U have to be atleast 10 yr old to read it, and know some english language
The rumors were flying fast and furious over the weekend as teams rounded into the home stretch. The Raptors, Heat, Knicks and Celtics threatened to make just about every mock draft irrelevant.
Much like the February trade deadline, the serious trade talk doesn't happen until the draft is just hours away.
We're pretty sure that LeBron will be a Cav, Darko will be a Piston and Carmelo Anthony will be the No. 3 pick. Will he be a Nugget? It looks like the answer is yes, but . . .
After that? More curves than Anna Kournikova in a thong.
All roads lead to Toronto right now. Multiple trade rumors circulated this weekend, all surrounding the Raptors. We've been writing for a month they aren't content to stay at No. 4. General manager Glen Grunwald needs a contributor. It looks like he's getting close to finding the answer.
Several New York papers were reporting that the Knicks were offering Latrell Sprewell and the No. 9 pick for Jerome Williams, Lamond Murray and the No. 4. The object of the Knicks' desire? Some claim it's T.J. Ford. Others say Chris Bosh is the guy. And at least one league source claims that the Knicks didn't get serious until they saw a possibility that Maciej Lampe was heading to the Heat.
They weren't the only ones talking to the Raptors. The Celtics have talked with Toronto about shipping Antoine Walker and the No. 20 pick up north for Antonio Davis and the No. 4. The Celtics are after Bosh.
The Blazers appear to be the other team in the hunt for the No. 4 pick. They're dangling Rasheed Wallace right now. All the Raps have to do is send back Davis, Hakeem Olajuwon and the No. 4 and they have a deal.
And don't count out the Sonics. They're talking about a package of Vladimir Radmanovic and the No. 12 for the No. 4 and Michael Bradley.
Or they could just go ahead and select Bosh themselves. Several folks inside the organization think he's worth the one-year wait. Among those? Vince Carter.
The Heat are the other team that appears to be seriously looking to move the pick. They're still deciding between Chris Kaman, Maciej Lampe and Dwyane Wade at No. 5. However, coach Pat Riley doesn't believe any of the players will help the Heat's playoff chances this year.
What can they do?
Riley has been trying to find a taker for Eddie Jones or Brian Grant, but right now no one is biting. They might be able to pry away Sam Cassell from the Bucks. All it would take is Anthony Carter and the No. 5 pick. The Bucks have their eyes on two players in the draft -- Ford and Lampe. If they grabbed the No. 5 pick, they'd have a great shot at both of them.
Moving the No. 5 pick would clear an additional $2.2 million off the books and give them close to $7 million in cap room to sign a center in free agency. A combo of Cassell, Jones, Caron Butler, Grant and whoever they get at center (Alonzo Mourning, Michael Olowokandi, Brad Miller, Rasho Nesterovic) should be enough to propel the Heat back into contention in the East.
The Bucks, on the other hand, are clearing cap room and, from all appearances, preparing for a youth movement.
That's not the only deal on the table for Miami, (the Sonics have talked about a Vladimir Radmanovic and the No. 14 for No. 5 swap) but it was the hottest one making the rounds this weekend.
The Bulls are still interested in seeing what they can get for the No. 7 and Marcus Fizer. But without Jay Williams in the mix, it's unlikely that they'll be able to land a top-flight small forward. Their best shot? Hedo Turkoglu for the No. 7 and Dalibor Bagaric.
The Grizzlies were working hard to move up in order to get a shot at Mickael Pietrus. However, with the way things are playing out, he may fall right to them at No. 13. The only real threat to draft Pietrus before them is the Bulls at No. 7 and the Wizards at No. 10. However, now that Williams and a possible trade are out of the picture, it appears that the Bulls are leaning toward selecting Wade because of his ability to swing to the point should Jamal Crawford need a rest. The Wizards, on the other hand, don't have a good enough feel for Pietrus to make them a big threat.
Stock Watch
The Clippers remain the biggest wild card in the draft at No. 6. While most believe that Ford will be the guy they select if he stays on the board -- they've been linked to everyone from Collison to Kaman to Wade to Pietrus. The latest has them flying to New York to get a look at Lampe the night before the draft.
Georgia's Jarvis Hayes remains all over the board. The Bulls brought him in for a second workout this weekend. The reviews on his workouts have been pretty mixed. After a string of mostly negative reviews, a few teams have perked up over the last week. One GM who worked him out claims that he reminded him of a young Mitch Richmond. Another evoked Glen Rice. However, Hayes' lack of ball handling skills, rebounding prowess or defensive intensity seem to be scaring folks off. Teams fear that he may be too one dimensional. He has a second workout with the Grizzlies today.
High school star Ndudi Ebi -- widely considered the second-best high school prospect in the country behind LeBron James -- is starting to generate the buzz again. While one rumor, that the Warriors have him locked in at No. 11, seems to be unfounded, his name keeps popping up as a possibility in Atlanta with the No. 21 pick.
Another prep star, Kendrick Perkins, seems to be moving into the first round. Everyone knows that the Celtics will take a point guard at No. 16. Marcus Banks or Luke Ridnour seem to be the front-runners if they slip that far. But at No. 20, there seems to be some debate about who they like. If Collison were to slip that far, he'd be a lock. Barring a big slip, three guys seem to be in the mix for Boston if the Celtics go big -- Sofaklis Schortsanitis, Zaur Pachulia, and believe it or not, Perkins. Perkins doesn't have the size to really play center in the pros, but the Celtics really liked what they saw in a workout. If he doesn't go to Boston at No. 20, the Spurs also seem high on him at No. 28.
Several GMs feel that, at the end of the day, Xavier's David West will be in the first round. West's name is most often linked to the Lakers and the Blazers. The Spurs have also shown a little interest.
Insider may be the only one who still has BYU's Travis Hansen in the first round, but it's for a good reason. He's still generating a lot of buzz in the late first round after a series of stellar workouts. The Hawks loved him in a recent workout and will fly him to Atlanta on Tuesday for a second workout. The Lakers are interested at No. 24. The Pistons claim he's in the mix at No. 25. The Wolves have narrowed their list down to Hansen, Carlos Delfino and Hawaii's Carl English at No. 26. The Grizzlies like him and will give him strong consideration if they don't pick up a two guard with the No. 27 pick. And the Spurs have him in today. If he does slip into the second round, the Lakers, Bulls or Hawks will snatch him up at either No. 32, 36 and 37.
Two international players are facing serious challenges right now. France's Boris Diaw and Brazil's Leandrinho Barbosa are suffering from a major lack of exposure.
Diaw, the French League MVP, hit his stock peak about two months ago and has been on the decline ever since. Because of his team's playoff schedule, he's been unable to come over for individual workouts. Even though there's still a chance that he could be taken in the mid first round (the Celtics' Danny Ainge will make a quick trip to France to check him out) it appears he's slipping. The Jazz still like him at No. 19. The Hawks are a possiblity at No. 21. The Blazers at No. 23, Lakers at No. 24, Pistons at No. 25, Grizzlies at No. 27 and Spurs at No. 28 are all possibilities. But none is a lock, which has to have Diaw sweating it a bit.
The same goes for Barbosa. After a series of steady workouts, a hip flexor problem has caused him to miss too many workouts. Teams are a little bit scared off by his unorthodox shooting release (though he did shoot 45 percent from three in Brazil) and his lack of English skills. Barbosa had a group workout in Cleveland on Sunday in an effort to fortify his stock. Reps from the Raptors, Heat, Cavs, Blazers and Magic showed up. According to his agent, Michael Coyne, Barbosa did it as much to show off his growing proficiency in English as anything else. The English problem, in particular, seems to be a bit surreal. No one drafting Barbosa expects him to contribute much this year. By the end of the season, his English, especially his basketball English, will be just fine. So what's the worry? Barbosa could go as high as the Warriors at No. 11. The Sonics, Magic, Hawks and Blazers will also take a look, but again, no team is a lock to take him.
Workout News
Suns: The Suns took a look at Mississippi State guard Derrick Zimmerman and Greek forward Sofoklis Schortsanitis, better known as Baby Shaq, on Saturday.
Bulls: Georgia's Jarvis Hayes, Kansas' Kirk Hinrich, Wake Forest's Josh Howard and Utah's Britton Johnsen were in Chicago on Saturday. Serbian two guard Aleksandar Pavlovic is in town today.
Grizzlies: Georgia's Jarvis Hayes is working out today in Memphis for the second time.
Heat Polish forward Maciej Lampe comes in for his second workout with the Heat today.
Wizards: Marquette's Dwyane Wade worked out on Saturday
Knicks: Zarko Cabarkapa and Sofoklis Schortsanitis are in New York. Chris Kaman will be in on Tuesday. Maciej Lampe will be working out in New York on Wednesday.
Spurs: BYU shooting guard Travis Hansen is in San Antonio today.
Another Texas team emerges in Kidd sweepstakes
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
You are undoubtedly here, with other draftniks, looking for Thursday nuggets. You're probably here looking specifically for a pick-by-pick breakdown of what the heck happens after the Denver Nuggets take Carmelo Anthony.
Sorry.
The NBA draft is mere hours away, but we can't help it. We're still swimming in Jason Kidd stuff. The Finals, also known as two weeks' worth of Kidd stories, just ended. The forthcoming Free Agent Frenzy, also known as the Kidd Sweepstakes, starts in a week.
It's tough to think of anything else, especially now that there are at least two rivals for the Nets to sweat. Both originating from the same state, incidentally.
The chances of Kidd leaving New Jersey for Texas have doubled, according to the weekend buzz. League sources tell ESPN.com that the Dallas Mavericks -- the team that made Kidd the No. 2 overall pick behind Glenn Robinson in the 1994 draft -- have piqued Kidd's interest as a sign-and-trade destination. Word is Kidd will give the New Millennium Mavs, bearing little resemblance to the Mavs he once played for, a serious inspection after July 1.
Based on his repeated declarations that winning a championship -- that his legacy matters, basically -- is the chief concern heading into free agency, Kidd has made it clear that he will only consider teams that can reasonably expect to go farther than the Nets in the short term. Which essentially rules out the rest of the East.
The list of possible alternatives to Sopranoville, then, is a short one: Sacramento and Los Angeles (Lakers, of course); San Antonio and Dallas.
The Spurs, as even single-minded draftniks know, have roughly $15 million in salary-cap room waiting and a two-time MVP who would love to play with Kidd. They are expected to come hard after Kidd, even after winning the championship, even with Tony Parker on the roster, even though Tim Duncan needs a new oversized sidekick to replace the retiring David Robinson. Remember this: There isn't an All-Star big man out there who is any easier to acquire than Kidd, and Kidd is the best free agent available. That's why San Antonio rates Kidd ahead of Indiana's hard-to-get Jermaine O'Neal and the L.A. Clippers' harder-to-get Elton Brand, a restricted free agent.
Of the two over-the-cap powerhouses from California, meanwhile, only Sacramento would figure to have a shot, because the Kings (unlike the paper-thin Lakers) have the surplus talent to make a sign-and-trade work. Yet Kings general manager Geoff Petrie vigorously denies the suggestion he would offer Mike Bibby and Hedo Turkoglu in a sign-and-trade for Kidd. Will the Kings change their stance and join the Kidd bidding? At least it's a legit question. The Lakers can't even consider a bid, unless Kidd was miraculously willing to play for next season's $5 million exception, since the Lakers have Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant ... and nothing to offer in a Kidd sign-and-trade.
Which brings us to the Mavericks. The option that has to concern the Nets and the Spurs, even though capped-out Dallas can't sign Kidd outright like San Antonio.
Those who know Kidd insist that he never wanted to leave Dallas. Those who know Don Nelson insist that Nellie, had he joined the Mavericks two months before his actual arrival in February 1997, would have blocked the Kidd trade to the Phoenix Suns.
Going back to his NBA roots would give Kidd the opportunity to unwrite the most negative on-court chapter of his life. Going to Dallas, furthermore, would give Kidd the chance to be the catalyst for a team that hasn't won the championship yet. He'd also have better odds of winning it all with the Mavs than the Nets, despite living in the West, because he'd be joining Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley and whichever frontcourt free agent Kidd's presence could help lure in the $5 million exception slot.
None of that happens, mind you, unless Kidd chooses the Mavericks over the Nets and Spurs and pushes to force a sign-and-trade to Dallas. If that's what Kidd wants, the most likely scenario would force the Mavericks to part with Steve Nash as the centerpiece of the swap for Kidd. The Mavs could then use their exception to chase Alonzo Mourning or P.J. Brown or Karl Malone. Much as the Mavericks are loath to break up the Nash-Nowitzki partnership, they will certainly dive into the Kidd derby if they learn definitively that Kidd desires a return to Big D.
And if the Nets can't convince Kidd to stay, after two fantasy trips to the Finals following two decades of mostly misery, you can be fairly sure they'd be rooting for Dallas over San Antonio. The Spurs, again, have the cap space to all but match New Jersey's most lucrative offer and take Kidd away without compensation. If Kidd wanted to go to the bigger market, where owner Mark Cuban has his own TV network (HDNet) to entice Joumana Kidd, New Jersey could get a top-flight point guard in return, be it Nash or Nick Van Exel.
More:
So ...
Seems as though the best point guard in the game has at least three choices on the forthcoming open-market fast break. Kidd's hometown Golden State Warriors are pessimistic about their chances of getting into the fray, even amid reports that Kidd is open to a homecoming, because a sign-and-trade would deplete their talent base, which isn't at Kidd's prescribed championship level as presently constituted. The Seattle SuperSonics, where owner Howard Schultz of Starbucks fame is a family friend of the Kidds, are likewise not even a consideration. But Texas, bigger than ever NBA-wise, presents two inviting, contending possibilities.
Possibilities big enough to interrupt Draft Week, even.
espn.go.com/nba/columns/s...71651.html
Playing Hurt
By Scott Burton
ESPN The Magazine
Jermaine O'Neal is tired and sore and too pissed off to speak. His teammates have walked off the FleetCenter floor, into the showers, then onto the team bus -- the season over just when it was supposed to begin. And still he sits, in his uniform, on a stool in front of his stall, staring at the carpet. He doesn't look up until they've all gone.
They failed him, O'Neal thinks, f--ing failed him. Missed assignments, took plays off, joked in the locker room. There can be no forgiveness. Not after what he's played through. Not after what he's been through. Not when he was bringing it every night even with that gaping hole in his heart. He did it, why couldn't they?
When he gets off the team plane at midnight, his coach tells him he is sorry for him, that he wants to give him a big hug. When he stops at a gas station at 1 a.m., his old high school coach, George Glymph, who now works for the Pacers, pulls up behind O'Neal's own car and gets out to say it isn't his fault, that O'Neal did everything he could. When he gets home at 2 a.m., his mom comes down the stairs, wraps him in her arms and says, "Get some rest."
They all say next year will be different, but he's not consoled. Yes, he can demand changes that ensure his teammates will never fail him again. But there are some things he knows he can't fix.
***
Sitting in an Indy sports bar, O'Neal's mind and mouth work too fast to allow for eating; he's taken three bites from a Cajun chicken sandwich in the past hour. It's been six weeks since the Celtics upset his No.3-seed Pacers, 4-2, in their first-round matchup, a series that started with Indiana blowing a 16-point lead and ended with a 20-point rout. Six weeks since some of his teammates couldn't do what he did -- check their lives at the door and perform. Since then, O'Neal has visited his new beachfront condo in Miami, hit hot spots in Atlanta and lounged in Barbados, each trip a vain attempt to escape the pain he hid on the court for much of the season.
"People ask me about my year, and I don't even know how to answer," he says. "I was so hurt. For the first time, I didn't know if I could handle it."
On July 1, the 24-year-old All-Star becomes the most coveted big man on the free agent market. His first meeting will be with the Pacers; they'll offer him a seven-year max-out. Then he plans to talk to the Spurs (who can max him out for six), the Mavs and the Magic (who'd both have to work out a sign-and-trade). Everyone says he's a lock to stay in Indianapolis.
Everyone but O'Neal. This isn't about money, or being the star. "I don't give a damn about numbers," he says. No, this is personal. This is about heart and commitment. And enduring pain.
How did it come to this? Wasn't it only February when life was so sweet? O'Neal was playing alongside his boy Al Harrington and mentor Reggie Miller. He was starting in the All-Star Game for the first time. He loved his coach, Isiah Thomas, and the team president, Donnie Walsh, the two guys who rescued him from purgatory in Portland, who saw The Franchise where others saw a flop. The young Pacers weren't just contenders, they were the best team in the East.
Off the court looked just the way he wanted it too. His girlfriend, LaMesha, their 3-year-old daughter, Asjia, and his older brother, Clifford, all lived with him in his custom-built suburban palace. He'd moved his mom, Angela, and stepdad, Abraham Kennedy, into a condo a few miles away. He'd even helped Kennedy get a job as a security guard at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Then on March 1, his whole life was mangled. O'Neal picked up his mom at her condo that Saturday afternoon to go shopping for a grandfather clock, a gift for his grandparents in South Carolina. They drove just a few blocks before deciding it would be easier to buy one down South. So they turned around, and O'Neal dropped his mom back at her home. He said he'd call tomorrow.
O'Neal was still pulling out of the condo's driveway when his cell phone rang. It was Angela. What's up, he asked. There was no answer, not at first, but it sounded like his mom was sobbing. He heard another voice in the background, someone screaming -- Call 911!
"Mom!" O'Neal pleaded. "Mom!"
"Come back," she said, at last. "He shot himself."
This isn't real, O'Neal thought, as he walked in the front door to find his mom passed out on the living room floor, her neighbor on the phone begging for an ambulance. This isn't real, he thought, as he walked up the stairs and into the guest bedroom to find his stepdad propped on the bed, eyes rolled back, head swelling, blood splattered everywhere, gun smoke still hanging in the air.
This isn't real, he thought, and then he smiled. He smiled, turned around, walked from the room and into the hall. How could it be? This wasn't who his stepdad was. He'd already made sure of that.
O'Neal met Abraham Kennedy before his mom did, more than eight years ago, back in South Carolina. He was traveling the country with his AAU team, and Kennedy was checking bags at the airport. At first, it was nothing more than a friendly, "Hello, how's the team doing?" But eventually, O'Neal learned they'd both attended Eau Claire High School in Columbia, and that Kennedy had balled varsity one year for Glymph. One hell of a coincidence.
Then it got really interesting. Turns out, every time Angela dropped O'Neal at the airport, she and Kennedy got to talking too. They went on a few dates, fell in love and, just that quick, they were talking marriage.
What do you think? Angela asked her son. Let me talk to him first, O'Neal replied. Like his mom used to do with his girlfriends, O'Neal sat down with Kennedy to lay out the ground rules. He said he didn't grow up with a daddy and didn't want one now. He warned Kennedy that he'd better take care of business. And he'd better not ever hurt his mama. Never, Kennedy promised.
As protective as O'Neal was of his mother, he didn't doubt the man's answers that day. And Kennedy never gave his stepson reason to think he'd misjudged him. Kennedy never played their relationship for anything. Even after O'Neal started making the big bucks, it was still usually "Hello, how's the team doing?" In fact, Kennedy didn't break his promise during six years of marriage, O'Neal says -- until he decided to put that gun to his head and pulled the trigger.
He's sure his stepdad is sorry for that, sorry beyond belief, because when O'Neal finally realized that this was real and walked back into the guest room to put his arm under Kennedy's head and cradle him for the 20 minutes it took the ambulance to arrive, his stepdad had this look on his face, like he was pleading. "It was as if he knew he made a mistake," O'Neal says. "He wasn't ready to die."
Kennedy, who'd fallen into a coma, was rushed into intensive care. O'Neal and his family kept a vigil at the hospital for the next 24 hours, in turn praying and crying. Teammates dropped by to lend support. On Sunday, two days before a four-game West Coast road trip, Walsh called O'Neal at the hospital. He told him basketball can wait, take off all the time you need, one week, one month, whatever. His star said, "Thanks, I'll let you know."
The next night, O'Neal sat down next to his mom at the hospital. They still couldn't talk about what Kennedy had done, so they talked about what O'Neal should do.
"Get on that plane," Angela said.
"But you need me," he said.
"Your team needs you."
O'Neal's other family was in trouble too: banged up physically, warped mentally. After the All-Star break, they'd suffered through a pair of six-game losing streaks and a flurry of injuries (Brad Miller's foot, Jonathan Bender's calf) and off-court tragedies (Jamaal Tinsley lost his mother; Austin Croshere lost his father-in-law). So after checking with his mom one last time just hours before the team flight was to take off, O'Neal boarded the plane. "We were flabbergasted," says Walsh.
Nobody said a word to him when he took his seat, and for the next three days, relationships that used to be so easy were awkward. Finally, in Oakland, he stood at a team dinner and said, "I came out here because I thought you guys would make me feel better. So y'all can act normal now."
He played well -- averaging 23.5 points and 8.0 rebounds on the four-game swing -- but it didn't ease the pain. He could barely sleep, and when he did, he'd awake on sheets soaked in sweat. There were flashes -- explosions of light in front on his eyes. Sitting on the bench, in his hotel room, at the movie theater, he'd stare and stare and see nothing. "I felt selfish and stupid about playing," he says.
He called his mom after every game of the road trip -- the Pacers lost all four -- but there was no comfort there, either. Kennedy was barely hanging on, and Angela was having her own problems sleeping. Nor did O'Neal find any relief when he got back home. He moved his mom into his house so that he could watch over her -- and she could watch over him. But he was haunted every day by the memory of what he'd seen. Back at work, his team was falling apart around him. His mom tried to get him to see a psychiatrist, but he refused. "Why do I need someone to tell me about me?" he said. "I've got to deal with this myself."
His mom was the same way. Between daily visits to the hospital, she'd go to the beauty salon or get her nails done or go to the mall -- anything to push away the despair. All O'Neal had was basketball. He never took a night off, never took a play off, which is why it hurt so much when some of his teammates couldn't -- or wouldn't -- do the same. He won't name names, but, O'Neal says, "they know exactly who they are." The day before the playoffs began, O'Neal boasted that his team was ready to take care of business. Then the games started, and too many Pacers were standing around, not caring. What's the excuse for that?
"I hated it when the media was like, 'They're losing because they're going through so much,'" he says. "I know we all went through hell. But if you're feeling good enough to put on the uniform, you have to perform."
The morning after they got back from Boston, it really hit him. As the team cleaned out lockers and gathered for one last meeting, Thomas and Walsh asked O'Neal to give a parting speech, to send the guys away in the right frame of mind. He said no, because he was afraid of what he'd say. "There were people acting like we didn't lose," he says. "Anyone that can joke as he cleans out his locker is a loser. I can't play with people like that."
***
Jermaine O'Neal is shooting jumpers at Conseco Fieldhouse on a rainy, musky day in June when Ron Artest, the Pacers' combustible shooting guard, walks up. The two start to talk for the first time since the season's end. As they break down the Celtics debacle, they don't see eye-to-eye on every detail. Still, it gets O'Neal thinking. "Ron has the same drive as me," O'Neal says. "He's a guy you want on your team." Two months ago, Ron might have been one of the losers in O'Neal's mind.
Looking ahead, O'Neal says the Pacers are his first choice, but he isn't backing down from his demand for changes. He's told Walsh he won't play with guys who "don't share my commitment."
Not one day goes by when O'Neal doesn't think about the look on his stepdad's face and all that blood. It doesn't help that he still has no clue why Kennedy did it. O'Neal doesn't stop by the hospital that often, not as often as he thinks he should. He wants to see his stepdad improve quickly and surely, not in such excruciatingly small steps.
When O'Neal visits, he smiles and tells Kennedy he's looking better. The news is a little more hopeful: Kennedy is out of intensive care and has begun physical and psychological therapy. But when O'Neal is asked what the doctors think, he looks away. "I've learned how to cry inside," he says.
Free agents can sign on July 16. O'Neal says he'll decide his basketball future quickly. When you're 24, the best power forward in the East and a free agent, there are some things you can control.
Of course, there will always be some things you can't.
This article appears in the July 7 issue of ESPN The Magazine.
Peep Show
New Jersey Nets: On Sunday, Ed Stefanski was director of scouting for the Nets. Today, we're not quite sure what he's doing. "He is being given an elevated position," Nets president Rod Thorn said in the Newark Star Ledger. "What exactly it entails is yet to be worked out." In order to keep Stefanski from accepting the general manager position in Portland, the Nets promised to give him not only a pay raise to be determined later, but also a new title to be named later. "He's good at what he does," Thorn said. "He's got a good eye for the game and a very good eye for judging talent. He's a bright guy and we're excited to keep him."
Dallas Mavericks: Don Nelson is about to get the extension he's wanted all season. "I wouldn't disagree with anything Mark (Cuban) said," Nelson said Sunday in the Dallas Morning News. "I have been offered a three-year extension, and I'd say we're pretty close to having it done. We should have an announcement soon." Nelson is already under contract to remain as the Dallas general manager but had been pressing owner Mark Cuban for an extension on his coaching contract, which expired at the end of last season. No terms are yet official, but Nelson is expected to be the coach until the end of the 2006 season. "The bottom line is that Mark wants me here and I want to be here," Nelson said.
New Orleans Hornets: The van Breda Kolff legacy continues. Jan van Breda Kolff, son of former Jazz head coach Butch van Breda Kolff, will become an assistant coach in the NBA under Tim Floyd in New Orleans, reports the Times-Picayune. Also joining the staff will be former Piston and Clipper head coach Alvin Gentry. The announcement is expected today.
i can write those too.
"my national team is better than yours" man you SUCK !!!
