The NBA season is coming to an end with only a handful of days remaining, making each game more and more meaningful given the competitive races for seeding in both the Eastern and Western Conferences. Of course, teams are also looking ahead to the offseason, where there figures to be a large number of coaching changes. Here are all the latest NBA news & rumors you need to know:
Why LeBron may leave the Cavs
LeBron James' pending free agency this summer has been one of the major storylines of the NBA season, and while a number of teams have been lining up to pursue him once he hits the open market, many believe he'll stay with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
However, Chris Sheridan of NJ.com reports that LeBron will indeed leave the Cavs this offseason due to owner Dan Gilbert's support of President Trump.
The No. 1 reason why this is going to happen is because Cavs owner Dan Gilbert is a huge Trump supporter; LeBron is not. It is a matter of public record that Gilbert donated $750,000 to President Trump’s inauguration fund. Quicken is now the largest mortgage lender in America, and according to Fortune’s real-time wealth calculator, Gilbert woke up this morning with a net worth of $6.3 billion.
LeBron has not had a good relationship with Gilbert since he left the franchise to join the Miami Heat in 2010, and that relationship has remained icy - for a number of reasons - since his return.
James is averaging 27.5 points, 9.2 assists, and 8.7 rebounds per game this season.
Rivers, Budenholzer Interested In Bucks Job
The Milwaukee Bucks are not expected to retain interim head coach Joe Prunty unless the team makes an unexpected playoff run, and if the job does come open, a pair of current coaches in Doc Rivers of the Los Angeles Clippers and Mike Budenholzer of the Atlanta Hawks are interested in the job, according to Woelfel's Press Box.
What’s more, multiple sources said two current head coaches — Doc Rivers of the Los Angeles Clippers and Mike Budenholzer of Atlanta – have more than a passing interest in the Bucks’ job and coaching the NBA’s brightest young star in Giannis Antetokounmpo. Some NBA officials said Budenholzer, who guided the Hawks to 60 wins just three seasons ago when he was accorded NBA’s Coach of the Year honors, also doesn’t want to be part of an extensive rebuild in Atlanta
Both the Clippers and Hawks are undergoing rebuilds and are missing the postseason after being in the playoffs last year, so it's not a surprise to see their coaches interested in going elsewhere.
Prunty, who has been an assistant in the NBA since 2002, took over for the fired Jason Kidd on Jan. 22, leading the Bucks to a 19-15 record.
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Magic to replace Vogel with Stackhouse?
The Orlando Magic are expected to fire head coach Frank Vogel after the season, and if they do, they're targeting Jerry Stackhouse to replace him, according to Woelfel.
Some NBA officials contend Orlando is leaning toward replacing current head coach Frank Vogel with Jerry Stackhouse, who has strong ties with Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman and Magic general manager John Hammond. Toronto assistant coach Nick Nurse has also been mentioned as a potential Magic coach.
Stackhouse has been the head coach of the Toronto Raptors' G-League affiliate, Raptors 905, since 2016. He led them to a league title and was named Coach of the Year last season.
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