San Antonio Spurs 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.

Southwest Notes: Benson, Carlisle, Assistants

May 16th, 2012 at 6:37pm CST by Ryan Raroque

It's intriguing to note that even with this year's lockout shortened schedule, the Spurs haven't finished a season with less than 50 wins since the 1998-99 season (which only had 50 games). Following a Game One win last night against the Clippers, it's one game down and three more wins to go for San Antonio in their quest to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2008. With about 26 hours until tip-off for Game Two, here's what we've heard out of the Southwest Division in the meantime:

Tom Benson cleared another hurdle in the process of assuming ownership of the Hornets, as the Federal Trade Commission signed off today on his $338 MM purchase of the team, writes John Reid of The Times Picayune.
Not every coach in the league experiences the same pressure of working for a candidly passionate and fanatical owner like Mark Cuban, but Rick Carlisle believes that those traits bring along a constant effort to provide the necessary resources to compete. Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas recorded more of Carlisle's thoughts on his confidence in management along with the work cut out ahead for the Mavericks this summer.
Tom Ziller of SBNation gives his power rankings of the NBA's top assistant coaches who deserve a shot at a head coaching position. Dave Joerger of the Grizzlies is slated at number four, while Mike Budenholzer of the Spurs tops the list at number one.

Odds & Ends: Olympics, Butler, Bosh, Chandler

May 14th, 2012 at 3:24pm CST by Luke Adams

Let's check out some odds and ends from around the Association as we prepare for a pair of second-round playoff games in Boston and Oklahoma City….

Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com reports that the following players have been named to the U.S. select team, which will scrimmage against the Olympic roster this July: Klay Thompson, Jeremy Lin, Paul George, Gordon Hayward, Kawhi Leonard, DeJuan Blair, Ryan Anderson, Taj Gibson and Derrick Favors. We'd previously heard that Kyrie Irving, John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and DeMar DeRozan would be part of the squad.
With the Clippers and Spurs preparing to face off in round two, Caron Butler tells reporters, including Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News, that he very nearly signed with the Spurs in December (Twitter link).
The Heat announced today that Chris Bosh has a strained abdominal muscle and will be out indefinitely (Twitter link). Bosh's comments to the media today indicated that he's not expecting to return during the Pacers series (Twitter link).
Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler would like to become a bigger offensive threat for the Knicks next season, as Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com writes.

Lawrence On Bobcats, George Hill, Joe Johnson

May 14th, 2012 at 9:18am CST by Luke Adams

Yesterday, we covered a report from Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News about the Raptors' potential interest in Steve Nash and Jeremy Lin. That wasn't Lawrence's only rumor of note this weekend though. Here are a few more items of interest from the Daily News scribe:

The Bobcats' coaching search continues with Charlotte requesting and receiving permission to speak with Grizzlies assistant David Joerger.
According to Lawrence, George Hill turned down a $6MM-per-year extension offer from the Pacers earlier this season. Hill will be a restricted free agent this summer, and Lawrence wonders if the Spurs, his old team, will have interest.
Expect to hear Joe Johnson's name in trade rumors this offseason, potentially with the Knicks if Mike Woodson remains the head coach, says Lawrence. Even with about $89MM and four years remaining on Johnson's contract, it's hard to imagine the Hawks trading him in a deal for Amare Stoudemire.

Odds & Ends: Williams, Lorbek, Thunder

May 11th, 2012 at 7:16pm CST by Alex Lee

With the Grizzlies looking to stay alive in Los Angeles against the Clippers tonight, it sounds like Chris Paul and Blake Griffin will play. Here are some links from around the league as we wait for that contest to get underway:

While we don't yet know who will be the Trail Blazers' new general manager or head coach, we do know who will not be their assistant coach. Chris Haynes from CSNNW.com reports that the team will not renew Buck Williams' deal, as they will let the new head coach choose his own staff.
Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress tweets that the Spurs signing 6-foot-10 center Erazem Lorbek is "very close to being a done deal." The Spurs acquired the rights to Lorbek via a 2011 draft day trade with the Pacers for George Hill. The Spurs figure to be desperate for size this summer, and bringing Lorbek over from the Spanish League could prove pivotal.
HOOPSWORLD's Tommy Beer gives his take on a question we posed several weeks ago: Long term, should the Thunder pair Serge Ibaka or James Harden with their already-dynamic duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook? Ideally Oklahoma City would like to keep both promising youngsters, but given their emergence as impact players that doesn't seem likely.

Southwest Notes: Hornets, Carlisle, Jones, Spurs

May 9th, 2012 at 11:02am CST by Luke Adams

A few Wednesday morning updates out of the Southwest Division:

The Hornets figure to draft the best players available rather than filling positional needs with their two lottery picks next month, according to Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com. "We don’t know where we’re going to be [drafting]," coach Monty Williams said. "We won’t find out until May 30th. So that will determine which positions we go after. We may go after a center or a power forward, but if we don’t get the pick we want, and the best player is a wing, then I’m pretty sure [GM] Dell [Demps] is going to be inclined to take that wing."
Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com is perplexed that Rick Carlisle doesn't have a deal yet to remain the Mavericks' coach for next season.
The fact that Kelenna Azubuike seems to have passed Dominique Jones on the Mavs' depth chart doesn't bode well for Jones' long-term future in Dallas, Caplan writes in a separate ESPNDallas.com piece.
If the Clippers are going to advance past the Grizzlies in the postseason, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich would prefer they do it sooner rather than later, says Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News. Popovich has some concern that, after playing so frequently in the lockout-shortened season, his players will lose their rhythm if they have to wait too long to resume game action.

Odds & Ends: Allen, Hawks, Anderson, Voting

May 6th, 2012 at 11:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

It was a day of odd sightings on the hardwood, as the Knicks overcame the loss of Baron Davis to a dislocated kneecap to win their first postseason contest in 11 years. A No. 1 seed lost a third straight playoff game as the Bulls fell to the 76ers. And in Denver, a woman with a history of stalking the Nuggets came onto the court during Game 4 against the Lakers, reports J. Michael Falgoust of USA Today. Here's the rest of what raised eyebrows around the Association today:

Teams interested in Celtics free agent Ray Allen this summer might not have to worry about how he'll respond to ankle surgery, since he says he may not go through with the procedure he originally thought was inevitable. Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com first tweeted the news, and Jessica Camerato of CSNNE.com adds detail.
Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News believes the Hawks will deal either Josh Smith or Al Horford if the team can't rally from its 3-1 deficit to the Celtics (Twitter link). Of the two, Smith seems the easiest to trade, since 2012/13 is the last season on his contract.
Despite a subpar showing in the playoffs so far, restricted free agent Ryan Anderson figures to be near the top of this summer's market for power forwards. There's mutual admiration between Anderson and the Magic, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, who also notes the team's recent history of matching offer sheets.
The NBA released a statement acknowledging that Ernst & Young, the same accounting firm that handles the draft lottery, made an error tabulating the Most Improved Player of the Year voting, reports Chris Bernucca of SheridanHoops.com. A first-place vote meant for Andrew Bynum was mistakenly counted for Andrew Bogut. Either way, award winner Ryan Anderson comes out on top of the voting.
Fran Blinebury of NBA.com examines the divergent career paths of Spurs point guard Tony Parker and Jazz counterpart Devin Harris, more than four years after Parker expressed relief that Harris was traded away from the Mavs.

Minor Moves: Justin Dentmon

May 5th, 2012 at 5:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

We'll track today's news from the D-League and overseas in this post, with latest update on top:

Justin Dentmon arrived in Italy today to join Italian league club Olympia Milano, tweets Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, who reported he signed with the team last week. Dentmon, who signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Spurs and Raptors this season, was the D-League's MVP this season, averaging 22.8 PPG and 5.5 APG for the Austin Toros.

Odds & Ends: Mavericks, Terry, Anthony, Spurs

May 5th, 2012 at 12:27pm CST by Zachary Links

Tonight at the American Airlines Center, the Mavericks will look to stave off a first round sweep at the hands of the Thunder. Barring a miracle turnaround and subsequent deep playoff run, things figure to look rather different in Dallas next season. Here’s more on the Mavs and other notes from around the league..

Guard Jason Terry is worried that tonight’s game could be his last wearing a Mavericks uniform, writes Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com. Terry will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and reportedly won’t take a discount to remain in Dallas.
If the Mavericks don’t land Deron Williams this summer, then the team’s mission to clear cap space will be a disaster, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com.
Howard Beck of the New York Times opines that the Knicks can only go so far with a Carmelo Anthony-centric offense. Beck also adds that Phil Jackson would demand a much more team-oriented game if he were coaching in New York, though that seems unlikely to come to fruition.
As the Spurs and the Jazz do battle in their first round series, Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune points out that the two franchises have emulated each other quite a bit over the years.

Odds & Ends: Howard, Profits, Suns, Draft

May 4th, 2012 at 11:20pm CST by Chuck Myron

It was another wild night of playoff basketball that included more unfortunate injuries, this time to the Bulls Joakim Noah and Avery Bradley of the Celtics. Here's what's been going on off the court while you've had your eyes fixed on the hardwood:

Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel dissects the latest comments from Dwight Howard, who told TMZ that he would never quit on his team or Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, with whom D12 says he's had several conversations since the start of the playoffs.
Commissioner David Stern says that most NBA teams will turn a profit this year, and predicts all 30 franchises will be profitable within two years, according to a report from Jonathan D. Salant of Bloomberg News, who rounded up comments Stern made on a Bloomberg Television show airing this weekend. Stern had said during the latest CBA negotiations that NBA teams had lost a combined $300MM over the previous three seasons.
Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic examines the desire of the Suns to keep restricted free agent Robin Lopez.
HoopsWorld unveiled its mock draft, with all four contributors agreeing on Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Bradley Beal for the top three spots. Steve Kyler adds a report that Arnett Moultrie and Andrew Nicholson are rocketing up some teams' draft boards.
Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune compares the approaches of Jazz GM Kevin O'Connor and Spurs GM R.C. Buford, both of whom share a connection with longtime NBA coach Larry Brown.
Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida breaks down the potential U.S. Olympic team roster, and Rob Mahoney of The New York Times examines what the team needs.