Layne Murdoch Jr./Getty Images
25. Los Angeles Lakers (25)
Marc Stein of the New York Times reports, “In numerous rival organizations, there is both shock and relief that the Lakers haven’t responded to events of the past week by chasing the likes of Golden State’s Bob Myers, San Antonio’s R.C. Buford and Oklahoma City’s Sam Presti before they go looking for a new coach.”
Stein also opined that owner Jeanie Buss entrusting GM Rob Pelinka with more power over basketball operations “would be the worst mistake of her tenure.”
Smash cut to: Pelinka, with no additional executives around him to replace Magic Johnson, on the hunt for a head coach to replace Luke Walton. Sixers assistant Monty Williams, former Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue and Heat assistant Juwan Howard are candidates, according to Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times.
This doesn’t seem promising.
24. Memphis Grizzlies (21)
The Grizzlies shook it all up last week, firing head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, reassigning former GM Chris Wallace to a scouting role and moving Jason Wexler and Zach Kleiman into more prominent positions within the front office. Throw Rich Cho and Glen Grunwald into the mix as well; both were hired in front office roles on Wednesday.
The overhaul happened fast, and it must have been unexpected for Bickerstaff and Wallace, who held media availability and conducted exit interviews under the impression they’d be back in the same roles next year.
Memphis has a 42.6 percent chance of conveying its top-eight protected pick to the Boston Celtics. Add that to Mike Conley’s potential exit via trade and the search for a new head coach, and you’ve got quite the heap of offseason uncertainty.
23. New Orleans Pelicans (26)
Hope is the currency of the NBA offseason, and rather suddenly, the Pelicans are rolling in it.
New VP of basketball operations David Griffin crushed his introductory presser on Wednesday, expressing optimism in the organization’s direction and confidence in his own upcoming conversations with Anthony Davis and Klutch Sports.
Keeping AD seems unlikely, even with Griffin making the pitch. But at least the Pels have a front-facing executive saying all the right things—one with a history of also doing a lot of them. That’s as much as you can ask for in the first days of a critical offseason.
22. Dallas Mavericks (23)
Dirk Nowitzki‘s retirement was as bittersweet as they come. The NBA will feel a little less fun with him gone. But, without besmirching the legacy of an all-time great, can’t we also consider the possibility that Dallas may benefit from the clarity of purpose his departure provides?
Even as they were building for the future, the Mavs were anchored to the past. Nowitzki deserved everything Dallas did to honor him, but his presence also kept the franchise from completely rebuilding over the last several years. Sure, the Mavericks eventually tanked in each of the past three seasons, but they also began those campaigns with at least some intention to compete for a playoff spot.
Maybe the rebuild can now proceed without the hindrance of giving Nowitzki a shot to play relevant games. That’s not to say Dallas will go full Hinkie Sixers—just that it can organize itself around Luka Doncic, its new star, instead of paying homage to an old one.
21. Minnesota Timberwolves (22)
Tyus Jones set an NBA record for assist-to-turnover ratio this past season, and nobody outside of Minnesota seemed to notice.
It’s easy for nuggets like this to fall through the cracks when a team is pretty obviously lottery-bound by March, but Jones deserves credit for his careful offensive stewardship. He’s not a star, and he may not even profile as a starter going forward, but there’ll always be a role for a point guard who can lead a mistake-free offense.
Once the Wolves figure out who’ll be running the front office, that person will be in charge of Jones’ impending restricted free agency.
from Viral News Show http://bit.ly/2Ix0uN0
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