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Magic Notes: Howard, Hennigan, Head Coach

June 21st, 2012 at 1:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic's general manager search came to an end yesterday, and the team will officially introduce Rob Hennigan as its new GM in a press conference at the top of the hour. Hennigan inherits a tricky situation involving Magic superstar Dwight Howard, who is under contract for one more year, but may not finish the season in Orlando. According to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (via Twitter), Howard hasn't requested a trade this summer, but many people in the organization believe he wants out. Let's round up a few more notes on the Magic's star center and their new GM:

Odds & Ends: Howard, Brooks, Lockout

June 16th, 2012 at 10:35pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Saturday evening.

Magic Notes: Nelson, Howard, GM/Coach Search

June 14th, 2012 at 11:52am CST by Luke Adams

While their Southeast rivals, the Heat, prepare for Game 2 of the NBA Finals tonight, the Magic have a jam-packed offseason itinerary. The team still has to hire a GM, find a new coach, and decide on Dwight Howard's future, and another under-the-radar issue could arise tomorrow. Jameer Nelson has a June 15th deadline to decide whether to pick up his player option for next season, and if he turns it down, the Magic will have to determine if they want to try to re-sign him. Here's the latest out of Orlando….

Phil Jackson Renews Interest In Magic Position

June 6th, 2012 at 6:19pm CST by Daniel Seco

6:19pm: According to NBA.com's David Aldridge, "both the agents for Phil Jackson and an Orlando Magic source denied Wednesday any contact between the parties on a potential kingmaker role for Jackson with the Magic organization."

1:14pm: The Magic are unlikely to accept the latest proposal from Sam Vincent to have Phil Jackson join the organization, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. The team wants someone who'll be in Orlando full-time, instead of one week per month, as Jackson would be. Though a half dozen candidates appear to be in the running for the GM job, Robbins tweets that a list of finalists has not yet been submitted to the Devos family, who owns the Magic. Even without Jackson around, Pacers assistant Brian Shaw could still wind up with the Magic head coaching gig, Robbins notes via Twitter.

8:40am: After seemingly removing himself from consideration for a position in the Magic's front office, Phil Jackson has renewed interest in becoming Orlando's lead personnel man and bringing a team of his closest confidants into the organization, reports Sam Amick of SI.com. A revised proposal was submitted to the Magic on Tuesday morning in which Jackson would work for the team remotely from California. Sam Vincent, the architect of the plan, would also join the Magic as a member of the front office with Brian Shaw coming on board as head coach and Scottie Pippen taking the lead assistant position.

Beyond salary, Jackson is interested in acquiring a portion of minority ownership in the franchise so that he can help convince Dwight Howard to stay with the Magic given the Zen Master's presence and commitment to the team. Yet, some in the Magic organization view Howard as a lost cause who wants out of Orlando as soon as possible and has no intentions of re-signing with the team. The risk of investing in Jackson with hopes of retaining Howard could get expensive beyond just a minority ownership stake as the former Lakers coach earned $12MM in his final season in Los Angeles.

One of the issues with the plan stems from Magic CEO Alex Martins dislike for having an executive working outside of Orlando. Since parting ways with former general manager Otis Smith on May 21, Martins has been looking for an executive who would be in the office every day. The team's finalists for general manager reportedly include Spurs vice president and assistant general manager Dennis Lindsey, former Hornets general manager Jeff Bower, Thunder executives Troy Weaver and Rob Hennigan, and former Trail Blazers general manager and Pacers executive Kevin Pritchard.

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Odds & Ends: Hornets, Jazz, Mavs, Jeff Van Gundy

May 30th, 2012 at 10:43pm CST by Daniel Seco

The NBA draft lottery brought good fortune to the Hornets organization, robbed the Bobcats of a chance to quickly advance in the rebuilding process and saw teams like the Nets and the Jazz miss out on securing lottery picks. The Cavs will have to use the fourth pick in the draft to build around Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson and the Warriors should simply be happy they were able to keep their spot at seventh. Beyond the Hornets, count the Trail Blazers as the second biggest winner Wednesday night as Portland will make two selections among the first 11 picks.

As the talking heads put together their latest mock drafts, let's take a look around the NBA to catch up on the the news and rumors making headlines as Hurricanes and Hand Grenades flow freely on Bourbon St…

Odds & Ends: Lottery, Deron Williams, Magic, Nash

May 30th, 2012 at 4:55pm CST by Luke Adams

The draft lottery is dominating NBA headlines today, but the team with the best shot at landing the first overall pick isn't losing any sleep over tonight's drama. Bobcats president of basketball operations Rod Higgins tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that he's not stressed about the lottery since the results are out of his hands, and adds that he still expects Charlotte to add a solid player even without the top pick.

As we count down the hours until the winner of the Anthony Davis sweepstakes is announced, let's round up a few odds and ends from around the NBA….

Latest On Dwight Howard

May 30th, 2012 at 1:14pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported that Dwight Howard regrets his decision to opt into the final year of his contract with the Magic, and is hoping to be traded. However, with no general manager currently in place in Orlando, the Magic's roster situation is still very much up in the air. Let's round up a few of the day's updates on Howard and the Magic….

Wojnarowski On Nets, Davis, Deron Williams, D12

May 30th, 2012 at 9:56am CST by Luke Adams

The 13 teams involved in tonight's NBA draft lottery may be dreaming of Anthony Davis, but according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, landing Davis won't necessarily be enough for the Nets to re-sign Deron Williams. Here are the details from the Yahoo! scribe….

Sam Smith On Howard, Bulls, Gasol, Lowry

May 28th, 2012 at 3:40pm CST by Luke Adams

Bulls.com scribe Sam Smith has a new column up today, which includes plenty of news, notes, and rumors from around the NBA. Let's dive in….

Brooklyn is still considered the likeliest destination for Dwight Howard, though teams like the Rockets, Trail Blazers, and Warriors may be willing to risk renting D12 for a year. The Magic are expected to make another run at retaining Howard once the team has a new GM in place.
Smith hears from "Lakers insiders" that Pau Gasol would be interested in playing for the Bulls. He adds that Gasol and Kobe Bryant were "constantly at odds" in Los Angeles this season.
If the Bulls and Lakers were to discuss a Gasol deal, Luol Deng would have to be the centerpiece rather than Carlos Boozer, says Smith.
NBA general managers previously rejected a rule that would allow players to touch the ball on the rim, but that idea could be revisited now that the league has introduced a new competition comittee.
Kyle Lowry appears on his way out of Houston, according to Smith, who says the Rockets were "quietly shopping" the point guard before his injury this season. The Rockets would like to re-sign Goran Dragic, who isn't interested in returning as a backup.

Odds & Ends: Warriors, Spurs, Green, Malone

May 27th, 2012 at 3:54pm CST by Daniel Seco

Let's catch up on the latest news and happenings from around the NBA…

NewsOk.com's Berry Tramel writes about how the Spurs and Thunder are so similar in their foundation.
In a tweet, NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper says the Warriors will be conducting a workout on Monday. Some players expected to participate are Tony Wroten, Draymond Green, Royce White, and others. The Warriors currently hold the 30th pick from their trade deadline deal to acquire Richard Jefferson.
Danny Green is enjoying a dream season with the Spurs after once wondering if he'd ever make it in the NBA, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday. The former North Carolina star has gone from being cut by the Cavaliers after his rookie season to starting at shooting guard for the Spurs.
Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com wonders what the Warriors will do next if assistant head coach Michael Malone leaves the franchise for a head coaching job this offseason. Malone has been a major part of head coach Mark Jackson's coaching staff as the former point guard has only 66 games of coaching experience to draw from as he enters his second season guiding the Warriors.
The Bulls are exploring leaving their suburban practice facility, the Berto Center, in favor of a downtown location to cut down on commuting before home games, reports K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. A move downtown would save the Bulls money as they currently provide players free access to a hotel room prior to home games so that they can avoid rush hour traffic.
Matt Moore of CBSSports.com wonders where the Sixers go from here now that they've been eliminated from by the playoffs by the Celtics. The team will continue to look for a star player to add to the roster while facing many decisions about its current roster heading into next season.
USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo is ready to field the most competitive roster for the 2012 Summer Olympics, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. While most of the players from the 2008 squad should be back on this year's roster, the team will be without Dwight Howard as he is currently rehabbing from back surgery in Los Angeles.