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Scott Skiles resigns as Magic coach

Scott Skiles has resigned as head coach of the Orlando Magic, General Manager Rob Hennigan announced today. The search for a new head coach will begin immediately.

“After much thought and careful consideration, I and I alone, have come to the conclusion that I am not the right head coach for this team,” said Skiles. “Therefore, effective immediately, I resign my position as head coach of the Orlando Magic. I realize this type of decision can cause much speculation. The reality though is in the first sentence. It is simple and true. Any other rumors are pure conjecture.”

“I sincerely apologize for any unintended consequences that may adversely affect anyone associated with this decision,” Skiles continued. “The Magic are a world-class organization that employs world-class people. I wish them nothing but great success. I will always be thankful, especially to the DeVos family, for the opportunity.”

“While we understand it was a challenging season, we reluctantly have accepted Scott’s (Skiles) resignation,” said Hennigan. “We appreciate Scott instilling a culture of accountability and certainly wish him and his family well.”

According to ESPN.com, “While philosophical issues appear to be the central reason Skiles resigned, sources tell ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst that he was also unhappy that an option year in his contract was not picked up. Skiles’ contract with Orlando was set to run through the 2017-18 season with a team option for 2018-19. In what can now be interpreted as a split with the organization, Skiles was not with the Magic delegation interviewing draft prospects at the combine in Chicago Wednesday, according to the Orlando Sentinel.”

Skiles, 52, became the 12th head coach in Orlando Magic history on May 29, 2015. He has an overall NBA regular season record of 478-480 (.499) as head coach with Phoenix, Chicago, Milwaukee and Orlando. During his 14 seasons as a head coach, his teams have reached the NBA Playoffs six times.

During his first season with the Magic (2015-16), Orlando finished with a 35-47 record, which was a ten-game improvement from the 2014-15 campaign, the fifth-largest increase season-over-season in franchise history. The Magic went 9-6 during November, marking their first winning month since March 2012, then an Eastern Conference-best 10-5 during December. Skiles was named the NBA’s Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for December 2015, marking the fourth time he has won the monthly honor (Jan. 2005, Apr. 2006, Feb. 2010).

Jimmy Butler will reportedly represent Bulls at Draft Lottery

The Bulls finished 42-40 this past regular season and failed to qualify for the playoffs. A profound disappointment. Their leading scorer was shooting guard Jimmy Butler, who in 67 games played averaged 20.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.6 steals in 36.9 minutes per outing. Butler is also the team’s most valuable asset should management decide to make big trades, blow this whole thing up and rebuild the squad from scratch. Will it happen? Here’s the Chicago Tribune with the latest:

It might be time to hold off on those Jimmy Butler trade rumors.

In a sign of commitment not present at management’s season-ending postmortem, the Bulls have asked their two-time All-Star to represent the franchise on the dais at the May 17 NBA draft lottery, sources said.

Butler, who has been working out in Los Angeles, is headed back to Chicago soon. He then is scheduled to travel to New York and join longtime media relations official Matt Yob, who will be the Bulls’ presence in the lottery’s backroom.

The Bulls, sitting 14th as the non-playoff team with the best record, have just an 0.5 percent chance at the top pick and a 1.8 percent chance to move into the top three.

LeBron James says Stephen Curry deserved to win MVP

Here’s the Akron Beacon Journal reporting comments from Cavs superstar LeBron James, who has no objection to Warriors superstar guard Stephen Curry winning another league MVP award:

“I think he definitely deserved it,” said James, who finished third behind the San Antonio Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard. “Look at Steph’s numbers. He averaged 30, he led the league in steals, he was 90-50-40 and they won 73 (games). Do you have any debate over that, really, when it comes to that award?

“But when you talk about most ‘valuable’ then you can have a different conversation, so, take nothing away from him, he’s definitely deserving of that award, for sure.”

Rockets reportedly interview Kenny Smith for head coach job

The Rockets have lots of major roster decisions to make. The team was good enough to just barely qualify for the playoffs, but then were quickly sent packing and looked ready for vacation before their first round sweep at the hands of the Warriors was even complete. The team’s future is confusing. They are nowhere near being a serious playoff competitor, yet as long as a super offensive talent like James Harden is on board, an absolute full rebuild is difficult and unlikely. Oh, and they need a head coach. Here’s ESPN.com reporting:

The Houston Rockets interviewed Jeff Hornacek and Kenny Smith for their vacant head-coaching position Tuesday, according to a source.

So far, the Rockets have interviewed David Blatt, Sam Cassell, Chris Finch, Mike D’Antoni, J.B. Bickerstaff, Hornacek and Smith. Bickerstaff pulled his name from consideration for the position last week.

The team has plans to interview Charlotte assistant coach Steven Silas and also has interest in Frank Vogel, who was fired last week as Pacers head coach.

Kent Bazemore hopes to stick with Hawks

Small forward Kent Bazemore averaged 11.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 27.8 minutes per game for the Hawks this regular season. He started 68 of the 75 games he played in. Will Bazemore remain on the squad? Here’s the Atlanta Journal Constitution reporting:

In 2013, the Hawks signed [DeMarre] Carroll to a $5 million contract. He started at small forward for two seasons before leaving last summer to play for the Raptors on a four-year, $60 million deal.

In 2014, the Hawks signed [Kent] Bazemore to a $4 million contract. He replaced Carroll in the starting lineup this season. Now, he enters unrestricted free agency.

According to the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, players who sign contracts for less than four years are not eligible for extensions. They must enter free agency at the conclusion of their deal. Last summer, Paul Millsap and Carroll both were unrestricted. Millsap returned and Carroll left.

“I would love to return here,” Bazemore said this week during an exit interview following the Hawks’ playoff loss to the Cavaliers. “I think the past two years I’ve taken a tremendous leap. Not only my professional year but personally. I’m growing more into myself and figuring out life. This place as a special place in my heart. I grew up right up the street in North Carolina. Super close to home. Not close enough. Has its perks here. The weather is great. Golf is great. God is great.”

Shaun Livingston regrets Game 4 ejection

Here’s the San Francisco Chronicle reporting on Warriors guard Shaun Livingston, a fantastic contributor to the squad and a key member of the supporting cast who was needlessly ejected last game. Fortunately, Stephen Curry came back that same day and steadily rose to the occasion, helping Golden State secure a dramatic overtime win to take a 3-1 series lead:

Shaun Livingston was back to his usual calm and introspective self on Wednesday morning, two days after the first ejection of his 12-year career.

The Warriors’ backup point guard joked that he did some yoga and meditation and will listen to some soothing music after getting two technical fouls in the second quarter of Monday’s Game 4 victory at Portland.

“You don’t ever want to leave your brothers out there, so I was wrong for that,” Livingston said following the Warriors’ shootaround. “Definitely, it was a mistake on my behalf to get ejected. I lost my cool. I made a mistake.

“Intentionally, I was going for the technical. I wasn’t going for the ejection.”

Do not expect a Knicks, Carmelo Anthony trade

The Knicks finished 32-50 last season. For vast improvement to be expected, major roster changes would probably have to take place. Will veteran star forward Carmelo Anthony still be the heart of the team? Seems likely. Here’s the New York Post reporting:

Carmelo Anthony gave an assurance he won’t waive his no-trade clause this summer.

Anthony spoke for 15 minutes Thursday, at a TechCrunch conference at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, about Melo7 Tech Partners, the company he started a year ago that invests in tech start-ups, then took questions from a couple of business-news outlets.

When asked by Yahoo Finance if he will be on the Knicks next season, Anthony said, “Oh, yeah, you’ll see me here for the Knicks. Absolutely.”

Bryan Colangelo says he never stopped scouting NBA prospects

Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer with insight on the Sixers, whose relatively new president of basketball ops appears to have been fully prepared for the job:

One might think that Bryan Colangelo is way behind in the evaluation process for the NBA draft.

After all, the June 23 event will come just 74 days after he was officially introduced as the 76ers president of basketball operations.

But Colangelo will tell you that he’s far from behind. The 50-year-old said he never stopped scouting prospects in college and Europe after stepping down as Toronto’s president on June 23, 2013. In fact, the two-time executive of the year said he carried on as if he was still running an NBA team, keeping a close eye on the day-to-day happenings around the league.

“I was prepared because I needed to be prepared in the event that one of those other [jobs] that I was being considered for happened,” said Colangelo, who along with Sixers coach Brett Brown and other team officials are here this week at the NBA draft combine.

Devin Harris has surgery on toe and thumb

Dallas Mavericks guard Devin Harris had a busy morning, undergoing surgery on the big toe of his left foot and on his left thumb.

The surgery on Harris’s left big toe was performed by Dr. Martin O’Malley while the surgery on his left thumb was executed by Dr. Michelle Carlson. Both surgeries were performed at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.

Harris (6-3, 185) recently finished his 12th NBA season and averaged 7.6 points, 1.8 assists, 0.9 steals and 20.0 minutes in 64 games with the Mavericks.

Stephen Curry wins 2015-16 NBA MVP award

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, who led the team to the best regular-season record in NBA history, has won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award for the second year in a row, the NBA announced today. He is the first unanimous winner in the award’s 61-season history. Curry, the 11th player to win back-to-back MVP awards, joins Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Steve Nash as the only guards to earn the honor in consecutive seasons.

Curry swept all 131 first-place votes (1,310 points), including 130 from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters in the United States and Canada, and one from the MVP fan vote.

The San Antonio Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard finished second with 634 points, and the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James was third with 631 points. The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook (486 points) and Kevin Durant (147) rounded out the top five. Players received 10 points for each first-place vote, seven points for each second-place vote, five points for each third-place vote, three points for each fourth-place vote and one point for each fifth-place vote.

The 28-year-old Curry helped the Warriors finish a historic 73-9 by leading the NBA in scoring (30.1 ppg), three-pointers made (an NBA-record 402), free throw percentage (90.8) and steals (2.14 spg), along with averaging 6.7 assists and a career-high 5.4 rebounds in 79 games. He shot a career-high 50.4 percent from the field, the NBA’s highest mark among guards, and made 45.4 percent from three-point range, good for second in the league. Curry became the seventh qualifying player in NBA history to shoot at least 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from beyond the arc and 90 percent from the foul line.

Behind Curry, the reigning champion Warriors opened the season with 24 straight victories – one of many NBA records they broke on their way to the all-time single-season wins mark. They set NBA records for single-season road victories (34) and consecutive home regular-season wins (54, including 18 to finish last season). Golden State also became the first team in NBA history to go an entire season without losing back-to-back games or losing to the same team twice.

In yet another NBA record, the Warriors made 1,077 three-pointers, becoming the first team with 1,000. Curry powered the attack with his 402 three-pointers, shattering his own single-season league record of 286 set last season – an increase of 116. Along with leading the NBA in three-pointers made for the fourth season in a row, Curry extended his streak of regular-season games with a three-pointer to an active league record of 152 straight games.

Curry’s other accomplishments this season included:

· He became the fourth player in NBA history to average at least 30 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals in a season, joining Rick Barry (1974-75), Michael Jordan (three times) and Dwyane Wade (2008-09).

· He became the first Warriors player to lead the NBA in scoring since Barry in 1966-67.

· He improved his scoring average by 6.3 points from last season (23.8 ppg), the largest year-over-year increase in league history for a reigning Kia NBA MVP.

· He matched the NBA single-game record for three-pointers made, hitting 12 (including the last-second game-winner) in a 121-118 overtime victory over the Thunder on Feb. 27.

Curry receives the Maurice Podoloff Trophy, which is named in honor of the NBA’s first commissioner, who served from 1946 until his retirement in 1963.