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Daily roundup: Ferry executes major facelift in Atlanta

Freshly-minted Atlanta GM Danny Ferry hasn’t wasted any time putting his stamp on his new team. The former Spurs administrator pulled off a pair of major moves on Tuesday, for a mass of expiring contracts while .

In addition to freeing the Hawks from the $90 million remaining on Johnson’s deal — one that had been considered virtually untradeable — Ferry also put the Hawks in position of clearing cap space to go after both Chris Paul and Dwight Howard in next year’s free agency sweepstakes. It’s a slim hope at best — Paul has a great situation with Blake Griffin and the Clippers, and Howard would likely have little interest in the Hawks without him — but it’s better than being stuck with the dead weight that is Johnson’s contract.

Brooklyn, meanwhile, has given Deron Williams another reason to consider staying with the Nets, while still retaining some of its assets. Williams is expected to make his decision between Brooklyn and Dallas as early as today. But the Nets would also seem to have , leaving the Orlando center’s future even more murky after reportedly demanding a trade to the Nets, and only the Nets. That could seemingly open the door for another suitor, such as the Lakers, or force Howard to play out a lame-duck season with the Magic before hitting the open market.

If Williams bolts for Big D, the Nets will reportedly .

Elsewhere:

* The Suns are to restricted SG Eric Gordon.

* Former Spur George Hill

* The Kings are taking a

* Small forward Grant Hill’s services are

* Small forward Nicolas Batum has

* The Rockets are ready to

* The Clippers want to

Behind the face: Leonard’s comeback

Column by Buck Harvey

LOS ANGELES — They didn’t like Kawhi Leonard Saturday. They were in awe of him.

A few members of the Spurs’ brass stood in a Staples Center hallway trying to find the proper superlative. And, fitting of Leonard, the best compliment was a non-verbal one.

A Spurs official put his hand in front of his face, then lowered it slowly, to show the universal sign for expressionless cool.

That was Leonard, the rookie, on the road, with the Spurs being crushed in the first half.

“He might have been,” the official said, “the steadiest on the floor.”

He might have been the best Spur, too, and that brings up something that should have been understood long ago by people who insist on comparing him to Bruce Bowen. Leonard isn’t Bowen.

Leonard has twice the talent. He can rebound, muscle, dribble and pass. Bowen struggled with all four.

And while Bowen needed time to find a place in the league at age 30, Leonard is there at 20.

Add to that what Bowen did so well, such as shoot the corner three and play defense, and the package is rare. It was all on display Saturday, when Leonard alternated between chasing Chris Paul and bumping with Blake Griffin.

“He’s the one guy nobody ever talks about,” Manu Ginobili said afterward. And maybe he’s also the reason many don’t understand where this 17-in-a-row success has come from. The Spurs have found a young, long, efficient athlete who fills a position that has been lacking since, well, Bowen left.

His composure might be his most impressive trait. Leonard grew up in the area, so he had family and friends here, and yet he reacted to the early rout by not reacting.

“I don’t think he ever gets excited,” Tim Duncan said Saturday. “He’s absolutely even keel the entire time. I think he’s even more mellow than me, if that’s possible.”

Duncan consciously works to keep a poker face. Leonard is a natural.

And it’s not that Leonard has an absence of expression; it’s what is there in place of one. Leonard has permanent sorrow, the look of a sad clown, and it rarely changes.

He was the same after the game Saturday, when the media surrounded him and asked how he thought he did against Griffin.

“I think I did pretty well,” he said, while his faced suggested he had failed miserably.

He never talks to refs, which is smart for a rookie, and he doesn’t say much to his teammates, either. But, according to Stephen Jackson, Leonard has a favorite expression.

“Grind hard.”

The Spurs needed exactly that Saturday. Leonard sat down late in the first quarter after the Clippers jumped out to a 23-9 lead. By the time he came back, the Spurs were losing by 21.

Gregg Popovich later repeated what he often says, that these early leads always scare coaches, because the games are “so doggone long.” But how doggone long would Popovich have stuck with his starters had the Clippers kept their lead?

With another game tonight, Popovich might have been one quarter away from conceding.

So what happened at the end of the first half mattered, and Leonard started it. He hit a runner. Then, after Tony Parker missed, Leonard kept the rebound alive. The basketball fell into Duncan’s arms, and he got the score.

Grind hard, all right.

By the end of the half, the sense was that the Spurs were in control. ?Leonard took that further to start the third quarter, with a three and later a steal that set up a Parker layup.

How the Spurs pulled even: A three-point play inside by Leonard.

“Kawhi sure does not look like a rookie,” Popovich said at a news conference.

And outside the room, standing in the hallway, a Spurs official put his hand in front of his face, then lowered it slowly.

bharvey@express-news.net
Twitter: @Buck_SA

SPURS VS. CLIPPERS
(Spurs lead best-of-seven series 2-0)

Game 1:

Game 2:

Game 3:

Game 4: Sunday, @Clippers, 9:30 p.m., TNT

* Game 5: Tuesday, @Spurs, TBA, TNT

* Game 6: Friday, @Clippers, TBA, ESPN

* Game 7: May 27, @Spurs, TBA, TNT

* If necessary

From the sky, Diaw falls to the Spurs

Column by Buck Harvey

We were talking the other day in Salt Lake City, passing time as this 26-0 winning streak to the championship was just beginning, and Gregg Popovich hesitated.

When was the last time a healthy, in-his-prime talent such as Boris Diaw had ever fallen from the sky?

The best Popovich could do was the 2005 trade for Nazr Mohammed. Which isn’t close. Mohammed cost the Spurs something and, besides, Diaw isn’t Mohammed.

Diaw is clever, skilled and golden. He’s helped make Tim Duncan younger, and he’s made Tony Parker happier.

He’s also made the Spurs exactly what Al “I don’t see nobody beating ’em” Jefferson said they were.

Diaw won’t be the story of Game 2. Chris Paul’s career high in turnovers ranks larger, as does the curious case of Timothy Button. Duncan seemingly gets younger as each week of the season passes, and now he’s back around 1999 heading toward his rookie year.

His 14 points at halftime allowed the Spurs to keep the lead. And everyone who wonders exactly how much Blake Griffin is bothered by his left knee should take a look at Duncan’s. Think that huge brace is strapped on for fun?

“For whatever reason,” Duncan said afterward, he feels better than he has in years.

Here’s a reason: Diaw. Duncan has played with a lot of big men over the years. And while David Robinson was more dominant than Diaw, and while Duncan won with others such as Mohammed and Fab Oberto, he’s never had anyone with the versatility of Diaw.

In Game 1, he set a personal postseason best for rebounds, and Thursday outlined the rest. Diaw ended the third quarter with a smooth scoop layup, then started the fourth with a slick pass to Tiago Splitter.

Just to show the full package: He threw in his second three of the game.

In doing so, he scored more points than he has since January. Then, Diaw was with a franchise (Charlotte) that couldn’t win. Now he’s with one that can’t lose.

Popovich said afterward Diaw hadn’t exceeded expectations, because Diaw “is pretty well known for what he does. He’s done it for other teams, and now he’s doing it for us. He’s fit in pretty seamlessly. It’s basketball, it’s not that complicated.”

Truth is, it’s not complicated for him. Diaw knows how to play, and it’s a gift. That’s why, in the days before the postseason began, Popovich didn’t hesitate to start someone who had started only seven games in his Spurs career.

With him in with the mix, a smart team that shares the basketball got better at what it does. Diaw might have better passing instincts than his best friend, Parker, which is a remarkable thought. A guy who bangs with Blake Griffin sees the court as well as a point guard?

Parker nodded Thursday. “Boris,” he said, “made a lot of good decisions, and I have a lot of confidence in him.”

Parker’s never had this kind of friend as a teammate, either. Diaw was asked after the game what he got Parker for his birthday, and most thought Diaw would say something trite like a win.

Instead, Diaw actually bought him a present. Wireless speakers.

He and the Spurs will lose eventually, and consecutive games in Los Angeles this weekend are a likely place to start.

But there is a reason the Spurs are 26-2 since Diaw arrived. And it’s because the kind of player who is never available in March for free was.