HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors

Mayor Kevin Johnson arrived home today and said the group led by Silicon Valley executive Vivek Ranadive was close to finalizing a deal to buy the Sacramento Kings.
“It’s going to be close to being signed in the next day or two,” the mayor said at Sacramento International Airport. “I’ll be surprised if we get past the weekend. I feel very confident about that.”

Ranadive is in talks to buy the Kings from the Maloof family after the NBA on Wednesday rejected the franchise’s proposed move to Seattle. NBA Commissioner David Stern said the league was working to close the deal by the end of the week.

Speaking by phone, Kings co-owner George Maloof said negotiations with Ranadive are “going on fine.”

“These guys are good guys, I have a lot of respect for the people who are trying to buy the team in Sacramento,” Maloof said.

via Ryan Lillis, Dale Kasler and Tony Bizjak of The Sacramento Bee

The Los Angeles Clippers, after following up the first division title in franchise history with a disappointing first-round playoff exit, have not ruled out bringing back coach Vinny Del Negro, according to sources close to the process.

Sources told ESPN.com that there is a level of interest within the organization to extend Del Negro’s contract despite the widespread assumption in league circles that the embattled coach would take the fall for the Clippers’ six-game exit to the Memphis Grizzlies in Round 1.

The final call ultimately rests with Clippers owner Donald Sterling — who is regarded as Del Negro’s biggest backer in the organization — but one source close to the process said Wednesday that team officials were still deliberating and that no decision has been made yet.

via Ramona Shelburne and Marc Stein of ESPN.com

The 76ers have received permission to interview Houston assistant Kelvin Sampson. However, if they are going to talk to him they had better do it quickly as Sampson has already drawn a lot of interests from other teams.

Charlotte and Milwaukee have already interviewed Sampson. Considering that those teams already have started interviewing candidates (as has Detroit as well), it’s safe to say that those teams are probably further along in the process than the Sixers, who finally made some offseason news on Tuesday when they introduced former Houston assistant general manager as president of basketball operations and general manager.

via John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer

The Oklahoma City Thunder lost Wednesday’s elimination game against the Memphis Grizzlies, 88-84. Kevin Durant had 21 points on 5-for-21 shooting and missed a shot in the final seconds that would have tied the game.

It will be very tempting for fans and pundits to blame Durant, to question his ability to get it done in crunch time. However, this isn’t fair to Durant. It isn’t fair to the Grizzlies, who played an excellent series. And it especially isn’t fair to Russell Westbrook.

The loss of Westbrook has forced Durant to play with no consistent help on offense for the first time since the Thunder became a playoff team in 2010. The Durant we saw against Memphis was overworked and overstretched. The man who joined the 50-40-90 club (shooting 50% from the field, 40% from three-point range and 90% from the foul line) during the regular season had splits of 46.1-33.9-81.1 in the nine games the Thunder played without Westbrook.

via Sean Highkin of USA TODAY Sports

Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose was ruled out of the team’s 94-91 loss in Game 5 of an Eastern Conference semifinal against the Miami Heat, meaning he officially missed the entire season after undergoing ACL surgery on May 12, 2012.

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said the team was right to take a cautious approach with its star this season.

“If we were going to make a mistake, we wanted to make the mistake on the side of caution,” Thibodeau said. “We feel good about where he is. He has the whole summer to build more confidence and that’s the important thing. As we said when he first had the surgery, we weren’t going to rush him back, and we held to that. I think it was the smart decision.”

via ESPNChicago.com

Phoenix Suns general manager Ryan McDonough met with interim coach Lindsey Hunter to discuss the franchise’s head-coaching job on Wednesday, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

McDonough and Hunter met in Chicago, where McDonough had arrived with the Suns’ front office staff for the NBA draft combine.

Meeting with Hunter was the first formal sitdown with a candidate that McDonough has had since his hiring earlier in May as the Suns’ general manager.

via Adrian Wojnarowski of YAHOO! Sports

Nate Robinson wants to return to the Chicago Bulls next season but he isn’t sure if the team will have enough cap space to keep him.

“I would love to (come back),” said Robinson, whose Bulls were eliminated by the Miami Heat on Wednesday. “Honestly I really would. But knowing the guys that we have here I know it’s probably limited space for me but we’ll see how it goes. (I’ll) talk to my agent and stuff like that and figure out what’s the best plan for me. God has blessed me this far and continue to play the game that I love. I love this team, I love these guys, and if I could stay here it would be wonderful.”

via Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com

By now, Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade is accustomed to the doubters. He’s heard the criticism over and over. Well, it’s not even criticism. It’s worse with more finality.

Wade has heard often, and especially this week with his bruised and sometimes painful right knee slowing him, that his best days were yesterdays and never again tomorrows.

“I don’t know what it’s going to be from Day One to Day Two,” Wade said. “Only thing I can do is do what I’m doing. If it gets better, I think you guys will know, and if it doesn’t, I’ll continue to go out there and keep doing what I can.”

Wade dealt with a knee injury during last season’s playoffs, and the required offseason surgery. But he played through it last year and delivered what the Heat needed, helping them to a title.

via Jeff Zillgitt of USA TODAY Sports 

One game after scoring 11 points in just shy of 22 minutes, Richard Hamilton delivered 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting Sin 35 minutes.

“I’m not concerned about individuals,” Thibodeau said. “I’m concerned about how our team functions. That’s what I look at.”

Hamilton will be bought out for $1 million this summer and hopes to play two more seasons to reach 15 in his decorated career.

via K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune

Nate McMillan interviewed for the Atlanta Hawks’ coaching job on Wednesday, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Atlanta general manager Danny Ferry is going through the unorthodox process of conducting a coaching search while his current coach, Larry Drew, remains under contract until June 30.

McMillan also is a candidate for the coaching openings with the Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons. He’s already interviewed with those teams.

via Adrian Wojnarowski of YAHOO! Sports