HoopsHype.com Rumors

Eric Koreen: To review, defensive player of year voted third best centre in league. (DPOY voted on by media; this by head coaches) Twitter @ekoreen

Memphis Grizzlies, Marc Gasol 

Memphis Grizzlies assistant Barry Hecker has left the team during the Western Conference semifinals for what coach Lionel Hollins says is a "personal matter." Hollins said after the Monday morning shootaround that Hecker's departure is "nothing that's public consumption." ESPN.com

Memphis Grizzlies, Coaching, Lionel Hollins, Barry Hecker 

Team officials say only that Hecker is "no longer" with the Grizzlies. Hecker had been on Hollins' staff in Memphis the past five seasons. Hecker also has worked as a scout, player personnel director and assistant coach for the Clippers and Cavaliers. ESPN.com

Memphis Grizzlies, Coaching, Barry Hecker 

Chris Roberts: “I’m getting better every year. I wasn’t on the NBA prospect call-up list and then this year I moved up to No. 12. I was close to a call-up this year with Memphis, but they took the other guy. I feel like I have options now.” pjstar.com

Memphis Grizzlies, Chris Roberts 

“I’ve said it before, when a guy has the ball and has to score like that it takes energy, and the more you make him work, that’s the best you can do,” Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said. “You can’t stop Kevin Durant, he’s a great player, but he played 45, 46 minutes and he’s asked to carry a huge load for them. As the game goes on other people for them, they start taking the load away from him a little bit, but I don’t think that we can stop him. I’m not attributing it to us.” NBA.com

Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant, Lionel Hollins 

"We have to get him confidence," Durant said of Ibaka. "We have to get him some shots and get him going. We can't let him put too much pressure on himself. It's all in his mind. If he thinks he's going to make those shots, he's going to make them. "He missed a few blocks, a few layups and a few open jump shots. I have to pick him up, and that's what I've been doing." ESPN.com

Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant 

The foundation was formed more than a decade ago, when Gasol’s entire family — Agusti, Marisa and their three boys, Pau, Marc and Adria — relocated to a three-bedroom apartment in nearby Germantown. Pau, gainfully employed, got his own room. Marc and Adria had to share one. “It felt like home,” Marc Gasol said. At Lausanne, Gasol developed a feel for the game while dominating lesser competition. The school was not a member of a strong conference. Van Hoozer recalled games that were played in cafeterias with linoleum floors. As a senior, Gasol averaged 26 points, 13 rebounds, 6 blocked shots and 5 assists. “I was just having fun because everybody was so much shorter than me,” Gasol said. “Honestly, my stats in high school were ridiculous. They made no sense.” New York Times

Memphis Grizzlies, Marc Gasol 

The team was a motley crew. Several players were from Europe. Others came from tough parts of Memphis. There was an unusual chemistry at work. Jerry West, a basketball legend who was then the general manager of the Grizzlies, made regular appearances at practice to watch his son Jonnie. He liked to be involved. “He was very respectful of the coaches,” Van Hoozer said. “He would say, ‘Coach Peters, would you mind if I stopped practice?’ ‘No, Mr. West. Go right ahead.’ And then he would huddle the kids up. Sometimes, he’d really get on them. The whole thing was kind of surreal.” New York Times

Memphis Grizzlies, Jerry West, Marc Gasol 

Hollins said he's confident in his status because Grizzlies management recently told him they wanted him back. "The only conversations we've had is they said they wanted me back," Hollins told ESPN. "After we lost the first two games to the Clippers, we had a friendly conversation about the series and how they just wanted me personally to know that regardless of what's being said out there, this is how they felt. "That was great." ESPN.com

Memphis Grizzlies, Coaching, Lionel Hollins 

Memphis Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins has no contractual obligation to the franchise beyond this season, but he is hopeful he'll get to keep coaching what he's helped build here. "There's no question," Hollins told ESPN when asked if he hoped to be back with the Grizzlies after the season. "When you build something you want to see it through to the fruition of it all. "Hopefully we'll win a championship at the end of the year. But that would just be a starting point. Then you want to be a perennial championship contender." ESPN.com

Memphis Grizzlies, Coaching, Lionel Hollins 

Chris Broussard: Lionel Hollins will be highly coveted if Memphis doesn't re-sign him as coach after season. Nets 1 team that will b interested, source says Twitter @Chris_Broussard

Memphis Grizzlies, Brooklyn Nets, Coaching, Lionel Hollins 

Eli Savoie: Tony Allen says Mike Conley is one of the top 5 point guards in the league Twitter @Eli560

Memphis Grizzlies, Tony Allen, Mike Conley 

Royce Young: Tony Allen: "We're going to have to scout Derek Fisher more and see where he was killing us." Twitter @dailythunder

Memphis Grizzlies, Brooklyn Nets, Derek Fisher, Tony Allen 

Jeff Caplan: Tony Allen on Steph Curry: "He’s not a point guard. He’s a shooting guard. He’s just in a point guard’s body." Twitter @Caplan_NBA

Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies, Tony Allen, Stephen Curry 

Royce Young: Hollins was asked why he didn't use Tony Allen on KD, like in years past: "That's a few years ago ... Durant's a few years older." Twitter @dailythunder

Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant, Tony Allen 

Evans Clinchy: Mike Conley's take on the lack of an OKC timeout in the final seconds: "When you've got KD, I don't think it really matters." Twitter @evansclinchy

Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant, Mike Conley 

The Cavs can be as much as $18 million under the salary cap on July 1. A couple free-agent signings could go a long way in reshaping their rebuilding project. They appear to have some interest in Memphis shooting guard Tony Allen, an unrestricted free agent. News-Herald

Cleveland Cavaliers, Memphis Grizzlies, Free Agency, Tony Allen 

Darnell Mayberry: Tayshaun Prince will start on Durant. Tony Allen will start on Thabo Sefolosha. But Allen expects to be on all OKC's perimeter players. Twitter @DarnellMayberry

Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant, Tony Allen, Tayshaun Prince, Thabo Sefolosha 

Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins' contract is also expiring. It would be a monumental mistake for the front office of Jason Levien and Stu Nash, both former agents, to allow him to walk. Talk is that he is far too outspoken for their tastes — something also whispered about Scott in Cleveland. Hollins would be out of work less than a week. News-Herald

Memphis Grizzlies, Coaching, Lionel Hollins 

Whoever runs the Memphis Grizzlies’ Instagram account has a wicked sense of humor. The sixth and final game of their playoff series with the Los Angeles Clippers was a rough affair, with Blake Griffin and Zach Randolph getting on the floor at one point. The Grizzlies, a team known for their self-proclaimed “grit-and-grind” style, owned this, posting a picture of Blake getting knocked around by a few Memphis players with the caption “WHOOP THAT CLIP.” As chants go, it’s more creative than “Honey Nut Cheerios.” For The Win

Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Blake Griffin