Category: General NBA insight

New York Knicks President Phil Jackson announced today that the team has acquired guards Jose Calderon, Wayne Ellington and Shane Larkin, center Samuel Dalembert and two second-round selections in the 2014 NBA Draft (34th & 51st overall) from Dallas in exchange for guard Raymond Felton and center Tyson Chandler.

“The journey to build this team for the upcoming season and beyond continues,” Jackson said. “We have added players with this move that will fit right in to our system while maintaining future flexibility.

“We would like to thank Raymond and Tyson for their time and hard work with the organization over the past few years.”

Calderon, 6-3, 211-pounds, holds career averages of 10.2 points, on 47.9-percent shooting from the floor and 41.1-percent from three-point range, and 6.8 assists in 634 games (432 starts) over nine seasons with Toronto, Detroit and Dallas. He ranked in the top five on the NBA assist list in four of the last seven seasons and set a single-season NBA record by shooting 98.1-percent (151-154) from the free throw line in 2008-09 with the Raptors. This past season for the Mavericks, he averaged 11.4 points and 4.7 assists and hit a career high 191 three pointers (seventh in NBA) over 30.5 minutes in 81 games (all starts).

The 32-year-old Villanueva de la Serena, Spain-native played six seasons in the Spanish professional leagues before signing with Toronto on Aug. 3, 2005. His illustrious career with the Spanish national team includes winning Silver Olympic medals at the 2008 games in Beijing and 2012 games in London, and was a member of the 2006 FIBA World Championship team.

Dalembert, 6-11, 250-pounds, holds career averages of 7.8 points, on 52.3-percent shooting, 7.9 rebounds and 1.76 blocks over 24.7 minutes in 854 games (673 starts) in 12 NBA seasons with Philadelphia, Sacramento, Houston, Milwaukee and Dallas. He has ranked in the top 10 in total blocked shots in seven of the those 12 seasons. This past season, the 33-year-old averaged 7.8 points, on a career-best 56.8-percent shooting, 6.8 rebounds and 1.18 blocks over 20.2 minutes in 80 games (68 starts) with Dallas. The Port-au-Prince, Haiti-native, who played two seasons at Seton Hall University (NJ), was originally selected by Philadelphia in first round (26th overall) of 2001 NBA Draft.

Ellington, 6-4, 200-pounds, holds career averages of 6.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists over 17.9 minutes in 312 games (35 starts) over five NBA seasons with Minnesota, Memphis, Cleveland and Dallas and averaged 3.2 points over 8.7 minutes in 45 games (one start) for the Mavericks this past season. He was originally selected by Minnesota following his junior season at the University of North Carolina in first round (28th overall) of the 2009 NBA Draft.

Larkin, 5-11, 176-pounds, was selected by Atlanta following his sophomore season at the University of Miami in first round (18th overall) of the 2013 NBA Draft before his draft rights were traded to Dallas. As a rookie, he averaged 2.8 points and 1.5 assists over 10.2 minutes in 48 games for Dallas and 15.3 points, 8.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds over 35.7 minutes in four games for the Texas Legends of NBA Development League this past season. At the University of Miami, he led the Hurricanes to the 2013 regular-season and post-season ACC Titles and on to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament, while being named Lute Olson National Player of the Year, ACC Player of the Year and an AP second team All-American. He is the son of MLB Hall of Famer Barry Larkin.

Chandler, 7-1, 245-pounds, averaged 8.7 points, on 59.3-percent shooting, 9.6 rebounds and 1.15 blocks over 30.2 minutes in 55 games (all starts) this past season. He was acquired from Dallas, via a sign-and-trade, in a three-team deal on Dec. 10, 2011 and finishes his Knicks career as its all-time leader in field goal percentage (.638) in 183 games. In the orange and blue, the Hanford, CA-native, was selected to the NBA All-Defensive Team twice and as a reserve for the Eastern Conference at the 2013 NBA All-Star game. He was named the 2012 NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

Felton, 6-1, 205-pounds, averaged 9.7 points, 5.6 assists and 3.0 rebounds over 31 minutes in 65 games (all starts) last season in his second stint in New York after a Jul. 16, 2012 trade with Portland. Over three non-consecutive seasons, the Marion, SC-native averaged 13.4 points and 6.6 assists (fourth all-time) in 187 games for the Knicks.

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.

Jeff Potter, president of the 2014 NBA Development League champion Fort Wayne Mad Ants, was today named the 2014 NBA Development League Team Executive of the Year, NBA D-League President Dan Reed announced. The NBA Development League Team Executive of the Year is determined by peer voting and teams are not allowed to vote for themselves.

“We are very pleased to honor Jeff with the Team Executive of the Year Award in recognition of the Mad Ants’ milestone year both on and off the floor,” said Reed. “Under Jeff’s leadership, the team has become an integral part of the Fort Wayne community and established itself as part of the rich tradition of Indiana basketball.”

As president of the Mad Ants, Potter oversees all business and basketball operations for the team. Through his leadership, the Mad Ants captured their first NBA D-League title after a benchmark season in which the team had the best regular season record (34-16) for the league and won its first Eastern Division crown. Potter’s squad, which set a team regular season record for wins and swept their opponents in the postseason (6-0), also featured the league’s Co-Most Valuable Player and Sportsmanship Award recipient Ron Howard and Coach of the Year Conner Henry. In addition, five Mad Ants earned postseason honors including All-NBA D-League selections Howard (First Team), Tony Mitchell (third team), and Tim Ohlbrecht (honorable mention); All-Rookie selection Trey McKinney-Jones (third team); and All-Defensive Team Sadiel Rojas (second team).

A member of the Board of Directors for the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, Potter’s impact stretched beyond the court as he forged a longtime partnership with Lutheran Health Network, the first presenting sponsorship in the team’s history, and enhanced the team’s social responsibility initiative, which included over 160 community service projects in the area. In recognition of the team’s commitment, Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry proclaimed Wednesday, April 30, 2014 as Fort Wayne Mad Ants Day following their triumph in the NBA D-League Finals.

“I am deeply honored, humbled, and thankful that my peers voted to give me this wonderful award,” said Potter. “It has been a banner year for the Mad Ants both in our business and on the court, and it does not happen without my fantastic staff, which helps make this job the best in the world. I share this award with them and our entire Mad Ants family.”

Previous winners of the award include Bill Boyce (Texas Legends, 2013), David Higdon (Bakersfield Jam, 2012), Bert Garcia (Rio Grande Valley Vipers, 2011) and Jon Jennings (Maine Red Claws, 2010).

Here’s the Philadelphia Daily News on the new NBA Finals format:

Because of the long travel between the East and West coasts, the NBA changed the format for the Finals to a 2-3-2 starting in 1985. But in October, before the season, the NBA Board of Governors voted unanimously to return to the 2-2-1-1-1.

“There certainly was a perception it was unfair to the team that had the better record, that it was then playing the pivotal Game 5 on the road,” said NBA commissoner Adam Silver. “So this obviously moves that game back to giving homecourt advantage to the team with the better record, if it’s a 2-2 series.”

There is no large anomaly that says 2-2-1-1-1 provides a different outcome from 2-3-2. If you go by the theory that the team with the better overall record throughout the regular season is generally the better team, then the teams with the homecourt advantage were 21-8 (72.4 percent) in winning the NBA Finals.

By comparison, in 2-2-1-1-1, which had been used in all seven-game series leading into the Finals, the team with home court has won 75.8 percent of series.

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has named Quin Snyder as head coach.  Per team policy, financial terms were not released.  Snyder is the eighth head coach in Jazz history and the fifth since the franchise’s relocation to Utah in 1979.  Snyder will be formally introduced at a press conference on Saturday.

“On behalf of the Miller family, I welcome Quin Snyder as the new head coach of the Utah Jazz,” said Greg Miller, chief executive officer of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies.  “He has an impressive basketball pedigree, including more than a decade of head coaching experience that positions him well to succeed in the Jazz organization.  We look forward to Quin’s contributions both on the court and in the community.”

Snyder possesses a diverse coaching background that spans more than two decades in the NBA, Europe, the NBA Development League and college, including 10 years of experience as a head coach.

“We were very disciplined and thorough in our process, which has resulted in hiring Quin to lead this team into a new era for Jazz basketball,” said Utah Jazz President Randy Rigby. “He has been affiliated with tremendous coaches and programs throughout his career from Duke University to the Atlanta Hawks.  We have received overwhelmingly positive feedback regarding Quin from some of the most respected basketball minds in the game.”

From 2007-10, Snyder served as head coach of the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League (the D-League affiliate of the San Antonio Spurs), where he recorded a 94-56 (.627) mark, while leading the club to playoff appearances in all three seasons and advancing to at least the D-League Semifinals each year.  In his first season with the Toros, Snyder inherited a team that had finished the prior season 21-29, and led them to a 30-20 record, a Southwest Division title and an appearance in the 2008 D-League Finals.  He followed that with consecutive 32-18 campaigns and first-round playoff wins, earning the D-League’s 2009 Dennis Johnson Coach of the Year honors and a selection as head coach of the 2009 D-League All-Star Game in Phoenix.  During his three-year tenure in Austin, Snyder compiled more wins and guided more players to the NBA than any other coach in the D-League.

His first head coaching position came at the University of Missouri, where in seven seasons (1999-2006), he led the Tigers to a 128-96 (.571) record and four NCAA Tournaments, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2002.

“Quin Snyder combines a unique skillset with several intangibles that makes him the right fit for our team and approach to basketball,” said Jazz General Manager Dennis Lindsey.  “He is passionate about the game and has a 20-year track record of teaching and developing young talent.  His personality, work ethic and communications skills are important traits that will benefit the Utah Jazz.  We have taken a significant and exciting step forward in the evolution of this franchise.”

Snyder most recently completed his first season as an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks in 2013-14 under Mike Budenholzer, helping the Hawks to a 2014 playoff appearance.  He has also served as an assistant with CSKA Moscow (2012-13) for Ettore Messina, worked as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2011-12 with Mike Brown and the Philadelphia 76ers in 2010-11 alongside Doug Collins.  Prior to being hired as head coach at Missouri, Snyder served as associate head coach to Mike Krzyzewski at Duke from 1993-99, and as an assistant for Larry Brown with the 1992-93 Los Angeles Clippers.

“The opportunity to join the Utah Jazz and to be part of such a highly respected franchise with an incredibly bright future is a great honor,” Snyder said. “I approach this opportunity with gratitude and humility and am committed to doing everything I can to help the Jazz become a championship-caliber team.”

Born in Mercer Island, Wash., Snyder was a two-time Washington player of the year and a McDonald’s All-American.  He played collegiately at Duke (1985-89), appearing in 136 games for the Blue Devils and reaching three Final Fours.  He was elected as a team captain and honored as an Academic All-American during his senior season.

Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling agreed Wednesday to sign off on selling the team to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for what would be a record $2 billion, according to his attorney.

Sterling ”has made an agreement with the NBA to resolve all their differences” and as co-owner has given his consent to a deal that was negotiated by his wife, Shelly Sterling, to sell the team, said attorney Maxwell Blecher.

Representatives for Shelly Sterling declined to comment. The NBA declined to comment on Wednesday afternoon.

— Associated Press

The National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced it will launch a limited-edition NBA-branded shoe, NBA Anniversary 2014, on June 6. Only 1,946 pairs will be available to commemorate the NBA’s first year in 1946. The launch will coincide with the start of the 2014 NBA Finals. They will have a suggested retail value of $119.

Each pair of shoes will be a collector’s item, identified with a unique four-digit serial number, sequentially numbered from 0001 to 1946 and includes an Official NBA Certificate of Authenticity.

The shoe features a red, white and blue design inspired by the NBA logo, while the 30 stars on the heel commemorate the league’s 30 teams and its world class athletes. The shoe is packaged in a specially crafted box with the league’s most significant milestones and the 30 team logos etched in gold on the inside of the cover.

ANNOUNCEMENT FROM NBA AT 6:50 P.M. ET TODAY:

The NBA, Shelly Sterling and the Sterling Family Trust today resolved their dispute over the ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers. Under the agreement, the Clippers will be sold to Steve Ballmer, pending approval by the NBA Board of Governors, and the NBA will withdraw its pending charge to terminate the Sterlings’ ownership of the team.

Because of the binding agreement to sell the team, the NBA termination hearing that had been scheduled for June 3 in New York City has now been cancelled. Mrs. Sterling and the Trust also agreed not to sue the NBA and to indemnify the NBA against lawsuits from others, including from Donald Sterling.