Atlanta Hawks All-Star center Al Horford will miss at least three months with a shoulder injury, a major blow to a playoff contender in the Eastern Conference.
The team announced Thursday that Horford tore his left pectoral muscle in the first quarter of Wednesday night's game at Indiana. The injury will likely require surgery, stunning a team that has made the playoffs four years in a row and is off to a solid start with wins over Miami and Chicago in the early going. (MORE>>>)
SPORTINGNEWS- Derrick Rose could soon be adding a nine-figure shoe deal to his $94 million basketball contract.
ESPN.com reported Friday that the Chicago Bulls point guard and reigning NBA MVP is nearing agreement with adidas on a so-called "lifetime" contract that could pay him as much as $250 million over 10 years.
One reason for adidas' willingness to pay, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein: Rose is adidas' strongest competition to Nike endorser Kobe Bryant in China. Rose outsells Nike's LeBron James in that country, according to Stein's sources.
Adidas also employs Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, as NBC Sports notes.
LeBron James has always put up big numbers when he comes to Target Center to play the Minnesota Timberwolves. And he rarely has to break a sweat -- or play in the fourth quarter -- to do it.
Now that Ricky Rubio is running the point and Rick Adelman is calling the shots for the Timberwolves, James and the rest of the NBA are going to have to work for everything they get when they come to town.
Dwyane Wade hit a jumper from the wing, then scored on an inbounds pass from James with 4.6 seconds to play to lift the undefeated Heat to a 103-101 victory over the Wolves on Friday night.
Playing on a sore foot, Wade finished with 19 points, while James had 34 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds on his 27th birthday. (MORE>>>)
1. These guys will be fun to watch. There are never-ending storylines with this team, from Blake Griffin's development from star rookie to outright star to point guard Chris Paul's adjustment to life in the spotlight to veterans Chauncey Billups and Caron Butler taking a young team under their collective wing. Above all, though, is simply that the 2011-12 Los Angeles Clippers will probably be the most exciting team in the NBA to watch on a nightly basis. There's a special NBA League Pass package -- less expensive than the full version -- that offers fans the choice of any five teams in the league to watch every night. You can't convince me that half the subscribing fans in the world won't be putting the Clippers on their lists, alongside the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers.
2. Chris Paul's good. It was only preseason, sure, and he played only 24 minutes, but Paul's plus-minus figures from Monday's game do a great job of explaining just how dominant he can be on an NBA floor. When he was on the court, the Clippers led the Lakers by 26 points. When he wasn't, they lost by seven. That was the best ratio of anybody in the game and a full 10 points better than Griffin's.
3. They call it "Lob City," and rightfully so. Griffin and DeAndre Jordan ached to get lob attempts from tipoff, and they finally got it when Paul connected nicely with Jordan midway through the second quarter. Lakers center Andrew Bynum smartly stepped in front of another try later in the first half, but Paul and Jordan had three total connections -- at least one of which is guaranteed to be a "SportsCenter" Top 10 highlight. (MORE>>>)
NBA players rejected the league's latest contract offer on Monday and will disband as a union, a move that could wipe out the entire NBA season with the sides taking their labor dispute into the court of law.
The NBPA said it would no longer continue in collective bargaining and would dissolve the union to become a trade association in order to pursue legal action against the NBA, with the entire 2011-12 season hanging in the balance. (MORE>>>)
Less than 24 hours after locked out NBA players turned down team owners' latest contract proposal, the two sides agreed to meet Wednesday to continue negotiations.
The owners and players union were to sit down together in New York at 1 p.m. Eastern time (10 a.m. Pacific).
Both union executive director Billy Hunter and NBA Commissioner David Stern had said Tuesday afternoon that they would be willing to meet Wednesday to see if they could get a deal done.
Stern had given the players a 5 p.m. Eastern deadline to accept the league's offer, or risk the next offer being less. (MORE>>>)
The NBA players and owners will meet this weekend in New York, reportedly in a last-ditch effort before more games are canceled and a threat to a lost season becomes real.
News: After rumors of bickering between union executive director Billy Hunter and president Derek Fisher, some players have explored decertification.
Views: The split could be real, but overplayed. People aren't going to see things the same way, especially with conflicting agendas. Players are worried Hunter has been looking out for his future more than he should. (MORE>>>)
The NBA lockout has nearly reached four months, and there's more than just negotiating with NBA Commissioner David Stern that's left the players union restless. There's also issues they have to discuss amongst themselves.
For worse, the two sides don't have any negotiating sessions scheduled. But at least the NBA Players Assn. plans to meet Thursday in New York on what will likely involve a number of timely issues. Below are two of the things the players union must iron out. (MORE>>>)
Shaquille O'Neal was never a one-track mind kind of guy. Whether he was "rapping", or "acting," or self-promoting, the Big Fella was a busy man during his 19 NBA seasons, when he also won four championships and three Finals MVPs.
So it's not surprising that Shaq is keeping busy in his retirement. He worked with Jackie McMullan on his book, Shaq Uncut: My Story, and he also has his own comedy tour.
Shaquille O'Neal Presents All Star Comedy Jam is making its way through the country, and Shaq told the Chicago Tribune which players he'd ideally have on stage as part of a roast. (MORE>>>)
It doesn't matter that Derek Fisher is blowing smoke in the public's direction by denying reports of a rift between himself and a few members of the NBA players' union. What matters is the reason why he felt the need to do so, the effect it could possibly have on labor negotiations and whether he'll get the support he needs to secure a 2011-12 NBA season.
Fisher did the right thing by writing an open letter to players Monday, reiterating his commitment to them while attempting to swat away any hints to the contrary. He did it again in a statement Tuesday. Quite honestly, he had to say something. When you're accused of talking to owners behind the backs of union executives and promising to deliver the owners' coveted 50-50 split of annual revenue (known as basketball related income or BRI) without anyone's knowledge -- words like "alleged" or "allegations" won't floss over the damage done to your reputation.(MORE>>>)
In his latest letter to fellow players, union president Derek Fisher strongly denied a report published over the weekend that claimed union executive director Billy Hunter and another unnamed member of the union's executive board have questioned Fisher about his relationship with NBA commissioner David Stern and deputy commissioner Adam Silver.
In Monday night's letter, which was obtained by ESPN.com, Fisher responded to Friday's report from FoxSports.com columnist Jason Whitlock and suggestions that the union's leadership is splintering by telling its members: "Usually I wouldn't even dignify absurd media reports with a comment. But before these reports go any further, let me say on the record to each of you [that] my loyalty has and always will be with the players. (MORE>>>)
NBA Commissioner David Stern canceled NBA games through Nov. 30 on Friday after NBA labor negotiations broke down for the second time in a week.
''It's not practical, possible or prudent to have a full season now,'' Stern said.
After two days of making some progress on salary cap issues, the two sides brought the revenue split back into the discussion and got stuck on both.
Owners are insistent on a 50-50 split of revenues, while players last formally proposed they get 52.5 percent, leaving them about $100 million apart annually. Players were guaranteed 57 percent in the previous collective bargaining agreement. (MORE>>>)
The goal all along had been to get David Stern and Billy Hunter in a room together, not just at the start of a day's negotiations but at the end.
That's where they were Thursday, lending legitimacy and hope to what seemed like some serious positioning on a deal that could come as soon as Friday.
Wait, no snarky "Or not" qualifier? Nope. If only for a night, the content and tone of the key negotiators' comments to reporters after another seven-plus hours of collective bargaining talks deserved to stand on their own. As did the fact that, as Hunter and union president Derek Fisher spoke publicly first at the end of this session, Stern was seated in the back of the room. He was smiling, he was acknowledged a couple of times by Hunter and he even answered a question for the union chief, who had been asked when the difficult moves in this labor dance would get made. (MORE>>>)
NBA owners and players are meeting again, hoping to build on the progress from a marathon session Wednesday and strengthen the chances of an 82-game season.
Small groups from both sides resumed talks less than 12 hours after finishing a 15-hour meeting that went until past 3 a.m. Both sides said there was progress on issues related to the salary cap system, though didn't offer any specifics. (MORE>>>)
NBA owners and players have resumed talks aimed at ending the lockout, less than a week after three intense days of mediation didn't produce a new labor deal.
The sides are getting back to the table Wednesday with a small group meeting. Talks broke down last Thursday when players said owners insisted they agree to a 50-50 split of revenues as a condition to further discuss the salary cap system. (MORE>>>)
Thursday was the last straw, the end for those who believed this was a negotiation -- a hard-nosed one, to be sure, but a negotiation -- between two worthy adversaries, each looking for the best possible deal for themselves, but ultimately willing to make a deal. Thursday came and went, and at the end of 30 hours of negotiations that were finally, painstakingly bringing the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association toward a deal that would finally end this damnable lockout, there was, for some unfathomable reason, no deal. No further talks were scheduled and there was no more George Cohen, the mediator who just a day before had publicly expressed optimism at how well things were going. Thursday came and went, and it was clear that the NBA's owners were determined to get everything. (MORE>>>)
Over the course of the recently expired collective bargaining agreement, the San Antonio Spurs were the winningest team in the NBA. They compiled a regular-season record of 342-150, made the playoffs every year and won the 2007 championship. Over that span, they played at better than 98 percent capacity at their home arena, the AT&T Center, and were praised for the careful management of the salary cap.
The Spurs were the NBA’s gold standard, a model franchise. Yet, over the last two years, according to owner Peter Holt, the team lost money. That’s proof positive, he said, that the NBA needs to overhaul its deal with players. (MORE>>>)
The breakdown of NBA labor talks Thursday likely will force more games to be canceled after negotiations failed to yield a deal to end the lockout.
After 30 hours of negotiations over three days, the two sides remained divided over two main issues — the division of revenues and the structure of the salary cap system.
"Ultimately we were unable to bridge the gap that separates the two parties," NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver said. "We understand the ramifications of where we are.
"We're saddened on behalf of the game." (MORE>>>)
