Timberwolves Rumors

Northwest Notes: Edwards, Murray, Nuggets, Kessler

May 19th, 2024 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Never mind momentum, home-court advantage, or the tactical adjustments that have led to four blowouts in the first six games of an unpredictable series. Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards sees a simple calculation for tonight’s Game 7 at Denver, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic.

“I think we’re confident just because we’re a great team,” Edwards told reporters on Saturday. “And we’re going against another great team, (but) we feel like we’re just the better team. That’s all the confidence that we need. The two previous games don’t mean anything because they beat our a– on our home court (in Game 3 and 4). That don’t mean anything. Right now, it’s just about who’s going to play better tomorrow.”

If Minnesota does prevail, Edwards figures to be a main reason, Amick adds. He’s averaging 29.7 points, 5.5 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game in the series while playing 40 minutes per night. He’s also shooting 55.1% from the field and 41.5% from beyond the arc and serving as a key component of a defense that has often overwhelmed the Nuggets. Throughout the series, the Wolves are plus-32 with him on the court and minus-4 when he’s resting.

“First of all, he’s a competitor,” assistant coach Elston Turner said of Edwards. “He is a competitor. You can tell that from the amount of times that he’s tweaked an ankle, hurt his back, got banged up, but he never leaves the f—ing game. He never leaves the game. So I expect him to compete (in Game 7).”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Nuggets coach Michael Malone said Jamal Murray is “feeling great” after participating in a full practice on Saturday, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Murray, who hurt his right elbow when he ran into a screen early in Game 6, stayed late after practice for extra shooting.
After storming through the playoffs on their way to an NBA title last year, the Nuggets are already facing an elimination game in round two this year, notes Tony Jones of The Athletic. Denver is hoping its edge in postseason experience works to its advantage, and Malone told his players to try to have fun, hoping to change their mindset coming off a 45-point loss in Game 6. “I think experience is a great teacher,” he said. “I think that Game 7s can be too big for some. But I don’t think there’s any doubt that we are going to be ready to go in front of a great crowd. We want to enjoy the moment because a Game 7 represents the two best words in sports. You play all season to get a Game 7 at home, and we’re excited for it and hopefully, we can take advantage of it.”
The Jazz interviewed centers Zach Edey and Donovan Clingan at the draft combine, but that doesn’t mean they’re looking for a replacement for Walker Kessler, explains Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. She states that the team remains “invested” in Kessler’s future and was just doing due diligence by talking to the best players at every position. Team sources told Todd that they’re closely monitoring several wing players with their lottery pick.

Wolves Notes: Conley, Finch, Towns, Edwards

May 18th, 2024 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Mike Conley will have a chance to make a new Game 7 memory on Sunday, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. The Timberwolves‘ veteran point guard is still bothered by how the series ended when he and Rudy Gobert faced the Nuggets as members of the Jazz in a 2020 seventh game in the Orlando bubble. Conley had an opportunity to give Utah a dramatic victory, but his three-point shot at the buzzer misfired.

“I’ve replayed it a lot,” he said. “Having that opportunity to win a Game 7 like that and not be able to make the shot was tough. Now here we are in a similar situation, where we get to play the same team, a lot of the same guys. So for me, it’s just something I’ve been thinking about for a long time. Hopefully this will turn out different.”

Conley plans to be ready despite being listed as questionable with a right soleus strain that kept him out of Game 5. He was able to return for Thursday’s contest and said he feels better now than he did that night. He wants to be on the court so he can put to rest the bad memories from four years ago.

“It’s hard to escape it,” Conley said. “You find that clip every now and then. Sometimes it comes across the phone. I don’t actively search it — I don’t want to bring up that memory too much. But at the same time, it’s something that I’ve thought about at workouts and I think about if I’m having a tough day in a workout missing a certain shot. I’m like, ‘Nah, I got to make this because I might be in this situation again.'”

There’s more on the Wolves:

Injured head coach Chris Finch said he and lead assistant Micah Nori have developed an effective system as the series has worn on, Hine adds in the same piece. Finch can’t roam the sidelines after suffering a ruptured patella tendon in the first round, so he and Nori have to be selective about when they communicate. “Couple games ago, he was looking at me or to me a lot,” Finch said. “I just said, you can’t do that, we’re losing some possessions maybe here and there. Just trust your gut. He’s got 30 years of experience. So use it.”
Karl-Anthony Towns only scored 10 points in Game 6, but he sparked Minnesota’s blowout by doing all the things his critics say he can’t do, observes Jim Souhan of The Star Tribune. Towns served as the primary defender against Nikola Jokic, grabbed seven rebounds by the end of the first quarter and made the right passes in the offense.
Teammates raved about Anthony Edwards‘ maturation int0 a leader after Game 6, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. As the Wolves pulled away, Edwards implored the team to avoid any letdown that would allow Denver to get back into the game. “Just the way he’s grown from, I always say my second year, his rookie year, just from the way he’s grown as a basketball player and that person,” Naz Reid said. “It’s completely night and day.”

Pistons Have Four Frontrunners In Search For President Of Basketball Operations

May 18th, 2024 at 8:23pm CST by Arthur Hill

Four candidates stood out in the Pistons‘ first round of interviews as they look for a new president of basketball operations, sources tell Vincent Goodwill and Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Pelicans general manager Trajan Langdon, former Knicks GM and current ESPN analyst Scott Perry, Mavericks advisor Dennis Lindsey, and Magic senior advisor John Hammond were all impressive in their meetings with the firm that’s conducting the initial search, according to the authors’ sources. They are considered frontrunners to meet with owner Tom Gores, who hopes to hire someone in advance of the draft.

Goodwill and Fischer suggest that Detroit might be waiting to see if Timberwolves president Tim Connelly becomes available before making a final decision, echoing a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic earlier this week. Connelly’s contract includes an opt-out clause at the end of the season, and he may be tempted to leave Minnesota, given the franchise’s unstable ownership situation.

Whoever takes over the Pistons’ front office will determine whether general manager Troy Weaver and head coach Monty Williams will remain with the team. There are several other important decisions upcoming this offseason, including a possible rookie scale extension for Cade Cunningham and how to spend up to $64MM in cap room.

Several of the top candidates have previous ties to the Pistons organization, the authors note. When Langdon was a player, his agent was Arn Tellem, who now serves as the team’s vice chairman. Perry is a Detroit native who got his first executive job with the Pistons in 2000 and served as vice president of basketball operations from 2008-12. Hammond was formerly an assistant coach and assistant general manager in Detroit.

Lakers Rumors: Mitchell, Redick, LeBron, Reaves, Bronny

May 18th, 2024 at 2:53pm CST by Luke Adams

As the Lakers weigh their offseason options, one path they will seriously consider is packaging players and draft picks to attempt to acquire a third star to play alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Within the last year, star guards like Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, and Zach LaVine have been mentioned as possible targets for Los Angeles, but Jovan Buha of The Athletic (YouTube link) says another name will likely be at the top of the team’s wish list entering the summer.

“If the Lakers go down the three-star path, and it’s still unclear — I think they’re going to kick the can down the road and see the possibility and see what the asking price is. There are teams that can outbid them if they get into a bidding war,” Buha said in an episode of Buha’s Block. “But if they do go down that road and at least explore it, (Cavaliers guard) Donovan Mitchell would be the preferred guy.”

There’s no guarantee that Mitchell will be available this summer, since the Cavs hope to sign him to a long-term extension. If Mitchell turns down that offer and ends up on the trade block, the Lakers would have plenty of competition for the five-time All-Star and wouldn’t necessarily be able to offer the best package, as Buha notes. L.A. would be able to offer up to three first-round picks alongside perhaps guard Austin Reaves, forward Rui Hachimura, and other salary-matching pieces.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

Echoing previous reports, Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times says people around the NBA view J.J. Redick as the favorite in the Lakers’ head coaching search. Opinions on Redick’s potential as a coach are split, with some high on his upside due to his understanding of the game and his ability to clearly communicate ideas, while others “see nothing but inexperience” or believe his business relationship with LeBron James would have a negative impact on the locker room, Woike writes. Sources tell The Times that one reason Redick is viewed as a frontrunner is a widespread belief that he’ll have “incredibly strong” interviews.
Within that same L.A. Times story, Woike explores the likelihood of LeBron remaining with the Lakers (his sources believe it’ll happen), discusses the team’s top trade targets (he says none of Young, Murray, LaVine, and Brandon Ingram were seriously linked to the Lakers at the combine), and mentions the team’s ongoing fondness for Reaves. According to Woike, the Lakers regard Reaves highly as a “prospect for the future” on a team-friendly contract.
Shams Charania of The Athletic is among the reporters to stress that drafting Bronny James won’t offer a team any assurances of having a shot at his superstar father. “It would not surprise me in the coming weeks if a team does reach out to (agent) Rich Paul – or anyone else around Bronny James, (including) LeBron James himself – and says, ‘Hey, if we draft Bronny James, would you come as well, LeBron?'” Charania said on the Up & Adams Show (Twitter video link). “And the answer to that is going to be no, as of right now. That’s not a given, that’s not something that’s going to be preordained.” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said earlier in the week that Paul has made a concerted effort to dispel the idea that his father-and-son clients need to play together.
The Lakers announced on Friday (via Twitter) that they’ll host three preseason games outside of Los Angeles in the fall. The Lakers will play the visiting Timberwolves on October 4 and the Suns on Oct. 6 at Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs before facing the Warriors on Oct. 15 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Poll: Who Will Win Nuggets/Timberwolves Game 7?

May 17th, 2024 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

When we discussed the Western Conference semifinals between the Nuggets and Timberwolves back on May 1, we noted that it had the potential to be one of the very best series of the NBA’s 2024 playoffs. Sixteen days later, it seems safe to say that’s exactly what we got.

The Timberwolves surprised everyone by beating the defending champions in back-to-back games on their home court in Denver to open the series, taking a 2-0 lead back to Minnesota. With some media members already writing the obituary for the Nuggets’ season, Nikola Jokic‘s squad responded by reeling off three consecutive wins to reclaim the upper hand. Facing elimination on Thursday, Minnesota submitted arguably the most dominant performance by any NBA team this postseason, defeating the Nuggets by 45 points to force a Game 7.

Jokic (28.2 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 8.0 APG) has played like the Most Valuable Player he is in the series, and rising Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards (29.7 PPG on .551/.415/.838 shooting) has performed like a future MVP. But several of their co-stars have been inconsistent.

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, who was already dealing with a calf issue before injuring his elbow in Game 6, has averaged just 15.7 PPG on 38.2% shooting through six games, and is coming off a forgettable 4-of-18 night. Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. has scored single-digit points in four of six games. Wolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns found ways to contribute as a rebounder, passer, and defender in Game 6, but he scored a series-low 10 points and has now averaged 15.0 PPG on 42.6% shooting in the past four contests.

If Jokic and Edwards are both operating at the peak of their powers in Game 7, the result may ultimately come down to whether Murray or Towns gets going, or which role players come up big at the right time. In Game 5, that was Aaron Gordon (18 points, 10 rebounds, five assists) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (16 points, 4-of-5 on three-pointers). In Game 6, it was Jaden McDaniels (21 points on 8-of-10 shooting) and Mike Conley (13 points, five assists, no turnovers).

Even though both teams have 1-2 home records in the series, home court advantage could also be a deciding factor. The Nuggets were 33-8 during the regular season playing in the elevation of Denver and are currently listed as 4.5-point favorites for Sunday’s game, per BetOnline.ag.

Whatever the outcome, it would be great to see Game 7 go down to the wire. As entertaining and as back-and-forth as the series has been so far, none of the first six games featured a possession in which the trailing team could tie the score or take the lead in the final five minutes, notes Zach Kram of The Ringer. Maybe that will happen for the first time on Sunday.

Which team will win Game 7 and advance to the Western Conference Finals? Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thinking!

Wolves Notes: Conley, Edwards, Towns, McDaniels

May 17th, 2024 at 9:04am CST by Luke Adams

Facing elimination on Thursday, the Timberwolves turned in arguably the most dominant performance of any team this postseason, holding the Nuggets to 70 points on the night and going on separate 20-0, 13-0, and 24-0 runs en route to a 45-point victory. What was the difference for Minnesota? According to Anthony Edwards, the answer was simple, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

“We got Mike Conley back,” Edwards said of his backcourt mate, who missed Game 5 due to a right soleus strain. “That was it.”

It’s a little reductive to give Conley full credit for the Wolves’ incredible performance. After all, he was also on the floor for the team’s home losses in Games 3 and 4. But Minnesota’s players and coaches have spoken all season about the outsized impact the veteran point guard – who was the team’s fifth-leading scorer during the season – has on the Wolves.

“Mike means everything for us,” head coach Chris Finch said after Game 6. “Unbelievable next to Anthony in terms of being able to set him up, play off of him, be in his ear all of the time. Smart defender. Just everything you want in an experienced, veteran point guard and just the very fact that Ant doesn’t have to handle it every single time, that alone helps us. … We desperately missed him the other night.”

Here’s more out of Minnesota:

As Sam Amick of The Athletic details, several Timberwolves players credited a video the coaching staff showed prior to Game 6 for helping the club regain its swagger and get in the right head space heading into Thursday’s contest. “Normally we have a (film) edit, just with certain offensive possessions This edit was more of a production, one of those that show all the big dunks and highlights and the ball movement and with music behind it,” Conley said. “It was a surprise. We’ll usually see the defensive stuff and offensive stuff, but this time they plugged it up to the big speaker. We normally don’t have anything plugged into the big speakers, just the (film) and coach will be talking over it. But this was more of a change-our-mentality sort of thing.” Edwards told reporters that the team’s “energy shifted” after watching the hype video, while Karl-Anthony Towns said it reminded the Wolves of the “discipline, the execution, (and) the tenacity” that they’d been lacking in their losses.
Edwards – who said on Thursday that he wants to be “the best player on both sides of the ball in the NBA,” per McMenamin – was the primary defender on Jamal Murray in Game 6. It was a miserable night for the Nuggets guard, who scored just 10 points on 4-of-18 shooting, though Murray suggested after the loss that a right elbow injury he suffered early in the game was more to blame for his off night. “I put some numbing cream on it just so I didn’t have to feel it every time it extended,” Murray said, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “… We got two days off. I just got to get ready and be able to be better for Sunday. Yeah, (it’s got) to be better for Sunday, man.”
Towns scored a playoff-low 10 points on Thursday, but his fingerprints were “all over” Minnesota’s Game 6 win, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic contends. Towns grabbed 13 rebounds, handed out five assists, only turned the ball over once, and – perhaps most crucially – stayed out of foul trouble while defending Nikola Jokic. “I told him today, ‘We’re thankful that you didn’t foul because if you foul we lose,'” Edwards said. “Because you are the best matchup we’ve got for Jokic. Like, you do the best job on him.”
After making just 2-of-12 three-pointers and scoring a total of 35 points in the first five games of the series, Jaden McDaniels hit 3-of-5 threes and scored 21 points on Thursday. Chip Scoggins of The Star Tribune takes a closer look at the impact that the Wolves’ “X-factor” had in the victory.

Mike Conley Officially Available For Must-Win Game 6

May 16th, 2024 at 6:09pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Starting Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley has been officially given the green light to play in a critical Game 6 of Minnesota’s second round matchup against the Nuggets on Thursday night, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune (via Twitter).

Head coach Chris Finch revealed the news pregame, Hine reports. The former All-Star sat out Game 5 of the ongoing Western Conference second round playoff series with a right soleus strain, and had been previously listed as questionable for Game 6.

“He’s in,” Finch said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link).

Conley has served as something of a coach on the floor for the Timberwolves, who started off the series with two stunning road victories against the defending champs in Denver. The Nuggets, propelled by three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, roared back, winning the last three games of the series — they hold a 3-2 edge. The Timberwolves will at least be playing on their home court for Thursday’s must-win bout.

Through his eight healthy playoff games so far, the 36-year-old Conley is averaging 11.3 points (on .400/.375/.846 shooting), 7.0 assists, 3.8 boards, and 1.1 swipes per night.

Wolves Notes: Conley, Confidence, Maturity, Jokic, Gobert, NAW

May 16th, 2024 at 2:40pm CST by Rory Maher

Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley was ruled out for Tuesday’s Game 5 with a right soleus strain and is officially questionable for tonight’s Game 6. However, the 36-year-old plans to suit up, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (via Twitter).

After Game 5, head coach Chris Finch said the team was optimistic Conley could return for Game 6, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “We’re hopeful Mike can go in Game 6,” Finch said. “That was one of the reasons to be cautious with him right here, feeling that he could go [on Thursday].”

Conley’s leadership and steady hand in the backcourt have buoyed Minnesota throughout the team’s 56-win season, writes Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. The 36-year-old also understands his window of opportunity is shrinking, and the same may be true of the Wolves in the series.

“I’m one of those people, I don’t want to learn through losing,” Conley said. “I don’t want to learn by letting a team win a couple games in a series to make us change some things. Why don’t we, in games, figure this out? We’re good enough to do this. I don’t have time for it, y’all don’t have time for it.”

Conley, who signed a two-year extension during the season, played 76 regular season games in ’23/24 and is the team’s top on-ball decision-maker.

Here’s more on the Wolves:

Despite dropping three straight games for the first time all season, the Timberwolves remain confident as they look to stave off elimination against Denver in Thursday’s Game 6, according to McMenamin of ESPN. “Adversity has been something we’ve answered all year,” All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns said. “It’s something that if I was to go through this with anyone, I would go through it with these guys in this locker room. I have full confidence in these guys, I have full confidence in our locker room, I have confidence in our coaching staff. Everyone has been tremendous all year. It’s now time to put all that experience and that unity we’ve built throughout the whole year, even last year, and put it on the table and play our best basketball so we can give ourselves a chance to bring back Game 7 here.”
Star guard Anthony Edwards struggled with Denver’s extra defensive pressure in Game 5, but he said he’s looking forward to making up for it tonight in Minnesota, McMenamin adds. “Super excited,” Edwards said. “You get to compete. Get to go home and play with our backs against the wall. It should be fun.” If he’s healthy, Conley’s return should alleviate some double-team pressure from Edwards.
Despite their public proclamations of confidence, the Wolves haven’t dealt with adversity well the past few games, particularly from an emotional maturity standpoint, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune (subscriber link). Several players have been guilty of immature moments, which has been an issue for this group the past couple seasons, Hine adds. “I mean, we got to keep our head. I think that’s the story for us,” Rudy Gobert said. “… We have to be mentally tough, individually and collectively, to be able to keep playing our game and not let anything that happened in the game affect the way we play.”
Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic details how three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, who is also the reigning Finals MVP for the defending-champion Nuggets, was able to eviscerate four-time Defensive Player of the Year Gobert and Minnesota’s top-ranked defense in Game 5. The Serbian superstar was particularly lethal in the third period, recording 16 points on just seven shot attempts and recording four assists, frequently while intentionally hunting Gobert. John Hollinger of The Athletic contends that Jokic’s remarkable performance — 40 points on 15-of-22 shooting, 13 assists, seven rebounds, two steals and a block with zero turnovers — isn’t being discussed enough.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker has become an unlikely X-factor for the Wolves, writes Andrew Lopez of ESPN. The former first-round pick was traded three times in quick succession but has turned into a defensive stopper and a leader for Minnesota, Lopez notes.
Jim Souhan of The Star Tribune argues that if the Wolves are eliminated by the Nuggets, they shouldn’t blow up the big man pairing of Towns and Gobert. Souhan also says the team should replace Kyle Anderson with another three-point shooter to improve the offense, which has been the primary issue over the past three games.

Nuggets Notes: Jokic, Gordon, Watson, Holiday

May 15th, 2024 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Nikola Jokic was awarded the Michael Jordan trophy as this season’s Most Valuable Player prior to the tip-off of Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals on Tuesday. Then the Nuggets star went and showed why he won the award for a third time, dismantling the Timberwolves and Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert with 40 points and 13 assists in a victory that gave Denver a 3-2 edge in the series.

As Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes, Jokic made 15-of-22 shots from the floor, including 8-of-9 when Gobert was his primary defender, en route to a performance that teammate Aaron Gordon referred to as “incredible,” “astounding,” and “ridiculous.” Even Jokic’s opponents couldn’t help but be in awe of the way the big man played on Tuesday.

“I just laugh,” Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards said. “That’s all I can do. I can’t be mad, because he’s good, man. I think I said that after Game 1, when we won, and Game 2. He’s the MVP. He’s the best player in the NBA; he showed it the last three games, three games in a row. .. He was special tonight. I got to give him his flowers. I don’t know what we were supposed to do.”

Head coach Michael Malone, who lauded Jokic for his basketball smarts and said he “probably belongs to Mensa,” pointed out that the timing of the superstar center receiving his latest Most Valuable Player trophy was more appropriate than the timing of the initial MVP announcement.

“Nikola was named MVP after that (106-80) Game 2 loss,” Malone said. “And I think the last three games he has shown everybody why he is arguably one of the best players to play this game.”

Here’s more on the Nuggets:

Gordon, who had 18 points and 10 rebounds in the Game 5 win, has been a crucial X-factor for Denver in the series, writes Ryan McFadden of The Denver Post (subscription required). In an in-depth feature published prior to Tuesday’s contest, Rob Mahoney of The Ringer explored how Gordon has “found his basketball destiny” with the Nuggets, adding a component to the roster that helped the team reach its ceiling.
In an entertaining story for The Athletic, Sam Amick details how Gordon has been left out of recent team dinners since he was the only Nuggets player who didn’t make it to last Thursday’s dinner in Minneapolis before the Nuggets won their first game of the series following two straight losses. Denver hasn’t want to risk messing with what’s working by changing its routine since then. Reggie Jackson said that dinner ahead of Game 3 helped the team stop being so tense: “We needed to be around each other. We knew what we had to do, and we knew we had something to accomplish. But it was time between the games to breathe and relax and talk about life. That really helped.”
In the first round of the playoffs, Peyton Watson averaged 12.0 minutes per game off the bench, while veteran Justin Holiday played just 7.1 MPG. In the second round, Holiday has seen his minutes jump to 18.3 per contest while Watson has essentially fallen out of the rotation. Bennett Durando of The Denver Post explores the thinking behind the rotation tweak, explaining that the Nuggets are prioritizing Holiday’s offense over Watson’s defense. “Just trying to find a lineup that can give us the best chance to have success,” Malone said last week. “With the way (the Timberwolves) guard and how effective they are defensively, sometimes you have to put your best offensive lineup out there to give yourself a chance to score and stay in the game.”
Now that the Nuggets have regained the upper hand in their series vs. Minnesota and are just one win away from advancing to the Western Conference Finals, Dan Wolken of USA Today argues that Denver is the clear favorite to win its second consecutive championship.

Latest On Lakers’ Head Coaching Search

May 15th, 2024 at 2:13pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have received permission to interview several assistants from around the NBA for their head coaching job, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links). Wojnarowski reports that Los Angeles has been granted permission to talk to the following candidates:

Nuggets assistant David Adelman
Pelicans assistant James Borrego
Celtics assistant Sam Cassell
Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori
Heat assistant Chris Quinn

A report on Tuesday from The Athletic indicated that Borrego, Cassell, and J.J. Redick are the “initial leading targets” in the Lakers’ search for Darvin Ham‘s replacement. Because Redick is working as an analyst at ESPN/ABC, L.A. obviously wouldn’t need to seek permission from a rival team to meet with him.

Kenny Atkinson of the Warriors and Sean Sweeney of the Mavericks are the other assistants who have been linked to the Lakers’ open head coaching position. Their omissions from Wojnarowski’s report don’t necessarily mean they’re no longer on Los Angeles’ radar, since Woj’s list isn’t necessarily exhaustive. But Atkinson and Sweeney don’t appear to be among the frontrunners at this point.

Of course, Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue has been mentioned as the candidate who would be atop the Lakers’ wish list if he were available, but there’s still no indication that the Clips will grant their cross-town rivals permission to talk to Lue, who is under contract for one more year and is expected to discuss an extension this offseason.

In his latest Substack story, Marc Stein also checks in on the Lakers’ coaching search, writing that he’s gotten the “distinct vibe” from insiders gathered at the draft combine in Chicago that if there’s an early favorite for the job, it’s Redick. Several people in coaching circles, Stein says, believe it will be Redick’s job to lose in the interview process.

However, Stein has also heard from league sources that Cassell is a “legitimate candidate to watch.” Like Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Cassell is represented by Klutch Sports. Additionally, Stein notes, the veteran assistant has a reputation for connecting with star players.

If Cassell doesn’t get the Lakers’ job or another head coaching position, the belief is that Doc Rivers will aggressively push to bring him to Milwaukee to join his Bucks coaching staff, Stein reports. Cassell previously served as an assistant under Rivers with both the Clippers and 76ers.

With only one other team (the Wizards) currently in the market for a head coach and Redick expected to finish out the playoffs with ESPN/ABC, there’s an expectation that the Lakers’ search may end up extending well into June, Stein adds.

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