Henry Bibby

Pacific Notes: Bibby, World Peace, Russell, Suns

Kings coaching candidate Henry Bibby believes he can reach DeMarcus Cousins, comparing the star center’s volatile temperament to that of Zach Randolph, another once-mercurial big man who shed his label as a malcontent while playing under a Grizzlies coaching staff that included Bibby, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee details. Bibby, who is scheduled to interview for the job Monday, said he’d hire son Mike Bibby for his staff, telling Jones that they’d long ago repaired what had been a troubled relationship. Henry Bibby added that he’d run an offense reminiscent of the one his son directed as the point guard for the Kings in the early 2000s. “What I’m trying to get back is what Vlade [Divac] used to have up there, the old Sacramento Kings,” Bibby told Jones. “I want to get that back again, that excitement. They played as a team. They ran that corner offense, and that’s what I’d run. I’d put DeMarcus where Vlade was [on offense], and you play basketball with [Rajon] Rondo, [Ben] McLemore and guys like that.”

See more from the Pacific Division:
  • The video incident involving D’Angelo Russell and Nick Young reportedly drove a wedge between Russell and his teammates, but Metta World Peace said on ESPN’s “The Jump” this week that team chemistry wasn’t as fractured as reports made it seem. Andrew Joseph of For The Win has the transcription. “It wasn’t like that,” World Peace said. “It wasn’t that bad. … I can’t say exactly like what it was. … We gave [Russell] a little talk, because nowadays, it’s like the young players that’s coming into sports, they’re so immature these days. They make a lot of mistakes. So, you have to always be there to pick them up.”
  • The Suns have decided not to re-sign assistant coaches Bob Hill and Corey Gaines, as well as player development assistant Irving Roland, reports Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. It’s somewhat surprising to see the team decline to keep Hill, the former Knicks, Spurs, Pacers and SuperSonics head coach who joined the staff in February at the behest of Earl Watson. Phoenix removed Watson’s interim tag last month, formally making him the head coach.
  • Former Indiana University point guard Yogi Ferrell have predraft workouts for the Clippers and Lakers, among other teams, a source tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
  • I examined the offseason ahead for the Clippers earlier today.

Kings To Interview Henry Bibby

The Kings will interview Henry Bibby for their head coaching vacancy, reports Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). Jones reported last week that the team had reached out to the former USC head coach who’s served as an NBA assistant for multiple clubs. The interview, which Jones hears will take place Monday (Twitter link), is one of several the Kings are conducting in a wide-ranging search.

Bibby, 66, last served as an NBA coach during the 2013/14 season, when he was an assistant for the Pistons under Maurice Cheeks and later interim coach John Loyer. He was previously an assistant for the Sixers and Grizzlies after serving parts of 10 seasons as head coach at USC, where he went 132-120 and made three NCAA Tournament appearances. He’s also coached extensively in minor leagues and was a scout for the then-Bullets in the 1980s. Bibby is the father of former Kings point guard Mike Bibby.

Sam Mitchell, Vinny Del Negro and Mike Woodson have already interviewed, and Kevin McHale has spoken extensively with the team, as I noted when I rounded up reports on the expansive coaching search last week, and it would appear as though David Blatt‘s interview took place Monday. The team reportedly has plans to interview Patrick Ewing, Mark Jackson, Nate McMillan, Jeff Hornacek and Corliss Williamson. The Kings apparently plan to at least speak with Ettore Messina, too. Sacramento has reportedly received permission from the Grizzlies to interview assistant Elston Turner, but USA Today’s Sam Amick reported Monday that he’s a candidate to serve as lead assistant for the Kings, casting doubt on the idea that he’s in the running for the head coaching job.

Jay Larranaga, Brian Shaw, Ime Udoka, Jeff Van Gundy and Monty Williams are the other reported candidates who haven’t already taken jobs elsewhere.

Kings Consider Henry Bibby; Morway Talks End

The Kings have reached out to former NBA assistant and USC head coach Henry Bibby about their head coaching vacancy, according to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee, who includes the information in a story about the team’s desire to meet with Warriors assistant Luke Walton. The team appears set to accelerate its coaching search, as Jones hears the Kings would like to make a hire by sometime next week (Twitter link), though that would require the team to drastically pare its wide-ranging list of candidates.

The Kings are meanwhile no longer engaged in talks with former Bucks and Pacers executive David Morway about a front office role that would have made him an assistant to Vice President of Basketball Operations Vlade Divac, sources tell The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). A deal with Morway was reportedly close as of late last month, when the Kings signed Divac to an extension. Sacramento has sought an experienced hand to pair with Divac, a front office neophyte.

Bibby, 66, joins a crowded field of Sacramento coaching candidates that also includes Grizzlies assistant Elston Turner, as Jones reported Tuesday. The Bee’s Ailene Voisin reported last week that Divac was inquiring about at least two college coaches, so perhaps Bibby is one of them. Still, the father of former Kings point guard Mike Bibby hasn’t been with USC since 2004, having more recently been an assistant for the Sixers, Grizzlies and Pistons. He was last on an NBA bench with Detroit for the 2013/14 season.

Walton appears much higher on Sacramento’s list of priorities, and while Voisin reported that Divac and Walton were expected to meet to discuss the job, Jones raises the possibility that Walton will decline to talk to the Kings about the vacancy. The team has already interviewed Sam Mitchell, Vinny Del Negro and, as Jones reports, Mike Woodson, whose meeting with the team had reportedly been imminent. The Kings intend to meet with Jeff Hornacek, too, as Jones wrote last week.

Kevin McHale is a serious contender and he and the Kings have had exploratory talks, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported earlier this week. The former Rockets coach is well-liked within the Sacramento organization and many consider him a front-runner for the job, according to James Ham of CSN California. The Kings would like to interview McHale, but, as of last week, he hadn’t decided whether he wants to talk, as Wojnarowski reported.

Mark Jackson, Brian Shaw, Ettore Messina, Ime Udoka, Nate McMillanMonty Williams, Jeff Van GundyPatrick Ewing, David Blatt and Jay Larranaga are the other reported candidates for the coaching job. Some people around the league think Kings assistant Corliss Williamson deserves an interview, Jones tweets, but it’s unclear if the team is considering him.

Central Rumors: Bucks, Pistons, Pacers

Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry told Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times that the team would retain GM John Hammond, assistant GM David Morway and coach Larry Drew for next season, but fellow co-owner Wesley Edens wouldn’t confirm that, according to Woelfel. Edens is the team’s representative on the Board of Governors, which would appear to give him final say. Bucks officials and executives around the league told Woelfel that former owner Herb Kohl became “livid” with Hammond last season, and that Kohl, had he not sold the team, would have fired the GM, Woelfel hears. There’s more on the Bucks amid the latest from the Central Division:

  • Steve Ballmer and Chris Hansen bid $650MM for the Bucks earlier this year, with plans to move them to Seattle, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Kohl rejected the bid in favor of Edens and Lasry, who’ve pledged to keep the team in Milwaukee, but the indirect role Ballmer played in pushing for new arenas in Milwaukee, Minnesota and Sacramento is part of why the NBA finds him appealing for the Clippers, Windhorst hears.
  • Pistons boss Stan Van Gundy calls Andre Drummond and soon-to-be restricted free agent Greg Monroe an “ideal pairing,” but he also points to their shortcomings on defense and the team’s struggles with those two in the lineup together with Josh Smith. Keith Langlois of Pistons.com has that and more from his conversation with Van Gundy.
  • The Pistons hired Brendan Malone and Bob Beyer as assistant coaches and cut ties with assistants Rasheed Wallace, Henry Bibby and Bernard Smith, the team formally announced. Beyer leaves the Hornets to take the job in Detroit. John Loyer, who served as the team’s interim head coach last season, remains as an assistant, but there’s a decent chance the team will reassign him, tweets Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
  • The NBA’s revenue sharing system paid the Pacers $15MM last season, multiple sources tell Grantland’s Zach Lowe, who also hears that the Grizzlies received that amount, too.

Pistons Links: Monroe, Coaching Staff, Cheeks

As the new-look Pistons prepare to get training camp underway next week, let's check in on a few of the latest items out of Detroit….

  • Speaking to reporters today, including David Mayo of MLive.com, Greg Monroe cautioned that he doesn't intend to discuss his contract in the coming weeks or months. Monroe will be a restricted free agent next summer if he doesn't sign an extension before Halloween, and as I wrote earlier today, agent David Falk typically prefers to take his clients to the open market.
  • More Monroe on his contract situation: "I have an agent, like everybody else in the NBA. He's going to communicate with the front office. I'm here to play. And that's it. I'm not going to talk about it. If you ask about it, I'm going to tell you I'm not going to talk about it."
  • The Pistons finalized their coaching staff today, announcing the hirings of assistants Henry Bibby and Maz Trakh. Rasheed Wallace and Bernard Smith were also named player development coaches.
  • When Maurice Cheeks was hired as the Pistons head coach, he expressed a preference for coaching a team that forces turnovers and gets out and runs. As Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes, the team's offseason additions, including Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings, should complement Cheeks' preferred coaching style.

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Eastern Links: Heat, Henry Bibby, Pistons, Nets

As we look forward to the Labor Day weekend, let's round up a few end-of-week items out of the Eastern Conference….

  • Caron Butler and Lamar Odom are no longer options for the Heat, but neither player was ever a real possibility, says Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Winderman adds that "there will be other Butler and Odom types that could shake free" over the course of the year for the Heat.
  • Former Grizzlies assistant Henry Bibby will join Maurice Cheeks' coaching staff with the Pistons, tweets Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
  • Making small adjustments to teams that already have a core in place is Joe Dumars' strength, so the Pistons GM should be well-positioned to handle the next stage of the team's development, writes Dan Feldman of PistonPowered (link via Detroit Free Press).
  • Former Queens prep star Kyle Hunt will work out for the Nets in September, reports Joshua Newman of SNY.tv.
  • Over at HoopsWorld, Lang Greene's list of potential training-camp logjams includes positional battles for the Celtics, Cavs, Bucks, and Knicks, among other teams.