NBA RUMORS AND NEWS

Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel ""Look, if you had one shot or one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted, one moment, would you capture it or just let it slip?" -- Eminem, "Lose Yourself" At one point, before there was a Big Three, before Pat Riley's championship-or-failure proclamations truly took residence at..." June 19

Yahoo! Sports "After talks in a blockbuster deal fell apart over draft pick compensation, Doc Rivers is unsure about returning to the Boston Celtics as coach, league sources told Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday. Celtics general manager Danny Ainge informed Rivers of the failed trade talks on Tuesday morning, and..." June 18

Dallas Morning News "Armed with their highest draft pick in more than a decade, the Mavericks are thinking strongly about trading the asset. And “strongly” means it is a virtual certainty. One source put the chances of the Mavericks having the 13th overall draft pick on their opening-day roster next season at 0..." June 18

L.A. Daily News "As plenty of teams wait to make their pitches in hopes of wooing Dwight Howard away from the Lakers, one option appears to be off the table. The Lakers won't deal Howard in a sign-and-trade. A league source familiar with the Lakers front office's thinking said, "they'll either re-sign Dwight..." June 18

Nets Daily "In an interview with Greg Kelly and Rosanna Scotto on Good Day New York Monday, Jason Kidd touched on a number of the same issues he talked about at last week's press conference, including his recruitment of Lawrence Frank as his lead assistant. "I'm working as hard as I can," said Kidd. "So,..." June 18

The Oklahoman "Unable to play basketball this offseason, Russell Westbrook has taken up Vine as a mini-hobby. Last week, he made some six-second clips on the social media video service, covering a pair of Taylor Swift songs. And now, via Vine, he has announced a fairly large stepping stone in his rehab..." June 18

TheScore.com "No big deal, right? Just a low-top version of the LeBron X that some people are calling the “Floral” edition. Seems like a chill off-court shoe to wear with some short pants. But check out the sockliners. The fix is in. Or Nike might have a massive recall on their hands. Or these are a..." June 18

Boston Globe "Decisions, decisions. The Celtics don’t have many free agents, but with the rest of the league passing them by, they have to take a serious look at each player on the roster and decide which direction they’d like to go. Core players Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Rajon Rondo brought Boston a..." June 18

CSN Washington "The time is almost there for Alex Len to stand on his own two feet. The 7-1 center from Maryland, who had sugery in April to repair a stress fracture in his left ankle, is getting examined by orthopedic surgeon Robert Anderson in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday. “I probably got two more weeks on..." June 18

CBSSports.com "San Antonio Spurs shooter Danny Green already has 25 made 3-pointers through the first five games of the NBA Finals. It broke Miami Heat guard Ray Allen's record of 22 threes, that he set with the Boston Celtics back in their 2008 championship run. Green has been open on a lot of his looks..." June 18

Oregonian "Maryland big man Alex Len has not been able to work out with NBA teams—he is coming off surgery to fix a stress fracture in his ankle. And yet he has moved to the rumor-mill forefront of this year’s draft. Len is visiting Charlotte, which holds the No. 4 pick in this year’s draft, to meet with..." June 18

Orlando Sentinel "Ryan Blake, the senior director of NBA scouting operations, shares with the Orlando Sentinel his take on Lehigh University combo guard C.J. McCollum: “I really like him. Before his foot injury, he was shooting over 50 percent from behind the arc. He was on a team that relied on him not only to..." June 18

USA Today "In moments like these for the Miami Heat — when a victory is absolutely necessary — Coach Erik Spoelstra falls back on two ideas. One, his players play their best when the lights are the brightest. It is paramount for LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to have strong performances in Game..." June 18

TMZ.com "Former NBA superstar Allen Iverson has returned his kids to their mother ... and insists he was NEVER holding them hostage in the first place ... at least that's what A.I. claimed in court last week. We broke the story ... Iverson's ex-wife filed court docs insisting Allen had all 5 of their..." June 18

Dallas Morning News "Mavericks owner Mark Cuban joined BaDD Radio on KTCK-AM 1310 on Monday. Here are some highlights from the interview. On if he wants to trade his draft pick: “That is the case. The numbers are the numbers. If I’m going to talk about cap and CBA I can’t BS my way around that. … There’s risk..." June 18

The Oklahoman "Unable to play basketball this offseason, Russell Westbrook has taken up Vine as a mini-hobby. Last week, he made some six-second clips on the social media video service, covering a pair of Taylor Swift songs. And now, via Vine, he has announced a fairly large stepping stone in his rehab process..." June 18

Los Angeles Times "Norvel Pelle’s odyssey to reach the NBA just got at least one year longer. The former Los Angeles Price High star who twice failed to meet college academic entrance requirements withdrew from the NBA draft on Monday because of a foot issue that forced him to miss workouts for four..." June 18

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "Kentucky center Nerlens Noel was the presumed No. 1 choice for next week's NBA draft, but nobody could say for sure. And nothing is settled yet. The Cleveland Cavaliers have kept everyone guessing while they try to sort out their options after winning the NBA draft lottery for the second..." June 18

Nets Daily "In an interview with Greg Kelly and Rosanna Scotto on Good Day New York Monday, Jason Kidd touched on a number of the same issues he talked about at last week's press conference, including his recruitment of Lawrence Frank as his lead assistant. "I'm working as hard as I can," said Kidd. "So,..." June 18

The Deseret News "Another day, another couple of pre-draft workouts for the Utah Jazz. Continuing a string of prospect evaluations for the June 27 NBA Draft, the Jazz will hold two sessions again Tuesday at Zions Bank Basketball Center. The first session will include projected lottery pick Syracuse guard..." June 18

ESPN.com "The Brooklyn Nets are interested in adding Roy Rogers as an assistant coach on Jason Kidd's staff and will be talking with Rogers this week, according to a source. Rogers worked as an assistant coach with the Nets for two seasons (2008-10) -- working under Lawrence Frank until the head coach..." June 18

New York Post "You could see the pressure etched on the stone faces of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade late Sunday night as they sat together on a podium in San Antonio. The defending NBA champion Miami Dream Team is now 48 minutes away from having its three-year legacy viewed in a whole new light — as a..." June 18

Yahoo! Sports "For the Los Angeles Clippers to bring Kevin Garnett and Doc Rivers to chase the franchise's first NBA championship, the price to complete a deal could come down to a willingness to include an additional first-round draft pick in the package to the Boston Celtics, league sources told Yahoo! Sports..." June 18

CBSSports.com "Attorneys for Derek Fisher and his assistant filed a motion for a change of venue Monday in the lawsuit filed against them by Billy Hunter, the former executive director of the National Basketball Players Association. Among other things, the motion presented evidence of an alleged conflict of..." June 18

Sacramento Bee "Pete D'Alessandro was in a comfortable place. He could have stayed in Denver and angled to be the Nuggets' new general manager, continuing to work with team president Josh Kroenke. But D'Alessandro wanted to take a chance on himself. "I've always been that second guy," D'Alessandro said...." June 18

Detroit Free Press "ESPNNewYork.com’s Ian Begley profiled former Pistons great Isiah Thomas’ peaceful efforts in his hometown of Chicago. The article shows that Thomas — along with other NBA players from Chicago — are trying to make difference in the city wracked by gun violence. And he is using..." June 18

Boston Globe "While Doc Rivers still continues to ponder whether he wants to coach the Celtics or Clippers, the two teams reignited talks regarding the longtime coach and Kevin Garnett in a complicated deal that would include Los Angeles center DeAndre Jordan. That's what is known right now. The rest is..." June 17

ESPN Dallas "The Mavericks’ big-fish recruiting pitch includes essentially offering an assistant GM job and a squeaky-clean salary-cap picture for next summer. We’ll see whether Chris Paul or Dwight Howard bite as they weigh the opportunity in Dallas against other options. Never mind the dollar details..." June 17

ESPN.com "Monta Ellis has informed the Milwaukee Bucks that he will opt out of the last year of his deal, according to league sources. Ellis, who had one year, $11 million left on his contract, will become one of the most coveted free agents on the market this summer. Sources say the Atlanta Hawks,..." June 17

TMZ.com "Former NBA star Allen Iverson has abducted his own children ... so says his ex-wife, and now she's begging the court to force Allen to give them back. Tawanna Iverson just filed legal docs, claiming Allen recently asked for permission to take their five kids on a short vacation to Charlotte, NC..." June 17

Denver Post "The Nuggets have hired Tim Connelly as their new general manager, team president Josh Kroenke told The Denver Post Monday morning. The New Orleans Pelicans assistant general manager will take over for Masai Ujiri, who left to take over as general manager in Toronto. Connelly, like Ujiri, is known..." June 17

Denver Post "Indiana Pacers assistant Brian Shaw will interview Tuesday for the Nuggets’ coaching vacancy, an NBA source told The Denver Post on Monday morning. Memphis Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins, the other top candidate, will interview on Wednesday, as Denver looks to replace the fired George..." June 17

San Antonio Express-News "The Spurs are one victory away from their fifth NBA championship after punishing the Heat in Game 5 of the NBA Finals Sunday at the AT&T Center. The series shifts to Miami for Game 6, where the Heat will attempt to become only the eighth team in NBA history to recover from a 3-2 deficit in the..." June 17

CSN New England "The potential trade with the Los Angeles Clippers that would have freed up Doc Rivers to coach them is still considered a no-go. But that doesn't necessarily mean Rivers will be back on the sidelines as the Celtics head coach this season. A league source tells CSNNE.com that Rivers has not..." June 17

Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel "The clock already is ticking. Within two weeks the decisions have to be made. Yes, there are greater priorities for the Miami Heat at the moment, namely these NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, which continued with Sunday's Game 5 at the AT&T Center. But by June 30, there will have to..." June 17

Salt Lake Tribune "The Utah Jazz today will make a "major facility announcement," and are expected to unveil plans to update EnergySolutions Arena. A news conference is scheduled for this afternoon at the arena. The downtown arena seats 19,911 but has been has surpassed by newer, flashier arenas with more..." June 17

ESPN.com "Croatian forward Dario Saric will withdraw his name from the 2013 NBA draft, his agent, Marc Cornstein, told ESPN.com on Sunday. Saric has signed his letter of withdrawal from the draft and Cornstein will deliver it to the NBA on Monday, the deadline for players to withdraw. Saric was ranked..." June 17

Chicago Sun-Times "One coach who won’t be participating in the offseason NBA coaching carousel is the Bulls’ Tom Thibodeau. Early Sunday afternoon, there were whispers that if the Boston Celtics trade coach Doc Rivers in a package to the Los Angeles Clippers, Thibodeau would be on the radar as a possible..." June 17

Detroit Free Press "Andre Iguodala will join the 2013 free-agent class. Unlike other options — Chris Paul and Dwight Howard — he could be a realistic option for the Pistons. Yahoo Sports reported Friday afternoon that the Nuggets small forward will opt out of the final year of his contract and become a free agent...." June 17

ESPN.com "Derrick Rose didn't deserve to be criticized by fans for sitting out the entire the 2012-13 season while rehabbing from a torn ACL in his left knee, Bulls Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen said. "I was kind of surprised people turned on him knowing the difficulty of Derrick's injury," Pippen said at..." June 17

Akron Beacon Journal "When the Cavaliers were debating between Kyrie Irving and Derrick Williams two years ago, one of the questions regarding Williams was where to play him. He is either an undersized power forward or a small forward who struggles to defend the position. Two years later, Williams still doesn’t have a..." June 17

Michigan Live "Alex Len hails from the same nation as Slava Kravtsov, and if he were to become the next Detroit Pistons center from the Ukraine, it could cost his countryman a job. "I never met him before," Len said of Kravtsov, whom the Pistons can buy out until June 29, two days after the NBA Draft, "but I..." June 17

Houston Chronicle "The Rockets’ offseason plans begin with their pursuit of a top free agent, starting with Lakers center Dwight Howard, but they don’t end there. The moves they hope will come next will be a major part of their sales pitch, a person with knowledge of that part of their presentation said. The..." June 17

Sacramento Bee "Kings principal owner Vivek Ranadive will introduce Pete D'Alessandro as the team's new general manager today at a news conference at Sleep Train Arena. And Ranadive isn't done changing the look of the Kings' front office. The Kings have offered Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame player and..." June 17