HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors

The Golden State Warriors are close to making a deal to move to San Francisco, a source told ESPN the Magazine’s Ric Bucher on Sunday.

The team wants to make the move and is committed to making it happen, the source said.

San Francisco mayor Ed Lee sent a letter on May 11 saying the city would work with Warriors executives to bring the team to San Francisco in time for the 2017-18 season.

“We are not prepared to make any announcements at this time,” Warriors owner Joe Lacob said in a statement released Sunday.

via ESPN.com News Services

Free agency is 5 1/2 weeks away, but Jeremy Lin’s agent already is setting the groundwork for what could be a complicated negotiation.

Roger Montgomery, in a rare interview, told The Post nothing is assured regarding Lin’s Knicks future, despite interim coach Mike Woodson’s declaration the global phenom — who becomes a restricted free agent on July 1 — would “absolutely’’ return.

When asked if he expects the Knicks negotiation to be cut-and-dried, Montgomery forewarned: “I don’t expect that. We’re not anticipating that’s going to happen. We don’t have assurances of anything. I know history shows most restricted free agents go back to their team, but I’m not going to assume anything. We’re waiting to see what happens.’’

via Marc Berman of the New York Post

Even so, (Chauncey) Billups, who turns 36 in September, said he will play next season.

He said returning to the Clippers is something he would like to do.

“I’m definitely going to give this a huge amount of consideration this summer. I feel like we’ve got some unfinished business a little bit,” Billups said. “You never know what direction the team is going, if they even want me back. I’ve learned not to really assume nothing.

“I don’t know if this is going to be my last time here. But if it is, I had a good time. But if not, I’m looking forward to continuing. I’m definitely going to be back playing next year. For sure and you can believe that. Believe it.”

via Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times

Although next month’s NBA draft is considered to be deep with talent, New Orleans Hornets Coach Monty Williams disagrees. With two lottery picks, the Hornets are slotted fourth and 10th in the May 30 draft lottery and have a 13.7 percent chance of landing the top pick.

“I don’t see this deep draft everybody is talking about,’’ Williams said. “I think there are a few players at the top that are really good that can be good players. But I don’t see any Carmelos or LeBrons.’’

via John Reid of The Times-Picayune

The loss to the Spurs will sting, but shouldn’t linger.

And once they realize the gap separating themselves from the elite teams in the NBA requires some tinkering but not a complete overhaul, they will be better-positioned to make decisions that will help close that gap.

First and foremost, they need to bring (Vinny) Del Negro back for another year. The decision rests in the hands of general manager Neil Olshey and owner Donald Sterling.

The Clippers hold an option on him for next season and they should honor it.

It became blasé to knock Del Negro this year. His lack of experience and his rocky two-year stint in Chicago prior to taking over the Clippers made him an easy target for critics who questioned everything from his rotation to his ability to make adjustments and develop young players.

via Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News

(Chris) Paul had one more chance — one more possession to keep his season alive. He drove again on (Danny) Green, lost his footing and lofted a wild, off-balance 10-footer than grazed the front of the rim. Tony Parker made one of two free throws at the other end, and the Spurs swept their second straight playoff series.

“I messed up,” Paul said. “Bad decisions. Bad decisions. All on me. … To let my team down in that situation is probably the toughest part of the season and something I’ll think about for a while.”

Sitting next to him in the interview room was Blake Griffin, a bandage on his upper lip covering the four stitches he needed at halftime from a shoulder to the mouth — his first taste of the playoffs tinged with blood. Griffin, awarded to the Clippers in the draft lottery two years ago this past weekend, has experienced one season in the NBA without Paul and one season with him. If all goes as planned in Clipperland, they’ll experience many more together.

“The way he plays on the court, that’s a given,” Griffin said. “Everybody sees how good he is. But it’s when he comes and talks to you about a certain situation, when you learn the game through his eyes. He’s in constant communication with all the guys, and that’s the way you get better.”

The Clippers soon will offer Griffin an extension, a subject Griffin said he hasn’t given “an ounce of thought to,” he said. A decision will be made soon on coach Vinny Del Negro, who has a team option for next season.

via Ken Berger of CBS Sports

Bob Boozer was a star in college, an Olympic gold medalist and an 11-year professional who finished his playing career with an NBA championship.

His friends and family remember him more for his humility and service to others.

Boozer died of a brain aneurysm Saturday at an Omaha hospital. Ella Boozer, his wife of 46 years, said Sunday that he had become ill Friday night while visiting friends. He was 75.

“Bob always said that he got everything you could have ever gotten from playing basketball,” she said.

Boozer was the No. 1 pick in the 1959 NBA draft after he earned All-America honors his junior and senior seasons at Kansas State. The 6-foot-8 forward retired after winning the 1971 NBA title with the Milwaukee Bucks.

One of his great joys was playing with Jerry West, Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas on the gold medal-winning 1960 Olympic team. He went on to average 14.8 points and 8.1 rebounds for six professional teams.

Boozer and his teammates on the 1960 Olympic team were inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. The star-studded squad won eight games by an average of 42.4 points, and 10 of the players reached the NBA. Boozer was a reserve who played mostly a defensive role.

via Associated Press

It appeared Sunday the Clippers would extend the Spurs. Blake Griffin needed stitches, and Chris Paul seemed to sew up the rest. The Spurs trailed by five with about five minutes left.

Then, with (Tim) Duncan’s knee holding up, he made two free throws. Found Manu Ginobili on a cut. Tossed in a driving hook over Griffin. Found Tony Parker on a cut. And blocked Paul.

What happened?

“Perseverance,” Duncan said afterward. “We stuck with it. We kept moving the ball and believing what we were doing.”

Parker acted the way Elliott did in 1999. Asked what the sweep meant, he said, “Doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t accomplish anything.”

But what about the 18-game winning streak?

“Don’t think about that,” he said.

via Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express News

Celtics coach Doc Rivers said that Avery Bradley’s shoulder dislocated again during Friday’s Game 4 loss in Philadelphia, at least the third occurrence of the playoffs, and expressed concern about how long the second-year guard can continue to play through the pain.

Bradley did not participate in Sunday’s afternoon workout and is officially a game-time decision for Monday’s Game 5 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series (though the expectation is that he will likely play).

“It came out. It went right back in, which is crazy,” Rivers said of the Game 4 dislocation. “It’s a tough thing, what he’s going through. A lot of players would not be playing.”

via Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade has consistently downplayed how sore his left knee had been in recent weeks and continued after Sunday’s game to say he wouldn’t use any injuries as an excuse for his performance. But multiple sources close to Wade and the team told ESPN.com Sunday night that he required the minor draining procedure on Wednesday before the team’s loss in Game 3.

After having fluid drained from his troublesome left knee last week, Wade had one of the worst playoff games of his career as Miami stumbled into a 2-1 series hole against the Indiana Pacers.

Apparently, all Wade needed were a few days of rest and treatment, a pep talk from his former college coach and another crack at Indiana to get his body and mind on track.

via Michael Wallace of ESPN

Everything changed for the Heat when (Dwyane) Wade started to make his bid for dominance beside (LeBron) James on Sunday.

“When LeBron has that look – and Dwyane has that look – it does so much for everybody else,” (Shane) Battier said. “They can raise everybody else’s level significantly. Just that look. You want to run through a wall. You want to get every loose ball. You want to grab every rebound. That’s what makes them special; their ability to unite and inspire the group.”

These are the days that James is a force of nature, and Wade climbed alongside of him. These were extraordinary performances, but the way that the Pacers hung tough, the way they wouldn’t go away, you wonder if Miami can win without a galaxial performance out of James. He needed everything with him to deliver on Sunday, and rest assured, the Pacers will return to pounding the Heat inside.

via Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports

Among the familiar faces watching the workouts was former Nets forward Cliff Robinson, there to expand his contact list. Robinson is hoping to land a job within the NBA as a scout or assistant. Robinson retired in 2007 after a 19-season career that included time with the Blazers, Suns, Pistons, Warriors and Nets.

via Fred Kerber of the New York Post

They were ridiculously good, but they were ridiculously good because they wanted to be ridiculously good — unlike in Game 3, when (Dwyane) Wade didn’t give a crap. (LeBron) James played better than Wade in Game 3, but he didn’t play like he played Sunday, attacking the rim, waving teammates out of the way so he and Wade could go two-on-five and win this thing by themselves.

I’m talking about force. I’m talking about will. The same things (Eric) Spoelstra was talking about when he said of Wade and James, “They were tremendous tonight with their force and their will.”

After Spoelstra said that, I asked him a question that went something like this: “You mentioned the ‘force’ and ‘will’ LeBron and Wade played with today. Why don’t we see that more often?”

Spoelstra answered my question with one of his own:

“Did you play this game?”

Not in the NBA, no. Neither did Spoelstra. But he did go to college, and he is a smart guy, which means he’s intellectually quick enough to duck my question about the desire of his best two players — specifically Wade, who was listless and apathetic in Game 3 — and turn the spotlight back on the media. Which is fine. Heat fans will love Spoelstra’s response, the way he stuck it to me, and I don’t really mind it. He gave me a story, didn’t he? As if LeBron and Wade didn’t give me one, give all of us one, with their dominant show of force and will.

via Gregg Doyel of CBS Sports

(Gregg) Popovich had plenty of good things to say about Clippers forward Blake Griffin, who’s playing in his first career postseason.

“I don’t see Blake every day, but I do know he’s a committed athlete, tough-minded and has a great work ethic,” Popovich said. “He wants to be great. His basketball skills will someday match his physical skills.”

via Vincent Bonsignore and Jill Painter of the Los Angeles Daily News