Miami Heat reportedly extend qualifying offer to Caleb Martin

Via the Miami Herald:

The Heat extended a $2.1 million qualifying offer to forward Caleb Martin on Tuesday, as expected, to retain the right to match outside offers up to the $10.3 million midlevel exception to re-sign him this offseason. In other words, the qualifying offer means that Martin will be a restricted free agent this summer…

But the Heat’s resources to re-sign Martin are limited, as it does not hold his Bird rights and isn’t on track to have cap space. Miami does not have the ability to match an outside offer to Martin above the $10.3 million mid-level exception for next season.

Suns name Morgan Cato Assistant GM and VP of Basketball Operations

The Phoenix Suns have named Morgan Cato as Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations.

“We’re excited to welcome Morgan to the Valley and to the Suns organization” said General Manager James Jones. “With the league office Morgan played a pivotal role on countless initiatives to grow the game and strategically develop for it to be played at its best. The addition of her background and knowledge will allow us to elevate our basketball operations in several areas.”

In her position, Cato will report to Jones and work with Head Coach Monty Williams to lead the team’s strategy and business processes for basketball growth and performance with a focus on coaching development, player engagement and front office personnel operations. Cato becomes the first woman of color to hold the Assistant General Manager title for an NBA team.

Cato joins the Suns after spending the last decade with the NBA league office, most recently as Associate Vice President of Business Operations for NBA League Operations.

Pelicans will host October 2022 preseason game against Hawks in Birmingham, Alabama

The New Orleans Pelicans will host a preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, October 14, at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama – home of the Pelicans’ NBA G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron. Tipoff is at 7:00 p.m. CST.

“The decision to launch the Squadron was a commitment by the Pelicans organization to invest in the Birmingham community,” said Pelicans Governor Gayle Benson. “This Pelicans preseason game in Birmingham is a tangible example of that commitment, and this is just the beginning. We want to thank the City of Birmingham, the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex, and everyone involved in making this event happen.”

“This is a big deal,” said Birmingham Mayor Randall L. Woodfin. “As a basketball fan, I am thrilled to see these amazing teams battle it out. As the mayor, I am proud that this event can be enjoyed by our residents and visitors. This just further confirms that Birmingham is a destination for top sports event in our region.”

“Birmingham and Legacy Arena playing host to a NBA preseason game with the New Orleans Pelicans was exactly the kind of enhanced partnership opportunity we had in mind when first discussing bringing the Birmingham Squadron NBA G League team to Birmingham,” said BJCC Executive Director and CEO Tad Snider. “From the earliest discussions it was apparent the Pelicans organization and Gayle Benson had a genuine interest to partner with our city in a deeper way than just the team. With the inaugural season behind us just as we were completing the renovations to Legacy Arena, this announcement is a wonderful momentum builder leading into season two. NBA games in Legacy Arena in the past have been exciting for our community, and we expect this game featuring the Pelicans and Atlanta Hawks to be the best one yet.”

Mike Brown introduced as new Sacramento Kings head coach

Via ESPN.com:

A day removed from the Golden State Warriors’ championship parade in San Francisco, Mike Brown appeared 90 miles up Interstate 80 on Tuesday, reporting for duty as the new head coach of the Sacramento Kings.

“I hope I don’t get in trouble for saying this,” Brown said as he sat next to Kings general manager and president of basketball operations Monte McNair during his introductory news conference. “I really couldn’t turn up like I wanted to because of this doggone press conference today.”

Although his celebration was subdued after his third title in his six years as a Golden State assistant, Brown said he was ecstatic to discuss his fourth head-coaching opportunity after two stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers and a spell with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“The potential here, I truly believe the potential is off the charts,” he said. “It gets me excited thinking about it. … The players here, I’m excited about.

“There’s just a lot of opportunity here for this place to explode, and I want to be a part of it.”

Via the Sacramento Bee:

Eleven different head coaches have walked through the doors in Sacramento since the team’s last playoff appearance. On Tuesday afternoon at Golden 1 Center, the Kings formally introduced their next coach in Mike Brown.

The Kings hope Brown will break the spell of bad coaching hires and help return the team to the playoffs.

Brown, 52, was hired in May but wasn’t introduced until nearly a month and a half later. The reason is Brown was finishing his role as Steve Kerr’s lead assistant on a Golden State Warriors team that beat the Boston Celtics in six games to win the NBA Finals.

Prior to Brown spending six seasons in Golden State, he had stops as a head coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers. In eight seasons as a head coach, Brown compiled a 347-216 (.616) record with six playoff appearances.

Kenny Atkinson will reportedly stay with Warriors rather than coach Hornets

Kenny Atkinson was reportedly close to becoming the next head coach of the Charlotte Hornets. Per ESPN.com, it’s not happening:

Kenny Atkinson has informed the Charlotte Hornets that he won’t become the franchise’s new coach and will remain with the Golden State Warriors as the top assistant, sources told ESPN on Saturday.

After accepting Charlotte’s job offer during the NBA Finals last week, further conversations with the Hornets’ organization led Atkinson to believe that both professionally and personally it would be best to remain with the Warriors, sources said.

Atkinson and the Hornets had agreed in principle to a four-year deal, but a contract was never signed, sources said.

Stephen Curry has a good memory

Steph Curry has a good memory. Via the San Francisco Chronicle:

Earlier in the NBA Finals, Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry called himself “the petty king” in reference to him wearing a T-shirt mocking a Boston bar that insulted his wife Ayesha’s cooking prowess.

“I know all about everything and I use it as entertainment and have fun with it,” Curry said.

After clinching the NBA Finals Thursday night — and winning his first-ever Finals MVP in the process — Curry made sure to use his knowledge of “everything” to settle several scores.

The Boston bar that put up signage and sold T-shirts with the phrase “Ayesha Curry can’t cook” was predictably on Curry’s list of targets: the Dubs star posed for a picture with one of the shirts along with his Finals MVP trophy. “Bye Boston,” he wrote in a caption on Instagram.

The article goes on to review Steph’s reaction to what various sports commentators predicted for him.

Safe to say, for Steph, yesterday was a pretty great day.

Carnival Cruise Line adds sports betting

Via ESPN.com:

The fast-growing legal sports betting industry is extending its reach to the middle of the ocean.

BetMGM and Carnival Corporation announced a deal Friday to put sports books on more than 50 U.S.-based ships.

The arrangement will allow betting while the ships are at sea or while docked at a port in a state that allows sports betting. Passengers can bet using a mobile app or at physical kiosks on the ship.

Golden State Warriors win 2022 NBA championship

NYTimes.com: “It turns out the dynasty had just been paused. Golden State has won the N.B.A. championship again, four seasons after its last one. It is the franchise’s seventh title and the fourth for its three superstars: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, who have spent the past decade growing up together, winning together and, over the past three years, learning how fragile success can be. On Thursday, they defeated the Boston Celtics, 103-90, in Game 6 of the N.B.A. finals. They won the series, 4-2, and celebrated their clinching victory on the parquet floor of TD Garden, below 17 championship banners, in front of a throng of disappointed partisans. With 24 seconds left in the game, Curry found his father near the baseline, hugged him and shook as he sobbed in his arms. Then Curry turned back toward the game. He put his hands on his head and squatted down, then fell onto the court. “I think I blacked out,” Curry said later.”

ESPN.com: “Draymond Green played his best game of the series, scoring 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting, grabbing 12 rebounds, recording eight assists with two steals and two blocks. He also hit two 3-pointers after missing his first 12 attempts of the series. He struggled on the other end, however. With Green as the primary defender, the Celtics shot 9-of-17 from the floor. Andrew Wiggins continued his strong series, finishing with 18 points, six rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocks. Jordan Poole added 15 points off the bench, while Klay Thompson scored 12. Gary Payton II had just six points, but finished with a plus-18 net rating.”

San Francisco Chronicle: “All through these NBA Finals, Steph Curry has been more openly emotional than usual, getting into it with Boston fans and doing audaciously early celebrations. Those emotions completely took over on Thursday night as his Warriors put away the Celtics late in a 103-90 win that clinched their fourth NBA title since 2015 and their first since 2018. After coach Steve Kerr pulled the Golden State starters with the win — and the title — assured, Curry began crying on the baseline, embracing his father Dell, who had a victory cigar at the ready. When time expired, the tears really started to flow, with Curry weeping through his ABC interview with Lisa Salters.”

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Michael Jordan rookie card sells for huge money in auction

The basketball card game is still incredibly strong – but only for really, really rare cards. Via ESPN.com:

A rare Michael Jordan rookie card sold with auction house Christie’s for $1.008 million, including fees and premiums — a record for the 1986-87 Fleer Jordan that set the sports card industry aflame in the wake of “The Last Dance.”

Fleer’s 2006-07 basketball release (Fleer was purchased by Upper Deck in mid-2005) included a 20th anniversary buyback autograph program: 23 numbered 1986-87 Fleer Jordan rookies were rereleased, signed by Jordan, into 2006-07 boxes along with certificates of authenticity.

Cleveland Cavaliers promote Greg Buckner to associate head coach

The Cleveland Cavaliers have promoted Greg Buckner to associate head coach, Cavaliers Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

Buckner was hired as an assistant coach with the Cavaliers in September of 2020, after previously working on the staffs of the Memphis Grizzlies (2016-19) and Houston Rockets (2014-16) alongside Bickerstaff. Prior to being elevated to assistant coach with the Rockets, Buckner served three seasons as a player development coach (2011-14). This past season, he was part of a coaching staff that helped guide Cleveland to the NBA’s fifth-best defensive rating (108.9) and doubled their win total from a season ago with a 44-38 record. The Cavaliers also allowed just 105.7 points per game, the fifth-lowest in the NBA, and held teams under 100 points on 26 occasions.

As a player, Buckner was selected with the 53rd overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks, appearing in 570 games over 10 seasons with Dallas, Philadelphia, Denver, Minnesota and Memphis. In 2008, Buckner was traded from Minnesota to Memphis as part of a deal that sent Kevin Love to the Timberwolves.

A standout performer at Clemson University, Buckner became the first Tiger to ever lead his team in scoring over four straight seasons (1994-98) and guided the program to three NCAA Tournament bids. The Hopkinsville, Kentucky native started all 122 games of his career without missing a single contest, setting the school record for consecutive starts. Inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005, Buckner remains the lone Tiger to ever win ACC Rookie of the Year (1994-95). Buckner’s number 21 jersey is one of 11 retired by the Clemson men’s basketball program, which also includes Cavaliers legend Larry Nance.