NBA Thread

[GM Franchise]

Heat will win in 7.

[GM Franchise]

Donald Sterling aims to 'dig up' dirt

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/11075968/donald-sterling-hires-4-private-investigation-firms-dig-nba

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling's team of lawyers has hired four private investigation firms to dig up "dirt" on the NBA's former and current commissioners and its 29 other owners, a source confirmed to ESPN.com.

The move was earlier reported by The Associated Press, citing a person familiar with Sterling's legal strategy.

Investigators were given a six-figure budget over the next 30 days to examine the league's finances, allegations of previous discriminatory conduct and compensation to past commissioner David Stern and current commissioner Adam Silver, said the AP source, who spoke Thursday night on condition of anonymity. The person wasn't authorized to talk publicly.

The person said the investigators also are looking into whether other owners made any off-color jokes, or racist or sexist remarks.

"The gloves are off, as they say," the person said. "Have them dig up all the dirt they can find."

Sterling, 80, is suing the NBA for $1 billion in federal court after the league tried to oust him as Clippers owner for making racist remarks to a girlfriend that were recorded and publicized. Silver fined him $2.5 million and banned him for life.

The suit alleges the league violated Sterling's constitutional rights by relying on information from an "illegal" recording. It also says the league committed a breach of contract by fining Sterling and that it violated antitrust laws by trying to force a sale.

"Now his objective is to demonstrate for everybody that the NBA is a damned hypocrite," Sterling attorney Bobby Samini told ESPN.com on Wednesday. "We're going to pull every case against the NBA. Then we'll demonstrate that the culture of racism and gender discrimination is born at the NBA, where Adam Silver has worked in a high-level position for a long time."

In addition, Sterling's attorneys will face off with his estranged wife's attorneys in probate court during a four-day hearing scheduled for July.

The probate court hearing centers on whether Shelly Sterling had the right to unilaterally negotiate a $2 billion deal to sell the Clippers to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Shelly Sterling's attorney, Pierce O'Donnell, said she made the deal as the sole administrator of the Sterling Family Trust, which owns the team, after two doctors determined her husband was mentally "incapacitated." Donald Sterling is fighting that conclusion and her authority to sell.

The person who spoke to the AP said Donald Sterling reluctantly agreed to hire private investigators after this week's legal proceedings in probate court. The NBA submitted a legal filing Wednesday urging a judge to confirm Shelly Sterling's authority to sell the team.

"He realized these guys will literally go to any low to get this sold," the person said. "Even if it gets [him] nothing other than exposing all these guys and shaking up the league and seeing a change in the leadership of the league, it'll be worth it to him."

The firms will be engaged in an "audition" of sorts, the individual said: "Whoever delivers the best [material] is going to stay on for the next round, and it might be all four of them ... 29 owners is not a small undertaking."

ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[GM Franchise]

Report: Carmelo Anthony already leaning toward Bulls and Rockets

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/24588025/report-carmelo-anthony-already-leaning-toward-bulls-and-rockets

Remember the Melo Drama of a couple years ago? It looks like it's back and better than ever. With Carmelo Anthony becoming a free agent at the end of the month and things in New York looking a little bleak with the Knicks, Anthony could be looking for new suitors and championship-ready teams to hopefully join this summer for the next stage of his career. It looks like he's already leaning toward a couple of teams.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports is reporting that Anthony was relatively unfazed by a recent meeting with the Knicks' brass and is leaning toward leaving the Knicks for a much better team. The top two teams from the article are the Chicago Bulls and the Houston Rockets, who both need to clear the necessary cap space first.

New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony is leaning toward leaving in pursuit of immediate championship contention, and awaits the Chicago Bulls and Houston Rockets to clear the necessary salary-cap space to sign him in free agency, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

As re-signing with the Knicks continues to fade as his priority, Chicago and Houston have emerged as the clear frontrunners to acquire Anthony, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

Anthony's meeting with Knicks officials on Friday night had little impact on his state of mind, league sources said, because there remain too many uncertainties about how quickly president Phil Jackson can reshape the team into a championship contender.

The Knicks' horrendous season in 2013-14 -- in which they not only failed to build on the successful 54-win season the year before but managed to miss the playoffs in a weak Eastern Conference completely -- was probably eye-opening to Anthony. Even after hiring Phil Jackson to shape the roster and Derek Fisher to coach the team, the roster needs a lot of work and reworking in order to start approaching a championship contention. Anthony turned 30 a couple weeks ago and this will be his last contract in which he's capable of being a major player.

If the salary cap is going to be around $62 million like has been projected over the last couple months, that leaves the Bulls needing to clear roughly $20 million in room in order to sign him. They can take care of a big chunk of that money by using the amnesty clause on Carlos Boozer, who is slated to make $16 million next season, according to ShamSports.com. They'd also have to renounce the rights to their current free agents (Kirk Hinrich, D.J. Augustin, Jimmer Fredette, among others) and probably find a home for Mike Dunleavy's $3.3 million contract for next season without taking anything back.

It's quite doable without even turning it into a sign-and-trade, although that would make it easier to work something out.

The Rockets' situation is much more complicated. They have a little over $62 million committed to the salary cap next season, putting them right up against the projected number. They have Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik on expiring deals but would probably have to package a draft pick or two with each player to move them for next to nothing in return. The Rockets would also have to figure out just how necessary it is to keep Chandler Parsons, Terrence Jones, and Patrick Beverley in some combination unless Anthony is willing to take less money to keep some depth to the roster.

[Jon]

*Shakes Jon's hand*

Do you want my paypal account now or later?

[Jon]

Pay Pal Account E-mail is hallquist.jon@gmail.com

[GM Franchise]

[Domingo]

Number 5!!!

[¿PapaPancho?]

Tim Duncan > Kobe Bryant

[GM Franchise]

From the Numbers Never Lie Facebook page...

[Krazy]

I am happy its not LaBrain again however its same teams over and over winning titles.

[Justin]

Pay Pal Account E-mail is hallquist.jon@gmail.com

Sent

[Jon]

Sent

+1

Thank you sir.

[GM Franchise]

Clippers restructure front office, promote Doc Rivers to president

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/24590304/clippers-restructure-front-office-promote-doc-rivers-to-president

The Los Angeles Clippers have restructured their front office, with Doc Rivers' title changing from senior vice president of basketball operations to president, the team announced on Monday.

Kevin Eastman, Rivers' longtime assistant coach, has been promoted to vice president. He has never been in a front-office role before. With assistants Alvin Gentry and Tyronn Lue both talking to other teams, the coaching staff could look quite different next season.

In addition, Dave Wohl, formerly the Clippers' director of scouting, is now the general manager. Gary Sacks, who was the executive vice president of player personnel, has been named assistant general manager.

[GM Franchise]

Hornets unveil 3 new uniforms

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11107325/charlotte-hornets-unveil-three-primary-new-uniforms

The Charlotte Hornets unveiled their new uniforms on Thursday.

The uniforms were designed in collaboration with Nike's Jordan brand, as Michael Jordan is the team's owner, even though the league's official apparel provider is adidas, which is still charged with producing the jerseys.

The home uniform is white with purple numbers and teal letters, while the away jersey is predominately purple with teal numbers and white lettering. Both jerseys have "Hornets" across the chest, feature a hornet silhouette on the waistband and a Hornet cell design on the side of the shorts.

The alternate jersey, which is to be worn 16 to 20 times, is teal with white lettering and purple numbers. It features "Charlotte" across the chest and the diving hornet logo on the shorts. All the jerseys feature a color accented V-neck, a tribute to the Hornets jerseys of old.

Before arriving at the designs, the team went through an exhaustive process, which included making sure the exact colors can be sourced and testing how the uniforms read on camera.

Per league rules, the Hornets had to change up designs and logos from their history, as those designs now fall under the league's retro Hardwood Classics program.

The design doesn't completely ditch the famous pinstriping that appeared on the team's original uniforms. It runs down the side of the uniform as compared to the old uniform, which featured symmetrical spacing of vertical lines throughout.

Fans can preorder the authentic jersey beginning in August, while the two other styles of replicas will be available in team shop and online in September.

The Hornets left Charlotte after the 2001-02 season to flee to New Orleans. Charlotte got an expansion franchise two seasons later. When the New Orleans franchise changed its name to Pelicans in May 2013, that opened up Hornets again for Charlotte. The team announced a return to the Hornets name two months later.

Since putting new Charlotte Hornets gear on sale in January, the team has set multiple franchise sales records. The team's original jerseys were designed by North Carolina native Alexander Julian, who said he received monthly shipments of barbecue in exchange for his work.

[GM Franchise]

David Blatt accepts Cavs job



http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11112991/david-blatt-new-coach-cleveland-cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers have reached a verbal agreement with David Blatt to become their coach, and a deal could be signed by Friday, sources told ESPN.com.

Blatt, the first Euroleague coach to come to the NBA as a head coach, has been in Cleveland this week meeting with Cavs officials and was offered the job on Thursday night. Also on Friday, the Cavs hosted potential No. 1 overall draft pick Jabari Parker for a visit and a workout.

It is a three-year deal worth about $10 million with a fourth-year team option that includes incentives, the sources said.

Los Angeles Clippers assistant coach Tyronn Lue was the other finalist for the job, sources said, after a protracted search to replace Mike Brown that lasted six weeks and included numerous candidates.

Blatt, 55, will be coming to the NBA after a successful 20-year coaching career in Europe that included stops in Israel, Greece, Russia and Turkey. He led Maccabi Tel Aviv to the Euroleague championship this past season. In 2012, he coached the Russian national team to the bronze medal at the Summer Olympics in London.

A former player under legendary coach Pete Carril at Princeton, Blatt typically runs the Princeton-style offense with his teams.

He has a long relationship with many NBA executives, including Cavaliers general manager David Griffin. Had the Cavs not offered Blatt their job, Steve Kerr was ready to hire him to be his lead assistant at Golden State.

The Cavs have missed the playoffs in each of the past four seasons. Blatt will be their third head coach in the past three years.

Information from ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst and Jeff Goodman was used in this report.