The Detroit Pistons hope to be able to use Tony Mitchell to defend both power forwards and small forwards.

“He’s a guy we would like to see be able to guard threes and fours,” Pistons assistant general manager George David said. “What you do now in the NBA to identify whether you like a guy at a certain position or not, what can he defend? With his athleticism and his body right now, he’s a guy that we want to get a good look at him defending both positions. Being able to play above the rim like he does, it’s going to be interesting.”

Mitchell stands 6-foot-8¾ inches and weighs 236 pounds with 5.6 percent body fat. He recorded a 38-inch vertical leap at the NBA draft combine.

“From a talent standpoint, this is somebody who could very well be the best athlete in the entire draft,” David said.

Nerlens Noel was projected by many to be the No. 1 overall pick, but slipped all the way to No. 6 after Anthony Bennett, Victor Oladipo, Otto Porter, Cody Zeller and Alex Len were chosen before him.

When asked about the five teams who passed him, Noel admitted he felt overlooked.

"I'm going to make them pay," he said.

Noel heads into his rookie season with the knowledge of what he needs to improve.

"I want to work on my mid-range jumper and become a more polished player offensively," he said.

The Charlotte Bobcats like Cody Zeller’s ability to run the floor and shoot with range.

“People forget he was (projected as) the No. 1 pick in the preseason,” Rich Cho said. “He’s a versatility pick – inside and outside (scorer). He’s one of the best athletes in this draft. His work ethic is off the charts. He’s a competitor and his character is off the charts.”

At the NBA draft combine, Zeller finished first in the lane agility drill (2.69 seconds) and was sixth in the three-quarter-court sprint (3.15), faster than any power forward or center.

“We’re a running basketball team,” Rod Higgins said, “and he fits that.”

Anthony Bennett views himself as a stretch-four power forward in the NBA.

“Right now I’m thinking [I’ll be] stretch four but later on in my career maybe I will play the three,” Bennett said. “I feel that playing the stretch four is an advantage for me because I’m quicker than most power forwards. I can shoot the ball well. I’m efficient so I can use that to my advantage.”

Bennett is anxious to erase doubts about his talents and position.

“I’m 6-7. Everybody said I’m a tweener, but I don’t really look into that. I dominated college my only year. I scored inside out, rebounded well, and helped my teammates,” Bennett said. “Throughout high school and even my only season in college a lot of people have been doubting me, saying I can’t do this, do that and I’m too small, but at the same time I just focus on me and the team. I work hard every day and this is what has gotten me here.”

Stephen Curry is excited to be able to work on his game this offseason instead of rehabbing his ankle off another surgery.

Curry began workouts this week and has no limit on what he can do.

"It's huge," Curry said Monday. "Mentally, that's the biggest part. You don't have to worry about the rehab. It wears on you every day knowing you have to wake up and do these mundane exercises to get your range of motion back."

Curry averaged 23.4 points and 8.1 assists in the playoffs.

Curry wants to work on ways to increase his draw foul rate.

"That's the biggest thing," said Curry. "In the playoffs I've found your shot can take you a long way, but to be able to not let defenders play so tight on you and be able to get those easy points at the free-throw line definitely opens the game up for you more, especially in those games where you aren't shooting the ball so well. You still have a way to get easy points if you can get to the line."

Doc Rivers will have more control on personnel decisions with the Los Angeles Clippers than he did with the Boston Celtics.

Rivers had a good relationship with Danny Ainge, but was far from the final decision-maker.

Gary Sacks is the general manager of the Clippers though he has been in the position for just one season.

Danny Green has set the record for most three-pointers made in an NBA Finals series, but Chris Bosh was adamant the Miami Heat will limit the San Antonio Spurs guard's open looks in Game 6 on Tuesday.

"[Green] won't be open tonight," Bosh said.

Tony Parker said after Game 5 that he could not believe the Heat continued to give Green open shots.

In Green's mind, if the Heat crowd him more in Game 6, it will lead to additional driving lanes for Parker and Manu Ginobili.

"You have to give up something," Green said, according to David Aldridge of NBA.com.

Pete D'Alessandro was introduced on Monday as general manager of the Sacramento Kings.

Vivek Ranadive put his GM candidates through an extensive interview process, involving analysis of the Kings' roster, plans for both the short and long-term, as well as examples of linear and non-linear thinking.

"I had just finished preparing for my first interview," D'Alessandro said later in the afternoon, "and I got this email from Vivek. I was thinking, 'Wow, I think I need to do a lot more.' I proofed everything on the flight over, and then when I landed, I went to a Kinko's in Palo Alto and made copies. I pulled an all-nighter. I felt like I was back in law school."

Roy Hibbert shed light on his friendship with Tim Duncan.

"I met him when I was a kid — in 2001 during the NBA All-Star Game in D.C.," Hibbert said. "I actually had a chance to meet him, and he actually remembers that moment. So that was pretty fun. We talk, text, share, like, scouting reports on other teams and things like that. I sent him mine for the Heat. Just a friendship."

Hibbert and Duncan share reports though not to the extent that it could give one a potential over the other.

"To tell the truth, when we compete against each other, we have respect," Hibbert said. "We're friends off the court. But on the court, he's trying to go at [me] and I'm trying to go at [him]. We've gotta make sure our teams win. But I learn from him, and — you know, he's the best, so I don't know if he picks anything up from me. But I definitely learn from him."

Jason Kidd played in two NBA Finals with the then-New Jersey Nets, and won his only championship in 2011 with the Dallas Mavericks.

Kidd hopes to take those experiences, couple them with lessons from past coaches, and use them to help improve the Nets next season.

"I spoke to Mikhail (Prokhorov) on the phone and understood right away how much he wants to win,” Kidd said of his interview. “I understood their concerns that I had never coached. But what they got from me is that I would be willing to learn. And that my work ethic as a coach was going to be the same as it was when I was a player. I shared with them the things that I plan to share with Deron (Williams) and with the whole team. After I left the Nets I found out what it takes to not just make the Finals, but to win a championship. I think I have a sense now of how you build a championship structure and how you maintain that structure."

Kidd interviewed at the Nets practice facility in East Rutherford, N.J.

"I felt like I was home, I really did," Kidd said. "I felt like I was home all over again once I was inside my old practice facility. This was the place where we practiced when we made our runs to the Finals. Whatever nerves I felt on the way over there, they really did settle inside me once I walked up the stairs."