SH Blog: LeBron Evolves; Kings Sell; Chris Paul Leaving LA? Birdman Suspended For Game 6

• Breaking news from the NBA, Chris “Birdman” Anderson has been suspended for Game 6 against the Indiana Pacers: “The NBA upgraded Andersen’s foul to a flagrant foul two from a flagrant foul one, meaning the league believes the referees should have issued a flagrant foul two and ejected Andersen after they reviewed the incident during the game. Also, the NBA rescinded Hansbrough’s technical foul from the incident. In a news release the NBA said Andersen “knocked … Hansbrough to the floor, escalated the altercation by shoving Hansbrough, and resisted efforts to bring the altercation to an end.” Andersen, also docked a game’s pay, knocked down and shoved Hansbrough with 9:02 left in the second quarter of Miami’s 90-79 Game 5 victory Thursday and got in his face after the initial shove. Referee Marc Davis had to restrain Andersen and push him back toward Miami’s bench.”

• Bill Ingram of Hoopsworld believes that the Houston Rockets are now in position to grab both of this summers top free agents, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul: “Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey stirred up a Texas-sized dust storm when he told an assembly of Rockets season ticket holders earlier this week that he planned to chase the top two free agents this summer. He didn’t mention names, of course, because that would draw a fine from the NBA, but it’s not hard to conclude that one of the two is Los Angeles Lakers free-agent-to-be Dwight Howard. Howard has talked with current Rockets, he has indicated to those around him that he really likes the idea of playing in Houston and multiple sources are happy to report that Houston is the front-runner for his services, though that is always hard to really gauge with the mercurial Howard. More than anything else, Howard likes to be liked, so he has a tendency to tell whichever team he’s talking to that he has them at the top of his list. Still, he is Houston’s biggest target in free agency.” 
• More from Ingram: “The other top free agent this summer is, of course, Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul, but it’s debatable whether or not Morey was referring to Paul when he talked about the top two free agents. Paul is a free agent in title only, and has given every indication to those around him that he will not be leaving L.A. this summer. It’s still possible that Morey was dreaming of Chris Paul, but it’s also possible that he was thinking of Josh Smith, who is arguably the most available free agent once Howard is off the market.”

• The Rockets may have a shot at Chris Paul because of reports today that he is not happy with the Clippers organization, according to ESPN’s Chris Broussard: “Chris Paul is upset with the Los Angeles Clippers organization because he is being widely blamed for the firing of Vinny Del Negro as coach, according to a source close to the situation. How much of an impact this will have on Paul’s decision to re-sign with the Clippers as a free agent is not clear, but the source conceded that Paul’s anger could lead him to look elsewhere.”

“He’s angry right now and his anger is directed toward the Clippers organization,” the source said. “Chris is a man of principle and if he feels like you’ve gone against his principles, it will affect how he feels about you. He’s very agitated that his name has been put out there as the reason for Vinny’s firing. He had nothing to do with it.”

• The Toronto Raptors have finally made the big front office splash they had hoped to make with Phil Jackson by luring Masai Ujiri from the Denver Nuggets: “Ujiri had been weighing offers of the Raptors and Nuggets for the past week. Ending perhaps the craziest turn-of-events at Pepsi Center since the Carmelo Anthony trade, Ujiri is headed to his old organization, reminding some of when Anthony left Denver for a bigger market and more money. Nuggets president Josh Kroenke told The Denver Post on May 24 that he and Ujiri had agreed in principle to a contract extension, but that was before the Raptors came calling. Kroenke felt obliged to allow Ujiri to interview with his old team. With a management group in Toronto willing to pay a higher salary, Ujiri chose to leave for Toronto, where he will be reunited with close friend, executive Bryan Colangelo. So what’s next for the Nuggets’ front office? It’s possible the team could promote Ujiri’s right-hand man, Pete D’Alessandro, though it’s unclear at this point if Ujiri will lure him to Toronto. D’Alessandro is well respected throughout the league, and Ujiri has joked in news conferences that he doesn’t like to praise D’Alessandro in public, wary that another team would steal him away.”

• The Sacramento Kings have officially been sold, at a staggering $534 million according to ESPN: “The Maloof family completed the sale of the Kings and Sleep Train Arena to a group led by TIBCO Software chairman Vivek Ranadive on Friday, officially transferring ownership of the NBA franchise. Ranadive’s group acquired a 65 percent controlling interest in the team at a total franchise valuation of more than $534 million, topping the NBA record of $450 million that Joe Lacob and Peter Guber bought the Golden State Warriors for in 2010. The Kings have an agreement in place with Warriors assistant Mike Malone to become their head coach, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press. The person, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly, said Malone was Ranadive’s top choice. Malone’s hiring officially ends Keith Smart’s tenure. Smart took over the Kings for the fired Paul Westphal in January 2012 and had one year remaining on his contract.”

• As David West continues his superb play in the postseason, he is expected to be on the most heavily courted free agents this summer: “It has only been 18 months since Pacers forward David West faced a difficult decision on the future of his career. The Celtics had made a strong push to sign him to a three-year deal, though he was coming off knee surgery, but West could not quite tell the direction in which the franchise was heading. Instead, he picked the Pacers, accepting a two-year deal worth $20 million. When Boston reached the conference finals last year, taking the Heat to seven games—after the Pacers were knocked out by Miami in the second round—it looked as though West might have made a poor choice. Now, though, West sees some validation in coming to the Midwest, as Indiana heads to Game 6 against Miami on Saturday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

“I knew what type of guys we would have in this locker room, what type of men we have in this locker room,” West told Sporting News. “Everybody on the outside is probably surprised, but I am not. I know what type of men we have in here, the work ethic, to a man, that is part of this group and the coaching staff. The mix of the young talent—this is a young basketball team. Guys are 22, 23, these guys are young. This is what we expected.”