And-Ones: Ollie, Bobcats, Kelly, Lowry
Saturday will feature an unprecedented three Game 7’s in a single day, and Sunday could bring the same if the Nets, Rockets and Mavs all win tonight. While we look forward to a pivotal weekend of basketball, here’s the latest from around the league:
- Lakers coaching candidate Kevin Ollie has begun talks about a new deal with Connecticut, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Still, he remains open to interest from the Lakers and other NBA teams, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM, a point that Wojnarowski seconds. No NBA team has formally reached out to him yet, Charania also tweets, though Ollie has fans among executives on many NBA teams, including Thunder GM Sam Presti, Wojnarowski writes.
- Bobcats owner Michael Jordan is prepared to spend freely this summer, president of basketball operations Rod Higgins said, pointing to the presence of Al Jefferson, Kemba Walker and Steve Clifford as a selling point. Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders has the details.
- Ryan Kelly credited Mike D’Antoni‘s system as a reason for his strong performance this year, but the rookie tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News that there’s “no question” that he’d like to re-sign with the team even though the coach is gone. Medina believes the Lakers will indeed bring him back.
- Eric Koreen of the National Post doesn’t think there’ll be much call for point guards who’d command significant long-term money this summer, suggesting that will depress the market for Kyle Lowry.
Clippers/Sterling Rumors: Roeser, Rivers, Silver
Donald Sterling has prostate cancer, as Linda Massarella, Emily Smith, Bruce Golding and Helen Kumari of the New York Post report, and his poor health might play a role as the NBA seeks to remove the Clippers from his ownership. The family of the 80-year-old could avoid millions of dollars in taxes if the team is sold after his death, as David Wharton and Stuart Pfeifer of the Los Angeles Times explained this week, giving Sterling incentive to stall and fight the NBA in court until his passing.
Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com has much more on the Sterling saga, and while her entire piece is worth reading, we’ll pass along a few notable revelations here:
- Clippers president Andy Roeser opposed the idea of releasing a statement that disputed the tapes, Shelburne reports. Sterling prevailed upon him to release the statement, which argued that the recordings didn’t represent Sterling’s true feelings, through the team with Roeser’s name on it. Doc Rivers was “furious” about the statement, Shelburne writes, describing it as a breaking point for Rivers and the players.
- Roeser has been in charge since Silver banned Sterling, but the NBA will likely appoint a trustee to run the team, according to Shelburne.
- The NBA interviewed a third person who could be heard in the background of the recordings of Sterling and V. Stiviano, and that interview could help the NBA in its attempts to oust Sterling if the legality of the recordings is questioned in court, Shelburne writes.
- NBA owners were confident that Silver would take appropriate action, reflecting the belief in the commissioner that they’d held since the 2011 lockout. Many of them had wanted him to succeed David Stern long before he did so in February, according to Shelburne.
Latest On Warriors, Mark Jackson
Golden State coach Mark Jackson‘s job is probably on the line Saturday in Game 7 against the Clippers, just as it was in Thursday’s Game 6, which the Warriors won to avoid elimination. Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob, whose desire to quickly contend and fondness for other coaches is reportedly the impetus behind many of the rumors surrounding Jackson, insisted to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that he’s yet to make up his mind about the team’s coach.
“Honest to God, that’s the media that is doing all this,” Lacob said. “There is nothing going on until after the season. I refuse to let anyone talk about that. We don’t talk about it. We haven’t had that discussion. Everybody in the entire organization is reviewed after the season and we make decisions.”
Warriors players have rallied around Jackson ever since a report in March indicated that he had sought openings on rival teams and presided over dysfunction in the locker room. Jackson this week strongly denied a story that he asked Warriors adviser Jerry West not to attend practices, the latest tempest to arise in Golden State. Jermaine O’Neal is among Jackson’s most outspoken supporters, but the 18th-year veteran gets the sense a coaching change is about to happen, as Sam Amick of USA Today reports.
“You get the feel that no matter what happens, our coach won’t be our coach next year,” Warriors O’Neal said. “You just get that feel. But we are willing to give all we’ve got for this group, for that coach, and hopefully whatever that will and whatever we’ve given is good enough to take us as far as we should go.”
Jackson has one more season left on his contract, and though he briefly engaged in contract extension talks with the Warriors last summer, the two sides made little progress. It seemed Jackson’s bosses were the target of some of the coach’s remarks after the game Thursday, Amick observes.
“I know there are people that want to speed up the [growth] process,” Jackson said. “[But] this is who we are. Part of the process is going through things, learning how to be consistent. I’m proud of my guys. It’s been an incredible, incredible ride. Now against a three‑seed with two of the top 10 players in the world and a future Hall of Fame coach [Doc Rivers], we are going to Game 7 in spite of all the sideline music. And I like my chances, because I’ve got a group of guys that want to do whatever it takes to win.”
Mavs, Shawn Marion Interested In New Deal
Shawn Marion is held in “extremely high esteem” by the Mavericks, and Marion would like to return to the team he’s played for over the past five seasons, reports Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com. Dallas unsurprisingly doesn’t want to shell out a salary close to the more than $9.3MM he’s made this season with his 36th birthday looming next week, McMahon writes, but it appears as though the Mavs are eager to bring him back at a rate closer to market price.
The Mavs have long been fond of Marion’s perimeter defense, having lobbied for him to win the Defensive Player of the Year award two years ago, and they’re dismayed that the league’s coaches have never voted him to an NBA All-Defensive team, according to McMahon. His defense was never more necessary than it’s been this season, when the Mavs have featured defensive liabilities Jose Calderon and Monta Ellis on the perimeter, and Marion has taken turns guarding Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili in the first round.
“We’d love to have five Marions and put them out there and guard all of their guys,” coach Rick Carlisle said.
Dallas has hung on to Marion the past two seasons, even as he represented one of the team’s best trade chips. McMahon suggests leaguewide interest in Marion will be high, naming the Heat, for whom Marion played in parts of two seasons, as a possible suitor. It appears as though McMahon is merely speculating, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see contending teams offer mid-level exception money to the Dan Fegan client. I’m not sure he’ll warrant the full value of the non-taxpayer’s mid-level, which calls for a starting salary of $5.305MM, but a salary akin to the taxpayer’s mid-level amount of $3.278MM seems like a fit.
The Mavs have about $28.2MM in commitments for next season, though that doesn’t include a new deal for Dirk Nowitzki. Dallas envisions making another run at marquee free agents, but to open up cap flexibility, it’s possible the team winds up renouncing its Bird rights to Marion if he doesn’t quickly strike a deal for a discounted salary, which would reduce his cap hold. Such a maneuver would limit the Mavs to the $2.732MM room exception, but if Marion’s interest in returning is strong enough, that might be enough.
Prospect Profile: Justin Jackson
Some might ask what position Cincinnati senior Justin Jackson — a slender 6’8″ forward — would be best suited for in the NBA. Others, like Jackson himself, don’t spend too much time thinking about that.
“I don’t really give myself a size, I’m just a ballplayer,” Jackson explained to Hoops Rumors. “I can be a one up to a five. I’m just going to do whatever is asked of me, like Tony Allen. He’s 6’4″ and he’ll guard someone like Kevin Durant. It’s a big size difference but he knows how to guard him. I’m the same way. I’m 6’8″ but I can move like a guard and guard up to a five,”
The reigning AAC Defensive Player of the Year has spent four years proving to observers that he’s capable of pesky D on the inside and on the perimeter. With a 7’1″ wingspan, Jackson has long limbs that are designed for disrupting a ball handler and clogging passing lanes. He excelled in standard defensive measurements (2.9 blocks per game, 1.6 steals per game), and his play also inspired the sports information department at UC to keep track of his pass deflections per game and leaps into press row. The question he expects to get peppered with a lot between now and June is whether he can be a contributor on offense, as well.
Showing off a mid-range game will be important for Jackson, who was asked to score most of his points off of putbacks in college. Bearcats coach Mick Cronin told Sports Illustrated’s Kelli Anderson earlier this year that his message this season was, “I don’t need you to take more shots; I need you to score more points.” Cronin pushed the senior to tailor his game so it would look more like that of Bearcats alum Kenyon Martin, which led Jackson to play with more power on the offensive end. NBA prospects could do a whole lot worse than taking after the former No. 1 overall pick, but Jackson knows the jumper is still essential at the next level.
“I can hit open jumpers and I’m a great passer. I’m not going to say that I’m Durant with the basketball, but I’m the guy who when KD breaks their man down and you need an open 15 footer knocked down, I can do that. I’m a great role player,” the 23-year-old said.
Jackson was able to back that up at the Portsmouth Invitational just a few weeks ago, averaging a double-double in front of a litany of NBA scouts. His solid performance, he says, has only made him more eager for his next showcase. Jackson’s mission is to show that he’s not only well-rounded, but also mature and ready to help a team win immediately.
Because there are still folks who worry about Jackson’s size, he’s hard at work near his hometown in Florida putting on weight. The forward played this year at around 230 pounds and he hopes that when it gets closer to draft time, he’ll tip the scales at 240. Expect Jackson to get a lot of looks later in the second round, especially if he gets the opportunity to defend against different positions in workouts.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Magic Pick Up Options On Hennigan, Vaughn
10:00am: The team has officially announced the moves on its website.
“Rob and Jacque have worked extremely hard in establishing a culture which embodies teamwork, hard work, hunger for success and humility,” Martins said in the team’s statement. “With their strategic direction and leadership we feel we are headed in the right direction which will allow us to achieve our goals of contending in a long term sustainable fashion.”
9:30am: The Magic have decided to exercise their 2015/16 team options on GM Rob Hennigan and coach Jacque Vaughn, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). Both came aboard during the 2012 offseason, when Hennigan made the Dwight Howard trade his first signature move. That kicked off a rebuilding project that’s seen the Magic win just 20 games in 2012/13 and 23 games this past season, but today’s moves signal that the DeVos family, who own the team, and CEO Alex Martins are satisfied with the team’s course.
Hennigan was just 30 years old when the team hired him away from the Thunder, where he’d spent four seasons, the last two as Oklahoma City’s assistant GM. He netted Nikola Vucevic, Maurice Harkless and Arron Afflalo, among others, in the Howard trade, and those three have played key roles for the Magic the past two seasons. Orlando has three first-round picks coming its way as a result of the Howard trade. Hennigan used the team’s own 2013 first-rounder to take Victor Oladipo second overall this past June, and the guard turned in a productive rookie season even as he adjusted to the team’s experiment of using him at point guard.
Hennigan also scored with his acquisition of Tobias Harris in the J.J. Redick trade this past summer. Still, the GM has had his share of disappointments, too, trading Josh McRoberts for Hakim Warrick in 2013 and failing to find takers for the expensive contracts of veterans Hedo Turkoglu, Glen Davis and Al Harrington, all of whom the Magic waived.
Vaughn, another useful presence who’s still just 39, joined the team after serving as an assistant coach with the Spurs, the organization that gave Hennigan his start in the NBA. The team ranked near the bottom in both offensive and defensive efficiency in Vaughn’s first season, but the Magic made strides defensively this year, finishing 13th in points allowed per possession, according to NBA.com.
Latest On Wolves Coaching Search
9:33am: Izzo is still “very high” on Saunders’ list of candidates, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com, who seconds Zgoda’s take that the Michigan State coach’s denial of interest in taking an NBA job this year left some wiggle room (Twitter link).
FRIDAY, 9:02am: The Wolves haven’t yet abandoned their pursuit of Hoiberg, Wolfson tweets. That’s in spite of Saunders saying last week that Hoiberg wouldn’t be jumping to the NBA. Wolfson doesn’t expect the team to pursue Karl (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 12:22pm: A source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that Stan Van Gundy won’t reciprocate the Timberwolves’ interest in him for their coaching vacancy, and Tom Izzo says he’s not jumping to the NBA this year. There are other candidates for the job, but the search has been slow-going, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reports.
The Wolves have been primarily eyeing college coaches, though top targets Izzo and, as we passed along earlier, Fred Hoiberg are apparently out of the running. There are candidates with NBA experience in the mix, too, including George Karl, and Wolfson hears that Karl would indeed have interest and is hoping that the Wolves contact him, contradicting an earlier report that he wouldn’t want the job. Still, the Wolves haven’t reached out to Karl or Lionel Hollins, another among the previously mentioned candidates for the position, Wolfson writes.
The Wolves wouldn’t have interest in Scott Brooks of the Thunder, if he came available, and Wolfson reiterates that Minnesota wouldn’t want Frank Vogel, either. Former Raptors coach Sam Mitchell would like the Wolves job, but Minnesota isn’t interested, Wolfson writes. The Wolves probably won’t go after Warriors assistant Lindsey Hunter, Wizards assistant Sam Cassell, or Rockets assistant J.B. Bickerstaff in spite of their ties to the organization, according to Wolfson.
President of basketball operations Flip Saunders is still a “name to monitor,” Wolfson writes, even though he’s downplayed the idea that he’d take over the coaching position. He’s said he’d “never say never” to the job on multiple occasions. Saunders and, even in his comments today, Izzo have been somewhat vague in their insistence that they won’t be on an NBA bench next season, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune notes (on Twitter).
Phil Jackson Tells ‘Melo He Expects To Hire Kerr
Knicks president Phil Jackson told Carmelo Anthony that he fully expects to hire Steve Kerr as the team’s coach, according to Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal. Herring hears that the newly minted executive never mentioned the idea of anyone else coaching the team during his meeting with the soon-to-be free agent this week. Jackson plans to be “visible and available” on the sidelines during training camp, as he told Anthony in an attempt to dispel any concerns the Knicks star might have had about Kerr’s inexperience as a coach, Herring writes.
The Lakers don’t view Kerr as a candidate for their coaching vacancy, believing he’s too far along with the Knicks, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. The Knicks have been wanting to close on a deal with Kerr shortly after the first round of the playoffs concludes this weekend, but Kerr reportedly doesn’t want to go so fast. The TNT broadcaster met with Jackson this past weekend, but he said that he and Jackson still had plenty more to discuss.
Multiple reports suggested that Kerr would prefer to work for a team on the West Coast, but more recently Lute Olson, Kerr’s college coach, said that he didn’t believe that was the case. Sources told Ken Berger of CBSSports.com this week that Kerr doesn’t intend to use other openings as leverage against the Knicks, or vice versa, and will either accept or reject the Knicks job on its own merits, given his loyalty to Jackson, who coached him on the Bulls in the 1990s.
Jackson also spoke with Anthony about his plans for free agency this summer, and Herring hears that Anthony wasn’t upset by Jackson’s recent remark that he hoped ‘Melo would be “true to his word” about accepting a discount to re-sign with the team. Still, the meeting suggests that Jackson is nonetheless planning a strong recruiting effort to keep the high-scoring forward in New York, Herring writes.
And-Ones: Johnson, Wilkins, Kidd
Doc Rivers told reporters, including of Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, that he assumes Kevin Johnson will have the choice to become the president of the NBA players association even if he wants to remain mayor of Sacramento (Twitter link). Earlier, we passed on word that Johnson isn’t a candidate for the union role due to his political ambitions. Here’s more from around the league:
- The Bulls haven’t received any indication that the Lakers plan to request a meeting with coach Tom Thibodeau, a source tells Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Cowley surmises that the rumblings about the Lakers pursuing Thibodeau won’t amount to much beyond speculation.
- Sources tell K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune that Thibodeau is a proponent of the Bulls pursuing Carmelo Anthony this summer. Johnson speculates that Thibodeau’s involvement with future personnel decisions casts doubt on the potential for him to meet with the Lakers, let alone leave Chicago for Los Angeles.
- Damien Wilkins has signed with Indios de Mayaguez of Puerto Rico, agent Christian Santaella tweets (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). The 34-year-old spent training camp with the Hawks before signing in China this winter, and hasn’t played in the NBA since starting 21 games with the Sixers in the 2012/13 season.
- Ian O’Connor of ESPNNewYork.com says that Jason Kidd‘s performance as a coach would be the biggest failure for the Nets if Brooklyn doesn’t make it out of the first round. While the team recovered after a disappointing start, O’Connor notes that the upgraded roster will still have done worse than last year’s team, when P.J. Carlesimo was let go following a first round exit.
- Adam Silver was not aware of any potential boycott from NBA players when he made his decision to seek the ouster of Clippers owner Donald Sterling, per Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal (Twitter links). Kevin Johnson, helping represent the players union through the issue, tells Mullen that a boycott “was never mentioned” in his talks with the commissioner.
- With the help of legal experts, Brent Schrotenboer of USA Today looks at some of the legal maneuvers Sterling could pursue to counter the league’s actions, including stalling the team’s ownership status by filing for divorce.
- In a Q&A with Richard Sandomir of The New York Times, a longtime sports lawyer lays out the legal framework that lies ahead as the league pushes to remove Sterling.
Western Notes: Calipari, Lakers, Jazz
The Thunder are doing their best to bring their first-round series with the Grizzlies back to Oklahoma City for an exciting game seven. Here’s a look at more news from out West:
- Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders breaks down which coaching candidates have the best chances at landing the Lakers job.
- Nina Mandell of USA Today Sports doesn’t think that John Calipari will succeed in quieting rumors about potential NBA coaching gigs, namely the Lakers speculation. Mandell notes that Calipari accepted the Kentucky job after proclaiming his plans to stay put at Memphis.
- The Jazz are expected to hold pre-draft workouts next Wednesday and Thursday, per a tweet from Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. We noted earlier that Stanford’s Josh Huestis is one player they will likely give a look.