Mavs Unlikely To Pursue Chris Bosh
The Mavs don’t consider Chris Bosh a proper fit with Dirk Nowitzki and aren’t interested in offering him anything close to the maximum salary he’ll likely command if he chooses to become a free agent this summer, according to Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com. Earlier this season, league executives reportedly expected the Mavs to go after the Dallas native, but Bosh has made it clear that he doesn’t like the idea of playing in his hometown, McMahon asserts.
Bosh has an early termination option worth $20.59MM for next season. If he opts out, his next contract can include a starting salary of up to $20,020,875 or the maximum salary for a veteran of 10 or more seasons, whichever is higher. It would be a tight squeeze for the Mavericks to cram such a deal for Bosh plus a new contract for Nowitzki, likely to be worth between $10-12MM annually, under the cap. The Mavs and Nowitzki have repeatedly stated their plans to continue their long-running relationship, so it doesn’t sound like there’s room for Bosh, particularly given the similarities between the way Bosh and Nowitzki play on offense.
Dallas would prefer to make a run at soon-to-be free agent Marcin Gortat or trade for Tyson Chandler to fill the center position, McMahon writes. The team also intends to keep incumbent starter Samuel Dalembert, whose nearly $3.9MM salary for next season is partially guaranteed for $1.8MM. Bosh has hinted that he and LeBron James will stay in Miami for at least one more year.
Andrew Bynum To Miss Rest Of Playoffs
Andrew Bynum will not play for the Pacers for the remainder of the playoffs, the team announced, noting that the center will “not be with the team” going forward. That he will no longer play this season is no surprise, since he hadn’t made an appearance on the court since March 15th as he’s dealt with ongoing knee trouble. Still, the team’s seeming dismissal of Bynum is noteworthy.
“We want to thank Andrew and our medical staff for trying to get the issues with his knee resolved,” as Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird said in a statement from the team. “We wish him the best in the future.”
Bynum will remain on the team’s roster, though his contract expires June 30th. The Pacers signed the former All-Star for $1MM on February 1st, but he only played in two games. He’s nonetheless attended practices and games, though he hasn’t been around the team since its first-round series against the Hawks, as Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star points out (Twitter link).
More Fallout From Mark Jackson’s Firing
Mark Jackson said in a radio appearance this morning on The Dan Patrick Show that if the Warriors hadn’t fired him, he would have resigned or demanded changes, as Sports Xchange notes. Here’s more on the reaction to Jackson’s ouster in Golden State:
- Former assistant coach Darren Erman was worried that Jackson was speaking ill of him behind his back, Grantland’s Zach Lowe writes, which suggests that was the reason that Erman reportedly taped the conversations of other coaches. The Warriors are investigating allegations that another assistant coach was also recording conversations within the organization, Lowe reports.
- Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob doesn’t think that the decision to fire Jackson will cause Stephen Curry to sour on the organization, and Lacob says he took the star point guard’s support for the coach under consideration. Lacob made those comments and more to Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group, Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle and Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com, and Kawakami provides a transcription.
- Lacob also told the reporters that GM Bob Myers made the decision to fire Jackson, though he admits that he had the power to overrule him. Myers said he didn’t consult with Curry before he pulled the plug on Jackson, reports Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group.
- Criticism that the team should have given Jackson an extension last summer is “unfair,” in Lacob’s eyes. Still, it appears the dissolution of extension talks proved pivotal to Jackson’s future with the Warriors, Kawakami tweets.
- Lacob told the reporters that he didn’t require Jackson, who commuted to his job from Southern California, to move to the Bay Area, but he thinks that he’ll insist that his next coach live close to work. On-court expectations will be high for the next coach of the team, Lacob asserts.
- Lacob suggests that while Jackson succeeded in connecting with his players, the coach could do a better job of “managing up and sideways,” seemingly pointing to Jackson’s tension with management and much of the Warriors organization. Still, he insists his relationship with Jackson was generally friendly.
- Jackson and Kings coach Michael Malone, Jackson’s former assistant, used to share the same agent, who negotiated the title of Warriors associate head coach for Malone behind Jackson’s back, according to Kawakami. When Jackson found out, he took the title away and changed agents. That begat the tension between Jackson and Malone, Kawakami says (All Twitter links).
R.C. Buford Wins Executive Of Year
San Antonio GM R.C. Buford has won the NBA’s Executive of the Year award, the league announced. It’s the first such honor for Buford, who’s served as the primary basketball executive for the Spurs since July of 2002. He beat out first-year Suns GM Ryan McDonough and Blazers GM Neil Olshey in a wide-open race that saw 11 executives draw first-place votes from their front office colleagues around the league.
“I’m extremely happy for R.C. Buford to have won this award, which is both absolutely deserved and long overdue,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said in a statement from the team. “His knowledge of the rules, basketball expertise and keen eye for talent have served the Spurs organization well for a very long time. It has been a personal pleasure to be at his side during this period.”
The Spurs have won three championships and made it to four Finals during Buford’s tenure atop the team’s basketball operations department. San Antonio compiled a league-best 62-20 record after a summer in which Buford made key signings to largely bring back the same roster that came within a hair’s breadth of the title last season. Buford re-signed Tiago Splitter and Manu Ginobili, and added Marco Belinelli, who served as a key piece off the bench for much of the season.
McDonough and Olshey finished second and third, respectively, followed by Toronto’s Masai Ujiri, who was last year’s winner, and Miami’s Pat Riley. Billy King of the Nets, Sam Presti of the Thunder, Danny Ainge of the Celtics, Ernie Grunfeld of the Wizards, Rod Higgins of the Bobcats and Bob Myers of the Warriors were the others who received first-place votes.
It’s the second consecutive year that the same team has had both the Executive of the Year and the Coach of the Year. Popovich won this year’s Coach of the Year honors last month, while Ujiri and George Karl pulled off the double for the Nuggets in 2012/13. Neither remained with Denver for this season, but Buford and Popovich seem destined to stay in San Antonio for the foreseeable future.
Woelfel On Pistons, Colangelo, Zarren, Izzo
Gary Woelfel of the The Journal Times has updates on the Pistons front office and coaching searches as well as the future of the Bucks. We’ll hit the highlights here:
- Former Raptors and Suns GM Bryan Colangelo and current Celtics assistant GM Mike Zarren are the front-runners for the top Pistons front office job, Woelfel hears. There’s talk that Detroit is targeting an experienced GM to serve as a mentor for the front office career of Chauncey Billups, Woelfel says, speculating that Bucks GM John Hammond, a former aide to Joe Dumars in the Pistons front office, could be a candidate.
- Tom Izzo appeared to leave some wiggle room when he said last week that he didn’t want to coach in the NBA next season, and some around the league tell Woelfel that the Pistons could re-emerge as a suitor for the Michigan State bench boss. The Timberwolves aren’t counting themselves out of the running for Izzo either, as we passed along earlier, and Woelfel seconds that sentiment.
- League approval of the sale of the Bucks to Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry could come as soon as a little more than a week from now, according to Woelfel. The wait has nonetheless left many within the Bucks in limbo, as several coaches and executives have said they haven’t been notified whether they’ll have their jobs next season, Woelfel writes.
- The cost of a new Bucks arena in Milwaukee will be anywhere from $420MM to $500MM, a source tells Woelfel. Edens, Lasry and Kohl have committed a combined $200MM toward the arena’s construction.
Steve Kerr Likely To Pick Coaching Gig By Friday
Steve Kerr is likely to choose the team he’ll coach next season by Friday, a source close to Kerr tells Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. We heard earlier tonight that Monday marked when Kerr was expected to begin dialogue with Phil Jackson and the Knicks about a coaching role, but talks had yet to commence between the two sides. The Warriors appear to be New York’s primary competition, but Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports that the Jazz have attempted to wedge their way into the race for the former Bulls sharpshooter (Twitter link).
Sources tell Isola that Kerr is concerned about Knicks owner James Dolan‘s hands-on management style, and that Kerr would have no interest in taking the role if it wasn’t for Jackson’s presence within the organization. Reports have claimed New York remains the front-runner for Kerr’s services, but taking a gig with the Lakers or Warriors would allow Kerr to keep living on the West Coast. Plus, Golden State’s young roster is undoubtedly appealing to the soon-to-be first-time coach. Stein nonetheless says the Knicks still have an overwhelming lead on the other teams attempting to land Kerr (on Twitter). That’s why the Lakers haven’t viewed Kerr as a candidate for their open coaching job.
If the Knicks miss out on Kerr, Isola says the recently fired Mark Jackson shouldn’t be completely ruled out as a candidate for the position, but it’s more likely the Zen Master chooses to hire someone close to him. Isola points to Bill Cartwright, who has already interviewed with New York about a possible role within the organization.
Phil Jackson was reported to have told Carmelo Anthony that he expects to hire Kerr. Earlier reports indicated the Lakers didn’t consider Kerr to be a realistic candidate for their coaching vacancy, but Isola labels him as the top candidate for Los Angeles, New York, and Golden State. In fact, the Warriors, who have been linked to Stan Van Gundy, would reportedly prefer to land Kerr, even though the current TNT analyst has never coached at the NBA level.
And-Ones: Sterling, Stackhouse, Warriors, Jazz
The NBA’s legal strategy for ousting Donald Sterling has been revealed, writes Darren Rovell of ESPN.com. According to Rovell, the NBA constitution states that grounds exist to remove any owner that “fail(s) or refuse(s) to fulfill its contractual obligations to the Association.” Among other “morals clauses,” Sterling has signed a document stating he would not “take any position or action that will materially and adversely affect a team or the league,” says Rovell. There’s still expectation that Sterling or his wife will fight the NBA in court, but the league at least has a starting point for Sterling’s removal. Here’s tonight’s look around the NBA:
- The Knicks will interview Jerry Stackhouse for a position within the organization, reports Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. It’s not entirely clear what position Stackhouse will interview for, but he expressed interest in coaching at some capacity. It seems highly unlikely his interview would be for anything more than an assistant position, given New York’s strong pursuit of Steve Kerr.
- Many around the league think that if the Pacers lose to the Wizards and Roy Hibbert continues to struggle, Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird will “do everything he can” to trade the All-Star center, according to ESPN’s Chris Broussard. Broussard made his comments on the Mike & Mike Show (Audio link).
- The Jazz will work out draft prospects Taylor Braun, Akil Mitchell, Bryce Cotton, Mike Moser, Stephen Holt, and Ronald Roberts Jr, the team announced (via Twitter).
- James Nunnally has signed a contract to play for the Cangrejeros de Santurce in Puerto Rico, the team announced (hat tip to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Nunnally spent most of 2013/14 in the D-League but did see NBA action on 10-day deals with the Hawks and Sixers.
- Each member of Mark Jackson‘s coaching staff has been relieved of their duties, the Warriors announced (hat tip to Diamond Leung of Bay Area News).
- The decision to fire Jackson means that Warriors‘ management will face pressure to win big next season in order to prove they made the right call, opines Tim Kawakami of Mercury News.
- In his latest Insider piece, Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks the top point guard prospects in the 2014 draft. To no surprise, Dante Exum sits atop his list. Hoops Rumors’ Zach Links recently profiled the Australian slasher.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Poll: Did Mark Jackson Deserve To Be Fired?
Mark Jackson had long been rumored to be on his way out of Golden State, so it was no shock when the team announced his dismissal this afternoon. A report implied he didn’t have any supporters in the front office, and the dysfunctional state of the Warriors’ organization this season is rumored to have even potentially hurt his stock going forward. Multiple disputes with assistant coaches over the past few months helped to damage Jackson’s image, even though it was later discovered that he wasn’t exactly responsible for either issue.
Ideological differences with the front office seemed to be the most important factor in Jackson’s discharge. It’s hard to blame him for a lack of success, since the team went 121-109 during his tenure, and reports indicated he had the support of players in the Warriors’ locker room. The club did suffer an early exit in the playoffs, but pinning all the blame on Jackson is unrealistic since the W’s were facing a tough Clippers squad with Andrew Bogut sidelined. In fact, Joe Lacob and Bob Myers sat down with Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News and revealed they simply didn’t feel Jackson was the best fit for their organization going forward.
Did Mark Jackson deserve to get the ax in Golden State? The Warriors won more games this year than they had since 1991/92, and it will surely be tough to completely sell the locker room on the dismissal of a well-liked coach. At the same time, it’s hard for a team succeed when management has different fundamental views than the coach does, and a change in leadership will help distance the club from the “dysfunctional” image they acquired over the course of the season. It’s certainly a difficult question, but Hoops Rumors wants to know what the readers think. Vote below and tell us whether or not Golden State made the right call giving Jackson the boot.
Did Mark Jackson deserved to be fired?
-
No 75% (1,005)
-
Yes 25% (336)
Total votes: 1,341
Coaching Rumors: Jackson, Warriors, Kerr
The Warriors cut ties with Mark Jackson today, and rumors have already started swirling about potential fits for the now vacant coaching spot in Golden State. Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders rounds up the situation and discusses possible candidates and also suggests a few teams that might be wise to seek out Jackson’s services. Here’s the latest on Jackson, Kerr, and the Lakers coaching search:
- Brian Scalabrine was also dismissed from Warriors, reports Matt Steinmetz of CSN Bay Area (via Twitter). Scalabrine had been an assistant coach with Golden State under Jackson before a mid-season demotion sent him to their D-League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors.
- Kerr was expected to begin talks with the Knicks about a coaching role yesterday, but there have still been no contact between the two sides, a source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. There’s a strong chance Kerr has a conversation with the Warriors about taking on the head coaching role in Golden State, but his preference remains New York, says Wojnarowski (Twitter links).
Earlier updates:
- The Knicks haven’t called Jackson about their head coaching position, tweets Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.
- It’s very unlikely the Timberwolves have any interest in bringing Jackson aboard, passes along Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (on Twitter).
- The Pistons should consider hiring Jackson in Detroit, even though it wouldn’t be a cheap acquisition, writes Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News. Goodwill points to Jackson’s ability to earn his players’ respect as a particularly valuable trait.
- Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com discusses the likelihood that Steve Kerr chooses to take on head coaching duties for the Warriors rather than the Knicks. Both teams are reportedly interested in Kerr, but Begley concludes that Phil Jackson‘s presence in New York will give the Knicks an edge in their pursuit.
- Kerr’s college coach, Lute Olson, also sees the Knicks as the front-runner to land Kerr, even after Jackson’s dismissal in Golden State, reports Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
- Lakers management is taking a slow approach to its coaching search, but Kobe Bryant and Byron Scott have talked in the past few weeks, notes Chris Broussard of ESPN during an interview on the Mike & Mike Show (Audio link).
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Mavs Rumors: Offseason, Sanders, Randolph
The Mavs were heavy underdogs heading into the playoffs, but they found a way to go seven games with the top-seeded Spurs before eventually falling in the series finale. Dallas’ offense was among the most potent in the league this season, but in an interview on KESN-FM 103.3’s “Afternoon Show with Cowlishaw and Mosely,” coach Rick Carlisle admitted he’d like to improve his squad’s defense and add some speed this summer (transcription from the Dallas Morning News). Here’s more on the Mavs’ offseason:
- In the same interview, Carlisle revealed that he, Dallas GM Donnie Nelson, and owner Mark Cuban are all in agreement that team continuity from year to year is important to success: “We want to keep this team together as much as we can so that we can kind of turn the page and continue with bringing back as many guys as we can.”
- During an analysis of the Mavs’ offseason, Marc Stein of ESPN.com pegs Larry Sanders as a potential trade target for the team. Stein points to Monta Ellis‘ resurgence in Dallas and wonders if playing for Carlisle could have the same effect on Sanders after a season to forget in Milwaukee.
- Two upcoming free agents that the Mavs should consider pursuing are Zach Randolph and Al-Farouq Aminu, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. The skilled rebounding and defensive toughness that the either big man would bring are worth overpaying for, opines Sefko.
- Dallas intends on pursuing Carmelo Anthony this summer, as we passed along earlier today.