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New Orleans Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans underwent minor arthroscopic surgery yesterday to clean out scar tissue in his right knee, the team announced. Evans will begin rehab on his right knee immediately. His expected timetable for recovery is 6-8 weeks.
Evans appeared in 72 games this season and averaged 14.5 points, 5.0 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 28.2 minutes per game.
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The Golden State Warriors have reached an agreement in principle for Steve Kerr, a 15-year NBA veteran and five-time NBA Champion as a player, to become the team’s new head coach, the team announced this evening.
Once the agreement is finalized, a press conference will be scheduled.
According to the Bay Area News Group, “Kerr and the Warriors are finalizing a five-year deal worth about $25 million as he spurned the New York Knicks, who reportedly offered a four-year contract to the TNT analyst. “It’s great on a basketball level to inherit a good team and a young team with high-character players and a front office I’m already familiar with and feel very confident in and comfortable with,” Kerr told Bay Area News Group columnist Tim Kawakami. “Yeah … it felt right immediately.” Kerr, 48, comes to the Warriors with no head coaching experience just like predecessor Mark Jackson, who was fired eight days earlier after leading the team to back-to-back playoff appearances.”
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The Detroit Pistons have a new leader. The team announced today that Stan Van Gundy has been appointed head coach and president of basketball operations.
“Stan is a proven winner in our league. He instills his teams with passion, purpose and toughness. He is a great teacher who will help our players grow and develop,” said Pistons Owner Tom Gores. “Stan is more than just a great coach, he’s a great leader. What I’m most excited about is how Stan can help us shape the franchise and instill what it means to be the best. He’s also a great communicator. My time with Stan has me convinced that he will bring our players, team and community to a very proud place.”
“It is an honor to be chosen to help Tom Gores build the Pistons into a team that competes for championships,” said Van Gundy. “Tom’s vision of building for the future, while seeking immediate improvement is a challenge that I embrace. We will work to put a team on the floor that reflects the franchise’s rich tradition and embodies the toughness and work ethic of fans in the Detroit area.”
Van Gundy has an NBA career regular-season record of 371-208 (.641) in seven-plus seasons as a head coach and has reached the NBA Playoffs seven times. His .641 winning percentage is sixth-highest among NBA coaches with 500 or more games of head coaching experience. Van Gundy became the seventh-fastest NBA coach to record 300 wins (12/25/10 vs. Boston), has coached the Eastern Conference All-Star team twice (2005, 2010) and has earned NBA Coach of the Month honors six times during his career.
Van Gundy joins the Pistons after serving five years as head coach of the Orlando Magic from 2007-2012, where he led the Magic to a 259-135 (.692) regular-season record, five playoff appearances and an NBA Finals appearance in 2009. His 2008-09 team led the league in defensive efficiency. In 2009-10, Van Gundy guided the Magic to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight season after compiling a 59-23 (.720) regular-season record. It was the second-best mark in the NBA, and Orlando captured the Southeast Division title for the third consecutive season.
Van Gundy served as head coach of the Miami Heat for two-plus seasons from 2003-05, posting a regular season record of 112-73 (.605) and a postseason mark of 17-11 (.607). His 112 coaching victories are the fourth-most in the franchise’s history and he led Miami to its third-best regular-season record in club history during the 2004-05 season (59-23). Van Gundy led Miami to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2005 as well as leading the Heat to the Eastern Conference Semifinals in consecutive years (2004, 2005) for the first time in team history.
Van Gundy spent 12 years with the Heat, arriving prior to the 1995-96 season and served as assistant coach under Pat Riley for two seasons. He was promoted to assistant head coach in 1997, a position he held for six seasons. Van Gundy was the team’s lead assistant until being named head coach on Oct. 24, 2003. He resigned as head coach on Dec. 12, 2005 for personal reasons, but remained with the organization as an NBA scout and later a consultant.
Prior to his tenure with Miami, Van Gundy coached at the University of Wisconsin for three seasons, including head coach in 1994-95. He began his coaching career as an assistant at the University of Vermont from 1981-83, then served as head coach at Castleton State College (VT) from 1983-86. After stints as an assistant coach at Canisius College (1986-87) and Fordham (1987-88), he was head coach at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell from 1988-92. In eight years as a college head coach, Van Gundy compiled a record of 135-92 (.595).
A native of Indio, Ca., Van Gundy earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a Bachelor of Science in physical education from SUNY-Brockport in 1981. While at SUNY-Brockport, Van Gundy played basketball for his father, Bill.
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David Griffin has been named General Manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Mike Brown has been released as Head Coach, the team announced today. Griffin had been acting General Manager since February 6th, 2014. Brown was hired as Head Coach on April 24th, 2013.
“Our ownership group is looking forward to David Griffin leading the basketball side of our business. We interviewed several strong candidates for the GM position including Griff. We chose David as our GM because we believe he is the best person to lead our franchise at this critical time and into the future. David brings over two decades of experience. He knows the ins and outs of this league as well as anyone and is also an outstanding talent evaluator.
“More importantly, he is a general manager who is aligned with our culture and philosophy which is the foundation of how we do business. David is not only passionate about his own job but also cares deeply about the success of everyone around him. His presence alone creates an infectious positive environment with players, coaches, front office people and even our fan base. We already saw some progress in the short time David led our basketball side in the latter part of this past season. Clearly, we have substantial work ahead of us and I am confident that Griff will play an essential part of the growth and success of our organization,” said Dan Gilbert, Majority Owner of the Cavaliers.
The Cavs record was 16-33 (.326) when Griffin became acting GM, then went on to close the season with a 17-16 (.520) record following his appointment. Griffin and the Cavaliers basketball front office staff remain focused on reviewing the past season and preparing for the draft, including the pre-draft player combine in Chicago this week, as well as preparing for the upcoming NBA free agency period.
“Our ownership’s commitment to this franchise and the fans of Cleveland is absolute. I feel that commitment, not only by the resources they make available but also with their tireless passion for delivering a championship-caliber team. Our entire organization reflects that passion and commitment. I am humbled and honored to be put in position to aggressively work with them, all of our front office staff and anyone who can contribute to achieving that vision,” said Griffin.
Griffin joined the Cavaliers as vice president of basketball operations in September 2010. Prior to joining the Cavaliers, he spent 17 seasons with the Phoenix Suns, the last three as the club’s senior vice president of basketball operations after being named to the position in June 2007. Griffin joined the Suns basketball operations group in 1997 and performed various roles with the team including assistant general manager of player personnel, director of player personnel and assistant director of player personnel.
“Over the last several months it has become clear to me that the Cavaliers are on the cusp of reaching the higher level of success that we all want and our fans so greatly deserve. At the same time, it has become apparent that certain changes are needed. We now have the assets to make those necessary changes and additions to our team,” Griffin stated.
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Brown finished the 2013-14 season with a 33-49 record and 10th place in the Eastern Conference. He also served as Head Coach of the Cavaliers from 2005-2010 and his life time record with the Cavs was 305-187.
“This is a very tough business. It pains all of us here that we needed to make the difficult decision of releasing Mike Brown. Mike worked hard over this last season to move our team in the right direction. Although, there was some progress from our finish over the few prior seasons, we believe we need to head in a different direction. We wish Mike and his family nothing but the best,” said Gilbert.
“Our ownership support provides the highest level of resources, flexibility and commitment to aggressively do whatever we believe needs to be done in order to win. There is no harder working or better human being in our league than Mike,” Griffin added. “This was not an easy decision. We thank Mike for his efforts and wish him, his wife Carolyn, and their family only the best.”
According to the Akron Beacon Journal, “Brown’s second reign in Cleveland lasted 384 days. Owner Dan Gilbert hired him back prior to last season and admitted he made a mistake in firing him the first time — only to fire him again after one season. Gilbert will swallow the remaining four years on the deal and the balance of the $20 million contract Brown signed just last summer, a staggering amount of guaranteed money to pay a fired coach, particularly since Gilbert paid two coaches last season while finishing the final year on Byron Scott’s deal. Now the Cavs will begin next season with their third coach in as many years, while Gilbert has now parted ways with three general managers and four head coaches since purchasing the team nine years ago. Brown went 33-49 last season and the Cavs missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year. Gilbert brought Brown back to fix the Cavs’ defense, which was worst in the league during the 2012-13 season.”
Griffin is leading an immediate search for the Cavaliers’ new Head Coach. The current Cavaliers assistant coaches remain under contract and working with the team.
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The news of this year’s Sixth Man award winner has been out for a while, but the actual official NBA announcement just came in this morning.
The Los Angeles Clippers’ Jamal Crawford is the winner of the 2013-14 NBA Sixth Man Award as the league’s best player in a reserve role, the NBA announced today. Crawford, who came off the bench in 45 of the 69 games in which he appeared, led all NBA reserves in scoring, averaging 18.6 points. Additionally, Crawford accounted for 3.2 apg and 2.3 rpg in 30.3 mpg for a Clippers team that went 57-25 and earned the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
Crawford, who also won the award in 2009-10 while with the Atlanta Hawks, joins Kevin McHale, Ricky Pierce and Detlef Schrempf as two-time winners. Crawford amassed 57 first-place votes and 421 total points from a panel of 125 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada.
Taj Gibson of the Chicago Bulls finished second with 395 total voting points (49 first-place votes). Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs finished third with 138 points (nine first-place votes). Markieff Morris (Phoenix Suns) finished 4th, Reggie Jackson (Oklahoma City Thunder) 5th, Vince Carter (Dallas Mavericks) 6th, and D.J. Augustin (Chicago Bulls) 7th.
In order to be eligible for this award, players had to have come off the bench in more games than they started. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.
Crawford tallied double-figure scoring efforts in 15-of-16 January games, as the Clippers posted a 12-4 record. On Jan. 25, Crawford poured in 37 points and handed out 11 assists in a 126-118 win over the Toronto Raptors. For the season, he posted 20-plus points 29 times and 30-plus points six times. The Clippers were 31-14 (.689) in games in which Crawford appeared off the bench.
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San Antonio Spurs General Manager R.C. Buford is the recipient of the 2013-14 NBA Basketball Executive of the Year award, the NBA announced today.
Buford assembled a roster this season that featured six players averaging double figures in scoring and eight players averaging 20 or more minutes. The Spurs clinched homecourt advantage for the 2014 postseason by virtue of having posted the league’s best record at 62-20 (.756). San Antonio was the only team to record 30-plus wins both at home (32-9, .780) and on the road (30-11, .732), and the 2013-14 campaign marked the 15th consecutive season that the Spurs posted 50-plus wins – an NBA record.
The longstanding trio of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker has been fortified in recent years with the additions of Boris Diaw, Kawhi Leonard and Patty Mills (third seasons with the team), as well as Danny Green and Tiago Splitter (fourth seasons with the team). Buford added Marco Belinelli this past offseason, who fit seamlessly into the rotation, with averages of 11.4 ppg (fifth on the team) and 25.2 mpg (fourth on the team).
Buford becomes the third Spurs Executive to win the award, joining Angelo Drossos (1977-78 season) and Bob Bass (1989-90 season). The Spurs tied the fifth-longest winning streak in NBA history this season, when they peeled off 19 consecutive victories between Feb. 26-April 2.
In his 23rd year with the franchise, Buford has previously held the positions of Assistant Coach, Head Scout, Director of Scouting and Vice President/Assistant General Manager before being tabbed with his current title as Spurs General Manager in July, 2002. Buford also holds the overarching title of President of Sports Franchises for Spurs Sports & Entertainment, presiding over the WNBA’s San Antonio Stars, the NBA Development League’s Austin Toros and the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League, in addition to the Spurs.
Buford totaled 58 points and received nine first-place votes from a panel of his fellow team basketball executives throughout the NBA. The Phoenix Suns’ Ryan McDonough finished second with 47 points (five first-place votes) votes and the Portland Trail Blazers’ Neil Olshey finished third with 34 points (five first-place votes). Executives were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.
Toronto Raptors President and General Manager Masai Ujiri announced Tuesday the club and head coach Dwane Casey have agreed in principle on a new three-year contract through the 2016-17 season. Casey guided the Raptors to a team-record 48 victories and an Atlantic Division championship in 2013-14.
“From day one last summer Dwane has done an excellent job both on-and-off the court,” said Ujiri. “There’s been growth from each player on the roster and the team’s identity of toughness and a desire to always compete has clearly been established.
“We’re very excited to continue to grow and develop this team with Dwane as our head coach.”
Casey incorporated four new players into the roster following an early December trade and from that point forward led the Raptors to the best mark in the Eastern Conference at 41-22. He directed the club to eight victories in the final 11 games in December and was rewarded with NBA Eastern Conference Coach of the Month honours. His 2013-14 squad finished in the Top 10 in the NBA in defensive field goal percentage (.450) and points allowed (98.0), and also posted a franchise-best 22 road wins.
“I thank Tim (Leiweke) and Masai for providing me and my staff the platform this season to coach and now to continue the process of developing this young team,” said Casey. “We have taken some big steps toward our goal of installing a culture and a defensive mindset.
“At the same time we realize the challenge ahead in order to complete our quest to build a championship program for the best fans in the NBA!”
In his third season at the helm of the Raptors, Casey continued to oversee the development of a young nucleus. Toronto was the only team this past season with two second-year starters to reach the postseason. Point guard Kyle Lowry established career highs in scoring (17.9) and assists (7.4), guard DeMar DeRozan earned his first All-Star selection, sophomore forward Terrence Ross moved into a starting role in December and increased his scoring average by 5.7 points and second-year centre Jonas Valanciunas led the team in double-doubles (25).
Casey was named head coach of the Raptors on June 21, 2011, just nine days after he helped lead the Dallas Mavericks to the 2011 NBA Championship. He earned his 100th career victory as head coach of the Raptors on April 2 with a 107-103 win versus Houston.
Casey has served as a head coach, associate head coach and assistant coach during his 19 seasons in the NBA.
Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder is the winner of the Maurice Podoloff Trophy as the 2013-14 NBA Most Valuable Player, the NBA announced today. It is the first MVP award for Durant, who captured his fourth scoring title in five seasons, joining Wilt Chamberlain, George Gervin and Michael Jordan as the only players to accomplish this feat. Despite teammate Russell Westbrook appearing in only 46 games, Durant guided the Thunder to the NBA’s second-best record at 59-23.
Durant totaled 1,232 points, including 119 first-place votes, from a panel of 124 voters that consisted of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada as well as an NBA.com MVP fan vote, making for 125 total ballots. For the fifth consecutive season, the NBA gave fans the opportunity to submit their votes by ranking their top five choices through a dedicated Web page on NBA.com. The fan vote counted as one vote and was compiled with the 124 media votes to determine the winner. Players were awarded 10 points for each first-place vote, seven points for each second-place vote, five for each third-place vote, three for each fourth-place vote and one for each fifth-place vote received.
Rounding out the top five in voting are Miami’s LeBron James (891 points, six first-place votes), the Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin (434 points), the Chicago Bulls’ Joakim Noah (322 points), and the Houston Rockets’ James Harden (85 points).
Durant averaged a career-best 32.0 points to go with 7.4 rebounds and 5.5 assists, also a career high. In capturing his fourth scoring title, he joined Jordan (10), Chamberlain (seven), Gervin (four), and Allen Iverson (four) as the only players in league annals to win at least four scoring titles. He shot .503 from the field, .391 from three-point range, and .873 from the free throw line, leading all players in free throws made (703) and attempted (805). Durant authored two 50-point games, topped the 40-point mark on 14 occasions, and turned in 17 games with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds.
Durant’s consistency was highlighted by his streak of 41 consecutive games scoring at least 25 points, which ran from Jan. 7 through April 6, and was the longest streak since Michael Jordan did it in 40 straight games during the 1986-87 season. It’s the third-longest streak (single season) in NBA history, behind Wilt Chamberlain, who did it in all 80 games during the 1961-62 season, and Oscar Robertson, who went for 25-plus in 46 straight games during the 1963-64 season. Chamberlain did it for 106 straight games over the course of the 1961-62 and 1962-63 seasons.
The winner of four NBA Player of the Month honors in 2013-14 (October-November, December, January and March), Durant was also named Player of the Week six times (Dec. 2, Dec. 30, Jan. 20, Jan. 27, Feb. 10 and March 24).
The NBA MVP trophy is named in honor of the late Maurice Podoloff, the first commissioner of the NBA who served from 1946 until his retirement in 1963.
The Philadelphia 76ers today announced that Michael Carter-Williams has been named 2013-14 NBA Rookie of the Year. He joins Allen Iverson (1996-97) as the only players to win the award in franchise history. Carter-Williams earned 104 of a possible 124 first-place votes from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters selected by the NBA.
“Michael made an immediate impact on the court this season, but his dedication, professionalism and contributions to both the organization and the Philadelphia community make him all the more deserving of this 2013-14 NBA Rookie of the Year award,” said Sixers Managing Owner Josh Harris. “This is an incredibly proud moment for the 76ers and one we are thrilled to share with him, the city and our fans.”
“Michael performed and represented the Sixers organization this past season in a manner befitting of the 2013-14 NBA Rookie of the Year,” said co-Managing Owner David Blitzer. “He never stopped working – from the moment he burst onto the national scene in our home opener through the final horn at last game of the season – and we are proud to congratulate him on this well-deserved award.”
Carter-Williams was the 11th overall pick by Philadelphia in the 2013 NBA Draft. The last “double-digit” draft pick to be named Rookie of the Year was Mark Jackson, who was the 18th overall pick by New York in 1987. The only other players who were drafted 10th or later and went onto win Rookie of the Year are Jamaal Wilkes (1974), Woody Sauldsberry (1957) and Don Meineke (1953).
“By opening night, it was clear to us that Michael belonged. This award marks a lifetime of hard work, from Hamilton to St. Andrew’s, and Syracuse to the Sixers,” said Sixers President of Basketball Operations & General Manager Sam Hinkie from an international scouting trip. “We congratulate him on this unique achievement and look forward to helping him put in the work necessary to garner even greater success in the future.”
In his NBA debut against Miami on October 30, 2013, Carter-Williams had 22 points, 12 assists, seven rebounds and nine steals. He became just the third player in NBA history to reach those stats in a single game. The nine steals tied the franchise record and were the most by a player in his NBA debut.
Carter-Williams went onto be named NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played from October 29 through November 3. Shaquille O’Neal is the only other rookie to be named Player of the Week to start his career. Carter-Williams was also named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for the combined months of October and November, as well as January, March and April.
For the season, Carter-Williams averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 assists (tied for 11th in NBA), 6.2 rebounds and 1.86 steals (sixth in NBA). He became just the third player dating back to 1950-51 to lead rookies in points per game, rebounds per game and assists per game, joining Oscar Robertson (1960-61) and Alvan Adams (1975-76).
Carter-Williams joined Robertson and Magic Johnson (1979-80) as the only players to average at least 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists in their rookie season.
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The NBA said Saturday it will appoint a chief executive officer to supervise the Los Angeles Clippers’ operations after banning owner Donald Sterling from the league for life.
The league announced its decision a few hours before the Clippers faced the Golden State Warriors in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series.
On Tuesday, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling for racist comments made on an audio recording, fined him $2.5 million and urged league owners to force him to sell the team.
“The best way to ensure the stability of the team during this difficult situation is to move quickly and install a CEO to oversee the Clippers organization,” Mike Bass, the NBA executive vice president of communications, said in a statement. “The process of identifying that individual is underway.”
— Associated Press