Archives › Kurt Helin
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Michael Ilitch wants own all of Detroit sports, including he Pistons
Aug 9, 2010, 12:43 PM EDT
5 CommentsMichael Ilitch owns the Detroit Red Wings. He owns the Detroit Tigers. And he wants to own the Detroit Pistons – and move their home base back into the city. He is already building a stadium that the Red Wings will call home (Joe Louis arena has history but old) and he wants the Pistons…
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Andris Biedrins not showing the love to Golden State this summer
Aug 9, 2010, 12:00 PM EDT
This summer, Andris Biedrins isn’t working out with the Warriors. He went off on his own. And after a year where his coach generally jerked him around then called him on his (admittedly terrible) free throw shooting, a year where he thinks the team doctors may not have been forthcoming about his injury, it’s kind…
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That whole playing a lot of basketball as a youth, getting good coaching in high school and from AAU mentors, going to a college and really maturing your game, then finally getting drafted into the NBA thing is hard. Really hard. You have to have athletic gifts then be willing to work your butt off…
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The Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers are the undisputed kings of NBA marketing hype. When the league wants to put its best face forward — opening night, Christmas day — these are the teams you will see. But right behind them is the Oklahoma City Thunder. And that is the rare triumph of a…
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He’s one of the guys (along with Derrick Rose and Luol Deng) that the Bulls kept selling to free agents as an important part of their future, part of their core. So the Bulls had better lock up Joakim Noah to a longer term deal. And, according to Noah, via ESPNChicago.com, those talks are already…
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NBA owners complaining about Isiah Thomas deal, but NBA may approve
Aug 9, 2010, 8:53 AM EDT
One of the NBA rules guiding its executives — nobody can have contact with a college underclassman. Another put in with the age-limit requirement is that nobody from an NBA front office can scout high school players. Isiah Thomas’ new deal has him both as a full-time college coach at Florida International University (where he…
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Report: Pistons not close to signing McGrady, still thinking it over
Aug 9, 2010, 1:48 AM EDT
It’s not you, it’s me. I just need to think about it some more. That’s essentially what the Pistons have told Tracy McGrady. No decision yet, according to David Aldridge at NBA.com. Sources told him Detroit is thinking over offering a contract. The Pistons “are not about to do anything” imminently with McGrady, the source…
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Mr. Irrelevant is going to Italy. Dwyane Collins was the last player selected in the NBA draft. No. 60. The Mr. Irrelevant position, which is exactly what Collins had tattooed onto his hand as a reminder. He’ll be getting that reminder in Italy next year, as he has signed to play Cimberio Varese for next…
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Video: LeBron speaks in Akron, expressing his love for Cleveland
Aug 8, 2010, 6:18 PM EDT
Here’s the video, LeBron James speaking in Akron at his annual bike-a-thon for charity. He says all the right things. Clevelanders would like to remind you that actions speak louder than words.
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Shaq wants Sheed to come back to Boston and form a real frontcourt logjam
Aug 8, 2010, 2:00 PM EDT
Rasheed Wallace is on the fence about retirement — last year was physically hard for him, but the chance to come back with a team to make one more run at a title has to be a big temptation. Shaquille O’Neal — the newest member of the Celtics frontcourt, told Comcast Sports New England he…
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Tracy McGrady has had two workouts for teams. There was the Clippers, but that was almost considered a favor for his agent and an effort to put pressure on Chicago to act. The Clippers roster is was fairly set and McGrady was not going to be part of it unless he blew them away. He…
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There are plenty of young NBA fans out there — probably even young Celtics fans — who are saying “Dennis Johnson who?” He is maybe the best baller ever to come out of the prettiest college campus in America, Pepperdine. He was the point guard for much of the 1980s Celtics run, the teams known…
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Reinsdorf: Six Bulls titles would not have happened without Pippen
Aug 6, 2010, 9:02 PM EDT
Scottie Pippen was a fantastic player. Scottie Pippen deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, as will formally happen next week. Pippen deserves the accolades that will come his way. But it’s hard to read what Bulls owner Jerry Riesndorf said about Pippen to Bulls.com without feeling there is another slight toward Michael Jordan…
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Bulls sign deal with Keith Bogans, you can forget about McGrady now
Aug 6, 2010, 7:41 PM EDT
The Bulls wanted a little more depth on the wing, someone who could stretch the floor. Enter Keith Bogans, the former Spur who started 50 games for the team last year, signed a two-year deal with the Bulls. Bogans is a solid outside shooter (35.7 percent from three last year) who can be plugged in…
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Anthony Tolliver has made "The Decision Part Deux:" He will sign with Minnesota
Aug 6, 2010, 4:26 PM EDT
Classic. Got to love Anthony Tolliver. Tolliver has agreed to a two-year deal with Minnesota worth up to $4.8 million. It had been down to Minnesota and Golden State, and while Tolliver had said he preferred the Bay Area if the money was significantly more he was going to take the money. Minnesota and David…
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Knicks are bringing back Isiah Thomas as a consultant. No, it is not April 1.
Aug 6, 2010, 3:44 PM EDT
UPDATE 3:44 pm: The NBA is officially looking into this deal — where a college head coach consults with an NBA team and is considered a player “recruiter” — to see if it violates league rules. Those league rules include that a team representative cannot have contact with college underclassmen. Which is essentially the core…
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While the Cavaliers were losing to the Boston Celtics, J.J. Hickson spent a lot of time watching. Hickson played just shy of 21 minutes a game during last regular season, but that dropped to 7.2 minutes per game in the playoffs. Plenty of people wanted to know why. Byron Scott is not going to make…
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I care little about the semantics of the trick shot — what is the longest/farthest/whatever. I know that’s a big controversy and all for some folks, just can’t get into it. I just like the shots. And as I live in the city, I had never thought of what the East Side crew did. Enjoy.…
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Jerry Buss says the Lakers are not cutting costs. Very true — on the court.
Aug 6, 2010, 12:45 PM EDT
Right now, as you are reading this, the Lakers have a payroll of $91,906,072 for next season (thank you Sham Sports). That is more than $500,000 higher than the Lakers payroll last season, which was already higher than any other team in the Association. And we are underestimating Shannon Brown’s salary by roughly $500,000. Plus…
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Nobody who has seen Shaquille O’Neal in the past few years questions that the man can eat. But the man is no professional. Some footage from the upcoming “Shaq vs.” leaked and it has O’Neal taking on professional competitive eater Joey Chestnut — the slayer of Kobayashi — in a hot dog eating contest. And…
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You don’t think of France as an international basketball powerhouse — because they are not — but they were going to roll out an impressive and long NBA front line in Turkey next month: Joakim Noah (Chicago), Boris Diaw (Charlotte) and Ian Mahinmi (Dallas). Well, they still have two thirds of that. French coach Vincent…
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Shaquille O’Neal and his people tried hard. They pushed the idea that he as a bargain at the mid-level exception of $5.8 million, that he was a guy who should start and get big minutes still. That is what got in the way of him coming to Atlanta, and saving face was why he chose…
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The New Jersey Nets have signed forward Sean May to a one-year deal, according to Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski. What that really means: You are going to see a lot of Derrick Favors for the Nets. The Nets have not really brought in a guy who can backup Favors for extended minutes. They are going to…
