NBA

Sloan returning to Jazz as an adviser

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:41:40 -0400

Salt Lake City, UT (Sports Network) - Hall of Fame coach Jerry Sloan is returning to the Utah Jazz to become a senior basketball adviser for the franchise.

Sloan, who guided the Jazz to 19 playoff appearances in 23 years as head coach of the team, will return to the club after resigning midway through the 2011 season.

"The basketball knowledge and experience that Jerry brings is invaluable, and his insights will help in our pursuit of becoming a championship-caliber team," said Jazz president Randy Rigby. "We are pleased to formally welcome Jerry back into the organization as an adviser."

In his new role, Sloan will conduct player evaluations, perform limited pro and regional scouting and occasionally observe practices to support Utah's basketball operations and coaching staff.

"In my new role with the Jazz franchise, I hope to help the basketball operations staff and [head coach] Ty [Corbin] in any way that I can to achieve their goals," said Sloan. "I would like to thank the Miller family for the opportunity to be part of the organization again."

Sloan took over at the coaching helm for the Jazz in 1988 and directed them to consecutive NBA Finals appearances in 1997 and '98. The Jazz won seven division titles and had a streak of 16 consecutive winning seasons (1988-2004) under his guidance.

Raptors' Casey to return next season

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:48:56 -0400

Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Toronto Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri announced Wednesday that Dwane Casey will remain the team's head coach for the upcoming 2013-14 season.

The future of Casey, who recently completed his second season with the organization, had been uncertain due to the 56-year-old entering the final year of his contract and the recent hiring of Ujiri, previously the GM of the Denver Nuggets, to run the club's front office.

Casey guided the Raptors to a 34-48 record in 2012-13, a slight improvement over the 23-43 mark Toronto posted during his first season at the helm. The team did show signs of progress during the second half, however, in part due to the acquisition of high-scoring forward Rudy Gay on January 30. The Raptors went 18-18 following the trade and closed out the campaign on a five-game winning streak.

"I'm excited about moving forward and growing this team with Coach Casey," said Ujiri in a statement.

Including a 1 1/2-year stint with the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2005-07, Casey has compiled a 110-160 overall mark as a head coach.

Sketchy draft may not provide much relief

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:13:05 -0400

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - The NBA Draft provides a sense of optimism, an opportunity for the feeble to rise and rebuild into legitimate title contenders.

Sadly, the 2013 version probably won't provide many franchise players. At this rate, teams should be pleased just to get a solid rotation guy.

This year's draft, which will take place June 27 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., is considered one of the weakest, not just in recent memory, but maybe all time. Most scouts, pundits and smart people agree there is no guaranteed difference maker.

Last year's No. 1 overall pick, Anthony Davis, was seen as a can't-miss kind of guy.

This year, it's expected to be another Kentucky big man to go first overall. The difference is, Nerlens Noel is not quite the prospect his predecessor was.

If the Cleveland Cavaliers peg Noel with the first pick as predicted, he will join a young nucleus headlined by Kyrie Irving, who went No. 1 two years ago, Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters and Tyler Zeller.

Noel, much like Davis before him, is considered to be NBA ready on the defensive side of things. Offensively ... not so much. He is a project, but one worth the No. 1 pick.

The Cavs have Zeller and a returning Anderson Varejao to man the middle. Plus, adding a defensive force can't hurt a team which finished dead last in opponents' field-goal percentage last season.

"Our identity will be one of a tough-minded, physical, defensive-first group," said new/old head coach Mike Brown.

Noel would seem to fit that bill.

But make no mistake, Cleveland will trade this pick for the right price. What this is remains unclear, however. Would anyone move up and pay a steep bounty for a project with a major knee injury?

Oh, did we forget to mention Noel tore his left ACL in February? Yep, that's the No. 1 pick in this draft.

"We're really happy with his progress," famed Dr. James Andrews told ESPN. "He's several weeks ahead of schedule on his rehab. He's improving on a weekly basis. He has a completely stable knee. The bone plugs are completely healed into the bone. His muscle and weight is returning. He has had no setbacks at all."

The Orlando Magic, who finished with the worst record in the NBA this season, didn't win the lottery, but will settle for second. Again, the Magic would probably trade this pick if they had its druthers. If they stay pat, Kansas sharp-shooter Ben McLemore could be the guy. Talent-wise, he's near the top of this draft, but do the Magic, who acquired Arron Afflalo as the key principal in the Dwight Howard trade, have a spot for him? Afflalo has three years remaining on his contract and McLemore is too tantalizing a prospect to overlook.

The Washington Wizards are third, and if there seems like any mortal-lock team- prospect connection, it's here. Otto Porter, the Georgetown sophomore, is local and fills a huge need at the small forward spot. He would do well to play with John Wall and Bradley Beal the next decade as a great wing corps.

The Charlotte Bobcats and Phoenix Suns are next. Both have new head coaches, and both could take any position. They are in spots where best available player will work.

The New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Timberwolves and Portland Trail Blazers round out the top 10. The Philadelphia 76ers, Oklahoma City Thunder (via trade with the Toronto Raptors), Dallas Mavericks, drafting in the lottery for the first time in 13 years, and Utah Jazz polish off the non-playoff squads.

UNLV forward Anthony Bennett, Indiana guard Victor Oladipo, Michigan guard and national player of the year Trey Burke and intriguing prospect Shabazz Muhammad, a UCLA swing man, will be taken before the lottery teams finish.

Big men Cody Zeller of Indiana, Alex Len of Maryland, Pittsburgh's Steven Adams and Gonzaga's Kelly Olynyk all should be gobbled up in those first 14 slots.

One trend that has taken over recent drafts is not expected to impact the 2013 edition. There is not expected to be a large foreign presence taken early on.

Dario Saric, a 19-year-old forward from Croatia, was projected to the first foreign (didn't attend college in the United States) player taken. He withdrew from the draft at the deadline, so he's off the table.

Dennis Schroeder, a 19-year-old German point guard, Russia's Sergey Karasev, a 6-foot-7 small forward, and Lucas Nogueira, a 20-year-old Brazilian 7-footer, should be the first three foreigners to shake hands with Commissioner David Stern.

Six teams - the Cavaliers, Suns, Timberwolves, Jazz, Thunder and Atlanta Hawks - have two first-round picks. The Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors and Raptors have zero picks.

Those three teams may be the lucky ones.

This draft will net some teams some quality players, guys like McLemore, Oladipo and Burke. Those are legitimate professional basketball players in waiting, but nothing more.

Yet, their names will all be called on Thursday. They'll meet commissioner David Stern, then embark on the challenge of proving us wrong.

Spurs have no one to blame but themselves

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 01:34:55 -0400

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - The San Antonio Spurs had one hand on the Larry O'Brien Trophy Tuesday night.

The other hand should've been on either a defensive rebound, or in LeBron James' or Ray Allen's face.

Up five with 28.2 seconds left in regulation, the Spurs couldn't corral a defensive rebound. James buried a three, Allen followed suit. The Miami Heat won in overtime.

Now, the Spurs have to beat the Heat, in South Beach for a Game 7, gutted, gassed and grieving.

"We were a few seconds away from winning the championship, and we let it go," said Manu Ginobili. "A couple of rebounds that we didn't catch, a tough three by Ray, a couple of missed free throws, it's very tough. A very tough moment.

"I'm devastated."

He should be. He was a principal character in a horrendous late collapse, marred by strange decisions and a lack of closing out games that is a hallmark of the best NBA franchise in the last 20 years.

Rare is the instance to question Gregg Popovich. He's got four rings and is a mad scientist when it comes to maximizing players.

In Game 6, especially late, the scientist's experiments blew up in his face.

Ginobili missed a free throw to give the Spurs that five-point lead. Popovich replaced Tim Duncan with Boris Diaw. It was during that sequence that the Heat bounced the ball around, and got it back to James for the first 3-pointer.

Kawhi Leonard missed one free throw and Duncan once again sat. A scrum occurred on the Heat's end, and Chris Bosh poked it to Allen for game-tying 3- pointer.

So, why exactly was Duncan, a 14-time All-Defensive player, including this season, and the second-leading active rebounder in the sport, riding pine?

"It's what we've done all year...in a situation where we were going to switch a lot of things," Duncan said afterward. "And just unfortunate the way it happened.

"But there's no questions there."

Then, with a one-point deficit and almost 10 seconds to go in overtime, Parker was on the bench and the play was called for Ginobili. He promptly turned it over (maybe he got fouled, but maybe he took four steps). Allen made two foul shots and presto, we have a Game 7.

Why was Parker, still the game's elite penetrating guard, who made two gigantic buckets with less than a minute to go in regulation, not on the floor?

"I was cramping a little bit at the end of the game," acknowledged Parker. "But I'll go with whatever Pop decides."

If Parker can't go, he can't go. His hamstring can tear at any time. What's questionable is, why call Ginobili's number?

He was amazing in Game 5. He was equally dreadful in Game 6. Ginobili finished with nine points, eight turnovers and a plus-minus of minus-21 on Tuesday.

"I had a very good game last game, and today I just couldn't maintain it," said Ginobili. "I was very insecure -- well, I had a career high in turnovers in a really bad moment. It really helps to make me feel terrible."

Lest we forget that Duncan had 25 first-half points and only five the rest of the way. He scored his last point with 4:31 to go in the third quarter. Where was the urgency to get him the ball?

This was as uncharacteristic a Spurs performance as you could imagine. The group looked deflated in post-game press conferences, which is expected and understandable. They'll cry in their pillows Tuesday night, but will be back ready to go in Game 7.

"We have no choice. We have no choice," said Parker. "We have to bounce back. We have to realize we have another great opportunity."

That they do, but history goes against them a bit.

The last five NBA Finals to go to a Game 7 have all gone to the home team. Granted, the Spurs haven't lost back-to-back games with a full compliment of their roster in a very long time, and they won Game 1 in Miami, but this is a tall task.

How do they prepare?

"Get them on a bus, it arrives at the ramp over here, we get off the bus, we get on the court and we play. That's how we get ready," said Popovich.

Cute.

But here's reality -- the Spurs blew Game 6 with shotty decisions by that same man. They blew Game 6 with poor free-throw shooting late and poor rebounding.

So when the bus arrives at that ramp, and the Spurs get off the bus, get on the court and play, they have do a better job in Game 7.

That one hand on the Larry O'Brien Trophy is gone, maybe never to be so close again.

Duncan carries Spurs to halftime lead

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:30:00 -0400

Miami, FL (Sports Network) - Tim Duncan can smell a fifth championship ring.

Duncan, the linchpin in the Spurs' previous four title runs, is playing near perfect basketball in a potential closeout Game 6 at American Airlines Arena.

The future Hall-of-Famer has missed just two of his 13 attempts in a monster 25-point first half to guide San Antonio to a 50-44 lead over the defending champion Miami Heat.

Duncan also pulled down eight rebounds and scored seven points on an 11-0 flurry to end the half, stunning a home crowd looking to see the Heat force a deciding Game 7.

Kawhi Leonard has totaled 10 points and five rebounds to make up for Manu Ginobili being held scoreless thus far. Tony Parker is also being held in check with just four points on 2-of-6 shooting.

Mario Chalmers has woken from a three-game slumber and poured in a team-high 14 points for the Heat, who trail despite hitting 5-of-10 from behind the arc.

LeBron James has logged nine points and five assists as he tries to avoid falling to 1-3 in his Finals career. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh each have a quiet six points so far.

After the Spurs pulled out a tight series opener, the teams have traded blowout victories despite being close games at halftime. San Antonio rolled to a 10-point win Sunday to take a 3-2 series lead and is looking to hand Miami consecutive losses for the first time since January.

A fast-paced start was highlighted by Leonard's dunk over Mike Miller in transition, a throw-down that was half stiff-arm, half tomahawk slam.

There were five ties and four lead changes in the opening quarter, the last coming when Chalmers capped his 10-point frame with his second 3-pointer of the night to give the Heat a 27-24 lead in the final minute.

Chalmers, who shot 4-for-19 from the floor in the three games in San Antonio, gave the Heat their biggest lead at 40-33 early in the second quarter.

That's when Duncan, who made his first eight shots, took over. He went on a personal 6-0 run to pull the Spurs within one, then rattled in a turnaround jumper in the lane to tie things at 44-44 with under two minutes left in the half.

After feeding Duncan for a dunk, Boris Diaw put in two himself on a layup before Leonard's tip-in just before the buzzer suddenly gave the Spurs their biggest lead.

San Antonio has made 53 3-pointers in the series to surpass the previous mark of 52 set by the Celtics in the 2008 championship round.

Danny Green pushed his personal Finals 3-point record to 26 with one make thus far in Game 6.

Report: Clippers, Celtics deal for Doc 'dead'

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:47:07 -0400

Boston, MA (Sports Network) - The Celtics and Clippers have reportedly broken off talks on a proposed trade that would have sent head coach Doc Rivers and veteran Kevin Garnett to Los Angeles.

According to the Boston Globe, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge told the paper the proposed deal is "dead."

The Los Angeles Times and Boston Globe each reported that the issue was Ainge's insistence on the Celtics receiving a pair of first-round draft picks along with center DeAndre Jordan.

Los Angeles is trying to fill the coaching vacancy created when Vinny Del Negro was not offered a new contract after three seasons. The Times indicated that the Clippers will now turn their attention toward Brian Shaw, Byron Scott and Lionel Hollins.

The Celtics apparently first wanted point guard Eric Bledsoe as part of the package, rather than a pair of first-round picks.

Rivers, who has served as Boston's head coach since 2004 and led the storied franchise to the 2008 NBA title, has been non-committal about his future with the organization due to the Celtics' aging roster and uncertainty about the status of veteran stars Garnett and Paul Pierce.

The 37-year-old Garnett is believed to be contemplating retirement, while there has been speculation that the Celtics may attempt to either trade Pierce or buy out the remaining year on his contract.

If Rivers decides to leave Boston, there is a clause in the contract extension he signed in 2011 that states he can't coach anywhere else for three years unless the Celtics give their permission.

The Globe also said Ainge wants Rivers to return to the Celtics' bench.

D'Alessandro takes over as GM of Kings

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:38:16 -0400

Sacramento, CA (Sports Network) - The Sacramento Kings officially named Pete D'Alessandro their new general manager Monday.

Kings majority owner Vivek Ranadive announced the hiring.

"We are thrilled to welcome Pete D'Alessandro to the Sacramento Kings," said Ranadive. "In our GM search, we sought to secure the best and brightest in the game, and after an extensive search, we found the perfect individual. Pete is exactly the type of leader we need to help build a championship team in the 21st century NBA."

Two weeks ago, the Kings announced the hiring of Mike Malone as their head coach.

D'Alessandro had spent the last three seasons with the Denver Nuggets. He was promoted to the Nuggets' vice president of basketball operations position for the 2012-13 season.

"I'm excited about returning to Northern California, particularly at this time in the history of Sacramento," D'Alessandro said. "I want to thank Vivek for giving me this opportunity to be part of guiding the Kings back to greatness. I'm anxious to begin working towards building this exciting new era for the franchise."

D'Alessandro worked for the Golden State Warriors from 2004-08. He was the director of basketball operations, and was later promoted to assistant general manager shortly after the 2006-07 season.

Nuggets name Connelly to front office post

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:13:02 -0400

Denver, CO (Sports Network) - The Denver Nuggets welcomed Tim Connelly to the fold, naming him the club's executive vice president of basketball operations on Monday.

According to several publications, the title includes responsibilities of general manager, a position the Nuggets needed to fill since the departure of Masai Ujiri to take the GM position with the Toronto Raptors.

"We are extremely excited to have Tim join the Denver Nuggets organization," said team owner Josh Kroenke. "He comes from a great basketball background, possesses an incredibly strong work ethic and is a wonderful person. His passion and energy for the game of basketball are contagious and I am confident that he will be a great fit with us in Denver."

The 36-year-old Connelly had been the assistant general manager for the New Orleans franchise since August 2010, after being hired away from the Washington Wizards, where he spent 10 seasons and worked his way up to director of player personnel.

"I want to thank the Kroenke family for this incredible opportunity and for putting their faith in me to help lead the Nuggets to new heights," Connelly said. "I am also very grateful to the Pelicans organization and want to thank them for preparing me for this next chapter in my career. I am looking forward to building on the strong foundation that has already been established in Denver."

Connelly to depart New Orleans for Nuggets GM post

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:54:32 -0400

New Orleans, LA (Sports Network) - Tim Connelly is set to join the Denver Nuggets' front office as the club's general manager and executive vice president of basketball operations.

A source confirmed to the Times-Picayune on Monday that the Pelicans' assistant general manager will head to Denver, though it is uncertain if the move is effective immediately or if it will officially take place after the completion of the draft on June 27.

Nuggets owner Josh Kroenke also confirmed the move to the Denver Post.

Connelly held the assistant GM post in New Orleans since August 2010, after being hired away from the Washington Wizards, where he served as director of player personnel.

He will take the reins from Masai Ujiri, who left Denver to assume the general manager slot with the Toronto Raptors.

"Manu-Manu-Manu"

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 23:58:51 -0400

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - In Game No. 101 of a long NBA season, Manu Ginobili earned his first start.

The San Antonio Spurs can win a fifth title in Game 102, and it was in large part due to the play of Ginobili.

Sunday's 114-104 victory over the Miami Heat was the last game played in San Antonio this season. Games 6 and 7 will be in South Beach and if the Spurs' Father's Day win was any barometer, Ginobili will play a pivotal role.

Just as he did in the last three San Antonio championship reigns.

But the reality became a different tale in the summer of 2013. The reality was, Ginobili struggled badly. His athleticism robbed by age, his shooting touch robbed by some other force, Ginobili looked weak at times.

Almost any other coach in the league would've sat Ginobili. The wing spots were being more than admirably filled by Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard.

The former All-Star averaged a meager 7.5 ppg during the Finals and turnovers abounded. All of those pinpoint swing passes that filled up highlight reels and a potential Hall of Fame portfolio found the limbs of the opposition.

Then, by chance, a move made by Heat coach Erik Spoelstra got Ginobili into the starting lineup and much more playing time. In Game 4, Spoelstra inserted Mike Miller into his first five in favor of big man Udonis Haslem.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich benched Tiago Splitter just 47 seconds into Game 4 and in Game 5, it was Ginobili who found himself in the starting five.

And he responded.

Ginobili went for 24 points on 8-for-14 shooting, handed out 10 assists and was the major catalyst in getting San Antonio one win away from another title.

"I didn't expect a 24-point game," he admitted.

And why would he? It was a season high and only the second time in his career he scored that many points and dished out 10 assists.

The story goes that Popovich gave Ginobili a little pep talk, reminding him that he is a future Hall of Famer. Then came the starting gig and the rest was history.

"Manu is a competitor, he just keeps pushing, and he does what he does," said Popovich. "I mean, he's come to practice and worked on his shot. He's seen film. He has confidence in himself that he should just continue to compete. That's what he's done his whole career. And tonight he played his best game in a while. So it was obviously very helpful."

While Pop declined to elaborate on the nature of the conversation, (he doesn't elaborate on much), he did acknowledge that the decision to start Ginobili was two-fold: match up with the smaller Heat lineup and get Ginobili going.

He flew out of the gate with a deep jumper to open the game, seven points and four assists in the opening 12 minutes.

"I needed to make a few shots," said Ginobili. "I had a better overall offensive game and I needed to feel like that."

Ginobili played a lot of point guard with Tony Parker on the bench, and found Green, who is not capable of missing a 3-point shot. Ginobili also took some of the play-making heat off of Parker, whose hamstring is a ticking time bomb waiting to tear.

However, since Ginobili was in the first unit, he also benefited from Parker's play-making.

Ginobili even hit big jumpers when the Heat made things interesting in the fourth quarter. It all came at a perfect time.

Always one of the most popular Spurs, Ginobili began getting criticized by both the media and the fan base.

"I really don't know exactly what was going on. I really don't read what's going on," admitted Ginobili. "I knew I was not scoring much. I try not to care about it. I'm critical enough of myself."

His teammates heard it.

"I was feeling a big game from Manu," said Parker. "For everything he did for the franchise, I thought it was a little bit harsh. I was happy for him."

"We're not a team that points fingers," said Tim Duncan.

In fact, the Spurs are a thoughtful group. Duncan, Parker, Ginobili and Popovich have been together for a very long time. This could be the finale in the Finals for this group, and Ginobili was the first to declare that on Saturday when he hinted that retirement was an option this offseason.

Others said they noticed a change in Ginobili while struggling.

"I was angry, disappointed. I felt I wasn't helping the team that much," said Ginobili.

He helped on Sunday and the crowd let him know. The faithful chanted, "Manu- Manu" at him during the second half.

"It felt great when I heard that," he said.

It felt great for them to finally be able to.