Hello and welcome to the Evening News.
As the playoffs are under way, we’ll keep you updated every evening. What’s happening today?
Here’s the latest news from around the league:
Obviously, the biggest headline of the day comes out of Oklahoma City where it was reported that Russell Westbrook will undergo knee surgery for a lateral meniscus tear. For Chris Sheridan’s take on what the Thunder need to do to survive in the playoffs without Westbrook, click here.
Meanwhile, elsewhere around the NBA . . .
Timberwolves are set to replace Kahn with Saunders.
Steve Aschburner of NBA.com’s Hangtime Blog reports that Flip Saunders will replace David Kahn as Minnesota’s head of basketball operations.
Saunders is currently negotiating a five-year contract worth up to $9 million total that could run up to 2017-2018. 
The move would effectively end David Kahn’s largely unsuccessful four-year tenure as the general manager of the Timberwolves. Along with several questionable acquisitions in the four years, Kahn is also the punchline of many draft-day jokes after he selected point guards Ricky Rubio, Jonny Flynn, Ty Lawson, and Nick Calathes all in the same year. To compound the mistake of drafting too many point guards, Kahn subsequently traded Lawson (arguably the best of the four) to Denver for minimal compensation.
Other highlights of the David Kahn era include (but are not limited to): signing the ever-disappointing Darko Milicic to a $20 million contract only to amnesty him shortly thereafter, managing to offend their only superstar Kevin Love by not giving him the five-year deal he wanted, and selecting Wesley Johnson ahead of Paul George and Demarcus Cousins in 2010.
Saunders, meanwhile, was the most successful coach in Timberwolves’ history during his 9 1/2 seasons in Minnesota. The team made eight consecutive playoff appearances and posted a 411-326 record.
It is still unknown whether Saunders’ hiring will affect Rick Adelman’s coaching status.
Raptors highly interested in Phil Jackson.
According to Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com, the Raptors are considering making a run at luring Phil Jackson to Canada. 
While rumors surfaced earlier in the week saying that Toronto was planning to bring back general manager Bryan Colangelo, there are now reports that suggest the Raptors have not yet decided on Colangelo’s fate with the team.
While it seems unlikely that Jackson would be willing to go to an underperforming Raptors team, one source close to Jackson said, “He loves the city . . . he spends half the time in Montana anyway.”
In an interview from earlier in the week, Jackson told the San Francisco Chronicle, “There are some interesting situations that are presenting themselves, but I really haven’t made up my mind yet what I’m going to do.”
Gerald Wallace clueless about role on the team.
Since dominating Game 1 in their first round matchup against Chicago, the Nets have lost their groove on the court. While Brooklyn did fight back to make last night’s 79-76 game interesting in the closing minutes, it is undeniable that the team looks out of sync.
Gerald Wallace went as far to tell reporters this afternoon that he was mystified by the situation. “I couldn’t tell you my role,” admitted Wallace. “I don’t have a clue of what my role is on this team.”
While it is obviously concerning for any team to have a player come out and say that he doesn’t know his role on the team, it is even more troubling for the Nets when you consider that the remark was made long after last night’s loss. This was not Wallace being impulsive following an emotional defeat; this was Wallace airing his grievances aloud to the media.
P.J. Carlesimo shrugged off the comments by saying, “I just think that we’re going through a tough time right now. That’s what the playoffs are all about. We’re all frustrated. I have to do a better job of constantly defining roles and redefining roles so we can perform the way that we’re capable of performing.”
