NBA RUMORS AND NEWS

Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel "Yes, you can wish it to all go away until the 2014 offseason. And, yes, there is plenty to be said about that with the NBA playoffs and the Miami Heat's season getting down to critical mass. But it's not going away, and it certainly isn't going anywhere in the wake of this past week's..." May 25

Fort Worth Star-Telegram "Now that the Los Angeles Clippers have refused to offer coach Vinny Del Negro a new contract, a source said Wednesday that the Dallas Mavericks believe they have a better chance of acquiring Dwight Howard than acquiring Chris Paul. Howard is the Los Angeles Lakers’ center who will become a free..." May 25

CSN Philly "The NBA draft lottery was Wednesday in New York City. Sixers managing owner Josh Harris and CEO Adam Aron were on hand hoping the team would move up from their 11th spot in the draft. Unfortunately, they did not. The Good Morning America studio was crowded with media members and various NBA..." May 25

USA Today "Indiana Pacers forward Paul George may no longer be an emerging star. He might just be a star right now. Did you see that powerful one-handed dunk at the end of the third quarter? And don't forget the big man. Roy Hibbert is bringing back the NBA center position for these playoffs. George..." May 25

TSN.ca "The Denver Nuggets have granted the Toronto Raptors permission to speak to the team's general manager Masai Ujiri, according to a Yahoo! Sports report. A meeting between Raptors senior management and the NBA's Executive of the Year is expected within the next 24 hours, according to Yahoo!..." May 24

CSN Bay Area "As was expected, Golden State Warriors center Andris Biedrins will exercise his player option and return to the Bay Area for the 2013-14 season, according to his agent Bill Duffy. Biedrins, 27, held a player option for next season that will pay him $9 million for the final year of his six-year,..." May 24

New Orleans Times-Picayune "New Orleans Pelicans starting point guard Greivis Vasquez is scheduled to undergo minor surgery on Friday to remove loose particles from both ankles, a league source confirmed Thursday night. The surgery, which will occur in Los Angeles, is similar to what starting shooting guard Eric Gordon..." May 24

San Antonio Express-News "Memphis guard Tony Allen has been fined $5,000 for violating the league’s anti-flopping rules during Game 2 of the Western Conference finals, the league announced Friday. Manu Ginobili was assessed with a Flagrant 1 foul after pulling Allen down by the arm during a breakaway layup in the final..." May 24

Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel "For all the talk of the knee toward the groin area of Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert by Miami Heat forward Shane Battier in Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals, and for all those YouTube clips of Heat guard Norris Cole landing a shot to the same area of Pacers forward David West in..." May 24

Michigan Live "Five weeks into the Detroit Pistons' coaching search, the blend of deliberate diligence, retention of a luminary consultant and attendant delays while he was consulted, and roughly one-third of the NBA seeking new coaches from similar candidate pools have not affected the Pistons much. That..." May 24

Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel "This time it was unanimous for LeBron James. Unlike the media vote for 2013 Most Valuable Player, which left him one first-place vote shy of becoming the NBA's first unanimous MVP, the Miami Heat forward was listed first-team on each of the 119 media ballots when the league released its All-NBA..." May 24

ESPN Boston "Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge denied the Brooklyn Nets permission to speak to Doc Rivers about their vacant coaching position, team and league sources confirmed to ESPNBoston.com. Rivers has three years and $21 million remaining on his contract. The Nets did not..." May 24

New York Daily News "So it's not just that the Heat is better than the Knicks. According to Pacers coach Frank Vogel, the squad from South Beach is also more intelligent. Following a game in which the Pacers surrendered 60 points in the paint against Miami — failing, in the process, to duplicate the rim-protecting..." May 24

CBSSports.com "The Toronto Raptors have asked permission to interview Pacers general manager Kevin Pritchard to head up their basketball operations, league sources told CBSSports.com on Friday. As with similar requests from teams to speak with assistant coach Brian Shaw for head coaching vacancies, the Pacers..." May 24

ESPN.com "When the Miami Heat faced the Indiana Pacers in the playoffs last season, the series featured two suspensions, a host of flagrant fouls and plenty of blood. It appears the Eastern Conference finals between the teams already is heating up. Pacers center Roy Hibbert took to his Twitter account..." May 24

The Oklahoman "A muddied American flag rested atop the metal pole that stood defiantly at the corner. Its peaceful position contradicted perfectly the catastrophic winds that only two days earlier had ripped through town, leaving this block utterly unidentifiable, one of many that have been reduced to..." May 23

Indianapolis Star "For a fleeting moment he was the hero. He was the calm, clutch 23-year-old All-Star who had not only drained a prayer of a 3-pointer to force overtime, but the one who stepped to the free throw line late in overtime and hit three straight to give the Indiana Pacers an improbable one-point..." May 23

New York Daily News "Carmelo Anthony played 12 playoff games with a partially torn left shoulder, the Daily News has learned. An MRI of Anthony’s shoulder revealed a partially torn labrum, according to a Knicks source, and he may need surgery. The Knicks are hopeful that the injury will heal on its own and the club..." May 23

ESPN.com "The Dallas Mavericks, with their first lottery draft pick in a dozen years firmly in hand, have their eyes on a bigger prize. Multiple sources have told ESPN.com's Chad Ford the Mavs are likely to shop the pick in hopes of creating the cap space necessary to make a run at Dwight Howard in free..." May 23

Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel "Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel is not backing down. If anything, he feels even stronger about his team's chances after Wednesday night's 103-102 overtime loss to the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. "We're very encouraged," he said Thursday before his team practiced at..." May 23

Miami Herald "Dwyane Wade said before Wednesday’s game that his injured right knee is causing him more pain than the left knee injury that hindered him in last year’s postseason. This year’s injury is a bone bruise. Last year’s injury involved cartilage in the knee and required arthroscopic surgery in July,..." May 23

Detroit Free Press "Lost in the hype of the NBA draft lottery, Detroit Pistons president Joe Dumars made his first public comments about legendary coach Phil Jackson’s short-term consulting role with the Pistons’ coaching search. “He was in town for a couple of days,” Dumars said during the teleconference after..." May 23

Hoopsworld.com "Before the 2013 NBA Draft Lottery, the only players anybody really thought were in contention for the No. 1 overall pick were Nerlens Noel, Ben McLemore and, possibly, Trey Burke. However, now that the Cleveland Cavaliers have won the top overall selection, a new name is in the mix: Otto..." May 23

SportingNews.com "P.J. Carlesimo says the Brooklyn Nets' goal of winning a championship within the next two years is "maybe not totally realistic," though he believes they are a contender in the Eastern Conference. Carlesimo went 35-19 as interim coach after Avery Johnson was fired in December, but the Nets told..." May 23

SI.com "Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski will be returning as the head coach of USA Basketball for the 2016 Olympics, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation. A formal announcement is expected in the next 48 hours. Krzyzewski led Team USA to gold medals in both the 2008 Beijing Olympics..." May 23

New York Daily News "Amar'e Stoudemire’s agent said the veteran forward is unhappy with the way the season ended for him and the Knicks, but that Stoudemire believes he’ll play a bigger role next year. “You know Amar’e, he’s going to work as hard as he can during the offseason,” said Happy Walters, Stoudemire’s..." May 23

Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel "The Indiana Pacers got the ugly game they were hoping for and needed. Whistles, turnovers, fouls, more fouls, and a pace that hardly played in the Miami Heat's favor. LeBron James got the moment the Heat needed most. With a driving layup at the overtime buzzer, James allowed the Heat to..." May 23

New York Post "Knicks rookie point guard Pablo Prigioni said on Argentine radio today his preference is to remain in the NBA next season and no longer harbors a desire to return to the Spanish League. “If I can choose, I prefer to play in the United States and stay in the NBA,’’ Prigioni said on Argentine..." May 22

San Antonio Express-News "Having made a career snaking to the basket with his patented multi-step dribble, Manu Ginobili is no stranger to the hard foul. Game 2 of the Western Conference finals found him in the unusual position of being forced to dish one out, grabbing Tony Allen’s left arm in mid-air to prevent what..." May 22

San Antonio Express-News "As well as the Spurs played in Game 1, a letdown was almost inevitable. It didn’t happen until the fourth quarter, but happen it did with a 15-2 Memphis run — fueled by Manu Ginobili’s flagrant foul on Tony Allen — that forced overtime. The collapse prevented them from crushing the Grizzlies’..." May 22

Cleveland Plain Dealer "Nick Gilbert did it again. For the second time in three years, the Cavaliers won the NBA draft lottery, earning the first pick in the 2013 NBA draft with Gilbert, the 16-year-old son of owner Dan Gilbert, representing the team on stage Tuesday night at ABC's Disney Studios in Times..." May 22

New York Post "It’s risky business, but Knicks general manager Glen Grunwald said Tuesday the major core of the roster will be back next season as the franchise banks on Amar’e Stoudemire’s knees and J.R. Smith’s head healing. Grunwald confirmed the Knicks are unable to do a sign-and-trade for free agents..." May 22

Charlotte Observer "It’s official: The Charlotte Bobcats plan to be the Charlotte Hornets. The Bobcats formalized that intent at a 6 p.m. news conference at Time Warner Cable Arena, featuring team owner Michael Jordan. As expected, the Bobcats wouldn’t be able to implement this change until the start of the..." May 22

CBSSports.com "In a big time of need, Kevin Durant is once again coming through in the clutch for Oklahoma City. Per the Red Cross, Durant has given a $1 million donation to the Oklahoma tornado disaster relief fund. Death numbers aren't certain but currently 24 people, including many children, lost their..." May 21

Yahoo! Sports "The Los Angeles Clippers will not offer Vinny Del Negro a new contract to return as coach, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. Despite considerable success and progress in his two seasons as coach, Del Negro was unable to withstand a first-round Western Conference loss to the Memphis Grizzlies..." May 21

Toronto Sun "Bryan Colangelo is now officially off the clock as Toronto’s chief basketball decision-maker. But he’ll be sticking around – at least for the time being. Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment president and CEO Tim Leiweke made it official on Tuesday morning that Colangelo, the long-time..." May 21

ESPN.com "The Los Angeles Lakers do not yet know Dwight Howard's decision for next season, but the All-Star center made his feelings about Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni known before starting his offseason. Nearly three weeks have passed since Howard had his exit interview with the Lakers and there's been..." May 21

SportingNews.com "Two brothers alleged that people standing near Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard assaulted them after one of the victims took a photo of the NBA Rookie of the Year. The brothers told Portland television station KGW that the suspects were Lillard's "entourage," but police said..." May 21

ESPN.com "Among the immediate concerns for the Indiana Pacers heading into the Eastern Conference finals against Miami is the state of David West's right calf. One of the longer-term worries, though, is West's forthcoming free agency. The Pacers' veteran leader openly loves his situation in Indiana,..." May 21

Toronto Star "Tim Leiweke minces no words about the delineation of responsibility in a new Raptors front office. “It will be my GM and I’ve got his back,” the chief executive officer of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment said Tuesday morning. In an announcement to be made official later Tuesday, former team..." May 21

SportingNews.com "The black-helicopter crowd had a rough weekend. And this week could get even worse. In the NBA playoffs and in Tuesday night’s draft lottery, the fix might not actually be in. For those fans and commentators who take as gospel the numerous, elaborate conspiracy theories perpetually surrounding..." May 21

New York Post "Next season could conceivably be the last as a Knick for Carmelo Anthony — who has a player opt-out clause in his contract he can use after the 2013-14 season. If he does opt out next summer, he sounded as if he intended to re-sign a long-term deal with the Knicks.“I’m going to be here for many..." May 21

New York Post "Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim went on a verbal tirade against Carmelo Anthony’s Knicks teammates, shocked his former player is receiving blame for the team’s second-round flameout to Indiana. In the Syracuse Post-Standard, Boeheim ripped Tyson Chandler, whom he coached on the U.S. Olympic Team,..." May 21