Manu Ginobili has won the league’s Sixth man of the year award. And he deserved it.

My question is, when he’s handed the award, is he going to flop backwards in an effort to draw a charging foul on whatever league official hands it to him?

I’m just kidding, of course. He’s a fantastic player. Who just happens to flop a bit more than a lot of other fantastic players.

General Manager John Hammond announced today that Scott Skiles has agreed to a multi-year contract to become the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks.  Skiles becomes the 11th head coach in the history of the franchise and comes to Milwaukee with eight seasons of NBA head coaching experience. “Scott is a proven NBA head coach who has shown an ability to win,” said Hammond.  “He was a passionate player at all levels of the game and that thirst for success has served him well as a coach.  We look forward to what he will bring to this franchise and we welcome him and his family to Milwaukee.”

Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today that the club has hired Scott Perry as Vice President of Basketball Operations.  “We are pleased to welcome back Scott Perry to the Pistons basketball operations staff,” said Dumars.  “Scott is familiar with the culture of our team and understands our goals we have as an organization.  Given his past experience with the club, I feel the transition will be seamless.” Perry, 44, re-joins the Pistons after serving as assistant general manager for the Seattle Supersonics for the 2007-08 campaign.  He first joined the Pistons organization as a college scout during the summer of 2000 and was promoted to director of player personnel in June of 2002.  Perry will be responsible for directing day-to-day operations of the basketball operations department, handling player personnel issues and assisting in roster development.

Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs is the winner of the NBA Sixth Man Award presented by Kia Motors as the league’s best player in a reserve role for the 2007-08 season, the NBA announced today. Ginobili received 615 out of a possible 620 points, including 123 of a possible 124 first-place votes, from a panel of 124 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Leandro Barbosa of the Phoenix Suns finished second with 283 points and Jason Terry of the Dallas Mavericks finished third with 44 points.

The Indianapolis Star (Mike Wells) reports: Danny Granger has set the bar as high as possible. “My goal is to be like Kobe (Bryant) because he scores and he locks people down on defense,” Granger said. “That’s my ultimate goal. I’ve never really created with my dribble. I need to become the isolation player where coach can come to me and I get a bucket for the team.” Granger carries himself like an emerging force who is ready to take the reins that Reggie Miller and Jermaine O’Neal have held for many years. It doesn’t hurt that he scored 30 or more points in three of the final four games. Basketball is more than offense, of course, and that’s what coach Jim O’Brien reminded him. “I think Danny will be an All-Star if he becomes a complete player,” O’Brien said. “A complete player being a guy that will be our best defensive player, that people know he’s our best defensive player. A guy that can absolutely shut the best player down.”