Who wants some exciting NBA news?!? Army of Nugs? NugNugz? InboundingLobPass? TyLawesome? Sgiustra? Any other Stiffs? Well, the lockout isn't over, the Nuggets haven't signed anyone, but J.R. Smith is back on Twitter! Who wouldn't want to follow the biggest name in Chinese basketball? I hit "follow" almost immediately! What did Swish get for his 26th birthday? Follow the jump to find out ... and just what is George Karl and his staff doing down at Pepsi Center today - makes me curious.
Yes, that's right - J.R. Smith is back on Twitter. This time he's using the handle: 1anonlyJRSmith - the only question, how long will this account last? Swish has a serious love/hate relationship with Twitter and it seems like when he starts to get "hated on" too much that his page goes away. Hopefully he'll be around for awhile. Some recent Tweets of interest:
J.R. Smith's 26th birthday present picture of his new whip.
J.R. Smith posted about being back in Denver on Sept. 18th.
Hopefully the latest star of the Chinese Basketball League will stick around the interwebs long enough for us to get a taste of what his life is like overseas. It'd also be nice if he decided to just stay in Denver for a long while and wait this lockout out.
Now you're probably asking yourself - Nate, what else is going on?
Well, Nuggets legendary trainer Steve Hess has been staying busy training various folks at gyms like Forza Fitness in Denver, CO.
George Karl and his staff are holding a clinic at Pepsi Center today for what looks to be college coaches as Tom Abatemarco and Rodney Billups (yes, Chauncey Billups' younger brother), both on the staff at the University of Colorado, tweeted about it.
And coming Sunday, Sept. 25th, SI.com will be live streaming an exhibition game between "Team Melo" vs. "Team Philly" at Palestra in Pennsylvania aka the Cathedral of College Basketball. I'm not sure yet who will be making up the rosters, but news on that should be coming as the week progresses.
Labor talks inch forward as negotiations enter critical week - David Aldridge, NBA.com
A snippet, "Stern and deputy commissioner Adam Silver said after the Board of Governors meeting in Dallas that owners remained unified behind a hard cap system, though there could be some differences in the specifics individual owners would seek. But the issue of revenue sharing has produced greater disagreements between owners. The union believes -- hopes? -- that those disagreements widen into fissures that will force groups of owners more willing to make a deal to the forefront."
Q&A: NBA players' union executive director Billy Hunter - Lance Pugmire, LA Times
A snippet, "Player unity, then, is a crucial element of avoiding a salary free fall. After the session with players — who have already agreed to trim their share of basketball-related income from 57% to 53% — Hunter declared, "We dispelled the notion that the players aren't together.""
Knicks' rookie Shumpert making an impact - Alan Hahn, Newsday
A snippet, "And perhaps the most important result of Shumpert's experience at Impact will come this week, when Chauncey Billups arrives to join the rookie for a few games. The two could find themselves spending a lot of time together this season in the Knicks' backcourt."
Worthy Target: Basketball's Role in NCAA Conference Realignment - Alicia Jessop, Ruling Sports
A snippet, "While much has been mentioned throughout the course of the past month’s conference realignment frenzy about the role of television contracts and automatic qualification in an institution’s decision as to which conference to land in, one important source of conference income has been left out of the conversation: The NCAA Basketball Fund."
2Day's 2 Cents: Adelman and Kahn, together again with Wolves - Michael Rand, Minnesota Star Tribune
Pretty funny article detailing the history of new Minnesota Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman and Minny GM David Kahn. Adelman was the coach of the Blazers back when Kahn was writing about that team as a member of the media. Check it out!
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