Triangle architect Tex Winter dies at 96

Several years ago, there was a push to get Tex Winter into the Hall of Fame with the undertone that it should happen before it’s too late. Winter made it in 2011, a joyous moment for the former Bulls and Lakers assistant coach.

Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times:

Former Bulls coach Fred “Tex’’ Winter, who was considered the architect of the famed triangle offense, died Wednesday, the organization confirmed.

“On behalf of the entire Lakers organization, I’d like to express our sadness at the passing of Tex Winter,” said Lakers controlling wwner Jeanie Buss. “Tex helped lead the team to four NBA Championships and was a mentor to many of our coaches and players. In addition to his numerous contributions to the game of basketball, Tex was a wonderful man and he will be dearly missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Winter family.”

Winter won nine titles as an assistant coach, working under Phil Jackson with the Bulls then Lakers. There’s a case for Winter as the greatest assistant coach of all-time.

Maybe it’s not that hard to win with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. But we’ll never know how those teams would have fared without Winter’s triangle offense. We know they won big with it, and that’s what counts.

The Suns need a starting-caliber point guard. It was the simplest flaw of their offseason. That void might have cost Ryan McDonough his job.

But the Suns have limited ability to get a point guard without thinning another part of their roster.

Shams Charania of The Athletic:

If granted, the disabled-player exception would be worth $3,732,456. Phoenix could use it to sign a free agent or trade for a player on an expiring contract.

Will the DPE be granted? An NBA-appointed doctor would have to rule Arthur is “substantially more likely than not” to be out through June 15. That’d be a major injury, and it’s unclear what ails Arthur.

The 30-year-old Arthur didn’t contribute much to the Nuggets last season. Perhaps, Phoenix preferred the salary-cap flexibility and insurance payouts all along when trading for him.

Jimmy Butler reportedly showed up late to the Timberwolves’ practice, created a spectacle by talking a massive amount of trash and leading third-stringers to a win over the starters then left early.

On ESPN, Stan Van Gundy said he spoke to people in the “Minnesota organization:”

Their main reaction was best practice they’ve had the entire preseason, that Jimmy being back energized people, brought more intensity.

That’s probably true. Butler also probably scared people and annoyed people. There isn’t necessarily a single way to frame the day, though everyone has their own motives and perspectives.

This could just be spinning, the Timberwolves trying to dispel the notion they must trade Butler. But I also wouldn’t put it past a Tom Thibodeau-run organization to look past the chaos and revel in the competitiveness. Thibodeau is uncommonly obsessed with focusing on the moment, and a good practice would please him more than most.

But his job as team president forces him to look deeper. How will Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins react to Butler doing this repeatedly? How will Butler handle Towns’ and Wiggins’ responses? Keeping Butler could sink team chemistry even further.

There are undoubtedly positives for Minnesota with Butler being back around the team, and it’s fine to discuss them. But if they are truly the main takeaway from today’s practice, that’s even more evidence of Thibodeau being out of touch with the interpersonal dynamics of his players.

LeBron James reportedly texted Kevin Durant last summer about teaming up on the Lakers.

LeBron already put out word denying that, and now Durant is doing the same.

Durant, via Mark Medina of The Mercury News:

“Hell no.”

“That was all false. All false. 100 percent false,” Durant told Bay Area News Group. “He didn’t talk about none of that stuff.”

LeBron doesn’t want to be seen as having failed in his recruitment, so that could explain his denial. Another potential explanation: It’s the truth.

That could apply to Durant, too. It might be that simple.

A more fun theory: Durant will consider the Lakers in free agency next year, and he wants to deemphasize already turning them down once.