Steve Kerr will be announced as the new president of basketball operations and general manager of the Suns within the week, an NBA source with knowledge of the situation said. Current general manager Mike D?Antoni will still have a front office title in addition to his coaching duties

The source said current vice president of basketball operations David Griffin will decide tonight whether to stay with the Suns or take a similar position with the Grizzlies. The Suns want Griffin to stay and would probably give him a raise and another title. Griffin would also keep a lot of the duties for which he is currently responsible.

The Memphis Grizzlies are pursuing Phoenix vice president of basketball operations David Griffin with an eye toward making him their general manager.

An NBA source said Griffin has already been offered the chance to take over many of the duties held by outgoing Memphis team president Jerry West.

Billy Donovan has agreed to leave the Gators to coach the Orlando Magic, an official in the NBA told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn't been finalized, said Donovan agreed to a five-year, $27.5 million contract.

Memphis Grizzlies majority owner Michael Heisley today named Marc Iavaroni as the team?s new head coach.    

"Marc is going to make an immediate impact on this organization, team and city and we are honored that he will be making his NBA head coaching debut with Memphis,? said Heisley. "He is highly regarded by Jerry West as a coach with extraordinary basketball knowledge and skill, and we look forward to having him guide the Grizzlies in our pursuit of a championship."

Iavaroni joins Memphis for his first head coaching stint after serving the past five seasons as an assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns, including the last three and a half years as the team's lead assistant. He brings a total of 17-years of professional experience as either a player or coach, including a three-year stint as assistant coach/director of player development with the Miami Heat (1999-2002) and two seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers (1997-99). He also assisted the USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team in training for the 2006 FIBA Championships in Japan.

Kobe Bryant talked with Los Angeles Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss on Thursday.

"I talked with Kobe this morning and assured him that I share his frustration and, more importantly, I assured him that we will continue to pursue every avenue possible to improve our team with him as the cornerstone," Buss said in a statement released by the team. "I told him that we will keep him apprised of our progress and we agreed that we will talk again in the very near future."

The Indiana Pacers announced Thursday that Jim O?Brien has been named the new head coach.

The 55-year-old O?Brien becomes the Pacers? 13th head coach in franchise history.

?We?re very happy to have Jim as the new coach of the Indiana Pacers,? said President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird. ?After speaking with him the last 10 days, we have a vision of where we want this team to go, from how we are going to practice, to how we are going to play and the style we?re going to play. We are on the same page. I believe it is very important to have a coach with experience and I feel Jim is the guy who will take us to the next level.?

O?Brien, who previously has been the head coach of the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers, said, ?I am thrilled and honored to have the opportunity to be the coach of the Indiana Pacers. The tradition of this franchise and the passion that this state has for the game of basketball has been well-documented. Since this job became available, it has been my dream to get in front of Larry and Donnie (Walsh) to talk about my strong interest in this job. I?ve been very fortunate to get in front of them and feel great about the outcome.

?I look forward to getting to work and being an integral part of the Pacers? future.?

The Indiana Pacers will introduce their new head coach on Thursday at 5:00 local time.

ESPN's Marc Stein is reporting that Jim O'Brien will be named head coach.

Bulls lead assistant Jim Boylan is the only candidate to be interviewed twice other than Stan Van Gundy who decided not to take the job.

Brian Shaw has interviewed for the position as well.

University of Florida head coach has delayed signing an extension with the Gators for over a week and now there might be a good reason for it.

Sources have informed the Orlando Sentinel that the Magic have made Donovan a big offer and expect him to accept by week's end.

More information as it becomes available.

Wizards vice president of basketball operations Tommy Sheppard has interviewed with the SuperSonics for their open general manager position. Sheppard met with Seattle officials in Orlando, the site of the league's annual pre-draft camp. Sheppard recently completed his fourth season with the Wizards.

On Wednesday, Jerry West told columnist Doug Krikorian that he is "absolutely" not going to be a Lakers executive again.

Kobe Bryant has expressed interest in bringing back West, who help build four NBA champions as general manager with the Lakers including one with Bryant in 2000.

Krikorian, of the Long Beach Press-Telegram, spoke to West, the retiring general manager of the Memphis Grizzlies, after Bryant demanded the Lakers trade him.

"I'm absolutely not going back to the Lakers," West said firmly. "I'm 69 years old. I've been at this long enough. It's time for me to step permanently to the sidelines."

West called Bryant's demand "surprising," but refused to speculate on the outcome.

"I have no idea what's going on with the Lakers," he said.