NBA Teams – Page 1028 – NBA Blog

Stan Van Gundy might be a Warriors coaching candidate

Here’s the Orlando Sentinel blog reporting on Stan Van Gundy and the Golden State Warriors:

Although he stresses he’s happy not coaching, former Orlando Magic and Miami Heat coach Stan Van Gundy appears to be leaving the door at least slightly ajar for a possible return to the NBA as coach of the Golden State Warriors.

Asked Thursday morning on 740 AM’s “Open Mike” show if he’s talked with the Warriors about their vacant head-coaching job, Van Gundy answered, “I have not met with them or anything else. There have been calls to gauge interest, and until you get a chance to actually talk to somebody, it’s even hard to say if they’re interested or if I would be [interested]. So we’re not at that point of even sitting down and talking yet.”

On Tuesday, the Warriors fired Mark Jackson after three seasons as their head coach.

Although TNT commentator Steve Kerr has been mentioned as the leading candidate for Golden State’s job opening, Van Gundy also has been mentioned as a potential candidate.

Video: Roy Hibbert steps up in Pacers-Wizards Game 2

Wednesday in Indiana, the Pacers beat the Wizards 86-82 to tie their second-round playoff series at one win apiece. In the victory, Pacers center Roy Hibbert, who has famously struggled in the playoffs as well as for much of the second half of the NBA regular season, stepped up and shot 10-of-13 for 28 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in 33 minutes. Here are some Game 2 Hibbert video highlights:

Andrew Bynum is no longer with the Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers announced Wednesday center Andrew Bynum will miss the remainder of the NBA Playoffs and will not be with the team.

“We want to thank Andrew and our medical staff for trying to get the issues with his knee resolved,” said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird. “We wish him the best in the future.”

Bynum was signed as a free agent Feb. 1, and played in just two games with averages of 11.5 points and 9.5 rebounds.

R.C. Buford wins 2013-14 NBA Basketball Executive of the Year award

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.

Video: Tony Parker scores 33 in Spurs Game 1 win vs Blazers

Tuesday in San Antonio the Spurs beat the Trail Blazers 116-92. Tony Parker shot 13-of-24 for 33 points and nine assists in the win. Enjoy these Parker video highlights:

Steve Kerr has multiple coaching job options

Here’s the New York Daily News reporting on Steve Kerr:

Steve Kerr is now the top candidate for three high-profile jobs, with the Golden State Warriors joining the Lakers as formidable competition for Phil Jackson and the Knicks.

According to a league source, Warriors owner Joe Lacob wants to hire Kerr to replace Mark Jackson, who was fired on Tuesday following three successful seasons as Golden State’s head coach. In fact, the Warriors wasted no time reaching out to Kerr, contacting him less than three hours after Jackson was dismissed. And a source maintains that the Warriors’ job is Kerr’s if he wants it.

The Knicks are still in play, but it is telling that Kerr — who met with Jackson 11 days ago in New York — has not made a decision, and that by delaying, two attractive jobs have become available.

Turning down Jackson in New York to coach Jackson’s former club in Los Angeles would be a stunning turn of events. The Warriors seem more logical since Kerr has several connections to the organization. He knows Lacob well and has a relationship with Lacob’s son Kirk, who works in Golden State’s front office. Kerr also worked with Warriors president Rick Welts in Phoenix.

Heat handle Nets in East semifinals Game 1

Here’s the New York Daily News reporting on the Heat and Nets, who are facing each other in the Eastern conference semifinals:

This is what it’s supposed to look like when the two-time defending champ plays the sixth seed.

It’s supposed to be lopsided, with the favorites imposing their will and their athletic advantage, scoring easily and often under the basket.

Only it wasn’t supposed to happen to the Nets, not after they beat the Heat in all four regular-season meetings.

“Regular seasons don’t even matter,” Miami’s Dwyane Wade said.

Like the Heat was preaching all along, the playoffs are a different animal. It became painfully apparent for the Nets on Tuesday night at American Airlines Arena, where they were stomped by a balanced Miami attack and fell in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

It was just too easy for LeBron James and Co. in their 107-86 domination. They outscored the Nets in the paint, 52-28. They shot 57%, breaking open the game in the third quarter before Jason Kidd waved the white flag.

Michael Carter-Williams undergoes shoulder surgery

Philadelphia 76ers guard Michael Carter-Williams underwent successful surgery today to repair the labrum of his right shoulder.

The surgery was performed by Dr. David Altchek at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York and his rehabilitation will be supervised by head team physician Dr. Brian Sennett of Penn Medicine.

“The health of our players is our primary concern,” said Sixers President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Sam Hinkie. “There were a number of healthy discussions between Michael, our medical team, several medical specialists and Michael’s representatives. After careful consideration and thoughtful research, we collectively agreed that it was in Michael’s best interest to move forward with the procedure now and allow for maximum recovery time.”

There is no timetable set for his return.

Warriors fire head coach Mark Jackson

The Golden State Warriors have fired head coach Mark Jackson. Jackson, who recently completed his third season as head coach of the team, guided the Warriors to a 51-31 record this season and a combined 121-109 record (.526) during his tenure in the Bay Area. Jackson was named the 24th head coach in the team’s West Coast history on June 6, 2011.

Jackson has been a successful coach with the Warriors. Yet they have cast him aside, reportedly due to personality conflicts between the coach and upper management.

“It’s never easy to make a decision of this nature,” said General Manager Bob Myers. “Mark has accomplished many good things during his three years with the organization, including his role in helping elevate this team into a better position than it was when he arrived nearly 36 months ago. We’re appreciative of his dedication and commitment since his arrival and are extremely grateful for his contributions. However, as an organization, we simply feel it’s best to move in a different direction at this time.”

“Mark Jackson has had a big impact on the improvement of our team and the success that we’ve had over the last couple of years,” said Owner & CEO Joe Lacob. “Nonetheless, we must make some difficult decisions in our day-to-day operations of the club and this would certainly qualify as one of those examples. We wish Mark the best of luck in his future endeavors and thank him for his contributions over the last three years.”

Jackson, 49, became just the third head coach in franchise history to lead a team to at least 50 wins in a season, joining Don Nelson and Alvin Attles, who both posted 50-win seasons twice with the Warriors. With 121 regular-season victories overall, Jackson ranks fourth on the franchise’s all-time wins list, trailing Attles (557), Nelson (422) and Eddie Gottlieb (263). Additionally, the 98 regular-season wins posted over the last two seasons (51 in 2013-14 & 47 in 2012-13) represent the Warriors best two-year stretch since the team posted 99 victories combined in the 1990-91 (44) and 1991-92 (55) seasons, which was also the last time Golden State made consecutive postseason appearances.

According to Yahoo Sports, “Golden State plans to pursue several top coaching candidates, with Steve Kerr and Stan Van Gundy at the top of the list, league sources said. The possibility of reaching out to the Chicago Bulls for permission to speak with coach Tom Thibodeau will also be a consideration, league sources said. The Warriors will likely move quickly to reach out to Kerr, who has strong relationships with owner Joe Lacob and president Rick Welts, league sources said.”

Toronto Raptors and coach Dwane Casey agree to contract extension

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.