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A few items of interest in the news yesterday:
Kings Blog and Q&A: Larry Bird no longer in Kings GM mix
According to reports out of Sacramento, Larry Bird is no longer considering a front office move to lead the Kings under their new ownership group.
Hall of Fame forward Larry Bird, who has discussed the Kings GM vacancy with new owner Vivek Ranadive and was said to be at least mildly intrigued, told team officials that he is no longer interested in the position. Bird sat out the 2012-13 season and is weighing whether to return to the Indiana Pacers - where he has an open invitation to resume his role as the team's top basketball executive - or to extend his sabbatical a second season, both for personal and health reasons.
Not a huge surprise since Bird was reportedly looking for $5 mil/per and a chunk of the team. Every man has his price so Bird was willing to listen. That same issue may be the deciding factor in Bird's potential return to the Fieldhouse.
Brian Shaw is first one up to talk to Clippers about head coach job - latimes.com
Hard to believe the Pacers have been out of the playoffs for more than a week and no team has hired Brian Shaw. Of course, he is just getting around to starting interviews, but still. Shaw opened the interview process for the Los Angeles Clippers yesterday.
Shaw, the associate head coach of the Indiana Pacers, met with the Clippers' front office at the team's facility and left an impression on team President Andy Roeser, vice president of basketball operations Gary Sacks and director of basketball administration Eric Miller during his interview with them, said two NBA executives who were not authorized to speak publicly on the situation.
"I think it went great," one of the executives said about the meeting.
Shaw may have his choice between the Clippers and Brooklyn Nets among other teams. Which job do you think is the best fit for Shaw?
Karl's ouster proves NBA coaches on thinner-than-usual ice, Granger Q & A about future | NBA.com
Among the topics in a David Aldridge's Q&A with Danny Granger was DG's future and the idea he could be traded at any time with the Pacers falling in line behind their young talent. Granger appears to be a peace with the situation with a full understanding of the business he's chosen as a profession.
I've been here my whole career. I look at things objectively, and it's very rare for a player to stay with a team his whole career. It just don't happen. So when the trade talks come, you can say, okay, it's my time to go. I love the organization and I had a great time here [but] we understand it's a business. You get older and you move on. That's just the way it is. There's no hard feelings about it; you don't get your feelings hurt. I take it as a business arrangement, basically.
Of course, the mention of Granger discussing trade options has opened up some speculative rumors which remain flimsy at best. A reported rumor about the Cleveland Cavaliers having interest in dealing for Granger essentially says, the Cavs are interested in Granger but have reservations about his knee injury. So, yeah, the exact same interest as every other team in the NBA. Unless Granger can magically show he's healthy enough to play 70-80 games next season, team's will be gambling on any trade.
More links:
TNT’s Kenny Smith says he has talked to Kings about front office job | ProBasketballTalk
Grizzlies officially announce Lionel Hollins out as coach | The Point Forward - SI.com
Dave Joerger said to be top candidate for Grizzlies job - SBNation.com
Jason Kidd as Next Nets Coach? Not So Fast - NYTimes.com
Hawks, 2 other NBA teams fined for tampering - NBA News | FOX Sports on MSN