Warriors guard Stephen Curry had shown to be one of the league's most promising young talents after two years into his NBA career, but was limited by lingering ankle injuries during his third season. Rusty Simmons of SFGate reports that the former Davidson star views his recent ankle surgery as a relief and that he fully expects to be ready for training camp in October. Curry, who feels that backup power forward and depth are the team's biggest needs, also wants to be more involved with Golden State's draft process and plans to attend prospect workouts over the next two months (Sulia link). Here are the other significant links we've gathered up this evening:
- Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe tweeted that Bradley Beal from Florida has signed with Mark Bartelstein and Priority Sports. Beal is projected to be a top five pick in next month's NBA Draft.
- Michael Kidd-Gilchrist announced via his Twitter account that he has signed with Creative Artists Agency.
- Following a season that likely included an innumerable amount of facepalms compared to high-fives, the Bobcats are now focused on adding a new head coach after recently parting ways with Paul Silas. Mitch Lawrence of the NY Daily News hears that Charlotte might try to pursue Jerry Sloan as a possible replacement, citing GM Rich Cho and Michael Jordan's admiration for the former Jazz coach. He also mentions that Sloan turned down six head coaching offers last season (among them Golden State and Detroit), which would imply that it will take a compelling proposal to convince him to join the league's biggest re-building project.
- Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas briefly touches base on the possibility of Rick Carlisle becoming a free agent this summer. Carlisle is finishing up his last year of a four-year contract, and despite president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson continually saying that the Mavericks coach isn't going anywhere, there has been no mention of talks regarding a new deal. Owner Mark Cuban declined to elaborate on the situation today, saying that he "doesn't talk about free agent coaches or otherwise." In a separate article by Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas, Cuban insists that he does not regret letting Tyson Chandler leave because of the financial flexibility he was able to preserve.
- David West has been one of the NBA's most significant free agent acquisitions from last year's offseason, helping the Pacers secure the third seed in the Eastern Conference and homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld discusses how West's presence has benefited the culture and confidence of the team.
- Despite a second straight lottery season for the Cavaliers, owner Dan Gilbert remains a popular figure in Cleveland, writes Plain Dealer columnist Bill Livingston. With such a close connection to the team's fan base, Livingston sees Gilbert as a more wealthy, modern-day version of legendary baseball owner Bill Veeck.