Southeast Notes: Herro, Burks, Hawks, Suggs
Heat guard Tyler Herro had an impressive regular season, making his first All-Star appearance and winning the three-point contest. He posted career highs in several statistical categories, including points (23.9) and assists (5.5) per game, while making a career-best 77 appearances. The 25-year-old also struggled in the final two games of Miami’s first-round series with Cleveland, though the Heat were clearly overmatched against the top-seeded Cavs.
Herro, who is under contract through 2026/27, will be eligible for a three-year extension in October. Asked about the possibility of signing that extension, Herro made it clear that he wants to stay with the Heat, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.
“Not the biggest deal, but I would love to be here,” Herro said. “The front office, the organization, the city, everyone knows how much I love Miami. I’ve been here since I was 18, 19. I’ve got two kids here.
“This is really home for me. I love being here. Basketball is why I’m here at the end of the day. I want to win and I know how badly this organization and city want to win. We will see what happens. If it doesn’t get done in October, then we can get it done next summer. It will just be a little bit higher of a price.”
Here’s more from the Southeast:
- While a few Heat veterans declined to speak to the media, guard Alec Burks would like to return to Miami, according to Jackson. “Hopefully I can come back,” said Burks, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer after signing a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum in 2024.
- In a subscriber-only story for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Lauren Williams takes a look at which Hawks players are likely to return in ’25/26 and which players could be on different rosters next season. Unsurprisingly, young core players like Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels and Zaccharie Risacher fall into the former group, while impending free agents such as Caris LeVert and Clint Capela are in the latter.
- At his end-of-season media availability on Thursday, Magic guard Jalen Suggs said undergoing season-ending knee surgery won’t change the physical way he defends opponents heading into ’25/26. “I ain’t changing a damn thing,” Suggs told Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). “I ain’t going to lie. I ain’t changing nothing. That’s what all this (rehab) work is for.” Suggs, who made the All-Defensive Second Team last season, was limited to 35 games in ’24/25 due to injuries.
Suns Promote Brian Gregory To General Manager
2:49 pm: In addition to officially promoting Gregory and moving Jones to an advisory role, the Suns have also named Oronde Taliaferro as assistant GM and announced that CIO Paul Rivers will now have basketball operations responsibilities, confirming the changes in a press release (Twitter link via Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports).
“Brian has been a valuable member of our front office, playing an integral role in drafting and developing our young players,” said Ishbia. “I am excited for him to step into the role of general manager. He is a brilliant basketball mind, and he will transform and elevate our team.”
2:37 pm: The Suns are making a major change to their front office, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, who reports that vice president of player programming Brian Gregory will become the team’s new head of basketball operations, with an official title of general manager.
Sources tell Charania that former NBA veteran James Jones, who has been the Suns’ GM since 2019, will become a senior advisor in Phoenix.
Gregory, 58, played four years of college basketball in the late 1980s before transitioning to coaching. He had two different stints as an assistant at Michigan State — the second overlapped with Suns owner Mat Ishbia‘s time with the Spartans, Charania notes.
After 13 years as an NCAA assistant, Gregory landed his first head coaching job with Dayton back in 2003, remaining with the Flyers until 2011, when he was hired away by Georgia Tech. He stayed with the Yellow Jackets until 2016, when he was let go, serving as a special a consultant to Michigan State’s Tom Izzo during the ’16/17 campaign. Gregory was head coach of South Florida from 2017-23.
It’s a rapid rise for the longtime coach, who was hired by the Suns last June. Gregory has been credited for drafting Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro in 2024, according to Charania, and has been in charge of college scouting and the pre-draft process this year, per Jake Fischer (Twitter link).
According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link), Josh Bartelstein will remain in his role as CEO. Gregory will report directly to Ishbia, Gambadoro adds.
Marc Stein first reported that Gregory could be in line for a promotion.
Despite having the NBA’s highest payroll, the Suns are coming off a disastrous season, finishing with a 36-46 record and not even making the play-in tournament. That led to the firing of head coach Mike Budenholzer, who had four years left on his contract.
Rockets Notes: Thompson, Brooks, Curry, VanVleet, Green
Second-year swingman Amen Thompson was excellent in helping the Rockets stave off elimination on Wednesday, filling the stat sheet with 25 points, six rebounds, three assists, five steals and three blocks. Houston outscored Golden State by 32 points during Thompson’s 35 minutes. The 22-year-old became the first player since Charles Barkley in 1993 to record 25 points, five steals, and three blocks in a playoff game, per Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com.
In addition to his highly efficient offensive performance — he was 8-of-12 from the field and 8-of-9 from the foul line — Thompson slowed down Stephen Curry, limiting the two-time MVP to 13 points (on 4-of-12 shooting) and seven assists in 25 minutes.
“He took it personal, and that’s what we need from him every single night,” Dillon Brooks said. “As a defender, you have to take the matchup personal. He was reading Steph, reading a lot of the guys, staying in front, being disciplined on the defensive end without reaching.
“We need that Amen every single game because we’re going to go against guys like Steph again. That same mentality, that tenacity that he was playing with gives us a lot of energy, gives us a lot of extra possessions, and it makes their best player timid and think. That’s what we need: their best players to think, think, think the game instead of playing in the flow.”
Here’s more on the Rockets, who are now down 3-2 in their first-round series vs. Golden State:
- Brooks also had a strong performance in Game 5, scoring an efficient 24 points and holding Jimmy Butler to just eight points on 2-of-10 shooting. After the game, he spoke to Kelly Iko of The Athletic about how playing against the Warriors multiple times over the years has helped him learn to maintain his composure. “My energy, my enthusiasm, my passion for the game can override and f–k up a game,” Brooks told The Athletic. “I learned that from years of playing in the playoffs and understanding where things went wrong. To win against these guys, you have to be composed at all times. The way they play is very helter-skelter. They’re going to make you play with passion — with Draymond (Green) and Steph (Curry) on that team. Me learning and playing against these guys a lot in my career, being composed is the way to go.”
- Asked during his post-game press conference, whether he has been targeting Curry’s injured right thumb, Brooks didn’t deny it, Ron Kroichick writes for The Houston Chronicle. “I’m playing the game,” Brooks said. “Shoot, if you’re going to come play the game injured, whatever you’ve got, it’s all about the game. If I had an injured ankle, I would attack that ankle every single time. So whatever they’re saying on the broadcast, they can keep saying it.”
- After struggling with his shot for the first three games of the series, veteran guard Fred VanVleet has caught fire over the past two, including scoring a game-high 26 points on Wednesday, notes Matt Young of The Houston Chronicle. For his part, VanVleet says he’s willing to do whatever it takes to help his team win. “I’m here to share and lead and quarterback and put guys in positions, but I still have to play at a high level if we’re going to be a good team,” said VanVleet. “I’ve been able to get back to that over the last couple of games. There’s so much going on and so much is new to this team and we’re playing so many young guys, this is their first experience. Their heads get to spinning a little bit at times. Just trying to calm them down and get them into good spots. If we play our brand of basketball at a high level, I feel good about us against anybody.”
- Jalen Green bumped knees in the first quarter of Game 5, but he says he “should be good” to go for Friday’s Game 6, according to Reid Laymance of The Houston Chronicle.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 5/1/2025
Hoops Rumors hosted a live chat today at 1:00 pm Central time (2:00 pm Eastern).
Kings, Head Coach Doug Christie Finalize Multiyear Deal
May 1: Christie has formally been named Sacramento’s permanent head coach, the Kings announced today in a press release (Twitter link via James Ham of ESPN 1320).
“After careful consideration, I am excited to announce Doug Christie as the next head coach of the Sacramento Kings,” Perry said in a statement. “I’ve known Doug a long time and have been impressed with his leadership, presence, and ability to connect deeply with his players.
“He embodies the core values we believe in — toughness, discipline, professionalism, a defensive mindset, and a selfless, team-oriented approach on offense. Our goal is to support him fully and help set the stage for his long-term success. We’re excited to move forward with Doug as our leader.”
April 29: The Kings will remove the interim tag from Doug Christie and make him their permanent head coach, according to Shams Charania of ESPN, who reports that the two sides are finalizing the details of a multiyear contract.
Formerly an assistant coach under Mike Brown, Christie was elevated to head coach in December following Brown’s dismissal and led Sacramento to a 27-24 record following a 13-18 start.
As Charania notes, the Kings went 13-10 in clutch-time games under Christie after posting a 6-13 mark in those contests under Brown early in the season.
A former NBA shooting guard, Christie spent five of his 15 seasons as a player in Sacramento and was employed as a color commentator for Kings games before being hired by the franchise as an assistant during the 2021 offseason.
Christie, who initially served under Luke Walton, remained in his role as an assistant when the club parted ways with Walton and promoted Alvin Gentry to replace him during the 2021/22 season, and again when the Kings hired Brown in 2022.
This is Christie’s first stint as an NBA head coach, though he had previously gained a little experience in that role as a Kings assistant — he coached the team in December 2021 when Gentry missed time due to COVID-19 and later coached Sacramento’s Summer League team in July 2024.
After winning 20 of their first 31 games under Christie, the Kings lost 13 of their last 20 and were eliminated in the play-in tournament by a depleted Mavericks team, costing them a shot at a playoff berth.
That underwhelming finish to the season led to some speculation that the team might launch a full-fledged coaching search, but team owner Vivek Ranadive is said to be a fan of Christie, and reporting in the wake of Scott Perry‘s hiring as Sacramento’s new general manager indicated that the interim coach was well-positioned to hang onto the job.
According to Charania, Christie is expected to revamp his coaching staff this offseason after having inherited Brown’s assistants in the winter.
Celtics’ Jrue Holiday Wins 2024/25 Sportsmanship Award
Celtics guard Jrue Holiday has won the NBA’s Sportsmanship Award for the 2024/25 season, the league announced today in a press release (Twitter links). It’s the second time the 34-year-old has claimed the award, having previously won it with Milwaukee back in ’20/21.
The Sportsmanship Award has been presented annually since ’95/96 and “honors a player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court.”
Each of the league’s 30 teams nominated one of its players for the award, then a panel of league executives narrows that group to six finalists (one from each division) and current players voted for the winner.
As the full voting results show, Holiday received the most first-place votes and most total points. Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen finished in second place, followed closely by Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving. Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith, and Magic forward Franz Wagner rounded out the top six (in that order).
The trophy for the Sportsmanship Award is named after Joe Dumars, the Hall-of-Fame guard who won the inaugural award back in ’95/96. Dumars was recently named the Pelicans’ head of basketball operations after working for the NBA for the past few years.
Holiday has earned numerous team and individual accolades throughout his career. The combo guard has won two NBA championships, two Olympic gold medals with Team USA, is a two-time All-Star, and has earned six All-Defensive nods. He has also been named Teammate of the Year three times. Now he has added a second Sportsmanship Award to his impressive trophy case.
Bucks Notes: Giannis, Lillard, Horst, Offseason
Following the Bucks‘ third consecutive first-round playoff exit and a torn Achilles diagnosis for star point guard Damian Lillard, superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo finds himself under the spotlight. Speculation about whether he wants to stick with the Bucks or compete for a championship elsewhere figures to dominate the news cycle in Milwaukee until he makes a decision one way or the other.
John Hollinger of The Athletic is among the pundits to make the case that trading Antetokounmpo this offseason is the best path forward for the Bucks. While he acknowledges it’s not an easy decision, given what Giannis means to the franchise and the fact that the Bucks don’t control their own draft picks for the next several years, Hollinger believes the organization isn’t in position to maximize the remaining years of the two-time MVP’s prime.
Eric Koreen of The Athletic, conversely, contends that a player’s championship rings have become disproportionately weighed when evaluating a player’s legacy and argues that “time spent together” should be valued more highly than it is. Lillard’s own move from Portland to Milwaukee shows that a trade to a would-be contender offers no guarantees, Koreen points out, adding that Dirk Nowitzki‘s career spent in Dallas feels “right” in retrospect even though he only won a single title with the Mavericks.
For his part, Antetokounmpo wasn’t ready to discuss his future after the Bucks lost Game 5 in Indiana on Tuesday, ending their season.
“I’m not going to do this,” Giannis said when asked if he believes he can win another title in Milwaukee, per Jamal Collier of ESPN. “I’m not going to do that. I know how it’s going to translate. I don’t know, man. I wish I was still playing. I wish I was still competing and going back and working out.”
As we relayed on Wednesday, Antetokounmpo is expected to meet soon with Bucks management to discuss his and the team’s future.
Here’s more on the Bucks:
- Antetokounmpo’s season ended in unusual fashion on Tuesday, as he found himself face-to-face with John Haliburton, the father of Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, on the court seconds after Indiana closed out a 119-118 win. As Collier writes for ESPN.com, Antetokounmpo engaged in a heated confrontation with the elder Haliburton, who later apologized for coming onto the floor and shouting at the Bucks forward, according to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. “His dad coming on the floor and showing me his son — a towel with his face on [it], [saying] ‘This is what we do. We do this,'” Antetokounmpo told reporters after the game. “I feel like that’s very, very disrespectful.” Giannis later said that he talked to John Haliburton after the incident and that “we’re in a good place.”
- If Lillard had finished the season healthy, he and the Bucks would likely have had a conversation about his future in Milwaukee, according to Eric Nehm and Sam Amick of The Athletic, who say there’s a chance the two sides would’ve decided they might be better off parting ways. That scenario could’ve given Milwaukee a path to revamping its roster around Antetokounmpo while sending Lillard to a contender that may be a better fit, Nehm and Amick note, but it’s off the table now that the point guard will spend the year recovering from an Achilles tear.
- Some rival executives were surprised that the Bucks extended general manager Jon Horst in April, but he was in consideration as a potential front office target for both the Suns and Pelicans before Milwaukee did that deal, league sources tell Nehm and Amick.
- Within his preview of the Bucks’ offseason, ESPN’s Bobby Marks says adding depth and shooting should be a priority this offseason for the Bucks, who will also need to add more help in the frontcourt if they lose either Brook Lopez or Bobby Portis in free agency.
Gordon Herbert To Coach Canadian National Team
Gordon Herbert will be the new head coach of the Canadian men’s basketball national team, Canada Basketball confirmed on Thursday in a press release. The news was first reported by Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.
Herbert has more than three decades of coaching experience, including two previous stints as an assistant for Canada Basketball from 2001-02 and 2018-21.
Although he briefly served as a Raptors assistant in 2008/09 and a consultant for the Nets in 2019/20, the Canadian-born Herbert has spent most of his career overseas. He’s currently the head coach of Bayern Munich and is coming off a three-year run as the head coach of the German national team, which won the 2023 FIBA World Cup and finished fourth at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Herbert also previously coached professional teams in Finland, France, Greece, Austria, and Russia.
Before transitioning to coaching, Herbert played professionally for more than a decade in non-NBA leagues, primarily in Finland, and was a member of the Canadian national team at the 1984 Olympics.
“We are proud to announce Gordie as the next head coach of our Senior Men’s National Team,” Team Canada general manager Rowan Barrett said in a statement. “His championship pedigree, command of the FIBA game, and understanding of what it takes to compete for medals on the world stage make him the ideal leader for this next chapter of Canada Basketball.
“It’s great to welcome Gordie back to our program. He knows what it means to represent Canada and brings the experience, leadership, and vision to guide this group through the next chapter of our journey.”
Barrett will officially take the reins in the summer of 2026 and will be tasked with getting Canada on the podium at the 2027 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics.
Expectations for the Canadian national team are on the rise after the program earned a third-place finish at the 2023 World Cup and sent a roster made up entirely of NBA players to Paris in 2024. That team, led by Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, missed out on a medal after falling to France in the quarterfinals.
Barrett is replacing Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez, who formally stepped down from the role in February to focus on his job in Brooklyn and to spend more time with his family.
Pacific Notes: Curry, Warriors, Suns, Harden
Warriors star Stephen Curry, who injured his right thumb in January and re-injured it late in the regular season, has had that thumb wrapped during games and has been icing it after games, but he said following Wednesday’s loss to Houston that it’s not affecting how he plays, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
As Youngmisuk details, after a Golden State broadcaster suggested that Rockets defenders appear to be targeting Curry’s thumb when he shoots, Warriors players and head coach Steve Kerr were asked whether that’s something they’ve noticed. Kerr didn’t dispute that it’s happening, but pointed out that it’s not against the NBA’s rules.
“The rule is once the shot has been released, you’re allowed to hit a guy’s arm,” Kerr said. “And so what’s happened in the league this year is, players always are, they’re going to outsmart the rules. They know what they’re doing. So players all over the league are just taking shots at guys’ shooting hands after the release because they know it’s not going to be a foul. And I’m very confident that next year the league will fix it because it’s only a matter of time before somebody breaks a thumb or breaks a hand or whatever. But these are the rules.
“I do believe they’re allowed to call a flagrant if they want. The refs can call flagrant if a guy winds up and takes a shot. But no, it’s been happening across the league all year long. It’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, but we have to take it through the league process to get that changed. … I know we got 30 coaches who all think it’s just idiotic that we allow this, so we’ll have to take it through the competition committee, all that stuff this summer and eventually we’ll get it fixed.”
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Trailing by 27 points at halftime on Wednesday, Kerr and forward Draymond Green decided during the break that the Warriors shouldn’t chase a comeback for more than about five minutes in the second half if they weren’t making up any ground, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. With 5:50 left in the third quarter and Houston still up by 29, Kerr pulled all of his starters and didn’t use them for the rest of the night. “I wasn’t going to chase this game with Game 6 coming up in 48 hours,” Kerr said. “Unless we made a huge run, we kind of had an idea that we’d pull the plug.” Golden State’s reserves eventually cut the deficit to 13 points with five minutes left in the fourth quarter, but Kerr opted against bringing back his first-stringers at that point. “When you make a move like that, the starters on the bench, you can’t go back to them,” he explained. “It’s not the right thing to do.”
- The Suns are expected to announce changes to their front office either by the end of this week or early next week at the latest, says John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link). It’s unclear exactly what those changes might look like, but NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link) hears that one option in play is promoting VP of player programming Brian Gregory to a more prominent position. Suns owner Mat Ishbia is a fan of Gregory, who has a “significant voice” in the team’s draft strategy, Stein adds.
- With their season on the brink entering a do-or-die Game 6 vs. Denver, the Clippers will need more from their stars to force a Game 7, writes Law Murray of The Athletic. Thursday’s game will be an especially big one for James Harden, who has been held to 13.0 points per game on .400/.250/.643 shooting in the Clippers’ past two losses and hasn’t spoken to the media after either game, Murray notes. Harden could become a free agent this summer if he declines a $36.3MM player option.
LeBron James Expresses Uncertainty About Future
In the wake of a Game 5 loss to Minnesota on Wednesday night that brought the Lakers‘ season to an end, star forward LeBron James expressed uncertainty when asked about his future and how much longer he plans to continue playing, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN relays.
“I don’t know,” James said. “I don’t have an answer to that. Something I’ll sit down with my family, my wife and my support group and kind of just talk through it and see what happens. And just have a conversation with myself on how long I want to continue to play. I don’t know the answer to that right now, to be honest. So we’ll see.”
James holds a player option for 2025/26 worth approximately $52.6MM. Discussing what next season’s Lakers roster might look like, he said he’ll have “a lot to think about myself.” The four-time MVP subsequently clarified that any uncertainty he’s feeling is about how far off his retirement might be — not whether he wants to remain in Los Angeles.
“Just continuing to play, I don’t know where I’m at,” James told ESPN. “That’s what that is. Not coming back to play here. Just playing, period.”
James isn’t the only Laker facing a big contract-related decision who wasn’t ready to make any definitive statements immediately after the team’s season came to an end. Star point guard Luka Doncic, who will become fully extension-eligible on August 2, said he’s “really glad” to be in L.A. (Twitter video link via Michael Scotto of HoopsHype), but will need some time to consider his contract options.
Forward Dorian Finney-Smith, a midseason acquisition who helped stabilize the Lakers’ defense, will have to make a decision on a $15.4MM player option this offseason. Finney-Smith said he hasn’t thought about that option yet, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Even if the Lakers work out new deals with James, Doncic, and Finney-Smith this summer, the roster has a glaring hole in the middle that will need to be addressed in the coming months.
Head coach J.J. Redick moved Finney-Smith into his starting lineup in Game 5 ahead of big man Jaxson Hayes, who was a DNP-CD, and the Lakers played most of the night without a real center. Maxi Kleber made his Lakers debut coming off foot surgery, but saw just five minutes of action.
The Timberwolves capitalized in a major way on the Lakers’ lack of frontcourt size, making 20-of-22 (90.9%) of their shots in the restricted area, according to Jack Borman of Locked on Sports Minnesota (Twitter link).
Los Angeles was also out-rebounded by a 54-37 margin. Rudy Gobert grabbed 24 rebounds on his own, and his nine offensive boards were more than the eight collected by the Lakers’ entire team. That rebounding disparity helped the Wolves attempt 11 more field goals and eight more free throws than L.A.
The Lakers reached an agreement prior to February’s trade deadline to acquire third-year center Mark Williams from Charlotte, but they ultimately opted to void that trade due to concerns about Williams’ physical. Shortly after Los Angeles was eliminated from the postseason on Wednesday night, the Hornets big man published a tweet consisting of just a single character: a smiley-face emoji.
Asked after Wednesday’s game whether playing centerless basketball so frequently caught up with the Lakers, James jokingly refused to comment (Twitter video link via HoopsHype).
“My guy A.D. said what he needed, and he was gone the following week. So I got no comment,” James said with a smile, per Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. “With that uniform on every night, I gave everything I had. And that’s all that matters.”