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SH Blog: Rivers to Clippers gets done; Cavs, Bucks interested in Pierce; Wade needed eight hours of therapy to play in Game 7

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  • There’s also this on the Heat, from the Associated Press: “Dwyane Wade’s knee problems were more troublesome during the playoffs than he ever acknowledged. In an interview with The Associated Press, Wade revealed Saturday that his right knee pained him so much that he contemplated asking to play limited minutes in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, and that his left knee was drained and required about eight hours of game-day therapy just so he could play in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. “I went through a lot,” said Wade, who’s now a three-time NBA champion. “But I’m at peace now.” “
  • The Spurs have some questions to answer of their own, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News writes. First among them is Manu Ginobili’s future: “If allowed only one question for this offseason, this is it. Manu Ginobili, the Spurs’ soon-to-be 36-year-old Argentine icon, will see his contract expire July 1, making him an unrestricted free agent. In May, Ginobili said he has no plans to retire. He left the possibility of retirement open a bit with comments during the Finals, but smart money says he will be back for at least one more season at a rate steeply discounted from the team-leading $14.1 million he earned in 2012-13. Nobody expects Ginobili will continue his career with any team other than the Spurs.”
  • Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel talked to Nerlens Noel about the upcoming draft: “Nerlens Noel dominated games during his first few months playing for the University of Kentucky. Although he stands almost 7 feet tall in sneakers, he sprinted up and down the court with the speed of a nimble point guard. He blocked almost 4.5 shots per game. He grabbed rebounds in bunches. He seemed like a sure bet to become the first overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. That perception changed on Feb. 12. That night, he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee — the same knee in which he fractured a growth plate during his sophomore year of high school. Now, with the draft looming on Thursday, NBA general managers are trying to decide whether Noel’s injury history makes him too risky to be selected first overall. “With modern medicine, I definitely feel like I can come back stronger,” Noel said. “Just being who I am and working as hard as I do, I definitely feel that I’ll be able to deaden all those risk rumors and just be the player I’m expected to be, if not better.” The Cleveland Cavaliers hold the first pick, but rumors abound that they’ll pass on Noel and instead choose another center, Alex Len from the Ukraine and the University of Maryland.”
  • Gerry Woelfel of the Racine Journal-Times looks at who the Bucks might draft, starting with Georgia’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: “Bucks director of basketball administration Dave Dean gave Caldwell-Pope a tour of the city, and Bucks general manager John Hammond and director of scouting Billy McKinney took him to a swanky restaurant, where Caldwell-Pope feasted on steak and shrimp. Caldwell-Pope would certainly be a fine addition for the Bucks. Their starting shooting guard Monta Ellis has declared he’ll opt out of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent this summer, and his backup, J.J. Redick, is also as good as gone as an unrestricted free agent. With the NBA draft Thurday, though, it’s becoming increasingly likely Caldwell-Pope will be drafted before the Bucks’ turn. The smart money is on Minnesota, which has the ninth pick. Portland, which picks 10th, is also keenly interested in Caldwell-Pope’s services. So, if Caldwell-Pope isn’t available for the Bucks, who is their Plan B for a shooting guard? It may be Jamaal Franklin, who did virtually everything for San Diego State last season. Franklin led San Diego State in scoring (17 points), rebounds (9.5), assists (3.3) and steals (1.6). Franklin was the only NCAA Division I player to lead his team in all four of those categories last season.”
    • Here’s Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic on who the Suns are looking at with the #5 pick: “The Suns will take a best-player-available approach into this year’s draft, not even ruling out a point-guard selection with Goran Dragic under a long-term deal and Kendall Marshall and Diante Garrett coming off rookie seasons. If the Suns go big, it would be because Noel plummeted unexpectedly, but not impossibly, to No. 5. Noel, 19, is a 7-footer with premier shot-blocking skills and athleticism but is going through knee rehabilitation for a surgically repaired ACL. Len, a 7-footer from Ukraine, is a more versatile big man who Suns scouts have liked for his upside as a rebounder, paint protector and scorer who is also 19. A big-man acquisition could spur trade talk involving center Marcin Gortat, particularly with the Suns being open to the idea of landing another first-round pick. Portland, which holds the No. 10 pick, has held an interest in Gortat and a draft slot like that could be used on a big man like Indiana’s athletically and fundamentally solid Cody Zeller or Pittsburgh’s raw-but-rising Steven Adams. The Suns need to address many areas but becoming more athletic and a better shooting team are priorities. McLemore, who stirred Suns fans by wearing a Suns cap in a photo recently, and Oladipo, a defensively gifted junior, are two of the draft’s more athletic shooting guards, and McLemore arguably has the draft’s best shooting mechanics.”

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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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