Peep Show
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Thursday, July 17
Updated: July 17
11:11 AM ET
Stackhouse
Washington Wizards: The Washington Post is reporting that Jerry Stackhouse is attempting to reach a settlement with the woman who has charged him with "grabbing her around the neck and taking her to the ground" after an argument concerning rental property. "I can say that we are in discussions," said Wes Collins, Stackhouse's attorney, in the Post. "I'm waiting to hear back from opposing counsel. We are hopeful that we can come to an agreement that satisfies both parties." The agreement would include an undisclosed amount of money and would ultimately end in charges being dropped.
Los Angeles Lakers: It is just starting to dawn on Laker GM Mitch Kupchak that he did, indeed, just sign Gary Payton and Karl Malone to contracts he never even thought possible a week ago. "I could never have gone to a player of his stature and asked him to play for [$1.5 million]," Kupchak said to the LA Times. "I would have expected to be hung up on. That is so unique, to have a player such as Karl step forward and say, 'I'll take less. Give him more.' That's unique. That's the beauty of this thing. Karl and Gary are older and they know what they want. There's no guarantee it'll work. Nothing is ever guaranteed. But I think it has a chance."
Cleveland Cavaliers: Remember when Darius Miles used to be the talk of the town? "It felt like I was hogging the ball. I'm not used to shooting that much,'' Miles said to the Akron Beacan Journal. "I took some days off, and I was kind of winded at times.'' With LeBron James away attending the ESPYs, the Cavs coaching staff wanted Miles to take over the team and the game during the summer league competition. "He had good energy. We wanted him to be really aggressive,'' said Stephen Silas, a Cavaliers assistant coach. "He hasn't been asked to go out there and do that, but he's learning.''
Mourning
Dallas Mavericks: You could say Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is a bit emotional about Alonzo Mourning not being a member of his team as we speak. "Our reality is that we focused on Alonzo and thought we had him," Cuban said in the Dallas Morning News. "Zo's agent [Jeffrey Wechsler] told us he was basically a done deal. That there was no reason he could think of that Zo wasn't going to be a Maverick. I stuck to protocol and didn't go around the agent after he told me that. You don't just call up players and say, 'Hey, I want to make sure your agent is fully informed and you aren't doing something behind his back.' Turns out he wasn't and Zo was, and Zo went another direction."
New Jersey Nets: Jason Kidd did or did not want to get Byron Scott fired as coach of the New Jersey Nets. But one thing's for sure. Rod Thorn, President of the team, isn't going to offer Scott a contract extension in the near future, says the Bergen County Record. "Whatever the plan is, is going to be fine with me," said Scott, who when asked if it "scared" him said: "I'm scared of snakes, but I'm not scared of a whole lot of things. Snakes are one thing I have a little bit of a fear of. Going into a year at the end of a contract is not something that really scares me."
Orlando Magic: The Magic, more than a little bit put off by the league's decision to deny them their Grant Hill medical exception, are trying to find ways to appeal the action. But according to the Orlando Sentinel, that has never been done before and there isn't even a process in place to follow. Magic officials and several others around the NBA were a bit shocked at the outcome considering Hill's record and are trying to go through the players union to file a grievance.
Indiana Pacers: As expected, Pacer forward Jermaine O'Neal signed his seven-year, $126M dollar contract from the team that will begin at $13.1M next season and climb 12.5 percent every year after that. "He's the cornerstone of the franchise," said Larry Bird to the Indianapolis Star. "We're going to try to build this team around him . . . He can be very, very good. Very, very good."
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Thursday, July 17
Updated: July 17
11:11 AM ET
Stackhouse
Washington Wizards: The Washington Post is reporting that Jerry Stackhouse is attempting to reach a settlement with the woman who has charged him with "grabbing her around the neck and taking her to the ground" after an argument concerning rental property. "I can say that we are in discussions," said Wes Collins, Stackhouse's attorney, in the Post. "I'm waiting to hear back from opposing counsel. We are hopeful that we can come to an agreement that satisfies both parties." The agreement would include an undisclosed amount of money and would ultimately end in charges being dropped.
Los Angeles Lakers: It is just starting to dawn on Laker GM Mitch Kupchak that he did, indeed, just sign Gary Payton and Karl Malone to contracts he never even thought possible a week ago. "I could never have gone to a player of his stature and asked him to play for [$1.5 million]," Kupchak said to the LA Times. "I would have expected to be hung up on. That is so unique, to have a player such as Karl step forward and say, 'I'll take less. Give him more.' That's unique. That's the beauty of this thing. Karl and Gary are older and they know what they want. There's no guarantee it'll work. Nothing is ever guaranteed. But I think it has a chance."
Cleveland Cavaliers: Remember when Darius Miles used to be the talk of the town? "It felt like I was hogging the ball. I'm not used to shooting that much,'' Miles said to the Akron Beacan Journal. "I took some days off, and I was kind of winded at times.'' With LeBron James away attending the ESPYs, the Cavs coaching staff wanted Miles to take over the team and the game during the summer league competition. "He had good energy. We wanted him to be really aggressive,'' said Stephen Silas, a Cavaliers assistant coach. "He hasn't been asked to go out there and do that, but he's learning.''
Mourning
Dallas Mavericks: You could say Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is a bit emotional about Alonzo Mourning not being a member of his team as we speak. "Our reality is that we focused on Alonzo and thought we had him," Cuban said in the Dallas Morning News. "Zo's agent [Jeffrey Wechsler] told us he was basically a done deal. That there was no reason he could think of that Zo wasn't going to be a Maverick. I stuck to protocol and didn't go around the agent after he told me that. You don't just call up players and say, 'Hey, I want to make sure your agent is fully informed and you aren't doing something behind his back.' Turns out he wasn't and Zo was, and Zo went another direction."
New Jersey Nets: Jason Kidd did or did not want to get Byron Scott fired as coach of the New Jersey Nets. But one thing's for sure. Rod Thorn, President of the team, isn't going to offer Scott a contract extension in the near future, says the Bergen County Record. "Whatever the plan is, is going to be fine with me," said Scott, who when asked if it "scared" him said: "I'm scared of snakes, but I'm not scared of a whole lot of things. Snakes are one thing I have a little bit of a fear of. Going into a year at the end of a contract is not something that really scares me."
Orlando Magic: The Magic, more than a little bit put off by the league's decision to deny them their Grant Hill medical exception, are trying to find ways to appeal the action. But according to the Orlando Sentinel, that has never been done before and there isn't even a process in place to follow. Magic officials and several others around the NBA were a bit shocked at the outcome considering Hill's record and are trying to go through the players union to file a grievance.
Indiana Pacers: As expected, Pacer forward Jermaine O'Neal signed his seven-year, $126M dollar contract from the team that will begin at $13.1M next season and climb 12.5 percent every year after that. "He's the cornerstone of the franchise," said Larry Bird to the Indianapolis Star. "We're going to try to build this team around him . . . He can be very, very good. Very, very good."
