'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 38

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http://www.draftexpress.com/article/NBA ... y-20-3224/

While Oklahoma City would obviously be extremely interested in the prospect of acquiring the top pick and drafting local product Blake Griffin, there is one team standing in their way – the Memphis Grizzlies, who own the #2 pick. From what people around the league are saying, Rubio’s camp may already be sending out feelers indicating that he’s not interested in the least bit in playing in Memphis.

“Rubio doesn’t want to go to Memphis, and he especially does not want to pay money out of his own pocket with that huge buyout for the honor of doing so. Fegan [Rubio’s agent] wants him in L.A., and if he can’t have him there, he wants him in Sacramento. Definitely not Oklahoma City. “

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http://www.draftexpress.com/article/NBA ... y-20-3224/

• Nash not in hurry to extend deal
Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic delivers news from Steve Nash’s camp that should give the Phoenix Suns organization some pause in how they assess this year’s NBA draft class.

Nash, 35, and his agent, Bill Duffy, have let the Suns know that they will wait to see how the Suns roster is altered before getting serious about negotiating a two-year contract extension. If and when that time comes, Duffy said Nash would ask for a raise from the current deal, which is slated to expire after paying him $13.125 million for the 2009-10 season. "This is kind of a perplexing time because he (Nash) absolutely wants to win and he loves the (Phoenix) market but all the pieces have to line up properly," Duffy said. "We just want to wait and see what their game plan is so we can sign off on it. We respect their willingness to extend his contract but we also are very cognizant of the team dynamic to make sure it will work in terms of Steve's goals, which are to win a championship."

According to sources, the Suns were already extremely high on Syracuse sophomore Jonny Flynn, and this report today may be enough to sway Phoenix into the notion of drafting a point guard in this draft, rather than the best player available. That was believed to be their philosophy going into June, to take the best talent they can find, rather than try to fill a specific need. The problem for Phoenix is that Flynn is no lock by any stretch to be around with the 14th pick, as teams like Golden State, Milwaukee, New Jersey and Indiana also appear to be in the market at that position. If Flynn is off the board, look for the Suns to try and target the next best point guard available, possibly Ty Lawson or Eric Maynor.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/NBA ... y-20-3224/

-Jrue Holiday in the words of one executive, is “moving up more than anyone in this draft” right now, and could find himself in the 6-10 range when it’s all said and done. He even has an outside chance of being selected 4th by Sacramento, and he will indeed be working out there tomorrow from what we’re told. New York (8), Toronto (9) and Milwaukee (10) appear to be especially interested.

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http://www.draftexpress.com/article/NBA ... y-20-3224/

-The other “big riser” in this draft may be DeJuan Blair. Reports are swirling about Blair measuring a legit 6-7 in shoes (with a 7-2 wingspan) as well as losing as much as 15 pounds since arriving at IMG Academy. A slew of NBA teams have reportedly been out to evaluate him and some of the other top prospects training at the facility, and the buzz is growing around him every day seemingly. Milwaukee at 10, New Jersey at 11 and Indiana at 13 appear to be his sweet spots at the moment, and if he falls past there, he apparently will not get past Phoenix.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/NBA ... y-20-3224/

-Austin Daye is another player with some strong hype at the moment. “He’s the most skilled player in the draft” one executive told us recently. “He’s not as soft as people think. He’s going to get drafted between 10 and 15. If he works out great, he may even go earlier.”

Daye’s upside seems to be creeping his stock closer to the lottery, as teams evaluate him side by side with some of the more mature prospects in this draft and wonder if what you’re seeing with them is all you’re going to get. “There aren’t that many players in this draft with star potential,” one scout told us. “He looks great in workouts, but is that really a surprise?”

[nasty daddy]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/NBA ... y-20-3224/

-Players who appear to be tallying off a bit in terms of their draft buzz include James Johnson (“out of sight, out of mind,” one executive says), Jeff Teague and especially Earl Clark, who teams are beginning to get cold feet about as they conduct more and more research. DeMar DeRozan has been difficult to pin down for workouts (oddly demanding to compete against James Harden, or else…) and Tyreke Evans for some reason is still interviewing agents at this late stage in the game.

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http://www.draftexpress.com/article/NBA ... y-20-3224/

-Patty Mills is awaiting paperwork from the NCAA that will give him clearance to attend the Reebok Eurocamp in Treviso without affecting his ability to return to St. Mary’s. Since the camp is not a sanctioned event according to the NCAA, Mills will likely have to reimburse Reebok for his travel expenses should he decide to pull his name out of the draft. It appears likely that he will play in Treviso, which should give the camp a major boost.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/NBA ... y-20-3224/

Another prospect who will add experience and depth to the camp is French combo guard Nando de Colo. According to DraftExpress columnist Joey Whelan, who is writing a feature on De Colo for this weekend, he was extended and accepted an invitation to the prestigious event this week.

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http://www.draftexpress.com/article/NBA ... y-20-3224/

-A few potential second rounders who have reportedly been strong in private workouts according to reports we’ve received from teams and other draft prospects in attendance include DeMarre Carroll, Dionte Christmas and Joe Ingles. Danny Green is being mentioned by some as a second rounder who could work his way into the first round.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/NBA ... y-20-3224/

-The Chicago Bulls are reportedly heavily shopping Tyrus Thomas around the league, trying to see what kind of value they can get for him after the solid season he’s coming off of. It appears that they don’t see him fitting into their long-term plans as he’s too similar to Joakim Noah, and they aren’t interested in giving him a long-term deal that would put them over the luxury tax. It’s possible the Bulls look to package Thomas and Hinrich together and land a big time power forward.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/NBA ... y-20-3224/

-A number of teams are already reportedly sending out feelers indicating that they would like to acquire a pick in the late first round—including the San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors. A few teams that are rumored to be looking to trade or sell their picks are the Oklahoma City Thunder (#25), Minnesota Timberwolves (#28) and New Orleans Hornets (#21).

[nasty daddy]

http://www.insidehoops.com/blog/?p=4351

Chicago Bulls name Gar Forman general manager
The Chicago Bulls today named Gar Forman the team’s General Manager.

A member of the Bulls’ front office for the last 11 seasons, Forman came to the Bulls as a Scout prior to the 1998-99 season. Since then, he has overseen a wide array of responsibilities within the Bulls Basketball Operations Department, most recently as the team’s Director of Player Personnel, a post he has held for the last five seasons.

According to Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, “The promotion of Gar Forman to General Manager of the Chicago Bulls publicly formalizes a successful formula that has been evolving for some time. Over that time, Gar has been assuming more and more of the daily GM duties, freeing John Paxson to spend more of his time and energies on talent evaluation, and on long-term, strategic planning for the organization. As winning in the NBA becomes more complex, team building in the front office is as important as it is on the court. The strong finish by this young Bulls team, coupled with its valiant efforts during one of the best playoff series in NBA history, places the franchise at an important juncture. The front office tandem of Paxson and Forman will continue to be charged with preparing us for an even brighter future. I am excited at their prospects. I think our fans are, too.” “I am very honored to be named General Manager of the Chicago Bulls. I would like to thank Jerry Reinsdorf for allowing me to evolve and present me with such a great opportunity,” said Forman. “During my 11 years with the Bulls, I have had the chance to progress professionally and I am eager to expand into this new role. I look forward to continue working with John Paxson on the challenge of building the Chicago Bulls and elevating the Bulls into the NBA’s upper echelon of teams.”

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http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=12710

Clippers Commit to Griffin
The Los Angeles Clippers had lofty expectations heading into the 2008/9 NBA Season but chemistry and health issues quickly derailed what was supposed to be a promising year. The Clippers would win just 19 games, procuring a 17.7% chance at the top pick the draft.

Typically teams are coy about their selection but the Clippers aren't holding anything back. Sophomore forward Blake Griffin is their man. "I say we made the decision June of 2008 when he decided to go back to Oklahoma," said Assistant General Manager Neil Olshey Wednesday morning. "If we got the number one pick in '09, he'd be the guy. There was no question."

With an economy in tumult and the fans concerned after the disappointing season, the Clippers believe their fan base will be reinvigorated . . . which is why the franchise is openly aboard the Griffin bandwagon. "I think it was more important to give clarity to our fans. To understand that we spent the last kind of month licking our wounds and finding out what we did wrong the last 82 games," said Olshey. "Now it's about the future and today is the first step moving towards making sure we're not back in the lottery for any reason other than picking up the Minnesota pick that we're still owed."Griffin averaged 22.7 points and 14.4 rebounds a game for the Sooners. He's listed at 6'10", 251 lbs.

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http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=12714

Rubio's Camp Unhappy With Lottery
For those of you who love drama and were disappointed by the Los Angeles Clippers coming out and saying that Blake Griffin is going to be the top pick, there's no need to worry. With Griffin ending up in a Clipper uniform a certainty there's still the compelling situation with Spain's Ricky Rubio, who did not like how the draft panned out to say the least.

Rubio's Agent, Dan Fegan, wants Ricky to land either in Los Angeles or Sacramento. Memphis and Oklahoma City, his two most likely destinations after the lottery, are not attractive options to Rubio's camp and if nothing changes in the draft order he could end up waiting till 2010."He'll pull out if he doesn't like what he's hearing," an NBA source told Jonathan Givony of Draftexpress.com. "Or he can stay in and force the Grizzlies to call his bluff—would they really take him knowing that he may never come over? That's one way to get him to fall to three."

A move to the NBA is going to be an expensive one for Rubio unless there are some drastic changes with DKV Joventut over the next four weeks. He currently has a buyout of about $8.3 million (6 million Euros - a team can kick in $500,000) and they don't appear to be willing to accept anything less than the full amount right now. "Rubio doesn't want to go to Memphis, and he especially does not want to pay money out of his own pocket with that huge buyout for the honor of doing so," said another scout to Draftexpress.com. "Fegan [Rubio's agent] wants him in L.A., and if he can't have him there, he wants him in Sacramento. Definitely not Oklahoma City."

[nasty daddy]

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=12714

WWE Going to Hollywood
Vince McMahon's moment in the sports spotlight has come to an end for now as the most highly publicized wrestling event of the year has been moved. May 25's WWE Raw will now be held in the Staples Center in Los Angeles because of Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.

McMahon, who called out Denver Nuggets and Kroenke Sports owner E. Stanley Kroenke for "impersonating as a good business man," went on a full-fledged media campaign that really got his organization some nice free coverage. While showmanship is what made McMahon and his business so successful, Kroenke Sports was less than impressed. "Despite the propaganda campaign launched by WWE and chairman Vince McMahon, the (Kroenke Sports) team maintained a professional manner throughout this process," Kroenke Sports executive vice president Paul Andrews said in a statement to Andy Vuong of the Denver Post. "We had hoped for, and worked hard toward an amicable resolution which we verbally had on Tuesday."

Kroenke Sports proposed a possible Sunday night airing of Raw to the WWE, which according to the post they agreed to, only to pull out of that agreement when the Staples Centers' offer came along. Both myself and Jason Fleming have posed the idea of a possible wrestling match between Kroenke and McMahon to help take care of any animosity, but we all know that isn't going to happen. However, McMahon does plan on staging a fight between himself and an actor playing as Kroenke during Raw on May 25th.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=12718

No Moving Tyrus: This time of year speculation runs rampant for a lot of players because trades are a big part of the NBA Draft and because teams want to start as early as possible planning out their roster for the next season. Players' names are bandied about like people are trading basketball cards and rumors can be sparked at the drop of a hat. The latest victim of such speculation seems to be forward Tyrus Thomas of the Chicago Bulls.

Thomas has had his ups and downs in his three seasons in the NBA. Some say he is a tweener forward; not really a small forward and not really a power forward. Still, he played more consistently the second half of this season when the Chicago Bulls made their postseason run, and he was solid during their seven-game first-round series with the Boston Celtics. The Bulls have stated they would really like to keep as much of this year's team together as possible, adding in forward Luol Deng and his return from injury. Unrestricted free agent guard Ben Gordon is an obvious question, but Thomas is not.

While many have already traded Thomas in whatever deal strikes their fancy – to Phoenix in a package for Amar'e Stoudemire is a popular one – the Bulls are committed to Thomas being part of their future. The word on the street is the Bulls will open contract extension talks with Thomas' agent this summer – he is eligible for an extension that would kick in for the 2010-11 season this summer – to keep him in Chicago. That's where Thomas wants to be and that's where the Bulls want him to be. Yes, anything could happen, but it would seem that moving Thomas is not in Chicago's plans at all. Quite the opposite.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=12718

Wolves Finally Pick Ops Head: The Minnesota Timberwolves have chosen David Kahn to be their head of basketball operations according to Don Seeholzer of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Kahn has previously worked for the Indiana Pacers for nine years (four as general manager) and has most recently been involved with the NBA Developmental League. Now that the Wolves have their front office leader, they can now figure out who their head coach will be; Kevin McHale has been noncommittal and Kahn may want to bring in his own coach rather than trying to convince McHale to stay.

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http://www.hoopsworld.com/Chat.asp?CHAT_TOPICS_ID=293

Dejuan Blair in Gym: which team is going to draft me next month?

Jason Fleming: I think Milwaukee, Charlotte, or Detroit.

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http://www.hoopsworld.com/TheWireStory.asp?id=18865

Wolves tap Kahn to head basketball ops
The Minnesota Timberwolves hired former Indiana Pacers executive David Kahn to run their basketball operations, four days after being rejected by Portland assistant general manager Tom Penn.

The move was confirmed to The Associated Press on Thursday by a person with knowledge of the hire. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because an announcement wasn't planned until Friday.

Kahn fills the vacancy created when owner Glen Taylor moved vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale to the bench to replace fired coach Randy Wittman in December.

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http://www.hoopsworld.com/TheWireStory.asp?id=18868

Cassell retires, joins Wizards coaching staff
Sam Cassell, who won three NBA titles in a 15-season career, announced his retirement as a player Thursday and immediately joined the coaching staff of the Washington Wizards.

Cassell and Randy Wittman, the former head coach of Cleveland and Minnesota, were hired as assistants to new Wizards coach Flip Saunders. "After 15 seasons playing in this league, I have accomplished all that I have dreamed of as a player," Cassell said. "Now the time has come for to me to take my love for the game to the coaching ranks and pass on what I've learned. This team is loaded with talent, and it's a great way for me to start my coaching career."

Wittman and Cassell are the replacements for Randy Ayers and Phil Hubbard, who were assistants under fired coach Eddie Jordan and interim coach Ed Tapscott. Assistant coach Wes Unseld Jr. remains on the staff, while Dave Hopla is not expected to return.