OTG Daily News

EL SEGUNDO, CALIF. (AP) The Lakers traded forward Lamar Odom and a second-round draft pick to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night for a first-round pick and an $8.9 million trade exception, capping Los Angeles' stunning 72-hour breakup with last season's Sixth Man of the Year. Video: Lakers react to Odom trade The Lakers and Mavericks reached a swift deal after Odom learned Thursday that Los Angeles was attempting to trade him in a megadeal for New Orleans superstar Chris Paul . After the NBA blocked that trade, Odom declined to report to the Lakers' opening day of training camp on Friday. Odom then requested a trade in a meeting with general manager Mitch Kupchak, and the Lakers improbably swung a deal with the rival Mavericks, who swept Los Angeles out of the second round of last season's playoffs. ''Lamar was a fine player for us in his seven years with the Lakers and was a key to helping us win two championships,'' Kupchak said in a sta...

With handshakes, sighs and weary smiles, the N.B.A. and its players resolved a crippling labor dispute early Saturday, allowing them to reopen their $4-billion-a-year business. A 66-game season would start on Christmas Day, ending the second-longest lockout in league history. On nearly every count, the deal favors the owners, who all along had sought an overhaul. The players made significant concessions, including a reduction of up to $300 million year in salaries, $3 billion over the life of the agreement. Based on tentative agreements reached earlier, the deal is expected to be for 10 years, the longest such contract in the history of the National Basketball Association, with an option for either side to terminate it after six years. It includes a significant pay cut for players, along with shorter contracts, smaller raises and a more punitive tax system to rein in the top-spending teams. The deal was reached about 3 a.m. Saturday, on the 149th day of the lockout, after a fina...

NEW YORK (AP) — NBA players rejected the league's latest offer Monday and began disbanding the union, likely jeopardizing the season. "We're prepared to file this antitrust action against the NBA," union executive director Billy Hunter said. "That's the best situation where players can get their due process." And that's a tragedy as far as NBA Commissioner David Stern is concerned. "It looks like the 2011-12 season is really in jeopardy," Stern said in an interview aired on ESPN. "It's just a big charade. To do it now, the union is ratcheting up I guess to see if they can scare the NBA owners or something. That's not happening." Hunter said players were not prepared to accept Stern's ultimatum to accept the current proposal or face a worse one, saying they thought it was "extremely unfair." Stern had urged players to take the deal on the table, saying it's the best the NBA could offer and warned...

You get the ball, your on a fast break, there is nothing left but you the rim and the dunk your about to smash. At least thats the way its supposed to be! Somebody needs to tell Hedo Turkuglu From the Orlando Magic this. Because it looks like I all he thought about was the Infamous Sprite commercials!

AP CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Larry Brown is out as coach of the  Charlotte Bobcats . Owner  Michael Jordan  said in a release Wednesday that in a mutual decision after Charlotte's disappointing 9-19 start that Brown has stepped down as coach. The 70-year-old Brown was in his third season with the Bobcats and led them to a franchise-first playoff appearance last season.

The  Orlando Magic , already in serious trade talks with the  Washington Wizards  about acquiring  Gilbert Arenas , have agreed to a deal in principle with the  Phoenix Suns , according to league sources. The trade returns former Magic star  Hedo Turkoglu , along with  Jason Richardson  and  Earl Clark , to Orlando in exchange for  Vince Carter ,  Marcin Gortat ,  Mickael Pietrus , a 2011 first-round pick and cash considerations. Orlando, losers of five of its last six games, is also close to acquiring Arenas for  Rashard Lewis , sources said. Magic president Otis Smith told The Associated Press on Saturday that he has had serious talks this week with the Wizards about acquiring Arenas. Smith said he would rate the aggressiveness of the talks at an "eight out of 10" but that "nothing is imminent." He would not talk specifics of the potential deal with The AP. The two teams have been discussing a deal involving Arenas off ...

Boston Celtics  guard  Rajon Rondo  will miss a couple of weeks due to a sprained left ankle, vice president of basketball operations Danny Ainge told radio station WEEI on Thursday. Rondo rolled his ankle in the fourth quarter of the 118-116 victory over the  New York Knicks on Wednesday. He said afterward that he expected to play Thursday against Atlanta. "Rajon, I think, will be out for a couple of weeks, anyway," Ainge said, according to WEEI. More on the Celtics Keep on top of the Green throughout the season with ESPNBoston.com's Chris Forsberg.  Blog •  Send Chris a question "I think that Rajon is young, and he heals fast and he loves to play, to his credit. I couldn't believe he was back on the court last night. He wasn't moving very well, even when he got back out on the court. You could tell he was still in a lot of pain, and certainly after the game it started puffing up. This morning there was a lot of swelling, and he definitely needs some time...