Week in Review

The Mavs agreed to a three-year, $9MM deal to bring Devin Harris back to Dallas, but an injury threw up a red flag and the two sides decided to call it off.  Instead, the Mavs inked Monta Ellis to a three-year, $28MM deal.  It's not quite Dwight, but it's definitely an upgrade for Mark Cuban & Co.  Here's more from the week that was..

• Andrew Bynum and his balky knees are headed to the Cavs.
• The Pistons are trying to land Rajon Rondo.
• The Hawks matched the Bucks' offer sheet for Jeff Teague.
• The Nets signed Andrei Kirilenko to a $3.1MM deal and conspiracy theories immediately started flying.
• The Warriors agreed to sign big man Marreese Speights to a three-year, $11MM deal with a team option on the final year
• The T'Wolves got Corey Brewer.
• The Kings acquired Luc Mbah A Moute from the Bucks.
• The Cavs are out on Greg Oden, but several teams are still in the hunt.
• Tyler Hansbrough is headed north of the border after agreeing to sign with the Raptors.
• The Lakers signed Chris Kaman, bringing him back to the Staples Center.
• Metta World Peace may or may not want to return to the NBA next year after being amnestied by the Lakers.
• Dwight Howard was irked by Kobe Bryant's unwillingness to pass the torch.
• Nick Young is headed to the Lakers.
• The Lakers re-signed Robert Sacre.
• The Mavs are going after Samuel Dalembert.
• After agreeing to a deal with Kevin Martin earlier this month, the T'Wolves worked out a sign and trade with the Thunder.
• The NBA will replace Stu Jackson with Rod Thorn.
• Chris Copeland signed the Pacers' offer sheet and the Knicks can't legally match.
• The Bobcats are exploring a sign-and-trade deal with Gerald Henderson.
• Gigi Datome is joining the Pistons.
• The Nuggets and other clubs are eyeing Nate Robinson.
• The Lakers will sign Wesley Johnson.
• The Nets are eyeing Alan Anderson.
• The Spurs are likely to re-sign Gary Neal.
• Brandan Wright is likely to return to the Mavs on a deal worth $4MM per year.
• The Wizards have interest in DeJuan Blair.
• The Warriors will sign former Knick Toney Douglas as well as Jermaine O'Neal.
• The Mavs signed the well-traveled Wayne Ellington.
• The Nets won't sign Bojan Bogdanovic.
• The Pistons re-signed Will Bynum.
• Hopefully you're not drinking water while you read this.  Brandon Jennings is seeking $12MM per year.
• Ellis parted ways with his agent.
• The Rockets waived a pair of bench players.
• The Heat re-signed Birdman.
• The Magic and Hedo Turkoglu are making headway on buyout talks.
• Anthony Morrow will join the Pelicans.
• The Bulls and Luol Deng are still talking extension.
• Jordan Farmer is coming back to the Lakers.
• Toronto will sign one guard Dwight Buycks.
• The Spurs made a run at AK47.
• The Rockets will sign Reggie Williams.
• The Pelicans waived Lance Thomas.
• The Pistons will welcome back Chauncey Billups.
• The Pelicans signed Greg Stiemsma.
• The Pistons cut Kim English.
• The Warriors picked up their option on Mark Jackson for 2014/15.
• Ronny Turiaf will sign with the Timberwolves.
• The Pistons won't amnesty anyone.
• The Rockets signed Robert Covington earlier today.

It has been a crazy start to free agency this summer, but one story stood above all the rest.  Dwight Howard, who many say has been dissatisfied with the Lakers organization, decided to take his talents to the Lone Star State and sign with the Rockets.  Howard left an extra contract year on the table and a decent chunk of money to leave Los Angeles, but he felt that Houston gave him the best chance to win.  Here's the rest of the top stories from this past week..

• The Pistons got one of this summer's top free agents when they agreed to a four-year, $54MM deal with Josh Smith.  The high-flyer can earn an additional $2MM through incentives.
• The Warriors will ink Andre Iguodala to a four-year, $48MM deal.
• The Jazz took on Richard Jefferson, Andris Biedrins, Brandon Rush, and more from the Warriors and acquired Golden State's 2014 and 2017 first-round picks.
• Carl Landry will get a four-year, $26MM deal from the Kings.
• The Hawks quietly made a great signing when they agreed to a two-year, $19MM deal with Paul Millsap.
• A three-way trade sent Eric Bledsoe to the Suns and J.J. Redick to the Clippers.
• The Clippers will re-sign Matt Barnes to a three-year contract.
• The Nuggets reached agreement on a deal with J.J. Hickson.
• The Bobcats landed Al Jefferson on a three-year, $41MM deal.  The final year will be a player option.
• J.R. Smith is staying in New York.
• The Wolves will keep Chase Budinger.
• David West will stay put in Indiana thanks to a three-year deal.
• Tiago Splitter and the Spurs agreed to a lucrative four-year deal.
• The Bulls will cut Richard Hamilton loose.
• The Grizzlies and Tony Allen came to terms on a fresh contract.
• The Hawks re-signed Kyle Korver for a whole lot of money.
• The Celtics replaced Doc Rivers with former Butler coach Brad Stevens.
• Meanwhile, Rajon Rondo wants to stay with the C's.
• The Mavs missed out on D12 and are spending the money elsewhere.  They'll ink Jose Calderon in a few days.
• Martell Webster got a four-year deal from the Wizards.
• There's lots of turnover in Milwaukee and the Bucks will sign O.J. Mayo to their new look team with a three-year, $24MM deal.
• The Spurs agreed to a new deal with Manu Ginobili.
• The Rockets traded troubled forward Royce White to the Sixers for an international prospect and cash.
• The Pelicans will re-sign Al-Farouq Aminu to a one-year, $3.7MM deal.
• Omri Casspi agreed to a two-year pact with the Rockets.
• Former Knicks guard Chris Copeland is Indiana-bound.
• The Wolves will sign Kevin Martin to a four-year, $28MM deal.
• Omer Asik doesn't want to back up Howard and wants out.  The Rockets say he's staying.  Meanwhile, they're aggressively shopping guard Jeremy Lin.
• The Knicks will welcome back Pablo Prigioni.
• The Pelicans, Kings, and Blazers did a three-way deal involving a sign-and-trade of Tyreke Evans to New Orleans.
• The Mavs will welcome back guard Devin Harris.
• Dwight can opt out of his deal in 2016.
• The Rockets will bring back Francisco Garcia.
• Donald Sloan and the Pacers agreed to a deal.
• Andray Blatche is going back to Brooklyn.
• Howard's departure means that Pau Gasol won't be traded or amnestied.
• The Grizzlies re-signed Jon Leuer.
• The Spurs are set to sign sharpshooter Marco Belinelli to a two-year deal.
• The Nets will ink Shaun Livingston to back up Deron Williams.
• The Blazers agreed to a two-year deal with Dorell Wright.
• The Wolves waived Greg Stiemsma and Mickael Gelabale.
• The Cavs agreed to a deal with Earl Clark.
• The Cavs agreed to sign Jarrett Jack.
• The Bobcats will amnesty Tyrus Thomas.
• Quentin Richardson will be a part of the Andrea Bargnani deal.
• The Blazers said deuces to Sasha Pavlovic.
• Marcus Camby wants a trade or buyout.
• Nazr Mohammed is going back to Chicago.
• The Raptors will sign Julyan Stone.
• The Bulls got Mike Dunleavy.
• DeMarre Carroll will sign with the Hawks when he is allowed to.
• Eric Maynor and the Wizards agreed to a multi-year deal.
• The Clippers will re-sign Ryan Hollins.
• The Bucks will ink Zaza Pachulia.
• The Spurs agreed to sign former Pacer Jeff Pendergraph.
• The Bobcats will re-up Josh McRoberts.
• The Clippers agreed to sign Darren Collison for $1.9MM.
• The Blazers got Earl Watson.

How do you upstage the NBA Draft?  It's pretty easy.  All you have to do is acquire Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce in a blockbuster trade with the Celtics.  The deal won't be finalized until July 10th, but the trade will send Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace, MarShon Brooks, Kris Joseph, Keith Bogans, and three future first round picks for KG, Pierce, and Jason Terry.  The trade made it clear that the Celtics are serious about a full rebuild and that the Nets are completely wiling to mortgage the future to win right now.  Here's more from the week that was..

• No one knew who the Cavs were going to select with the No. 1 pick and they shocked everyone by taking UNLV forward Anthony Bennett.  The surprises didn't stop there as the Bobcats took Indiana's Cody Zeller at No. 4 and Nerlens Noel fell all the way to No. 6.  You can get caught up on the full results of the draft right here.
• The Celtics and Clippers finalized their deal to send Doc Rivers to Los Angeles.  Rivers will have final say over all personnel decisions.  Meanwhile, the league has barred the Clippers and Celtics from making any trades through the 2013/14 season. 
• Noel wasn't sporting a Pelicans cap for long as he was quickly shipped to the Sixers, along with a 2014 first-round pick, for Jrue Holiday.  A center recovering from injury in Philadelphia – what could go wrong?  For what it's worth, one exec says that the Kentucky product is actually healthier than Bennett and Alex Len, so injury concerns aren't behind his slip.
• The Knicks reached agreement on a deal with Toronto for Andrea Bargnani, but it has hit a snag.  
• The Rockets are shopping Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin.  They're also increasingly confident that they'll sign Dwight Howard,
• The Blazers acquired Thomas Robinson from the Rockets.
• The Mavs declined to make a QO to Darren Collison.
• The Hawks won't give Ivan Johnson a qualifying offer.
• The Nuggets made Brian Shaw their next head coach.
• The Grizzlies promoted Dave Joerger to head coach. 
• It's wrapped up: Chris Paul is staying.
• LaMarcus Aldridge would prefer to be traded to a contender but he's not opposed to returning to Portland.  If he does get moved, the big man is said to like the Bulls.
• The Jazz acquired the No. 9 overall pick Trey Burke from the T'Wolves for the No. 14 and 21 selections which turned out to be Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng.
• A draft night swap landed Ricky Ledo with the Mavs.
• The T'Wolves appeared close to trading for Brooks but he wound up going to Boston.
• Minnesota is unlikely to trade Derrick Williams.
• The Jazz bought the rights to French big man Rudy Gobert from the Nuggets.
• Want Eric Gordon?  Word is, he's very available.
• The Pacers, Bucks, and Knicks all like Tony Allen.
• The C's waived Terrence Williams.
• The Pelicans have strong interest in Andre Iguodala.
• The Raptors are going after Eric Bledsoe.
• The Nets put an experienced staff around Jason Kidd, headlined by Lawrence Frank.
• The Wolves extended a qualifying offer to Nikola Pekovic.
• Andre Iguodala offically opted out.
• Carl Landry decided to opt out of his deal and find something better than the $4MM he would have made.
• Larry Bird is staying on as president in Indiana.
• The Bulls, who dangled Luol Deng to the Wizards for the No. 3 pick, may or may not have discussed an extension with him.
• Trevor Ariza is going to opt in with the Wizards seeing as how he won't get $7MM+ anywhere else.
• The Celtics will target lower-profile coaches to replace Rivers.
• The Raptors declined their option on John Lucas III.
• Bryan Colangelo's new job in Toronto didn't last long and he has decided to leave that position.
• The Lakers aren't expected to retain Chris Duhon or Devin Ebanks.
• Bobcats GM Rich Cho says he's not shopping Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
• The Clippers and Blazers discussed DeAndre Jordan.
• The Magic were close to trading the No. 2 pick twice and could re-visit the Eric Bledsoe talks with the Clippers.  The Thunder were one of the clubs making a run for that second overall pick.
• Orlando has competition for Bledsoe: the Pelicans, Raptors, Pistons, and Mavericks also have interest in the Clippers guard.
• Suns GM Ryan McDonough says he won't trade Marcin Gortat.
• Nate Robinson and the Bulls are likely to part ways.
• The Nets like Kyle Korver but their interest in Jason Collins is either overstated or nonexistent.
• Jared Cunningham went to the Hawks on draft night, clearing up some extra space for the Mavs.
• The Bucks were dangling Brandon Jennings on draft night and have reportedly discussed a swap of Ekpe Udoh and Luke Ridnour with Minnesota.
• Ray Allen picked up his option with the Heat.
• The Wizards moved up in the draft to take Glen Rice Jr.
• The Bucks extended a QO to Jennings.
• The Wolves had a no-brainer QO situation as well, offering one to Nikola Pekovic.
• Boris Diaw opted in for his final year with the Spurs.
• The Wolves exercised their club option on Dante Cunningham.
• Jerryd Bayless will exercise his player option.
• Kwame Brown picked up his player option.
• Chris Copeland could get attention from overseas as well as other clubs this summer.
• Several teams are eyeing Copeland and teammate J.R. Smith.
• No surprise here, Ben Gordon triggered his player option.
• Bogans will make out like a bandit in the Nets-C's swap.
• The Trail Blazers got the rights to Allen Crabbe (No. 31 overall) from the Cavs for a pair of future second-round picks.
• The Warriors inquired on Kevin Garnett but they were beaten out by the Nets.

The talk of the basketball world over the last week has been a potential deal that would land both Kevin Garnett and Celtics coach Doc Rivers in Los Angeles.  Talks have been on-and-off with the Celtics reportedly seeking two first-round picks in the deal, apparently a backbreaker for L.A.  Even now, the situation is murky as some sources insist that the deal is dead and others saying that it could still go down.  Here's a look back at the week that was..

• The Clippers have discussed contracts with both Byron Scott and Brian Shaw.
• The Nuggets will interview Vinny Del Negro.
• The Rockets have been offered a first-round pick for Thomas Robinson and are weighing the offer.
• The Nuggets have a new decision maker after hiring Tim Connelly.
• No surprise here: Monta Ellis decided to trigger his ETO and hit the open market.
• The Cavs and Mavs are having serious talks about Shawn Marion.
• The Blazers like Marcin Gortat.
• There's mutual interest between the Heat and Greg Oden.
• Restricted free agents aren't on the Mavs' radar.
• The Bucks decided to exercise their team option on Gustavo Ayon.
• Shawne Williams will audition for the Nets, Knicks, and other clubs.
• The Grizzlies' coaching search continues and they brought Ed Pinckney in for a second time.
• Darko Milicic says he's done with the NBA.
• The deadline for international prospects came and went.  Rudy Gobert is among the exciting youngsters to stay in.

The Lakers obviously hope that they can re-sign Dwight Howard this summer, but what will they do in the event that he finds greener pastures elsewhere?  Howard's next club might prefer a sign-and-trade to help the numbers work, but the Lakers may or may not entertain such an idea, depending on who you ask.  Here's more from the week that was..

• Coach Doc Rivers, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce reportedly want to stay together, even if that means taking the show out west to Clipperland.  The talks were underway with Boston GM Danny Ainge pushing for DeAndre Jordan and Eric Bledsoe at one point, but talks have stalled for the time being.
• Raise your hand if you said that Jason Kidd would be the Nets' next head coach after P.J. Carlesimo was fired.  The guard, who is just weeks removed from his NBA playing career, is now looking to assemble an experienced staff to help ease the learning curve.
• The Pistons hired Maurice Cheeks as their head coach.  The veteran coach was said to be the frontrunner for the job for several weeks.
• Andre Iguodala will opt out of his deal with the Nuggets.
• The Kings will hire Pete D'Alessandro as their next GM.  Larry Bird was a target but things didn't work out on that front.
• The Pacers are leaning towards keeping Danny Granger for the final year of his deal.
• The Rockets will decline their options on Carlos Delfino and Aaron Brooks.
• Nets GM Billy King threw some cold water on the idea that his club is still in the mix for Howard.
• The field of suitors for DH could be growing.
• Kobe Bryant wants two more cracks at a ring.
• C.J. Watson will decline his player option.
• The No. 1 pick is still fairly open as we approach the draft.  Victor Oladipo is reportedly in the conversation for the Cavs, along with Alex Len, Otto Porter, and Nerlens Noel. 
• The Grizzlies will talk to George Karl tomorrow and current assistant Dave Joerger on Tuesday.  Alvin Gentry is reportedly coming off of a very strong showing.  This comes after Memphis formally parted ways with Lionel Hollins.
• Marvin Williams declined his ETO.
• Brandon Rush triggered his player option.
• Nerlens Noel signed up with Andy Miller and Frank Catapano.
• Rashard Lewis doesn't plan to opt out.
• The Cavs could have something big in the works.
• The Rockets, Hawks, and Kings all got fined for tampering.
• Tony DiLeo is a serious candidate for the Denver GM gig.
• Team USA announced its mini-camp roster.

George Karl was the 2012/13 Coach of the Year, but it wasn’t enough to keep his job in Denver.  The Nuggets canned the high-profile coach and will now have two major spots to fill, along with the vacant GM job.  Here’s more from the week that was..

• The Rockets are going to go after Chris Paul as well as Dwight Howard.
• Some bad news for Nerlens Noel: the Cavs may not want to take him with the No. 1 pick as they are looking to win right away.  Meanwhile, his ACL could be worse than originally thought, hurting his draft stock.
• Kevin Durant is now going to be represented by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation venture.
• The Bucks offered Monta Ellis a two-year extension.
• Jason Kidd decided to call it a career.
• The Jazz talked to Jerry Sloan about returning.  
• The Nuggets are eyeing lots of potential coaching candidates, including Lionel Hollins, Brian Shaw, and Nate McMillan.
• The Nets are seriously considering Shaw.
• Kobe Bryant hinted that he will outplay his current contract which takes him through the 2013/14 season.
• The Bucks and Wizards discussed a deal involving Ersan Ilyasova and the No. 3 pick.
• The Magic are thinking about moving down from the No. 2 pick.
• There are new names in the 76ers coaching search.
• Maurice Cheeks is the frontrunner in Detroit.
• J.R. Smith turned down his player option but he’s likely to stay in New York.
• The Kings interviewed David Morway and are still looking to woo Larry Bird.
• The Suns are thinking about adding a third first-round pick this year.
• Some people think Sergey Karasev has a draft promise, but he denies it.
• Manu Ginobili could retire after the Finals.
• Ditto for Tracy McGrady.
• Richard Jefferson exercised his option.
• Dario Saric could pull out of the draft.
• Jeremy Pargo will play in Russia.

The Raptors' fondness for Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri has been the worst kept secret in basketball over the last month and this week, the club officially got the top executive on their wishlist.  Ujiri reportedly has a five-year deal with the club that will pay him $15MM in total.  While he liked the opportunity in Toronto, he gave Denver a chance to match before accepting the contract.  More from this week on Hoops Rumors..

• Dwight Howard is leaning towards the Rockets but will meet with every potential suitor starting on July 1st.  Houston is increasingly hopeful that they'll be able to land DH.
• Mike Budenholzer has been a key part of the Spurs' success for some time and he'll take his expertise over the to the Hawks as their new head coach.
• The Bucks hired former Hawks coach Larry Drew to fill their vacancy.  Drew agreed to a four-year, $10MM deal.
• The Bobcats grabbed Lakers assistant Steve Clifford to be their next head coach.  Clifford takes over for former St. John's assistant Mike Dunlap, who was let go after just one year at the helm.
• The Suns tapped Jeff Hornacek as their next head coach.
• Sacramento informed Keith Smart that he won't be back as coach and quickly reached agreement with his replacement, Michael Malone.
• The Kings also bounced Geoff Petrie and reportedly have their eye on Larry Bird.  They also like Chris Wallace for the job but another guy high up on their list, R.C. Buford, has already said he's not interested.
• The Cavs would give up the No. 1 pick for Kevin Love.
• Maurice Cheeks and Nate McMillan appear to be the frontrunners for the Pistons job.
  
• Grant Hill announced his retirement.
• Chris Paul is upset about the perception that he got Vinny Del Negro fired, so the club has publicly come out and taken responsibility for the move.
• The union is zeroing in on Steve Mills as their next executive director.
• Alvin Gentry and Jeff Van Gundy could be the leading candidates for the Clippers job while Nate McMillan and Byron Scott are on the outside looking in.
• The Nets reached out to JVG but his interest level is currently unknown.
• The Kings sale to Vivek Ranadive & Co. has been finalized.
• Ujiri's first order of business could be to move Andrea Bargnani.  Good luck.
• The Raptors are likely to keep Dwane Casey.
• A report indicated that the Kings are looking to move DeMarcus Cousins, but that may not be the case.  If Cousins is available, the Bobcats are among the clubs interested but the Cavs are not.
• The Rockets are trying to deal Thomas Robinson in an effort to clear more cap room for a run at Howard.
• Teams around the league have a "healthy interest" in Paul Pierce, but the Celtics won't just give him away.
• Monta Ellis could have interest in the Kings.
• George Karl's job status could be in jeopardy and the Clippers may have interest in him.
• The Raptors dismissed Ed Stefanski after hiring Ujiri.
• Carmelo Anthony wants the Knicks to add another scorer.
• Several candidates have emerged for the Nuggets' GM job and Stefanski could be among them now.
• Richard Jefferson will exercise his player option.
• The Bucks might prefer to keep Monta Ellis over Brandon Jennings.
• Flip Saunders is looking to hire a GM in Minnesota and likes Pelicans assistant GM Tim Connelly and Wizards VP of player personnel Milt Newton.
• Shane Larkin won't work out for the Knicks as he believes he'll be gone before the No. 24 pick.

Are you ready for another Dwightmare summer?  Dwight Howard is a free agent and he reportedly finds himself torn between the Lakers and Rockets.  Meanwhile, D12 is also said to like the Mavericks and the Hawks are planning to make a run at him.  It's not all about Dwight, however.  Here's the rest of the big stories from this past week..

• The Cavs won the draft lottery and will have a tough choice on their hands between Nerlens Noel and Otto Porter.  The Magic, who figure to go for a guard, pick No. 2 and the Wizards sit at No. 3.  Washington fans are estatic about the outcome as they were slated to pick eighth.
• The Clippers decided to part ways with coach Vinny Del Negro.  Michael Malone, Alvin Gentry, and Byron Scott have been mentioned as potential replacements.
• There are mixed reports on Dwight Howard's interest in the Warriors, with some saying that his camp has never given Golden State any indication that he has interest.
• The Raptors officially moved GM Bryan Colangelo to a non-basketball role, kickstarting a search for their next decision maker.  Team officials flew out to Colorado on Friday to meet with Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri, who is believed to be their No. 1 target.  Ujiri might stay in Denver if the Nuggets can match the Raps' offer.
• Alvin Gentry has a standing invitation to join the Lakers staff, but he is more interested in the Clippers head coaching job.
• Jeff Hornacek has an offer to become the next head coach of the Suns.
• The Nets have yet to approach a coaching candidate outside of Phil Jackson, but they did inquire on Doc Rivers.  The C's quickly denied them.  One report has Scott Skiles as the frontrunner for the gig.
• Rivers is likely to return to Boston.
• Pablo Prigioni wants to stay in the NBA, but his wife might want to return to Spain.
• Andris Biedrins will opt in for 2013/14.
• The Cavaliers and Pistons may be among the teams with some interest in trading for Luol Deng.
• Stan Van Gundy will not coach in 2013/14.
• Phil Jackson was all in on Chris Hansen's bid to bring the Kings to Seattle.
• Coach K will coach in the 2016 Olympics but Mike D'Antoni and Nate McMillan won't.
• The All-NBA teams were announced.
• Kostas Papanikolaou's agent expects a trade.
• The Bucks interviewed Michael Curry.
• James Jones intends to return to the Heat.
• Rumors are swirling that the Clippers will go after David West.
• The Bobcats are changing their name to the Hornets.  Charlotte residents are looking forward to watching their team lose in purple and teal.

It appears the question of where the Kings will be playing next season and beyond has finally been resolved. Vivek Ranadive and his group of Sacramento-based investors this week reached a deal to buy the majority stake in the team from the Maloof family, months after a Chris Hansen-led Seattle group had done the same. The deal with Seattle fell apart as the California capital mounted a furious charge to keep its team in town. Despite pushbacks from Hansen and deep-pocketed partner Steve Ballmer, the NBA's relocation committee made a final recommendation this week that the team's request to move to Seattle be denied. In turn, the Board of Governors voted against the Seattle move, setting up Ranadive's agreement with the Maloofs. 

We're still waiting for the Board of Governors to approve the sale of the team to the Ranadive group, but that appears to be a formality at this point. While the Kings saga made plenty of headlines, it wasn't the only significant happening this week:

• The Hawks reportedly interviewed Stan Van Gundy, but then we heard the former Magic coach is unlikely to return to the bench this season. The Hawks may break barriers and go with CSKA Moscow coach Ettore Messina instead.
• Atlanta also interviewed Nate McMillan, while Larry Drew, still technically employed as coach of the Hawks, will meet with the Bucks on Monday.
• Jerry Sloan also met with Milwaukee about the team's coaching vacancy, but the Hall-of-Famer doesn't want the job.
• The Clippers haven't ruled out retaining coach Vinny Del Negro, who'll sit down with owner Donald Sterling this weekend to determine the fate of his job.
• The Pacers and assistant coach Brian Shaw will be in the playoffs for a while longer, but once they're done, he'll interview with the Pistons for their head coaching job.
• Celtics coach Doc Rivers isn't going anywhere, according to Danny Ainge. 
• We'll know by Monday whether Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo is in or out. If Colangelo isn't back, Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri may be the man to replace him.
• The Sixers made it official, introducing Sam Hinkie as their new GM.
• There were rumors that Sixers CEO Adam Aron could be stripped of his responsibilities in the team's basketball department, but it's unclear whether that will happen. 
• Thunder GM Sam Presti doesn't plan to use the amnesty clause to get rid of Kendrick Perkins.
• The Bobcats are in the process of changing their name to the Hornets, now that the team in New Orleans is known as the Pelicans.
• The Lakers and Hawks might be trying to trade their way into the lottery.
• The Blazers are already in line for a lottery pick, but they're thinking about trying to move up to take Victor Oladipo.
• One of the players Portland could trade away is former second-round pick Kostas Papanikolaou, who is drawing interest from the Spurs, Mavericks, and Knicks, among others.
• No surprises here, but Charlie Villanueva exercised his lucrative option to remain with the Pistons, as did Aaron Gray and Linas Kleiza of the Raptors. 
• The Bulls get to call the shots on Richard Hamilton's return to Chicago for next season, and it's likely they'll part ways.
• The same appears to be the case for Francisco Garcia, as the Rockets are expected to turn down his option.
• Chris Copeland will be seeking a raise after his impressive rookie season with the Knicks.
• Gani Lawal has appeared in just one NBA game, but that number might be going up soon, with the Pacers, Raptors and Magic scheduled to work him out.
• Cuttino Mobley has a much longer NBA resume, and he wants back in the league, too.
• We'll probably be hearing plenty about Andrew Wiggins this time next year, and in the meantime, the projected 2014 No. 1 pick will head to Kansas to play college ball.
• Following his dismissal earlier this year as executive director, Billy Hunter is filing suit against the union and its president, Derek Fisher.
• The NBA announced its All-Rookie and All-Defensive teams. 

This week the league awards for 2012/13 were announced and there weren't any real surprises.  The biggest controversy came when one of the 121 possible first place votes in the MVP race went to Carmelo Anthony rather than LeBron James.  The Twitterverse went on a witchhunt to find the culprit and ultimately we learned that the intrepid voter was Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, who penned a column to explain his rationale.  Here's a look back at the rest of this week's news on Hoops Rumors..

• After firing P.J. Carlesimo, the Nets reached out to Phil Jackson to fill their coaching vacancy but he turned them down.  They're also interested in Larry Brown and Brian Shaw.
• The Sixers hired Sam Hinkie as their new GM.
• The Suns officially have a new GM in place: Ryan McDonough.  The former Celtics exec takes over for Lance Blanks, who was recently let go.  There were rumblings that the Suns were holding out for Grant Hill to take the job.
• Vinny Del Negro's dismissal from the Clippers seems rather likely at this point.
• J.B. Bickerstaff is on the Pistons' radar.
• The Timberwolves are expected to go hard after O.J. Mayo.  
• The Hawks like Stan Van Gundy.  So do the Bucks.
• Lionel Hollins says the Grizzlies want him back.
• The Timberwolves cut ties with Brandon Roy.
• The Clippers are publicly confident that Chris Paul will return next season.
• The Hawks are convinced that the situation in L.A. will open the door for them to sign Dwight Howard.
• Things don't sound good for coach Larry Drew and his staff in Atlanta.  The coaches have begun looking into other opportunities around the league.
• Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri is hopeful that Andre Iguodala will return to Denver.
• Omer Asik isn't paying attention to the Howard-to-Houston talk.
• The Wolves want to keep Nikola Pekovic.
• Zaza Pachulia and Kyle Korver are interested in returning to the Hawks.
• The Raptors are going to keep Bryan Colangelo.
• The Kings' new ownership has agreed to take in less from the league's revenue sharing program.  Meanwhile, the drama continues.
• Andray Blatche wants to return to the Nets.
• No surprise here, Metta World Peace won't opt out.