To keep Dwight Howard, the Lakers will have to sell him on a vision for 2014 and beyond. As a result, if championships are his goal, the Rockets are the safer bet for a whole host of reasons. Read More. Written by Jonathan Tjarks on May 23, 2013
The event gives front offices the opportunity to evaluate D-League players with the possibility of offering Summer League or training camp invites. Read More.
Tyus Jones, the No. 2 overall recruit for 2014 and an excellent point guard, was selected by Paul Biancardi, Adam Finkelstein and John Stovall. Read More.
After playing a second consecutive season with a torn ligament in his left wrist, Luol Deng doesn’t plan to have any procedure to repair the wrist, a league source told RealGM.
Deng made his second straight All-Star team this season for the Chicago Bulls, averaging 16.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and three assists in 75 games. He decided to bypass surgery after last summer’s Olympics and played all season with his wrist taped.
Instead of undergoing surgery, Deng will rest his wrist. He also dealt with a fractured thumb earlier in the season.
Deng led the Bulls to a 3-1 series lead over the Brooklyn Nets in the first round, but he missed the final seven games – including the series win – of Chicago’s playoff run due to lingering symptoms from a spinal tap. He’s since recovered and felt better. The Bulls’ season ended in a Game 5 series loss to the Miami Heat on May 15.
Over the past two seasons, Deng has cemented himself as an integral, durable forward on the Bulls, establishing himself under Tom Thibodeau as one of the NBA’s elite wing defenders.
The Toronto Raptors met with Masai Ujiri on Friday after the general manager received permission from the Denver Nuggets to interview, according to sources.
Tim Leiweke is aggressively pursuing Ujiri to become the Raptors' general manager and plans to present an offer that will pay him nearly $3 million annually over the course of a multi-year contract.
Ujiri's contract with the Nuggets expires on June 30 and it's possible an agreement can be struck that will allow him to leave sooner.
The Toronto Raptors have requested permission to interview Kevin Pritchard for their general manager opening, according to sources.
The Indiana Pacers do not want to allow interviews until the season ends. They are currently down 1-0 to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.
One of the possibilities that the Raptors have identified is teaming Pritchard with Oklahoma City assistant GM Troy Weaver.
P.J. Carlesimo had a 35-19 record as interim head coach of the Brooklyn Nets and said that expectations from ownership are not lining up with the level of talent on the roster.
Carlesimo, however, did say that the Nets' head coach opening is one of the best in the NBA since they are a playoff team.
"Having said that, the expectations to win a championship in two years, that’s a heavy load for anybody, not just for Brooklyn. But I don’t know if that’s realistic the way the roster is right now," Carlesimo said Thursday.
"I wouldn’t say that team cannot win a championship, because we thought we could this year if things broke a little better for us. But if that’s on your plate that you need to win a championship in two years, I think that makes it a little challenging."
Mikhail Prokhorov said after buying the Nets in 2010 his goal was to win a championship within five years.
"I also think the expectations are maybe not totally realistic, but you’d rather have that from your owner, and then he’s got the wherewithal to back it up," Carlesimo said. "That’s his goal. We talked about that from day one. He doesn’t make any bones about it. He doesn’t want to have a nice team, he doesn’t want to just sell tickets in Brooklyn and make the team competitive. He wants to win an NBA championship, and as a coach you can’t ask for more that. So if what comes with that is a short leash, well, so be it."
Ernie Grunfeld believes there's talent beyond the top two picks in the upcoming draft.
"Well, I think it’s a three-player draft," Grunfeld said, when told the draft is being described as top heavy, with the top two players being Nerlens Noel and Ben McLemore. "But I won’t tell you who that third player is."
Grunfeld seemed to suggest the Wizards already have a player in mind.
"Obviously we've been going through this process already, but the process will continue," he said. "And as I said before, we feel good about the player that’s probably going to be available to us at that spot."
Grunfeld wouldn’t rule out the possibility of trading the No. 3 pick.
"Well, I think everything is on the table," he said. "We feel good about where we are, we think we’ll get a nice player, but you never say never to anything."