Indiana Pacers associate head coach Brian Shaw was in Charlotte earlier this week to interview for the Bobcats open head coaching position, but according to a couple of Tweets from Orlando Magic reporter Brian Schmitz, Shaw left Carolina without a solid offer.

Schmitz opines that Shaw is more interested in the job with Orlando and the feeling may be mutual. According to a source, the Magic may be pinning their hopes for keeping Dwight Howard in a Magic uniform on Shaw working with the All-Star center.

Brian Shaw reportedly did not receive offer from Bobcats or maybe it was other way around. Shaw's waiting on the Magic.

— Brian K. Schmitz (@MagicInsider) June 2, 2012

League source: "Brian Shaw is the one guy, who as coach, as a former player, can get to Dwight Howard."

— Brian K. Schmitz (@MagicInsider) June 2, 2012

No pressure, coach. Before unpacking your things, could you find a way to sway Dwight Howard to stay and save the franchise for the next five year?

Regardless of what path Howard chooses, Shaw would be solid hire for the Magic.

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SheridanHoops.com has a nice break down of the Top 10 restricted free agents around the NBA. With the offseason heating up for the Indiana Pacers, the list reveals the big decisions that lie ahead for not only the Pacers but the players they would like to retain heading into next season.

Of course, Eric Gordon tops the list of RFA's as a highly-coveted scoring guard whose injury history adds to the intrigue for teams pursuing his services. According to Larry Bird, the Pacers won't be one of those teams since owner Herb Simon likes to stay away from bidding wars they can't win if the player's team matches the offer.

As for the Pacers RFA's, center Roy Hibbert checked in at No. 4 on the list with guard George Hill at No. 10. Check out what Chris Bernucca had to say about their status after the jump.

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Former Indiana Pacers swingman Marquis Daniels turned back the clock on Friday night in Boston, delivering some valuable minutes and production off the bench for the Boston Celtics as they beat the Miami Heat in Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals.

Quisy gave the C's a boost with nine points and five rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench using that classic unorthodox game to in the lane for some buckets around the rim. Daniels has played minimal minutes so far in the playoffs but with Avery Bradley injured, Doc Rivers was looking for a spark off of the bench and Quisy delivered. Miami still leads the series 2-1 but now Game 4 in Boston on Sunday becomes huge.

Similar to the situation in Oklahoma City tonight when the Thunder try to back up their big Game 3 performance to even the series with the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4.

Check out the links after the jump.

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The Minnesota Twins absorbed another disappointing loss on Friday night to the Cleveland Indians along with more injury news that revealed starting pitcher Carl Pavano may need some time off to rest his ailing shoulder. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Twins which came on the heels of a five-game losing streak.

So the Twins will try to avoid streaking back in the wrong direction on Saturday in the second game of their weekend series at Cleveland. Right-hander P.J. Walters will take the mound for Minnesota, looking to add another strong effort for the Twins. Walters has just four starts for Minnesota's make-shift pitching rotation but has been impressive with a 2-1 record and 2.96 ERA.

The Indians remain in a battle for the top spot in the AL Central after a recent 1-5 stretch saw them give up the division lead to the Chicago White Sox. Cleveland will look to right-hander Josh Tomlin to shut down Minnesota. In six starts this season, Tomlin is 2-2 with a 4.99 ERA which includes earning the only win during that 1-5 stretch last week.

The game is scheduled to start at 7:15 p.m. ET and will be televised on FOX.

For more on the Indians, head over to Let's Go Tribe. For more on the Twins, check out Twinkie Town. And for the best MLB coverage on the web, be sure to visit Baseball Nation.

The Cleveland Indians enjoyed a solid 7-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Friday to keep pace with the AL Central Division leading Chicago White Sox, as they prepare for the second game of their weekend series with the Twins on Saturday evening.

The Indians lost their grip on the top spot in the AL Central by losing five of six games prior to their win on Friday. Now the Tribe looks to right-hander Josh Tomlin to shut down Minnesota. In six starts this season, Tomlin is 2-2 with a 4.99 ERA which includes earning the only win during that 1-5 stretch last week.

Minnesota has been streaky over the past few weeks, so they will look to right-hander P.J. Walters to avoid starting a losing streak on Saturday. Walters has just four starts for Minnesota's make-shift pitching rotation which has seen nine different pitchers start a game this season. Walters has been impressive with a 2-1 record and 2.96 ERA.

The game is scheduled to start at 7:15 p.m. ET and will be televised on FOX.

For more on the Indians, head over to Let's Go Tribe. For more on the Twins, check out Twinkie Town. And for the best MLB coverage on the web, be sure to visit Baseball Nation.

The Detroit Tigers (24-28) continue their weekend series with the New York Yankees (28-23) on Saturday evening looking to bounce back from a 9-4 loss to the pinstripes on Friday night. The loss was the fourth in five games for the Tigers as they continue to struggle to gain any traction in the American League Central race and now sit six games behind the first place Chicago White Sox.

Detroit will give the ball to Rick Porcello to try to shut down the Yankees' offense. The young right-hander is 3-4 on the year with a 5.21 ERA and while Porcello is winless in his last four starts, he pitched better in his last outing, giving up three runs in six innings that was only good for a no decision in the Tigers 4-3 win over Minnesota.

The Yankees will try to take control of the series with right-hander Hiroki Kuroda on the mound. Kuroda is 4-6 with a 3.96 ERA and is coming off a strong outing against the Oakland Athletics in his last outing. Kuroda shut out the Athletics over eight innings to earn the win.

The game is slated to start at 7:15 p.m. ET and will be televised on FOX.

For more on the Tigers, head over to Bless You Boys. For more Yankees coverage, check out Pinstripe Alley. For full MLB coverage and analysis, be sure to visit Baseball Nation.

The Minnesota Timberwolves pick No. 18 in the NBA Draft on June 28th meaning they will have a dynamic draft board as they wait to see which players fall down the board to remain available when the Wolves pick.

Minnesota has plenty of young talent at every spot on the floor with some interesting decisions to make surrounding some of their young wing players who have not developed as quickly as hoped. The jury is still out on Derrick Williams after his rookie season showed flashes of great play but nothing consistent. Wesley Johnson is trending toward a full-fledged disappointment as another young, athletic big forward for the Wolves.

Could Minnesota take chance on another talented forward carrying question marks into the draft?

According to NBA.com's Mock Draft 1.0 by Scott Howard-Cooper, Minnesota may do just that with Kentucky's Terrence Jones picked to go to the Timberwolves at No. 18.

Jones, considered a possibility to go high in the lottery last season, has a lot of talent hidden in there somewhere. It's a reasonable risk this late.

For more on the Minnesota Timberwolves, check out Canis Hoopus. You can also check out professional basketball news from around the league over at SB Nation's NBA page.

Minnesota Twins pitcher Nick Blackburn continues to recover from a right quadriceps strain that put him on the DL on May 17th. Blackburn remains in Rochester for another rehab start after struggling in his first outing on Tuesday. While not tearing up the Triple-A competition, Blackburn is reportedly making progress toward a return to the mound for the Twins.

According to Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, the end results in Rochester weren't a priority for Blackburn. Making sure his leg held up to the live pitching performance is waht really mattered in his first start. So now, assuming there are no set backs physically for Blackburn, if he can show some improvement in his performance he will be back with the big club next week.

"He threw 70 pitches or whatever," Gardenhire said Friday. "It was all about pitches and stretching back out and making sure his body's OK. Our preference would be to see him throw the ball good next time; we'll see what happens.

"He throws Sunday. If he's still having issues and not getting people out down there, we'll take a look and see what we've got."

For more on the Minnesota Twins, check out Twinkie Town. You can also head over to SB Nation's main MLB hub at Baseball Nation.

The Kent State Golden Flashes needed more than double the time to win their first game in the double-elimination NCAA Regional tournament on Friday, beating the Kentucky WIldcats 7-6 in 21 innings. That effort earned Kent State (42-17) a matchup with the No. 1 seeded Purdue Boilermakers (45-12) on Saturday night in the winners bracket.

Due to the Kent State and Kentucky marathon, the Boilermakers had to wait until 10:40 p.m. to start their game, but then took care of business, beating the No. 4 seeded Valparaiso Crusaders, 7-2. Starting pitcher Joe Haase went seven innings to keep the Boilers bullpen fresh for Saturday's game. Purdue expects to start senior right-hander Lance Breedlove.

Kent State had to use five pitchers to make it through their wild game with Kentucky so the Golden Flashes will have to battle through the fatigue and hope for strong effort on the hill from junior right-hander Ryan Bores.

The winner of this game advances to the Regional championship game on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. while the loser will have to win an elimination game against the Valparaiso/Kentucky winner at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday to advance to the championship game.

Here's the info for Saturday's game:

WHEN: Saturday, June 2, 2012

WHERE: U.S. Steel Yard, Gary, IN

TIME: 8:00 p.m. ET

TV: Big Ten Network

For more on the Dayton Flyers and other local teams playing in the college baseball postseason, check out this SB Nation Cleveland StoryStream.

The Dayton Flyers try to keep their season alive on Saturday when they face the TCU Horned Frogs in the NCAA Regional at College Stations, TX. The Flyers and Horned Frogs meet in the losers bracket of the double-elimination regional tournament after both teams lost their opener on Friday.

Dayton fell to the No. 1 seeded Texas A&M Aggies 4-1, while No. 2 seeded TCU dropped a 6-2 game to Ole Miss. The Flyers (31-29) face a tough challenge to avoid elimination against the talented Frogs (36-20) who will turn to strong pitching prospect Andrew Mitchell (5-3) to keep their season alive. Mitchell hasn't lived up to expectations this season and struggled last week in the Mountain West Conference tournament. The Flyers will turn to senior right-hander Tim Bury (8-2) to try to shut down the TCU offense.

Here's the info for Saturday's game:

WHEN: Saturday, June 2, 2012

WHERE: Blue Bell Park; College Station, TX

TIME: 12:35 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN3

For more on the Dayton Flyers and other local teams playing in the college baseball postseason, check out this SB Nation Cleveland StoryStream.

Indy Car drivers brought the Belle Isle Park circuit to life on Friday with practice leading up to Saturday's qualifying session for the Detroit Grand Prix on Sunday.

Team Penske driver Will Power piloted the fastest car on the 2.1-mile course Friday with a lap of 102.313 m.p.h., which should be no surprise since Power has been the dominant street/road course driver in the IZOD IndyCar Series so far this season. Power has won three of the five races and looks to bounce back from an early exit in last week's Indianapolis 500.

Justin Wilson of Dale Coyne Racing was second fastest at 102.174 m.p.h. with Penske's Ryan Briscoe clocking in at 101.918 for third fastest among the field.

Here's a quick run-down of the Saturday schedule at Belle Isle Park;

• IZOD IndyCar qualifying - 11:45 a.m. ET
• Firestone Indy Lights race - 1:30 p.m. ET
• Cadillac V-Series Challenge - 2:45 p.m. ET
• Chevrolet GRAND-AM 200 - 5:05 p.m. ET

For more 2012 Detroit Grand Prix coverage, stay with SB Nation Detroit's StoryStream.ions

Minnesota Twins veteran right-hander Carl Pavano struggled again on the mound Friday night, giving up six earned runs in less than four innings to the Cleveland Indians to take the loss. Pavano is now 2-5 on the season with a 6.00 ERA, but an ailing right shoulder has made things worse of late.

Pavano is 0-3 in his last five starts, failing to get past the fifth inning in the last two while giving up six earned runs in both outings. According to this report by John Shipley, Pavano may need to shut it down for awhile to address the weakness and soreness in his shoulder while trying to bring his arm back to life.

Pavano said he's not inclined to get a cortisone shot in his ailing shoulder -- "There was a time," he said, "but if you're dealing with a weakness, it's not necessarily the answer." -- so rest seems to be the obvious course. The only Twins starter to pitch at least 200 innings the past two seasons, Pavano has thrown as many as 80 only once in his past six starts.

Pitching health has already altered the Twins' season so far as they have used nine different starters filling in for various injuries to Francisco Liriano and Nick Blackburn.

For more on the Twins, check out Twinkie Town. For more on the Indians, head over to Let's Go Tribe. And for the best MLB coverage on the web, be sure to visit Baseball Nation.

Mike Wells reports that the Indiana Pacers will begin their pre-draft workouts on Monday with six players expected to show their stuff at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Pacers are looking for talent that will be available when they pick at No. 26 in the June 28th NBA Draft.

Apparently, the type of talent they are looking for are speedy point guards and some beefy power forwards because those are the types of players they are bringing in for the first workout.

Here is a list of the players expected at the Fieldhouse include:

• Tyshawn Taylor PG - Kansas
• Scott Machado PG - Iona
• Draymond Green F - Michigan State
• Andrew Nicholson F - St. Bonaventure
• Mike Scott F - Virginia
• Royce White F - Iowa State

White, a talented power forward out of Iowa State, may have the most NBA upside of the bunch and indeed be available when the Pacers pick because of a obsessive-compulsion disorder and fear of flying which could literally keep him off the court considering the travel demands of the NBA. What a shame that would be. Hopefully, White finds a way to overcome his fear of flying so he can fulfill his potential in the pro game.

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Indiana Pacers associate head coach Brian Shaw made his way down to Charlotte this week to discuss the Bobcats' vacant coaching position, according to an AP report.

A person familiar with the situation says the Charlotte Bobcats have met with Indiana Pacers assistant coach Brian Shaw about their vacant head coaching position.

He's the ninth known candidate to interview, joining former head coaches Nate McMillan (Portland) and Jerry Sloan (Utah), assistant coaches Michael Malone (Golden State), Stephen Silas (Charlotte), Nate Tibbetts (Cleveland), Dave Joerger (Memphis), Patrick Ewing (Orlando) and Mike Dunlap (St. John's)

No surprise since Shaw will be in the mix for any coaching position until he lands a job, but this officially puts the Pacers 42-24 season to rest and begins the offseason that will be busy for the blue and gold. In other words, the 2012-13 season is now underway. Coaching changes, the draft and other player changes are all on the way.

Assuming Shaw lands a job for next season, Michael Grady @mg_indy posed an interesting question: What about Patrick Ewing filling the assistant coaching chair left vacant by Shaw? Very interesting, indeed. You have the Georgetown center connection with Roy Hibbert. Plus, Ewing and Bird famously developed a strong friendship as Dream Team teammates so the boss wouldn't have any objections. What do you think? Any other candidates?

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Former Ben Davis Giant and Indiana Hoosier hoops legend, Randy Wittman may actually get a fair crack at coaching an NBA team. After taking over as the interim coach for the Washington Wizards following the firing of Flip Saunders early last season, the young Wizards continued to struggle to win as they figured out which players they wanted to stick with for the long haul and which of their problems to pass on to other teams.

With John Wall and Nene to build around in addition to the third overall pick in the June draft, the Wiz are looking more stable and instead of making another coaching change, it appears they are ready to stick with Wittman in the lead chair, according to a report by ESPN's Ric Bucher.

The Washington Wizards plan to retain Randy Wittman as their coach, league sources said, even though no official announcement is expected anytime soon.

Wittman will still have his work cut out for him as he continues working through the rebuilding process in D.C., but the situation also offers Witt the opportunity to establish his NBA coaching career as something more than an emergency replacement.

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The Indiana Pacers are scheduled to have a team playing in the 2012 Orlando Pro Summer League in early July. The pro summer leagues in Orlando and Las Vegas were the first casualties of the NBA lockout last summer, leaving us NBA junkies high and dry for nearly six months.

So there's a touch of appreciation for the return of most useless games of the year that have players wearing NBA logo apparel with young talent and free agents trying to impress decision-makers enough to lock up a spot in the league. It is a place where overreaction goes to do blue collar work for a week, begging for a dunk, cross-over dribble or blocked shot to hype up a player as ready to make a big jump in the NBA. I, for one, can't wait.

The Pacers roster will include Lance Stephenson and Jeff Pendergraph along with the 26th pick in the draft (if not traded). When asked about Stephenson and Pendergraph playing summer league, Larry Bird simply replied, "Oh, they'll be there." Those players expected to be on the regular season roster will be joined by a group of free agent players playing for their shot with any team that happens to be watching.

Other teams competing in Orlando include the Magic, Brooklyn Nets, Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Detroit Pistons and Utah Jazz. Since it is never too early to plan, here is the Pacers schedule.

• Monday, July 9th, 5:00 p.m. ET: vs. Philadelphia
• Tuesday, July 10th, 1:00 p.m. ET: vs. Oklahoma City
• Wednesday, July 11th, 11:00 a.m. ET: vs. Boston
• Thursday, July 12th, 3:00 p.m. ET: vs. Utah
• Friday, July 13th, 2:00 p.m. ET: vs. Brooklyn

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Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert is taking his talents to television once again, but this time he won't be deadpanning for laughs on Parks and Recreation (Sup, Jello Shot?). Hibbert will tap into his professional experience to offer analysis for NBA TV's Game Time pre-game show as the big fella makes his first appearance at Turner Studios in Atlanta.

Hibbert will join host Rick Kamla and analyst Steve Smith at 7:00 p.m. ET as they prep NBA fans for Game 3 in the Eastern Conference Finals between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics. I'm assuming Hibbert will have some form of dark-rimmed eyewear to complete is look for the cameras.

It should also be interesting to see if Hibbert lets down his guard at any point and offers some comments on his status as a restricted free agent. I'm sure David Falk has him programmed to stay away from the contract fray but when he gets comfortable on the set, you never know. Regardless, Hibbert remains a positive representative for the Pacers so the more pub the better.

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Wednesday was a busy day in the NBA with the draft lottery setting up the New Orleans Hornets with the top pick in the upcoming draft while also creating a conspiracy storyline since the NBA continues calling the shots for the franchise.

Also, the Miami Heat continued following their formula for success with a 35-point third quarter that nullified a strong first half from the Boston Celtics. LeBron James missed the game-winner in regulation but Dwyane Wade was there to finish off the win in OT and leave the C's down 2-0 despite 44 points and 10 assists from Rajon Rondo. Although, did you see his game winning and 1 in the lane? Impressive double carry on the dribble to get himself in the lane.

Plenty of links after the jump, including more reaction to Larry Bird's press conference.

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The 2012 NBA Draft lottery went pretty well for the Indiana Pacers. For starters, the Pacers weren't in the lottery, drafting 26th this year after putting together the league's fifth-best record. The New Orleans Hornets won the lottery to get the top pick which should be Kentucky's Anthony Davis.

At least, Davis and the young Hornets won't be battling the Pacers for a playoff spot. It should also help New Orleans get Eric Gordon to buy into a nice contract extension regardless of the restricted free agent's other suitors.

The other key for the Pacers was that the Brooklyn Nets did not land a top three pick which they protected in a trade with Portland to land Gerald Wallace. Now the Nets' sixth pick is Portland's sixth pick. The Nets now have to find a way to combine Dwight Howard and Deron Williams or else remain an also ran in the East. No easy task.

As for problems rising in the East, the Washington Wizards landed the third pick which I assume they will use on not only a talented player who can play and act like a pro. Cleveland ends up with the fourth pick as they continue to fast track toward a contender to make the playoffs.

Here's how the lottery left the order at the top of the draft.

1. New Orleans
2. Charlotte
3. Washington
4. Cleveland
5. Sacramento
6. Portland (via Brooklyn)
7. Golden State
8. Toronto
9. Detroit
10. New Orleans (via Minnesota)
11. Portland
12. Milwaukee
13. Phoenix
14. Houston

Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird, in what has because an annual rite of Spring, spoke with the media on Wednesday and sounded like a man who still enjoys his job and plans to sit down and talk with owner Herb Simon about keeping it. Bird wants to make sure Simon shares his vision for moving the team forward after the young core of the Pacers came together with a dose of veteran leadership to put together a strong season for the blue and gold.

Bird spoke candidly about the players on the roster (he gets nervous when Danny Granger dribbles more than three times, the bench was a weakness) and his desire to keep all of them while also admitting that they need to improve and if he can find a good fit in free agency, he won't hesitate. Of course, what makes a good "fit" is also up to Mr. Simon and his willingness to spend. Bird claimed to have several questions prepared for his discussion with Simon and I'm sure spending will be near the top of the list. But Bird left little doubt he'd like to keep his job.

"I love my job, I love my players," Bird said. "What can I say?"

Sound like a guy ready to pack it in? Nope.

In fact, I can't recall Bird ever expressing so much enthusiasm for the job. Granted, life is much better around the Fieldhouse these days but still, Bird doesn't exactly wear his emotions on his sleeve and today he threw the decision clearly in Herb Simon's lap. Considering Simon recently claimed the decision would be in Bird's hands, I guess we're at a stalemate until the two can get in a good hand-shaking room.

Here's what Simon had to say last week.

President Larry Bird has a year-to-year agreement with Simon. The owner said the two will sit down and meet once Bird "recovers from the playoffs."

"He has to think about the draft and some other things in between," Simon said. "It'll be sometime shortly after that where we'll sit down and figure out next year's plan.

"You don't try to twist Larry Bird's arm. He does what he thinks is best for the franchise and for himself and his family. Whatever that decision is will be good enough for me."

Check out Bird's press conference at Pacers.com and tell us what you think about his comments on the team, players and future of the franchise.

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The 2012 NBA Draft Lottery is tonight at 8:00 p.m.on ESPN prior to Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat. This is one of those years when the top prize, dynamic big man Anthony Davis out of Kentucky, is far and away the one consensus, franchise-changing player every team covets.

Fortunately, the Indiana Pacers played themselves well out of the lottery this year so the intrigue lies in where the top pick lands. Which team do you think deserves to land Davis? Which team would you like to see him go to?

SB Nation's Tom Ziller compiled the thoughts of NBA bloggers with teams in the lottery as they made their case as deserving the top pick. As you'll see, it is hard to argue the sound reasoning supplied by Charlotte Bobcats' blogger Ben Swanson at Rufus On Fire.

Personally, I'd prefer to see Davis go to the Western Conference for purely practical reasons. That would keep Davis from improving an Eastern Conference foe and also force the Pacers to only play him twice per year.

Check out all of the pleas for Davis and vote on which team you think deserves the top pick.

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Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird will hold his annual port-mortem press conference following the Pacers exit from the playoffs last week. Unless he has his mind made up and is truly ready to move on, I don't expect Bird to address his future with the team other than to say the he and Herb Simon will sit down soon and talk about the future and what he's going to do.

Bird will talk about the past season and his thoughts on the team going forward which probably won't be as flowery as Frank Vogel's take on things yesterday. But really, the only question of interest for Bird is about his future with the team which must be answered soon, but probably not today. The press conference is at 11:00 a.m. ET and will be shown on Pacers.com.

Check out the links after the jump including stories on the Pacers, playoffs and the draft lottery.

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During his post-season presser on Tuesday, Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel talked about the inevitable departure of associate head coach Brian Shaw. After joking that Shaw was nowhere near ready to be a head coach and needed at least one more year with the Pacers, Vogel went on to lay out an impressive endorsement of his right-hand man.

"Honestly, I'd be shocked if he does come back," Vogel said. "I'm actually shocked he's not a head coach already. He's got it all. He's going to be one of the top five head coaches in the NBA for the next 10 years when he finally gets his shot. There's not a doubt in my mind that's going to happen.

"I had high expectations for him coming in and he flat-out blew me away and exceeded those expectations much like our team did with everything he does. He has no weaknesses to him at all in terms of being ready to be a head coach -- end-of-game situations, managing players, Xs and Os throughout the games, adjustments, substitution patterns, prep work in the film room. He's a workaholic. He's got some of that Phil Jackson swagger that helped us this year, that confidence and arrogance that Phil had that helped him have his teams overachieve every year. Brian's got all that."

That pretty much covers it, doesn't it? Any fans in Charlotte or Orlando will certainly like to see those comments on Shaw. Especially the focus on the details of preparation, since you know Shaw has an abundance of player communication skills. I'd say that type of support should also help Vogel attract other quality assistant coaches to his staff in the future.

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Indiana Paces coach Frank Vogel closed up shop on the season by addressing the media on Tuesday morning. As expected, with the disappointing series loss to the Heat in the rearview mirror and a little time for perspective on the season to sink in, Vogel was quite positive about the past season, his team and the future.

He made a point to remind everyone that he STILL hasn't had a full NBA season thanks to the lockout stunting his first real season. So he feels his young team is still just scratching the surface without a chance to fully implement his system of play. It will be nearly impossible to bring back the same roster even if both the players, coaches and management really wanted to make it happen.

As for Vogel, he'd be happy to give it another go with the same team.

"I think you have to look at what's available more than what we need," Vogel said about potential changes. "I think we have no holes on our team. We're solid throughout. As you look at guys are available, you see if that's an area that makes sense to upgrade that position or whether it's just the bench in general or your starting core in general. You're really good right now. You don't want to change things up and hope to get better. You want to try to be smart about it and see what's available."

When pressed on making tough choices on changing the roster, Vogel stuck with his theme of potential and growth.

"I'd like to have the exact same team we have right come back, to be honest with you," Vogel said. "Because I think we're really good right now and I think we have a tremendous potential for growth within, with the guys that we have on the current roster. Certainly we're going to look at everything that's out there and these guys have done a phenomenal job of making smart decisions with this franchise. So we'll look at everything. But I just think with the youth that we have on the roster, my system being a young system and this year, David West is not a young player but he's new to this team. George Hill is really not a young player, but he's new to this team. You give those guys another year to grow together and I just think we have tremendous potential for growth."

Plenty of good stuff from Vogel on looking forward to building a consistent winner that is in the mix for deep playoff runs every year. You can check out the videos of Vogels press conference at Pacers.com.

The Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs both held serve and home court by winning their respective Game 1 matchups in the NBA conference finals.

The Spurs absorbed a strong effort from the Oklahoma City Thunder before taking over down the stretch to win running a way. Old friend Stephen Jackson came up big off the bench for the Spurs, playing some impressive defense and knocking down a three to help keep the fourth quarter run going for San Antonio.

Last night in Miami, the Heat used a familiar formula by taking over the game in the third quarter after the Boston Celtics rallied to tie the game at halftime. Like the Indiana Pacers before them, the Celtics were left frustrated and grumbling as LeBron James and Dwyane Wade rubbed the win in their noses. The C's are going to have to get more physical with the Heat and it sounds like they are well aware of that fact.

After the jump, check out some links of interest from around the NBA.

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The SB Nation's YouTube channel put together a great video, gathering the thoughts of a few veterans' and the impact sports had on them while they bravely served in the United States Armed Forces.

Today is a day to remember all of the brave military personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom around the world. A heartfelt thank you and God bless to all of those serving in the military and the families that support them as they honor their country.

As I continue to catch up with Indiana Pacers news after a long weekend away from home, it appears the Orlando Magic search for a new general manager may impact the direction of the Pacers future front office. Larry Bird remains in charge as president of the Pacers but that could change, well any day now.

With a strong front office structure in place, handing the final say to GM David Morway or Director of Player Personnel Kevin Pritchard wouldn't be a shock. Other murmurs include chatter about none of the current top execs taking the job and instead former Pacers pres Donnie Walsh making his return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

All three names are also in reports as candidates for the Magic job, which Evan Dunlap has covered.

Their search begins days after the team dismissed Otis Smith, the team's President of Basketball Operations, and will include the likes of Indiana Pacers GM David Morway and Pacers executive Kevin Pritchard, as well as Los Angeles Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak.

Donnie Walsh, a consultant with the New York Knicks and their former President, also ranks highly among the Magic's list of GM candidates, as does former New Orleans Hornets GM Jeff Bower.

Of course, the Magic also have the task of filling their head coaching position after letting go both GM Otis Smith and coach Stan Van Gundy. Bringing in a GM familiar with Brian Shaw may help Morway or Pritchard if the Magic are truly interested in Shaw as their coach.

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Following the Indiana Pacers exit from the playoffs last week, associate head coach Brian Shaw is now available to talk to suitors about landing his first head coaching job in the NBA. Shaw was left out in the cold last summer after planning on succeeding Phil Jackson to take over the Los Angeles Lakers job. When the Lakers went in another direction, Frank Vogel was able to talk Shaw into joining him with the Pacers.

Shaw lived up to his billing as one of the best assistant coaches in the league and he is definitely ready to take the step over the the head chair. ESPN.com reports that Shaw will talk with the Charlotte Bobcats about their vacancy.

The Charlotte Bobcats are in the process of setting up an interview with Indiana Pacers assistant Brian Shaw, perhaps as soon as next week. They also plan to meet with Los Angeles Lakers assistant Quin Snyder in Chicago before the NBA pre-draft camp the first week in June, sources told ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard.

The Bobcats job is no lock for Shaw, considering they have Jerry Sloan and Nate McMillan among the candidates in the mix for the job. Shaw is also expected to get strong consideration from the Orlando Magic as teams look to shore up their coaching situations to fully prepare for the NBA draft and offseason moves.

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