Management Rumors: Bird, Grunfeld, Petrie

We've got plenty of rumors and notes today involving coaches, GMs, and team presidents, so let's round them all up in one place:

  • Pacers president Larry Bird is set to retire at season's end, reports Peter Vecsey of the New York Post. Speaking to Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star, Bird denied that he'd made a decision one way or the other yet.
  • Vecsey also wrote that Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld turned down a three-year, $4.5MM extension offer, but Michael Lee of the Washington Post says that's not true. One source told Lee the report was "made up," while multiple sources said Grunfeld has not been offered an extension.
  • "Word has it" that Kings president Geoff Petrie will sign a new deal soon, according to Vecsey. So far, Petrie hasn't refuted this one.
  • Amidst rumors that Vinny Del Negro is on the hot seat in Los Angeles, Kevin Arnovitz of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes that Del Negro is miscast coaching the current Clippers squad. Arnovitz cites a "profound disparity" between the pre-Chris Paul and post-Chris Paul goals for the Clippers, and argues that the team may need a new coach for its new era. For his part, Del Negro refuted reports that suggested he'd lost the team.
  • Recently retired T.J. Ford will become a volunteer assistant coach for the Spurs' D-League affiliate, the Austin Toros, says Kevin Robbins of the Austin American-Statesman.
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