Posts Tagged ‘NBA basketball’

Magic Sign NBA Veteran Jason Williams

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

Veteran point guard Jason Williams is returning to the NBA after a season away from basketball. Williams announced that hes re-entering the league this season, and will do so in an Orlando Magic uniform. Williams is tentatively slated to be the backup for starting playmaker Jameer Nelson.

Williams signed a one year NBA contract to play for the Los Angeles Clippers in 2008, but walked away from it without playing a game wanting to spend time with his wife and family. His attempt to be reinstated late in the season was rebuffed by the NBA, and he ended up sitting out the entire campaign.

Ultimately, he settled on Orlando due to its proximity to his home in nearby Isleworth, Florida and the role the Magic wanted him to play on a championship contender. Magic General Manager Otis Smith provided these comments on the signing:

“Jason provides depth and leadership to our backcourt. He is a veteran point guard that knows what it takes to help us reach our ultimate goal.”

Williams has become more of a consistent player as hes matured, and should provide some valuable depth in the Magic backcourt. When asked to reflect on his NBA and college career Williams sounded a philosophical tone:

“Let me tell you this: If I could go all the way back [to the beginning], I wouldn’t do a damn thing different. I know I messed up here and there along the way, but those things I didn’t do right helped me become the person I am now.”

Williams played a crucial backup role during the Miami Heats 2005-2006 NBA championship run, and will be expected to play a similar function as the Magic try to get over the hump and unseat the reigning NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. Theyre expected to face a tough test in their own conference, with Cleveland, Miami and Boston all having upgraded their lineups during the offseason.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and noted authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

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Lamar Odom Signs Contract To Return To NBA Champs

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

After a month long free agency soap opera, both Lamar Odom and the Los Angeles Lakers got what they really wanted all along. The Lakers retained the services of their valuable sixth man, and Odom will return to the team after an intense recruiting pitch from the Miami Heat. Odom officially signed his new contract with the NBA Champions and along with the addition of Ron Artest the Lakers may actually be stronger than last years title winning squad.

Terms of the deal werent immediately released, but both player and team appeared relieved that things had worked out. In early July, negotiations broke down after some miscommunication between Odom’s agent and Lakers’ owner Dr. Jerry Buss. While Odom worked to mend fences”including several personal phone calls to Dr. Buss”his agent was receiving interest from a number of teams. Miami, in particular, was extremely interest bringing out some heavy hitters including Dwayne Wade and Pat Riley to make a recruiting pitch.

When it was all said and done, Odom didn’t want to leave Los Angeles At the official signing ceremony, he hinted that a dynasty could be in the making:

“I guess basketball-wise, I feel complete. I want to feel it again. It’s kind of an overwhelming feeling. I get goose bumps when I think about it, and as long as I continue to play professional basketball, I want to always feel that. The way I feel during the summer, I always want to feel that. If we can win six, seven, eight, nine, 10 championships in a row, I want to experience that.”

While talk of 10 straight championships may be mere hyperbole, theres no reason the Lakers cant run off a repeat or better with their current lineup. The only significant loss to last years NBA title winning team was Trevor Ariza, but the teams signing of Ron Artest is likely an upgrade. Artest brings not only his infamous swagger and intensity, but an element of toughness and versatility that Ariza lacked. Such was Odoms commitment to the Lakers is that even during his free agency, he helped recruit Artest to sign with the team:

“I spoke to Ron two days before he signed, and I told him how important I think it is for him to come here. Because I know how hard he works, he needs to experience basketball at its best, at the highest level, and he needs to become a Laker. Two days after that, he signed.”

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak was understandably elated at Odom’s return:

“Three or four months ago, I didn’t think it could be possible that we could basically bring this team back in whole. Lamar had a wonderful season that ended on the best possible note you could have, and Lamar had a lot of options. … Here it is, July 31, and we have brought back everybody that we wanted to bring back.”

Odom noted that his perception of L.A. as his home made a big difference in his decision:

“I didn’t want my kids to have to change schools — just the little things. I’m comfortable here. I’ve been here since I was’ years old. I’m proud to be playing for what I think is the most popular brand in sports.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

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Clippers Fire Head Coach Dunleavy

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

In one of the stranger front office shakeups in recent NBA history, the Los Angeles Clippers have ‘relieved’ Mike Dunleavy of his head coaching duties effective immediately. He’ll remain on board as the Clippers’ general manager, and both he and the team cited the demands of the forthcoming trade deadline and free agent market as a catalyst for the change.

Not surprisingly, there is much speculation as to the back story behind the move. Some with knowledge of the situation suggest that Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling wanted to fire Dunleavy altogether, but relented due to the $5 million the team will owe him in the final year of his contract next year. More recently, a bizarre rumor has been circulating that Sterling has approached Isiah Thomas about taking over Dunleavy’s coaching position and becoming team president.

Dunleavy issued this statement, playing along with the team’s insistence that the decision to give up coaching was ‘mutual’:

“I’ve come to the conclusion that this is the ideal time for me to direct my efforts toward the many personnel opportunities that lie before us, such as the trade market, the draft and the free-agent process. We fully expect to be active and productive on all those fronts.”

Team President Andy Roeser gave this statement:

“We fully agree with Mike that this is the right time to make this change. It just seems clear that the team needs a fresh voice and we hope that our players will respond in a positive way.As we approach the trade deadline, the NBA draft and the upcoming free-agent period, our team is very well positioned from a salary-cap standpoint. Mike’s experienced input will be vitally important as we continue to develop our young talented nucleus and shape our team’s future.”

Dunleavy’s agent Warren LeGarie continued the spin:

“This is something we’ve been contemplating for some time. There’s a shelf life to coaching sometimes. So you constantly have to keep measuring whether [the team's inconsistency] is because of injuries, because of you, or something else. And at some point you have to make a judgment call about what’s best for the team, and that’s what Mike did.”

The Clippers have lost 7 of their last 10 games to fall to 21-29 on the year. They’re 17 games behind the Western Conference leading Los Angeles Lakers and 8 games out of the final playoff spot. The schedule won’t get any easier for the Clippers after the break as they head to Portland’s Rose Garden Arena to take on the Blazers.

Ross Everett is a well known cheerleading coach and a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports. He provides Internet and broadcast media outlets with daily free sports picks when not working with Olympic bound ice skaters. He is a widely published writer specializing in sports handicapping, falconry, drag racing and wombat breeding. He lives in Southern Nevada with his Asian houseboy, three dogs and a wombat.

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