Jamahl Mosley has interviewed for head coaching jobs before, but he said the experience with the Magic was different because of the relationships involved. In an interview with Josh Robbins of The Athletic, Mosley talks about his prior experience with president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman in Denver and front office official Anthony Parker in Cleveland.
“I started to sense that there was a little bit of a joy to where it was going,” said Mosley, who was officially hired Sunday morning. “That happened after the second or third interview. It felt good. And I met the DeVos family, and you just saw family. That’s when it really kind of set in.”
Mosley chose to sidestep a question about the end of his time in Dallas, where he served as an assistant to Rick Carlisle for the past seven years. There was an expectation that Mosley might become the Mavericks‘ next head coach when Carlisle left for Indiana, but the front office chose Jason Kidd instead.
“It’s me moving forward, and that’s the best thing,” Mosley said. “I’m moving into a situation that allows me to grow, allows me to walk into exactly what I started out doing, and that’s developing and helping young men become better individuals on and off the court.”
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- The Magic, who hold picks No. 5 and 8 in this year’s lottery, brought in Florida State forward Scottie Barnes for a private workout over the weekend, Robbins tweets. Barnes is ranked sixth on ESPN’s big board and is considered a possible top-five pick.
- With Bradley Beal eligible for free agency next summer, the Wizards may value veteran help more than the No. 15 pick they hold in the draft, writes Fred Katz of The Athletic. He notes that not many teams are willing to part with useful players in exchange for a mid-round draft choice, but he proposes a few trades involving the Knicks, Lakers, Hawks, Grizzlies and Pacers.
- Hawks forward Danilo Gallinari has confirmed on Instagram that he will play in the Tokyo Olympics. Gallinari has been representing Italy in international competitions since he was a teenager, but this will be his first Olympic Games.
- The Hornets are hosting six players today in a pre-draft workout, according to a tweet from the team. Taking part are West Virginia’s Derek Culver, prep school player Jimma Gatwech, Nikita Mikhailovskii of Avtodor (Russia), UNC-Greensboro’s Isaiah Miller, Georgetown’s Jamorko Pickett and Kentucky’s Olivier Sarr.
DAL dodge the bullet there, thank goodness they picked J-Kidd instead of Mosley!!!