Inside Hoops – Page 747 – NBA Blog

Bucks hire Justin Zanik as assistant general manager

The Milwaukee Bucks today named Justin Zanik the team’s new assistant general manager. In his role within the organization, Zanik will participate in all areas of day-to-day basketball operations management.

Zanik joins Milwaukee after spending three years as the assistant general manager for the Utah Jazz, where he helped facilitate contract negotiations, managed the team’s salary cap and oversaw the scouting of international prospects, among other duties.

“We are thrilled to welcome Justin Zanik to our basketball operations department,” Bucks General Manager John Hammond said. “He is a proven executive who brings a diverse background and wealth of basketball knowledge to the Bucks family. We look forward to his contributions to our organization.”

Zanik has been involved in all aspects of athlete representation for the past 15 years, and has been a certified agent for the National Basketball Players Association since 2003. Prior to his experience with the Jazz, he served as Vice President of ASM Sports, where he oversaw all levels of career management for ASM’s basketball clients.

The 41-year-old was also Vice President of Basketball Operations for Priority Sports & Entertainment from 1998 through 2002, where he managed European player contract negotiations and assisted in the negotiation, research and recruitment of Priority’s NBA clients.

Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv names new head coach

Here’s Euroleague.net with news that an important Israeli basketball team has found its new head coach:

In an announcement on Thursday morning, Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv named Erez Edelstein, the current Israeli national team head coach, as the newest boss of its own bench for the upcoming Turkish Airlines Euroleague season. Edelstein, 54, takes over for Zan Tabak, who joined the club during last season and was let go on Wednesday. One of the most-respected coaches in Israel, Edelstein will coach in the Euroleague for the first time with Maccabi, though he did serve as Pini Gershon’s assistant coach at Olympiacos Piraeus a decade ago. Edelstein has previously found success with Hapoel Jerusalem, which he led to the Eurocup semifinals in 2006. He also has coached Hapoel Tel Aviv, Hapoel Galil Elyon and Maccabi Ramat Gan. Last summer he guided Israel into the round of 16 at EuroBasket 2015 before falling to Italy.

Alec Burks has surgery on knee, ankle

Utah Jazz guard Alec Burks underwent successful arthroscopic surgery Tuesday to clean out debris from his left knee and ankle.

The outpatient procedure was performed in Salt Lake City by Jazz head orthopaedic team physician Dr. Travis Maak, and ankle and foot specialist Dr. Charles L. Saltzman, the chair of the department of orthopaedics at University of Utah Health Care.

Burks is expected to be ready prior to the start of 2016-17 Jazz training camp.

The fifth-year guard averaged 13.3 points on a career-best 40.5 percent three-point shooting, with 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 25.7 minutes per game during the 2015-16 season. He was originally selected by the Jazz in the first round (12th overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft.

Pelicans hire Danny Ferry as a Special Advisor

The New Orleans Pelicans have hired Danny Ferry as a Special Advisor, team General Manager Dell Demps announced.

Ferry comes to New Orleans with 25 years of NBA experience as both a player and front office executive. He served as the President of Basketball Operations and General Manager for the Atlanta Hawks from 2012-15, where he oversaw the team’s basketball operations, including coaching, player personnel, contract negotiations and salary cap management.

“I am excited to announce Danny Ferry has accepted our offer to join the New Orleans Pelicans basketball operations staff as a special advisor,” said Demps. “Danny’s experience, insight and achievements will be a welcomed addition to the Pelicans as we continue our quest to improve the team.”

Prior to the Hawks, Ferry was a member of the San Antonio Spurs organization from 2010-12, where he held the role of Vice President of Basketball Operations. From 2005-10, Ferry served as the General Manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Under his guidance, the Cavaliers posted a 272-138 (.663) record, experienced the NBA’s best regular season record in both 2008-09 and 2009-10 and advanced to the 2007 NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.

Giving Dwane Casey an extension was easy decision for Raptors

Here’s the Toronto Sun reporting on the Raptors, who have decided that coach Dwane Casey is worth keeping around for the foreseeable future:

Masai Ujiri and Dwane Casey aren’t always in agreement, but if they were, it’s a good bet they wouldn’t have lasted so long together.

Ujiri, the Raptors’ president and general manager doesn’t want a yes-man as his head coach. Fortunately Casey is no yes-man.

The two paired up three years ago, Ujiri inheriting Casey from Bryan Colangelo of the previous regime.

He’s had a few chances to walk away from Casey but each and every time he has stayed with him.

The latest is a (finally) confirmed three-year deal that will pay Casey a well-earned $18 million over the length of the contract.

Ujiri made this decision before the playoffs started telling the media Casey was his coach going forward, so the extended playoff run had nothing to do with this.

Sean Rooks has died

The following is a statement from co-Managing Owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer on behalf of the Philadelphia 76ers, regarding the untimely passing of Sean Rooks:

“It is with a profound deal of sadness that we mourn the sudden loss of a beloved son, father and friend, Sean Rooks. Words simply cannot express the heartbreak and shock our entire organization is feeling over this loss.

“Sean will long be remembered not for his accomplishments on the court – of which there were many – but for his vibrant personality, positive outlook and the genuine care he had for everyone in his life.

“While he is gone far too soon, we will all hold close the time we were able to spend with Sean here in Philadelphia. Our thoughts and prayers are with his mother, Deborah, and his children, Kameron and Khayla, and all of those who were close to him during this extremely difficult time.”

More on Sean Rooks Passing Away

According to Yahoo Sports, “hours after interviewing for an assistant-coaching job with the New York Knicks on Tuesday, former NBA center Sean Rooks collapsed and died in a Philadelphia restaurant. Rooks, considered a warm and engaging gentleman within the basketball community, had been a player-development coach for the past two years with the Philadelphia 76ers.”

Kevin Love going through NBA Concussion Protocol

The Warriors beat the Cavs 110-77 Sunday night to take a 2-0 NBA Finals lead. Cavs forward Kevin Love did little in his nearly 21 minutes of play, shooting 2-of-7 and grabbing just three rebounds. But he did get nailed in the head, leading to what is hopefully nothing. But, to be safe, he’s been placed in NBA Concussion Protocol. Here’s the Cavs’ announcement, which came during the second half:

Cavaliers forward Kevin Love experienced dizziness after returning to play at the start of the second half of tonight’s NBA Finals Game 2. He was taken to the locker room for further examination. As a result of that exam, Love was placed in the NBA Concussion Protocol and did not return to play. Love did not exhibit any signs or symptoms during the first half, or at halftime, that would have caused him to be placed in the concussion protocol prior to the third quarter. His status will be updated as appropriate.

Draymond Green shines, Warriors win NBA Finals Game 2

Here’s CSN Bay Area reporting on Sunday’s Finals Game 2, which thanks to Draymond Green and friends resulted in a blowout Warriors victory for a 2-0 Golden State championship series lead:

The Cleveland Cavaliers came into the NBA Finals with a clear defensive game plan that essentially insults Warriors forward Draymond Green.

The strategy: Lay off him and spend your defensive energy on his teammates, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson in particular.

This did not go well for the Cavs in Game 1 and was downright disastrous in Game 2 Sunday night.

Given plenty of room to shoot or pass, Green as a frequent ball-handler did plenty of both and was largely responsible for a 110-77 demolition of the Eastern Conference champions before an ecstatic sellout crowd (19,596) at Oracle Arena…

Green poured in a game-high 28 points, draining 5-of-8 from 3-point distance, adding seven rebounds and a team-high-trying five assists. He committed one turnover, posting a plus-20 in 34 minutes of playing time.

Isaiah Thomas recruiting Kevin Durant

The Celtics finished the regular season with a very impressive 48-34 record. They have excellent coaching, and players who compliment each others’ skills nicely. But that was probably their ceiling, as the current roster goes. The team is armed with a ton of draft picks, but most rookies have limited impact. Now, as for free agency, and really fun ideas and big goals, here’s the Boston Globe reporting:

Isaiah Thomas wants Kevin Durant on the Celtics

As Isaiah Thomas sat on his porch at home in Tacoma, Wash., last Monday after watching the Thunder lose Game 7 of the Western Conference finals to the Warriors, he had an idea.

The Celtics point guard knows, like everyone else, that Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant will become a free agent this summer. He also knows, like everyone else, that adding Durant to a roster would have a seismic impact.

And in that moment on that porch, be thought it might be a good time to spice up the Durant-to-Boston narrative, no matter how unlikely a prospect it might be. So he grabbed his iPhone, opened Twitter, and posted Durant’s No. 35 next to a green shamrock. It was simple, but not especially subtle.

“I just wanted the world to know, that’s who I’m trying to get,” Thomas said.

On Kevin Durant free agency

Will Kevin Durant stick with the OKC Thunder? If we had to guess, yes, he probably will. The team was just one win away, in an insanely competitive Western conference, from reaching the 2016 NBA Finals. How many better situations for Durant are there in the league? Very few. And on this topic, here’s the Oklahoman reporting:

As Nick Collison said in his exit interview, there’s no selling Kevin Durant on the Thunder. No recruiting pitch needed. He knows everything about the city, the organization, the team’s infrastructure and the young roster.

Perhaps he’ll take visits elsewhere, allowing him to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of staying or going. But Presti’s case has already been laid. All he needs to do is hand Durant a blank piece of paper and tell him to write his contract.

There are no assurances Durant will stay. His decision is monumental for this organization, carrying extreme ripple affects in the immediate and long term. But at this point, OKC’s front office can only sit back and wait.