NBA star J.R. Smith would rather stay safe on the streets of New York City.
The Knicks guard, who recently signed a four-year, $24 million deal, reportedly bought a flashy armoured truck made by Toronto-based Terradyne Armored Vehicles and used by police and the military.
The New York Post reports Smith, who's recovering from surgery on his left knee, was seen driving the Gurkha F5 -- worth approximately $450,000 -- in the city's Meatpacking District where he stopped and had dinner last Thursday.
The vehicle could be the same as the one wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson drove in the 2011 blockbuster movie "Fast Five."
NBA star J.R. Smith buys military vehicle | Basketball | Sports | Toronto Sun
After nearly 20 years, one of the highest-ranking female executives in professional sports is calling a time out.
Heidi Ueberroth, who has overseen the National Basketball Association's global expansion as president of NBA International, said she will leave her post at the end of the year. In an interview Tuesday, the 48-year-old Ms. Ueberroth said she will consult with the NBA after she leaves, but she hasn't publicly announced other plans.
Her exit comes amid a leadership transition at the NBA. Last fall, Commissioner David Stern announced that he would turn over the reins to his deputy, Adam Silver, in February 2014. No replacement deputy commissioner has yet been named.
The NBA has proved a more successful export than other major North American sports leagues, with games now airing in 215 countries and in 47 languages, for which Ms. Ueberroth deserves much of the credit, said Mr. Stern.
"All of the television deals, sponsorships, exhibition games and colleagues on the ground on four continents—those were all under Heidi's leadership," he said in an interview.
Ms. Ueberroth was instrumental in developing NBA China LP, recently valued at $2.3 billion, and oversees 150 employees in four offices across greater China. She also formed partnerships with overseas social networks, including Sina and Tencent Weibo, as part of her grass roots growth strategy.
The departure of Ms. Ueberroth, who sits on the board of Pebble Beach Co. and is the daughter of former Major League Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth, raises questions about whether a glass ceiling exists for executive women in sports.
Of the four major American professional sports leagues, no woman has ever held the position of commissioner at the NBA, MLB, National Football League or National Hockey League. Women do hold big jobs in other sports, among them Mary Wittenberg, chief executive of the nonprofit New York Road Runners, which operates the New York City Marathon, and Laurel Richie, president of the WNBA women's basketball league.
Ms. Ueberroth said she didn't feel women face barriers in ascending to the top of the professional sports industry. "I think you'll absolutely see a female commissioner one day," she said.
According to an NBA representative, 41% of league employees are female, and 44 women hold management positions. The percentage was slightly down from last season, according to a recent study on league diversity published by Richard Lapchick of the University of Central Florida, which gave the NBA overall a B+ grade for gender-hiring practices. The NBA league office, specifically, received an A, out of a possible A+ top grade.
Based in New York City, Ms. Ueberroth said she spent about 50% of her time on the road, but that the travel wasn't nearly as arduous as managing the 12-hour-plus time difference with colleagues and clients in Asia.
Ms. Ueberroth said she would encourage women interested in breaking into the professional sports industry to get into revenue-generating positions, such as sales, early in their careers.
"Sometimes I've found that it's stepping outside their comfort zone. But they have to make sure that they get that experience," she said.
NBA Global Chief Heidi Ueberroth to Exit - WSJ-com
Allen Iverson is going to announce his retirement from the NBA soon. First reported, appropriately, by SLAM Magazine, the 2001 NBA MVP and 11-time All-Star will call it quits after a star-crossed NBA career and short stint playing in Turkey. Iverson has not played an NBA game since Feb. 2010, and it’s fair to say that his time away from the game has brought more bad news than good.
Iverson leaves the NBA after being shunned by NBA squads to start the 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, and presumably 2013-14 seasons. Though Allen wasn’t exactly a greybeard when he walked away from the Philadelphia 76ers in 2010 at the age of 34, it was probably that walk away that prematurely ended his NBA career.
NBA general managers were more than aware that Iverson also walked away from Philadelphia in December of 2006 (before being dealt to Denver), from the Detroit Pistons in the spring of 2009, from the Memphis Grizzlies later that year, and finally from the Sixers later that season. All were not amicable partings, with the teams in question thinking it best if Iverson stayed away from the arena than stick with the team.
Before that, Iverson’s scoring guard mentality allowed the diminutive 6-footer to rack up well over 24,000 points, a 26.7 career points per game average alongside 6.2 assists per game, and four NBA scoring titles along the way. He led a limited Philadelphia 76ers team to the NBA Finals in 2001, and made eight other playoff appearances. Along the way he worked as one of the league’s most popular players, a relatable person due to his relatively short stature amongst NBA giants, and a familiar presence and image (with cornrows and tattoos in full display well before they became the norm) to those well-versed with the changing culture of the late 1990s and early part of the 21st century.
Allen Iverson completely and at times ably represented what the NBA was all about during the post-Michael Jordan era. In a time filled with stiffening defenses, lax hand-checking laws and plenty of terrible 88-82 games, Iverson and his 42 percent career shooting percentage fit right in. He scored a lot, but he also shot a lot to get those gaudy numbers, and turned the ball over frequently. It’s true that Iverson had to do as much as a function of those limited 76ers teams, but he kept up the same practices in his several stops following that run with coach Larry Brown.
Iverson’s peak as a player, toppling the heavily-favored Los Angeles Lakers to take a 1-0 series lead in the 2001 Finals, was sadly brief. The All-Star clashed with Brown throughout 2001-02, failing to practice to Brown’s exacting standards and shooting below 40 percent in his team’s failed conference title defense. That spring’s infamous and embarrassing (as he belittled the late Phil Jasner, referring to him as “Phillip” over and over in a bullying, schoolyard tone) “practice” press conference led to a miserable summer that saw Iverson racked with felony charges after he locked his naked wife out of their house, before brandishing an unlicensed gun while searching for her later that night, reportedly threatening friends and cousins along the way.
The Sixers carried on with Iverson, but Brown would last just one more year, as Iverson’s low-efficiency game was becoming more and more obsolete. The trade to Denver energized him, Iverson raised his shooting percentages while attempting to fit in, but the “every point or assist has to go through me”-ideal just wasn’t a proper fit, and he was soon dealt to Detroit for Chauncey Billups – who led the Nuggets to the conference finals later that year. By then, Iverson had been out of the game for two months, leaving the Pistos in the first week of April prior to their playoff appearance, whiffing on a chance to secure a big contract while playing great ball for a younger team during his contract year.
Only the then-downtrodden Memphis Grizzlies came calling that summer, but when Iverson was unable to replicate his ball-dominating ways (once again being asked to come off the bench, which is what led to his basketball divorce in Detroit), Iverson left the team, stating “personal reasons.” He was waived soon after, and played only three games in Memphis. The 76ers signed Iverson later in the year, but he would walk away from the team just after the midpoint in the season, citing family and personal issues. He hasn’t played NBA ball since.
And, according to SLAM, he’ll never play it again. It makes sense, at age 38, to hang up the sneakers on a game that for Iverson was always about guile, speed and athleticism in the face of giants. It’s that trip from November 2008 until now that’s the frustrating part. Iverson had a chance to go out his own way, and to earn several more profitable contracts to aid in his reportedly significant off-court financial troubles.
Allen Iverson never wanted to age gracefully. He never changed, and that intractable trait that did him so well in the post-Michael Jordan era ultimately led to his too-soon NBA demise.
For a while there, though, Allen Iverson was something else. Literally something the NBA had never seen before. Those don’t come around too often, and we’re lucky if they stay so long.
Grantland-com reports that the NBA has decided to susidize the installationof high-tech motion-tracking cameras for next season to give every NBA team access to the so-branded "SportVU" data that 15 teams used last season.
Subscribing teams have used the data to get at some of basketball's deepest questions — how many players should crash the offensive glass; where missed shots actually fall after hitting the rim; the best strategies for defending various players in the pick-and-roll; how each player should approach transition defense in specific situations; and many, many others. The possibilities, big and small, are basically endless. Reports released by STATS include information on how fast players run, how often they dribble, how far they run during games, which players touch the ball at the elbow most often, and which players drive from the perimeter to the basket most often.
The cameras cost about $100,000 per year, and the expense is one reason 15 teams hadn't yet subscribed. Some of those teams were waiting in hopes the NBA would foot the bill, and the league has apparently decided to do so sooner than many of those teams expected. Installing the cameras in all 30 arenas will expand the data to include every game played, providing teams with a more complete and reliable data set. It also raises the possibility of the league using statistical nuggets from the cameras during television broadcasts. A few teams have used in-game data at halftime to show players specific examples of things like rebounds they didn't contest aggressively, or evidence they weren't running as hard as usual. A few more will likely do the same next season.
via A New View: The NBA Will Install STATS LLC Cameras in Every Arena in the League - The Triangle Blog - Grantland.
That's a big bill the NBA is footing, but this is really the next step in advanced metrics' evolution. The stuff is wild in terms of how much it can provide you. Basically, you'll be able to come up with hard metrics for answers to questions like
"How long does Carmelo Anthony hold the ball in isolation sets? How often do the Knicks score when he holds it over five sconds vs. under?"
"How much activity did Tim Duncan do last night? Does that meet a threshold the Spurs have set to rest him the next night?'
"How much does Jarrett Jack dribble, relative to different offensive efficiencies? In other words, is there a number of dribbles where thereafter the Cavaliers' offense deteriorates?'
It's got a lot of real-world implications and some of the data will inevitably leak beyond just Grantland to other outlets so fans can understand the game more. It's an exciting development, and another sign of the NBA's commitment to developing technology.
Report: NBA to install motion-tracking cameras in all 30 arenas - CBSSports-com
TMZ is reporting that Los Angeles Clippers forward Lamar Odom, who is married to Khloe Kardashian, has been missing for the last three days.
News of a crisis in the Odom-Kardashian household surfaced on Friday when TMZ reported that Lamar has had a drug problem for the last two years.
A source close to the couple tells People magazine that Khloe has "kept this secret for almost two years trying to save Lamar and their marriage." The source said Khloe only "recently came clean and (her family) has been trying to help since."
Sources told TMZ that Khloe pressured him to go to rehab last summer, but he left the San Diego facility after three weeks. He allegedly stayed clean during the past NBA season, but fell back into using when the season ended, TMZ reports.
The Kardashian family allegedly staged an intervention over the last few days, but Lamar reportedly refused to go back to rehab. TMZ reports that Khloe kicked him out of their house afterward, and now he’s gone missing.
The family hasn’t been able to contact him or find him for the last 72 hours and fear he might be on a crack cocaine binge, says TMZ.
Lamar is known for disappearing and going into hiding in times of crisis, according to former coaches.
Sports Illustrated reports that in 2001, Lamar was suspended twice in eight months for violating the league’s anti-drug policy while playing the first time around for the Clippers.
At the time he admitted to using marijuana and told reporters that he hoped people wouldn't pass judgment on his mistake. "I've made a couple and I may make a couple again, but hopefully they won't be as big as this one … This will never happen again," he said at the time.
He went on to win two championships with the Los Angeles Lakers before his performance dropped off while playing for the Dallas Mavericks and Clippers, says SI.
He is a free agent and the Clippers have expressed interest in re-signing him, according to SI.
Read more here: Reports: NBA player Lamar Odom missing - KansasCity-com
McGrady worked his way through a star-crossed career after being selected ninth overall in the 1997 NBA draft by the Toronto Raptors. His pairing with cousin Vince Carter on the Raptors should have led to years of Eastern Conference dominance in the wake of Michael Jordan’s retirement, but coaching tumult, Toronto’s inability to send a max contract his way, and the lure of playing at home in Florida alongside Grant Hill sent him to the Orlando Magic as a free agent just three years into his career.
Hill, sadly, would never recapture the All-NBA First Team levels of athleticism after suffering a series of crippling ankle injuries, and McGrady (with the Magic capped out) was forced to go it alone. For a while there, though, acting alone led to some jaw-dropping bouts of brilliance.
In nearly 40 minutes a game with the Magic, McGrady averaged 28.1 points per game, all in an efficient, slashing matter that saw plenty of free throws and quick hits from the mid-range. In 2002-03, he produced his masterpiece – turning over 32.1 points per game along with a combined 12 rebounds/assists, with 2.5 steals/blocks a game. Somehow, these stats may have all been trumped by the ridiculously low 2.6 turnovers in 39.4 minutes per game. For a player to have the ball in his hands so much, with such lacking teammates around him and the defenses geared in, and only turn it over 2.6 times in almost 40 minutes of play? Outrageous.
Weirdly, despite dragging an alternately injured and not-good Orlando Magic team to the playoffs while coming through with the best statistical season an NBA player would produce in between the Michael Jordan and LeBron James eras (better than Shaq in 2000, better than Kobe in 2006, better than Duncan), McGrady would finish fourth in the NBA voting. And to this day, the thing he’s best known for during the 2002-03 season is forgetting (after a Magic win over Detroit that took the series to 3-1) that the NBA had abandoned the best-of five first round format the previous offseason, and that you needed four wins to advance to the second round in 2003.
In an era where very few of us had NBA League Pass or ran non-mainstream NBA websites, it was up to the early evening cable TV yuk-yuks to define McGrady’s legacy, and those yuk-yuks dove in head first after seven months of ignoring McGrady’s magnificent season, or bothering to look at the Orlando Magic roster (much less an Orlando Magic game) to see why the team eventually lost to a deep Detroit Pistons squad that had won eight more games than Orlando that year.
McGrady’s averages in that series? He hit for 31.7 points per game, with 11.4 combined assists/rebounds and nearly three combined blocks steals.
His fellow starters in that series? Jacque Vaughn, Andrew DeClercq, Drew Gooden, and Gordon Giricek. And remember, this was a No. 8 seed taking the top seed in the East to the hilt.
But, yeah, let’s focus on Tracy thinking he’d made it to the second round.
T-Mac would not make it to the second round as an active player (he was injured during Houston’s visit in 2009) until 2013, when he tagged along as the 12th man on the eventual Western-winning San Antonio Spurs. To these eyes, I can’t think of a single first round ouster that didn’t see McGrady’s teams being taken down by the better team. Some can argue for their seven-game losses to Dallas in 2005 or Utah in 2007, but at best those were pushes. Despite foot and back woes that were in place during his Toronto years, McGrady averaged around 40 minutes a game in five seasons between 2000 and 2005. And as the back, knee and shoulder issues mounted, McGrady started to defer to the ascending Yao Ming as the team’s number one option. McGrady still gutted through things, having his knees drained during the playoffs and buttressing his failing frame with pain-killing injections, but things were falling apart.
Worse, he rankled then-Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy with reported poor practice habits, because apparently Van Gundy wanted Michael Jordan-level practice work from a guy that was dealing with significant back woes as a player since before he could legally buy a beer. Jordan wasn’t faced with such obstacles, but this was what McGrady’s potential and production did to him – he would be held to the standard of the greats, even if his body wasn’t doing all that great.
Tracy was sent to New York in 2010 as a cap-clearing maneuver for the Knicks, not as some asset to be re-signed. From there he bounced to Detroit, Atlanta, and then to the Qingdao Eagles of the Chinese Basketball Association before the Spurs signed him as insurance before the 2013 playoffs. McGrady played 31 minutes in the postseason, pulling in eight rebounds with seven assists and three blocks, but he missed all seven shots from the field. His strongest contribution to the team was playing an approximation of LeBron James in Spurs practice, something that could have led to San Antonio coming within minutes of dethroning the defending champion Miami Heat.
In the end, McGrady will probably be judged for what he couldn’t do. Couldn’t wrest a team into the second round. Couldn’t sustain the sort of health and production that marked his last few seasons in Orlando. Couldn’t save the jobs of his coaches. And Tracy couldn’t ever make it look like the game came incredibly easy to him, a trait that won him a top ten selection in the 1997 NBA draft, but one that immediately set to damn him in the eyes of veterans, coaches and eventually media once his rookie year began.
An induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame probably won’t make all of this go away, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt.
Former Raptors, Magic and Rockets (and Knicks and Hawks and Spurs if you really must) forward Tracy McGrady announced his retirement from the NBA on Monday morning on ESPN's First Take program.
McGrady will go down as a cult NBA icon after a dominant stretch in the early 2000s lead to an injury-plagued prime that found him constantly losing in the first round with Houston. Eventually, he came to an awkward end with the Rockets and was traded to New York. After a stint with Atlanta, McGrady spent a season in the Chinese CBA, before joining the Spurs for their playoff run last year and serving as victory cigar for the Western Conference champions.
McGrady finishes with career averages of 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.2 steals and just under one block per game.
McGrady entered the league as one of the most explosive and athletic players in the league, including this peformance in the 2000 dunk contest.
In August 2000, he signed with the Orlando Magic in a sign-and-trade deal, in what was supposed to be a superstar team with the addition of Grant Hill. But Hill's injuries left McGrady trying to carry an underwhelming roster on his shoulders, leading to many spectacular seasons, but disappointing results and the wear and tear that might have lead to his own injury problems later.
In 2003, widely considered his best season, McGrady averaged 32.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists on 45.7 percent shooting from the field and 38.6 percent from the arc. His 30.3 PER that season ranks 16th all-time and the seventh highest since 2000. He was traded to the Rockets in 2004 and along with the acquisition of Yao Ming, was expected to make Houston into a title contender. But injuries and constant struggles in the playoffs lead to a devastating series of first-round exits. Most notably, after Game 7 of a 2007 loss to the Utah Jazz, McGrady broke down in the postgame press conference, saying the loss was "on me." In 2009, McGrady announced on his website that he would undergo microfracture surgery and miss the remainder of the season. One problem: He hadn't talked about it with Houston. That would lead to his eventual trade to New York and the slow downslide of his career. This past season marked the first time McGrady made the second round of the playoffs as a member of the active roster and healthy.
McGrady goes down as one of the most exciting and perhaps underrated players of the 2000s, thanks to his reputation for being unable to get out of the first round, and occassional attitude issues. His limitations and behavior are certainly part of the tale, but in his prime, there were few, if any better.
Long live T-Mac.
Tracy McGrady announces retirement from NBA - CBSSports-com
While Lamar Odom's personal life comes under scrutiny – amid allegations of drug abuse and marital problems – his professional life also seems to be taking a turn for the worse.
Odom, who was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2011 and won two NBA championships as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, is currently a free agent at a time when most of the team rosters are already filled.
"It's almost Labor Day weekend and players are starting to return to their teams, and Lamar doesn't have a team," says an NBA insider who knows Odom. "He's gone from making $8.5 million last year to being out of work at this point."
Seth Burton, director of communications for the Los Angeles Clippers, confirms that as of July 1, Lamar Odom was off the team's roster as his contract had ended, and he officially became a free agent. Burton also confirms that Antawn Jamison has reached an agreement with the Clippers, but he is not officially signed yet. He expects Jamison to be officially signed Wednesday – which means there would not be room for Odom on the roster.
"There's an old saying in the NBA: Are you more valuable than your problems? And it's just reached the point with Lamar where he is not more valuable than his problems," says the NBA insider. "Up until about two years ago, Lamar Odom was averaging about 15 points and eight rebounds a game and you know what? You deal with his off-court problems for that. When Lamar Odom averages four points a game, he's not worth the problems."
Despite not being currently signed, the insider believes Odom may still be able to get a spot on the L.A. Lakers – though it would be at a significant pay decrease.
Lamar Odom: Is His NBA Career Over? - Scandals & Feuds, Celebrity Scandals, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Khloe Kardashian, Lamar Odom : People-com
The National Basketball Association (NBA) and SuperSport, Africa’s premier sports broadcaster, available on the DStv platform, on Thursday announced a new multiyear television and digital partnership that will have NBA games and programming televised in 47 territories in Sub-Saharan Africa.
As part of the partnership, NBA-com/Africa, the league’s official website for fans in Africa, will be hosted in a dedicated section of supersport-com.
For the first time, NBA content will be available on the “World of Champions,” with SuperSport offering unparalleled broadcasts across the continent on multiple platforms.
“This is unquestionably one of the jewels in our crown,” said Brandon Foot, SuperSport’s Head of Acquisitions and Legal.
“Some of the greatest names in sport have played in the NBA, so it is only fitting that they come to the ‘World of Champions’ where the best sport is broadcast. Basketball has gained a strong foothold in Africa, so we are delighted to acquire rights to one of the biggest and best-run leagues in world sport. We will now proudly broadcast the most NBA action on the continent.”
Beginning with the 2013-14 season, SuperSport will exclusively televise up to three live regular season games per week, as well as NBA All-Star, The Playoffs and The Finals in multiple languages. Coverage also includes all preseason and regular season games being played in Europe.
“SuperSport is a leading sports destination in Africa both on television and online and they are an ideal partner as we look to bring more NBA content to our fans,” said Amadou Gallo Fall, NBA Vice President for Development, Africa.
“Together with SuperSport we will be providing fans with more access to the NBA, our dynamic players, and storied franchises on multiple platforms as we further the growth of the game on the continent.”
Also as part of the partnership, NBA-com/Africa – one of the league’s 14 international online destinations – will launch on supersport-com and feature news, localised content, blogs and extensive video highlights.
In addition, SuperSport’s “The Catch Up” video-on-demand service, which is available to Premium bouquet viewers, will also feature NBA programming.
Basketball fans will receive more exciting NBA content, including episodes of “The Association”, the NBA-produced documentary that gives fans and viewers inside access to some of the biggest teams in the NBA. The partnership will also include some of the greatest games in NBA history including 20 classic games per year and 20 of the greatest games from the previous season.
Johannesburg is currently playing host to the 11th edition of Basketball without Borders (BW😎 Africa, a global basketball development and social responsibility program run in partnership with the NBA and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).
The NBA has been staging activities in Africa for over 20 years and opened an office in Johannesburg in 2010. Thirty African players have played in the NBA, with six featured on NBA rosters during the 2012-13 season.
Former Detroit Pistons big man John Salley has spent a lot of his retirement advocating for veganism. He does so at a time when the lifestyle’s gaining powerful advocates in Bill Clinton and Serena Williams.
Williams' veganism, in particular, intrigues me because of the sports connection. If she continues to have well-publicized success, I wonder if athletes in other sports will follow.
As such, I decided to ask the NBA's biggest vegan voice to weigh in on whether this is the wave of the future in basketball and elsewhere.
Note: I am not a vegan (yet), and I do not know enough to explicitly endorse John’s recommendations. I do, however, explicitly endorse the idea that it’s enjoyable to take in John Salley’s pontifications.
Were you more aware of your mortality because a lot of taller guys have health problems? Is that something you were aware of that led you to these decisions?
Yeah. When Wilt Chamberlain died. Any kind of blockage is heart disease; when you have a blood clot anywhere, that’s heart disease. When Wilt Chamberlain died, strongest man I ever met in my life, I started paying attention.
One of the reasons I’m reaching out to you is, I’m reading about all these prominent guys going vegan. The CEO of Whole Foods (John Mackey) says he’s lost all this weight and gained all this energy. Bill Clinton just went vegan and says he’s lost 30 pounds and gained all this energy. Do you think you would have been even better as a player had you been on this vegan diet?
Oh my God, if I was a vegan when I should have done this thing, man? I remember when I became a vegetarian and my game changed. I couldn’t imagine if I was a vegan back when I was playing. The thing about the NBA, any pro sport, is, guys don’t know how to take care of their body.
It’s funny. They got trainers around to help them lift weights, throw all this weight up, parachutes. All this other crazy stuff. But they don’t have guys who say, “Hey. This is how you take care of your body.”
1990, the Summer right after we won my second championship. The [team doctor] was like, 'Yo, man, your cholesterol is the highest on the team.' It was higher than Tree Rollins and James Edwards, the two old guys when I was playing.
I tell guys all the time, like DeAndre Jordan and Chris Paul. Chris Paul is in the best shape he’s ever been in now. But there’s enzymes [Paul needs to] take. Don’t take vitamins, those kinds of vitamins just normally you see guys throw in. I explain to guys what the stimulation of their body means.
Is Chris Paul eating less meat these days?
No. I was with him, he’s probably eating [meat]. I showed him the less seafood you eat during the year, the less aches and pains and arthritic, the less acid you put in your body, the less alkaline you put in your body, the better it is.
I once was vegetarian for a year and I can remember my friends making fun of me. With guys, [eating meat] is very gendered. Do you think that’s an obstacle to guys going vegan or vegetarian in the NBA?
You know what’s funny about guys who make fun of you for not eating what they eat? If any of those guys had a date with Megan Fox, they wouldn’t be able to take her to a steakhouse. And what, they’re going to laugh at you? They’re going to sit around and go “You’re stupid, she’s not that hot, I’m going to eat a dead animal”?
If people laughing at you changes the way you do things, then they don’t need to be entertainers. Because there’s going to be people booing, laughing and throwing things. Those are called audience members.
[I ramble about Anthony Bourdain’s espoused apathy regarding where food comes from]
If you’re a professional athlete and after the game, you’re eating at the same place that somebody in the audience is eating at? You’re making a mistake.
Especially because the places open that late aren’t serving good food for the most part.
Well, usually anything after 10 o’clock is not that good for you.
I explain to athletes, you’re supposed to be a well-oiled machine. You’re supposed to be in better shape than the people watching you. You’re supposed to be an unbelievable specimen of a human being. You have to treat your body different while you’re performing.
Think about how Serena [Williams] winded up having a heart situation, two years ago? Right? Since then, she hired my friend, her and her sister Venus. Venus had [Sjögren's syndrome].
They hired my friend Lauren Vanderpool to be their chef, because Lauren was one of the greatest chefs I ever met. Knows so much, really good at preparing food, raw-slash-vegan. And Serena’s number one again. And Venus is playing with power again. And it has to be the food, what these two smart sisters decided they were going fuel their body with.
I know Glen “Big Baby” Davis said he was going vegan.
I had that conversation with Big Baby the year after they won the championship. (Imitates Davis’ voice): “Man, stop, you gotta be kidding me! Yadda yadda.” Then, he realized what it was.
Do you know any other NBA players who have gone vegan, other than Big Baby Davis?
James Jones is vegan.
I didn’t know that. I know he’s a really smart guy.
He’s a really smart guy because he wears my old number, 22.
I don’t know if that’s scientific, John.
It’s scientific, bro! If you wear 22, then you’re a smart guy.
John Salley on veganism in the NBA - TrueHoop Blog - ESPN
Lamar Odom’s week just got a lot worse. The NBA veteran was arrested Friday morning on suspicion of driving under the influence when California Highway Patrol saw him driving erratically on the 101 Freeway.
Odom, who has been plagued by reports of marital problems recently, was arrested at 3:54 a.m. and booked in Van Nuys at 5:01 a.m., jail records say.
According to the California Highway Patrol report, Odom was driving eastbound on the 101 Freeway in a “serpentine manner” at speeds of about 50 mph. Authorities tried to pull him over, but weren’t successful at first. When he eventually came to a stop, Odom showed “objective signs of intoxication and was unable to perform field sobriety tests as explained and demonstrated,” according to the report.
Odom also refused to do the chemical test at the station, which under California law means that his license will be suspended for a year.
"He did the one thing you should never not do: refuse the chemical tests," California Highway Patrol Officer Leland Tang said.
Odom was released Friday morning after spending about 3½ hours in jail.
TMZ later reported that Odom had been in an auto accident days before this incident. Strangely, the other car in the accident last Saturday belonged to a Los Angeles Times reporter.
As for the marital problems, Odom returned home on Monday for the first time in days, looking “gaunt” and “tired,” the New York Daily News reported. He still was wearing his wedding ring, according to reports, as was his wife, Khloe Kardashian, later that day.
Rumors of Odom’s drug problems have swirled over the past week, with TMZ claiming the 2010-11 NBA Sixth Man of the Year has been a hardcore crack cocaine user for at least the past two years. While that claim is dubious — the NBA has tested regularly during the season for recreational drugs since the 1980s — Odom’s poor play the past two seasons has lent credence to the reports of drug abuse.
E! News reported that news of Odom and Kardashian’s separation is false and the family is focused on “getting better.” Odom’s agent also told reporters that his client intends to continue his NBA career.
Earlier in the offseason, Odom ran into trouble earlier this offseason when he smashed a paparazzo’s camera. he city of Los Angeles said it would not file charges against him.
Odom, 33, is a free agent. He averaged a career-low 4.0 points and 5.9 rebounds while playing in all 82 games last season with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Lamar Odom allegedly arrest for DUI - NBA News | FOX Sports on MSN
The New York Knicks are guaranteed to win an championship this year, according to a column written by Marc Berman of the New York Post. Berman’s source, however, was none other than Knicks sixth-man extraordinaire J.R. Smith.
Smith made headlines on Saturday after Ian Begley fired off a few tweets regarding the beef between Smith and new Brooklyn Nets wing Paul Pierce, but that wasn’t the end of Earl The Third’s Saturday thoughts. The mercurial sharpshooter also made a few other disparaging comments about the Nets after guaranteeing a championship.
During a question-and-answer session with kid golfers at Chelsea Piers, Smith was asked how sure he was of the Knicks ending their title drought this season.
“I’m 100 percent sure,” the swingman said.
Smith was then asked why he joined the Knicks over the Nets when he came back from China in February 2012.
“The Nets weren’t good,’’ Smith said. “Now they’re still not good.’’
The Nets are substantially better than they were last season at this time, but that’s not the most controversial statement Smith made on Saturday. No, Smith guaranteed a championship for a team that made Andrea Bargnani their big addition this summer and hasn’t been to the NBA Finals since the 1998-99 lockout — and hasn’t won an NBA Finals since the 1972-73 squad that featured Walt Frazier, Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley, Earl Monroe, Willis Reed, Jerry Lucas, Phil Jackson, Henry Bibby and the recently deceased Dean Meminger.
The NBA news cycle hasn’t been intense over the holiday weekend, but at least J.R. Smith is doing his part to keep reporters busy.
Knicks will win NBA championship this year, according to J.R. Smith | ProBasketballTalk
The NBA loves a storyline, and Derrick Rose’s return will be one of the biggest storylines of this coming season. His return will excite not just the Chicago Bulls, but the entire NBA.
In large part, this is because he is such an exciting player. In fact, when he’s at his best, he might be the most aesthetic player in the NBA. That’s not a word you hear much when it comes to basketball players, but it’s one that fits Rose perfectly.
Certainly, there are better players. LeBron James is the best player in the world. No one except the most ardent Kobe Bryant fan denies that.
Kevin Durant is regarded as the second-best player. Chris Paul is widely viewed as the league’s best point guard.
All of these players might be better than Rose, but are they more enjoyable to watch?
James is a cyborg who has incredible strength, athleticism and size. He can get to the rim at will—and does. His greatness is earned, and he is enjoyable to watch, but there’s not a lot of artistry involved in what he does. He’s like a bulldozer wrecking a building. It’s impressive, but it's not very pretty. Russell Westbrook is a lightning bolt who can drive straight to the rim at a moment’s notice, but it’s a straight-ahead kind of drive. He doesn’t navigate through traffic. You don’t see the twists and turns that you see with Rose.
With Durant, you see a great shooter. While he’s worked on his handles, you certainly don’t conjure up images of him navigating the lane when you think of him playing. He has a beautiful jump shot, but jump shots aren’t thrilling.
Chris Paul has the ability to hold his dribble and carve through defenses, but he can’t get to the rim. He has a total of 38 dunks in his career. Tony Parker is the same, except that he doesn’t have a dunk since 2006, and he only has eight in his whole career.
Rose has more than twice as many as the two of them combined. He, like Westbrook, can drive and dunk like any man's business. All those players are fun to watch, but they aren’t Derrick Rose-fun to watch.
Rose is unique in his ability to carve up defenders and get to the rim, doing things that the human body should not be able to do—things like this. Rose has an unmatched ability to drive through traffic and finish with a dunk or a pretzel-like twist of the body and a circus shot. If there was a stat for “how did he do that?” plays, Rose would lead the league in them. He’s pure entertainment value.
In addition, Rose has the kind of great storyline the American public has come to want. We love to build up a star, tear them down, and then see them get back up.
We saw it with Kobe Bryant and the Colorado incident. We saw it with LeBron James and “The Decision.” We’ve seen it with Ray Lewis and Michael Vick in the NFL.
After winning the MVP in 2011, Rose had an injury-plagued season in 2012, which consummated in a torn ACL. The 2013 season saw him delay his #return in spite of the colossal Adidas campaign which promised it.
That drew heavy criticism, as many questioned his willingness and heart. His teammates, playing through injury and illness in the postseason, only added to the contrast. Rose had been cleared to play by his doctors yet declared himself not yet “mentally ready.”
Rose’s innocence or fault in the face of that criticism almost doesn’t matter at this point. What matters is that the controversy existed. The vaunted hero fell in the eyes of the public. The cloud is there, fairly or not. If Rose sees a resurgence to his MVP status this year, and in particular if he can hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy at season’s end, he’ll fit the phoenix from the ashes motif. Even his name—Rose—implies ascendance!
And the background against which he could do this provides a remarkable contrast.
LeBron James has won the begrudging admission from the bulk of the nation that he is a winner, that he does have a “clutch” gene after all. Yet the Miami Heat haven't been embraced by the nation; people watch to cheer against them, not for them.
Americans need a champion who will step forward and defeat the dreaded adversary, and who better to do that than Rose? What better team than the Chicago Bulls, home of Michael Jordan, the antithesis of LeBron James?
The country so badly wanted to see the hero to take down James-the-super-villain that in last year’s playoffs, Nate Robinson was pictured next to James all over the broadcasts. Nate Robinson? Really? You have to love what Robinson did in the postseason, but he is not an answer to LeBron James.
Yes, Rose and the Bulls fell to the Heat in the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals, but that just feeds the rise-from-demise storyline even more. The nation would love to see that script flipped, and they would definitely tune in to watch it.
More than any other team, the Bulls toppling the Heat in the postseason would be a ratings bonanza. The excitement of Rose’s style of play, coupled with the rising hero slaying his archnemesis, would be a delight to Chicago fans and NBA fans nationwide (with the obvious exception of Miami).
America loves a great story, and Rose returning to rise to new heights is about the best ending that could be written to this NBA season.
What Derrick Rose's Return Means to the NBA | Bleacher Report
Retired National Basketball Association player Dennis Rodman arrived in North Korea days after the North rejected a visit by a U.S. envoy seeking the release of a jailed American.
Rodman’s arrival today was announced in a one-sentence statement carried by the North’s Korean Central News Agency. During a stop in Beijing, Rodman, 52, said he just wanted to see North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, whom he called “my friend,” according to The Associated Press. The trip comes after the North revoked an invitation for a visit by Robert King, the U.S. State Department’s special envoy on North Korean human rights, to negotiate the release of tour operator Kenneth Bae, who has been held since November. North Korea said it canceled King’s invitation over U.S. military drills with the South.
Rodman declined to say whether he would seek Bae’s release, according to AP. He visited Pyongyang in February with the Harlem Globetrotters in a trip orchestrated by VICE, a Brooklyn, New York-based media company.
Bae is serving a sentence of 15 years of hard labor for alleged hostile acts against the country. The U.S. is concerned about Bae’s health and urges North Korea to release him on humanitarian grounds, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in an earlier e-mailed statement.
Rodman won five NBA championships and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011. A seven-time NBA rebounding champion, Rodman is known for his tattoos, multicolored hair, piercings and outlandish behavior, such as competing in professional wrestling events.
Former NBA Player Dennis Rodman Makes Second Trip to North Korea - Bloomberg
It is quite easy to take Kobe Bryant for granted, but the superstar is simply irreplaceable in the modern NBA.
The Los Angeles Lakers' all-time leading scorer has consistently been one of the best players in the league since the new millennium. However, the start of his career was turbulent enough that few truly knew what to expect from the 2-guard.
Background
Kobe Bryant joined the league straight out of high school and initially struggled with the rigors of professional basketball. No longer surrounded by teenagers, the youngster had to earn the respect of grown men and find a way to play alongside them.
Bryant had numerous mishaps due to his self-confidence. Indeed, the swingman had already proved his worth in workouts during the summer with NBA players and even occasionally excelled in practice against some of his teammates with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Consequently, when he entered games, he strayed from plays and ad-libbed to the chagrin of his coaches and teammates. The talent and drive were unquestionable, but reining him in was difficult despite the presence of a dominant personality like Shaquille O'Neal.
Even in his rookie season, Bryant was already an alpha male, and that would prove to shape his relationship with O'Neal.
Failure
For all of Bryant's initial issues with his teammates, his talent was undeniable. The guard had a set of one-on-one skills that few could match. He had tremendous ball-handling ability, speed, quickness and jaw-dropping athleticism.
Bryant used these attributes to break down defenders off the bounce and get to the rim where he created highlights.
Thus, when the Lakers faced the Utah Jazz during the 1997 playoffs, they called upon Bryant to bail them out. Utah operated with surgical precision and routinely dispatched more talented teams that simply lacked discipline.
The Purple and Gold qualified on that front. The team simply did not have the mental toughness to maintain its focus when things went awry. Thus, with Los Angeles short on options, a coaching staff spearheaded by Del Harris at the time entrusted its fate to its wild card: Kobe Bryant.
The superstar in the making repeatedly isolated his defender and shot the ball. He manufactured a few awful jumpers that treated the rim like the plague, per Loren Jorgensen of Desert News:
While veterans such as Byron Scott, Nick Van Exel and Eddie Jones watched, Bryant tried to will the Lakers to the victory. The rookie took the potential game-winning 3-pointer at the end of regulation, but it was an airball. He then shot three more treys in overtime — all of them airballs.
Bryant was never phased, though. He failed on a fairly big stage while Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were conducting clinics on postseason perimeter play that would go a long way toward shaping the youngster's style.
Setting the Standard
The duo of Jordan and Pippen was the standard by which swingmen were measured, and it appeared as though some notable athletes would follow in at least one of their footsteps.
Grant Hill was initially projected to be the next Jordan when he was in fact an evolutionary version of Pippen initially. Injuries eventually altered his career, and he became a role player instead of an all-time great.
Jerry Stackhouse and then later Vince Carter would be chosen to carry the mantle of the game's greatest player because of their North Carolina Tar Heels heritage. The burden proved to be too much for both, and they became rotation players as opposed to living legends.
Allen Iverson broke through for a period of time and defied the odds. Standing a mere 6'0", he played at shooting guard and dazzled the league with his superb and exciting play.
Iverson led an incredibly flawed Philadelphia 76ers team to the NBA Finals and exhibited just how wonderful of a player he was. Eventually, his fiery personality coupled with his deteriorating skills resulted in him getting traded multiple times.
He had become a headache, and consequently, teams simply shied away from signing him toward the end of his career. The risk became far greater than the rewards. Perhaps a faction of basketball fans might want to include Tracy McGrady into the conversation, but in truth, he was never truly in the legends discussion. He was an all-world talent that may have been the best player in the league at one point, but he was never viewed as the face of the league.
Furthermore, the first-round failures of McGrady's teams during the playoffs never allowed him to truly enter the dialog revolving around the best ever.
Every perimeter player tasked with carrying the legacy of the league and approaching Jordan's mystique failed save for one Kobe Bean Bryant.
Phil Jackson joined the Los Angeles Lakers during the 1999 offseason, and Bryant's game took off from that point on and he never looked back. Jackson harnessed that potential and helped turn it into one of the best players in the history of basketball.
Since the 1999-00 season, no perimeter player is more decorated both in terms of individual and team success. Bryant outlasted all of the challengers to Jordan's throne and is by most accounts the second-best shooting guard ever.
He is the all-time leading scorer of the most glamorous franchise in professional basketball and has celebrated five championship parades. On his path to immortality, Bryant collected an MVP award as well as two finals MVP trophies.
An argument can be made that Bryant has been a top-five player in every season since joining forces with Jackson in 1999. His remarkable production combined with his numerous memorable performances have turned him into the standard for which current wing players are now measured on.
In a fictional dinner with the top 15 greatest players ever, Bryant's invitation to attend would be sent out via email, text, Twitter, Facebook and every sports channel's ticker given his importance to the sport
The NBA announced Thursday that it will install motion-tracking cameras in every arena this season to provide coaches, players and fans reams of data aimed at pulling back the curtain on what it takes to succeed at basketball's highest level.
The NBA has partnered with STATS on the SportVU cameras, and the relationship has grown from a single arena during the 2009 NBA Finals into a league-wide initiative that will be up and ready for the start of this season. The technology can monitor every move a player makes on the court, gauge how tired he is and can even keep an eye on the job referees are doing. The project makes the NBA the first professional basketball league in the world, and the first sports league in the United States, to use the technology to analyze player movement.
"At this point, given the value of the data both at the team level and the league level, and the promise that it holds for unlocking some of the secrets for what makes great basketball teams, both for our basketball operations people and for our fans at home, we thought it was the right time to make it a league-wide effort," NBA executive vice president of operations and technology Steve Hellmuth said.
The system of six cameras and accompanying software that delivers the data was first used in Orlando, Fla., during the 2009 Finals between the Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers. In the last three years, 15 teams purchased the system from STATS, which is owned jointly by The Associated Press and 21st Century Fox, to put to use in their home arenas, arming themselves with data that could be tailored virtually any way teams want.
Want to see how successful Ricky Rubio was at guarding Russell Westbrook? The system could break down the shooting percentages and results of each head-to-head possession.
Want to get an idea how close to 100 percent Kevin Love was in his first few games back from a broken hand? The system could send information to the team trainers and doctors about his endurance and how quickly he is tiring during a game, thereby painting the most accurate picture possible of his recovery.
Want to see how many times Al Jefferson touched the ball on the left block in the first half? The system could send information to an iPad that showed the location of every one of his possessions and allowed coaches to make adjustments on the fly.
"It's gone from an interesting concept to actually something that's allowing them to take action on a daily basis," STATS Vice President Brian Kopp said. "That was the big change that we knew we needed to make in order for this to be adopted by the teams. What we always wanted to do was to be at this point and have a partnership with the league itself."
When only 15 teams were using the technology, scores of games were being missed, which in turn made the sample sizes incomplete. Now, every game and every player will be monitored every night, creating a much more complete database.
"It's really evolved from a high-level concept, something that seemed interesting, to something that could be actionable and used on a daily basis," Kopp said.
And the players aren't the only ones who will be watched by the eye in the sky. Hellmuth said new executive vice president of basketball operations Rod Thorn will be able to use data on referees to more completely evaluate their performances.
Fans will have access to some of the data through presentations by the teams at the arena, on NBA-com and on NBA TV. Hellmuth and Kopp think the most helpful information will come on the defensive end, where stats like blocked shots and steals, while helpful, don't always paint the most accurate picture of the league's best defensive players.
"What this can measure is both shooting efficiency and shooting frequency," Hellmuth said. "When a defender's in the paint or in the area, players can always choose not to shoot when he's in the area. And then also how much does that defender reduce the shooting average of the players he's defending. These are some of the secrets this unlocks."
The algorithms that are used to interpret the data are constantly being refined, Kopp said, and now can identify certain plays -- like a pick-and-roll -- and defensive rotations. Now that they are poised to have even more data, the strength and breadth of the information the system can provide should only improve, he said.
"I really do think we've just scratched the surface on how we can use this," Kopp said. "I think the next few years will be fun as we have more data to work with."
NBA to install motion-tracking cameras in every arena - ESPN
Knicks guard J.R. Smith has been suspended without pay for five games for violating the terms of the NBA's anti-drug program, the league announced Friday. Smith is recovering from offseason knee surgery and might not be ready for the beginning of the regular season.
The NBA says Smith's suspension will begin with the first game for which he is eligible and physically able to play.
The Knicks re-signed Smith in July to a three-year contract worth approximately $18 million, with a player option for the third year.
Shortly after he re-signed, Smith underwent patellar tendon surgery and an arthroscopy for a tear in the lateral meniscus of his left knee. He could miss all of training camp and the first two weeks of the regular season, according to a timetable provided by the team.
The 27-year-old averaged 18.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game last season and won the league's Sixth Man of the Year award. He played an integral role in the Knicks' regular-season success but struggled mightily in the playoffs, making just 33 percent of his field goal attempts.
Under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, a player loses 1/110th of his salary for each game he is suspended, so the five-game ban will cost Smith approximately $252,000.
The NBA declined to comment specifically on Smith's violation. According to a summary of the program provided by the league, a third positive test for marijuana results in a suspension that is "five games longer than the player's immediately-preceding marijuana suspension." That is the sole scenario in which a five-game ban is administered.
Smith has been suspended several times during his nine-year career for other infractions. He was suspended seven games in 2009 for his role in a crash that killed a passenger in his car in 2007 and resulted in a 90-day prison sentence. Smith also was suspended 10 games for his involvement in the Denver Nuggets-Knicks brawl in 2006. More recently, Smith was banned for Game 4 of the Knicks-Celtics first-round playoff series this past season after he elbowed Jason Terry.
It is unclear if Smith will appeal.
A statement released by the National Basketball Players Association said: "There is a collectively-bargained process in place, established by the NBA and the Players Association, and until that process has played itself out, it would be inappropriate for the PA or J.R. to make further statements about the matter. We all look forward to a resolution in due course."
With Smith sidelined, the Knicks will need first-round pick Tim Hardaway Jr. to fill the scoring void off the bench.
J.R. Smith of New York Knicks suspended for violation of NBA drug policy - ESPN New York
The Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA is an undeniably cool place. No matter how you feel about the way they induct players, coaches and other contributors of the game, the fact is that all the people who undeniably deserve to be there are there. Sure, there are snubs, but even without Jo Jo White and Jack Sikma gracing the inside of the Hall’s hallowed dome, it’s still a pretty overwhelming collection of NBA legends.
This weekend, 12 more men and women will be added to that pool of legends. It’s not necessarily something players and coaches set out to achieve the way they would, say, a championship, but once they retire it’s a five-year waiting game to see if they’ll be recognized as one of the game’s greats.
For 2013, the new inductees include four coaches, six players, and a couple of pretty big-time contributors, some of which are very recognizable, and others that casual fans may never have heard of. Whether they’re household names or long forgotten, here are some quick blurbs on the 2013 Basketball Hall of Fame inductees:
Gary Payton, Point Guard, Seattle SuperSonics
The biggest no-brainer of the class, Payton is a first-ballot inductee with an impressive resume that includes nine All-Star appearances and nine All-Defensive First Team nominations. He’s also the only point guard to have ever been named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year. Payton played in a couple of NBA Finals and won a ring with the HEAT in 2006, and he’s fourth all-time in career steals, clearly one of the best defensive players at his position in the history of the game.
Bernard King, Small Forward, New York Knicks
Were it not for injuries, King likely would’ve been admitted into the Hall much sooner than this, but at some point a four-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA first teamer who once averaged 32.9 points over a single season could not be left off the ticket. The guy was from Brooklyn and was given the opportunity to rock Madison Square Garden in the ‘80s, and boy did he ever. He didn’t play his whole career there, but he’s best known for his time as a Knickerbocker. Without question, he’s one of the franchise’s best scorers and most beloved players.
Roger Brown, Guard/Forward, Indiana Pacers (ABA)
It’s easy to think of Reggie Miller as the greatest Indiana Pacers player of all time, but before the team came to the NBA, there was Roger Brown and his three-time ABA champion Pacers. Under his leadership, the team won it all in 1970, 1972 and 1973. Brown was a four-time ABA All-Star, one-time All-ABA first teamer and ABA record-holder for most consecutive field goals (21) and single-game ABA Finals scoring (53 points). Long after he retired, he continued to give back to the Indianapolis community as a philanthropist and city councilman.
Richie Guerin, Guard, New York Knicks
A classic example of a great player in his era whose name has just been lost to time, Guerin was one of the best scorers of his era. He was the first Knick to score 2,000 points in a season and also led the team in assists for five consecutive seasons. Not surprisingly, he was named an All-Star six times in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and he would later coach the St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks for nine years, earning a Coach of the Year nod in 1968.
Oscar Schmidt, Guard/Forward, Brazil
Just like Josh Gibson is the unofficial all-time home run king in the game of baseball, Schmidt is the unofficial all-time leading scorer in the game of basketball. Between club and national team play, Schmidt scored almost 50,000 points over the course of his career. To put that in perspective, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored “only” 38,387 points over the course of his own NBA career. Schmidt also had the longest career of any basketball player ever, playing 29 years for various Brazilian, Italian and Spanish clubs.
Dawn Staley, Guard, Charlotte Sting
Easily one of the toughest and most talented women’s basketball players ever, Staley is a three-time Olympic gold medalist and one of the WNBA’s top 15 players ever. She was an All-Star in that league five times after being named the National College Player of the Year twice in the early ‘90s. She’s the only player in the history of women’s college basketball to score 2,000 points, dish out 700 assists and grab 400 steals. Since retiring from playing, Staley has coached for Temple University and the University of South Carolina, also serving as an assistant for Team USA.
Rick Pitino, Coach, University of Kentucky/University of Louisville
Once Pitino won his second NCAA National Championship, this time with the University of Louisville, he solidified himself as one of the greatest coaches the college game has ever seen. (He was named a Finalist for the Hall of Fame in 2012, but did not get in; apparently one championship wasn’t enough). Not counting John Calipari’s vacated tournament wins, Pitino is the only NCAA head coach to make the Final Four with three different teams, and he’s the only head coach to ever win championships with two different college programs. As long as we pretend like he never coached the Boston Celtics, Pitino is without question one of the best coaches to have ever graced a sideline.
Jerry Tarkanian, Coach, UNLV
Tark the Shark finished his NCAA coaching career with a 729-201 record, and that .784 winning percentage puts him fifth all-time in college hoops. He won 20 or more games in each of his first 12 seasons coaching college basketball, which is the second-best 20-win streak to start a career, behind only Ohio State’s Thad Matta. Throw in his other non-NCAA wins and his career total stretches to almost 1,000. He took UNLV to the Final Four on four separate occasions and even won the 1990 championship. One of the most emotional coaches the college game has ever seen, Tarkanian was also one of the best.
Guy V. Lewis, Coach, University of Houston
Not only did Lewis play his college basketball at the University of Houston, he ended up an ass
With NBA training camps on the horizon and a thrilling period of player movement over, it's time to evaluate each team's projected starting five for the coming season.
From a revamped Brooklyn Nets squad to a dismantled group in Philadelphia, units across the Association underwent a myriad of changes this summer as short- and long-term plans are locked into place.
While there will undoubtedly be a few tweaks to lineups throughout the year due to various returns from injury, these projections were determined solely with opening day in mind.
Pictures: Projected Starting Lineups for Every NBA Team Headed into the 2013-14 Season | Bleacher Report
The Knicks guard, who recently signed a four-year, $24 million deal, reportedly bought a flashy armoured truck made by Toronto-based Terradyne Armored Vehicles and used by police and the military.
The New York Post reports Smith, who's recovering from surgery on his left knee, was seen driving the Gurkha F5 -- worth approximately $450,000 -- in the city's Meatpacking District where he stopped and had dinner last Thursday.
The vehicle could be the same as the one wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson drove in the 2011 blockbuster movie "Fast Five."
NBA star J.R. Smith buys military vehicle | Basketball | Sports | Toronto Sun