Kings keep Shareef Abdur-Rahim on staff

shareef abdur-rahim

Whether in Denver or Sacramento, Pete D’Alessandro wanted to work with Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

Abdur-Rahim, a former Kings forward and NBA All-Star, was an assistant general manager under Geoff Petrie and is the only holdover from Petrie’s staff.

Abdur-Rahim and new assistant general manager Mike Bratz give D’Alessandro more of a staff than he had anticipated entering Thursday’s NBA draft.

“(Bratz was) the guy I wanted,” D’Alessandro said. “And when I thought I had a shot at the Denver job and I saw things going on here, to take it a step further, I actually wanted Shareef as well. I wanted to bring Mike and Shareef over there, and when I got the position over here, it’s just the way it lined up.”

Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee

Wolves owner Taylor, once a seller, ends up buying more stock

For the past several months, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has been looking for a buyer for the club who would originally own a portion of the team and then eventually would take over majority ownership.

But after not finding a suitable partner, Taylor changed his mind and bought the stock holdings of six partners who wanted out.

“I was looking at bringing somebody else in to do that, and it never worked out,” Taylor said. “So I just had told the partners that wanted to sell out, that had been with me for about 18 years, that if they wanted to sell out that I would buy their stock. I had about half of them do that, the other half stayed in. I just left that option up to them. They made their decisions, and everybody is happy with how it worked out.”

So now with the hiring of Flip Saunders as president of basketball operations, Taylor seems more involved than ever and he is probably more excited about this draft than any in recent memory.

Reported by Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis Star Tribune

Kobe Bryant can easily see himself playing 3-4 more years

Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant has consistently suggested he’ll play just one or two more seasons before retiring.

Currently on a trip to Brazil, the Lakers guard may have revealed a different plan altogether.

“I could easily see myself playing another three or four years,” he said on Brazilian television in a segment produced by Glenda Carqueijo (2:30 in the video).

The All-Star guard is currently recovering from a torn Achilles’ tendon, suffered April 12.  He’s expected to return to the court by November or December.

Reported by Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times

Stock is rising for Israeli point guard Gal Mekel

One of the NBA’s sleeper free agents is becoming more and more of a common name.

Point guard Gal Mekel, fresh off leading little Maccabi Haifa to an upset of Euroleague Final Four regular Maccabi Electra Tel-Aviv for the Israeli championship earlier this month, appears to be inching closer to an NBA roster for next season.

Mekel had an eye-opening workout last week with the Milwaukee Bucks, according to sources close to the situation, and will audition Monday for the Dallas Mavericks. Sources told ESPN.com that the Toronto Raptors, meanwhile, are the latest team to express interest in Mekel, who has made major progress since his days at Wichita State from 2006-2008 and increasingly appeals to NBA teams thanks to his size, ability to read the game and, most of all, his pick-and-roll proficiency.

Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com

Kyrie Irving praises Jason Kidd

jason kidd

Cavaliers star Kyrie Irving did not want to speculate on the future — not a possible future with LeBron James, something that is always fodder for supposition. He didn’t even want to look as far ahead as Thursday and who might be the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, a slot held by Cleveland.

But if you want to hear about Jason Kidd, one of the game’s greatest point guards and a guy who recently turned coach, then Irving went from being Mr. Mum to Chatty Charlie yesterday.

“He’s a tremendous leader. Obviously, Brooklyn sees something in him especially from a leadership standpoint,” Irving said of Kidd going from player to coach after 10 days of retirement. “He’s coming straight off the court, but I feel the last few years he was definitely a coach out there on the court. The transition, I think, will be easy for him. I’m looking forward to see how he does.”

Reported by Fred Kerber of the New York Post

Doc Rivers to become head coach of L.A. Clippers

Doc Rivers

Doc Rivers is abandoning his sinking ship and switching coasts. It’s the end of an era in Boston.

In a deal forced by his unwillingness to endure rebuilding, Rivers bailed on Boston and agreed Sunday to coach the Clippers, according to multiple sources. As compensation, L.A. gave up a 2015 first-round pick — and, in the process, presumably solidified Chris Paul’s return as a free agent — clearing the way for Rivers to resume title-hunting while the Celtics go about rebuilding around Rajon Rondo, who will return next season following ACL surgery.

The Clippers are picking up the three years and $21 million remaining on Rivers’ contract, following interviews with candidates Byron Scott, Brian Shaw and Lionel Hollins.

The next big question is what happens to future Hall of Famers Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, both of whom don’t fit into Boston’s long-term plan. The Clippers were also negotiating a deal to land Garnett for DeAndre Jordan, but that was blocked by the NBA because it was deemed part of a coach trade. Any subsequent deals sending Garnett to the Clippers would also be blocked, according to commissioner David Stern.

Reported by Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News

Milwaukee Bucks have big free agency decisions

monta ellis

Monta Ellis’ decision last week to opt out of the final year of his contract did provide some clarity for the Bucks. It instantly made the shooting guard position a priority, whether in the draft or free agency. Ellis started all 82 games at the 2 guard spot last season and played major minutes.

“It gives us options in the draft of different positions we can look at,” McKinney said. “There should be players at 15 of different variety that could help us.

“I think it’s a very good group (of guards). When you talk about the point guards, the shooting guards, the swing players, we’re comfortable.

“We’re still doing some homework on the selection at 15. But we feel much more comfortable now than we did even a week ago.”

Point guard Brandon Jennings is a restricted free agent and other NBA teams will be able to start discussions with his agent, Jeff Schwartz, on July 1.

And backup guard J.J. Redick is an unrestricted free agent as is sixth man Mike Dunleavy.

Reported by Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Nets want Lawrence Frank, Roy Rogers as assistant coaches

lawrence frank

The Brooklyn Nets are “pretty close” to hiring Roy Rogers as an assistant coach on Jason Kidd’s staff, a league source confirmed Saturday.

The team is still awaiting a decision from Lawrence Frank on the other assistant coaching spot. The Nets interviewed both Rogers and Frank on Tuesday, Kidd said earlier this week.

Rogers was an assistant under Frank for two seasons with the New Jersey Nets. Most recently, Rogers served as an assistant to Frank with the Detroit Pistons.

Reported by Mike Mazzeo of ESPN New York

Udonis Haslem savors his third championship with Heat

Udonis Haslem savors his third championship with Heat

Mr. 305 can now boast of being a three-time champ.

In a locker room of cigar-toting, champagne-soaked Heat players late Thursday night, many of whom celebrated winning back-to-back rings, forward Udonis Haslem grinned as he reflected on his third title in his decade-long career.

The Miami native and Dwyane Wade are the only ones to have played on all three Heat championship teams, winning the franchise’s first together in 2006 and then the past two years as co-captains.

They’re two of just seven active NBA players with three or more championship rings — Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher have five, San Antonio’s Tim Duncan has four and Spurs teammates Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili each have three.

It’s something Haslem, who turned 33 years old on the day the Heat won Game 2 against the Spurs, didn’t envision after he left the University of Florida and played a year in France.

“I would have never guessed it,” Haslem said after the Game 7 triumph. “Undrafted, going overseas, I worked, man. I gave it my heart, my soul, sacrificed. And it all just paid off. I’m thankful. I’m blessed. I’m very blessed.”

Reported by Steve Gorten of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Dwyane Wade hopes to leave knee problems behind

dwyane wade

Dwyane Wade knocked on the table at the interview podium.

He then asked, `Is this wood?”

That was his thinking after being asked if he would need surgery on his left knee that bothered him since early March. Wade said he doesn’t expect another procedure in the offseason and that rest is all he needs.

“Hopefully no surgery,” Wade said. “Obviously there will be a few treatments me and Doc will talk about, but it won’t be surgery. Treatments, I hope. A lot of rest is going to be key for them. My knees right now, they’re still on fire because I have this hot stuff on my legs. But hopefully no surgery at all.”

It was the second straight year Wade dealt with knee issues. He had surgery last summer on his right knee after the Miami Heat won the title. He played through pain for most of the past four months, but was in the lineup every game in the playoffs except for Game 4 against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round.

Reported by Shandel Richardson of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel