Hooped Up

Ginobili’s surge continues in Spurs’ win
Manu Ginobili doesn’t presume to know what it’s like to be Tracy McGrady. Ginobili has had injuries, but not a knee injury. He’s had surgery, but not microfracture. He’s missed months, but not an entire season.

Still, after watching McGrady feel his way around the AT&T Center in a New York Knicks jersey Wednesday night, during what became a 97-87 Spurs victory, Ginobili could sympathize with what McGrady was going through. This is what it looks like when a former star is just trying to be a basketball player again.

“He’s coming from a way worse situation than me,” Ginobili said. “It’s not an easy spot to be.”

The same McGrady who once scored 13 points in 33 seconds against the Spurs managed only six in 25 minutes Wednesday. If McGrady could take anything out of his 10th game of the season, it is this: People once wondered whether Ginobili could ever be Ginobili again, too…
San Antonio Express

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I will never tire of watching re-runs of “The Jeffersons” and I never tire of watching Richard Jefferson dunking on peoples world. As long as RJ doesn’t go on dunk strike like Vince Carter did a few years ago, we can always count on him to serve some vertically challenged sucker and sometime two vertically challenged suckers.

Richard Jefferson, the prize jewel of the Spurs’ offseason makeover, dislocated his right thumb during a workout Tuesday, casting a degree of doubt over his availability for the start of training camp.

Jefferson, a 6-foot-7 swingman obtained in a blockbuster trade with Milwaukee earlier this summer in exchange for Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto and Kurt Thomas, suffered the injury in a pick-up game at the Spurs’ practice facility.

The injury is not considered serious, and the Spurs are expecting Jefferson’s absence to be measured in weeks, not months.

San Antonio Express

Over the weekend Richard Jefferson decided at the last minute he could do without marriage to Kesha Ni’Cole Nichols, but he kinda forgot to tell his guests that the wedding was nixed and people showed up. Awkward!

Richard Jefferson bailed on his stunning fiancee — pulling the plug on his posh Manhattan wedding at the 11th hour without even alerting some of the guests, [...]. The cold-footed forward’s decision to ditch onetime Net dancer Kesha Ni’Cole Nichols was so last-minute that some of his oblivious friends had already shown up last Saturday at the swank Mandarin Oriental in Columbus Circle for the $2 million wedding that never happened. Jefferson — who was traded in June to theSan Antonio Spurs — dumped Nichols just before the weekend, according to sources. She immediately called her family and friends to say the ceremony was off. But Jefferson waited much longer, his friends told The Post.

That’s one way to get multiple bachelor parties going! Plus, now a lot of people that were invited will finally be able to replace their old toaster with the one they were going to give to the now ex-couple.

Via New York Post

Two league sources confirm that Milwaukee and San Antonio have agreed to the framework of a deal that would send Richard Jeffersonto San Antonio for Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas andFabricio Oberto. A source said the two sides are working toward setting up a trade call with the NBA for late Tuesday.

The Bucks are sending Jefferson away less than a year after acquiring the scoring forward in a draft day trade last season for Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons. Jefferson’s contract has two years and $29.2 million remaining on it.

Bowen, Thomas and Oberto give the Bucks a veteran group and financial flexibility. None are signed beyond the upcoming season.

ESPN

The New Jersey Nets decided to part ways with the second-leading scorer in franchise history, dealing Richard Jefferson to Milwaukee hours before last night’s draft for forwards Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons.

“We certainly gave up a good player, but to get a good player you have to give up a good player. With Yi, we feel his upside is very up,” Nets president Rod Thorn said. “We feel strongly he’s going to be a real good player for us.”

No draft picks were swapped in the trade.

Boston Herald

Filed by security at the Graves 601 Hotel. According to one witness, Jefferson got in a “minor verbal disagreement” which escalated to the point where Jefferson was on top of the patron, allegedly choking him.

According to the report, the New Jersey Nets star left the club, and then encountered the witness, who asked Jefferson to remain until the disagreement was sorted out. The witness says Jefferson responded, “Say another word, I will kick your ass.”

Minneapolis PD tells us Jefferson is under investigation for “assault with significant bodily harm.” No charges have yet been filed.

TMZ

The New Jersey Nets will play most or all of the 2009-10 NBA season in New Jersey instead of Brooklyn, a team spokesman said Thursday.

The Nets had planned to play at its new arena in New York starting in 2009. But spokesman Barry Baum said the move to Brooklyn wouldn’t happen until sometime in 2010.

The Nets could possibly begin the season at the Izod Center in East Rutherford and move to the new arena, to be called the Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Center, in the first half of 2010, Baum said.

In October, Nets principal owner Bruce Ratner told The Associated Press that the new arena probably would not be ready by the start of the 2009-2010 season.

Under terms of their contract with the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which operates the Izod Center, the Nets have to give 18 months’ notice before they leave to avoid paying a penalty, Baum said.

The Nets haven’t broken ground on the new arena, which is part of the Atlantic Yards development that is also set to include office space and as many as 6,400 new apartments. The $4 billion project has faced legal challenges from local residents and environmental groups.

CNN