The NBA rumors and news keep coming as training camps are set to start soon.
Check out the latest buzz below.
Spurs Work Out Beasley
Michael Beasley has been getting interest from several teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers, but now the San Antonio Spurs have jumped in and worked the free agent out.
Beasley played for the Miami Heat last year, with the team not interested in bringing him back.
Beasley can play at either forward spot.
Sources told Yahoo Sports that Beasley, 25, worked out at the Spurs practice facility this week.
Beasley was chosen by the Heat No. 2 overall in 2008, and averaged almost eight points a game in 15.1 minutes last season.
Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders was asked by a reader what he thought would happen with Beasley.
“Hard to say whats gonna happen with Mike… he is still getting paid by the Suns so he doesn’t have to take an offer that is not good for him and his camp understand he can’t sign somewhere and get cut or he’s finished. So its not about take the job, its got to represent a real opportunity or it will be a negative,” he said.
“He may wait for an injury or a roster to change by trade or someone getting cut. The Lakers usually keep the final roster spots non-guaranteed and I don’t think Beasley agrees to that unless he’s assured to get a chance and I am not sure the Lakers are willing to do that.”
Spurs Eying Gustavo Ayon
Multiple players generated interest from the FIBA World Cup, among them the Mexican center.
Ayon played sparingly last year for the Atlanta hawks partially due to injury, and has committed to a multi-year deal with Spanish Real Madrid after he became a free agent, reported David Pick, although he hasn’t signed yet.
Marc Stein of ESPN reported previously that Ayon wants to stay in the NBA but was receiving a good monetary offer from Real Madrid.
But now Euro Hoops reports that the San Antonio Spurs are looking at Ayon, although it would likely be either Ayon or Beasley for the defending champions.
“Nothing serious yet, but it complicates things more on his possible signing with Madrid,” it said.
Shams Charania of RealGM added that Ayon also has another offer on the table.
“Free agent center Gustavo Ayon’s debating between formal offers from the San Antonio Spurs and Shandong in China, sources tell RealGM,” he said. “Still, there’s a strong push for Gustavo Ayon to remain in Europe. He’s deciding over three formal offers now.”
Clippers Snag Australian Forward
The Los Angeles Clippers have won out on the competition for Australian swingman Joe Ingles.
Ingles is another player who generated interest due to a strong showing at the FIBA World Cup.
Sources told Stein that Ingles has signed a one-year contract.
“Ingles drew NBA interest with his fine play at 2012 Olympics and just cemented his move to the league with some big games at FIBA World Cup,” Stein noted.
Cavs Work Out Amundson
The Cleveland Cavaliers are one of many teams still looking for an extra player or two, and have worked out Louis Amundson.
“Cleveland one of the teams he’s considering for training camp,” sources told Hoops Hype.
Amundson, 31, is a 6'9” forward who played 19 games last year for the New Orleans Pelicans and Chicago Bulls.
He played a big part on the Phoenix Suns 2010 push to the Western Conference Finals.
Eastern Conference Predictions
There are many predictions floating around about who will end up at the top of the Eastern Conference.
One reader asked Kyler of Basketball Insiders how the Charlotte Bobcats would fare, and if the team could get the No. 3 seed.
“Three seed?… No. I think Chicago wins the Central and the East… I think Cleveland has the second best record. I think Toronto wins the Atlantic and Miami wins the Southeast. So best case… they are the fifth seed. Doesn’t mean they won’t win 50 games. I just don’t think they win more games than Miami and I would argue I don’t think they win more games than a healthy Washington Wizards team,” he said.
“The Hornets are a decent team, but I am not ready to put them in the elite class after one strong season.”
Nets Sign Center to Camp Contract
The Brooklyn Nets signed 7-footer Hamady Ndiaye to a training camp contract, reported Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo.
“He'll compete for third center spot,” he said.
‘NBA 2K15’ drafts 3-D face mapping for latest game
(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
LOS ANGELES—“NBA 2K15” is angling for a slam dunk with an innovative new way to put players in the game.
The developers of the interactive basketball franchise are adding the option for gamers to digitally graft lifelike 3-D renditions of their faces onto virtual players in the series’ latest installment, set for Oct. 7. The process uses the camera for either the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One game consoles to create faces for wannabe Kobe Bryants and Kevin Durants.
“It’s all done using the processing power of the next-gen systems,” said Jeff Thomas, vice president of sports development at “NBA 2K” developer Visual Concepts. “We’ve been talking about doing this for a number of years, but it really wasn’t possible until we knew the processing power of the next-gen machines. It took some time to get it right.”
The technology utilizes the stereoscopic cameras for Sony’s PS4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One consoles to amass several angles of gamers’ faces. It then renders photorealistic 3-D models on screen that can be tweaked and placed onto the bodies of virtual players in the game’s career and online modes. The process requires a well-lit room and takes about three minutes.
“That doesn’t sound like a lot of time,” said Thomas. “But if you think of things in milliseconds like you do when you make games, with the computer processing power inside that box, three minutes is like an eternity. That just shows how much math and things are required to compute these points in 3-D space, then construct a model that looks like you.”
The face mapping marks the latest effort by a game creator to add virtual representations of players in a game, following similar endeavors, like EA Sports crafting virtual athletes based on still images of players’ faces, and developer Rare harnessing Microsoft’s Kinect camera to fashion cartoony avatars for its motion-detecting title “Kinect Sports Rivals.”
When demonstrated for The Associated Press with a PS4 camera and console, the process required two attempts to generate an accurate hairless model, which was then further detailed with skin textures, hair and eye color. The available modifications are based on Visual Concept’s own library of facial features of actual NBA and Euroleague players.
“That means there can’t be any more alien players,” said Thomas. “You used to be able to pull and tug players’ faces and create crazy noses and stuff. Because we’re referencing real people, it only allows you to create human-looking players. I think that’s a big deal. The combination of these techniques will give you a really solid-looking image of yourself.”
For privacy-minded players who don’t want their console capturing a map of their face or those without a PS4 or Kinect camera, Thomas said they'll still be able to create players from scratch using the game’s customization system, as in past editions of the series. He also noted that while the system can scan female faces, the game — like the basketball league — doesn’t include female bodies.
Thomas expects the proprietary technology to evolve in the future and is hopeful it will be implemented in other games from 2K Games, which also publishes the “NHL 2K” and “WWE 2K” series, as well as the “BioShock” and “Borderlands” first-person shooter franchises.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Thomas. “I think in the future that every triple-A title is going to want to have some sort of tech like this. It’s so much more engaging to actually look at yourself when you’re playing a video game compared to some random character.”
Arrest made in theft from Pacers star Paul George
INDIANAPOLIS—Police have arrested a man in connection with the April burglary at the Indianapolis home of Indiana Pacers star Paul George.
Indianapolis police say 43-year-old Michael Lewis of Whitestown was arrested Wednesday on burglary and theft charges for the April 28 break-in during which George’s platinum All-Star ring valued at $15,000 was taken.
Police say detectives believe the burglary was random act and that Lewis didn’t specifically target George’s home, which is on the city’s northeast side.
The burglary was discovered by George’s parents when they returned from a Pacers playoff game. Other items reported stolen included a $700 watch. Police say none have the stolen items have been found.
Lewis was jailed Wednesday morning. It wasn’t immediately clear whether he had an attorney.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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