NBA Blog: The NBA basketball news blog section of Inside Hoops
Russell Westbrook’s wife is expecting, and the baby will be… two babies. Twin daughters! Here’s the Oklahoman with more:
In a Thunder-produced video posted Tuesday on YouTube entitled “The Westbrook Family,” Russell Westbrook and his wife, Nina Westbrook, are talking about their home life with 1-year-old son Noah, when they drop a surprise about Nina’s pregnancy.
The Westbrooks are expecting twin girls.
“If Noah gets out of hand, they’ll be able to both jump on him at the same time,” Nina said.
Elton Brand’s name carries big weight in the playing department, but his experience as an executive is on the limited side. But everybody who gets to know Brand quickly appreciates him, and he has flown up the Philly organizational ranks. The Sixers believe in him, and are reportedly naming him their new general manager. Here’s NBC Sports Philly reporting:
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The Sixers have hired Elton Brand as their general manager, sources confirmed to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark.
Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who first reported the news, Brand will be elevated from his previous role as vice president of basketball operations. Brand was also already on board as the Delaware Blue Coats’ general manager. The Sixers conducted an exhaustive search for a new GM after Bryan Colangelo resigned in June following his highly-publicized Twitter scandal. Brett Brown filled the role until the franchise made Brand the choice.
The search included external candidates such as Golden State Warriors assistant general manager Larry Harris, Utah Jazz assistant general manager Justin Zanik and Houston Rockets vice president Gersson Rosas.
And here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer:
In that partnership that is now Brown and Brand, it’s still unclear who will have the final say. Brown said Tuesday that once a general manager was named, the power structure and organizational chart would also be discussed and revealed.
On Thursday, Brand will be formally introduced as Sixers general manager and at that time both will have to answer the question; Who will have the final say when it comes to decision making? Of course, ownership will always have the final say, but that usually comes in the form of green-lighting a GM’s decision.
The Sixers have created a strong front office that includes Alex Rucker (who was promoted to executive vice president of basketball operations on Tuesday), Ned Cohen, and Marc Eversley.
Here’s The Advocate with some thoughts on the Pelicans and what makes them tick when things are going their way:
But underneath the waves of full-court sprints and lit-up scoreboards, the backbone of the Pelicans’ success was their stingy and savvy defense. Despite the onslaught of speed, they were able to stymie opposing offenses from scoring efficiently in transition, while effectively bottling up the halfcourt pick-and-roll.
From Feb. 1 onward, New Orleans allowed just 103.4 points per 100 possessions, the league’s fourth-best overall output and ranked No. 1 in defending the pick-and-roll. It allowed the Pelicans to win 20 of their final 28 games, while vaulting both Holiday and Davis to be the only teammates named first-team All-Defense selections.
Now, a week away from the opening of training camp, and with a recalibrated roster in place, the Pelicans’ mission is to re-engineer their defense to match the output generated in those final 35 games.
The Sixers still need a new general manager. The search has been ongoing for quite some times. Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer with the latest:
The 76ers are in the midst of a second round of interviews for their vacant general-manager position.
The ownership group had a dinner interview Sunday with Utah Jazz assistant general manager Justin Zanik and had another one with Houston Rockets vice president Gersson Rosas Monday, according to multiple sources. The sources add that the Sixers will have second interviews with their internal candidates later this week, expected Thursday and Friday.
The GM position has been open since Bryan Colangelo resigned in June.
The San Antonio Spurs have announced multiple additions and promotions to the basketball operations staff. Brent Barry joins the organization as vice president of basketball operations, while Wayne Diesel comes to the team as director of player care. Adam Glessner comes on as director of basketball intelligence, Cory Johnson is now the team equipment and travel manager and Massimo Simonetta comes to the Silver and Black as sports therapist.
In addition, the following members of the Spurs basketball operations department have received promotions: Willis Hall has been elevated to video coordinator and Cam Hodges advances to player development assistant. AJ Meyer is now coaching analytics coordinator, while Paul West has been promoted to assistant athletic trainer and recovery coordinator.
Barry returns to the Spurs organization after playing four seasons in Silver and Black from 2004-08, where he helped the Spurs to two titles in 2005 and 2007. After a 14-year NBA career, he joined the Turner Sports network as an analyst in 2010. Barry covered the NBA for the league’s network on NBA TV and eventually moved to providing color analysis for TNT during the regular season and playoffs. He was also tapped as a host for the Players Only telecasts during the regular season, and hosted All-Star Saturday at the 2018 NBA All-Star weekend. Barry also played for the Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, Seattle SuperSonics and Houston Rockets, where he finished his playing career in 2009. Barry ranks 34th all-time in three-pointers made (1,395) and 23rd all-time in three-point percentage (.405). He holds career averages of 9.2 points, 3.2 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 912 NBA contests. Barry graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in sociology.
Monty Williams had taken a leave from coaching due to a personal tragedy. But he’s ready to return to the job, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer/PhillyNews.com:
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Monty Williams has spent nearly his entire life in basketball, as a player or a coach, but tragedy struck a little over two years ago and it wasn’t clear when he would return to the game.
“It’s a great time for me to get back to full-time coaching. It was Brett [Brown], it was the team. I’ve played here before so I kind of know the culture of the city,” Williams said Monday night at Brown’s annual coaching clinic. “Most importantly, my family was ready for me to get back into coaching.”
In February 2016, when Williams was an associate head coach with the Oklahoma City Thunder, less than a year removed from his head coaching position with the New Orleans Pelicans, his wife, Ingrid, died from injuries she suffered in a car accident. She was 44.
Are players outside of New York thinking differently about the Knicks? Here’s ESPN.com reporting what top team brass had to say about it:
New York Knicks team president Steve Mills believes the perception of the club among NBA players has changed recently.
“In our circles that we travel and the people that we talk to, we know that there is a change in how people perceive us,” Mills said at an event for fans on Monday night. “… We know that the players are talking about New York as a place that, ‘Things are different there now.’ If we do all the things that we’re supposed to do over the course of the year, we’ll be in a good place [to attract free agents].”
The Knicks plan to have enough cap space to attract at least one max free agent in the summer of 2019. Players expected to test free agency next summer include Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard and Kemba Walker.
Here’s the Daily Breeze reporting on the news that the Clippers have hired Lee Jenkins, who for years has been writing for Sports Illustrated:
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Lee Jenkins, Sports Illustrated’s lead NBA writer for the past eight years, has agreed to join the Clippers’ front office, according to the team, which confirmed the hiring in a news release Monday night. Jenkins will serve as the franchise’s executive director of research and identity; he’ll work with President Lawrence Frank and General Manager Michael Winger.
In the new position – the first of its kind for any NBA team, according to the Clippers – Jenkins will use his extensive reporting background and unique interviewing style to contribute to the franchise’s amateur and professional scouting infrastructure and to “enhance the Clipper experience.”
“Lee has spent his career profiling elite athletes, including most of the top players in the NBA,” Frank said in the release. “Given Lee’s talent, knowledge, and credibility, we hope to blend his approach with our existing evaluation systems and highlight the personalities of our players. He is the NBA’s preeminent storyteller and adding him to the team is a reflection of Steve’s commitment to innovation and building a best-in-class organization.”
Open tryouts are always fascinating, in that anybody with a dream and hopefully some actual talent can head to an event and get a shot at making their dreams come true. Of course, in pro sports, the vast, vast, vast majority of players hoping to play the game of their lives when it matters most will fall short. Still, an open tryout for a pro team is a fun event. Here’s NBC Sports Washington reporting on the Wizards’ G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go:
These were basketball players, young and old by the sport’s standards, all waiting for their chance to try out for the Wizards’ new G-League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go.
G-League teams are permitted to hold local tryouts and this was the first one in the history of the inaugural franchise.
The Wizards hosted over 100 players total across two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. They ran them through shooting drills, taught them two plays and then let them go in 5-on-5 scrimmages spread out between three courts; one in the main arena and the other two in the back of the building.
Just about everyone from the Wizards front office was in attendance. Team president Ernie Grunfeld, senior vice president of basketball operations Tommy Sheppard and others looked on as hoopers from all walks of life played what were essentially pickup games, one after another.
The Go-Go are allowed to keep up to four players from the event. Those four would merely get invites to the team’s training camp, which begins in October. The odds for these players to even get that far are minuscule and from there they get no guarantees for a roster spot.
Milwaukee Bucks play-by-play announcer Jim Paschke, who is entering his 33rd season calling Bucks games, was named the recipient of the NBA’s Todd Harris Spirit Award at the annual NBA Broadcast Meeting on Sept. 14 in New York. The Todd Harris Spirit Award, named in honor of longtime NBA executive Todd Harris, recognizes an NBA broadcaster or executive who is the ultimate team player and inspires people to make every day brighter.
“Jim Paschke is the perfect recipient of the Todd Harris Spirit Award, exemplifying the same dedication and spirit that Todd showed during his life,” said NBA Senior Vice President, Broadcast Schedule Management, Tom Carelli. “As one of the longest tenured announcers in the NBA today, Jim has brought a unique perspective to our game and to our fans throughout his 33 years as the play-by-play voice for the Milwaukee Bucks. He has also been a trusted advisor and friend to the NBA, its teams and its broadcasters.”
“This is such a well-deserved honor for Jim,” said Bucks President Peter Feigin. “Jim is a pro’s pro and we are fortunate to have such a terrific broadcaster and person with the Bucks organization. The team congratulates Jim on this meaningful recognition.”
Paschke is the second-ever recipient of the Todd Harris Spirit Award after the inaugural award was given to Travis Henderson of the Utah Jazz. In addition to broadcasting Bucks game on FOX Sports Wisconsin, Paschke is the Bucks Broadcast Director and works year-round on telecasts, television projects and other team broadcast ventures while regularly contributing video content to Bucks.com. Paschke is also a featured speaker in the community, addressing various civic groups and school assemblies throughout the year, and is a long-time supporter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
The 2018-19 season will be Paschke’s 33rd season as the television “Voice of the Bucks” and 23rd as Broadcast Director for the team.