Inside Hoops – Page 1076 – NBA Blog

Charlotte Hornets hire Steve Hetzel as assistant coach

Charlotte Hornets General Manager Rich Cho announced today that the team has added Steve Hetzel as an assistant coach on the staff of Head Coach Steve Clifford.

Hetzel joins the Hornets after spending last season as head coach of the Canton Charge in the NBA D-League. Under Hetzel’s leadership, the Charge posted a 28-22 record, finishing second in the East Division and earning the seventh seed in the D-League playoffs.

Before moving to Canton, Hetzel spent four seasons with the Detroit Pistons as player development coach, where he was responsible for identifying the strengths and weaknesses of individual players and assisting with their growth throughout the season. Prior to joining the Pistons, Hetzel served as video coordinator for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2006-09. He got his start in the NBA as assistant video coordinator with the San Antonio Spurs in 2005-06.

Timberwolves hire Sam Mitchell as assistant coach

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced Sam Mitchell as an assistant coach on head coach Flip Saunders staff.

“We are excited to add Sam Mitchell to our coaching staff,” said head coach Flip Saunders. “As a player, Sam was always one of our more vocal leaders in the locker room and was a great influence on our team. Additionally his coaching experience, both as an assistant and as a head coach in Toronto, will make Sam a valuable member of our coaching staff.”

The 2006-07 NBA Coach of the Year, Mitchell brings four-plus seasons of head coaching experience to the Wolves bench, previously serving as head coach of the Toronto Raptors from 2004-2008. Mitchell led the Raptors to two playoff appearances as head coach, including a 47-35 record in 2006-07, a 20-game improvement from the previous season. Mitchell has also served two stints as an assistant coach, coaching under Avery Johnson in New Jersey during 2010-11 and George Karl in Milwaukee from 2002-04.

As a player Mitchell spent 13 years in the NBA, originally selected by the Houston Rockets in the third round of the 1985 NBA Draft. He played a couple of seasons in the minor leagues and overseas before finally landing in the NBA with the Wolves in 1989-90. Mitchell spent 10 seasons in Minnesota, including averaging 12.7 points in 80 games for the Wolves during the inaugural season. He appeared in 757 games with the Wolves in his career, averaging 9.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. He also played three seasons with Indiana, making an Eastern Conference Finals run with the Pacers in 1994-95.

Mitchell finished his career appearing in 994 regular season games and 59 postseason contests, missing just 40 games to injury or illness throughout his career. He finished his career with averages of 8.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.

Clippers may be interested in Lawrence Frank as assistant coach

Here’s the Los Angeles Times reporting on the Clippers:

Lawrence Frank, who was on [Doc] Rivers’ staff as an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics during the 2010-11 season, is being strongly considered for an assistant’s position with the Clippers, the executives said.

Frank was the lead assistant for Brooklyn Coach Jason Kidd at the start of this season, until Kidd had Frank removed from the bench and reassigned to another position with the Nets.

Frank still has five years and $5 million left on a Nets contract that pays him $1 million per season.

If Frank joins the Clippers, whatever salary they pay him would be “offset” by what he is still owed by the Nets.

Chris Andersen may opt out of Heat contract

Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel with a Heat update:

Miami Heat center Chris “Birdman” Andersen will opt-out of his contract to become a free agent, according to Yahoo Sports.

Andersen will decline his $1.5 million player option for next season, according to the report.

Andersen, who turns 36 on July 7, has been a steal for the Heat since he joined the team in 2013. His 2013-14 salary was only $1.4 million.

Clippers restructure their front office, promote Doc Rivers

The Los Angeles Clippers today announced a restructuring of the team’s basketball operations department. Doc Rivers, formerly Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach, will take on the title of President of Basketball Operations and continue as Head Coach.

Kevin Eastman, who served as an assistant coach with the Clippers last season and has been on the sidelines as an assistant with Rivers for nine years, moves into the role of Vice President of Basketball Operations and will report to Rivers. Eastman has been involved in college or professional basketball for 24 years as either a head or assistant coach, and will now supervise all facets of the Clippers Basketball Operations Department.

Dave Wohl becomes General Manager of the Clippers after working as the team’s Director of Professional Scouting last season. As General Manager, Wohl will direct the Clippers player personnel, draft and trade decisions.

Wohl brings more than four decades of NBA experience to his new role as General Manager. Prior to joining the Clippers, Wohl was an assistant coach for Minnesota from 2009-2011 and was the Assistant General Manager of the Boston Celtics from 2007-2009. He has also worked in various capacities for Orlando, Miami, Sacramento and the Lakers in addition to serving as the head coach of the New Jersey Nets from 1985-1988.

Working directly under Wohl will be Assistant General Manager Gary Sacks, Director of Scouting Gerald Madkins and Assistant Director of Scouting Jason Piombetti.

In addition, the Clippers have added Jud Winton to the Basketball Operations staff as Director of Analytics.

San Antonio hosting 2014 Spurs NBA championship parade

San Antonians are invited downtown this Wednesday, June 18 to help the San Antonio Spurs and the City of San Antonio celebrate a fifth NBA Championship.

A river parade community celebration begins at 6 p.m. on the River Walk. Following the river parade, the celebration will move to the Alamodome for a special ceremony beginning at 9 p.m.

“The City is proud of our Spurs,” said Mayor Julián Castro. “This fifth championship cements the Spurs’ legacy as one of the greatest sports franchises in history.”

The river parade will begin at 6 p.m. at the Arneson River Theater, travel through the River Center extension past the Convention Center and Rivercenter Mall and end at the Navarro Street Bridge. Barges will carry Spurs players and coaches, Spurs officials, former Spurs players, City and Bexar County officials, live musical entertainers and others down the San Antonio River.

– Fans will not be allowed to claim a spot on the River Walk to view the parade until 4 p.m. the day of the parade.
– Only those individuals with credentials will be allowed to view the parade from Arneson River Theater.
– Due to security precautions, no ice chests, alcoholic beverages, glass containers, chairs, shopping bags, packages, Silly String or similar items will be allowed on the River Walk.

Photo: 2014 San Antonio Spurs NBA championship gear

Photo of 2014 San Antonio Spurs NBA championship gear. The Spurs just won the title in five games, beating the Heat tonight.

LeBron James says he has been bothered by ankle for a few days

The Spurs currently lead the Heat 3-1 in the 2014 NBA Finals. Miami is coming off a Thursday home loss. Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting on the series and Heat star LeBron James:

What started with LeBron James unable to even make his way off the court due to cramps could close with the Miami Heat forward limping to the finish of these NBA Finals.

In the wake of Thursday’s 107-86 loss to the San Antonio Spurs that dropped the Heat to a 3-1 deficit in this best-of-seven series that continues Sunday at 8 p.m. at the AT&T Center, both James and coach Erik Spoelstra acknowledged an ongoing ankle issue briefly took James off the court in the first quarter of Game 4.

“I went to go get re-taped, re-tape my ankle,” James said early Friday. “It’s been kind of bothering me for the last couple days, but I felt OK.”

With James unable to finish Game 1 due to cramps exacerbated by an air-conditioning malfunction at the AT&T Center, the Heat were unable to hold off the Spurs. Thursday, James appeared to be easing his way into Game 4, with both James and Spoelstra insisting that the other time James left the bench at the outset was because of a bathroom break.

Tim Duncan keeps racking up NBA accomplishments

Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting on Spurs great Tim Duncan:

After the Spurs’ 107-86 Game 4 win over the Heat gave San Antonio a 3-1 edge in the best-of-seven NBA Finals, Tim Duncan was more interested in looking forward than reflecting on his own personal accomplishments, even if those accomplishments linked him to two of the game’s greats — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson.

Duncan passed them in two different statistical categories during the Spurs’ victory on Thursday. He played 31 minutes to total 8,869 career playoff minutes and edge Abdul-Jabbar’s total of 8,851 for first place on the NBA career list. Duncan’s 10 points and 11 rebounds gave him his 158th career playoff double-double, moving him ahead of Johnson (157) for the all-time NBA playoff lead.

Duncan is already the all-time playoff leader in blocked shots and is fourth all-time in games played, but for him, all of those individual numbers pale in comparison to what can come Sunday if the Spurs close out the Heat to bring home their fifth championship.

If that happens, it will be Duncan’s fifth title as well, putting him in even more elite company. Only 13 players in NBA history have won more championships than that while 12 players have won five titles.

Insight on why Rod Higgins left the Hornets

Here’s the Charlotte Observer reporting on the Hornets (the former Bobcats):

Owner Michael Jordan’s decision to give more power to general manager Rich Cho led to Rod Higgins leaving the Charlotte Hornets.

The Hornets abruptly announced Higgins’ departure as president of basketball operations just past midnight Friday, two weeks before the June 26 draft.

In an exclusive interview with the Charlotte Observer, Jordan said Friday that he recently offered Higgins a new contract and that they had agreed on financial terms. Then, about a week ago, Jordan told Higgins he wanted to rearrange some job responsibilities to better fit Higgins’ and Cho’s skill sets.

“Rod’s strong points are working with the coaches and the trainers, traveling with the team,” Jordan said. “He was my buffer zone with the coaches. I didn’t want to overwhelm them with ideas, so I’d work with Rod on that.”

Jordan said he wants Cho, with a background as an attorney, dealing more with budgets and managing the salary cap.