Pelicans Parting Ways With Multiple Front Office Members
The Pelicans recently dismissed former head of basketball operations David Griffin, replacing him shortly thereafter with former Pistons star and longtime executive Joe Dumars.
Marc Stein reports (via Twitter) that the new front office will part ways with a couple of executives from Griffin’s staff, Todd Quinter and former Bulls GM Gar Forman, who had been a special advisor to Griffin since December 2020.
Former WNBA star and Hall of Famer Swin Cash also won’t return to New Orleans, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Will Guillory of The Athletic confirms the news (via Twitter).
Cash, who was promoted to senior vice president of basketball operations last year, was one of the highest-ranking women by title in any NBA front office. She had been with the organization since 2019.
The Pelicans are coming off a disappointing season in which they finished 21-61, the second-worst mark in franchise history. Quinter, Forman and Cash were all part of Griffin’s front office — it’s not surprising that Dumars will be bringing in new colleagues.
Bucks’ Damian Lillard To Return For Game 2
April 22: Lillard told reporters in Indiana on Tuesday that he’ll return to action for Game 2 tonight, tweets Nehm.
April 21: Star point guard Damian Lillard has been listed as questionable by the Bucks ahead of Tuesday’s Game 2 at Indiana, tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files.
Shortly before the team announced the injury designation, head coach Doc Rivers said he wasn’t sure if Lillard would suit up, but he practiced on Monday and went through scrimmages the past two days, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter link).
“He’s close. He looks great to me,” Rivers said.
Lillard has recovered remarkably well from a blood calf in his right calf — he recently discussed the “scary” diagnosis, which occurred late last month. Although he missed Game 1, he was cleared of his deep vein thrombosis last week and began practicing. Lillard has continued to ramp up his activity in recent days and shows up on the injury report with a designation of “return to competition reconditioning,” Nehm notes (via Twitter).
Lillard made his ninth All-Star appearance in 2024/25, averaging 24.9 points, 7.1 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals on .448/.376/.921 shooting in 36.1 minutes per contest. He would have been a strong candidate to make an All-NBA team for the eighth time, but did not qualify due to the 65-game rule — the 34-year-old appeared in 58 games this season.
Milwaukee certainly missed Lillard in Game 1, having been blown out by the Pacers. His potential return would be a boon for the Bucks, particularly on the offensive end. The team only managed 98 points while shooting just 9-of-37 from long distance (24.3%) in the series opener.
Kings Hire Scott Perry As General Manager
APRIL 21: The Kings have officially named Perry their general manager, according to a team press release.
“Scott brings a wealth of experience, a sharp basketball mind, and a strong track record of building talented rosters,” Ranadive said in a statement. “He shares our commitment to developing and sustaining a winning culture, and I am excited to welcome him back to Sacramento.”
“I appreciate the opportunity to rejoin the Kings organization and help build a successful team that competes at a high level,” Perry said in a statement of his own. “I’m eager to get to work with the players and staff to continue moving the organization forward.”
APRIL 17: The Kings are finalizing a contract with veteran NBA executive Scott Perry to be their new general manager, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.
Charania’s report has been confirmed by several other outlets, including The Athletic, Yahoo Sports, Fox 40 Sacramento, and TheKingsBeat.com (all Twitter links here).
Sacramento and former GM Monte McNair mutually agreed to part ways after the team was eliminated from the play-in tournament on Wednesday night.
The Athletic reported overnight that Perry was the frontrunner to replace McNair. Mere hours later, he will be rejoining the Kings, having previously served as the team’s VP of basketball operations from April-June 2017.
Perry’s first stint with Sacramento was brief because he was hired away by New York to be the Knicks’ GM, but he reportedly had a strong working relationship with owner Vivek Ranadive. That connection undoubtedly helped him land his new position.
Perry, 61, played college basketball in the 1980s and then transitioned to coaching, primarily working in his home state of Michigan. The Detroit native got his first NBA job back in 2000 as an executive with the Pistons.
He had two separate stints in Detroit’s front office and also worked for Seattle and Orlando. Perry was the Knicks’ GM from 2017-23.
The Kings haven’t even conducted their exit interviews, tweets Sam Amick of The Athletic, yet they’ve already found a new head of basketball operations. Perhaps the impetus for hiring Perry so quickly is that he was rumored to be a candidate to join the Pelicans’ front office under Joe Dumars, his former boss and longtime colleague in Detroit.
Perry, who has also worked as an ESPN analyst, was reportedly one of four candidates who received serious consideration to become the Pistons’ head of basketball operations last year. Trajan Langdon was ultimately hired for the job.
Mavs GM Harrison On Doncic Trade, Fan Reaction, More
At a press conference on Monday afternoon, Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison discussed the shocking decision to trade Luka Doncic as well as the overwhelmingly negative reaction to it from fans, who have been chanting “fire Nico” since the deal was completed.
“I did know Luka was important to the Mavs’ fan base,” Harrison said, per RealGM. “I didn’t quite know to what level.
“But, really, the way we looked at it is if you’re putting a team on the floor that’s Kyrie [Irving], Klay [Thompson], P.J. [Washington], Anthony Davis and [Dereck] Lively, we felt that’s a championship-caliber team. And we would have been winning at a high level. That would have quieted some of the outrage. So unfortunately we weren’t able to do that, so it just went on and on.”
When asked why he should be able to keep his job, Harrison defended his Mavericks tenure, tweets Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News.
“Well, one, I think I’ve done a really good job here,” Harrison said. “And I don’t think I can be judged by the injuries this year. You have to judge the totality, from the beginning to end. I think I have a really good working relationship with [governor Patrick Dumont]. I think you add in Rick [Welts], the leadership we have is really elite and you’ll see next year when our team comes back. We’re going to be competing for a championship.”
Here’s more from Harrison’s press conference:
- Harrison was pressed on why the Mavericks couldn’t get more assets from the Lakers for Doncic. “I think the biggest thing is if you don’t value AD as an All-NBA player and All-Defensive player, then you’re not going to like the trade,” Harrison said, according to Curtis (Twitter link).
- The Mavs’ head of basketball operations said Dumont didn’t pressure him to make the deal, as Curtis relays (via Twitter). “Not at all. Patrick reminds me of the leadership that I had at Nike and a really good leader doesn’t tell the people that work for him what to do. It’s a collective, well thought out process to make a big move like that. Also, unfortunately, I’m super stubborn so someone telling me to do something doesn’t work too well for me.”
- Despite the intense backlash, Harrison claims his relationship with Dumont has actually been “strengthened” in the two-plus months since the trade was made, according to Marc Stein (Twitter link).
- Harrison said Davis won’t need surgery this offseason and he doesn’t believe Lively will either, per Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). Both players missed significant time with injuries, but were able to return before the team was eliminated in the play-in tournament.
- Regarding Kyrie Irving‘s $43.96MM player option for 2025/26, Harrison said he wasn’t sure if it would be exercised, but he’s confident the 33-year-old will be in a Mavericks uniform next season. “It’s too early to tell what Kyrie is going to do, but what I do feel is he’s going to be a Maverick next year,” Harrison said (Twitter link via Curtis).
Knicks Notes: Hart, Anunoby, Thompson, Brunson, Towns
Josh Hart was largely a non-factor in the first half of Game 1 of the Knicks‘ first-round series vs. Detroit due to early foul trouble, but he played a major role in New York’s second-half comeback, including a 21-0 run that sealed the victory, writes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. Hart went scoreless, missing his two field goal attempts, in seven first-half minutes, but he went 6-of-8 after intermission, finishing with 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists in 30 minutes — the Knicks outscored the Pistons by 20 during his time on the court.
“I think it’s just trying to stay ready,” Hart said Sunday. “I think growing up, I was always taught to play the game until the last whistle. At Villanova, Coach [Jay] Wright really got that instilled in us that you can’t control everything, you’ve gotta let stuff go, but you’ve gotta continue to push, continue to fight until the last whistle. For me, that’s just how I’m wired. You can box me out for 46 minutes, but if it’s not a habit, those last two minutes of a game is where I’m gonna make an impact or get an offensive rebound or get a loose ball or something like that.
“Obviously the foul trouble was frustrating. I was yelling at [head coach Tom Thibodeau] to keep me in but obviously I was doing idiotic fouls. Thibs is always making sure you’re staying ready and locked into the game.”
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- As Chris Herring details for ESPN.com, Hart is one of the top rebounders in NBA history for his size, is known for his tenacity and hustle, is a skilled secondary play-maker, and shot a career-best 61.8% on twos during the 2024/25 season. Still, while Hart’s all-around contributions are undoubtedly valuable, the Knicks’ playoff hopes may hinge on how he fares from behind the arc — rival teams dare him to shoot, and his three-point percentages tend to fluctuate wildly. He has converted 34.2% of his career triples, including 33.3% in ’24/25.
- If OG Anunoby continues to play like he did in Game 1, the Knicks have a real shot at making a deep playoff run, contends Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post (subscriber link). Anunoby, 27, re-signed with New York in free agency last offseason, inking a massive five-year, $212.5MM contract. The defensive stalwart recorded 23 points, seven rebounds, five steals and two blocks in 44 minutes in the opening contest.
- Pistons second-year wing Ausar Thompson said “nothing” came to mind when asked to name the most difficult challenge of defending Jalen Brunson, but later said the star guard was good at “selling” fouls, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscription required). Known for his excellent defense, Thompson committed five fouls in 23 minutes in Game 1.
- Karl-Anthony Towns could become a franchise legend if the team has an impressive playoff showing, Vaccaro writes in another subscriber-only column. Towns is off to a good start after shining in his Knicks postseason debut, but he will have to continue to thrive on both ends for New York to have a chance at representing the East in the NBA Finals.
And-Ones: Porzingis, Windler, Walker, Awards Ballot
Assuming he’s healthy, Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis intends to play for Latvia during the EuroBasket tournament this summer, as EuroHoops.net relays.
“Whether I want to play for the national team or not – that’s a silly question,” Porzingis said, according to FIBA. “The past few summers didn’t work out because I was injured. I’ve never refused the national team. When I haven’t played, it’s because of injuries. This summer, I’ll be there. Health is the main thing – then everything else will follow.”
Here are a few more items of interest from around the basketball world:
- Former NBA wing Dylan Windler spent the 2024/25 season with the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League. The Australian team announced in a press release that it has re-signed the 28-year-old to a new two-year contract. “It just felt right to come back to Perth, I feel like we’ve got some unfinished business in the playoffs after going out in the semi-finals like we did,” Windler said. “We enjoyed it there and it’s a great situation for me basketball-wise and I look forward to continuing to build on the team that we had last year and see what new faces we can bring in and what we can build together.”
- Veteran NBA guard Kemba Walker, who made four All-Star teams during his time in the league, announced his retirement as a player last July. However, evidently he will return to the hardwood this summer, according to Chris Haynes, who reports (via Twitter) that Walker has reached an agreement to play in the BIG3. Dwight Howard will also be competing in the 3-on-3 league. Walker spent this past season as a player enhancement coach with the Hornets.
- Tim Bontemps of ESPN has an official NBA awards ballot. He recently revealed his choices for all the major 2024/25 awards as well as some of the reasoning behind the selections. Perhaps most interestingly, Bontemps voted for Clippers center Ivica Zubac as Defensive Player of the Year, with Cavaliers forward/center Evan Mobley finishing as his runner-up.
G League’s All-Defensive, All-Rookie Teams Unveiled
The NBA has officially announced (via Twitter) the G League’s All-Defensive Team for the 2024/25 season. Here’s the full five-player list:
All-NBA G League Defensive Team
- Braxton Key, Santa Cruz Warriors
- Ibou Badji, Wisconsin Herd (Bucks‘ affiliate)
- Isaiah Miller, Austin Spurs
- Isaac Nogues, Rip City Remix (Trail Blazers‘ affiliate)
- Moses Brown, Westchester Knicks
The top rookies of the NBAGL season were also unveiled on Thursday (Twitter link). They are as follows:
All-NBA G League Rookie Team
- Trey Alexander, Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets‘ affiliate)
- Daniss Jenkins, Motor City Cruise (Pistons‘ affiliate)
- Jahmir Young, Windy City Bulls
- RayJ Dennis, Indiana Mad Ants (Pacers‘ affiliate, which has been rebranded as the Noblesville Boom)
- David Jones Garcia, Mexico City Capitanes (not affiliated with an NBA team)
Key, who was recently promoted to a standard contract with Golden State, was named the NBAGL’s Defensive Player of the Year, while Alexander won Rookie of the Year. Badji, who recently signed with a Spanish club, and Nogues, who has declared for the 2025 NBA draft, finished second and third in DPOY voting, respectively. Jones Garcia was the runner-up for ROY, with Young finishing third.
As our tracker shows, Alexander, Jenkins, Young and Dennis are on two-way contracts with their respective NBA clubs.
Journeyman center Brown also earned a spot on the All-NBA G League Second Team, while Alexander made the Third Team.
2024/25 All-NBA G League Teams Announced
In a series of tweets, the NBA has announced the three All-NBA G League teams for the 2024/25 season. Here’s the full list of honorees:
First Team
- JD Davison, Maine Celtics ^
- Oscar Tshiebwe, Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz‘s affiliate) *
- Mac McClung, Osceola Magic *
- Jaylen Nowell, Capital City Go-Go (Wizards‘ affiliate)
- Malachi Flynn, Austin Spurs
Second Team
- Mason Jones, Stockton Kings *
- Elijah Harkless, Salt Lake City Stars *
- Bryce McGowens, Rip City Remix (Trail Blazers‘ affiliate) *
- Moses Brown, Westchester Knicks
- Drew Timme, Long Island Nets ^
Third Team
- Chuma Okeke, Westchester Knicks ~
- T.J. Warren, Westchester Knicks
- Trey Alexander, Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets‘ affiliate) *
- Josh Christopher, Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat‘s affiliate) *
- Isaac Jones, Stockton Kings ^
* Denotes two-way contract
^ Denotes standard contract
~ On a standard contract with the Cavaliers
While each player selected has some level of NBA experience, four of them — Flynn, Nowell, Brown and Warren — are currently free agents. Of that group, only Warren didn’t appear in an NBA regular season game during the ’24/25 campaign.
Davison, Tshiebwe and Nowell finished first, second and third in voting (in that order) for this season’s G League Most Valuable Player award, so it’s no surprise that they made the First Team. McClung, who was the league’s 2023/24 MVP, helped Osceola make the NBAGL Finals this spring, with the final spot going to former Pistons guard Flynn, who signed a 10-day contract with Charlotte last month.
Mason Jones recently helped Stockton win its first G League title, earning Finals MVP in the process. He’s joined on the Second Team by NBAGL Most Improved Player Harkless, McGowens, Brown, and Timme.
Former first-round pick Okeke signed a pair of 10-day contracts with Philadelphia before signing with Cleveland ahead of the playoffs. NBA veteran Warren, G League Rookie of the Year Alexander, Heat two-way guard Christopher, and Kings big man Jones round out the Third Team.
Davison and Isaac Jones were promoted from two-way deals to standard contracts at the end of the season. Timme was an NBA free agent before Brooklyn gave him a two-year standard contract in March due to his strong play in the NBAGL.
Draft Notes: Uzan, Markovic, Coward, 2025 Mock
Houston junior Milos Uzan, who helped the Cougars reach the final of the NCAA tournament, is declaring for the 2025 NBA draft, agent Aman Dhesi tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN.
Uzan is a 6’4″ guard who spent his first two college seasons at Oklahoma before transferring to Houston. In 40 games this past season with the Cougars, he averaged 11.4 points, 4.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds in 31.5 minutes per contest, with a shooting slash line of .453/.428/.783.
Givony suggests that Uzan, who goes No. 42 overall in ESPN’s latest mock draft (Insider link), will be testing the draft waters this spring. If he withdraws from the draft, he will return to Houston for his senior campaign.
Here are a few more notes related to June’s draft:
- Serbian forward/center Bogoljub Markovic is entering his name in the draft, agent Misko Raznatovic announced (via Twitter) earlier this week. Markovic had a productive season for Mega Basket in the ABA League, averaging 13.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG and 2.6 APG on .526/.391/.757 shooting in 26 games (29.4 MPG). The 19-year-old is another projected second-round pick, coming off the board at No. 50 in ESPN’s mock.
- Washington State senior Cedric Coward is declaring for the NBA draft, agent Todd Ramasar tells Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 (Twitter link). Coward is also entering the transfer portal to keep his options open for his final season of college eligibility. Coward only played six games for the Cougars in 2024/25 due to a shoulder injury, but he put up big numbers in those appearances, averaging 17.7 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 3.7 APG and 1.7 BPG on .557/.400/.839 shooting. The 6’6″ small forward is projected to go No. 55 overall in ESPN’s mock draft.
- Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports updated his 2025 mock draft after the NCAA tournament ended earlier this week, with some noteworthy differences from ESPN’s. For example, O’Connor seems higher on South Carolina forward Collin Murray-Boyles (No. 5), Colorado State wing Nique Clifford (No. 14) and Auburn guard Tahaad Pettiford (No. 22) than ESPN is (they go No. 10, No. 25 and No. 39, respectively, in ESPN’s mock). O’Connor is also a little more bearish than ESPN on Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears (No. 11 vs. No. 6 at ESPN) and Illinois forward Will Riley (No. 21 vs. No. 16).
Blazers Sign Coach Chauncey Billups To Multiyear Extension
10:50am: Billups’ extension is now official, the Trail Blazers confirmed in a press release.
“The core of Chauncey’s leadership is his ability to build a collaborative culture and growth mindset for our young team,” said Jody Allen, chair of the Portland Trail Blazers. “We’re very happy to extend his contract as head coach, and excited to see his continued work developing our players and transforming this team into one capable of long-term success.”
According to Chris Haynes (Twitter link), Portland exercised its option on Billups for ’25/26 and his extension covers two additional years, so he’s now under contract until 2028.
10:32am: The Trail Blazers intend to sign head coach Chauncey Billups to a multiyear contract extension, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN.
Billups’ new deal comes less than a week after general manager Joe Cronin signed his own multiyear extension with Portland. The two have been friends for decades, Charania notes.
2024/25 was the final guaranteed season of Billups’ initial contract with the Blazers, who held a team option for ’25/26. He has been the club’s head coach since ’21/22, compiling a 116-211 regular season record (.355 winning percentage) over the past four seasons.
Billups indicated last summer that he might not be interested in returning as Portland’s head coach beyond this season, and rumors in the first few months of ’24/25 suggested that the two sides were likely to part ways. However, the Blazers somewhat unexpectedly went 10-4 heading into the All-Star break, and the 48-year-old said at the time that he was happy with the team’s progress and hoped to see the rebuild through.
“Me personally, I definitely think that I’ve done enough (to earn a new contract),” Billups said in February. “But I’m also not about to petition for that. I’m not gonna do that. I feel like I’ve done enough. I feel like I’ve developed a ton myself, which needed to happen.”
As Charania writes, the Blazers have gone 22-18 since January 19 and have a top-five defense during that time. Portland holds a 35-46 record heading into Sunday’s season finale vs. the Lakers after winning just 21 games a year ago.
Billups had a highly successful career as a player, having been named to the Hall of Fame last year. The five-time All-Star won a championship and Finals MVP with Detroit back in 2004.