NBA News Blog – Page 1235 – NBA Blog

Pistons still like Mike Woodson, Lawrence Frank as head coaching candidates

Marc Stein of ESPN reports:

The Minnesota Timberwolves’ long-anticipated firing of Kurt Rambis this week doubles the number of coaching openings in the league, because the Detroit Pistons still haven’t hired a replacement for John Kuester yet.

NBA coaching sources say that the Pistons are inching closer to a decision, though.

Of the five known candidates for job, sources say that former Pistons assistant Mike Woodson is still the closest thing to a favorite, thanks largely to Woodson’s good working relationship with Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars and the fact that Detroit would know exactly what it’s getting after Woodson’s work under Larry Brown during the Pistons’ 2004 title run…

The other three known candidates to get interviews are Kelvin Sampson (about to leave Milwaukee to become Kevin McHale’s lead assistant in Houston), Pistons legend Bill Laimbeer (last seen on Rambis’ staff in Minnesota) and Checketts favorite Patrick Ewing (from Stan Van Gundy’s staff in Orlando).

InsideHoops.com editor says: I’ve heard that Woodson is the favorite, followed by Frank, followed by the rest. And as for when the team may hire a coach, it’s tough to say. If the Pistons decide Woodson or Frank is their guy but fear that some other team might be close to making an offer to one of them, it would probably prompt Detroit to speed things up. Otherwise, it’s nicer financially for the team to wait and not hire a coach until the season is approaching and contact with players is allowed.

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Sasha Vujacic may sign in Turkey

Fred Kerber of the New York Post reports:

Sasha Vujacic may take any decision about re-signing him out of the Nets’ hands.

According to the Turkish website and newspaper, Milliyet — which also ran a bunch of Lindsay Lohan pictures yesterday — Vujacic is close to signing a deal with Anadolu Efes that would keep him overseas for a full season…

Vujacic made $5.475 million last season in the final year of his deal.

His chances of returning to the Nets were not considered good, so Vujacic could be looking to head back to Europe.

InsideHoops.com editor says: If Vujacic can get a contract over there that compares with what lower-tier bench players in the NBA make, he should grab it, before such deals are no longer available. And then perhaps return to the NBA in a year or two.

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Wes Wilcox named GM of Cavaliers D-league team in Canton

Cleveland Cavaliers Director of Player Personnel Wes Wilcox has been named general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers new NBA Development League franchise in Canton, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced today.

“Having Wes in this role is another reflection of the synergy and connectivity that owning and operating our own D-League team in Canton provides. As Wes has been an integral member of our staff for the past eight years, it enhances the opportunity for us to extend our team and organizational culture further into the player development process. Wes has been intricately involved in the D League evolution over the last several years and the Canton franchise has already and will continue to, greatly benefit from his knowledge and experience.”

Wilcox will oversee all of the Canton team’s basketball operations elements, as well as all team personnel and activities. He will also continue in his role as the director of player personnel for the Cavaliers.

“I am extremely thankful for this unique opportunity to have a leadership role in building a special franchise in the city of Canton,” said Wilcox. “Our organization places a very high value on player development as part of our culture and we are committed to building a successful environment both on the court and in this community. I’m excited to be a part of that and we look forward to earning the support of our fans here.”

After serving as the New Orleans Hornets’ video coordinator during the 2002-03 NBA season, Wilcox joined the Cavaliers prior to the 2003-04 season as the Cavs’ advance game scout, a position he held for four seasons. He then served as the team’s college and pro personnel scout for three seasons. He was named director of player personnel in September 2010. He has also served as the Cavaliers’ liaison with their NBA Developmental League affiliates over the last four seasons.

Wilcox is a graduate of Cal-State Fullerton and native of La Habra, California.

InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner has said that the Cavs made the right move in acquiring the team.

On July 7th, 2011 the Cleveland Cavaliers announced they will own and operate the new NBA Development League (the NBA’s official minor league) franchise in Canton, Ohio. As owner/operators, the Cavaliers will have exclusive control over all basketball and business elements for the franchise, which will begin play in the 2011-12 season at the Canton Memorial Civic Center, which is approximately 60 miles south of Cleveland. The Cavaliers acquired the former New Mexico Thunderbirds franchise, which ceased operations, and are only the 5th NBA team to currently own and operate their own NBA D-League affiliate (Golden State, Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City and San Antonio).

Dwyane Wade still feeling sting of NBA Finals loss

ESPN reports:

Wade has spent some time with teammates since the Finals defeat, traveling to James’ hometown of Akron, Ohio, last week to take part in a different camp for high school and college players. But time hasn’t done much to ease the frustration of the Heat blowing large leads late in two the first four games to allow the Mavericks to take control and win the series going away in six games.

More than the lockout or China or where he might consider playing next season, that is something Wade still wakes up thinking about.

“The sting is still there, no question about it,” Wade said. “It was a failure for the Miami Heat. It was a failed year for every team except for the Dallas Mavericks. They had the best year. But the things we did aren’t erased, we had a darn good year. If we’d won the championship it would’ve been a pretty amazing year. It wasn’t pretty amazing but it was pretty good.”

Josh Childress dismisses idea of returning to Europe

William Boor of ArizonaSports.com reports:

Although several NBA players have discussed playing in Europe, Josh Childress is still opposed.

“No, I wouldn’t,” Childress told ESPN’s Ric Bucher. “And I don’t know why guys would. I understand that guys really want to play. But you sometimes have to look at what you have and treat this as a business. The only way I could see it making sense is if you’re a player from a particular country going back. But for an American player with a good-sized guaranteed deal here, I can’t see why you’d do it.”

Childress has four years and $27 million remaining on his deal in Phoenix and does not believe getting some fun in during the lockout is worth playing in Europe and risking injury.

NBA players union memo supports players going overseas

The Chicago Tribune reports:

When it comes to playing overseas during the NBA lockout, Billy Hunter has a simple message for the league’s players: Enjoy your trip, we’ll call you when it’s time to come home.

In a memo sent to players on Tuesday night and obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday, the union leader said the NBA Players’ Association supports all players “who are taking steps to continue to earn a living, stay in peak competitive shape, and play the game that we love while the unfortunate league-imposed lockout is in place.”

“This lockout is intended to economically pressure our players to agree to an unfavorable collective bargaining agreement,” Hunter wrote. “It is important for the owners to understand that there may be significant consequences to their decision to put their own players in these difficult economic circumstances.

“If the owners will not give our players a forum in which to play basketball here in the United States, they risk losing the greatest players in the world to the international basketball federations that are more than willing to employ them.”

Comcast-Spectacor reaches agreement to sell the Philadelphia 76ers

Comcast-Spectacor today announced it has reached an agreement to sell the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team to a group led by Joshua Harris, Co-Founder of Apollo Global Management, LLC. Terms of the agreement, which is subject to approval by the National Basketball Association’s Board of Governors, were not disclosed.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, sources have put the value of the deal at $280 million for full, 100 percent team ownership.

The acquisition does not include the Wells Fargo Center or the Philadelphia Flyers, which are owned by Comcast-Spectacor. The team will remain a long-term tenant of the Wells Fargo Center and will have a long-term cable broadcast agreement for its games with Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia.

“We are honored to have the opportunity to be affiliated with this storied franchise,” said Harris. “As a basketball fan who attended college in Philadelphia, and with family roots here, I have always felt a strong connection to this City and the 76ers. We look forward to helping the 76ers organization build on this past season’s accomplishments in the years ahead. The ownership group also looks forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with Comcast-Spectacor.”

The new ownership also includes David Blitzer, a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group, who commented, “We are excited to become associated with this iconic team and to have the chance to serve the great City of Philadelphia and its loyal basketball fans.”

Other members of the investor group include Art Wrubel and Jason Levien. Harris, Blitzer and the other investors are making personal investments; Apollo and Blackstone are not involved in the transaction.

The transaction is expected to close later in 2011, subject to NBA approval and customary closing conditions.

Comcast-Spectacor is the Philadelphia-based sports and entertainment company which owns the Philadelphia Flyers; the Philadelphia 76ers; the home for both teams, the Wells Fargo Center; and four Flyers Skate Zone community ice skating and hockey rinks. In addition, Comcast-Spectacor is also the principal owner of Global Spectrum, the fastest growing firm in the public assembly management field with more than 100 facilities throughout the United States and Canada; Ovations Food Services, a food and beverage service provider; New Era Tickets, a ticketing and marketing company for public assembly facilities; Front Row Marketing Services, a commercial rights sales company; and Paciolan, the leading provider of venue enablement, ticketing, fundraising and marketing technology solutions.

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Dwyane Wade staying busy during lockout

The AP reports:

“I don’t miss it yet,” Wade said of his inability to work out at 601 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami, the address of the arena that the Heat call home. “I’m only a month away from the game. I’m cool. I’ve got two more weeks to relax before I get back into it. But when the time gets to where we’re still going, I will miss it and most importantly I think everybody will miss it because you’re used to getting into a rhythm, used to getting into a schedule. And when that schedule is starting off, everything is off.”

Still, a month removed from losing in six games to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA finals, Wade is a long way from forgetting the pain of coming up short with a title at stake.

He’s been busy since: A European trip has already been completed, as has a camp he co-hosted with NFL star Devin Hester in Chicago and a commercial shoot in Los Angeles, all preceding his annual camp at Nova Southeastern University— which added a twist this year, a cheerleader camp led by Katina Taylor, the wife of NFL defensive end Jason Taylor.

And soon, Wade will head back to China for the first time since the U.S. won gold at the 2008 Beijing Games. Much of that trip will be built around Wade’s work with Nike’s Jordan Brand, although he has several other business meetings lined up there as well.

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Lakers rookie Ater Majok plays streetball in EBC at Rucker Park in NYC

Los Angeles Lakers rookie forward Ater Majok was in New York City Monday to play for the D.C. Power streetball team in the Entertainers Basketball Classic at Rucker Park. InsideHoops.com was at the park and watched the whole game.

Majok blocked plenty of shots, mostly as a help defender, but didn’t really stand out in other aspects, missing plenty of shots to finish with seven points and committing a fair amount of turnovers. He was solid as a rebounder as well, though simply by watching it was tough to say he really stood out on the glass.

But, this was not one of the better games, even by streetball standards, so of course it makes little sense to put much stock into Ater’s skills and future potential in the NBA based on one game in the park.

There weren’t many game highlights involving Majok worth showing, but here are two InsideHoops.com video clips.

Majok is No.12 in orange, with the mini-mohawk. Here he is blocking a shot, then rushing out to to defend a jumpshot (which misses) from the right baseline:

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Here, in the game’s final seconds, Majok gets to toss down an open dunk:

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Raptors hire Johnny Davis, Eric Hughes, Micah Nori, Scott Roth, Tom Sterner as assistant coaches

The Toronto Raptors announced Wednesday the club has hired Johnny Davis, Eric Hughes, Micah Nori, Scott Roth and Tom Sterner as assistant coaches on new head coach Dwane Casey’s staff. Hughes, Nori and Roth were retained by Casey from Jay Triano’s coaching staff.

“I am excited to announce the hiring of what I believe is a strong, well-balanced and experienced coaching staff,” said Casey. “We have a good mixture of former players, head coaching experience and on-court teachers who have a wealth of technical knowledge.

“Since we have such a young team I thought it was necessary to hire a group of coaches who can effectively mentor, communicate, motivate and teach on-and-off the floor.”

Davis completed his 35th season in the NBA in 2010-11. He has been a player, assistant coach, front office executive and two-time head coach.

Last season marked Davis’ fourth with the Memphis Grizzlies and his 19th in an NBA assistant coaching capacity. In addition to Memphis, Davis has been an assistant coach with Atlanta, the Los Angeles Clippers, Portland, New Jersey, Orlando, Minnesota and Indiana. In 2005-06, he served on Casey’s staff in Minnesota.

Davis was the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers in 1996-97 and the Orlando Magic for parts of two seasons (2003-05) compiling a 73-146 mark (.333). He was honoured as Eastern Conference Coach of the Month in November 2005 while with the Magic. He also served two games as the Grizzlies’ interim head coach.

The 22nd overall pick in the second round of the 1976 NBA Draft, Davis played with Portland, Indiana, Atlanta and Cleveland in his 10 seasons. He was a member of Portland’s 1977 NBA Championship team.

Sterner has been an NBA assistant coach for 13 seasons, working for Dallas, Orlando and Golden State. He served two seasons with Casey as an assistant coach on Rick Carlisle’s staff in Dallas (2008-10). He spent last season as an advance scout with Philadelphia.

The majority of Sterner’s tenure as an assistant coach was in Orlando where he was on the bench for 11 campaigns. He helped the Magic to the 1995 NBA Finals and served as an assistant coach for the Eastern Conference during the 1995 All-Star Game.

Sterner was the top assistant coach for Golden State from 2002-04. In 2002-03, he led the team’s offense that ranked second in the league in scoring, averaging 102.4 points per game. The following season he changed his focus to defense where the Warriors became the NBA’s most improved defensive squad, allowing 9.6 fewer points per game than the previous season.

Roth completed his first season with the Raptors after being named an assistant coach August 16. He has been as a player, scout and coach overseas and in North America for more than 25 years.

Roth was as an assistant coach with Golden State in 2009-10. Prior to joining the Warriors’ staff he was the head coach of the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA D-League in 2008-09 and guided the team to its first post-season appearance with a 26-24 record.

Roth has also worked as an assistant coach with Dallas (1996-2000) and Vancouver/Memphis (2000-02), and four seasons as scout and advisor for Milwaukee.

Nori concluded his second season as an assistant coach for the Raptors in 2010-11 and his 14th overall with the organization. In addition to his duties as an assistant coach, Nori heads the advance scouting operations for the club. He was promoted July 1, 2009 after serving as the team’s Director of NBA Scouting.

Nori had been the team’s advance scout since 2000 where he was responsible for scouting upcoming opponents and preparing reports for both the coaching staff and players. Prior to becoming the team’s advance scout, he served as assistant to the coaching staff from 1998-2000.

Hughes joined the Raptors in 2007 and was promoted to Assistant Coach/Basketball Development on July 1, 2009. He will continue in that role under Casey.

Previous to joining the Raptors, Hughes had worked as the director of summer player development for Goodwin Sports Management, creating workout programs and training NBA players. He had also been the head coach at Spokane Community College in Spokane, Washington during that time, compiling an 88-61 (.590) mark in his five seasons.

Hughes has served as the head coach for the Raptors’ entry in the Las Vegas Summer League the past three summers. His 2010 team finished 5-0 and led the league in scoring.

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