NBA News

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed second-round draft pick Chris Richard. Terms of the contract were not disclosed Saturday. The six-foot-nine forward from Florida was the 41st overall selection in the 2007 draft. Timberwolves vice-president of basketball operations Kevin McHale said Richard will bring size and toughness to the team's frontcourt.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) _ The Golden State Warriors signed Troy Hudson on Monday, adding a veteran free-agent guard to their young roster. Hudson played 34 games last year in his fifth season with the Minnesota Timberwolves, who paid more than US$12 million to buy out his contract Aug. 3. He struggled with ankle injuries for nearly three years in Minnesota before getting stuck behind Mike James and Randy Foye on the bench last year. Golden State waived guard ...

SEATTLE (AP) _ Seattle city officials filed a lawsuit Monday to keep the SuperSonics from leaving town. The lawsuit filed in King County Superior Court was a counter move to a Sonics' attempt to be released from their lease on KeyArena. According to the complaint, ``The Sonics promised to `play all home games ... exclusively''' at the arena at the Seattle Center through Sept. 30, 2010. ``The city, with the help of some fine lawyers, is standing up ...

NEW YORK (AP) _ A Madison Square Garden executive who says New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas showered her with profanities was unsparing in her own foul language to describe fellow executives, a former colleague testified Monday. John Cudmore, a senior vice-president of finance, told a federal jury that the executive, Anucha Browne Sanders, on numerous occasions referred to others with the f-word and ``bitch,'' a word she says Thomas frequently hurled at her. Cudmore was called as ...

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Washington Wizards guard Roger Mason re-signed with the team on Monday, agreeing to a one-year deal. The six-foot-five Mason averaged 2.7 points in 62 games as a reserve last season. ``My heart is in D.C.,'' Mason said. ``I feel like I can have a great role with the Wizards and that we have a chance to be a great team this year.'' The former Toronto Raptor signed with the Wizards as a free agent before ...

NEW YORK (AP) _ NBA referee Joey Crawford was reinstated by commissioner David Stern on Monday, five months after he was suspended indefinitely for improper on-court conduct. San Antonio Spurs star Tim Duncan contended that Crawford challenged him to a fight during a game against the Dallas Mavericks on April 15. Crawford ejected Duncan while the player was laughing on the bench. Stern cited a pattern of similar acts in suspending Crawford. ``Based on my meeting with Joey ...

NEW YORK (AP) _ The former Knicks executive who filed a US$10 million sexual harassment lawsuit against Isiah Thomas was a rising star forced to fend off the NBA great's clumsy advances, her lawyer told a jury Tuesday. But defence lawyer Kathleen Bogas described Anucha Browne Sanders as a liar who made up charges against Thomas to mask her incompetence. Browne Sanders was ``a woman who was fired from her dream job because she dared to complain about ...

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ Indiana Pacers forward Shawne Williams was arrested Tuesday on charges of marijuana possession and driving without a license after an officer pulled over a sport utility vehicle for making an illegal lane change. Williams, the Pacers' first-round draft pick last year from Memphis, was being held at the Marion County Jail on initial charges of possession of marijuana, driving without a license, driving with an expired license plate and failure to signal a lane ...

MILWAUKEE (AP) _ Yi Jianlian is finally going to play for the Milwaukee Bucks. Yi, the sixth overall selection in the NBA draft in June, signed a standard rookie scale contract with the Bucks in Hong Kong on Wednesday. A contingent of Bucks officials that included owner and Sen. Herb Kohl met with Yi's family and Chen Haitao, owner of Yi's Chinese professional team, over the last day to finalize the deal. ``We had a very successful trip ...

TORONTO (CP) _ The Toronto Raptors reached a three-year broadcast agreement with CBC on Wednesday. The network will broadcast up to 10 regular-season games during the 2007-08 season, and up to 20 regular-season games in each of the following two seasons. It will mark the Raptors' first appearance on CBC. ``This is a great time for us to get involved with the Raptors,'' CBC Sports executive director Scott Moore said in a statement. ``They have built a strong, ...

NEW YORK (AP) _ David Stern insisted allegations that former referee Tim Donaghy bet on games was an isolated case and called it the worst situation he had experienced during his tenure as commissioner. ``Mr. Donaghy is the only referee alleged to have bet on NBA games and disclosed confidential information to others,'' Stern said Tuesday during a packed news conference. ``I'll say it again, I understand this is an isolated case.'' The FBI is investigating Donaghy for ...

NBA referee Tim Donaghy, under investigation by the FBI for betting on games he worked, had local law officials at his Florida home Sunday because of threatening phone calls he's received, according to the New York Post. Three squad cars from the Manatee County Sheriff's Office arrived at Donaghy's home in Bradenton, Fla. ``Our concern is for his safety and his family's safety,'' Sheriff's Lt. Robert McNealy told the newspaper for a story in Monday's editions. ``We are ...

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) _ The New Jersey Nets announced Monday head coach Lawrence Frank has signed a multi-year contract extension. Terms were not disclosed. Frank has taken the team to the playoffs each of his four seasons with the team, but the Nets have failed to advance beyond the second round each time. They finished 41-41 last season, and lost in the second round to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the eventual conference champion. With the re-signing of all-star guard ...

NEW YORK (AP) _ The FBI is investigating allegations that a veteran NBA referee bet on basketball games over the past two seasons, including ones in which he officiated. According to a law enforcement official, authorities are examining whether the referee made calls to affect the point spread in games on which he or associates had wagered. The law enforcement official, who spoke to the AP on Friday on condition of anonymity, said the referee was aware ...

SHANGHAI, China (AP) _ China's official sports association has issued an unprecedented public criticism of Yao Ming for reporting late to national team training. The Houston Rockets star was faulted for taking too much time off to recover from his last NBA season, as well spending too much time planning his wedding and making appearances for the Special Olympics and 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. ``No matter how lofty public welfare activities are, they can't be allowed to take ...

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) _ The Detroit Pistons signed first-round draft picks Rodney Stuckey and Arron Afflalo to contracts Friday. Stuckey, the 15th selection in last month's NBA draft, played two seasons at Eastern Washington. His 24.2 points per game as a freshman and 24.6 the following season led the Big Sky Conference. He's fourth on the school's career scoring list. Afflalo was drafted 27th and averaged 16.9 points as a junior last season at UCLA. He ...

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ The Indiana Pacers started addressing their need for outside shooting by looking way outside, signing Lithuanian League star Kareem Rush. The six-foot-six guard was the Baltic League Final Four MVP last season. A first-round draft pick in 2002, Rush has played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Charlotte and Seattle. The Pacers on Tuesday also signed Stephen Graham and Andre Owens. All three will participate in the team's rookie-free agent camp starting Thursday. Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh ...

SEATTLE (AP) _ If David Stern has his way inside his own league, the SuperSonics will remain in Seattle. The NBA commissioner, an associate of Sonics owner Clay Bennett for more than a decade since Bennett was the San Antonio Spurs' representative on the league's board of governors, said he thinks Bennett will find a way to get a new arena built in the Seattle area to keep the Sonics in their home for the past ...

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ If history repeats itself for Jim O'Brien, the Indiana Pacers will return to post-season play next season. In Boston and Philadelphia, O'Brien took over teams that had losing records the previous season and earned a playoff berth in his first year. ``This is all about winning,'' O'Brien said Thursday after being named the Pacers' new coach. ``We would all be disappointed if we're not in the playoffs next year.'' O'Brien, 182-158 in five seasons as ...

SECAUCUS, N.J. (AP) _ The Portland Trail Blazers are no longer lottery losers _ and maybe they won't be hapless on the court much longer, either. A year after they missed out on the top pick despite the league's worst record, the Trail Blazers beat the odds and won the NBA draft lottery Tuesday night, giving them a chance to pick Greg Oden or Kevin Durant. ``Huge, unbelievably huge,'' general manager Kevin Pritchard said. ``Franchise making. ... Rip ...

NEW YORK (CP-AP) _ Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash was a unanimous selection to the all-NBA team while Toronto Raptors forward Chris Bosh earned second team honours Wednesday. Nash's teammate Amare Stoudemire, Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki, San Antonio forward Tim Duncan and Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, the league's leading scorer, rounded out the first team. Nash received 129 first-place votes and 645 total points from the panel of ...

TORONTO (CP) _ Toronto Raptors coach Sam Mitchell has gone from worst to first. After being voted the worst coach in the NBA in an unofficial poll of players by Sports Illustrated last season, Mitchell was named the league's coach of the year Tuesday. He earned the Red Auerbach Trophy in a decisive vote over Utah's Jerry Sloan. Mitchell picked up 49 first-place votes for a total of 394 points ...

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) _ Miami Heat forward James Posey was arrested early Monday on a drunken driving charge after an officer pulled him over for stopping in the middle of a road. Posey had stopped his car on a double-lane Miami Beach road, talking to occupants of other vehicles and pedestrians, police said. Once out of the car, Posey displayed ``bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and an odour of an ...

CLEVELAND (AP) _ LeBron James invited a buddy who has even more money than he does to watch him play. Billions and billions more. Philanthropist and businessman Warren Buffett, wearing a black T-shirt with ``Witness'' glittering on the front, sat courtside as a guest of James on Sunday night for the Cleveland Cavaliers' game against the Denver Nuggets. Though an unlikely pair, Cleveland's all-star forward and Buffet are friends and ...

In what might have been a glimpse at the future of this year's NBA final, the top teams from the Eastern and Western conferences squared off on a night Richard Hamilton would like to soon forget. Hamilton has played a lot of basketball in his life, and almost all of it has gone better than Sunday. In a game televised across the U.S. and Canada, Hamilton missed five fourth-quarter free ...

Portland Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen plans to repurchase the Rose Garden Arena, three years after he gave it up in bankruptcy proceedings. Allen said Friday that his holding company, Vulcan Inc., has signed a letter with Portland Arena Management LLC to acquire the Rose Garden through an affiliate of Vulcan. The sale price was not disclosed. The loss of revenue from luxury suites and other arena sources has contributed ...

Ben Wallace surprised the Chicago Bulls by going from uncomfortable Friday morning to ready to test his bruised knee that night against the Seattle SuperSonics. The head of Miami's Udonis Haslem hit Wallace's left knee late in last Saturday's win. The centre and rebounding force missed the opener to Chicago's seven-game trip Wednesday at the Los Angeles Clippers. Then at the Bulls' shootaround Friday morning, he told trainer Fred Tedeschi ...

Bob Hill's been through this before. Twice. So he's ready for talk that he may soon get fired as coach of the injury-depleted, last-place Seattle SuperSonics. About an hour before the Sonics hosted the Chicago Bulls on Friday night, a 107-101 loss for the Sonics, Hill gave a soliloquy about the realities of being an NBA coach. ``I look at my position very realistically,'' said Hill, in his ninth season ...

New Orleans Hornets star Chris Paul will miss at least two games and as many as four after spraining his right ankle during Tuesday night's loss to the Seattle SuperSonics. ``We've got to re-evaluate the next couple days and see if the swelling goes down,'' Hornets coach Byron Scott said. ``That's main thing we've got to be concerned about right now. ``For sure he's out tomorrow (at Portland). And he'll ...

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade will not fly with the team to Washington and isn't expected to play when the team visits the Wizards on Friday night. Wade had two wisdom teeth removed Tuesday and doctors are concerned about the risks he'd take by flying, including the possibility that the infection in his jaw could spread elsewhere. He is also expected to miss a party in his honour Thursday night ...