Every weekday morning, Ball Don't Lie serves up a handful of NBA-related stories to digest with your tea.

Don Seeholzer, Pioneer Press: "Timberwolves president of basketball operations David Kahn has said he will wait until after Thursday's NBA draft to begin a coaching search for Kevin McHale's successor, but ESPN/ABC analyst Mark Jackson already has been branded as the early favorite. Pro Basketball News, citing multiple unidentified sources, is reporting that Jackson is the leading candidate, with one source saying the team has already decided on him. The New York Post reported that Jackson is at the top of a short list that also includes former Toronto Raptors coach Sam Mitchell and former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Fratello. Kahn said at Wednesday's press conference to announce McHale's departure that he had no list of candidates and wouldn't begin the process until after the draft. Jackson, 44, was a point guard with the Indiana Pacers when Kahn was the team's general manager and has been open about his desire to land a coaching job."

Michael Wallace, The Miam Herald: "Pat Riley didn't sugarcoat things on Thursday. He wants nothing more than to see Dwyane Wade(notes) return his affection — this summer. He wants nothing Wade-Riley more than for Wade to receive the paperwork on that contract extension on July 12 and fax it right back to AmericanAirlines Arena with his signature. But Riley is also aware of the reality. And frankly, for as much as Dwyane Wade wants to retire as a member of the Heat, the better business decision is for him to delay his commitment (paperwork, at least) until next offseason. Wade becomes a free agent on July 1, 2010. He could bypass that process and extend his contract as early as July 12, 2009. That leaves him about three weeks away from having to make a sensitive call."

Mike Bresnahan, LA Times: "Lamar Odom cleaned out his locker Thursday and left the Lakers' training facility, perhaps for the last time as part of the franchise that has employed him the last five years. Odom will be an unrestricted free agent July 1, one of two forwards the Lakers hope to re-sign to keep their frontcourt intact. The Lakers hope to sign both Ariza and Odom, but owner Jerry Buss will first have to evaluate how much to offer Odom, a non-starter on a championship team. 'I thought I did my job this year — come off the bench, do whatever it takes,' Odom said as players continued to have exit meetings with Lakers Coach Phil Jackson and General Manager Mitch Kupchak. 'I had to play well and I played well. We had to win and we won. Hopefully, everything will just work out and I can stay home.' [...] During his exit meeting, Odom was asked to 'stay in shape' during the off-season, he said. 'They know I'm a socialite,' he said."

Kevin Ding, OCReg: "Lamar Odom was talking today about next season being the 'fourth or fifth option on offense' and locking on on rebounding more and shooting less. It’s debatable whether that’s really better for the Lakers. Kobe Bryant’s(notes) theory is that Odom fits in best in that way, focusing primarily on being a totally dominant rebounder and letting the rest of his game flow out of that one thing that he knows he’ll contribute to the team every night. The risk, of course, is that quirky Odom loses all aggressiveness in other areas of his game and becomes Dennis Rodman. (Remember that the offbeat Rodman used to jack up 3-pointers at times, too.) I get the feeling that Odom would really be happy being a Rodman-esque presence on the team, although certainly as someone to unite the team instead of sitting off in the corner with his sneakers and socks off a la the Worm."

Paul Coro, The Arizona Republic: "Steve Kerr is on a tight schedule these days, as he, David Griffin and the rest of Suns basketball operations are waist high in front office and agent phone calls, draft prospect video and staff meetings. That does not leave a lot of time for a face-to-face with your two-time MVP on the other side of the continent. So Kerr made quick work. A Wednesday night flight to New York. A 7:30 a.m. Thursday meeting with Steve Nash(notes) and Bill Duffy, Nash's agent. A Thursday noon flight back to Phoenix. It was a preliminary discussion to lay out groundwork for contract extension talks and let Nash in on some of the Suns' plans that he has been curious to know. He will reconnect after Thursday's draft with Nash and Duffy, who has a long, strong relationship with the Suns. 'I feel like Steve wants to come back and I let him know again that we want him back,' Kerr said."

Darnell Mayberry, The Oklahoman: "Ricky Rubio’s visit to Sacramento has officially come to an end, the Sacramento Bee is reporting, and now the question is whether the Spanish point guard and his representatives will come to Oklahoma City to meet and greet Thunder officials. Rubio flew back to Los Angeles from Sacramento today, leaving California’s capital city without working out for the Kings after becoming ill. The 18-year-old Rubio is reportedly being treated with antibiotics after his temperature reached 101 degrees. There is all kind of uncertainty over Rubio’s schedule over the next week leading up to the draft. Rubio could indeed come to OKC, while a visit to Memphis still seems to be a possibility and perhaps a return visit to Sacramento as well."

Jonathan Feigen, Houston Chronicle: "The Rockets have been remarkably aggressive in talks around the league since their elimination from the playoffs. Leslie Alexander's admission that he might be 'predatory' in hopes of taking advantage of others' financial problems seems to have been a call to arms for GM Daryl Morey. So far, nothing has happened; nothing is close. Still, this is actually a pretty cool time to be a Rockets fan, if you are a fan of off-season fantasies. Sure, the Rockets don't have a draft pick. That means you can imagine them moving in at anywhere from two on. You can argue the merits of anything from chasing Ricky Rubio (!!!) to getting another second-round guy to stash in Europe. OK, so they've tried to move up in each of the previous three drafts and didn't do it. Trying and doing are different things, but this is a buyer's market like never before. That brings the real measure of how aggressive they would be willing to be, and the other fun of this offseason, if you get into this sort of thing. You can imagine all sorts of possibilities, based on the value of Tracy McGrady's(notes) contract and situation. With as much as half the league looking to make cost-cutting moves, no team other than the few with cap space attracts more calls than the Rockets."

Mike Wells, The Indianapolis Star: "I've been hearing rumors about how Josh McRoberts(notes) has been living in the weight room this offseason. I saw it with my own eyes when I ran into him at Conseco Fieldhouse earlier this week. McRoberts said he's put on 20 pounds of muscle since the end of the season. The Pacers plan to do their best to re-sign McRoberts, who appeared in 33 games last season. A Pacers official told me they envision McRoberts being like Denver's Birdman. They like McRoberts' athleticism, energy and rebounding off the bench."

Peter Vescey, New York Post: "Don't believe word one of a report claiming the Wizards and Cavaliers discussed a Antawn Jamison(notes) for Ben Wallace(notes) and Sasha Pavlovic(notes) swap. Yeah, that makes sense, give up a 23-point, 10-rebound All-Star for a retread and a reject. Ernie Grunfeld wouldn't have made that trade the first day he arrived in America from Romania. An ESPN report the Hawks are trying to trade Josh Smith(notes) is sheer fabrication. He's often a knucklehead but he's not being shopped. Furthermore, his base year salary makes it almost impossible to get equal value."

Michael Lee, The Washington Post: "Although I didn't get Gilbert Arenas(notes), I did talk for a while with Tim Grover, who was at every game working exclusively for Finals MVP Kobe Bryant. Grover told me that he expects Arenas to come to his Attacks Athletics facility in Chicago in about two weeks. Arenas has committed to coming and Grover said while he hasn't seen Arenas's medical records, he estimated that it will take at least a two month commitment for Arenas to get the necessary training required. He added that several stars overcoming left knee injuries, including Tracy McGrady and Jermaine O'Neal(notes), are expected to be in Chicago this summer. The Wizards support Arenas's decision to train elsewhere and will likely send someone up to Chicago to keep an eye on him, which is similar to what the Heat did with Dwyane Wade last season. The Wizards support Arenas's decision to train elsewhere and will likely send someone up to Chicago to keep an eye on him, which is similar to what the Heat did with Wade last season."

Associated Press/NYTimes: "Speaking before hosting an offseason broadcast of his Sirius XM radio program ''Basketball and Beyond with Coach K,'' (Duke Coach Mike) Krzyzewski said he wanted to make sure he could juggle the requirements of the U.S. job with his other responsibilities. 'You have to do justice to both, to all three: family, Duke and USA Basketball,' Krzyzewski said. 'Although having done it, it's not like I don't know. I've just gone through it and I felt I did do justice to all of those things, but there are things you have to sacrifice to do something that you really want to do, and I want to make sure that I'm not messing over anybody if I do accept it.' Krzyzewski added he hopes some of the '08 Olympians could attend the minicamp. If Krzyzewski declines to return, New York Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni, an assistant the last three years, is a leading candidate to take over."

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