NBA Rumors Round-Up
NBA Rumors: Chris Webber Buying the Hawks?
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Five-time NBA All-Star Chris Webber is part of a potential ownership group that has submitted a letter of interest to the NBA about its desire to purchase the Atlanta Hawks, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Webber would have a modest financial investment in the partnership, but is expected to emerge as a face of the bid with an ultimate goal of becoming a prominent figure on the basketball side for the Hawks, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Webber currently serves as an analyst for Turner Broadcasting, bouncing between TNT and NBA TV. His post-playing career has primarily consisted of television work, but he wouldn’t be the first former player to go from in front of the camera to in charge of a team.
Webber is not the only NBA alumni trying to go after the Hawks, though. Atlanta Hawks great Dominique Wilkens is said to be the head of an investment group wanting to purchase the Hawks as well. Wilkens currently works in the Hawks front office and is the preferred purchaser locally, but it will all come down to who is willing to pay the most money. The NBA does have a vetting process and is careful with who they allow to buy a team, especially in light of the Donald Sterling saga, but neither Webber or Wilkins should have much trouble being unanimously approved.
https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/522614357596078080
Tyrus Thomas, 28, last played for Charlotte in the 2012-13 season. He has career averages of 7.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks.
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) October 16, 2014
via Twitter
Thomas is a cautionary tale over how quickly a once-promising career can come to a halt. He missed all of last season and did not even receive a training camp invite this season. Those who have seen Thomas over the last year and a half say he looks great and is still an incredible athlete, but for Thomas getting back in the league is more mental than physical.
He’s at the point now where he just needs to be playing, because it’s been far too long since NBA teams have seen him in action.
The D-League seems like an ideal platform for Thomas, who is playing more for redemption than money at this point in his career. The style of play there suits him very well, and if he’s willing to embrace the less-than-luxurious life that comes with playing in the D, it could go a long way in selling a NBA team on picking him up.
Steve Nash injured his back carrying bags on Wednesday, forcing him to miss practice for the third straight day.
It hasn’t taken long for the story on Nash to go from how good he looks and how healthy he is to wondering if he’s even going to be able to play much this season. If his nerve troubles are so serious that he can’t carry his own bags without tweaking it, how in the world is he going to be able to hold up for 82 games?
Nash has gone on the record several times stating that this is going to be his last season, unless of course he has a bounce back year and is still capable of playing.
The idea of medically-forced retirement has come up a couple of times with Nash, but at this point in the season the financial relief the Lakers would receive from it would not have much of an impact. They’re more likely to go through this song and dance throughout the season and use Nash when his body allows. At the end of the season, both sides will move on from this relationship that held great potential on the outset, but has never amounted to much.