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NBA Rumors: Thursday, Aug 28
InsideHoops NBA rumors updated 7:30 a.m. ET.

Golden State guard Monta Ellis will be sidelined for at least three months after severely spraining his ankle during an offseason workout, forcing the Warriors to start the season without the player expected to lead their restructured roster this fall. Ellis, who got a six-year contract extension worth $66 million on July 24, sprained his ankle and tore a deltoid ligament while working out in his hometown of Jackson, Miss., last Thursday, said Chris Mullin, the Warriors' top basketball executive. AP/Houston Chronicle

Ellis underwent surgery Wednesday in Birmingham, Ala., to repair the ligament, and returned to the Bay Area later in the day. Ellis' ankle will be immobilized for six weeks, followed by at least six weeks of off-court rehabilitation before the guard can return to basketball workouts. AP/Houston Chronicle

"He's one of our main guys, but we don't think it's a season-ending injury,'' Mullin said. "The time frame, it fluctuates, but hopefully with his youth - and he's been pretty durable and resilient to injury - hopefully he does get back (soon). "With the offseason moves we made, hopefully we can still play at a high level this year. To me, it's more something that you look at as a challenge, and you don't let it defeat you, you deal with it.'' AP/Houston Chronicle

In Ellis' absence, new point guard Marcus Williams is likely to get the first chance to run Nelson's show. Golden State acquired Williams in a trade with New Jersey last month to be Ellis' backup. Williams, the former UConn star entering his third NBA campaign, averaged 5.9 points and 2.6 assists in 53 games with the Nets last season. AP/Houston Chronicle

Ellis, who signed a six-year, $66 million contract extension last month, had surgery Wednesday to repair a torn ligament in his left ankle, the Warriors confirmed. He hurt his ankle working out in his hometown, Jackson, Miss. InsideBayArea

The Warriors, who won 48 games last season but missed the playoffs, lost Davis when he surprisingly walked away from $17.8 million and made a verbal commitment to sign with the Clippers on the first day of free agency. Mullin tried to bounce back by signing free agents Corey Maggette and Ronny Turiaf and trading for backup point guard Marcus Williams. And Mullin re-signed restricted free agents Ellis and Andris Biedrins, which he said was his biggest priority. San Francisco Chronicle

"This is obviously a temporary setback, but fortunately it is not something that is season-ending," Warriors coach Don Nelson said. "On the positive side, we're dealing with a young kid who should recover nicely. I'm sure Monta will work hard during his rehabilitation and we'll utilize our roster during the first part of the season to try to make up for his loss." San Francisco Chronicle

With two spots still to fill, it is not too late for the Lakers to strongly consider bringing in unrestricted free agent guard Shaun Livingston, who has been rounding into training camp shape at Tim Grover’s Attack Athletics training facility in Chicago. If Livingston indeed will be healthy enough to play this season - as Grover vowed to me last week he would - then Livingston would be a asset to whichever NBA team signs him. Orange County Register

During his conference call with local media today, Chris Mullin (answering a question from my man Tim Kawakami) told reporters the Warriors will be going to look at Shaun Livingston in Chicago tomorrow. He said the workout was scheduled long before the Warriors learned starting point guard Monta Ellis would be out for three months after today’s knee surgery. Certainly, they will be looking on with much more intensity. Contra Costa Times

Mullin said as of this point, Marcus Williams is the starter. Which means C.J. Watson, who is non-guaranteed and needs to make the roster, is the No. 2. That’s music to Watson’s ears. “I’m ready for the opportunity,” Watson said in a phone interview Wednesday. “I’m kinda sad that Monta got hurt. But this gives me an opportunity to prove myself to the coaches.” Contra Costa Times

Mullin will travel to Chicago today to see former Clippers point guard Shaun Livingston work out, though that was scheduled weeks before Ellis got hurt. The free agent hasn't played since seriously injuring his left knee in a game Feb. 26, 2007. San Francisco Chronicle

Shaun Livingston turned down a one-year offer from the Clippers last month after the team renounced his rights to get out of a big contract earlier this summer. He only recently has been cleared for full-contact basketball. San Francisco Chronicle

In other news, a Miami newspaper has reported that center DJ Mbenga might re-sign with the Lakers but is hoping for a more lucrative deal with the Miami Heat. Mbenga played limited minutes last season after he signed with the Lakers as a backup after Andrew Bynum was injured Jan. 13. LA Daily News

The Lakers’ signing Wednesday of their second-round draft pick, Joe Crawford, brings the number of players now under contract to 16. Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak has stated that the plan is to bring 18 players to training camp, which begins Sept. 30, at the Lakers’ regular-season El Segundo practice facility. Orange County Register

German champion Alba Berlin has signed free agent guard Casey Jacobsen, who played for the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies last season. AP/Toronto Sun

Jacobsen: In January 2007, he moved to Germany to play for GHP Bamberg as he averaged 17.0 points, 3.7 boards and 2.9 assists to lead the team to the German title as he was chosen MVP of the Finals. Euroleague.net

Krzyzewski said Wednesday by phone from Durham, N.C., that he will continue to be involved in helping USA Basketball with the model that national team managing director Jerry Colangelo organized three years ago. A three-year commitment from players and coaches is being praised for creating a winning atmosphere around the national team. Currently, the lower levels of USA Basketball, notably the junior national teams in tournaments at the under-20 and under-18 levels, have yearly turnover of players and coaches. ESPN.com

Krzyzewski said that the NBA, NCAA and USA Basketball will convene sometime this fall to help restructure the national programs. He said the plan is in place to set a four-year schedule for the various teams. The national team must make other decisions as well, like how to refresh the current pool of players, prepare for the 2010 World Championships in Turkey and get ready for the 2012 Olympics in London. ESPN.com

When asked if he would coach the national team again, Krzyzewski said that it's too early for any decisions. He simply said: "I'll help in some capacity in consulting, in whatever they need to do." ESPN.com

The Suns made the promotions of Todd Quinter to director of player personnel and Noel Gillespie to advance scout official today. For many fans, these are unfamiliar, behind-the-scenes names because Quinter has spent the bulk of his career on the scouting side and Gillespie was in video. But they are significant as voices which Steve Kerr has quickly grown to trust entering his second year as general manager. Rather than bring in someone to fill Vinny Del Negro's vacated assistant GM job, Kerr rewarded people in-house and saved the club some payroll. Arizona Republic

Gillespie, 30, is following a similar trek. Like Quinter, Gillespie started in the video department and now will be an advance scout, a role Quinter formerly held. The Suns got away from doing as much advance scouting last season, preferring to have Quinter spend more time scouting for the draft. Gillespie occasionally did advance scouting. Arizona Republic

On the day Childress signed his headline-making deal, 1 dollar was worth 0.6366 euros, according to www.x-rates.com. As of Wednesday, the dollar had strengthened such that it now is worth 0.6810 euros. That might not seem like much, unless you're the Olympiacos owner who has to pay Childress in dollars. It will now take 4.54 million euros to cover that $6.7 million that Childress is owed this season and 13.6 million euros over the life of the contract. In barely a month, the cost of Childress has increased by nearly 300,000 euros for this season and 900,000 euros for three years. All thanks to the exchange rate, which has made American players more expensive. Salt Lake Tribune

Oregon officials say an autopsy shows former Portland Trail Blazers center Kevin Duckworth died when his enlarged heart failed. Duckworth died Monday at 44 on the Oregon coast, where he was on a goodwill tour for the team. AP/Boston Globe

The Trail Blazers, along with the Duckworth family, are holding a memorial service Saturday for Kevin Duckworth, the former Blazers center who died Monday night during a trip to the Oregon coast. The service will start at 11 a.m. at Memorial Coliseum, the venue where Duckworth, a two-time All-Star, achieved his greatest NBA success as a key component of two Western Conference championship teams. Oregonian

If Dwyane Wade is as effective in the coming season as he was with the U.S. Olympic team, the Miami Heat could be in store for a sequel to Thursday's planned banner-raising ceremony at AmericanAirlines Arena. The Heat is set to unveil a banner in Wade's honor at a noon celebration in wake of the national team's gold-medal winning performance in Beijing. Miami Herald

Wade said his next mission is to lead the Heat back into title contention after a league-worst 15-67 finish last season. ''We have to come out of the gates early to make a statement, make a stand,'' Wade said of the rebuilding Heat, which opens training camp Sept. 27. ``There are going to be some teams on paper a lot better than us. We have to fight.'' Miami Herald

Responding to a fan question: Depending on what he would cost the Jazz, the addition of Ben Gordon would be a good one. He would certainly add defense-stretching shooting range to a team that, despite the presence of Memo Okur, Kyle Korver, C.J. Miles and Williams, could use more. Salt Lake Tribune

With Kirk Hinrich ($36.5 million, four years) and Andres Nocioni ($28 million, four years) also on the roster, Gordon's position as an apparently untouchable cornerstone has changed. So far, the Bulls' only attempt to re-sign him is tendering a $6.4 million qualifying offer. Gordon says he won't consider it, citing the six-year, $67 million contract young guard Monta Ellis got from Golden State as evidence he's worth worth far more. Salt Lake Tribune

If Jazz vice president of basketball operations Kevin O'Connor and coach Jerry Sloan liked the idea of having Gordon on their team, they would have to come up with a deal that would intrigue the Bulls. Certainly, Andrei Kirilenko is Utah's most logical bargaining chip, and Chicago might be interested in him, although he plays a lot like Deng and Nocioni. It's possible the Bulls might feel they were duplicating talent by adding Kirilenko. Salt Lake Tribune

Utah would likely have an interest in Hinrich or Nocioni, but the Bulls were unwilling to part with either one when they had a chance to get Pau Gasol from Memphis last year. So I don't know if Gordon's unhappiness with his contract would change their thinking too much. Salt Lake Tribune

Chicago might consider throwing a young big man into a deal with Gordon, but neither Tyrus Thomas or Joakim Noah have proven themselves. I'm not sure the Jazz would have keen interest in either one. Salt Lake Tribune

If the Kings were still interested in adding a "big man's" coach to Reggie Theus' staff - and it appears that they no longer are - they missed their chance at Jeff Ruland, the former NBA center who subsequently enjoyed a long, successful run as head coach at Iona College. Ruland, who spent last season coaching Albquerque in the NBA Developmental League, was hired by the 76ers a few days ago to replace Henry Bibby. Sacramento Bee

Reggie Theus is quickly gaining a sense of Bobby Jackson's popularity within the community. Virtually everywhere he goes, people approach and express their excitement about the veteran guard's return. "Bobby Jackson, Bobby Jackson, Bobby Jackson," Theus said. "I say, 'guys, that was eight years ago. He can still play. But that was a long time ago.' The good thing is, I've talked to Bobby, and explained to him how important his presence is going to be in the locker room. It's going to be enormous. It's important to mentor the young guys the right way, and a lot of our success is going to depend on how quickly the young guys develop." Sacramento Bee

Guard Kyle Weaver, a second-round draft pick, signed a multi-year contract Wednesday with Oklahoma City. AP/Toronto Sun

Oklahoma City's new NBA franchise has finally set a date to announce its name and team colours. The team said Wednesday that it would unveil the name and colours simultaneously on its website and at a downtown event Sept. 3. Clay Bennett's ownership group has applied for trademarks for six names: Thunder, Energy, Wind, Marshalls, Barons and Bison. AP/Toronto Sun

Team officials would neither confirm nor deny whether Thunder is the nickname. Team uniforms, home and road, won’t be announced until late September. Team merchandise will be available on Wednesday following the announcement. And don’t put any credence in uniform designs that have appeared on the Internet with Thunder logos. All designs have been speculative and have no affiliation with the NBA or Oklahoma City’s franchise. Oklahoman

All signs pointed to Thunder being the nickname when the NBA released the 2008-09 schedule earlier this month. For a few hours, if someone linked Oklahoma City on any of the team’s 82 games on the NBA’s master schedule, all links pointed to www.nba.com/thunder. Later that day the Thunder URL was inactive. Oklahoman

Margo Dydek, the 7-foot-2 center who holds the WNBA record for blocked shots with 811, signed with the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday. The 34-year-old center, the first overall pick in the 1998 WNBA draft by the Utah Starzz, has averaged 10 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots in 289 career games. AP/Boston Globe

The Milwaukee Bucks and the Golden State Warriors will travel to China in October to play two exhibition games, the NBA and Chinese Basketball Association said on Wednesday. AP/Rocky Mountain News

The online edition of The Times of London reported today that Great Britain Basketball officials need to find $2.5 million to insure Bulls forward Luol Deng, the stalwart of the country's national team. A premium of $500,000 is due next Wednesday in order for Deng to play in the qualifying tournament for next year's European Championship A division finals, which begin against Israel in Tel Aviv. MetLife, the NBA's insurer which covers the top 150 salaries in the league under a group policy, has the right to exclude 14 high-risk players every year. Chicago Sun-Times

British officials believe they will need to pay $500,000 for Deng's supplementary coverage every summer between now and the London Olympics in order for him to play. The national team's program has an annual budget of approximately $3 million. Chicago Sun-Times

Five months before he was forced into premature retirement by balky knees in 2006, Jonathan Bender took the initiative to put together a relief effort that delivered two tractor-trailers filled with donated goods to the victims of Hurricane Katrina in the New Orleans area, including his hometown of Picayune, Miss. He still hasn't stopped helping. That initial act of kindness has blossomed into a full-fledged entrepreneurial venture for the former Pacers forward. He owns an investment company that seeks community re-investment opportunities; a construction company that restores flood-ravaged housing; a property management company that leases those properties, targeting displaced residents looking to return to the New Orleans area; and a realty company to help facilitate the sale of those properties to qualified families. Pacers.com

On Jon Bender: He's not just an entrepreneur. He also is a philanthropist. Bender's foundation adopted an elementary school in the New Orleans suburb of Metairie. For Christmas, he gave a present to each of the 432 students. For Easter, he provided baskets for each and hid the eggs for the hunt. He also provides activities that promote teamwork, self-esteem and responsibility, including monthly neighborhood basketball and mentoring camps. Pacers.com

Bender has chronicled that ride in a book, "Confessions of a Courtside CEO," which he said will hit bookstores early next year. He hopes it will help others looking for guidance. "I consider this book to be important in my desire to become a mentor to other young entrepreneurs," he said. "I have a million people ready to teach me how to dribble but I couldn’t get one person to give me a minute to teach me about entrepreneurship and business. It was discouraging for me at first. But, in the end, it simply ignited my competitive spirit in a whole new and exciting way." Pacers.com

Australian point guard Patrick Mills says he is yet to be approached by NBA clubs despite an impressive performances at the Beijing Olympics. Mills was the Boomers' highest pointscorer in Beijing, and finished in the top 10 in the tournament for the most steals. ABC.net.au

Mills is concentrating on his college studies, but says he would love to play in the NBA for one club in particular. "Any team in the NBA would be great but I would probably go with the Chicago Bulls," he said. ABC.net.au

The future of ex-Arkansas guard Patrick Beverley finally has gotten a little clearer. Both the player and his new agent have confirmed to Sporting News that Beverley is on the brink of signing with a European team, in Germany or Turkey, perhaps as early as Friday. "The big thing is to get Patrick hooked in with a team that he can play right away for," said his agent, Bernie Lee of Lee Sport Management in Toronto. "Patrick is very thrilled about playing in Europe, but ultimately, he wants to come back and be ready for the NBA predraft camp in Orlando." Sporting News

Taurean Green doesn't speak much Spanish, and that may be a problem. The former UF point guard confirmed Wednesday that he has agreed to play for the Spanish club CAI Zaragoza. Green is in the process of negotiating what is believed to be a one-year deal with the team. He would not confirm the specifics of the contract. Alligator

Zaragoza will now face off with well-known clubs such as Barcelona and Real Madrid in Spanish basketball’s premier league. Green said he is not worried about his inability to speak the native language, and that he doesn’t think he will have a hard time adjusting to life in Spain. “I love Spanish food,” he said. “So I’m excited about that.” Alligator

Yes, getting subpoenad really is that glamorous. I got hit yesterday sitting in a meeting with my insurance company when a guy in a bright yellow shirt started hanging out, and eventually knocking on my conference room door. Right in the middle of the meeting I got the handoff and the “You’ve been served.” line. At least my insurance agent is a Sonics fan. Better than being hit by some random employee complaint. Sonics Central (Fan blog)


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