Source: Bobcats hire Ewing as assistant

CHARLOTTE BOBCATS owner Michael Jordan is giving old friend Patrick Ewing another shot to continue his NBA coaching career.

The Bobcats have reached an agreement in principle with the Hall of Famer to become their new associate head coach, said a person familiar with the situation.

The person spoke with the Associated Press yesterday on condition of anonymity because the hire has not yet been made official.

The 50-year-old Ewing and Jordan were teammates on the 1992 USA Olympic "Dream Team" that won gold at the Barcelona Games.

Ewing was out of coaching last year after the Magic decided to let go of Stan Van Gundy and overhaul their roster while embarking on a major rebuilding project following the 2011-12 season.

Ewing spent part of last season working as an NBA broadcaster.

Before that Ewing worked for 5 years as an assistant coach with the Magic alongside Steve Clifford, who was hired as the Bobcats head coach last month.

Ewing has 9 years of experience as an NBA assistant coach. He's also worked as an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards and Houston Rockets.

Ewing interviewed for the Bobcats head coaching position in 2012, but Jordan hired Mike Dunlap instead. Ewing also interviewed for the Detroit Pistons head coaching position in 2011. However, that job was given to Lawrence Frank.

Ewing has said in the past he wants a chance to become a head coach and being the second in charge with the Bobcats could afford him that opportunity down the road.

He will be the first assistant coach hired by Clifford, who looks to dramatically improve a Bobcats team that finished 21-61 last season under Dunlap and is 28-120 over the past two seasons.

The Bobcats will almost certainly lean on Ewing's expertise as a former center to help develop the low-post games of Byron Mullens and Bismack Biyombo. Charlotte hasn't had a true dominant center and general manager Rich Cho said earlier this offseason the team will be looking to "add bigs" to the roster.

Ewing, a native of Kingston, Jamaica, was an 11-time NBA All-Star and the league's Rookie of the Year in 1986.

In college, he helped Georgetown to the NCAA Division I national championship in 1984 and was named the Naismith College Player of the Year in 1985.

A person with knowledge of the details says the Brooklyn Nets' coaching decision is down to Jason Kidd and Brian Shaw.

Kidd met with general manager Billy King on Monday and Shaw is expected to meet with the team today. The person told the Associated Press that the team has just those two candidates. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the coaching search are not being made public by the Nets.

Kidd just ended his playing career after 19 seasons and is looking to make the move into coaching. He led the Nets to consecutive NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003, the franchise's greatest success in the NBA.

Shaw is a respected longtime assistant who was with the Indiana Pacers team that reached the Eastern Conference finals and also worked previously for Phil Jackson with the Los Angeles Lakers. He also had a 14-year NBA career with seven teams, including the Sixers in 1997-98.

The Nets have to replace P.J. Carlesimo, who finished the season as their interim coach after they fired Avery Johnson in December.

* A Georgia judge has set bond at $250,000 for an ex-NBA player accused in a fatal suburban Atlanta car crash.

Daron "Mookie" Blaylock appeared in court on charges of vehicular homicide, driving on a suspended license, making an improper lane change and crossing the median in the head-on crash in Jonesboro on May 31. The crash killed a 43-year-old woman.

A judge said she set bond for the 46-year-old Blaylock based on past DUI arrests dating back to 1996. Police have said at the time of the crash, Blaylock was wanted in Spalding County, Ga., for failing to appear in court on a DUI charge.

Blaylock's attorney has said his client blacked out just before the crash, and police say drugs and alcohol didn't appear to be a factor.

* The Boston Celtics will play a preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Montreal next season as part of the NBA's Canadian series.

The teams will play at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Oct. 20. It's the second season the league has held preseason games in Canada.

* The NBA Finals' television viewership for Game 2 was down 13 percent from last year.

Miami's 103-84 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night on ABC was watched by 14.6 million people. That's down from 16.7 million for the Heat-Thunder series a year ago.

Miami had turned Sunday's game into a blowout by midway through the fourth quarter. The Heat's Game 2 win last season was still in doubt in the final minute.