Month: May 2014

Lance Stephenson no lock to return to Pacers

Here’s ESPN.com reporting on Indiana Pacers shooting guard Lance Stephenson. The team was eliminated Friday by the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals:

lance stephenson free agency

Lance Stephenson’s recent production hints he is due a major pay day as the shooting guard hits the free-agent market this summer.

But after the Indiana Pacers’ ouster in the East finals, his teammates had mixed reactions about his future in the wake of a number of Stephenson-fueled controversies.

Paul George, who like Stephenson was drafted by the Pacers in 2010 and helped build the team into a contender in the East, was ambivalent when asked if Stephenson would be back.

“I don’t know. That’s for Larry, Kevin Pritchard, for them to decide,” George said of president Larry Bird and the Pacers’ general manager.

George later tempered his reaction, saying he and Stephenson “came into this league together. It would be great for us to continue our journey together.”

NBA, Shelly Sterling and the Sterling Family Trust resolve Clippers dispute

ANNOUNCEMENT FROM NBA AT 6:50 P.M. ET TODAY:

The NBA, Shelly Sterling and the Sterling Family Trust today resolved their dispute over the ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers. Under the agreement, the Clippers will be sold to Steve Ballmer, pending approval by the NBA Board of Governors, and the NBA will withdraw its pending charge to terminate the Sterlings’ ownership of the team.

Because of the binding agreement to sell the team, the NBA termination hearing that had been scheduled for June 3 in New York City has now been cancelled. Mrs. Sterling and the Trust also agreed not to sue the NBA and to indemnify the NBA against lawsuits from others, including from Donald Sterling.

Quin Snyder emerging as candidate for Utah Jazz coaching job

Here’s the Deseret News reporting on the Utah Jazz search for a new head coach:

Over the years, Quin Snyder has played for and worked with Mike Krzyzewski. The 47-year-old became a national coaching star while guiding the Missouri Tigers from 1999-2006. He’s been an NBA assistant on multiple occasions, including with the Atlanta Hawks most recently.

By the way, he’s also worked with Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey.

Now, Snyder has emerged as a leading candidate to become the next head coach of the Utah Jazz, according to multiple sources.

“It’s very plausible,” one source told the Deseret News when speaking of Snyder possibly being hired by the Jazz.

Another source said Snyder is “very high on a short list” of Jazz coaching candidates.

Steve Ballmer willing to pay $2 billion for Clippers

Steve Ballmer willing to pay $2 billion for Clippers

Shelly Sterling has informed the NBA of her deal with Steve Ballmer to purchase the Los Angeles Clippers, but the league isn’t ready to call off next week’s owners hearing just yet.

First, it needs more information about the potential record-breaking $2 billion sale she agreed to with the former Microsoft CEO.

“We await the submission of necessary documentation from Mrs. Sterling,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said Friday in a statement. “In the meantime, the June 3 special meeting of the NBA Board of Governors remains as scheduled.”

The league is planning a hearing that day to consider the charge against her husband, Donald Sterling, for damaging the league with his racist comments. Owners could vote to terminate his ownership – and Shelly’s as well – during that hearing.

But Commissioner Adam Silver has said he would prefer the Sterlings sell the team, and Shelly Sterling announced late Thursday night that she’d signed a binding contract for a sale of the Clippers by The Sterling Family Trust to Ballmer.

— Associated Press

Cavaliers meet with Alvin Gentry about head coaching job

Cavaliers meet with Alvin Gentry about head coaching job

The Cavaliers are spending their second day with a Clippers assistant, interviewing Alvin Gentry to be their head coach.

Gentry is the third known candidate to interview with the Cavs this week. They met with Chicago assistant Adrian Griffin on Tuesday, and the Cavs interviewed Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue on Thursday. Both Griffin and Lue are highly regarded but lack NBA head-coaching experience.

Cleveland will meet with former Memphis coach Lionel Hollins on Saturday.

— Associated Press

May 30 NBA statement regarding proposed sale of Clippers

The following statement has been issued by Mike Bass, Executive Vice President, Communications, regarding the proposed sale of the Los Angeles Clippers:

“Commissioner Silver has consistently said the preferred outcome to the Clippers proceeding would be a voluntary sale of the team. Shelly Sterling advised the NBA last night that an agreement had been reached with Steve Ballmer, and the NBA Advisory/Finance Committee met via conference call this morning to discuss these developments. We await the submission of necessary documentation from Mrs. Sterling. In the meantime, the June 3 special meeting of the NBA Board of Governors remains as scheduled.”

Sixers might build practice center in Camden

Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer reporting on the Sixers:

The 76ers are eyeing Camden’s waterfront to build a state-of-the-art practice facility and offices to serve as their administrative hub, sources say.

The team has rented space to practice in the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in West Philadelphia since 1999 but has been looking for a site to build its own facility. The team would continue to play games at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philadelphia.

Sixers CEO Scott O’Neil did not comment on the potential move and said in an e-mailed statement, “We are continuing to do our due diligence regarding this project and are looking at a number of sites for our training center, which includes several locations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.”

Lance Stephenson, Roy Hibbert fined for flopping

Lance Stephenson and Roy Hibbert of the Indiana Pacers have each been fined by the NBA in separate incidents for violating the league’s anti-flopping rules during Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Stephenson has been fined $10,000 for his second violation of the 2014 NBA Playoffs which occurred with 8:23 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Pacers’ 93-90 win over the Miami Heat last night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Hibbert has been fined $5,000 for his first violation which occurred last night with 5:18 remaining in the fourth quarter.

To view the plays click on the following links:  Stephenson flop, and Hibbert flop.