Inside Hoops – Page 1806 – NBA Blog

Grant Hill leaning towards joining Knicks

The Knicks are on the verge of landing Grant Hill, according to two NBA sources.

Hill, the Suns free agent, deliberated for the past few days between making the jump to New York or staying with the Phoenix Suns, which are in rebuilding mode.

Hill is close to accepting the big challenge of the Big Apple.

“It’s not 100 percent done, but he’s leaning,’’ one source said.

Hill and his wife, Tamia, a recording artist, are enamored with New York but were concerned about uprooting their two kids in grade school. Hill also was worried about leaving the renowned Suns’ training staff.

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

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Kings offer Chuck Hayes $20 million

The Sacramento Kings have offered a four-year contract valued at $20 million to Houston Rockets free agent Chuck Hayes, according to a team source.

The under-the-cap Kings, according to the source, are optimistic Hayes will accept the deal, which would pay the 6-foot-6 forward in the mid-level exception ballpark of $5 million annually.

Said another source close to the process: “Look for [Hayes] to take it.”

— Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com

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Roger Mason may return to Washington, DC

The Wizards are close to bringing back District native Roger Mason Jr. Players are unable to reach oral or written deals with teams until the new collective bargaining agreement is ratified but Mason is set to have his second run with his hometown team, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation.

One person, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions, said on Wednesday that Mason is expected to join the team for the first day of training camp on Friday. The deal is expected to be for one year at the veteran minimum.

— Reported by Michael Lee of the Washington Post (Blog)

Atlanta Hawks will sign Tracy McGrady

Veteran free agent forward Tracy McGrady plans to sign a one-year contract with the Hawks, according to a person with knowledge of McGrady’s intentions.

The person did not want to be identified because NBA teams are not allowed to agree to terms until Friday, after the new collective bargaining agreement is ratified by players and owners. However, the person said McGrady told the Hawks he would sign a contract for the veteran’s minimum once the rules allow it.

McGrady, 32, was the No. 9 overall pick by Toronto in the 1997 draft. He was an All-Star for Orlando and Houston from 2000-01 to 2006-07, but a series of injuries contributed to his steady decline.

McGrady rejuvenated his career last season in Detroit, where he started 39 of 72 games and averaged eight points and 3.5 assists while shooting 44 percent from the field. McGrady served as a so-called “point forward” for the Pistons because of his ballhandling and passing skills.

— Reported by Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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Ricky Rubio arrives in Minnesota, ready for rookie season

On his first winter morning in Minnesota, Ricky Rubio could have taken one of the many skyways that connect his downtown hotel to Target Center to avoid the cold.

Instead, Rubio decided to walk the couple of blocks outdoors to take in all the sights, sounds, and goose bumps that his new home brings with it.

“When I came to Target Center I decide to come in the street because I want to feel the weather,” Rubio said on Wednesday before going through a light workout. “It was a cold, a little.”

The NBA’s owners and players are still ironing out the details of a tentative labor agreement they reached over Thanksgiving weekend that would end the five-month lockout. In the most obvious sign yet that there are still wrinkles to be taken care of, Rubio was locked out of the arena when he arrived on Wednesday.

Literally.

“I was knocking on the door and nobody was opening,” he said with a chuckle. “I was like, `Cmon man.”’

Several Minnesota Timberwolves trickled into Target Center for voluntary workouts on Wednesday, two days before training camp is tentatively scheduled to begin. Wes Johnson, Anthony Tolliver, Michael Beasley, Darko Milicic and Nikola Pekovic joined All-Star Kevin Love, who has been in town for a couple of days.

— Reported by Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press

Clippers hire new assistant trainer

The Los Angeles Clippers today announced that Joe Resendez has been named the team’s Assistant Athletic Trainer/Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach. Resendez spent the last four seasons as the Athletic Trainer/Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League. He came to the Vipers for their inaugural season after a two-year stint as the men’s basketball athletic trainer at Louisiana Tech, where he earned his Master of Science in Exercise Physiology in 2006.

After earning his Bachelor of Science in kinesiology with an emphasis in sports medicine from the University of Texas-Pan American in 2003, the Brownsville native spent one season as the Assistant Athletic Trainer at the University of Texas-San Antonio.

Resendez is a certified athletic trainer through the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) and as a performance enhancement specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM). He also served as physiotherapist for the Great Britain National Futures team during the summer of 2010.

Warriors tell Stephen Curry they will keep him

Stephen Curry said he got assurances from general manager Larry Riley and coach Mark Jackson that he’s staying with the Warriors. The point guard has been rumored as part of a trade package that would bring Chris Paul from New Orleans.

Question: Have you talked to anyone with the Warriors about the rumors?

Stephen Curry: “I’ve talked to Larry (Riley), and I’ve talked to Coach (Mark) Jackson. They told me that I’m safe and secure here with the Warriors. They want me here. Obviously, this is a business and there are things can happen where a GM has to make a decision in the best interest of the team. When you have a guy like, Chris Paul, who is a franchise-changer, it’s something you have to think about with anybody on your roster. I understand that, and I’m not going to be upset if they entertain it. It’s nice to be in the conversation with a guy like that. It’s something that is going to happen when you’re in this business, and you have to run with it.”

— Reported by Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle (Blog)

Carlos Arroyo interested in Knicks

In addition to a starting center, the Knicks have been on the hunt for a solid backup point guard for Chauncey Billups, and they’ve reportedly contacted unrestricted free agent J.J. Barea.

But there’s another Puerto Rican who would fit well in New York: Carlos Arroyo, who played for the Heat and Celtics last season.

“I love New York,” Arroyo told ESPNNewYork.com. “It would be a great situation for me — aside from being the largest Puerto Rican population in the U.S. (laughs). I have a great relationship with Chauncey, Melo and Amare, especially with Chauncey since we played together in Detroit [from 2004 to ’06].”

— Reported by Jared Zwerling of ESPN NY

Kings hire Jim Todd as assistant coach

Sacramento Kings’ President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie today announced the hiring of Jim Todd as an assistant coach. He joins current assistant coaches Jim Eyen, Keith Smart and Bobby Jackson on Head Coach Paul Westphal’s staff.

Todd coached in China last season and also served as an assistant coach for the Canadian National Men’s Basketball team at the 2010 FIBA World Championship Games in Turkey. He has been involved in coaching at the high school, college and pro level since 1976. Todd, who is no stranger to coaching in the NBA, was an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks from 2008-2010. Prior to his assignment in Atlanta, he spent the 2007-08 campaign as an assistant coach for Milwaukee in his third stint with the Bucks. Todd spent three seasons as an assistant coach with Toronto (2004-2007), and the Raptors won a franchise-record 47 games and the Atlantic Division title in his final season. He began his NBA career as an assistant coach under Chris Ford with the Bucks from 1996-98. Todd followed Ford to the Los Angeles Clippers in 1998, and was named interim head coach of the Clippers on February 3, 2000.

An assistant coach at DePaul University in 2001-02, Todd then returned to Milwaukee as an assistant

coach the following two seasons, helping guide Milwaukee to back-to-back playoff trips.

After graduating with a Masters in Education from Fitchburg State (his alma mater) in 1976, Todd led

Notre Dame (MA) High School to a 26-2 record and the state title. From 1977-86, he worked as a head coach at Fitchburg State, an assistant at Columbia University and Marist College, and an associate head coach at Manhattan College. He helped lead Marist to its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance, and worked with future NBA center Rik Smits.

Todd was head coach at Salem State from 1987-96, recording a 192-57 (.771) mark, including a 110-10 (.917) record in Conference play. He led the school to eight Division III NCAA tourney appearances, and was named NCAA New England Coach of the Year in 1990. He also coached Salem State’s golf team, leading them to three NCAA appearances.

A member of both the Salem State and Fitchburg State Halls of Fame, Todd was recently inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame.

Spurs to use amnesty clause on Richard Jefferson

The Richard Jefferson era in San Antonio appears over.

According to an NBA source, the Spurs plan to exercise their amnesty provision on Jefferson’s contract, once that option becomes available to them upon completion of the new collective bargaining agreement. A source familiar with the Spurs front office’s thinking said the team is awaiting to see the finalized amnesty rule before coming to a final decision, but the team is strongly considering jettisoning Jefferson.

The move, first reported by Yahoo! Sports, would wipe from the books the remaining three years of Jefferson’s contract worth nearly $30.5 million, $9.2 million of which is due this season, and give the Spurs financial freedom to pursue a new starting small forward in free agency.

That replacement, in fact, might be already be in San Antonio.

Not long before word of Jefferson’s impending release broke, free agent Caron Butler wrapped up a visit in San Antonio his agent, Raymond Brothers, said “went flawlessly.”

— Reported by Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-New Blog

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