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NBA Courtside: Matt Barnes on when he fake threw the ball in Kobe Bryant face in the finals: “The Orlando sh*t I told him in our last interview like bro I was ready to fu*king like I was ready to go, like fu*k basketball. Was ready to throw that ball in your face. Because he gets like he’s already so good but then he’ll elbow you and grab you and I remember I caught a dunk tip off the rim because he was guarding me and he tried to block Dwight shot and it fell of perfect and I put that b***h down and that motherfu*kers elbowing me from like my waist to my chest to like my chin and the ref was right here and didn’t say nothing. I was ready to go. He had already elbowed me in my sternum and knocked the wind out of me that game. It was just who he was, you know what I mean? And it was after the game and be you good, it was that line of respect.” (Via @OutTheMudTL)
Jeff Weltman was asked by the Orlando Sentinel about the idea that the Magic are a “dark horse” team to land Giannis Antetokounmpo. “First of all, you know I’m not allowed to speak about that,” Weltman told the Sentinel on Thursday after Sweeney was formally introduced at the AdventHealth Training Center. “I’m not allowed to talk about another team’s player.” “I just think that, to me, “Weltman said, “I take it as a compliment that we have a lot of players that the league is interested in and that we could even be thrown into that conversation speaks to the talent on this roster. So, that’s my big takeaway from that.”
“Obviously I won’t comment on any discussions we’re having with teams or where our agendas are,” Weltman told the Sentinel. “I know a lot’s been written about that. But I think, like, you can’t get into that conversation without talent, you know? So, to me, I take that as a compliment and I know we have a lot of work to do, but we have a lot of belief in our team.”
“We’re doing all the work that we need to (do) to try to puzzle the roster out,” Weltman said Thursday. “I do think there’s some kind of basic holes that we want to punch where we can improve the roster and augment the players that we have. “Obviously the most important part of this whole process has been bringing Sean in the right way,” he added. “… It’s been a busy time organizationally but we have been at work on the draft and free agency, so hopefully we’re putting ourselves in a position to have a good summer.”
Sean Sweeney landed interviews for more than a few NBA head coaching vacancies over the last few years, and many of them seemed the same. Talking to Orlando, he said, was different. Sweeney was introduced Thursday as the new coach of the Magic, which was the obvious proof that he won them over by his answers during the interview process. Turns out, the Magic won him over with their questions as well. “The Magic were the most thorough and they did the best job of asking questions and asking follow-ups to get to layers underneath the first answer,” Sweeney said. “Some interviews that I’ve had in the past, I did not get that same level of detail. And given how I am and how I want to coach, that stood out.”
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He stayed locked in on his tasks with the Spurs, even though the interview process started early in their postseason run. But with the finals over, Sweeney wasted little time in getting to Orlando and starting on the new job. “When we finally did get in front of him, it was a long day and he had a lot going on,” Magic President Jeff Weltman said. “It was during the playoffs and not only was he able to kind of compartmentalize his work with the Spurs and present well to us, but he really knocked our socks off. In Sean Sweeney, we have somebody who, in our minds, has the potential to be one of the elite coaches in this league.”
“Coach Pop’s office was right next to mine and I was very fortunate,” Sweeney said. “When you’re next to a guy who’s the greatest coach of all time daily, the fact that he even said hello and knew my name meant something to me. So yeah, Coach Pop, he built that program and guys like me are fortunate to be part of it. I’m very grateful and that’s part of the reason why I’m here now.”
At what point did you know your son could be an NBA player? Brown Sr.: When he was born, I sat out a year of college basketball. So, I had my senior year left. When I went back to play, Kel used to run up and down the sidelines all the time. So, I remember we were playing at Valdosta State. I ended up playing at West Florida. And my pops said, ‘Son, before doing warm-ups, he’s moving around, he’s playing around the whole time.’ He said, ‘But as soon as that ball is tipped, he froze and just stopped and watched the game.’ This was at 2 or 3. I remember us going to watch the Orlando Magic play the Boston Celtics in Orlando because we took a Disney World trip. And he’s sitting on my lap. I just [recently posted] a picture because it was literally 17 years ago. And the game started and he didn’t want to eat or nothing. And he just froze. He’s watching the game the whole time. And I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, this kid is locked in. He really loves the game.’ So, it was around that time, about [age] 3.”
For now, though, let's say that the Bucks do stay at No. 10. We've already written about Milwaukee's interest in the top guards on the board … everyone from Darius Acuff Jr. to Keaton Wagler to Mikel Brown Jr. after flying down to Orlando to meet with Brown. I've since been told that a Milwaukee contingent including general manager Jon Horst and new head coach Taylor Jenkins also traveled to New York recently to visit with Nate Ament during this pre-draft process. Now the Bucks are being looked at by some rival teams as the absolute floor for the Tennessee forward. Sources say Ament has drawn interest as high as the Clippers at No. 5, Brooklyn at No. 6 and ranks as a strong contender to emerge as Dallas' ultimate pick at No. 9.
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Michael Scotto: Sources: The Orlando Magic will add DJ Bakker as an assistant coach. He was a Hornets assistant coach and head coach of the Greensboro Swarm in the G League. He’s been an assistant for the Bucks and Pistons. Bakker and Orlando Magic coach Sean Sweeney worked together in Detroit.
Michael Scotto: Sources: The Orlando Magic will add Mfon Udofia as an assistant coach. He won the most games in Long Island Nets history as head coach and had 3 NBA call-ups this year. He was Nigeria’s head coach at the FIBA AfroBasket 2021 Qualifiers and an assistant at the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
Michael Scotto: The Orlando Magic will add Riley Crean as an assistant coach, league sources told @hoopshype. Crean was the head video coordinator of the Dallas Mavericks and spent three of four seasons there working with Orlando Magic coach Sean Sweeney. Riley, 27, is the son of coach Tom Crean
With Charlotte considering a starting-caliber center upgrade, other centers besides Sabonis are on their radar, including Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton, league sources told HoopsHype. In addition, it’s worth noting that the Nets have expressed interest in Hornets free agent guard Coby White in the past when he was on the Chicago Bulls, sources said. In other Hornets news, assistant coach Zach Peterson is a candidate to become the franchise’s next head coach of their G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm. DJ Bakker, who’s been an assistant coach for the Hornets and head coach of the Swarm in the G League, is a candidate to join Sean Sweeney’s staff as an assistant coach with the Orlando Magic, league sources told HoopsHype.
