Former Trail Blazers center, Kevin Duckworth, dies at age 44.
August 26, 2008
Former Portland Trail Blazers center Kevin Duckworth died while on a trip to the Oregon Coast to host a free basketball clinic. He was 44.
The Lincoln County sheriff’s office confirmed the death. Duckworth died Monday.
The 7-foot Duckworth averaged 11.8 points and 5.8 rebounds over 11 seasons in the NBA, helping Portland reach the NBA Finals in 1990 and 1992. The two-time All-Star also played for San Antonio, Washington, Milwaukee and the Los Angeles Clippers.
“Kevin will be remembered by fans as one of the most popular and recognizable players to ever wear the Blazers uniform, but to people who knew him, he’ll be remembered as one of the warmest and biggest-hearted,” Trail Blazers president Larry Miller said.
The Blazers said he was representing the team on a 19-city tour of Oregon.
Duckworth grew up in the Chicago area and was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs out of Eastern Illinois University in 1986.
The Spurs traded him that season to the Trail Blazers, where he had his greatest success, playing with Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, Buck Williams and Jerome Kersey on two Western Conference championship teams.
Duckworth remained in the Portland area after he retired in 1997, doing woodwork, fishing and hunting. He ran a construction company in Northern California for a time, and a restaurant venture in Vancouver, Wash., with former NBA player Kermit Washington went out of business.
The cause of death was to be determined by a medical examiner.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Cavaliers land Mo Williams in three way trade with Bucks.
August 14, 2008
The Cleveland Cavaliers are getting some help for LeBron James.
With James in Beijing for the Olympics, high-scoring Milwaukee point guard Mo Williams is headed to Cleveland as part of a three-team trade that also involves Oklahoma City.
The six-player deal completed Wednesday reshapes the rebuilding Bucks while giving Cleveland an additional scoring threat and Oklahoma City an instant fan favorite, Desmond Mason, in the first year of the franchise’s move from Seattle.
In exchange for Williams — who averaged 17.2 points per game last season in the first year of a six-year, $51.5 million contract — the Bucks receive Damon Jones from Cleveland along with guard Luke Ridnour and forward Adrian Griffin from Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma City gets Mason from Milwaukee and former No. 1 pick Joe Smith from Cleveland.
The Cavs have long sought a scorer to take pressure off James, who led the NBA last season with a 30-point average.
James’ lack of help was particularly noticeable in Cleveland’s Game 7 loss to Boston in the Eastern Conference semifinals when he scored 45 of the Cavs’ 92 points.
“Mo has the ability to space the floor. He’s shown himself to be a good shooter,” Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry said. “I like him. He’s a competitive player that can make big shots and one of those guys that is capable of rising to important times, and obviously we want to be playing in those times.”
Ferry said the team let James know of the deal even though he’s on the other side of the world.
“We’ve communicated with most of the team,” Ferry said. “All these guys are very excited. They respect Mo as a player, and they’re looking forward to playing with him.”
Larry Hughes was supposed to be James’ sidekick, but couldn’t fulfill the role and was sent to Chicago last year at the trade deadline in a 10-player deal.
Cleveland also has been searching for years for a point guard, and considered trades in the past for Mike Bibby and Jason Kidd, but never made one. Williams could be that big trade, Ferry said.
“I think this is a move to be able to get a talented, young, 25-year-old point guard that can be part of the future,” said Ferry, who added that restricted free agent Delonte West remains in the team’s plans even with the trade.
Ridnour, who averaged 6.4 points and four assists last season as the backup to Earl Watson in Seattle, had faced decreased playing time in Oklahoma City after the franchise drafted point guard Russell Westbrook with the fourth pick.
Bucks general manager John Hammond said he can envision Ridnour thriving in Milwaukee.
“His most productive days in the NBA were just a few short years ago when he had Ray Allen on one wing and Rashard Lewis on the other wing,” Hammond said. “Here, you say you have Michael Redd on one wing and Richard Jefferson on another wing, you’re putting Luke Ridnour in the best possible position to be successful again as he has been in the past.”
Mason played in college at Oklahoma State and spent time with the Hornets franchise in Oklahoma City when it was relocated after Hurricane Katrina.
“We’re excited,” said Mason’s agent, Roger Montgomery. “He’s been to Oklahoma City, he’s familiar with the people there, he’s familiar with the Ford Center, he’s played there, the fans loved him when he was there. His nickname is the Cowboy. It’s really apropos to come back.”
Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti sees the basketball benefits.
“We understand that it’s a unique opportunity here specifically but we’ve got to do the best thing for our basketball team, and we feel like the best thing for our basketball team is to add some toughness and some intangibles defensively for us at that position,” Presti said. “It just seemed like the right fit for us.”
For the Bucks, it’s the next step in an offseason facelift by Hammond. Milwaukee fired coach Larry Krystkowiak after going 26-56 last season and replaced him with Scott Skiles.
The Bucks then sent Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons to New Jersey in exchange for Jefferson on draft night and added forward Joe Alexander with the eighth pick.
Milwaukee also signed guard Tyronn Lue and forward Malik Allen in an effort to bolster what has been one of the league’s worst defenses.
Griffin averaged 1.9 points in minimal playing time after going to Seattle from Chicago in a midseason trade.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
U.S. goes to 2-0 in Olympic basketball by pounding Angola.
August 12, 2008
LeBron James dominated the game with his size and strength on both ends, and Dwyane Wade scored 19 points to give the United States a 97-76 victory over Angola on Tuesday at the Olympics.
Dwight Howard added 14 points and James finished with 12 for the Americans, who had another rough night from 3-point range but don’t appear to be stoppable in the open court.
Wade was perfect from the field in Beijing until missing in the third quarter.
“We played with really good energy in spurts and played some really terrific basketball,” U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Our goal wasn’t to win by a certain margin. It was to really work hard and keep up our pressure and then once that was done, we just worked on a few other things.”
Earlier, Pau Gasol scored 29 points to lead world champion Spain over Yao Ming and host China 85-75 in overtime.
Spain, which finished out of the medals at Athens in 2004, remains unbeaten in Group B with four points and next faces Germany on Thursday. China is without a win after two games, including a 101-80 drubbing at the hands of the United States.
Also in Group B, Vasileios Spanoulis and a dogged Greek defense curbed Dirk Nowitzki in a 87-64 win over Germany in Group B.
The United States improved to 4-0 against Angola, starting with the Dream Team’s Olympic debut in 1992.
The Americans (2-0) moved on to face Greece, the team that stunned them two years ago in the semifinals of the World Championships. Two days later comes a matchup with Spain, the team that won that tournament and is also 2-0 in this one.
“I’m expecting this game right here to be tough,” United States forward Carmelo Anthony said. “They know that we’re coming back to redeem ourselves and I’m pretty sure that they watch us a lot.”
Long before the rout of Angola started, the Americans were already looking ahead.
Krzyzewski and his staff were seated behind the baseline about 5½ hours earlier for a look at the Greeks, who shut down Germany over the final three quarters while pulling away.
Greece stunned the United States 101-95 two years ago in Japan. This U.S. team is much deeper, and James is a whole lot stronger.
James hadn’t done much offensively midway through the second quarter when he made his presence felt on the other end, jumping so high to block Felizardo Ambrosio’s shot that it looked more like a volleyball spike, with James glaring back at the fallen Ambrosio as the ball went out of bounds.
The Angolans were down only seven with less than four minutes remaining in the half when James simply muscled them out of the way. After Wade’s 3-pointer, James went all the way for a layup, then knocked Leonel Paulo backward to grab a loose ball and convert a three-point play that made it 47-32 with 2:26 left.
James came up with a steal and flipped the ball behind him to Chris Bosh for a bucket, then capped a 16-2 spurt with another layup that extended the U.S. lead to 55-34. The Americans were up 55-37 at the break, with James, Howard, Wade, Anthony and Bosh all perfect from the field.
The U.S. shooting would have been much better if not for Kobe Bryant’s 0-for-5 half, but he quickly got involved in the third quarter with eight points, highlighted by a spinning dunk on the fast break.
Carlos Morais scored 24 points for Angola (0-2).
The Spaniards showed their quality in a dramatic game that had them trailing for much of the last three quarters.
Battling back from a 14-point deficit at the end of the third period, Juan Carlos Navarro tied the score at 70-70 with two minutes to go.
China then went ahead on a jumper by former NBA player Wang Zhizhi, but Spain pulled even again at 72-72 on a fadeaway jumper by Pau’s little brother, Marc.
Spain raced to a four-point lead at the start of overtime, and with Yao on the bench and the rest of the squad drained, China crumbled in the face of back-to-back jams by Pau Gasol.
“It hurt, but we drop it and move forward,” an exhausted Yao said.
Rudy Fernandez added 21 points for Spain. Liu Wei led the scoring for China with 19, followed by 15 each for Wang and Zhu Fangyu, and 11 for Yao.
In Group A, Linas Kleiza scored 22 points to lead unbeaten Lithuania to a 99-67 victory over Asian champion Iran. Sarunas Jasikevicius added 20 points while Hamed Ehadadi had 21 points for Iran, which is winless after two games.
Croatia defeated European champion Russia 85-78. Marko Popovic led Croatia with 22 points, while captain Andrei Kirilenko led Russia with 18.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
U.S. routs host China by 31 in 2008 Olympic basketball opener.
August 10, 2008
In one heartpounding minute in the first half, LeBron James dunked off a nifty underhanded feed from Dwyane Wade. Then Kobe Bryant flew in and jammed. Then it was Chris Bosh’s turn to rattle the rim.
As the backboard swayed, some might have recalled the fabled Dream Team. The final score — U.S. 101, China 70 — might also draw comparisons.
Who’s worried about the 7-for-29 shooting from beyond the arc? Just toss it up and throw it down.
This was the biggest basketball game in China’s history and perhaps the most-watched basketball game ever — and the U.S. wanted to turn in a performance to match the moment as it took its first step toward Olympic hoops redemption.
“I’ve never felt an environment quite like this,” said Bryant, a veteran of five NBA Finals. “I’ve played in many big games, but the energy tonight was different.
“I think they knew that history was being made tonight,” Bryant said. “Obviously, it was a proud moment for their country as it is for ours. You could feel the electricity.”
Two nights after China put on a spectacular opening ceremony, it shared the spotlight with the nation that invented basketball.
The sparkling Wukesong Indoor Stadium began to buzz an hour before tipoff. But it didn’t feel like much of a homecourt for the Chinese. Team USA took the floor to a roar that was every bit as loud as the cheer when China came out of the dressing room. Bryant got as much applause as Chinese icon Yao Ming during pregame introductions.
“The excitement of it, the anxiousness of it, the anticipation was just crazy,” said Dwyane Wade, who led the U.S. with 19 points off the bench. “I’m kind of glad it’s out of the way now. This game was just over the top.”
With President Bush and his father watching alongside Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi, this was as much a spectacle as a basketball game. The president visited with the U.S. players in the locker room before the game.
“He basically came up to us and said, ‘I’m here to support you, our country supports you, and so go out there and kick some butt,’ ” Bryant said.
The U.S. did that eventually. But for one half the game met, and perhaps even exceeded, the expectations of the hosts.
“Many things we learned from those guys,” China coach Jonas Kazlauskas said. “So I think that it will be good for us.”
The Americans may be treated like rock stars here, but they suffered from a bit of stage fright early on. The U.S. turned the ball over on its first possession, and the Chinese grabbed a quick 3-0 lead on a 3-pointer by Yao from the top of the key.
“He scripted it perfect,” Wade said. “You just had to smile because you couldn’t write it any better.”
In the past, the Chinese might have been tempted to call timeout and take a picture of the scoreboard. But China has improved under Kazlauskas.
After the U.S. forged a 28-21 lead early in the second quarter, China tied it at 29-29 on a 3-pointer by Sun Yue with six minutes to play in the first half.
That’s when Team USA began to flex its superiority. The Americans responded with a 16-3 run capped by a trio of thundering dunks — by James, Bryant and Bosh — on its way to a 49-37 halftime lead.
The Americans struggled with their long-range shooting, an ominous sign for a team that has been dogged by shooting woes in past international tournaments. The U.S. went 1-for-12 from beyond the arc in the first half.
The Chinese, by contrast, hit eight of their first 12 shots from beyond the arc. But when their 3-pointers stopped falling, the Chinese had no answer for the U.S.’ defensive pressure, not to mention its superior depth.
China has more than a billion people, but there’s not an elite point guard among them. If they ever find one, the Chinese might begin to close the oceanic gap between them and the Americans.
The U.S. had beaten China in each of their first nine meetings by a combined 363 points. In their last meeting, the Americans blasted China 121-90 in the world championships two years ago in Sapporo, Japan, harrying the Chinese into 25 turnovers.
Although the U.S. won this game by 31 points, the Chinese hoped to send a message. They’re relative newcomers on the international hoops stage, but they aren’t going away.
Yao, who led China with 13 points, seemed to make that point as he came off for the last time with 4:43 to play and China trailing 87-54.
Yao raised his right fist to the crowd, sparking a long, loud ovation.
China had lost. But basketball won.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Former NBA ref Donaghy sentence to 15 month for gambling.
July 29, 2008
Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy was sentenced to 15 months in prison Tuesday for setting off a gambling scandal that tarnished the reputation of the league and raised questions about the integrity of its officiating.
The sentencing in Brooklyn federal court culminated a case that hung over the league throughout the season and even into the NBA Finals. League commissioner David Stern angrily denied Donaghy’s claim that corruption among referees goes beyond him.
Donaghy’s lawyer had asked U.S. District Judge Carol Amon to give his client probation, arguing Donaghy is a pathological gambler. Amon, who could have imposed a sentence of 33 months, gave the former ref credit for cooperating with investigators, but scolded him for disgracing the sport.
“The NBA, the players and the fans relied on him to perform his job in an honest manner,” she said.
In addition to the prison time, the judge ordered Donaghy to serve three years of supervised release.
Folding his arms but showing no other emotion, Donaghy apologized to the court. “I brought shame on myself and my family,” he said.
Donaghy, 41, pleaded guilty last August to conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting betting information through interstate commerce for taking payoffs from a professional gambler for inside tips on games.
“By having this nonpublic information, I was in a unique position to predict the outcome of NBA games,” he told a judge at the time.
Donaghy didn’t stop there: In June, he marred the NBA Finals by making fresh accusations that the league routinely encouraged refs to ring up bogus fouls to manipulate results but discouraged them from calling technical fouls on star players to keep them in games and protect ticket sales and television ratings.
The allegations — contained in court papers arguing that Donaghy deserved leniency for voluntarily disclosing the alleged corruption — included one instance claiming referees rigged a 2002 playoff series to force it to a revenue-boosting seventh game.
Though the papers didn’t name the teams involved, only the Los Angeles Lakers-Sacramento Kings series went to seven games during those playoffs. The Lakers went on to win the championship.
Both Stern and the league’s officials have said Donaghy made the claims to get a lighter sentence.
“We anticipate that the judge’s sentencing decision, together with the changes we have made to our referee operations staff, will enable us to continue with the improvements we are making to our anti-gambling rules, policies and procedures,” Stern said Tuesday.
“There is little comfort to be gained from the mandatory prison sentence, especially as it affects Mr. Donaghy’s children and their mother, but hopefully the healing process can begin in earnest for all.”
The NBA has made a number of changes to its officiating program in the wake of the scandal. Former Army Gen. Ron Johnson was hired as senior vice president of referee operations, Bernie Fryer and Joe Borgia were promoted to new management positions and the league reassigned Ronnie Nunn, who had been the director of officials for five years.
Last week, two of Donaghy’s former high school classmates were sentenced to more than a year in prison for their roles in the scheme.
James Battista, a professional gambler and admitted drug addict, got 15 months in prison for making bets based on inside tips. Thomas Martino, the scheme’s middleman, was sentenced to a year and one day for paying the referee thousands of dollars for the tips. The three men attended school together in Springfield, Pa.
The league had demanded nearly $1.4 million in restitution. But the judge last week set the restitution at $217,266, to be paid jointly by the three defendants.
“Though we believe no sentence would ever be able to repair or justify the damage caused by this criminal and scoundrel, we are glad to finally put this behind us,” said Lamell McMorris, spokesperson for the National Basketball Referees Association.
“Tim acted in a completely selfish and unforgivable way, and has forever compromised the way people look at sports and officiating. However, NBA referees will continue to officiate with the highest level of integrity and professionalism.”
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Clippers acquire Marcus Camby in trade with the Nuggets.
July 16, 2008
The Los Angeles Clippers acquired center Marcus Camby from the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday for the option to exchange second-round picks with the Clippers in 2010.
Camby led the NBA in blocked shots with 3.61 per game last season, only the second player in league history to do so in three consecutive seasons.
He averaged 9.1 points and 13.1 rebounds playing a career-best 34.9 minutes per game for the Nuggets. Camby was the league’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2006-07.
He played the last six seasons in Denver after four years with the New York Knicks.
Camby is the second big-name player to land with the Clippers in less than a week. Baron Davis left Golden State to sign with his hometown team last Thursday on the heels of Elton Brand and leading scorer Corey Maggette departing as free agents.
Brand bolted to Philadelphia, while Maggette went to the Warriors. Davis signed a five-year deal worth $65 million.
Camby will be counted on to help replace the 20 points and 10 rebounds that Brand has averaged from the power forward spot in his nine-year career. Camby will join center Chris Kaman, who had by far his best season, but was limited to 56 games by several injuries.
“I love this acquisition for the current makeup of our team,” Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. “We are getting a consummate pro who is maybe the best team defender in the league and who has 60 playoff games under his belt.”
Hookscenter.com wire report.
More saga in the Tim Donaghy NBA referee scandal.
July 15, 2008
Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy made more than 100 phone calls to a fellow official at the same time he was providing information to gamblers during the 2006-07 season, Fox News reported Monday.
Citing court documents and phone records it obtained, Fox reported Donaghy placed 134 calls to referee Scott Foster between October 2006 and April 2007, the period during which he has confessed to betting on games or passing on game information to gamblers.
It’s not known what information was exchanged during the calls between Foster and Donaghy, who is awaiting sentencing later this month in federal court.
The 41-year-old Donaghy pleaded guilty last year to felony charges of taking cash payoffs from gamblers in the 2006-07 season. He faces up to 33 months in prison.
According to a story published Monday on Fox News’ website, the majority of the phone calls lasted no more than two minutes and occurred before and after games Donaghy officiated and on which he admits wagering.
Reached for comment by Fox, Foster was asked if he was being investigated by the NBA, the government or anyone else.
“Not that I know of,” he said.
He declined to comment on his relationship with Donaghy and the nature of the calls.
NBA commissioner David Stern has called Donaghy a “rogue, isolated criminal” acting on his own, without the cooperation of any other referees or league officials.
The only person Donaghy called more often (150 times) was Thomas Martino, to whom Donaghy has said he provided picks to win games and who was the middleman between the former ref and a bookie named James Battista. During this period, the most calls Donaghy made to any other referee were 13, Fox said.
Battista and Martino, who pleaded guilty to defrauding the NBA, are to be sentenced July 24.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Gilbert Arenas stays with Wizards for $111 million.
July 3, 2008
Gilbert Arenas is accepting less money from the Washington Wizards, invoking an attitude far, far removed from the world of his working-class fans.
“What can I do for my family with $127 million that I can’t do with $111 million?” he told The Washington Post.
The unpredictable three-time All-Star point guard, in vintage Agent Zero fashion, told the Post and the Washington Times on Thursday that he has agreed to re-sign for $111 million over six years, considerably less than the maximum deal he said the Wizards offered him when the free agency period began on Tuesday.
Arenas negotiated the deal from China, where is traveling as part of promotional tour for a shoe company, and did so without an agent.
“I’m basically giving back $16 million,” Arenas told the Washington Times. “This is in line with what I’ve been saying the whole time. You see players take max deals and they financially bind their teams. I don’t wanna be one of those players and three years down the road your team is strapped and can’t do anything about it.”
Arenas became a free agent after opting out of the final year of his six-year, $65 million contract at the end of last season. He initially said he was opting out to receive a max contract, but he later indicated he would be flexible in negotiations.
Arenas also said that he would not re-sign unless the team retained two-time All-Star forward Antawn Jamison. The Wizards lived up to that part of the bargain Monday by giving Jamison a four-year, $50 million deal.
Arenas has proven to be one of the most dynamic players in the NBA when healthy, but a major knee and an overzealous rehabilitation sidelined him for most of the last season. He had a first surgery on the knee in April 2007, tried to come back too soon and had a second operation in November. He missed 66 games before returning late in the season, but he had to shut himself down again during the first-round playoff series against Cleveland.
Arenas has vowed to be more cautious about his rehab this time, and the state of his knee didn’t appear to devalue his worth in talks with the Wizards.
The Wizards cannot comment on talks with Arenas or announce the deal until a league-mandated moratorium expires next week.
Arenas has averaged 22.8 points, 5.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds in his seven-season NBA career. He was known as much for his tantrums as for on-court play when he came to Washington from Golden State in 2003, but he began to display more maturity as he developed into a take-over-the-game player with a knack for hitting buzzer-beating shots. Although he still has his many quirks — yelling “Hibachi!” after making a big shot is just one of many — he has helped the Wizards became a playoff regular.
Arenas’ deal means the Wizards will have room to sign other players — including free agent guard Roger Mason — and still remain under the league’s luxury tax.
“It’s a relief,” Arenas told the Washington Times. “It was a burden at the same time. Your whole city is depending on you, wondering if you’re going to make the right decision. I’m a franchise player and sometimes franchise players need to make franchise decisions.”
Hookscenter.com wire report.
SuperSonics are leaving Seattle for Oklahoma City.
July 3, 2008
The SuperSonics will move to Oklahoma City for the 2008-09 season as part of a settlement announced Wednesday with the city of Seattle.
The agreement ends a contentious relationship that culminated in a recent six-day federal trial over terms of the team’s KeyArena lease. The judge was scheduled to rule Wednesday afternoon.
The settlement calls for Sonics owner Clay Bennett and his Professional Basketball Club LLC to pay as much as $75 million to the city in exchange for the immediate termination of the lease. The team’s name and colors will be staying in Seattle.
“We made it,” Bennett said after stepping to an Oklahoma City podium featuring the NBA logo and the letters OKC. “The NBA will be in Oklahoma City next season.”
Bennett said the move would start Thursday and the first focus would be on the SuperSonics’ players.
It’s a victory for Bennett, who purchased the Sonics in 2006 from Starbucks Corp. Chairman Howard Schultz for $350 million, and will take the franchise to his hometown. Bennett faced harsh criticism in Seattle for his efforts in trying to build a new arena as a replacement for KeyArena, and the presumption he wanted to move the franchise all along.
“It was a tough experience for all of us that were involved in it. There was just so much that happened on both sides, so much misinterpreted, miscommunicated and misunderstood that it was difficult,” Bennett said.
Bennett announced that the settlement calls for a payment of $45 million immediately, and would include another $30 million paid to Seattle in 2013 if the state Legislature in Washington authorizes at least $75 million in public funding to renovate KeyArena by the end of 2009 and Seattle doesn’t obtain an NBA franchise of its own within the next five years.
The settlement could become a victory for Seattle as well. In a statement, NBA commissioner David Stern reversed his previous stance and said that a renovated KeyArena could be a suitable venue for an NBA franchise in Seattle. But the time is short.
“We understand that city, county, and state officials are currently discussing a plan to substantially rebuild KeyArena for the sum of $300 million,” Stern said in a statement. “If this funding were authorized, we believe KeyArena could properly be renovated into a facility that meets NBA standards relating to revenue generation, fan amenities, team facilities, and the like.”
However, Stern added, “given the lead times associated with any franchise acquisition or relocation and with a construction project as complex as a KeyArena renovation, authorization of the public funding needs to occur by the end of 2009 in order for there to be any chance for the NBA to return to Seattle within the next five years.”
Bennett said he and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels signed a binding agreement Wednesday, which would be formalized later, that keeps the SuperSonics’ name, logo and colors available if Seattle gets a replacement franchise. Bennett said his franchise would create duplicate championship banners and trophies, leaving one set in Seattle and using the second set for undetermined purposes in Oklahoma City.
“We have 30 million reasons why we have support for a future NBA team,” Seattle city attorney Tom Carr said.
In April, the NBA Board of Governors approved Bennett’s application to move the team to Oklahoma City, pending the outcome of the trial between the team and the city. The settlement came six days after the trial concluded.
It doesn’t cover a pending lawsuit filed by Schultz, who is seeking to regain control of the team. Schultz claims that Bennett didn’t follow through on an agreement to negotiate in good faith for a new arena in Seattle for one full year before seeking relocation options.
“We believe it’s baseless, has no merit. We will fight it vigorously,” Bennett said of that lawsuit.
The trial between the team and city was centered on the lease agreement that called for the Sonics to play at KeyArena through the 2009-10 season. Sonics lead attorney Brad Keller contended that Bennett should simply be able to write a check to satisfy the final two years of the lease. Keller argued that the “specific performance” clause the city rested its case on should not apply in a garden-variety dispute between tenant and landlord.
Bennett and his ownership group previously offered to pay the city $26.5 million in February to buy out the final two years of the lease. They were rebuffed.
Nickels noted that Wednesday’s settlement would cover lost rent, tax revenue and pay off the remaining debt on KeyArena.
“I believed all along enforcing our lease would allow us time to come to a better arrangement,” Nickels said. “We now have that deal.”
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Baron Davis close to signing free agent deal with Clippers.
July 2, 2008
Baron Davis is on his way home.
A day after Davis shocked the Golden State Warriors by opting out of the final season of his contract to become a free agent, the big-game point guard is on the verge of signing a long-term deal with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Though Davis refused to directly confirm his agent’s declaration to the Los Angeles Times that they have agreed to sign a five-year, $65 million deal with Golden State’s Pacific Division rivals, he left no doubt about his upcoming move back to his native Southern California.
Davis can’t sign with the Clippers until July 9, but he already was speaking about the Warriors in the past tense Tuesday night before attending the Bay Area premiere of “Made in America,” a documentary he produced about gang life in Los Angeles. He grew up in a tough neighborhood before attending a ritzy high school in Santa Monica and later starring at UCLA.
“It’s tough, but you have to do what’s best,” said Davis, his usually bushy beard trimmed short below large black-rimmed glasses. “You have to do what’s fair. I’m happy with where I’m going. A big reason is because of the impact and the things that I can do going forward. I knew I could have done them here and created all kinds of good things and positive things in the community, and ultimately, me going home helps me make an impact on young kids.”
The 29-year-old Davis has never made a secret of his desire to play in his hometown near the film industry. Davis and the Warriors recently held negotiations on a long-term contract extension, but Golden State apparently kept its offers lower and shorter than what the Clippers were willing to pay.
“I wanted to be here for a long time,” claimed Davis, who lives in San Francisco, across the bay from the Warriors’ Oakland headquarters. “(The Bay Area) is home. I still consider this home. The fans have done nothing but encourage, congratulate and support everything that I’ve ever done. … I just took what was best for me.”
The Clippers were quick to pounce, offering a long-term deal to the oft-injured, playmaking point guard who helped transform the Warriors’ fortunes in just 3½ seasons with the club.
Davis averaged 21.8 points, 7.6 assists and 4.7 rebounds while playing in all 82 games last season for the Warriors, who led the NBA in scoring and finished with 48 wins — the best record by a non-playoff team in recent league history. Most of the club’s core was due back for next season, but now Golden State will move on without its leader.
A year earlier, Davis was the catalyst for Golden State’s trip to the second round of the playoffs, ending a 12-season postseason drought. The run was highlighted by a stunning upset of top-seeded Dallas in the first round. With back-to-back strong seasons, Davis cemented his reputation as a clutch scorer and team leader despite a minor squabble with coach Don Nelson late in the Warriors’ unsuccessful playoff run last spring.
On Monday, Davis surprised the league by opting out of the final year of his long-term contract, turning down $17.8 million for next season to become an unrestricted free agent. He cited only vague reasons for the decision Tuesday night, but Davis could have been upset by Nelson’s recent vows to play the Warriors’ young players more next season, even at the expense of a few victories.
Clippers forward Elton Brand and swingman Corey Maggette also opted out of their contracts on Monday, but Los Angeles is expected to make a strong push to re-sign Brand, who also fancies himself a filmmaker. Brand said he plans to stay with the Clippers despite his decision, even if he must accept a contract below the NBA maximum for free agents.
With Davis and Brand, the Clippers — who won just 23 games last season — would have a talented core, albeit a middle-aged group by NBA standards, and one with significant injury histories.
“If it wasn’t for the Bay Area, I don’t know where I would be,” said Davis, picked third overall by the Charlotte Hornets in 1999. “When I came from New Orleans, I was injured. I didn’t know if I would ever be able to really reclaim any type of basketball prowess, and from the time I walked to that table against the Detroit Pistons (for the first game), I always knew that I could accomplish anything here.”
Davis’ abrupt departure throws the Warriors’ offseason plans into flux. For starters, they don’t have a starting point guard, though Monta Ellis has long been expected by Nelson to assume the role eventually.
Top basketball executive Chris Mullin, who didn’t return a phone call seeking comment, has said he will retain restricted free agents Ellis and Andris Biedrins at any price.
With Davis spurning the club, Golden State now has additional room under the salary cap to pursue a free agent, though few major names are available. The Warriors already are known to be interested in Washington guard Gilbert Arenas, who played his first two NBA seasons in Oakland but can make more money with the Wizards.
Hookscenter.com wire report.