March 2023 Basketball Wiretap

Raptors Interview Jordi Fernandez On Friday

Apr 29, 2023 1:15 AM

The Toronto Raptors interviewed Sacramento Kings assistant coach Jordi Fernandez on Friday morning, sources told Marc J. Spears of ESPN.

The team is set to interview several other candidates, including Kenny Atkinson, Charles Lee, and Becky Hammon

Marc J. Spears/ESPN

Tags: Toronto Raptors, NBA, NBA B-Ball IQ

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Dejounte Murray: Great Things Take Time

Apr 22, 2023 8:38 AM

Trae Young and Dejounte Murray combined for 57 points in the Atlanta Hawks' Game 3 win over the Boston Celtics.

Young and Murray are in their first season together. Murray compared his partnership with Young to what he has witnessed from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

"I don't want to talk about Boston too much, but I look at Jayson and Jaylen a lot," Murray said. "Two guys who were going through it a lot, just not working out. And just to get to where they're at, the level they're at -- obviously last year going to the Finals and this year being at the top of the East -- so great things don't happen overnight.

"Great things take time and me and [Young] both want to learn the game and work at the game at the same time."

"First of all, [it was] kind of figuring out what they were thinking together playing off each other," Snyder said. "At one point, I was like, I should just be quiet. Usually when that's happening, as a coach, if you feel that and you respect those guys and they are communicating like that and if they're on the same page, people will play off of them. That's what happened us.

"That's when we're going to be playing our best basketball."

Young believed it was a step in the right direction with Murray.

"You don't want to live in the moment too much. I mean, we won a game in the playoffs, it's big," Young said. "But we've had some really good games together. I don't consider this our best game together. It's definitely one of them, but it came at the right time and we needed it."

Coley Harvey/ESPN

Tags: Dejounte Murray, Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks, NBA, NBA B-Ball IQ

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Pistons Interview Charles Lee, Kevin Ollie, Jarron Collins For Head Coaching Vacancy

Apr 22, 2023 1:45 AM

The Detroit Pistons began interviewing head coaching candidates this week, sources told James L. Edwards III of The Athletic.

Early front-runners for the role include Bucks assistant Charles Lee, Pelicans assistant Jarron Collins, and Overtime Elite coach Kevin Ollie.

All three have interviewed with the team, with Edwards describing Collin's interview as "stellar."

There is currently no rush to fill the vacancy, with the team expected to hold at least one more round of interviews with different candidates. 

James L. Edwards III/The Athletic

Tags: Detroit Pistons, NBA, NBA B-Ball IQ

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Rockets To Interview Sam Cassell On Sunday

Apr 21, 2023 1:05 AM

The Houston Rockets will interview Sam Cassell this Sunday for the team's vacant head coach role, sources told Kelly Iko of The Athletic.

Cassell is currently an assistant for the Sixers.

The Rockets have been linked with several coaches, including Ime Udoka, Kenny Atkinson, and Kevin Young.

Kelly Iko/The Athletic

Tags: Houston Rockets, NBA, NBA B-Ball IQ

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Play-In Tournament Averages 2.64M Viewers Across ESPN, TNT

Apr 18, 2023 1:35 AM

The Play-In Tournament averaged 2.64 million viewers across ESPN and TNT, the NBA announced on Monday.

The viewership represents a 5% increase from last year.

The league also reported 441 million social media views across all platforms, up 63% from last year.

Friday night's game between the Timberwolves and Thunder averaged 2.5 million viewers on ESPN. The earlier game between the Heat and Bulls averaged 2.2 million viewers on TNT. 

Bill Shea/The Athletic

Tags: Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, NBA, NBA B-Ball IQ

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2022-23 Regular Season Averaged 1.59M Viewers Across ABC, ESPN, TNT

Apr 16, 2023 5:52 PM

The 2022-23 NBA regular season averaged 1.59 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, and TNT, slightly down from last year's average of 1.61 million viewers.

The number represents the fifth least-watched season over the last 30 years, with the past four seasons ranking among the six least-watched during that time.

The most-watched regular season over the last 30 years was the 1998-99 lockout shortened campaign that averaged 3.1 million viewers on national TV.

The NBA accounted for a 3% share of the primetime viewing this year, the highest over the past 20 years.

In comparison to other major sports, Major League Baseball averaged 936,000 viewers across its national TV partners. The NHL averaged 470,000 viewers, with college basketball averaging 371,000 viewers. 

Paulsen/Sports Media Watch

Tags: NBA, NBA B-Ball IQ

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Arturas Karnisovas On Bulls Offseason: Rebuild 'Not On Our Minds'

Apr 15, 2023 10:17 PM

Arturas Karnisovas said that the Chicago Bulls are planning on bringing back the core of its roster as opposed to rebuilding this offseason.

"That's been thrown around all this season. Blow up, rebuild. It's not on our minds," said Karnisovas on Saturday, a day after the team's play-in game loss to the Heat.

Karnisovas pointed to the team's 14-9 record after the All-Star Break as evidence that they are headed in the right direction.

Karnisovas added that the Bulls want to re-sign Coby White this season, as well as bring back unrestricted free agent Nikola Vucevic.

"The Bulls will have priority," said Vucevic on Saturday.

The Bulls will also be looking to add more 3-point shooting this offseason.

"At the end of the day, to be a .500 team is not good enough. It's not good enough for this organization, it's not good enough for the fan base. They deserve better. So, I'm going to have to look at everything. How I can help this group to do better. We have to move forward. I'll be open to anything," said Karnisovas.

 

Jamal Collier/ESPN

Tags: Coby White, Nikola Vucevic, Chicago Bulls, NBA, NBA Signing Rumor, NBA B-Ball IQ

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DeMar DeRozan's Daughter Escorted From Scotiabank Arena Following Online Threats

Apr 15, 2023 6:05 PM

DeMar DeRozan's daughter was escorted out of Scotiabank Arena by security on Wednesday due to online threats following the Chicago Bulls' 109-105 win over the Toronto Raptors.

Diar DeRozan went viral for her screams while the Raptors were at the free throw line.

"It's crazy. It's the world we live in. No matter how good something could be, you still got miserable people that just don't have a life, honestly. It's sad.

"All I care about is my daughter enjoying her moment," said DeRozan on Friday.

The Raptors shot 18-for-36 from the free throw line in the loss. 

Jamal Collier/ESPN

Tags: DeMar DeRozan, Chicago Bulls, NBA, NBA B-Ball IQ

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Pistons Request Permission To Interview Heat Assistant Chris Quinn

Apr 15, 2023 4:50 PM

The Detroit Pistons requested permission to interview Miami Heat assistant coach Chris Quinn, sources told Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report.

The Pistons are also set to interview Kevin Ollie and Charles Lee.

Chris Haynes/Bleacher Report

Tags: Detroit Pistons, Miami Heat, NBA, NBA B-Ball IQ

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Marc Lasry Sells 25% Stake In Bucks To Jimmy Haslem For $3.5B

Apr 15, 2023 5:59 AM

Marc Lasry completed the sale of his 25% stake in the Milwaukee Bucks to Jimmy Haslem and the Haslem Sports Group on Friday.

Lasry's stake was valued at $3.5 billion.

The NBA board of governors approved the sale, which was agreed to back in February.

Haslem now joins the Bucks ownership group with co-owner Wes Edens.

Shams Charania & Eric Nehm/The Athletic

Tags: Milwaukee Bucks, NBA, NBA B-Ball IQ

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Grizzlies Led NBA In Salary Per Win At $2.4M

Brian Windhorst/ESPN

Timberwolves-Lakers Play-In Game Averages 3.47M Viewers On TNT

Paulsen/Sports Media Watch

Ja Morant Files Countersuit Against Teen

ESPN

Philadelphia Announces Independent Review Of Proposed Sixers Arena Near Chinatown

ESPN

NBA To Reduce Expenses, Limit Hiring For Rest Of Fiscal Year

Sopan Deb/The New York Times

NBA Sets Record For Total Attendance, Capacity Percentage, Sellouts In 2022-23 Season

ESPN

NBA Net Rating: Celtics, Cavs, Sixers, Grizzlies, Bucks Finish In Top-5

RealGM Staff Report

NBA PER: Joel Embiid Finishes First Ahead Of Nikola Jokic

RealGM Staff Report

Argument Between Rudy Gobert, Kyle Anderson Led To Punch; Gobert Tweets Apology

Adrian Wojnarowski, Andrew Lopez/ESPN

Luka Doncic: I'm Happy In Dallas, But Something's Got To Change For Sure

Tim MacMahon/ESPN

Steph Curry Receives $75M Of Under Armour Shares As Part Of Long-Term Extension

Mike Vorkunov/The Athletic

Raptors Will Not Convert Jeff Dowtin's Two-Way Contract To Full-Time Deal

Sportsnet

Rafael Stone: Rockets 'Coming To End Of First Stage' Of Rebuild

Andrew Lopez/ESPN

Heat Rename Arena To Kaseya Center

ESPN

Luka Doncic Takes Responsibility For Mavericks' 'Very Disappointing Season'

Tim MacMahon/ESPN

Players Able To Invest In NBA, WNBA Teams With New CBA

Shams Charania & Mike Vorkunov/The Athletic

NBA, NBPA Agree On New 7-Year Collective Bargaining Agreement

Adrian Wojnarowski/ESPN