It's not uncommon for NBA players to own a stake in other sports. Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol are joint owners of a racehorse, and LeBron James is a part of Fenway Sports Group, the parent company of baseball's Boston Red Sox and English soccer club Liverpool FC. Nonetheless, the NBA will not permit Kevin Garnett to invest in AS Roma, an Italian soccer team, because Celtics minority owner James Pallotta is already one of the club's owners, as Frank Dell’Apa of the Boston Globe reported this weekend. We've got more on the C's and their Atlantic Division rivals here:
- Celtics coach Doc Rivers tells the Argentinian website Ole (translation via HoopsHype) that the team has looked into signing Carlos Delfino and wishes they had the money to get a deal done. The Hawks, Pacers, Rockets and Cavaliers have also been linked to the 6'6" swingman, who's reportedly seeking a multiyear deal.
- Frank Isola of the New York Daily News hears Knicks assistant coach Kenny Atkinson is nearing a deal to take a similar position with the Hawks. Atkinson is the lone remaining holdover from the staff of former Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni. Jeremy Lin credited Atkinson for helping him to his sensational play this past season.
- Nets signee Mirza Teletovic spoke to Drago Perko of Kosarka.si, a Slovenian website, about his decision to come to Brooklyn (translation via NetsDaily). The 6'9" forward said he held off on jumping to the NBA for two or three years, and is focused on winning championships. He paid a $2MM buyout to Caja Laboral of Spain to get out his deal overseas and sacrificed close to another $2MM to sign for the taxpayer's mid-level exception instead of the full mid-level with the Nets so the team wouldn't be hard-capped this season.