NBA News

[abadani69]

When the older kids in his Houston neighborhood would pick on him or beat him up, little Daniel Gibson would run home crying to his mother. She gave him a nickname for not fighting back.

"'Crybaby Boobie,"' Gibson said.

It's just Boobie now.

Well, this crybaby knows a thing or two about 3-point shooting, and he made Rasheed Wallace and the Pistons go WAAAAHHHH! -- all the way home to Detroit.

During Cleveland's unprecedented playoff run to the NBA finals, the 21-year-old, always-smiling Gibson has emerged as an unlikely postseason hero. The second-round pick who left Texas after two seasons and who prayed he'd get selected by the Cavaliers, has become LeBron James' co-star and sidekick.

In the Cavs' conference-clinching Game 6 win over the Pistons on Saturday night, Gibson scored a season-high 31 points by making all five of his 3-pointers, including four in the fourth quarter, when he outscored Detroit 19-16.

In the midst of a scoring flurry nearly as stunning as James' 48-point effort in Game 5, more than 20,000 fans inside Quicken Loans Arena began chanting "Boo-bie, Boo-bie."

"It gave me goose bumps," Gibson said Monday. "I really truly thought it was all a dream. I didn't think it was real. But this morning when I woke up, it still happened."

Not long after he completed target practice on the Pistons, Gibson was given a royal escort to the postgame news conference by King James himself, who hollered "Out of the way for the superstar" to clear a path for Gibson.

James, who is 14 months older than Gibson, has been in his younger teammate's corner from the start.

"When we got Daniel in the second round (No. 42 overall), I believe it was a blessing in disguise," James said. "I believe we got a steal. I just knew how good of a basketball player he could be, and once I saw his work ethic during practice, after practice, before practice. ... I get to the gym early, and he's there before me."

As the youngest of Cheryl and Byron Gibson's four children, Daniel was raised to work hard, study hard and play hard. He drifted onto the basketball court at an early age and became a Texas high school scoring machine, racking up 3,102 career points at Jesse Jones High School.

Gibson played two seasons for the Longhorns before entering the draft. He wasn't sure where he'd be picked -- most figured late first or early second round -- but he knew where he wanted to go.

Cleveland, of all places.

"The Cavs were a team that I really wanted to play with because LeBron is such a great player," Gibson said. "I just wanted to have the opportunity to play with him and help him reach this level."

Following his pre-draft workout for the Cavaliers, Gibson canceled visits to other teams, including one to his hometown Rockets. His outside range made a lasting impression on Cavs coach Mike Brown, who envisioned Gibson being able to open the floor for James.

"When (Cavs general manager) Danny Ferry and those guys brought him out for the pre-draft stuff, he stroked the mess out that ball," Brown said, "and then in training camp you saw that again, and you saw his quickness, you saw his toughness and his explosiveness, and you're like -- wow."

But the rookie didn't get much playing time until late January, when he replaced Eric Snow in the starting lineup. He showed some grit early on -- challenging Miami's Shaquille O'Neal on a drive, hitting an off-balance layup while being knocked to the floor by Shaq.

"He could have smushed me," said Gibson, who has a photo of the hair-raising encounter in his locker.

Gibson's size -- he's listed as a very generous 6-foot-2 -- had Brown concerned about his ability to get the ball to the basket. He would need a new wrinkle to his game, and Brown, a former assistant with San Antonio, knew just the one.

"One of the first things I said to him was, 'Daniel, you're a small guy so you're not going to be able to have a medium game like (Detroit's) Rip (Hamilton) where you can get into the teeth of the defense and pull up.

"I said what you need to develop is the Tony Parker push shot. If you get that Tony Parker push shot down, with the way you shoot those 3s -- wooo. And as quick as you are and as tough as you are, you're going to be hard to stop."

Parker and the Spurs most likely will keep a close eye on Gibson, who averaged 13.5 points against the Pistons -- nine points above his regular-season average.

"I'm pretty sure that those guys are probably going to pay a little more attention to me," he said. "But at the same time we still have No. 23 out there so they had better pay attention to him. He's the guy that really gets me a lot of my looks."

[abadani69]

In his more than 10 years in the league, San Antonio's Bruce Bowen has seen plenty of impressive players and breakout performances -- most of them just a few inches from his face.

So when his matchup with LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers is billed as the top confrontation to watch in the upcoming NBA finals, Bowen is neither fazed nor impressed.

"The No. 1 assignment in the league?" Bowen repeated back when asked about guarding James. "That's your opinion, that's your opinion. ... There's a lot of other scorers in this league, too."

The Spurs' Bowen, who turns 36 on June 14, has been voted to the NBA All-Defensive team the last seven years and was selected for the first team the last four. He's been runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year the last three seasons.

The 6-foot-7, 200-pound Bowen will likely get much of the time against the 6-8, 240-pound James, who scored a career playoff high 48 points in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals against Detroit.

Since then, James's offensive prowess has dominated most talk about the finals. But Bowen isn't necessarily buying into it, especially not when the finals start Thursday in San Antonio.

"I think Michael Jordan's 60-something points in Boston was incredible. Now do I think it got this much media coverage? No. Did it deserve it? You could say it did," Bowen said. "Magic Johnson, his rookie year in the NBA, the show he put on in Philly. That is huge. But it goes to show you that if you're not playing anymore, it's, 'OK, well, we're looking for the next best thing.'

"I think it was impressive what he did and going through my mind, it's nothing, because I'm not there, I'm not a Detroit Piston, I'm just watching the game as an avid fan," Bowen added.

But don't get Bowen wrong. It's not as if he hasn't taken notice of James' skills.

"It's a matter of him being their foundation, their go-to guy, and he's going to do that night-in and night-out and it's important for us to come with our hard hats and be ready to play," Bowen said.

Bowen is used to the position he'll be in for the next couple weeks. As a defender who doesn't always put up the big numbers of Spurs teammates Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, Bowen is often seen as the antagonist to favorites like Steve Nash and Allen Iverson.

Or James.

"Everyone has an opinion. And I can't allow other's opinions to affect who I am or what I do," Bowen said.

Some of those opinions have been unfavorable. During this season's playoffs, Phoenix's Amare Stoudemire said Bowen purposely kicked him on the court during Game 2. Bowen said he "did clip him, but to kick him, that wasn't the intention at all."

Bowen was part of another mini-controversy in the same series after he kneed Nash in the groin area during Game 3. Nash said Bowen told him the move was unintentional, but the foul originally called on the play was later upgraded to a "flagrant foul 1."

"Bruce is a nice guy, a good guy. Despite what everyone says, Bruce is a great individual," Michael Finley said. "He's not ... a dirty player, none of those things. He's a competitor."

Bowen doesn't balk at the criticism he gets, nor at the task of guarding James.

"I never play defense saying, 'Hey, I've got Tim behind me,"' Bowen said. "I think that's the error some people may make when it comes to having a big man or taking the challenge upon yourself."

Still, Bowen's teammates and coach want him to know he's not out there by himself against James.

"Bruce's challenge is huge, but he can't make LeBron work by himself, it's got to be our team effort," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. "Nobody stops LeBron. He's an unstoppable player. He's one of those guys in the league that a team has to just work to make him work for what he gets. And it starts with whoever's going to guard him ... but our team has got to do a good job against him."

[abadani69]

As if the NBA finals weren't big enough, LeBron James has another major event in his life coming up.

He has another son on the way -- soon.

Cleveland's All-Star forward, enjoying the highest point of his professional career, is also thrilled about the upcoming birth of his second son with girlfriend Savannah Brinson, who had the couple's first child, LeBron James Jr., in 2004.

"It's great," James said Tuesday shortly before the Cavaliers left for San Antonio. "Any time you are able to have another child and something to live for and have responsibility for, it's always a big step in any man's life. And that I'm a part of the finals, something I've always watched growing up, it's something special."

Brinson is due to deliver on June 17, when the Cavaliers are tentatively scheduled to host Game 5 in Cleveland.

Will she make it?

"No," James said with a smile. "I don't think so."

If she goes into labor and the Cavaliers are still in Texas, James may not be able to get back to Ohio in time for the birth. The 22-year-old has discussed that possibility with his loved ones.

"My family understands what's going on," he said. "We've sat down and talked and we know how important this is for me and how important I am to my teammates. Savannah knows that and she knows if there's an opportunity I can be there, I will. And if not, I'm going to support my teammates. She understands."

James, who was raised by a single mother, said fatherhood has changed him. After the Cavs won the Eastern Conference title on Saturday night, he proudly carried his 2-year-old son around the floor of Quicken Loans Arena during the wild celebration.

"You know you're not just out there playing for yourself," he said. "You've got responsibility. You've got a last name to hold up. I've got a son and another son that I've got to represent out there. I don't want to make them look bad. I want to go out there and make them look good."

During the playoffs, James has stayed in close contact with Miami's Dwyane Wade, a close friend who recently welcomed his second child.

"Everyone knows me and LeBron are pretty tight," Wade said. "The main thing for us outside of basketball is making sure his fiancee and my wife are healthy. Going through the process of having a baby, I had mine and everything went great over here and hopefully it's the same for him."

AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed to this report.

[abadani69]

Billy Donovan's NBA coaching career might end up being a whole lot shorter than his pro playing career -- and that didn't last very long.

Donovan is trying to void the five-year, $27.5 million contract he signed last week with the Orlando Magic in hopes of returning to the Florida Gators, a person familiar with the negotiations said Monday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Earlier Monday, the Magic said Donovan was "conflicted" about his decision to leave the two-time NCAA champions. The NBA team also said talks were continuing regarding his contract.

"While Central Florida, the Orlando Magic and Billy were energized with the announcement of his contract signing on Friday, we know there was a different feeling in Gainesville and people have been tugging at him since that time," the Magic said in a statement.

"Billy is conflicted with those emotions and the opportunity he has ahead in Orlando and in the NBA. We've had numerous conversations and a personal visit in Gainesville with Billy over the last 48 hours, and we have a commitment from him that the dialogue between us will continue."

FoxSports.com, citing two anonymous sources, first reported Sunday that Donovan was having second thoughts about coaching the Magic and approached both sides about getting out of the deal. According to one of the sources, the Magic forced Donovan to make a rash decision.

The Orlando Sentinel reported Monday that Donovan had been released from his contract with the NBA team, and that the Magic had renewed their search to replace Brian Hill.

Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley said he had been advised to not talk about the situation, a possible indication that Donovan was trying to return to Gainesville.

"On advice of counsel, I cannot comment and will not," Foley said.

Donovan did not return repeated calls for comment.

He led the Gators to consecutive national titles the past two seasons and was slated to sign a seven-year deal worth approximately $3.5 million annually with Florida. The deal was nearly finalized when he agreed to coach the Magic.

Donovan, who played 44 games with the New York Knicks, said last week that he had always been intrigued by the NBA. He said Orlando was the perfect situation because it was an up-and-coming team and close to home.

Donovan, 42, agreed to the deal with Orlando on Thursday, one day after the Magic met with former Miami Heat coach Stan Van Gundy about the job. Van Gundy, who also interviewed for coaching vacancies in Charlotte, Indiana and Sacramento in recent weeks, might not be available for long; he had a second interview with Sacramento's ownership group in Las Vegas on Saturday.

The Gators contacted Virginia Commonwealth coach Anthony Grant soon after Donovan's decision. Foley had been scheduled to meet with Grant on Saturday in Richmond, Va., but the meeting never took place, and Grant said Sunday that he hadn't been offered the job.

If the Magic lose Donovan, it would be another setback for a franchise beset by them.

Orlando lost dominant center Shaquille O'Neal, who went on to win four NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat. The team signed guard Grant Hill in 2000 to a seven-year, $93 million contract. Hill missed most of his first four seasons because of recurring ankle problems, and has played just 200 regular-season games with Orlando.

And the Magic drafted Spain's Fran Vazquez in the first round in 2005, then Vazquez refused to play in the United States.

[donsaeid]

در آستانه بازي پاياني كنفرانس*هاي غرب و شرق

جوردن از تيم بسكتبال كارواليرز حمايت كرد

اسطوره ن ب ا براي ديدار نهايي كنفرانس*هاي غرب و شرق، به حمايت از تيم بسكتبال كارواليرز پرداخت.



به نقل از يوروا اسپورت، تيم بسكتبال سن آنتونيو كم روحيه فقط همين را كم داشت كه مايكل جوردن، اسطوره NBA در آستانه ديدار نهايي ميان دو قهرمان كنفرانس*ها شرق و غرب از كاواليرز حمايت كند.

مايكل جوردن گفت: "فقط به دليل ليبرون جيمز 22 ساله هم كه شده هوادار كلولند كارواليرز هستم و اميدوارم در بازي پاياني به قهرماني برسند."

وي ادامه داد: "جيمز به تنهايي 25 امتياز براي كارواليرز گرفت و وقتي بازي زيبايي او را تماشا مي*كردم، به ياد دوران اوج خود در شيكاگو بولز مي*افتادم كه يك تنه براي تيم امتياز كسب مي*كرد."

قهرمان 6 دوره NBA اظهار داشت: "13 فصل براي شيكاگو بولز بازي كردم و هيچوقت در حد جيمز براي تيم خود سودمند نبودم. آن شب، جيمز يك هديه بزرگ به كارواليرز و جوانان غربي آمريكا داد و پس از 37 سال تيمش را به ديدار نهايي كنفرانس ها در NBA رهنمون ساخت. او كار بسيار بزرگي انجام داد و از اين بابت براي او آرزوي موفقيت مي*كنم."

[abadani69]

Before heading into his press conference Wednesday, Mike Brown stopped for a quick chat with Gregg Popovich, a former boss who remains a close friend.

Whatever they discussed, you can be sure it had nothing to do with Xs and Os. Brown already knows too many of San Antonio's secrets.

LeBron James is Cleveland's superstar, but it is Brown, with his knowledge of the Spurs' system, who could be the Cavaliers' secret weapon heading into Game 1 of the NBA finals on Thursday night.

"He knows our playbook by heart, that's for sure," Spurs guard Tony Parker said. "He was an assistant coach here for a long time. He knows everybody, knows all our players, and so I think it's going to help him. It's going to take a little advantage.

"So it's going to play like two San Antonio teams."

The Cavaliers are at a huge disadvantage when it comes to NBA finals experience, with only reserve guard Eric Snow having played for the title. But the Cavs hope they have something that can make up for that: plenty of knowledge of what the Spurs do.

From Brown and assistant Hank Egan to general manager Danny Ferry and his assistant, Lance Blanks, Cleveland's hierarchy is filled with people who had roles in making the Spurs one of the league's elite teams.

And now it's up to Brown to become the first coach to solve them in the NBA finals.

"This definitely is a model franchise. We can't be the Spurs," Brown said. "We don't have the same makeup as them or anything like that. It's too hard to be somebody else. We've just got to be ourselves.

"But we definitely like the things that they've done. They've had success, and there are a lot of things that we've taken from this organization and tried to implement based on the people we have around us in the Cavaliers organization."

Brown spent three years as an assistant on Popovich's staff and was here in 2003 when the Spurs won the second of their three titles. He is 3-1 as a head coach against San Antonio, including two victories this season.

"Knowing what they run. Knowing the types of offensive plays they're running, how they play defense, the rotations are similar to what Coach Brown teaches," forward Drew Gooden said of what Cleveland learned from those wins.

"Throughout the season we tried to use this team as a measuring stick. I think now this is the ultimate measuring stick, is playing this team in the finals."

The Spurs have always been one of the league's best defensive teams under Popovich, and not surprisingly that is Brown's strength. Like San Antonio, the Cavs try to keep the games close with their defense and hope their stars -- James in Cleveland, Tim Duncan in San Antonio -- can win it for them.

Brown's way worked in the regular season, as Cleveland limited San Antonio to 79.5 points per game. The Spurs were held to a season-low 28 field goals in one of their losses, so they know how tough the Cavs can make things for them.

"You factor in the knowledge -- and everybody scouts, everybody knows each other anyhow -- but I just think that the way they play and the way we play just makes for, it's going to be 83-81, or something like that," Spurs assistant P.J. Carlesimo said. "I just think the games are going to be a lot better and a lot tougher than everybody thinks. I hope to hell I'm dead wrong."

Brown still owns a home in San Antonio and talks on the phone to Popovich, who said the Spurs "lost a good one" when Brown left after the 2003 title to become an associate head coach for the Indiana Pacers.

Two years later, he was head coach of the Cavaliers and has won 50 games in each of his two seasons. And while Duncan said there aren't many secrets when it comes to this stage, the Cavs hope that Brown has some tricks up his sleeve that can help them win a series that few expect them to.

For instance, finding a way to confuse the normally unflappable Duncan.

"I'm guessing that Mike won't throw a steady diet of anything at me," Duncan said. "I'll have some opportunities to play a little bit of 1-on-1 basketball, I'll see a lot of double teams, I'll see double teams come from different areas. I've got to imagine that he's got a bunch of things that he'll throw at me and ... just try to change it up so I don't know what's coming."

[abadani69]

Tim Duncan lumbered up the steps to the podium, then San Antonio's subtle superstar plopped down in a chair, ready to take questions from the eager international media.

If Duncan didn't look excited, well that's because he rarely does.

For him, the NBA finals are almost routine, and instead of talking about the game, he'd rather play it.

Duncan is going for his fourth NBA title in nine seasons and could be on his way to a fourth finals MVP. And this time around, the San Antonio Spurs' quiet constant is playing the foil to the Cleveland Cavaliers' flashy LeBron James.

"It's a different style. Two opposites, I want to say," the Spurs' Tony Parker said Wednesday. "Two different superstars, but at the same time, two very effective players. And so it's going to be a very good matchup."

It would be easy for the nine-time All-Star to have a big head after all these years, for him to note the playoff inexperience of James and his fellow Cavaliers heading into Game 1 on Thursday night. But Duncan is liberal with praise for others, including James, whom he called "absolutely impressive." Asked about himself, he's decidedly humble, almost to a fault.

"I am what I am. I don't know how else to explain it," Duncan said. "I've been the same way all my life, and it is what it is. But if you've got some endorsements out there that you can throw my way, I'll take them."

But lots of high-profile endorsements just aren't the low-profile Duncan's style. He's more soft-spoken than his 6 feet, 11 inches and 260 pounds would suggest. He's not selfish with the ball on the court, and doesn't hog the praise off of it.

Coach Gregg Popovich often says that everything on the team begins with Duncan and credits him with the Spurs' emotional stability.

"He's got a pretty even-keeled approach to most things. And I think that the team follows suit," Popovich said. "I just do whatever Tim wants me to do."

Even now, with the emerging James in his first finals, Duncan shuns any flattering comparisons between the 23-year-old Duncan of 1999, when the Spurs won their first championship, to the 22-year-old James of now.

"I cannot relate to him in any way, honestly. I was in a much different situation. I was on a veteran squad and I was more of a piece of the puzzle. I think he's a much bigger piece of this puzzle," Duncan said. "They're asking him to do a lot more."

James' responsibility is heightened by the fact that it's Cleveland's first finals trip and he is the face of the team.

For the Spurs, on the other hand, trips to the finals are becoming old hat. Besides 1999, they won it all in 2003 and 2005. Duncan, Parker and Manu Ginobili have been together for the last two title runs.

"We're not worried about who gets the hype or what gets the hype, we're about winning four games," Duncan said.

Ask several people what makes Duncan so impressive, and the answers will vary. But they'll all center on his consistency and patience throughout hundreds of games and 10 seasons, all of them with the Spurs. Duncan, like James, was picked No. 1 in the draft.

"He's got a sense of poise and pace about him where he never looks rattled," said Cleveland coach Mike Brown, who was an assistant under Popovich for three seasons in San Antonio. "When you watch a guy that never gets rattled or is not emotional, it's scary because whether they're up 20, down 20, you don't think they're ever out of the game because he's just steady. He's going to keep coming, keep coming, keep coming."

Popovich thinks some of Duncan's steadiness comes from studying under former San Antonio star David Robinson, who guided Duncan and the Spurs until his retirement after the 2002-03 season.

"Timmy began with great character. It wasn't like this was a troubled child that was brought in or anything like that," Popovich said. "But just to have (Robinson) as a role model helped Timmy understand what it meant to have that responsibility, to show that kind of leadership once the team was turned over to him."

[abadani69]

Perhaps it was the sight of all those cameras in his face that made Michael Finley temporarily forget basic geography.

Answering a question about LeBron James, Finley said the Cavaliers superstar had done a lot for the "state of Cleveland."

"Excuse me, the city of Cleveland," Finley said. "I'm a little excited, too."

Given that it took the Spurs guard 12 years to get here, that excitement is certainly understood.

On a team loaded with NBA finals veterans, Finley is playing for his first championship. And since he grew up a Bulls fan watching Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen win six titles, he never imagined it would take this long.

"When I was growing up in Chicago, I thought this was something that everybody experienced, playing in the finals or just being part of the finals," Finley said. "Watching MJ and Scottie lead those teams to those trophies was very exciting for me at the time and it was something that made me want to get to this point to get the opportunity to feel what they felt then in the NBA finals. And after 12 years I'm finally here."

Finley spent most of his career in Dallas, teaming with Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash to turn a team that for years was one of the NBA's biggest losers into one of the top teams in the powerful Western Conference. But the Mavericks couldn't get past the Spurs, who signed Finley after Dallas waived him in a cost-cutting move following the 2004-05 season.

To make matters worse, Dallas reached the finals in the year after Finley left -- beating the Spurs along the way.

"From a competitive standpoint, I was a little bit jealous," Finley said, "being that I felt that I was an integral part of that team building and becoming a championship-caliber team. And then not to get a chance to play in the game, it was a little hurt, but at the same time it was something that motivated me coming into this season."

But Finley, who moved into San Antonio's starting lineup late in the season and has averaged 13.1 points in the playoffs, never gave up hope that he would finally get his chance.

"I knew my time would come," he said. "I thought it would be in Dallas. But I've always had a feeling that my time would come, and better late than never."

CAVS GETTING DUCKS IN A ROW

Just call him Drew "Ducky" Gooden.

The lone patch of hair the Cavaliers' Gooden sports at the base of his neck is apparently called a "duck tail" and is the result of an early season dare.

"Everybody started bringing back these mohawks and all these 80s hairstyles," Gooden said. "That's my contribution to the retro comeback."

And it could be around for a while.

"At the beginning of the year ... I didn't think I was going to do it," Gooden said. "I proved them wrong. I went longer in the season, now I'm in the postseason with it and who knows, if we win the whole thing I might continue to have it."

Gooden's patch may be the start of a yet another superstition for the Cavs forward. When he caught his roommate and his little brother playing a video game with the Spurs matched against the Cavs recently, he told them to turn it off.

"I didn't want them to jinx the series," he said, noting that his team was losing early in the first quarter of the virtual game.

TREATS FOR THE TEAMS

Far from home and in hostile territory, the Cleveland Cavaliers were receptive to the down-home motherly warmth brought to them in the form of cookies from Marjorie Johnson, a blue-ribbon baker who appears on NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

Johnson made the rounds Wednesday, camera crew in tow, at practices for both the Cavs and their opponent, the San Antonio Spurs, offering sugary goodness out of a shiny red tin to any and every player who was interested.

At least one Cavalier -- name withheld to protect him from coach Mike Brown -- could be seen crunching away right on the court.

And when the Spurs' 6-foot-6 Manu Ginobili politely refused her offer, Johnson, who couldn't be much more than 4 feet tall and was decked out all in red, persisted, urging him to take one for later.

LET'S GO TO THE VIDEO

Bad news for "Video Game James." A video game said he will come up short in the NBA finals.

The San Antonio Spurs won their fourth NBA title by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games in an EA Sports NBA Live 07 simulation. Tim Duncan was the finals MVP, just as he was in their previous three triumphs.

LeBron James, whose earned his nickname from teammate Drew Gooden after scoring 29 of Cleveland's final 30 points in a sensational one-man performance in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, had some dominant moments in the series.

He had 36 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in Cleveland's Game 3 victory, then had 30 points, 11 assists and nine boards as the Cavs stayed alive with a 93-91 victory in Game 5 when Robert Horry missed a potential series-winning shot at the buzzer.

But James managed just 19 points on 6-of-22 shooting in the Spurs' 102-89 romp in Game 4, and the Spurs wrapped it up in Game 6 behind 26 points and 11 rebounds from Duncan in a 96-89 victory.

The good news for James? The video game simulation was wrong last year, giving Dallas a seven-game victory over Miami. The Heat won the real series in six games.

BOOBIE PRIZES

Daniel Gibson's emergence in the Eastern Conference finals has given the Cleveland Cavaliers another weapon alongside LeBron James.

Not to mention more merchandise for Cleveland fans to buy.

Adidas has created a "Shoot Boobie Shoot" T-shirt, playing off Gibson's nickname. Dick's Sporting Goods and JC Penny are among the retailers that have rushed to order Gibson's No. 1 jersey after not carrying any of his product all season.

Then again, Gibson wasn't exactly well-known nationally before last week. A rookie second-round draft pick, Gibson averaged only 4.6 points while playing in 60 games during the regular season.

But the Cavs needed outside shooting to open things up for James, and Gibson made the most of his chances, scoring 21 points in a Game 4 victory that evened the conference finals with Detroit, then a career-best 31 in the Game 6 clincher.

"He played well. He's going to play with a lot of confidence," Spurs guard Tony Parker said. "He had a great Game 6. He got 31 points at that performance, so we have to be ready for him. He hit some big shots, he's fearless, so it's going to be a good challenge for me, and I'll be ready."

[abadani69]

Steve Kerr offered a deadpan response to a question about the moves he's planning as the Phoenix Suns' new general manager.

"I'm going to shop (Steve) Nash immediately," he said, bringing a roar of laughter from the media and team officials attending his introductory news conference at U.S. Airways Center on Wednesday.

When the laughter subsided, Kerr said he plans to tweak the Suns, not tear them apart.

"We've had a great team for three years," said Kerr, who agreed to a three-year contract. "This is not something that needs an overhaul."

The 41-year-old Kerr will take the general manager duties from coach Mike D'Antoni, who had added the responsibilities after Bryan Colangelo left for Toronto in February 2006.

"This is the best of all things that could happen for me," D'Antoni said.

Kerr's hiring was made official Wednesday. But it has been in the works since managing partner Robert Sarver bought the club three years ago.

Sarver had University of Arizona season tickets when Kerr helped lead the Wildcats to their first Final Four in 1988. When Sarver was looking into buying the Suns, Arizona coach Lute Olson introduced him to Kerr, who helped make introductions within the NBA and eventually became an investor in Sarver's group.

"This wasn't a case where I'm coming in cold turkey and trying to figure out what's going on," Kerr said. "I know pretty well what's going on, and I'm very comfortable with it. I love the style of play. I love Mike's coaching abilities. I love the players. It's an incredibly talented group."

The Suns have two first-round picks and a second-rounder in the upcoming NBA draft, and Kerr said "we anticipate using those picks."

Kerr spent 15 seasons as a guard in the NBA, winning three titles with the Chicago Bulls and two more with the San Antonio Spurs. Kerr, who retired as a player in 2003, holds the record for career 3-point field goal percentage (.454, 726-of-1,599).

Kerr has spent the last four years as a television analyst. But Sarver said Kerr's lack of front-office experience won't slow him.

"Steve has been successful at everything he's done," Sarver said. "He's a winner. He's a champion."

Kerr said he expects to rely heavily on David Griffin, who on Wednesday added the word "senior" to his title of vice president of basketball operations. Griffin, a Phoenix native who has been with the club since 1993, recently turned down an offer to become general manager of the Memphis Grizzlies.

Kerr called the Suns "very, very close to a championship but not quite there. One of the things that was really attractive to me about the job was the fact that I'm not coming in and trying to rebuild something that's on the ground."

D'Antoni said he didn't expect Kerr to change the Suns' up-tempo style, which has made them popular among fans but has yet to produce an NBA title.

"It would have been changed a long time ago if he didn't like it," D'Antoni said.

Kerr's wife, Margot, and their three children will remain in the family's home in San Diego. He said he'll have a home in Phoenix and spend "the majority" of his time there.

"We've moved so often, it's difficult to bounce everybody around," Kerr said. "We just felt like this is probably best, to keep them there. Obviously, the proximity from San Diego to Phoenix makes it feasible."

For Kerr, the general manager job completes a journey that began in 1988, when the Suns drafted him in the second round, 50th overall.

"I was thinking this morning on my way over here, 19 years ago I was drafted by Jerry (Colangelo) and Cotton Fitzsimmons and brought up the road from the U. of A.," Kerr said. "I don't know that I ever would have thought I would be sitting in this chair back then."

Kerr averaged 2.1 points in 26 games with Phoenix in 1988-89.

"I hope I can make a little more of an impact than I did in my 26-game stint with the Suns 19 years ago," he said.

[abadani69]

The Sacramento Kings might have moved to the top of Stan Van Gundy's list of suitors.

Van Gundy spent Wednesday in Sacramento, touring the area and meeting with Kings officials for further discussions about becoming their head coach, the club confirmed.

The Orlando Magic are also hoping to sign Van Gundy after Florida coach Billy Donovan backed out of a deal over the weekend, but the Kings apparently are making a renewed push to get the former Miami Heat coach. The Indiana Pacers aggressively pursued Van Gundy during the offseason before hiring Jim O'Brien.

Orlando released Donovan from his five-year, $27.5 million deal late Wednesday.

Van Gundy, a Northern California native, was expected to meet with Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie, who just returned to Sacramento from a pre-draft camp in Orlando.

Efforts to contact Van Gundy weren't successful Wednesday, and Petrie didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.

The Kings have interviewed several candidates to replace Eric Musselman, who was fired April 20 after one tumultuous 33-win season. But Van Gundy and Lakers assistant coach Kurt Rambis are the only candidates who received invitations for second interviews in Las Vegas last week, where both met with Petrie and owners Joe and Gavin Maloof at the Maloofs' casino.

Van Gundy coached the Heat for two seasons before resigning early in his third campaign, citing a desire to spend more time with his family. Pat Riley took over the club and led it to the NBA title, while Miami retained Van Gundy's services as a consultant.

That contract could hamper the Magic's hopes of signing Van Gundy from their division rivals: Riley, also the Heat's president, is thought to want compensation from Orlando for signing Van Gundy, while Miami probably wouldn't require compensation from the Pacific Division's Kings.

Van Gundy's love for family might help the Kings. He grew up in Martinez, Calif., a Bay Area town about 60 miles from Sacramento.

But Orlando has the pull of budding superstar Dwight Howard, a young playoff roster and ample salary cap room that could be used to improve it. The Kings' streak of eight consecutive playoff berths ended last season, and the club has no cap room to alter a roster full of veterans who squabbled over personality issues and playing time last season.

Van Gundy's teams in Miami were strong defensively, and the Maloofs still desire a defense-oriented team after dazzling the NBA for eight years with former coach Rick Adelman's uptempo offense. Musselman couldn't coax Sacramento to play strong defense last season despite the presence of Ron Artest, once considered one of the league's top defensive players.

[abadani69]

Headphones tilted back on his head, LeBron James walked the Cleveland Cavaliers through the shadowy tunnel and into the arena's gleaming lights -- and their first NBA finals.

"We're here now!" James shouted.

He brought them.

And he will decide how far they'll go.

Tagged as the face of the league and saddled with huge expectations, James arrived at basketball's ultimate stage Wednesday as the Cavaliers and San Antonio Spurs practiced for the last time before Thursday's Game 1 at AT&T Center.

The climactic setting is a new one for the Cavaliers. It was only four years ago when they won 17 games while playing in front of as many empty seats as filled ones at home.

"It was like we weren't even in the NBA," said center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, drafted by the club in 1996. "We were in a deep depression as an organization."

Those gloomy days were B.LB. -- Before LeBron.

The 22-year-old has been a household name in the U.S. since he was an Akron, Ohio, high school phenomenon, and his growing popularity has made him just as well known on the playgrounds of Beijing.

In these playoffs, his second trip to the postseason, James has elevated his multidimensional game to a higher level, pushing the Cavaliers within four victories of Cleveland's first major sports title since 1964.

His appearance in the best-of-seven series should do wonders for the NBA's globalization plan. Undoubtedly, he'll also boost TV ratings, perhaps tempting casual viewers interested in seeing if he can match his jaw-dropping, 48-point performance in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals against Detroit.

It's as if Michael Jordan, the more famous tongue-wagging No. 23, has resurfaced. Not quite. Not yet.

With most of the attention focused on James, the other team in this LeBronian lovefest isn't getting its proper due. But hasn't that always been the case for the Spurs, standing at the edge of their fourth championship since 1999?

"The league is about new, exciting things," said Spurs forward Michael Finley. "And LeBron is that thing right now."

The Spurs are still, well, the Spurs: basic, boring and bland -- just how their humble star center Tim Duncan and the Western Conference champs like it.

They have always won with defense, and still do. The league's stingiest defensive squad during the regular season must figure out how to slow James, who sliced up the Pistons for 25.7 points, 9.2 rebounds and 8.5 assists, putting him with Oscar Robertson (1963), John Havlicek (196 and Larry Bird (1986) as the only players to reach those averages in a conference finals.

Detroit tried to double- and triple-team the 6-foot-8, 245-pound James, whose ability to pass over the top of defenders allowed him to find wide-open teammates for easy shots.

Spurs forward Bruce Bowen will be assigned to guard James, but he'll need help, especially when James decides to post him up near the basket.

"Any way I can gain 40 pounds overnight?" Bowen joked. "He's so strong and young; it's hard to believe that he's 22 with the body of a 30-year-old. That creates problems. There's nothing you can do about that. There are certain things you can do to adjust, but when people are just physically gifted and that talented, it creates a difficulty."

On his last visit deep in the heart of Texas, James scored 35 points with 11 rebounds and four assists on the Spurs, crowning his Nov. 3 performance with a monstrous dunk over a defenseless Duncan, who stood under the basket with his arms raised overhead as if being held up by bandits.

James won't have it easy as the Spurs likely will blitz him wherever and whenever he touches the ball.

"Defensively, they're one of the best teams in the NBA," he said. "They work well together on the defensive end. You know if you beat one guy, another guy steps up. They've been pretty good throughout the years on the defensive end. But it's no added pressure for me."

Finally, the Cavaliers seem to have a supporting cast James can count on.

Sometimes unselfish to a fault, James followed up his 48-point extravaganza with a more typical Game 6. He scored 20 points on 3-of-11 shooting. But it was his ability to draw defenders and feed rookie Daniel Gibson, who made four 3-pointers and scored a season-high 31, that helped the Cavs advance.

Not long ago, the thought was that James needed a superstar sidekick, a player like Jordan had in Scottie Pippen. Turns out, James might have all he needs.

"We've had different guys step up in different games," Ilgauskas said. "So LeBron hasn't had to count on just one guy. There's always somebody else scoring, somebody else rebounding. We might not have other superstars, but we got other guys who play good basketball."

Ceaselessly confident, James isn't showing any pre-finals jitters. The whole world might be watching to see what he'll do, but that's nothing new. In the past, the spotlight has been a warming place -- not one to shun.

Before the Cavaliers boarded their team bus, James paused to sign autographs for fans waiting outside the team's hotel and then danced his way on board to the music in his headphones. He was playful, behaving like a kid and not the father of one son (and soon two) about to play in the highest-stakes game of his life.

"Sometimes he acts like he's 18," Cavs coach Mike Brown said. "He's just a good-natured, good-spirited individual. He likes to have fun, but when it gets time to lace the shoes up and get out on that hardwood, he's a pretty focused individual."

Jordan was 28 when he won his first title; Duncan was 23. This might be James' year, it might not be. But Brown says it will eventually happen.

"He's too talented, too driven not to win one," Brown said. "I agree with the talk that in order to be quote-unquote, one of the best players in the world, you should have one of those on your resume, if not more.

"It's a matter of time for him."

[abadani69]

Former North Carolina point guard and New York Knicks assistant coach Phil Ford was hired as an assistant coach by the Charlotte Bobcats on Thursday.

New coach Sam Vincent also brought in veteran NBA and college coach Lee Rose -- who led Charlotte and Purdue to the Final Four -- and retained Jeff Capel, who was an assistant under former Bobcats coach Bernie Bickerstaff.

Ford led the Tar Heels to the NCAA championship game in 1977 and won the Wooden Award as the nation's top player the following year as a senior. He later spent 12 years as an assistant at North Carolina under Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge, but also had problems off the court when he was arrested twice on drunken driving charges.

Ford, 51, was let go when Matt Doherty replaced Guthridge as head coach in 2000. He had spent the past three years as an NBA assistant with Detroit and New York.

Rose, 70, led Charlotte to the 1977 Final Four and guided Purdue to the national semifinals three years later. He then served as an NBA assistant with four teams, including a five-year stint with the former Charlotte Hornets.

Vincent had said he was looking for a veteran assistant like Rose to help guide him in his first year as an NBA head coach.

Capel was an assistant with the Bobcats in each of their three seasons and will be the only holdover from the former staff.

[abadani69]

Donyell Marshall has played with teammates whose negative reactions to mistakes hurt his confidence.

So he was probably both surprised and relieved by LeBron James' reaction after he took a pass from James but missed an open 3-point attempt that would have won Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

"We go into the locker room and he's laughing," Marshall said Wednesday. "And I turned to him and I'm like, 'What the (heck) are you laughing at?

"He's like, 'You had a great shot, you just missed it.' And that right there lifts you right back up. A lot of guys could sit up there and say, 'Man, I should have shot it' and complained about it. He's there laughing. I'm sitting at the locker (angry)."

James was heavily criticized for the decision to pass instead of shoot on that play, but has said he will always pass if it is the right play. And he insists his teammates take the open shot, even if they are struggling -- as Marshall did at one point in the second round against New Jersey.

"After Game 5, when I was 0-for-7, the reason I went 0-for-7 is because he's the one who kept telling me to shoot the damn ball," Marshall said. "I didn't want to shoot it no more. He's the one who kept telling me to shoot it, but then I think it helps me out in Game 6 because I had the confidence to keep shooting, that he was going to keep coming to me."

The San Antonio Spurs will surely try to get the ball out of James' hands in the NBA finals, and James will keep going to players such as Marshall and Daniel Gibson. And they have just one complaint.

"We told LeBron that he buzzes us a lot," Marshall said. "When he passes it to us, in the middle of the pass he's yelling. 'Shoot it!' We're like, 'Man, just relax. You're telling us to shoot it, we're listening to you while we're trying to focus on our shot.' But that's the confidence he has in us."

FINALLY FOR FINLEY

Perhaps it was the sight of all those cameras in his face that made Michael Finley temporarily forget basic geography.

Answering a question about LeBron James, Finley said the Cavaliers' superstar had done a lot for the "state of Cleveland."

"Excuse me, the city of Cleveland," Finley said. "I'm a little excited, too."

Given that it took the Spurs' guard 12 years to get here, that excitement is certainly understood.

On a team loaded with NBA finals veterans, Finley is playing for his first championship. And since he grew up a Bulls fan watching Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen win six titles, he never imagined it would take this long.

"When I was growing up in Chicago, I thought this was something that everybody experienced, playing in the finals or just being part of the finals," Finley said. "Watching MJ and Scottie lead those teams to those trophies was very exciting for me at the time and it was something that made me want to get to this point to get the opportunity to feel what they felt then in the NBA finals. And after 12 years I'm finally here."

Finley spent most of his career in Dallas, teaming with Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash to turn a team that for years was one of the NBA's biggest losers into one of the top teams in the powerful Western Conference. But the Mavericks couldn't get past the Spurs, who signed Finley after Dallas waived him in a cost-cutting move following the 2004-05 season.

To make matters worse, Dallas reached the finals in the year after Finley left -- beating the Spurs along the way.

"From a competitive standpoint, I was a little bit jealous," Finley said, "being that I felt that I was an integral part of that team building and becoming a championship-caliber team. And then not to get a chance to play in the game, it was a little hurt, but at the same time it was something that motivated me coming into this season."

But Finley, who moved into San Antonio's starting lineup late in the season and has averaged 13.1 points in the playoffs, never gave up hope that he would finally get his chance.

"I knew my time would come," he said. "I thought it would be in Dallas. But I've always had a feeling that my time would come, and better late than never."

CAVS GETTING DUCKS IN A ROW

Just call him Drew "Ducky" Gooden.

The lone patch of hair the Cavaliers' Gooden sports at the base of his neck is apparently called a "duck tail" and is the result of an early season dare.

"Everybody started bringing back these mohawks and all these 80s hairstyles," Gooden said. "That's my contribution to the retro comeback."

And it could be around for a while.

"At the beginning of the year ... I didn't think I was going to do it," Gooden said. "I proved them wrong. I went longer in the season, now I'm in the postseason with it and who knows, if we win the whole thing I might continue to have it."

Gooden's patch may be the start of a yet another superstition for the Cavs forward. When he caught his roommate and his little brother playing a video game with the Spurs matched against the Cavs recently, he told them to turn it off.

"I didn't want them to jinx the series," he said, noting that his team was losing early in the first quarter of the virtual game.

TREATS FOR THE TEAMS

Far from home and in hostile territory, the Cleveland Cavaliers were receptive to the down-home motherly warmth brought to them in the form of cookies from Marjorie Johnson, a blue-ribbon baker who appears on NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

Johnson made the rounds Wednesday, camera crew in tow, at practices for both the Cavs and their opponent, the San Antonio Spurs, offering sugary goodness out of a shiny red tin to any and every player who was interested.

At least one Cavalier -- name withheld to protect him from coach Mike Brown -- could be seen crunching away right on the court.

And when the Spurs' 6-foot-6 Manu Ginobili politely refused her offer, Johnson, who couldn't be much more than 4 feet tall and was decked out all in red, persisted, urging him to take one for later.

[abadani69]

Sam Presti owes becoming the youngest general manager in the NBA to a homesick teammate at Emerson College.

Eight years ago, Presti, captain of the basketball team at Boston's renowned school for communication and the arts, talked the discouraged player out of quitting and going home to Colorado.

The teammate's father, the superintendent of schools in Aspen, was so appreciative that he invited Presti to coach at a summer basketball camp that happened to be run by R.C. Buford, the general manager of the San Antonio Spurs.

"Fortunately, I somehow endeared myself to them," Presti, now 30, said Thursday of Buford and the Spurs, who entered Thursday four wins from a fourth NBA title since 1999.

By the next summer, Buford had hired Presti as a $250-per-month intern. Seven years later, after establishing himself as a scouting guru and salary cap wizard, San Antonio's former assistant GM is in Seattle.

His mandate as he replaces Rick Sund: Lead the Sonics' search for a new coach, then their return to relevance after their worst season in 21 years.

"I view the San Antonio Spurs as the premier franchise in our business. And Sam Presti had clearly had an important role within that organization, contributed to their winning and how they do business," Sonics owner Clay Bennett said. "But that is not why he got the job.

"He got the job because of who he is, how he does things. ... He is thoughtful. He is methodical. He is measured."

Lenny Wilkens will return to his role as vice chairman. Wilkens, the 70-year-old Hall of Fame coach, had been the president of basketball operations and Bennett's point man on team matters since last fall.

The Sonics own the second pick in the June 28 draft. Seattle's first-round selection is expected to be easy: Kevin Durant or Greg Oden, whomever Portland doesn't take with the No. 1 pick.

Days after that, the Sonics must decide how much money and effort to direct at Rashard Lewis, the team's second-leading scorer, who opted out of the last two years of his contract to become a free agent.

The Sonics still don't have a coach after firing Bob Hill on April 24, the same day they demoted Sund to consultant.

Presti spoke in generalities about his vision for the Sonics, including on the hiring of a coach. Former Sonics assistant Dwane Casey has said he is interested in the job after getting fired last winter in Minnesota. Rick Carlisle, the former coach with Detroit and Indiana who was a Sonics broadcaster in 2000, is another possibility.

Spurs assistant P.J. Carlesimo, the former coach at Portland and Golden State, instantly becomes a more viable candidate because he worked with Presti the past five seasons.

About the only thing Presti committed to was saying that his Sonics will not try to become Spurs West on the floor. But he will address what has been one of the league's worst defenses in recent seasons.

"That's San Antonio. It's a special situation with some special, special talents," Presti said. "That's not what we are trying to recreate here."

Presti is currently the league's youngest GM -- but not the youngest in NBA history. A 28-year-old Jerry Colangelo became GM of the expansion Phoenix Suns in 1968.

"I wanted a candidate on the way up," Bennett said, "who perhaps in their youth perhaps would not hesitate on certain decision-making processes or ideas or concepts that an older candidate might, because he's tried that or thought he's tried that or seen that."

In San Antonio, where the Spurs were preparing to host Cleveland in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, coach Gregg Popovich wasn't surprised by Presti's departure .

"He has been a key component of the success of the Spurs organization and, although we hate to lose him, we knew it was a matter of time before a team came calling," Popovich said.

[abadani69]

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 they would allow Donovan to back out of his five-year, $27.5 million deal, about three days after news broke that he 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."

Donovan was apologetic -- to fans, his family, the Magic and Florida -- but said no one from the Gators pressured him. He said Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley wouldn't even talk about the situation because Donovan was under contract with Orlando.

"When I made the decision, the next morning it just did not feel right for me," Donovan said. "I've got too much respect for the Magic, for the organization, for their team, for their fans, to continue on."

Van Gundy coached the 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.

The Magic said they had a "legal right to hold Billy to the contract he signed," but let him go because he wanted to be elsewhere.

Neither the team nor Donovan would discuss specifics of the breakup, but Donovan acknowledged he was prevented from coaching in the NBA. He didn't specify for how long, but reports have circulated it was five years.

"That was something we both talked about, and that was something I was glad to accept because I knew in my heart that's not where I wanted to be," Donovan said. "I wanted to be at Florida."

For the second time in six days, Smith held a basketball painted team colors and posed for pictures with a man he introduced as head coach. He tried to keep a sense of humor.

"We started this offseason and the process of looking for a head coach. We targeted two guys, and we actually hired them both within a six day period of time," Smith said.

Van Gundy also was considered by the Charlotte Bobcats and Indiana Pacers, but those teams hired other coaches. He was in Sacramento yesterday, close to accepting a job with the Kings because the Orlando situation was so fragile. But Van Gundy said Orlando was his top choice.

"From a professional standpoint this is just a tremendous opportunity," he said. "You come to a franchise here in Orlando that has a great young core, starting with a 21-year-old All-Star in Dwight Howard, several other very good young players, salary cap flexibility -- and beyond the flexibility moneywise a very attractive place for players to come."

Van Gundy was Riley's longtime protege before taking over as Heat coach shortly Dwyane Wade's first season, in 2003-04. That team started 0-7, but wound up 42-40 and made the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Wade, the MVP of last season's NBA finals, credits Van Gundy for turning the season around.

Now, the two will meet four times a season as opponents in the Southeast Division.

"It'll be exciting to go against a coach that I feel really helped me develop to this point and, as always, there's that mutual respect," Wade said this week. "So best of luck to Stan and his family and hopefully he gets what he wants and what he deserves."

Van Gundy's brother, Jeff, spent parts of 11 seasons coaching the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets. Last month, Jeff was fired from the Rockets. Their father, Bill, was a successful college coach in upstate New York.

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.

He said he was ready to get back on the sideline after taking a year and a half off -- his first vacation from 25 years as a college and pro coach and assistant.

"I got a chance to recharge and get reacquainted with my family and do a lot of things. But in the last six months, really since the turn of the year, probably after the holidays, I started wanting to get back in it more and more," Van Gundy said.

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 season, second best in franchise history.

AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed to this report.