Odds & Ends: Ibaka, Grizzlies, Dooling, Lindsey
The Oklahoman's Darnell Mayberry gives us five ways Serge Ibaka can live up to his recent contract extension.
Here's a look at the rest of today's news throughout the league.
- After suffering through a disappointing 2011/12 season, CBSSports.com's Royce Young highlights what we might be able to expect next season from the Grizzlies.
- Brian T. Smith from The Salt Lake City Tribune gives an informative take on Dennis Lindsey, recently hired by the Jazz to be their general manager.
- Pistons guard Brandon Knight looks up to Celtics veteran Keyon Dooling, writes the Detroit Free Press' Kirkland Crawford.
Jazz Hire Dennis Lindsey As GM
The Jazz held a press conference this afternoon to formally announce the promotion of longtime General Manager Kevin O'Connor to Executive Vice President of basketball operations and the hiring of Dennis Lindsey as GM. Lindsey previously served as the assistant GM of the Spurs.
At the presser, Jazz President and CEO Randy Rigby told reporters that Lindsey was the club's top choice for the position, tweets Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune. O'Connor says that he has been pondering the move for some time but wanted to first help guide the club through the lockout-shortened season (Twitter link). The 13-year GM says that he will still have an active role in day-to-day operations but will not be fielding calls from agents, Smith tweets.
Lindsey joined the Spurs in the summer of 2007 after spending the previous eleven years in the Rockets organization. Smith tweets that Spurs coach Gregg Popovich gave O'Connor a sterling endorsement on Lindsey, saying that he is the person he'd hypothetically appoint as GM if R.C. Buford were to step away.
Magic Hire Rob Hennigan As GM
5:49pm: NBA.com's David Aldridge confirms that Rob Hennigan has accepted the Magic's offer to become the team's next general manager.
5:23pm: CBSSports.com's Ken Berger tweets that the Magic have officially offered the GM job to Hennigan. The two parties are currently in contract negotiations.
5:00pm: The Magic are in advanced talks with Thunder executive Rob Hennigan to make him the next general manager in Orlando, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Hennigan is one of three finalists for the position that has made with Magic ownership this month. According to Wojnarowski, Hennigan was brought to Michigan in recent days to meet with the DeVos family for a second time (Twitter link).
Orlando Expected To Name GM This Week
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports that the Magic are expected to make a decision on their GM search no later than this work week, adding that CEO Alex Martins had planned all along to name a GM within 10 days of the NBA Draft. The three finalists – Jeff Bower, Rob Hennigan, and Dennis Lindsey – have all met with the DeVos family to conclude the final round of interviews.
Dave Twardzik, the current assistant GM, has been handling draft preparation in the meantime.
Magic Notes: Nelson, Howard, GM/Coach Search
While their Southeast rivals, the Heat, prepare for Game 2 of the NBA Finals tonight, the Magic have a jam-packed offseason itinerary. The team still has to hire a GM, find a new coach, and decide on Dwight Howard's future, and another under-the-radar issue could arise tomorrow. Jameer Nelson has a June 15th deadline to decide whether to pick up his player option for next season, and if he turns it down, the Magic will have to determine if they want to try to re-sign him. Here's the latest out of Orlando….
Magic Narrow GM Search To Three Finalists
2:56pm: Lindsey and Hennigan will head to Michigan to meet with the DeVos family this week, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). According to Berger, Bower may meet with owner Rich DeVos later on, but not yet. The Magic are expected to wrap up their search either later this week or early next week (Twitter links).
Sixers Rumors: Williams, Hawes, Thorn, Iguodala
Multiple reports have indicated Lou Williams will be opting out of the final year of his contract with the 76ers, though not necessarily to leave Philadelphia. Williams himself seemed to be laying the groundwork for such a decision yesterday, tweeting "Quick note. Opting out doesn't necessarily mean you're leaving. It's getting out of one contract to begin a new one." The Sixers will be faced with a number of free agent decisions besides Williams this summer, and Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News has updates on a few of those players and on the executives that will be making the roster moves….
Kyler On Bobcats, Combine, Warriors, Magic
Earlier today, we passed along tweets from HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler on Dion Waiters' possible draft-day guarantee. Kyler is hearing that the Suns may have made promised Waiters they'll draft him at 13th overall, resulting in the Syracuse guard shutting down his workouts. That wasn't Kyler's only update of interest this morning, however, as he tweeted a few more notes from the draft combine. Let's round them up….
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.
Orlando Targeting Spurs, Thunder Executives
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports that the Magic are looking at Thunder vice president and assistant general manager Troy Weaver as well as Spurs assistant general manager Dennis Lindsey as candidates for their vacant GM position. Rob Hennigan, another assistant GM of the Thunder, is also being targeted.
Wojnarowski says that Weaver is one of the league's elite young executives and has a strong record as a talent evaluator, most notably pushing hard for the team to draft Russell Westbrook higher than most draft boards had projected. Lindsey has been the assistant to RC Buford in San Antonio for the last five years after an 11-year-stint with the Rockets.
Magic CEO Alex Martins reportedly plans to allow his new GM to control the search for the team's next head coach.