June 2013 – Page 17 – NBA Blog

Detroit Pistons name Mo Cheeks head coach

Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today that the club has named Maurice Cheeks as head coach, signing him to a multi-year contract.

Cheeks brings more than 30-plus years of NBA experience to the job and becomes the 29th head coach in Detroit franchise history. He will be formally introduced to the Detroit media later this week.

“We’re pleased to welcome Maurice Cheeks to the Pistons organization,” Dumars said. “The leadership and player development qualities he brings as a former player and coach blends nicely with the roster we are building for the future. He’s won an NBA championship, coached in two NBA Finals as an assistant coach and mentored some of the top young players in the NBA.”

“After spending some time with Maurice, I was very impressed not only with his basketball knowledge but his communication and leadership skills,” said Pistons owner Tom Gores. “We are very excited to have someone of his experience and talent help take this franchise into the future.”

Cheeks joins the Pistons after serving four years as an assistant coach with Oklahoma City, where he helped guide the Thunder to a 212-100 (.707) record, four playoff appearances and an NBA Finals appearance in 2012.

The 56-year-old Chicago native served as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers from 2001-05 recording a 162-139 (.538) regular-season record, the fourth-highest win total in Blazers coaching history. His Portland teams made consecutive playoff appearances in 2001 and 2002 and posted records of .500 or better three times, including a 50-32 mark in 2002-03 which tied for second in the Pacific Division. Portland’s defense ranked in the top-10 in points allowed and steals in both 2001-02 and 2002-03.

Cheeks was named head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers in 2005 and led the Sixers to a 122-147 (.454) record in three-plus seasons. He led the team to the playoffs in 2008, marking the club’s first postseason appearance in three years. The 76ers were 12 games under .500 in early February that season and improved to 21-7 the remainder of the year to clinch a playoff berth. Cheeks owns a career record of 284-286 (.498) in 570 games as an NBA head coach.

Prior to his head coaching stints, Cheeks spent seven seasons as an assistant coach with the 76ers serving under John Lucas (1994-96), Johnny Davis (1996-97) and former Pistons’ head coach Larry Brown (1997-2001). As a member of Philadelphia’s 2000-01 staff under Brown, he helped guide the club to a 56-26 (.683) record and a spot in the NBA Finals. Cheeks began his coaching career with the Quad City Thunder of the Continental Basketball Association. During his only season with Quad City (1993-94), he helped guide the club to the CBA Championship.

A 15-year NBA veteran (11 with Philadelphia), Cheeks was a key member of the 76ers’ 1983 NBA Championship team. He was named to the NBA All-Defensive Team five times, which included four first-team honors and one second-team honor. A four-time NBA All-Star, Cheeks averaged 11.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 2.1 steals while shooting 52% from the field in 1,101 career games. He enjoyed his best year during the 1985-86 season when he averaged 15.4 points and a career-high 9.2 assists. Drafted 36th overall in the 1978 NBA Draft, Cheeks currently ranks 11th all-time in NBA history in assists (7,392) and fifth all-time in steals (2,310). His #10 jersey was retired by the 76ers in 1995.

Grizzlies will not renew contract of head coach Lionel Hollins

Lionel Hollins says the Memphis Grizzlies have told him they will not renew his contract as head coach, even though he’s the winningest coach in the franchise’s history coming off the team’s first trip to the Western Conference finals…

Hollins’ contract expires June 30, and his future with the team has been unsettled since the Spurs swept the Grizzlies in the West finals. Hollins has been the Grizzlies’ coach since replacing Marc Iavaroni in January 2009. He led Memphis to a better record each season since then, including a franchise-best 56-26 record this season. The Grizzlies beat first the Clippers, then top-seeded Oklahoma City in the playoffs.

Reported by Teresa M. Walker of the Associated Press

Settlement reached in Kobe Bryant memorabilia case

The Kobe Bryant memorabilia saga has ended with an apology from the Los Angeles Lakers guard’s parents and a settlement that allows less than 10 percent of the items originally intended for sale to be auctioned.

Bryant and a company that was auctioning off the memorabilia reached a deal one week before the two sides were due to go to trial in New Jersey. The agreement allows the sale of six items, which Goldin Auctions president Ken Goldin told ESPN.com on Monday morning he is confident still can sell for more than $500,000 combined.

Bryant’s parents, who had contracted with Goldin to sell the items, apologized in a written statement.

“We regret our actions and statements related to the Kobe Bryant auction memorabilia,” Joe and Pamela Bryant said in the statement provided by a publicist. “We apologize for any misunderstanding and unintended pain we have caused our son and appreciate the financial support he has provided over the years. We also apologize to Goldin Auctions for their inadvertent involvement in this matter and thank them for their assistance.”

Reported by Darren Rovell of ESPN.com

Heat beat Spurs in Game 2 to tie NBA Finals

Mario Chalmers marched toward midcourt with a message.

”I felt like we had them on the ropes at the time. I told him, ‘Let’s go for the kill,”’ Chalmers said. ”He said, ‘I’m with you.”’

And once LeBron James joined in, the Miami Heat were back with a blowout in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

Chalmers led the charge, James broke out to finish it with a flurry and the Heat used a 33-5 run to rout the San Antonio Spurs 103-84 on Sunday night and even the series at one game apiece.

James missed 10 of 13 shots through three quarters and the Heat trailed by a point late in the period before unleashing the lethal brand of basketball that led them to a franchise-record 66 wins this season.

Chalmers finished with 19 points, and James had 17 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three blocks – the best on Tiago Splitter’s dunk attempt – while shooting only 7 of 17 from the field…

The Heat made 10 of 19 3-pointers and got 13 points from Ray Allen, and 12 points and 10 rebounds from the previously slumping Chris Bosh.

Danny Green made all six shots, including five 3-pointers, and scored 17 points for the Spurs. They host Game 3 on Tuesday night.

Tony Parker had 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting for the Spurs, who were so precise in their 92-88 victory in Game 1 but threw the ball all over the white-surrounded court Sunday, committing 17 turnovers that led to 19 Miami points…

Tim Duncan shot 3 of 13 and finished with nine points and 11 rebounds…

The Spurs had only four turnovers in Game 1, tying an NBA Finals record low. But they surpassed that total in the first quarter, Parker committing two of their five after not coughing it up once in the opener, and the Spurs looked more like the sloppy Indiana Pacers from Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals than the Spurs of Game 1.

Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Jason Kidd wants to be head coach of the Brooklyn Nets

Freshly retired NBA star Jason Kidd is pursuing the Brooklyn Nets’ head coaching job and his candidacy has been discussed within the highest levels of the organization, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Kidd has been talking with associates about the possibility of making the immediate leap from a Hall of Fame playing career to a head coaching job, and has been working to identify a staff of assistant coaches who could help him overcome the significant learning curve, sources said.

The Nets have considered Indiana Pacers associate head coach Brian Shaw as their top target for the vacancy, but are competing with the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets to secure him.

Reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports

NBA Finals Game 2 is must-win for Heat, says D-Wade

“Must-win” talk is typically reserved for playoff games later in a series. But with a less than typical situation on hand for the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals’ 2-3-2 home-court format, Dwyane Wade already views Game 2 as critical against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night.

“It’s very urgent,” Wade said Saturday after the Heat’s practice. “Obviously you don’t want to go down 0 2 going to San Antonio for three straight games. Odds are not that good. They are not in our favor. We’re not a team that really says too much [like], ‘This is a must win game.’ But this is a must win game.”

Before losing the Finals opener on Thursday night, Miami was 7-2 at home in this year’s postseason. The Spurs are 6-1 in the playoffs at AT&T Center and 9-2 overall in Finals history in San Antonio.

LeBron James took a different public tone Saturday than his sidekick, saying, “Every game is important. Game 1, Game 2, 3, 4, no matter 2-3-2 format or it could be a 3-2-2 format. No matter what the format is, it’s The Finals.”

Reported by Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports

Charlotte Bobcats may try to trade for Chris Bosh this summer

The Charlotte Bobcats are looking to make a splash this summer and are open to trading their first-round pick in a package for an All-Star-caliber player. There are rumors the Heat will be looking to deal Chris Bosh, and the Bobcats, who are under the salary cap and could accept Bosh’s near-maximum deal, could be a prime candidate. As much as Charlotte would love to build through the draft, team officials understand they have to start winning and need a player to be the face of the franchise. Bosh could serve that purpose.

Reported by Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe

For some NBA Finals assistant coaches, future talk starts now

Mike Budenholzer is in his final series on the staff with the San Antonio Spurs. David Fizdale is now often mentioned as a candidate for jobs that could take him away from his job with the Miami Heat.

Meanwhile, all either of those guys could care about is beating the other in the NBA Finals.

Whenever a head-coaching vacancy is created in the NBA these days, it usually isn’t long before some of the league’s top assistants get mentioned as candidates to fill the role. Budenholzer was hired by the Atlanta Hawks last month as their new coach, and Fizdale has been mentioned as a potential hire in several cities so far during these playoffs.

It can be quite a distraction. But in the cases of Budenholzer and Fizdale, the task at hand in these finals takes absolute priority.

”For me he’s been a confidante for a long time, a really trusted professional and friend all at the same time,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Budenholzer, who’s been with him for all four of San Antonio’s previous championship runs. ”Highly gifted, highly intelligent young man who is going to do a great job, I believe.”

Budenholzer’s future is crystal clear: He’s moving to Atlanta.

In Fizdale’s case, any talk of his future is all speculation, most of which seems like news to him.

Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Tony Parker having fun, happy to be back in NBA Finals

Despite the notion they’re old, the Spurs are actually overall the younger, less-experienced team in these finals. Miami has nine players in their 30s to the six on the Spurs, and their Big Three and Bonner are the only Spurs to have played in the NBA Finals.

That makes it easier for the Spurs to enjoy this trip more than when they were the team expected to be here every year.

”We definitely are having fun,” Tony Parker said. ”I think we appreciate every moment. We don’t take anything for granted, because it’s been a long time. It’s been six years. Felt like forever. After the Memphis series, there was a lot of emotion.”

Heat veteran Shane Battier wasn’t exactly sold on the notion of this Spurs transformation into a happy-go-lucky group.

”Don’t believe them, first of all,” he said. ”They are extreme competitors and they have a level of self-deprecation I think that is part of them, but don’t buy it for one second. Those guys are killers. They’re cut-throat and they will stomp on you if need be, and we’re the same way.

”We appreciate the opportunity to play in the finals. Difficult to get here. Hardest thing you’ll do in this game is to try and win a championship, so we appreciate the opportunity and we want to make the most of it,” he said.

Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Mo Cheeks should be new Pistons coach soon

The Detroit Pistons appear poised to make Maurice Cheeks their next head coach, in the effort to end the revolving door at that spot.

Cheeks and the Pistons have been engaged in negotiations in recent days, as multiple sources expressed optimism this saga, that began with the team firing Lawrence Frank at season’s end and wound up with the Pistons going through the complicated process of interviewing multiple candidates, has reached its end.

The Pistons hope to get a deal done before the end of weekend. Frank being due to receive nearly $4 million next season — the last guaranteed year of his contract — along with a portion of his fourth year could complicate matters as far as Cheeks’ contract length and amount.

Currently an assistant with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Cheeks has helped with the development of guards Russell Westbrook, Reggie Jackson and former Thunder guard Eric Maynor, who was traded to Portland this season. It’s a background the Pistons liked, especially since they’re still figuring out what they have in 2011 first-round pick Brandon Knight and they hope Cheeks could be a good mentor for him…

Cheeks’ consistency probably outweighed his tangible resume, as his career record doesn’t jump out at anyone (284-286 in nine seasons in Portland and Philadelphia), but he’s highly regarded around the league, especially in Oklahoma City.

Reported by Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News