Metta World Peace to Knicks: New York Reportedly Signs Veteran SF

Metta World Peace may have been cut from the Los Angeles Lakers, but it didn’t take long for the mercurial forward to find a new home. The New York Knicks have reportedly come to terms with the forward on a two-year deal, per Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports:

Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com has more details on the deal between the Knicks and World Peace.

The 14-year veteran was the latest in a long list of amnesty clause casualties brought on by the new collective bargaining agreement signed in 2011.

L.A. bought out World Peace to save approximately $16 million this season after four years with the Lakers, notably helping the club win the 2010 championship against the rival Boston Celtics.

He can still contribute at a high level, as exemplified by his resurgent 2012-13 campaign.

The swingman put up 12.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 33.7 minutes per contest, becoming one of the most consistent players for an up-and-down Lakers squad.

While the 33-year-old’s best days are behind him—he once averaged 18.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.1 steals per game with a very good Indiana Pacers team in 2003-04—he should still find a way to shine for the Knicks.

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Even if he comes off the bench in New York, World Peace can make an impact with his consistent three-point shooting, solid off-ball cutting and tremendous defensive capabilities.

With only one ring to his name, it’s possible that the player formerly known as Ron Artest hangs around the league a bit longer and chases a second one before hanging up his sneakers.

Now that he’s the newest member of the Knicks, World Peace has a decent chance of accomplishing that goal.

Kevin Garnett will wear the number two in Brooklyn in tribute to late teammate and friend Malik Sealy

On May 20 2000, Game 1 of the Western Conference finals between the Los Angeles Lakers andPortland Trail Blazers was preceded by the shocking news that Minnesota Timberwolves swingman Malik Sealy had died in a car crash just hours before the tip. The widely respected veteran had just celebrated the birthday of teammate Kevin Garnett the night before, and was driving back to his house when a previously-convicted drunk driver jumped the center line to crash head-on into Sealy’s SUV. Garnett was the last person Sealy saw before his untimely death.

Sealy was an inspiration to KG, as the young forward sported No. 21 as a member of the Timberwolves in response to Sealy wearing the same number while at St. John’s. So when the Timberwolves traded for Garnett’s idol in 1999, KG was through the roof. Sealy spent two seasons as Garnett’s teammate, and though the team failed to get out of the first round in 1999-00, perhaps their season’s top highlight came when Sealy banked in a game-winning three-pointer in a nationally televised game on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Some 13 years later, Garnett is still grinding away. Now a member of the Brooklyn Nets, he’s paid tribute to his late friend and teammate by choosing to wear No. 2 for his new team. Garnett hasn’t commented on the switch, but for the man who already sports a tattoo with that number in tribute to Sealy, it is obvious what his motivations are. Garnett was precluded from wearing the number in Boston, as it is retired in honor of Red Auerbach; and the Timberwolves retired Sealy’s number in 2000-01, in an emotional, stirring game that saw KG score 40 points as the Timberwolves won their 11th straight contest.

Andrew Bynum to Cavaliers: Cleveland Reportedly Signs Star Center to 2-Year Deal

The most polarizing big man on the NBAmarket not named Dwight Howard has found a new home.

The 25-year-old center spent last season with the Philadelphia 76ers after being acquired as a major piece of the Dwight Howard deal. Philadelphia sent out a king's-ransom package of franchise-face Andre Iguodala, promising young center Nikola Vucevic and first-round pick Moe Harkless to land Bynum and Jason Richardson.

At the time, the move was a gamble nearly everyone agreed the Sixers should have made. By the end of the season, however, everyone just wanted the nightmare to end.   

When he's on the floor, Bynum is among the most dominant forces in the entire NBA. He's a two-way menace that was possibly on the precipice of becoming the league's best center. Bynum's ascent to superstardom in 2011-12 saw the seven-footer score 18.7 points, grab 11.8 rebounds and block 1.9 shots a night while flashing a varied post skill set and an underrated mean streak defensively.

The Lakers, a team that won 62.1 percent of their games en route to being the third seed in the West, were actually outscored with Bynum on the bench, per NBA.com. Bynum was seen as the type of player who could change the entire culture of a Sixers franchise that had peaked as a bottom-half playoff team.

The problem was the Sixers never got to find out. Bynum missed the entire 2012-13 regular season while dealing with knee issues, exposing the two major flaws in his superstar arsenal: immaturity and injury propensity.

Philadelphia knew about both when acquiring Bynum. The mercurial star's time in Los Angeles was mired in temper tantrums, both minor and major. Those transgressions included being suspended for a WWE-style clothesline of J.J. Barea and taking ill-advised threes in the middle of a competitive game. 

His career with the Lakers had also been injury-riddled, having played a full NBA season just once in seven pre-Philly campaigns. Knee injuries overwhelmingly have been the bane of Bynum's NBA existence. 

But the maturity and injury issues had never been at the forefront as much as they were last season. Bynum's 2012-13 campaign was halted before it began, a three-week injury morphing intoknee degeneration and culminating with season-ending surgery. Oh, and somewhere along the way there was an ill-fated trip to a bowling alley with friends.

Bynum's time with the Sixers was more notable for his hair style than on-court dominance. Philadelphia cratered offensively while waiting for Bynum to make his debut and the team finished well outside the Eastern Conference playoff chase. 

In other words, it took just 82 games for Andrew Bynum to morph from "worth the risk" to "loaded question." 

If Bynum bucks history, stays on the court and becomes the latest poster boy of the late-20s maturity influx, the Cavs could have found the biggest steal of the free-agency period. However, as the Sixers found out last season, Bynum's baggage has an ugly underbelly—a minefield Cleveland will look to navigate for the duration of this deal.

Folks will spend an awful lot of time discussing this deal in the coming days. Only this time, it's impossible to tell whether the risk is worth the reward.

Carmelo Anthony Reportedly Wanted Rajon Rondo on NY Knicks

Carmelo Anthony's honeymoon period with the New York Knicks is long gone.

Thanks to a woeful 7-14 postseason record during his three-year stay in the Big Apple, he expressed a desire for significant upgrades to New York's roster this offseason. Apparently, former No. 1 overall pick, and Toronto Raptors castoff, Andrea Bargnani wasn't the player that Anthony had in mind.

According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, Anthony had his sights set on the defending two-time assists leader:

Anthony told friends after the Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce trade to the Nets, he figured the Knicks would make a play for point guard Rajon Rondo. Anthony believes Rondo would be the perfect piece and would be super motivated in New York to attempt to knock off Garnett and Pierce.

New York's financial situation is a mess. The cash-strapped Knicks have already been priced out of the free-agent pursuits of reserve players like Chris Copeland and Francisco Garcia.With the Boston Celtics' rebuilding project on in full force, outsiders have viewed Rondo as the next likely domino to drop. While that could still hold true, it's unlikely that Anthony's Knicks would be the team to facilitate that move.

Per Berman and the Post, "General Manager Glen Grunwald said last week the team will try to be "creative" and "aggressive" with the roster, but the major core would return."

Those books won't be cleaned up for at least two seasons, meaning New York doesn't have the coveted expiring contracts that Boston would be searching for if it decides that Rondo needs to be moved. The 22-year-old Iman Shumpert is the closest thing the Knicks have to a young prospect, but the Celtics already have their own young, defensive-minded guard in Avery Bradley.

New York can't even sweeten the deal with draft picks, as its 2014 first-round choice is owed to the Denver Nuggets, and its top pick in 2016 belongs to the Raptors.

It's not hard to imagine the reasons behind Anthony's interest in Rondo.

Raymond Felton has never been mistaken for a pass-first point guard. Pablo, 36, was entering the twilight years of his career before he ever stepped foot inside Madison Square Garden. Jason Kidd is now coaching New York's cross-city rivals, the Brooklyn Nets.

Again, what is difficult (impossible?) to picture is New York's trade package that brings Rondo to the Knicks.

If Anthony really wants a secondary scorer to shoulder some of his offensive burden, he has two options. He can either hope thatAmar'e Stoudemire suddenly returns to his pre-injury form, or he can search for that support on the free-agent market next summer.

If Rondo goes anywhere this summer, it won't be to New York.

 

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NBA 2K14 Reaches Across Globe for Fans, Now Features 14 Euroleague Teams

The virtual basketball world just got a whole lot bigger, because 2K Sports is adding 14Euroleague teams to the upcoming NBA 2K14video game. 

Euroleague Basketball has a press release breaking down what fans of the hit video game series can expect when the latest iteration drops on October 1 with NBA superstar LeBron James adorning the cover. 

2K Sports and Euroleague Basketball announced today an exclusive multi-year global partnership that will see top teams from the Turkish Airlines Euroleague introduced into NBA 2K14...This will mark the first time Euroleague teams have appeared in the critically acclaimed NBA 2K series. Fourteen teams in total will be integrated as playable teams in NBA 2K14, allowing fans of European basketball to pit their local teams against the biggest teams from the NBA for the very first time.

As for teams, the report lists the following clubs will be playable this fall. 

 

·       Alba Berlin

·       FC Barcelona

·       Real Madrid

·       CSKA Moscow

·       EA7 Emporio Armani Milano

·       Montepaschi Siena

·       Fenerbahçe Ülker Istanbul

·       Anadolu Efes Istanbul

·       Olympiacos Piraeus

·       Panathinaikos Athens

·       Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv

·       Zalgiris Kaunas

·       Unicaja Málaga

·       Laboral Kutxa Vitoria

 

There is no word on how the video game producer and the Euroleague came to the agreement, or how they happened upon these specific teams for this particular release. 

If I had to guess, I would say both are merely dipping their toes into the market's water, gauging whether fans who grapple with buying the newest installment every year can be convinced with an influx of European talent. 

If the answer is no, there is the hope that fans from across the pond will finally jump on board the successful franchise. 

Yahoo! Sports' Dan Devine considers this a glowing sign that the 31-team league, spread across 18 countries, continues to make its mark alongside the massively popular NBA. 

Being someone who has played the series from its Dreamcast days, I can tell you it gets more difficult to find reasons to plunk down a good chunk of change for the annual release. 

Getting far more teams is an intriguing turn and one that might very well produce an uptick in sales down the road. I just hope the teams are incorporated heavily into the game more than just a passing novelty. 

Using Euroleague teams for acquisitions and scouting might be the next step in this obvious virtual evolution and one that would have an already captivated crowd that much more immersed in the series. 

 

Dez Bryant Fires Back at Media for Relating His Past to Aaron Hernandez

Dallas Cowboysreceiver DezBryant is apparently tired of having his name drug in the dirt alongside former New England Patriots tight end and accused murderer Aaron Hernandez.

In response to comments made by an ex-NFL scout regarding Bryant's pre-draft background checks, the Cowboys receiver fired back via Twitter Monday afternoon.

   Last week, former NFL scout Bryan Broaddus told 105.3FM in Dallas (via the Dallas Morning News) that background checks on Bryant leading up to the 2010 NFL draft were  "the worst I had ever seen." The comments came after a question regarding Hernandez, who was charged with the murder of Odin Lloyd and released by the Patriots last Wednesday.

Later, Broaddus talked at length about the worries associated with drafting a player like Bryant.

On Dez…that’s the thing as a personnel guy. You wake up. You don’t sleep at night. And when you wake up, you’re thinking did he go off the reservation today. That was something that we had to deal with. You deal with ok what happened, checkTMZ, nothing happened, ok, we’re good for a day. You’re constantly worrying about players because they get put in terrible situations, sometimes by their own doing.

A majority of the NFL media picked up the story, including NFL.com and CBS Sports. 

As expected, Bryant wasn't happy about his named being associated with a man charged with murder.

USA TODAY Sports

Bryant has had a quiet offseason off the field.

While Bryant grew up with a mother convicted of selling cocaine (per ESPN Dallas) and an absentee father, he's mostly stayed out of serious trouble since being drafted by the Cowboys. 

Bryant has dealt with minor incidents such as wearing his pants too low at a Dallas mall (via USA Today), a lawsuit for unpaid jewelry debt (via Dallas Morning News) and an argument that turned violent with his mother (via Dallas Morning News). He was arrested for the dispute with his mother (his only NFL arrest), but all charges were later dropped.

While far from an angel, Bryant is just as far removed from a murderer. 

Even a quiet offseason hasn't kept Bryant's name out of the dirt. This May, Bryant told ESPN Dallas that he had "found himself." 

"I'm comfortable with my life," Bryant said. "I'm enjoying being in the NFL. I wish it could've been a couple years back, but I had to go through a couple of things to figure it out."

Bryant, 24, caught 92 passes for 1,382 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Cowboys last season. 

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