Basketball (NBA, College, etc.)

qilver wrote:assuming the pending lock-out ends by early 2012, will the Lakers have a chance at him? I am guessing after the all-star break in Feb, assuming there is a 2011/2012 season.

From some sites, it appears that Howard is a lock for the Lakers. :headscratch:

Rumor mill going wild today: there's talk of the Lakers trading Pau Gasol to the T-Wolves for Kevin Love and the number two pick in the draft. :sweat:

Jeez, Pau has a crappy playoffs after two consecutive championship seasons and people want to get rid of him... So much for loyalty. :(

The entire team sucked in the playoffs, not just him. :shakehead:

bmwracer wrote:Rumor mill going wild today: there's talk of the Lakers trading Pau Gasol to the T-Wolves for Kevin Love and the number two pick in the draft. :sweat:

Jeez, Pau has a crappy playoffs after two consecutive championship seasons and people want to get rid of him... So much for loyalty. :(

The entire team sucked in the playoffs, not just him. :shakehead:

I think they should keep Pau, and get rid of the other 7-footer, too much of a liability with those knees that he has, too much injury prone Bynum has proven these past few years. I don't think the Kevin Love and 2 picks is a good idea, they should just go for Howard.

qilver wrote:I don't think the Kevin Love and 2 picks is a good idea, they should just go for Howard.

Not two picks in the draft... The number two pick in the draft.

bmwracer wrote:
Not two picks in the draft... The number two pick in the draft.

doubt Minnesota would go for that, didn't think so...

heard the rumor Lakers want to get rid of Lamor, surprised me at first, but why not World Peace, ....ahem..I mean Ron Artest. :bonk: I think Lakers rather keep World Peace, the name. :hehe:

What a great day to be a Bobcats fan. Picking Bismack Biyombo and Kemba Walker in the lottery - this is clearly the best draft the Bobcats have had in its 7-year history. :woot:

qilver wrote:heard the rumor Lakers want to get rid of Lamor, surprised me at first, but why not World Peace, ....ahem..I mean Ron Artest. :bonk: I think Lakers rather keep World Peace, the name. :hehe:

Haha.

Artest didn't have a very good year last season, so he's not particularly valuable at the moment...

Lakers need to off their bench: they're a worthless crew for the most part. :bleh:

I just read the Yahoo NBA sports page,
from the draft, it seems the Kings struck with a sleeper hit, winner with Jimmer, 6'2" SG from BYU, well see how he fits in, once the strike shorten NBA season finally continues.

lakers didn't do much in trades, they should have gotten Rudy Fernandez, and gave up someone, and their bench needs to be changed

Report: Yao decides to retire

HOUSTON (AP)\Houston Rockets center Yao Ming(notes) is retiring, according to a report by Yahoo! Sports.

The 7-foot-6 Chinese star, plagued by lower-body injuries in the second half of his career, has informed the league office that his playing career is over, the website reported.

The Rockets declined to comment on the report because of the lockout, and the NBA has not received official retirement paperwork from Yao.

Yaofs contract expired after last season, and the Rockets said they were interested in re-signing him if he came back healthy. Yao said in April in China that his professional future depended on his recovery from a stress fracture in his left ankle.

John Huizinga, one of Yaofs American agents, would not confirm the report during a phone interview on Friday. He said Yaofs recovery was gon track,h but Yaofs future with the Rockets has been uncertain for some time.

Kobe talking turkey with the Turkish... :beaten:

Besiktas says it is in talks with Kobe Bryant
By SELCAN HACAOGLU, Associated Press 7 hours, 20 minutes ago

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ANKARA, Turkey (AP)\Turkish club Besiktas is in talks with Kobe Bryantfs representatives about the possibility of the Los Angeles Lakersf star playing in Turkey during the NBA lockout.

gIt is a fact that Kobe Bryantfs managers have contacted us,h coach Ergin Ataman said Thursday, a week after Besiktas signed New Jersey Nets point guard Deron Williams.

Ataman said Bryant was waiting for an offer from Besiktas. The club, however, said it would need a sponsor to be able to pay for Bryantfs contract.

gOur board will evaluate that,h Ataman said.

Bryant, who has won five NBA titles with the Lakers and is a 13-time NBA All Star, has been on a tour of China, including a stop in Shanghai on Wednesday. He said he would consider playing overseas during the lockout and mentioned China and Turkey as possibilities.

Representatives other NBA players also have contacted Besiktas, Ataman said, without identifying any of them.

The Turkish League season starts in October.

Besiktas signed Allen Iverson, the NBAfs MVP in 2001, last year but his time in Turkey was cut short due to injury.

Another NBA player, New Jersey guard Sasha Vujacic, signed last week with Turkish club Anadolu Efes. The 27-year old Slovenian guard agreed to a one-year deal with an optional second year.

Nets draft pick Bojan Bogdanovic also signed with Fenerbahce of the Turkish League in June.

Orlando Magic star Dwight Howard, a five-time All-Star, has said he would consider playing in China or Europe if the NBA lockout doesnft end.

Talks between the NBA and the union broke down June 30, and the owners decided to impose the leaguefs first lockout since the 1998-99 season was shortened to 50 games. Both sides say there are significant differences between their proposals, raising the possibility that all or part of next season could be canceled.

I've never been to a Sparks game, but this might be a good time to go: http://rafu.com/news/2011/08/time-to-let-a-spark-fly/

NBA cancels all games through Nov. 30

Oh well...

Walt Hazzard Dead: Former UCLA, NBA Star Dies At 69

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LOS ANGELES -- Walt Hazzard, the former UCLA and NBA star who played on the Bruins' first NCAA championship basketball team in 1964 and later coached the team for four seasons in the 1980s, died Friday. He was 69.

Hazzard's family said he had been recuperating for a long time from complications following heart surgery. The school said Hazzard died at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center.

He had a stroke in March 1996 and made a strong recovery, but became less publicly active. He made occasional appearances at UCLA games in recent years.

Hazzard was co-captain of the 1964 national title team that went 30-0 under coach John Wooden. He averaged a career-high 18.6 points as a senior playmaking guard. He was chosen college basketball's player of the year, having averaged 19.8 points in the NCAA tournament, where he was selected as the most valuable player.

As a junior, Hazzard led the Bruins with a 16.3 scoring average and they won 20 games for the first time since 1957. In his sophomore season, he averaged 13.2 points and the Bruins reached the Final Four for the first time in school history, losing by two points to eventual national champion Cincinnati in the semifinals.

Hazzard transferred to UCLA after spending one season at Santa Monica College.

In 1996, UCLA retired his No. 42 jersey.

bmwracer wrote:NBA cancels all games through Nov. 30

Oh well...

I doubt there will be a season this year, or the next, at the rate they are going, or there lack of...both sides are not even in discussion.

^ This season is done.

Next season? Who knows...? :sweat:

Well the Lakers bench won't get any better if this deal is made. Apparently, the Lakers are trading for Chris Paul, while giving up both Lamar Odom to New Orleans and Pau Gasol to Houston. I'm not liking this deal. I'd like to get a good point guard, but giving up both Odom and Gasol hurts the Lakers in other areas. Besides losing a valuable bench player, they're also losing key pieces of the frontcourt, which has been the Lakers strength over the past few years.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Av31X32b6rnwxmrZUXZBv3M5nYcB?slug=ap-chrispaultrade

^ Looks like the NBA nixed that trade: http://news.yahoo.com/nba-wont-approve-paul-trade-lakers-032952063.html

^ I didn't care much for the trade at first but I really don't like how the NBA intervened. The trade seemed fair and by the rules, so the NBA shouldn't be abusing their own power because they don't like a certain trade.

mrsmith10 wrote:^ I didn't care much for the trade at first but I really don't like how the NBA intervened. The trade seemed fair and by the rules, so the NBA shouldn't be abusing their own power because they don't like a certain trade.

Yeah, seems like the NBA has way too much power: If the teams involved agree to the trade, then it should be allowed.

bmwracer wrote:Yeah, seems like the NBA has way too much power

Given the games that were cancelled, they don't have that much power. :beaten: