Oliver Lafayette goes back to the NBDL

The Mad Ants are bringing back guard Oliver Lafayette, the leader of their late season rally last season.


Lafayette, whose late season play earned him a callup to the Boston Celtics, hopes to play in the games in Tulsa Thursday and Friday nights if he can gain clearance from FIBA from his contract with the Serbian team that recently released him. Lafayette averaged over 17 points and six assists last season in Fort Wayne.


source : indiananewscenter.com


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Will Yao ever return?

The sad news of Yao Ming's latest setback raises questions about the future of the NBA's most important international star. Will Yao decide to retire at the young age of 30?


Yao's latest stress fracture has been discovered in his left ankle -- the same foot that underwent reconstructive surgery to sideline the Houston Rockets' center for all of last season. No one but Yao can resolve whether he is willing to subject himself to risk of further injury by attempting to come back yet again.

Many league executives have long questioned whether Yao can withstand the pressures of attempting to run the floor at 7-foot-6 and 310 pounds. A variety of injuries had caused Yao to miss 173 regular-season games over the previous five full seasons coming into this year. He had played in five games this season before he was shut down Nov. 10 with an apparent bone bruise in the left ankle.

Yao is in the final year of his contract at a salary of $17.7 million. Should he commit to another comeback, the Rockets will have to decide whether to invest in him and at what price. The anticipated lockout next July could give both Yao and the Rockets more time to decide how best to proceed.

Zach Lowe: Without Yao, Rockets must look to the future.

Yao has already fulfilled his duties as a public representative of China and the NBA. As the most popular athlete of his native country, he served as the face of Beijing's hosting of the 2008 Olympics. His unrivaled status has also afforded the NBA inroads to build its business in the world's most populated market.

Throughout his career Yao has heard the warnings of NBA experts that he needed to cut back on his training with the Chinese national team in order to enable his body to rest. Are these injuries a result of overwork?
In any case, no one in the Chinese basketball federation or the NBA could claim that Yao owes anything to either party after all of the prestige and income he has created for basketball around the world.

That's why any decision to return from this latest injury must be a highly personal choice made by Yao alone. He has advanced to the second round of the playoffs once in his nine-year career, and this season marks the fifth time in six years in which he will have played fewer than 60 games. I would be surprised if Yao were to decide to retire. His pursuit of excellence has been defined by his stubborn, tireless and patient approach,
and his love for basketball is unquestioned. But will he view this as another setback worth overcoming? Only he can make that decision now.


source : sportsillustrated.cnn.com

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Macvan finally moving to Maccabi Tel Aviv until 2015

Took em long enough..


Milan Macvan(2.06-PF/C) will be finally moving to Maccabi Tel Aviv and leaving Hemofarm behind. The Serbian rising star is the cornerstone of Hemofarm but with a hefty compensation that is rumored to be about half a million euros he will become the latest addition to the frontline of Maccabi Tel Aviv. There were plenty of rumors about a speculated move throughout the summer but the plan is barely coming to fruition now.

According to kosarka.rs, Macvan will sign a contract for the next 4.5 seasons with Maccabi Tel Aviv and he will be replacing Richard Hendrix(2.02-PF/C) that never managed to win any significant playing time in the Israeli powerhouse. The deal should be announced fairly soon and Macvan will be helping Maccabi Tel Aviv in the next step of the Euroleague. So far he has averaged. So far he has averaged 17 points 8 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 5 games in the Eurocup and also 19.5 points 7.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 11 games in the Adriatic League for Hemofarm. Richard Hendrix might be released at the same time unless his compensation hasn't been worked out yet.

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Panellinios announced Steven Smith

They wanted a center but they signed the first player they saw..


Steven Smith(2.03-PF) was announced today by the official site of Panellinios BC. The deal is valid until the end of the season and Smith will be returning to Greece after season 2008-2009 where he was leading the scoring board playing for Kolossos Rhodes for most of the regular season but an achilles tendon rupture cost him dearly. Last season he played for Ironi Nahariya in Israel and this season he started in Oldenburg but he couldn't adapt to the team's style of playing so he was released.

In Panellinios they needed a center but Steven Smith's case came up so they didn't hesitate to sign because of his previous record in Greece. This season he averaged 8.5 points and 4.7 rebounds in 12 games in the Bundesliga. However Smith is replacing Andre Brown who is a center but Smith is a power forward. Only time will tell if this will help Panellinios who are currently running a bad 1-7 record in Greece.


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Yao Ming is ready to return

Yao Ming said he feels like he is ready to play .


The Rockets center has not been cleared to rejoin the team's workouts because team doctors want him to strengthen the muscles in his left ankle, weakened since his Nov. 10 injury.

"I'm waiting for the green light," Yao said. "When? I don't know. I feel better. It still has some weakness. I'm just not ready to sit out for almost 20 games, particularly when I feel I'm OK. I know when I was in the walking boot, on the crutches, OK, I understand.


"I won't push the trainer or the doctor. They all try to treat me the best that they can. I know they try to find the best way for me to get back on the court."

Yao would not say if he would be playing if the decision were his to make, but when asked if he has made it known how he feels, he laughed and said, "I tell them every day."

Coach Rick Adelman said he has not been told when Yao will be cleared to practice.


source : fanfeedr.com

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Jennings could return to Europe next season due to the NBA lockout

Brandon Jennings spent his first year of professional basketball overseas. He may also spend his fourth.


The trendsetting young Buck could easily see himself going back over the pond next season in the event of a lengthy lockout. A guy’s got to make a living, and Jennings knows the landscape having played in Italy straight out of high school.

“I’m sure my value will be higher than it was before, the first time I went over there,” he told NBA.com last night after helping Milwaukee snap the Mavericks’ 12-game winning streak. “I’m sure this time I’ll get some playing time. The will be the best thing, I’ll be able to play now, make a little money and keep some income coming in for my family.”

Jennings made the ground-breaking leap to Europe in 2008, signing with Lottomatica Roma of the Italian League, instead of going to college. The swift lefty played sparingly with Lottomatica, but did gain valuable experience and it didn’t hurt his draft stock. The Bucks selected Jennings 10th overall in the 2009 Draft.
NBA rules require players to be at least 19 and one year out of high school before being eligible to enter the league. (The union has asked to restore the minimum age back to 18 in its CBA proposal.)

It’s no secret that NBA players are considering playing in professional leagues around the world in the event of a work stoppage. The longer one lasts and the more paychecks are missed, the greater the possibility for many to find employment elsewhere. Players are within their rights to work and therefore play in another league, regardless of their current contract status with NBA teams, in the event of a lockout.

But a major obstacle would be obtaining a letter of clearance from FIBA to sign with international teams, given the relationship between FIBA and the NBA. The NBPA would undoubtedly fight any obstruction, perceived or otherwise, to its members earning a living.

Though his first move to Europe didn’t exactly open the floodgates for other prep players to follow, Jennings may well lead a new exodus to foreign lands.

“Oh yeah, of course I wouldn’t mind going back overseas,” Jennings said. “I’ve been almost everywhere overseas and I lived in Italy for a year. I know what type of game it is and I know what it’s about.”

In the second year of his rookie contract, Jennings said he’s living by a strict budget. He drives a Ford Edge, doesn’t have a fancy house and stays near the Bucks practice center.

“It’s a good thing I’m living in Milwaukee,” Jennings said, “because when the snow comes I’m not leaving the house.”


source : blogs.hangtime.nba.com

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Baskonia made an offer to Pops Mensah-Bonsu

The hero of Granada could return to Spain to the team that almost signed him last summer.


According to tubasket.com, Pops Mensah-Bonsu(2.06-PF) received an offer from Saski Baskonia and he might make it into their roster after all. Bonsu was signed by Baskonia this past summer but the deal was called off and they signed Marcus Haislip(2.07-PF/C) instead. But now Mensah-Bonsu might be released from the New Orleans Hornets and a contract with Baskonia could be a good way for him to return to Europe.

He has been seeing very little playing time in the NBA with the Hornets averaging less than 5 minutes in 7 games whereas in the Euroleague and the ACB his playing time will be significantly longer. He is a vital member of the Great Britain National Team.

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