The Heat are certainly in better position to advance to the NBA Finals than they were 24 hours ago, but they aren't out of the woods yet, with a Game 7 looming. Given the high expectations in Miami, ESPN.com's Chris Broussard (Twitter link) polled 27 NBA executives on 20 clubs on whether they'd fire Erik Spoelstra if the Heat lose the series to the Celtics — 17 said no, while 10 said yes. While we await tomorrow's winner-take-all matchup and prepare for a night without NBA action, let's check in on some other updates from around the Association….
Given the lack of competition for the top head coach candidates, the Magic have been able to proceed deliberately in their search for Stan Van Gundy's replacement. With the Knicks and Wizards retaining interim coaches and the 7-59 Bobcats the only other club interviewing candidates, Orlando hasn't had to worry about missing out on a head coach until now, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. Robbins writes that the Trail Blazers and new GM Neil Olshey could end up replacing Kaleb Canales, and that many of the same candidates the Magic are eyeing could have interest in the Portland job.
As the Magic decide whether to accelerate their coaching search, let's round up a few more odds and ends from around the Association….
It's been an eventful 24 hours in the Pacific Division, with Clippers GM Neil Olshey bolting for Portland and the Lakers officially locking Andrew Bynum into the final year of his contract. Let's round up a few notes on the fallout of those decisions, along with the rest of the Tuesday morning updates out of the Pacific….
The Lakers have officially picked up Andrew Bynum's $16.1MM option for 2012/13, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter). The move was expected as General Manager Mitch Kupchak told reporters during his exit interview that he planned to pick up the big man's option for next season.
Lakers vice president of player personnel Jim Buss appeared on 710 ESPN Radio's Mason and Ireland Show on Thursday, expressing disappointment with his team's season (link via Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com). While conceding that he's never happy if the club fall short of a championship, Buss said he was "very disappointed" with the Lakers' season, and thought they "were a better team than this." Jerry Buss' son weighed in on a number of other topics as well, including the head coach, the draft, and star center Andrew Bynum. Here are a few of Buss' comments:
We can safely assume Kobe Bryant will be a Laker next season, but beyond that, there are a number of questions surrounding the team's roster going forward. GM Mitch Kupchak told reporters, including Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, that he'll be open to "all opportunities" to improve the team in the coming weeks and months.
"Why not? Sure," Kupchak said, of exploring a major trade (via Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com). "When you lose before you think you should have lost, you have to open up all opportunities."
With over $80MM+ already committed for 2012/13, the Lakers are wary of adding any more salary and increasing tax penalties, but still plan to offer Andrew Bynum a contract extension, according to Kupchak. If Bynum is part of the team's long-term future and Kobe isn't going anywhere, Pau Gasol is the most logical trade candidate, though the Lakers GM says he has yet to have that conversation with the club's owners.
"I have not met with ownership," Kupchak said. "I do not know what direction the team is going to go, what the parameters are going to be going forward, so there wasn't really anything additional to share with Pau."
Since they're over the tax line, the Lakers don't have many options for bringing in talent besides the trade market. However, the team will have the $3MM taxpayer mid-level exception at its disposal, along with the $8.9MM trade exception acquired in December's Lamar Odom trade.
Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak told reporters on Wednesday that the Lakers plan to pick up center Andrew Bynum's team option for next season. This move would not have an impact on the much-speculated swap of Bynum for Dwight Howard, as they would have to pick up his option before making the move. Kupchak's statement was part of the Lakers' 2012 exit interview process today, as documented by Mike Trudell on Lakers.com. Many players brought up the much talked about issue of the offense stalling when Kobe goes into "one-on-one" mode, while others discussed their future with the team:
- Pau Gasol said that he met with Kupchak and Mike Brown and they didn't offer him any insight as to the organizations' plans for Gasol this offseason. Gasol reiterated that the trade rumors shouldn't alter a player's game, but admitted that his change in role, many times deferring to Andrew Bynum as the second option, may have affected his production.
- Metta World Peace doesn't think the Lakers need radical change, even stating that they should be up 3 games to 2 on the Thunder right now, says Andy Kamenetzky of ESPN LA. Artest extolled Mitch Kupchak and says it is up to the players to pick up their game to help Kobe Bryant. Kamenetzky adds that there is speculation that Artest or Steve Blake could be trade candidates, but Artest said he loves it in Los Angeles.
- Kupchak offered information beyond their intentions for Bynum. In his talk with media, Kupchak discussed the failed preseason trade for Chris Paul, Gasol's resulting play, the looming opt-out decision of Ramon Sessions and more.
Like Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News did last night, SI.com's Sam Amick argues that the Lakers and Magic should explore swapping Andrew Bynum and Dwight Howard. Within his piece, Amick drops a few interesting details to support his argument, and touches on Deron Williams' free agent options as well. Here are some highlights:
- When Howard included the Lakers in his list of preferred destinations, it was more a leverage play than a statement he'd sign long-term there, sources tells Amick.
- At the trade deadline, according to Amick, Howard to the Lakers didn't seem like a fit because Howard didn't want to play third-fiddle to Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. However, Amick says the dynamic for the Lakers, the Magic, and Howard has changed, and that all involved parties are more desperate for a shake-up now.
- According to a Lakers source, Bynum grew more vocal about his frustrations and was more prone to "acting out" as the season progressed.
- Magic CEO Alex Martins is still confident that Howard can be persuaded to remain in Orlando.
- Amick hears that Deron Williams has some interest in joining the Lakers, though that would only be possible through a sign-and-trade. Williams' preference is for the Nets to improve the roster sufficiently enough that he can feel good about re-signing in Brooklyn.
- Dallas is still a possibility for Williams, but a source tells Amick that there's "no longevity" when it comes to the Mavericks and their roster.
The Thunder advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals last night, sending the Lakers to their second consecutive second-round exit. Despite the loss, Kobe Bryant vowed after the game that L.A. would be back in contention next season: "This is not one of those things like where the Bulls beat the Pistons and the Pistons disappeared forever."
Before the team returns to the court for the 2012/13 season, the Lakers will have a number of roster moves and decisions to make. Here's the latest on a few of the issues facing the club:
- Andrew Bynum told reporters last night, including Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com, that he's not sure what his future in Los Angeles holds. According to Bynum's agent David Lee, the ball is in the Lakers' court when it comes to talking about a contract extension for the young center.
- Brian Kamenetzky of ESPNLosAngeles.com looks at eight questions facing the Lakers as the team prepares for the offseason. Within the piece, he suggests that coach Mike Brown won't be fired, and wonders whether Ramon Sessions will pick up his player option after a poor postseason.
- Over the luxury-tax threshold and with only the 60th pick in the draft, the Lakers will have to make trades if they hope to improve their roster, writes Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.
- Pau Gasol's time as a Laker will likely end soon, since he's their only logical trade chip, says Sean Deveney of the Sporting News.
- Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune tweets that he expects the Timberwolves to get involved in Gasol trade discussions again.
- Gasol should be the first domino to fall, but the Lakers will be faced with other decisions too, writes McMenamin.
- For his part, Gasol doesn't think the Lakers need to significantly overhaul the roster, as he tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Gasol, Bynum, and Bryant all suggested that a full training camp would've helped the Lakers, who were adjusting to Brown's system.
Let's go coast to coast to catch up on the latest news and headlines before King James and the Heat look to make it a series against Indiana…
- Celtics head coach Doc Rivers has been using whatever time off his team is afforded to allow them to rest and get healthier, reports the Associated Press (via the Boston Herald).
- ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst says Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra needs to make adjustments to his strategy if Miami wants to have any chance of winning against the Pacers.
- Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have matured and proven that they can co-exist in Oklahoma City, writes Sam Amick of SI.com.
- Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski believes the Thunder look like a team with legitimate title aspirations thanks to strong play by Durant and Westbrook.
- The Spurs relied on heavily-efficient play to overcome a 24-point deficit to the Clippers on Saturday, writes Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com.
- Tom Ziller of SB Nation says the Lakers should trade Andrew Bynum so that the 24-year-old center's talents don't go to waste in Los Angeles.
- Gregg Popovich's decision to sit Tim Duncan during the 2000 NBA playoffs proved to be the right decision 12 years later, contends J.A. Adande of ESPN.com.
- A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com believes the Celtics need to find a better balance in terms of getting Kevin Garnett more involved in the game on Monday evening against the Sixers.