Wikipedia:WikiProject National Basketball Association/Newsletter/Newsroom

This is the newsroom for the newsletter of the NBA WikiProject. If you would like to write for the newsletter, please contact Basketball110.

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1. Basketball110  Talk 
2. Thisisborin9^talk/_contribs
3. _{Trance addict - Tiesto - Above and Beyond}
4. Noble Story (talk)

News

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April 2008 News

April 2008

• April 8, 2008 - Heat coach Pat Riley, former Knicks center Patrick Ewing, former Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon, former Rookie of the Year Adrian Dantley, Pistons owner Bill Davidson, and college coach Dick Vitale were elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
• April 9, 2008 - The WNBA Draft took place with the Los Angeles Sparks selecting Candice Parker with the first overall pick.
• April 16, 2008
  • The 2007-08 NBA regular season ends. Sixteen teams have playoff berths, with the Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers, Washington Wizards, Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks in the East and the Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans Hornets, San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz, Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, and the Denver Nuggets in the West.
  • The Golden State Warriors become the team with the most wins (48) to ever miss the playoffs in a 16-team playoff format.
• April 18, 2008 - Donnie Walsh and the New York Knicks fire Isiah Thomas, relieving Thomas of his duties as president and coach. Story.
• April 19, 2008 - The 2008 NBA Playoffs begin.
• April 21, 2008 -The Milwaukee Bucks officially name former Chicago Bulls coach Scott Skiles as head coach. He is the 11th person to ever become coach of the Bucks franchise. Story.
• April 30, 2008 - The Dallas Mavericks relieve Avery Johnson of his coaching duties, one day after the New Orleans Hornets sting the Mavericks 4-1. Johnson coached the Mavericks for more than three seasons and he complied a record of 194 wins, 70 losses. Story.

May 13, 2008 - Mike D'Antoni parts ways with the Phoenix Suns, the team he coached for 4½ seasons, for the New York Knicks. He is introduced to the Knicks franchise by Donnie Walsh. Story.

• May 14, 2008 - Rick Carlisle becomes the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, filling in the coaching void left by Avery Johnson. Story.

• May 20, 2008 - The NBA holds its annual draft lottery. The Chicago Bulls claim the first pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, despite their 1.7 % probability of getting the pick. The Miami Heat, with the NBA's worst record for the 07-08 season, receive the second pick and the Minnesota Timberwolves get the third choice. Story.

• May 29, 2008 - The Lakers dispatch the Spurs 100 to 92, winning the series 4-1 and the Western Conference Championship, the Laker's first since 2004. San Antonio is unable to win back-to-back championships again. Story.

• May 30, 2008 - The Celtics earn a trip to the 2008 NBA Finals, their first since 1987, by dismantling the Pistons in Detroit. The Celts also win the Eastern Conference championship. The Celts will face the Lakers in a highly anticipated matchup between the two longtime rival franchises. Story.

• June 3, 2008 - After losing three straight Eastern Conference Finals series, the Pistons relieve Flip Saunders of his coaching duties. Story.

• June 7, 2008 - Former Pistons assistant coach Terry Porter becomes the head coach of the Suns, filling the vacancy left by Mike D'Antoni. Story.

• June 9, 2008 - The Pistons name Michael Curry as head coach of the ballclub, replacing the outgoing Flip Saunders. Story.

• June 11, 2008

• The Bulls name Vinny Del Negro, former assistant general manager of the Suns, as the head coach of the team. Story.
• Fomer NBA referee Tim Donaghy launches explosive allegations against other referees in the league, claiming that they too were involved in the NBA betting scandal. In his letter, Donaghy states that one or two out of the three referees (Bob Delaney, Dick Bavetta and Ted Bernhardt) who worked Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals, between the Lakers and Kings, altered the game in order to force a Game 7. The NBA commissioner, David Stern, responds by saying these claims are "baseless". Story.

• June 17, 2008 - Final NBA Playoff standings.

2008 NBA Playoffs and Finals

Final Results

Eastern Conference

First Round

• The Celtics eke out a narrow 4-3 victory over Hawks. Story.
• Pistons bounce back from a 2-1 deficit and down 76ers 4-2. Story.
• The Magic evade the Raptors 4-1. Story .
• The Cavaliers win 4-2 over the Wizards. Story.

Second Round

• Celtics escape the Cavaliers narrowly, winning 4-3 again. Story.
• The Pistons steamroll the Orlando Magic 4-1. Story.

Conference Finals

• The Celtics send Pistons home by winning the series 4-2. Story.

Western Conference

• The Lakers give the Nuggets the broom treatment or win 4-0. Story.
• The Hornets sting the Mavericks 4-1. Story.
• The Spurs stomp the Suns to win 4-1. Story.
• The Jazz put the Rockets in the blues after Utah wins 4-2. Story.

Second Round

• The Lakers drown the Jazz 4-2. Story.
• The Spurs crush the Hornets 4-3. Story.

Conference Finals

• The Lakers boot the Spurs, winning 4-1. Story.

NBA Finals

• The Celtics whiplash the Lakers with a 39-point homecourt blowout win (BOS 131, LAL 92), which sets a record for largest margin of victory in a championship clinching game. The Celtics win their 17th title by sending the Lakers off into the summer (BOS 4, LAL 2). Story.

• June 26, 2008

• The Pacers trade All-star forward Jermaine O'Neal to the Raptors in exchange for T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic and two draft picks. Story.
• The Bucks trade rookie Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons to the Nets in exchange for Richard Jefferson, the Net's top-scorer for the 2007-08 season. The trade was done hours before the 2008 NBA draft, but no draft picks were involved. The trade is expected to benefit both teams in the future. Story.
• The NBA holds the 2008 NBA Draft in New York City. The top three picks are listed below:

• Bulls: Derrick Rose
• Heat: Michael Beasley
• Timberwolves: O.J. Mayo (then traded to the Grizzlies)

Full draft details: Round 1 (Picks 1-30) and Round 2 (Picks 31-60).

• July 1, 2008 - Baron Davis stuns the Golden State Warriors franchise by stating that he plans to opt out of his final year of his contract with the team. He plans to sign a five year, USD $65 million contract with the Los Angeles Clippers on July 9. Story.

• July 3, 2008 - Clay Bennett and his basketball franchise (formerly the Sonics) reach a deal with the city of Seattle to relocate to Oklahoma City. The basketball club paid USD $75 million towards the city in order to settle the relocation dispute. USD $45 million will be paid immediately to the city and another USD $30 million may come later in 2013. As a result of this deal, the Seattle Supersonics become a defunct franchise, after 41 active years in Seattle. The city is allowed to retain the Sonics' name and logo in case a replacement team is created. The successor to the Sonics team is the still-unnamed Oklahoma City National Basketball Association team, which will play in the Ford Center, Oklahoma City for the 08-09 NBA Season. The 08-09 season will be the team's first year in the new arena and in the NBA. Story.

• As of July 8, the NBA's WikiProject has 110 members, listed here.