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Philadelphia 76ers announce 76 Sixers Draft parties

The Philadelphia 76ers today announced that for the first time, 76 Sixers Draft parties will take place the day of the NBA Draft on Thursday, June 26. Fans throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware can gather at 76 locations to watch the Draft, win tickets, prizes and other giveaways, and mingle with local Sixers fans.

For the first time since 1984, the Sixers will have two top-10 draft picks at Nos. 3 and 10, along with five second-round picks (Nos. 32, 39, 47, 52 and 54 overall).

“We will have an unprecedented 76 Sixers Draft parties to match the size and scope of what this night means to our organization, and especially to our fans,” said Sixers Chief Marketing & Innovation Officer Tim McDermott. “We look forward to seeing our future unfold on June 26 as we gather together to watch and celebrate the Draft.”

Flip Saunders will become new coach of Timberwolves

Here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune with some Timberwolves news:

Flip Saunders will be the next Timberwolves coach and will be introduced Friday in a news conference.

He confirmed in a text message this morning that he will coach the team but declined further comment until tomorrow.

As far as I know, there is no specified length of time that he’ll coach, although he has suggested before it would only be for a season or two if he did decide to coach.

When it’s all sorted out, Flip’s staff is expected to include former Wolves players Sam Mitchell and Sidney Lowe, although I’m not certain yet if either is a coach-in-waiting to take the job next.

Some top 2014 NBA Finals storylines

RETURN TRIP: A Finals rematch is a rare treat. This will be the first time since 1997 and 1998 two teams will square off in consecutive years. Further adding to the anticipation, it’s the first time in 25 years that two teams played a seven-game Finals and repeated as conference champions the following season.

SUSTAINED EXCELLENCE: Six Finals appearances in 16 seasons and 15 consecutive 50+ win seasons have established the Spurs as the NBA’s model for long-term success. Is this the team’s last run for a championship? When you’re the Spurs, the answer to that question can never be yes.

COACHING UP: Only four coaches in the history of the NBA (Phil Jackson, Red Auerbach, Pat Riley and John Kundla) have won five or more titles. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich hopes to join this elite club in 2014. On the other sideline, Erik Spoelstra is aiming to become only the fourth coach (Auerbach, Kundla and Jackson) in NBA history to win three straight Finals.

DOING IT WITH DEPTH: The Spurs’ depth has been one of the largest reasons for their return to The Finals. San Antonio is the first team since the NBA/ABA merger (1976) to not have a single player average 30 minutes. The Spurs had nine players average at least 8.0 points this season — the first team to hold that distinction and make The Finals since the 1965-66 Celtics. San Antonio’s reserves finished the regular season with the highest scoring average in Spurs franchise history and in this season’s playoffs, the reserves have accounted for a league-high 42.2 points per game.

DIFFERENT PATH, SIMILAR RESULTS: The Spurs and Heat were built in different ways, with different types of players. After Tim Duncan, who was the top pick in the 1997 NBA Draft, the next highest Spurs draft pick is Kawhi Leonard (15th overall pick). Their roster boasts five second-rounders and one undrafted player. The Heat, on the other hand, features six top 10 picks on its star-studded roster.

— NBA News

Thanks to Heat, young Norris Cole already very familiar with NBA Finals

Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Heat backup guard Norris Cole:

Young Norris Cole living in NBA Finals with Heat

Norris Cole isn’t ready to assess his place in history, not at 25, not in just his third season in the league.

But he appreciates the uniqueness of his NBA reality, having now made it to the Finals in each of his first three seasons, with championships in each of his first two.

With this best-of-seven series against the San Antonio Spurs, the reserve point guard becomes the first player to appear in the NBA Finals in his first three seasons since Scott Williams did it with the Chicago Bulls from 1991 to 1993.

Beyond being the first player to do that in more than two decades, Cole entered these Finals having appeared in 55 playoff games, the fourth highest total over a player’s first three seasons.

Donald Sterling wants to repair his reputation

Here’s the Los Angeles Times reporting the latest on Donald Sterling:

Donald Sterling remains holed up in his Beverly Hills mansion, ostracized by many, banned by the NBA and yet quietly pleased that his Los Angeles Clippers last week fetched a record sales price of $2 billion.

Sterling believes that if he had conducted the sale, instead of his wife Shelly, he might have pushed the price even higher, his lawyer, Max Blecher, said Tuesday. But Sterling’s real concern — one that might still send him to court in an attempt to block the jaw-dropping deal — is that the windfall does nothing to mend his wounded reputation.

“He doesn’t want to die and have his tombstone say, ‘Here lies a mental incompetent and a racist,’” Blecher said. “He is trying to do the best he can to see whether those stigmas can be eliminated or at least reduced. . . . That is what this is about.”

Sterling filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against the NBA on Friday that became largely moot when the pro basketball league quickly accepted an agreement from the Sterling Family Trust to sell the team to former Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer. The NBA then canceled a hearing that had been scheduled Tuesday and was designed to remove the Sterlings as owners of the Clippers.

Dirk Nowitzki unfazed by All-NBA omission

Here’s ESPN Dallas reporting on Mavs veteran Dirk Nowitzki, who is still an extremely good player but not rocking the league quite the way he used to:

For the second consecutive season, Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki was not named to the All-NBA team, but he took the result in stride.

“For me, I had a good bounce-back year, but I agree [with the announcement],” Nowitzki told ESPN Dallas. “Obviously, I’m not in the cream of the crop anymore. I think that’s no surprise. I’ll still try to be efficient going forward.”

Forwards Kevin Durant and LeBron James (first team), Blake Griffin and Kevin Love (second team) and Paul George and LaMarcus Aldridge (third team) were honored by the league on Wednesday.

The 2012-13 season marked the first time since the 1999-2000 season that Nowitzki was not named to an All-NBA Team. That was largely in part due to him missing the first 27 games of the season after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. He did bounce back from that injury-plagued campaign by averaging 21.7 points per game this season.

Kevin Garnett yet to indicate future plans

Here’s ESPN New York reporting on Nets veteran Kevin Garnett:

Kevin Garnett has yet to give the Brooklyn Nets any indication of what his plans are for the coming season.

So until Garnett decides whether he is going to retire or not, general manager Billy King will plan ahead with the thinking that Garnett is returning for a second go-around with the Nets.

“He’s under contract,” King said after a Nets’ free-agent workout on Wednesday. “So until a guy tells you he’s not under contract you go on the basis that he’s under contract and you got to plan accordingly. If a guy changes course and decides to retire then you make that decision.”

No retirement plans for Tim Duncan yet

Here’s the San Antonio Express-News blog reporting on veteran Spurs star Tim Duncan, whose squad faces the Heat Thursday in NBA Finals Game 1:

At 38, Spurs legend Tim Duncan knows the end of his NBA career is near. But with his fifth championship in his sights, Duncan said at Wednesday’s media availability that he has yet to seriously contemplate retirement.

“I’ve not come to that point yet,” Duncan said. “I don’t know when I’m going to retire. I don’t know what the factors are going to be. I don’t know any of that and I don’t care about any of that stuff right now. I’m not thinking about that. It will happen when it happens. I’ll feel it and I’ll now it and I’ll call it a day.”

Duncan has a player option to return for what would be his 18th NBA season. Former NBA coach George Karl had speculated earlier this year, basing his information on unnamed sources, that Duncan will retire. But Duncan and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich roundly dismissed that notion as the future Hall of Famer continued to put up quality numbers, averaging 15.1 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks.

Utah Jazz aim to cure defensive problems

Here’s the Salt Lake Tribune, on the Utah Jazz:

Jazz powers are straight-up sick of watching their team get kicked around at the defensive end. They’ve said that again and again, and it’s more than sweet-sounding BS. If we all had five bucks for every time Dennis Lindsey has hammered the point, we’d all be rich enough to buy the Clippers. In the first real chance for the club to hire a head coach outside its organizational walls since … well, ever, this longtime weakness will be addressed. Defense can be taught, stressed, improved, insisted upon. Whoever the new coach is, he will think more like Tom Thibodeau than Mike D’Antoni. It’s not just that defense wins championships, it’s that defense prevents you from getting blown off your home floor by the Denver Nuggets and crushed on the road by the Milwaukee Bucks. It’s a jumping-off point for future success.

Spurs get their Heat Finals rematch

Starting Thursday, the Spurs get a rematch in the NBA Finals against the only team to ever beat them in a championship series. San Antonio will be holding home-court advantage, so if another Game 7 awaits, the Spurs will have the decided edge this time around. If that wasn’t enough, the Spurs even got basically five full days between games to get healthy and prepare.

It is, without question, everything the Spurs could have wanted.

“We know what we’re going against,” said Spurs guard Tony Parker, who added that he has great respect for what the Heat have done in this four-year run. “It’s a great challenge.”

There are so many things that would seem like a distinct San Antonio advantage right now.

First, while everyone’s better at home, the Spurs dominate in San Antonio, winning 103 times in their last 123 games there. Over the past four seasons, the Spurs are also 25-5 when having three or more days between games.

— Associated Press