During his press conference before the start of The Finals, Adam Silver was asked by Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe about the NBA's hiring practices for coaches of color now that the league is currently down to just four Black coaches. Silver was asked if the NBA should enact a Rooney Rule, or if teams should be able to hire who they want.

"The answer is ultimately yes to should the teams be able to hire who they want," said Silver. "I don’t see a way to operate a league where the league office, the Commissioner is dictating to a team who they should or shouldn’t hire or who she should or shouldn’t fire, frankly. That’s the other side of the coin.

"Having said that, I know we can do better. We have six openings right now. We’re in discussions with all of those teams about making sure there’s a diverse slate of candidates.

"You know, we’ve looked at what might be an equivalent to a Rooney type rule in the NBA, and I’m not sure it makes sense. I’m open-minded if there are other ways to address it.

"There is a certain natural ebb and flow to the hiring and firing, frankly, of coaches, but the number is too low right now. And again, I think we should — let’s talk again after we fill these six positions and see where we are, because I know we can do better, and I think we will do better."

Nate McMillan, Alvin Gentry and Doc Rivers lost their jobs this offseason. Rivers and Ty Lue are considered strong candidates for current vacancies. 

Ty Lue is in a strong position to become the next head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers but the franchise will conduct a full search, a source told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Lue was an assistant coach with the Clippers this past season and has many of the qualifications the team is seeking with his championship, multiple Finals appearances and understanding the pressure of coaching superstars.

Lue has also interviewed with the Philadelphia 76ers and is expected to also meet with the New Orleans Pelicans. 

The Cleveland Cavaliers parted ways with Lue at the beginning of the 18-19 season.

The Toronto Raptors have yet to sign Masai Ujiri to a contract extension, but that is widely expected to be agreed upon in the near future.

Ujiri's current contract expires at the end of the 20-21 season.

“Our fans, they love Masai for all that he’s contributed to the Raptors franchise and to our community and to our country — and our appreciation for him, that can’t be measured,” Larry Tanenbaum, the chairman of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, said in an interview Tuesday. “But it was his and my game plan to secure his management team extension before his own.”

The Raptors have already signed Nick Nurse to an extension and one for Bobby Webster is currently being finalized.

“We have time and we’re going to work through the process in the right time and the right way, I know that for sure,” Tanenbaum said. “He’s so incredibly caring and he’s an important person for the world to understand. It’s not only the Raptors.”

The Sacramento Kings have eliminated a number of notable positions due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, sources tell Sean Cunningham of ABC10.

The Kings parted ways with Stockton Kings general manager Anthony McClish. 

McClish joined the Kings in 2013.

Doc Rivers will meet with the Philadelphia 76ers to discuss their head coaching vacancy.

The Los Angeles Clippers parted ways with Rivers as head coach on Monday.

The 76ers are also believed to be considering Mike D'Antoni and Tyronn Lue.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports that Rivers, Lue and D'Antoni are the finalists for the job and a decision is expected this week.

Tyronn Lue interviewed with the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday, sources told Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Lue also reportedly toured the Sixers' practice facility in Camden.

Lue and Mike D'Antoni were the two final candidates for the job, though the Sixers reached out to Doc Rivers after he was let go by the Clippers. 

While Lue is interested in taking the Sixers' job, he has also emerged as a favorite to take over the Clippers. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder promoted seven internal members of its Executive Team, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

“We are proud of the continued evolution of our Executive Team and the promotions of many long-tenured Thunder team members,” said Presti. “These individuals have demonstrated a consistent commitment to our vision for Thunder basketball on and off the floor, and we are grateful for their contributions. The continued leadership development of our entire staff is essential to our focus of sustaining an elite basketball infrastructure.”

Will Dawkins, who has been with the Thunder since its inaugural season in 2008-09, has been promoted to the role of Vice President of Basketball Operations. The Springfield, Mass. native has risen through the ranks of Thunder basketball operations, where he started as a front office intern, then spent time as Assistant Video Coordinator, Scouting Coordinator, Director of College and Player Personnel and Vice President of Identification and Intelligence before taking on his current role.

Rob Hennigan will also be taking on the role of Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Thunder. Hennigan is currently in his second stint with the Thunder (2008-2012; 2017-present), where he has held positions as Vice President of Insight and Foresight and Assistant General Manager/Player Personnel. Prior to his return to the Thunder, Hennigan served as the General Manager of the Orlando Magic for five seasons.

The Thunder is also promoting Jesse Gould to Vice President of Strategy and Analysis and Wynn Sullivan to Vice President of Strategy and Design. Gould has been with the organization since the start of the 2009-10 season and Sullivan will be entering his ninth campaign with the club. In their roles, Gould and Sullivan will work closely with Amanda Green, the Thunder’s Vice President of Strategic Alignment/Team Counsel, on future-focused initiatives for the organization.

Brandon Barnett, who has worked for the organization as a Senior Pro Scout and in a multitude of roles helping to build the organization’s G League program, has been promoted to Director of Pro Player Personnel. Barnett has been with the club since its inaugural season in 2008-09.

These long-time members of the Thunder front office have helped to oversee teams that have accumulated the second-best record in the NBA over the last 10 seasons and have reached the postseason in 10 of the last 11 years.

As part of the changes to the Thunder front office structure, Nazr Mohammed will take on the role of General Manager of the Oklahoma City Blue/Pro Personnel Evaluator. In his new position, the former Thunder center will lead the efforts for the franchise’s G League operation while also continuing his involvement in all facets of the Thunder basketball operations department. Mohammed has gone through an extensive post-playing transition program for former players with a curriculum designed by the team to prepare them for a transition to basketball operations.

Additionally, Paul Johnson, who has worked in different capacities for the Thunder front office including most recently as Pro Evaluation Coordinator, has been named the Blue’s Assistant General Manager.

As part of the most recent basketball operations staffing updates, the Thunder is also announcing the hiring of Corey Evans as Amateur Scout. Evans comes to the Thunder from Rivals.com, where he worked as a national recruiting analyst.

Steve Ballmer called several key players on the Los Angeles Clippers to get their opinions before parting ways with Doc Rivers as head coach.

Ballmer called both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George and sources say nothing the players told him changed his mind about moving on from Rivers. The Clippers acquired Leonard and George during the 2019 offseason in a bold series of moves that sent significant assets and future draft capital to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Leonard and George can become free agents in 2021.

The decision was ultimately Ballmer's, per ESPN.

Rivers, for his part, didn't feel comfortable continuing as coach without the full support of Ballmer. 

The Los Angeles Clippers have no clear-cut No. 1 candidate to replace Doc Rivers and sources tell Jovan Buha of The Athletic that the decision to part ways with Doc Rivers was not made with another coach "waiting in the wings to be hired."

Rivers was already head coach when Steve Ballmer purchased the team in 2014.

The Clippers don't have a stylistic mandate for their coach, but would like him to be a high-level game strategist. 

Ty Lue and Jeff Van Gundy are among the candidates for the job, though they'll also consider candidates without prior head coaching experience in hopes of finding their own version of Lue, Steve Kerr or Nick Nurse who each won a title in their first season as head coach.

The decision for the Los Angeles Clippers and Doc Rivers to mutually part ways was "an accumulation of philosophical differences through the years and, especially, recent weeks" rather than "an impulsive overreaction to the organization's early playoff exit," reports Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

Rivers and Steve Ballmer held several candid meetings and conversations, sources told Buha.

The two sides ultimately decided they had differing visions of how the Clippers should move forward.

Rivers viewed the roster as flawed, while Ballmer and the front office believed they were championship favorites.