LDN - Sports

NBA notebook: Hornets reportedly offer Kupchak GM job

[April 03, 2018] The Charlotte Hornets have offered Mitch Kupchak their general manager position, the New York Times' Marc Stein reported Monday morning.

Starting in 1986, Kupchak worked in the Los Angeles Lakers' front office under Hall of Fame player and then-Lakers general manager Jerry West. Kupchak gained the powers of a traditional GM in 2000 upon West's departure and ultimately oversaw five championship teams. The Lakers fired Kupchak in February 2017 amid a front-office shakeup.

In February 2018, the Hornets announced they were parting ways with GM Rich Cho at the end of the season. The club made the playoffs two seasons ago but won 36 games last season and is on pace to win the same number of games this season.

--Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward has taken yet another step forward in his recovery from a fractured ankle sustained in the season opener, but coach Brad Stevens maintains that Hayward will but out the rest of this season and the postseason.

Hayward has begun light on-court jogging. The Players' Tribune shared a video of the 28-year-old as he made his way down the court alongside trainer Jason Smeathers at Boston's practice facility. Hayward also tweeted the video, noting it was his first time running without assistance.

"I saw that video. It's pretty slow running," Stevens said. "I was up there watching it the other morning when they (filmed) that. The next step of his progression is once every three days he gets on the court and does that. So as you can see it was about 20 percent speed, nothing lateral, no jumping. So a long, long way away."

--Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said the team is "moving on" from Hassan Whiteside's rant about his playing time, which the center said he regrets.

Whiteside played just 20 minutes against the Brooklyn Nets in a 110-109 loss Saturday and was not on the court at all during the fourth quarter or overtime. He voiced his displeasure toward the team's late-game strategy with an expletive-filled rant to reporters afterward, in which he said, "We've got one of the best centers in the league. Why are we matching up?"

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"I talked to him," Spoelstra told reporters. "We're moving on. It's behind us. You can tell right now by the mood of the gym that's long gone."

--LeBron James' multimedia platform "Uninterrupted" would like a word with the Alabama Crimson Tide.

His company sent a letter to the school over copyright concerns with a new show that Alabama's official Twitter account released a preview of last week, according to ESPN. "Shop Talk," featuring former Tide star wide receiver Julio Jones, too closely resembles a show James has already done on his platform, the letter contends.

"Your continued exploitation of 'Shop Talk' infringes 'Uninterrupted's' copyright, trademark rights and other valuable intellectual property rights in 'The Shop' and significantly damages 'Uninterrupted's' commercial prospects for 'The Shop,'" an excerpt from the letter reads, per ESPN.

--Philadelphia 76ers forward Dario Saric won't play against the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday because of cellulitis in his right elbow, the Sixers announced.

Saric was receiving treatment intravenously on Monday and will be re-evaluated on Tuesday.

Saric got cellulitis as the result of a cut sustained diving for a loose ball last Wednesday against the New York Knicks, according to ESPN. The 23-year-old missed the team's game Sunday as the elbow got infected over the course of a few days.

--Field Level Media

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