HoopsHype.com Rumors

Chris Tomasson: LeBron lauds Durant’s Okla. relief donation: “It’s a tragedy what those people in Oklahoma are going through I think it’s great what KD did" Twitter @christomasson

Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, LeBron James, Kevin Durant 

Vice President Joe Biden called NBA star Kevin Durant to thank the Oklahoma City player for pledging a $1 million donation to the victims of Monday's deadly tornado. "You're not only a great athlete, you're a great humanitarian. On behalf of all of us, thank you for your generosity," the vice president told Durant, according to his official Twitter feed. The Hill

Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant, Joe Biden 

League sources told CBSSports.com that one of the possibilities that Leiweke has identified is teaming Pritchard with Oklahoma City assistant GM Troy Weaver, whose name has been attached to several front-office searches in the past two years. It is unclear whether the Raptors have reached out to the Thunder to ask permission to interview Weaver, though it is highly unlikely that Oklahoma City would grant permission for Weaver to entertain a lateral move. CBSSports.com

Oklahoma City Thunder, Toronto Raptors, Kevin Pritchard, Troy Weaver, Oklahoma City 

Nike stands with Kevin Durant to support the victims of the Oklahoma tornadoes. $1M worth of Nike products will be donated to those affected by the storms, and the profits from Oklahoma City KD V Elites sold on Nike.com between May 23 and June 15 will go towards Oklahoma Relief efforts. Nike.com

Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant, Sneakers, Oklahoma City 

Darnell Mayberry: Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Tim Duncan, Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant have been named to the All-NBA First Team. Twitter @DarnellMayberry

Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Tim Duncan 

Darnell Mayberry: Russell Westbrook, Tony Parker, Carmelo Anthony, Blake Griffin and Marc Gasol made Second Team All-NBA. Twitter @DarnellMayberry

Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Blake Griffin, Carmelo Anthony, Tony Parker, Russell Westbrook, Marc Gasol 

The Pistons coaching search seems like it's dragging on, a small hallmark of the Tom Gores regime, one that wants to thoroughly evaluate every possible candidate, paying no mind to time. But as the Pistons concluded their interview with Oklahoma City assistant Maurice Cheeks Wednesday, their first face-to-face meeting after phone conversations while the Thunder were still in the playoffs, it appears they won't be bringing in any more candidates, a source tells The Detroit News. Detroit News

Detroit Pistons, Oklahoma City Thunder, Maurice Cheeks, Coaching 

As more and more people showed up to donate water and other amenities in relief of Oklahoma's many tornado victims, two special guests stopped by News 9 to offer their support in a big way. David Griffin and Lauren Nelson met with John Hunt of Norman Chrysler Jeep and Dodge and Thunder center Kendrick Perkins as the two donated $100k and $25k, respectively. news9.com

Oklahoma City Thunder, Kendrick Perkins 

Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks ranks third with U.S. retail sales of $40 million for his Jordan Melo M9. Anthony is part of the Jordan Brand roster, which also includes Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook. Forbes.com

Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Carmelo Anthony, Sneakers, Russell Westbrook 

The Thunder finished the season with a 20.7 rating on TNT in its Game 5 loss to Memphis on May 15. The Thunder-Grizzlies series averaged a 21.8 rating, down 23 percent from the Thunder-Lakers series, which averaged 28.3. Local tornado coverage cut into several sports telecasts Sunday. Oklahoman

Oklahoma City Thunder 

If you're like me or my friend Trey Kerby, this photo of Russell Westbrook high-fiving a young victim of the tornado that devastated Oklahoma City and Moore, Okla., on Monday filled your heart to bursting, and also made you want to know a little bit more about the injured Oklahoma City Thunder point guard's new friend. First off: The little guy is Grayson Ketchie. He's 3 years old, he's the big brother of a 6-month-old named Brayden and, based on the company he keeps, appears to be a boss. On Monday afternoon, the brothers were at a day care facility destroyed by the storm; while Brayden came out unscathed, Grayson did sustain some injuries, which landed him in the Children's Hospital at OU Medical Center. Yahoo! Sports

Oklahoma City Thunder, Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City 

Kevin Durant unveiled his completed back tattoo Wednesday on Instagram. The artwork, which took years to complete, has a religious theme, with portraits of Jesus and an angel holding a basketball, along with two hands signaling three and five for Durant’s No. 35 jersey number. There’s also a 58-word bible passage from James 1:2-4. It’s a fitting quote that deals with accepting pressures and working hard to overcome them. But there’s just one problem. Sarah Kogod of The Washington Post noticed that one of the words isn’t spelled correctly. Can you find which one? For The Win

Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant 

Others were simply surprised because they'd assumed Durant was tattoo-free because they'd never seen any; this is also a bit silly, but at least not quite so judgmental. Whatever your reaction to the artistic revelation, it confirmed that — like many of his peers, both within the NBA and outside it — Durant digs ink, setting the stage for new and interesting decorations to come. The self-expression continued a couple of months later, with the Oklahoma City Thunder star getting "Maryland" (his home state) tattooed across his shoulder-blades above a basketball-holding angel flanked by hands gesturing with Durant's number 35. Apparently, though, the piece wasn't complete. This week, Durant used some of his newfound, unexpected free time to get it finished: Yahoo! Sports

Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant 

Pick acquired from Raptors: There is increasing chatter among NBA executives that the Thunder -- with two first- round picks and young talent in Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones on the roster -- will look to make a major move on draft night. If they keep this pick, Saric, a smooth, mobile big man one executive describes as "the best passing big in the draft" is a nice find. Saric isn't the bruising back-to-the-basket scorer that Oklahoma City craves, but he is exactly the kind of high potential talent GM Sam Presti loves to develop. SI.com

Oklahoma City Thunder, Toronto Raptors, Draft, Sam Presti, Perry Jones, Jeremy Lamb 

Marc Stein: OKC Thunder assistant Mo Cheeks, I'm told, will be next to interview for Pistons' head coaching vacancy, which happens Wednesday Twitter @ESPNSteinLine

Oklahoma City Thunder, Maurice Cheeks, Coaching 

So as he watched the horrifying images Monday as a tornado ripped through suburban Moore, the emotions came bubbling to the surface and so did the need to help. Durant pledged $1 million for tornado relief through his family foundation on Tuesday, eager to help a devastated area begin to rebuild. "As the day went on and I saw the footage and the casualties and the houses being blown away, it was tough to see," said Durant, who was in Minneapolis to watch longtime friend Monica Wright play a preseason game for the Minnesota Lynx. "I call Oklahoma City my home. I go through Moore all the time. It's unfortunate. We're going to come together as a city like we always do and we're going to bounce back." ESPN.com

Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City 

Brian Mahoney: Thunder owner Clay Bennett on @Kevin Durant making $1 million donation. "As extraordinary as that number is, it does not surprise me a bit." Twitter @briancmahoney

Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant, Clay Bennett, Oklahoma City 

John Denton: The #Magic are donating $25,000 to the Red Cross to be dedicated toward the relief efforts in Oklahoma City following the deadly tornado. Twitter @JohnDenton555

Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City 

Those who have tuned into the new the past two days, have probably stumbled across the devastation in Oklahoma City as a result of a disastrous tornado. While athletes are not typically not the stars in the disaster relief, this time around there is a huge star and his name is Kevin Durant. Oklahoma City All-Star Kevin Durant privately donated 1 million dollars to the Red Cross in order to assist in the disaster relief. His donation will be put to good use as many residents homes were completed demolished. AthletePromotions

Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant 

Royce Young: The Oklahoma City Thunder are donating $1 million to the Red Cross to aid with tornado disaster relief. Twitter @dailythunder

Oklahoma City Thunder