- Tony Parker received some relieving news about his hamstring, from Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports: “Spurs guard Tony Parker underwent an MRI today in San Antonio which revealed a Grade 1 left hamstring strain. He is listed as day-to-day.”
- The sale of the Milwaukee Bucks has officially been approved: “NBA Board of Governors Unanimously Approves Sale of Milwaukee Bucks to Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry.”
- Predictably, Doc Rivers has been fined by the league for criticizing the refs, from B.A. Turner of LA Times.
Deron Williams is disappointed in his own play and may look to get surgery on his ankles, from Mike Mazzeo of ESPN NY: “Deron Williams will undergo an MRI on both of his ankles on Friday, and the Brooklyn Nets point guard believes surgery may be a possibility. He then plans to meet with noted foot/ankle surgeon Dr. Martin O’Malley on Monday. “I think so. I think it is,” Williams said Thursday when asked about the possibility of undergoing surgery. “Just to clean [stuff out], it’s nothing major.”… “I feel like I’ve kind of let people down, so I don’t like feeling like that,” Williams said. “I take my job seriously, I work hard in the offseason, I work hard every day. It’s just real frustrating not to be able to play how I’m capable of playing.”… “I used to step on the court and feel like I was the best player no matter who I played against, so I gotta get back to that,” he said. “Even if I’m not the best player on the court, I gotta feel like I am.”
New York may have interest in bringing in Scottie Pippen to work with the team in some capacity, according to Marc Berman of NY Post: “Knicks GM Steve Mills huddled with Scottie Pippen for about 15 minutes Thursday at the draft combine to gauge the legendary Bull’s interest in potentially working for the organization in some capacity, possibly as an assistant coach, according to an NBA source. Knicks president Phil Jackson, stung by the Steve Kerr rejection, would have interest in Pippen in some capacity, depending on who is hired as head coach. Pippen, a student of the triangle offense, has the title of adviser with the Bulls. When asked by The Post about potentially working with Jackson, Pippen said, “I haven’t talked to Phil. I have to wait until that time comes. Right now nothing’s out there. I’m not going to say whether I’m interested or not until it happens.’’
- Pippen also chimed in on the Kerr situation: “I was a little bit surprised,’’ Pippen said of Kerr not taking the Knicks job. “I thought the familiarity working with Phil, able to run the offense, having Phil there to mentor him as much as possible, made it a bit of a surprise. I think at the end of the day, Golden State is probably the better team. They have a lot more upside. “I think he’s a great guy and will make a great coach,’’ Pippen added. “He’s one of the few teammates I still stay in touch with. He has a great personality. He’ll be great in coaching.’’
- Mitch Kupchak dismissed the idea of getting consulted by Kobe Bryant when it comes to choosing coaches, from Dave McMenamin of ESPN LA: “Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak says the lines of communication with Kobe Bryant are open, but that doesn’t mean the star guard will get a say in whom the team hires as its next coach. “From time to time we ask his advice,” Kupchak told ESPN’s Andy Katz at the NBA draft combine Thursday in Chicago. “He really won’t weigh in on something like this. I’m not even sure that we’ll talk to him prior to interviews. But from time to time, he is in our facility, I’ll go downstairs and I’ll talk to him about a bunch of different things.”
Kevin Durant explained why he chose to look away when Russell Westbrook shot his all-important free throws in Game 5, from Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: “Q: What can you tell us about not being able to watch the free throws that Russ took at the end? A: I’ve been doing that all year, especially late in the games. It’s not like I don’t trust my guys to make the free throws. I think I’m just bad luck. Every time I go to a Redskins game we lose. Every time I watch a Texas game we lose. Every time I watch something it’s not going the way I want it to go. So I have to turn my head. You did that in Game 4 of the Memphis series when Reggie was at the line. What was more nerve-racking, Reggie’s or Russell’s? Both of them were the same, I think, because the game was on the line. But I trust my teammates, all of them. It might have gave people mixed signals but I don’t know, it’s just something I always did. Will you do it again? If it comes to it, will you turn away again? Yeah. I mean, it worked.”
Kevin Ollie will have an interesting decision to make this summer, from Mark Medina of Daily News: “Kevin Ollie might head take an NBA head-coaching position, but it might not be with the Lakers. An undisclosed NBA team not named the Lakers reached out to Ollie about interviewing for its vacant head coaching position, leaving the UConn coach mulling over the team’s latest extension offer, according to a league source familiar with the situation. “A team has come at him hard. It’s going to be interesting,” the source said. “He’s always preferred UConn. But he may have a decision to make.” Ollie’s current contract runs through the 2017-18 season, but both Ollie and the Huskies are mindful of his increased market value stemmed from UCONN’s recent NCAA championship and heightened NBA interest. Ollie’s contract offer is believed to be about double of the $1.25 million he made this past season.”
Portland Trail Blazers will sign Terry Stotts to an extension, from NBA.com: “The Portland Trail Blazers have signed Head Coach Terry Stotts to a multi-year contract extension, it was announced today by General Manager Neil Olshey. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. “Terry has done an outstanding job during his first two years with the organization,” said Olshey. “This extension illustrates our confidence in him as our head coach as well as the Portland Trail Blazers’ continued commitment to building a model of consistency and stability.” Stotts led the Trail Blazers to a 54-win season in 2013-14, marking the largest improvement in franchise history and the sixth-best record all-time after the team went 33-49 the previous year. Portland won its first playoff series in 14 seasons, defeating the Houston Rockets in six games and setting up a Western Conference Semifinal matchup with the San Antonio Spurs. The postseason berth was the team’s first since 2010-11.”
- George Karl may be interested in coaching the Cleveland Cavaliers, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Florida: “One thing keep hearing out of Chicago: George Karl really wants Cavs coaching job. NBA Combine. Obviously, George Karl interested in any opening, really wants to get back into it. But Cavs are where career started. He’s big Kyrie fan.”
James Park is the chief blogger of Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on twitter @SheridanBlog.
Pages: 1 2