NBA News Blog – Page 1038 – NBA Blog

Clippers keeping general manager Neil Olshey

The Los Angeles Clippers announced today that an agreement in principle has been reached between the team and Vice President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey.

The 2011-12 campaign marked Olshey’s second season as the Clippers’ Vice President of Basketball Operations and his ninth overall season with the organization. Olshey began his career as Director of Player Development prior to the start of the 2003-04 season and served as an assistant coach during the 2004-05 campaign before holding the title of Director of Player Personnel from 2005-08. Olshey was promoted to the role of Assistant General Manager prior to the start of the 2008-09 season, holding that position for two seasons until being named Vice President of Basketball Operations prior to the start of the 2010-11 campaign.

After spearheading an exhaustive search that brought the Clippers new head coach Vinny Del Negro prior to the start of the 2010-11 season, Olshey retooled the roster prior to the start of the 2011-12 campaign. During a six-day span, Olshey added two-time All-Star Caron Butler, five-time All-Star Chauncey Billups, re-signed athletic center DeAndre Jordan and through the biggest trade in franchise history, brought in All-Star point guard Chris Paul. In addition, without a first round selection in the 2011 NBA Draft, Olshey was still able to solidify the Clippers bench by nabbing Georgia teammates Trey Thompkins (37th overall) and Travis Leslie (47th overall) in the second round. In addition to these moves, Olshey made three key acquisitions with the free agent signing of veteran big men Reggie Evans and Kenyon Martin and the trade deadline deal to acquire swingman Nick Young from the Washington Wizards. Adding these players to the returning core of 2011 NBA Rookie of the Year Blake Griffin, All-Star point guard Mo Williams, 2011 All-Rookie Second Team guard Eric Bledsoe and solid rotation players Randy Foye and Ryan Gomes, the Clippers had one of the deepest rosters in the NBA this season.

Prior to joining the Clippers, Olshey served as Director of Player Development for SFX Sports Group, Inc. where he created, organized and conducted Pre-Draft and Off Season Training Camps for future and current NBA players. The Pre-Draft Camps produced 15 Lottery picks, 25 First Round selections and 57 NBA players. Participants in Olshey’s Off Season skill development clinics include more than 85 current NBA players including numerous All Stars and All-NBA selections. He has also served as a Head Coach/Clinician at the Reebok ABCD Camp, the Roundball Classic and numerous NCAA basketball camps throughout the country.

Upon graduation from LeMoyne College in 1987 he was honored with the “Outstanding Senior Athlete” Award.

Tim Duncan passes Kareem for no.1 on all-time NBA playoff blocks list

By blocking Thunder guard Thabo Sefolosha’s driving layup attempt with 6:42 left in the third quarter of Thursday’s Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, Spurs captain Tim Duncan became the career leader in playoff blocks.

He finished the game with five, giving him 478 playoff rejections, two more than former leader Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Hall of Fame center for the Bucks and Lakers.

That the career milestone came in a 102-82 loss took most of the meaning from the accomplishment. Duncan’s response was dripping with sarcasm.

“Yes,” he said, in mock surprise. “Finally. Truly? That’s great.”

Teammate Stephen Jackson said Duncan would appreciate the milestone soon enough.

“He won’t enjoy it tonight,” Jackson said. “Wait until we get another win.”

— Reported by Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News

Kendrick Perkins glared at TNT announcers during Game 3

In the first quarter, the TNT announcers appeared a bit nervous after Kendrick Perkins stared them down in reaction to their criticism from Game 2. Sideline reporter Craig Sager later noted that Perkins had watched the Game 2 tape, and he wasn’t happy with their comments.

“He glared in our booth,” [Steve] Kerr said. “He said, ‘Talk about that. Talk about that.’ He took a beating after Game 2. He heard us talking about him. He’s coming after us.”

On the postgame show, [Charles] Barkley complimented the team and the crowd. “Scott Brooks made some adjustments that he needed to do. This crowd kept the energy level up the whole game. This is an impressive home court. … Take your hats off to OKC. They were fabulous tonight.”

— Reported by Mel Bracht of the Oklahoman

Sefolosha helps Thunder pound Spurs 102-82 in Game 3

In a Western Conference finals filled with established stars, Thabo Sefolosha used a stretch of defensive excellence to turn the momentum in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s favor and stop a dominant seven-week run by the San Antonio Spurs.

Kevin Durant scored 22 points, Sefolosha set playoff career-bests with 19 points and six steals, and the Thunder snapped San Antonio’s 20-game winning streak by beating the Spurs 102-82 in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals on Thursday night.

The Thunder’s fears of falling into a historically insurmountable 3-0 series deficit faded quickly as Sefolosha got four steals to power an 8-0 Oklahoma City run in the first 3 minutes and set the tone for San Antonio’s worst offensive outing of the season…

Coach Scott Brooks assigned him to clamp down on All-Star point guard Tony Parker, who had 34 points in Game 2…

Parker and Stephen Jackson led the Spurs with 16 points apiece. Tim Duncan had 11 points on 5-for-15 shooting, taking 11 of San Antonio’s first 25 shots as the offense went through the All-Star center instead of Parker…

Parker and Duncan didn’t play in the final 15 minutes, and Popovich pulled the plug after a series of three straight turnovers allowed the deficit to reach 23 points early in the fourth quarter.

— Reported by Jeff Latzke of the Associated Press

Led by Sefolosha’s game-high six, the Thunder registered 14 steals. That helped the Thunder force San Antonio into a series-high 21 turnovers, which led to 20 OKC points.

Brooks stuck with Perkins despite many calling for Perkins to sit more in this series. And Perkins came through for his coach, grabbing a game-high eight rebounds while blocking four shots. Perkins also helped limit Tim Duncan to 11 points on 5-of-15 shooting, which directly helped hold the Spurs to a series-low 24 points in the paint.

Brooks, however, reminded everyone that the series still is far from over.

“We’ve done nothing but won our home game, and we have a tough one Saturday night.”

— Reported by Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman

Give the Spurs credit for one thing. When they finally went down, they went down hard.

Thursday’s game was their most lopsided playoff defeat since a 103-81 loss to Dallas in the 2010 first round, a series the Spurs ultimately won.

Plagued by a playoff-high 21 turnovers, generating 20 OKC points, the Spurs fell in a 54-41 hole at halftime and never could recover.

With Sefolosha (six steals) patrolling the perimeter and Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins (three blocks apiece) defending the rim, the Spurs managed their fewest points since an 87-79 loss at Minnesota on Jan. 27.

The Spurs got 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting from Jackson, but little from more typical sources. Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili combined for 19 points and missed all but six of their 20 attempts.

Duncan did block five shots, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the all-time NBA postseason record (478).

“We have to give them credit,” Ginobili said. “They just smashed us.”

— Reported by Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News

Orlando Woolridge dead at 52

Former NBA player Orlando Woolridge was pronounced dead in his parents’ Mansfield home Thursday night.

Desoto Parish Chief Deputy Coroner Billy Locke said Woolridge, 52, had been under hospice care for a chronic heart condition.

The 6-foot, 9-inch Mansfield High basketball star played collegiate basketball with Notre Dame, where he was a member of the 1978 Final Four team. His professional career began in 1981 when he was drafted in the first round by the Chicago Bulls.

Woolridge went on to play with a number of NBA teams before his suspension by the league in the 1987-88 season for substance abuse. He retired in 1994, and was inducted in 2010 in to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

— Reported by the Shreveport Times

Phil Jackson turns down executive job with Orlando Magic

Phil Jackson reportedly has bowed out of an opportunity to join the Orlando Magic in a front office position.

Sam Vincent, who played for the Magic as well as Jackson, presented a scenario that appealed to Magic CEO Alex Martins, the Orlando Sentinel reported Friday.

However, before Martins could discuss the proposal with Magic owner Rich DeVos, Jackson withdrew from consideration Thursday night.

“It drew some interest from Phil,” Vincent said. “But in the end, Phil decided to go with another opportunity.”

— Reported by the Sports Xchange

Lil Wayne reportedly `denied entry` to Thunder game… because he had no ticket

Lil Wayne is a ‘Lil wrong when he says he was denied entry into tonight’s playoff game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs — fact is, he just didn’t have a ticket.

The rapper just tweeted, “Going to go to the Thunder game tonight but was denied by the team to be in their arena. Wow.”

But a rep for the OKC Thunder tells TMZ … “We did not deny him,” adding, “His representatives contacted us about courtside tickets and we told them we are completely sold out.”

— Reported by TMZ

InsideHoops.com editor says: You generally have to acquire a ticket in order to attend a ticketed event. The arena probably “denied entry” to other people who also did not have tickets to this particular ticketed event.

Lakers promote Glenn Carraro to Assistant General Manager

The Los Angeles Lakers have promoted Glenn Carraro to Assistant General Manager, it was announced today by Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

Carraro, who spent last season serving in a dual role as both the Director of Basketball Administration for the Lakers and as the General Manager of the Los Angeles D-Fenders, will retain his title of General Manager of the D-Fenders.

Carraro, who has 17 years of NBA experience, has been a member of the Lakers front office staff since 2000. Originally joining the team as the Assistant to the General Manager/Director of Camps, Carraro was promoted to Director of Basketball Administration in 2006. In addition to his duties with the Lakers, Carraro served as the D-Fenders Assistant General Manager from 2006-2010 and was named General Manager of the Los Angeles D-Fenders at the start of the 2011-12 season. In his first season as GM of the D-Fenders, the team finished with the best regular season record in NBA D-League history (38-12) and had a total of eight GATORADE Call-Ups to the NBA. The D-Fenders also received the NBA D-League Development Champion Award.

“Glenn has done an excellent job in every position he has had in the organization, and he’s become a valuable part of our staff,” said Kupchak. “This is a well-deserved promotion for him, and I expect he’ll do an excellent job in his new position.”

Prior to joining the Lakers, Carraro served in various positions with the New York Knicks from 1995-99, starting off as a Sports Management Trainee, then Player Personnel Coordinator/Manager of Knicks Camps and eventually as Manager of Basketball Operations. With primary responsibilities including the creation and management of player personnel databases as well as separate salary cap reports, in his time with New York’s front office, the Knicks posted a 174-122 (.588) record and made at least the Eastern Conference Semifinals in all four seasons while appearing in the 1999 NBA Finals.

A graduate of SUNY-Stony Brook after transferring from NYU-Polytechnic following two seasons on the men’s basketball team, Carraro completed his graduate coursework in Athletic Administration at St. John’s University (1991-94). Carraro also spent time working in the USBL and in the CBA for the Hartford Hellcats and Connecticut Pride.

Nate McMillan discusses Trail Blazers` decision to draft Greg Oden

McMillan doesn’t second-guess the [Portland Trail Blazers’] choice of drafting Oden over Durant with the first pick in the 2007 draft.

“We felt at that time we needed a big guy,” McMillan says. “That’s one of those unfortunate situations. Greg had some major injuries.

“No question in my mind, if he had stayed healthy, he would have been able to have a huge impact for us on the court. What Durant has done speaks for itself, but there were two No. 1 picks in that draft.”

The rash of injuries with the Blazers was nothing more than bum luck, says McMillan, who was on the injured list himself with a torn Achilles’ tendon at one point.

“I don’t blame any of it on the medical staff,” he says. “They had absolutely nothing to do with it. Neither did my coaching or how we were training (the players).

“It was just a series of unfortunate situations. Like with Greg, where we didn’t have an opportunity to oversee this last year because of the lockout. He had a setback, but that wasn’t on our medical staff. It wasn’t Jay (Jensen, the trainer) or our strength and conditioning guys.”

— Reported by Steve Brandon of the Portland Tribune

Warriors will explore trading lottery pick

The Warriors will also explore using the No. 7 pick to get a veteran. The Warriors’ starting lineup — which is already set at four positions with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, David Lee and Andrew Bogut — is in desperate need of athleticism and experience. So Golden State may not want to give such a prime position to a rookie.

Golden State has long since had interest in Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala, who is exactly the playmaking athlete the Warriors need at small forward. Other small forwards high on their list, according to league sources, are Portland’s Nick Batum, Indiana’s Danny Granger and Memphis’ Rudy Gay. And don’t be surprised if the Warriors make a play for Atlanta forward Josh Smith.

Trading the No. 7 pick for a veteran wouldn’t rule out the Warriors’ filling a need with a rookie from this year’s draft. The Warriors could potentially move up using their other three picks and have a shot at Illinois center Meyers Leonard, St. Bonaventure power forward Andrew Nicholson or maybe even Kentucky’s Jones (who some mocks have falling out of the lottery).

— Reported by Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group