Heat Notes: LeBron, Howard, Wade, Bosh
Earlier today, we rounded up the latest links out of Indiana and in the interest of equal time we'll do the same for Miami..
- Paul George and the up-and-coming Pacers have earned the respect of LeBron James, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
- Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel wonders if the Cavs winning the 2013 lottery helps to improve the club's chances of landing James in the summer of 2014. While Cleveland figures to be a serious threat if James exercises his ETO, Winderman notes that the Heat will have one less competitor if Dwight Howard leaves the Lakers this summer. Without Howard, James likely wouldn't consider L.A. next year.
- Sam Amico of FOX Sports (via Twitter) agrees with David Stern's assessment of Miami as a middle market since no one viewed them as a big market until the formation of the big three. Meanwhile, Amico argues that market size is largely irrelevant in today's world given the nature of television and social media (link).
- In today's mailbag, Winderman writes that LeBron is being forced to put too much on his shoulders offensively with Dwyane Wade injured and Chris Bosh struggling.
Pacers Notes: Vogel, Bird, Hill, George
If you were out and about last night and nowhere near a TV, then you missed out on one heck of a game in Miami as the Pacers topped the Heat, 97-93. Roy Hibbert, who was noticeably absent from the final play of Game 1, had one of the best games of his career with 29 points and ten rebounds. George Hill had 18 points, including four clutch free throws down the stretch. Paul George, meanwhile, gave the Pacers 22 points and, perhaps more importantly, great defense on LeBron James. With a balanced effort, Indiana managed to knot things up at 1-1 and grab the attention of the basketball world. "Take nothing away from their Big Three, what they have going," George told reporters, including Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. "But we'll take a big five any day. That's what we have." Here's more on the Pacers..
- As George did, head coach Frank Vogel credited the club's depth and team effort for their Game 2 victory. "That's how Larry Bird put this team together. As a true team…It's balanced, and it's difficult to guard," the coach told reporters (courtesy of Scott Agness of Pacers.com, via Twitter).
- Last night's road win is proof that the Pacers are way ahead of schedule, writes HoopsWorld's Joel Brigham. Indiana has shown that they’re every bit as good and every bit as confident as Miami, which nobody saw coming in 2013.
- Marc Berman of the New York Post (on Twitter) jokes that David Stern deserves his last Finals to be Pacers vs. Grizzlies after the way he championed small market teams in the last CBA.
Pacific Notes: Warriors, Howard, Malone, Kings
Let's take a trip out to the West Coast for the latest out of the Pacific Division..
- The Warriors have a dilemma on their hands when it comes to whether they should pursue Dwight Howard this summer, writes Marcus Thompson II of the Los Angeles Daily News. While Howard reportedly likes Golden State, they'd have to move mountains to make that acquisition happen. For starters, the Warriors don't have the cap room to sign DH and would have to drastically weaken their supporting cast in a sign-and-trade. Because Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak would be holding the cards, he would demand either David Lee or Andrew Bogut from Golden State.
- Vivek Ranadive, former Warriors minority owner and the next owner of the Kings, has put Golden State assistant Mike Malone on his list head coaching candidates, a source told Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (via Sulia).
- Clippers guard Chris Paul had a good experience with his coaching staff in New Orleans, where Malone was the lead assistant, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Hornets head coach Monty Williams is happy to see his former assistant talked about as a top candidate for multiple teams and says it's about time. "You don't know what it takes to get a job. It's not just about basketball all the time. But I just hope, I hope that he gets a job soon," Williams said. "I know he really wants to do it, and I know he'll be a really good head coach. The tough part is knowing I gotta coach against him because I know he really knows his stuff."
Draft Notes: Wolves, Oladipo, Muhammad, Nets
With the NBA Lottery in the rear view mirror, we're roughly one month away from the 2013 Draft. Here's the latest..
- Wolves president Flip Saunders is a big fan of Indiana's Victor Oladipo, league sources tell Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN, and the only way to nab him is to trade up from the No. 9 pick. Meanwhile, if Minnesota winds up keeping their pick, one league source predicts they will take UCLA's Shabazz Muhammad. Word has it that the Wolves like him but so do the Pistons, and they pick at No. 8.
- The Nets, who have the 22nd pick in the draft, are looking for a solid role player, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. Despite the fact that this year’s draft class has been labeled as weak by many observers, the Nets believe they'll have a chance to draft a player who can help them off the bench. They'll likely be targeting players that can help them immediately since they have no cap room and their mini mid-level exception will be used on Bojan Bogdanovic.
- Kansas big man Jeff Withey worked out today for the Celtics, a source tells Adam Zagoria of SNY (on Twitter). Withey is ranked No. 3 amongst NCAA seniors by DraftExpress and is slated to go No. 22 in their latest mock draft. The Celtics could likely grab him with their No. 16 selection in the first round.
Odds & Ends: Jackson, Cavs, Love, Lakers
When Mitch Kupchak called Phil Jackson to tell him that he was hiring Mike D'Antoni as coach, he didn't give the Lakers General Manager the most encouraging reaction. "I laughed," Jackson told ESPN's "Mike & Mike in the Morning" show, according to Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. "It was humorous to me when Mitch said that we think that Mike is a better coach for this group of guys." Here's the latest from around the league..
- The Cavs have a lot of options at their disposal this summer as they look to get back to the postseason, writes Lang Greene of HoopsWorld. Cleveland has just over $27MM in guaranteed salaries on the books for next season, but could create more space by dropping the non-guaranteed contracts of C.J. Miles ($2.3MM) and Kevin Jones ($789K). Veteran forward Marreese Speights also holds a player option of $4.5MM for next season and could opt out to pursue a multi-year deal this summer.
- More from Greene, who writes that Kevin Love is optimistic about the Timberwolves' future. “I think Flip is great,” Love said. “I’ve always admired what he’s done, obviously coming from the Timberwolves prior, being with Detroit and having been in the Western and Eastern Conference Finals he’s got quite a reputation."
- Phil Handy has joined Mike Brown's staff as an assistant coach with Cavs, sources tell Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Handy was a player development coach with the Lakers under Brown.
- Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (Sulia link) notes that Jerry Colangelo never believed Mike Krzyzewski wouldn't come back to coach the U.S. Olympic team even though Krzyzewski publicly said he was done. Colangelo said in an interview back in February that he hadn't heard from Coach K directly that he didn't want to return, which led him to believe that he could lure him back for 2016.
- Memphis senior D.J. Stephens registered a 46 inch maximum vertical at today's workout in Brooklyn, which may be the highest recorded measurement in NBA history, tweets Matt Kamalsky of DraftExpress.
Pablo Prigioni Wants To Stay In NBA
MAY 22nd: Prigioni would rather stay with the Knicks rather than returning to the Spanish League, tweets Julian Mozo of En Ole (via Twitter). "If I can choose, I prefer to play in United States and stay in the NBA," said the guard.
MAY 20th: Knicks guard Pablo Prigioni may leave the NBA to return to Spain, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post. The veteran purposely signed a one-year deal with the Knicks last offseason to feel out how his young family liked being in New York and it would appear that his wife would like to return to Europe after a test drive in the states. It sounds as though we may not hear a decision from Prigioni anytime soon, however.
“I think it’s not the moment to talk about [my NBA future] now,’’ Prigioni said after Saturday's loss. “It’s painful to lose. It’s painful to start the vacation now. This is about the team. Now I stay quiet.”
The 35-year-old has spoken openly about the idea of returning to the Spanish League but his agent recently said that his client is interested in re-signing with the Knicks. Prigioni earned just $473K in his first NBA season. In 16.2 minutes per contest, the veteran averaged 3.5 PPG with 3.0 APG and 1.8 RPG.
Mavericks Notes: Draft, Carlisle, Nowitzki
The Mavericks are open to all possibilities as they approach the June draft, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Because they plan on making a run at Dwight Howard, they may consider trading their draft pick to save ~$1.7MM against the salary cap. The Mavs owe a future draft choice (2017 or '18) to the Thunder and Sefko suggests that Dallas might want to think about giving its No. 13 pick this year to OKC to satisfy that deal. It's an interesting idea, but I don't think a lottery pick in the current draft is equivalent in value to a promised pick four or five years down the line. Here's more out of Dallas..
- Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com is sizing up the Mavs against the Clippers as the two teams will vie for Chris Paul's services this summer. As the Clippers search for their next coach, MacMahon writes that the Mavs have the edge in the coaching department with Rick Carlisle at the helm.
- Meanwhile, when comparing the power forward position for each team, the advantage clearly goes to the Clippers and Blake Griffin, MacMahon writes. Finances could be a factor, however, as Dirk Nowitzki has declared that he'll take a massive pay cut when he re-signs with Dallas next summer, which means the Mavs will have the cap space to pursue another star.
- More from Sefko, who looks at potential candidates for the Mavericks to draft if they wind up keeping their No. 13 pick.
Odds & Ends: Porter, Falk, Kings, Warriors
Here's today's look around the Association..
- After signing Georgetown product Otto Porter, David Falk is nearly done re-building the FAME agency, tweets Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal (via Twitter). “We will sign two or three more players and that is it," said the agent.
- The new Kings ownership group is set to buy the Downtown Plaza shopping mall where the team's new arena will be built, according to Tony Bizjak, Dale Kasler, and Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee. Meanwhile, principal owner Vivek Ranadive is actively talking to people about selling his stake in the Warriors.
- The NBA players union has expressed interest in former league executive Steve Mills, according to Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (on Sulia). The former Knicks executive vice president would bring a deep understanding of how the owners think and negotiate to the negotiating table since he was on their side for the better part of his career.
Hoops Links: Pierce, Curry, Spurs, Heat
Thirteen years ago, tragedy struck as Malik Sealy of the Timberwolves died in a car accident at the age of 30. Sealy was on his way back from a birthday party for Kevin Garnett when he was struck by a drunk driver traveling the wrong way down the highway. Sealy is fondly remembered in NBA circles for being an exemplary teammate and has a special place in New York basketball history after starring at Tolentine High School in the Bronx and attending St. John's University. As a member of the Redmen, Sealy put together career numbers that were bested only by Chris Mullen.
Got a fantastic basketball blog piece that you want featured on Hoops Rumors? Send your submissions to HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here's this week's look around the web..
- CLNS Radio explores the trade options the Celtics have for Paul Pierce.
- Dime Magazine pits Stephen Curry against Kyrie Irving.
- Fansided breaks down the way the Spurs disrupted the Warriors' offense.
- Singh Sports News asks if Miami has the most fake fans or most haters.
- Silver Screen And Roll wonders how unlikely a Dwight Howard–Chris Paul pairing is.
- The Basketball Post sees a difficult summer ahead for the Nets.
- Red94 is ready for another summer of Dwight madness.
- Forum Blue And Gold did some thinking about DH's next deal.
- Hoops Addict says the Warriors were better sans David Lee.
Hoops Links typically runs on Sunday afternoon and will resume doing so next week. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.
Colangelo Discusses New Role With Raptors
Earlier today, the Raptors officially announced that Bryan Colangelo would transition to a new role within Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment while the club would seek out a new hire to fill the General Manager position. In a conference call earlier today, I asked Colangelo if he was reluctant to take a new job with the Raptors that has less to do with basketball operations and more to do with the business side of things.
"Yes and no. Obviously, there’s disappointment in the process but through the discussion with Tim [Leiweke] it became clear that the role would be more than just focusing on the business and if I’m asked to help and guide [the new hire], I’ll do that. At the same time, I’m very comfortable knowing that I’ve put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into the makeup of this team," Colangelo said. "But I’ll enjoy watching these young men develop into the NBA players that I know they’re capable of. There’s some great young pieces to be excited about and we’re moving in the right direction. I’m comfortable with the decision that’s been made, though it may have taken some time to get comfortable with."
The longtime executive shot down the notion that he might be "ticked off" by the club's management restructuring, but he was candid in saying that he was disappointed by the decision. While he won't have final say over the moves that are made, he says that he is thrilled to help put the finishing touches on a team that he believes is on its way to being competitive. During the course of the call, Colangelo also disclosed that he has an out clause that will allow him to pursue another NBA GM job if the opportunity presents itself.
Korn/Ferry International was hired by MLSE to help find the Raptors' next GM, though Leiweke told reporters earlier today that he will make the final determination. I asked Colangelo for his thoughts on the club's decision to consult with an outside party to find his successor.
"I have no problem with it…I’ll certainly be helpful in the process, in vetting some of the candidates, talking about some of the people that are involved. I went through an internal search just a few years ago when I brought Ed Stefanski in, so I have a lot of knowledge and I have a lot of background work that has been done on a lot of the potential candidates. If they need me, I’ll give my input there," said Colangelo.
His level of input in the hiring of his successor remains to be seen, as well as the level of influence he'll have once that person is in charge. Colangelo isn't sure how much pull he'll have and says that it will depend largely on who is brought aboard. That person will also have to figure out what to do with Andrea Bargnani. The big man, at times, has flashed the ability that made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 Draft, but has been unable to do so consistently. Colangelo obviously wishes things worked out differently with the Italian import, but isn't sure what he would have done differently.
"I’m not sure I would [have handled it differently]. Maybe I would have traded him before he got hurt, so the trade value didn't go down or if there was an opportunity before the trade deadline. But I can’t control the injury aspect of things," said the former GM. "There’s value in Andrea and I think a change of scenery is probably best for all sides…But again, the new guy is going to have to decide how to handle that."
With years of front office experience and a clause in his contract that can spring him from Toronto, it's not clear how long Colangelo will want to remain in a supporting role with the Raptors. However, he made it known today that he will respect the parameters of his new job for as long as he has it. Or, as he put it, "If I get in the way, I'm not going to be around."