Knicks hire Derek Fisher as head coach

Knicks hire Derek Fisher as head coach

New York

The New York Knicks have hired Derek Fisher as their new coach, with Phil Jackson turning to one of his trustiest former players.

Just days after finishing his 18th season, Fisher was hired Tuesday to replace Mike Woodson, who Jackson fired after the season in his first major move as team president.

Fisher won five championships playing for Jackson with the Los Angeles Lakers and was known for his knack for hitting clutch postseason shots. Jackson says that “it has come clear to me” that he and Fisher can form a great partnership again.

Heat player’s chef fatally shot at club

MIAMI BEACH, Fla.

Police say a private chef employed by Miami Heat guard Norris Cole was shot and killed inside a popular South Beach nightclub.

Police say 42-year-old Antaun Teasley was found unresponsive early Tuesday inside Club Mansion. Police say he had been in a fight with a man in the VIP area shortly before he was found.

He was taken to a Miami hospital, where he died. Teasley’s death was announced hours before Cole and the Miami Heat would play Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. On Twitter, Heat guard Mario Chalmers called the news “crazy.”

Ex-adviser gets prison in fraud vs. NBA union

NEW YORK

The founder of an investment firm that handled the National Basketball Players Association’s investments and finances has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for a $3 million fraud.

Joseph Lombardo, of Gates Mills, Ohio, was sentenced Tuesday in Manhattan. He’s the founder and former chief executive of Prim Capital Corp.

Lombardo pleaded guilty in November to mail fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice. The crimes were related to his firm’s work on $250 million of the union’s assets from 2001 until 2013. Lombardo was arrested in April 2013. Prosecutors said he created a fake contract with the basketball players who entrusted him to manage their union’s assets. They say he then lied to a federal grand jury about his actions and told others to do the same.

Shelly Sterling heads to court over Clips

LOS ANGELES

An individual familiar with the matter says Shelly Sterling will go to probate court Wednesday to seek an emergency order for a hearing so a judge can confirm her authority to sell the Los Angeles Clippers.

The individual was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Shelly Sterling brokered a $2 billion deal with former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to sell the team, but her husband has vowed not to sell and is suing the NBA for $1 billion. Sterling contends she is the sole trustee of The Sterling Family Trust, which owns the team. Donald Sterling was stripped as co-trustee after two neurologists determined he was suffering from dementia and “mentally incapacitated” under the trust’s conditions. His attorneys have called the idea that he is incapacitated “absurd.”

O’s Machado appeals 5-game suspension

BALTIMORE

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado has been suspended for five games and fined for intentionally throwing his bat on the field during Sunday’s game against Oakland.

Machado said Tuesday that he will appeal the suspension. He was in the starting lineup batting second against visiting Boston. It was uncertain when the appeal would be heard. But the Orioles play in New York next week, and appeals are often heard there.

Machado let his bat fly in the direction of third base after swinging at a pitch from Oakland’s Fernando Abad in the eighth inning. The bat-toss came during a plate appearance in which Abad threw a tight pitch to Machado. After the bat went soaring, both benches emptied. Machado and Abad were ejected.

Wire reports