Larry Brown Sports

The Knicks scrubbed the interim tag from Mike Woodson‘s title on Friday, officially making him the team’s head coach and ending all speculation that the Knicks would lure Phil Jackson out of retirement.

New York reportedly agreed to a three-year deal with Woodson, who led the team to an 18-6 record after Mike D’Antoni was run out of town by Carmelo Anthony stepped down in March. Jackson was long speculated as a candidate for the team’s vacant coaching position as rumors intensified that he had the fix to coach again and wanted it to be in Madison Square Garden.

But Jackson never even got a phone call from Knicks brass. And Grantland sire Bill Simmons, citing sources (he might be more connected than you may think), explained on his podcast (39-minute mark) that disappointed Knicks fans should place the blame squarely on owner James Dolan and his “inferiority complex.”

“I know for a fact that [Jackson] wanted that Knicks job,” Simmons said (via I am a GM). “I know for a fact that Jim Dolan didn’t want any part of Phil Jackson, because Jim Dolan doesn’t like people who think they’re smarter than him. Jim Dolan has a whole weird inferiority complex. Phil Jackson is way too smart and there was no way he [Dolan] was ever going to deal with that guy, so he hired Mike Woodson.”

Probably a blessing in disguise for Jackson. The Knicks are plentiful in the problem department and if what Simmons alleges about the ownership is true, it only exemplifies that. It’s curious Phil even wanted the job in the first place.

On the other hand, Simmons goes on to suggest Jackson should coach the Heat if Erik Spoelstra is sent packing after this season. Phil Jackson with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and possibly Steve Nash? I just peed in my pants.

Photo: Cary Edmondson-US PRESSWIRE

If you’re a regular viewer of “Inside the NBA,” you should know all about Charles Barkley‘s outspoken dislike for the Spurs’ hometown. San Antonio has frequently been a target of ridicule by Barkley, who has done everything from cracking jokes about the Alamo to calling the San Antonio River a “dirty little creek” to even taking shots at the city’s women (“they ain’t got no skinny women down there“).

So, needless to say, it should be fun to see the reaction Chuck gets from Spurs fans when he and the rest of the “Inside” fellas start filming on location in the city for the Western Conference Finals beginning on Sunday. With that in mind, San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro has already gotten a head start on the Chuck bashing. And, thankfully, for all our pleasure, he did so publicly on YouTube:

Shots fired! This can only lead to an appearance by Castro — hopefully flanked by two of San Antonio’s top babes — on the set of “Inside” when the guys are taping at the AT&T Center, right?

H/T Eye on Basketball

There are two theories regarding the firing of Stan Van Gundy: the Magic are looking to start fresh, or they know their only chance of keeping Dwight Howard was to fire their head coach. With rumors floating around that the Magic are looking to deal Howard around draft time, the former is a definite possibility. However, Jeff Van Gundy fully believes Howard drove his brother out of Orlando and that it’s insulting for the Magic to pretend otherwise.

“To hide behind the fact or try to make everyone believe that Dwight Howard didn’t have a part in this is absurd,” Jeff Van Gundy said during an interview with 98.7 ESPN in New York. “Say listen we fired this guy because we know this our best chance to keep Dwight Howard. Dwight Howard and I decided to fire him. To do anything else is playing a game of semantics. It really is.

“Okay listen (CEO Alex Martins) all you have done in your 25 years in the business is release press releases and run the business side. You don’t know if a ball is blown up or stuffed. You don’t know if the pick and role coverage on the side is right or wrong. Just say that I have no knowledge about basketball. He doesn’t know one thing about basketball so please hold off your comments on my brothers expertise since you know nothing about basketball.”

The situation in Orlando has been a public relations nightmare all season long, and we all knew this is the way it was going to end. Perhaps the Magic are trying to rebuild and firing their head coach and general manager and trading their star player is the best way to go about it. That being said, we know Dwight’s unhappiness spelled the end for Van Gundy. To pretend Howard had nothing to do with it is indeed absurd.

Photo credit: Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE

Who was that guy, the old Tiger Woods? Tiger is the only person I have seen with the ability to walk past a young fan without realizing they exist the way David West did on Thursday night. Sure, Tiger slaps a few hands and signs a couple autographs here and there now, but that’s because he’s repairing his image. As you can see from the video above, West went Tiger on some young Pacers fans during halftime of Indiana’s Game 6 loss to Miami.

With the Pacers clinging to a two-point lead at the half and their season on the line, perhaps West was simply just too focused to hand out high-fives. Danny Granger had no problem with it, but everyone handles pressure differently. At the end of the day it could have been worse – right Mark McGrath?

H/T Ball Don’t Lie

To this point in the 2011-2012 NBA playoffs, the Thunder have done little wrong. It took them only nine games to reach the Western Conference finals, so Oklahoma City is likely feeling well-rested as they prepare to take on the Spurs. You don’t have that type of success without protecting the basketball, which is exactly what the Thunder have done. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook believe that is due in part to the fact that Thunder coach Scott Brooks has stopped talking about turnovers.

“One thing Scotty needs to do is just shut up,” Durant said jokingly according to The Oklahoman. “We’ll probably be a better team.”

Westbrook agreed that the Thunder were awful at taking care of the ball during the regular season when Brooks harped on it, but now it becomes a chicken vs. egg argument. Has Brooks quieted down about turnovers because his team has cut down on turning it over, or have the Thunder stopped turning it over as much because their coach quit talking about it?

“Usually, I don’t agree with either of those guys much, but they’re telling the truth,” Brooks said. “I haven’t mentioned the turnovers at all. But I haven’t mentioned it because we haven’t turned it over. Trust me, if we’re turning it over 25 times I’m on ‘em and showing every clip and why we’re turning it over because of bad spacing and so forth.”

Oklahoma city is averaging only 10.7 turnovers per game in the playoffs, which is the lowest total of any team. They had the most in the Western Conference with 16.3 during the regular season. Whether they finally got Brooks’ message, or the coach has simply relaxed and let them do their thing, something is working. If they play the way they did through the first two rounds, Oklahoma City has a shot at stopping the smoking hot Spurs.

Photo credit: Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

The basketball world went into a frenzy after the Heat fell behind 2-1 in their Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Pacers last week. Dwyane Wade shoot poorly the first three games of the series, and he was particularly crappy going 2-13 in a Game 3 loss in Indiana that left everyone panicking. All of a sudden, we were hearing people call Chris Bosh the Heat’s MVP, and they were talking about how much trouble Miami was in without him.

While Miami was bound to struggle without their All-Star big man, everyone needs to remember that the Heat still have two of the top five players in the world on their team, therefore they should be able to keep winning as long as those guys perform well. Recall that LeBron James took a Cavaliers team that had less talent than the Bosh-less Heat to the NBA Finals in 2007 playing against a similarly weak Eastern Conference (with Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard injured, the conference is weak).

LeBron played like a man on a mission in Games 4 and 5 against the Pacers, and Wade was similarly brilliant in the close-out Game 6. Wade also played infinitely better in Games 4 and 5 after receiving some time to recover from having his knee drained.

We can be impressed by what James and Wade did without Bosh in their series against the Pacers, but we really shouldn’t be surprised by it. This is what the Heat should be doing. Realistically, they’re better than the rest of the teams in the East even without Bosh. But Wade and James need to continue playing at their MVP levels for the team to win the title. If they’re anything less than what they’ve been the past three games, they will get eliminated. Don’t tell me the standard is too high; this is what needs to be done for a championship to be won.

Photo Credit: Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

A report published earlier this week said Dwight Howard badly wants out of Orlando, and it looks like the Magic are ready to grant him his wish.

According to Sheridan Hoops, the Magic will be proactive in soliciting deals for Howard after next week’s draft lottery order is determined.

Chris Sheridan says Magic owner Rich DeVos decided it was time for the franchise to start fresh, so they fired Coach Stan Van Gundy, GM Otis Smith, and part of their new start includes dealing Dwight Howard.

Prior to the trade deadline, the Magic convinced Howard to sign away his option to become a free agent this summer. The Magic seemed prepared to make their best effort to sign him to a contract extension, but it looks like they are finally prepared to move on. If they do trade Howard, it will end one of the most exhausting sagas in recent memory.

Chest bump I am a GM
Photo Credit: Douglas Jones-US PRESSWIRE

Shaq apparently is trying to save face after everyone laughed at the report that he was going to speak with the Magic about their vacant GM job. The former All-NBA center turned analyst issued a statement on Thursday where he denied interest in the position.

“When I first heard about the vacancy for the Orlando Magic general manager position, I was clearly intrigued. “I was drafted by the Magic, I have a great love for the franchise, and I have made the city of Orlando my home. Additionally, I have great admiration and respect for the DeVos family.

“However, this is not a job I have an interest in pursuing,” his statement says. “I feel very fortunate to be with TNT and to have the best job in sports. I look forward to many more years with Charles (Barkley), Kenny (Smith) and E.J. (Ernie Johnson). I wish the best for the Magic and I am confident that they will select a great GM and coach.”

At least he did admit he was intrigued when he first heard about it. But now he’s saying he’s not interested in pursuing?

What Shaq’s doing is pulling the old “I know you’re going to break up with me, so I’m going to break up with you first before you have a chance to make me look bad.”

When the story was first reported on Wednesday night, I figured the interest had to be coming from Shaq’s side, not Orlando’s. Seriously, how many people who have a GM vacancy think to themselves, “You know who would be great for this job? Shaq.” Nobody. Marc Stein pretty much confirmed that when he said Shaq was lobbying for the position behind the scenes.

Like I said, Shaq issued the statement to try and save face by making it seem like he’s pulling out of consideration for a job he never really was being considered for in the first place.

Dennis Rodman has always been known for being — to put it lightly — a very eccentric person. Throughout his NBA career, Rodman’s crazy hair styles, tattoos and piercings always made him must-see TV. In fact, the Hall of Famer believes his bad boy personality is ultimately what made his services desirable. According to the NY Post, Rodman told ESPN on Sunday that he had more trouble finding a job when he cleaned up his act.

Rodman said he believes he became “unhirable” eight years ago when he stopped drinking. He complained that nobody in the NBA wanted to touch him because he had become “boring.” His agent, Darren Prince, said that is not the case and that Rodman scored his first ever Super Bowl ad in 2005 when he was sober.

“Even in his prime with the Chicago Bulls in the mid-90′s, he never had a Super Bowl commercial,” Prince explained, adding that Rodman’s drinking has cost him opportunities like the time he was fired from the “Celebrity Apprentice” in 2009 for showing up drunk. “I know if he got sober, he could get a coaching job. He could be a rebounding coach, possibly work in the front office. We’ve had many discussions with TNT and others, and they all say the same thing — he’s too risky, because they don’t know if he’s going to show up drunk or not show up at all.”

Prince’s reasoning sounds a bit more sound and Rodman’s reasoning sounds a bit more Rodman. Dennis the Menace likely has trouble finding work because he spends too much time in strip clubs and has a tendency to do inappropriate things like this. There are a lot of reasons Rodman has not had as successful a life after basketball as he hoped he would, and I highly doubt sobriety is one of them.

Photo credit: Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

Could the Kardashians be taking New York for a second time? According to a report from Ian Begley, Lamar Odom’s top choice in free agency would be to join the Knicks.

Begley reports that Odom’s priority is to be comfortable, and he feels he can be in New York.

The problem for the Queens native is that he’s still on the Mavericks’ roster and they are trying to trade him before June 29. Any team that has him on their roster at that date owes him $2.4 million guaranteed next season.

If Dallas is unable to trade Odom, they are likely to waive him, at which point he could be claimed or become a free agent.

Though Odom seems interested in signing with the Knicks, they may not want him. The Lakers could have some interest given that several of his former teammates would welcome him back, but the decision would be up to the front office. We do know that scenario would be pleasing to his wife.

Photo credit: Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE