NBA | Cousins, Thomas benched in Kings loss

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DeMarcus Cousins was benched for the entire second and fourth quarters on Wednesday, although coach Keith Smart didn't provide much of reason for it, other than that he liked how the bench (mainly Patrick Patterson) was playing tonight.

Cousins finished with just five points, four rebounds, four steals and a block on 2-of-10 shooting, and surely isn't thrilled about the 20 minutes he got tonight. Patrick Patterson played well off the bench with 15 points, eight boards and three 3-pointers in 28 minutes, but we fully expect him to return to obscurity in the next one, while Cousins should bounce back against the Suns on Friday. Isaiah Thomas was also benched for much of this one, in favor of Toney Douglas, as Smart continues to just make us shake our heads in pain.

Mar 7 - 1:44 AM

Tony Parker's 18 assists give Spurs 2-0 lead

Tony Parker hit just 6-of-20 shots, one 3-pointer and 2-of-4 free throws, but finished with 15 points, five rebounds, a career-high 18 assists, three steals and just two turnovers as the Spurs held off the Grizzlies 93-89 in overtime to take Game 2 and a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals.

Parker hit 1-of-2 free throws with 14.6 seconds left in OT to put the Grizzlies up by three, followed by a bad Jerryd Bayless miss from downtown. Parker was sensational all night, but the Spurs gave up an 18-point lead before winning in OT. Tim Duncan came through with a huge block, boards and bucket in OT to finish with 17 points, nine boards, two steals and four blocks after sitting out much of the fourth quarter with foul trouble, while Danny Green (11 points, three 3-pointers), Tiago Splitter (14 points, two blocks), and Kawhi Leonard (12 points, nine boards) all played well as every Spurs' starter scored in double figures. Game 3 is in Memphis on Saturday.

May 22 - 12:10 AM

Cavaliers win lottery for No. 1 overall pick

The Cavaliers got some luck in the NBA lottery and will have the No. 1 pick in this year's Draft.

The Magic, who had the best odds at landing No. 1, fell to No. 2, with the Wizards moving all the way up to the No. 3 pick despite having the eighth best odds of doing so. The rest of the lottery is as follows: 4. Charlotte, 5. Phoenix, 6. New Orleans Pelicans, 7. Sacramento, 8. Detroit, 9. Minnesota, 10. Portland, 11. Philadelphia, 12. Oklahoma City (via Toronto), 13. Dallas, 14. Utah. Big man Nerlens Noel is a favorite to be the No. 1 pick and would fit in with the Cavaliers, while Kansas SG Ben McLemore is also a possibility to be taken with the No. 1 pick. It also would not be surprising to see the Cavs move the pick if they can get what they want for it. The latest Rotoworld NBA Mock Draft will be updated early on Wednesday.

May 21 - 8:58 PM

Bobcats will become Hornets for 2014-15

Michael Jordan announced at a press conference on Tuesday that the Bobcats have filed the necessary paper work to become the Hornets starting with the 2014-15 NBA season.

Jordan is catching some heat for not "dressing up" for the press conference, as well as for a lack of former Hornets in attendance. But the good news is that Charlotte is getting its original name back, which is what the fans wanted. That was made possible by the fact the New Orleans Hornets will now be known as the Pelicans, and Jordan can only hope that the name change will bring the Charlotte franchise some much needed mojo going forward.

Source: Mike Persinger on Twitter

May 21 - 6:44 PM

Beal scheduled for another X-ray next week

Bradley Beal is scheduled for another X-ray on his right fibula next week.

He's still not cleared for physical activity and it's taking him much longer to recover from the stress fracture in his right leg than was anticipated. We should have an update next week, after the X-rays are taken.

Source: Sean McCarrick on Twitter

May 21 - 6:38 PM

Vinny Del Negro no longer coaching Clippers

The Clippers have let the contract of head coach Vinny Del Negro expire, meaning he's no longer the coach of the team, according to Yahoo! Sports.

The details have yet to emerge, but there have been rumblings that Del Negro's days were numbered for some time. The latest rumor making waves is that Chris Paul and Dwight Howard will emerge in Atlanta together next season, but that's far from having any substance at this point. The Clippers failed to advance far enough in the playoffs for anyone's liking and "Paul coaches the Clippers" jokes were all the rage this season. Paul will likely have some say in who the next coach will be, while names like Byron Scott, Alvin Gentry, Mike Malone, Stan Van Gundy and Mike Budenholzer are already being listed as possible replacements for Del Negro.

Source: Adrian Wojnarowski on Twitter

May 21 - 2:49 PM

Carmelo Anthony (shoulder) will have MRI

Carmelo Anthony (shoulder) will undergo an MRI exam.

Previously scheduled for Tuesday, the Knicks have clarified the date of the MRI to be "some time soon." Melo wants to rule out any potential structural damage, so the MRI is the first step in doing that. Previously, Anthony has described the shoulder as "stable," but the MRI will give us a much better idea of exactly what he's dealing with and what kind of recovery he'll face.

Source: Jared Zwerling on Twitter

May 21 - 11:19 AM

Stoudemire could have minutes cap next year

GM Glen Grunwald said Amare Stoudemire could have a minutes restriction next season.

It's way too early to determine what the restrictions might be, but the Knicks are focused on keeping STAT healthy and on the court. It appears as if STAT could be headed for another season as a role player with Mike Woodson saying he hasn't made a decision on whether or not he'll start, and Amare planned to talk with Woodson about his role for next year during the offseason. As usual, it's shaping up to be an interesting offseason for the Knicks.

Source: Al Iannazzone on Twitter

May 21 - 11:09 AM

Report: Phil Jackson unlikely fit w/ Raptors

Phil Jackson "was in no rush to embrace Toronto's interest" in bringing him into the front office, according to ESPN's Marc Stein.

We never took reports of Jackson being linked to Toronto seriously, and now you know why. The Raptors would have had to go above and beyond to land Jackson, and it was always a long shot scenario at best.

Source: ESPN

May 21 - 11:04 AM

Andrew Bogut's ankle health remains uncertain

Bob Myers expects Andrew Bogut (ankle) to be 100 percent before next season begins, but he admitted that he "doesn't know what kind of water that statement holds."

In other words, nobody really knows what's going to happen with Bogut's ankle in the offseason. The center admitted he could "hardly move" during Golden State's Game 6 loss to the Spurs, and he's had issues with the ankle ever since undergoing microfracture surgery. It's something that Bogut is likely going to have to deal with for the remainder of his career.

Source: Kyle Bonagura on Twitter

May 21 - 9:03 AM

Report: Scott Skiles frontrunner for Nets job

Scott Skiles is the frontrunner for the vacant Nets head coaching vacancy, according to the Newark Star-Ledger.

The report comes from legendary columnist Dave D'Alessandro, so we're inclined to take this one with some truth behind it. Skiles was reported to be on the Nets radar previously, but D'Alessandro elevates that to deeming Skiles the "frontrunner." After the way his tenure ended in Milwaukee, if Skiles is hired by Brooklyn, we'd expect there to be plenty of questions regarding how he will approach the team.

Source: Newark Star-Ledger

May 21 - 8:55 AM

Stan Van Gundy will not coach next season

Appearing on an Orlando radio show, Stan Van Gundy confirmed that he will not coach next season.

Van Gundy has been linked to several different openings, but he's taken his name out of consideration. It is a family decision, according to Van Gundy. He'll wait for the right opportunity to present itself and will have plenty of teams drooling over him whenever he decides the time is right to re-enter the arena.

Source: David Baumann on Twitter

May 21 - 8:50 AM