Tag: New Orleans Hornets

Stern speaks out on CP3 trade

David Stern was careful to avoid the national radio sports talk shows this morning.

But Stern finally has spoken on his controversial decision that nullified the three-way trade that would have moved Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Here’s what Stern had to say, courtesy of a statement released by the NBA.

“Since the NBA purchased the New Orleans Hornets, final responsibility for significant management decisions lies with the Commissioner’s Office in consultation with team chairman Jac Sperling. All decisions are made on the basis of what is in the best interests of the Hornets. In the case of the trade proposal that was made to the Hornets for Chris Paul, we decided, free from the influence of other NBA owners, that the team was better served with Chris in a Hornets uniform than by the outcome of the terms of that trade.”

But Dallas owner Mark Cuban said he was against the trade  for “basketball reasons.”

“The message is we went through this lockout for a reason,” Cuban said Friday on ESPN Dallas 103.3. “Again, I’m not speaking for Stern. He’s not telling me his thought process. I’m just telling you my perspective, having gone through all this. There’s a reason that we went through this lockout, and one of the reasons is to give small-market teams the ability to keep their stars and the ability to compete.”

Cuban said he was against the trade because it was with the lockout.

“We just had a lockout, and one of the goals of the lockout was to say that small-market teams now have a chance to keep their players, and the rules were designed to give them that opportunity,” Cuban said. “So to all of a sudden have a league-owned team trade their best player, particularly after having gone out and sold a ton of tickets in that market, that’s not the kind of signal you want to send.

“Then, part two of that is all the rules of what you can and can’t do under the new CBA weren’t finalized until yesterday, so how do you really make a strategic decision until you know all the rules?”

Rondo’s triple-double leads Celtics to brink of New York sweep

Boston’s array of stars came up with huge performances Friday night to push the Celtics to the brink of a series sweep.

Rajon Rondo contributed a triple-double to support huge scoring efforts from Paul Pierce and Ray Allen in the Celtics’ 113-96 victory over the injury-depleted Knicks, pushing them to a 3-0 series lead in the first-round playoff series.

Rondo notched 15 points, 11 rebounds and a franchise playoff-record 20 assists. Pierce had 38 points and Allen added 32 as they became the first pair of Celtics to score 30 points in the same playoff game since Antoine Walker and Pierce accomplished the feat against New Jersey on May 27, 2002.

“After a while, I started feeding off of Ray. I mean he was making every shot and was putting pressure on me to make shots. I couldn’t let him down,” Pierce told the Associated Press. “I was looking at him saying how much on fire he was, but then everybody was saying I’m on fire. It was good to be a part of that.”

Rondo’s big game was his sixth career playoff triple-double, trailing only Larry Bird’s 10 triple-doubles in team history. His strong effort provided his team a unique boost, according to Boston coach Doc Rivers.

“When he gets in a rhythm it allows all of us to get into a rhythm, even the coaches, because we see the game through him,” Rivers told NBA.com.

And also enabled him to lead a parade of Celtic standouts on Friday’s Studs and Duds.
 

STUDS

Boston G Rajon Rondo: Contributed his sixth career playoff triple-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds and a franchise playoff-record 20 assists and was plus-23 in the Celtics’ 113-96 Game 3 victory over New York.

Boston F Paul Pierce: Contributed 38 points on 14-for-19 shooting, provided three rebounds and three steals and was plus-23 in the Celtics’ impressive victory at Knicks. 

Boston G Ray Allen: Tallied 32 points, three rebounds and two steals and was a team-best plus-34 in the Celtics’ victory at New York.

Los Angeles Lakers G Kobe Bryant: Notched 30 points — his 80th career playoff game of at least 30 points — and also added six rebounds, three steals, a blocked shot and was plus-15 in the Lakers’ 100-86 Game 3 victory over New Orleans.

Atlanta G Jamal Crawford: Hit 18 of his 23 points in the second half, including an improbable bank shot with 5.7 seconds left, to clinch the Hawks’ 88-84 Game 3 victory over Orlando.

Atlanta G Joe Johnson: Went for 21 points, five rebounds, five assists and was plus-6 in the Hawks’ victory over the Magic.

Los Angeles Lakers F Pau Gasol: Turned around a recent slump with 17 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, a blocked shot and was plus-17 in the Lakers’ victory at New Orleans.

Atlanta F Josh Smith: Produced 15 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and was plus-5 in the Hawks’ triumph over the Magic.     

New Orleans F Carl Landry: Scored 23 points in the Hornets’ loss to the Lakers.

New Orleans G Chris Paul: Notched 22 points, five rebounds, eight assists and two steals in the Hornets’ loss to the Lakers.

Orlando C Dwight Howard: Scored 21 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, blocked three shots and was plus-3 in the Magic’s loss to Orlando.

New York F Shawne Williams: Came off the bench to notch 17 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals, two blocked shots and was plus-13 in the Knicks’ loss to Boston.

DUDS

New York F Amar’e Stoudemire: Struggled playing with an injured back as he went 2-for-8 from the field with only seven points and seven rebounds and was a team-worst minus-34 in the Knicks’ loss to Boston.

New Orleans G Marco Belinelli: Went 2-for-8 from the field, had a turnover and was a team-worst minus-13 in a five-point effort in the Hornets’ loss to the Lakers.

New York F Carmelo Anthony: Clanked  through a 4-for-16 shooting night with five turnovers  and was minus-27 in the Knicks’ loss to Boston. 

Orlando G Jameer Nelson: Had 13 points and 10 assists, but struggled through an icy 5-for-17 shooting effort with two turnovers in the Magic’s loss at Atlanta.

Orlando F Hedo Turkoglu: Struggled through a 3-for-11 effort from the field with nine points in the Magic’s loss  at Atlanta.

Do they know the way to San Jose? Report links possible Hornets’ move

California already has more NBA teams than any other state. And the Golden State could be adding another one.

The San Jose Mercury-News reports that Oracle Co. co-founder and chief executive officer Larry Ellison and moving them to the HP Pavilion in San Jose.

As of 2011, Ellison is the fifth richest person in the world, with a personal wealth of $39.5 billion.

Ellison told the Mercury News earlier this year that he unsuccessfully bid on the Golden State Warriors.

His interest in the Hornets potentially would be good news for the NBA, which has taken control and is currently operating the Hornets.

It would be an interesting move for the Golden State Warriors, who own the San Jose area as part of the league’s 75-mile “marketing rights” agreement but have no veto power to keep a potential competitor out of the area.  All power to approve or block franchise shifts rests with the NBA Board of Governors — with one vote for each team.

With the strong likelihood the Sacramento Kings soon will be moving from the area, but another competitor could challenge the Warriors in an immediate manner.

Ellison, a dropout from the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois, has made a history throughout his career of making savvy business moves. I can’t believe he would be interested in owning an NBA franchise until after this summer’s looming labor negotiations.

The NBA would like to rid itself of running the New Orleans franchise. And Ellison would be the kind of big-money owner who would make David Stern and the other NBA owners drool to join their club.