Izzo undecided on taking Cavaliers job
CLEVELAND — One of college basketball’s brightest minds, Tom Izzo is wrestling with a career- and life-changing decision.
Michigan State or the Cavaliers?
Izzo still doesn’t know.
One day after he and his family visited Cleveland to get a taste of the NBA, Izzo remained undecided about his next move. He sent a text message Friday to The Associated Press, saying he had not made a decision. Izzo later told the Spartans the same thing and didn’t give them a timetable for the decision when they came to the basketball offices to get their Big Ten championship rings sized, according to a person who was there in East Lansing, Mich.
Izzo is believed to have been offered a five-year, $30 million contract by Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, a Michigan State alum who may be looking to make a big splash with his coaching hire to convince soon-to-be free agent LeBron James to re-sign with Cleveland.
At the same time, Izzo has to be concerned about coaching a team without James, who is expected to listen to offers from several teams when free agency opens July 1.
Hawks set to hire Drew
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Hawks were poised to hire Larry Drew as their next head coach, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press Friday.
Drew was picked after a search that also included interviews with former Minnesota coach Dwane Casey, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the team was still working out details of the contract. Casey was thought to have inside track because of his ties to Hawks general manager Rick Sund.
Instead, the Hawks went with the lead assistant under former coach Mike Woodson, who was let go last month after six seasons in Atlanta.
The 52-year-old Drew is a former point guard who played in the NBA for 10 seasons. He was an assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers, Detroit, Washington and New Jersey before he joined Woodson in Atlanta.
Game 4 earns good rating
NEW YORK — The Celtics’ series-tying win earned the highest preliminary rating for Game 4 of an NBA finals since 2004.
Boston’s 96-89 victory over the Lakers on Thursday night on ABC drew an 11.6 overnight rating. That’s up 6 percent from the 10.9 for last year’s Orlando-LA Game 4.
This series has also been drawing higher ratings than the Celtics-Lakers matchup in 2008. The numbers have been the best since the Detroit-LA series six years ago. Game 4 that year earned a 14.5 overnight rating.
Associated Press
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