'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 38

nasty daddy · Post #401 » by **nasty daddy** » Sat May 23, 2009 11:23 pm

http://www.nba.com/2009/playoffs2009/05 ... index.html

Lakers center Bynum, coach Phil Jackson disagree
Andrew Bynum wants to play more minutes, and Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson has just the solution: Play better defense. "If he plays well, he'll have more time," Jackson said Saturday, several hours before Game 3 of the Western Conference finals against the Denver Nuggets. Bynum criticized the Lakers' defensive scheme after getting yanked from Game 2 early in the second half for his lackadaisical play that led to an easy bucket for Denver.

Jackson was displeased that Bynum didn't hustle downcourt after failing to get a pass in the post, which allowed Nuggets center Nene to make a layup and draw a foul from Kobe Bryant. So, Bynum took a seat with 7:14 left in the third quarter and never returned, finishing with nine points, two rebounds, one foul and no turnovers in the Lakers' 106-103 loss that evened the series at 1-1. Bynum bristled Friday when asked about Denver's frontcourt prowess in this series. "They're getting their stuff because of our defensive scheme. They're just driving to the basket and nobody's bumping them," Bynum said, according to The Los Angeles Times.

Before Game 3, Bynum said he hadn't discussed his criticism with his coach but he alternately stuck by his assertion and backed away from it. "Yeah, and I think we went over some different things today, changed it up a little bit," Bynum said of the defensive philosophies. So, what exactly was wrong with the defensive scheme? "Not the scheme is the problem. We're just not executing it," Bynum said. "You've got to take away that middle pass. They're throwing it into the middle and just getting too much penetration." Bynum insisted there's no friction between him and Jackson. "No, definitely not. Like I said, the scheme is fine. We're not executing it," he said.

nasty daddy · Post #402 » by **nasty daddy** » Sat May 23, 2009 11:26 pm

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/o ... 1197.story

UF star Nick Calathes will bypass NBA to play in Greece
Gators point guard agrees to terms with elite Euroleague champion Panathinaikos. University of Florida standout point guard Nick Calathes is going pro. But not to the NBA.

Calathes, the state's two-time "Mr. Basketball" from Lake Howell, agreed to terms Friday to play for powerful Panathinaikos, the reigning Euroleague Basketball champion club based in Greece, according to sources close to the former Gators playmaker. Neither Calathes nor his family would comment on the development, pending announcements from Panathinaikos and UF. Gators Coach Coach Billy Donovan apparently was informed of his player's decision Friday night, with at least one source saying a contract was signed.

The deal, sources said, will pay Calathes around $1.1 million per year, in addition to providing him with a home, car and tax credits, making for a total package commensurate to what the NBA rookie salary scale provides a late-lottery selection. Golden's State forward Anthony Randolph, the final lottery pick of 2008 at No. 14, made $1.424 million as a rookie.

nasty daddy · Post #403 » by **nasty daddy** » Sat May 23, 2009 11:37 pm

http://www.dailybreeze.com/sports/ci_12434647

UCLA basketball's Holiday could hit lottery
Jrue Holiday spent a few weeks training in Florida, worked out for one team and draft prognosticators now have the UCLA guard being selected as high as No. 3 in next month's NBA draft.

It also seems a foregone conclusion Holiday will eschew his sophomore season of college for NBA riches, but he is yet to sign with an agent. Holiday insisted he still is weeks away from deciding whether he will leave for the NBA. "Honestly, I don't know if I'm lottery or not," he said Friday. "I've been in Florida for a few weeks, and they shipped me to Sacramento. Really, I'm focused on playing hard and doing my best.

Holiday has until June 15 to remove his name from the draft and return to school. After spending a few weeks at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., Holiday worked out for the Sacramento Kings on Thursday. "We did a lot of shooting drills, ball-handling drills and went up and down (the court) and played three-on-three," said Holiday who, unlike during his season at UCLA, is playing point guard. "Having the ball in my hands and making decisions, it's natural. When we did three-on-three, I did really well and my team did really well. I'm not saying it's because of me,

nasty daddy · Post #404 » by **nasty daddy** » Sat May 23, 2009 11:40 pm

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/20 ... grizzlies/

Ricky Rubio's agent doesn't rule out Grizzlies
Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace said Friday there was cordial talk -- and no threats -- when he met with the agent for Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio. "We had a productive and wide-ranging discussion. It was a good meeting," Wallace said from Los Angeles before he boarded a plane for Spain to watch the 18-year-old Rubio, who according to an Internet report might not want to play in Memphis.

Despite the report by Draftexpress.com, the Griz, who have the No. 2 pick in the June 25 draft, have yet to receive a similar vibe directly from Rubio's camp. Wallace said he had a "cordial meeting" with Rubio agent Dan Fegan. "I also talked to him about some of his other clients," Wallace said. "We're very early in this process."

Wallace acknowledged that the Griz are high on Rubio's abilities but pointed out that the team has just begun to explore a number of options. Memphis will explore trying to trade up and swap picks with the Clippers so it can land Griffin. The Griz will also listen to offers to move down in the draft, possibly acquiring an established NBA talent, or staying at No. 2 and possibly grabbing Rubio. "We've got a long way to go," said Wallace, who also met with Connecticut center Hasheem Thabeet and his agent, Bill Duffy, Thursday in Los Angeles.

nasty daddy · Post #405 » by **nasty daddy** » Sat May 23, 2009 11:43 pm

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/ ... id=4201755

Jackson issues miffed Bynum ultimatum
Andrew Bynum wants to play more minutes, and Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson has just the solution: Play better defense. "If he plays well, he'll have more time," Jackson said Saturday, several hours before Game 3 of the Western Conference finals against the Denver Nuggets.

Bynum criticized the Lakers' defensive scheme after getting yanked from Game 2 early in the second half for his lackadaisical play that led to an easy bucket for Denver.

Jackson was displeased that Bynum didn't hustle downcourt after failing to get a pass in the post, which allowed Nuggets center Nene to make a layup and draw a foul from Kobe Bryant. So, Bynum took a seat with 7:14 left in the third quarter and never returned, finishing with nine points, two rebounds, one foul and no turnovers in the Lakers' 106-103 loss that evened the series at 1-1.

nasty daddy · Post #406 » by **nasty daddy** » Sat May 23, 2009 11:48 pm

http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/sp ... _rss=Kings Blog and Q&A

* We'll stay with Holiday for a minute here. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound, defensive-minded guard hasn't hired an agent and wouldn't say whether there was still a chance he would return to UCLA for his sophomore season.

"It's my first workout, so I'm going to go home and talk to my parents and some of my advisers," Holiday said. "(We'll) go over it and tell them how I think it went, that I think it went well. From there we're going to make a decision."

nasty daddy · Post #407 » by **nasty daddy** » Sat May 23, 2009 11:51 pm

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/olybb/new ... id=4201458

FIBA picks Spain for men's 2014 worlds
Spain has won the right to host the men's basketball world championship in 2014.

The board of governing body FIBA picked Spain on Saturday ahead of rival candidates China and Italy.

The 24-team tournament will be played in Madrid plus Bilbao, Granada, Seville, and Las Palmas on the Canary Islands from Aug. 30-Sept. 14, 2014.

nasty daddy · Post #408 » by **nasty daddy** » Sat May 23, 2009 11:54 pm

http://www.dailybreeze.com/sports/ci_12434647

Collison, a point guard, worked out for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Dallas Mavericks and was part of a group workout (the Lakers, the Clippers, Memphis, Philadelphia, New York and Toronto were represented) Friday in Manhattan Beach. He will work out for the Chicago Bulls on Sunday before going to the combine.

After that, he has a workout with the Minnesota Timberwolves followed by another group workout, this one hosted by Golden State.

"The first workout I had was kind of an eye-opener. It was, `Oh, my gosh, I'm working out for Cleveland,"' said Collison, who signed with agent Bill Duffy. "It's Cleveland. They are one of the top teams in the NBA. I was nervous and I didn't sleep the night before, but I had a good workout."

nasty daddy · Post #409 » by **nasty daddy** » Sat May 23, 2009 11:55 pm

http://www.dailybreeze.com/sports/ci_12434647

Shipp, a wing, worked out for Oklahoma City and Houston this week. He said he has group workouts scheduled this weekend and will work out for Portland and Milwaukee next week, but as of now he was not going to attend the pre-draft camp.

"It's going good and I'm getting some good feedback," said Shipp, who signed with the Wasserman Media Group. "The first workout was kind of crazy, but I feel like I am doing well."

nasty daddy · Post #410 » by **nasty daddy** » Sat May 23, 2009 11:56 pm

http://www.dailybreeze.com/sports/ci_12434647

Meanwhile, former UCLA center Alfred Aboya worked out for the Indiana Pacers and Mavericks.

nasty daddy · Post #411 » by **nasty daddy** » Sun May 24, 2009 12:00 am

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4201617

Bryants say contract was violated
Kobe Bryant and his wife are suing their former housekeeper, accusing her of violating her contract by talking to the media about the family's private affairs.

The housekeeper initially sued the Los Angeles Lakers star and his wife, contending they harassed and humiliated her. The countersuit was filed Friday in Orange County Superior Court. It says Maria Jimenez broke a confidentiality agreement. The court filing was posted Saturday on the Web site TMZ.com.

Jimenez said she was denied health insurance and forced to quit because of intolerable working conditions. The countersuit calls those allegations specious and frivolous. The Bryants' attorney, Jon G. Daryanani, said he had no further comment. Jimenez's lawyer did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press.

nasty daddy · Post #412 » by **nasty daddy** » Sun May 24, 2009 12:02 am

http://www.star-telegram.com/287/story/1392305.html

Dallas Mavericks forward Josh Howard has successful surgeries
Josh Howard made good on his pledge, having arthroscopic surgical work done on both his left ankle and left wrist on Friday in New York.

As his ankle gave him problems through most of last season, Howard said that as soon as the season was over, he would have whatever work was necessary done. Unlike many players who wait until closer to training camp to have ailments addressed so as to enjoy their off-season, Howard wasted no time getting the work done. He will begin rehabilitation this weekend in Dallas

Coach Rick Carlisle said after the Mavericks’ season ended that the arthroscopic procedures were expected to take care of the pain that Howard suffered throughout the past season. Howard is expected to be 100 percent before training camp, which opens Sept. 28.

nasty daddy · Post #413 » by **nasty daddy** » Sun May 24, 2009 12:10 am

http://www.dailynews.com/ci_12434667

Bynum admitted his ailing right knee continues to trouble him. He also said it wouldn't be right until he gets a chance to rest at season's end. Surgery isn't required, but it might take a good deal of rehabilitation during the summer to strengthen the knee.

"It's really more like tendinitis right there," said Bynum, who was sidelined for 32 games in the regular season after tearing his medial collateral ligament Jan. 31.

He refused to use it as an excuse for his lackluster playoff performances.

nasty daddy · Post #414 » by **nasty daddy** » Sun May 24, 2009 12:14 am

http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_12433835

Throughout the playoffs, Jackson hasn't been hesitant to publicly call out players who haven't measured up in his eyes, using his postgame news conference Thursday to single out point guards Fisher, Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic. On Friday, though, Jackson tried a more holistic approach.

"We're OK," Jackson said. "They won, but these were both very close games — it's not like the bottom fell out of the ocean just because we lost this ballgame."

nasty daddy · Post #415 » by **nasty daddy** » Sun May 24, 2009 12:14 am

http://njmg.typepad.com/zzone/2009/05/t ... coach.html

Keyon Dooling is rehabbing after his hip surgery and barring some type of setback Thorn expects him back by the start of training camp.

"He should be fine," Thorn said. "Every indication is he'll be fine. It's going to be a 4-5 month rehab for him, which will put him up near the start of camp. Every indication is he'll be fine."

nasty daddy · Post #416 » by **nasty daddy** » Sun May 24, 2009 12:15 am

http://www.dailynews.com/ci_12434700

Kobe Bryant can opt out after this season, Lamar Odom, Trevor Ariza and Shannon Brown are unrestricted free agents and Jackson has gone back and forth on retirement all season.

nasty daddy · Post #417 » by **nasty daddy** » Sun May 24, 2009 12:22 am

http://www.thestar.com/article/639220

Bid to boost Olympic hoops tourney could help Canada
Canada's bid to return the Olympic basketball tournament is getting a boost from the sport's world governing body.

FIBA will petition the IOC for four more spots in the 2012 London Olympics, boosting to 16 the number of teams in each tournament.``The depth of field has just gotten so much stronger. ... This just makes so much sense,'' Canada Basketball chief executive officer Wayne Parrish said.

There was no indication from FIBA how they would distribute the four extra spots. The International Olympic Committee will rule on the request in August.

nasty daddy · Post #418 » by **nasty daddy** » Sun May 24, 2009 12:28 am

http://www.hoopsworld.com/HeadlineStori ... TORY_18987

Griz Reject Thabeet, Want Deal for Griffin?
The order of the day, as I play catch-up, is fallout from Chad Ford's report that Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley is pushing to take Hasheem Thabeet #2 over the dissent of his basketball staff.

Before I split town this morning, I heard Commercial Appeal Grizzlies beat writer Ron Tillery — who is certainly closer to Heisley than any other NBA media person — shoot this down on his radio show, saying that Heisley wasn't particularly enamored with Thabeet and also saying that Heisley told him directly that the Grizzlies are going to make a hard push to get up to #1 and take Blake Griffin.

Team insiders I've talked to have also denied the report, implying that Heisley isn't familiar enough with Thabeet to be sold on him. But no one will say the Grizzlies wouldn't Thabeet or some other player at #2 rather than Ricky Rubio. I get the sense from talking to multiple team sources over the past couple of days that complications surrounding Rubio — from his agent to his buyout to the threat of him pulling out of the draft — are a concern.

nasty daddy · Post #419 » by **nasty daddy** » Sun May 24, 2009 12:30 am

http://www.hoopsworld.com/HeadlineStori ... TORY_18987

Josh Howard Has Ankle, Wrist Surgery
Mavericks forward Josh Howard had arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle and left wrist Friday in New York.

Howard will begin rehabilitation this weekend in Dallas.

Howard is expected to be fully recovered before training camp opens Sept. 28.

nasty daddy · Post #420 » by **nasty daddy** » Sun May 24, 2009 12:31 am

http://www.hoopsworld.com/HeadlineStori ... TORY_18987

Griz: 'Cordial Meeting' with Rubio's Agent
Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace said Friday there was cordial talk -- and no threats -- when he met with the agent for Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio.

"We had a productive and wide-ranging discussion. It was a good meeting," Wallace said from Los Angeles before he boarded a plane for Spain to watch the 18-year-old Rubio, who according to an Internet report might not want to play in Memphis.

allace said he had a "cordial meeting" with Rubio agent Dan Fegan.