Gar Forman Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Bulls, Knicks, Magic

May 25th, 2013 at 8:26pm CST by Spencer Lund

Following up on the NBA's review of the Dwyane Wade elbow to Lance Stephenson near the end of game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Heat and Pacers, we have a couple tweets with more info:

Ethan J. Skolnick the Sun-Sentinel says that just because nothing has happened tonight and may not, that doesn't mean the NBA won't take action tomorrow against Wade for the seemingly inadvertant elbow to Stephenson's head (Twitter link).
Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida says that because today is a travel day for the Pacers and Heat that might be the cause for the delay in announcements after the NBA's review of the play. (Twitter link).
Sports Illustrated columnist, Ian Thomsen, discusses the similarities between this season's Eastern Conference Final and last season's Eastern Conference Semifinal. Last year the Heat lost game 2 and home court advantage too, plus they lost game 3 in Indiana to go down 2-1 to the Pacers. They then rebounded to win three-straight to head to the Finals.

Here are some more notes from around the Eastern Conference..

The Bulls' winning percentage when Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng, Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose share the floor is 86% writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times. That's probably why the Bulls' general manager Gar Forman will keep Boozer and Deng this offseason.
Former Bulls coach, and man-about-town for open GM and coaching positions, Phil Jackson, discussed his new book and his future with the Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson.
The Magic are a young team looking to rebuild through the draft with smart moves by their young general manager Rob Hennigan. The Orlando Sentinel's Mike Bianchi writes that's why Magic fans should root for a Pacers–Spurs matchup in the Finals; their presence would prove that small market teams can be successful without "buying championships."
Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com with part 1 of the Knicks' offseason notebook. Zwerling discusses who the Knicks might select with the 24th pick in July's draft and which players they may target in free agency, or through the draft, who could fulfill their need for a fast and explosive backup point guard for Raymond Felton.
Chris Forsberg at ESPNBoston.com already mentioned the dozen players the Celtics welcomed over the last two days as they continue to decide where they're headed in an uncertain offseason. A. Sherrod Blakely at CSN New England talks with two of those invites: guard, Shane Larkin of Miami, and Pittsburgh's center, Steven Adams.

Central Notes: Bulls, Robinson, Cavs, Handy

May 17th, 2013 at 11:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

A spring evening without an NBA playoff game is like a day without sunshine for many of us, but tomorrow, the Central Division champion Pacers will try one more time to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since the Reggie Miller era. If they get there, they'll try to avoid becoming the third straight Central team eliminated by the Heat, who already knocked out the Bucks and Bulls. Here's the latest from the division:

Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com figures Nate Robinson has played his last game for the Bulls. Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich and Marquis Teague will all probably be around to play point guard, and Robinson's performance will likely make him too pricey for Chicago.
Bulls GM Gar Forman addressed the specter of a missed season for Rose with Adam Fluck of Bulls.com, and in spite of an offseason of personnel decisions ahead, Forman identifies simply getting healthy as the team's primary goal this summer.
Bulls president and COO Michael Reinsdorf praised the work of Forman and executive VP of basketball operations John Paxson, as Fluck passes along in a separate piece.
If the Cavaliers wind up picking third, their current position in the pre-lottery order, Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer expects the team to target a small forward, and take a backup big man with the 19th selection.
Boyer also reports in her piece that the Cavs have hired Phil Handy, an assistant coach with the Lakers, to serve as an assistant under head coach Mike Brown. The Cavs have yet to make an official announcement.
Former Cavs assistant Nate Tibbetts joined the Blazers staff this week, a move one executive classifies as a "home run hire" for Portland, notes Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. The Bobcats had been interested in Tibbetts for their head coaching job.