The job security of Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley has been one of the bigger points of speculation around the league for some time, and it remains widely expected that he will take the blame for Orlando’s first-round exit, writes Marc Stein in a recent edition of The Stein Line (subscriber link).
As far who would take over should Mosley be let go, Stein notes that there have been rumors since before he left the Bulls about Billy Donovan taking the job, which he was first offered in 2007. Another name of interest for Orlando is Michigan head coach Dusty May, though Stein notes that the expectation is May will remain with Michigan after winning the national championship this year.
As for Mosley, Stein cites a previous report from Jake Fischer about the Pelicans‘ ongoing interest in bringing the Magic head coach into the fold if he becomes a free agent.
We have more league-wide news from Stein:
- The Nuggets will have to look in the mirror and figure out what comes next after losing in Round 1. Stein confirms reports that head coach David Adelman‘s job is expected to be safe, but adds that Denver is rumored to be open to any trade possibilities that would improve the athleticism and defense around star Nikola Jokic.
- The Bulls are close to reaching their decision regarding their head of basketball operations search, and while many people believe the Timberwolves’ Matt Lloyd is the frontrunner, Dennis Lindsey, Bryson Graham, and Dave Lewin remain in the running for the position.
- As the Mavericks look to find their long-term head of operations, owner Patrick Dumont is hoping to hire the splashiest name possible in an attempt to put Nico Harrison‘s tenure firmly in the rear view mirror, Stein reports. It appears unlikely that the Mavs will get to interview their top choice, the Wolves’ Tim Connelly, or their second choice, Bob Myers. Still, Stein muses about how unavailable Connelly truly is and whether his future contract extension talks will come into play. Former owner Mark Cuban has endorsed Detroit’s Lindsey in the past, but the team has yet to seek permission to interview him. Finally, Stein notes that the Mavs could choose one of their co-interim GMs, Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley, for the position. Dumont has stated previously that he intends to fill the position by mid-May.
- A decision is imminent for Steve Kerr and his future with the Warriors. Stein reports that ESPN has been recruiting Golden State’s coach to return to his role as a broadcaster, but the team is expected to meet with him as soon as Monday and has been operating as if he’s likely to return.
Steve back on ESPN would be the best result for all parties. He can talk about how much he hates Trump from a media platform.
50/50 he comes back to the warriors. With them doing some heavy evaluation of drafting a prospect sounds like he is told you got to win with we got.
I think if they get Lebron, Kawhi and Giannis then Kerr can stay, because we know his style works with all-stars, but if they hold onto this and next years draft picks, then they are going to need a college guy like Todd Golden, along with Andre Iguodala as his assistant. Splitter is another guy I’d like to have aboard.
Kerr has never worked for ESPN. Curry really does not like Trump. I guess they need to get rid of him also. Iggy made it pretty clear that he has absolutely no interest in coaching. He is way to busy.
Forget the has beens…….Leonard OK…….don’t mortgage your future for injury prone Giannis or one year of James
I’d trade more rings for “the future”. Also James Wiseman exists. Also Kuminga+Moody+Jerome+whoever else Kerr could not unlock. If they plan on draft+keep then Kerr gotta go.
Giannis is “injury prone” now? What? That is a pure lie. This season was his first injured season, he cleared 60 games in every other season. Explain why you lied.
Bringing Kerr back just to push 2.0 over the edge and permanently into Bedlam.
Maybe they should give him more of a say in who they draft. He hasn’t had that.
oh dope, but i bet he spends most of his time talking about basketball
Cam Thomas would be the perfect guy for Denver to bring in, especially if THJ leaves in free agency. Malik Beasley if Cam isn’t feasible. Both proven big time scorers that would play really well off Jokic. Speaking of bringing back former Nuggets that play well off Jokic, Denver should definitely bring back Gary Harris as well. He played as well in the 2man game w/ Jokic than maybe anybody in the big man’s career tbh. Any of those guys would be pretty cheap to sign, Harris & Beasley would most likely go for the vet min.
Trading Cam Johnson to Charlotte for Tidjane Salaun & Josh Green could work for both teams as well… link to youtube.com
Cam Thomas? Gary Harris? These guys couldn’t get minutes on a Milwaukee roster that was completely devoid of talent.
One-dimensional, undersized shooting guards are not the answer to Denver’s problems.
Milwaukee’s roster wasn’t completely devoid of talent. That’s a ridiculous statement.
Gary Harris isn’t 1-dimensional or undersized but guys like him, Cam & Malik would all definitely be answers to the problem of THJ leaving in free agency & the overall lack of backcourt production outside of Murray.
Go and look at the guys Milwaukee gave minutes to last year – it wasn’t pretty.
Anywho, there’s a reason Gary Harris has averaged double digit points only once in the last 6 seasons. There’s also a reason Cam Thomas was let go (for nothing) from two organizations within a couple of months.
Malik Monk can still produce but he’s still owed $40mil and probably isn’t worth that.
Looks like you’ve thrown names into a hat and pulled them out at random – no chance you’ve actually seen these guys play.
Milwaukee were probably the worst-coached team in the NBA. Hard to assess their players when pretty much all of them underperformed.
I don’t hate Cam Thomas to Denver. One thing Jokic can’t stand is when his teammates are passive, don’t make plays, and just look for somebody to generate a look for them. That’s one of the reasons Cam Johnson has been a disappointment. He spent too much time standing on the perimeter waiting for an open shot and had little participation in games outside of sets designed to involve him.
Cam Thomas is not like that, he will take matters into his hands, for better or for worse. Denver could use a player like him. Westbrook has been decent for them, with all his flaws.
They’ll get Bogi.
Clippers won’t pick up his team option and he’s old and been poor the last couple years. He will take the minimum and go try win a title with his countryman Jokic.
He could turn it around and be decent in a new environment where he is more happy and settled. Not going to be a sixth man of the year candidate but could go back to being an efficient 12-2-3 kinda guy
Pretty sure there was a report a while back that Bogi was likely to go back to EU.
Where’s the guy who arguing me up and down about Mosley being a good coach. Dude single-handedly lost a 3-1 lead and couldn’t close out Detroit. He will be fired by Friday
Losing your second best player was big part of the collapse. I’m not sure the Magic are that good to begin with. Franz was out a big chunk of the year and Bane and Suggs were mostly terrible all year without him. Magic just kind of played like they did most of the regular season. Suggs in particular hit so many shots the first 4 games he has no business taking or making. Suggs really isn’t starter quality nba pg at this moment in his development. He could get there by calming down his atrocious decision making, but he seems way too stubborn in my humble opinion.
Not even with Franz. They have the talent they showed it. I don’t know what games you were watching. The magic were in every single game that coaching with Mosley has been horrific all year long. You can’t be up 24 points with 3 minutes left in the third quarter and lose the game and it close out game. I’ll give it to Mosley. He did a great job developing players, but as I’ve said on this post many of times there’s coaches that can develop and there’s coaches that can win of the best coaches can develop and win or have a little bit of both. But at the end of the day, if you’re going to keep your job long-term, you got to be able to win. You saw with the Timberwolves how they had players out up 3-1 and are able to win one game. That’s coaching
I do agree suggs is a shooting guard or pretty much a backup player but they’re paying him 150 million. I thought that was a mistake. They really like him as a guy. He is a good guy. However, he can’t stay healthy and he’s better and and then Dante divencenso rule. He is better but And I’m sure his body can take the ground and pound of a full season. Now that you traded bains you gotta move him bring a point guard to run the show
The always unreliable Stein has officially kicked off the fake trade season. How many nuggets will be trending on fanspo? You can bet my next stop is there to find out!
Jaylen Brown and Derrick White for Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon. The shakeup both squads need.
I don’t think Pels fans want Mosley.