Putting aside the aforementioned 3-0 hole that the Lakers face against Denver in the Western Conference finals — if you can — let’s make this clear: League sources continue to say that L.A. is determined to retain Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura in free agency.
Source: Marc Stein @ marcstein.substack.com
David Hardisty: Jalen Green on James Harden possibly returning to Houston: “I think it could play both ways. It could help and hurt at the same time. I haven’t really talked to (James) too much about the rumors.”
Source: Twitter @clutchfans
Gary Washburn: Malcolm Brogdon: “We still believe we’re the better team. Now we have to prove it.” #Celtics #Heat.
Source: Twitter @GwashburnGlobe
David Hardisty: Jalen Green said he thought he was going to go to Detroit with the #1 pick. “I went to Detroit and I killed the workout… They were all confused. I had them scrambling.”
Source: Twitter @clutchfans
Ira Winderman: Spoelstra on Tyler Herro’s rehab from his broken hand, “I think to be more responsible, I’ll give you a more definitive update tomorrow. But, yes, he’s making progress. But that’s it. There’s no timeline, still.”
Source: Twitter @IraHeatBeat
Adrian Wojnarowski: ESPN Sources: The Bucks are narrowing group of top candidates in franchise’s head coaching search: Nick Nurse, Golden State assistant Kenny Atkinson and Toronto assistant Adrian Griffin. These coaches will be part of final conversations with Milwaukee leadership this week.
Source: Twitter @wojespn
Tim Reynolds: Kevin Love is TBD for tomorrow with a lower left leg muscle strain.
Source: Twitter @ByTimReynolds
NBA: “Carmelo Anthony is one of the NBA’s all-time great players and ambassadors. We congratulate him on a remarkable 19-year career and look forward to seeing him in the Hall of Fame.” – Adam Silver
Source: Twitter
Marc Stein: Atlanta is closing in on the addition of Igor Kokoškov to Quin Snyder’s coaching staff, league sources say. Kokoškov worked under Snyder in Utah before becoming Suns head coach. He worked in Brooklyn and Dallas the past two seasons. More NBA from me: marcstein.substack.com
The Miami Heat are one win away from the 2023 NBA Finals after blowing out the Boston Celtics 128-102 in Game 3.
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The Houston Rockets appear poised to end their rebuild after three consecutive seasons at the bottom of the standings. Since trading James Harden, they’ve been focused on accumulating draft picks and developing their young players. Now it seems like a reunion with Harden is near as they look to sign him with their cap space for a playoff push.
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The outcome of the Western Conference finals could force the Los Angeles Lakers to rethink their offseason priorities. When it comes to Austin Reaves, though, they may have little appetite to disrupt the status quo. “There’s no way they’re letting him walk,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported at the 21:31 mark of his Hoop Collective podcast Sunday. “Because they absolutely had egg dripping from their chin on letting Alex Caruso walk. And Reaves, let’s just be honest, he’s their third-best player.”
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More than one NBA source said they expect Dallas to be a likely destination for Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton. Dončić and Ayton share an agent (Bill Duffy of WME Sports) and are said to have a good relationship. “The Suns need depth. I can see them getting Tim Hardaway Jr., JaVale [McGee] back, Josh Green and No. 10,” another source said. “Phoenix would probably flip the pick to another team for depth, or maybe it’d be a big multi-team deal.”
Source: Eric Pincus @ Bleacher Report
But the odds prevailed, and the team got a critical piece to help give Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving badly needed depth, whether in the draft itself or via trade. Yes, Dončić and Irving both—at least as multiple competing sources indicated at the NBA’s draft combine in Chicago. “I hear they had a handshake deal before the trade [with the Brooklyn Nets],” one source said. “And Kyrie wouldn’t have said yes to anything less than the max.”
Source: Eric Pincus @ Bleacher Report
Brady Hawk: Caleb Martin asked about coming back from last year: “We got the matchup we wanted. We got to see the team that took us out last year.”
Source: Twitter @BradyHawk305
Souichi Terada: Jaylen Brown: “It’s an obvious letdown. We felt like we let our fan base, our organization down. We let ourselves down. It’s collective. We can keep pointing fingers. But in reality, it’s just embarrassing.”
Source: Twitter @SouichiTerada
Barry Jackson: Per TNT’s @Allie LaForce, the brace has been removed from Tyler Herro’s surgically repaired right hand but he has not been cleared to do any shooting with that hand.
Source: Twitter @flasportsbuzz
Chris Haynes: Lakers coach Darvin Ham tells @NBAonTNT he expects center Mo Bamba (ankle) to be available for Game 4 vs. Nuggets on Monday.
Source: Twitter @ChrisBHaynes