- Kyle Korver is delivering in the playoffs the way the Cavaliers hoped when they traded for him in January, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. He scored 14 points in the Game 3 win at Toronto, with most coming as Cleveland pulled away in the second half. “When [Korver] steps on the floor, eyes have to be on him,” said LeBron James. “… Just his ability to be out on the floor just helps us all out offensively because it just creates more space. From the time we got him all the way to now, and as we continue to play throughout the postseason, he’s been huge for our ballclub.”
Having restructured their front office, the Hawks are in the market for a new top basketball executive, and according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter), league sources suggest that David Griffin and Joe Dumars are expected to emerge as candidates for that job.
Mike Budenholzer had previously served as the president of basketball operations in Atlanta, but relinquished that title and will simply be the club’s head coach going forward. Meanwhile, Wes Wilcox was the Hawks’ general manager, but will now serve as a special advisor to team ownership. Both Budenholzer and Wilcox are expected to have a say in personnel decisions, but the Hawks are on the lookout for someone who will have the final say.
Griffin has emerged as the most popular front office target around the league early in the 2017 offseason. Despite playing a significant role in building the Cavaliers’ roster, the GM is on an expiring deal with the defending champs, and contract talks between the two sides have reportedly stalled. That has opened the door for rival suitors to prepare pitches for Griffin. In addition to the Hawks, the Magic are believed to have the Cavs GM high on their wish list, though those teams won’t be able to talk to him until Cleveland’s season ends.
As for Dumars, the Pistons’ former president of basketball operations stepped down from that role in 2014. During his time in Detroit, he helped lead the club to a 595–536 (.527) regular-season record, 73 postseason wins, and an NBA championship in 2004, and was named Executive of the Year in 2003. In recent years, he has been linked most frequently to the Pelicans’ front office, should New Orleans decide to shake things up.
As Stein observes (via Twitter), Hawks minority owner Grant Hill, who was expected to have a hand in the team’s search for a new executive, has ties to both Griffin and Dumars. Griffin worked in the Suns’ basketball operations department when Hill was in Phoenix as a player, and Dumars played with Hill in Detroit.
Earlier today, Hawks principal owner Tony Ressler said that he hopes to have a GM in place before June’s draft, though he has confidence in the current basketball operations department to handle things in the coming weeks. Ressler added that he hopes Wilcox remains with the Hawks in his new role, admitting that the former GM will have many other options around the NBA (all Twitter links via David Aldridge of NBA.com).
LeBron James continues to express support for Cavaliers GM David Griffin, whose contract will expire after the playoffs, writes Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.
A source said that when James left the practice floor Tuesday, he asked why Griffin “wouldn’t be able to get a new contract.” James didn’t direct the question to anyone, but said it loudly enough to make sure it would be heard.
Sources tell Amico that James has been dropping regular hints about Griffin to team officials, but he doesn’t plan to meet with owner Dan Gilbert to discuss the situation.
Gilbert reportedly finds James’ support for Griffin admirable, and nobody in the organization considers the statements to be a distraction.
However, there’s no evidence that James is making a difference. Someone Amico describes as a “dialed-in source” says the current relationship between Griffin and ownership is “not good” and the GM may not be re-signed this summer.
The Cavs were unable to reach an extension with Griffin last summer, setting up a free agent situation where he is free to join another organization once Cleveland’s playoff run ends. Griffin is reportedly the front-runner to become team president in Orlando.
Two more names have emerged as contenders for the president of basketball operations role in Orlando, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
A report last weekend said the Magic will offer the job to Cavaliers GM David Griffin when his team’s playoff run is over. Kevin McHale has also been mentioned as a possibility. Stein reveals that Milwaukee’s John Hammond and Toronto’s Jeff Weltman are under consideration as well.
Hammond has served as GM of the Bucks since 2008 and was named Executive of the Year in 2010. He received a one-year contract extension from the team last summer that will take him through next season, with the plan that he would transition to a consultant and be replaced by assistant GM Justin Zanik.
Weltman was promoted to GM of the Raptors last September. He joined the team in 2013 after five years as assistant GM of the Bucks. Weltman also held front office positions with the Pistons, Nuggets and Clippers.
The Magic have already started the interview process, but CEO Alex Martins said he expects it to take a long time.
Several under-the-radar players who will be free agents this summer are improving their bargaining position with their performance in the playoffs, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. He identifies six players, starting with Golden State big man JaVale McGee, who is averaging 8.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks through five games despite playing just 11.8 minutes per night. McGee signed a non-guaranteed deal with the Warriors for the veteran’s minimum and could be in line for a huge pay raise in July. The others that Kennedy singles out are Serge Ibaka of the Raptors, Joe Ingles of the Jazz, Nene of the Rockets, Andre Roberson of the Thunder and Deron Williams of the Cavaliers.
There’s more news from around the basketball world:
- The Texas Legends, the Mavericks‘ affiliate in the D-League, have given coach Bob MacKinnon a two-year extension, tweets D-League Digest. The D-League veteran is in his first season with the Legends.
- Invitations have been issued for the D-League’s Elite Mini Camp, which will be held May 8-9 in Chicago, relays Chris Reichert of FanSided. Many players have used this showcase to earn spots on summer league rosters, with alumni such as Jonathon Simmons, Hollis Thompson and DeAndre Liggins. Among the best-known names at this year’s camp will be Russ Smith, JaKarr Sampson, Ray McCallum and Cliff Alexander.
- Former No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett, who played 23 games for the Nets this season, has been replaced on his Fenerbahce team in Turkey, according to Bugra Uzar of Eurohoops. Taking his spot on the roster is Pero Antic, who played for the Hawks from 2013 to 2015. Bennett will remain with the club and is expected to be part of the upcoming EuroLeague Final Four.
- Greg Oden, another former No. 1 pick, is hoping to be part of The Basketball Tournament this summer on ESPN, relays Alysha Tsuji of USA Today. Oden’s team is called Scarlet and Gray and is made up of Ohio State alumni. “We think we’re a team that can win it,” he said. “We look at the talent we’ve had here in the last 10 years or so, and we can match up with anybody. We want the state of Ohio supporting us. We’re called Scarlet and Gray, but this team is a representation of the whole state.”
The Magic have held their first interviews in their quest for a new president of basketball operations, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel.
CEO Alex Martins said the team’s plan is to hire a president, who will then select a GM. He confirmed that a few candidates have interviewed, but refused to provide any names, adding that the process could be lengthy.
“As we’ve said from the outset, we don’t expect a quick decision or a quick resolution due to the fact that there are some executives involved in the playoffs that we’re interested in speaking to and most likely we will not be granted permission [to speak with them] until those teams have been eliminated from the playoffs,” Martins said. “In light of that, we’re moving along well, and we’ve been going through our process. And we will not conclude it until we have the opportunity to speak to those individuals.”
One of those executives involved in the playoffs is Cavaliers GM David Griffin, who is believed to be at the top of Orlando’s wish list. A weekend report from Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com said the Magic haven’t yet requested permission to speak to Griffin, whose contract with the defending champs will expire this summer.
Former Celtics star, Timberwolves executive and Rockets coach Kevin McHale has also been mentioned as a prominent candidate.
Orlando, which has strung together five straight losing seasons, fired GM Rob Hennigan and assistant GM Scott Perry after the season ended. Matt Lloyd is serving as assistant GM and is considered a candidate to keep that position.
- The trial date for Cavaliers swingman Iman Shumpert is set for June 26, meaning it won’t happen until after the season is over, writes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. Shumpert is facing charges of driving while under the influence of marijuana, and would face a penalty from the NBA if it’s not his first offense.
- On Tuesday night, we passed along word that Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue reached out to Kevin Garnett during the regular season about the possibility of an NBA comeback.
The Cavaliers’ search for a viable big man during the regular season led the defending NBA champions to future Hall-of-Famer, Kevin Garnett, Cleveland head coach Tyronn Lue revealed on ESPN’s NBA Lockdown Podcast.
Garnett, 40, retired following the 2015/16 campaign after 21 NBA seasons; he joined the TNT’s Inside The NBA program as an analyst and holds a role as a consultant for the Bucks and Clippers. However, when Andrew Bogut — whose Cavaliers debut lasted less than one minute — suffered a fractured left tibia, ending his season, Lue made a call to the Timberwolves legend.
“I was like, ‘Man, you should come back and play for me.’ He was like, ‘Man, you all have a lot going on over there,‘” Lue said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. “That was before we hit our stride like we’re playing well now. He was like, ‘If you and [James] Posey were still playing, I would come.’ But he said, ‘But y’all are coaching and y’all are going through what you’re going through.’ He said, ‘Ah, I’m going to sit this one out.’ I said, ‘OK. We’ll call you next year.’”
With Garnett not interested, the Cavaliers ultimately turned to Larry Sanders, who left the NBA two years prior due to personal issues. His Cleveland tenure lasted just five games (13 minutes) and was mostly spent with Cleveland’s NBA D-League affiliate, the Canton Charge. On the final day of the regular season, the same day they waived Sanders, the Cavaliers signed Edy Tavares to fill the void. The team finished the season with a 51-31 record, good for second in the Eastern Conference.
The former NBA champion initially expressed interest in returning for a 22nd campaign in the offseason but Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor explained to NBA.com that Garnett was unsure his body would hold up.
“Then he said, ‘I don’t know if I can,‘” Taylor said. “I asked him, ‘What does that mean?’ And he said, ‘I don’t know.’ So I asked the question but I didn’t get an answer that helped me. Yes, theoretically, he’d like to play. But he has some doubts of his knees holding up. I believe he told me exactly the truth.”
While it was a no from Garnett this season, Lue’s admission that he would call KG next season leaves the door somewhat ajar for an NBA return. For now though, Garnett seems to be enjoying his new role(s) and hasn’t expressed any public interest in making a comeback.
- The Cavaliers handily beat the Raptors last postseason, but coach Tyronn Lue believes Toronto’s midseason trade acquisitions will make the team tougher to beat this time around, as Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes. ” You get a guy who is a great shot blocker, a great defender,” Lue said of Serge Ibaka. “A great one-on-one defender and he can also make a shot. He can make a 3-point shot now. His mid-range game is very nice also, so he adds a different dimension to their team and I know they was talking about being better defensively, so adding Ibaka and adding P.J. Tucker really helps that for them.“
The Magic continue to focus on Cavaliers general manager David Griffin in their search for a top basketball executive, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, who reports that Orlando intends to offer Griffin a position as the club’s president of basketball operations.
[RELATED: Magic fire GM Rob Hennigan]
Griffin’s contract with the Cavs expires at the end of this season. However, as Windhorst notes, the Magic won’t be able to engage Griffin in contract discussions until Cleveland is eliminated from the playoffs — or wins the NBA Finals.
Orlando’s interest in Griffin was first reported last week by Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, who suggested that extension talks between the Cavaliers and their GM have been “stalled for months.” Wojnarowski noted at the time that Cavs owner Dan Gilbert has been reluctant to offer his general manager a contract on par with other championship-level NBA executives, but Windhorst writes that Griffin still may end up staying in Cleveland on a new deal.
Griffin has played a major role in building the roster that won the championship a year ago, and LeBron James has endorsed retaining the veteran executive, so it would be somewhat surprising if the Cavs let him get away.
If Orlando is unable to land Griffin, the team figures to turn to a list of candidates that reportedly includes Kevin McHale, Matt Lloyd, David Morway, Pat Garrity, and Travis Schlenk, among others.