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Basketball Rumors for Tuesday, April 25

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To allow for its teams to have all the necessary information to make offseason preparations, the NBA will announce its all-NBA teams before its inaugural awards show in late June, according to league sources. Because of the newly created Designated Player Exception, which relies on players making, among other things, one of the three all-NBA teams to qualify, decisions about whether players — such as Indiana Pacers star Paul George, for example — will be willing to remain with their current team or be open to being traded elsewhere could be based upon whether a player is voted on to one of the teams. Washington Post

The newly created awards show will air on June 26, several days after the NBA draft, which, if the all-NBA teams were announced during the awards show, would have put teams in a tough spot. The Pacers, for example, wouldn’t know whether George qualifies for the massive extra payout that comes with being eligible for the DPE, or if he would not, which could make the team more willing to trade him with one year left on his contract before he can become a free agent. Washington Post

In officially announcing his participation with Team Latvia this summer, Kristaps Porzingis revealed Monday he still has not spoken to Knicks officials since the season ended or gotten express permission from the team on his decision to play in the European championships. Speaking at a press conference in Leipaja, his hometown, and flanked by his two brothers, the disgruntled 7-foot-3 star said in his native tongue, according to a translation provided by Latvian journalist Ingmars Jurisons: “To be honest — I don’t want to comment on anything that happened at the season’s end. Personally I did not have any contact with anybody from the club [since the season ended], so … better that Janis comment on this.” NY Post

As he did last week, Porzingis declined to specify why he blew off his exit meeting with Knicks president Phil Jackson on April 13. “I don’t want to talk about what happened between me and the club,” Porzingis said, repeating the line twice during a 45-minute press conference attended by about 45 European journalists. NY Post

So with Bryant devoting an animated short explaining his love for that orange ball, does he miss holding it and shooting it? “No, I don’t,” Bryant said. “It’s crazy because I started playing when I was two. After playing for 20 years in the league, what I have now is everything that I’ve learned from the game, I carry with me to this day. So the game has never truly left me. Physically, yes. But emotionally and the things that are right, all stem from the game. It’s still a part of me.” LA Daily News

So instead of showing his love for basketball on the hardwood, Bryant has since channeled that passion in the film room. Bryant teamed with director Glen Keane on the project, while having input on telling the story himself. “I tried to write it very in a visual way versus simply coming out and saying this is how I feel,” Bryant said. “I tried to put it through stories. You see the dedication and commitment toward rolling my dad’s tube socks. You see it through all the VHS tapes of past games so you can see the growth and see the love.” LA Daily News

It all started Sunday night after Boston’s Game 4 win, when Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg claimed Isaiah Thomas was getting away with dribbling violations that made him “impossible to guard.” The Celtics point guard offered an amused retort shortly thereafter, and on Monday, it was Brad Stevens’ turn to weigh in on “DribbleGate.” As you might expect, the even-keeled Celtics coach took the high road, choosing not to call out Hoiberg for his criticisms. NESN

“I’m not going to say what I would or wouldn’t do with regard to what somebody else chooses to say,” Stevens told reporters in a conference call. “I’m not putting a lot of weight into that. … I think highly of Coach Hoiberg. I’ve known him for a long time. Whatever he wants to say is his prerogative.” Stevens still defended his player, though, replying with a simple “no” when asked if he believed Thomas was guilty of carrying in Game 4. NESN

A day after announcing that he will step away from in-game coaching indefinitely, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr attended shoot-around Monday morning at Moda Center. When doors opened to reporters, Kerr was chatting with trainer Chelsea Lane on the sideline. That he was well enough to leave his hotel room was an encouraging sign. Mike Brown, the interim head coach with Kerr out, handled media responsibilities. San Francisco Chronicle

Los Angeles D-Fenders guard Vander Blue has been named the 2016-17 NBA Development League Most Valuable Player in a vote by the league’s 22 head coaches, it was announced today. Blue (6-4, 200) played in 47 games (46 starts) for the D-Fenders this season, averaging 24.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game while finishing as the league’s third-leading scorer. Inside Hoops

The New York Gotham Ballers of the Champions Basketball League are the city’s only publicly owned pro team, and while they may not have the kind of star power most NBA teams bring to the court, the Gotham Ballers are encroaching on rare air by allowing fans access to the owner’s suite, so to speak. “We kind of made real the fantasy sports idea, didn’t we?” league CEO Carl George said. NY Daily News

While Gotham Ballers represent the only chance regular New Yorkers may have of owning a piece of a professional sports franchise, the CBL [Champions Basketball League] represents life after the NBA for select players trying to get another season or two out of their diminished legs, trying to continue earning a paycheck for playing ball. NY Daily News

For a minimum investment of $140, fans can buy at least 20 shares ($7 each) of the team. The maximum investment by a single person is limited to $25,000. Ownership qualifies for different levels of fan-owner perks like VIP parking, access to players and coaches, and travel to road games with the team. NY Daily News

Fans can buy common shares for a small piece of the Gotham Ballers, an idea that originated as a club for fans to buy into that earns them dozens of “super-fan owner perks,” according to George. Up to 20 percent of the team is open for public bid and so far, more than 1,000 fans have invested more than $438,000 for a piece of the franchise, about half the team’s stated goal of $1 million. NY Daily News

For the Gotham Ballers, that means team president Walt “Clyde” Frazier, general manager Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, and coach John Wallace, all former Knicks. “This wasn’t something I was actually looking for when it came to me,” Wallace said, “but when you see something so cool and intriguing and new, to get a chance to be a part of it from the ground up is pretty awesome.” NY Daily News

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