Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008

NBA roundup: Nelson, Mullin to Hall?

The Warriors may not have any official representation the NBA's All-Star festivities, but the old guard made sure the franchise wouldn't be completely forgotten.

In an announcement made in New Orleans on Friday, Warriors coach Don Nelson and executive vice president Chris Mullin were both named to the list of 15 finalists for the Class of 2008 at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

The inductees will be announced on April 7 prior to the NCAA men's basketball championship game in San Antonio.

It's the second time as a finalist for both men; Nelson reached this point in 2006, and Mullin was on last year's list.

Mullin is the only player in Big East history to be named Player of the Year three times. He was a five-time All-Star in an NBA career that spanned 16 seasons, averaging 18.2 points per game on 50.9 percent shooting. He also captured gold medals with the U.S. Olympic team in 1984 and '92.

Nelson ranks second in terms of NBA coaching victories with 1,264, trailing only Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens on that list. He has been named the league's Coach of the Year three times and, with the Warriors' upset of the Dallas Mavericks last season, is the only man to lead a No. 8 seed past a No. 1 in a season-game NBA playoff series.

Others finalists include three men chosen in their first year of eligibility: centers Hakeem Olajuwon of the Houston Rockets and Patrick Ewing of the New York Knicks, plus five-time NBA title-winning coach Pat Riley.

Also on the list are two Brazilians, coach Togo Soares and player Maciel Ubiratan Pereira, Immaculata women's basketball coach Cathy Rush, former Duke coach and Sun Belt Conference commissioner Vic Bubas, Detroit Pistons owner Bill Davidson, NBA scoring machine Adrian Dantley, pioneering point guard Richie Guerin, lockdown defender Dennis Johnson, three-time NBA All-Star turned longtime Chicago Bulls broadcaster Johnny "Red" Kerr and former coach and broadcaster Dick Vitale.

KIDD TRADE -- The Dallas Mavericks and New Jersey Nets are working to resuscitate the trade of Jason Kidd. And it probably will require a transplant or two.

Most likely, it won't happen in the original form. That deal -- already up against a major roadblock in Devean George's continued resistance to giving up a small piece of leverage in his contract -- may face another problem because of Jerry Stackhouse's comments Wednesday.

When the deal became public knowledge, Stackhouse said he wasn't going anywhere and that he would return to the Mavericks after a 30-day sitting period. That's because the Nets would buy out his contract, freeing Stackhouse to rejoin the Mavericks after 30 days.

League spokesman Tim Frank said the league may look into the situation, but added there is no truth to reports that the NBA has decided to block Stackhouse's return to the Mavericks in such a trade.

The league typically frowns on players flaunting loopholes in the collective bargaining agreement. Most likely, this is another situation gumming up things, making it less likely that the original deal will ever come to fruition.

ROOKIE CHALLENGE, at New Orleans -- Daniel Gibson turned the rookie game into a warmup for the 3-point shooting contest.

Gibson made a record 11 3-pointers, many coming right in front of Cleveland teammate LeBron James, and scored 33 points to lead the NBA's sophomores stars to a 136-109 victory over the top rookies on Friday night of All-Star weekend.

Gibson will compete in the 3-point shootout today, and will be hard to beat if he shoots the way he did against the defenseless rookies. He finished three points shy of the game record, set by Amare Stoudemire in 2004. He had a chance to tie, but was short from just inside halfcourt as the buzzer sounded.

Rudy Gay had 22 points for the sophomores, who won their sixth straight in the series. Kevin Durant, the No. 2 pick in the draft, scored 23 points for the rookies.

ALL-STAR UNCERTAINTY -- Kobe Bryant will start for the Western Conference in the All-Star game, and Jason Kidd will be in the lineup for the East.

Probably.

But with Bryant's right pinkie in a splint and Kidd stuck somewhere between New Jersey and Dallas in the midst of a trade on hold, nothing was a guarantee for either player.

Bryant said he'd "rather not play" Sunday night, but doesn't think he has a choice. NBA policy dictates that if a player is healthy enough to play in the final game before the break and the first one after, he won't be excused from the All-Star game. Bryant is hardly pleased with the rule.

"But what can you do?" he said. "I don't want to be suspended, miss a game."