Alvin Gentry will coach New Orleans Pelican

Alvin Gentry became coach of the New Orleans Pelicans basketball. He replaced Monty Williams, who introduced the team to this year's playoffs. The new coach will be to build a young team around the star - 22-year-old Anthony Davis.
Terms of the contract, or the length of the contract were not disclosed. In 2014 60-year-old is currently assistant Steve Gentry Kerr in the Golden State Warriors. The team will begin June 4 fight in the grand finale of the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers. Trainer join the "Pelicans" at the end of the season.

- Alvin is a well known and respected trainer because of his long experience, knowledge, creativity and leadership qualities - said New Orleans general manager Dell Demps.

Gentry previously served as head coach of the Miami Heat, the Detriot Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix Suns. His balance is 335 wins and 370 defeats. The biggest success is the positive balance of the Phoenix (158-144) within five years of work and final Western Conference with the club in 2010.

Pelicans congratulated contract with Gentry'emu Warriors coach Steve Kerr.

- I am very happy and I wish you all the best Alvin for his new club. He had a huge impact on the success of the Warriors this season and personal for me as a coach. His experience in the first year of my job as a coach is invaluable - said Kerr, chief coach of the Golden State, who was general manager in Phoenix, where he was team coach Gentry.

Williams, whose Gentry will replace as of July, he worked with the team from New Orleans from June 2010. His achievements in the five years this two-part teams from New Orleans in the playoffs and the balance of 173 wins and 221 defeats. This season, Pelicans have won 45 of 82 matches, which gave them eighth place in the Western Conference. In the first round of the playoffs they were eliminated in four games by the best team of the regular season Golden State Warriors.

Gortat colleague John Wall ejected from the aircraft,

A colleague Marcin Gortat, participant-Star Game NBA John Wall of the Washington Wizards was forced after the intervention of the carrier to leave the aircraft in Las Vegas. One of the people accompanying him got into an argument with another passenger.

The case was so serious that the police intervention was necessary, but no one was arrested. Spokesman Wizards basketball player and he had no comment on the situation.

Wall is a key player in Washington - in the regular season averaged 17.6 points and had 10 assists, and play off of 17.4 and 11.9. In the first meeting of the second round of the Atlanta he injured his right hand and has not occurred in three consecutive games. "Wizards" lost in the semifinals of the Hawks 2-4.

NBA basketball players do not want to pay for pot

Already in the 29 US states allowed use of marijuana for recreational purposes and / or medical. Part of the NBA basketball wants to be more financially punished for its use.
Plotkarski portal TMZ opublikował wyniki sondy jaką przeprowadził wśród dziesięciu graczy NBA. 


- They expressed themselves very clearly. It's time to legalize marijuana in the NBA !!! One of the players said, 'How can you deny use of marijuana to someone who received a prescription for its use? Everyone should take the medication it needs'.

- Other NBA basketball player added that 'the NBA should not promote the use of marijuana, but I have no problem if some basketball uses it for medical purposes'.

Probe on 10 players is a tiny rehearsal, but the NBA actually applying the rules, which are increasingly in conflict with the processes taking place in the US.

Marijuana is completely legal in four states. Two of them have teams in the NBA - Colorado (Denver Nuggets) and Oregon (Portland Trail Blazers). Marijuana was also practically almost legalized in the district capital (Washington Wizards), California (LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors), Minnesota (Minnesota Timberwolves), New York (New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets) and Massachusetts (Boston Celtics).

Meanwhile, the NBA basketball caught a second time for marijuana poly pay 25 thousand. dollar fine. When it happens a third time, receiving five games of the suspension. Each subsequent setback is a penalty of five games more than the previous suspension. Of course, for the abandoned match them accordingly deducted from your salary.

Last season, the NBA suspended for 10 games by Larry Sanders, a former Milwaukee Bucks already centers. In 2011 the 10 matches fines for smoking marijuana was OJ Mayo, Memphis Grizzlies player then.

But the NBA does not publish information that the basketball player was caught for the first time. Then the player still does not pay the fine, but automatically proceed to a special detoxification program, implemented by the NBA.

Portal TMZ added that he talked with the representatives of the NBA Players Association. According to them, issue penalties for marijuana has come up during subsequent negotiations between the players and the league. The nearest such talks will most likely in 2017, as expected there is another lockout in the NBA, ie the process of drafting a new collective agreement CBA, defining relations for the league-players.

Yet for two consecutive seasons marijuana certainly will be on the list of prohibited substances in the NBA.

Former NBA commissioner David Stern in the 80s unleashed a war, sharply punishing basketball caught on drug use. In the 70s patch pinned to the NBA league, dominated by black players who have fun. Stern three dropped from the league for life (including Roy Tarpley selected from the No. 7 overall pick in 1986), several others then withdrew punishment. But then it was all about hard drugs, mainly cocaine.


Cancellation of penalties for marijuana can provide for image-NBA issue, especially in the eyes of those who are opposed to its poly. It seems, however, that it will be the last two seasons, when the NBA basketball will pay double for its use.

Chicago Bulls fired Tom Thibodeau

Tom Thibodeau was fired by the Chicago Bulls. Thibodeau coached the Bulls since 2010. At the time, she won the award for best coach the NBA, but only once has led the Bulls to the Eastern Conference finals and never once to the NBA Finals.

Releasing Thibodeau is the thing that expected in the NBA since over a year. Between Thibodeau and Management Bulls John Paxson and Forman Garem accumulated in the last three years misunderstandings so that only outstanding performance in this year's playoffs, the Bulls could save his job. Meanwhile, the Bulls lost surprisingly easily 2-4 in the second round of the Cleveland Cavaliers przetrzebionymi injuries.

The club owner Jerry Reinsdorf has published on Thursday a statement in which no secret of the fact that the main reason for dismissal was the conflict.

- The teams that regularly play at a high level, they do it because they are able to live in harmony and be together. I'm talking about the players, trainers, and owners managemencie. When all are "on the same side", developing trust and team then grow in strength. Unfortunately, the letter was too much to deviate from that.

The main axis of the misunderstandings were butchering trends Thibodeau to the players and "play" them very much. Luol Deng - Miami Heat player today - twice in the days Thibodeau led his team to the NBA in average minutes per game (39.4 in 2011/12, 38.7 in 2012/13). And once he did it, Jimmy Butler (38.7 in the 2014/15 season). Thibodeau they do not necessarily comply with the limits of minutes that the medical staff imposed on data players returning from injury or who have problems with injuries. It got to that before the 2014/15 season the Bulls have created a special unit in the club, which was in constant contact with Thibodeau and will monitor how playing time it gives players.

Thibodeau defenders can easily point for this brief meeting on the sidelines as the cause that had already been coach of the Bulls "played" so much some players. Also that of the playoffs in 2012, the topic No. 1 in Chicago was health and matches abandoned by Derrick Rose, the MVP of the 2010/11 season.

Thibodeau is still in the contract two years, for which he receives 9 million dollars. Bulls are interested in Fred Hoibergiem, coach Iowa State University and a former player several NBA clubs.

- I love Thibsa and I think they did a great job. It is a pity that he was leaving, but I expect that some NBA club will take him right away - wrote on Twitter on Thursday, Barack Obama, the US president and supporter of the Bulls.

Thibodeau's Bulls won 65% of matches of the regular season for four consecutive seasons - until this - were at the end of the season in the Top5 defensive efficiency. Thibodeau before, as an assistant to Doc Rivers, created the foundation for the No. 1 defense and title Boston Celtics in 2008. Prior to that, he was an assistant Jeff Van Gundy'ego in Houston, where the Rockets twice had the defense in the Top5.

But that was some years ago. Today, more coaches the NBA used a defensive strategy elements, which began with Thibodeau. It's about creating a half-zone on the side where the ball is and send one additional player to help when two defenders weapons of shares in pick-and-roll. In this way, over time, they began to defend in the NBA among other things, the Indiana Pacers (No. 1 defense 2013/14 season), Portland Trail Blazers, Oklahoma City Thunder. Elements of this type of defense are still present in teams, which leads Doc Rivers (Los Angeles Clippers) and have been taken over by several other trainers.

Thibodeau is a huge plus but still that it has the ear of the players and makes them feel they are responsible for what they do on the pitch. In Thibodeau does not have sleepless possessions and unspoken errors. This time it started a little disturbing Bulls players, but there are many NBA clubs wishing to take over the culture of carrying the team. These are mainly young clubs that need more discipline.

Thibodeau alone, however, will have to first learn the lessons of the reasons for his separation from the Bulls. In recent years, the NBA made a huge leap in terms of understanding of how important it is to save the players during the regular season. Behind us is only the first season in history in which no player on the court spent more than 3,000 minutes.

Thibodeau can once again be a NBA coach class, if understand a few things - that it needs more players and save it to a better headquarters surrounded himself with assistants offensive. In the playoffs, he never became famous for unconventional improvement which he made during the series.

Even if Thibodeau in 2015 is less valuable than Thibodeau coached in 2012, the Bulls may not be at all easy to find a good successor. However, they can count on is that what "Thibs" instilled in the players and what they learned about their defense, they will still cherished.