Posts Tagged ‘Michael Kidd Gilchrist’

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That’s A Wrap For the Rookies

August 21, 2012  ·  3:59PM

 

GREENBURGH, N.Y. – The 2012 Rookie Photo Shoot took place at the Knicks’ practice facility on Tuesday, with 39 incoming rookies making the rounds, posing for Panini and NBA Entertainment. It was a six-hour day, broken up by a lunch break reminiscent of a SportsCenter commercial.

Every first round pick from this year’s draft, except for the Magic’s Maurice Harkless, was here. Also here were a handful of second rounders and last year’s No. 5 pick, Jonas Valanciunas, fresh off Lithuania’s eighth-place finish at the Olympics.

We had five guys from Kentucky, four from UNC, three from Baylor and three from Duke. There were three Mavs, three Pistons, three Warriors, three Rockets and three Raptors. But none of the Nets’ three rookies were at the shoot, so the new black-and-white Brooklyn uniforms are still very much under wraps. No. 2 pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was in the building, sporting the new Bobcats road threads though.

In addition to posing for still photos, the players spoke with NBA TV’s Dennis Scott and the youngest member of the media, 16 year old Karl Towns Jr., who was interviewing players for MSG Varsity. (Here he is with Draymond Green.) Towns is the high school star from New Jersey who played for the Dominican Republic national team this summer and was about five minutes away from being an Olympian. And he’s already about as tall as Valanciunas.

Speaking of Olympians, Anthony Davis brought along his gold medal, and I believe that’s a first for the Rookie Photo Shoot.

Detroit’s Andre Drummond and Oklahoma City’s Perry Jones each tried their hands at the DJ table after lunch, but there was no impromptu dunk contest like when Terrico White stole the show two years ago. And apparently, the Carolina guys like old school R&B, because Kendall Marshall requested some Barry White and John Henson was seen singing along a few minutes later on the other side of the gym.

The photos have been taken, and soon the basketball cards will be printed. Now that the Rookie Transition Program and the Rookie Photo Shoot are over, it’s time for these guys to get back to getting ready for the season.

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Posted in 2012, 2012 NBA Draft / Comments (6) /

Rookies Get In Front Of The Camera

August 21, 2012  ·  10:15AM

GREENBURGH, NY – Things may seem quiet around the NBA these days, but this is the time when guys ramp up preparation for the upcoming season.

The newest class of rookies is taking a break from on-court work for a few days in order to learn about the NBA lifestyle. For the past three days, the rookies have taken part in the Rookie Transition Program, learning from experts and former players about finances, nutrition, groupies, media relations and plenty of other off-court issues that they’ll have to deal with as players.

Now that they’ve gone through that, it’s time for the rookies to have some fun at the annual Rookie Photo Shoot.

For most of the 39 rookies that will be at the Knicks’ practice facility on Tuesday, the Rookie Photo Shoot is their first opportunity to wear their new uniform. Players only get practice jerseys for Summer League, but they get the real deal for the Photo Shoot (unless you were a babyfaced Thunder rookie in 2008).

The main purpose of the six-hour shoot is to get these guys’ mugs (and those new uniforms) on their first Panini basketball cards. But the folks at NBA Entertainment also take the opportunity to build their photo library with gems like this and this. (more…)

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Posted in HT News / Comments (4) /

Observations From Las Vegas

July 21, 2012  ·  11:51AM




LAS VEGAS – Some thoughts just before leaving summer league, minus comment on the mean, mean lady standing on the other side of the table with an obvious anti-media bias constantly dealing 12s, 13s and 14s while turning face cards for the house:

  • The Bobcats are intriguing. Really. How will Mike Dunlap, a respected basketball mind but a surprise hire, do as a first-time NBA head coach? Can Bismack Biyombo, a project as a 2011 lottery pick who had some encouraging progress last season, take a big step toward becoming the ferocious defensive presence many envision? How will Dunlap find time for rookies Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Jeff Taylor when both are small forwards? That’s a lot of prominent storylines at once.

One certain outcome, at least, will be to play Kidd-Gilchrist and Taylor together, an option since both are versatile and talented defenders. Dunlap sees them as capable of guarding either backcourt spot and, if the opponent goes small, either forward.

The Bobcats didn’t get the chance to test drive the look because MKG, the No. 2 pick, missed four of five games with a sore left knee, an absence they termed precautionary. But it was easy to see why some teams thought Taylor, who was picked at No. 31, could have been drafted eight or 10 picks higher. He’s smart, has improved his jumper a lot, is athletic and defends. That’s a nice future for a second-rounder.

“He reminds me a lot of Shane Battier,” Dunlap said. (more…)

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Posted in 2012 Summer League / Comments (13) /

Las Vegas Summer League: Day 1 Recap

July 14, 2012  ·  12:38AM

By Drew Packham, NBA.com



The first day of Summer League action in Las Vegas closed out a marathon day of hoops (Just ask Lang Whitaker, who was a trooper  and blogged the whole thing for NBA.com). We got our first look at several lottery picks, including Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who had 18 points, eight rebounds and four steals to help the Bobcats blow out the Kings 121-87 in the nightcap. Kidd-Gilchrist and Kemba Walker was an animated backcourt for the Bobcats, bringing a lot of energy, laughing and clapping throughout the game. (This is what winning feels like, Kemba.)

Rookie of the day: Donatas Motiejunas, Rockets. The Rockets’ 2011 draft night acquisition scored 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds in his first action with the team. Motiejunas was aggressive and showed off his shooting touch, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers.

Non-rookie of the day: Klay Thompson, who came on in the second half of the season, scored 24 points to lead Golden State’s 90-50  dismantling of the Lakers. The second-year guard out of Washington State was 6-for-8 on 3-pointers and showed why the Warriors were willing to deal Monta Ellis to the Bucks last season.

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Posted in 2012 Summer League / Comments (7) /

Kentucky Comes Out On Top Again

June 28, 2012  ·  11:57PM




NEWARK – The University of Kentucky basketball program has had a pretty good year.

The Wildcats capped off a 38-2 season with a national championship on April 2. And Thursday, Kentucky became the first program in history to produce the top two picks of the NBA Draft.

We’ve known for quite some time that Anthony Davis would be the No. 1 pick. And a month ago, we learned that the New Orleans Hornets would be the lucky team to get him.

But then the Charlotte Bobcats surprised us a little by selecting Davis’ teammate Michael Kidd-Gilchrist with the No. 2 pick. To do that, the Cats passed on Thomas Robinson, who most draftniks had pegged as going second.

Charlotte, of course, needed help at every position and on both ends of the floor. There were multiple reports that they discussed trading the pick, but they apparently decided to keep it, and they apparently decided that Kidd-Gilchrist was the second-best player in the draft.

“It’s crazy,” Davis said of he and his teammate going 1-2. “Michael is a great player. We have two down and four more to go.”

The four more Wildcats followed: Terrence Jones went to Houston at No. 18, Marquis Teague went at No. 29 to Chicago, Doron Lamb at No. 42 to Milwaukee, and Darius Miller at No. 46 to New Orleans (where he’ll join Davis).

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Posted in 2012 NBA Draft / Comments (9) /

Draft Comparisons: Davis, Robinson, Beal & Kidd-Gilchrist

June 27, 2012  ·  8:06PM





HANG TIME NEW JERSEY – As Draft time rolls around and we learn about the next class of NBA rookies, there’s a desire to compare each to players we’re already familiar with.

No two players are exactly alike and some players are more unique than others. But you can find comparisons by watching video, crunching stats or matching measurements. For this exercise, we did the latter two.

Listed below are four of the top picks, along with the current NBA players they compare with most. For this exercise, we looked at 10 stats from each player’s last season in college, and eight measurements taken at the annual pre-draft combine.

Because we used college numbers and combine numbers, the only current players we could compare this year’s prospects to were the ones who played in college (so no LeBron James or Dwight Howard) and participated in the combine since 2000 (Rajon Rondo is one notable name missing in that respect).

The following comparisons aren’t gospel, of course, but they’re one way to get read for the draft on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). (more…)

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Posted in 2012 NBA Draft / Comments Off /

Draft Deal Based On Pursuit Of Beal?

June 25, 2012  ·  2:51PM





HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – We go through this in the days leading up to the NBA Draft every year. One college star always seems to generate buzz and you start hearing the rumors about teams falling over each other to trade up and get him.

Former Florida shooting guard Bradley Beal is that player this time around. The Cleveland Cavaliers are fans of the player some Draft pundits compare favorably to Ray Allen when he was just a teenager and rumored to be interested in doing whatever it takes to trade up by Thursday night to acquire that No. 2 pick so they can select Beal before someone else does.

The Bobcats currently own the No. 2 pick but, per Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld, they are considering all of their options:

Since landing the 2nd overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft Lottery the Charlotte Bobcats have made no secret of their desire to move down from the #2 spot and try to secure multiple assets in this draft in efforts to rebuild the team around a youth movement.

The Bobcats met with Kansas big man Thomas Robinson over the weekend and are debating their options with the #2.

(more…)

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Posted in 2012 NBA Draft / Comments (15) /

Wizards Poised To Make A Splash?

June 20, 2012  ·  4:59PM





MIAMI – The Washington Wizards have been down this road before, making moves as the draft approaches and preparing themselves for what could be, if everything falls into place.

Their ongoing real franchise makeover that began at the trade deadline with the addition of Nene for JaVale McGee was followed up with this afternoon’s announcement that the Wizards have acquired Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza from the New Orleans Hornets for Rashard Lewis and the No. 46 pick in next week’s draft.

“We are pleased to add two more solid pieces as we continue to build our roster with a balance of proven veterans and the core of young talent that we have developed,” Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld said in a statement released by the team. “Emeka’s defensive presence and rebounding ability will combine with Trevor’s versatility to add new dimensions to our frontcourt, and both players fit in very well with the type of team-first culture that we have been working to establish.”

The Wizards get two starters to flank John Wall and Nene from the Hornets in exchange for Lewis and the cap flexibility he will bring. Lewis can be bought out for $13.7 million by the June 30 deadline, which is roughly half of the nearly $23 million he is owed next season. The Hornets have not indicated what direction they plan to go with Lewis, but his expiring deal will give them some room to work with in free agency sooner or later.

(more…)

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Posted in 2012 NBA Playoffs / Comments (45) /

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