Curry could miss 2 weeks with sprained right knee

POSTED: Apr 24, 2016 5:38 PM ET
UPDATED: APR 26, 2016 8:35 AM ET

HOUSTON (AP) — If the Golden State Warriors want to cap a record-setting season with a second straight NBA title, they will need to survive the next two weeks without their best player.

Stephen Curry is expected to miss at least two weeks with a Grade 1 sprain of the MCL in his right knee, dealing an unexpected blow to the Warriors' hopes of repeating as champions.

"From our perspective, it's relatively good news," general manager Bob Myers said Monday. "Clearly we don't want to be here getting MRIs at this point of the season, especially someone of Steph's stature. ... But mechanically the knee is intact, so that's good."

Myers said the two-week estimate is an educated guess based on how players typically respond to similar injuries, but cautioned the absence could be three weeks or possibly slightly shorter.

The team will have a better handle on how long Curry will be out after about a week but Curry will miss the rest of the first round of the playoffs and almost assuredly the start of the second round if the Warriors advance. Golden State leads Houston 3-1 heading into Game 5 at home on Wednesday night.

"If it's not two weeks, don't go crazy," Myers said. "If it's before that, great. If it's after, it's after."

Curry was injured on the final play of the first half of Sunday's 121-94 win in Houston when he slid awkwardly on a wet spot on the court and fell. He immediately grabbed his knee and jogged with a limp to the locker room.

"Nobody is to blame here," Myers said. "If you play basketball, that stuff happens unfortunately."

Curry came out with the team after halftime, but sat on the bench for most of the warmup time. After talking with coaches, he returned to the locker room with his second injury of the series. Curry had missed the previous two games with a sprained right ankle but said that was not an issue during the first half Sunday.

The Warriors thrived without Curry on Sunday, hitting eight 3-pointers in the third quarter alone to turn a tie game into a 21-point lead on the way to the easy win.

But doing that without the reigning MVP for a longer period of time figures to be more problematic. The Warriors have gone 3-2 this season without Curry playing, including wins against the Rockets on New Year's Eve and at home in Game 2. Golden State also lost Game 3 in Houston by one point while Curry sat with the ankle injury.

Replacing everything Curry does is almost impossible because no one has ever had the collection of skills he has with the ability to spread the defense with long-range shooting, the ballhandling to create his own shot and the playmaking that leads to easy baskets for his teammates.

Curry led the NBA this season by averaging 30.1 points per game, while averaging 6.7 assists, 5.4 rebounds and a league-leading 2.1 steals as well. Curry made a record 402 3-pointers, eclipsing his own previous mark by 116.

While backup point guard Shaun Livingston and do-everything power forwardDraymond Green can shoulder much of the playmaking load and Klay Thompson is the second-best 3-point shooter in the league, the Warriors go from a historically great team that won a record 73 games in the regular season with Curry in the lineup to a vulnerable one if he misses significant time.

With a 3-1 series lead and two potential games at home against the eighth-seeded Rockets, Golden State is still primed to advance to the second round without Curry. But a second-round series against either the Los Angeles Clippers or Portland would be much more problematic.

The second round of the playoffs won't start until this weekend at the earliest. No matter when the second round starts, Game 4 would likely be either May 8 or 9, which will be in two weeks.

That would make Curry's earliest possible return in Game 5 but Golden State could be forced to go the entire round without him, which could open a path for teams like San Antonio, Oklahoma City, the Clippers or Cleveland to win the title.

The Warriors benefited from injuries to opponents last season on the way to the NBA title with Memphis point guard Mike Conley missing time in the second round and Cleveland missing point guard Kyrie Irving for the last five games and power forward Kevin Love for the entire NBA Finals.

Now Golden State is the team dealing with injuries. 

Injuries in Game 4 derail Clippers' postseason plan

Chris Paul's broken right hand (plus a flare up of Blake Griffin's quad injury) puts L.A.'s playoff run in serious peril

POSTED: Apr 26, 2016 8:12 AM ET

PORTLAND, Ore. — Chris Paul knew.

The way he sat on the bench, the way he stared into some far-away place as emotions appeared to ricochet around his brain, a mix of disbelief and disgust on his face, he could tell even before the short walk to the visitor's locker room that the season had just turned in a staggering way.

Paul was leaning back in the chair midway through the third quarter Monday night, his left arm draped over the top of the adjacent chair, a relaxed position while his mood was anything but. It's like he couldn't believe how everything had gone so wrong so fast. Then, when CP3 did stand up and walk to the locker room to confirm the bad news, he didn't get more than a few steps before lashing out in frustration with his right leg, kicking what appeared to be a cushion on the floor in front of the Clippers bench.

There was not any attempt to hide the emotions because they would be impossible to bottle up, not from Paul as he left the court in uniform for what may have been the final time this season and not from teammates as they dressed afterward in near silence for the charter flight back to Los Angeles and the new series against the Trail Blazers. The Clippers had been rocked Monday night at Moda Center and there was no way to deny it.

Rocked to the core in a way few teams have ever experienced, to be more specific. The 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven first round was gone, replaced by the whiplash of 2-2 after Portland followed a Game 3 win Saturday with tonight's 98-84 victory.

Paul was gone, the victim of a fractured right hand in as he tried to slow Gerald Henderson driving to the basket in the third quarter, an injury that could sideline him weeks, although the Clippers will wait for another evaluation Tuesday before putting a timeline on his return. And Blake Griffin may be gone, at least temporarily, with coach Doc Rivers saying Griffin is 50-50 for Game 5 in Los Angeles after re-injuring the quadriceps tendon in his left leg, the injury that cost him much of the regular season.

I just feel bad for him personally because I know how much he puts into the game and how much he gives of himself to the team. You get Blake back (late in the regular season), you lose Chris. It's tough. A tough deal.

– Clippers guard Jamal Crawford

It was about 2 ½ hours Monday that could last months.

"A major, major blow," guard Jamal Crawford said not long after Paul left with his hand in a cast and his arm in a sling. "I just feel bad for him personally because I know how much he puts into the game and how much he gives of himself to the team. You get Blake back (late in the regular season), you lose Chris. It's tough. A tough deal."

The chances of a long playoff run would have been reduced to a microscopic number without Paul, only now the Clippers have to come together in a big way just to get out of the first round while getting worked over by the likes of Mason Plumlee (21 rebounds and nine assists in Game 3, followed by 14 boards and 10 assists in Game 4), Al-Farouq Aminu (30 points and 10 rebounds in Game 4) and Ed Davis (12 rebounds in Game 4).

L.A. doesn't just have the health issues, after all. L.A. has the health issues mixed with a pressing opponent issue, a resilient Trail Blazers team that spent the regular season upending expectations. The Blazers have now charged back into the series and they enter Game 5 with the momentum and a real opportunity to do more than scare the Clips.

Between tonight and about 7:30 p.m. PT Wednesday, all the Clippers need to do is replace their star point guard, possibly replace Griffin and maybe even overhaul the lineup by choosing to not simply promote the backups. Rivers said, for example, that it could be more than a matter of tabbing Austin Rivers as Paul's replacement because "we may have to make a lot of changes to create scoring" if Griffin and Paul are both out. That could mean Crawford instead of Austin Rivers.

"We have to take a very collective approach," guard J.J. Redick said. "Everybody has to do a little more. We've been in this situation before. We played for a lot of stretches without Blake this year. I'm not saying he's going to be out, but he's obviously feeling something in his quad. And three years ago we had to play for a long stretch without Chris. Last year in the playoffs, the first two games in Houston we had to play without Chris. So we've done this before. It's just got to be a collective effort."

Starting right away.

"There's no shellshock," Doc Rivers said. "What it is is they love their players, their teammates, and Chris is taking this very hard. He's worked all year to get back to the playoffs and for this to happen to him, he's an emotional guy and so I think our guys, it's a neat family and it's things you don't ever see, like you guys will never see, but it was a nice thing in the locker room. Everybody, the whole team, is in the locker room and it's nice in that way. But the reality is that you don't have Chris Paul."

Scott Howard-Cooper has covered the NBA since 1988. You can e-mail himhere and follow him on Twitter.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting. 

Walker's confidence and performance burns Heat

Kemba Walker scores 34 points as Charlotte knots the series at 2-2

POSTED: Apr 26, 2016 7:44 AM ET

CHARLOTTE — Confidence has never been a problem for Kemba Walker.

For as long as he can remember, he's been at his best with the ball in his hands and the game on the line. From biddy ball, to high school to his championship-winning days at UConn to now, he's always been fine with the pressure that comes with the big moment.

"It's what I'm known for," Walker said. "It's what I do."

Indeed.

Walker was at his clutch best Monday night, leading his Charlotte Hornets to even after four games in their first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat. He christened this moment with a playoff career-high 34 points, including 11 straight after a fourth quarter timeout when the Heat battled back from an 18-point deficit to within just one point down.

"You know how he is, he's so confident late [in the game]," said Hornets coach Steve Clifford. "He'll make the right play, but if there's a seam there, the way he's playing right now, he just saw it and he made the pull-up, then he got on that little run."

Walker scored 11 of the Hornets' final 13 points, grinding through a series of relentless and physical defenders who did everything humanly possible to try and slow him down, to rattle that unwavering confidence that is his body armor.

It took a Courtney Lee rebound of a Walker miss in the final seconds to seal the win, but it was the power surge provided by Walker and his backup, Jeremy Lin, that paved the way.

"Guts. Guts and heart from a lot of guys," Lin said, making sure to spread the love around. "Marvin [Williams] did a great job on defense the whole game. Kemba [Walker] carried us offensively, Courtney [Lee] with those big-time plays. Everybody, everybody."

Lin tied a playoff career-high of his own (21 points) and set the tone in the first half, pressing the issue and keeping the Heat defense off balance.

But he didn't hesitate to defer to Walker in the fourth quarter with the game on the line, stepping aside as he felt the burn of having to playing 18 grueling minutes against the Heat's superior length and athleticism on both ends of the floor.

"I told him," Lin said, "take us home."

And Walker obliged, exploiting the Heat at every turn.

"What can you say? He's a brilliant, dynamic pick-and-roll player," said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. "They probably had 40 pick-and-rolls and it wasn't just him either, it was [Jeremy] Lin and both of them are very aggressive. They put you on your heels, back you up, they're ultra-aggressive in making plays on pull-ups or to the rim or drawing fouls. We've probably fouled more in these four games than we have in the last four weeks, but you have to credit them.

"They're aggressive and they make you have to defend with position. [Walker] was very good. But you have to expect that in the playoffs, great performances, very good teams. You just have to find a way to overcome it and overcome great players and guys that are making big plays. Even as great a night as he had, we still had an opportunity at the end."

Theoretically, sure. The Heat were right there. But they spent so much energy digging out of that 18-point hole that the finishing kick wasn't there.

And the damage Walker did not only turned this game in the Hornets' favor, it casts an interesting cloud over the remainder of the series for the Heat, who couldn't hide their frustration at times while trying in vain to slow down Walker and Lin.

"We were fortunate the first few games, he didn't shoot it as well," said Heat starDwyane Wade. "He's a handful off the pick-and-rolls. There's only so much you can do with that little guy. He's crafty, he's shifty, then he raises up to shoot. He finishes very well. Our guards are fighting. He's playing 40-plus minutes. We are trying to tire him out. Tonight he got it going. Defensively, we held them [Hornets] to 40 percent [shooting]. Obviously, at the end there he hit a couple of big jump shots. Every time we were trying to make a comeback, he kept hitting those shots."

Walker and Lin have to pack their mojo for Wednesday's Game 5 in Miami, where they were bludgeoned in the first two games of this series.

Based on his own personal history, dating back as far as he can remember, Walker's confidence will make the trip.

It is, after all, what he's known for, what he does.

Sekou Smith is a staff writer for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting. 

Paul leaves Game 4 with broken bone in right hand

POSTED: Apr 26, 2016 12:59 AM ET
UPDATED: APR 26, 2016 7:32 AM ET

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Chris Paul broke a bone in his right hand midway through the third quarter and left the Clippers' Game 4 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.

It was not clear exactly how the nine-time All-Star was injured, but it appeared he may have bent his wrist awkwardly when defending Portland's Gerald Henderson on a layup.

"He'll get evaluated, but it obviously doesn't look very good," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said after the Blazers' 98-84 victory evened the series at two games piece.

The Clippers were also hurt late in the game when Blake Griffin appeared to aggravate the left quad injury that he struggled with this season.

Paul retreated to the bench and was attended to by team trainers before leaving for the locker room. He angrily kicked at a seat cushion on the court as he left. The Clippers later reported Paul fractured the third metacarpal in his right hand.

He'll get evaluated, but it obviously doesn't look very good.

– Doc Rivers, on Chris Paul's injury

Following the game, Paul left the Moda Center without speaking with reporters.

"He was clearly disappointed, upset, but there's nothing you can do," Griffin said about his teammate. "You try to tell a guy, like, 'It's OK. We got you and it's going to be OK.' He's a competitor and he wants to play so it's tough. It's not easy dealing with injuries this time of year."

Paul was leading the Clippers with 16 points when he left the game. He averaged 26.3 points and 8.3 assists through the first three games of the series, after averaging 19.5 points and 10 assists in the regular season.

Griffin looked dejected when he went to the bench with a little more than 5 minutes left in the game. Afterward, he said he believes he tweaked his quad when he planted off his left going up against Mason Plumlee in the third quarter.

He's the heart and soul. The head of the snake. He's the guy that gets them going and can single-handedly change the game.

– Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum, on Chris Paul

Rivers said: "It doesn't look great for him, either."

The coach gave Griffin a "50-50" chance of playing in Game 5 on Wednesday night in Los Angeles.

"Hopefully in the next 24-48 hours you turn a corner and feel better, so I'm not really concentrating on how it felt tonight, that's kind of expected after you tweak something," Griffin said.

While celebrating their win, the Blazers were also mindful of the hit that the Clippers had taken.

"Obviously losing a guy like CP3 hurts a lot," CJ McCollum said. "He's the heart and soul. The head of the snake. He's the guy that gets them going and can single-handedly change the game."

Rivers was trying not to dwell on the Clippers' plight.

"We're going home. All they've done is win two games at home just like we won two games at home," the coach said. "We've been in adverse situations all year, but our guys have come through and I expect us to do that at our place." 

Series Preview: Thunder's duo faces Spurs' depth, firepower

OKC and San Antonio battle after cruising through first round

POSTED: Apr 26, 2016 1:20 AM ET

While everybody in the NBA and all the ships at sea have been looking forward for months to a Spurs-Warriors clash of the titans in the Western Conference finals, this gem of a preceding series has been lurking under the radar and could be a humdinger.

Spurs arrive off a 4-0 sweep of Memphis and the Thunder took care of Dallas 4-1. First of all, there's history between the two teams in the playoffs. Since the move to Oklahoma City, the Spurs and Thunder have met twice before, both times in the WCF. Both times the winner went on to face Miami in the NBA Finals. The Thunder lost in 2012. The Spurs won in 2014.

Second, there are big names aplenty on both rosters, from the venerable Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker in San Antonio to the suddenly edgyKevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka in OKC. Then there is the matter of a cumulative bundle of wins. San Antonio has already won 71 times this season and the Thunder 59, counting their first-round victories.

They split the season series with each team defending their home floor. Toss in the fact that the Warriors could suddenly be vulnerable with Steph Curry on the shelf with a bum right knee and the doorway that leads to the championship may have just swung wide open for these two elite teams.

The pot is boiling.

The Spurs will win if...

They can continue to apply the squeeze that made them the No. 1 rated defensive team in the NBA all through the regular season and now through the first round of the playoffs. Of course, it's one thing to stifle the wounded, undermanned Grizzlies and quite another to take the pop out of the OKC big guns.

But the Spurs don't have to shut off Durant and Westbrook completely, just get them to take tough shots that result in low shooting percentages and force the supporting cast of OKC to produce more. The Spurs have been able to have success against the Thunder when having to deal with only the Big Two. It's keeping a lid on Ibaka that can be a make-or-break difference in a game and a series.

The Spurs were expecting big production from the addition of power forwardLaMarcus Aldridge and he's delivered more and more as he's grown increasingly comfortable with his role in the offense. What's been a surprise is his level of contribution to the defense. Kawhi Leonard has been named Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season and still managed to be even more impressive at the offensive end, where he's turned into a bonafide star capable of pouring in 25 points a night. In this series, that could be a necessity.

The venerable Big Three of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker are all playing fewer minutes, but each is capable of taking over a game. So is most of San Antonio's roster. It's the fact that coach Gregg Popovich can legitimately go 12 deep that makes the Spurs so formidable.

The Thunder will win if...

They hold things together at both ends of the floor when the games get late and everything is on the line.

For so many years with Scott Brooks calling the shots from the bench, a criticism of the Thunder was that they played too much "hero ball" and relied on Durant or Westbrook — usually the former — to bail them out with a clutch bucket at the end. Well, the change from Brooks to first year NBA coach Billy Donovan has changed much, except that OKC has actually gotten worse at crunch time. The Thunder have blown 19 fourth quarter leads this season, including that stunningGame 2 loss to the Mavericks in the first round.

Part of the problem is that Durant and Westbrook just don't trust their teammates to make a clutch shot and you really can't blame them because there's good reason for that. There is a shocking lack of versatility in the makeup of the OKC roster. In order to get the most out of their defense, the Thunder give up too much offense with Steven Adams and Andre Roberson. When they go for offense with Enes Kanter and Anthony Morrow, the defense suffers.

For all the hits that the stand-around-and-watch offense takes from critics, it's the Thunder defense that has let them down far more often and led to all those late-game collapses. They had the Warriors on the ropes twice in the fourth quarter this season and both times let them off the hook. Donovan has tended to go with a more offensive punch late in games by using Dion Waiters as shooting guard, but might have to consider using Robertson to keep the very capable Spurs from finding a way to score.

The alternative, of course, is to build big enough leads to hold off any kind of a fourth quarter charge. But in a series between the No. 2 and 3 seeds in the Western Conference, many lopsided games are not to be expected. The Thunder will have to raise their game in the clutch.

3 quick questions and answers

1. Who is the third man?

The Thunder know they can count on Durant and Westbrook to pile up points even against a defense as stout as San Antonio's. So the key will be to find another scoring option or two to step up when the Spurs tighten the defensive vise in the fourth quarter. Somebody has to stop star-gazing and come to the ball and the moment in order to survive a seven-game series against the best defense in the NBA.

2. Can 40-year-old Tim Duncan keep up?

He's played the fewest minutes per game of his 19-year career and averaged just 20 minutes in a quick four-game sweep of the Grizzlies in the first round. Yes, he's still a solid, even formidable defender, probably even remains the best in the game at protecting the paint. The Spurs have been saving up Old Man River Walk for this playoff run and there's no reason to think he's not still up to the task.

3. Donovan or Popovich?

Nobody is ready to suggest that Billy the Kid is in over his head in his first NBA playoff experience. But this is like moving from freshman algebra to a graduate course in quantum physics. As the best coach in the game today, Popovich probably has his deepest roster ever at his disposal and so many different ways to deploy a lineup filled with versatile talent. If the games get down to the final minute or a final play, you've got to give the edge to the master.

Making the pick

Any team bringing the 1-2 punch of Durant and Westbrook into the ring is capable of delivering a knockout, so there is reason for the Spurs to be on high alert at all times. It's an OKC team hungry and overdue to get back to The Finals. But the Spurs have the depth and their own firepower in Aldridge and Leonard to survive a rollicking classic. Spurs in 7.

Inside Look At WNBA Training Camp

Doug Ammon

April 24, 2016

In two weeks the historic 20th season of the WNBA will tip-off. It will be a monumental day for the league as it embarks on a new chapter in the hopes that the next 20 years will bring the women’s game to an even greater audience. Before the bright lights of opening night shine, teams must put in the necessary work in their respective training camps to ensure their shot at a WNBA championship.

For the defending champion Minnesota Lynx, that means making sure that All-Star guard Jia Perkins doesn’t miss a step when assimilating into an already talent-filled roster that has all the makings of competing for another championship.

For a team like the Phoenix Mercury, that means welcoming legendary guard Diana Taurasi back into the fold with the hopes that she can propel the team to the next level.

For a squad like the San Antonio Stars, that means starting a push towards success with 2nd overall pick Moriah Jefferson at the helm.

But, above all else it’s a clean slate. 2015 is in the rear view mirror while 2016 is dead-ahead. Ask any coach, training camp is where the real work gets put in. The regular season and if you’re lucky enough, postseason, is just the product of all the hard work you put in when the cameras aren’t around. For the 12 WNBA franchises, these next few weeks are the first steps to potentially being crowned 2016 champions. Check out what’s going on inside a few of the teams’ training camps to see how they get setup for success this season.

Fever Website: Fever Gear Up For Training Camp

By the time the final buzzer sounded, the game was already in hand — the Lynx were going to win the WNBA Championship. The Fever had fought off the seasoned Lynx and several other teams along the way for their magical playoff run that pushed the Finals to a fifth and deciding game. And while few expected the Fever to even escape the Eastern Conference, they came within one game of the ultimate prize.

On Sunday afternoon, the Indiana Fever will open up the next chapter in their quest for a second championship by kicking off their 2016 training camp.

The pressure to win this year is magnified by it being the final run for Tamika Catchings, who will retire at the conclusion of the season. Catchings, who is entering her 16th active season, still has more than enough in the tank to help propel Indiana on another title run, and over the offseason, the Fever loaded up with help to put Indiana over the top.

Click here to read the full story

Liberty Website: 2016 Liberty Training Camp Is Underway 

New York Liberty 2016 Training Camp presented by Blueprint for Athletes officially got underway on Sunday morning at MSG Training Center with the first of two practices on the first official day of the year for the Liberty.

There are 15 players in camp to start the season, with Tanisha Wright and Lindsey Harding slated to report later in the preseason. Wright recently wrapped up an Israeli League championship with her club team Maccabi Ashdod, while Harding concludes a stint playing for Dynamo Kursk in Russia.

Amongst the 15 players in camp, seven are rookies, including a pair of draft picks in Adut Bulgak and Ameryst Alston, along with Danielle Ballard (LSU/Finland), Talia Caldwell (Cal), Elin Eldebrink (Sweden), Alisia Jenkins (USF), and Annie Tarakchian (Princeton).

Click here to read the full story

Liberty Website: Watch The Liberty’s First Practice of 2106 

Seattle Storm Website: Breanna Stewart Lucky To Have Familiar Group of Teammates in Seattle

Breanna Stewart had spent about 10 waking hours in Seattle before she was presented to Storm fans at KeyArena on Thursday. She flew in Wednesday night, and the next day she was answering questions about her knowledge of the Northwest and the keys to preparing for her first season in the WNBA. She donned the new Storm jersey, signed autographs and took pictures with fans.

She may have never been to Seattle before this week, but Stewart is certainly familiar with her new group of teammates. That includes the player she stood next to at Thursday’s event.

“If someone comes from behind to steal the ball, our associate head coach would call it the ‘Sue Bird move,’” Stewart said, referring to her four years at the University of Connecticut. “We’d hear that once every practice.”

Lakers fire Scott after two seasons

POSTED: Apr 25, 2016 12:40 AM ET

The Los Angeles Lakers, looking to rebuild and move on from the Kobe Bryant era, fired coach Byron Scott on Sunday night after two struggling seasons.

"We would like to thank Byron for his hard work, dedication and loyalty over the last two years, but have decided it is in the best interest of the organization to make a change at this time," General Manager Mitch Kupchak said in a statement announcing that Scott's option for the 2016-17 season would not be picked up. The team said the search for a new coach would begin immediately.

The move was not surprising, given Scott's record (38-126) with the Lakers, and his struggles getting consistent growth and production out of the team's young players. Scott had a contentious relationship with the team's first-round pick this year, guard D'Angelo Russell, and also ran hot and cold with the Lakers' 2014 first-rounder, Julius Randle. Scott insisted that the young players display discipline and earn minutes rather than have them handed to him.

But Scott's main job this season was helping Bryant get through his 20th and final NBA year healthy and without the injuries that had prematurely ended each of Bryant's previous three seasons. And Scott did that, as Bryant was able to be celebrated throughout the league at venue after venue.

Immediate speculation will center on Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton, who won two championships as a player with the Lakers, and who led Golden State to a 24-0 start this season while head coach Steve Kerr recovered from offseason back surgeries. (Because of league rules, Kerr was still credited with those wins.) Walton is still well-liked within the Lakers' organization.

But the Lakers, despite their struggles in recent years, are still one of the NBA's marquee franchises. With more than $40 million in potential cap room available next summer as well, and the potential of a top three Lottery pick, they'll be able to pick from among just about everyone available in the pros and in college basketball to take over and coach Russell, Randle, Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance, Jr.

Longtime NBA reporter and columnist David Aldridge is an analyst for TNT. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting.