Kings To Interview Henry Bibby
The Kings will interview Henry Bibby for their head coaching vacancy, reports Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). Jones reported last week that the team had reached out to the former USC head coach who’s served as an NBA assistant for multiple clubs. The interview, which Jones hears will take place Monday (Twitter link), is one of several the Kings are conducting in a wide-ranging search.
Bibby, 66, last served as an NBA coach during the 2013/14 season, when he was an assistant for the Pistons under Maurice Cheeks and later interim coach John Loyer. He was previously an assistant for the Sixers and Grizzlies after serving parts of 10 seasons as head coach at USC, where he went 132-120 and made three NCAA Tournament appearances. He’s also coached extensively in minor leagues and was a scout for the then-Bullets in the 1980s. Bibby is the father of former Kings point guard Mike Bibby.
Sam Mitchell, Vinny Del Negro and Mike Woodson have already interviewed, and Kevin McHale has spoken extensively with the team, as I noted when I rounded up reports on the expansive coaching search last week, and it would appear as though David Blatt‘s interview took place Monday. The team reportedly has plans to interview Patrick Ewing, Mark Jackson, Nate McMillan, Jeff Hornacek and Corliss Williamson. The Kings apparently plan to at least speak with Ettore Messina, too. Sacramento has reportedly received permission from the Grizzlies to interview assistant Elston Turner, but USA Today’s Sam Amick reported Monday that he’s a candidate to serve as lead assistant for the Kings, casting doubt on the idea that he’s in the running for the head coaching job.
Jay Larranaga, Brian Shaw, Ime Udoka, Jeff Van Gundy and Monty Williams are the other reported candidates who haven’t already taken jobs elsewhere.
Pacific Notes: Messina, Rivers, Walton
Spurs assistant coach Ettore Messina declined comment Monday on a report that the Kings plan to speak with him this week about their head coaching vacancy, other than to make it clear that he’s content in San Antonio, as Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News relays. Sacramento has no shortage of other candidates for its vacancy, but Kings GM Vlade Divac is said to be especially fond of Messina. “There is nothing more I can tell you other than that I am very, very happy [with the Spurs],” Messina said.
See more from around the Pacific Division:
- Austin Rivers has a strong draw to the Clippers as he approaches free agency this summer, since his dad is Doc Rivers, the coach and president of basketball operations, but he also feels a kinship with Jamal Crawford, as Rowan Kavner of Clippers.com details. Crawford is likewise heading into free agency but has said he’d like to re-sign with the Clippers. “He’s the best teammate I’ve ever had, man,” Austin Rivers said of Crawford. “A lot of people doubted me when I came to L.A. a year ago. People thought I was just getting a chance because of my father. Jamal believed in me, man.”
- The performance Austin Rivers put forth for the Clippers in Friday’s Game 6 despite a gruesome eye injury was a strong final impression that stands to increase his free agent value, contends Robert Morales of the Long Beach Press-Telegram.
- Luke Walton‘s track record is short, but he gives the Lakers hope, and it won’t take much for him to top the performance of Byron Scott, opines Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com, who calls Scott one of the worst coaches in recent memory.
Kris Jenkins Pulls Out Of Draft
MAY 3RD, 10:22am: Jenkins has withdrawn from the draft as planned, the school announced.
APRIL 15TH, 8:16am: NCAA Tournament hero Kris Jenkins plans to withdraw from this year’s draft and return to Villanova, as he said to Stephen Rocco Disangro this week at the Philadelphia Big 5 Banquet (YouTube link; hat tip to Chris Lane of SB Nation’s VU Hoops blog and Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com). The junior combo forward confirmed he’s decided to go through the predraft process, as new NCAA rules allow him to do, but he’ll pull out before the May 25th NCAA draft withdrawal deadline and won’t hire an agent. That will allow him to retain his college eligibility even as he participates in workouts with NBA teams and, if invited, the NBA combine.
Jenkins wouldn’t stand much chance of getting drafted if he were to stay in. He’s the 128th-best prospect in Chad Ford’s ESPN.com listings. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress doesn’t include the junior in his rankings. The 6’6″ 22-year-old was 78th in the Recruiting Services Consensus Index coming out of high school, and while he overhauled his conditioning during his three years at Villanova, he’s yet to emerge as a top-level pro prospect.
Still, the buzzer-beating shot he made in the NCAA Tournament final to give the Wildcats the national championship earlier this month earned him no shortage of name recognition, and he played a major role for Villanova throughout the season, his first as a starter. He put up 13.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 28.4 minutes per game with 38.6% 3-point shooting. The Wildcats won the title despite a highly unusual lack of surefire NBA talent.
Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Detroit Pistons
It’s no secret by now that the Pistons will keep Andre Drummond officially unsigned as long as they can to maintain his relatively paltry cap hold instead of a max-salary figure on their books. The maneuver will give the Pistons an opportunity to open cap space, but it won’t be a massive amount. They’ll most likely have less than $20MM to spend against a projected $92MM cap, which wouldn’t be enough for even the lowest tier of max salaries, and with eight players on the roster who have fully guaranteed salaries, not including Drummond, don’t expect drastic changes unless they come by trade. The Pistons have nearly $5MM in non-guaranteed salary to four players, giving them plenty of trade ballast, if necessary. See how Detroit’s cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues its offseason salary cap digest series.
Guaranteed salary
- Tobias Harris ($17,200,000)
- Reggie Jackson ($14,956,522)
- Aron Baynes ($6,500,000)
- Jodie Meeks ($6,540,000)
- (Josh Smith $5,331,729) — Salary remaining from release via stretch provision
- Marcus Morris ($4,625,000)
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($3,678,319)
- Stanley Johnson ($2,969,880)
- Reggie Bullock ($2,255,644)
- Darrun Hilliard ($500,000) — Partial guarantee; non-guaranteed portion listed below
- Total: $64,557,094
Player options
- None
Team options
- None
Non-guaranteed salary
- Joel Anthony ($2,500,000)
- Lorenzo Brown ($1,015,696)
- Spencer Dinwiddie ($980,431)
- Darrun Hilliard ($374,636) — Partial guarantee; guaranteed portion listed above
- Total: $4,870,763
Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)
- Andre Drummond ($4,433,683/$8,180,228)
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Anthony Tolliver ($3,900,000)
- Steve Blake ($2,821,605)
- Total: $6,721,605
Other Cap Holds
- No. 18 pick ($1,420,100)
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Northwest Notes: Stotts, Kaman, Donovan
Agent Warren LeGarie will make a hard push to secure a long-term extension for Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts, and he hinted that he won’t be afraid to shop his client to other teams if Portland doesn’t show interest, as Kerry Eggers of The Portland Tribune relays. Stotts has one more year left on his contract, but it’s a team option that the Blazers have yet to pick up.
“You would hope his body of work says it all,” LeGarie said to Eggers. “This time, we’re probably going to take a bit of a stand. You can’t keep putting him in [a lame-duck] position. I’m hoping [Blazers owner Paul Allen and GM Neil Olshey] feel the same way. I’m always optimistic. If they’re not interested, there are a lot of teams that will be.”
LeGarie represents both Stotts and Olshey but insists that isn’t an issue, as Eggers details. Olshey has insisted that no contract talks will take place during the season even though he received an extension from the Blazers in January 2015, Eggers points out. Stotts doesn’t seem too concerned, acknowledging that many coaches end up in lame-duck situations as he expressed his affection for the city and the organization.
See more from Portland amid the latest from the Northwest Division:
- Soon-to-be free agent Chris Kaman has clashed with his coaches before, but the Blazers veteran is a strong advocate for Stotts, as Eggers chronicles in the same piece. “They should rip up his contract and give him a five-year deal — in player terms, a max deal,” Kaman said. “That’s my guy. He does a great job, and honestly, who thought we’d get 30 wins with this team, let alone 44? It’s a testament to what him and his staff are doing, and also to the players. We have a good group of guys. Everybody fits well. It’s been a pretty good year for everybody.”
- The Thunder often struggle down the stretch in close games and it took new coach Billy Donovan time to calibrate his rotation and substitutions, but the first-year NBA bench boss succeeded at incorporating more ball-sharing into the offense and overcame absences from two veteran assistants, USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt details.
- The Nuggets are in favorable position to contend for a playoff spot next season, as Bobby Marks of The Vertical opines in his Summer Agenda series. The franchise has hit the mark on building its roster and finding a long-term head coach but shouldn’t get impatient with the process, Marks continues. The team has three of the top 19 picks in the draft but must exercise caution in parlaying those picks for an immediate impact player, Marks adds.
Dana Gauruder contributed to this post.
Kings To Interview Corliss Williamson
7:59am: The interview with Williamson will take place this week, sources told Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee.
9:58pm: Kings assistant coach Corliss Williamson will receive a formal interview for the head coaching job, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Kings are also conducting interviews this week with David Blatt, Mark Jackson, Jeff Hornacek and Patrick Ewing for their opening, league sources told Stein (Twitter link).
Williamson has been an assistant coach with the Kings since the 2013/14. Prior to joining Sacramento’s staff, the 42-year-old Williamson was the head coach at Central Arkansas. Williamson began his playing career with the Kings in 1995 and played for five teams, winning a championship with the Pistons in 2004.
Willliamson would seem to be a long shot, considering all the big names under consideration for the position. He’s the only known candidate from George Karl’s staff.
Pacers assistant Nate McMillan is also expected to get an interview in the near future. Other possible contenders for the job, as Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors detailed last week, include Henry Bibby, Vinny Del Negro, Jay Larranaga, Kevin McHale, Ettore Messina, Sam Mitchell, Brian Shaw, Elston Turner, Ime Udoka, Jeff Van Gundy, Monty Williams and Mike Woodson.
Blatt is also expected to interview with the Rockets, and he’s under consideration for the Knicks’ job.
Community Shootaround: Expansion
The NBA has not seriously looked at expansion in recent years and seems content with its current 30-team setup. The league hasn’t added an expansion team since 2004, when the Charlotte Bobcats were created.
That’s a shame for major cities currently without NBA franchises that have the capability of supporting them.
Commissioner Adam Silver recently addressed the topic and doubted that expansion would be coming any time soon. Current owners feel that adding franchises would detract from their global following.
“The way the owners see expansion at the moment is really the equivalent of selling equity in the [league],” Silver said.
Silver also admitted that not all of the current teams are “must-see experiences” and that additional teams would lead to a watered-down product with the top talent spread thin. However, Silver did not shoot down the possibility of expansion.
“I don’t think the there is any doubt that at some point we will turn back to looking at whether we should grow the league,” he said.
That process could be accelerated during negotiations with the National Basketball Players’ Association, which has every incentive to add more high-paying jobs through expansion.
Seattle, which lost its franchise to Oklahoma City, would certainly get serious consideration if the NBA decided to expand. But plenty of other cities can also make strong cases for inclusion. St. Louis, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Buffalo, San Diego, Louisville, Nashville and Kansas City all seem like viable options, as many of those cities previously had NBA or ABA franchises.
Las Vegas has been clamoring for a major pro sports franchise and the NBA could even take an international view. Regular season games have been played in London with an enthusiastic response. Logistics aside, that would be a bold step for a league that has always taken a worldwide view with its product.
This leads us to our question of the day: If the NBA decides to expand in the near future, which city is most deserving of a franchise?
Please take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the subject. We look forward to what you have to say.
Prospect Profile: Demetrius Jackson (Part Two)
PROJECTED DRAFT RANGE: There’s an unusually wide gap between where Jackson lands on ESPN Insider Chad Ford’s Big Board and DraftExpress’ Jonathan Givony’s Top 100 Prospect list. Ford currently ranks him as a mid- to late first-round prospect at No. 23 overall and No. 5 among point guards. Jamal Murray, Kris Dunn, Dejounte Murray and Tyler Ulis are slotted ahead of Jackson on Ford’s Big Board. Givony has a much more optimistic view, pegging Jackson at No. 11 overall and third among point guards behind only Dunn and Murray. According the updated point guard rankings by NBA.com’s David Aldridge, Jackson ranks sixth among point guards with Kay Felder also ahead of him.
RISE/FALL: As the disparity in his draft range suggests, Jackson could go in the lottery or drop all the way to the second round, depending upon what he shows in predraft workouts. Jamal Murray and Dunn are solidly in the Top 10 but teams are likely to bring in the next level of point guard prospects and see how they fare against each other. Jackson has to show he can overcome his lack of height defensively by using his strength and quick feet. He also has to prove to coaches and executives that he’s an above-average shooter from deep. His stock could simply be dictated by how much teams value a second-unit point guard, since few view him as a starter-quality player, at least for right now.
FIT: Several teams projected at the bottom half of the lottery could take a long look at Jackson. The Kings, who might lose soon-to-be free agent Rajon Rondo, would fit that group if Dunn and Jamal Murray are off the board. The Bulls might bring in a young point guard to back up Derrick Rose, especially with Rose entering his walk year. There’s also some uncertainty about the Bucks’ point guard situation. Outside the lottery, the Pistons are clearly in the market for a second-stringer behind Reggie Jackson. The Grizzlies may need to protect themselves from the possible free agency loss of Mike Conley and the Rockets need a complementary piece to starter Patrick Beverley.
FINAL TAKE: There seems to be little doubt that Jackson can carve out a career as an energetic second-unit point guard. He might be the most athletic point guard on the board. But a lack of upside could cause him to drop to the bottom third of the first round, or even slide to the second round. As Ford puts it in his most recent take on Jackson, he doesn’t have one skill that stands out, but he has very few weaknesses.
For Part One of our Demetrius Jackson Prospect Profile, click here.
Prospect Profile: Demetrius Jackson (Part One)
OVERVIEW: Demetrius Jackson took over as Notre Dame’s floor leader as a junior and emerged as a first-round prospect. Jackson led the Irish to the Elite Eight despite some struggles offensively during the latter stages of the season. He finished his college career with a 26-point performance against North Carolina and averaged 15.8 points, 4.7 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals for the season. Jackson played steady minutes as a sophomore, though current Knicks point guard Jerian Grant was the team’s primary ballhandler. Jackson was also a rotation player as a freshman after being a highly touted prep star, ranking No. 33 overall in his class, according to the Recruiting Services Consensus Index. At 6’1”, the 21-year-old Jackson is smaller than the prototypical NBA point guard.
STRENGTHS: Like most smaller point guards, Jackson relies on his quickness and athleticism. He’s got superior explosion, allowing him to get into the paint and create havoc. That will serve him well in a pick-and-roll reliant NBA scheme. It also works well in the transition game, where he’s nearly impossible to catch as he converts layups or finds trailers for dunks. ESPN Insider Chad Ford credits Jackson for his pass-first mentality, decision-making and a knack for making his teammates better. DraftExpress’ Jonathan Givony notes that while Jackson is small, he’s powerfully built and can finish through contact. His outstanding leaping ability allows him to be on the receiving end of lobs. He also moves well without the ball and is a solid shooter off the catch, with Givony pointing out that he made 41% of his shots with his feet set. Turnovers were not a big issue for Jackson, as he averaged 2.2 as a junior while playing 36 minutes per game. Jackson has also impressed talent evaluators with his competitiveness, according to NBA.com’s David Aldridge.
WEAKNESSES: Jackson’s 3-point shooting dropped off dramatically when tasked with running Notre Dame’s methodical offense this season. He made 33.1% of his long-range shots as a junior, compared to 42.9% in his sophomore year. Jackson’s lack of height could obviously be an issue when he’s guarding tall point guards, and he’ll be an even bigger liability when he’s forced to switch. Jackson can also be over-reliant on his quickness, rather than playing at a more controlled pace. As one NBA executive told Aldridge, “He always tries to blow by you. It’s like a pitcher that keeps throwing 100 miles an hour.” In contrast to Ford’s evaluation, Givony believes that Jackson has displayed average court vision and misses some easy reads. That’s due to Jackson still searching for the right balance between running the offense and finding his own shot.
For Part 2 of our Demetrius Jackson Prospect Profile, click here.
And-Ones: Benson, Scott, Timberwolves
A judge’s ruling last year that Pelicans owner Tom Benson is mentally competent to run the team has been affirmed by the Louisiana Supreme Count, reports Katherine Sayre of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. The higher court refused to hear an appeal Monday by his estranged family members to have the 88-year-old declared incompetent to run his affairs. Those family members have tried to convince the courts that Benson, who also owns the NFL’s Saints, has been unduly influenced by his third wife, Gayle, and a group of Saints executives.
In other news around the league:
- Former Lakers coach Byron Scott admitted on Dan Patrick’s radio show that he was “a little blindsided” by their decision to let him go after the season (YouTube link). Scott was under the impression he would have “two or three years” to get the team headed in the right direction but added he didn’t have “any ill-will feelings towards the organization.”
- The Timberwolves have never enjoyed more reason for optimism in the franchise’s history than now, opines Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. They have hired a top-level coach in Tom Thibodeau, possess a wealth of young talent and practice in a new, state-of-the-art facility, Souhan points out. All those factors provide real hope that the team will soon be a powerhouse in the Western Conference, Souhan concludes.
- Power forward Trevor Booker, center Jeff Withey and small forward Chris Johnson have a cloudy future with the Jazz, writes Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News. None of those players has guaranteed contracts for next season and GM Dennis Lindsey strongly hinted that he expects Booker to sign with another team, Sorensen continues. Point guard Shelvin Mack is another player without a guaranteed deal, but the Jazz are expected to retain him on his salary of about $2.433MM.
- Florida State combo guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes has opted to return to school, tweets Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. Rathan-Mayes, who was not considered a Top 100 prospect by either ESPN Insider Chad Ford or DraftExpress’ Jonathan Givony, decided to test the draft waters in early April.