Pacers Notes: Bird, Vogel
It's been a little over one week since the Heat eliminated the Pacers from the playoffs, but this rising team remains in the news. Here are a few recent items relating to the team.
- Pacers head coach Frank Vogel believes the success his team had this season is only the beginning of what they'll eventually accomplish, according to The Indianapolis Star's Mike Wells. "I feel like we have more room for growth than any team that's competing for a championship right now. We're excited to get back to work at some point here soon and build on what we started," Vogel said.
- Hoopsworld.com's Joel Brigham writes about where the Pacers are headed as a team, now that they've started to make a little noise.
- Larry Bird will hold a press conference tomorrow at 11 AM EST to discuss this year's team, and where they're going in the future.
Latest On Magic GM Search
As the Magic's search for a general manager continues, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld examines the potential candidates and shares what he's hearing on Orlando's plans. Here are some of the highlights:
- Donnie Walsh may not be interested in the Magic job, and could be waiting to see if Larry Bird retires and opens up a position in the Pacers' front office.
- The Pacers' current GM, David Morway, might prefer to remain in Indiana and finish what he started with the team. There's a chance Morway could be promoted to team president if Bird leaves, though his contract expires in July, so he's taking interviews and has some interest in the Magic job.
- Kevin Pritchard is interested in the Magic opening, but not to the point where he's going to beg for the job, so if Orlando wants him, the team will need to move quickly.
- The Magic are interested in grooming Adonal Foyle for the GM job, but his presence could make some potential candidates shy away from the position.
- Spurs assistant GM Dennis Lindsey may be Orlando's top choice, though Kyler isn't sure he'll leave San Antonio (Twitter link).
- Kyler also identifies Tommy Sheppard of the Wizards, Sam Hinkie of the Rockets, Larry Harris of the Warriors, and David Griffin of the Cavs as other executives the Magic should be targeting.
Odds & Ends: Bird, Dwight, Kerr, Shaw
- According to a series of tweets by Mike Wells of the Indianapolis star, Pacers owner Herb Simon hopes that Larry Bird will continue to work with the franchise in some capacity if Bird decides to step down as president, and that no meeting has been arranged between the two yet.
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel believes that Dwight Howard must align himself with a winning team in order to repair his tarnished image and should therefore expand his list of preferred trade destinations. Also, Schmitz briefly discusses the idea of Steve Kerr and Brian Shaw joining the Magic as GM and head coach respectively. When recently asked about the GM vacancy, Kerr asserted that he is currently happy with his job as a TNT analyst, although the Magic are expected to still make inquiries. Shaw would accept the head coaching opportunity in a heartbeat, according to Schmitz.
- Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld presents a list of this year's top-shooting free agents. Ray Allen, Jason Terry, Steve Novak, and Randy Foye were listed as some of the top unrestricted free agents who displayed solid three-point shooting percentages along with a high volume of attempts this year.
- Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press writes that Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor is confident in the team's chances to make the playoffs next season. Taylor also said that the team is "going to try" the free agent market.
Money Time: Upcoming Free Agents In The Playoffs
It's time for another look at soon-to-be free agents and their playoff performances as we put a bow on the conference semifinals with the Sixers-Celtics Game 7 tonight. You can find previous Money Time posts by clicking on the tag at the bottom of this entry or by clicking here.
Winners
Danny Green, Spurs (restricted): Last year's D-League refugee doesn't have to worry about NBA job security anymore, especially after what he's done this postseason. In San Antonio's four-game sweep of the Clippers, Green delivered on 11 of 19 three-point attempts , shot 56.3% overall, and was fourth on the team in scoring at 12.3 points per game.
Boris Diaw, Spurs: He's fit so seamlessly with the Spurs that GM R.C. Buford may regret signing Diaw to just a rest-of-the-season deal when he was bought out by the Bobcats. Diaw took over the starting power forward spot next to center Tim Duncan shortly before the playoffs, and really turned it on against the Clippers, averaging 10.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals. He had 12 rebounds in Game 1, and shot 7-for-7 for 16 points in Game 2.
Lavoy Allen, Sixers (restricted): He's forgiving about his preseason ranking as the worst player in the NBA by ESPN.com, and he didn't get down when he was benched after starting Game 1 against the Bulls. Allen has instead turned into one of the most important figures for the Sixers in their series against the Celtics, shooting 62.9% from the floor and averaging 1.2 blocks and 1.0 steals in 23.5 minutes a game against Boston. He has a chance to make an even more profound impression with a strong performance in Game 7 tonight.
Losers
Kenyon Martin, Clippers: We'll circle back to catch up with one of the many Clippers done in by the Spurs. He averaged 1.5 blocks, but brought down fewer than three rebounds per game in that series, disconcerting for a big man even though he played just 16 MPG. He was nonexistant on offense, shooting just 40% and averaging 4.0 PPG.
Spencer Hawes, Sixers: We had him listed as a winner in a previous installment of Money Time, but he has not carried his encouraging play against the Bulls over to the second-round series with the Celtics. He's the team's eighth leading scorer, at 8.0 PPG, in the series, and has averaged just 24.3 minutes of court time. The Celtics are a poor rebounding team, but the 7'0", 245-pound Hawes is putting up just 5.5 RPG against them.
Leandro Barbosa, Pacers: The Pacers looked to him to spark the team's offense as a reserve, but Barbosa, a double-figure scorer for six of the last seven regular seasons, couldn't get it done. He shot 31.8% against the Heat, and the career 82.3% free-throw shooter went just 3-for-6 at the line. His 6'3", 176-pound frame made him a liability at shooting guard when he was defending Dwyane Wade, and as a 29-year-old who has long used his speed to his advantage, Barbosa's prospects look dim going forward.
Odds & Ends: Lakers, Pacers, Pavlovic, Henson
With a loss tonight against the Heat, the Pacers' season will end. Hoopsworld.com's Joel Brigham believes that even if that happens, Indiana has established themselves as a franchise to contend with.
- With Celtics guard Avery Bradley out for the playoffs, CSNNE.com's Rich Levine asks if the team could get any production out of Sasha Pavlovic.
- ESPN.com's J.A. Adande writes that in order for them to arrive back at the elite level they're most familiar with, the Lakers need to move away from their current strength (size) and shift towards the league's current trend (speed).
- Hoopsworld.com's Eric Pincus discusses some serious tax issues the Lakers are facing in the immediate future, and how it could shape important personnel decisions.
- Through conversations with several NBA general managers and scouts, FoxSports.com's Sam Amico takes a look at North Carolina big man John Henson, a possible lottery pick in this year's draft.
Latest On Bobcats’ Coaching Search
The Bobcats may have set an NBA record for futility in 2011/12, but they also feature one of just two head coach openings in the league, so candidates continue to interview for the job. Here are today's updates on the team's search, with any new items added to the top of the list throughout the day:
- Jerry Sloan will interview with the Bobcats this week, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com. It was reported yesterday that owner Michael Jordan would meet with Sloan, so it's unclear if Jordan is conducting the interview or if other members of the Bobcats' brass will be involved.
- The Bobcats have received permission from the Lakers to speak with assistant Quin Snyder, says Broussard.
- Charlotte has also been granted permission by the Pacers to speak with Brian Shaw, but as we heard yesterday, his interview won't happen until Indiana's season ends — which could happen as soon as tonight.
- We also heard last night that the Bobcats plan to reach out to Stan Van Gundy.
Coaching Rumors: Sloan, Bobcats, Shaw, Skiles
It was a busy day for coaching rumors and speculation on Tuesday, as our morning round of updates was trumped by afternoon news that Jerry Sloan is interested in both current head coach vacancies. Last night, when we asked about Sloan's future, over 70% of poll respondents predicted the former Jazz coach would either land the Magic job or stay retired. Here's the latest on Sloan and a few other coaches, past, present, and perhaps future:
- Sloan told Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune that he has been in contact with Bobcats owner Michael Jordan and could meet with him as early as this week.
- Lang Greene of HoopsWorld says that if Sloan can truly stomach the massive rebuild facing the Bobcats, the team should give him a long, hard look.
- Pacers assistant Brian Shaw is drawing interest from both the Bobcats and Magic, but he tells Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star that he's still focused on the playoffs for now. "I'm just waiting until I'm done," Shaw said. "I don't want to be a distraction. Right now, the last thing I would want to do is take away from what we're trying to accomplish here."
- Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times is surprised that Scott Skiles is coming back as coach of the Bucks. According to Woelfel, people close to Skiles "insist he would crawl to Orlando" if it meant landing the Magic job.
Odds & Ends: Ainge, Gasol, Bird Rights, Shaw
It's been a busy night both on and off the court in the NBA, as the Lakers appear to be on their way to elimination at the hands of the Thunder, while the Magic are making wholesale management changes. Here's the rest of the late-night story:
- The Blazers have not asked for permission from the Celtics to speak with Danny Ainge about their GM opening, Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com tweets.
- The Rockets remain interested in trading for Pau Gasol, salary cap guru Larry Coon says, via Twitter.
- Coon also believes the union will not prevail in its quest to secure Bird rights for players who were claimed off waivers (Twitter link).
- Pacers assistant Brian Shaw is drawing interest for head coaching positions elsewhere, but the Pacers place a high value on him, Chris Mannix of SI.com notes (Twitter link).
- Jason Fleming of HoopsWorld profiles the top five vote-getters for Executive of the Year.
Magic Rumors: Malone, Shaw, Morway, Bower
Big news out of Orlando today as the club has fired coach Stan Van Gundy and agreed to part ways with GM Otis Smith. The latest on the Magic..
- Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld tweets that plenty of executives are interested in the Magic GM job, and they aren't scared away by the Dwight Howard saga.
- David Baumann of Bright House Sports Network says that Lakers assistant Chuck Person is on Howard's list of preferred coaches, noting D12's preference for candidates with no head coaching experience (Twitter links, and a hat tip to Sam Amick of SI.com). That might be moot, however, if Howard still wants to leave the Magic.
- Warriors assistant Michael Malone and Pacers assistant Brian Shaw are candidates to replace Van Gundy, tweets Sam Amick of SI.com.
- Amick also tweets that many of the same candidates for the Blazers GM job will be in the running for the same post in Orlando, and links to a story from earlier this month specifying Pacers GM David Morway and former Hornets GM Jeff Bower as candidates for the Portland gig.
- Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio says that the Magic had interest in signing Greg Oden, but that's likely changed in the wake of today's news (Twitter link).
- Orlando Sentinel columnist George Diaz encourages the Magic to be "creative, aggressive and different" with their GM and coaching hires.
Atlantic Rumors: Nets, Lopez, Young, Sixers, Draft
The Sixers and Celtics are taking the weekend off, but resume their compelling series tied at two games apiece Monday in Boston. Here's what's going on around the Atlantic Division:
- While noting that Pacers center Roy Hibbert is in line for much more, Chris Mannix of SI.com lets fly that the Nets are expecting to pay Brook Lopez somewhere between $8MM and $10MM a year in his next contract (Twitter link). Lopez, who played in just five games this season due to injuries, is a restricted free agent, so the Nets may not have a say in the terms of his deal if he chooses to sign an offer sheet with another team.
- The Sixers locked up Thaddeus Young for five years and $43MM before the season started, and he's making his presence known against the Celtics, as John Finger of CSNPhilly.com examines.
- Four second-round draft prospects — Scott Machado, Zack Rosen, Terrell Stoglin and Maalik Wayns — will work out tomorrow for the Sixers, the team announced. Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com has details.