Bobcats losa sig við Erick Dampier

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Unable to pull off a trade, the Bobcats have waived center Erick Dampier, which voids his $13 million contract and gets Charlotte under the luxury tax.

Tuesday's move comes a day after the Bobcats could have packaged Dampier's contract in a multiplayer deal. But the Bobcats found no takers in a deal that would have also given Charlotte its needed financial relief.

Getting rid of Dampier's unique contract gets Charlotte about $5 million below the $70.3 million luxury tax. A payroll figure above that trigger a dollar-for-dollar tax, something owner Michael Jordan has said the team wouldn't exceed.

Dampier will now be free to sign with any team.

Mikið talað um að Miami muni sækja stíft að því að ná honum á samning. 

HookUp:  Associated Press

David Kahn og félagar í Timberwolves henda inn handklæðinu

Skv auglýsingu sem liðið birti í dagblaði um daginn:

"So will we challenge for the NBA championship this year? Not likely."

Ya think?!  David Kahn er á góðri leið með að stimpla sig inn í sögu NBA deildarinnar sem slakasti GM allra tíma.  Hann hefur samið illa við slaka leikmenn og sent frá sér aðra betri fyrir ekkert.  Mér er ferskt í minni þegar hann samdi við Darko Milicic í sumar fyrir 4 ár og $20 milljónir!  Maður sem hefur ekki getað drullu síðan hann var valinn nr.2 í nýliðavalinu af Detroit Pistons.  En Kahn hefur trú á sínum manni og gekk svo langt í sumar að líkja Darko við Chris Webber.... í andlitið á C-Webb.  Hann var ekki sáttur.

HookUp:  Associated Press

Nike héldu Brandon Jennings frá Team USA?

Brandon Jennings established himself as one of the NBA’s top young guards last season, but that wasn’t enough for him to get invited to try out for the U.S. world championship team like fellow rookies Tyreke Evans and Stephen Curry.

Jennings thinks he knows one of the factors why. Evans and Curry both wear Nike, Team USA’s big sponsor. Jennings wears Under Armour shoes.

“It’s not my call. That’s on them,” Jennings told Yahoo! Sports. “But if you want to get technical about it and you really want to look at it, half of the guys there are Nike guys. I’m not saying it’s a Nike thing, but Nike is kind of running a lot of things right now. To have a guy like myself on the USA team that’s flashy and really outgoing, you don’t want Under Armour to get all that [publicity].

“I’m just telling you how it is.”

Of the 12 members of Team USA’s roster, only Chauncey Billups, Derrick Rose and Eric Gordon wore shoes other than Nike.

Maður rifjar bara upp þegar allir meðlimir Dream Team I sem voru á samning við Nike pössuðu sig að ekki sæist í Reebok merkið á upphitunargöllunum þegar þeir tóku við ólympíugullinu 1992.  Jordan t.d. vafði sig allan í ameríska fánann og hvaðeina.  Mér fannst það steikt á sínum tíma, en þetta er bara fáránlegt ef satt er.

HookUp:  Yahoo Sports

No LeBron - No Problems

Er ekki kominn tími til að 'Bron fari að íhuga viðhorf sitt til íþróttarinnar þegar raddir sem þessar fara að verða sífellt háværari?

“It’s been said that LeBron could’ve benefitted here this summer,” USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said. “But it was never a consideration.”

Team USA wouldn’t have turned away James, but privately they’ll all tell you it’s been a relief to have him tweeting from 5,000 miles away. This hasn’t been the United States’ most talented team, only the most pleasurable to be around. With Durant and Chauncey Billups(notes), two gentlemen and pros as the leaders, it’s no wonder. No one misses LeBron barking at cafeteria workers to give him eggs or throwing his sweaty jersey on the floor and barking at officials to pick it up.

Það verður hins vegar að taka fram að sá sem þetta ritar, Adrian Wojnarowski hjá Yahoo, hatar ekki að drulla yfir James.

HookUp:  Yahoo Sports

Jermaine O'Neal er ekki beittasti hnífurinn í skúffunni

Er maðurinn fáviti?

“I didn’t even realize until this summer that over the last seven years I was one of the top three paid players in the entire NBA,’’ O’Neal said. “I never knew that.

“I never looked at that money as being pressure. To be honest, towards the last two or three years, I felt like I wasn’t doing enough to earn my money. I’m very critical of myself.’’

Ya think?  Hann áttar sig þá á því að hann var fjarri því að vinna fyrir þessum peningum.

HookUp:  Boston Globe

Iverson á leið til Kína?

Allen Iverson could continue his career in China. The 35-year-old guard is in talks with Foshan (the new name of Shaanxi) for the next season, according to sources from the Chinese team. Iverson, still a free agent after not signing a contract with any NBA team, would have a "strong desire" to play in the CBA. The 2000-01 MVP averaged last season 13.9 points and 4.1 assists per game for the Philadelphia 76ers, before leaving the club due to personal reasons in February.

HookUp:  The Hoops Market

Kevin Durant er heimsmeistari í körfubolta

Drengurinn er bara í geðsýkinni... 33 stig á móti Rússlandi, 38 á móti Litháen og nú 28 stig í úrslitaleiknum geng Tyrklandi.  15/38 í þristum í þessum þremur leikjum!  Hvaða rugl er þetta?!

Okey, Ron Artest ER geðveikur

Hann ætlar að selja NBA meistarhringinn sinn hæstbjóðanda og gefa peninginn til styrktar........ wait for it............. geðheilbrigðismála! 

Artest finally won a title in June after 11 regular seasons of trying ... and now he's planning to sell the championship ring as a fundraiser to put more psychologists, psychiatrists and therapists in schools.

"I'm never going to put it on," he said.

Artest plans to soon announce details of what he hopes will become a worldwide auction, and he takes possession of the jewelry in an Oct. 26 pre-game ceremony before the Lakers open against the Rockets. It's an incredible gesture. But it's even more meaningful as a statement.

"You work so hard to get a ring, and now you have a chance to help more people than just yourself, instead of just satisfying yourself," he said. "What's better than that? For me, this is very important."

"I'm never going to put it on"???!!!!  Hress strákur hann Ron Ron.  Við erum að tala um mann sem mætti á nærbuxunum í þáttinn hjá Jimmy Kimmel og átti einn eftirminnilegasta blaðamannafund sem ég hef séð eftir sigurinn á Boston í sumar.  En fallega hugsað af honum samt.

HookUp:  Ball Don't Lie

Carmelo Anthony vill fara til Chicago Bulls

Skiljanlega...

According to multiple reports, the Bulls and Denver Nuggets have talked about a trade that would send the high-scoring small forward to Chicago to form another Big Three along with Derrick Rose and Carlos Boozer. The Bulls would prefer to build a deal around forward Luol Deng, but the Nuggets are reluctant to take on Deng’s contract, which has four years and roughly $15 million left.

A source said the Nuggets would be more interested in a deal built around center Joakim Noah, but the Bulls are trying to decide whether such a deal interests them — especially considering Deng probably still would have to be included to make the deal work under the rules of the salary cap.

Pax, make it happen!  En ekki snerta Joakim Noah... hann má ekki fara neitt.

HookUp:  Slam Online

Síðustu 20 sekúndurnar í leik Serba og Tyrkja

Sæll!!