The Raptors are not playing around. First there were the Phil Jackson rumors, now there’s this from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports: “Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment is pursuing Denver Nuggets general manager Masai Ujiri to take over as the top basketball executive of the Toronto Raptors, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. Masai, the 2013 NBA Executive of the Year, has emerged as the top choice of the search firm – Korn/Ferry International – that’s been charged with finding a successor to Raptors president Bryan Colangelo, league sources said. MLSE has until Monday to make a decision on Colangelo’s contract option for next year. It is possible that he could stay with the franchise under a new top basketball official. Ujiri’s contract as Denver’s general manager expires this summer and he has been in talks with ownership on an extension. Ujiri, 42, has a strong bond with Nuggets CEO Josh Kroenke, but new MLSE top executive, Tim Leiweke, has expressed a desire to make a serious financial and organizational commitment to an elite executive to turn around the franchise.”- Some news about the Bobcats that I, for one, am thoroughly in support of, via CBS Sports: “The Charlotte Bobcats are in the process of changing their name back to “Hornets,” a source with knowledge of the situation told CBSSports.com’s Will Brinson, including arranging digital assets that would allow a return to their original nickname. There is no timetable for the switch though NBA commissioner to be Adam Silver told Bobcats season ticket holders in April that such a change would take at least 18 months to implement. Moreover, the change is not unexpected and would likely be popular with the North Carolina fan base. Bobcats chairman and owner Michael Jordan confirmed in February that the team hired “a national polling group” (previously reported as Harris Interactive) to determine how fans felt about a change back to Hornets. Jordan called the reaction to the poll “very mixed.” Numerous grassroots groups have pushed for a return to Hornets.”
One of the biggest reasons the Bulls stuck around in the playoffs as long as they did was Nate Robinson. And now it looks like he’ll be moving on, says Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com: “However, with Rose’s expected return next season, Hinrich having another deal on his contract and rookie point guard Marquis Teague needing at least the opportunity to develop in game situations, it’s unlikely that next season will be in Chicago for the instant-offense scorer and fan favorite. His heart, toughness and scoring ability will command attention in a relatively weak free-agent market this summer… and it’s easy to envision an organization with more financial flexibility than the Bulls offering Robinson a multi-year deal for more than the league minimum he played for this past season. If it was up to Robinson, though, the little man with the big heart would be back in the Windy City. “I would love to. Honestly, I really would, but knowing the guys we have here, I know it’s probably limited space for me. But we’ll see how it goes. Talk to my agent and stuff like that and figure out what’s the best plan for me,” the loquacious speedster said. “I love this team, I love these guys and if I could stay here, it would be wonderful.” “- Another potential free agent point guard played a big role on a somewhat surprising playoff team, and his team is just as enthusiastic about having him back. Marcus Thompson of the San Jose Mercury-News writes that Steph Curry is trying to get Jarrett Jack to stick around: “Curry said he’s been dropping lines to guard Jarrett Jack for a while, telling the free-agent-to-be guard he needs to stay with the Warriors. “This is the place for him,” Curry said. “He’s bounced around a lot. For him to have hopefully found a home here for the foreseeable future would be huge. I know he wants to be part of a winning team, and I think we have that here now.” Jack will be an unrestricted free agent come July 1. Forward Carl Landry, who has a $4 million player option for next season, can also become a free agent. The Warriors, however, are expected to be over the luxury tax next season as Curry’s extension kicks in, increasing his salary by $6 million.”
- Some draft talk now, courtesy of Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com: ““I hear it’s a great place for players. I’ve been there and I love it. I’m all about working hard and getting better everyday. I think playing in Portland will be good for me if I ended up there.” That comes from 6-4 athletic shooting guard, Victor Oladipo, out of Indiana who is projected to be selected in the top five of the 2013 NBA Draft. The Portland Trail Blazers are slotted at the No. 10 spot with the NBA Draft Lottery this coming Tuesday. Unless the Trail Blazers get the luck of the ping-pong balls and find themselves in the top three, the chances of them acquiring Oladipo are slim to none. However, there are moving up possibilities. Sources close to the prospect say the Trail Blazers, among a few others teams, “really like him” and are “considering moving up to get him.” “
- An aside on Boston. C's met with Victor Oladipo, who will likely be gone in top-ten. Met with Kelly Olynyk, too. Could be looking to move up
@ChrisMannixSIChris Mannix - Another guy comes out and says who he’d like to be drafted by. Here’s the story on CJ McCollum, from Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer: “C.J. McCollum remains intrigued with the 76ers even though they didn’t request to interview him at the NBA draft combine. “I was [attending college] pretty close to Philadelphia, out in Bethlehem,” the Lehigh senior guard said. “So I will be interested to see if they are taking a guard or a post player in this draft.” The organization’s biggest needs are a post player and a backup point guard. However, one could argue that McCollum could be a solid addition to a team planning to make offseason moves via trades and free agency. “I’m a fan of the Philadelphia 76ers,” McCollum said. “So it will be interesting to see what happens.”… There’s a chance the Canton, Ohio, native will already be drafted once the Sixers, who will likely get the 11th pick, make a selection.In the eyes of NBA personnel, McCollum could become the next Damian Lillard.”
All kinds of combine notes in this excellent roundup from Jeff Goodman at CBSSports.com. Here’s his intro, which provides a good snapshot of what we’re looking at this year: “Usually, NBA general managers are filled with nerves entering the annual NBA draft lottery. That may be the case for a different reason on Tuesday night. “I’m not sure I want the No. 1 pick,” said one NBA general manager. Another looked frightened at the thought of having to draft someone first this year. “There’s really no one worthy of the top pick,” he said. “But someone has to go number one.” That someone will likely be Nerlens Noel, the 6-foot-11 3/4 shot-blocker from Kentucky who is recovering from a torn ACL suffered in February. However, there’s still a shot Kansas’ Ben McLemore could be the first shooting guard taken with the top pick since David Thompson in 1975 — depending on which team gets the No. 1 pick.”
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