The Daily Blog

Armen Gilliam dies from heart attack while playing basketball.

Former NBA and UNLV forward Armen Gilliam died Tuesday night of a heart attack at the age of 47, Pittsburgh’s WTAE.

Gilliam suffered the heart attack while playing basketball at a gym in Collier Township near Pittsburgh, according to the report. He was later pronounced dead upon arriving at St. Clair Hospital.

The Phoenix Suns selected Gilliam with the No. 2 overall pick in the 1987 NBA Draft. Gilliam also played for the Charlotte Hornets, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Utah Jazz. He retired in 2000.

He was on the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels team that went to the Final Four in 1987.

“I’m all shook up,” former college coach Jerry Tarkanian told the Las Vegas Sun. “He was such a great person. He would take the shirt of his back for you.”

2011 NBA DRAFT ORDER.

Draft results

1. Cleveland Cavaliers: Kyrie Irving

2. Minnesota Timberwolves: Derrick Williams

3. Utah Jazz: Enes Kanter

4. Cleveland Cavaliers: Tristan Thompson

5. Toronto Raptors: Jonas Valanciunas

6. Washington Wizards: Jan Vesely

7. Charlotte Bobcats (via Kings): Bismack Biyombo

8. Detroit Pistons: Brandon Knight

9. Charlotte Bobcats: Kemba Walker

10. Sacramento Kings (via Bucks): Jimmer Fredette

11. Golden State Warriors: Klay Thompson

12. Utah Jazz: Alec Burks

13. Phoenix Suns: Markieff Morris

14. Houston Rockets: Marcus Morris

15. Indiana Pacers: Kawhi Leonard

16. Philadelphia 76ers: Nikola Vucevic

17. New York Knicks: Iman Shumpert

18. Washington Wizards: Chris Singleton

19. Milwaukee Bucks (via Bobcats): Tobias Harris

20. Houston Rockets (via T-Wolves): Donatas Motiejunas

21. Portland Trail Blazers: Nolan Smith

22. Denver Nuggets: Kenneth Faried

23. Minnesota Timber Wolves (via Houston Rockets): Nikola Mirotic

24. Oklahoma City Thunder: Reggie Jackson

25. New Jersey Nets (via Celtics): MarShon Brooks

26. Denver Nuggets (via Mavericks): Jordan Hamilton

27. Boston Celtics (via Nets): JaJuan Johnson

28. Miami Heat (via Bulls): Norris Cole

29. San Antonio Spurs: Cory Joseph

30. Chicago Bulls: Jimmy Butler

Pippen: Jordan is NBA’s best scorer, but LeBron might be greatest player.

Scottie Pippen won six NBA championships while playing alongside Michael Jordan in Chicago, so he knows a little something about great players.

Speaking on ESPN Radio’s Mike and Mike in the Morning show Friday, Pippen called LeBron James’ play in the Heat-Bulls series “unbelievable” and thinks that James can challenge to be the greatest player of all time.

“Michael Jordan’s probably the greatest scorer to ever play in the game, but I may go as far as to say that LeBron James may be the greatest player to ever play the game because he’s so potent offensively,” Pippen said. “Not only can he score at will but he keeps everybody involved and you have to be on your Ps and Qs on defense because no guy on the court isn’t a threat to score when (he’s) is out there.

“But not only that but LeBron James will dominate the game offensively, but he’s also doing it on the defensive end and that makes him the complete package.”

James helped lead an 18-3 run to close Game 5, scoring eight of those points to erase the Bulls’ 12-point lead. The 83-80 Heat win on Thrusday set up a date with the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, and also showed Pippen that James has grown as a player, with the ability to star in crunch time.

“He’s shown throughout that series that he can make big shots,” Pippen said. “That’s always been a knock on him that he don’t make the big shots down the stretch. Well, I think they can put that behind him now.”

Joakim Noah fined $50,000 for homophobic slur aimed at fan.

Joakim Noah has been fined $50,000 by the NBA for shouting an anti-gay slur at a fan during the Chicago Bulls’ loss to the Heat in Game 3 of the East finals in Miami.

Noah met with NBA officials about the incident on Monday and later issued an apology.

“Just losing the game was definitely tough,” Noah said. “I learn from my mistakes. I think that with the comment to the fan, I just want to apologize about that. I had just picked up my second foul. I was frustrated. He said something that was disrespectful towards me, and I lost my cool. I’m not ‑‑ people who know me know I’m an open‑minded guy. I’m not here to hurt anybody’s feelings. I’m just here to, you know, help win a basketball game.”

Lakers guard Kobe Bryant was slapped with a $100,000 fine for hurling the same slur at referee Bennie Adams during a late regular-season game against the Spurs. An NBA spokesman confirmed that Bryant’s fine was higher than Noah’s because Kobe verbally abused a game official, ESPN’s J.A. Adande reported via Twitter.

Reached by ESPNChicago the day after Noah hurled a homophobic slur at a fan, teammates of the Bulls big man tried to empathize with him. No one condoned what he said. They did, however, point out that fans sometimes cross the line and become too personal with players in their taunting efforts.

“[Noah’s] got to do a better job of controlling his emotions,” forward Luol Deng said to ESPNChicago. “But at the same time, us as players, everyone is always watching us.

“And Jo kind of lost his temper, he shouldn’t have, but that fan should have been out of the game. He should have been thrown out way before. He just kept going at him and we’re in an emotional game like that, and things aren’t going Jo’s way, it’s just human nature to just react. I know Jo and I know he didn’t mean what he said at all.”

Other teammates went on to comment about the issue in the story by ESPNChicago’s Nick Friedell. Power forward Carlos Boozer said he hopes there can be more security at games and praised Noah for owning up to his mistake and apologizing for it. Point guard Derrick Rose pointed out there are times when emotions get the best of players, and said he didn’t think Noah meant to cause anyone harm.

Noah refused to get into the specifics of what was said to get into his skin, reiterating that he didn’t intend to offend anyone.

“I apologized for what I said. What I said wasn’t right,” Noah said to reporters Monday. “I don’t want to disrespect anybody. That’s not what I’m about. I just got caught up in something a fan said and went back at him, and I’m going to face the consequences like a man.”

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar feels ‘slighted’ without statue at Staples Center.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the leading scorer in NBA history. He was selected to a record 19 All-Star teams. He won six world championships—-five with the Los Angeles Lakers—-after bringing three national titles to the city while at UCLA.

In short, Abdul-Jabbar is as accomplished as any athlete walking the planet.

But for all of Abdul-Jabbar’s influence, for all of his accomplishments, the man feels “slighted” by the Lakers organization, as he explains in a six-page interview in the magazine.

Why? There are multiple reasons—-and we’re not going to spoil all the goods here—-but one of them has to do with the statues that have been erected outside Staples Center.

There are five of them: of Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Chick Hearn, Wayne Gretzky and Oscar De La Hoya.

Notice who’s not on that list?

Yes, the great Lakers center Mike Smrek. And also Abdul-Jabbar, who has this to say in his “Sporting News Conversation”:

“I don’t understand (it). It’s either an oversight or they’re taking me for granted. I’m not going to try to read people’s minds, but it doesn’t make me happy. It’s definitely a slight. I feel slighted.”

In a subsequent statement passed along by his business manager, Abdul-Jabbar said: “I am highly offended by the total lack of acknowledgement of my contribution to Laker success. I guess being the lynchpin for five world championships is not considered significant enough in terms of being part of Laker history.”

The Lakers offered this response, via spokesman John Black:

“We’ve been at Staples Center 11 years and have two ex-players who have statues now. It’s not like we do it every year; we have no timetable. Whenever we do the next statue of the third Los Angeles Lakers player, it (will be) Kareem—-and he has been told that. Again, we didn’t say when that was going to be. It could be next year, the year after or several years from now.”

Whenever. Now that’s a date that can’t be set in stone.

Charles Oakley sues Las Vegas resort over ‘beat down’.

LAS VEGAS — Charles Oakley, one of the NBA’s all-time tough guys and now a Charlotte Bobcats assistant, has sued a Las Vegas resort over what he calls a May 2010 “gang-style beat down” by security guards who injured him.

Oakley filed the lawsuit Thursday in Clark County District Court against the Aria hotel-casino at MGM Resorts International’s CityCenter complex, the Las Vegas Sun reported. Five security officers also were named in the lawsuit.

Oakley was an invited guest at Aria’s VIP pool area May 28 when he left the area, the complaint says, but security officers and staff prevented him from re-entering.

After a “verbal altercation” with officers, Oakley attempted to return to his room when he was “assaulted” by them in a secluded area of the resort, the lawsuit alleges.

The complaint contends the officers wrestled Oakley to the ground and punched and handcuffed him, and that he was taken to the hospital with injuries to his neck, back, head and wrist, “all or some of which may be permanent and disabling.”

The complaint alleges negligence, assault, assault with excessive force, battery, false imprisonment and defamation. It seeks unspecified general, special and punitive damages.

An MGM Resorts International spokeswoman said the company doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

The 47-year-old Oakley has been among VIPs who have participated in Michael Jordan’s Celebrity Invitational golf fundraiser presented by Aria.

The 6-foot-9, 245-pound Oakley was a power forward for Chicago, New York, Toronto, Washington and Houston between 1985 and 2004. Now an assistant coach with Charlotte, he developed a reputation over the years as an enforcer, rebounding machine and Jordan’s bodyguard.

Behold the Power of Oprah: Daytime Queen Gets NBA Game Rescheduled and More TV News.

Oprah Winfrey is flexing her muscles in an odd way. The exiting queen of daytime talk shows has gotten an NBA game rescheduled. Why? Because she’s filming one of her final shows at the United Center, the arena where the Chicago Bulls were supposed to play the Miami Heat.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the game was supposed to take place on Tuesday, but because of Winfrey’s shoot it has been postponed until Sunday.

“We just got the e-mail saying we were supposed to start next Tuesday, but Oprah has it then,” Charles Barkley said on ESPN Radio. “So they said, well let’s do it Monday. Oprah is having one of her last shows, so she’s got the United Center locked up.

“They’re going to set up Monday and tape her show Tuesday. So they just sent out an e-mail and said prepare to go to Chicago and start Game 1 Sunday afternoon,” he said. “They’re going to move it up three days, for Oprah.”

The game is the first of NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals.

Winfrey reportedly wants to give Maria Shriver her own show. According to RadarOnline.com, Shriver is said to have been approached by Winfrey earlier this year, but now that Shriver has separated from Arnold Schwarzenegger, Winfrey is pursuing Shriver harder.

Robert ‘Tractor’ Traylor found dead at age of 34.

Former NBA and Michigan big man Robert “Tractor” Traylor was found dead today in his apartment in Isla Verde, Puerto Rico, elnuevodia.com reports. Traylor’s death has been confirmed on the Facebook page of the Bayamón Cowboys, the Puerto Rican team with which Traylor was playing.

The presumed cause of death was a massive heart attack, according to elnuevodia.

Traylor was 34.

Traylor was drafted by the Mavericks and traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in 1998, and played for seven seasons in the NBA, also with the Hornets (both in Charlotte and New Orleans) and the Cavaliers.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Bucks reacted to the news.

“The entire Milwaukee Bucks organization is saddened by the news of Robert Traylor’s death. Robert was a fierce competitor on the court who helped the Bucks reach the playoffs in each of his two seasons in Milwaukee,” the statement read. “Off the court he was a gentle giant, displaying his smile and care, especially toward young people through his involvement in school visits and his work with the Special Olympics clinic.

“Our deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends.”

According to the Detroit Free Press, echoed the sentiments of the Bucks, saying Michigan was saddened by the big man’s passing.

“Our sympathies go out to his family during this difficult time,” Brandon added.

On Twitter, Indiana coach Tom Crean lamented the loss of the former Wolverine.

“We battled against him and he might have been the most time consuming and mind challenging matchup we ever faced and we as coaches weren’t even playing,” Crean wrote on Twitter. “He had great feet and hands and a very soft touch. He also wasn’t nicknamed Tractor for nothing.

“In Milwaukee we lived one neighborhood apart and I would see him at the Bradley Center. I always saw him as a very gentle person with people who was very shy in public. Because of that shyness and gentle nature he was probably misunderstood and not respected like he could have been.

“As in most cases with people we don’t know well we usually don’t get a chance to tell people what they mean to us. Although I didn’t know him well, he made me a better coach because you really had to have a plan to stop him. Rest in peace Robert and I hope God was in your Heart when it was your time to meet him.”

Bulls guard Derrick Rose to be named NBA MVP for 2010-11 season.

Derrick Rose will be named the NBA’s MVP of the 2010-11 regular season, according to an ESPN report.

Rose will be notified of the win Tuesday and presented with the trophy before Game 2 of Chicago’s series against the Atlanta Hawks, the website reported through a source.

Rose, at 22 years old, is the youngest to ever win the award, one he has been considered a lock to take home. Forever modest, Rose has shut down speculation he was the league MVP for months and made such comments as recently as Sunday.

In a year when his coach, Tom Thibodeau, was named Coach of the Year, Rose averaged 25.0 points, 7.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds. Rose and Thibodeau will become the 12th player-coach duo to win MVP and Coach of the Year in the same season.

During his statistical climb from a year ago, his team also jumped from the Eastern Conference No. 8 seed a season ago to the No. 1 position in the 2010-11 playoffs.

What many considered while voting Rose the MVP was his ability to keep the Bulls afloat as big men Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah missed considerable stints during the season. Before his name was necessarily in play, Rose made comments that grabbed attention.

“The way I look at it, within myself, why can’t I be the MVP of the league?” he said. “Why can’t I be the best player in the league? Why? Why can’t I do that?”

Apparently, he can.

Rose led a Bulls team that never lost more than two games in a row during a long 82-game season. They finished at 62-20 to claim the best record in the NBA, making this Bulls team the first to reach 60 wins since Michael Jordan’s 1997-98 Chicago squad.

Former NBA bigman Oliver Miller charged with assault in Maryland.

Former NBA player Oliver Miller was arrested Tuesday morning and charged with assault and numerous other crimes, after allegedly pistol whipping a man at a barbecue, Washington, DC, television station WUSA reports on its website.

Police said that Miller was not at the home in Edgewater, Md., where the alleged incident occurred, and that they had to track him down based on eye witness accounts and a 9MM GLOCK magazine that he left at the scene, according to the report.

“Miller is charged with First and Second Degree Assault, Reckless Endangerment, Having a Handgun on Person, Using a Handgun in a Violent Crime, Possessing a Handgun in a Vehicle, Disorderly Conduct and other related charges,” police said.

Miller played in the NBA for nine seasons and with six different teams. He averaged 7.4 points and 5.9 rebounds for his career.