|
 Coach Doc Rivers added the title of president of basketball
operations, putting him in charge of deciding which players will
make up his roster.
Kevin Eastman, formerly an assistant coach, will be Rivers' deputy
as the vice president of basketball operations.
Dave Wohl, formerly the director of pro scouting, gains the title of
general manager.
Three men were demoted: Gary Sacks, from vice president of
basketball operations to assistant general manager; Gerald Madkins,
from basketball operations director to scouting director; and Jason
Piombetti, from scouting director to assistant scouting director.
The Los Angeles Times reported that former New Jersey Nets and
Detroit Pistons head coach Lawrence Frank is a candidate to become
an assistant coach under Rivers.
---ABC's broadcast of the 2014 NBA Finals on ABC averaged 15,524,000
viewers and a 9.3 U.S. household rating, according to Nielsen.
The San Antonio Spurs' series victory over the Miami Heat in five
games drew more viewers than the 15,120,000 who watched the Heat
defeat the Spurs in the NBA Finals last year. The 2013 finals had a
9.1 rating.
Sunday's series clincher generated 17,881,000 viewers, representing
a 10 percent increase from 16,267,000 in 2013. Viewership peaked
with 22,400,000 viewers in the last half hour of the game.
---Miami center Chris Andersen will decline his $1.45 million player
option for next season and become a free agent on July 1, Yahoo
Sports reported.
Andersen has been an asset for the Heat overall, but his play during
the NBA Finals was subpar. He scored just 2.6 points per game on 25
percent shooting.
[to top of second column] |
---Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki told a Dallas radio
station that he hopes the team goes after New York Knicks forward
Carmelo Anthony, who reportedly intends to become a free agent July
1.
"If Carmelo would really love to come here, we'd love to have him,"
Nowitzki told 105.3 The Fan.
Anthony can opt out of the final year of his contract this summer
and file for free agency. The Knicks want to keep him but he plans
to opt out of his deal, according to reports.
---Latvian forward Kristaps Porzingis withdrew from the 2014 NBA
draft, according to reports.
Porzingis, an athletic 7-footer projected at No. 36 by The Sports
Xchange, was one of the hot names in the draft in recent weeks.
Forward Damien Inglis of France, projected at No. 55 by TSX, changed
his mind -- apparently twice -- and will stay in the draft,
according to reports.
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