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Kobe Changes Mind About Trade

Believing he had been insulted and misled, Kobe Bryant asked the Los Angles Lakers for a trade Wednesday and insisted nothing could change his mind.

Then something did. He spoke with coach Phil Jackson and backed off his request.

"I don't want to go anywhere, this is my team," Bryant told KLAC radio. "I love it here. I called Phil, man, he and I talked, it was an emotional conversation, but he just said, 'You know what, Kobe? Let us try to figure this thing out.'

"Phil is a guy I lean on a lot."

Some three hours earlier, in an interview with ESPN radio, Bryant said: "I would like to be traded, yeah. Tough as it is to come to that conclusion, there's no other alternative. It's rough, man, but I don't see how you can rebuild that trust. I just don't know how you can move forward in that type of situation."

Buss issued a statement after Bryant's request, saying: "We are aware of the media reports. However, Kobe has not told us directly that he wants to be traded. We have made it very clear that we are building our team around Kobe and that we intend for him to be a Laker his entire career. We will speak directly to Kobe and until we do that, we will not comment publicly about this."

Bryant said he was told the Lakers would immediately try to rejoin the NBA's elite. But he said Jackson told him Tuesday that Buss was not bringing him back as coach following the 2003-04 season because the Lakers were committed to reducing payroll and rebuilding long term.

"They said nothing to me about a long-term plan. Absolutely nothing," Bryant told KLAC. "They told Phil one thing and they told me another. Actions speak louder than words."

"That place is a mess," Bryant said, referring to the team's front office. "If we're not making strides here to improve this team right now, to be aggressive in that nature, then what's the point of having me here?"

Source: ESPN

Spurs Beat Jazz To Advance to NBA Finals

Tim Duncan and Tony Parker wasted no time showing how serious the San Antonio Spurs were about getting back into the NBA Finals -- immediately.

Duncan and Parker powered an early 14-0 spurt that featured perhaps the most dominant stretch the Spurs have played all postseason and the Utah Jazz never recovered, letting San Antonio cruise to a 109-84 victory Wednesday night and into the championship round for the third time in five years.

The Spurs took all the suspense out of it by taking a 23-point lead early in the second quarter. Although Utah got an emotional lift at halftime when Derek Fisher arrived from New York, where his infant daughter was getting medical care for a rare eye condition, the only thing in doubt by then was whether San Antonio will play Detroit or Cleveland in the Finals.

The title series begins a week from Thursday in San Antonio, regardless of who comes out of the East. The Pistons-Cavaliers series is tied 2-2, with Game 5 on Thursday night in Detroit.

Having a nine-day layoff before the next round was part of the motivation behind San Antonio's get-it-over-with approach to Game 5. After all, the Spurs have the oldest roster in the league, so they're both wise enough to value not giving the underdogs any hope and eager to avoid playing another trip to Salt Lake City.

San Antonio led only 16-11 when the game-breaking stretch began with Parker cutting through several big guys and making a tough layup. Over the next 2:13, Parker had seven more points, plus a perfect lob that Duncan slammed with as much authority as he ever does.

Then Bruce Bowen capped the blitz with a 3-pointer from the left corner that put the Spurs up 30-11. They'd made eight straight shots, were 12-of-16 for the game, and were outrebounding the Jazz 13-4.

Duncan and Parker each finished with 21 points and Manu Ginobili scored only 12. None of them played in the fourth quarter -- it was that much of a blowout.

By getting to the finals, San Antonio continues its bizarre trend of dominating the league in odd-numbered years since Duncan arrived for the 1997-98 season. The Spurs won it all in 1999, 2003 and '05, and even came close in the lone exception, losing the 2001 conference finals to the eventual champs, the Los Angeles Lakers.

The looks on the faces of the Jazz players showed their disappointment throughout the game. However, star Carlos Boozer admitted Wednesday morning, "We're not even supposed to be here."

Utah won 51 games and its division this season, but opened the playoffs on the road and lost the first two games. The Jazz rallied to beat Houston and got past eighth-seeded Golden State to reach the conference finals for the first time since 1998, yet were no match for the Spurs, especially in San Antonio.

After taking a seven-point lead in the first quarter of the first game, Utah didn't lead during any of the other 11 quarters played here and has now lost 19 straight games on the Spurs' home court.

Jazz coach Jerry Sloan may already have been looking ahead when he sent in Ronnie Brewer during the first half, figuring the experience would do the rookie some good in the long run. Brewer had played only two minutes this series and 24 all postseason. Late in the second quarter, Sloan used a lineup featuring deep reserves Brewer, Dee Brown and Rafael Araujo.

Another rookie, Paul Millsap, joined that trio during the third quarter. Things were so out of hand by then that Fabricio Oberto took -- and made -- a 17-footer and 7-foot center Francisco Elson took -- and missed -- a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Source: ESPN

Magic Sign Florida's Donovan As Head Coach

Billy Donovan will be named the head coach of the Orlando Magic on Friday, several sources have told ESPN.

The announcement is scheduled to be made at 11 a.m. ET, sources told ESPN.com's Pat Forde.

Thursday, after weeks of waiting for the University of Florida to finalize his new seven-year contract, the Magic offered Donovan a big-money deal. Sources say the deal is shorter and smaller than original reports of a six-year, $36 million deal. The contract is for five years and with a value of $27.5 million.

"We're not worried about hiring a college coach -- not this college coach," a source told Forde. "He's proven he's won. He's young and he works well with a young team. This team is one step above a college team right now, it's so young. They're just learning how to play together, and someone like Billy will be perfect.

"I also don't think this job is as bad as some of the others that college coaches have walked into. It's not like he's inheriting a bad team, and that's usually the case for a college guy making the transition. The hardest part was for Billy. It was a tough decision for him because of everything that's happened at Florida, because of what he's built there. He was happy there."

After leading the Gators to the last two national championships, the 42-year-old Donovan recieved a big-money offer Thursday afternoon. Team officials told the Orlando Sentinel, which first reported the story on its Web site, that Donovan was expected to take the job earlier in the afternoon.

When the offer went public, multiple sources said Donovan had to make a quicker decision. Florida to act quickly and possibly stay within the family with former Florida assistant Anthony Grant, who led VCU to the NCAA Tournament second round in his first season with the Rams. VCU beat Duke in the first round.

"Billy Donovan has been here 11 years and has won two national championships," Florida president Dr. J. Bernard Machen told ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach. "We'll always love Billy Donovan, whether he was here 11 years or 21 years. I don't think the University of Florida has to worry about who their next coach is."

Florida's four juniors -- Al Horford, Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer and Taurean Green -- who led the Gators to the back-to-back national titles and all declared for the NBA draft and signed with an agent were impressed with the deal that Donovan was going to receive from the Magic. Horford, Noah and Brewer all said they couldn't see how he would turn down that kind of money.

Donovan's new contract at Florida -- it was presented to him on May 17 but he had yet to sign it as of May 25 -- was to pay him around $3 million in the first year. The contract then was to escalate to more than $3.75 in guaranteed income by the end of the contract in 2013-14, a person familiar with the negotiations told ESPN.com

There is precedent for a college coach turning down the NBA. Former Atlanta Hawks general manager Pete Babcock said Thursday that the Hawks thought Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was going to accept their job when they offered it a few years ago. The same thing occurred when Duke's Mike Krzyzewski turned down a lucrative offer to coach the Los Angeles Lakers.

The 42-year-old Donovan is one of only 12 college basketball coaches to win multiple national championships. The Gators won their second straight in April after beating Ohio State.

Source: ESPN

Suns Hire Steve Kerr As President, GM

Steve Kerr will be hired as president and general manager of the Phoenix Suns, a person with knowledge of the hiring said Thursday.

Kerr can't officially take the job until he completes his obligations as an analyst for TNT during the NBA playoffs. He is expected to be introduced at a news conference next week, said a person close to the situation who asked not to be identified because the official announcement had not been made.

Kerr is a close friend of Suns owner Robert Sarver and owns a small piece of the team. He would replace Mike D'Antoni, who holds the titles of general manager and head coach. The move will allow D'Antoni to concentrate on coaching.

D'Antoni will keep the title of executive vice president of basketball operations but will report to Kerr, The Arizona Republic reported on its Web site Thursday.

Kerr was part of the TNT crew at Thursday's Eastern Conference finals Game 5 in Detroit. He left the court at halftime with a cell phone in his ear.

"I've had conversations with the Phoenix Suns regarding opportunities within their organization," Kerr said through TNT. "I do not plan to make a decision on my future until after the conclusion of the Eastern Conference finals."

Sarver did not return a message left on his cell phone.

D'Antoni has held both titles since Bryan Colangelo resigned as president and general manager in February 2006 to take a similar post with the Toronto Raptors.

Kerr, part of five NBA championship teams with Chicago and San Antonio in his 15-year NBA career, helped pave the way for Sarver and his backers to purchase the team from Jerry Colangelo for a reported $401 million three years ago. The final payment of the purchase is due in June.

Kerr starred at the University of Arizona and is a close friend of Wildcats coach Lute Olson.

He returns to the NBA team that drafted him in the second round, the 50th choice overall, in 1988. Kerr played in 26 games for Phoenix as a rookie and then was traded to Cleveland for a second-round draft pick.

Kerr, who retired as a player in 2003, holds the NBA record for career 3-point percentage at .454. He also holds the record for 3-point shooting percentage in a season at .524 in the 1994-95 with Chicago. He made the winning shot for the Bulls against Utah in Game 6 of the 1997 NBA Finals.

Kerr, 41, was born in Beirut, Lebanon. His father, president of American University in Beirut, was assassinated in 1984.

Kerr's hiring was first reported on the Web sites of The Arizona Republic and East Valley Tribune.

David Griffin, the Suns' vice president of basketball operations, has spoken with the Memphis Grizzlies about taking the general manager job there. Marc Iavaroni left his job as D'Antoni's lead assistant this week to become head coach of the Grizzlies.

Spoource: ESPN

Cavs Advance To Meet Spurs In NBA Finals

As his teammates danced and carried on while wearing baseball caps and T-shirts proclaiming "Champions," LeBron James walked around in a daze with a smile etched across his face.

"This is like a dream," he said, shaking his head. "This is probably the best feeling that I've ever had in my life."

An entire city felt the same.

For the first time in a long time, championship-starved Cleveland has something to feel good about.

The Cavaliers, once the punch line to jokes and Michael Jordan's favorite foil, are Eastern Conference champions -- and on their way to the NBA Finals.

Lugging an entire region's hopes with him on every trip to the basket, James had 20 points and 14 rebounds, and unflappable rookie Daniel Gibson added 31 points -- 19 in the fourth quarter -- to give the Cavaliers a 98-82 victory in Game 6 against the Detroit Pistons.

Cleveland, a city that hasn't celebrated a world championship since the Browns won an NFL title in 1964, has the next closest thing. And now the Cavs, who won only 17 games the year before James arrived from just down the Interstate in Akron, will meet the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the finals on Thursday night.

Gibson, the slender second-round pick from Texas, who didn't become a major contributor until March, outshined his superstar teammate. Gibson made three 3-pointers in the first 2:16 of the fourth and drilled another long-range jumper with 6:52 left, setting off a massive celebration in Quicken Loans Arena.

The Cavaliers are only third team to come back from an 0-2 deficit in a conference finals, joining the 1971 Baltimore Bullets and 1993 Chicago Bulls.

Source: ESPN

Donovan Changes Mind On Being Magic's Head Coach

Billy Donovan didn't know the right decision for his career until he made the wrong one.

After signing a contract with the Magic on Friday, Donovan, who is fresh off leading the Florida Gators to back-to-back national titles, has decided he wants out of Orlando, multiple sources told ESPN.com.

ESPN.com has learned that Donovan was waiting Monday afternoon to hear from Magic owner Rich DeVos to find out what Orlando will do with him. The choices are simple: either the two parties will agree to rescind his deal or the Magic could pressure him into honoring the contract and/or seek damages. Donovan was at his home in Gainesville, Fla., Monday, waiting for the Magic's response, and isn't expected to speak on the matter until there is closure. Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley, who was in a board of regents meeting earlier in the day on contractual issues not related to Donovan, isn't going to speak, either, until there is a resolution.

Sources also told ESPN.com the Magic are pursuing former Miami Heat coach Stan Van Gundy, who arrived back in Florida on Monday after interviewing Sunday in Las Vegas for the vacant Sacramento Kings job. Sources said the Magic are trying to get Van Gundy before the Kings make him an offer.

Meanwhile, multiple sources told ESPN.com Donovan hopes to reach a resolution soon so he can resume his coaching duties at the University of Florida.

Sources said the Magic pressured Donovan to make a decision last Wednesday and Thursday, and Donovan, who had admittedly gone back and forth on the idea, finally agreed to take the job.

Multiple sources said Donovan woke up Saturday morning and realized he had made a mistake. Sources said Donovan felt awful about what he had done and realized how much he loved coaching Florida.

The question from the Magic now is what they want from him. Do they want him to coach even if his heart isn't into it? Are they willing to move on? Do they want money in return for releasing him from the contract?

The reality, according to sources, is that Donovan isn't scared of coaching in the NBA, but he simply realized that he loves the University of Florida. And once he signed the contract, held the back-to-back news conferences and slept on it Friday night, he was convinced that he wanted to stay in Gainesville.

The prevailing mood among sources close to the situation is that Donovan will remain the head coach at Florida, the recruits and staff will stay intact, and the Magic will then hope to land Stan Van Gundy, possibly by Monday or Tuesday.

Source: ESPN

Stan Van Gundy To Coach Magic

The Orlando Magic have their man ... again.

This time, it's Stan Van Gundy. Billy Donovan says he feels "terrible" about all the confusion but insists Florida is where he belongs.

The Magic finally resolved their coaching quandary Thursday, ending a rough two weeks in which they fired Brian Hill, pulled off the Donovan coup, then watched the bottom drop out on nearly everything.

They were lucky to reel in Van Gundy -- their second choice from the beginning -- because the Sacramento Kings were pursuing the former Miami Heat coach.

Van Gundy said it didn't bother him to be second choice. He saw great potential in the Magic, has family in the area and doesn't have to move far from Miami. But it's been a frenetic affair that has kept Van Gundy and his wife awake more than 36 straight hours.

"The first reaction obviously was surprise when [Magic general manager Otis Smith] called over the weekend -- I was a little bit shocked," Van Gundy said. "And then from there just so many ups and downs on whether I thought it was going to work out or not work out.

"It seemed to be changing almost hourly, and we were truly on an emotional roller coaster for quite a while."

The Magic said Wednesday that would allow Donovan to back out of his 5-year, $27.5 million deal, about three days hours after news broke that he had changed his mind.

"I feel terrible about it. [The Magic are] a great organization," Donovan said in Gainesville. "They have great ownership, and they're great people. I feel sorry and have apologized. It was my decision; it was my mistake. I have to take responsibility for that, which I'm trying to do."

Van Gundy coached the Miami Heat for more than two seasons, resigning last year but remaining with the team as an adviser to coach Pat Riley.

He was under contract with the Heat for another year, and the Magic had to give Miami one of its three second round picks in the upcoming draft, No. 39. The Heat also have the option of switching first-round picks with Orlando next year, but not if the Magic have a lottery pick. In that case, they could take a second-round selection or other compensation.

"I'm happy that Stan is back in coaching," Riley said. "It's where he belongs."

Van Gundy resigned as the Heat's coach 21 games into the 2005-06 season, citing personal and family reasons. Riley took over, leading the Heat to their first championship.

Van Gundy was 112-73 at Miami and in 2004-05 won the Southeast Division and made the Eastern Conference finals. The team won 59 games that year, second best in franchise history.

Source: ESPN

Reggie Miller Ponders Comeback

Reggie Miller says he is contemplating a return to the NBA, this time with the Boston Celtics.

Miller, who turns 42 on Aug. 24, played his entire 18-year career with the Indiana Pacers before retiring in 2005. Since his playing days ended he has worked as a television analyst for TNT.

Miller was all set to continue that job when Celtics general manager Danny Ainge and coach Doc Rivers asked him to think about joining their revamped team in a reserve role, playing about 15 minutes per game.

Miller said he is calling friends and peers, seeking their advice and listening to their feedback before he makes his decision. He still plays recreationally, but must determine if he wants to go through the physical and mental grind of an 82-game season. He also wonders how his body would respond to the intensive training it would take to get him back to NBA shape.

The lure of playing in Boston is simple: with Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen added to Paul Pierce, the Celtics feel they have a shot at an NBA championship. Like those three players, the only thing missing from Miller's list of accomplishments is a championship ring.

Miller, a five-time NBA All-Star, is seventh on the all-time list of games played with 1,323. He is 13th in scoring (25,279) and holds the NBA record for most made the most 3-pointers in NBA history with 2,560.

Since the Celtics' trades that brought in Allen and Garnett, the team has been filling out its roster with less heralded players, including guard Eddie House and center Scot Pollard.

Source: ESPN

Reggie may just be back for that ring.

Oden's recovery from surgery likely in range of 6-12 months

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Greg Oden's rookie season with the Portland Trail Blazers abruptly ended before it began when the 7-footer had knee surgery on Thursday.

The top pick in the June draft went in for an exploratory procedure on his right knee and ended up having microfracture surgery, which means he will sit out the season.

"Greg looked at me as he was coming out of his surgery, and he and his mom Zoe probably said 'sorry' 20 times," Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard said. "I could feel the weight of the world on his shoulders. And as a leader and as leaders of this organization, my first thought was how lucky we were to have a guy that cares about the organization that much."

Dr. Don Roberts performed the surgery to repair the damage, which Pritchard described as the size of a fingertip. Oden is expected to be on crutches for up to eight weeks. Full recovery likely will take six to 12 months, the team said.

"At this point in time, we don't see him coming back this season," Pritchard said.

Oden was the No. 1 pick in the June draft out of Ohio State, where he averaged 15.7 points and 9.6 rebounds.

The loss of Oden before the season was a blow to the organization. There was much fanfare when the Blazers got the first pick in the draft, and even more when the team chose Oden.

A huge, stories-tall jersey with the name Oden and a No. 1 hangs on the Rose Garden Arena. Across the street, a building is plastered with a huge billboard proclaiming "The Road Back to Rip City" with larger-than-life photos of Oden and teammates Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge.

"To know that Greg wouldn't be with us, it was disappointing," coach Nate McMillan said. "I was really looking forward to working with him, and developing this team. You know we will still get that opportunity, but it will just come a year from now."

It was Oden's second health problem since the Trail Blazers drafted him. He had a tonsillectomy in July after struggling in two Las Vegas summer league games.

Oden recovered and had been working out in the Portland area. The MRI was taken Thursday after he had some swelling in the knee, and Oden refrained from working out over the weekend.

Despite being hampered by a wrist injury at Ohio State, Oden led the Buckeyes to the national championship game as a freshman. He had 25 points and 12 rebounds in the loss to Florida.

The Trail Blazers were the surprise winners of the NBA draft lottery, and chose Oden over Texas forward Kevin Durant, who went to Seattle.

Pritchard said Oden had MRIs on both knees before the draft and they were "pristine."

"We picked the right kid; he cares about his organization. And I can't [overemphasize] how bad he felt, and not because he had to go through the rehab and all that, but because he felt like he let us down," Pritchard said. "And he hasn't let us down at all."

Dr. Roberts said the area of injury was not large and doctors were able to treat it with microfracture, which stimulates the growth of cartilage. Other high-profile players who have undergone the procedure include Jason Kidd, Amare Stoudamire and former Blazer Zachary Randolph.

Oden talked about the injury earlier this week in his blog. He said he had a sharp pain about a month ago when he was on vacation.

"I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want to seem like I was complaining or making excuses for anything. Plus I wasn't doing anything at the time I realized it hurt, so I figured it couldn't be anything big," he wrote.

The Blazers open training camp Oct. 2. The regular season opener is at San Antonio on Oct. 30.

Oden becomes only the second player in the draft (between 1966 and the present) to be selected No. 1 overall and not play in the year of his selection. David Robinson was drafted by San Antonio in 1987 but instead honored his naval commitment.

While the loss of Oden was a disappointment, the Blazers were quick to point out that the team still has promising young players in Roy, last season's NBA Rookie of the Year, and Aldridge, who will likely play at times at center in Oden's absence.

"This isn't about one person, never has been, never will be," Pritchard said. "This is about a team, about 15 guys going out there with a single vision, a single purpose."