BEIJING — Two years ago, when J.R. Smith and the Denver Nuggets came to Beijing to participate in the NBA China Games, he did not know he would spend part of his career in this ancient and mysterious country. But now, in October 2011, he has come to China and become a member of the Zhejiang Chouzhou team. “The lockout upsets me, basketball is my job, my love and my life. The lockout robbed it all. But because of the lockout, I can come
Lockout update: No 50-50 precondition
NEW YORK — One major piece of information that needs to be out there before NBA labor negotiations resume: A source close to the talks tells SheridanHoops.com that the owners have dropped their insistance that players agree to a 50/50 split of revenues. That precondition is what brought about last Thursday’s contentious breakup after the sides had met for more than 30 hours over three days.
Lockout update: Talks to resume today
NEW YORK — The NBA lockout could be settled by tonight. Or, talks could drag into the wee hours of Thursday morning and then resume after the sides get a few hours of sleep, setting up Friday as settlement day. Or, the whole thing could blow up again as it did last Thursday. All we know for sure is that owners and players have agreed to meet again today in another attempt at ending the NBA lockout. They are apart by a mere $100
Euroleague special report: Zalgaris Kaunas-Unicaja Malaga
By Dubi Pick If I were to challenge myself to guess who’s more frustrated about his current situation, recently fired Zalgiris Kaunas head coach Ilias Zouros, or the team’s point guard, Ty Lawson, I’d go with the latter. The Denver Nuggets’ exile blew off a lot of steam lately with a series of aggressive tweets, seemingly indicating he might be on his way home while bashing European basketball. A simple look at Lawson’s last four games clearly shows he hasn’t adjusted to
Basketbrawl Video from China
Hat tip to loyal reader Lan Qiufan for sending me this video of a fight between the Guangdong Foshan Dralions of the Chinese Basketball Association and team from Melbourne, Australian. It is not the greatest fight video of all time, but it is part of a growing trend. With fights having been all but eliminated from the NBA, the best stuff is coming in from China, like the big brawl two months ago between Georgetown and the Bayi Rockets. [Read more…]
Tweet of the Day: Ty Lawson
Want to know the story behind this tweet? Kurt Helin wrote about it for NBCSports.com.
Hubbard Column: Comedy, perhaps, but was that Gumbel’s intention?
One element previously missing from NBA negotiations was introduced last week, and we have Bryant Gumbel to thank for that. At a time when NBA fans were at their most depressed about the potential loss of the season, Gumbel took matters into his own vocal cords and provided a little comic relief. Thanks, Bryant. We needed that. Hard to believe, but some were offended by Gumbel’s suggestion on his HBO show Real Sports that David Stern was like a “plantation overseer.” Come on.
The Shawn Kemp award goes to …
… someone other than Al Harrington. Although we have to give Al some props for trying. Aside from his offspring accomplishments, Kemp is best known for putting on some 50 pounds of extra weight during the 1998-99 lockout. He was never the same player afterward, and his is still a case study on what kinds of collateral damage (David Stern”s phrase from June 30) can happen during a lockout. From Susan Stapleton of HauteLiving.com: “On Saturday, Denver Nuggets player Al Harrington took the