Celtics extend Doc’s deal after championship season…Arthur, Chalmers fined $20K apiece after dismissal from symposium…Portland’s Frye has ankle surgery, likely out to start season…
Celtics extend Doc’s deal after championship season
BOSTON — Doc Rivers received a contract extensio on Wednesday, giving him three more years as coach of the Boston Celtics after leading them to an NBA title.
Rivers’ contract, which had one year left, was extended through the 2010-11 season at an annual salary of about $5.5 million, according to a person familiar with the deal who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team does not release contract details.
Rivers coached the Celtics to their NBA record 17th championship and their first in 22 years in his fourth season as coach. Their 66-16 regular record was the best in the NBA and third best in club history.
They were 45-37 in his first season but just 24-58 in his third, in 2006-07. The one-year, 42-win turnaround from that is a league record.
“He can handle the pressure of having to go through losses. He was extremely even keel in the worst periods,” Steve Pagliuca, an owner and managing partner of the team, told the Associated Press.
The fortunes of the team turned around when it obtained guard Ray Allen from Seattle and forward Kevin Garnett from Minnesota before last season.
The deals cost them several young players they had stockpiled, including Al Jefferson, who was developing into an outstanding forward.
But Rivers proved as adept at leading veteran stars as he was at teaching inexperienced players. That was one major reason the Celtics decided to extend his contract.
The Celtics lost forward James Posey to free agency but are optimistic about draft choices J.R. Giddens, a guard, and Bill Walker, a forward. The entire starting lineup of Garnett, Allen, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins returns.
In his four seasons as coach of the Celtics, Rivers is 168-160.
“He’s extremely team oriented in everything that he does so he wants the focus to be on the players,” Pagliuca said. “He’s a great teacher of young guys and because he was an NBA All-Star and very well respected point guard, he’s had an unbelievably good rapport with the superstars. He knows how to handle them and he knows how to really bring young players along.”
Source: AP NEWS
Arthur, Chalmers fined $20K apiece after dismissal from symposium
MIAMI — Former Kansas teammates Darrell Arthur and Mario Chalmers were fined $20,000 apiece after being banished last week from the NBA rookie symposium, the league said Wednesday.
Security at the resort near New York where the event took place found Arthur and Chalmers in a room with two women, and the scent of marijuana was detected. No drugs or drug paraphernalia were found, but having guests in the room violated NBA policy, and the two rookies were sent home.
Arthur and Chalmers apologized but denied using marijuana. Next year they’ll have to again attend the symposium, which addresses the challenges of making the transition to pro ball.
Arthur and Chalmers helped Kansas win the NCAA championship and were selected in the June draft. Arthur is with the Memphis Grizzlies and Chalmers with the Miami Heat.
Source: AP NEWS
Portland’s Frye has ankle surgery, likely out to start season
PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Trail Blazers forward Channing Frye will likely miss the start of the regular season after having surgery to remove bone spurs from his left ankle.
The arthroscopic surgery was performed Monday in Southern California, and the team said he is expected to miss eight to 10 weeks. The Trail Blazers open their season Oct. 28.
The 6-foot-11 Frye averaged 6.8 points in 78 games last season. He’s expected to again be a key reserve, backing up power forward LaMarcus Aldridge.
The Knicks selected Frye with the eighth pick of the 2005 draft. He was sent to the Trail Blazers two years later as part of the Zach Randolph deal.
Forward Ike Diogu, the ninth pick of the 2005 draft, was acquired by the Trail Blazers this summer, and could see additional time in Frye’s absence.
Source: AP NEWS
