





"Everyone wants to play on a championship team, but nobody wants to come to practice." - Bobby Knight
| Author | Comment | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
viggenja37 |
Eddie Charles Jones |
Lead | ||||
![]() ![]() ![]() 2007 DB.com Fantasy Basketball Varsity Season Champion
![]() ![]() ![]() "Everyone wants to play on a championship team, but nobody wants to come to practice." - Bobby Knight |
||||||
And1Mak |
Re: Eddie Charles Jones | |||||
![]() ![]() |
||||||
And1Mak |
Re: Eddie Charles Jones | |||||
![]() ![]() |
||||||
And1Mak |
Re: Eddie Charles Jones | |||||
![]() ![]() |
||||||
viggenja37 |
Re: Eddie Charles Jones | |||||
|
Riley not finished yet
Heat president Pat Riley said he will coach three more seasons, the duration of Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade's contracts, and still has plans to reshape the current roster. Posted on Tue, Aug. 14, 2007 BY BARRY JACKSON bjackson@MiamiHerald.com Heat president Pat Riley said Monday he will coach the team three more seasons, and insisted he's ''not done'' reshaping the team's roster this summer. ''This is what I love doing,'' he said, adding it was a difficult decision to continue coaching and one that ``I put a lot of thought into.'' Riley, 62, said he spoke with owner Micky Arison and decided, ``I don't want to be a one-and-done guy every year. I have three years left on my contract, and I will try to coach those out unless somebody else makes a decision on me. That's a commitment I want to make to the organization. . . . ``After the two rebuilding years, I was absolutely burnt. Three or four years ago, I was looking to get out of it totally. I don't feel that way anymore. When I was going through those two years of losing, I just wanted to go to Mt. Everest. I didn't have any joy. That's changed.'' Riley, who said he has no health problems, said it's ''purely coincidental'' that Shaquille O'Neal's contract also runs three more years and that Dwyane Wade can opt out of his contract at that point, too. Riley addressed several other issues: Riley -- whose biggest offseason moves were adding Smush Parker and Penny Hardaway -- indicated he continues to pursue trades. ''We have $14-$20 million in one-year contracts if I wanted to add them all up and do something,'' he said. (That would include Jason Williams at $8.9 million and Michael Doleac at $3.13 million, plus several other smaller contracts.) ''There are a lot of discussions going on, and it's not just about free agents,'' he said. ``We're not finished by any stretch of the imagination. . . ``I understand the prognosticators who are saying we are taking a step back while everybody else is taking a step forward. We feel like we're right in the game and looking real hard at doing some things that are going to help this team. You know me. We're not going to stop. We'll find somebody. We're still a very, very good team. I'm happy to go to training camp with what I have.'' Asked if Williams will enter camp as the starting point guard, Riley said the position is a ''wide-open'' competition between Williams and Smush Parker. Williams has missed 44 games during the past two seasons. ''We need a guy . . . that's out there 70 games a year at least,'' Riley said. ``Jason has worked extremely hard. We send therapists to see him [in Orlando] every two weeks. He's in great health, he says right now. We need stability night in and night out. ``If Jason is healthy enough to compete every day in practice and compete every game, it will be a great battle. . . . Smush Parker can make the three. He has size.'' Riley said he would be ''happy'' starting Antoine Walker on opening night if a small forward isn't netted via trade, pointing out he was the Heat's starter at that position during its championship run. But he said Walker ''definitely is going to have to have a better year than last year.'' Riley said there's a chance Dorell Wright could start at small forward, noting he has grown to 6-10 ½ and might be ready for a ``break-out year.'' He said the team ''likes'' restricted free agent Mickael Pietrus ''because of his defensive abilities. The only way it's going to happen is with a sign-and-trade. We've talked a lot about the possibilities with him.'' But discussions between the Heat and Golden State haven't produced a deal, and Pietrus is exploring another undisclosed option, his agent said. Riley didn't sound optimistic about re-signing James Posey: ''We're in conversations, but the reality is the reality. . . . We don't want to be a big-tax team.'' (The Heat is about $1 million above the $68 million tax threshold.) Riley didn't save the Heat's entire $5.3 million midlevel exception for a small forward, such as Pietrus, because point guard ''was a greater need.'' Parker got $2.2 million of the exception. Though Boston (Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen), New York (Zach Randolph) and Orlando (Rashard Lewis) made major acquisitions, Riley pointed out ''a couple'' of those teams also lost ''a tremendous amount of assets to get them'' and mentioned the Magic, which lost Grant Hill and Darko Milicic. Asserting his team is ''right up there with the rest'' of the quality teams in the East, Riley said he doesn't think Detroit, Chicago and Cleveland have improved. ''They got a year older,'' he said. ``Our best player was 50 percent at the end of the year. We weren't a very good team last year. It doesn't mean we can't be what we were the year [before]. Don't let last year's exit change your thinking.'' Of the Heat's relatively quiet offseason, Riley said, ''It's not for lack of trying'' and also said the team probably waited too long for a response from point guard Mo Williams, who re-signed with Milwaukee. Riley said he extended to Eddie Jones the same $1.8 million offer that Jones accepted from Dallas. ''I told Eddie I wanted him back at our exit meeting,'' Riley said. ``For some reason, he moved on.'' Riley expects a mid-November return from Wade, who had knee and shoulder surgery. Of Hardaway's signing, Riley said, ``Penny will bring us what Eddie [did]. He's in great shape, a playmaker. He can really help a team. He's been great with [rookies] Jeremy Richardson and Daequan Cook.'' Riley said he wants to speak with Gary Payton, who is not expected back, before commenting about him 2007 DB.com Fantasy Basketball Varsity Season Champion
![]() ![]() ![]() "Everyone wants to play on a championship team, but nobody wants to come to practice." - Bobby Knight |
||||||
viggenja37 |
||||||
|
Posted on Wed, Jan. 31, 2007
AROUND THE RIM WIRE REPORTS Lakers' Bryant suspended: Kobe Bryant was suspended one game without pay by the NBA on Tuesday for striking San Antonio's Manu Ginobili in the face. With his Los Angeles Lakers in New York to play the Knicks, Bryant requested an "immediate hearing" with the league office to appeal the suspension. But his request was denied because it would have deviated from standard procedure, and Bryant was not allowed to play Tuesday. The play occurred with 2.7 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of the Lakers' 96-94 overtime loss to the +@@%# on Sunday. "It's just unintentional," Bryant added. "I felt horrible about it. It's just basketball, it happens." Stu Jackson, the league's chief disciplinarian for on-court actions, disagreed. O'Neal, Williams out: Shaquille O'Neal was inactive for the Miami Heat's win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night. O'Neal, who has played only six games this season because of a knee injury, hurt his calf in practice Monday and is day-to-day. The All-Star center returned to the lineup after an extended stay on the injured list last week. Also, point guard Jason Williams was inactive because of a foot injury. Grizzlies waive Jones: The Grizzlies waived guard Eddie Jones after agreeing to a buyout of his contract. Jerry West, the team's president of basketball operations, announced in a statement that the guard had been waived. Jones was believed to be considering signing with several teams. He will be eligible to sign with a new team on Thursday. Iverson out: Nuggets guard Allen Iverson will miss tonight's game against the Trail Blazers in Portland after spraining his right ankle Monday against the Bobcats. Hornets' Paul hopes to return: Hornets point guard Chris Paul returned to practice for the first time in a month to test his sprained right ankle. His status for tonight's game against the 76ers is expected to be a game-time decision. James sits: All-Star forward LeBron James was advised by the Cavaliers' medical staff to rest his sprained right big toe and he was inactive for the Cavaliers' game Tuesday night against Golden State. Wizards' Jamison hurt: Washington Wizards forward Antawn Jamison sprained his left knee in the first quarter against the Detroit Pistons and did not return.
2007 DB.com Fantasy Basketball Varsity Season Champion
![]() ![]()
"Everyone wants to play on a championship team, but nobody wants to come to practice." - Bobby Knight |
||||||
viggenja37 |
Eddie Charles Jones | |||||
Dallas Mavericks have no time to cool off in summer10:16 PM CDT on Friday, June 27, 2008The trend started Thursday in the NBA draft. On Friday, it continued. "Shooting," Donnie Nelson said, "is the operative skill." The Mavericks put the meat of their summer-league team together Friday and it's packed with shooters. One of them is Shan Foster, who they took with the 51st pick Thursday. Joining him is a collection of deadeyes - some rookies and some who have solid NBA experience. The harsh reality is that it will be tough for any of these players to be major contributors to next season's Mavericks. That's why they are going through the summer- league ritual. But if the Mavericks get just one or two who can help fill out a thin roster, they will have done their job. The Mavericks reeled in two more candidates Friday when they agreed to bring in 15 players for the summer squad. Respected shooters Derrick Low from Washington State and Richie Frahm, who has bounced around the NBA for four seasons, will be on the team. Frahm apparently lit it up from the perimeter in an informal workout with other Mavericks last week. Since Frahm, a career 35.6 percent 3-point shooter, was not with any NBA team at the end of last season, he can join the Mavericks before the free-agent period opens July 1. Low went undrafted Thursday, although some scouts thought he would go in the second round. The 6-2 guard played four years for Washington State. The Honolulu native shot 38.5 percent from 3-point range and averaged 14.1 points as a senior for a team that went 26-9. Meanwhile, one of last year's second-round picks, Renaldas Seibutis arrived Thursday in Dallas and went through his first workouts for the team. He's set to join the summer-league squad that will play in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City in July, as is Reyshawn Terry, the other second rounder from 2007. Others on the team: Keith McLeod, who has played with four NBA teams; former Kansas player Aaron Miles; JaJuan Smith of Tennessee; Reggie Williams of Virginia Military; Yaroslev Korolev, who played briefly with the LA Clippers for two seasons; Charles Rhodes of Mississippi State; and James Singleton, who also had two years with the Clippers. Also set to join are Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Pape Sow, Marcus Slaughter and Charles Rhodes. The free-agent season opens Tuesday. The Mavericks are expected to be extremely active in talks with available talent. Also, Eddie Jones must exercise his player option for next season before Tuesday. The Mavericks expect him to do so, meaning he will be on the roster at about $1.9 million.
2007 DB.com Fantasy Basketball Varsity Season Champion
![]() ![]()
"Everyone wants to play on a championship team, but nobody wants to come to practice." - Bobby Knight |
||||||
viggenja37 |
||||||
Dallas Mavericks' camp opens with a running start11:27 PM CDT on Tuesday, September 30, 2008UNIVERSITY PARK - If you want a theme song for coach Rick Carlisle's first Mavericks' training camp, dust off that old Lynyrd Skynyrd album and crank up "Gimme Three Steps." The first day of camp was spent running. More specifically, it was spent running hard for three quick steps at the start of each change of possession. It's something the new coaching staff will be unwavering about. They will demand that players turn on the jets the moment they switch from defense to offense, or vice-versa. It's a nice departure from the pass-and-hide offense of the past, which helped the Mavericks reach the NBA Finals once, but had grown stale the last couple of seasons. "It's going to have to be a fact of life for us," Carlisle said after more than three hours of court time at SMU's Crum Basketball Center. "Offensively, when Jason Kidd gets the ball in his hands, you're a fool if you're not running hard right now because he's going to see you and he's going to put it to you in rhythm on stride, and you're going to be in position to attack the basket. "We drilled it today and talked about it and we're going to stay with it because it's got to be a big part of how we're playing. It's higher RPM's." The first three steps are critical to a fast-breaking team. The Mavericks have to reinvent themselves, not to mention they have to get in better condition. That puts an emphasis on players like Jerry Stackhouse, Josh Howard and Devean George to get to full speed as fast as possible. "One of the things that made the Lakers teams of the '80s so great was that James Worthy had one of the most explosive first three steps of anybody that ever played," Carlisle said. "We need Josh and Stack and Jason Terry and Devean and our young guys to get in that habit because with Jason, the ball's going to be there." It didn't take 30 minutes of practice for the players to notice. Kidd said the running started right away. "Stretching came second," he said. The message, however, caught nobody by surprise. Part of the reason Carlisle spent so much time this summer visiting his players and getting to know them was so they would know what he expects when camp begins. There was no guesswork.
So Tuesday was more of an affirmation that the Mavericks will try as hard as they can this season to rely on the running game instead of their set offense. And even that will look different, by the way. "I think as a team we caught on to what his philosophy is in the sense of moving or never making a pass and stop and watch," Kidd said. "Guys were catching on, and I think it can also help with our conditioning. You've got to move in this offense. "I think it's night and day." That's the best strategy to get players out of old habits. Jones coping: Eddie Jones strained his left hamstring while running on a treadmill before camp began. He said it has not improved enough to participate in drills. "I can't even run right now," he said. "But I'd rather have it happen now than in January." Jones had knee and hamstring problems that hindered him last season.
Camp update
Tuesday: It was a day to get acquainted with the new digs. SMU's Crum Basketball Center has two courts, ostensibly for the Mustangs men's and women's teams. Dirk Nowtizki said he would prefer a glass wall in between the gyms to see what players on the other court are doing. "But other than that, everything's great," he said. "The weight room is big, the locker room is great. And the gyms are great. Obviously we want to thank SMU for the hospitality." ... Rick Carlisle on the first day of camp: "This was not an easy practice. But these guys are ready. Guys knew this was going to be hard work." Today: The Mavericks will continue with one long practice vs. two shorter workouts. Two-a-days, Carlisle said, don't make much sense for the Mavericks. "We have a limit of 31/2 hours a day and if you have two practices, only one can be contact," he said. "You can break it up and bring guys back at night to do shooting. I'm not sure that you gain much by sending them home and bringing them back a few hours later. I like practicing long because it tells me who can concentrate and who can't. And the guys who can't, we got to be on them to get better at it." Eddie Sefko
2007 DB.com Fantasy Basketball Varsity Season Champion
![]() ![]()
"Everyone wants to play on a championship team, but nobody wants to come to practice." - Bobby Knight |
||||||
viggenja37 |
|
|||||
Dallas Mavericks open preseason with Howard in spotlight10:55 PM CDT on Monday, October 6, 2008UNIVERSITY PARK - Tuesday night is the first chance to see how Josh Howard is doing in the polls. Mavericks faithful will get their first chance to cheer, jeer, boo or rue Howard as the Mavericks begin the preseason at American Airlines Center against Washington. The real test won't come until the regular season, when the Mavericks hit the road and the venom level rises. But first steps first. Howard will be in the starting lineup Tuesday night, and he is anticipating some tough commentary from the fans. In other words, Howard has moved on. It may take time for fans to do the same, but he said he hopes they will move on at some point. "How many times did he apologize?" president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said. "I certainly hope folks will give him the benefit of the doubt at this point." Jones must get healthy: The Mavericks hope swingman Eddie Jones can recover from a left hamstring problem and figure out what he can contribute to the team. "Right now, our preference is to see where he's at, and if he can help us," Nelson said. "He has to get healthy before we can determine that." Asked if a buyout of Jones' contract was possible, Nelson said: "That's a conversation for later on. Right now, we need to get him healthy." Jones is earning $1.9 million this season after he exercised the option year on his contract during the summer. Miller time: Reggie Miller was a visitor at practice Monday, partly for his duties as a TNT analyst and partly to visit with the Mavericks and Rick Carlisle, who coached Miller as an assistant and head coach at Indiana. Miller wasn't there to put on the long shorts and hoist up jumpers. But he did say he saw some good things in the Mavericks. "Talking to Rick, this team reminds us of when Larry [Bird] and him first came to the Pacers [in 1997-98]," Miller said. "Everybody kind of wrote us off that we were too old, that our best days were behind us and that's the year we should have beaten Chicago in the conference finals. "We were led by a very talented point guard in Mark Jackson, which they have here in Jason Kidd. And we had two good forwards in the Davises [Dale and Antonio]. So the parallels are somewhat the same. And everybody's kind of writing them off. [The Mavericks are] not young anymore. But there's a lot to be said of a team that has some mileage on it. I like experience. I still think they have one more run in them." Briefly: Erick Dampier will start at center Tuesday night, Carlisle said. He was uncertain about his starter at shooting guard. ... Kidd said the offensive attack fans see tonight is far from the polished product they should be watching in March and April. "There's going to be some growing pains," Kidd said. But one aspect should be evident already - the motion in the offense. Kidd added: "If you're not in shape, you're going to get in shape because of the movement on offense."
2007 DB.com Fantasy Basketball Varsity Season Champion
![]() ![]()
"Everyone wants to play on a championship team, but nobody wants to come to practice." - Bobby Knight |
||||||
viggenja37 |
|
|||||
2007 DB.com Fantasy Basketball Varsity Season Champion
![]() ![]()
"Everyone wants to play on a championship team, but nobody wants to come to practice." - Bobby Knight |
||||||