SB Nation Chicago: All Posts by Steve von Horn

• Video: LeBron's game-winner | GIF: Hibbert shakes his head

• NBA mock draft consensus: Noel to Cavs | SB Nation's Big Board

Raptors ask to interview Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard, according to report

2013-05-24T16:26:13Z

The Toronto Raptors have moved former general manager Bryan Colangelo to an executive role, and the team's search for a new man to head their basketball operations has led Toronto to request an interview with Indiana Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard, according to Ken Berger of CBS Sports. The Pacers are busy battling the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, and the Raptors will likely not be allowed to interview Pritchard until Indiana's season is over.

The plan to build a front office around Pritchard may involve trying to pry assistant GM Troy Weaver away from the Oklahoma City Thunder, but as Berger notes, the Raptors would have to be prepared to offer something more than a lateral move to get permission to speak with Weaver. Pritchard was a candidate to land the Raptors' GM job back in 2011, but Ed Stefanski was hired instead. The Pacers promoted him from director of player personnel to GM when he elected to stay with the team.

Denver Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri, who is in contract extension talks with Denver, has also been targeted by Toronto. For more on the intricacies of the situation, be sure to check out this extensive post at SB Nation's Raptors blog, Raptors HQ.

More from SB Nation:

• Video: LeBron's game-winner | GIF: Hibbert shakes his head

• NBA mock draft consensus: Noel to Cavs | SB Nation's Big Board

Kyrie Irving, John Wall among invitees for Team USA Basketball mini-camp

2013-05-24T15:31:55Z

Team USA Basketball is gearing up for a mini-camp in July, where rising NBA stars will compete for a spot on the squad that will play in the 2014 World Championships and 2016 Olympics. Plenty of players have already received invitations to the three-day event, including Kyrie Irving, John Wall, and 2013 NBA Rookie of the Year Damian Lillard, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

There are 24 roster spots to fill on the USA Men's Select Team, and here are the known invitees. The point guard crop is heavy, as Irving, Wall and Lillard are set to join Ty Lawson and Kemba Walker at the camp. Warriors guard Stephen Curry did not receive an invite, but he played for the Select Team in 2012 and is considered an option to be named directly to the final Team USA roster. Teammates Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes have reportedly received invitations to the mini-camp.

Mike Conley of the Grizzlies and George Hill and Paul George of the Pacers are expected to get invites when their teams' run in the NBA Playoffs is over. Milwaukee Bucks big man Larry Sanders has accepted his invitation, and Pistons Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond are expected to receive consideration.

Utah Jazz teammates Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors, who played on the 2012 Select Team, have also been asked to attend the 2013 mini-camp, per Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune.

John Wall's backcourt partner in Washington, Bradley Beal, has also received an invite to participate at the Las Vegas camp, according to The Washington Post.

An invitation to the Select Team is hardly a guarantee that the player will make the final roster. Commitments from veteran players like Chris Paul, Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook could eliminate additional roster spots. Some players may also be there just to fill out spots for competition. For reference, players like DeJuan Blair, Lance Thomas and DeMar DeRozan made the 2012 Select Team roster.

More from SB Nation:

• Video: LeBron's game-winner | GIF: Hibbert shakes his head

• NBA mock draft consensus: Noel to Cavs | SB Nation's Big Board

Pistons rumors: Will Phil Jackson replace Joe Dumars?

2013-05-24T12:02:16Z

Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores hand-picked NBA legend and Hall of Fame head coach Phil Jackson several weeks ago to assist the team as a consultant in the ongoing search for a head coach, and now a power struggle may be brewing behind the scenes with general manager Joe Dumars. There is apparently a difference of opinion on who should be the Pistons' next head coach. Jackson wants to hire his former assistant and player Brian Shaw, but Dumars is eyeing Nate McMillan and Maurice Cheeks, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.

Jackson, a long-time friend of Gores, has not been hired to a formal position during this process, but he is known to be looking for executive-level opportunities in the NBA to help shape coaching and personnel decisions. Dumars may have been ready to make his choice prior to the NBA Draft Combine, but it may not be his decision to make at this time. He didn't get to hire his top choice in his first head coaching search, as Gores ignored his recommendation of Mike Woodson and brought in Lawrence Frank.

For more on the Pistons' coaching search, visit Detroit Bad Boys

The Pistons have reached out to Shaw for an interview, but the Indiana Pacers are still busy in the 2013 NBA Playoffs and the team won't give permission for assistants to interview until their season is over. They are currently trying to knock of the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. Meanwhile, one of Dumars' choices, Mo Cheeks, sat down for a second interview with the Pistons earlier in the week.

Will Jackson get his way and convince Gores to hire Shaw? Tom Ziller of SB Nation posited that an expansion of his coaching tree was part of the idea behind Jackson's involvement from the very beginning:

The real endgame here is, of course, to spread Jackson's coaching tree. He doesn't currently have one acolyte in a head-coach role in the NBA. Kurt Rambis spent two miserable years in charge of the Timberwolves, and Brian Shaw is likely to have a job next season. That's it. Jim Cleamons had a head coach stint with Dallas years ago, and Bill Cartwright spent some time running the Bulls. But neither of those guys are in play for current openings (at least publicly) and neither produced their own acolytes.

...

So if this happens according to plan, Jackson gets a chance to give his coaching tree a much-needed boost. Win-win. Phil Jackson remains a step ahead of everyone else.

For now, it seems the Pistons will wait for their chance to interview Jackson's former assistant. Who knows what will happen from there, as Shaw is a hot name for many openings around the league.

More from SB Nation:

• Video: LeBron's game-winner | GIF: Hibbert shakes his head

• NBA mock draft consensus: Noel to Cavs | SB Nation's Big Board

• Flannery: No prize is guaranteed for Cavs

Pacers lose opportunity to beat Heat in Miami on final play

2013-05-23T14:00:04Z

Game 1 of the 2013 NBA Eastern Conference Finals could not have ended in a more dramatic fashion. When Paul George nailed a 30-foot three-pointer to send the game into extra time, it became an unforgettable night for everyone involved. By the time LeBron James guided in the game-winning layup with his left hand to give the Miami Heat a 103-102 overtime win, the contest had transformed into an instant-classic. Here's a peek at the reactions from the SB Nation team blogs after the drama from Game 1.

Heat 103, Pacers 102 (OT)

The typical collapse/comeback narrative never really developed in this game, because the Pacers kept things close for the entire night. Miami never led by more than seven points, despite a playoff career-high 16 points on 7-7 shooting from Chris "Birdman" Andersen and a historic 30-point, ten-assist, ten-rebound triple-double from LeBron James.

LeBron James is the 1st player with at least 26 Pts, 10 Ast, 10 Reb & 3 Blk in a playoff game since Ralph Sampson in 1986. @eliassports
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) May 23, 2013

The lead changed hands 17 times and the score was leveled on 18 occasions, as neither group got hot from beyond the arc (Indiana shot 4-14 from three, Miami shot 5-18). The Heat built up a healthy advantage in the paint with 60 points on crisp 30-44 shooting -- compared to 48 points on a middling 24-46 for Indiana -- and no two points were bigger than LeBron's final bucket in extra time.

For more on this series, visit: Pacers blog Indy Cornrows Heat blog Hot Hot Hoops

The stage for the stunner was set by a Dwyane Wade foul that sent Paul George to the line for three free throws and pushed George's total to a team-high 27 points, as he gave Indiana a 102-101 lead with 2.2 seconds remaining in overtime. Every Miami fan moved to the edge of their seat as Shane Battier made the sideline inbounds to LeBron, who torched George at the point of attack and put in the game winner just like this:

Miami Heat blog Hot Hot Hoops couldn't believe things came together so beautifully at the end for the defending champs:

Overtime found many of the players fatigued, tallying 40+ minutes. Paul George caught more rhythm in overtime taking over for the Pacers, while the Heat struggled to manufacture offense. Chris Bosh's 2nd rebound of the game got him and and-1 put-back that tied the game at 99 with under a minute to play. The next Heat possession found James getting a layup as Indiana took Roy Hibbert out to match up with the smaller Heat. After a inbounds scramble, Wade fouled George on a long three and George knocked down all all of them to give the Pacers a 1 point lead.

Then, it happened. Vogel took Hibbert out again, not sure why, but he did. And LeBron drove straight to the rim past George and scored a layup as time expired. The Heat won the game 103-102 and took Game 1.

Meanwhile, the decision to put Roy Hibbert on the bench in big defensive situations befuddled the other side. Matchups with Chris Bosh aren't ideal for someone like Hibbert, but the question about late-game substitutions by Frank Vogel simply had to pop up in the game recap at Pacers blog Indy Cornrows:

Vogel's decision to force James into a jumper failed when George was in bad position backfired in a big way, leading James towards the basket for the game winning layup. With Hibbert on the bench, it allowed an easy path to the basket instead of using Hibbert's defense to what was assuredly heading towards Chris Bosh to pop up the game winning shot instead.

Vogel played his odds that his defense could stay in front of James and came up snake eyes. His adjustments this postseason have been good enough to rebound from losses (usually anyway), yet there's something demoralizing about giving up Game 1 to the Heat when you have the lead. The Pacers didn't have to win this game, but they failed to seize the opportunities they have and not having this game could easily cost them later on in this series.

Despite the call, Vogel remained optimistic, citing Bosh as the reason he had Hibbert on the bench, also noting, "We'll probably have him in next time."

If Game 1 is any indication, NBA fans have one hell of a series on their hands. Game 2 in Miami is set for Friday night at 8:30 p.m ET.

More from SB Nation:

• NBA mock draft consensus: Noel to Cavs | SB Nation's Big Board

• O'Donnell: The mysterious Rudy Gobert

• Mavs could shop 13th pick

• Flannery: No prize is guaranteed for Cavs

Lakers GM denies Dwight Howard complained about Mike D'Antoni

2013-05-23T13:52:55Z

Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak probably didn't expect to conduct exit interviews so early in the postseason, but even after a subpar season L.A.'s GM is still publicly stepping up to defend soon-to-be free agent Dwight Howard and embattled head coach Mike D'Antoni. A rumor has surfaced that Howard spent a portion of his exit interview complaining about D'Antoni, but Kupchak unequivocally refuted the report when speaking with Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, saying:

"Criticism of a coach did not come up. Our coach did not come up."

...

"Everybody felt the season didn't go the way they wanted. They all felt there are ways to utilize their talent better going forward. That would include Dwight."

For more on Howard and the Lakers, visit: Silver Screen and Roll

When Howard hits free agency this summer the Lakers can offer him more years and more money on his next contract than any other team, which is part of the reason why Kupchak is still "optimistic" about Dwight signing with L.A. The refutation of the report fights the perception that the Lakers' front office will have a decision dictated to them by a player with regards to the coaching situation, and it helps to protect everyone involved. In other words, a firm denial was probably Kupchak's best move under the circumstances.

Medina's report suggests that Howard is considering the Lakers, Mavericks, Rockets, Hawks and Warriors as potential landing spots and that he's looking for "the best chance to win championships" with the team with the "best system around him." All Kupchak and the Lakers can do now is wait for a decision:

"The sooner he makes his mind up, the better for everybody," Kupchak said. "But I told him when he first got here, 'I'm not going to bug you. I believe this is the place for you. When you make your mind up, let me know.' "

The Lakers can't officially sign Howard until July 10, so expect the rumors and whispers trying to peg his intentions to continue for at least another month.

More from SB Nation:

• NBA mock draft consensus: Noel to Cavs | SB Nation's Big Board

• O'Donnell: The mysterious Rudy Gobert

• Mavs could shop 13th pick

• Flannery: No prize is guaranteed for Cavs

Byron Scott, Brian Shaw to be Clippers coach candidates, according to report

2013-05-23T13:13:48Z

The Los Angeles Clippers have elected to let go Vinny Del Negro, and although the team hasn't officially talked to anyone about the job yet, an initial list of coaching candidates has emerged. The "top candidates" for the Clippers job are former Cavaliers coach Byron Scott, Warriors assistant Mike Malone and Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer, according to Broderick Turner of the L.A. Times. Pacers assistant coach Brian Shaw, former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy and former Suns coach Alvin Gentry are also reportedly candidates to be the next head man in L.A.

The team is expected to have a coach in place before the 2013 NBA Draft on June 27.

For more on L.A.'s coaching search, visit Clips Nation

The Clippers will be looking to re-sign Chris Paul this summer, and Scott has worked with Paul in the past during his time in New Orleans. That doesn't necessarily mean he will have an advantage in the interview process, however. The team apparently hasn't talked to any of the candidates yet, and they are just starting the search process. Team owner Donald Sterling popped up in San Antonio before the Del Negro decision was official for a playoff game to watch Budenholzer and the Spurs take on Lionel Hollins (also a potential candidate) and the Memphis Grizzlies.

For a breakdown of every top candidate in the search, head over to Clips Nation and check out a preliminary look at the field.

More from SB Nation:

• NBA mock draft consensus: Noel to Cavs | SB Nation's Big Board

• O'Donnell: The mysterious Rudy Gobert

• Mavs could shop 13th pick