r                                                The First Meeting

After a month the president of the NBA David Stern will meet with the representative of the players  Billy Hunter, the president of the association of the players Derek Fisher and with the representative of the owners of the teams  Peter Holt who is the owner of the San Antonio Spurs.

                As Derek Fisher stated: Taking into account that in June we tried a lot to reach an agreement before the 1^st of July, since then there is a strange silence from both sides. We will meet so as to see if we have made any progress and try to reach an agreement  until October 1st

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Jason Terry confident that the season will start normally

The Mavericks’ point guard stated that: I can think nothing but a normal begging for the League. A delay is possible. But we have to train as if the league starts normally. We are the champions and everyone will want to defeat us.

                He goes against the grain with his decision to play in Europe such as other NBA stars. As he said: The money of the whole word won’t give more satisfaction than defending the title that I won last year with the Dallas Mavericks.  

Kobe Bryant to play at Turkey for Besiktas

As reports claim the Lakers superstar after a long-lasting phone call with the president of Besiktas  agreed to come to Turkey at the 1^st of September. This transfer will happen with the financial help of the sponsor of the team and the Euroleague the Turkish Airlines. The transfer will cost only 300000$ to Besiktas and the rest of the sum will be paid by the Turkish airlines. If the transfer happens Besiktas will look more like an NBA team than an European basketball team because it will have in its roster three NBAers. Allen Iverson, Deron Williams and Kobe Bryant

            

Rondo ‘s left elbow still hurting

As the Celtics’ point guard stated: “Since I have started playing basketball I have never felt more pain. Now I feel less pain, of course, the swelling has reduced somewhat. Only the joint is still swollen, but I think I'll be alright when needed”

Wade undecided whether he will participate at the USA Olympic team for 2012 Olympics.

As he stated: “It depends on a lot of things. We finished last month so I don’t miss basketball at this time. I have still two weeks of resting before I return to basket. But if the Lockout continues, the sport will be missed by a lot of people.  And when we are out of schedule everything goes out of schedule”

Yao Ming’s Retirement

Yao Ming is the player who changed the history of NBA. First of all he is the first Asian player ever to join a NBA team. That means he managed to connect Asia with the NBA, he made the dream look possible for people all over the world. 

            Now let’s talk about his career and why he decided to retire.

            He started his career playing for the Shanghai Sharks for 5 years. He averaged 38.9 points and 20.2 rebounds a game, while shooting 76.6% from the field. In his rookie season at the age of 17 he averaged 10 points and 8 rebounds a game. In his second year in the CBS he broke his foot.  

This decreased his vertical for 5 inches (13cm). The Houston Rockets picked him at no1 of the 2002 NBA draft. After three years of successful playing in the NBA he started to get continuously injured at his knee and foot.  These continuous injuries made him retire at his 31 years. At his last NBA season he played only 5 games. He managed to get in the playoffs many times in his career and he is an 8 times NBA all-star

Tribute to Dallas Maverick

It was the night of the 20^th of June of 2006 when Miami Heat became the NBA champions for that year after Jason Terry lost a three pointer 3 seconds before the end of the match. The match ended 92-95 and the Miami Heat won the Dallas Mavericks 4-2. Many thinks have changed since then.

June 12^th of 2011

                    2011 NBA finals.

Same teams completely different rosters. In the roster of Dallas Mavericks two players have remained since that night of June back in 2006. These players are Dirk Nowitzki and Jason (JET) Terry.  Many additions have happened in this roster. Jason Kidd, JJ Barea, Shawn Marion, Caron Butler, Tyson Chandler, Deshawn Stevenson, Peja Stojacovic are some of the players that came in order to make the Mavericks the world champions. Of course this didn’t happen in one night. It took 5 years for the Mavericks to fully recover from the 2006 NBA finals lose. And now the revenge is so near. They are winning 3-2 and they are only one step from becoming the NBA champions for 2011. This step is: The forth win in Miami.

            On the other hand, The Heat has spent many millions of dollars to bring Lebron James and Chris Bosh in Miami so as to help Dwayne Wade for a second NBA title. Shaquile O’neal has left Miami but several players have remained in the roster since 2006. And now the second NBA ring is near and very far for Miami. They are one step from getting eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks that means one loss and they are two steps from getting crowned as NBA champions: Two wins in their Homeground.

            Jumball in the American airlines arena in Miami and the Match begins:

Nowitzki has pure shooting performance but that doesn’t matter Jason Terry is there. Lebron James and the Miami Heat take the early lead but in the end is experience and passion that matter and the Dallas Mavericks are the NBA champions for 2011.

                                   

            The movie of the 6^th game of the Finals: Πατηστε Εδώ

           

What does Lockout mean for the NBAers

The consequences of the lockout will be harsh. First of all, the largest percentage of the NBAers will prefer to move to other continents so as to play basketball. For instance they will play basketball in Europe. There are many good teams in Europe such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Panathinaikos,Maccani Tel Aviv  and others. This will occur because in the USA they won’t be able to do so because the NBA League won’t start.

Furthermore they will lose a large amount of money because the teams that can offer so much money to players are limited.

In conclusion, I believe that both players and presidents should try the most they can so as to avoid a Lockout for long time because nobody will win things with a long-lasting Lockout

Update: Deron Williams has signed with Besiktas in Turkey. Further details about the contract will be announced later. Besiktas is the team that signed Allen Iverson last year.

                                                                                                                Makis Dragon

What does Lockout mean for the NBA

    What does Lockout mean for the NBA

First of all, the possibilities of a delay in the starting of the league are very high. Mainly because the two sides, the players and the presidents of the teams, are very far from reaching an agreement. The lockout of 1998 made the league begin at January 7 with 50 games for each team instead of 82 which is the normal.

Furthermore a Lockout might make the funs a bit dissatisfied and make them not willing to go at the stadiums and watch their team. This has happened many times in past lockouts. After these lockouts the NBA fan base took 5 years to become like it was and now that the league attracts more people than ever a lockout for long would be destructive.

Also the main reason for this lockout is the disagreement of the players with the decision of the presidents to reduce their salaries from the 57% of the revenue of each team to 50%. Even if the players agree to this, the revenue from the tickets will be reduced. That means they have done nothing. The revenue of each team will be the same as it was and most teams will continue to have financial problems.

Thoughts on 2011 NBA Draft

Recently,before and after the 2011 NBA Draft, i have heard that this year draft is one of the weakest ever. In my opinion we have not taken everything into account. We judge these players performance NOW. We should not forget than many NBA stars were not selected very high in their year's draft selection.

For example Steve Nash, one of the greatest points guards in the NBA history. He was selected at number fifteen. Before that he had struggled in finding a college to play. Steve Nash has been all-star 7 times in his career and 2 times awarded with MVP award and much more.

Another example is the no 9. and no 10. of 1998 NBA Draft. Dirk Nowitzki was selected at number 9 and Paul Pierce at number 10. These guys are one of the greatest in NBA history. Nowitzki was recently awarded with the Bill Russel MVP award for 2011 NBA finals. Due to his amazing performance in the finals his team, Dallas Mavericks, manage to win the title 4-2 against the Miami Heat. He has also been all-star 9 times in his career. He is also one of the best shooters ever. Paul Pierce, was NBA champion in 2008 NBA championship and also awarded with the MVP award of this year final.

In conclusion, all I want to say in this article is that we should not judge these players from their performance now but after two or three years so as that they have gained enough experience and have improved their technique.