Former NBA coaches Del Harris and Bernie Bickerstaff are returning to the sidelines, this time as assistants under new Chicago Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro. Harris and Bickerstaff will be joined by Bob Ociepka, an assistant the past two seasons with Minnesota, and holdover Pete Myers, the Bulls said Thursday. Read Original Post Here
Former slam dunk champion Gerald Green signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday. The 6-foot-8, 200-pound swingman is known mostly for his exploits in the last two dunk contests, winning it in 2007 and finishing second to Dwight Howard this year. In games that count, he has career averages of 8.1 points and 2.2 rebounds. Read Original Post Here
Boston’s police commissioner is asking for an independent review into the death of a man who stopped breathing while being arrested on the night the Boston Celtics won the NBA championship. Twenty-two-old David Woodman died Sunday, 11 days after police say they spotted him drinking from an open container of what they believed was alcohol. Read Original Post Here
Clay Bennett finally found a dollar amount that would sever his contentious relationship with the city of Seattle — $75 million. As a result, the SuperSonics are headed to Oklahoma City with Bennett leading the way, leaving behind the team name, colors and 41 years of history. Oklahoma City will have an NBA franchise for the 2008-09 season after a settlement announced Wednesday between the team…
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Josh Smith wasted no time taking advantage of his restricted free-agent status, spending Wednesday visiting the Philadelphia 76ers — a franchise with plenty of cap room to make a big offer. The 22-year-old Smith toured the city and visited the Wachovia Center with Sixers officials, who would like to woo the forward away from Atlanta with an offer sheet too expensive for the Hawks to match. Read Original Post Here
The Dallas Mavericks had to give up DeSagana Diop to get Jason Kidd. Now, the 7-foot center is headed back to Dallas. Diop agreed Wednesday to a $31 million, five-year contract with the Mavericks, according to a person close to the negotiations who requested anonymity because NBA rules prevent the deal from being signed until next week. Read Original Post Here
Chris Paul left the New Orleans Hornets training center on Wednesday afternoon without a new contract extension in place, but his agent remained optimistic the deal would be completed without much trouble — even if it took longer than anticipated. “We felt like it went well … and we’ll get it wrapped up sometime soon,” said Lance Young, senior director of the sports management and marketing… Read Original Post Here
Michael Beasley’s first official practice with the Miami Heat ended quickly. Beasley was struck in the chest by an inadvertent elbow during a defensive drill about 45 minutes into Miami’s first summer-league workout session Wednesday, and the No. 2 overall pick in last week’s NBA draft was taken to a doctor for observation.
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Boston Celtics center Kendrick Perkins underwent surgery on his left shoulder Wednesday to repair an injury that nagged him during the NBA finals and forced him to miss Game 5. The Celtics said Perkins, 23, had arthroscopic surgery at New England Baptist Hospital, as did rookie Bill Walker, who had damage to his right knee repaired Wednesday. Read Original Post Here
The New Jersey Nets have signed their two first-round draft picks. Team president Rod Thorn announced the signings of Brook Lopez and Ryan Anderson on Wednesday. The Nets selected Lopez with their top pick at No. 10. He led Stanford in scoring at 19 points per game last season. Anderson was selected with the 21st pick, which New Jersey received as part of the trade that sent Jason Kidd to Dallas. Read Original Post Here
