Iverson í viðræðum við Memphis Grizzlies

Þar fara möguleikar hans á titli endanlega...

Free agent Allen Iverson is in talks with the Memphis Grizzlies about a new contract, but owner Michael Heisley said Wednesday that talks between the team and the 10-time All-Star are only in the preliminary stages.

"More or less, we're going to have discussions initially with his agent," Heisley said. "But it's very, very early. I don't want people to think there's more to it than that. It's very, very early and it's nothing more than exploratory."

HookUp: NBA.com

Dökk spá NBA deildarinnar um 2010-11 tímabilið

Útlit er fyrir að kreppuástandið í heiminum muni hafa töluverð áhrif á stóra free-agency sumarið 2010...

NBA launaþakið 2009-10 verður $57,7 mills

The National Basketball Association today announced that the Salary Cap for the 2009-10 season will be $57.7 million. The tax level for the 2009-10 season has been set at $69.92 million. Any team whose team salary exceeds that figure will pay a $1 tax for each $1 by which it exceeds $69.92 million.

The 2008-09 Salary Cap was $58.68 million and the tax level was $71.15 million. Although league-wide revenue increased 2.5% this past season, the decrease in the Salary Cap and tax level for the 2009-10 season is the result of the formula used to set the Cap and tax under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.

HookUp:  NBA.com

Ron Artest verður númer 37 hjá Lakers... guess why?!

Nýjasti þátturinn í Ron Artest sápuóperunni jafnvel slær út tribute lagið sem hann sendi frá sér um Michael Jackson:

Artest will wear uniform No. 37 in honor of the number of weeks that Michael Jackson's album "Thriller" was No. 1 on the charts.  No, really. 

Hvar endar þetta?! 

HookUp: Daily News

Nike passar gullkálfinn sinn

"Pössum LeBron" kampeinið hjá Nike og NBA deildinni er komið langt út fyrir öll skynsemismörk.  King James lét nýlega Jordan Crawford, 6'4" bakvörð frá Xavier háskólanum, troða yfir sig í einum leiknum í LeBron James Skills Academy, sem hann heldur sjálfur ásamt Nike, og starfsmenn Nike á svæðinu voru ekki par sáttir...

Xavier guard Jordan Crawford dunked on LeBron James. It happened. There were plenty in attendance that witnessed and confirmed the incident.

It was ugly.

In fact, the incident was so nasty that the evidence was destroyed.

Nike basketball senior director Lynn Merritt confiscated tapes from two photographers – one being freelancer Ryan Miller - filming Monday night’s games in which James played with the college players for the LeBron James Skills Academy.

Miller had been filming for about 15 minutes - which included footage of the high school players - and was approached almost immediately after Crawford’s dunk over The King.

Crawford lýsir troðslunni sjálfur:

I was on the right wing and went down the middle. I got past Danny Green and LeBron was waiting under the basket. I don’t think he thought I was going to dunk it, so he jumped late. It was two-handed.

HookUp: Fox Sports

Topp 10 troðslur síðasta tímabils

Chali 2na - Lock Shit Down ft. Talib Kweli (Video)

LeBron neitar ummælum

Contradicting an earlier report, Chris Broussard writes that "sources close to the Cavaliers' superstar" said that LeBron James did not tell Trevor Ariza he would remain in Cleveland after next season.

A source told Broussard on Monday that James, in his pitch to get Ariza to sign in Cleveland, informed Ariza that he'll play with the Cavaliers past 2010.

"[B]ut on Tuesday, sources who spoke to James said the story told by the person close to Ariza was wrong," Broussard reports.

HookUp:  RealGM

Augljóslega off-season í NBA núna

...og JaVale McGee hjá Washington Wizards hefur greinilega akkúrat ekki neitt að gera.  Myndbandið segir allt sem segja þarf...

Cavs á eftir Channing Frye og Antonio McDyess

After making a free-agent scouting trip to Los Angeles on Sunday, Cavs GM Danny Ferry came home and hosted free-agent power forward Channing Frye on Monday at the team's practice facility in Independence. Frye is the type of "stretch" forward the Cavs are interested in during the free-agent period as they look to find big men who can hit jumpers when teams collapse on LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal.

The Cavaliers also have been in discussions with Detroit Pistons free agent Antonio McDyess, who is being courted by numerous teams.

HookUp:  Cleveland.com

Dallas reyna að ná Shawn Marion

Power forward Shawn Marion, who became unnecessary in Toronto after the Raptors swooped in to grab Hedo Turkoglu, is close to going to Dallas in what likely will need to be a three-team sign-and-trade, ESPN.com reports.

Dallas would trade Jerry Stackhouse to Toronto and may also need to give Toronto cash or draft picks to help make the salaries work. ESPN.com and CBSSports.com report the Raptors would waive Stackhouse, who is due $7 million next season but would be owed just $2 million if he's waived by Aug. 10.

Toronto needs to shed payroll to fit Turkoglu's salary. The Marion sign-and-trade is seen as an alternative to the Raptors renouncing the rights to Marion and fellow free agents Carlos Delfino and Anthony Parker.

HookUp:  The Baseline

LeBron og Shaq reyndu að fá Ariza til Cleveland

Samkvæmt þessu ætlar LeBron að vera áfram hjá Cleveland eftir næsta sumar... 

James reportedly told soon-to-be-Houston Rockets forward Trevor Ariza that he is going to re-sign with Cleveland after his contract expires next year.

ESPN.com, citing an unnamed "person close to Ariza," reports James made the statement as part of a pitch to get Ariza to renege on his earlier verbal commitment to the Rockets and agree to join the Cavs.

"Trevor asked LeBron if he would be in Cleveland after next season," ESPN quoted the source as saying. "And LeBron said, 'I'll be there. Of course, I'll be there.' "

Ariza apparently didn't buy the line; after all, James would have his choice of teams if he puts himself on the open market a year from now.

"(Ariza) thought it was just a recruiting tool," the source told ESPN.com. "LeBron definitely said it, but until he signs the contract it doesn't mean much."

New Cavs center Shaquille O'Neal also recruited Ariza for Cleveland, ESPN.com reported, but neither O'Neal nor James could provide Ariza what he wanted, which was a guaranteed starting spot. The transitioning Rockets have agreed to put him in the lineup, the Web site added.

HookUp:  The Baseline

Shannon Brown semur við Lakers til tveggja ára

Guard Shannon Brown and the Los Angeles Lakers have agreed in terms to a two-year, $4.5 million contract, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Brown, a key reserve for the Lakers last season, reportedly turned down a more lucrative contract with the Indiana Pacers so he could remain with the defending champs. Free agents can officially sign with teams starting Wednesday.

HookUp:  The Baseline

Glen Davis gæti endað hjá Spurs

It is also my belief that Grant Hill will sign with Boston after meeting face-to-face with Doc Rivers by the end of the week. Glen Davis could be gone to San Antonio, as they are prepared to offer their mid-level slot, which it is my understanding that Boston will not match. Davis is a restricted free-agent and any offer he receives can be matched by the Celtics within 7 days.

HookUp:  Comcast Sportsnet

Þetta myndband er alveg magnað

Myndband tekið af bloggi Ron Artest þar sem hann er að ræða við umboðsmann sinn (sennilega í síðustu viku) og hann segir honum að Los Angeles Lakers hafi áhuga á að semja við hann.  Ég hjó eftir nokkrum atriðum á meðan ég var að horfa á það...

• Kellingin hans er engan veginn að nenna að tala við hann.  Veit eflaust að allt sem hún segir við hann í síma endar á netinu einhvern veginn.
• Í miðju samtali við umboðsmanninn fer hann að spjalla við einhvern gaur út um gluggann á bílnum og umbinn blaðrar út í eitt á meðan.
• Um LeBron James:  "He's a real cool dude.  My cousin was in jail with his pops"  Hahahah... hillarious.  Ron-Ron virðist tengjast öllum í deildinni á einhvern hátt.
• TRU WARIER er pottþétt hvernig Ron sjálfur heldur að "True Warrior" sé stafað.