Lithuanian forward Arnoldas Kulboka is expected to leave Bilbao, according to Chema de Lucas, and an option for the future is a two-way contract with the Charlotte Hornets.
Kulboka was picked at no. 55 by Charlotte in the 2018 NBA Draft after a season with Italian side Capo d’Orlando in which he was awarded the Basketball Champions League Best Young Player award
Fonte: Chema de Lucas.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reports that Brooklyn Nets assistant coach Jacque Vaughn is “getting traction” as candidate for the New Orleans Pelicans head coaching job.
Brooklyn already lost one assistant coach this offseason, with Ime Udoka signing for the Boston Celtics
The Washington Wizards are evaluating a pair of assistant coaches for their head coaching job position, reports ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. The names are those of Sam Cassell, a long time assistant coach now with the Philadelphia 76ers, and Wes Unseld jr, assistant to Michael Malone in Denver and son of the former Bullets legend.
Washington is looking to replace Scott Brooks after several seasons with the former Thunder coach.
The Portland Trail Blazers have hired Chauncey Billups as their next head coach, sources told Shams Charania of The Athletic.
The 2004 NBA Finals MVP was offered and accepted the job on Friday night. Billups is in his first season as an assistant coach, working under Ty Lue with the Los Angeles Clippers. Portland considered the candidacies of Spurs’ assistant Becky Hammon and Nets’ assistant Mike D’Antoni
Dallas Mavericks have agreements to hire former pointguard Jason Kidd as their new head coach and longtime Nike executive Nico Harrison in a lead basketball operations role.
Nico Harrison will serve as the Mavs‘ new General Manager and run basketball operations, sources said. https://t.co/WK2pUKtZ6y
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 25, 2021
Ethan Skolnick talked about the future of Tyler Herro on 5 Reasons Sports: «I have now heard that there is a 75 percent chance or better that he is traded this offseason. In fact, when I’ve thrown out 75 percent to several league sources, they’ve told me that’s low».
Ethan J. Skolnick says there’s a 75% chance Tyler Herro gets traded
Via @5ReasonsSports pic.twitter.com/QCSklJIMvk
— Ahn Fire Digital (@AhnFireDigital) June 25, 2021
Jason Kidd will be the next head coach of the Dallas Mavericks.
Per ESPN,The Dallas Mavericks are progressing in talks to make Hall of Fame point guard Jason Kidd the franchise’s new head coach.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is also close to hiring a new general manager, who has signed off on the Kidd candidacy, sources said. Cuban and the soon-to-be hired executive have had in-depth discussions about the coaching candidates and identified Kidd as the target, sources said.
The Mavericks have offered longtime Nike executive Nico Harrison a front-office leadership position and are optimistic that vice president of basketball operations Michael Finley will remain with the franchise, sources said.
He has a strong relationship with Luka Doncic, having played an instrumental role in the Mavs star shifting from Nike to the Jordan brand in the fall of 2019.
Kidd, who had two stints with the Mavericks during his playing career and starred on the 2010-11 championship team, has had the support of Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki and others who have been advising Cuban
The Indiana Pacers will be coached by Rick Carlisle.
The coach, that has left the Dallas Mavericks after more than 10 years and an NBA title, will sign a four-year, $29 million contract with the Pacers.
Sources: The Pacers are hiring Rick Carlisle as head coach. He will sign a 4-year, $29 million contract.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) June 24, 2021
Brooklyn Nets star James Harden has withdrawn from Team USA roster for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics because of the injury suffered during the NBA Playoffs. Harden’s place in the roster will be taken by Pistons forward Jerami Grant, after his commitment to the Team USA roster, as reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
The Boston Celtics are finalizing an agreement to hire Brooklyn Nets assistant Ime Udoka as the franchise’s new coach, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
According to Woj, Udoka separated himself quickly in new team president Brad Stevens’ searching process, including a significant support from Celtics players who were impressed with Udoka after working under him with Team USA in the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China.
Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine is the latest player to commit to the 12-man Team USA roster for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, as confirmed to The Athletic’s Shams Charania by the player’s agent Nima Namakian.
The roster, according to all the reports, will also feature Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, Bam Adebayo, Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, Draymond Green, James Harden, Jrue Holiday, Kevin Love, Khris Middleton and Jayson Tatum
Brooklyn Nets assistant coach Ime Udoka is believed to be a front runner in the opening for the next Boston Celtics coach, reports Marc Stein of the New York Times.
Before arriving this season in Brooklyn, Udoka spent one season with the Philadelphia 76ers and several seasons with the San Antonio Spurs.
Cade Cunningham plans on visiting only the Detroit Pistons after they won the draft lottery, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Cunningham averaged 20.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg and 3.5 apg in 35.4 minutes per game in his lone season at Oklahoma State.
The Dallas Mavericks are not pursuing Masai Ujiri or Danny Ainge for their head of basketball operations position, reports Marc Stein of the New York Times. Ujiri is on an expiring contract with the Toronto Raptors, while Ainge stepped down from his role running the Boston Celtics this offseason.
Dallas is considering elevating Michael Finley for the role.
Fonte: Marc Stein.
Ishmail Wainright is expected to sign in the NBA for next season with the Toronto Raptors as front runners to add him to the roster, sources tell Sportando.
Ishmail Wainright is playing in France with SIG Strasbourg where he is averaging 11.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in Jeep Elite.
Mike D’Antoni will have a second interview for Blazers head coaching job.
D’Antoni spent the season as assistant coach in New York.
Becky Hammon and Chauncey Billups too will have second interview for the same role.
The status for Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul remains unchanged. He is listed as “out” for Game 2 of the Western Conference finals per Monday evening’s NBA injury report.
“There’s no update on Chris,” Williams said after Monday’s practice. “Nothing’s changed.”
Fonte: nba.com.
Two top players and multiple time All Stars in Paul George and Chris Paul are in “decision-making” mode about their eventual commitment to the Olympic roster for Tokyo 2020.
Both players are considering whether to participate in the Olympic tournament, and both players are still involved in the NBA Playoffs like Devin Booker, the only one US player who has committed and is still “active” in the NBA Playoffs
Fonte: Tim Reynolds.
The Indiana Pacers are beginning their head coaching interviews this week and the list includes Steve Clifford, Brian Shaw and Terry Stotts as reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Pacers are putting a premium on head coaching experience in their search after the short term of Nate Bjorkgren.
For the several high-profile commitments that are coming from NBA stars for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, there are also some renounces.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Jazz star Donovan Mitchell has declined the opportunity to play in Japan, choosing to instead recover and rehab from his ankle injury.
AP’s Tim Reynolds added that USA Basketball is working under the premise that Warriors star Stephen Curry won’t be part of the Olympic roster as well. Curry was said to be a possible roster member for Team USA.
The Phoenix Suns are hopeful Chris Paul will be cleared from the NBA’s COVID-19 health and protocols at some point early in the Western Conference Finals, as reported by Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
Paul is quarantining in Los Angeles and has been symptom-free since testing positive for COVID-19 last week.
Clippers assistant Chauncey Billups and Spurs assistant Becky Hammon are among the finalists for the Portland Trail Blazers head coaching job, as reported by ESPN and The Athletic.
Final interviews will be held this week. Hammon becomes the first woman to make it into the final stages of an NBA coaching search.
Markel Starks is a new player of BC Igokea.
The pointguard out of Georgetown last year averaged over 11 points and 3 assist in VTB League for Avtodor Saratov.
Entoni Markel Starks je novi igrač Igokee. Dolazi iz Rusije gdje je poslednje dvije sezone igrao za Avtodor Saratov. Igrač koji igra na poziciji 1, visok je 188 cm, rođen u Merilendu 1991. #našakuća #republikasrpska #bcigokea #aleksandrovac #laktasi #abaliga pic.twitter.com/8qah8meaT3
— Igokea (@BCIgokea) June 20, 2021
Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie plans to decline the $12.3M player option on his 2021-2022 contract and become an unrestricted free agent, sources tell ESPN. He has a Monday deadline. Dinwiddie missed most of the season with an ACL injury.
The news was reported by Adrian Wojnarowski.
Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard will not travel with the team to Phoenix for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
Leonard will continue rehabbing at home after the injury suffered in Game 4 vs the Utah Jazz
The Los Angeles Lakers did not renew head athletic trainer Nina Hsieh’s contract, sources told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. Hsieh, who had been with the organization for over a decade, was promoted to the role two years ago.
Lakers players missed a total 201 games this season. LeBron James missed 26 out of the team’s last 30 games, with Anthony Davis has sitting out for 36 games.
Blake Griffin joined the Brooklyn Nets as a free agent this season, but he was reportedly close to opt for the Boston Celtics. According to The Athletic, Griffin asked a Celtics player if he should join the team and was told not to come to Boston because of the apparent dysfunction.
At season’s end, multiple sources close to the players said several members of the locker room were welcoming a coaching change, noting Stevens did not appear to hold key players accountable, with complaints he was favoring Smart over others.
Nets star Kyrie Irving has been officially ruled for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Irving suffered a sprained ankle in Game 4 of the series.
Brooklyn coach Steve Nash indicated Irving still has some “miles to make up.” “It’s not a season-threatening situation,” he added
Phoenix Suns’ star Chris Paul has been actively pursued by USA Basketball for a spot on the Tokyo Olympic team, reports Marc Stein of the New York Times.
Paul is currently awaiting to understand his availability for the upcoming Western Conference Finals because of COVID-19 issues. USA Basketball is reportedly comfortable that not all 12-man final roster will report for training camp on July 6, as they have approached players still active in the NBA Playoffs.
