NBA News Blog – Page 1411 – NBA Blog

Hawks hire Larry Drew as head coach

Atlanta Hawks Executive Vice President/General Manager Rick Sund announced today that Larry Drew has been hired as the team’s new head coach. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not released.

“We are very pleased to welcome Larry as the new head coach of the Atlanta Hawks,” said Sund. “After aggressively going through the interview process with all of the candidates it became clear, with his knowledge of the game as well as his experience as player and assistant coach, he had the qualities we were looking for to lead our club. Over the last few years, a number of teams have had success hiring from within and we feel he is more than ready for the challenge.”

Drew, a native of Kansas City, MO, becomes the 11th head coach in Atlanta Hawks history after spending the last six seasons as the lead Hawks assistant under Mike Woodson. Over the last three years, Drew has helped Atlanta reach postseason play, with second round appearances in each of the last two seasons.

“It has been a long journey to reach this level in my career and I’m very appreciative of the support I’ve been given by the ownership group and Rick,” said Drew. “I’m excited about the opportunity to become a head coach in this league, and I will do my very best to continue to build on what we’ve accomplished here in Atlanta.”

A student of the game with extensive NBA experience as a player or coach, Drew has been associated with the NBA over the last 27 years, ten of them as a player.

Before arriving in Atlanta, Drew was an assistant with the New Jersey Nets and Byron Scott after spending the previous three seasons with the Washington Wizards in a similar capacity (2000-03) under Doug Collins. Prior to that, he re-joined one of the teams he previously played for, the Detroit Pistons, as an assistant coach in 1999-2000. Drew returned to Detroit as an assistant under Alvin Gentry, for the first time since playing as an NBA rookie with the Pistons in 1980-81. His coaching career began in 1992-93 when he broke into the ranks with another of his former teams, the Los Angeles Lakers, whom he played for from 1989-91.

An 11-year professional, Drew averaged 11.4 points and 5.2 assists in 714 career games for four NBA teams. After one season in Detroit, he played the next five years with the Kings, in Kansas City and Sacramento (1981-86), and his final four in Los Angeles (1986-91), for the Clippers and the Lakers. Drew also played one season internationally, 1988-89, with Scavolini of the Italian League.

He was a first round selection in the 1980 NBA Draft – 17th overall by the Pistons – and he reached postseason play four times in his professional career (31 games). Drew recorded his best season during the 1982-83 campaign, when he averaged 20.1 points, 8.1 assists and 1.7 steals for Kansas City.

Born April 2, 1958 in Kansas City, Drew played four seasons at the University of Missouri, where he averaged 12.0 points and 2.8 rebounds after a stellar high school career locally at Wyandotte High. He and his wife Sharon have three children, Larry, Landon and Lindsey. Drew’s son, Larry II, just finished his second basketball season under Roy Williams at the University of North Carolina, and each of his children have participated in the Larry Drew Advanced Guard Academy, a set of summer basketball camps the elder Drew has conducted in the Los Angeles area and across the country.

Andrew Bynum ready for Game 5

Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News reports:

Lakers starting center Andrew Bynum on Saturday pronounced himself “100 percent” for tonight’s NBA Finals Game 5 at TD Garden.

After playing only two minutes in the second half of Game 4, and just 12 minutes total, Bynum had an MRI on Friday on his sore right knee to be certain no additional physical damage had occurred, and then had fluid drained for the second time in the past two weeks.

Bynum is playing through the pain of a torn right meniscus cartilage and first had the knee drained June 1, two days before Game 1.

Hawks to hire Larry Drew as coach

Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) reports:

The Hawks have decided to hire Larry Drew as their next head coach, people with knowledge of the decision said today.

Drew was Atlanta’s lead assistant for six years under Mike Woodson, who was let go following the season. Drew and the team are working out the details of a contract this evening.

Drew, 52, emerged from a group of finalists that also included Avery Johnson, Dwane Casey and Mark Jackson. Once Johnson agreed to coach the Nets early in the week, that left Atlanta’s ownership group and GM Rick Sund to choose from among the other three candidates.

Glen Davis shines, Celtics beat Lakers in Finals Game 4

The AP reports:

Glen “Big Baby” Davis led the Celtics bench on a game-changing run Thursday night, scoring half of his 18 points in the fourth quarter as Boston pulled away from the Los Angeles Lakers to win 96-89 and knot the best-of-seven series at two games apiece.

“This is what legends are made of, this is where you grasp the moment,” Davis said. “Just play in the moment.” …

“We know what to do. We know how to play. We know how to get it done,” said Lakers forward Pau Gasol, who scored 21 points to go with a game-high 33 for Kobe Bryant. “And we know how important Game 5 will be, so we’ve just got to get ourselves mentally and physically ready … to accomplish our mission.”

Pierce scored 19 points, Kevin Garnett had 13 and Ray Allen bounced back from a seven-quarter shooting slump to score 12 points for Boston. But the new Big Three that led the Celtics to their unprecedented 17th NBA title in 2008— beating the Lakers in the finals—was on the bench for much of the fourth-quarter run that gave Boston the lead for good…

Nate Robinson scored 12 points in 17 minutes as the Celtics’ bench outscored the Lakers’ 36-18. Ten of L.A.’s bench points came from Lamar Odom, who played 39 minutes after starting center Andrew Bynum tested his sore knee but did not play in the second half…

Ray Allen finished 4 for 11 from the field—missing all four 3-pointers, but scored 10 points in the second half.

The Boston Globe blog reports:

“I just felt like a beast,’’ Davis said. “Really, I’m going to be honest with you. I just felt like I couldn’t be denied — rebound. If a rebound was in my vicinity, or like if the ball was going to be held up, you know, I just felt like I just couldn’t be denied.

“There’s not too many times you get a chance to be in the Finals and be a part of something so great that you can never really imagine yourself even being here. I just couldn’t be denied today.’’

Julian Benbow of the Boston Globe reports:

Rasheed Wallace was one of the catalysts in the fourth-quarter charge that helped the Celtics tie the NBA Finals at 2-2 with a 96-89 win over the Lakers last night, but he walked away from the win with his sixth technical foul of the playoffs, leaving him one shy of an automatic one-game suspension.

He picked up the technical with 7:25 to go in the fourth, exaggeratedly shocked at being called for a foul on Kobe Bryant under the basket. There have been times in the Finals when Wallace was so shocked by calls that his face lit up in equal parts surprise and outrage, high-stepping and dancing away from both the play and the officials.

Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe reports:

Bryant nearly found a way to carry the Lakers to victory last night, using long, contested 3-pointers as his weapon, but it wasn’t his preferred weapon. Bryant, of course, would rather dash to the basket for acrobatic layups, or drive, stop, and lean back for fadeaways.

The Celtics have to allow Kobe to score; they have no choice because he remains unstoppable. But they are using stifling defense to force Bryant into an uncomfortable zone. He looks irritated. He looks frustrated, just as he was when Artest missed his pass two consecutive times.

Bryant scored 33 points in the Celtics’ 96-89 Game 4 victory, but 18 came on 3-pointers. Bryant converted no layups; his closest field goal was from 9 feet. He is not creating baskets with his quickness and array of moves. The Celtics are sending two defenders at him and he is attempting shots in those small windows, such as the ones Artest missed in the second half.

Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times reports:

The Lakers found out Thursday how much Andrew Bynum meant to them, fading in the second half against the more physical Celtics, 96-89, and finding themselves pulled into a 2-2 deadlock in the Finals.

The Lakers’ center had only two points and three rebounds in 12 injury-shortened minutes, the 22-year-old unable to muster much because of a swollen right knee.

It didn’t help that the Celtics’ reserves thoroughly outplayed those of the Lakers, that Lamar Odom did next to nothing and Kobe Bryant looked fatigued, according to Coach Phil Jackson.

Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times reports:

Beyond Bryant and Gasol, Odom was the only other player in double figure-scoring for the Lakers, finishing with 10 points but taking only one rebound in 22 minutes in the second half.

The Lakers held a 45-42 edge at halftime but were eventually undone by scoring only 17 points in the third quarter and giving up 36 points in the fourth.

“They got all the energy points, the hustle points, second-chance points, points in the paint, beat us to the loose balls,” Bryant said. “I mean, that’s how the game turned around.”

Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Times reports:

There was nothing subtle about it. The Celtics were more physical and played harder.

The Lakers went back into bug-on-the-Celtics-windshield mode.

With Bynum gone, Kendrick Perkins went back to pounding on Pau Gasol, who went into flamingo-in-a-cement-mixer mode with Lamar Odom in deer-in-headlights mode.

“I just felt like a beast,” said Davis. “I’ll be honest with you, I felt like I couldn’t be denied.”

The Celtics led, 85-77, when Boston Coach Doc Rivers put the regulars back in, by which time Wallace and Robinson had also drawn technical fouls for their unmatchable histrionics.

Celtics minority owner confronts David Stern over Finals officiating

Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe reports:

A Celtics minority owner could face a fine by the NBA after a verbal confrontation with commissioner David Stern following the Celtics’ 91-84 Game 3 loss to the Lakers Tuesday night at TD Garden.

According to multiple sources with knowledge of the encounter, Jim Pallotta, angry at the officiating that included three reviewed calls in the fourth quarter, confronted Stern and apparently said the league should be embarrassed at the officiating in the series.

Historically, owners who have been publicly critical of officials have received six-figure fines.

Stern told reporters at an NBA Cares event in Roxbury yesterday that it wouldn’t be Celtics-Lakers without complaints about the officiating. The NBA officially had no comment on the incident, while a Celtics spokesman said he was unaware of it.

Avery Johnson to be new Nets coach

The AP reports:

Avery Johnson says he has agreed to become the coach of the New Jersey Nets, the NBA’s worst team.

In a text message to the Associated Press on Wednesday, Johnson said he thinks the Nets will announce the deal today.

Nets president and general manager Rod Thorn did not immediately respond when asked to comment on Johnson’s text. In an earlier e-mail to the AP, he said he “will have something to say” today.

The current ESPN analyst coached Dallas for three-plus seasons, going 194-70 in the regular season and 23-24 in the playoffs. He guided the Mavs to the NBA Finals in 2006 but was fired after a first-round playoff series loss to New Orleans in 2008.

He was the starting point guard for the Spurs during the 1999 championship run. He played for the Spurs in 1991, 1992-93 and 1994-2001.

Palace of Auburn Hills claims ex-staffers stole trade secrets

Mike Martindale of the Detroit News reports:

The folks at The Palace of Auburn Hills figured a lot of business savvy blew out the door when longtime president and CEO Tom Wilson took a job with Detroit businessman Mike Ilitch in February.

But they apparently didn’t count on Wilson wooing away nine key Palace employees who, a lawsuit now alleges, stole confidential data to fill seats and suites at Joe Louis Arena and unlawfully compete for sponsors, advertisers, concessionaires and vendors.

The Oakland Circuit Court lawsuit alleges violations of Michigan’s Trade Secrets Act. It also claims breach of contract, unfair competition and conspiracy by Olympia and ex-employees of Palace Sports & Entertainment (PSE).

At stake are thousands, perhaps millions of dollars, in entertainment-industry related funds coveted by Palace Sports and also Olympia.

Palace Sports owns and operates the Detroit Pistons, The Palace, Meadow Brook Music Hall and DTE Energy Theatre.

Bryant, Fisher lead Lakers to victory in Finals Game 3

The AP reports:

Derek Fisher rallied his teammates with a motivational speech on the bench during the break before the fourth quarter.

Then he went out and showed them how it’s done.

“Derek, he’s our vocal leader. He’s the guy that pulls everybody together and is always giving positive reinforcement,” Lakers guard Kobe Bryant said after Fisher made five baskets in the final period to lead Los Angeles to a 91-84 victory Tuesday night over the Boston Celtics and a 2-1 lead in the NBA finals…

Bryant scored 29 points and Fisher had 16, including 11 in the fourth quarter after Boston cut a 17-point first-half lead to one point…

Bryant had 25 points after three quarters, but he did not score for the first 10 minutes of the fourth. That’s when Fisher took over, hitting four out of five Lakers baskets to help them reclaim the home-court advantage they lost when the Celtics won Game 2 in L.A…

Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum had 10 rebounds apiece for Los Angeles.

Kevin Garnett, who had just six points in Boston’s victory Sunday, had 25 in Game 3. But Allen, who had 32 points in Game 2, missed all 13 field goal attempts—one shy of the NBA finals futility record—many of them while Fisher was guarding him…

The Lakers opened a 37-20 first-half lead, but Boston cut the deficit to four late in the third quarter and then made it 68-67 early in the fourth on consecutive drives by Glen “Big Baby” Davis and Rajon Rondo. With a chance to take the lead, Allen was called for an offensive foul away from the ball…

Allen missed all eight 3-pointers, all five 2-pointers and got to the line just twice.

Scottie Pippen testifies in financial malpractice suit

Lisa Donovan of the Chicago Sun-Times reports:

During his high-flying NBA years, former Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen’s life was consumed by the basketball court, and money matters were entrusted to a big-league financial guru and attorneys.

But on Tuesday, Pippen took the witness stand in a downtown Chicago courtroom and talked about how lousy financial advice led to a bad $1.35 million investment in a Gulfstream jet and a $3.25 million investment in a real estate development deal in the 1700 block of West 119th Street that eventually went bankrupt…

Pippen already has sued Lunn, who filed for bankruptcy amid lawsuits alleging he looted other clients’ investments, loaned their money to friends and associates, and lied about it. The NBA star settled for $1.5 million.

But now Pippen is seeking $8 million from the law firm that worked with Lunn on the jet deal, claiming the firm failed to make sure an inspection was done on the aircraft before Pippen sank more than a $1 million to buy a partial share of the 25-year-old jet, which ended up needing an estimated $1 million engine overhaul months after the deal closed, according to Pippen’s attorneys.

Amare Stoudemire does not plan to exercise player option

Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports:

Phoenix Suns All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire said today that there is “no chance” he will play for his $17.7 million contract option with Phoenix next season but remains hopeful that scheduled upcoming negotiations will result in a contract extension to remain with the Phoenix Suns.

Stoudemire, speaking at his youth basketball camp in Gilbert, said he does not want to leave the Suns.

Asked if there was a chance of picking up his option on the last year of his current contract, Stoudemire said, “There’s no chance of that at all.”