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Machado, Ohlbrecht Recalled From D-League

April 29th, 2013 at 12:17pm CST by Luke Adams

The D-League's season officially came to an end this weekend, when the Rockets' affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, defeated the Warriors' affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, to win the 2012/13 championship. With the D-League season in the books, the NBA players that had been assigned to each team have now been recalled.

The Warriors announced in a press release that they have recalled Scott Machado from Santa Cruz, while Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets that Tim Ohlbrecht has returned to the Rockets.

Ohlbrecht helped the Vipers go undefeated in the D-League, averaging 11.0 PPG and 6.5 RPG in the Finals against Machado's Warriors. Machado was Santa Cruz's second-leading scorer in the Finals, with 16.0 PPG.

Nets Sign Billy King To Multiyear Extension

April 26th, 2013 at 12:37pm CST by Luke Adams

FRIDAY, 12:37pm: The Nets have officially signed King to a contract extension, the team announced today in a press release. Details on the years and dollars involved in the deal weren't disclosed.

"Billy has been a great asset to the Nets organization over the last three years," owner Mikhail Prokhorov said in a statement. "He has shown he is not afraid to be bold and take risks, and, as a result, we have a playoff team with a world of potential. We are glad we will have the opportunity to continue our work together and realize that potential."

THURSDAY, 1:10pm: The Nets and Billy King are in the process of finalizing a multiyear contract extension for the general manager, whose current deal is set to expire this summer, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. A formal announcement from the team is expected sometime in the near future, according to Wojnarowski.

King, who assumed his current role with the Nets in July 2010, has rebuilt the club into an Eastern Conference contender since then, with the help of a free-spending owner in Mikhail Prokhorov. King and the Nets were the NBA's biggest spender last summer, when the team signed Deron Williams and Brook Lopez to maximum contracts, inked Kris Humphries and Gerald Wallace to eight-digit, multiyear deals, and assumed Joe Johnson's hefty contract in a trade with the Hawks.

Prior to becoming the Nets' GM, King spent more than nine years in Philadelphia as general manager of the 76ers.

Cavaliers Name Mike Brown Head Coach

April 24th, 2013 at 8:18am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers have officially announced that Mike Brown will return as the team's head coach, confirming the news in a press release. Reports yesterday indicated that the two sides had reached an agreement in principle, and were working to finalize the details of a five-year contract worth between $20-25MM.

"I am more than excited about Mike Brown’s return to the Cleveland Cavaliers," owner Dan Gilbert said in a statement. "Mike has done nothing but win in this league since he was a first-year assistant many years ago. He is going to instill a much-needed defensive-first philosophy in our young and talented team that is going to serve as our foundation and identity as we continue down the path of building the kind of franchise that competes at a championship level for many years to come."

For Brown, it will be his second stint as the Cavs' head coach. In his first five seasons with the club, during LeBron James' time in Cleveland, Brown led the Cavs to a 272-138 record. Brown's time with the Cavs coincided with the team's only five playoff berths since the 1997/98 season, including one appearance in the Finals.

Because he was let go by the Lakers with nearly three years remaining on his contract, Brown was still owed a reported $10MM+ by Los Angeles. The Lakers figure to receive some relief now that Brown will be receiving a salary from the Cavs, though it's not exactly clear yet how much money the Lakers will save as a result of offset.

According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Twitter link), the Cavs will introduce Brown to the media at a 2:30 press conference today.

Bobcats Fire Mike Dunlap

April 23rd, 2013 at 12:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bobcats have fired head coach Mike Dunlap, reports Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). The team confirmed in a press release that Dunlap will not return, announcing that the search for his replacement will get underway immediately. The move comes after Dunlap spent just a single season in Charlotte, leading the team to a 21-61 record.

Dunlap was hired by the Bobcats last summer after a lengthy coaching search that reportedly included interviews of at least 10 candidates. Charlotte was coming off a season in which the team set a record for futility, posting a record-worst .106 winning percentage (7-59). Even though this year's 21-61 record isn't impressive by any means, it was a significant step up from last season's mark.

While the decision is a bit of a surprise, the season wasn't without incident for Dunlap and the Bobcats. He had a run-in with veteran shooting guard Ben Gordon earlier this year, and Tom Sorensen of the Charlotte Observer wrote last week that "there are people in the organization who consider [Dunlap] arrogant." Nonetheless, I didn't expect to see Michael Jordan and the Bobcats go back to the drawing board just a year after bringing Dunlap aboard.

The move makes Charlotte the fourth Eastern Conference team to part ways with its coach since the regular season ended last Wednesday. The Pistons, Sixers, and Cavaliers are all in the market for a new head coach as well.

Suns Part Ways With GM Lance Blanks

April 22nd, 2013 at 4:16pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Suns have announced they're parting ways with general manager Lance Blanks. The move puts the future of interim coach Lindsey Hunter in doubt, since Blanks has been Hunter's primary ally in Phoenix, notes Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). USA Today's Sam Amick tweets the same, adding that Blanks had a year left on his contract.

"Lance has been a trusted friend and colleague," said Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby, in a statement released by the team. "I thank him personally and professionally for his hard work on behalf of the Suns. We will continue to prepare for the offseason even as we look for his replacement."

Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News wrote in January that Blanks could be on shaky footing, along with Babby, who wound up getting a new two-year deal with the team earlier this month. It was in January that the Suns parted ways with coach Alvin Gentry, and around that time, Amick noticed Blanks seemed unsure about his future (Twitter link). Still, the timing of today's move comes as something of a surprise, since outgoing GMs often remain with their teams through the draft, as Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer points out, via Twitter.

Both Blanks and Babby came aboard in the summer of 2010. Without Amare Stoudemire, who left for the Knicks that offseason, the Suns went from a Western Conference finalist in 2010 to a mediocre team the next two seasons. Last summer, Phoenix sent Steve Nash to the Lakers in a sign-and-trade, and the Suns finished 25-57 this year, their worst winning percentage since their inaugural season of 1968/69.

The Suns vacancy is the first front-office position to come open so far this offseason. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports volunteers the name of Mark Warkentien, a Knicks executive and former Nuggets vice president of basketball operations, as a possible candidate (Twitter link).

Thunder Recall Jones, Lamb, Liggins

April 20th, 2013 at 11:45am CST by Zachary Links

We'll keep track of today's D-League assignments and recalls here..

The Thunder announced that they have recalled forward Perry Jones and guards Jeremy Lamb and DeAndre Liggins from the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League. The three players have been jettisoned between Oklahoma City and Tulsa multiple times throughout the season. They'll be back in OKC for the Thunder's playoff run, however.

Thunder Assign Jones, Lamb, Liggins To D-League

April 19th, 2013 at 5:02pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have assigned Perry Jones, Jeremy Lamb, and DeAndre Liggins to the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. The trio will join the Tulsa 66ers in time for the first game of Tulsa's playoff series with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers tonight.

When Jones, Lamb, and Liggins were recalled to the Thunder on Monday after the 66ers defeated the Canton Charge in the first round of the D-League playoffs, I speculated that they could rejoin OKC's D-League affiliate for the second round. We'll see if the three youngsters are recalled for the Thunder's series against the Rockets, or whether the team prefers to have them continue playing major minutes in the D-League postseason.

Trail Blazers Waive Jared Jeffries

April 18th, 2013 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers have officially released Jared Jeffries, the team announced today (Twitter link). While the timing of the move may seem unusual, considering the Blazers' season is over, Jeffries' contract for next season would have become guaranteed had the team not cut him within the next five days.

Jeffries, 31, was acquired by the Blazers last July as part of the sign-and-trade deal that sent Raymond Felton to the Knicks. Jeffries also had to be signed-and-traded as part of the transaction, which meant he had to be signed to at least a three-year contract, although the Blazers only had to guarantee the first year.

Earlier this week, Jeffries told Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com that he didn't expect to be retained by Portland, and would likely seek another team that would have more playing time for him. With the Blazers this season, Jeffries appeared in less than half the team's games and set career-lows in many statistical categories, including PPG (1.2) and MPG (9.2).

Lawrence Frank Out As Pistons Coach

April 18th, 2013 at 12:52pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons have notified Lawrence Frank that he won't be retained as the team's head coach for the 2013/14 season, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter). Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.com first tweeted word that Frank was out as coach of the Pistons.

The decision had been expected for some time, particularly after Pistons owner Tom Gores expressed his disappointment earlier this week about how the club's season had played out. Gores did praise the way Joe Dumars and basketball operations had set the franchise up financially, but his comments didn't include many accolades for Frank's performance.

In two seasons with the Pistons, Frank led the team to a 54-94 record, failing to qualify for the playoffs either year. He'll still receive his salary for the 2013/14 season, since it was guaranteed for an amount in the neighborhood of $3.5-4MM.

We heard yesterday that Frank had informed the Pistons he didn't want to return to the club unless the team exercised its 2014/15 option on him as well. Frank didn't want to commit to the Pistons going forward unless the team was willing to commit long-term to him, due in part to the fact that his wife has been ill, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reported today.

Cavaliers Fire Byron Scott

April 18th, 2013 at 10:29am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers have parted ways with head coach Byron Scott, a source tells Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. The move, which the Cavs confirmed in a press release, comes a day after Scott completed his third season with the team.

Cleveland exercised its 2013/14 option on Scott back in October, at which point the head coach expressed a desire to remain with the Cavs long-term. Scott won't stay with the club for the "five more years" he was hoping for, but he'll still be paid his salary for next season, which is rumored to be $4MM+.

During his three seasons in Cleveland, Scott led the team to a 64-166 record. That's good for a .278 winning percentage, which is the lowest in Cavs' history for anyone that coached at least one full season. According to Lloyd, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert had been unhappy with the team's lack of defensive improvement during Scott's tenure. Gilbert was the "driving force" behind the decision to let Scott go, a source tells Lloyd.

It's not clear yet who might replace Scott in Cleveland, but as Grantland's Zach Lowe notes (via Twitter), a combination of cap space, draft picks, and Kyrie Irving makes the job fairly appealing. ESPN.com's Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne suggested yesterday that the Cavs could pursue Phil Jackson this offseason, though Jackson may be more interested in a front-office role rather than a coaching position.