Associated Press
The NBA notebook …
MIAMI ó Dwyane Wade says the Miami Heat ěplayed off hatredî last season. Thatís why Wade believes the Heat failed to win the NBA title.
In an interview with Mike Krzyzewski on the Duke coachís show on SiriusXM Radio, Wade says ěwe wanted to win to spite peopleî last season, the first where he had LeBron James and Chris Bosh as teammates.
Wade continued, ěI believe thatís the reason we didnít win a championship.î
Krzyzewski replied by saying, ěThatís why I love this guy.î
Wade and Krzyzewski grew close during the U.S. national teamís run to the 2008 Olympic gold medal in Beijing. During the interview that aired Tuesday night, Krzyzewski referred to Wade as the U.S. teamís best player at the Beijing Games.
LABOR
NEW YORK ó An NBA lawyer has urged a judge to help end a stalemate with the NBA players union by agreeing to consider the legality of its lockout.
The league locked out its players July 1, and NBA Commissioner David Stern already has canceled all November games.
The NBA wants federal Judge Paul Gardephe to rule that the NBA’s lockout will not be considered an antitrust violation if the players dissolve their union.
PISTOL WHIPPED
ANNAPOLIS, Md. ó A former professional basketball player has pleaded guilty to assaulting his girlfriend’s brother after a cookout in Maryland.
Oliver J. Miller, who played for the Phoenix Suns and other teams in the 1990s, pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and carrying a handgun Tuesday in court in Anne Arundel County.
According to prosecutors, Miller and his girlfriend’s brother argued at the cookout in April and Miller later hit him repeatedly in the head with a gun. The man required 11 staples to close his wounds.