HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors

New York Knicks forward James White’s agent, William McCandless, told ESPNNewYork.com Tuesday that White will “unlikely” return to the Knicks for the 2013-14 season.

White has a team option for around $1 million next season that the Knicks have to decide on by June 30. If they decline, White will become an unrestricted free agent. McCandless said White will field NBA offers this offseason. McCandless said White values playing time, which happened sporadically for him in New York. He started 16 games in the regular season and averaged 7.6 minutes and 2.2 points per game.

“He’s going to have NBA interest, for sure. I know that,” McCandless said. “More teams like him today than liked him this time last year. More teams feel like he can help.”

However, McCandless said White won’t hesitate to return overseas, where he spent five years (2007-12) before signing with the Knicks for the veteran’s minimum of $854,389. White also has a strong allegiance of fans in Europe.

“China will jump out of its shoes at some point and come running on James,” McCandless said. “We’ve had numerous inquiries by power teams in Europe that can pay into the millions.”

via Ian Begley of ESPN New York

Commissioner David Stern believes he is leaving the NBA in great shape and in great hands in looking back on his nearly 30-year tenure as the league’s boss. Speaking before what will be his final NBA lottery, the 70-year-old Stern admitted Tuesday he has made some mistakes in running the league but noted that not every decision has a happy ending.

“After 30 years as commissioner and 36 years as an NBA employee and 48 years of having worked with the NBA, to turn the reins over to someone who has worked closely with me through the years and to have a seasoned executive like Adam Silver couldn’t make me happier,” Stern said.

Stern has some negatives on his resume including a couple of work stoppages, Seattle’s loss of a franchise and other money-losing ventures.

“Yes, I wish every incident had a happy ending, but there are some unhappy endings and some where one party is happy and another isn’t,” Stern said. “I was thinking about this, there have been plenty of things I wish I had a do-over on.”

Stern said the initial model for the WNBA — NBA teams owned the franchises — was a mistake. He also said the D-League is “chugging” and the league’s decision to open offices internationally was a mistake.

via Associated Press

Say what you want about Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald 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 Vinny Del Negro’s dismissal as the head coach.

“The coach is a wonderful man, and I’m sad about the whole thing,” Sterling said.

Was this done, I asked, just to hang on to 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.”

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?”

via T.J. Simmers of The Los Angeles Times

Phil Jackson says the best job offer he has received recently was to coach the Brooklyn Nets.

But Jackson turned the Nets down and insisted that he is finished coaching during an interview Tuesday with “The Dan Patrick Show.”

“Well, the Brooklyn situation is a good situation,” Jackson said during the interview.

Asked if the Nets also were willing to give him a front-office position, Jackson replied: “No, that was coaching basically. They wanted to know if I was still interested in coaching.”

Jackson laughed when asked if he was only going to coach home games and not travel.

“I didn’t even think about it,” Jackson said.

via Mike Mazzeo of ESPN New York

Syracuse Head Coach Jim Boeheim remains a big fan of New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony and closely follows the superstar NBA player who led his Orange to the 2003 national title.

But after Anthony’s latest ouster from the playoffs, Boeheim is convinced the forward will continue to fall short of a championship if the New York Knicks maintain the core of their current  lineup.

“Not on that team,” Boeheim told the Syracuse Post-Standard over the weekend.

“He can’t do it by himself,” Boeheim told ESPN’s “Mike and Mike in the Morning” on Tuesday. “And by the way, neither has anyone else … Go through the list and history. Every great player had a great player with him that’s won an NBA title. I think you can look pretty closely at that. Do the Knicks, right now, as they’re constituted right now, have a great player with Carmelo? I’m not going to answer that. I’m just going to say that. I believe that he’s good enough to win an NBA championship, but he needs another guy with him. Hopefully he’ll get that opportunity with him some day.”

via Ian Begley of ESPN New York

Nick Gilbert and the Cleveland Cavaliers have beaten the NBA lottery odds again. The Cavaliers won the lottery for the second time in three years Tuesday, giving them the No. 1 pick for the June 27 draft.

Gilbert, owner Dan Gilbert’s bowtie-wearing son, was on stage for another the victory. After he won it in 2011, the Cavs used the pick to take eventual Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving.

The Orlando Magic fell back one spot to No. 2, while the Washington Wizards vaulted from the No. 8 spot to third.

Ten years after winning the lottery that landed them LeBron James, the Cavaliers picked up another opportunity to help speed up the rebuilding process since his departure to Miami in 2010.

The potential No. 1 pick this year, Kentucky freshman Nerlens Noel, is no James. But he could be a nice addition for the Cavs once he’s recovered from a torn ACL — if they keep the pick.

via Associated Press

The Los Angeles Clippers will not offer Vinny Del Negro a new contract to return as coach.

Via Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports

BREAKING: Stan Van Gundy just told us he WILL NOT be a head coach in the NBA next season. It’s a family decision.

Stan Van Gundy also told us he HAS NOT interviewed with any teams, although several teams had contacted him and he keeps telling them no.

via David Baumann via Twitter

Bryan Colangelo is out as the president and general manger of the Toronto Raptors but is being offered another senior management position within the NBA club.

The Raptors have yet to confirm the move, but a source within the organization confirmed that the one-time NBA executive of the year will no longer be calling the shots when it comes to the team’s future direction.

“He’s not the happiest guy,” said the source, who did not want to be identified as the club has yet to officially announce the change.

via Robert Macleod of The Globe And Mail

Carmelo Anthony will have his injured left shoulder re-examined by doctors in the coming days to determine the extent of damage and course of rehabilitation.

“I don’t think it’s any major damage,” Anthony said Monday after meeting with the Knicks’ coaching staff for exit interviews. “But we’ll see. We’ll find that out shortly.”

Anthony first injured his shoulder on April 14 against the Indiana Pacers. He said on Monday that it affected him throughout the postseason.

via Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com

Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan is changing his team’s name to the Hornets, said a person familiar with the situation.

The person said Jordan will detail the timetable for the change to be completed at a news conference the Bobcats have scheduled for Tuesday. The person spoke to The Associated Press Monday on condition of anonymity because the name change has not been publicly announced.

NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver previously said it would take “about 18 months” for the Bobcats to change their name. That means Charlotte could once again become the Hornets by the 2014-15 season.

via The Associated Press

The Los Angeles Lakers do not yet know Dwight Howard’s decision for next season, but the All-Star center made his feelings about Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni known before starting his offseason.

While he hasn’t had anything to say to the press, 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.

According to sources with knowledge of the situation, part of the discussion between Howard and Kupchak centered around Howard’s frustration with D’Antoni — particularly how the center felt marginalized as the coach looked to Bryant and Steve Nash for leadership and suggestions and discounted Howard’s voice.

via Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com

Even as Mike Krzyzewski ruled out a return as coach of the U.S. men’s basketball team, USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo remained patient.

“What I’ve said along is, with what he has contributed to the USA Basketball program and what’s he accomplished and what he means to it, he was entitled to be given the time to make a final decision,” Colangelo told USA TODAY Sports. “Time has worked to our mutual advantage.”

Now, Krzyzewski is close to committing to another three-plus years with the men’s team, which includes the 2014 FIBA World Cup of Basketball in Spain and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

“Within a few days, we’re going to know for sure,” Colangelo said. “It’s pretty evident by some of the things he said – where at one time there was no shot he would return, it’s a long way from that now.”

via Jeff Zillgitt of USA TODAY Sports

Pacers forward David West is expected to play Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals at Miami, despite an injured right leg.

Team doctors held West out of Monday’s practice with what coach Frank Vogel described as a calf strain or lower leg strain. He did shoot around with his teammates after practice ended. Vogel said doctors thought it would be best to give West a day off.

via The Associated Press

Add Marcus Camby only playing 12 seconds against the Pacers to the head-scratching moves Knicks coach Mike Woodson made in the series.

While the Pacers outrebounded the Knicks by 52 over six games, Camby was sitting on the bench pain-free, according to his agent, Richard Kaplan.

“He has been healthy for a while now. I’m not sure why he didn’t play,” Kaplan told ESPNNewYork.com. Camby had been suffering from plantar fasciitis in his left foot down the stretch of the regular season.

via Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com 

With an eye toward expanding his “brand,” Rockets forward Chandler Parsons switched agents to be represented by long-time NBA power agent Dan Fegan.

Parsons, who had been represented by Mark Bartelstein and Priority Sports will not be a free agent for as much as two more seasons, but made the move to be represented by Fegan of Relativity Sports. Fegan has been the agent for many Rockets players from Hakeem Olajuwon to Kevin Martin and represents this summer’s top free agent target, Lakers center Dwight Howard.

Parsons confirmed his decision, initially reported on the Forbes Magazine website. He tweeted a picture from Sunday’s Billboard Music Awards with Matt Davis, an agent with Relativity Sports.

via Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle 

Since the regular season ended just more than a month ago, New Orleans Pelicans backup guard Brian Roberts hasn’t paid much attention to the upcoming NBA draft lottery set for Tuesday night.

But whether the Pelicans pick up the option on Roberts’ contract to retain him could largely depend on where they are slotted for the upcoming June 27 NBA draft.

If the Pelicans draft (Trey) Burke and they already have starter Greivis Vasquez, they could opt not to keep Roberts, especially with Austin Rivers having the ability to play both guard positions. But some of the mock drafts also have Pelicans addressing their need to improve their small forward spot by drafting Georgetown’s Otto Porter or UNLV’s Anthony Bennett if they can land one of the top three draft spots.

“Right now I’m just trying to see how things play out,’’ Roberts said. “I haven’t talked to coach or management about that kind of stuff as of yet. But I’m pretty confident something can be worked out.’’

via John Reid of The Times Picayune