No guarantees for Bobcats with Brown

New coach won't tolerate lack of effort

A guaranteed contract won't equal guaranteed minutes.

That was Charlotte Bobcats coach Larry Brown's message Monday, delivered during a vivid mid-practice lecture. He didn't like the body language of some of his players with guarantees and chose not to wait for training camp to set the agenda.

"We have some guys who were drafted [by the Bobcats] or who have played a year in the league, and I want them to match the intensity of a Kyle Hines or a James Mays," Brown said, referring to two players just hoping to be invited to camp in October.

"That's what our team has to be about: Ryan [Hollins] has to be about that, Jermareo [Davidson] has to be about that, Kyle Weaver, D.J. [Augustin] -- all those guys we've drafted."

Brown said he doesn't care who wins summer-league games, but he won't tolerate lack of effort and concentration. The Bobcats were sloppy Sunday in a two-point loss to the New Orleans Hornets, committing 23 turnovers.

"It's a big thing with me; I'll take toughness and effort over talent anytime," Brown said. "And when you find a guy with talent and that effort and toughness -- a Michael Jordan, an Allen Iverson, a David Thompson, a Bobby Jones -- that's when guys become special."

Brown made sure to remind the others that Guillermo Diaz, an undrafted free agent, has practiced and played for a week with a stomach virus so bad, he constantly runs off the court to vomit.

Assuming the Bobcats re-sign their restricted free agents, they'll have at least 12 guarantees (with a maximum roster of 15) entering training camp. Brown said those contract numbers won't define who does and doesn't play when the games count.

"Just because we have a guaranteed contract doesn't mean that guy has a guaranteed spot," he said.

(The Charlotte Observer)

DONAGHY MAY HAVE INVOLVED ANOTHER REFEREE: Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy made more than 100 phone calls to a fellow official at the same time he was providing information to gamblers during the 2006-07 season, Fox News reported Monday.

Citing court documents and phone records it obtained, Fox reported Donaghy placed 134 calls to referee Scott Foster between October 2006 and April 2007, the period during which he has confessed to betting on games or passing on game information to gamblers.

It's not known what information was exchanged during the calls between Foster and Donaghy, who is awaiting sentencing later this month in federal court.

BULLS' ROSE PLEADS GUILTY TO SPEEDING: Chicago Bulls No. 1 draft choice Derrick Rose pleaded guilty Monday to driving 106 mph in a 65 mph zone over the speed limit on an Illinois highway back in April.

Kane County Associate Judge Robert J. Morrow ordered Rose to pay a $1,000 fine and attend traffic school, according to the county's state's attorney's office.

(The Associated Press)