Category: NBA Teams

NBA teams blog

Clippers coaching search continues

Doc Rivers

The Clippers’ coaching carousel took many turns this week, as the team interviewed three candidates for their opening, while a fourth coach — Doc Rivers — popped up high on their wish list, said several NBA executives who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

The Clippers began by interviewing Indiana associate head coach Brian Shaw on Monday.

On Tuesday, the Clippers’ front office interviewed former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Byron Scott, followed by former Memphis Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins, who was in Los Angeles on Thursday and Friday.

But the real buzz in NBA circles involved the Clippers and Boston Celtics Coach Doc Rivers, who both expressed some interest in each other, according to the executives.

If Rivers were to become available, the Clippers would make him their No. 1 choice to become their head coach, the executives said.

Reported by Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times

C.J. Watson may opt out of Brooklyn Nets contract

cj watson

It has been expected since the Nets saw their season end against the Bulls in the first round of the playoffs C.J. Watson would opt-out of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent.

Nets general manager Billy King all but confirmed that would be the case in a radio interview yesterday.

“I haven’t gotten the official letter yet, but I’m assuming he will,” King said. “Because the salary that he makes, he knows he can get that, and he wants to get more if he can.

“Jason and I have already discussed if that happens, and if we aren’t able to retain him we have some guys in mind that we’d like to replace him with.”

Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post

Jason Kidd to coach Nets entry in Orlando summer league

Jason Kidd

The first time Jason Kidd takes the floor as a head coach won’t be in some NBA arena this fall for the first Nets preseason game.

Instead, it’s going to be in the practice gym inside Orlando’s Amway Center next month, when he takes charge of the Nets entry in the annual Orlando Summer League.

“I think it’s the best thing to get right into it,” Kidd said during one of several radio interviews he did in his first full day as head coach of the Nets. “I know that a lot of times head coaches don’t coach summer league, but this gives me time to work on different parts of the game of learning to be a coach, but also my philosophy and plays and the defensive stuff that I get to put in as my system. So, I get to see if it works [and] if it doesn’t work, what changes I have to make and go from there.”

As Kidd said himself, it’s rare for the head coach of a team to actually run its summer league squad often passing the job off to an assistant.

Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post

Andre Iguodala expected to opt out of Denver Nuggets contract

Andre Iguodala

Friday produced a trio of newsy Nuggets nuggets — Danilo Gallinari may return as soon as December from knee surgery, Andre Iguodala will opt out of his contract and become a free agent and Lionel Hollins will interview to be the team’s head coach…

As for Iguodala, it wasn’t a shock that he decided to opt out of his contract. Now, it’s just a question of whether he will re-sign with Denver.

The defensive-minded shooting guard would have made close to $16 million this coming season, but instead he chose the free-agent market in July.

If anything, it’s a sign that he’s considering other teams, though Denver can offer Iguodala a five-year deal while other teams can offer at most a four-year contract. Nuggets president Josh Kroenke has spoken highly of Iguodala and has said he will make a push to try to bring him back.

Reported by Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post

Tony Parker appreciates time to rest before NBA Finals Game 5

Tony Parker

Tony Parker pushed his tender right hamstring as much as he possibly could in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, and it will be hard to find a player in this series that needs the two days of rest before Game 5 more.

Parker had 15 points and nine assists in San Antonio’s 109-93 loss to the Miami Heat that evened the series at 2-2. But he was held scoreless in the second half as the Heat pulled away. Now he gets two full days for rest and treatment before the two teams play again on Sunday.

”It’s going to be huge for me,” Parker said after the game. ”Obviously, definitely got fatigued in the second half. Those two days I’m going to make sure I do a lot of treatment and get to 100 percent. Tonight I was not 100 percent. By Sunday, that’s my goal, to be good to go.”

Parker said after the game that Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was hesitant to let him play after his star point guard tested it out in the morning shootaround and deemed himself ready to play. But Parker convinced his coach to let him start, and his strong play early sparked the Spurs before LeBron James and Dwyane Wade took over.

Reported by Jon Krawcyznski of the Associated Press

Marcus Camby plans to keep playing for Knicks

marcus camby

Camby’s agent Richard Kaplan told ESPNNewYork.com on Thursday that the 17-year-veteran is committed to returning next season to be the backup center.

“The game plan is still the same,” Kaplan said. “There’s no reason to believe he won’t be back and won’t take on a greater role next season.”

Camby is under contract through the 2014-15 season.

He only played in 24 games last season, averaging 1.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in about 10 minutes per game. He battled through injuries — including left plantar fasciitis toward the end of the season — but Kaplan said Camby was healthy in the playoffs. The agent is “not sure why [Camby] didn’t play.”

Camby only saw the court for about three minutes in the postseason, including only 12 seconds against the Pacers.

Reported by Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York

Chris Bosh fined $5,000 for flopping

Chris Bosh

The NBA continues to do its part in trying to curb a growing fad by players to flop their way into getting a favorable call from the officials.

Miami Heat center Chris Bosh has been fined $5,000 by the NBA for violating the league’s anti-flopping rules during Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

The incident occurred with 6:07 remaining in the second quarter of the Heat’s  109-93 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday, June 13 at the AT&T Center.

To view the play, click on this link.

Some fans have asked why more players aren’t receiving flopping fines, but there’s no way to prove that a player really fell in a manner that wasn’t natural. Even some falls that look “obvious” aren’t quite so clear when seen from a different angle.

But, what Bosh did in that play certainly did look like he exaggerated what little contact there was.

Fortunately for Bosh and the Heat, his team came away with a big Game 4 win. 

Doc Rivers and Clippers may have mutual interest

Doc Rivers

The Los Angeles Clippers have not formally requested permission to interview Celtics coach Doc Rivers in the wake of widespread reports about Rivers’ potential departure from Boston, but there is strong mutual interest between the parties, according to sources close to the situation.

Sources told ESPN.com on Thursday that Rivers is highly intrigued by the idea of coaching the Clippers in the event that he and the Celtics part company after nine seasons together and one championship in 2008. Sources say the Clippers, meanwhile, would immediately vault Rivers to the top of their list if he became available as they continue a coaching search that, to this point, has focused on Brian Shaw, Byron Scott and Lionel Hollins.

The Los Angeles Times, citing several NBA executives, reported Wednesday that if Rivers decides he doesn’t want to coach in Boston anymore, the Clippers would be interested in him and he would become their No. 1 choice.

ESPN.com has also learned the Celtics and Clippers — in an offshoot of February’s Kevin Garnett-to-L.A. trade talks — discussed expanded trade scenarios that could have sent both Garnett and close friend Paul Pierce to the Clippers before the league’s Feb. 21 trade deadline.

Reported by Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com

Heat beat Spurs 109-93, tie NBA Finals 2-2

lebron james

Miami Heat owner Micky Arison had a message as he walked to the winning locker room.

”The death of the Big Three was overrated,” he said.

Sure was. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, his three prized players, are just fine.

So are the Heat’s championship hopes.

Riding big performances from their three All-Stars, the Heat tied the NBA Finals with a 109-93 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night in Game 4…

James had 33 points and 11 rebounds after failing to break 20 points in any of the first three games of the series, and Wade scored 32 points, 11 more than his previous high this postseason.

Bosh matched his playoff high with 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, he and Wade supplying the baskets that finally put the Spurs away for good midway through the fourth quarter.

Three players, 85 points. Just the way the Heat envisioned it when they signed James and Bosh to play with Wade in 2010.

”When Bosh, Wade and James score the way they did tonight and shoot it the way they did tonight, a team is going to have a difficult time if you help them like we did,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

”When those guys are playing like that, you better be playing a perfect game.”

The Spurs weren’t, committing 19 turnovers that led to 23 points…

Tim Duncan

Tim Duncan scored 20 points for the Spurs, who have one more game here on Sunday. They fell to 10-3 at home all-time in the finals, failing to back up their 113-77 victory in Game 3 that was the third-most lopsided score in the history of the championship series…

Wade shot 14 of 25, adding six steals, six rebounds and four assists in a performance that James compared to when Wade was MVP of the 2006 finals.

Tony Parker had 15 points and nine assists for the Spurs, who made a finals-record 16 3-pointers on Tuesday but got up only 16 attempts in this one. Gary Neal scored 13 points and Danny Green had 10, solid nights but nothing like when they combined for 13 3-pointers two nights earlier.

Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press