BIG3 Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Jersey Ads, Bibby, C. Bell, Delfino

February 27th, 2019 at 2:30pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s jersey patch experiment has been a success for the league, generating more than $150MM in new revenue, per a report from Terry Lefton and John Lombardo of SportsBusiness Journal (hat tip to RealGM). According to Lefton and Lombardo, uniform sponsorship deals to date have ranged in value from about $5-20MM per year, but executives expect that number to increase in value when it’s time to renew agreements.

“Like most teams, we’re heading towards renewal thinking these are worth substantially more, because the impression numbers have been so good,” Bucks president Peter Feigin said.

While the NBA will look to extend the program, there’s no demand to increase the size of the patches beyond their current dimensions (2.5-by-2.5 inches), league and team officials tell Lefton and Lombardo.

Currently, 29 of the league’s 30 teams have sponsored patches on their jerseys, with the Thunder representing the lone holdout so far. The full list of sponsors by team can be found right here.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

NBA coaching hopeful – and longtime guard – Mike Bibby is under investigation after being accused of sexual abuse and harassment by a teacher at Shadow Mountain High School, according to Lily Altavena of The Arizona Republic. Bibby recently coached the school’s basketball team to its fourth consecutive state title, but has been removed from his position following these allegations, Altavena writes in a separate story.
The BIG3 has added another former NBA starter to its player pool, announcing this week (via Twitter) that Charlie Bell will participate in the 3-on-3 league this season. A one-time Michigan State standout, Bell appeared in 376 total regular season NBA games between 2001-11, primarily as a member of the Bucks.
Another former NBA player, Carlos Delfino, has a new team in Italy, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, who passes along word that the veteran forward has officially signed with Fortitudo Bologna. Delfino had a contentious exit from his former team, Fiat Torino, earlier in the season.
In an entertaining Insider-only article for ESPN.com, Chris Herring, Bobby Marks, and Kevin Pelton ranked the NBA’s top 25 players under the age of 25. Giannis Antetokounmpo tops the list, followed by Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Karl-Anthony Towns, Ben Simmons, and Luka Doncic.

Gilbert Arenas To Play In BIG3

February 14th, 2019 at 8:39am CST by Luke Adams

The BIG3 has added another notable name to its roster of players, announcing this morning (via Twitter) that former NBA guard Gilbert Arenas is joining the league for the 2019 season.

Arenas, one of the NBA’s most memorable characters over the last couple decades, hasn’t played in the league since 2011/12, but is still just 37 years old. In 11 NBA seasons, the man known as Agent Zero averaged 20.7 PPG and 5.3 APG, earning three All-Star nods during his time with the Wizards. He also spent time with the Warriors, Magic, and Grizzlies.

In addition to his on-court achievements, Arenas is remembered for an off-court altercation involving then-teammate Javaris Crittenton. The two players brought guns into the Wizards’ locker room and, according to an account from Caron Butler, an argument over gambling debts resulted in Crittenton pointing one of those guns at Arenas. Both players earned lengthy suspensions due to the incident.

The BIG3, a three-on-three league which already featured former NBA players like Baron Davis, Nate Robinson, Rashard Lewis, Carlos Boozer, Stephen Jackson, and Kenyon Martin, has been adding to its player pool in recent weeks. Lamar Odom, Daniel Gibson, C.J. Watson, Steve Blake, Carlos Arroyo, and Royce White are among the newest additions to the BIG3.

Categories:
BIG3
Gilbert Arenas

And-Ones: A. Davis, Moreland, Weber, Stokes

February 11th, 2019 at 4:05pm CST by Luke Adams

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported last week that the Pelicans were told by the NBA that they’d be subject to fines of $100K per game if they sit a healthy Anthony Davis for the rest of the season, but league spokesperson Mike Bass suggested today that that’s not quite right, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter links).

“The NBA did not tell New Orleans that it would be fined $100K per game if Anthony Davis were held out for the remainder of [the] season,” Bass said in a statement to Stein. “The Pelicans were advised that the team had not identified a proper basis for making that determination at this time and league rules governing competitive integrity therefore require that he be permitted to play.”

It seems clear that the Pelicans will face penalties if they elect to sit Davis and ensure that he’s healthy in advance of summer trade talks, and the league’s approach to the issue has been the subject of plenty of debate among NBA observers.

Several other teams, including the Rockets (Carmelo Anthony), Cavaliers (J.R. Smith), and Grizzlies (Chandler Parsons) have held out healthy players for much of the season, not even requiring those players to be with the team, and they haven’t faced any sort of discipline from the NBA, as Stein tweets. Of course, those players don’t have nearly the same on-court impact that Davis has — the Pelicans can’t make the case that they’re better off without AD, whereas perhaps those teams could have made that case with regard to their exiled players.

On the other hand, Davis and his representatives were fined by the league for making a public trade request, and it’s probably in the Pelicans’ best long-term interests to sit the All-NBA big man to protect their trade asset and to improve their spot in the draft lottery, writes Michael McCann of Sports Illustrated. You could make the case that the Pelicans should be allowed to run their team as they wish, given the unusual circumstances surrounding Davis and the franchise.

As we wait to see how the AD saga plays out, let’s round up some odds and ends from around the basketball world…

While players who were released at the trade deadline are generating the most speculation at the moment, keep an eye on Eric Moreland, tweets Michael Scotto of The Athletic. According to Scott, Moreland – who was waived by Phoenix last month – is on NBA teams’ radars.
It got lost amidst last week’s trade deadline madness, but journeyman guard Briante Weber has landed in the EuroLeague, inking a contract with Greece’s Olympiacos. Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops first reported that Weber was nearing an agreement with Olympiacos, while Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link) confirmed that a deal was in place.
Free agent big man Jarnell Stokes, who last played in the NBA in 2016/17 for Denver, has reached an agreement with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in China, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. We reported at the end of January that Stokes was drawing interest from Chinese clubs.
Longtime NBA guard Carlos Arroyo, who played in 569 total regular season games for seven teams, has joined the BIG3 draft pool for the 2019 season, the league announced today (via Twitter). The BIG3 has slowly been revealing the new additions to its player pool for ’19, as we noted last week.

Lamar Odom, More Former NBA Players Join BIG3

February 7th, 2019 at 10:46am CST by Luke Adams

Longtime NBA forward Lamar Odom, who spent 14 seasons with the Clippers, Lakers, Heat, and Mavericks, has become the latest addition to the BIG3 player pool, the league announced on Thursday (via Twitter).

Odom hasn’t played in the NBA since 2012/13, when he wrapped up his career with the Clippers. He signed with a team in Spain in 2014, but lasted just two games before returning home with a back injury. The former NBA champion has battled addiction issues and survived a drug overdose several years ago, but is healthy now and indicated back in the fall that he intended to join Ice Cube’s three-on-three league.

Odom is one of a handful of former NBA players who have joined the BIG3 within the last week, as the league has slowly been revealing the new additions to its player pool for the upcoming 2019 season. Besides Odom, the following players are poised to play in the BIG3 for the first time this year:

Steve Blake, G (link)
Will Bynum, G (link)
Daniel Gibson, G (link)
C.J. Watson, G (link)
Royce White, F (link)

White is a former first-round pick while the other four veterans all played in the NBA for at least seven seasons. Watson suited up for an NBA squad most recently, appearing in 62 games for Orlando in 2016/17.

As we previously relayed, the BIG3 is adding four new teams for the 2019 season and expanding its schedule. In 2018, a team featuring longtime NBA players Corey Maggette, Glen Davis, Cuttino Mobley, and Quentin Richardson – and coached by Hall-of-Famer Nancy Lieberman – won the league’s title.

And-Ones: Munford, Stokes, Davis, Perkins, Brown

January 31st, 2019 at 10:48pm CST by JD Shaw

Former NBA guard Xavier Munford has left the Chinese Basketball Association to join the Wisconsin Herd, G League affiliate of the Bucks, the team announced this week.

Munford appeared in 34 games with the Herd last season, holding per-game averages of 24.4 points, five rebounds and 5.2 assists. He shot 50.9% from the floor and 44.4% from 3-point range during that stint, earning a two-way contract with the Bucks in January of 2018.

Munford went unsigned in free agency and agreed to a deal with the Fuijan Sturgeons this past December. He holds NBA experience with the Grizzlies and multiple summer league stints over the past few seasons, going undrafted in 2014 out of Rhode Island. NBA teams could look to Munford for a potential 10-day contract in the coming weeks.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Free agent Jarnell Stokes has registered interest from teams in China, a source told Hoops Rumors. The Sioux Falls Skyforce announced that Stokes, 25, left the team this week to pursue other opportunities. Stokes was waived from his two-way contract with the Grizzlies in early January after the team was faced with injuries to Dillon Brooks, Kyle Anderson and other wing players.
The Maine Red Claws have re-acquired Trey Davis, the team announced in a press release. Davis is expected to be in uniform on Friday when Maine takes on the Greensboro Swarm. Davis, a 6-foot point guard, originally made the team out of open tryouts as an undrafted guard in 2017.
Kendrick Perkins and Shannon Brown have become the latest ex-NBA players to sign with Ice Cube’s BIG3 league this summer, the association announced (Twitter links). Perkins, a bruising center who spent 15 seasons in the NBA, played a key role in helping the Celtics win a championship in 2008. Brown, a high-flying guard who held stints with several different teams, won two NBA championships as a member of the Lakers in 2009 and 2010.

And-Ones: BIG3, Stretch Provision, Hawes

January 10th, 2019 at 3:34pm CST by Luke Adams

Changes are coming to Ice Cube‘s BIG3 basketball league for the 2019 season, as the BIG3 announced today (via Twitter) that it will expand from eight teams to 12. According to Ice Cube (via Twitter), the first of those four new franchises – the Triplets – will be coached by longtime WNBA star Lisa Leslie.

In other BIG3 news, the league is lowering its age minimum from 30 years to 27 and will allow current NBA or international pros to participate. The BIG3 will also play games twice a week in 2019, appearing in a total of 18 cities.

In 2018, a team featuring longtime NBA players Corey Maggette, Glen Davis, Cuttino Mobley, and Quentin Richardson – and coached by Hall-of-Famer Nancy Lieberman – won the BIG3 title.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

In an interesting piece for SI.com, Jake Fischer takes a closer look at the pros and cons of the NBA’s stretch provision from the perspective of players impacted by it.
Within that same story, Fischer notes that veteran NBA center Spencer Hawes continues to seek another shot in the league. “I don’t want to go out getting cut,” said Hawes, who was waived by the Bucks in September 2017. “I know it’s a rare thing to kind of go out on your terms. But I still have a lot in the tank. I don’t want to look back and say I was done at 29 and just kind of gave up on it.”
Teams that still have mid-level and bi-annual exceptions available will see those exceptions prorate daily by 1/177th starting today, ESPN’s Bobby Marks points out (via Twitter). For instance, the $8.641MM mid-level exception will decline in value by about $49K per day for the rest of the season. Proration won’t impact trade exceptions or disabled player exceptions.
After some confusion on Wednesday, Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days confirms (via Twitter) that Orlando’s G League affiliate has waived rookie Justin Jackson following his season-ending injury. The Lakeland Magic have added Anthony Brown to replace Jackson, notes Johnson.

Lamar Odom Plans To Join BIG3

November 3rd, 2018 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lamar Odom hasn’t given up on his basketball career, even at age 38 and after a catastrophic health emergency in 2015, tweets Ryan Ward of Clutch Points. Odom told Ward that he plans to play in the BIG3 League next summer and would like to get an opportunity in China (hat tip to Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype).

“I’m getting myself into game shape, which I’m not too far from it now,” Odom said. “I’ll be playing. Hopefully, I’ll be playing. I also plan to play in the CBA in China in 2019 … I just want to compete again. NBA2K is not enough.”

Odom spent 14 seasons in the NBA, but hasn’t been in the league since 2012/13, when he wrapped up his career with the Clippers. He signed with a team in Spain in 2014, but lasted just two games before returning home with a back injury.

Odom suffered a severe health scare following a drug overdose three years ago. He claims he had 12 strokes and six heart attacks and was hospitalized for about three months.

Several of Odom’s former teammates have prominent roles in the BIG3, Kalbrosky notes, including Corey Maggette, Quentin Richardson and Kwame Brown.

Kobe Bryant Reiterates He’s Done Playing Basketball

August 28th, 2018 at 3:10pm CST by Luke Adams

Having been the subject of recent speculation involving the BIG3, Kobe Bryant appeared on The Rich Eisen Show to reiterate that he has no plans to come out of retirement and play basketball again in the NBA, the BIG3, or any other league, as Christian Rivas of Silver Screen & Roll relays.

“There’s about a 0% chance that I come back to play,” Bryant said. “Nothing. Done, that’s it.”

Bryant, who turned 40 years old on Thursday, last appeared in the NBA in 2016 when he scored 60 points in his final game as a Laker. The 18-time All-Star’s notorious competitiveness led to some speculation that he wouldn’t be able to stay away from the game for good. As he explains to Eisen though, Kobe viewed that skepticism as a challenge in its own right.

“When I retired, everybody was saying, ‘OK, he’s too competitive, he’s not going to know what to do with himself, he’s going to have to come back,'” Bryant said. “I took that as a personal challenge of them thinking I am this one-dimensional person, that all I know is how to dribble the ball, shoot the ball and play basketball. … I took that as a personal challenge.

“I will never come back to the game, ever,” Bryant continued. “I’m here to show people that we (professional athletes) can do much more than that. Creating this business, winning an Oscar, winning an Emmy, those are things that are showing other athletes that come after, ‘No, no. There is more to this thing.’ So I would never (come out of retirement). It’s not even a thought.”

Of course, Bryant hasn’t stepped entirely away from the game of basketball — he continues to work with some NBA players who have reached out to him, and he coaches his daughter’s team. However, he appears to have definitively shut the door on his days as a player.

BIG3 co-founder Ice Cube joked last week that Bryant would need to get a “restraining order” against him to stop him from trying to convince Kobe to join the BIG3. But by the sounds of it, Ice Cube and fellow co-founder Jeff Kwatinetz won’t have much luck with their recruiting efforts.

And-Ones: Kobe, C. Randle, Seattle, Ball Family

August 23rd, 2018 at 9:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kobe Bryant retired from the Lakers two years ago, but his days of competitive basketball may not be over. BIG3 founder Ice Cube plans to make a strong push to get Bryant involved in his three-on-three league of former NBA players, relays Nina Mandell of USA Today.

“To me he’s the biggest name out there for us to get and he’s going to have to get a restraining order on me to leave him alone about this,” Ice Cube said.

BIG3 co-founder Jeff Kwatinetz started the rumor mill earlier this week by indicating in a conference call that Bryant had interest in joining the league, but a spokesperson for Bryant later issued a denial. Bryant, who turned 40 today, suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon and underwent knee surgery late in his career.

There’s more NBA-related news to pass along:

In a G League trade, the expansion Capital City Go-Go acquired the rights to Chasson Randle from Westchester, according to a tweet from the Knicks. Randle agreed to a training camp deal last month with the Wizards, who are the parent team of the Go-Go. Randle, 25, had brief stints with the Sixers and Knicks during the 2016/17 season. In return, Westchester received the rights to center Stephen Zimmerman, who was selected in Wednesday’s expansion draft.
In a separate deal announced by the Knicks (Twitter link), Westchester acquired the G League rights to Duje Dukan from Capital City, Wisconsin received the rights to Travis Trice and the Go-Go got the rights to Josh Davis.
The NBA’s return to Seattle will be televised by ESPN, relays Jordan Ramirez of NBA.com. The Kings and the Warriors will square off October 5 in the first NBA game at Key Arena since the SuperSonics left for Oklahoma City a decade ago.
The Ball family didn’t make a good impression during its four months in Lithuania, according to Steve Gardner of USA Today. LaVar Ball pulled his sons LiAngelo and LaMelo off their BC Prinai-Skycop team with two games remaining in the season and left a lot of animosity behind. In a press release issued today by the team, coach Virginijus Seskus claims the Ball brothers were “nowhere near the level of the LKL (Lithuanian league)” and “they had no inner drive to become better.” BC Prinai-Skycop also claims that LaVar Ball took back his financial support from the team, along with shooting machines that were presented as gifts.
In the latest installment of her five-part series on mental health issues in the NBA, Jackie MacMullan of ESPN talks to referees about the stress they face. Joey Crawford, one of the game’s legendary officials, discusses his experience with counseling after being suspended following a 2007 confrontation with Tim Duncan.

And-Ones: Mental Health, Rookie Extensions, BIG3

August 22nd, 2018 at 12:37pm CST by Luke Adams

The mental health of NBA players has become a more frequent topic of conversation over the last year, with stars like DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Love speaking out about their own battles with issues like depression and anxiety. ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan is taking a deep dive into the subject this week with a five-part series on mental health and the NBA.

The first installment of MacMullan’s series featured some fascinating tidbits about individual players, along with an interesting note about the disagreement between the union and some team owners about how mental health issues ought to be handled. According to MacMullan, the player’s union insists that mental health treatment remain confidential, but multiple NBA owners want access to their players’ files, given their level of investment in those players. The NBA has sided with the players on issues of confidentiality.

For those interested in the subject, the second and third pieces in MacMullan’s series have also been published and are worth checking out. Parts four and five will go up later this week.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

Which of the players eligible for rookie scale extensions this year are the best candidates to receive new deals? Tom Ziller of SBNation.com breaks it down, noting that Karl-Anthony Towns and Kristaps Porzingis are the only viable candidates for maximum-salary extensions now that Devin Booker has signed one.
Teams who lose a star player or find themselves trending downward after years of playoff contention should think long and hard before committing to tanking, according to Spencer Davies of Basketball Insiders, who makes the case that an all-out tank isn’t always the best path for a rebuilding team to take.
The BIG3 announced several awards for its 2018 season, including Corey Maggette for MVP, Al Harrington for the “Too Hard to Guard” award, and – of course – Gary Payton for the title of Best Trash Talker (all Twitter links).

Categories:
BIG3