NBA Thread

[Jon]

LOL to everyone who thinks the NBA is rigged.

[Cory]

The NBA is rigged.

The Heat will beat the Spurs again.

Yup, needed an exciting team like the Clippers to make things fresh, but the NBA didn't want that to happen. HORRIBLE officiating. Not saying its rigged, but how many end of game, bullshit game changing calls can the Clippers get against them? Are they the bad boy Pistons or something?

[GM Franchise]

Thunder lose Serge Ibaka to injury

http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2014/story/_/id/10943844/serge-ibaka-oklahoma-city-thunder-expected-miss-rest-postseason-calf-injury

The Oklahoma City Thunder will not begin their Western Conference finals showdown with the San Antonio Spurs at anywhere close to full strength.

Thunder power forward Serge Ibaka is expected to miss the rest of the postseason after suffering a left calf injury in Oklahoma City's series-clinching win Thursday night against the Los Angeles Clippers, the team announced Friday.

Thunder general manager Sam Presti called it a Grade 2 strain of the plantaris, which takes time to heal and strengthen because of a high reinjury rate.

"I just want to express our disappointment for Serge, who, as we all know, is an elite competitor and someone that has proven to be a tremendous teammate," Presti said. "He was playing great basketball throughout the season. He's had a huge impact on our season to date."

Presti said in a conference call with reporters that Ibaka is unlikely to return even if the Thunder make it past the Spurs.

The 6-foot-10 power forward underwent an MRI on Friday after suffering the injury in the third quarter of Thursday night's win.

Last year, Thunder All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook was knocked out of the playoffs with a torn ACL in the first round against Houston. The Thunder rallied to win that series before losing to Memphis in the next round.

Presti believes the Thunder can rally and be ready for the Spurs.

"We have had this group together for a while, and they've been through some ups and downs, and this is just another one that hopefully is only going to make us better," Presti said.

Ibaka averaged 12.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in 13 playoff games. During the regular season, he notched career highs with 15.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game while leading the league in total blocks for the fourth consecutive season with 219.

During his emotional MVP acceptance speech, Kevin Durant singled out Ibaka for stepping up and erasing many of the team's mistakes while Westbrook recovered from his most recent knee surgery. While Westbrook was out, the Thunder went 20-7, and Ibaka's numbers jumped to 15.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game with 57 percent shooting from the field.

"For us, we as an organization have been in some situations in the past, and how we respond to those has always been the measure of the teams that we've had in Oklahoma City," Presti said. "Our expectation going forward is that we'll respond admirably."

The Spurs will open the series at home Monday in Game 1 with health concerns of their own, as star guard Tony Parker continues to recover from a hamstring strain. But coach Gregg Popovich said Friday that Parker is hopeful of being ready for the opener, whereas Oklahoma City will greatly miss Ibaka, its interior defensive anchor.

Oklahoma City swept its four regular-season meetings with the Spurs, who went 62-16 against the rest of the league for the NBA's best record this season.

[GM Franchise]

Kevin Love likes Warriors, Bulls

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10949807/kevin-love-tells-minnesota-timberwolves-sign-extension-likes-chicago-bulls-golden-state-warriors

Kevin Love has made it clear to the Timberwolves that he intends to become an unrestricted free agent after next season and has no interest in a contract extension this summer to stay in Minnesota, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

Although sources say Love has stopped short of demanding a trade, his position could effectively force the Timberwolves to deal the All-Star forward before next season -- or before the trade deadline in February 2015 at the latest -- if they hope to dodge the risk of losing him without compensation.

Sources told ESPN.com that the Golden State Warriors and Chicago Bulls are among the potential trade destinations that intrigue Love.

The Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks have likewise been mentioned all season as big-market landing spots that would tempt Love, but going to the best situation for immediate contention is said to be the power forward's priority.

Sources say that the Phoenix Suns, armed with several draft assets to offer Minnesota, also have strong interest in trading for Love, but the 25-year-old's interest in joining the Suns is unclear.

Any team that trades for Love before he hits the open market in 2015 would naturally need assurances that they can keep him before surrendering quality assets.

The Timberwolves, at the behest of owner Glen Taylor, have rebuffed all trade interest in Love for months, clinging to hope that they can still sell him on committing for the long term and relying at least partly on the belief that he would be unwilling to walk away from the extra year -- worth roughly $30 million -- in his next deal that he can only get from Minnesota if he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

But sources say Love has stressed to the Timberwolves that he's desperate to get to a winning situation and that the constant losing has worn on him. Minnesota has yet to reach the playoffs in Love's six pro seasons and endured a particularly disappointing 2013-14 season, missing out on a top-eight spot in the West thanks in part to a number of close-game defeats.

The uncertainty surrounding Love's future, sources say, has complicated Minnesota's search for a new coach.

ESPN.com reported last month that the Wolves would pursue three of the most high-profile names in the college game to replace the retiring Rick Adelman -- Michigan State's Tom Izzo, Florida's Billy Donovan and Iowa State's Fred Hoiberg -- but quickly discovered they have little chance to lure any coach already under contract in a good situation without clarity regarding Love.

Sources told ESPN.com this week that veteran coach Scott Skiles is among the candidates Wolves president Flip Saunders has interviewed in his search for Adelman's successor.

Yahoo! Sports reported Sunday that Saunders has also interviewed former Wolves forward Sam Mitchell, while the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported in Sunday's editions that he has likewise interviewed former Memphis Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins.

Sources say the possibility remains that Saunders will move downstairs to coach the Wolves himself for a second time, but his focus to date has been trying to find a coach and plot roster moves that would entice Love to stay in the Twin Cities.

Sources say that the Warriors, in particular, have emerged as a top contender for Love should Minnesota relent and decide to trade him. The Warriors don't have a stash of draft picks to offer the Wolves like Phoenix or the Boston Celtics could offer, but Golden State could assemble a trade package featuring the likes of forwards Harrison Barnes and David Lee.

ESPN.com reported in March that rumblings about the Lakers using their forthcoming high lottery pick to try to tempt the Wolves into trading Love were already in circulation.

The lottery to determine the order for the June 26 draft is Tuesday.

ESPN.com also reported in March that Taylor has remained determined to keep resisting all trade offers for his franchise player until, as one source put it, he "has no choice."

Teams around the league are increasingly expected to test that resolve once the lottery order is established.

[thecolonel]

Not sure I like the Warriors trading their 6th man and 2nd best offensive player for Kevin Love. I like the guy a lot, but it would kill a lot of depth for that Warriors team. It would be interesting to see a team loaded with 3 point shooters, but all so weak defensively would make Steve Kerr's job extremely difficult to move them to that next level.

[GM Franchise]

The NBA is rigged.

The Heat will beat the Spurs again.

Interesting news story that relates to this...

Report: Mark Cuban Hired Former FBI Agent to Investigate NBA After 2006 Finals



http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2069075-report-mark-cuban-hired-former-fbi-agent-to-investigate-nba-after-2006-finals?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=programming-national

Mark Cuban has never been shy about criticizing NBA officials, but it seems he took things a step further after the 2006 NBA Finals in which his Dallas Mavericks fell to the Miami Heat in six controversial games.

Per John Canzano of The Oregonian:

Retired FBI agent Warren Flagg, a 20-year veteran of the bureau, said he consulted with Cuban after that playoff debacle. Flagg now runs his own New York-based investigation and security firm. He looked deep into officiating, as Flagg said, Cuban was considering a lawsuit.

"Cuban asked me what he should do," Flagg said of the 2006 Finals. "I told him, 'Sue and you'll win your case,' but he knew he'd be killing the Golden Goose."

This is the stuff of NBA conspiracy theorists' dreams, even if it probably still gives Cuban nightmares.

You'll recall Dwyane Wade took 97 trips to the foul line in six games, including an average of 18.3 attempts over the final four games of the series, per Basketball-Reference.com.

Dallas had taken a 2-0 lead with a pair of convincing wins in Games 1 and 2. It seemed like a foregone conclusion that the Mavs would cruise home.

But Wade's parade to the free-throw line changed all that.

Joey Crawford was part of the officiating crew for Game 5 of that series, when Wade attempted 25 foul shots in a 101-100 win. As a team, the Mavericks shot precisely 25 free throws in the contest.

As Flagg indicated in his comments to Canzano, perhaps Cuban never followed through with a lawsuit because he was afraid of the potential consequences. Unfortunately, it sounds like we'll never know what Flagg uncovered or why Cuban chose not to take things further.

Expect anyone with a conspiratorial bent to take this report as proof positive something fishy was going on with the NBA and its officials. But for the rest of us, the comments from Flagg aren't enough from which to draw reasonable conclusions.

As Kurt Helin of NBC Sports wisely explained:

But just as is the main flaw with almost any conspiracy—the illuminati, the CIA killed Kennedy, Area 51, etc—it counts on large groups with sometimes competing interests plus often inefficient organizations to maintain perfect secrecy and focus on the end game. The league with its owners and all those referees couldn't do that if they wanted do.

Though the incidents are unrelated, Canzano also relayed a fascinating (and perhaps highly satisfying—if you're Mark Cuban) anecdote from a 2001 meeting involving Crawford, Tim Donaghy and the rest of the NBA's officials.

Apparently Donaghy was ignoring Crawford's calls to start the meeting. Then things got interesting:

"Crawford apparently had enough of the disrespect. He walked up to Donaghy and slapped him across the face. The left-handed Donaghy took one step back, wound up, and dropped Joe Crawford with a left hook."

"He went down like a ton of bricks," Donaghy told Tom Ley of Deadspin.com. "I will say that he has a rock-hard head, though. It felt like he had steel plates in there or something. And I give him credit, because he popped back up and was ready to go."

Cuban never followed through on his plans to do something about the perceived injustices his team suffered in 2006, but I suspect he'll feel just a bit better about the whole thing when he reads about Crawford getting knocked on his back—even if the guy delivering the blow, Donaghy, has been persona non grata in NBA circles since his 2007 betting scandal rocked the league.

For what it's worth, the NBA is making a concerted effort to promote transparency in its officiating. There'll continue to be the inevitable missed calls and replay controversies, but we should also expect to see more honesty about mistakes, more accountability and, eventually, more integrity.

During this postseason alone, we've already seen admissions from the league office about missed calls and press releases explaining officials' rationale on controversial decisions.

It won't help Cuban get that 2006 ring back, but at least we can rest assured the NBA is moving in the right direction with its officiating issues.

[Justin]

I just want them to call traveling. The amount of sliding and gliding around the court is out of control.

[Ty]

I just want them to call traveling. The amount of sliding and gliding around the court is out of control.

[GM Franchise]

Hornets all the buzz in Charlotte

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10958580/charlotte-bobcats-officially-change-nickname-hornets

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Charlotte Hornets are back.

The NBA franchise announced Tuesday at a news conference it has officially changed its name back to the Hornets after 10 years of being known as the Bobcats.

Bringing the Hornets back is a nice nod to the past, but without wins, it will just be another buzz kill. Story

The change comes nearly one year after owner Michael Jordan indicated he wanted to change the name back to the Hornets.

The league approved the change last July.

Jordan didn't attend the news conference, but issued a statement saying it's a "historic day for our franchise, our city and our fans."

The Hornets resided in Charlotte from 1988-2002 before George Shinn moved the team -- and name -- to New Orleans after a messy divorce from the city. The name became available again when New Orleans owner Tom Benson changed his team's name from the Hornets to the Pelicans.

Several hundred fans showed up at the downtown arena for the formal announcement.

Hornets president and CEO Fred Whitfield said the goal is restore the energy the Hornets brought to the city when they were in Charlotte 12 years ago playing at the Charlotte Coliseum, which was known by fans simply as "The Hive."

It was there that the Hornets were consistently among the league leaders in attendance.

"For me this day is almost surreal because I was a Hornets season ticket holder," Whitfield said. "I know what it felt like in the old Hive and the energy and excitement that happened to be there. Michael talks fondly about the days he came in and played against the Hornets and what a challenge it was not only to battle a good team, but also the fans."

Whitfield also announced that in collaboration with the NBA and the Pelicans, all of the statistical information, records and history of the Charlotte NBA basketball will be restored to the franchise.

That means the Hornets will now own and have access to all of the historical elements from the recent Bobcats' era (2004-14) as well as the original Hornets teams that played in Charlotte -- including stats from stars such as Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning and Muggsy Bogues.

All of the Hornets records from their years in New Orleans will revert to the Pelicans' history, Whitfield said.

"That was a piece that was really important to us because we knew how important that was to our fans," Whitfield said. "Being able to have the old Hornets alumni back and be a part of family was important. We can say to them, `Hey, you are welcome back and you are a part of the family."

Whitfield estimates the name change will cost Jordan more than $4 million before all is said and done. The team is still working through the tedious process of rebranding the arena.

But Hornets logos have begun to spring up inside and outside of the arena.

"It's been well worth it," Whitfield said. "And it couldn't have happened without the financial commitment of our owner."

The Hornets unveiled their new logos in December.

They'll unveil their new uniforms on June 19 and the playing floor design on June 26. The Hornets' name will return to NBA action at the 2014 Summer League in Las Vegas.

The popular Hugo the Hornet mascot will make his official return on June 5.

Pete Guelli, the team's executive vice president and chief sales and marketing officer, said fans have embraced the name change.

He said 90 percent of last year's season ticket holders have renewed for the 2014-15 season. He also said the Hornets are currently No. 1 in the league for new season tickets sales.

[Flins.]

Ugh, that makes me feel old.

[GM Franchise]

Cleveland Cavaliers get the number one overall pick in the draft again.

[Justin]

They don't deserve it.

[Krazy]

They don't deserve it.

Better then the Bucks who will trade it away for horrible players in three years. I agree with Mr. Cuban that the NBA is rigged. This is why I stopped watching. Its to the point where its the same teams in the finals every year and very questionable calls on teams who have a chance but lose to the "power houses".

[GM Franchise]

Donald Sterling surrenders control if the Clippers to Shelly Sterling

http://www.tmz.com/2014/05/23/donald-sterling-shelly-sterling-clippers-sale-adam-silver-nba/

[¿PapaPancho?]

They don't deserve it.

Deserve got nothing to do with it