NEWS:
- Suns’ forward, Grant Hill, underwent a successful procedure to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.
- The Cavaliers have signed guard Lester Hudson to a 10-day contract.
- Celtics’ center, Jermaine O’Neal, underwent season ending surgery on his left wrist.
NOTES:
- Los Angeles Clippers’ forward, Reggie Evans, was fined $25,00o for making an obscene gesture.
RUMORS:
- The whispers, though, have already begun to spread on the coaching grapevine that Nate McMillan will emerge as a prime candidate to replace Van Gundy if this is it for SVG in Central Florida. ESPN.com
- Sources briefed on the situation told ESPN.com that “chaos” isn’t too strong a term for what’s happening in the Clippers’ locker room — with Kenyon Martin and Reggie Evans said to be clashing — but sources likewise insist that former Grizzlies coach Marc Iavaroni is not considered an option to replace Del Negro even on a rest-of-the-season basis. ESPN.com
- D’Antoni’s name is routinely attached to this job as the best fit to coach CP3 and Blake, which is certainly true, butsources close to the freshly ousted MDA insist that he’s serious about taking a season off after this summer’s Team USA duties on Mike Krzyzewski’s staff to recharge with family. One assumes that the quality of the offers will ultimately determine how long D’Antoni sits, but that’s the early word. ESPN.com
- Woodson, of course, is technically only New York’s interim coach, but sources close to the former Atlanta Hawks man say that he’s increasingly hopeful of retaining the job beyond this season if the Knicks can turn their 8-1 start to post-D’Antoni life into, say, a first-round upset. The Knicks, remember, haven’t won a playoff series since 2000. ESPN.com
- In coaching circles, however, rumblings persist that Woodson’s cause is being aided by behind-the-scenes support from Thomas, who is believed to have lost little of his sway with Dolan even though he’s coaching at the faraway Florida International University. ESPN.com
- The wild card here, of course, is Phil Jackson. If the Zen Master decides after the season that he’s willing to take one more NBA job and return to his spiritual basketball home at age 66, it’s widely assumed by rival teams that Dolan will spend whatever it takes to sign him … hard as it can be to picture how a loose cannon like Jackson would function in MSG’s buttoned-up world. ESPN.com
- But multiple Calipari experts I’ve consulted aren’t so sure he’s willing to give up the power and prestige he has in the college ranks to take on the headaches and uncertainty that come with coaching in New York. ESPN.com
- Could the Orlando Magic have been hurting from the night before during their 108-86 beating by the Knicks on Wednesday? The previous night, sources spotted the Magic’s Glen “Big Baby” Davis and Jason Richardson partying until the early hours. They started out dining in the private wine room of Philippe New York. Then the pair joined Dwight Howard — who got a shout-out from the DJ on the loudspeaker, spies said — Chris Duhon and Quentin Richardson at Greenhouse during R&B singer Dawn Richard’s EP release party. The players were seen ordering bottles of Champagne and raged in the club until around 3 a.m. New York Post