SH Blog: Latest News & Rumors Around The NBA

Joe Dumars is expected to resign from the Detroit Pistons at the end of the season: “Dumars has told multiple sources within the NBA that he plans to resign — possibly as soon as this week — after a busy offseason that included the signings of high-priced free agents Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings and led to an underachieving 2013-14 season. The Pistons, who many experts picked to return to the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, are 28-49 and out of playoff contention. Pistons owner Tom Gores had expected before the season that the team would return to the playoffs. Gores fired Dumars’ hand-picked coach, Maurice Cheeks, after just 50 games, making it one of the top-five quickest firings in the last 20 years. After Dumars tried to save Cheeks’ job, according to an NBA source. It became clear the two sides, bound together by circumstance, were headed for divorce. Compared to his contemporaries, Dumars has been reluctant to be front and center with media as Pistons president of basketball operations and has been quieter than usual recently, perhaps another signal that his time with the franchise — 29 years of work as a player and executive — is coming to an end.”

Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters deny there is a rift between the two: “Asked what he said to Gordon, Irving said, “I just let him know that the whole situation kind of got blown out of proportion, in terms of … There was no disrespect on my end to him or anything he does. I have the utmost respect for him. But what I was just trying to clearly say was what Dion has been reiterating — what goes on with us, we want to keep it within us. We’ve had numerous occasions where we’ve been in the media about me and Dion’s relationship. I think me and him are just tired of it. I just want to move past it and play basketball.” How would Irving describe his relationship with Waiters? “Honestly, off the court and on the court, we’re the best of friends,” he said. “So when we come on the court, we’re just going to play basketball like we’ve been doing the past few games and our focus is on winning right now.” Added Waiters, “On behalf of [Irving], myself, I just think we’ve been in so much media this year, and it’s not fair to either of us. “I just think, man, throughout this whole year with us two not liking each other, it’s total BS. We’ve been friends before we even made the NBA, before any of this. I just think y’all saying we don’t like playing with one another …””

Jonas Valanciunas is expected to play despite his recent DUI: “Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas will play in Wednesday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers, two days after being charged with drunk driving. Valanciunas was not made available to reporters at Tuesday’s practice, but Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri confirmed he will be in the lineup. The 21-year-old Lithuanian was arrested Monday in Wasaga Beach, Ontario. Police say they began investigating after a report that a vehicle went through a drive-thru with open beer bottles visible. On Monday, Valanciunas said in a release that he apologized to the organization, his teammates, family and fans, adding he regretted ”any negativity this incident has brought upon them.””

The Pacers aren’t playing for the top seed, they are playing to get better: “The Indiana Pacers didn’t want to have to play another Game 7 on the road, likely in Miami again, this season. If a Game 7 had to be played, they wanted it at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in front of their home fans. They said it so much early in the season that you got tired of hearing about it. It was basically No. 1 seed or nothing for the Pacers. Now, in the midst of a significant collapse where there’s been more finger pointing in the past month than there’s been in the past three years combined, the Pacers have jammed a pole in the ground with a white flag at the top conceding the No. 1 seed to their Eastern Conference rivals. Pacers coach Frank Vogel essentially delivered that message when he said he plans to rest different starters during their final four regular-season games. “We’re two games back right now,” Vogel said. “Obviously it was a goal, it is a goal of ours, but at this point, playing well is our top priority. Part of that is being fresh going into the playoffs. We feel if we have the No. 2 seed, and we still feel we can attain the goals we have.””

SheridanHoops own Danny Schayes weighs in on Kentucky’s tough loss: “For every Christian Laettner buzzer beater, Immaculate Reception, or other heart-stopping crazy finish, there is a losing team who’s history was changed. And every fan knows the experience of watching a game slip away play by play. Each missed shot, turnover, or ball that slips through a players hands creates death by slow torture. For it is never the Hail Mary or buzzer beater that is the reason one team wins or loses. It is merely the last thing that people remember. Why don’t they keep running the fast break? Why aren’t their picks working? Why are you going to a prevent defense so early? Fans wonder through eternity why you can’t control momentum, or why foul shots are so hard to make. Believe me, players look back and wonder the same thing. For each close loss, there are 20 or more plays that could have changed the outcome. Players agonize over those plays for the rest of their lives.”

Despite all the drama in Los Angeles, Pau Gasol is still the nice guy: “Gasol is one of the nice guys. All of his on-court kvetching amounts to nothing more than arubbed head or two. He credits Magic Johnson’s HIV diagnosis for inspiring him to become a doctor. In his “Lakers profile” — one of the midgame entertainment reels broadcast on the Staples Center big board, in which guys like Nick Young talk about things like “spaghetti cake” — Gasol describes himself in one word as “multifaceted.” Most superstar athletes become conditioned to look right through people; Kobe Bryant, for example, strides with purpose as ifAloe Blacc is his internal monologue. Gasol remains observant. On a recent trip to Staples Center my eyes happened to cross paths with Gasol’s, and to my surprise, he smiled back atme, a total stranger sort of creepily gawking at him. Dude is nice. We yearn for any morsel of information on these guys’ personal lives, especially when the subject is something of an enigma uninterested in opening up. When some odd detail does trickle out, it tends to serve mostly as fodder to further the myth we’ve pieced together in our heads. Rajon Rondo is this great checkers player? He’s a mad genius!”

Ronnie Brewer is set to join the Bulls for the rest of the season: “The team announced this week they’ve signed Brewer for the rest of the season after the Rockets released him in late February. “I’m very excited to be playing with (coach Tom Thibodeau),” Brewer told reporters Monday. “He’s a tough coach. I play hard and try to hustle. That’s the type of players he likes. I’m just happy to be back with some of my old teammates.” After the Bulls decided not to pick up Brewer’s $4.3 million option in 2012, he joined the Knicks for half a season then was traded to the Thunder and then signed with the Rockets in free agency. But he never found a foothold with playing time in those stops like he had with the Bulls. Brewer isn’t a strong offensive player, but he’s always been capable of playing tough, physical defense, something obviously valued in Chicago. It’s unclear as to if he’ll be a regular in the rotation, but he could provide some depth behind Jimmy Butler who is relied upon heavily by the Bulls.”