Minecraft Disskusion » But Bynum is far from a sure thing

MILWAUKEE -- NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is interested in returning in some capacity to the Milwaukee Bucks. Scott Evans . "If I get a call, I will definitely offer my services," said Abdul-Jabbar, the franchises career leading scorer with 14,211 points. "Theres nothing on the table right now. A couple of people have asked me and if I had the chance to be part of this franchise again, I would take it." In December, former Sen. Herb Kohl announced he would seek minority investors in the team, which he has owned since 1985. The franchise is at something of a crossroads, struggling to draw large crowds to an aging building. The Bucks beat Utah 114-88 on Monday, but have the leagues worst record at 12-47. Still, Abdul-Jabbar sees Milwaukee as a viable NBA market. "They have to get their business model right," Abdul-Jabbar said Monday. "I hope that the Bucks are able to sort it all out and get on a good footing. You cant win it all unless you get the right players and you cant get the right players unless youre really in a good position as a business." Abdul-Jabbar was in town in part to promote a new tourism ad for the state of Wisconsin that played off his acting role in the movie "Airplane." Over the last few years, Abdul-Jabbar has expressed an interest in returning to the NBA as a coach. Hes worked as a special assistant with teams such as the Clippers and Lakers. Abdul-Jabbar -- then Lew Alcindor -- was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1969 NBA draft and immediately turned the Bucks, coming off their expansion season, into contenders. Milwaukee went 56-26 and finished second in the Eastern Division behind Abdul-Jabbars 28.8 points and 14.5 rebounds per game. Not long after the season ended, the Bucks obtained Oscar Robertson from the Cincinnati Royals, leading to a dominant 1970-71 season. They finished with a 66-16 record and swept Baltimore in the NBA Finals, becoming the fastest expansion franchise to win a championship in the history of major professional sports. The Bucks returned to the Finals in 1974, losing to Boston in seven games. Robertson would retire just before the 74-75 season and Abdul-Jabbar quietly requested a trade, looking for a bigger market and the chance to join another contender. "They appreciated that and they appreciated that I kept my mouth shut about it," he said. "I gave them the opportunity to approach other teams and they figured out the best deal they could make for themselves." Abdul-Jabbar got his wish in June 1975, when he was shipped to the Lakers in a deal that included Junior Bridgeman going to Milwaukee. Both players have had their jerseys retired by the franchise. Bridgeman, who was honoured by the team last week, also has been mentioned as a possible investor. Roy Ruskusky .com) - Colorado may be ahead of the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference standings, but they are a club that the Avalanche may want to avoid in the playoffs. George Tuttle . And theyre pointing to the NHLs biggest market: Toronto. With Gretzky paid out for what is believed to be $7 to 8 million, Gretzky may be eager to get back into the NHL and TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports that the Maple Leafs are very much interested in The Great Ones services. https://www.cheapnfljerseyschina.co/oscar-mcbride-jersey-for-sale/ . Gordon reportedly failed another drug test and is facing a one-year ban. Gordon led the NFL in yards receiving last season despite being suspended two games for violating the leagues substance-abuse policy.INDIANAPOLIS -- The Eastern Conferences top team just got more imposing. On Saturday, the Pacers added size and scoring punch to their roster by signing mercurial free agent centre Andrew Bynum for the rest of the season. Team officials did not release additional details about the contract and said Bynum was expected to join the team sometime next week. "We are obviously happy to have him join our team," Larry Bird said in a statement issued by the team less than 12 hours before Indiana hosted Brooklyn on Saturday night. "He gives us added size, he is a skilled big man and he has championship experience. With the minutes he gets, he should be a valuable addition." Adding a guy with Bynums mercurial reputation to a locker room as selfless as the Pacers is definitely a gamble, though likely a low-risk one since Bird, the Pacers president of basketball operations, has made it clear the Pacers would not pay the NBAs luxury tax and Indiana had an open spot on its roster. But if Bynum performs as he did in helping the Lakers win back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010, it could create even more lineup mismatches against two-time defending champion Miami in the East. Indiana (35-10) entered Saturday with a three-game lead over the Heat in the chase for home-court advantage and has made no secret of its desire to get the top seed in its quest to win the teams first NBA crown. Bynum will give the Pacers another big body off the bench, backing up All-Star centre Roy Hibbert. And his offensive skills give Indiana another scorer to go wiith the leagues best defence. Deuce Lutui. Miami, which struggled against Indianas size during last seasons Eastern Conference finals, tried to close the gap by signing the oft-injured former No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden, an Indianapolis native, last summer. Oden has played sparingly this season, though he has been improving. Saturdays move could give the Pacers an even bigger advantage -- if the 7-foot-1, 285-pound centre returns to his previous form. The move also prevents the Heat from signing Bynum as had been widely speculated. But Bynum is far from a sure thing. After the Lakers traded Bynum to Philadelphia in 2012, he missed the entire season because of knee injuries. This season, after signing with Cleveland as a free agent, he played in only 24 games before he was suspended indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team. He was eventually dealt to Chicago, which quickly released Bynum so it didnt have to guarantee the remaining $6 million owed to him this season. Since then, Bynum has been looking for a landing spot and finally settled on Indiana. "It really wasnt a hard decision, I think its the right fit for me and, in all honesty, I think weve got the best chance of winning," Bynum said in a statement. "It will be great to back up Roy and Ill do whatever I can to help this team." With Cleveland, he averaged 8.4 points and 5.3 rebounds. He has career averages of 11.5 points per game and 7.7 rebounds, and his best season came in 2011-12 when he averaged 18.7 points and 11.8 rebounds with the Lakers. ' ' '