Hooped Up

Miami better be worried, Dwayne Wade’s market value would sky rocket with the Knicks.  

Some within the Heat organization are worried that Knicks’ Coach Mike D’Antoni will try to integrate himself to Dwyane Wade as an assistant on the U.S. Olympic team this summer, according to The Miami Herald. 

New York General Manager Donnie Walsh has made it known that he would like to clear up cap space for the summer of 2010, during which players like Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh will all become free agents.

The Miami Herald

If the Knicks don’t sign Ralph Sampson to a max deal over the summer, they could find themselves under the cap in 2010 and negotiate a young superstar.  The Heat management is keeping tabs on Dwayne Wades Facebook, if he adds D’Antoni after the Olympics it’s over.

It’s funny how fast things change in the NBA.  Two seasons ago it was Hinrich-a-palooza in Chicago, and now it looks lke he’s getting the f.o. treatment.

Everyone is buzzing about point guards. Yes, Derrick Rose, Bayless and O.J. Mayo are a big part of the conversation. But two veteran point guards were also the topic of discussion: Kirk Hinrich and T.J. Ford. With most executives convinced that the Bulls will draft Rose, they are already waiting for Hinrich to pack his bags. Hinrich is coming off his worst year as a pro, averaging just 11.5 points on 41 percent shooting.

ESPN.com 

More set backs in the Rudy Fernandez saga.

Rudy Fernandez got injured during the Semifinals against FC Barcelona. He hurt his right elbow and a MRI should tell us more how bad it really is - in 15 days as the web site says. I know Blazers fans, as soon as you hear the word MRI you turn away - I am sorry. For all European fans - there is much more news and rumors going on in Spain and at Joventut. We heard through the grapevine that head coach Aito will leave the club soon.

BallInEurope

Hopefully he mends up before the season opener for the Blazers.

It is scary how good Wilt Chamberlain was even in high school, R.I.P.

If Kevin Love goes third in the draft something is seriously wrong!

Numerous sources with varying ties to Minnesota confirmed to DraftExpress over the past few days that Timberwolves GM Kevin McHale has locked in on UCLA freshman Kevin Love as possibly his favorite prospect in this draft. McHale reportedly likes the skill-level and all-around feel for the game that Love brings to the table, as well as his winning mentality, and sees him as an excellent potential compliment to Al Jefferson in Minnesota’s front-court. Picking 3rd in this draft, many would consider it a reach to take Love, although numerous advanced statistical formulas have identified him as being the 2nd most productive player in this draft, behind Michael Beasley.

draftexpress.com

With all the needs on the Timberwolves, Kevin McHale should seriously take the best talent available at number three.

Joakim’s dad is pretty cool about the situation.

Yannick Noah doesn’t understand “all that fuss” surrounding the arrest of his son Joakim for possession of marijuana and drinking from an open container, according to The Chicago Tribune. “I don’t understand all that fuss for just drinking a beer on the street,” Yannick Noah said Tuesday at the French Open. Having won the French Open in 1983, Yannick created a sensation a few years before when he told a writer he smoked marijuana. The Bulls have said General Manager John Paxson told Noah of “his disappointment in his actions,” but the team has withheld further comment.

Chicago Tribune

The title lives up to the billing!

Of course things are bad in the Darfur Region. Unfortunately, until television faces start talking about things important in this world to people take a second to realize what’s going on.

But even such good fortune can’t dull the pain of having seen young children draw pictures of their parents being murdered, or erase the horror of hearing a young woman talk about being raped night after night. And it doesn’t dim the image of a young man whose eyes were gouged out.

Newble saw all that and more last summer when he made a trip to a refugee camp in Chad to see victims of the conflict in neighboring Darfur.

“The stories are so saddening,” Newble said. “I’m from Detroit and I’ve seen some of the worst things there and in other parts of this country, but it doesn’t begin to compare to the living conditions of the people from Darfur.”

The Darfur region, located in western Sudan, has been engulfed in a devastating conflict for the last five years. Government troops and militia units have been battling rebels opposed to a government they say persecutes the non-Arab population. The government-backed militia units have targeted civilians, and an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 have been killed, with some 2.5 million people displaced.

LA Times

Please use the link above to read the entire article. I truly have a new found respect for Ira Newble, for taking the time to educate himself as so many others should on this topic.