Northwest Notes: Snyder, Messina, Saunders
Two new coaches were announced in the Northwest Division today, with NBA veteran coach Flip Saunders selecting himself to lead the Wolves, and well-traveled NBA assistant Quin Snyder coming aboard for the Jazz. Here’s the latest from the division:
- Snyder is expected to pursue Ettore Messina as an assistant for the Jazz bench, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein tweets that hiring Messina would be a great addition for Utah. Messina, who is parting ways with CSKA Moscow this summer, has drawn speculation as a potential head coaching candidate for other teams, and was once a candidate for Utah‘s vacancy.
- Two Jazz players expressed their support of Snyder’s hiring to Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. Derrick Favors told Jones he can’t wait to start working with Snyder, and John Lucas III said he has loved the coach’s uptempo system since playing against Snyder’s Mizzou teams as a player for Oklahoma State (Twitter links).
- Gorgui Dieng expressed his support for Saunders as the new Wolves coach to Andy Greder of St. Paul Pioneer Press. “I know he is very tough and is always looking for improvement,” Dieng said, “so I think we are very excited to have him as a head coach.” Greder writes that Saunders worked out with Dieng during his rookie season despite having a front office role.
- Bruce Ely of The Oregonian asks if Robin Lopez is the Blazers‘ solution at center or if they should still explore other options. Lopez led Portland in rebounding 26 times last season and hit double digits in boards 33 times. The Blazers hold a $5.34MM team option on the 26-year-old.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Jazz Hire Quin Snyder As Coach
6:53pm: The team has officially announced the deal. CEO Greg Miller expressed optimism regarding Snyder’s potential at the helm of the Jazz.
“On behalf of the Miller family, I welcome Quin Snyder as the new head coach of the Utah Jazz,” said Miller. “He has an impressive basketball pedigree, including more than a decade of head coaching experience that positions him well to succeed in the Jazz organization. We look forward to Quin’s contributions both on the court and in the community.”
5:42pm: The team will hold a press conference to introduce Snyder as coach tomorrow, a source tells Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
4:41pm: Quin Snyder will be the next head coach of the Jazz, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (Twitter link). This report has also been confirmed by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The deal will include three guaranteed years, plus a team option for a fourth, tweets Wojnarowski. Financial terms have not been disclosed. This will be Snyder’s first time as an NBA head coach. He previously served as head coach for Missouri from 1999 to 2006, and complied a career record of 128-96 for the Tigers.
Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey has worked previously with Snyder when Lindsey was assistant GM for the Spurs and Snyder was the coach of San Antonio’s D-League affiliate from 2007 to 2010. Snyder was one of four rumored finalists for the position along with Adrian Griffin, Alvin Gentry, and Jazz assistant coach Brad Jones. Jones is expected to be retained and promoted to assistant head coach, reports Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (Twitter link). Former University of Utah player Alex Jensen will also be promoted from his position as player development coach to become a full-time assistant on Snyder’s staff, writes Genessy in a separate article.
Snyder was a candidate for the Sixers, Bobcats and Suns last summer, and was also a candidate for the Bobcats job back in 2012, when he was also among those in the running for the Magic’s vacancy.
Coaching Rumors: Jazz, Fisher, Cavs, Lakers
It’ll be a long time, if ever, before we see Coach Cal back in the NBA. John Calipari‘s new contract with the University of Kentucky, which takes him through 2021, doesn’t have a buyout, a source tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (on Twitter). Calipari coached the Nets to a 72-112 record over three seasons in the late 90s but has found himself linked to several high-profile jobs thanks to his success at UK. Here’s more from the coaching front:
- Brad Jones will be hired as an assistant on Quin Snyder‘s coaching staff for the Jazz, tweets Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. Jones’ hiring was expected when news of Snyder landing the job surfaced earlier today.
- While Alex Jensen is set to move up as an assistant with Snyder, Jody Genessy of Deseret News is hearing that other teams might make a play to hire Jensen away from the Jazz (Twitter link).
- Right now, it seems like Knicks president Phil Jackson is only interested in coaching candidates who come from his inner circle, writes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Steve Kerr, of course, was Phil’s first choice and the current presumed frontrunner, Derek Fisher, has a long history with the Zen Master.
- The Knicks hope to secure Fisher for head coaching duties next week, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
- Stein adds that the Cavs are likely to make the next coaching hire after the Knicks, and that the Lakers are still “in no rush” to fill their vacancy.
- Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders runs down the Lakers coaching candidates and attempts to identify the best fit for the job. Byron Scott and Lionel Hollins, in his view, should be considered strong candidates.
- Jeff Van Gundy told KFAN 1003 that while he would have “loved to work for [Flip Saunders]” and live and coach in Minnesota, he couldn’t get past the idea that Saunders was the best coach for the Wolves, according to the T’Wolves PR Twitter account.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
New York Notes: Teletovic, Liggins, Knicks
Yesterday we heard that Knicks president Phil Jackson sought and obtained permission from the Thunder to interview Derek Fisher this week. It doesn’t sound as though talks have gotten serious yet, but it’s seems like a safe assumption that they will. At this stage, all signs point to Fisher being Jackson’s top choice. Here’s the latest out of NYC on a beautiful 77 degree day..
- Tim Bontemps of the New York Post looks back at the season that Mirza Teletovic had after signing with the Nets as an unknown free agent two summers ago. Teletovic struggled mightily in the early goings but found his groove when the Nets switched to a smallball lineup. Now, the forward could wind up in Brooklyn’s starting lineup if the club loses Paul Pierce in free agency.
- Former Kentucky big man DeAndre Liggins is working out for the Nets and seeking a second chance in the NBA, writes Lenn Robbins of BrooklynNets.com. Liggins allegedly struck his girlfriend in August of 2013, prompting the Thunder to waive him less than a week later. “I got into one off the court issue. On the court, I was always on time, always first on the bus. The whole year I was with OKC, off the court, no complaints. On the court, I played hard,” the 26-year-old said.
- With the Clippers selling for $2 billion, it’s only natural to wonder how much the Knicks might be worth. Rich Tullo, an analyst at Albert Fried & Company, tells ESPN.com’s Darren Rovell that the Knicks are worth between $1.4 and $3 billion. Some Knicks fans might welcome a change in ownership, but there’s no indication that they’ll be on the market anytime soon.
Walter Tavares Working On Euro Contract Buyout
European big man Walter Tavares is working on a contract buyout with his team in the Spanish ACB League and will travel soon to the United States to work out for several NBA teams, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Several execs believe that the 7’3″ center has a strong change to land in the first round of the draft.
Wojnarowski hears that several teams in the 20s plan to bring Tavares in for a closer look. The 22-year-old doesn’t have a formal agreement on a buyout with Gran Canaria of the Spanish ACB, but there is momentum toward that happening. Tavares is a relative basketball neophyte who never played basketball before his 17th birthday. There’s no question that Tavares is green, but he has tons of upside and has intrigued many scouts.
Tavares put his toe in the water for last year’s draft but ultimately decided to withdraw just weeks before. The big man is currently ranked No. 34 on DraftExpress’ top 100 list and slated to go No. 32 to the Sixers in their mock. Tavares is being represented by agent Andy Miller.
Flip Saunders To Coach Timberwolves
FRIDAY, 1:10pm: The Wolves officially announced that Saunders will serve as their head coach and held an afternoon press conference.
THURSDAY, 11:19am: The move doesn’t affect Love’s thought process regarding an exit from the Wolves, sources tell Stein, largely echoing an earlier report from Holmes, as we passed along below (Twitter link).
11:05am: The coaching agreement between Saunders and Taylor is “open-ended” in terms of length, meaning Saunders will have the opportunity to revisit a search for someone else to coach the team in the future, Zgoda writes.
10:41am: Sources tell Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe that they strongly doubt Saunders’ decision to coach the team himself will convince Love to stay in Minnesota (Twitter link).
10:23am: Mitchell and Sidney Lowe are expected to become assistant coaches under Saunders, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. There doesn’t appear to be a timetable for Saunders to coach, and neither Mitchell nor Lowe is a “coach in waiting,” Zgoda adds via Twitter. It’s unclear whether Billups will be a part of the staff, Zgoda also tweets, noting that he’s heard that Billups would prefer a basketball executive job, which falls in line with the guard’s assertion in March that several teams had gauged his interest in joining their front offices.
10:08am: Saunders has confirmed the news to Stein, and Saunders will continue to have the ultimate authority in the front office and work in concert with GM Milt Newton, Krawczynski hears (Twitter links).
9:54am: Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders will coach the team next season, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (Twitter link). The news comes just minutes after Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported that Saunders was strongly considering the move. The team failed to gain traction with several other coaching candidates, and while the prospect of Saunders returning to the team’s bench has been in play since before former coach Rick Adelman retired at season’s end, it never appeared to be the team’s first choice.
Saunders is likely to target Chauncey Billups for an assistant coaching position, even though Billups remains under contract as a player with the Pistons. Detroit has a $2.5MM team option on Billups for next season, but he’s indicated that he’s thinking about retiring. Saunders will also reach out to Israeli league coach David Blatt and one-time Wolves head coaching candidate Sam Mitchell for jobs on his staff, Krawczynski hears (Twitter link).
Saunders’ decision to coach is met with excitement from Ricky Rubio‘s camp, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, pointing out that negotiations over Rubio’s rookie scale extension will begin soon (Twitter link). Perhaps of greater concern to the Wolves and teams around the league is how Kevin Love will receive the move. The team had reportedly been holding off on trading Love, who appears to want out of Minnesota, until they named a new coach, ostensibly to allow the team to have its house in order before it lobbies a strong effort to convince Love to stay.
The Wolves had interviewed Mitchell, Scott Skiles, Vinny Del Negro and Lionel Hollins in addition to Dave Joerger, who seemed to come within a hair’s breadth of becoming the team’s coach before he patched up his relationship with the Grizzlies and signed an extension to stay in Memphis. The Wolves also reportedly went after high profile college coaches Fred Hoiberg, Billy Donovan and Tom Izzo, but apparently had no luck prying them from campus. The team also appeared to have interest in Stan Van Gundy, but it wasn’t mutual, and he wound up taking a dual front office/coaching role with the Pistons much like the one Saunders is embracing in Minnesota.
Saunders said “never say never” on multiple occasions this spring when asked about the prospect of coaching the team himself, though he had publicly downplayed the possibility. There were mixed messages about whether Saunders wanted to coach and whether owner Glen Taylor was on board with the idea, but Wolfson says Taylor was always going to proceed with whatever plan Saunders had in mind (Twitter link). Saunders returns to the role in which he took the Wolves to all eight of their postseason appearances during his tenure on the team’s bench from 1995-2005. He went on to coach the Pistons and Wizards before taking over the Wolves front office last year, and is 638-526 in parts of 16 seasons as an NBA head coach.
Jazz Notes: Jones, Vonleh, Favors, Kanter
Jazz assistant Brad Jones is indeed a candidate for the head coaching position, but he could also be in line for an assistant job on the team’s new staff if they go with Alvin Gentry, Quin Snyder, or Adrian Griffin as the hire, tweets Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune. After having spent the 2012-13 season in charge of player development, Utah promoted Jones to a full fledged assistant in July of last year. Being appointed as head coach would mark a very rapid climb up the organizational ladder for Jones. The latest out of Utah..
- A source tells Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link) that the Jazz saw Indiana big man Noah Vonleh workout privately last week in New York.
- After attending Utah’s pre-draft workout yesterday, Jones learned (link) that the organization sees Derrick Favors as a center, not as a power forward. Because of that, the Utah front office is confident that Vonleh can come in and play alongside Favors without any trouble (link). Meanwhile, if the Jazz see Favors as a five, that raises some questions about how they view Enes Kanter (link).
- Utah State big man Jarred Shaw and Weber State guard/forward Davion Berry are among the 12 players working out for the Jazz this morning, tweets Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune. Neither player is featured on DraftExpress’ Top 100.
Offseason Outlook: Los Angeles Clippers
Guaranteed Contracts
- Chris Paul ($20,068,563)
- Blake Griffin ($17,674,613)
- DeAndre Jordan ($11,440,123)
- J.J. Redick ($6,792,500)
- Jared Dudley ($4,250,000)
- Matt Barnes ($3,396,250)
- Reggie Bullock ($1,200,720)
Options
- Darren Collison ($1,985,500, Player)*
- Danny Granger ($1,316,809, Player)**
- Glen Davis ($1,227,985, Player)***
Non-Guaranteed Contracts
- Jamal Crawford ($5,450,000; guaranteed for $1,500,000)****
- Willie Green ($1,448,490)*****
Free Agents / Cap Holds
- No. 28 pick ($924,800)
- Ryan Hollins ($915,243)
- Hedo Turkoglu ($915,243)
Draft Picks
- 1st Round (28th overall)
Cap Outlook
- Guaranteed Salary: $66,322,769
- Options: $4,530,294
- Non-Guaranteed Salary: $5,398,490
- Cap Holds: $2,755,286
- Total: $79,006,839
Despite what the news might lead you to believe, the Clippers have things on their agenda that don’t concern embattled owner Donald Sterling. Yes, it’s true, the Clippers front office, led by coach Doc Rivers, has a whole to-do list that has nothing to do with this spring’s TMZ bombshell. The Clippers have needs to fill and while they don’t have a ton of cap space to do it, they will have their opportunities to improve.
The Clippers’ 2013/14 season ended at the hands of the Thunder in the second round and while there’s not much shame in losing to a Kevin Durant-led team, that’s no consolation to the Clippers, who, rightfully, had title aspirations. Part of their downfall came from an inability to keep KD in check (he averaged 33.2 PPG in the series, a tick higher than what he averaged during his MVP season) and Russell Westbrook had a field day as well. It’ll take more than a quick fix to slow down someone like Durant, but finding a strong perimeter defender would go a long way towards that effort. The Clippers’ trade of Eric Bledsoe badly hurt their defense on the outside and they’ve yet to fill that void.
The small ball lineup that worked so well with Bledsoe in 2012/13 didn’t run as smoothly last season. The offense continued to put up points but the team struggled in terms of rebounding and defense. None of the small forwards that the Clippers tried out – including Danny Granger, Hedo Turkoglu, and Stephen Jackson – were successful at playing as an undersized four. If the Clippers intend to continue playing with a smaller lineup, and there’s no reason to think they won’t, they’ll have to find a small forward with size and grit who can help open up the offense without being a liability elsewhere. That leads us to one of the more intriguing storylines of the offseason: the possible reunion of Rivers and his former star pupil, Paul Pierce.
Pierce was the key to the Nets’ small ball success last season and is hitting the open market at a time where there is total uncertainty around teammate Kevin Garnett and the team as a whole. If Garnett, who is slated to make $12MM next season, retires, many have theorized that Pierce will leave in search of familiarity, whether that’s joining up with Rivers in L.A. or ending his career in Boston. The Nets, meanwhile, may not be the biggest basketball mess in New York City, but they’re a mess nonetheless. Deron Williams just underwent double ankle surgery, free agents Shaun Livingston and Andray Blatche could very well bolt, and oft-injured center Brook Lopez is returning to a lineup that might be better off without him. Will the 36-year-old leave the land of plaid shirts and ironic mustaches behind? Pierce doesn’t have any pre-dating ties to Brooklyn, but his work ethic endeared him to scores of Nets fans who probably weren’t paying attention when Pierce was enemy No. 1 to the team while they were in New Jersey. He also ended the season with a bad taste in his mouth after his mouth wrote a check to LeBron James that his behind couldn’t cash. Avoiding a showdown with LeBron until the Finals would be the easy route; staying with the Nets, clashing with him in the conference semifinals or finals, and coming out on top would mean total redemption. And, oh yeah, the Nets can give him more money, but after banking $300MM+ over the course of his career, he’s not exactly starving. We’d venture to say that the Nets are still the frontrunners, but the Clippers have to be a very appealing option for Pierce, especially if KG hangs ’em up.
The Clippers could also use some shooting reinforcements. The Bledsoe deal that allowed for J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley to come to L.A. should have given them all the outside shooting they needed, but things didn’t quite work out that way. Redick played what was maybe the best basketball of his career with career-highs of 15.2 PPG and 45.5% shooting from the floor plus 39.5% from downtown…when he was healthy. That wasn’t the case for much of the season, as he played just 47 games thanks to different injuries. It was a similar story for Dudley as injuries slowed him down and he ultimately lost his starting job to Matt Barnes due to his slipping play. So what can the Clippers do? Sharpshooters like Anthony Morrow, Mike Miller, and Trevor Ariza (he shot 40.7% from downtown this year, despite a 32.5% average in previous seasons) are available on the open market. They could also bring in the aforementioned Pierce to kill two birds with one stone with his size and shooting ability.
The Clips can make additions with their non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which will allow them to sign any free agent to a contract with a starting salary as high as $5.3MM, but there’s little flexibility outside of that. Without significant wiggle room, the Clippers’ draft pick at No. 28 takes on a little extra importance. If they want a shooter with that pick, it might be slim pickins as Rodney Hood and Nik Stauskas will be long gone, unless they rob a bank in the next three weeks, and the pool of first-round caliber shooters is pretty shallow. They could instead use the pick to improve their front court situation and find a big body to help spell DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin. Tennessee’s Jarnell Stokes, who spoke with Hoops Rumors back in April, is rising fast up draft boards but could be available at No. 28. Stokes is a bit undersized at 6’9″, but he brings high energy and very tenacious rebounding. Baylor sophomore Isaiah Austin offers rim protection and should also be available in that range, though his lack of physical strength and vision troubles are worrisome.
When it comes to their own free agents, the Clippers would surely like to retain veteran guard Darren Collison, who will decline his one-year player option. The 26-year-old averaged 11.4 points in a career-low 25.9 minutes per game in 2013/14 and was called upon to make 35 starts thanks to the injuries in the Clippers’ starting backcourt. Keeping him could be easier said than done, however, as the Clippers only hold his non-bird rights, meaning that they can only pay him 120% of last season’s paltry salary. Re-signing Collison likely means dipping into the non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception, which they may choose to allocate elsewhere.
Fellow backup guard Jamal Crawford figures to be back and while it’s possible that some players will be anxious to leave L.A. in the wake of this year’s fiasco, the veteran has already come out and said that the ownership issues won’t dissuade him from returning. Of course, the Clippers are unlikely to waive his non-guaranteed deal, so he probably wouldn’t have much of a choice to begin with. Now that the messy situation has finally been resolved – we hope – with Steve Ballmer’s purchase, it stands to reason that no one will hesitate to stay with or join the Clippers.
The Staples Center’s other tenants are armed with Microsoft money now, but they’ll be restricted this summer as they try to build around their talented core. Still, with the right free agent pickup, a good selection at No. 28, and good health, the Clippers can put themselves at the top of the Western Conference next season.
Cap footnotes
* — Collison’s cap hold would be $2,280,000 if he opts out, as he reportedly intends to do.
** — Granger’s cap hold would be $915,243 if he opts out.
*** — The cap hold for Davis would be $915,243 if he opts out.
**** — Crawford’s salary becomes fully guaranteed if he’s not waived on or before June 30th.
***** — Green’s salary becomes fully guaranteed if he’s not waived on or before July 1st.
ShamSports and Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ were used in the creation of this post.
And-Ones: Blatt, Warriors, Mavs, Draft
We heard earlier today that Flip Saunders was likely to pursue renowned European coach David Blatt to join his coaching staff, but the Wolves aren’t the only club with Blatt on their radar. Steve Kerr and the Warriors are in discussions with the offensive guru, relays Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who adds the pair met earlier today to discuss the job. Here’s more from around the league:
- The Mavs might be likely to make a run at a big free agent this summer, but Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News thinks the team should temper expectations and explains why Luol Deng is realistic fit for Dallas.
- Tomas Satoransky, a 2012 second-round pick by the Wizards, has received an invite to play for Washington’s summer league team, writes Ben Standig of CSNWashington.com. Satoransky played well in Spain last season, and the club might be interested in adding him to their roster next season if he proves he’s capable of competing in the NBA.
- Chris Herring of the Wall Street Journal takes a look at why centers and taller forwards have a hard time landing a head coaching gig in the NBA.
- Lance Stephenson is set to hit the open market this summer, and John Zitzler of Basketball Insiders recaps the young guard’s career to this point and explores what the future has in store for him.
- The latest mock draft from HoopsHype has Joel Embiid as the first player selected off the board, followed by Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker respectively.
Atlantic Notes: Fisher, Knicks, MCW, Rondo
Knicks president Phil Jackson sought and obtained permission from Thunder GM Sam Presti to interview Derek Fisher this week, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. The pair spoke on Wednesday and plan to reconvene next week sometime, hears Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. It doesn’t sound as if the discourse has been formal, but talks may quickly pick up after this weekend when Fisher discusses with his family whether or not he’ll retire, suggests Wojnarowski. Here’s more from the Knicks and the Atlantic:
- The Knicks worked out Florida guard Scottie Wilbekin yesterday, reveals Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter).
- Michael Carter-Williams is unfazed by a report indicating that the Sixers have considered trading him and hasn’t directed agent Jeff Schwartz to check with GM Sam Hinkie about the rumor, as the Rookie of the Year tells Tom Moore of Calkins Media.
- Rajon Rondo appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America this morning and admitted that he hopes that the Celtics can make some big changes this offseason to improve the team (Instagram video link). He praised Danny Ainge‘s performance as an executive but also suggested he’s eager to be back playing in the finals soon.
- Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com examines why Nick Johnson’s family ties make the projected second-round pick a good fit to play for the Celtics. Boston doesn’t currently own a second-round selection in the upcoming draft.
- The uncertainty on whether or not upcoming free agent Kyle Lowry is going to return to Toronto will put the Raptors in a difficult decision come draft day, opines Eric Koreen of the National Post.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.