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Tag: Jason Kidd

  • Jason Collins Says He Has Been Taunted With Gay Insults From One NBA Player

    After receiving tons of positive support following his coming out, it seems that Jason Collins is still feeling negativity from at least one person. He is the first openly gay player in the NBA, and is a center for the Brooklyn Nets.

    Another player in the NBA, from an opposing team, has reportedly been taunting Jason Collins because of his sexuality, something that people may have feared, but others might not expect at this time.

    Collins recently revealed that he has received negative comments from another player during a game. He has not let it get to him during the game, and will not reveal who it is, but it is not something that he should have to tolerate as a player.

    He said that he chose not to retaliate during the game when it happened because he is entitled to his opinion, and he did not want to let it ruin his focus on the game. Collins is a 13-year veteran in the NBA, but had been a free agent until the Nets signed him just over a month ago.

    The NBA veteran should feel at home with the Nets since coach Jason Kidd is a former teammate of his on the Nets several seasons ago, and he also played with Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett on the Celtics.

    In a recent interview with ESPN, Jason Collins explained the situation when saying “In the flow of the game, you have emotions going. It goes back to controlling what I can control — having self control and having the discipline to recognize it for what it is and keep the focus on the game.”

    He did reiterate that he has received positive support overall, and after facing over 100 players and coaches, he was bound to interact with at least one player who would choose to act in a negative way toward him.

    Due to his courage as an athlete, and fans who want to support him, his jersey has been a top seller on NBAstore.com since he signed with the team. The Brooklyn Nets are currently 36-31, and in 6th place in the Eastern Conference.

    He originally explained the situation to the New York Daily News, and said ““He’s a knucklehead. So I just let it go. Again, that goes back to controlling what you can control. That’s how I conduct myself just being professional.”

    Jason Collins signed a second 10-day deal after his first one expired, and on March 15, he was signed for the remainder of the season. Since joining the Brooklyn Nets, he has played in 10 games, averaging only 8.4 minutes.

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  • J.R. Smith: He’s Not the Only Knucklehead in the NBA

    Now that Knicks’ guard J.R. Smith has returned from suspension, after the whole shoelace scandal, we decided to list other NBA players who went the knucklehead route and got in trouble. And while Smith’s actions got him in a mess with the league and not the police, these other players weren’t so lucky.

    Charles Barkley– If you watch TNT’s “Inside the NBA,” then you already know that Charles Barkley loves to be extra critical of the players, especially the younger ones. Which is why some thought it was ironic that he was pulled over for drunk driving on his way to visit a prostitute. “I was going to drive around the corner and get [a sex act],” he said, when asked what he was doing at the moment. Maybe Barkley who obviously lives in a glass house should give up throwing stones once and for all.

    Carmelo Anthony– When Anthony was playing for the Denver Nuggets he was pulled over by police for drunk driving while in town for a home game. After failing a few sobriety tests, he was arrested and ultimately suspended for two games. Fortunately for Anthony, he avoided jail time and received probation instead.

    Kyle Lowry– Who says arguments between player and referee happen during serious competition, because Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry lost his cool during a charity game in Las Vegas. In a heated exchange, Lowry cursed-out the ref and through something at her, which scored him some community service and anger management classes.

    Jason Kidd– In July of 2012 the former basketball player, who’s now a coach for the Brooklyn Nets, crashed his car into a telephone poll after having one too many. As a result, he was arrested and suspended for two games. The arrest was somewhat out of character for Kidd, as he usually showed so much discipline on the court. But as those on this list have showed us, sometimes there’s an infinite sized divide between a player’s on-court actions and what he does off the court.

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  • Kevin Garnett Swears At Refs, Fan Tries To Shield Younger Fan From Hearing [Video]

    Complaining to the refs about a call that is made on the court is something that Kevin Garnett has been known for doing throughout his career. He has certainly had plenty to complain about this season after joining the Brooklyn Nets with the hopes of possibly having an incredibly successful season, only to see it go downhill very quickly.

    The Brooklyn Nets are in their first year under coach Jason Kidd, and after he brought in Jason Terry, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce, the team had high aspirations for the season, and the opportunity to be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, and possibly the league.

    Instead, they now have a record of 9-19 after losing an ugly game to the Chicago Bulls yesterday. Although Kevin Garnett is well-known as one of the most foul-mouthed players in the NBA, it was a bit surprising to see him acting in the way that he did on Christmas day, with all of the fans close enough to hear.

    Garnett was letting the refs have it for a call that he thought was made incorrectly during the first quarter of the game, and as a result, a young boy in the audience was forced to shield his younger brother from the outburst and cover his ears. He was a Nets fan sitting close to the court as a young boy too, which makes things even more awkward for the veteran forward.

    The boy put “earmuffs” on what appeared to be his younger brother during the clip that saw Kevin Garnett flipping out at the refs. For those that are unfamiliar with the term, it has been popularized by popular culture since, but became common knowledge to most people after being used by Vince Vaughn’s character in the classic comedy, Old School.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Itn75dEorU

    The Brooklyn Nets are continuing to struggle during the 2013 season, and lost to the Bulls yesterday, ending with a final score of 95-78.

    There was simply nothing that the boy could do to shield his little brother from Kevin Garnett’s outburst, and the video has gone viral. Garnett has always been known for having fits like this one, but it is simply inexcusable in this situation, and he should know better by now.

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  • Brook Lopez, Center For The Brooklyn Nets , Out For The Season

    In the next chapter of the Brooklyn Nets’ nightmare of a season, Brook Lopez has been severely injured. Lopez is the center for the Nets, and as a team that recently acquired hot talent from the Celtics, they were being predicted to win a title this year. Instead, they are struggling in the Eastern Conference, and only have a record of 9-17.

    Brook Lopez broke his foot during their last game, and it is being reported that he may miss the rest of the season. The Stanford graduate also missed all but five games during the 2011-12 season after breaking the same bone in his right foot twice in quick succession.

    It is unclear when he sustained his injury, since he played throughout their last game against Philadelphia, and recorded 22 points and 7 rebounds, playing through the fourth quarter and overtime.

    The Nets ended up winning the game in overtime, 121-120, but that overshadows the fact that their star, Brooke Lopez, fractured the fifth metatarsal of his right foot during the game. Soon after, it was reported that he would be out for the rest of the season.

    Despite his past injuries, Lopez is a key member of the Brooklyn Nets, and losing him for the season will be a huge blow to the team. As their only real center, Brook Lopez plays much of the time, and as a leader on the team, he is averaging a team-high 20.7 points, six rebounds and two blocks per game this season.

    On a veteran team with stars such as Deron Williams, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, Lopez is also the only starter under the age of 29, and at age 25, he has been in the league for six years. He is the only true center on the team, and as a result, Kevin Garnett will be forced to play the center position, under their new coach, Jason Kidd.

    Lopez is 7 feet tall, and added muscle mass while rehabbing from injuries, getting him up to 290 pounds in the summer, which made him a completely different player than he was before.

    Brook Lopez played most of last year, but was again sidelined for eight games, due to his ongoing ankle injury. After breaking his foot for the third time in his career, this will raise questions about his future, and reminds fans of other centers who have had short-lived careers due to injures, such as Yao Ming and Zydrunas Illgauskas in recent years.

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  • Kevin McHale Latest Coach in String of Sketchy Behavior

    Oh, Kevin McHale. You sneaky coach, you.

    If you happened to catch the Houston Rockets play the San Antonio Spurs this past Saturday, November 30, you may have seen Houston coach McHale try to pull a fast one over on the Spurs’ Tim Duncan.

    Near the end of the first half, Duncan was set to throw an inbound pass from in front of the Rockets bench, when what does he see to his right? At just the spot where he plans on throwing the ball? Oh, just coach McHale. Standing right there.

    Just like everyone else watching, Duncan was in a state of disbelief. Even when the ref threw him the ball, he didn’t catch it. Instead, he allowed it to hit the floor and roll into the middle of the court, later explaining it was because he thought what McHale was doing was wrong.

    The refs deemed that McHale was well within his rights to stand there, and Duncan went ahead and completed a successful pass to Manu Ginobili.

    Judge McHale’s shenanigans for yourself on the above video.

    McHale isn’t the only coach to display sketchy behavior this week. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin had a trick up his sleeve on Thanksgiving when his team played the Baltimore Ravens.

    Tomlin had his foot on the field, as the Ravens’ Jacoby Jones was making his way up the field, hugging the sidelines. With his back facing Jones, and the pretty exciting play that was taking place – which is weird in itself – Tomlin dramatically jumps back on the sidelines, causing Jones to move towards the middle of the field and get tackled, likely preventing a touchdown.

    Even with that shady move, the Ravens were still able to beat the Steelers. Watch Tomlin yourself, below.

    And let us not forget Nets coach Jason Kidd’s drink-spilling incident earlier in the week, in which he mouths to his own player, “hit me,” so that he can drop his drink on the court, and cause a time out. This little stunt resulted in a $50,000 fine for Kidd. Watch this scandalous moment below.

    Basketball fans used Twitter to show their feelings about McHale’s behavior.

    Oh, coaches. Although the depths you sink to in order to get a win are pretty ridiculous, they do provide a bit of entertainment.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Charles Barkley Takes Shots at Melo and LeBron

    These days, one can find Charles Barkley nestled comfortably between the likes of Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal on the set of TNT’s Inside the NBA. Once upon a time, though, Barkley was an elite NBA forward, finishing in the top 8 in player efficiency ratings for 14 consecutive years and earning the ridiculous moniker, “The Round Mound of Rebound.” (Poking fun at Barkley’s portly stature.) Due to his experience both as a player and as an analyst, one can make the argument that Barkley’s opinions on basketball are perhaps more legitimate than others’. Thus, when Barkley criticizes Carmelo Anthony for wanting to explore the free-agency market and leaves LeBron out of his top 5 NBA players of all time, people take notice.

    In a statement to the New York Observer, Anthony stated, “I want to be a free agent. I think everybody in the NBA dreams to be a free agent at least one time in their career. It’s like you have an evaluation period, you know. It’s like if I’m in the gym and I have all the coaches, all the owners, all the GMs come into the gym and just evaluate everything I do. So yes, I want that experience.”

    Carmelo’s statement of wanting to explore the waters of free-agency blew up when commentators from Inside the NBA heard wind. Charles Barkley took special offense at the utterance: “He owns the city, he should be trying to get guys to come here and not like `I’ll stay here a couple of years – I forced my way here, No. 1, I got here, now I want to leave.’ That’s just not cool at all to be honest with you.”

    Barkley’s partner-in-crime, Kenny “The Jet” Smith, agreed with his analysis: “What happened to the law of attraction? Like, you’re good enough where you can attract guys that want to play with you. And that’s what’s missing, I think from the Knicks, and I think what’s missing from Carmelo, is just the law of attraction. Like, there aren’t a lot of guys saying they want to come to New York and play here with this guy.”

    Smith would go on to add that “What he should say is, `The Knicks have to, they’re going to give me the max. I’m going to be in New York.’” Many people believe that Anthony’s decision to test free-agency is linked to obtaining the largest contract he possibly can, which makes sense. If the Knicks really want to keep Carmelo around, then they would be forced to cough up more money due to bids coming from other teams. This factor seemingly doesn’t matter to Barkley, who is “ticked off” that Anthony is seeking free-agency when he practically begged to come to New York.

    Barkley’s barbs did not end with Carmelo Anthony, though. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Barkley stated that LeBron James would not be included in his Top 5 NBA players of all-time. When asked if LeBron was a Top 10 all-time player, Barkley responded:

    I have him there. But he can’t get any higher than where he is. I have Michael [Jordan] at No. 1. Oscar [Robertson] at No. 2. Then Wilt [Chamberlain], Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] and [Bill] Russell. I have Kobe [Bryant], LeBron, Tim Duncan, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor after that. Those are my top 10. Those second five fluctuate, but who do I take off my top five? LeBron can get to No. 6 on my list, but here’s the thing that bothers me about the whole LeBron debate: I want to know why y’all killed Kobe Bryant! Y’all don’t even compare him to LeBron anymore. You are skipping him for LeBron and going right to Michael. I’m still going to take five [titles] over two.

    Barkley’s argument is a fair one. At this point in James’s career, could one legitimately make the claim that he is better than Jordan, Oscar Robertson (who averaged a triple-double), Wilt “The Stilt”, Kareem, or Bill “11-Time NBA Champion” Russell? I think the short answer is no.

    Barkley’s ranking of Kobe above LeBron makes sense as well. When one compares their achievements side-by-side (Kobe left, LeBron right), it’s easy to see that Kobe is more deserving of the 6th spot on Barkley’s list than LeBron:

    (image)

    Barkley is not the only former NBA player to leave LeBron off of an all-time starting five. When asked to name his all-time starters, Jason Kidd also snubbed LeBron James in favor of Scottie Pippen, a move that was seconded by Karl Malone. However, Malone perhaps proved himself to be even more insane than Barkley by leaving Michael Jordan off his own list.

    While one can make the legitimate argument to leave LeBron off of an all-time NBA top 5 list (He is still playing and has room to improve his standings), anyone who tries to argue that Michael Jordan is not one of the greatest of all time is simply delusional. It appears that after all these years, Karl Malone is still bitter about the 1998 NBA Championship.

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  • Jason Kidd Retires From NBA Basketball

    NBA star Jason Kidd today announced his retirement from basketball.

    “My time in professional basketball has been an incredible journey, but one that must come to an end after 19 years,” said Kidd. “As I reflect on my time with the four teams I represented in the NBA, I look back fondly at every season and thank each every one of my teammates and coaches that joined me on the court.”

    Kidd was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the 1994 NBA Draft. During his career, he moved on to play for the Phoenix Suns, the New Jersey Nets, and the New York Knicks. He returned to play for the Mavericks in 2008, and led the team to an NBA Championship in 2011.

    Kidd was named to the NBA All-Star team ten times during his career, and was co-Rookie of the Year in 1995. He also won two Olympic gold medals playing for the U.S. Men’s Basketball Team in 2000 and 2008.

    “Jason’s value to the Knicks and the National Basketball Association cannot be quantified by statistics alone,” said Glen Grunwald, general manager of the Knicks. “Everyone here in New York saw firsthand what a tremendous competitor he is and why Jason is considered to be one of the best point guards, and leaders, the game has ever seen.”

    Kidd’s announcement comes just after fellow NBA star Grand Hill announced his retirement. Hill was also an NBA All-Star who had a 19-year career in the NBA. He shared the 1995 NBA Rookie of the Year award with Kidd.

    (Image courtesy Keith Allison/Wikimedia Commons)

  • Jason Kidd Going From The Basketball Court To DUI Court

    Jason Kidd is one of the best NBA players around with an 18 year career to back it up. That comes with a lot of pressure which can lead to some bad decision making. Kidd might have made a very bad decision over the weekend.

    Reuters is reporting that Kidd was involved in an automobile accident after his car struck a telephone pole in New York’s Long Island. Police arrested Kidd under suspicion that he may have been driving under the influence. He has since pleaded not guilty to the charge.

    The accident occurred at 2 a.m. after Kidd slammed into the telephone pole and then went into the woods. The police statement said they found Kidd in a 2010 Cadillac Escalade. Kidd’s lawyer won’t go into details on the minor injuries that he suffered. The court date is set for September.

    Kidd recently signed with the New York Knicks after helping his former team, the Dallas Mavericks, take the NBA Championship in the 2010-2011 season. He has been named an all-star 10 times to date and will probably earn a few more before he retires.

    Here’s Kidd right after the Dallas Mavericks won the 2011 NBA Championship: