NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog
NBA Blog: The NBA basketball news blog section of Inside Hoops
NBA news blog
The NBA Executive of the Year award doesn’t excite fans like the MVP or Rookie of the Year or other such honors, but it’s still an official award, and it counts. And the people voting are other NBA executives, and most of them know what they’re talking about. So, respect it.
Anyway, with George Karl recently being named Coach of the Year, Masai Ujiri, the Nuggets VP of basketball operations, won the executive award.
Complete info on this is here.
The Mavericks’ next order of business is to get ready for the draft lottery and president Donnie Nelson, who will represent the team in New York for the lottery along with longtime assistant GM Keith Grant, has a plan for the lottery.
“I’m going to wear the same outfit I wore for Game 6 in Miami,” he said, referring to the night that the Mavericks won the title against the Heat in 2011. “Same boots. Same shirt. Same cologne. Everything.”
— Reported by Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News
Lakers forward Pau Gasol, who has been suffering from tendonosis in both knees, will undergo a FAST Technique procedure tomorrow. The procedure uses a probe inserted into the knee which directs ultrasonic energy to eliminate scar tissue without damaging healthy tissue. The procedure will be performed by Dr. Steven Yoon of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Group.
A timeline for Gasol’s recovery will be issued at the conclusion of the procedure.
 |
Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl is the recipient of the Red Auerbach Trophy as the 2012-13 NBA Coach of the Year, the NBA announced today. Under Karl’s stewardship, the Nuggets finished with a league-best 38-3 (.927) mark at home and the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference Playoffs.
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra finished second in the voting, followed by New York Knicks coach Mike Woodson who finished third, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich fourth, and Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel fifth.
In earning his first NBA Coach of the Year, Karl totaled 404 points, including 62 first-place votes, from a panel of 121 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Coaches were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote. The award was tabulated by the independent accounting firm of Ernst & Young LLP.
The Nuggets went 57-25 (.695) – the league’s fourth-best record – despite beginning the season as the league’s third-youngest team with an average age of 24.9 years, and not having a player score more than 16.7 points per game during the regular season. According to NBA.com/Stats, the Nuggets ranked third in assists (24.4 apg), generating an assist on 60.0 percent of their made field goals. Denver ranked fifth in player impact estimate (53.8 percent), offensive rating (107.6) and net rating (+5.6).
The Nuggets’ 38-3 record at Pepsi Center was a franchise-best and tied for the 14th best home record in league annals. Additionally, their .927 winning percentage at home was the highest since 2008-09 when the Cleveland Cavaliers went 39-2 (.951) at Quicken Loans Arena.
In his 25th season as an NBA head coach (ninth with Denver), Karl earned two Western Conference Coach of the Month awards during the 2012-13 campaign. He won for March after leading Denver to a conference-best 13-2 (.867) mark, which included wins in the first 12 games of the month, feeding a 15-game, franchise-tying-best winning streak. He earned his first monthly nod in January after the Nuggets opened the New Year with a 12-3 (.800) record. During January, Karl passed Larry Brown for sixth place on the all-time coaching wins list and notched his 1,100th career win.
The sixth-winningest coach in NBA annals and the active wins leader, Karl has amassed 1,131 career victories in the NBA, including a streak of 21-straight non-losing seasons – tied with Phil Jackson (21, 1989-90-2010-11) for the most in NBA history.
The Coach of the Year Award is named after legendary coach and Hall of Famer Red Auerbach who guided the Celtics to nine NBA Championships. In 1996, Auerbach was honored as one of the Top 10 Coaches in NBA History as the NBA celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Read NBA fan reaction and share your opinion in this basketball forum topic.
|
The Phoenix Suns have named Ryan McDonough the team’s general manager, it was announced today. He will be introduced in a press conference on Thursday, May 9, at US Airways Center.
“Ryan distinguished himself among an impressive group of candidates for our GM position,” said Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby. “His natural leadership and communication skills will serve the Suns well. And, his prodigious work ethic and ability to identify talent will enable us to take full advantage of the 10 draft choices, including six in the first round, that we have over the next three years. We welcome his championship pedigree to our organization.”
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “Also among the finalists were Bucks assistant general manager Jeff Weltman and San Antonio Spurs assistant general manager Scott Layden. Weltman also was a finalist for the Suns position three years ago when Lance Blanks was hired as general manager.”
The 33-year-old McDonough is considered one of the game’s brightest young minds, who combines a tireless work ethic with an expertise in player evaluation honed over the past 10 years at virtually every level of an NBA franchise’s basketball operations.
McDonough joins the Suns after most recently serving the past three seasons as the assistant general manager of the Boston Celtics, where he assisted Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge on all basketball-related matters, while being principally responsible for the draft evaluation of college and international players. He combines the experience of nearly a decade of in-person scouting of prospects across the globe with an understanding of advanced metrics and statistical analysis. During his tenure with the Celtics, Boston made two appearances in the NBA Finals, and claimed the 2008 title.
McDonough joined the Celtics front office in 2003 as a 23-year-old special assistant to basketball operations, rapidly moving up the team’s ranks with increased responsibility at each stop, always with an emphasis in talent evaluation. He spent four seasons as a special assistant, a role that included a great deal of video scouting work (2003-07), one season as director of amateur scouting (2007-08), one season as director of international scouting (2008-09), and two seasons as director of player personnel (2008-10) before his promotion to assistant general manager in Sept. 2010.
McDonough played a prominent role in the front office of a club that has kept a veteran-led roster in the playoffs the last six consecutive seasons thanks to an infusion of young talent acquired through quality late first-round draft picks and trades. Included in that list are the draft-day acquisition of four-time All-Star Rajon Rondo in 2006, and the 2010 selection of Avery Bradley, who was one of the NBA’s most improved players in 2012-13.
A graduate of the University of North Carolina with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, McDonough grew up in Hingham, Mass., the son of the late renowned Boston Globe columnist Will McDonough, and the brother of ESPN broadcaster Sean and NFL player personnel executive Terry.
|
As widely expected, LeBron James of the Miami Heat has won the Maurice Podoloff Trophy as the 2012-13 NBA Most Valuable Player, the NBA announced today. James earns the honor for the second consecutive year and the fourth time in five seasons. The only other player to win the award in four of five seasons is Bill Russell (1961, 62, 63, 65), and the only other players to win at least four regular-season MVPs are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six), Michael Jordan (five), Russell (five) and Wilt Chamberlain (four).
James totaled 1,207 points, including 120 first-place votes, from a panel of 121 voters that consisted of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada as well as an NBA.com MVP fan vote. For the fourth 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 120 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 Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant (765 points), the New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony, (475 points, one first-place vote), the Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul (289 points), and the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant (184 points).
James, who led the Heat to a league-best and franchise-record 66-16 mark, was the only player in the NBA to lead his team in scoring (26.8 ppg), rebounding (8.0 rpg) and assists (7.3 apg). He shot a career-high from the field (.565) and from three-point range (.406). He produced a record streak of six straight games with at least 30 points and a .600-or-better field goal percentage (Feb. 3-12). Additionally, James led the NBA score differential (+9.5) and player impact estimate (22.1 percent), according to NBA.com/Stats.
 |
The Brooklyn Nets will not offer a new contract to interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today. A search for a new head coach will commence immediately.
One obvious candidate for the Nets is Phil Jackson, who may be willing to consider a return to coaching in the league.
“The Brooklyn Nets organization would like to thank P.J. for his efforts with the team in his roles as both head coach and assistant, and for his contributions to the team’s success both on and off the court. We wish P.J. and his family only the best in the years to come.”
Carlesimo was named interim head coach of the Brooklyn Nets on December 27, 2012 and led the Nets to a 35-19 record in the final 54 games of the season. Under Carlesimo, the Nets reached the postseason for the first time since 2007, losing to Chicago (4-3) in the first round. Including his previous stops as a head coach in Portland, Golden State and Seattle/OKC, Carlesimo has a lifetime NBA coaching record of 239-315 in the regular season and 6-13 in the playoffs.
Read NBA fan reaction and share your opinion in this basketball forum topic.
|
Glen Taylor has pulled the Minnesota Timberwolves off the market.
Taylor said Friday that he has stopped looking for a buyer for the team and will instead offer to buy out any limited partners who are looking to sell. Taylor put the team on the market last summer in hopes of finding a person or a group that would be willing to buy a minority stake to start with and then take control a few seasons down the road.
But Taylor says he couldn’t find a buyer who would guarantee the team will remain in Minnesota, and also says he felt some seller’s remorse when negotiating with several interested parties.
— Reported by the Associated Press
Maryland sophomore and likely lottery pick Alex Len will be shelved for all pre-draft workouts due to surgery on his left ankle.
Sports International Group’s Michael Lelchitski said in a release Friday the 7-foot-1 Len had surgery to “stabilize” the partial stress fracture in his left ankle. Recovery time is projected to be 4-6 months.
That means Len would not only miss team workouts in late May and in early June before the draft on June 27 but also would not be available for testing at the NBA pre-draft combine in Chicago May 16-17.
Len, who averaged 11.9 points and 7.8 rebounds for the Terps and scored 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in an NIT quarterfinal win over Alabama and had 16 points and nine rebounds in an NIT semifinal loss to Iowa, won’t be able to work out for any teams.
— Reported by Andy Katz of ESPN.com
The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that the team has declined to exercise the one-year option in David Kahn’s contract for the 2013-14 NBA season, and as a result, he will not return as President of Basketball Operations. Kahn was originally hired by the Timberwolves on May 22, 2009.
“We want to thank David for all of his efforts the past four years with our basketball team,” said Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor. “These are always difficult decisions, but at this time, we believe it is in the best interest of our organization to make a change. We wish David all the best in the future.”