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Coaching Rumors: Nets, Wizards, Hornets, Pistons, Blazers

April 5th, 2024 at 11:20am CST by Luke Adams

People around the NBA expect the Nets‘ head coaching search this spring to be “wide-ranging,” with less of a specific archetype for the preferred candidate in Brooklyn than there might be in Charlotte or Washington, writes Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

The Hornets and Wizards will be focused on landing “the right development-minded coaches to enhance a youth movement,” Fischer continues, whereas the Nets are expected to consider a broader mix of experienced coaches and potential first-timers.

Fischer mentions Mike Budenholzer and James Borrego as a couple veterans who may appeal to Brooklyn, given their San Antonio ties to Nets head of basketball operations Sean Marks. As for possible first-time head coaches, sources tell Yahoo Sports that Knicks assistant Johnnie Bryant has been mentioned as a potential candidate for the top job in Brooklyn.

Here are more coaching-related notes and rumors from Fischer:

Wizards interim head coach Brian Keefe is expected to receive serious consideration for the permanent job in Washington despite a 8-26 (.235) record since he replaced Wes Unseld Jr., league sources tell Fischer.
In addition to the four candidates the Hornets have received permission to interview so far, Heat assistant Chris Quinn and Jazz assistant Lamar Skeeter are two more names expected to factor into Charlotte’s search, Fischer reports. Quinn interviewed for the job in 2022 and made a strong impression on Hornets decision-makers at that time, Fischer writes, though a new front office will be leading the search this time around.
Charles Lee, one of the candidates Charlotte has been granted permission to interview, was in Atlanta while new Hornets co-owner Rick Schnall and executive VP of basketball operations Jeff Peterson were with the Hawks, Fischer observes, noting that Lee appears to be a strong candidate in Charlotte’s head coaching search.
There has been “ongoing speculation” among rival front offices about Monty Williams‘ future with the Pistons, but Fischer hears from a source with knowledge of the situation that there’s no indication Williams would be open to a buyout from his six-year, $78MM+ contract following his first season in Detroit.
There has also been speculation in coaching circles about the possibility that the Trail Blazers will make a coaching change this spring, Fischer says, though Chauncey Billups told Yahoo Sports that he’s eager to try to lead Portland back to the postseason in 2024/25. “I’m light years ahead of where I was when I took the job, obviously being a first-time (head) coach,” Billups said. “And I’m really ready for that challenge and that pressure to go out and compete with these best teams and stuff. I’m really ready for that. So, I just hope that we can be in that position, that’s all.”

New York Notes: Randle, Quickley, Burrell, Johnson

March 31st, 2023 at 6:48pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Julius Randle‘s ankle injury came at a very bad time, but the Knicks believe they can keep winning while he mends, Nick Friedell of ESPN writes.

“I think it takes more focus being down an All-Star, but I’m very confident in our team and how we can handle things,” Jalen Brunson said.

The Knicks won their last two games heading into their showdown with Cleveland on Friday. “We have more than enough guys that are capable of helping out,” Brunson said. “That’s what a team is for and that’s what we do, we’re professionals.”

Obi Toppin started in Randle’s place on Friday, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News tweets.

We have more on the New York teams:

Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley shot 44.8 percent on two-point attempts last season. That stat is up to 52.9 percent this season and he credits associate head coach Johnnie Bryant and personal trainer Reese Whitley, according to Mark Sanchez of the New York Post. Whitley’s workout regimen has made Quickley stronger, while Bryant has devoted extra attention to his on-court effectiveness. “Before every game, I watch a lot of film of the team I’m about to play, spots on the floor that I can pretty much be effective,” Quickley said. “Johnnie Bryant has helped me a lot, just being able to work with him every single day and being able to pick his brain.”
Long Island Nets coach Ronnie Burrell has been named the NBA G League Coach of the Year, the NBA’s PR department tweets. After defeating the Cleveland Charge on Friday, Long Island advanced in the playoffs and will host Delaware in the G League Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday.
Cameron Johnson is thriving with a bigger offensive role than he had with the Suns, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post writes. Since being traded in the Kevin Durant blockbuster, Johnson is averaging more minutes (30.4), shots (12.4), points (16.7), rebounds (4.7) and assists (2.1) per game than he did with the Suns. “That’s part of the beauty of the situation,” Johnson said of joining the Nets. He’ll be a restricted free agent this summer.

Atlantic Notes: Randle, Reddish, Young, Simmons

February 5th, 2023 at 2:27pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Knicks power forward Julius Randle has returned to an All-Star level of play following a down year during the 2021/22 season. Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News details how the 6’9″ big man adjusted his approach to the game to maximize his abilities yet again.

Randle recently credited a summer 2022 conversation with New York assistant coach Johnnie Bryant, who gave Randle a reality check about his attitude last season.

“He was talking about the year before and said something like, ‘If you were your teammates and saw you acting the way you did sometimes, with body language, showing frustration, would you want to be your teammate?’” Randle recalled. “And I said, ‘No.’ So I had to look myself in the mirror and take accountability and get better and learn from it.”

“He came and saw me and it was more like big brother, little brother, holding me accountable, talking to me, getting my mind right, more than anything,” Randle explained. “He came to me and had an honest conversation. And it helped me put my ego and my pride to the side. And try to adjust my game and look at myself in the mirror and do what’s best for the team.”

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Though it seems likely the Knicks will find a new home for 2018 lottery pick Cam Reddish, who has been out of New York’s rotation for two months, Steve Popper of Newsday wonders if the club will make additional trades by Thursday’s trade deadline.
Raptors forward Thaddeus Young has been a massive tone-setter for Toronto’s younger players, writes Eric Koreen of The Athletic, who opines that Young’s influence will resonate beyond his time with the club. “Big time vet,” Raptors big man Precious Achiuwa said of the 34-year-old. “Been in the league a long time, and we’re just trying to learn from him as much as we can.”
Nets point forward Ben Simmons had imaging done on his troublesome knee, but head coach Jacque Vaughn indicates that an MRI revealed nothing particularly worrisome long-term in the ligament, per Nick Friedell of ESPN (Twitter link). Simmons has been unavailable since January 26 as a result of knee soreness.

Knicks Notes: Thibodeau, Montero, Staff, Brunson

September 27th, 2022 at 7:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

While Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau could end up on the hot seat if the team has another disappointing season, he says pressure is essentially not in his vocabulary as the franchise enters a pivotal year, Steve Popper of Newsday writes.

“I’ve never felt pressure, ever,” Thibodeau said. “See, when you put everything you have into your job, that’s all you can do. So I’ve never felt pressure. Others can say this, that. That ain’t happening here. Just get ready. I’ve been at this a long time. I approach it the same way. I put everything I have into each and every day. I’m willing to live with that result. There’s no one — no one — who studies this team harder than I do.”

Thibodeau has some financial security, having signed a five-year contract in 2020.

We have more on the Knicks:

While most teams entered training camp with a full 20-man roster, the Knicks are one player shy of the maximum. According to Ian Begley of SNY TV (Twitter link), the possible reason is that they are hoping to reduce guard Jean Montero’s buyout with overseas club Gran Canaria. Montero impressed the Knicks, among others, during Summer League games. The Knicks reportedly agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with Montero in June.
The team officially announced its coaching staff for this season, Begley tweets, including the additions of Rick Brunson and Othella Harrington. Johnnie Bryant is the associate head coach.
Regarding Rick Brunson, father of free agent signee Jalen Brunson, the team has declined to comment on whether there was an internal investigation regarding allegations of misconduct that led to his resignation from the Timberwolves staff in 2018. Thibodeau was somewhat vague when asked about the elder Brunson, according to The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski and Fred Katz. “I’m not sure exactly of everything that was done, but I know whenever they hire anyone, they’re going to vet them,” he said, adding “I feel strongly about him.”

Jazz Notes: Quinn, Griffin, Young, Gobert, Can, More

June 8th, 2022 at 12:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz have requested permission to interview three more assistant coaches from around the NBA as they seek a replacement for Quin Snyder, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links). According to Wojnarowski, the team is also planning to meet with Heat assistant Chris Quinn, Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin, and Suns assistant Kevin Young.

Griffin and Young were previously identified by The Athletic as head coaching candidates on Utah’s preliminary list, but this is the first time we’ve heard Quinn linked to the club. Quinn, Griffin, and Young will join eight other candidates who are reportedly expected to interview with the Jazz, bringing the total count to 11 — and that number could continue to grow.

The full list of Utah’s reported candidates can be found at our head coaching search tracker.

Here’s more on the Jazz:

Based on his conversations with people around the NBA, Ian Begley of SNY.tv (video link) gets the sense that Snyder’s exit from Utah will impact Rudy Gobert‘s future with the Jazz more than Donovan Mitchell‘s, making it more likely that Gobert is moved. Multiple recent reports have suggested that the Jazz are open to discussing Gobert, but have shut down trade inquiries on Mitchell.
In a story for SNY.tv, Begley stresses that the support for Knicks assistant Johnnie Bryant within the Jazz organization goes beyond Mitchell. Bryant, a candidate for Utah’s head coaching job, is known to be close with Mitchell, but built plenty of other strong relationships during his time as a Jazz assistant from 2014-20.
Jazz assistant Erdem Can has reached an agreement to join Turkish club Türk Telekom, according to a report from Ugur Ozan Sulak of Socrates (Twitter link). Can was an assistant with Fenerbahçe from 2012-21 before joining Snyder’s staff for the ’21/22 season. He reportedly received a two-year deal from Türk Telekom, with an NBA out after year one.
Koby McEwen (Weber State), Noah Kirkwood (Harvard), Au’Diese Toney (Arkansas), and Amadou Sow (UC-Santa Barbara) are among the prospects who participated in a pre-draft workout with the Jazz on Tuesday, tweets Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. As previously reported, Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn and BYU’s Alex Barcello also took part in that session.

Latest On Jazz’s Head Coaching Search

June 7th, 2022 at 7:11pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Jazz have been given the green light to talk to several well-regarded current assistant coaches about their head coaching vacancy, per Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

Several of the names Woj and MacMahon mention had been floated as possibilities in reports earlier this week, but Celtics assistant coach Joe Mazzulla joins an expanding list of assistant coaches under consideration by Jazz brass.

As Jared Weiss of The Athletic tweets, Mazzulla worked as an assistant coach under both Brad Stevens and now Ime Udoka in Boston, and has assumed a more significant role while on Udoka’s bench this season. Mazzulla interviewed for the head coaching position with Boston in 2021 after Stevens moved into a front office role with the franchise and will get an opportunity to meet with the Jazz this spring.

Woj and MacMahon indicate that Utah is also set to interview current Jazz assistant Alex Jensen, who served on the staff of departed head coach Quin Snyder, along with former Blazers coach Terry Stotts, Knicks assistant Johnnie Bryant, Celtics assistant Will Hardy, and Bucks assistant coach Charles Lee. These five candidates had been included on the team’s preliminary list.

Suns assistant coach Kevin Young and Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin were previously cited as possible candidates, but they weren’t mentioned in today’s ESPN report.

The other key piece of new information from Wojnarowski and MacMahon is that the coaching search is anticipated to expand further to include both assistants and recent NBA head coaches. According to ESPN’s duo, the team will cast a wide net and move gradually in its search.

In eight seasons with Snyder at the helm, Utah never advanced beyond the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. This year, the Jazz finished with a 49-33 regular season record and lost 4-2 in the first round to the Mavericks.

Fischer’s Latest: Gobert, Jazz, Bulls, P. Williams, Snyder, Spurs

June 7th, 2022 at 11:27am CST by Luke Adams

Confirming a pair of earlier reports, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report states that the Jazz haven’t entertained inquiries on Donovan Mitchell, but have been willing to engage in talks involving Rudy Gobert, with the Bulls among the potential suitors for the three-time Defensive Player of the Year.

According to Fischer, a Bulls offer for Gobert would – as expected – start with center Nikola Vucevic. The “popular package” discussed by various league executives would also include Patrick Williams, according to Fischer, who notes that the Jazz have long been seeking a wing defender like the former No. 4 overall pick.

However, as Fischer writes, the Bulls weren’t interested in discussing Williams during in-season trade talks for Jerami Grant, so it remains to be seen how open they’d be to including him in an offer for Gobert. If Williams is off the table, adding Coby White and Javonte Green would work from a salary-matching perspective, Fischer observes, but presumably the Jazz would be seeking a more substantial return for one of their two All-Stars.

Here’s more from Fischer:

The Jazz offered Quin Snyder a variety of contract structures in an effort to keep him in Utah, but those offers were rebuffed, with Snyder deciding it was time to move on. The expectation in league circles is that Snyder – who is highly regarded by Spurs CEO R.C. Buford – would be the leading candidate for the coaching job in San Antonio when Gregg Popovich steps down, says Fischer.
The Jazz are still working on their list of head coaching targets and will begin to formally reach out to candidates in the coming days, according to Fischer. One of the names included in the team’s preliminary list of candidates was Terry Stotts, who has the same representation as Snyder and spent several weeks around the Jazz in 2021/22, Fischer notes.
While there’s some skepticism around the NBA about how much Jazz CEO Danny Ainge will cater to Donovan Mitchell, Ainge isn’t viewed as someone who “scours the market of the NBA’s up-and-coming head coaches,” Fischer writes. In other words, if Mitchell and team owner Ryan Smith both want to bring in former Jazz assistant Johnnie Bryant as Snyder’s replacement, Ainge likely wouldn’t stand in the way, sources tell Fischer.

Jazz Rumors: Mitchell, Gobert, Bogdanovic, Coaching Search

June 6th, 2022 at 7:56am CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz are expected to be aggressive on the trade market this offseason, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic, who hears from sources that the club has no plans to pivot to a rebuild following Quin Snyder‘s departure and continues to view itself as a perennial playoff team working toward title contention.

Marc Berman of The New York Post cites league sources who believe that Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell will eventually request a trade, but Berman acknowledges those sources don’t necessarily expect it to happen this offseason. Multiple teams have called Utah to inquire about Mitchell’s availability, sources tell Jones, but the Jazz have responded with a “firm no” and have made it clear they intend to build around the three-time All-Star.

While the Jazz apparently have no intention of moving Mitchell, virtually anyone else on the roster could probably be had in the right deal, Jones writes. Sources tell The Athletic that All-Star center Rudy Gobert and forward Bojan Bogdanovic are two players who have drawn “significant” interest from potential suitors.

Here’s more on the Jazz:

Utah wants its next head coach to “command buy-in and respect” from the players, including Mitchell, according to Jones. Most of the candidates on the Jazz’s preliminary list are highly regarded for their player development skills and defensive acumen, Jones adds.
In Jones’ view, Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin is one head coaching candidate to keep an eye on, since he was a finalist in Utah’s previous coaching search that led to the hiring of Snyder. Former Jazz assistant and current Knicks assistant Johnnie Bryant is also worth watching due to his close relationship with Mitchell and his ability to develop talent, says Jones.
Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune takes a deeper dive into ESPN’s report on Mitchell being “unsettled” and “unnerved” by Snyder’s exit, explaining why he believes the Jazz star is trying to send a message to the organization with the leak.

Jazz To Consider Stotts, Jensen, Others For Coaching Job

June 5th, 2022 at 6:27pm CST by JD Shaw

The Jazz have identified some initial candidates for the team’s vacant head coaching job, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Former Blazers coach Terry Stotts, Jazz assistant Alex Jensen, Celtics assistant Will Hardy, Knicks assistant Johnnie Bryant, and Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin will all be considered for the position.

In addition, the Jazz are also expected to consider Bucks assistant Charles Lee and Suns assistant Kevin Young, per Charania and The Athletic’s Tony Jones (Twitter link).

Charania mentioned those coaches are among the initial list of candidates, so more names may be added in the coming days. As ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported (via Twitter), Utah is immediately launching a head coaching search in wake of Quin Snyder‘s decision to step down.

The Jazz are coming off a 49-33 season. The team lost in six games to the Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs, ending an inconsistent campaign. Despite making the playoffs six straight years, the team hasn’t been able to advance past the second round.

Utah is one of two teams that currently don’t have a head coach. The other is the Hornets, who are reportedly nearing a decision on their search.

Knicks Notes: McBride, Grimes, Draft, Mitchell, Hunt

March 21st, 2022 at 5:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Quentin Grimes absorbed most of Miles McBride‘s minutes after Grimes returned from a knee injury on Friday. However, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau will still try to find ways to play the rookie second-rounder despite having a more crowded backcourt, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes.

“I love what ‘Deuce’ has done. We’ll try to figure out how to work that out,” Thibodeau said of McBride. “He’ll probably be going back and forth. He’s done a really good job. We’ll see how this unfolds.’’

We have more on the Knicks:

Thibodeau is focused on his team but he’s finding some time to watch prospects in the NCAA Tournament, Berman adds in the same story. “I’ll get an opportunity to watch a little bit here, little bit there,’’ Thibodeau said. “Then, when the season’s over, I’ll go back and dig in a lot deeper. It’s an exciting time of year.”
There are some intriguing connections between Jazz star guard Donovan Mitchell and the Knicks. Mitchell was previously represented by Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose, while New York assistant Johnnie Bryant was one of Mitchell’s favorite coaches in Utah, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News notes. If Mitchell comes to a point where he wants out of Utah or the Jazz are willing to trade him, Berman speculates the package would have to include RJ Barrett and multiple first-rounders.
Feron Hunt‘s two-way contract is a two-year deal, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets. Hunt signed the contract on Friday. Hunt had 16 points and eight rebounds playing for the G League’s Westchester Knicks on Sunday.