Dwane Casey in demand

Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports:

dwane casey in demand

Assistant coach Dwane Casey is with the Mavericks’ management crew in Chicago and will meet with Atlanta Hawks officials about their coaching vacancy.

Casey is on the list of virtually every team looking for a coach, but several of those teams don’t seem to be in a hurry to make a hire.

New Orleans has interviewed Casey and Philadelphia, also with an opening, interviewed Casey last year. The Clippers have not yet asked for permission to interview Casey, but the Mavericks have been told there is interest.

Nelson said the Mavericks are bracing for the possibility Casey could be moving.

“We love Dwane and we’d hate to lose him,” Nelson said. “But he’s popular for a reason right now.”

Wilson Chandler charged with drug possession

Karen Zraick of the New York Times reports:

wilson chandler charged

Wilson Chandler of the Knicks was charged with criminal possession of marijuana during a traffic stop in Queens on Tuesday night, according to law enforcement officials.

Chandler, 23, a guard and forward, was behind the wheel of a white 2010 Mercedes-Benz when the police, on routine patrol, pulled him over for driving without his headlights on at the corner of 213th Street and 94th Avenue at 11:17 p.m.

During the stop, police officers from the 105th Precinct detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle, according to Paul J. Browne, the police department’s chief spokesman.

Prokhorov Says GM Vandeweghe will not return to Nets

The AP reports:

New Jersey Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov says general manager Kiki Vandeweghe will be let go when his contract expires this summer.

”I wish him well,” says Prokhorov.

NBA owners approved the sale of the Nets to the Russian billionaire last week.

Prokhorov says Wednesday he does plan to retain team president Rod Thorn.

Celtics beat Magic 95-92 to take 2-0 lead

Jonathan Abrams of the New York Times reports:

Paul Pierce spent a majority of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals scoring or sprawling on the floor.

paul pierce

Whether the fouls he drew were phantom or flagrant, Pierce collected plenty of them, emptying his bag of tricks in Boston’s 95-92 victory Tuesday over the Orlando Magic, staking the Celtics to a 2-0 lead in the series.

Before the game, the Celtics uniformly chanted, “Let’s be greedy,” as they jogged onto the Amway Arena court. They were. The Celtics can claim their 21st conference title and a ticket to the N.B.A. finals by winning the next two games in Boston.

“These games are meaningful and guys are happy that we’re winning, but we know what our ultimate goal is and we don’t want to get complacent,” Pierce said.

Pierce scored 28 points, toying with Vince Carter and J. J. Redick, and made 9 of 11 foul shots, including two with 34.7 seconds left that stretched Boston’s lead to 95-92. Pierce fouled out on the next possession, and Carter, who promised after his trade to Orlando that he would take the clutch shots, missed both free throws.

The Sports Network reports:

Pierce fouled out with 31.9 seconds left and Boston clinging to a 95-92 lead, then watched from the bench as Vince Carter missed two free throws. After a Kevin Garnett miss, the Magic had one last chance, which ended in Jameer Nelson’s off-balance 30-foot heave that drew air just short of the rim.

Rajon Rondo added 25 points with eight assists and five boards while Garnett and Kendrick Perkins donated 10 points apiece for Boston, which gets to rest until Saturday’s Game 3 with a 2-0 series edge.

Dwight Howard, in a far better effort than his 13-point showing on Sunday, scored a game-best 30 points with eight rebounds, while Carter and JJ Redick added 16 points apiece for Orlando.

Gary Dzen of the Boston Globe reports (via blog):

The Celtics led by eight points at the end of the third quarter, and Rasheed Wallace threatened to put the game out of reach when he started the fourth with a three-pointer to put the Celtics up 81-70. But as they had done all game the Magic answered, cutting the lead to 85-83 at the 6:57 mark in the fourth. Vince Carter put them ahead 90-89 with a jumper with 3:36 remaining. A turnaround jumper by Kevin Garnett was the game’s only scoring until Rajon Rondo’s jumper with 1:33 left put the Celtics up 93-90.

The teams traded a Jameer Nelson layup and Pierce free throws and the Celtics clung to a 95-92 lead with 34.7 seconds left. On the next possession, Vince Carter drew the sixth foul on Pierce, but Carter missed both free throws, giving the Celtics the ball back with a three-point lead. Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy elected not to foul, and despite a miss by Garnett, the Magic got the ball back with only 3.5 seconds remaining after J.J. Redick delayed in calling a timeout.

Wizards win first pick in 2010 NBA Draft Lottery

The National Basketball Association announced tonight that the Washington Wizards received the first overall pick in the 2010 Draft during tonight’s Draft Lottery in Secaucus, NJ.

“This is a great night for our franchise and particularly for our fans,” said Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld. “They have shown great support and passion during what has been a difficult stretch over the last two seasons, but they can celebrate tonight knowing that we’ve taken a big step towards building the team that they deserve.”

The Wizards, who had a 10.3% chance of landing the first pick in tonight’s Draft Lottery, have held the number one overall pick twice before in franchise history. They chose Walt Bellamy number one in 1961 and Kwame Brown with the top pick in 2001.

In addition to the number one pick, the Wizards own Cleveland’s first round selection (30th overall) as a result of a three-team deal on Feb. 17 and hold their own second round pick (35th overall).

Washington is totally rebuilding, and chances are they’ll go make John Wall the first overall selection.

The Philadelphia 76ers are likely to take Evan Turner second, playing him alongside Andre Iguodala.

At third, the Nets will probably go for a power forward. There are several good candidates worthy of going that high up.

Complete 2010 NBA Draft Lottery results are here.

Cavaliers exercise Leon Powe option

leon_powe

The Cleveland Cavaliers have exercised the team option on forward Leon Powe, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts. Per league and team policy, terms of the contract were not announced.

In returning from a knee-injury that kept him out of action for the first half of the 2009-10 season, Powe returned to the court and played in 20 games (two starts), averaging 4.0 points on .429 shooting and 3.1 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per game. In 209 career games (16 starts), Powe has averaged 6.3 points on .517 shooting and 4.1 rebounds in 14.4 minutes per game.

“Leon has worked hard to rehab and get himself back on the court this past season. Now he has a full summer to continue working, play more basketball and come back to start next season better than ever,” said Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry.

The 6-foot-8 forward was selected by the Denver Nuggets with the 49th overall draft pick in the 2006 NBA Draft and traded for by Boston on draft night. He signed with the Cavaliers as a free agent on August 12, 2009. In 2005-06, Powe led the PAC-10 in scoring (20.5 points per game) and rebounding (10.1 rebounds per game) at California, becoming only the sixth player in conference history to accomplish the feat while earning All-PAC-10 honors.

Read NBA fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Game 1: Kobe scores 40, Lakers wreck Suns

The AP reports:

Game 1: Kobe scores 40, Lakers wreck Suns

Even with a balky knee and a litany of additional woes, Kobe Bryant still is among the most dangerous postseason scorers in NBA history—and he had no problem giving Los Angeles an early leg up in the Western Conference finals.

Bryant scored 40 points, Lamar Odom added 19 points and 19 rebounds, and the Lakers opened the series with ruthless offensive efficiency in a 128-107 victory on Monday night…

Pau Gasol had 21 points for the top-seeded Lakers, who won their seventh straight playoff game and snapped the Suns’ six-game streak with a phenomenal second half, highlighted by Bryant’s 21-point third quarter. He barely stepped on the Lakers’ practice court during the past week to rest his ailing knee, ankle, finger and back—all minor impediments to a major talent…

Amare Stoudemire scored 23 points and Steve Nash had 13 points and 13 assists for the Suns, who hadn’t lost since April 24. Robin Lopez started at center and scored 14 points in his playoff debut, but Phoenix couldn’t keep up with the champs’ height and 58-percent shooting in the Suns’ first conference finals appearance since 2006…

Bryant and Grant Hill got technical fouls for arguing with officials 57 seconds apart in the third quarter.

InsideHoops.com notes:

This was not a defensive game. The Laker shot 58%, the Suns 49.4%. The Lakers hit 8-of-17 three-pointers, the Suns just 5-of-22.

Gasol shot 10-of-13. Bryant hit 13-of-23. Odom hit 9-of-15.

Several Suns bench players tossed bricks: Channing Frye shot 1-of-8, Jared Dudley 1-of-5, Louis Amundson 1-of-4.

Timberwolves hire Tony Ronzone as assistant GM

Minnesota Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations David Kahn today announced the hiring of Tony Ronzone as the franchise’s Assistant General Manager/Player Personnel. Ronzone has been with the Detroit Pistons for the past nine seasons, most recently as the team’s Director of Basketball Operations. Ronzone will report directly to Kahn.

“We are excited to be able to add a person with Tony’s extensive basketball experience to our player personnel staff,” Kahn said. “Even though Tony’s reputation is largely tied to international scouting, I believe he has always had a firm handle on NBA and college personnel as well. He is a relentless worker and we are fortunate to have him join us.”

Ronzone began with the Pistons in 2001, serving as the team’s Director of International Scouting until 2005 and as Director of Basketball Operations from 2005-10. In his most recent role with Detroit, Ronzone directed all of the Pistons’ international scouting activities and assisted with college scouting and evaluating NBA personnel. Ronzone began his NBA career as a scout with the Dallas Mavericks from 1998 through 2000.

“I’m pleased to be joining a great organization like the Minnesota Timberwolves and excited to work with David Kahn and the entire basketball staff,” Ronzone said. “This is a great opportunity and I look forward to using my knowledge and past experiences in helping the organization achieve its goals.”

Ronzone began his front office basketball career as a player/coach in New Zealand. In 1990, Ronzone returned to the U.S. as an assistant coach at Arizona State. He also coached the Saudi Arabian National Team in 1992, and spent five years as a coach in United Arab Emirates. Ronzone’s international coaching resume also includes stints as an assistant coach for the Chinese youth national team in 1998 and the Chinese National Team in 2001. He was the first American to ever coach with the Chinese National Team.

Ronzone played college basketball at the University of Nevada before finishing his collegiate career at Long Beach State. He played professionally overseas in New Zealand, Australia and the Philippines.

Ronzone is involved with USA Basketball, where he serves as Director of International Player Personnel. In this position, he assisted with the gold-medal winning men’s basketball team at the 2008 Olympics. He is also active in the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program.

Phil Jackson, Steve Nash trade playful jabs before series

Kirkland Crawford of the Detroit Free Press reports:

Phil Jackson, Steve Nash trade playful jabs before series

The Lakers coach has made a name for himself in two ways: winning 10 NBA championships and complaining to officials via the media with stealth-like effectiveness.

And his latest target is Suns All-Star guard Steve Nash.

A couple of days ago, Jackson was asked if it was tough to prepare for Nash and Jackson quipped, “yeah, because you can’t carry the ball like he does in practice.”

So, Nash, what’s your response?

“I’ve never heard anyone accuse me of carrying it,” Nash said. “I mean, the best coach in the league Gregg Popovich (of San Antonio) didn’t have a problem with it last week.”

Dwight Howard frustrated by Celtics in Game 1 loss

The AP reports:

Dwight Howard Frustrated by Celtics in Game 1 Loss

Dwight Howard knew what the Boston Celtics had planned. Whenever he got the ball in the post, someone was going to hit him, bump him, push him, do whatever it took to keep him from getting into rhythm.

It wasn’t a new approach.

The Celtics simply do it better than just about everyone else.

Howard made only 3 of his 10 shots from the floor Sunday, continuing what’s been a yearlong offensive struggle against the Celtics, and his Orlando Magic lost Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals to Boston 92-88.

”I played like a robot,” Howard said.

He doesn’t have long for reprogramming. Game 2 is Tuesday night.