Various members of the Clippers praised head coach Tyronn Lue after the team beat the Jazz in a six-game series last round, Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times writes.
Among many things, Lue made the decision to insert Terance Mann into the starting lineup once Kawhi Leonard got injured. Mann responded by putting forth a 39-point performance in Game 6 to help win the series.
“T. Lue,” Paul George said in response to a reporter wondering how the team got to this point. “T. Lue.”
Veteran Nicolas Batum also showed support for Lue, noting his presence has a calming effect on the group. “He always find a way to talk to us so we don’t panic,” Batum said. “We stay calm. We stay cool.”
Here are some other notes from the Western Conference:
- Suns lead assistant Willie Green is garnering interest around the NBA as a head coaching candidate, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic writes. Head coach Monty Williams indicated last week that Green, who played 12 NBA seasons, was talking to teams about the possibility.
- Zion Williamson‘s frustration with the Pelicans should fuel the team’s future internal growth, Scott Kushner of The Times-Picayune writes. New Orleans parted ways with head coach Stan Van Gundy last week after missing the playoffs with just a 31-41 record. For his part, Williamson averaged 27 points and 7.2 rebounds per game on the season.
- Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News explores whether the Mavericks‘ week of upheaval could turn out to be a good thing. While the team no longer has a general manager or head coach, it does have a special advisor in Dirk Nowitzki. Nowitzki committed to help the franchise last week after Donnie Nelson and Rick Carlisle‘s departures. “Mark Cuban approached me about a role as special advisor and I am happy to support my Mavs,” Nowitzki said. “Donnie Nelson and Rick Carlisle were both mentors and played huge roles in my career and the success of this franchise, and I am going to miss them. It is important for me now to join Mark and contribute as much as I can as we move forward.”
Cuban has lost his mind. Luka will ask for a trade but he will take the money he is no fool. KP needs to find a way to make it work with Luka. Surely there had to be away.
Kings took Bagley, not Luka and Trae Young
Cuban can Trade Luka for Bagley and 4 Firsts
Yeah, mavs aren’t doing that deal.
Hield, Haliburton, and a mixture of at least 6 or 8 1st round picks / pick swaps maybe.
Spike go home you are drunk
Here you go again!! These kids barely been in league for 2 years and already whining! What did you expect? Making final or winning a ship in your second year! This league needs a new commissioner, s**t getting out of control for real!
No buddy when you’re already an all star player in a small market and your team can’t even make the play in u have a right to be frustrated. Troll.
Zion needs to be able to stay healthy for at least two consecutive seasons before he is in any position to demand a trade.
That small market is a major southern city all behind this kid and always showed him love. Y’all should stop looking down at other cities that is not NY or LA!! You sound like these snobbish fake news sports media wannabe analyst!!
Who’s the troll. His team is winning and he can do what he wants to. This isn’t Doncic’s world, there are rules. Dallas is fine, there’s no nirvana.
Z-Will has it worse, so does ShaiGA, but the world is not theirs either.
so the team has less money and therefore Zion should be angry? lol.
I’m not from New Orleans but used to work there a lot. GREAT TOWN!! If I was rich, I might have a place in the Quarter, stay there for a couple of the cool months each year. Good sports fans. A successful athlete should enjoy living there, but in today’s NBA, I guess great players figure the best way to have a shot at a ring is to join an already loaded team, or in the case of James Harden, one where you can have your usual lousy game when it counts the most and someone like KD can do the heavy lifting.
Rivers out in the second round in Philly while Lue takes the Clips to their first WCF. Seems like coaching does matter!
Wow! So now “coaching” depends on if you go out in 2nd round or advance to WCF. How about you coach your team to an NBA Finals and win the title??? What did T Lue do without James.
Same crap that was started with AD. Zion I will win i there. Bench Bledsoe and all is good!
The best thing for the Pelicans to do is just to say no we are not trading you for at least three more years. DEAL WITH IT! If you don’t like it, you are welcome to retire and be replaced and forgotten quickly. Zion is good, but every year another one comes along. There is no player, not even LeBron, that is bigger than the game.
He could just keep his mouth shut and not sign an extension and leave in free agency when he is able to, and leave the Pelicans with nothing. If he is trying to get traded (not a given that he is behind any of it), then it’s actually more respectful to let them know ahead of time. But great anti-labor hot-take.
wanting a guy to respect the contract he signed isnt “anti-labor”
Well said, very well said. Zion is just another player, a very nice piece to a puzzle. Definitely not an organization game changer at all, not the god of basketball.
Funny how the Pelicans dealt with AD when he forced himself out. By pure “ Miracle” they get the first pick and then Karma hits.
KP would be an amazing fit in NO with Ingram and Zion. His length and shooting ability plus some shot blocking.
Would need to be a three team trade realistically but could be great.
Possibly
Portland: Steven Adams, Josh Hart, 1st round pick (NO), 2nd Round pick (Dallas) 2nd round pick (Dallas)
Dallas: Jusif Nurkic, Eric Bledsloe
NO: KP, Jones Jr
Portland get rid of Nurkic and add Adams defence, Josh Hart and some picks.
Dallas gets a point next to Luka, who can defend and Nurkic who’s fills the centre hole.
NO ads KP and DJJ for depth and salary filler.
Don’t quit your day job.
KP wants out of Dallas, Nurkic wants out of Portland, Bledsloe needs a fresh start elsewhere.
Portland defiantly don’t get much of a good package and probably say no. But for Dallas it would be great. A true big man that can do everything that’s foreign also. Plus Bledsloe who isn’t great but he’s alright defensively and can run an offence. But again Portland would so no. But the idea would be good
Bledsoe can’t defend for his life, just as bad a defender as a shooter… DAL say no to take the worst player involved in the trade while giving out the best!
What is so hard with going to management and talking about being unhappy instead of having “family” say he needs out of NO. If “family” said it, it’s actually Zion making a passive aggressive request to leave. It’s immature and is getting old in the NBA. Talk to the Pels behind the scenes, tell them that you want out, and after to keep quiet while they search for a deal so that they can try to get maximum value. You can’t go anywhere for four more years if they don’t want to let you, why would you think handling it in this manner is going to want them to do you a favour?
Funny isn’t it that the most valuable asset the Mavs got from the Knicks deal was Hardaway?! At the time of the deal, I was happy the Knicks got rid of KP, the return wasn’t great, but they took a swing to open up a tonne of cap space and start building draft capital. They didn’t get the Superstars they wanted with the cap space, but I also think it may be hard to argue that Randle hasn’t been the better player of him and KP the last two years.
Super talent does not mean Superstar as KP is proving. Lazy defense, consistent injuries and a questionable attitude have put a low ceiling on many great talents over the years.
Why on earth would Zion want NOP to get the most possible from trading him???
It just doesn’t make any sense, teams don’t care for players which is a proven fact, they just want what’s best for themselves…
Meanwhile players are expected to want the best for teams, seriously is a bad joke!
If Zion helps NOP get the most of trading him, it means Zion is hurting & working against the team that is gonna get him, which makes the trade less good for him moving forward…
As a pro Zion must want the team trading for him to give the least possible, NOP got the most by having him on the court not by assets when he goes, come on stop coddling the teams, hoops is ’bout stars not teams!