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» Tuesday, May 21 2013

Say what you want about Sterling; it's all true. But whenever I put a question to him he tries to provide an answer. I told him I didn't understand the rationale behind Del Negro's dismissal. "The coach is a wonderful man, and I'm sad about the whole thing," Sterling said. "Was this done," I asked, "just to hang onto Chris Paul?" "I always want to be honest and not say anything that is not true," Sterling said. "So I'd rather not say anything. "But you know, the coach did a really good job. I think he did. And I liked working with him. There are just factors that make life very complicated and very challenging." Los Angeles Times

Do the Clippers really think he would accept almost $28 million less to sign elsewhere? "Here you have two inexperienced people running your basketball operation in [GM] Gary Sacks and [son-in-law] Eric Miller," I told Sterling. "And Andy Roeser doesn't have the greatest track record when it comes to basketball personnel decisions. "So I wonder, is this decision being made because the players are now calling the shots? Am I off base?" "No, you're not off base," Sterling said. "This is a players' league, and, unfortunately, if you want to win you have to make the players happy. Don't you think that's true?" Los Angeles Times

Grunwald stopped sort of guaranteeing the Knicks will re-sign J.R. Smith but said his policy this offseason is not to say specifically they will definitely re-sign a player, probably because of the Jeremy Lin fiasco. Grunwald sounded as if Smith was in the plans. “In general it’s best to maintain continuity,’’ Grunwald said, “with the same core group together. I’m not going to comment on any individual player because we’re not finished with our evaluation. I don’t think you should read that one way or another. I don’t think it would be fair to say , yeah, we really want him back.’’ New York Post

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, which certainly gives Indy justified cause for optimism when it comes to re-signing the 32-year-old this summer. Yet the whispers are already swirling that Chris Paul's Los Angeles Clippers, in particular, are going to make a hard run at West in the offseason. ESPN.com

Indy will certainly have the ability to pay West more to convince its locker-room sage to stay, given that the Clips would presumably have to structure an offer with the $5.15 million midlevel exception available to non-tax teams. But you have to figure that the former Hornet -- who rose to All-Star prominence playing alongside CP3 -- is going to want to hear the details of a proposal pitching a reunion with his old point guard ... as long as Paul himself, of course, has decided to stay. If Paul re-signs with the Clips as most league insiders continue to expect, L.A. will then be seeking to add the final piece or two to cement itself as a contender with some staying power. ESPN.com

Yesterday, though, Copeland said he never has cared about the biggest possible payday. A restricted-free-agent- to-be, Copeland said he cares about being comfortable — and he does not want to sever his Knicks relationship. “I would be lying to you if I said [money] wasn’t a factor, but people don’t know. If you look at my career overseas and stuff, I’ve never chased the highest bidder. I’ve never been that guy,” Copeland said. “I’ve played on teams for multiple years. When I’m comfortable, I usually tend to stay in those situations. “I love it here. The finances play a part, but I have a lot of emotional ties here that it would be harder for me to break.” New York Post

 

» Monday, May 20 2013

While he hasn't had anything to say to the press, Dwight Howard had a lot to say to Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak back before the relative silence, however. Howard was one of several Lakers -- Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol being the most noteworthy -- to have an extended separate meeting with the GM after his exit interview with both Kupchak and D'Antoni, multiple sources confirmed to ESPNLosAngeles.com. ESPN.com

D'Antoni chose not to retain assistant coach Chuck Person, a Howard confidant, on his staff for next season. Also, Lakers assistant coach Steve Clifford, who was with Howard in Orlando for five seasons before both of them came to L.A. last year, has become a hot head coaching candidate, interviewing with Milwaukee and receiving interest from Charlotte. One source described the potential departure of Clifford, coupled with the loss of Person as "removing the buffers," between Howard and D'Antoni, "which is a bad thing." ESPN.com

The pitches he will get after the second leg of this journey, the ones that will likely come from Houston, Dallas and Atlanta, among others (after July 1), will no doubt be very different. And yes, he intends to listen to those pitches, and no, he won't give the Lakers an answer in advance of the beginning of the free-agency period so they can plan accordingly. ESPN.com

 

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