QUOTE(kobe8byrant @ Apr 27 2007, 10:24 AM)
dont simply talk f*** and blame astro la,muppet. write down where u find ur sources and dont be a smart ass. if its from astro mag, write down page number and if its from astro website, put the hyperlink.
See wayne! I told u ppl will get really upset! next time dont simply say already!
Astro mag didnt write what match they showing. Astro.com didnt either. The way I found out it was Orlando Magic is thru this method:
1. go to www.astro.com.my and seach for "nba" as programme title.
2. it says there "(Live)Nba Playoffs" at
8 am but didnt state which match.
3. go to
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html and key in
8 am and find out what time is it in that particular state in USA (for example: Florida - Orlando: 8 pm)
4. go to
http://www.nba.com/playoffs2007/series/index.html and see if the time matches. If it match, then thats the show they are showing.
Thats how smart ppl do it wayne! not taking wild guess! As for 2morrow, the match they showing is Heats vs Bulls. Interesting.
All you jabronis, you all should post something informative as shown above.
Not ...
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Lakers Slow Down Suns; Take Game 3Los Angeles 95, Phoenix 89
LOS ANGELES, April 26 (AP) -- The Lakers are back in their series against the Phoenix Suns thanks to another big game from Kobe Bryant and, believe it or not, Kwame Brown.
And Lamar Odom pitched in as well.
After falling behind by 17 points in the first quarter and drawing boos from the home crowd, the Lakers battled back and beat the Suns 95-89 Thursday night to cut Phoenix's lead to 2-1 in the first-round playoff series.
Bryant scored 15 of his 45 points in the fourth quarter, and had six rebounds and six assists. Brown added a career playoff-high 19 points and Odom had 18 points and 16 rebounds. Brown scored a total of 11 points in the first two games.
Amare Stoudemire led the Suns with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Leandro Barbosa scored 20 points, Steve Nash had 10 points and 13 assists and Shawn Marion also scored 10 points for Phoenix.
The Lakers won the game at the foul line, shooting 22-of-28 to Phoenix's 8-of-12. Los Angeles outrebounded the Suns 44-35.
Game 4 will be played Sunday at Staples Center, with the fifth game Wednesday night in Phoenix, where the Suns embarrassed the Lakers 126-98 in Game 2. Bryant scored only 15 points in that game after getting 39 in the opener, although he shot 1-of-10 in the final period of a 95-77 loss.
He was much better in the fourth quarter of this game, shooting 5-of-11 to finish 15-of-26, and added four foul shots in as many attempts.
The odds remain against the Lakers, since only 11 of 193 teams in NBA history have come back from an 0-2 deficit to win a best-of-seven series. But an NBA team has never won a best-of-seven series after losing the first three games, so this was a victory they had to have.
A 3-pointer by Bryant and a basket by Odom gave the Lakers an 83-75 lead with 9:55 to play. The Suns drew within three points before failing to score on three straight possessions. Bryant then drove for a layup with 3:29 to play, making it 89-84.
Two free throws by Stoudemire and a 3-pointer by Barbosa tied the game at 89 with 2:03 left, but the Suns wouldn't score again.
Odom's basket with 1:45 remaining put the Lakers ahead for good, and Bryant added a tough turnaround jumper from the left baseline with 57 seconds to go. He made a pair of foul shots with 20 seconds left to clinch the victory.
The Lakers outscored the Suns 10-4 to start the third quarter for a 58-55 lead - their first of the game. Brown scored nine points and Bryant added seven during a 16-10 spurt to finish the period, putting Los Angeles on top 74-70.
After falling behind 31-14, the Lakers outscored Phoenix 26-11 to draw within two late in second quarter. Bryant scored 13 during the spurt. The Suns led 51-48 at halftime.
The Suns made their first five shots - all jumpers - for a quick 11-0 lead, prompting a timeout from the Lakers and boos from the Staples Center crowd of 18,997.
Stoudemire picked up two fouls in the first 4+ minutes, but the Suns kept hitting from outside, and led 31-17 lead entering the second quarter. Phoenix was 13-of-18 in the first period, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range. Bryant was 4-of-6 and his teammates were 1-of-14. The Suns had 11 assists in the quarter, the Lakers none.
Notes: Brown's previous career playoff high was 17 points in Game 6 of the Suns-Lakers first-round series last spring. ... The Suns are 10-2 in regular-season games against the Lakers during the past three seasons. ... The Lakers are 55-26 overall in best-of-seven series, including 33-9 in the first round. ... The Suns are 2-2 after winning the first two games in a best-of-seven series. Their losses were to the NBA champion Houston Rockets in the 1994 and 1995 Western Conference semifinals, both in seven games. ... Nash has 10 or more assists in 36 playoff games, tying him for seventh in NBA history with Oscar Robertson.
Jazz Find Rhythm With Game 3 Win Over RocketsUtah 81, Houston 67
SALT LAKE CITY, April 26 (AP) -- Carlos Boozer had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and the Utah Jazz held Houston without a field goal for 10 minutes in the second half and beat the Rockets 81-67 on Thursday night in Game 3 of their playoff series.
Deron Williams added 11 points and eight assists, Matt Harpring had 13 points and rookie reserve Paul Millsap scored nine for the Jazz, who didn't allow a point by the Rocket reserves.
Houston leads the series 2-1, with Game 4 set for Saturday night.
Yao Ming had 26 points and 14 rebounds and Tracy McGrady scored 24 points for Houston. Shane Battier, who scored 11, and Rafter Alston's six points were the only other scoring for Houston.
The Rockets won the first two games of the series at home, but were sloppy on the road during the first playoff game in Utah since 2003. Houston had 19 turnovers to Utah's 11 and was just 21-for-64 from the floor (32.8 percent).
The Rockets had another big advantage from the free throw line, but it wasn't nearly enough because they were outplayed everywhere else. Utah's reserves outscored Houston's 33-0 and outrebounded the Rockets' reserves 18-6.
Gordan Giricek had 10 points for Utah.
Mehmet Okur had four blocks and four steals while smothering Yao on defense. Houston's 7-foot-6 All-Star scored 14 points from the line and was flustered all night, even flailing a backhand at Okur in a scramble for a loose ball in the first half.
It was one of many times the Rockets lost their cool against Utah, which also didn't play particularly well offensively but made up for it with defense.
The Rockets didn't have a field goal from Battier's 3-pointer with 5:26 left in the third until McGrady hit from 19 feet out with 7:26 left in the game. The Rockets missed shot after shot and were outplayed by the Jazz for nearly every rebound during the 10-minute stretch.
Juwan Howard appeared like he was going to end Houston's scoring drought when he broke away for a layup. Okur - who is not the fastest member of the Jazz - got back in time to block it. Howard felt he was fouled and remained seated below the basket looking for a call that didn't come.
Houston still had eight more attempts from the line.
The Jazz closed the third quarter with a 7-1 run, then opened the fourth with Giricek's 3-pointer that extended the lead to 64-52. Utah didn't score again for more than 4 minutes, but kept Houston off the board as well and thrilled the home fans with every stop.
Utah was just 2-for-15 from 3-point range, where the Jazz have struggled all series, and missed five of 18 free throws. But defensively, the Jazz easily had their best game of the series.
Notes: McGrady made his first four shots and scored 13 of Houston's 17 points in the first quarter. ... Giricek started a 9-0 run at the end of the first with a 20-foot jumper and added a 3-pointer with 6.8 seconds left to give Utah a 23-17 lead at the end of the first. ... Only nine of Houston's 43 rebounds came on offense.
Pistons Top Magic to Take 3-0 Series LeadDetroit 93, Orlando 77
ORLANDO, Fla., April 26 (AP) -- The Detroit Pistons showed they know how to close out quarters. Now they want to close out another series.
Tayshaun Prince scored 23 points, Chauncey Billups added 21 and the Pistons beat Orlando 93-77 Thursday night to take a 3-0 lead in the first-round playoff series.
The victory ended a postseason trend for the Pistons - they had lost their last six Game 3s when leading 2-0 - and left them one victory from advancing to the second round.
Game 4 is Saturday in Orlando.
Detroit, which has made four straight Eastern Conference finals, gave the Magic plenty of chances in this one. The Pistons trailed early, let Orlando be physical and seemingly got flustered as they were whistled for three technical fouls. Leading scorer Richard Hamilton even had an off night, scoring 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting.
But Detroit made up for it with solid 3-point shooting - Prince, Billups and Rasheed Wallace were a combined 8-of-10 from behind the arc - and strong finishes to each of the first three quarters.
"They hit shots in the course of a game that normal teams don't hit,'' said Jameer Nelson, who led the Magic with 27 points.
The Pistons scored the final six points of the first quarter, tying the game at 23. They made two baskets in the closing seconds before halftime, including a 3-pointer by Billups as he was falling out of bounds. And Prince hit a 3 on the last possession of the third.
Those 14 points essentially turned a close game into a double-digit lead.
"Those are plays that are killers when they're against you,'' Detroit coach Flip Saunders said. "When they happen for you, they give you a nice cushion.''
The biggest one may have come just before halftime. Orlando looked like it would keep it close heading into the locker room, maybe even hold a lead.
But Prince hit a 20-footer with 2.3 seconds remaining and the shot clock winding down - his second jumper in the final 45 seconds.
"He's the one guy on our team that people don't talk about,'' Saunders said. "He's kind of a silent assassin.''
Prince then stole an errant inbound pass from Turkoglu and fed Billups, who hit a falling-down 3 just before the final buzzer.
Those two shots turned a one-point game into a 48-42 advantage for Detroit.
"It was disappointing the way we finished both of the first two quarters,'' Magic coach Brian Hill said. "We had essentially tie games or two-point games. It was unnecessary.''
It also was disheartening for a young Orlando team making its first trip to the postseason in four years.
"It's real tough when you turn the ball over and they hit a 3,'' Nelson said. "Things happen in the course of the basketball game. We talked about it at halftime. We talked about moving on to the next play. It was miscommunication.''
The Magic, who have lost all seven meetings with Detroit this season, vowed to be more aggressive in Game 3. They were, and it worked early.
Howard, who lacked energy in Game 2 because of a stomach illness, set the tone with three dunks in the first quarter. His teammates drove more often. And the Magic played better and more physical defense all around.
But when the Pistons started clamping down on Howard - they double-teamed just about every time he touched the ball in the final three periods - no one other than Nelson stepped up.
Grant Hill and Hedo Turkoglu, the two who carried Orlando in the first two games, struggled at home. They were a combined 6-of-22 from the field. Hill missed his final nine shots.
And the Magic fell into an even deeper hole.
"Game 4 is a pride game,'' Brian Hill said. "This is our building. We let them come in and get a win. We've got to try to establish ourselves and not let them end the series here.''
The Pistons got flustered early - they seemed to get caught up in Orlando's emotional and aggressive play - and looked like they might lose another Game 3.
Wallace was called for a tech in the first for talking back. Dale Davis got one in the second for pushing Keyon Dooling. And Hamilton picked up one in the third following a hard foul on Howard.
But the Pistons never panicked.
They settled down after each of them and played like they have all season - as the best road team in the East. It helped them go ahead 3-0 in a series for the first time since their championship season in 1990.
"It was a great win for us,'' Billups said. "It showed our experience, our poise, staying composed in adverse situations.''
Notes: Golfer Tiger Woods sat courtside for the game. Florida stars Al Horford and Taurean Green, who helped lead the Gators to consecutive national titles, also were courtside. ... The Magic asked their fans to wear blue T-shirts as part of their "Code Blue'' postseason marketing campaign, but the team wore white, making the arena look more like a Pistons crowd.
Warriors' Nelson Fines Davis, JacksonOAKLAND, Calif., April 26 (AP)-- Though the Bay Area is abuzz with excitement for the Golden State Warriors' first home playoff game in 13 years, the Warriors are getting a few remedial lessons in keeping their cool.
Warriors coach Don Nelson said Thursday he will fine Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson for being ejected from Golden State's 112-99 loss in Game 2 of the club's first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks.
Davis and Jackson put on a taunting, preening display that dampened an otherwise successful trip for the eighth-seeded Warriors, who stole Game 1 from the heavily favored Mavs and headed back to the West Coast with homecourt advantage in the series, starting with Game 3 on Friday night.
"It doesn't make any sense to me, as hard as we worked to get to the playoffs, to all of a sudden get there and not be able to play because of ejections and not controlling our emotions,'' Nelson said before a brief workout at the Warriors' downtown training complex.
"I want to play with passion. I want to play with emotions, (but) have respect for authority out there. The referees are the authority, and just like when I make a decision, I expect the respect to be there for me. ... Things don't always go your way, and you've got to control your emotions.''
The NBA hasn't announced any potential discipline against Davis, who apparently was thrown out for sarcastically applauding the officials late in the third quarter, or Jackson, who left the court in a contentious, roundabout manner after getting his second technical foul in the final minutes.
But on what should have been a celebratory day before hoops-crazy Oakland's first taste of the postseason since 1994, Davis and Jackson spent the day avoiding direct comment on a dressing-down from their veteran coach. Nelson didn't announce the amount of his fines, only saying, "it will be substantial.''
Neither player betrayed any particular anger about the fines - perhaps a testament to Nelson's control of the club in his first season back in town. The Warriors spoke mostly about improving their defense and harnessing the energy of their sellout crowd Friday night after splitting the first two games.
"That's in the past,'' said Davis, who had just 13 points Wednesday night after scoring 33 in the series opener. "I'm not even going to talk about that, not even a little bit. It doesn't have even a little relevance.''
Davis kept clapping for the officials while standing at the bench, even when Nelson asked him to stop. Davis defended his clapping a bit, saying, "I was stopping.''
Jackson still could face a suspension for the very definition of failing to leave the court in a timely manner. He took time to shout at officials and spar with fans on the long walk back to the locker room, but the swingman was cool again Thursday.
"I love basketball,'' Jackson said. "I'm going to continue to play with a lot of emotion. Obviously, I've got to police myself. It's obvious, and I will continue to do that, but my passion for the game will never change.''
The Mavericks already learned last year about remaining calm in the playoff cauldron. Their path to the NBA finals was littered with misbehavior - Jason Terry's one-game suspension for punching San Antonio's Michael Finley below the belt; D.J. Mbenga 's five-game suspension for going into the stands; Jerry Stackhouse's one-game ban in the NBA finals for a hard foul on Shaquille O'Neal.
"Guys can get suspended, so we kept our cool (in Game 2),'' Dallas forward Josh Howard said. "That's something that comes with experience.''
But that cool didn't slow down a series that's become more competitive and exciting than most 1-8 matchups in an average year. Dallas' win in Game 2 snapped Golden State's six-game winning streak against the NBA's best regular-season team - and it might have awakened the Mavs' competitive spirit as well after they were outfoxed by Nelson and Davis in the opener.
"Those guys have got pride, a lot of pride,'' said Al Harrington, who hasn't made much of an impact for the Warriors. "They didn't have the best record for nothing. It was getting a little heated (in Game 2). Guys were talking trash, which they didn't in the first game.''
Coach Avery Johnson missed the Mavericks' workout in Dallas while tending to a family emergency in Houston, but was expected to join the game for the flight to California. Johnson was the starting point guard for the Warriors' last playoff team under Nelson in 1994.
"You have to realize once things don't go in your favor, you have to let it go and focus on the next play, the next assignment, the next task,'' said Devean George, who has three championships rings from his days with the Lakers .
"You can't get caught up into what didn't go in your favor before. I think experienced players allow things to just happen and then move on.''
Grizzlies Owner Interviews Larry BrownMEMPHIS, Tenn., April 26 (AP)-- Memphis Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley said he interviewed Larry Brown on Thursday about the coaching vacancy with his young team, but other candidates are also being considered.
"Anybody would have to be impressed with Larry, OK? He's one of the great coaches in NBA history,'' Heisley told The Commercial Appeal newspaper in a story posted Thursday. "I wouldn't be talking to Larry Brown if I wasn't interested, but I wouldn't be having a process if I was interested in just one person.''
Heisley did not immediately return a telephone message left at his Illinois office by The Associated Press. A call to Stan Meadows, the team's senior corporate counsel, was not immediately returned.
Heisley is looking for a new coach for a franchise that went from the playoffs to the NBA's worst record at 22-60 in one season. Coach Mike Fratello was fired in December and replaced on an interim basis by Tony Barone Sr.
Another possible candidate is Phoenix assistant Marc Iavaroni.
Heisley also must hire a new president and general manager, with Jerry West leaving once his contract ends June 30.
Former Denver GM Kiki Vandeweghe, who once played for Brown, is possible for general manager.
Heisley said it's a puzzle.
"The question is whether they fit our team at the particular time and whether there's a personality clash or not. It's like any interview process. I don't have any preconceived notions about what I'll do,'' Heisley said.
The Philadelphia 76ers gave permission for Brown, a Hall of Fame coach, to interview with the Grizzlies. Brown joined the 76ers as executive vice president in January after being fired after one season by the New York Knicks. The 66-year-old Brown has coached 11 teams in the ABA, NCAA and NBA. He won an NCAA national championship at Kansas (1988) and an NBA title in Detroit (2004). He also coached at UCLA.
His agent, Joe Glass, said it's a known fact that Brown wants to coach again after taking a season off.
"Larry Brown will be a popular candidate for any basketball enterprise whether it be college or pro that's looking for a coach because he's a good coach,'' Glass said.
Stern discusses state of D-League When NBAcommissioner David Stern envisioned the D-League, he says he thought the surest path to success was having the league own all the teams and concentrate on smaller markets.
Now he says that plan may have been half right.
Watching the success teams like the Dakota Wizards and Sioux Falls Skyforce have had in their first season in the D-League has helped persuade Stern that local ownership in small markets may be the ideal for the NBA's minor league franchises.
"It isn't about (large) market size," Stern said. "It's about how the community feels about you, how the sponsors support you, how the fans come out."
Stern granted the Tribune a phone interview on Wednesday to help promote Sunday's D-League championship game. He said he has "gotten a huge kick" following the Wizards, who will play host to the Colorado 14ers at 6 p.m. at the Bismarck Civic Center.
He noted that his schedule won't allow for him to come to Bismarck for the game, but said he would be watching it on NBA TV.
Bismarck is the D-League's smallest market by far, but Stern said that with the team's track record - including one championship in the IBA plus two more in four years in the CBA - the Wizards are a viable franchise in the long-term.
"By being in the community and of the community, people know you are going to be here, day in, day out,"Stern said. "You build up a certain good will. ... People know you're part of greater community, and that helps you in good times and bad."
Stern has led the NBA through an era of explosive growth since being named commissioner in 1984. He took a league that was only a few years removed from having its championship series shown on tape delay and turned it into a global phenomenon.
Stern is hoping to use some of the marketing acumen that helped spur the NBA's transformation to spread the word about the D-League.
"I think the biggest issue we have is that we haven't done as good a job as we're capable of doing of letting people know how high the quality of basketball is," he said.
Stern pointed out that many former D-Leaguers were now in the NBA, singling out Rafer Alston and Chuck Hayes of the Houston Rockets, Smush Parker of the Los Angeles Lakers and Mikki Moore of the New Jersey Nets as success stories.
The D-League is hardly a finished product. The circuit was started in 2001. This was just the second season since formal affiliations were established between its teams and NBA franchises.
Stern said he is pleased with the progress thus far.
"We couldn't be happier," he said. "We believe that the D-League - the D stands for development - is exactly what we needed on so many different fronts: On officials, on basketball, on training, on coaching and on front-office operations."
The league's stated goal is to have 30 teams, one affiliate for each big-league club. Stern said there is no timetable to reach that goal and no point in rushing it.
This season the D-League had 12 teams - not all of which are guaranteed to return - and already have four expansion clubs lined up for the 2007-08 season.
Originally centered in the Southeast, the D-League's franchises now are almost all located west of the Mississippi River. Stern said that the team would love to return to the Southeast and get a foothold on the East Coast, but all in good time.
Although Stern loves the idea of local ownership, he knows that's not the only model that can work or will be tried. He said he foresees more teams following in the footsteps of the Lakers, who own the D-League's Los Angeles D-Fenders.
Owning your own minor-league team offers its own challenges, but gives teams more control and additional marketing opportunities.
"If I were a team, I'd just as soon let someone else run it as long as you were simpatico with the basketball being played," Stern said. "... But the Cavaliers might look at Youngstown, Ohio, or another team might look at the inner city of their very own city."
One thing Stern would like to see is strengthening ties between NBA teams and their affiliates. Ideas he bandied about included having legendary former players make appearances at D-League games or doing contests for tickets to the parent team's contests.
"It's been very smooth, but we could doing a better job enhancing relationships ... at no huge cost to (NBA teams),"Stern said.
Stern said he would love to see the NBA use the D-League like baseball and hockey use their minor leagues, sending even top prospects down for seasoning. He added that those decisions are up to the individual clubs, and they will determine how it evolves, but the odds of that only increase the more players the system produces.
Stern also said he could see using the D-League as a testing ground for new concepts.
For instance, the new microfiber ball rejected by the NBA's players was used in the D-League this season. The D-League has a more liberal basket interference rule than the NBA. "Media applications" like new camera angles or high-definition broadcasts - have been tried in the D-League before being introduced to the NBA.
And it's because the D-League can be used to help the game in so many different ways is why Stern considers it such a worthwhile endeavor.
"We have to let the world know how important a part the D-League is in improving the game at the NBA level," Stern said.
Sonics' Triple Challenge: Finding a New Coach, GM, HomeSEATTLE, April 26, 2007 (AP) -- Less than a day after they fired their coach and general manager, the Seattle SuperSonics almost have as many candidates as they've had wins recently.
The team that recently ended its worst season in 21 years began its search Wednesday to replace Bob Hill and Rick Sund. First-year Sonics owner Clay Bennett, who fired the coach and GM after Seattle finished 31-51, is leading the searches with team vice chairman Lenny Wilkens.
"He really intends to be heavily involved,'' Bennett spokesman Jim Kneeland said of the owner, disputing the idea that the Sonics' sixth coach in nine years and a new GM are Wilkens' men to choose while Bennett searches for the team's home beyond next season.
Rick Adelman, the former Portland, Golden State and Sacramento coach; and former Sonics assistant and Minnesota coach Dwane Casey are emerging as top candidates who have experience running an NBA team. That would seem a requirement, because Bennett has only one basketball man he trusts currently in Seattle: Wilkens.
A message left for Wilkens was returned by team spokesman Tom Savage. He said Wilkens would not speak about the searches on Wednesday, but may soon.
These explorations have a twist: Whoever accepts the jobs won't know where they will be working in 12 months.
Last week, Bennett said the Sonics will likely move following the after next season, their 41st in Seattle. That's because his proposal to use public money to fund the majority of a $500 million suburban arena failed to even make it to a vote in the state Legislature.
"We're open to suggestions, but right now we don't see a way to do this here,'' Kneeland said Bennett told a closed-door meeting of Seattle's convention and visitors bureau on Wednesday. "We're at the point where we've got to start looking at other options.''
Yet Kneeland said of the owner: "He is pretty confident he will find basketball people who are willing to relocate, even if they don't know where they will be.
"It's a lot harder on the administrative staff. But for basketball people, there are only 30 teams. There aren't many of these jobs available. He won't have a problem attracting people.''
Tuesday, Bennett turned off much of the shrinking pockets of Seattle that care about the Sonics.
He fired Hill over the phone, hours after Hill had surgery for a hernia near his home in San Antonio. Then Bennett released a short, bland news release. He did not face the myriad questions surrounding his drifting franchise.
Kneeland said the owner felt a press conference in Seattle to announce Hill's firing and Sund's demotion to become a "consultant'' would spiral into a heated inquiry on why the team is about to leave.
"He wanted the issue to be about them,'' Kneeland said of Hill and Sund and their potential replacements.
Phoenix assistant Marc Iavaroni is a hot name for any coaching vacancy. And Rick Carlisle, a playoff coach for five consecutive seasons with Detroit and Indiana, is available. The Pacers fired him Wednesday.
Adelman, 60, did not return a message seeking comment on Wednesday but reportedly is interested in the job. He's been semiretired in Portland, Ore., for the last year since the Kings, whom he led to the playoffs in eight consecutive seasons, fired him.
Casey, 50, arrived in Seattle as an assistant in 1994 and left in 2004, when the Timberwolves hired him. He is known as a defensive mind. Defense was one of many things the Sonics did not do last season, haven't done for years - and may not do anytime soon if most of the same players stick around.
Wilkens, who turns 70 in October, has repeatedly said he does not want to coach again. He won an NBA-record 1,332 games in 32 seasons - 11 of which were in Seattle - before the Knicks fired him midway through the 2004-05 season. But he appears to be an ideal GM choice.
Bennett sought out Wilkens immediately after he bought the team and made him the Sonics' new vice chairman. The team's color analyst on game broadcasts also has a knowledge of the current roster that few around the league have of this recently irrelevant team of Ray Allen and anonymous underachievers from the far, upper corner of the country.
If he isn't the GM himself, Wilkens will likely be the man to whom the new GM will answer. That makes sexy, pipe-dream candidate Jerry West, the former Lakers and Grizzlies executive, less likely than an overlooked, respected and cheaper personnel man.
Such as San Antonio's R.C. Buford or Sam Presti.
Buford has been the Spurs general manager since 2002. He has won two NBA championships while more renowned coach Gregg Popovich, the previous GM, gets most of the credit. Buford joined the Spurs in 1994, two years after Bennett became a part owner of the team. Bennett was San Antonio's representative for the NBA's board of governors from 1992-97, the Oklahoma City businessman's only time with an NBA team before he began running the Sonics in November.
Presti is regarded as one of the league's fast-rising executives. This season, Buford expanded his assistant GM's role from scouting to include the business ends of the Spurs.
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... and source nba.com and expect replies like "OH YA LOH YA LOH! TRUE! LOL!" Now that i post all the latest article here, i wana see what virgil gona post next.
Apr 10 2007, 04:25 PM, updated 19y ago
Quote
u cant say for sure m8, pistons are strong, the cavaliers are stumbling but then they are still of playoffs standards & i doubt that king james will let a playoffs run slip easily. 
4 superstar 
how come Spurs can lose de)
u read what i typed? nvm.arguing with a wall gives me better answers.
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