Nate Tibbetts Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Kings, Batum, Bird, Ewing, Spurs

May 17th, 2012 at 10:02pm CST by Alex Lee

Let's keep track of some Thursday night odds and ends here as Heat-Pacers gets underway. The Clippers will look to rebound from a dissapointing game one loss later tonight in San Antonio.

Aaron Bruski of NBC Sports writes a piece providing great detail about the unfortunate business practices of the Maloofs with regard to the NBA franchise situation in Sacramento. Bruski says the Maloofs actions could lead the NBA to force them into selling.
The agent of Nicolas Batum will have all the leverage in negotiations with the Blazers this summer, writes John Canzano of the Oregonian. Batum will become a restricted free agent in the offseason.
Conrad Brunner from Pacers.com extols Larry Bird in an in depth look at the Pacers' President. In light of Wednesday's announcement that Bird won the 2012 NBA Executive of the Year award, Brunner says that the former Celtic great is as discreetly brilliant as a roster builder as he was as a player and coach. He credits Bird with changing the organizational culture by drafting wisely with middle of the first round picks and carefully managing the salary cap.
As we mentioned yesterday, Patrick Ewing interviewed for the vacant Bobcats' job today. Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer says that Ewing, a prototypical NBA big man as a player, would be a coaching rarity should be get the job.
According to the New York Post, Charlotte owner and Ewing friend Michael Jordan did not plan to sit in on the interview. The Post adds that the Bobcats will also interview Memphis assistant Dave Joerger on Friday and have already interviewed Michael Malone, Nate Tibbetts, Mike Dunlap, Stephen Silas and has expressed interest in Brian Shaw.
A group of ESPN.com writers offered their take on the greatness of the San Antonio Spurs. The three popular picks for the biggest reasons for the organization's success are Tim Duncan, Greg Popovich and general manager R.C. Buford, with honorable mention going to Tony Parker and owner Peter Holt. Teams should look no further than San Antonio for a blueprint on how to build a team.

Southeast Notes: Heat, Van Gundy, Smith, Wizards

May 16th, 2012 at 10:36am CST by Luke Adams

In losing Game Two of their series against the Pacers last night, the Heat mustered just 75 points on their home court, and will head to Indiana with the series tied at one. With Chris Bosh out, Miami looks vulnerable — currently, over 58% of respondents to our Heat/Pacers poll believe Indiana will win the series. Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel addressed concerns about the team's offense in a mailbag, calling Tuesday's game a "wake-up call." While we wait to see how the Heat respond on Thursday, here are a few more updates out of the Southeast Division:

Magic CEO Alex Martins tells Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel that the team has yet to make decisions on the futures of coach Stan Van Gundy and GM Otis Smith. According to David Pingalore of WKMG Orlando, Smith will meet with ownership today.
John Wall would like the Wizards to bring in a veteran point guard capable of mentoring both him and backup Shelvin Mack, writes Michael Lee of the Washington Post. "It was tough," Wall said of the past season. "Because basically, I’m the veteran guy to try to help Shelvin, and it would be better if we had a guy helping both of us out."
Kyrie Irving had high praise for Bobcats coaching candidate, and current Cavs assistant, Nate Tibbetts, as Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer notes.
Earlier today, a report from Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune suggested that coach Larry Drew may not have his option for 2012/13 picked up by the Hawks.

Bobcats To Interview Mike Dunlap, Nate Tibbetts

May 9th, 2012 at 9:44am CST by Luke Adams

Although a number of NBA head coaching jobs may open up at some point in the next few weeks, the Bobcats remain the only team currently interviewing coaching candidates, and are taking advantage of the opportunity. Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (via Twitter) identifies Mike Dunlap and Nate Tibbetts as the two newest candidates that will be interviewed by the Bobcats within the next week or so.

Dunlap is currently serving as the associate head coach at St. John's University, while Tibbetts is employed by the NBA's Cavaliers as an assistant coach. They will join Patrick Ewing, Michael Malone, Brian Shaw, and Stephen Silas as candidates for the Bobcats' coaching job that either have already received an interview or are expected to meet with the team in the near future.

The Bobcats are looking for a replacement for Paul Silas, who won't return to the Bobcats' bench after leading the team to an NBA-record-worst 7-59 mark.