LeBron James scowled and scoffed at the notion that he has earned a reputation as a coach killer.
“I’ve never, in my time since I picked up a basketball, ever undermined a coach, ever disrespected a coach,” James said after the Cleveland Cavaliers’ shootaround Wednesday. “You ask any of my little league coaches, my high school coaches, coaches I’ve played for in tournaments, camps, my NBA coaches. I’ve always respected what they wanted to do. And I’m not the owner of a team, I’m not the GM of a team. I’m the player of a team.”
James said coaches always have the final call, and he’s being wrongly accused because he was outspoken with past NBA coaches Paul Silas, Mike Brown, Erik Spoelstra and recently fired David Blatt.
“People get it so misconstrued because I’m a smart basketball player and I’ve voiced my opinion about certain things, which I did when I was here my first stint with Paul Silas and Mike Brown,” he said. “And at the end of the day, they’ll still have their final call.”
—New Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue added Mike Longabardi to his staff as an assistant.
Longabardi joins the Cavaliers after head coach David Blatt was surprisingly fired last week and Lue elevated to replace him. He is expected to take over Lue’s role as the defensive specialist.
Longabardi spent two-plus seasons as an assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns before he was let go last month in a coaching staff shake-up. For six seasons, Longabardi was as an assistant with the Boston Celtics under Doc Rivers, including four years when Lue was also on the staff. Before Longabardi arrived in Boston, he worked under Jeff Van Gundy as an assistant with the Houston Rockets.
—San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich will coach the West team in the 2016 NBA All-Star Game, the league announced.
Head coaches whose teams have the best records in each conference after the games played two weeks prior to the All-Star Game serve as the coaches. However, no head coach is allowed to participate in two consecutive All-Star games.
Interim head coach Luke Walton led the Golden State Warriors to a 39-4 record in the season’s first 43 games prior to the Jan. 22 return of head coach Steve Kerr. Despite Golden State holding the conference’s best record (41-4), Kerr is ineligible for the coaching honor because he led last year’s West All-Stars.
The 65th NBA All-Star Game will be televised by TNT at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 14 from Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
—Minnesota Timberwolves guard Andrew Wiggins, last season’s Rookie of the Year, and teammate center Karl-Anthony Towns highlight the players selected to play in the Rising Stars Challenge before the 2016 NBA All-Star Game.
The league announced the 20 players for the game to be held on Friday, Feb. 12 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The 65th All-Star Game will be on Sunday, Feb. 14.
New York Knicks forward/center Kristaps Porzingis joins Wiggins on the World Team. Minnesota guard Zach LaVine, the dunk champion at NBA All-Star 2015, will play alongside Towns on the U.S. Team, giving the Timberwolves three players in the game, all 20 years old.
For the second consecutive year, the league’s annual showcase of premier young talent will pit 10 first- and second-year NBA players from the United States against 10 first- and second-year NBA players from around the world.
—Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic underwent surgery after being diagnosed with an acute appendicitis.
The appendectomy was performed at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. He is expected to be sidelined until after the NBA All-Star Game break in mid-February, the team said in a statement.
Mirotic is averaging 10.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in his second season with the Bulls. He was one of the players named to the World Team for the Rising Stars Challenge game for rookies and second-year pros during All-Star weekend.
—Sacramento forward Rudy Gay will miss his second straight game on Thursday when the Kings play at New Orleans while an eye injury continues to heal.
Gay suffered a left corneal abrasion during the second overtime of Monday night’s game against the Charlotte Hornets and sat out Tuesday night’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers. The Kings said in a statement that he was re-examined at Kaiser Permanente and his condition is “improving daily.” His status is day to day.
In 40 games this season, Gay is averaging 18.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals.