Elfreezer: Basketball

Showing posts with label Basketball. Show all posts

Friday, 2 May 2014

75 players filed for early entry into 2014 NBA Draft

The National Basketball Association announced on Wednesday that 75 players, including 45 players from colleges and 30 international players season have filed as early entry candidates for the 2014 NBA Draft presented by State Farm.
Players wishing to enter the 2014 NBA Draft were required to submit a letter to the NBA to be received no later than Sunday, April 27.
Players who have applied for early entry have the right to withdraw their names from consideration for the Draft by notifying the NBA of their decision in writing no later than 5 pm ET on Monday, June 16.
Following is the list of players from colleges and post-graduate institutions who have applied for early entry into the 2014 NBA Draft, which will be held Thursday, June 26, at Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, New York
EARLY ENTRY CANDIDATES FOR 2014 NBA DRAFT
Jordan Adams UCLA
William Alston CC of Baltimore County Dundalk
Mychal Ammons South Alabama

NBA owners took their first concrete step on Thursday towards booting Donald Sterling from their ranks after the disgraced real estate tycoon's racist remarks.
The league's advisory/finance committee held a meeting about the 80-year-old Los Angeles Clippers' owner to discuss NBA Commissioner Adam Silver's recommendation that he be forced to sell his team.
On Tuesday, Silver banned Sterling for life from all league activities and fined him $2.5 million over racially charged comments he made to his girlfriend that caused a furor within basketball and beyond after they were aired at the weekend.
"This afternoon the Advisory/Finance Committee met via conference call to discuss the process for termination of Donald T. Sterling's ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers," NBA executive vice president Mike Bass said in a brief statement.
"The committee unanimously agreed to move forward as expeditiously as possible and will reconvene next week."
A move to force Sterling to sell would require the approval of three-quarters of the other 29 NBA owners, and Silver said Tuesday he was confident of gaining the needed votes.
A swarm of high-profile potential suitors has already surfaced, although Sterling could tie things up if he chooses to challenge any NBA action in court.

Curled from NBA.com

Tuesday, 29 April 2014

NBA Bans Donald Sterling for Life

A visibly emotional Adam Silver announced Tuesday afternoon that LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling has been banned for life by the NBA.
The Commissioner said he’ll push the other 29 team owners to force Sterling to sell the Clippers. The process to find a new owner for the Clips, according to Silver, will begin immediately.
From the press release:

Commissioner Silver has also fined Mr. Sterling $2.5 million, the maximum amount allowed under the NBA Constitution. The fine money will be donated to organizations dedicated to anti-discrimination and tolerance efforts that will be jointly selected by the NBA and the Players Association.

As part of the lifetime ban, Mr. Sterling may not attend any NBA games or practices, be present at any Clippers office or facility, or participate in any business or player personnel decisions involving the team. He will also be barred from attending NBA Board of Governors meetings and participating in any other league activity.

Commissioner Silver also announced that he will urge the Board of Governors to exercise its authority to force a sale of the team.

The discipline issued today is based on the Commissioner’s conclusion that Mr. Sterling violated league rules through his expressions of offensive and hurtful views, the impact of which has been widely felt throughout the league.

Donald Sterling has, for decades, basically gotten away with bigotry and discriminatory business practices.
Adam Silver ensured that, at long last, Sterling’s shameful reign as the owner of the Clippers comes to an appropriately inglorious end.

Miami Heat Show Support for Clippers Players by Turning Warm-Ups Inside Out

On Sunday, Los Angeles Clippers players protested the racist comments allegedly made by Clippers owner Donald Sterling by dropping their shooting shirts to the court and turning their warm-ups inside out.

They aren't alone in this protest.

Before Monday's Game 4 against the Charlotte Bobcats, the Miami Heat showed their support for the Clippers players by turning their warm-ups inside out:

Magic Johnson to purchase L.A. Clippers

Well, here’s an interesting new twist in the (alleged!) Donald Sterling racist rant saga: Magic Johnson, the legendary former Laker who took the picture with Sterling’s ex-girlfriend that sparked the awful, racist comments Sterling made, is reportedly interested in purchasing the Clippers. Per Yahoo!:

Magic Johnson and his billionaire backers, the Guggenheim Partners, want a chance to purchase the Los Angeles Clippers, league sources told Yahoo Sports. “Magic’s absolutely interested,” one source closely connected to Johnson’s business interests told Yahoo Sports on Sunday night.

To bail themselves out of the NBA’s worst crisis of credibility since the Tim Donaghy officiating scandal, the easy part for the NBA will be enlisting the eagerness and financial muscle of Magic Johnson and Mark Walter of the Guggenheim Partners – owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

For commissioner Adam Silver, the chance to turn the Clippers over to Magic Johnson and his partners is the best possible of solutions. Exit Sterling, enter Magic. It would be the greatest trade in sports ownership history since, well, Magic for the McCourts, with the Dodgers.

[...] Make no mistake: Magic’s Dodgers group is angling for a Southern California sports empire. Magic Johnson and Guggenheim had been aggressive in pursuing a purchase of the Los Angeles Lakers – only to have the Buss family make clear to them the franchise isn’t for sale, sources told Yahoo Sports.

Jeff Van Gundy Says NBA Tried to Hurt His Career for Criticizing Referees

The NBA doesn’t like it when its media partners openly blast the refs for blown calls. In fact, the League occasionally calls the broadcasters’ bosses to remind them of this, according to Jeff Van Gundy. Per the Oregonian:

“I understand their job is hard. I understand officiating is hard, but guess what? So is guarding LaMarcus Aldridge. So is coaching. Of course it’s hard, that’s why those guys are making a lot of money. I’m not big on the idea that anytime you disagree on something, don’t say anything about it,” said Van Gundy, working now with ESPN as an NBA television analyst.

Donald Sterling racism allegations ignite NBA outrage

LOS ANGELES — Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, probably the most popular figure in this city's proud basketball history, said he won't attend another Los Angeles Clippers game as long as Donald Sterling remains the team's owner.
And one of Johnson's former Los Angeles Lakers "Showtime" teammates, Mychal Thompson, said he wouldn't be surprised to see thousands of empty seats Tuesday at Staples Center when the Clippers host the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series, which is tied 2-2.

Vince Carter lifts Dallas Mavericks over San Antonio Spurs

Vince Carter drained a three-pointer to lift the Dallas Mavericks to a 109-108 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday in game three of their opening round NBA play-off series.
The 37-year-old Carter caught an inbound pass from Jose Calderon in the left side corner and faked Manu Ginobili of the Spurs. His off-balance shot at the buzzer sailed cleanly through the rim.
Moments earlier, Ginobili had given the Spurs a two-point lead with a running bank shot with 1.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
"Sometimes you need something like that," said Calderon. "I think we were fighting so hard for 48 minutes against a really good team. Coming up with that great shot at the end – it feels great."