SH Blog: Howard calls D’Antoni a “great person” when asked if he’s a great coach, Riley almost drafted Kaman over Wade

• Masai Ujiri is apparently cleaning the house already in Toronto as the soon-to-be new general manager, from Doug Smith of The Star: “It is open season on Raptors personnel and it’s impossible to tell how far and deep the cuts will go. Front office personnel are out, scouts are out, assistant coaches may be out and the week ahead could be a sea-changing period in the franchise’s history. New general manager Masai Ujiri, not yet formally on the job, has begun to wield a scythe provided to him by incoming Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment CEO Tim Leiweke, slashing a vast majority of a front office assembled and kept by team president Bryan Colangelo. Executive vice-president Ed Stefanski is out, vice-president of college scouting Marc Eversley’s future is at best clouded and bleak according to some sources while the team’s professional and regional scouting department is now barren.”

• The Minnesota Timberwolves are trying to move up the draft, according to Charley Walters of Pioneer Press (via Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk):

• Nate Robinson is willing to give New York a second chance if the opportunity provides itself, from Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York: “”Nate’s first thought would be to remain with the Bulls, but if the Knicks’ opportunity presented itself, I am sure he would appreciate an opportunity to play in New York again,” he told ESPNNewYork.com. Robinson started his NBA career in New York, where he played four-and-a-half seasons before being traded to the Celtics in Feb. 2010. During his time with the Knicks, he averaged 12.5 points, 2.8 assists and nearly one steal in about 25 minutes per game. Since then, Robinson has played for the Celtics, Thunder and Warriors, and he just wrapped up his first stint in Chicago, where he became one of the top playoff performers. Without Derrick Rose and mostly Kirk Hinrich due to injuries, Robinson took the reins at starting point guard and averaged 16.3 points, 4.4 assists and one steal in 12 postseason games.”

• The Detroit Pistons may be close to hiring Mo Cheeks as next season’s head coach, from Vince Ellis of Detroit Free Press: “The Detroit Pistons are inching closer to hiring a coach. Oklahoma City Thunder assistant coach Maurice Cheeks has emerged as a strong candidate — he had a third interview this past weekend. It was his first trip to the Detroit area to discuss the job. The first contact came several weeks ago via a phone interview. However, there isn’t a front-runner for the position, and the Pistons still have interest in former NBA head coach Nate McMillan. Cheeks, 56, was one of the league’s best point guards during a 15-year career spent mainly with the Philadelphia 76ers.”

• George Karl is in an unsettling situation with Ujiri out, and the Clippers may have interest in the coach, from Ramona Shelburne of ESPN: “Denver Nuggets coach George Karl’s status has become “unsettled” following the departure of general manager Masai Ujiri for the Toronto Raptors, two sources close to the situation said late Saturday night. Karl, who was named the NBA’s coach of the year following the Nuggets’ 57-win season, is not in any imminent danger of losing his job, the sources stressed. But Ujiri’s departure, coupled with Denver’s disappointing first-round playoff exit, has shaken things up in Denver to the point that Karl, who is under contract for just one more season, could, incredibly, begin the season on the hot seat after winning the league’s top coaching honor for the first time in his long career, instead of beginning extension talks. The Los Angeles Clippers have had initial conversations with the Nuggets about Karl, league sources said, but have yet to officially request permission to speak with him.”

• According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, Pat Riley nearly chose Chris Kaman over Dwyane Wade, via RealGM: “Due to the success of the Miami Heat going small in last season’s playoffs, Erik Spoelstra further embraced the concept in strategy and in personnel. The Heat had the best regular season record in the NBA and posted excellent numbers, but their lack of size has been an issue against the frontcourt of the Indiana Pacers. Pat Riley was sold on the practice by Spoelstra, though it went against his commonly believed notions of how to win in the NBA.”Pat Riley is a guy that believes in having big men,” said Windhorst in an ESPN podcast with Bill Simmons. “Pat Riley almost took Chris Kaman ahead of Dwyane Wade in 2003 because he knew how important it was to have a franchise center. At the time, Alonzo Mourning had just gone to New Jersey. If you look at Riley, he believes in the need to have a center.”

• Chris Bosh said LeBron James can’t do it alone if the Heat are going to win, from Tom Haberstroh of ESPN: “He can’t,” Bosh said in reference to James. “It’s never been like that in team sports history. We can’t just sit around and expect LeBron to do all the work and hope that he has a 50-point game. We have to do our part.”… “If you look at our best games, LeBron didn’t score 30 or 40 points,” Bosh said. “He probably had 20 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. That’s still a great game, but that just means the ball is moving and guys are being aggressive.”

• The Sacramento Kings are speaking with a multiple number of candidates for the vacant general manager position, from Ken Berger of CBSSports: “The Sacramento Kings’ new ownership group has reached out to Hall of Famers Larry Bird and Chris Mullin as well as former NBA coach Mike Dunleavy about running the team’s basketball operations, a search that is wide open, league sources told CBSSports.com on Monday. In addition to exploratory conversations with Bird and Mullin, the Kings have formally interviewed Dunleavy, Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace and Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk for the job, sources said. The search is “very fluid” and is expected to expand beyond the current crop of candidates, one person familiar with the process said. “It’s wide open,” another league source said. “It’s not concrete on those guys.”

Follow @SheridanBlog