Orlando Magic Players Make Coach Disappear
The worst-kept secret in the NBA became official Tuesday when Brian Hill was fired as coach of the Orlando Magic, a victim of player dissatisfaction.
He was replaced by assistant Richie Adubato, Hill’s former high school coach, who was promoted to interim coach.
The Magic won two Atlantic Division titles, reached the Eastern Conference finals twice and made one appearance in the NBA Finals under Hill, but that was when Shaquille O’Neal was part of the team.
A five-game losing streak since the All-Star break and an overall 24-25 start - minus O’Neal - this season made it difficult to ignore player complaints about how Hill was handling the team.
Mullin deals fail
A number of proposed Chris Mullin trades have fallen through with a slew of new possibilities opening up for the New Jersey Nets.
Mullin, who has asked the Golden State Warriors to trade him, has drawn interest from Utah, Orlando, Atlanta and the Los Angeles Lakers as Thursday’s 3 p.m. PST deadline approaches.
The Nets were considering a flood of offers that came in after they acquired five players from the Mavericks on Monday in a nine-player trade.
Several contending teams called the San Antonio Spurs to ask about the availability of Dominique Wilkins.
Kings will stay put
The Sacramento Kings struck a deal on naming rights for Arco Arena and formally accepted the terms of a $70 million loan offered by the City Council.
Before he could accept the loan, team owner Jim Thomas had to raise $20 million through an agreement on naming rights for Arco Arena, the Kings’ 9-year-old home court.
Stockton surpasses 14,000 points
At Salt Lake City, John Stockton had 19 points and 10 assists as the Utah Jazz beat the San Antonio Spurs 113-105.
Stockton, the NBA’s career assists leader, scored the 14,000th point of his 13-year career on a layup with 6:44 left in the second quarter.
Scottie Pippen scored a career-high 47 points and Michael Jordan added 24 as the Chicago Bulls scored the most points in an NBA game this season in defeating the Denver Nuggets 134-123 at Chicago.