Larry Bird No Longer In Mix For Kings Front Office
This morning, TNT analyst Kenny Smith became the latest big name to be linked to the Kings' search for a new team president and/or general manager. However, we can now take at least one of those big names out of the mix. Larry Bird has told Kings officials that he's no longer interested in a position in the team's front office, according to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
Bird had spoken to new owner Vivek Ranadive about a job with the team, likely as team president, with the authority to choose a GM. However, with Bird no longer in play, the team figures to turn its focus to a still-lengthy list of candidates that also includes Smith, Mike Dunleavy, Chris Mullin, David Morway, Chris Wallace, and others.
While Bird isn't interested in joining the Kings, it's unclear whether he has any interest in returning to his old job with the Pacers. Current Pacers president Donnie Walsh said last month that he believed there was still a chance Bird would unretire and return to Indiana's front office.
Pistons Hire Maurice Cheeks As Head Coach
6:09pm: Cheeks' contract with Detroit includes a fourth-year team option, according to Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News (Twitter link).
5:56pm: The Pistons have officially confirmed the hiring of Cheeks as head coach (Twitter link).
5:31pm: Cheeks' deal with the Pistons is a three-year pact, according to Matt Dery of 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit (Twitter link). There may also be a team option for a fourth year, says Dery.
5:14pm: Maurice Cheeks has reached an agreement with the Pistons to become the team's new head coach, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter). Multiple reports last week had cited Cheeks as the frontrunner for the Pistons' coaching opening, noting that an agreement could happen over the weekend.
Prior to spending the last couple seasons as an assistant for the Thunder, Cheeks was the head coach of the Trail Blazers and the 76ers, coaching parts of four seasons in both Portland and Philadelphia. For his coaching career, Cheeks' record is almost an even .500, at 284-286. He qualified for the postseason twice with the Blazers and once with the Sixers, but never made it out of the first round.
Nate McMillan had been considered the other finalist for the Pistons' coaching job, with both he and Cheeks viewed as favorites of GM Joe Dumars. Phil Jackson acted as an advisor during Detroit's search for a head coach, though Jackson reportedly preferred Brian Shaw, who I don't believe ultimately received an interview with the team.
Cheeks replaces Lawrence Frank, who was let go at the end of the season after compiling a 54-94 record in his two years with the Pistons.
Coaching Updates: Clippers, Jent, Snyder, Kidd
It's already been a busy day when it comes to NBA coaching news and rumors, with the Pistons officially reaching an agreement with Maurice Cheeks, the Grizzlies parting ways with Lionel Hollins, and Jason Kidd emerging as a serious candidate for the Nets. Here are a few more of the latest updates relating to potential head coaches and assistants:
- The Clippers interviewed Brian Shaw today, and have meetings lined up with Byron Scott on Tuesday, Hollins on Wednesday, and Nate McMillan on Thursday, reports Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter). Ramona Shelburne and Chris Broussard of ESPN.com note that many of those candidates have already spoken to the Clippers at length on the phone, but these are the first in-person meetings scheduled by the team.
- The Kings have officially hired Chris Jent as an assistant coach, tweets Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. We heard last week that Michael Malone had made Jent a three-year offer to become his top assistant in Sacramento.
- Just hours after we heard that Quin Snyder had left CSKA Moscow to return stateside for an NBA job, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets that the Hawks have hired Snyder as an assistant on Mike Budenholzer's staff.
- Josh Newman of SNYNets.com spoke to Jeff Van Gundy about whether or not Kidd would make a good head coach for the Nets.
Nets Seriously Considering Jason Kidd As Coach
5:36pm: Kidd's candidacy for the Nets' opening is gaining momentum, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who says Kidd convinced Brooklyn of his seriousness in committing the time and energy to a head coaching job. The Nets, who are intrigued by the possibility of making a "star hire," could make a decision within the next several days, says Wojnarowski. Brian Shaw is the team's other top candidate, with an interview lined up for Wednesday.
3:00pm: The Nets are taking Kidd seriously as a head coaching candidate, but he must surround himself with lots of experience on the bench, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter). A key element of Kidd's pitch is former Nets head coach Lawrence Frank joining him on the bench (link).
2:30pm: The Nets met with Jason Kidd earlier today to discuss his interest in the club's vacant head coaching position, tweets Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. We learned yesterday that the recently-retired guard has interest in taking the reins in Brooklyn and the Nets are at least considering the possibility.
Kidd's candidacy is being discussed in the highest levels of the organization, which presumably means that it involves the group of Russian executives that report directly to owner Mikhail Prokhorov. Sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports yesterday that Kidd is already working to identify a group of assistant coaches that can help offset his lack of experience.
Gal Mekel To Audition For Bucks, Others
Israeli point guard Gal Mekel drew attention from the Jazz last offseason and after another impressive year overseas, he could finally have his NBA opportunity in 2013/14. After Thursday's Israeli title game, Mekel will come to the United States to audition for the Bucks and other teams, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
The 25-year-old has good size for the one-guard position and is quite impressive in pick-and-roll sets (link). Given his ability, the Maccabi Haifa star has a good chance to join Omri Casspi as the only Israelis in the NBA. Mekel will try and finish out his Haifa career with a bang by leading his team to a championship victory over Maccabi Electra this week.
Nuggets May Promote Hunt To Head Coach
The Nuggets will seriously consider promoting assistant Melvin Hunt to head coach, according to John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter). Hunt is also being considered for the Sixers' coaching vacancy.
We learned last week that Hunt is in the mix for Philadelphia along with David Fizdale, Kelvin Sampson, Chris Finch, and Maurice Cheeks, who is the frontrunner in Detroit. The Denver assistant has had some head coaching attention in the past as he was linked to the Cavs job back in April. He may not have to go house shopping in the Philly area, however, if the Nuggets decide to make him the successor to George Karl.
Doc Rivers Wary Of Rebuilding
Celtics coach Doc Rivers is still leaving the Celtics hanging on whether he’ll return next season, but the coach may be waiting see what direction the club is going in before making up his mind. Rivers’ decision on whether he will return has to do with whether Danny Ainge will look to completely rebuild in 2013/14 or keep his eye on winning, a league source told A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.
“No coach wants to go through a full-blown rebuilding process,” said the source. “Doc’s already done that, so he knows how tough that is for all involved. But to be asked to go through it twice? Any coach would pause for a minute before signing on to that.“
Rivers’ decision will not be based solely on whether Paul Pierce and/or Kevin Garnett return next season, the source told Blakely. However, if both veterans are out of the picture, its hard to see Boston contending in 2013/14.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Clippers, Karl, Kings
It was reported earlier this year that Chauncey Billups would retire if he didn't re-sign with the Clippers, but the veteran guard made it very clear today that he's definitely returning next season and will consider other clubs. When asked if he would consider taking his talents to South Beach, the 36-year-old answered in the affirmative and indicated that he is "wide open" to possibilities this summer. Here's more out of the Pacific..
- Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times explains the decisions facing the Lakers on possible qualifying offers for the team's four potential restricted free agents. Pincus' educated guess has Robert Sacre and Darius Morris back next season, Andrew Goudelock as a maybe, and Devin Ebanks seeking employment elsewhere.
- Brian Shaw is rumored to be the Clippers' top head coaching candidate, but Jovan Buha of ESPNLosAngeles.com doesn't rank the Pacers assistant among his choices for the top three best fits for the L.A. job. The three best candidates in terms of potential and fit are George Karl, Jeff Van Gundy, and Lionel Hollins, Buha writes.
- A bankruptcy judge approved the sale of 7% of the Kings to new majority owner Vivek Ranadive, turning back a last-minute bid by limited partner Bob Cook to buy the share back, writes Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee. The purchase of the share, formerly owned by Cook, means Ranadive and his partners will now control 72% of the club.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Odds & Ends: Team USA, Wolves, Rivers, Bulls
Last month, we heard that Mike D'Antoni and Nate McMillan wouldn't be returning to Team USA for the 2016 Olympics as assistant coaches. Today, Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press reveals (via Twitter) that Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau and Pelicans coach Monty Williams will be the new additions to Mike Krzyzewski's staff. Here are a few more Monday odds and ends from around the NBA:
- Timberwolves president Flip Saunders tells Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com that every indication points to Rick Adelman returning as the team's head coach next season. Saunders also addresses Nikola Pekovic's free agency ("We plan on signing him") and Andrei Kirilenko's player option ("We don't have a gut feel [what he'll decide]") within the piece.
- Celtics head coach Doc Rivers has yet to officially state whether he'll return to Boston's bench next season, telling Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe that he'd address his future soon.
- In his weekend notes column for the Boston Globe, Washburn speculated that the Bobcats could be interested in trying to trade for Chris Bosh this summer, but Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer doesn't see Bosh as a fit for Charlotte.
- Asked about a potential Luol Deng trade, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld tweets that he has heard the Bulls don't intend to change their core significantly this summer. With Deng and others coming off the books in the summer of 2014, the roster figures to see more turnover a year from now.
- CSKA Moscow assistant Quin Snyder has officially left the team to return stateside, the club announced today (English link via Sportando). Last week, ESPN.com's Marc Stein named Snyder as a potential under-the-radar candidate for the Nuggets' head coaching job, but I think it's probably more likely that Snyder ends up as an NBA assistant somewhere.
- Last June, Mike Miller's injury problems had him contemplating the possibility of retirement, but he's certainly feeling better a year later. Miller tells Shams Charania of RealGM.com that he feels like he has four or five seasons left in him.
- Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today attempts to determine why there have been so many head coaching changes in the NBA this offseason, while TNT's David Aldridge tackles the same topic in his own column at NBA.com. Aldridge also examines new Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer and asks Danny Granger about being the subject of frequent trade rumors.
Heat Enter Single Affiliation Partnership With D-League’s Skyforce
The Heat will enter into a single-affiliation partnership with the NBA D-League's Sioux Falls Skyforce for the 2013/14 season, Miami announced today in a press release. The Skyforce had previously served as the D-League affiliate for four teams: The Heat, Timberwolves, Magic, and 76ers.
"We have been working with the Skyforce for four years and feel that it is one of the most professional organizations in the NBA Development League," said Heat president Pat Riley in a statement. "It will be a pleasure working with [Skyforce owner and president] Mike Heineman to make this partnership a success for both them and the Miami Heat."
The partnership will be the sixth "hybrid" affiliation between an NBA team and a D-League franchise, allowing the NBA club to run the D-League squad's basketball operations while local ownership maintains control of the franchise. The Nets (Springfield Armor), Celtics (Maine Red Claws), Rockets (Rio Grande Valley Vipers), Knicks (Erie BayHawks) and Trail Blazers (Idaho Stampede) are the other teams engaged in hybrid affiliations.
Miami becomes the second NBA team this offseason to secure a one-to-one affiliation with a D-League team. The 76ers announced in April that they'd be taking control of a previously dormant franchise which will now be known as the Delaware 87ers.