- Ric Bucher of CSN Bay Area updates some Dwight Howard rumors: “Despite interest from his home-town team, the Hawks, sources have repeatedly said Howard, like many players, are wary of the demands and distractions of playing where they grew up. The Warriors and Rockets also were not on Howard’s list at that time. The three teams that were: Brooklyn, Dallas and the Lakers. Since then, several sources have said, Howard has softened on his position regarding the Rockets but there’s been no indication anything has changed regarding the Warriors or Hawks.”
- To my knowledge, Dwight's camp has never given slightest indication he wants to join the Warriors. The GSWs should accept that & move on.
@timkawakamiTim Kawakami - If you haven’t read Jonathan Abrams’ Grantland story on Rasheed Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse, go do that now. It’s a bit of a long read but entirely worth it. Here’s one story: “Rasheed Wallace was called for one technical foul in high school. Just one. Bill Ellerbee, Wallace’s coach at Philadelphia’s Simon Gratz High School, borrowed some thinking from General George S. Patton in his coaching philosophy: “The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle.” He later conducted coaching clinics in which others asked how he dealt with talented players. “It’s not what you do,” Ellerbee would respond. “It’s what you don’t do. And what you don’t do is kiss their ass.” That’s why Wallace received his one and only high school technical during his freshman year. Ellerbee told his players that they could dunk whenever they wanted. But if anyone missed a dunk when an easy layup would have sufficed, he’d yank them from the game. During one game, Wallace missed a thunderous slam — and immediately knew he was coming out — so he punched the basketball stanchion in frustration. A referee blew the whistle. His first tech. “I tried to explain to him that [Wallace] would be taken out of the game and everything,” Ellerbee said. “He actually ended up giving me a technical foul, too.” “
Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald reports on Doc Rivers’ future: “Despite the Celtics’ strong desire to put the matter behind them, Doc Rivers’ immediate future with the club has still not been decided. There still is the possibility — stress possibility — Rivers will choose to walk away from his contract to coach the Celts. A source close to the situation, however, insists it remains far more likely he will return. The word as expressed to us is that it is “90-10” that Rivers will continue on a contract that has three years and $21 million remaining. If he leaves the Celtics, it will not be with the intent of coaching another team. To which the Celtics have to breathe a collective “You’ve got that part right” as they cling tightly to their contractual rights, all the while hoping they never have to address this part of the equation.”- Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News has a Tony Parker injury update: “An MRI on Tony Parker’s sore left calf Thursday revealed the bruise he suffered in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals seems to be healing on schedule. As a result, the Spurs’ point guard expects to handle a normal workload without limitation when the conference finals against Memphis resumes with Game 3 on Saturday at the FedExForum. “Everything is fine,” Parker said after practice. “They (doctors) still see a lot of blood. The size is going down. I feel like I’m turning the corner. I feel like I’ll be fine for Saturday.” “
- Fox Sports Florida’s Chris Tomasson has the backstory to LeBron’s picture-perfect left-handed layup to beat the Pacers in Game 1: “When LeBron James was 8, his pee-wee basketball coach insisted he learn to make layups with his left hand. James wasn’t too happy about that. “He used to cry about it,” said Frank Walker, James’ coach when he was growing up in Akron, Ohio . “He used to say, ‘I can’t do it.’ But I told him that you can’t play this game without using both hands. I told him, ‘You’re going to need a left-handed layup one of these days.'”
Well, the Miami star needed it in Wednesday’s Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against Indiana . His left-handed layup at the buzzer gave the Heat a 103-102 overtime win. It was the second time James has won a game this season with a last-ditch left-handed layup. The Heat beat Orlando 97-96 on March 6 when James put one in with 3.2 seconds left.” - Philadelphia GM Sam Hinkie is moving slowly on coaching search, league sources tell Y! So far, focus has been on structuring front office.
@WojYahooNBAAdrian Wojnarowski - Some draft speculation from Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN.com: “Look for new Minnesota Timberwolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders to engage Charlotte, holders of the No. 4 pick in next month’s draft, in trade talks. According to league sources, Saunders is a big fan of Indiana guard Victor Oladipo, and the only way to get him is to move up from the ninth-spot. If the Wolves stay at No. 9, one league source predicts Saunders will take UCLA’s Shabazz Muhammad. Word has it that the Wolves like him. But so does Detroit, and they pick one spot ahead of the Wolves.”
One perennial most-overpaid candidate will stay that way for another season, writes Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com: “As was expected, Golden State Warriors center Andris Biedrins will exercise his player option and return to the Bay Area for the 2013-14 season, according to his agent Bill Duffy. Biedrins, 27, held a player option for next season that will pay him $9 million for the final year of his six-year, $54 million contract the two sides agreed upon in the summer of 2008. The seven-footer could have declined the option, becoming an unrestricted free agent this offseason. However, that will not be the case. “He will not opt out,” Duffy stated clearly to CSNNW.com.”
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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.
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