The Atlanta Hawks may be in trouble with the league due to the mistake of an employee, from Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “The Hawks may have violated the NBA’s anti-tampering policy by mentioning Dwight Howard and Chris Paul by name in a recent letter sent to prospective ticket buyers. Howard, who is from Atlanta, and Paul are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents July 1. As each currently is under contract, with the Lakers and Clippers respectively, a team is not allowed to speak about them publicly.
- More on the said letter: “The letter, obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, was sent via email by a member of the ticket-sales department. It was on team letterhead and headlined “Hot New Player news: Chris Paul and Dwight Howard.” It began with the statement: “The buzz around our offseason is more than heating up. With massive cap space, 4 draft picks, and free agency rapidly approaching, we sit in the best position in the NBA. Player interest is skyrocketing as the possibilities of landing Chris Paul & Dwight Howard become more and more of a reality.”
It appears Patrick Ewing will remain as an assistant coach next season, from Chris Haynes of CSNNW: “The Charlotte Bobcats are bringing in Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing for an interview on Wednesday for their lead assistant position, someone close to the situation informed CSNNW.com. According to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, says “It’s Ewing’s job for the taking.” When reached by phone, Ewing confirmed he was meeting with head coach Steve Clifford in Charlotte. “Charlotte is a great city and I’m open-minded,” Ewing told CSNNW.com. “I have worked with Steve for many years in Houston and Orlando and I consider him to be a friend. We’ll see what they are looking for and see if it’ll be a good fit.”
Jason Kidd could look to remain with the NBA in some capacity after his retirement, from Marc Berman of New York Post: “On Thursday, at a charity event, Kidd revealed he was uncertain about his future, saying coaching and broadcasting were avenues he might pursue. A source said television networks already have contacted his agent, Jeff Schwartz. Kidd could wind up on the Knicks’ coaching staff next season, though nothing has been discussed yet. It’s unclear if the Nets — the team Kidd led to two straight Finals during his heyday in New Jersey — will interview him for their head-coaching vacancy. “We’ll take a step back here and see if there’s any opportunities,’’ Kidd said.”
It sounds like Stephen Curry hopes to be with the Warriors for the rest of his career, from Tom Sorensen of Charlotte Observer: “I ask him Tuesday if he can see himself playing for a team other than Golden State. “I can’t,” he says. “I know that not many players play their whole career for one team in one city,” says Curry. “I don’t see a better place to play.”… Curry sounds as if he’ll spend more time in the gym than on the golf course. He wants to enhance his strength. The more effective he was, the more opponents tried to rough him up. “I embrace that challenge and that style of play,” he says. “It’s fun for me to know that teams want to make you uncomfortable on the floor. My job is to just go out and play and not worry about that.”
Danny Granger explained what went wrong this season and expects to be in the starting lineup come next season, from Mike Wells of Indystar: “Q: What happened in Dallas when you were supposed to play in March? A: It wasn’t the pain, it was that I couldn’t do what I wanted to do. According to the MRI’s and everything, we saw what was in there. We thought I could play with it and I couldn’t. It was really small, they removed it and we just went on from there. I wasn’t going to play on one leg. Just wasn’t. Q: What did the doctors remove? A: I had a piece of scar tissue in my patella tendon. Q: What role do you foresee for yourself next year? A: I expect to be back in the starting lineup. We really didn’t have a drop off from the team before in this team. We lost to the Heat again and my role is kind of secondary to my health.”
- Tracy McGrady is considering retirement after this season, from Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports:
- Here is what it might take for the Kings to acquire Larry Bird as the president of the team, from NBA insider Peter Vecsey:
Kings owner meeting with Larry Bird today means decision on hiring president is on hold. Source says asking 5M per, maybe piece of team
@PeterVecsey1
Peter Vecsey
Hi there, just wanted to say, I enjoyed this blog post. It was practical. Keep on posting!
Re: Dwight. He is probably counting down the days left to stay away from Kobe. Maybe he finds another place to go fishing.
Re: Hollins. An updated tweet by David Aldridge states that Nets need only ask and they will be granted permission to speak with Hollins. Apparently ESPN screwed up with the initial story that Nets asked for permission to speak with Hollins on Monday, AM, June 3, just 1 day after Memphis reportedly gave teams permission to speak with him.
“If Nets ask 2 interview Hollins, they’ll get OK, per sources. MEM had rejected all requests before officially giving Hollins permission Sun.”
Broussard further screwed up by confirming the Tillery tweet rather than getting the story straight. Nets had actually asked permission to speak to Hollins (and were denied) on May 28, 4 days before the Grizz finished discussions with Hollins.
Nets are probably waiting for Hollins to realize he won’t get the Clippers position, and demonstrate interest in the Nets position. Nets of course can outbid any team, but also may be the best destination, in an easier Eastern Conference.
If Shaw goes to LAC (he wants to return to LA), then all that would be needed for Nets to lock up Hollins, is for him to explain some of the complaints cropping up about Hollins being too rigid with players and listening to advice from front office. The Nets players have said they want a Veteran coach who is tough.