Vogel says Heat just another team. LeBron begs to differ: "I don't understand what he's saying. We're not just another team. Not true." 
As Moke Hamilton did for this site, Peter Botte of the New York Daily News reports on J.R. Smith’s future in New York: “He is expected to opt out of the final year of his below-market value contract ($2.8 million per year) and test free agency this summer. The most the Knicks can offer the Jersey product is an “early Bird” exception starting at $4.9 million per year over four years, but there might be a team with more salary-cap room willing to pay Smith substantially more. “I want to retire a Knick. I don’t want to go anywhere else,” Smith said. “I love my teammates, I love my coaches. I was standing in the locker room looking at my jersey after the game and just knowing that I don’t want to be anywhere else except in the orange and blue. We’ll see.” Still, when asked if he’d be willing to take less money to remain in New York, Smith hedged and added, “I haven’t even thought about all that, that far. I still have to talk to (agent) Leon (Rose) and see where we’re at.” “
Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer makes the case for the Cavs to draft Nerlens Noel should they have the chance: “What did the Cavs talk about all season? Improving the defense. Add Noel into the middle of the lane and suddenly there is help for Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters, who both have trouble on defense. Some of those layups the Cavs yielded a year ago will be blocked or missed at the rim. Noel would instantly transform the defense, and he’s worth the wait for his knee to heal. I also hear the Cavs are still considering 7-foot Greg Oden, the former Ohio State center who has not played in an NBA game since December 2009. He was the top pick in the 2007 draft, but he’s played just 82 NBA games — averaging 9.4 points and 7.3 rebounds for Portland. The real problem is Oden having three microfracture knee surgeries. (Two such surgeries may have ended the career of Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore.) So Oden’s a gamble, and a signal the Cavs are looking for a defensive center.”
Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal-Times looks at the Bucks’ draft options, including one son of a former NBA player who could get a long look in the middle of the first round. There’s also this tidbit on Mike Dunleavy: “After the Bucks bowed out of of the playoffs to Miami, I asked current Heat and former Bucks guard Ray Allen which Bucks impressed him. He immediately cited Mike Dunleavy. Apparently, Dunleavy’s fine playoff showing after a quality regular-season performance has impressed some other NBA folks as well. I’m hearing several teams are keenly interested in signing the soon-to-be unrestricted free-agent.
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Dan Malone just finished his third year as a journalism student at the University of King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He blogs, edits and learns things on the fly for Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on Twitter.
As Moke Hamilton did for this site, Peter Botte of the New York Daily News reports on J.R. Smith’s future in New York: “He is expected to opt out of the final year of his below-market value contract ($2.8 million per year) and test free agency this summer. The most the Knicks can offer the Jersey product is an “early Bird” exception starting at $4.9 million per year over four years, but there might be a team with more salary-cap room willing to pay Smith substantially more. “I want to retire a Knick. I don’t want to go anywhere else,” Smith said. “I love my teammates, I love my coaches. I was standing in the locker room looking at my jersey after the game and just knowing that I don’t want to be anywhere else except in the orange and blue. We’ll see.” Still, when asked if he’d be willing to take less money to remain in New York, Smith hedged and added, “I haven’t even thought about all that, that far. I still have to talk to (agent) Leon (Rose) and see where we’re at.” “
Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer makes the case for the Cavs to draft Nerlens Noel should they have the chance: “What did the Cavs talk about all season? Improving the defense. Add Noel into the middle of the lane and suddenly there is help for Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters, who both have trouble on defense. Some of those layups the Cavs yielded a year ago will be blocked or missed at the rim. Noel would instantly transform the defense, and he’s worth the wait for his knee to heal. I also hear the Cavs are still considering 7-foot Greg Oden, the former Ohio State center who has not played in an NBA game since December 2009. He was the top pick in the 2007 draft, but he’s played just 82 NBA games — averaging 9.4 points and 7.3 rebounds for Portland. The real problem is Oden having three microfracture knee surgeries. (Two such surgeries may have ended the career of Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore.) So Oden’s a gamble, and a signal the Cavs are looking for a defensive center.”