Inside Hoops – Page 744 – NBA Blog

Richard Jefferson is retiring. Maybe.

The Cavaliers beat the Warriors in Game 7 last night to win the 2016 NBA championship. Veteran small forward Richard Jefferson emerged as a big-time contributor to the Cavs. And now, will RJ hang up his sneakers? Probably. But not definitely. ESPN.com reports:

“I am retiring. I am retiring,” he told Fox Sports Ohio as he celebrated.

Later, in an interview on NBA TV, Jefferson said: “My teammates keep trying to talk me out of it, and I’m like guys, this has been the most stressful month of my life. I was like, ‘I don’t know.'”

Jefferson then told ESPN of retirement: “Maybe. If you ask me now, yes. But we’ll see.”

Definition of Warriors season

The NBA playoffs are down to one game. NBA Finals Game 7 is Sunday night at Golden State. And for some key Warriors players, a Game 7 loss would define the entire season as a failure. Here’s CSN Bay Area reporting:

After nearly nine months reaping the benefits of unity, being of one mindset, the Warriors are, in at least one regard, splintering as they approach Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

A loss would slap the term “failure” on this season, say guards Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.

“Yeah, pretty much, because that was our goal from the beginning,” Curry said Saturday, on the eve of Game 7, echoing comments Thompson made two days earlier.

A loss would not define the season as a failure, says coach Steve Kerr, who took mild umbrage that someone would frame such a question.

Dante Exum will not play for Team Australia this summer

Utah Jazz guard Danté Exum will not participate in Australian National Team activities this summer.

Exum will instead focus on his preparation for the 2016-17 Jazz season. His rehabilitation and recovery process has continued to progress accordingly according to the team, and he was recently cleared for full-contact basketball activities.

“At this stage the most important thing for me right now is to continue training,” said Exum. “It’s been great to be back on the court competing, and I’m really motivated to help the Jazz have a successful season this year. My support and best wishes will be with the Boomers this summer, and I look forward to future opportunities to represent my home country.”

The 20-year-old guard underwent successful surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee on Sept. 3, 2015, after having sustained a tear of the ACL on Aug. 4 while competing for the Australian National Team in a game against the Slovenian National Team in Ljubljana, Slovenia. As a result of the injury, he missed the entire 2015-16 NBA season.

The 6-6, 205-pound native of Melbourne, Australia, averaged 4.8 points, 2.4 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 22.2 minutes as a rookie during the 2014-15 season and was selected to compete in the 2015 Rising Stars Challenge during NBA All-Star Weekend. He also became just the 10th rookie in Jazz history to appear in all 82 games, starting 41 of those. Exum was originally selected by the Jazz in the first round (fifth overall) of the 2014 NBA Draft.

Buddy Hield works out for Lakers

The 2016 Draft is approaching, and one prospect worth keeping an eye on is 6-4, 214-pound senior Oklahoma guard Buddy Hield. Here’s ESPN LA reporting:

Buddy Hield wasn’t satisfied with his shooting performance during his private workout for the Los Angeles Lakers at their practice facility in El Segundo, California, on Saturday, so he asked for another try. And then another one.

During his last go-round, which was in front of a contingent of media, Hield started off hot before missing consecutive shots. He began yelling to pump himself up, saying, “C’mon Buddy Fresh!”

After the pep talk, Hield went on a shooting streak, exhibiting the elite stroke that made the Lakers bring him in for a second workout and has them considering him with the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA draft on Thursday.

When asked how “Buddy Fresh” inspired the uptick in shooting, Hield revealed his on-court alter ego.

“It’s my own nickname. It’s my alter ego,” Hield said.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra buys new house

Here’s the Miami Herald with some off-court reporting:

Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who’s getting married to a former Heat dancer in July, has already upgraded his living quarters from his bachelor’s condo.

Spo, 45, just plunked down $2.6 million for a historic house in Coconut Grove, according to property records. He is set to get hitched to former cheerleader Nikki Sapp July 1…

Unlike his players, who often pay cash for their houses, Spoelstra got a mortgage just like the rest of us shleppers. Naples-based Florida Community Bank gave Spo a $1.95 million mortgage.

Timberwolves CEO Rob Moor resigns

The Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx announced today that Rob Moor, who served as CEO for both franchises, is resigning from his position with the teams. Moor is transitioning to a role that will assist in the oversight of the holdings and business interests of Glen Taylor.

“I have been a part of the Timberwolves and Lynx organizations for over 20 years. I am extremely proud of the direction of the Timberwolves, and of the accomplishments of the three-time WNBA Champion Lynx,” said Moor. “It has been an honor to work with such a great group of fellow professionals.

“Glen has planned that the family assets will eventually move to a foundation,” Moor continued. “I am honored that Glen would select me to join a team that will be responsible for safeguarding those assets and seeing them continue to develop in the future.”

“As I continue preparations for succession planning, I recognize that our family’s assets have reached the point where a new approach needed to take place,” said Timberwolves and Lynx majority owner Glen Taylor. “The management and oversight over this diverse portfolio of companies requires more involvement by the family than they have in the past. Thus, I have asked Rob to join me in support of the oversight over these companies. Rob has worked with me since the beginning of my ownership of the Timberwolves and Lynx. Together, we have built a franchise that has a very promising future. His contributions, friendship and leadership are things that I will value in his new role and responsibilities.”

Moor’s replacement as Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx CEO will be determined in the near future.

Pistons announce basketball operations staff changes

Detroit Pistons Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations Stan Van Gundy a few days ago announced promotions and restructuring within the basketball operations staff.

Pat Garrity has been promoted to assistant general manager, Andrew Loomis to chief of staff and Bob Beyer to associate head coach. Otis Smith joins the Pistons’ staff as director of player development/assistant coach while assistant coach Brendan Malone will transition to a special assignment scout, residing in New York. Quentin Richardson is leaving the organization for personal reasons.

“I’m proud to announce the restructuring of our basketball staff knowing that we have great people expanding their roles while maintaining continuity within our department,” said Van Gundy. “Pat, Andrew and Bob are well deserving of new responsibilities and we welcome Otis to Detroit on a full-time basis. Brendan is moving away from the bench and returning to his New York roots, but will continue to provide great basketball counsel and insight that has made him a great basketball mind for decades. We thank Quentin for his hard work over the last two seasons and respect his desire to spend more time with his family in Orlando.”

Garrity, formerly director of strategic planning, joined the Pistons in 2014 following a 10-year NBA playing career and three-plus working as a client advisor for a Connecticut-based hedge fund. Drafted 19th overall in the 1998 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, Garrity was sent to the Phoenix Suns in a draft-day trade. After one season with the Suns, he was traded to the Magic where he played from 1999-2008. He played for Van Gundy in 2007-08 and posted career averages of 7.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 552 NBA games.

A four-year player at the University of Notre Dame, Garrity averaged 18.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 111 games for the Fighting Irish. He graduated with a BS in Science, Pre-Professional Studies from Notre Dame and, following his retirement from the NBA in 2008, earned an MBA with a concentration in Investment Finance from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

Loomis served the last two seasons as executive director of basketball operations for the Pistons. Previously, he spent three-and-a-half seasons with the Golden State and Santa Cruz Warriors. Over the last two seasons, he’s helped in the management of the basketball operations of the Grand Rapids Drive – the NBA D-League affiliate of the Detroit Pistons. Prior to joining the Pistons, Loomis led the player development efforts for the Golden State Warriors while also serving as the assistant general manager of the Santa Cruz Warriors. He also spent eight seasons with the New Orleans Hornets in various capacities including; researching and compiling statistical information on prospective players, evaluating salary cap implications for potential trades and free agent signings, ensuring compliance with the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement and assisting with the implementation of player development initiatives and community relations activities.

Beyer recently completed his second season as an assistant coach with the Pistons after serving as an assistant coach with the Charlotte Bobcats during the 2013-14 season. A coaching veteran with over 30 years of experience at the NBA and collegiate levels, Beyer spent the 2012-13 season as an assistant coach with Golden State. Prior to that, he spent five seasons on Van Gundy’s staff with the Orlando Magic from 2007-12. Beyer’s NBA coaching career began with the Toronto Raptors, when he served as an assistant coach in 2003-04 and as the team’s advance scout in 2004-05. At the college level, he spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Texas Tech University under legendary Coach Bob Knight from 2001-03 and served as head coach at Siena College from 1994-97. His college coaching career also includes stints as an assistant coach at the University of Albany (1985-89), Siena (1989-93), the University of Wisconsin (1994-97), Northwestern University (1997-2000) and the University of Dayton (2005-07).

Smith joins the Pistons staff after serving as head coach of the Grand Rapids Drive for the last two seasons. A veteran of 25-plus years of basketball experience, Smith served as president of basketball operations/general manager of the Orlando Magic from 2010-12. He first joined the Magic as director of player development in 2003-04 and was promoted to assistant general manager in 2005-06 before being named general manager in May of 2006. Under Smith’s leadership Orlando made the playoffs six times, recorded a franchise-record four straight seasons with 50-plus wins (2007-11), won three Southeast Division Titles (2007-10) and reached the NBA Finals in 2009. During his time with the Magic, the team accumulated a record of 299-177 (.628).

Prior to his time with Orlando, Smith spent the 2002-03 season as executive director of basketball operations with the Golden State Warriors. He also served as director of community relations/Warriors foundation for Golden State from 1999-02 and as community relations manager with the Orlando Magic from 1996-98. As a player, Smith appeared in 375 career NBA regular-season games with Denver, Golden State and Orlando, averaging 10.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals in 20.6 minutes.

Malone recently completed his second year of his second stint as an assistant coach with the Pistons. He previously served as an assistant coach in Detroit from 1988-95, including four seasons (1988-92) on Hall-of-Fame Coach Chuck Daly’s staff when he helped the Pistons win back-to-back NBA titles in 1989 and 1990. Malone has 30-plus years of NBA coaching experience. He was named the first ever head coach of the expansion Toronto Raptors in 1995 and served as an assistant coach on Van Gundy’s staff in Orlando from 2007-12.

A New York native, Malone’s NBA coaching career began with the New York Knicks as an assistant coach in 1986. He later had two more stints with the Knicks (1997-00 and 2003-04). He’s also served as an assistant coach with the Indiana Pacers (2000-03) and Cleveland Cavaliers (2004-05), where he took over as head coach for the final 18 games of that season. Collegiately, Malone worked as an assistant coach at Fordham (1976-77), Yale (1977-78) and Syracuse (1978-84) before becoming the head coach at the University of Rhode Island (1984-86).

Richardson joined the Pistons in 2014 as director of player development following a 13-year NBA playing career.

Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr fined by NBA

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and head coach Steve Kerr have each been fined $25,000 for separate incidents, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

Curry has been fined $25,000 for throwing his mouthpiece into the spectator stands.

Curry, occurred with 4:22 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Warriors’ 115-101 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers during Game 6 of The Finals on June 16 at Quicken Loans Arena.

Kerr has been fined $25,000 for public criticism of the officiating during his press conference following the same game.

Pistons trade Spencer Dinwiddie to Bulls for Cameron Bairstow

Ladies and gentlemen, we have an NBA trade. The Detroit Pistons have acquired forward Cameron Bairstow from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for guard Spencer Dinwiddie.

Bairstow, 25, appeared in 18 games (two starts) with Chicago last season, averaging 1.9 points, 1.6 rebounds and 5.7 minutes. The two-year NBA pro was drafted out of the University of New Mexico with the 49th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. As a senior for the Lobos, he averaged a Mountain West Conference-high 20.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 32.9 minutes in 34 games (all starts). A native of Brisbane, Australia, Bairstow holds career averages of 1.2 points, 1.0 rebounds and 4.6 minutes in 36 NBA games (three starts) all with the Bulls.

Dinwiddie, 23, completed his second NBA season with averages of 4.8 points, 1.8 assists, 1.4 rebounds and 13.3 minutes in 12 games. Drafted by the Pistons with the 38th overall selection in the 2014 NBA Draft out of the University of Colorado, Dinwiddie owns career averages of 4.4 points, 2.7 assists, 1.4 rebounds and 13.3 minutes in NBA 46 games (one start).

Kristaps Porzingis pleased with hiring of Jeff Hornacek

Whenever a team hires a new head coach, it’s only natural that players on the team will say positive things about their new leader. Still, it’s always interesting to see the exact wording the players use and what they choose to emphasize about the coach. Here’s ESPN NY reporting on the Knicks:

Just like nearly everyone else following the New York Knicks’ coaching search, Kristaps Porzingis was surprised when he first heard the club decided to hire Jeff Hornacek.

“There were a lot of names, coming up — David Blatt, [Frank] Vogel. Hornacek just came out of the nowhere,” Porzingis said in an interview with ESPN this week from his youth camp in Liepaja, Latvia. “I think it’s a really good decision from [team president] Phil [Jackson] and [GM] Steve [Mills].”

Yes, Hornacek received approval from one of the most important members of the Knicks franchise this week. Porzingis told ESPN that he’s looking forward to working with his new head coach.

“I think he’s a very smart coach. He knows how to use his players and that’s exactly what we need,” Porzingis said.