NBA News

[zocipro]

Heat suspend Wright two games after DUI arrest

Dorell Wright was suspended for two games by the Miami Heat, one day after he was cited for driving under the influence.

Wright will not be with the Heat for home games Friday against Chicago and Sunday against Philadelphia. He was charged early Thursday with DUI and driving with a suspended license after a traffic stop in Miami Beach.

"This is out of character for Dorell," Heat president Pat Riley said. "We feel he's a good person and that he will learn from this mistake."

Wright was not available for comment Friday, and has not made any public statements since the arrest. The 6-foot-8 backup forward is averaging 6.3 points in 57 games this season.

Heat guard Dwyane Wade, one of Wright's closest friends, said the team would not view the arrest and suspension as a distraction.

Miami is trying to make the playoffs and entered Friday as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, 1 1/2 games ahead of Chicago and two games behind No. 5 Milwaukee.

"One thing about this team, everything we've went through this year, we've found a way to move on from it," Wade said. "We're a family. We understand that things happen and we all support each other. Things are unfortunate for the individual, but as a team, we all support each other and we move on."

This is the third significant off-court matter to hit the Heat in recent weeks, starting with point guard Carlos Arroyo's arrest on Feb. 26 after police in Coral Gables, Fla. said he refused to leave his vehicle after a traffic stop.

Arroyo was cited for operating a motor vehicle at such a slow speed as to block traffic, failure to obey a lawful order and resisting arrest without violence.

Last week, point guard Rafer Alston left the team without explaining why. He later told ESPN it was sparked by a crisis involving a family member, but as of Friday morning had not relayed that information to anyone within the Heat organization.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra did not specifically discuss Wright's situation after Friday's shootaround. But he did address the cumulative effect of the three incidents.

"We represent not only ourselves but a first-class organization, something that Pat Riley and [owner] Micky Arison have spent a great deal of time putting together and building up this reputation," Spoelstra said. "So in the last three weeks, there have been some uncharacteristic moments here for the Miami Heat. But we're still a family. And people do make mistakes in the family."

[worlder]

Bosh pops for 36, helps Raptors to crucial win over Nets

The Raptors' 100-90 win over the Nets on Saturday night was simply a matter of Want vs. Need.

The Nets would very much like to avoid setting the NBA mark for worst record in a season.

But Toronto is playing for their playoff lives.

Buoyed with that sense of late-season urgency that can only come when losing 10 of the previous 12, Chris Bosh took charge and scored 23 of his 36 points in the second half to lead Toronto at the IZOD Center.

"We're to the point where we have to win every game," said Bosh, who also had eight rebounds. "Give credit to everybody. We won a game we were supposed to win."

With the win, Toronto (34-34) maintains its 2.5-game lead over the Bulls (a 98-84 winner over the 76ers on Friday night).

The Raptors were licking their wounds following their 115-89 loss to Oklahoma City on Friday night, a game where they allowed 71 points in the first half, gave up 20 offensive rebounds overall and had Bosh labeling the team as having "no resistance." Additionally, Raptors coach Jay Triano had his team sit through a video session devoted to his team's missed box outs against the Thunder earlier in the day.

"That's how we prepared," Triano said.

"Sometimes we play down to our competition," added Raptors forward Reggie Evans. "But this was a good win for us not to play at the level of our competition."

The Nets were led by Devin Harris (22 points, seven assists) and Brook Lopez (18 points, 13 rebounds), but fell to 7-62. They need three wins over their next 13 games to avoid setting the mark for worst record in NBA history (9-73 by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1972-73).

The Nets did lead 51-48 at halftime - only the 20th game this season they've led at the midway point. While Toronto shot 51.4 percent, New Jersey showed a rare knack for play-making with 15 team assists.

But, just like most games, New Jersey faded. It made just 8-of-23 shots in the third quarter. Strangely, the Nets went away from the play-making and found themselves missing 11-of-13 shots from 3-point range.

Bosh, on the other hand, showed why the Nets and other teams will be seeking his services in the off-season. The future free agent, who happened to be playing his 500th career game, scored 15 points on 7-of-10 in the third, and when the period was over the Raptors led 80-70.

"That's why you hear the talk about him and LeBron James and Dwyane Wade," Evans said.

"I just had opportunities," Bosh added. "That's how I play basketball. Sometimes if I feel I can provide a spark for my team I come out and try to do that."

The Nets threatened to make it interesting late in the fourth, cutting their deficit to 92-85. But a Sonny Weems runner off the glass followed by a thunderous, two-handed tomahawk dunk from Bosh put Toronto up 96-85 with 3:06 left.

Bosh made 10 of 14 shots in the second half, and said his teammates egged him on to score over 30.

"I gave them six extra," Bosh beamed.

"He's a super player and pretty much the whole second half we were trying to double team him on the catch, get it out of his hands," Nets interim coach Kiki Vandeweghe said of Bosh. "He made long outside shots and killed us in a variety of ways. You get a player who's really playing well like that and they're that good, they're tough to guard."

"It's tough because he can really stretch the floor and knock down that jumper," Lopez added. "He's a great passer, too."

This was the start of a four-game homestand for the Nets, and possibly their last chance to make a serious run at avoiding the 76ers' futility record. They host Miami, Sacramento and Detroit this week.

"It's frustrating," Harris said. "We're trying to do our best out there, but obviously there are key plays we're not making down the stretch."

[dani89]

After trading him, Wolves re-sign Cardinal

The Minnesota Timberwolves have brought back veteran forward Brian Cardinal.

Cardinal signed with the Wolves on Tuesday. He was traded to New York last month for center Darko Milicic (MILL'-uh-chich), but the Knicks waived Cardinal after the deal to make him a free agent.
The 6-foot-8 Cardinal played in 27 games for Minnesota before the trade. He averaged only 1.7 points and 9.0 minutes per game, but he has been a popular teammate for the rebuilding Timberwolves. They first acquired Cardinal in a draft-day deal with Memphis in 2008 that sent O.J. Mayo to the Grizzlies and brought Kevin Love to Minnesota.
Cardinal is a 10-year veteran.

[James]

Lakers' Jackson expects to be back next season
Phil Jackson hopes to return next season as Lakers coach and does not anticipate that his return will be sidetracked by health issues or negotiations on a new lucrative contract, he told NBA.com Friday.
Jackson stopped short of saying an extension to remain in Los Angeles is a certainty, wanting to keep open his options until he talks with doctors after the season. And he conceded there is a lure to retiring. But the most-decorated coach in NBA history, with a record 10 championships, is clearly feeling better than a year ago and has been in good spirits all season.
Asked if he thinks he will be back with a new deal in 2010-11, Jackson said without hesitation: "Yeah."
"The wear and tear of a season, I think, affects everybody, the travel and whatever else you have to do for an extended time," he said at the Ford Center after a Lakers shootaround in preparation for the game against the Thunder later Friday. "But, all that being said, I'm as mobile as I've ever been in the last three years. That helps. I'm dealing with less arthritic elements that are painful things going on as you age. But there are still considerations as to the duration that I will coach, simply because I have to stay attuned to that.
"I look at something that happened like George Karl [the Nuggets coach who has been spending time away from the team while undergoing cancer treatment] and I just think it's a shame. You can't predict or project that as a possible situation, but he's going to miss part of the season and it's going to affect his team. I wouldn't want to put a franchise in that position when there's young healthy guys that can do the job."
But, unlike a year ago at this time, he does not expect that health will be a determining factor.
"Probably not," Jackson said. "I go at the end of the year for a medical checkup now. There are a couple issues I deal with, and if they're all 'go', then I've cleared myself. If it's a warning situation, then I'll have to have another consideration.
"I don't even think it's going to be a financial issue. It's going to be an issue about spending the remaining time of my healthful years doing basketball or doing other things that now are possible for me, that I can do that I wasn't able to do in the past, which is fly fish, climb mountains, ride motorcycles, and all those things that have been unavailable to me for about the last eight, nine years."
The update comes as the Lakers have reclaimed control of what had became a race with the Nuggets and Mavericks for the best record in the West and home-court advantage in every L.A. series until at least the Finals. The seven-game winning streak heading into Friday night pushed the lead to a comfortable 6 ½ games, muting concerns, at least temporarily, about the defending champions lacking proper focus as the postseason approaches.
Of course, L.A. didn't have the proper focus in the playoffs last season and still survived the first round against Utah and a serious scare from Houston in the second, before playing much better in the conference finals against Denver and the championship series against Orlando. Order has been restored once again, and Jackson is hoping to continue the stability into next season.
"I think the Lakers want to continue this," he said. "I think the way you finish the season has a lot to do with it. Dr. [Jerry] Buss [the owner] went out on a limb this year and risked financial security or going into the black for signing players, and this is a franchise that hasn't ever lost money. They've always been able to say, 'We made money this last year,' and that's somewhat a matter of pride for him. Signing these players just about eliminated that, unless we go deep into the playoffs, and we want to do that."

[funman]

Bucks' Delfino out of hospital after suffering head injuries

X-rays on Carlos Delfino's head and neck are negative and the Bucks forward is day-to-day with neck and jaw soreness a day after being taken from the court on a stretcher.

Delfino was hurt late in the first half of Milwaukee's 87-74 loss to the Miami Heat on Friday night.

He drove to the basket, stumbled and landed face down in the lane. Udonis Haslem, Miami's 235-pound forward, went up for the rebound and inadvertently landed on the back of Delfino's head and neck.

Delfino was motionless for nearly 10 minutes while paramedics flipped him over and strapped him to a back board. He made no obvious gestures, but appeared to be conscious.

The Bucks said Friday night that Delfino was moving all extremities and was taken to a hospital for precautionary X-rays.

[Tom]

Grunfeld: Arenas will be a Wizard next season
A day after Gilbert Arenas was sentenced to 30 days in a halfway house for bringing guns into the locker room, Wizards team president Ernie Grunfeld reaffirmed that the All-Star guard will be back with Washington next season.
Grunfeld told reporters before the team's game against Utah on Saturday that the Wizards did not plan to void Arenas' contract.
Grunfeld says, "I think people forget that he's still one of the best players in this league."
Arenas avoided jail time for the offense, instead receiving a sentence that also includes two years of probation and 400 hours of community service.
Grunfeld says he has not talked to Arenas recently, although he spoke to Arenas' father.
Washington has lost 14 straight games.

[dani89]

NBA fines Garnett $25K for comments after loss to Thunder

Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett has been fined $25,000 for publicly criticizing game officials and for using inappropriate language during a postgame interview, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.
Garnett was fined for comments he made following the Celtics' 109-104 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, March 31.

[allinone]

Kobe signs on for three more years with Lakers

Kobe Bryant may have just inked his way to being a Laker for life.





On Friday, the 31-year-old guard signed a three-year extension that will put him in a Lakers uniform through the 2013-14 season.
"My position all along -- and I've mentioned many times -- is that Kobe started as a Laker and he should end his career as a Laker," said Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak before Friday's game against the Jazz.
"We're fairly assured now that he will end his career as a Laker. Now of course in four years he will be 35 years old. Maybe we'll go through this again... but I think at that point in time after all those years if he did choose to play some more it would be here in Los Angeles."
As for the contract, which is reportedly worth $90 million, there were no qualms of shelving out the cash.
"There are very few players you are really excited about when you sign them to long-term contracts and Kobe is one of those players," Kupchak said. "Although you're making a huge commitment, I think it's something you have to do and you're happy to do it and you're glad when it's done. I would say that's how [Lakers owner Jerry Buss] stands today."
With one year left on his current contract, the four-time NBA champion and 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player now joins a core group of Lakers who are now signed through at least the next three seasons.
Pau Gasol, who inked a three-year extension worth up to $64.7 million in December, and Ron Artest are under contract through the 2014 season.
Lamar Odom, who in the offseason signed a four-year deal worth up to $33 million, and Andrew Bynum are locked in through 2013.
During discussions, Kupchak said Lakers coach Phil Jackson's future was "never a factor in the negotiations" in Bryant's extension.
When asked whether he would stay for the duration of the core groups under contract, Jackson laughed and quickly dismissed the idea.
"I'm not going to buy into anything in the three to four years kind of situation," Jackson said. "I just don't think that's in the cards at all. I can look into the season one year at a time right now and feel comfortable with the commitment that I can generate maybe enough energy to get through another year or push the team hard enough as a coach to get done through a year.
"But when you talk about those long-term things there's got to be a change here in the near future."
Bryant is averaging 27.2 points per game (fourth best in the league), 5.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists in his 14th season. With that kind of mileage, Jackson has continued to be impressed by his play, but does have some advice.
"He needs to actually take a summer off and really respond to the recuperative powers and regenerate that energy again in August next year... he needs a real break," Jackson said. "He is by far one of the hardest working athletes I've been close to and he's done a terrific job to sustain this over the years."

[dani89]

New Orleans Hornets majority owner George Shinn is negotiating to sell his stake in the NBA club to south Louisiana businessman Gary Chouest, who has owned 25 percent of the team since 2007, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The person familiar with both men's plans and the anticipated sale, told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because an agreement has not been signed.
Shinn, a 68-year-old businessman who made his fortune developing a chain of business schools in his native North Carolina, has been either the sole or majority owner of the Hornets since the club's inception in Charlotte in 1988. The club moved to New Orleans in 2002 and three years ago Chouest paid about $62 million for his share of the team.
Chouest is expected to pay about $200 million for Shinn's remaining shares, the person said.

[zocipro]

Arenas arrives at jail to begin gun sentence

Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas began serving his sentence Friday night for bringing guns into the team's locker room.


According to Arthur Wallenstein, director of Montgomery County Corrections, Arenas arrived at the Montgomery County jail at 7:40 p.m. Arenas must spend two days there for medical screening and classification before being transferred to the county's Pre-Release Center, a halfway house.
Arenas was sentenced March 26 to 30 days in a halfway house for bringing weapons into the Verizon Center. Corrections officials in Montgomery County agreed to let him serve his sentence there, as part of an agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
Arenas pleaded guilty to a felony gun charge in January, and has been suspended until the end of the season by the NBA.
Arenas also received two years of probation, a $5,000 fine and 400 hours of community service that can't be performed at basketball clinics.
A spokesman for the Wizards said the team would not comment.