Mike D’Antoni breaks silence on New York Knicks exit: ‘An obstacle had to be removed’ (Ball Don't Lie)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 12:40:18 PDT)
Mike D'Antoni has maintained a pretty low profile since resigning from the post of head coach of the New York Knicks two months ago, on the heels of a six-game losing streak, the day before the NBA's trading deadline. While everyone else talked — about where the Knicks would turn next in their ceaseless search for a savior , about how the refusal to look inward for solutions has poisoned the Knicks' organizational culture , about whether D'Antoni really stepped down or a certain isolation-loving forward who never seemed at peace with the coach's spread pick-and-roll, ball-movement-dependent system demanded his ouster, etc. — D'Antoni just exited stage left, watched as the Knicks ripped off an 18-6 run under interim head coach Mike Woodson before being eliminated in the first round of the NBA playoffs by the Miami Heat, and kept quiet. Until now. D'Antoni recently sat down for a wide-ranging interview with legendary basketball scribe Jack McCallum of Sports Illustrated. McCallum spent a season in the coach's hip pocket while writing a pretty cool book about how D'Antoni was evolving the modern conception of NBA offense with the Phoenix Suns. In the resultant piece, D'Antoni shoots down rumors that he's interested in leading the Orlando Magic ("When I saw those stories, I immediately texted Stan [Van Gundy, the Magic coach] and told him it was bull----"), bristles over McCallum's description of his exit ("Could you use the word 'resign?' It hurts when I even hear the word 'quit'") and recalls his wife Laurel's response when he told her he was resigning ("She told me I should stop at the store on my way home because we were out of milk"). [Adrian Wojnarowski: LeBron James delivers for Heat at the most critical time ] And, of course, he addressed the elephant in the room — what role that iso-loving forward played in the process:

Lakers Top-5 Playoff Blowouts Losses in the Kobe-era: Fan's Analysis (Yahoo! Contributor Network)
(Wed, 16 May 2012 14:37:00 PDT)
As painful as the Los Angeles Lakers embarrassing blowout 119-90 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder was Monday night for Lakers fans like me, it has actually been worse before.

Tim Duncan goes old school on Clippers in Spurs' Game 1 victory
(Wed, 16 May 2012 01:05:34 PDT)
Blake Griffin got a lesson on how to play power forward in the playoffs from San Antonio's anchor.

Chris Paul is the L.A. Clippers' savior -- but there have been others in the NBA (RealClearSports.com)
(Tue, 15 May 2012 13:48:50 PDT)
Chris Paul joins a list of players who turned struggling franchises around.

Nash, Rivers, Bucks win PBWA awards (The Associated Press)
(Mon, 14 May 2012 17:12:39 PDT)
NEW YORK (AP) Phoenix All-Star Steve Nash and Boston coach Doc Rivers have won awards from the Professional Basketball Writers Association for excellence in their field combined with cooperation with media and fans.

Should Jeremy Lin Stay In New York? Yes, But *Not* With The Knicks (Forbes)
(Mon, 14 May 2012 10:51:47 PDT)
Now that one of the more remarkable NBA debut seasons in recent memory has come to a close, New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin is facing a major decision: Should he re-sign with the Knicks, who have given him less than a resounding vote of confidence, or should he [...]

Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro gains credibility with Game 7 win over Grizzlies
(Sun, 13 May 2012 22:18:24 PDT)
The Clippers' first-round victory over the Grizzlies shows Vinny Del Negro could have some staying power in L.A.

LeBron James wins 2012 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award (NBA)
(Sat, 12 May 2012 13:41:53 PDT)
LeBron James wins 2012 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award

NBA MVP Award Winners (NBA)
(Sat, 12 May 2012 11:08:00 PDT)
NBA MVP Award Winners

Nuggets-Lakers Preview (The Associated Press)
(Fri, 11 May 2012 17:51:49 PDT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) Although George Karl has spent nearly a quarter-century on NBA benches, the Denver coach can't beat down the butterflies when he thinks about the Nuggets' next game.

Karl can't wait for Nuggets' Game 7 vs. Lakers (The Associated Press)
(Fri, 11 May 2012 17:48:25 PDT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) Although George Karl has spent nearly a quarter-century on NBA benches, the Denver coach can't beat down the butterflies when he thinks about the Nuggets' next game.

If experience matters, Heat have an edge on Pacers (The Associated Press)
(Fri, 11 May 2012 14:16:13 PDT)
MIAMI (AP) Combined, the players in the current Indiana starting lineup have a total of 90 playoff games between them.

Lin, Woodson futures head Knicks' offseason list (The Associated Press)
(Thu, 10 May 2012 15:16:59 PDT)
GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) Mike Woodson wants to return and he wants Jeremy Lin back with him.

The New York Knicks? Gone till November (Ball Don't Lie)
(Thu, 10 May 2012 11:00:48 PDT)
Let's start with what we know: The 2011-12 edition of the New York Knicks was the best team the franchise has put on the floor in 12 years. You can argue that a fact like that doesn't say a whole hell of a lot, given the dilapidated decade the Knicks turned in to kick off the 21st century, but that doesn't mean it ain't true. This year's 36-30 record, .545 winning percentage and 101 defensive rating (which estimates how many points you allow per 100 possessions) were not only better than last year's model, but also better than anything the Knicks have managed since the 2000-01 season, Jeff Van Gundy's last full year of stalking Madison Square Garden's sidelines. They had the league's fifth-most-efficient defense, thanks to Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler, its seventh-best point differential and the NBA's eighth-best expected win total based on Pythagorean winning percentage (basically, a measurement of how well you scored versus how well you defended, intended to show how lucky or unlucky you got in the final analysis). This team — this often-maddening, at-times thrilling, ceaselessly rambling wreck of a seventh seed — was not half-bad. The problem, of course, is that "better than before" and "not half-bad" don't equate to championship contention, a fact that has and will continue to depress the many, many Knicks fans still stinging from a second straight first-round exit at the hands of a better team with better stars. On some level, that's OK; it's understandable that fans want to see their squad compete for championships after suffering through such a disastrous spell and watching the team bring in marquee names expected to do big things. But on another level, it's just not realistic, given the construction of New York's roster, the state of the conference and the assets at the Knicks' disposal going forward. Next year's team might be better than this year's, but Knicks fans heading into the offseason expecting a tectonic shift in the team's complexion and prospects will likely be sorely disappointed.

Nash named GM of Team Canada
(Tue, 08 May 2012 16:36:01 PDT)
Two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns was named general manager of Canada's national basketball team on Tuesday, replacing Leo Rautins who resigned in September.

Steve Nash is the general manager of Canada Basketball (Ball Don't Lie)
(Tue, 08 May 2012 16:16:59 PDT)
The NBA's international superstars are usually identified as different-looking people with unpopular haircuts and thick accents. Take one look and hear one sentence from Dirk Nowitzki, Yao Ming and Pau Gasol, and it's clear none of them were born in the United States of America. Yet there are other, less obvious foreign players in the league: those who hail from the mystical land of Canada, where a wise moose acts as spiritual leader and Wayne Gretzky is allowed to make up laws as he pleases. Among the NBA's Canadians, Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash stands out as the most famous and best player. Now, after retiring from the national team and as he nears the end of his NBA career, Nash will serve as general manager of Canada Basketball, the nation's basketball organization. Here's a great report from our colleague Neate Sager at The Eh Game :

Steve Nash hired as Canada's GM (The Associated Press)
(Tue, 08 May 2012 14:23:54 PDT)
TORONTO (AP) Steve Nash has dreamed of managing the Canadian men's basketball team since he was a young point guard running its offense.

Nash hired as GM of Canada's national hoops team (The Associated Press)
(Tue, 08 May 2012 09:36:04 PDT)
TORONTO (AP) Steve Nash has been selected general manager of Canada's national basketball program.

Bruising OT win gives Clippers a 3-1 series lead over Grizzlies (The SportsXchange)
(Tue, 08 May 2012 00:20:09 PDT)
LOS ANGELES -- The story throughout the first-round Western Conference playoff matchup between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Los Angeles Clippers has been the Clippers trying to match the Grizzlies' physicality.

Clippers 101, Grizzlies 97 (OT) (The SportsXchange)
(Mon, 07 May 2012 23:20:23 PDT)
LOS ANGELES -- The story throughout the first-round Western Conference playoff matchup between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Los Angeles Clippers has been the Clippers trying to match the Grizzlies' physicality.

Nuggets' big men come up big, beat Lakers 99-84 (The Associated Press)
(Sat, 05 May 2012 02:49:14 PDT)
DENVER (AP) The Denver Nuggets swore if they could just play with a lead, this first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers would be a whole lot different.

Lawson scores 25 as Nuggets beat Lakers 99-84 (The Associated Press)
(Fri, 04 May 2012 23:40:38 PDT)
DENVER (AP) The Denver Nuggets climbed back into their series with the Lakers thanks to an energy and enthusiasm that was missing from the first two games in Los Angeles.

Knicks must lure Phil Jackson with trail of cash
(Thu, 03 May 2012 23:10:15 PDT)
The Knicks struck out on LeBron James, and the only man who might be able to save them now is the NBA's greatest coach.

Jason Kidd may retire this offseason if teams don’t bring the big cash, reports SI (Ball Don't Lie)
(Thu, 03 May 2012 12:00:53 PDT)
Has anyone noticed how weird Jason Kidd's game has gotten recently? Not "bad" or "ineffective," just "weird." He'll pace that Dallas offense without picking up the same sort of ball-dominating stats he used to, but he still seems absolutely in control of things even if he's just relegated to making the lead pass, or penetrating enough to start a wave of extra passes. And even though his Mavs are down 0-2 in their playoff series (and title defense) to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Kidd still seems like a game-changer of the highest order. He's also a free agent this summer. A free agent of the highest order, in Kidd's estimation, who will probably play his last game as a Dallas Maverick whenever the Mavs play their last game — sometime later this week, or in late June. And according to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix, if teams don't come correct with their free-agent cash, Kidd just might call it a day. Here's Chris' tweet, from Wednesday night :

The Phoenix Suns want to make ‘the right choices,’ which could mean letting Steve Nash walk (Ball Don't Lie)
(Thu, 03 May 2012 11:05:17 PDT)
Shortly after this season's trade deadline, but before his Phoenix Suns were eliminated from playoff contention, Steve Nash did a strange media tour of sorts (including podcasts and radio interviews) to sort of explain away why the two-time MVP didn't push for a trade to a surefire contender at the deadline. To summarize, Nash pointed out that he enjoyed playing in Phoenix, and for a Suns team he's been employed with for 10 out of his 16 NBA seasons. And without explicitly pointing to the Suns' league-high $23 million in cap space this summer, he said he would give the team every chance it could to upgrade and re-sign the point guard this offseason, when he becomes a free agent. Now, we don't know if this is just throwing off the scent to ease Suns fans into a Bobcats-styled wipeout, or candidly talking about how we shouldn't get our hopes up despite the team's highly expensed intentions, but Suns president Lon Babby recently went on record to warn everyone that the Suns don't have to sign a damn thing this summer. Here's Babby's cold water take, as quoted by the Arizona Republic : "There's a distinct possibility that we don't use our cap room this summer," Babby said. "We've worked hard to put ourselves in this position to have this kind of flexibility, to have a range of opportunities, but I'm absolutely determined that we are going to be disciplined in how we approach this because we cannot get ourselves right back in the same spot we were in by doing bad contracts, not assessing value properly, not making the right choices in terms of personnel."