Report: Charlotte to become Hornets
Good.
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Report: Bobcats look to change name back to Hornets
Report indicates Bobcats would look to reclaim city’s glory years.
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Report: Hawks’ Drew to interview for Bucks coaching spot
Atlanta Hawks coach Larry Drew will interview for the vacant head coaching job with the Milwaukee Bucks this weekend, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Still under contract with the Hawks, Drew is being allowed to interview with other teams while Atlanta interviews his potential replacement.
It’s a bizarre situation, and Drew appears to be seeing the writing on the wall.
Drew, 55, is 128-102 in his three seasons as head coach in Atlanta, leading the Hawks to three postseason appearances and a trip to the conference semifinals in 2010-11.
A first round pick of the Detroit Pistons in 1980, Drew averaged 11.4 points per game over his 10-year career.
Drew previously served as as assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers (1992-99), Pistons (1999-2000), Washington Wizards (2000-03), New Jersey Nets (2003-04) and Hawks (2004-10).
Former NBA head coach Nate McMillan, Lakers assistant Steve Clifford and Rockets assistants Kelvin Sampson and J.B. Bickerstaff have interviewed for the job. The Bucks di
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NBA Injury Report: Updates on Dwyane Wade’s Knee, Stephen Curry’s Ankle, More
As the second round of the NBA playoffs comes to a close, we have to look back and ask whether injuries decided every series. The Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks and especially the Oklahoma City Thunder have to agree. Add Derrick Rose, a healthy Stephen Curry, or Russell Westbrook back into the mix and maybe things are different for the series.
I know I’m biased, but there’s no way that even the strictest “injuries are part of the game” purists can say that this wasn’t the single key factor in the playoffs. While there’s no way to stop the kind of flukish, traumatic injury that took out Westbrook, there are certainly ways to reduce these kinds of injuries in the future.
On the other side of this coin, the maintenance and hard work done by the medical staffs have some of these teams healthy and ready, even after 90+ games. Players like Dwyane Wade aren’t fully healthy, but they are close to full function. Managing injuries, chronic conditions and fatigue levels might be as important as any set play or defensive alignment.
We’ll see if more teams watching the playoffs from home get the lesson. Medical management is a leading indicator of success in most sports. There may even be new ways to find advantages for teams that are looking for that “Moneyball” edge and don’t have their own John Hollinger. For now, let’s take a look around the Association.
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Report: Rose won’t play against Heat
Countering recent speculation, beat writer Aggrey Sam reports shelved Chicago Bulls superstar Derrick Rose will not compete against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinal series. With Chicago down 2-1 entering Monday’s Game 4, many expected the 24-year-old Rose to return and help the Bulls battle the untouchable Heat. Rose was medically cleared on March 8 and has been participating in full contact practices for more than a month. Despite cries from fans and mounting criticism from onlookers, the youngest man to ever earn the Most Valuable Player award remains inactive. “At the outset of the second round Rose … Continue reading →
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Report: Derrick Rose Considered Returning Against Heat, But Changed His Mind
Between Rose, the Bulls, his teammates, other players and “sources”, this has been a textbook way of how not to handle a superstar coming back from injury.
This could have been so easy.
I would have ruled Derrick Rose out for the entire season at the All-Star break, even if I knew it was a chance that he could come back at any time.
That would have stopped all the questions about his return and if he did by chance come back, he would have been seen as hero. They could have said he had a setback or used any plausible excuse and people would have bought it, because Rose at the time wasn’t a guy people would question.
Instead they left the carrot dangling and now it has gotten out of control. So when reports come out like this from Aggrey Sam of CSN Chicago people just groan.
Despite erroneous reports that he was set to dress for Game 3, according to a person with knowledge of the situation, the former league MVP won’t return to the court in the series, something Thibodeau is aware of.
However, at th
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Report: Maloofs will only sell Kings to Seattle group
News broke on Saturday that the Maloof brothers (Joe and Gavin) will only agree to sell the Sacramento Kings to the Seattle-based group headed by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Chris Hansen. If the NBA doesn’t approve a move to Seattle, the Maloofs apparently have a backup plan. The crash-strapped brothers have made a backup agreement with the Hansen-Ballmer group to sell it 20 percent of the team for $125 million, if the NBA doesn’t approve a full sale. That would allow the Maloofs to continue running the team. Also on Friday, Hansen announced that he had increased his offer to buy out the Maloofs to $409 million (up from $358 million). That would put the total valuation of the franchise at $625 million, since the Maloofs own 65 percent of the team. The new proposal would also include $115 million offer to the NBA’s owners as a relocation fee. That would work out to about $4 million per team. For comparison, when the Oklahoma City Thunder moved from Seattle in 2008, the franchise…
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Updated Postseason Report Card Grades for Superstars Still in the NBA Playoffs
It’s report-card time.
We’ve expanded the field by stretching the term “superstar” to include more players who deserve a mention.
Stories are beginning to unfold, and reputations are being built now that we’re nearly midway through Round 2. The cast of characters consists of veterans who have been here before and newcomers who haven’t.
The stats and grades reflect everyone’s full body of work during the 2013 NBA playoffs so far.
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Report: Rose likely out for Game 3
Earlier this week, a report began circulating that Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose might dress for Game 3 of the team’s series against the Miami Heat. If he was going to dress, there was thought that he could finally return to the court after his recovery from a significant knee injury. However, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters — including Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago — yesterday that Rose’s status hasn’t changed, meaning he’s unlikely to suit up for tonight’s game.As the Bulls continue their unexpected run through the playoffs, all eyes have been on Rose. The All-Star has been cleared medically to return, and he’s taking part and even excelling in 5-on-5 scrimmages.Still, Rose continues to be sidelined, as he says he’s just not ready to return yet. There’s speculation that the hesitation is mostly mental, but Rose recently said that he’s still in the process of regaining muscle memory.While a timeline hasn’t been provided, Rose and the Bulls continue to leave the door o
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Updated Report Card Grades for Every 2013 NBA Playoff Team, 2nd-Round Edition
Remember when the 2013 NBA playoffs were shaping up to be the most disappointing dud since John Carter? Aside from the emerging brawls involving the Denver Nuggets and the Golden State Warriors and the Brooklyn Nets and the Chicago Bulls, every other first-round series looked to be little more than sidewalk chalk.
And to think, that was just two weeks ago. Since then, we’ve seen six Game 6s, one Game 7 and three wins (nearly four) by underdogs to start the second round.
The heat of the postseason (and not necessarily the sort emanating from Miami) has already forced eight teams out of the proverbial kitchen and will inevitably have four others scampering for the exit before long. In the meantime, expect the alphabetic evaluations of the remaining teams to fluctuate considerably, just as they have since we last updated our report card grades.
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