Tyronn Lue met with J.R. Smith following his in-game hug with Jason Terry that led to a wide-open bucket for the Milwaukee Bucks.

"It was an embarrassing moment," Lue said. "Me and J.R. talked about it. We're just going to move forward. We had a discussion about it, he felt embarrassed about it. It was an embarrassing play. We talked about it. We're moving on."

When Smith removed himself from the play, Milwaukee's Matthew Dellavedova zipped a pass to Tony Snell who converted an uncontested dunk.

Lue said there was no "negative motive" for Smith to expose the Cavs' defense like that.

"Obviously we both know it wasn't intentional, but it was just a lack of focus," Smith said after practice Wednesday. "One of the multiple things that compounded onto the loss was just as a team we haven't been as focused as we previously were. Winning and being who we are has a lot to do with that, but we've just got to overcome that and be better as a whole. It starts as individuals and then we can collectively become a group and team and have that mindset."

Lue also took exception with Smith's explanation following the game claiming he had no recollection of the mistake.

Host Danny Leroux (@DannyLeroux) and Kevin Pelton of ESPN Insider (@kpelton) start a new RealGM Radio monthly feature: a conference tiers episode.

The two break down how they would sort out the Western (3:23) and Eastern (36:50) Conferences and that process allows them to discuss topics like whether the Rockets or Thunder are more dependent on their star (12:12), Denver’s trade possibilities (16:58), the Wizards’ place in the East playoff picture (41:04), if Cleveland is in a tier of their own (1:10:20) and much more. 

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Reggie Bullock will undergo surgery for a meniscus tear in his left knee and will miss two to four weeks.

Bullock suffered the tear last week. Bullock was averaging 4.0 points and 1.3 rebounds for the Detroit Pistons in 10 minutes per game.

Bullock will be a restricted free agent in 2017.

The Philadelphia 76ers have assigned Nerlens Noel to the Delaware 87ers of the NBA Development League.

The assignment is part of Noel's ongoing rehabilitation program for his left knee.

Noel will be a restricted free agent this offseason.

Mikhail Prokhorov said he’s hired Allen & Co. to find a local minority investor for the Brooklyn Nets.

Prokhorov in a statement didn’t say how much of the team he’s looking to sell.

“My goal in seeking a local minority partner is to further strengthen the team’s New York presence in order to expand upon our business and community relationships,” he said. “I’m committed to the Nets and will remain the majority owner of the team.”

Prokhorov consolidated ownership of the team and its arena, Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The purchase from Bruce Ratner’s Forest City Enterprises Inc. valued the team at $875 million and the arena at $825 million, including debt.

Justise Winslow will work with the shooting coach of the Miami Heat while he's left behind on their road trip to let his sore left wrist heal.

The Heat want Winslow to be ready in time for Monday's practice following an 11-game absence.

"It's going to be everything that we can to drill and do, a lot of conditioning, and hopefully get him ready for that Monday practice, when we come off this trip," Erik Spoelstra said before Wednesday night's game against the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center. "Hopefully we'll have enough healthy bodies, where we can compete and go five-on-five that day."

Spoelstra said they're almost treating this time as a mini-training camp for Winslow.

Scott Brooks was asked a number of questions about Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook during his first trip back to Oklahoma City. Brooks coached Durant and Westbrook through the 14-15 season.

"He made a decision he thought was best for him," Brooks said of Durant. "At that time, it was something that I knew that he earned that right.

"But now, the last couple of days it's been thinking about things differently because I'm here. I've had a lot of great years with all the guys and we had a good run together. Kevin was a big part of it and I still feel we had a lot of great opportunities to win a championship. We were close, but a lot of things happen. Unfortunately, injuries are a part of the game. We bounced back in a lot of ways but he made the choice that was best for his family."

Brooks was also asked about Durant and Westbrook's currently icy relationship.

"It doesn't make me feel good," Brooks said. "As a coach of the team ... when you're coaching a group of athletic, competitive-minded players, you're gonna have arguments, you're gonna have disagreements, but you have to be able to keep the group together. I thought the staff did a great job of doing that with a lot of people trying to separate them.

"I think that eventually they're going to (talk) ... I don't think they have. I'll trust you guys that you guys know they haven't spoke(n), and maybe that's probably dangerous on my part to trust you guys. But I don't like to see that. They did so many wonderful things together and they should be proud of that and not be focused on not winning the championship. A lot of things happen in order to win one and (I'm) fortunate we were there and able to (try to) win one."

Nick Young will miss the next two to four weeks with a strained calf muscle in his right leg.

Young picked up the injury on Tuesday.

Young is averaging 13.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 18 games so far this season, reviving his career after the Los Angeles Lakers nearly parted ways with him in the offseason.

Sam Hinkie is on a noncompete in his contract until the end of the 16-17 season, which is causing him to treat it like a "gap year."

Hinkie relocated from Philadelphia to Palo Alto where he's staying busy with afternoon meetings and reading as much as possible.

“When I meet someone out here, I’ll say, ‘I’m kind of between gigs,’ ” Hinkie says in a length profile by Chris Ballard in Sports Illustrated. “Or, if I’m being cute, sometimes I’ll say, ‘Oh, I’m like a founder that got pushed out for professional management,’ and they’re like, ‘Oh, first time? That happened to me in ’85 and ’93 and ’02.’ ” He pauses. “There’s not the sense of shame for failure here that there is some other places.”

Hinkie compares taking over the Philadelphia 76ers in May of 2013 to joining a game of Monopoly midstream.

“You don’t have any real estate, all the hundreds are gone, and they’ve got Park Place,” said Hinkie.

After stepping down as general manager of the 76ers in May, Hinkie kept a low profile for several months but is beginning to go public again.

“I can’t afford to be quiet all the time. I learned that.”

Hinkie never liked the public part of his job with the 76ers. For this profile, Hinkie denied requests to talk to his wife and parents.

“The worst part of [a general manager’s] job is that it’s public,” he says. “And so I do as much as possible to protect the people I love because they didn’t choose this life, I did.”

“There’s a huge disconnect between who Sam is and who the world thinks he is,” says Than Powell, a grad school friend. 

We run down the latest news, including a potentially devastating broken back for Mike Conley.  Then we go through the games of the night, including some big upsets.  In order: CLE/MIL, HOU/UTA, LAC/BRK, ORL/SAS, DET/CHA

With host Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) and Danny Leroux (@DannyLeroux).

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