Football
Marc Stein, ESPN Senior Writer 20y

Raptors sought Harris as GM, not coach

Del Harris was actually pursued by the Toronto Raptors as a replacement for fired general manager Glen Grunwald, not the coaching position as reported by a Fort Worth paper. Harris, still Don Nelson's chief sidekick in Dallas, declined the opportunity to interview with the Raptors, who have permission from Mark Cuban to contact him.

Pacers assistant coach Mike Brown, Lakers assistant coach Jim Cleamons and Sonics assistant coach Dwane Casey -- the finalist passed over when Toronto hired Kevin O'Neill -- have all been mentioned as possible candidates to replace the fired O'Neill as Raptors coach. Toronto, though, intends to hire its new GM first, and the GM will be making the official list of potential O'Neill successors.

  • Did you know that, according to the NBA rule book, Chris Webber's pass to himself off the board for a dunk late in Sunday's Game 1 victory over the Mavericks should have been waved off as a traveling violation?

    Right.

    We can debate all day about the one-game suspension of Ron Artest and the non-suspension of Richard Jefferson ... but that's one passage in the rule book that has to be changed.

    The flip-off-the-board-and-jam is one of the game's rare gems. It almost never happens in real games and should always be celebrated when it does. Calling that a travel sounds like a no-fun rule the NFL sneaked into our rules.

  • This one's for Bob's Steak & Chop House founder Bob Sambol ... and my brother Orren, known to all his friends as The Big O ... and most of all the original Big O.

    LeBron James indeed became just the third rookie in NBA history to average at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists per game when he posted averages of 20.9 points, 5.5 boards and 5.9 dimes for the Cavs. But Oscar Robertson, the original 20-5-5 rookie, makes those numbers look pedestrian, and you best not forget it.

    The Big O went for a mere 30.5 points, 10.1 rebounds and 9.7 assists as a rookie in 1960-61. Ridiculous.

    Michael Jordan is the other member of this exclusive club, having averaged 28.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists as a Bulls rookie in 1984-85.

  • With Pau Gasol and Bonzi Wells hobbling into the postseason, and the Spurs being the Spurs, Memphis really didn't have a chance in its first-ever playoff series anyway. But the Griz won't even win a game if Tony Parker keeps tattooing Jason Williams.

    Parker has outscored J-Thrill, 37-14, and Memphis has 34 turnovers to 23 assists through two games.

  • A road team, I swear, is going to win a playoff game eventually. But if it happens Tuesday night, Dallas at Sacramento is the only likely candidate. Don't see New York winning at New Jersey, even if Jefferson had been suspended, and I don't see Boston winning at Indy even with Artest out, because (we repeat) Al Harrington is still available to check Paul Pierce.

  • Attention, West ... and specifically the Lakers:

    May is approaching and Bob Horry is warming up.

    Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here. Also, click here to send a question for possible use on ESPNEWS.

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