The Orange County Register (Kevin Ding) reports: One less thing for the Lakers to worry about next season, when they’ll only be expected to go 82-0 with Andrew Bynum on this team: Brian Shaw isn’t going to coach Shaquille O’Neal with the Phoenix Suns. Shaw told me after practice today that he got word from Suns general manager Steve Kerr that Phoenix is going in another direction. “He wanted to have a coach that had experience in terms of being a head coach,” Shaw said.
Category: NBA Teams
NBA teams blog
Donnie Walsh had spotty draft record with Pacers
The Indianapolis Star (Bob Kravitz) reports: As much as Donnie Walsh is revered around here, his draft record since the early years has been spotty at best. Yes, he took Reggie Miller at No. 11 in 1987, took Rik Smits, a no-brainer at No. 2 in 1988, and hit pay dirt with Antonio Davis in the second round in 1990 and Dale Davis at No. 13 in 1991. Beyond that, though, we’re looking at . . . George McCloud at No. 7 in 1989 . . . Malik Sealy at No. 14 in 1992 . . . Scott Haskin at No. 14 in 1993 . . . Eric Piatkowski at No. 15 in 1994 . . . Erick Dampier at No. 10 in 1996 . . . Austin Croshere at No. 12 in 1997 . . . Jonathan Bender at No. 5 in 1999 after sending Antonio Davis to Toronto . . . Primoz Brezec at No. 27 in 2000 . . . Jamaal Tinsley, acquired from Atlanta and chosen at No. 27 in 2001, one pick ahead of Tony Parker . . . Fred Jones at No. 14 in 2.
Suns want Barbosa to take summer off
The East Valley Tribune (Jerry Brown) reports via a blog: The Suns have asked Leandro Barbosa to take the summer off to rest and skip the 2010 Olympic qualifying tournament for his native Brazil. Barbosa has complained of some right knee soreness since the end of the season and will be returning to Phoenix in June to have the knee looked at again. But the Suns are confident that the problem is minor and will require only some rest over the summer.
InsideHoops.com says: It’s always tough to ask international players to skip big events, and the assumption is they don’t want to unless they really have to.
Kareem used to be Celtics fan
The AP reports: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar rooted for the Celtics during his high school days in New York. Honest. He would later be involved in one of the most intense rivalries in sports, going against Boston three times in the NBA finals as a Lakers star in the 1980s. Now, that’s simply a part of his past. “I saw my first Celtics-Lakers rivalry game in 1969,” Abdul-Jabbar recalled Sunday, referring to a matchup in the NBA finals a few months after he completed his college career at UCLA. “I never had a hatred for them. When I was in high school, I was a Celtics fan. I got to meet (then-Boston stars) Bill Russell, (John) Havlicek, (Bob) Cousy, those guys, when I was in ninth grade.” … “After he retired (in 1987), Bill Walton and I didn’t speak for a couple years,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “We laugh about that now. Nowadays, when I get to Boston, I get stopped by people talking about how the game was played at such a high level (in the 1980s). They miss that.”
Magic extend contract of GM Otis Smith
The Orlando Sentinel (Brian Schmitz) reports in a blog: General Manager Otis Smith has signed a contract extension with the Magic, a deal that should run for at least another three seasons. The deal was expected. Smith, a former forward on the Magic’s 1989-90 expansion team, had one more year remaining on his contract after this season.
InsideHoops.com says: Smith has done well for the Magic, though it was sort of lucky (or was it brilliant insight?) that Hedo Turkoglu emerged and had a career season like he did last season. And, they still did overpay for Rashard Lewis. Now there’s more work to be done. Do they want to keep Lewis, a small forward who isn’t particularly muscular or big, playing out of position at power forward? Also, the backcourt needs to be upgraded if the team wants to really compete to reach the Finals someday. With all that said, the Magic are clearly headed in the right direction.
First Kings GM passes away
The Sacramento Bee (Martin McNeal) reports: Joe Axelson, the first general manager of the Sacramento Kings, bore the brunt of much criticism during his tenure, but little from those who worked with him. Axelson died Saturday at age 80 at his Coronado home, his son, David, also a former Kings employee, said Sunday. Joe Axelson was the team’s GM in 1985 when the franchise moved from Kansas City, Mo., and therefore ran the show when the Kings made the playoffs in their first season here at the old Arco Arena. Kings player personnel director and television commentator Jerry Reynolds said it became “a sad day” Sunday when he learned of Axelson’s death from Mike Duncan, the vice president of arena programming.
The AP reports: Over his career with the Royals-Kings franchise, he was responsible for some controversial trades, including swapping Oscar Robertson to Milwaukee in 1970 after Robertson squabbled with coach Bob Cousy and asked to leave Cincinnati. The Royals had to settle for Charlie Paulk and Flynn Robinson in the trade. Axelson at other times traded away Jerry Lucas, Nate Archibald and Norm Van Lier.
Robert Horry ponders retirement
The AP reports: “Big Shot Rob” might be done breaking hearts. San Antonio Spurs forward Robert Horry said Saturday he’s considering stepping away from the game after winning seven NBA championships in a 16-season career. “Right now I’m up in the air,” Horry said. “That’s all I can really tell you, up in the air. I want to play, 80 percent of me wants to play and I’m sure as soon as I get in the gym and see people bouncing the ball it would turn into 100 percent. So we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”
DerMarr Johnson charged with DWI
The San Antonio Express-News (Brian Chasnoff) reports: Spurs forward guard DerMarr Johnson has been arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, according to officials at the city’s magistrate and detention center. Johnson, 28, posted $1,000 bond and was released this morning.
InsideHoops.com says: DerMarr, even though you’re one of the lesser-paid NBA players, you still make more than enough cash to just take a damn taxi if you aren’t fit to drive the car yourself. You’re putting other people’s lives at risk by doing this, not to mention your own. Don’t be stupid again. And to people out there who can’t afford a taxi or live in a place where it’s hard to get one, then sleep in your car and drive in the morning.
Why the Celtics reached the Finals
NBA.com writes: “5) They finally figured out how to win on the road. After failing to do so against Cleveland and Atlanta, Boston managed to pull off two victories in Detroit against one of the best home teams in basketball. 4) Outside of a disappointing Game 2, the C’s stayed strong at home. Boston went undefeated on its homecourt in its first two series and didn’t blink after dropping one at the Garden. 3) After having a rough postseason, Ray Allen finally awoke for big performances in Games 5 and 6. The “Big Three” was starting to look more like a dynamic duo, but Allen pulled himself together in the final two games of the series, erupting for 29 points in Game 5 and posting 17 on Friday. 2) The Celtics figured out how to disrupt every aspect of Tayshaun Prince’s game. Boston held him to 6.3 points per game over the prior three contests and didn’t stop in Game 6. He struggled, going 3-of-10 from the field on Friday. Even after coming up with a crucial steal in the final minutes, he reverted back to his abnormal form as James Posey came from behind, swiping the ball straight out of his hands and dashing Detroit’s final hopes. The staple of Pistons’ basketball looked anything but against Boston. 1) Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. When you combine the “Truth” with the “Big Ticket” and put them against the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals, you get 44 points per game and a 4-2 series victory.”
May 30: Celtics 89, Pistons 81
The AP reports: Paul Pierce scored 27 points, Ray Allen had 17 and Kevin Garnett added 16 to lift the Boston Celtics to an 89-81 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals… After playing two Game 7s, the Celtics will get a needed break before hosting Kobe Bryant and the Lakers on Thursday night… The Pistons blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter and lost in Game 6 of the conference finals for the third straight year. They were eliminated on their home court for the first time during a six-year run that included a trip to the conference finals each year and the 2004 title… Chauncey Billups played well and Richard Hamilton scored 21, but the rest of their teammates had lackluster efforts—especially Rasheed Wallace… Wallace scored just four points on 2-of-12 shooting and had three turnovers in what might’ve been his last game as a Piston and could’ve been Flip Saunders’ last as Detroit’s coach. President of basketball operations Joe Dumars will likely make some sort of moves on the bench, the court or both.
Ticker reports: The Celtics, who avoided a third straight Game Seven this postseason, outscored the Pistons 29-13 in the final period to secure the victory. Boston used a powerful 23-6 run to seal the win… After Jason Maxiell gave Detroit a 74-72 edge with a fadeaway jumper, Pierce sliced through the lane and completed a three-point play to give the Celtics the lead for good with 5:25 remaining… Billups scored 29 points for Detroit, which lost in the Eastern Conference finals for the third straight season. The defeat already has raised questions about the job security of coach Flip Saunders.
InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Celtics shot 44.4%, the Pistons 42.0%. Both teams were awful from three-point range. The Celtics hit 20-of-27 free throws, the Pistons 17-of-21. Rebounding was close. The Pistons had 19 assists, the Celtics just 14.
For the Celtics, Pierce (8-of-12, 10-of-13 free throws) had 27 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Ray Allen (6-of-12, 3-of-8 threes) was alive with 17 points and 6 rebounds. Kevin Garnett (just 7-of-16 with a mere 4 free throw attempts) had 16 points and just 6 rebounds with 4 assists. Kendrick Perkins had 7 points and 7 rebounds. Rajon Rondo needed 13 shots for his 11 points and 4 rebounds. James Posey had 4 rebounds and two steals.
For the Pistons, Billups (9-of-20) had 29 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Richard Hamilton (9-of-14) had 21 points and 2 blocks. But then, a severe dropoff: Tayshaun Prince (3-of-10) had 10 points and 4 rebounds. Jason Maxiell (3-of-4) had 7 with 2 steals off the bench. Antonio McDyess (2-of-3) had just 6 points and 6 rebounds. Rasheed Wallace (awful 2-of-12) had 4 points and 10 rebounds. Rodney Stuckey (just 1-of-4) scored 4.