimmage in Ottawa and sat out both practices yesterday. He had another examination yesterday and is listed as day-to-day.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.thestar.com/Sports/NBA/article/510048

In the wake of last year's landmark rookie season with the Raptors, Moon and his pregnant wife Tamara spent part of his summer buying a new house in his home state of Alabama, not far from the tiny town where he grew up.

A year ago he was an undrafted nobody with training-camp dreams. By this time next year, if all goes well, he'll have his new offseason address, a new baby girl and a new multi-million-dollar NBA deal. For a 28-year-old late bloomer who spent the better part of this decade toiling in the minor leagues from Mexico to Moscow – and who will earn the second-year veteran minimum of about $711,517 – this year, a contract year, is a big-stakes endeavour. "We've been down a long time," Moon has said of his family. So the truly big money, if and when it comes, will mean something to more him.

In this mean business, of course, Moon's mere presence into Toronto's starting lineup said something not-so-heartwarming about the Raptors last year.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10022008/sp ... 131752.htm

This is a big year for Boone. The Nets have until Oct. 30 to pick up his rookie contract option. They will, unless the moon crashes into New Jersey.

"I have to work hard so I can get my option picked up and then if I can have a successful year that means another contract," Boone said. "I want the team to win but I've got to make sure that I have a good year myself."

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10022008/sp ... 131752.htm

Eduardo Najera had X-rays and an MRI exam that confirmed he had a sprained left wrist, nothing more. He sat with Jarvis Hayes (hamstring), Brook Lopez (leg), and Stromile Swift (poked eye). None of the injuries was believed serious. Yi Jianlian (ankle) and Keyon Dooling (ankle) remained out . . . Yi is likely to practice today.

[nasty daddy]

http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/baske ... ually.html

I've watched Houston closely in the practices thus far. He moves fluidly, he can get up and down the floor and his J is still as sweet as honey. Laterally he may be slow as molasses, but there's time for that. It takes your groins a long time to get back to wanting to moving laterally (and, quite frankly, they really never want to). And, Fixers, let's be honest: Houston never really moved that quickly on D when he was healthy.

He took himself out of the scrimmage at the end of Tuesday's workout to rest his quad, which has been tightening up on him. He made it through both practices on Wednesday. "I just got to try to be smart," he said. "I feel pretty good, I feel pretty good, actually."

Houston's main concern are his muscles and how they handle the workload. The knees are not a problem. "I don't feel it in my knees," he said. "It's more just my body. Getting used to doing it again. Even when I was 30 years old, two-a-days were tough."

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nj.com/nets/index.ssf/2008/1 ... ectin.html

Yi could have his first full practice Thursday or Friday, depending on how his sore ankle responds after some drills he took part in Tuesday night.

Eduardo Najera (wrist, X-rays negative), Lopez (leg bruise), Jarvis Hayes (hamstring) and Swift (eye poke) all sat out the scrimmage portion Wednesday, but the injuries are considered minor.