NBA News
--ATLANTA-- The Atlanta Hawks have parted ways with Wes Wilcox. Wilcox had been general manager of the team, working closely with Mike Budenholzer. Wilcox joined the Hawks in 2012 after previously working with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Wilcox was promoted to GM in 2015. The Hawks disciplined Wilcox in January after he made a racial remark at an event for season ticket holders. The Hawks face another key offseason in which the direction of their franchise will largely be determined by the free agency of Paul Millsap. The Hawks are denying the report, releasing the following statement to Chris Vivlamore: "There are no changes to report at this time. Any reports indicating otherwise are inaccurate." Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports that decisions are still being made about Wilcox's future. Budenholzer could drop his duties as president while remaining as head coach.
--CHICAGO-- The Chicago Bulls will likely pick up their $13.4 million option on the contract of Rajon Rondo this offseason. Rondo appeared to have no future with the Bulls during the middle of the season but he proved to be invaluable over the final stretch of the regular season and the first two games of the playoffs. "There's a really good chance that we bring Rajon back and for these reasons: As we get younger, it's still really important to have quality veterans around your young players," said John Paxson. "To a man, our young people loved Rajon. He was great in the locker room. He was great off the court with these guys. He took them under his wing in a lot of ways, and he was responsible for a lot of the good things that came from them. We have a lot of respect for Rajon, especially how he believes in the game. He used to drag guys into the weight room, and he held them accountable in a lot of ways. We really take a lot from him, and we're looking forward to sitting down with him this week."
--LAS VEGAS-- Lonzo Ball, Josh Jackson, Jayson Tatum, Lauri Markkanen, Jonathan Isaac, Dennis Smith and Malik Monk are skipping the 2017 NBA Draft Combine. Those seven players will likely all be top-10 picks in the June draft. VJ Beachem, Nigel Hayes, Peter Jok, Derrick Walton and Chris Boucher are alternate invites who made official NBA Combine list.
--NEW YORK-- Michele Roberts spoke candidly about the public comments Phil Jackson made about Carmelo Anthony during his press conference at the end of the New York Knicks' season. “I think Phil was deliberately trying to shame ‘Melo out of the city,” she told The Vertical. Anthony has a no-trade clause, which means the Knicks need his approval to move on from him. Roberts wanted the NBA to sanction Jackson as they have when players have made similar comments. Roberts had immediately flashed back to September 2015, when Markieff Morris, then with the Suns, was fined $10,000 for tweeting, “My future is not in Phoenix,” after twin brother Marcus was dealt to Detroit. Commissioner Adam Silver’s office decided that was a “public statement detrimental to the NBA.” When Jackson, speaking to New York’s beat reporters for the first time since September, said, among other things, that Anthony “would be better off somewhere else,” Roberts wondered what's the difference. “I have players who are unhappy that this hasn’t been responded to by the league,” Roberts told The Vertical. Anthony aside, that is the wider view, she said, “for when another GM gets it in his head that it’s OK to treat a player this way because Phil got away with it.” Roberts is bothered by the double standard. “Our players understand that they can privately complain about how a team is managed but they cannot do it publicly without being subject to sanction,” she said. “But it has to work both ways. If Phil tells ‘Melo in private that being in New York is not a good fit for him, that’s his right. But these comments were made in public, and it’s very disturbing because Phil gave him the no-trade clause and he has to respect it. He’s got to allow a player to make a decision for any reason – to win a ring, for money, home life, whatever.”