Barring a remarkable turn of events, the Eastern Conference playoff field is set, and the only realistic uncertainty that remains is about how the teams will be seeded. Tonight’s Pacers–Heat clash will say much about which team ends up with the top seed, as Indiana will be either three games ahead or just one game up on Miami depending on the outcome. While we look forward to that, here’s what’s happening off the court around the East:
- Jerryd Bayless said a week after arriving in Boston via trade that he’d like to remain with the Celtics beyond this season, and he reiterated that this week to Gary Dzen of Boston.com. Bayless will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
- In a wide-ranging talk with season ticket holders earlier this week, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said the team will target a rim protector in the draft, notes Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe.
- Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel suggests there’s a decent chance that either Tony Mitchell or Chris Wright will return to the Bucks soon, depending on the performance of the newly signed D.J. Stephens (Twitter link). All three have received 10-day contracts from the team this month, and Gardner says the team will probably sign one of them to a longer deal.
- The Bobcats are expected to receive a league-high $20MM in revenue sharing, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports, with several other small-market teams in line for about $15MM. The increase in revenue the Bobcats have drawn via sponsorships is one advantage of fielding a team that competes for one of the last playoff spots rather than bottoming out in pursuit of a high draft pick, as Lowe explains.
- Bobcats owner Michael Jordan doesn’t talk much about the team publicly, but he’s been heavily engaged behind the scenes in collective bargaining and revenue sharing discussions, as commissioner Adam Silver tells DeAntae Prince of The Sporting News.