Ian Begley: Funny line from Jared Dudley when he was asked about advantages Nets might have in free agency over Knicks. He says NYK will always get more media attention in NYC. “(Knicks owner James) Dolan could burn down Manhattan and they’re going to talk about the Knicks, let’s be honest.”
Owners Rumors
Brian Lewis: Statement from #Nets ownership. pic.twitter.com/ESONL2P5J0
And it’s clear that West, Ballmer and the others are aiming to land a star. With some amount of caution. “I’ve always said that cap space is fool’s gold,” West said. “There’s probably four or five players out there that people really covet. At the end of the day, only four or five teams are going to sign those players. “We haven’t promised anything here at all. Our owner is absolutely fantastic. Our front office, the people here are fantastic. I love working with them. No one will outwork them or outsmart them. “Does that mean we’re attractive to free agents? I don’t know that. I don’t even like to speculate. I don’t think that’s fair to teams that have these free agent or to the fans of both sides. But would we like to sign a free agent? One hundred percent, we’d like to.”
Lakers not replacing Magic Johnson?
On April 9, Magic Johnson resigned as the Lakers’ president of basketball operations, telling reporters before telling Jeanie Buss or any other member of the organization. Buss has no plans to hire someone to replace Johnson, who is still expected to be part of the Lakers’ free-agent recruiting this summer in some capacity.
Empowered by Buss to run the coaching search, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka met with Tyronn Lue and Monty Williams this week, with plans to interview both again next week. While those second interviews have not been officially scheduled yet, they are expected to include Buss.
Joseph Tsai: My partners and I have spoken and the entire Nets ownership group support our GM Sean Marks for protesting the wrong calls and missed calls. NBA rules are rules and we respect that, but our players and fans expect things to be fair.
If no one knows what’s going on, it’s likely that Jeanie Buss has reached out to Bryant. A source says Kobe’s importance to Jeanie explains why Pelinka, whom Magic gored, remains in place with enhanced powers and no thought of replacing him…. As for any hope Bryant will ride to the rescue, he’s not one to agonize about decisions. If he had any interest in taking over, we would have heard about it by now.
