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Week In Review 4/24/16-4/30/16

April 30th, 2016 at 10:25am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Lakers fired head coach Byron Scott on Sunday. Scott just completed a 17-65 season and had a 38-126 record in two years on the Lakers’ bench. The move was a joint decision by GM Mitch Kupchak and executive Jim Buss and reportedly doesn’t signal a shakeup in the front office. Primary owner Jeanie Buss was reportedly an advocate for Scott behind the scenes, but it appears she allowed the basketball department to make its own call. “We would like to thank Byron for his hard work, dedication and loyalty over the last two years, but have decided it is in the best interest of the organization to make a change at this time,” Kupchak said in the team’s official statement.

To replace Scott, Los Angeles hired Warriors assistant Luke Walton as their new head coach.  Walton will begin his new duties at the conclusion of the Warriors season. Los Angeles formally interviewed Walton on Thursday in Oakland. “We’re excited to bring Luke back to Los Angeles, where we feel he’s going to start an outstanding coaching career,” Kupchak said in the team’s official statement. “He’s one of the brightest young coaching minds in the game and we feel fortunate that he’ll be leading the on-court future of our team.”

Here’s a look back at more of the notable events from around the NBA this past week…

NBA Draft News

Underclassmen Entering

Workouts

  • NC State power forward Abdul Malik-Abu has a predraft workout scheduled with the Timberwolves on May 7th.

You can keep track of all the early entrants for the 2016 NBA Draft here.

Miscellaneous News

  • The Wizards officially announced the hiring of Scott Brooks as the team’s new head coach.
  • Deron Williams reportedly plans to turn down his player option worth more than $5.621MM and hit free agency this summer to seek a multiyear contract.
  • Warriors combo forward Kevon Looney underwent a left hip arthroscopy to repair a torn labrum. Looney will begin rehabilitation from the surgery immediately and is expected to be out a minimum of four to six months before returning to basketball activity.
  • The Kings officially named Ken Catanella as their assistant GM.

Awards

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Reactions To Lakers Hiring Luke Walton

April 30th, 2016 at 9:00am CST by Will Joseph

The Lakers hired Warriors assistant Luke Walton on Friday night as their 26th head coach in team history. Walton replaces Byron Scott, who seemed to struggle with developing the team’s young players. At 36, Walton was in high demand around the league among teams with coaching vacancies. The Kings, Rockets and Knicks were all reportedly interested after he posted a 39-4 record for Golden State as acting head coach in Steve Kerr‘s absence.

The hiring has been received positively around the league. Here are some reactions to it …

  • Despite his lack of experience, Walton will be seen as someone who can fix the Lakers, who have won only 65 games the last three years, writes Bill Oram of the Orange County Register. Since the death of Jerry Buss and departure of Phil Jackson, the Lakers front office has had mixed opinions on moves, but by acting quickly, this decision shows confidence, Oram adds.
  • Walton was the only candidate the Lakers interviewed, report Ramona Shelburne and Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com. They had other meetings lined up but canceled them after meeting with Walton on Thursday, Holmes writes. The Lakers hired a young, intelligent and up-and-coming coach from a forward-thinking organization that has had a lot of success, Holmes adds.
  • Walton will be able to relate to players because of his age, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News details. Scott was criticized for his high demands of young players, Medina adds. “It’s going to be real good for us,” Lakers rookie forward Anthony Brown said. “He’ll be pretty hands-on just because he’s close to us in age. He’ll really want to help develop guys.”
  • Walton told Shelburne (ESPN Now link), “I loved everything about my time at Golden State and learning from Steve. I’ll forever be grateful to him, the organization and the team. But I have always dreamed of being a head coach and the chance to do that for an organization like the Lakers doesn’t come around very often.”
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Lakers Hire Luke Walton

April 29th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito
David Banks/USA TODAY Sports Images

David Banks/USA TODAY Sports Images

The Lakers have hired Luke Walton to become their next head coach, the team announced. Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report was the first to report the news (Twitter link). The length and terms of the arrangement are unknown at this time. Walton will begin his new duties at the conclusion of the Warriors season.

Los Angeles formally interviewed Walton on Thursday in Oakland and called off other scheduled interviews after their meeting with the Golden State assistant, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com hears (ESPN Now link). Reports indicated the team had planned to interview David Blatt, had mutual interest with Jeff Van Gundy and saw Ettore Messina as an intriguing alternative if they didn’t land Walton. Roy Williams, John Calipari, Jay Wright, Tom Izzo, Jeff Hornacek, Doug Collins and Kevin Ollie were others the Lakers reportedly eyed.

“We’re excited to bring Luke back to Los Angeles, where we feel he’s going to start an outstanding coaching career,” GM Mitch Kupchak said in the team’s statement. “He’s one of the brightest young coaching minds in the game and we feel fortunate that he’ll be leading the on-court future of our team.”

Despite his relative lack of coaching experience, Walton was in high demand around the league among teams with coaching vacancies. The Kings, Rockets and Knicks were all reportedly interested in the Warriors assistant after he posted a 39-4 record as acting head coach in Steve Kerr‘s absence, including a 24-0 start, the best beginning to a campaign in NBA history.

Walton, 36, becomes the 26th head coach in Lakers history. The son of NBA legend Bill Walton, Luke spent 10 years in the NBA as a player, notching averages of 4.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 564 regular season games with the Lakers and Cavaliers. The younger Walton was a member of championship teams with the Lakers in 2009 and 2010. After his playing career, Walton served as a player development coach for the D-League Los Angeles D-Fenders during the 2013/14 season before moving on to the Warriors for 2014/15. He was also an assistant coach at the University of Memphis during the 2011 lockout.

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And-Ones: Howard, Celtics, Curry

April 29th, 2016 at 10:17pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite losing to the Hawks in the first round of the NBA playoffs, the Celtics feel that they’ve made progress as an organization this season, Kyle Hightower of The Associated Press relays. “You go from … under .500 and barely making the playoffs and kind of eking in at the end by winning six straight, to being in the mix for being a top-four seed in the East. And so yes, there’s progress,” coach Brad Stevens said. Stevens also added that expectations for the team will be raised for next season after reaching the playoffs the past two springs, Hightower notes. “People have told me all along there’s two really tough tasks, right? One is getting to be a very good, competitive team at a top 10-15 level on offense and defense and give yourself a chance to be in the discussion we’re in now. And that’s been a path in the last three years to get there,” Stevens said.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • The Magic should resist sentimentality and decline to pursue center Dwight Howard this summer if the big man opts out of his deal, as he is expected to do, opines Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. While Orlando’s fans may push for the team to ink Howard in their desperation for the Magic to land a star player, the center’s lack of post game and diminishing physical skills should give the team pause when considering a reunion with the veteran, Robbins adds.
  • The Rockets appear open to retaining Howard, despite chemistry between him and James Harden that’s “cordially bad,” as Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com relays (via Twitter). “I’d say we need a great player to go with James [Harden] and Dwight Howard is a great player so it’s for sure an option we’re looking at,” Houston GM Daryl Morey told reporters. Howard would reportedly prefer to remain with the Rockets, but at least four other teams seem to be more likely options.
  • Warriors superstar Stephen Curry told reporters that he is “feeling better” since spraining his MCL, and he’s trying to return to action before the team’s target date of May 9th, writes Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN.com. “Feeling better but just got a ways to go,” Curry said. “I always have an optimistic view, no matter what it is. I hope to get back sooner. I haven’t talked to the doctors, athletic training staff, all the experts. That two-week timeline was, as [GM] Bob [Myers] says, an educated guess.”
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Celtics Notes: Turner, Zeller, Johnson

April 29th, 2016 at 8:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Evan Turner is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, but he hopes his time on the open market is short and ends with him returning to the Celtics, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE. “It [free agency] starts July 1st, hopefully it’s over July 1st,” Turner said. “I want to go somewhere and have an opportunity to win. Money’s cool, but I don’t want to sit there getting our brains beaten in and doing all that. I want to go somewhere ideally where the staff and front office [are] big on winning. Hopefully it’s back here. Other than that, winning and great fit are going to be the most important things.”

The swingman is likely to see his annual salary jump to the $10MM range, Blakely contends, and that would be a healthy raise over the $3,425,510 he earned this past campaign. “It’s going to be way better than it was two years ago,” Turner said of his free agency. “It should be cool. I haven’t really thought about it. I don’t know really what I think about during the day, but I know it’s not that. I’ll once again stay out of trouble until then and try to keep bettering myself and growing.”

Here’s more out of Boston:

  • Tyler Zeller is eligible to become a restricted free agent this offseason and is open to re-signing with the Celtics, who’ll have the right to match any offer the big man were to receive provided they submit a qualifying offer, Blakely relays in a separate piece. “It’s a great organization, a great place to be,” Zeller said. “So we’ll see what happens.” When asked if Boston wanted him back next season, Zeller said, “I would hope so. You always hope a team wants you back. I would think they would. But at the same time, when July comes around, we’ll really see. When those negotiations start. Until then, you can say whatever you want. Until then, we’ll see what happens.”
  • Amir Johnson‘s 2016/17 salary of $12MM is non-guaranteed, which makes him a candidate to be waived if the Celtics require more cap space for free agent pursuits this summer. But the power forward echoed the sentiments of Turner and Zeller, noting that he would definitely prefer to be playing in Boston next season, as Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe relays (via Twitter).
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Western Notes: Malik-Abu, Catanella, Ollie

April 29th, 2016 at 7:06pm CST by Eddie Scarito

N.C. State power forward Abdul Malik-Abu has a predraft workout scheduled for May 7th with the Timberwolves, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The 20-year-old is a potential second-round pick this June, with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranking him as the No. 26 sophomore overall. Malik-Abu appeared in 33 games for the Wolfpack and averaged 12.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 28.3 minutes per outing. His shooting line on the campaign was .490/.000/.630.

Here’s more from out West:

  • Ken Catanella, who was named the Kings‘ assistant GM on Thursday, will be Sacramento’s salary cap specialist in addition to assisting with personnel decisions and day-to-day operations, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Catanella said he’s excited to work with executive Vlade Divac and assist in his vision for the franchise, Jones adds. “For me it’s all a part of wanting to be bigger part of something bigger than ourselves,” Catanella said.
  • Despite the competition between franchises for available head coaches, the Rockets don’t intend to rush their search, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “We’re going to get the coach search right. We’re not going to do something quickly,” GM Daryl Morey told reporters.
  • Morey also told the media that unnamed NBA teams have put out negative information about the Rockets in order to hurt them in free agency, while downplaying the chemistry issues Houston has reportedly had this season, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link).
  • UConn coach Kevin Ollie, who is reportedly interested in the Lakers’ vacant coaching post, told Christian Vital, a player he is recruiting, that he intends to remain at the university next season, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv relays. “Basically [Ollie], he’s texted me before 9 every day this week,” Vital told Scout.com. “Just letting me know about he Lakers situation and that he loves me and he’s staying at UConn. That really means something to me, to have that kind of relationship with the head coach, knowing he has a million things to do.“
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Community Shootaround: Evan Turner

April 29th, 2016 at 5:53pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Evan Turner has never lived up to the expectations that come with being the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA Draft, but that doesn’t mean that the swingman doesn’t provide value to his squad on a nightly basis. The 27-year-old is coming off a solid campaign for the Celtics that saw him average 10.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 28.0 minutes per outing, while primarily coming off the bench for Boston. While Turner’s numbers aren’t necessarily eye-popping, he was a vital cog in the Celtics’ rotation this season and was my choice for this season’s Sixth Man of the Year award that went to the Clippers’ Jamal Crawford.

Turner, who earned $3,425,510 this season, is set to become an unrestricted free agent and could be in line for a starting salary of over $10MM per year on his next contract, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. “You hear players talk all the time about doing whatever it takes to win, but he’s doing it,” one NBA executive told Blakely regarding Turner. “Start, come off the bench, play a few minutes, play a lot of minutes. He’s done everything they’ve asked him to do and from what I hear hasn’t grumbled a day about it. Every team needs a guy like that in their locker room.”

“If you’re looking for him to come in and put X amount of points and X amount of assists per game and [shoot] this or that from the field, he’s probably not your guy,” another executive told the CSN scribe regarding the future unrestricted free agent. “He helps you win games. That’s probably his greatest strength.”

This brings me to the topic for today: How much is Evan Turner worth on the open market?

Turner may not put up gaudy statistics and he isn’t capable of being a team’s primary scoring option on a nightly basis, but his versatile skill set certainly allows him to be a solid contributor on a winning team. With the salary cap set to increase significantly next season, the league should see some interesting deals inked this offseason, with quite a few players assuredly set to end up with player-friendly pacts over the summer. But how much will Turner be worth on his next deal and what team would be the best landing spot for him? Take to the comments section to share your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say.

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2015/16 D-League Usage Report: Mavericks

April 29th, 2016 at 4:36pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams had one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those NBA organizations without their own affiliates were required to assign players to D-League clubs associated with other NBA franchises. D-League teams could volunteer to take on the assigned players, and if no volunteers emerged, the players were assigned at random.

This significant change from the 2014/15 season came about after the Pacers purchased the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and turned them into their one-to-one partner for the 2015/16 campaign. Other NBA teams have interest in following suit in the years ahead, and the NBA’s ultimate goal for the D-League is for all 30 NBA franchises to have their own D-League squads. You can view the complete list of D-League affiliates here.

We at Hoops Rumors are recapping the D-League-related activity for the 2015/16 campaign for each team and we’ll continue with the Dallas Mavericks, whose D-League affiliate is the Texas Legends:

The Mavs made 18 assignments for the 2015/16 campaign, sending three players to the D-League for a total of 20 days. Listed below are all the assignments and recalls made by Dallas for the 2015/16 season:

Here is how the Mavs’ players performed while on assignment to the D-League this season:

  • Justin Anderson: In seven D-League appearances, the swingman averaged 23.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 38.3 minutes per outing. Anderson’s shooting line was .460/.333/.792.
  • Jeremy Evans: In four contests for the Legends, Evans notched averages of 16.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 35.8 minutes per game. His slash line was .500/.389/.727.
  • Salah Mejri: The center appeared in eight D-League games on the season and averaged 8.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.9 blocks in 23.8 minutes per contest. Mejri’s shooting line was .566/.125/.875.
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Kings Coaching Search Primer: All The Names

April 29th, 2016 at 3:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

George Karl‘s 14-month tenure as Kings coach was tumultuous, to say the least, and uncertainty has similarly marked the search to replace him. Reports have identified 21 candidates, including Tom Thibodeau, Scott Brooks and Kenny Atkinson, who’ve since taken other NBA head coaching jobs. GM Vlade Divac apparently wants to make a hire by sometime next week, but that seems like a daunting challenge, given all the names he’s sorting through.

Here’s a look where the Kings stand with each reported candidate, aside from the three who are already off the market:

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Eastern Notes: Durant, Brooks, Clifford

April 29th, 2016 at 1:48pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Celtics believe they’ll get a meeting with Kevin Durant this summer, but they understand they won’t have any realistic shot at him if they don’t secure a commitment to acquire another star first, The Vertical’s Chris Mannix writes. Boston is on the fringes of the race for the former MVP who’s poised to hit free agency this summer, though the belief has been widespread that come July the Celtics will end up on Durant’s radar, at least, as Mannix has previously reported.

See more from the Eastern Conference:

  • Scott Brooks had already decided he wanted the Wizards job if it were to be offered to him when team executives Ernie Grunfeld and Tommy Sheppard flew to California to recruit him in what turned out to be a 10-hour meeting, writes Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. “I got everything I wanted, and I wasn’t looking for anything else,” said Brooks, whom the Wizards officially hired this week. “This is where I wanted to be.”
  • The identity of the coach means little in free agent recruiting, but muted though it may be, the presence of Steve Clifford has a positive impact on the way players view the Hornets, observes Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Clifford, like Terry Stotts of the Trail Blazers and Quin Snyder of the Jazz, makes a small-market team attractive through his ability to get the most out of players and increase their market value, Wojnarowski writes. The Hornets signed Clifford in November to an extension that ties him to Charlotte through at least the 2018/19 season.
  • T.J. McConnell‘s contract with the Sixers is non-guaranteed for next year, and he wound up seeing less than 20 minutes per game after a revelatory start to the season, but he was a bright spot and has a fan in coach Brett Brown, notes Jessica Camerato of CSN Philly. “The thing that I respect most about him is that he epitomizes that quality that I think might be the No. 1 thing that we need: day-to-day guys, people that you know what you’re getting,” Brown said. “He’s steady, he’s stable, he’s personality, he’s tough, he brings that edge to a game, to a practice, to a locker room. I just respect him. That’s just how he’s wired.”
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