Bulls Look To Interview Lamar Skeeter, Ryan Schmidt
The Bulls are expected to seek permission to interview Hornets assistant Lamar Skeeter and Hawks assistant Ryan Schmidt as they seek a new head coach, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link).
Upon being hired by Chicago as the team’s new head of basketball operations, Bryson Graham initially prioritized filling out his new-look front office. The team formally announced on Tuesday that Stephen Mervis is joining the organization as its senior VP of basketball operations and Acie Law IV has been hired as the VP of player personnel.
After finalizing those front office additions, the Bulls appear to be shifting in earnest to their head coaching search. Reporting earlier this week indicated that Sean Sweeney, James Borrego, Wes Unseld Jr., Micah Nori, and Dave Bliss are expected to interview for the coaching vacancy in Chicago, with Tiago Splitter also on the club’s radar.
Fischer adds a pair of new names to that list, and neither is one that we’ve heard connected to another head coaching position so far this spring.
Skeeter, 37, started out as a member of the Canton Charge’s coaching staff in the G League in 2012/13, then spent a season as a player development coach with the Hawks before being hired by the Jazz in 2014. He spent the next decade in Utah, working his way up from player development coach to lead assistant during that time. Skeeter was hired two years ago by Charlotte as the team’s top assistant under Charles Lee.
Schmidt, an assistant for the Raptors 905 in the G League for four seasons from 2017-21, has gained some head coaching experience since then, first with the London Lions in the British Basketball League and then with the College Park Skyhawks, Atlanta’s NBAGL affiliate. He has been a full-time Hawks assistant under Quin Snyder since 2024.
We’re tracking the Bulls’ head coaching search and the rest of the NBA’s 2026 offseason coaching carousel right here.
Spurs, Pelicans To Play Two Games In Europe Next Season
May 20: The NBA has officially confirmed that the Spurs and Pelicans will face one another at the Accor Arena in Paris on January 14, 2027 and at Co-op Live in Manchester on January 17. The latter contest will be the first regular season game to be played in Manchester.
May 17: Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs will return to Paris, France during the 2026/27 season, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, who reports (via Substack) that the Pelicans are San Antonio’s expected opponent.
The Spurs split a pair of games in Paris against the Pacers in January 2025. This coming January (2027), they’re slated to play one game in Paris and one in Manchester, England, Stein writes.
Orlando and Memphis split this year’s NBA games in Europe, which took place in Berlin, Germany and London, England. Magic forward Franz Wagner and his older brother Moritz Wagner are both Berlin natives.
Stein hears the league has targeted Berlin and Paris as the 2028 hosts of the two European games.
After going 62-20 during the regular season and dispatching Portland and Minnesota in the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Spurs are set to face the defending champion Thunder on Monday in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. The Pelicans went just 26-56 in 2025/26, tied for the seventh-worst record in the league.
Mavericks Executive Matt Riccardi Leaving Organization
It has been a month of upheaval in Dallas. After hiring Masai Ujiri to be their new president and Mike Schmitz as their general manager, the Mavericks parted ways with head coach Jason Kidd on Tuesday and are also splitting with executive Matt Riccardi, who is departing the organization, per Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link).
A native of the Dallas area, Riccardi worked with the Nets for 13 years in scouting and executive roles, then was hired by the Mavericks in 2022 as their senior director of pro personnel.
He was promoted during the summer of 2023 to an assistant GM position and was elevated again last November when the team fired Nico Harrison, becoming a co-interim GM with Michael Finley at that time. Riccardi and Finley ran the front office for the remainder of the 2025/26 season while the Mavs searched for Harrison’s permanent successor. According to Fischer, Riccardi was actually the runner-up to Ujiri in that search.
Riccardi was the Mavs’ representative in the drawing room on draft lottery night last May when the team won the No. 1 overall pick and also represented Dallas at this month’s lottery drawing. Just over a week later, however, he’s on his way out. Riccardi’s exit is part of a “flurry” of staff changes involving coaches and scouts, writes Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link).
There has been no indication yet whether Finley will remain in Dallas’ front office or join Riccardi in leaving the team.
Here are a few more notes from Stein on the changes in Dallas:
- Ujiri’s annual salary on his new deal with the Mavs is “comfortably” in the eight figures, industry sources tell The Stein Line.
- While it’s not immediately clear who will emerge as top candidates to replace Kidd on the sidelines in Dallas, Ujiri likely already has some specific targets in mind, according to Stein, who points out that the former Raptors executive hired Schmitz just four days after joining the organization. Spurs associate head coach and former Mavs assistant Sean Sweeney is one potential candidate with ties to the team, Stein notes; Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, whose time as a Raptors assistant overlapped with Ujiri’s stint in Toronto, is another.
- As for Kidd, it’s possible he could draw immediate interest from another team seeking a head coach, assuming he wants to jump right into another job. The Magic, who are in the midst of a coaching search, had serious interest in Kidd before hiring Jamahl Mosley in 2021, per Stein. Kidd also has a preexisting relationship with new Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundon, Stein adds.
- According to Stein, the expectation is that the Mavericks will receive trade interest in point guard Kyrie Irving this offseason, though it remains to be seen whether or not they’ll be receptive to those inquiries.
And-Ones: Wiseman, Toppin, Luis, Ingles
Is James Wiseman headed to Israel? That’s a real possibility, Sportando’s Dario Skerletic relays.
According to Tomer Givati of Israel Hayom, Wiseman has received an offer from Maccabi Tel Aviv. The free agent center is reportedly considering a move overseas in order to play more consistently.
Wiseman appeared in four games with the Pacers this season before he was released the day after Christmas. The former No. 2 overall pick only appeared in one game during the previous season due to an Achilles tear.
Here’s more from around the international basketball world:
- Another Israeli team, Hapoel Tel Aviv, is reportedly in talks with another former NBA big man, Jacob Toppin, according to Alessandro Maggi of Sportando, via Sport5. Toppin is considered Jewish and therefore would not count as a foreign player, Maggi notes. Toppin was waived in mid-December by the Hawks as a two-way player after he underwent season-ending right shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. He suffered the injury in a G League game with the College Park Skyhawks.
- Former St. John’s star RJ Luis, the 2025 Big East Player of the Year, has committed to LSU but is likely to encounter a long eligibility fight, according to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello. Luis went undrafted last year, then signed a two-way contract with the Jazz before being traded to the Celtics in early August. He was waived by the Celtics before signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Maine Celtics, Boston’s G League affiliate. The Maine Celtics waived Luis, who was injured, before he played a game.
- Joe Ingles said he was eager to keep playing. That’s why he signed a two-year deal with Melbourne United after finishing out the season with the Timberwolves, he told Olgun Uluc of ESPN. “I knew, deep down, I had that itch to play,” he said “We would play pick-up every game day, and I would be competing, I would play really well, I felt really good. I obviously just wasn’t getting the minutes with the team we had in Minnesota.”
Pistons’ Langdon Hopeful Of Re-Signing Duren, Extending Thompson
Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon said on Tuesday he’s hopeful of signing both Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson to long-term deals this offseason, according to Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. Duren will be a restricted free agent, while Thompson will be eligible for a rookie scale extension.
Duren gained All-Star status for the East’s No. 1 seed but struggled during the postseason and at times was benched in the second half in favor of Paul Reed. Duren averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in 28.2 minutes per game during the regular season. He averaged 10.2 PPG and 8.5 RPG in 30.1 MPG during 14 postseason contests.
“First of all, J.D. had a fantastic season,” Langdon said. “All-Star, one of the biggest contributors to us being a No. 1 seed. Darn near 20 points and 10 rebounds per game. An incredible year and an incredible leap from last year to this year because of the work that he put in last summer and his focus. I have no doubt that we’ll put a plan together and he’ll attack it this summer, just like he did last summer, and he’ll come back a better player from his experience, not only during the regular season but also in the postseason just like all of our guys will. We look forward to coming together with his representative and getting a deal done, and for him to continue to be a Piston.”
The Pistons can give Duren a five-year, maximum-salary deal, though it seems likely that their offer will come in lower than that unless a rival suitor forces their hand. If the big man signs a offer sheet from another team, Detroit would be forced to decide whether to match it.
Reaching agreements with Duren and Thompson and still finding ways to upgrade the team’s offense will be tricky for Langdon. Both of those starters have offensive shortcomings.
“JD and AT will be expensive and once that happens, the optionality decreases,” Langdon said, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “But right now, we have some things we can look at and we’ll look at everything and determine what things we can execute on to make us better. What things are the best path to go down now, not only for next year but building forward. This isn’t a one-year thing. The thing I’ve always said is sustainability in terms of being competitive. We have to keep that in mind, as well.”
Langdon chose not to make any major changes at the trade deadline. He’s also hesitant to read too much into the team’s Game 7 flop against Cleveland in the conference semifinals on Sunday.
“We’ll do a deep dive into what we feel made us successful and where we feel we came up a little short,” Langdon said. “A lot of people are looking at one game. If we would’ve won one game, you can’t say we’re going to play into one game of success, either. One game winning or losing can’t define how you’re going to move forward. We’ll take a holistic view of the roster. We’re still super young.”
Langdon wouldn’t commit to making a bold trade to improve the club. It’s no secret that the team could use a reliable secondary scorer and play-maker to ease the pressure off franchise player Cade Cunningham.
“I wish I was clairvoyant. I think so. You’re always going to iterate your team a little bit every year to get better. That’s the goal – to be a championship contender,” Langdon said. “We didn’t think it would come this fast. These questions about being a championship contender after year two. Two years ago when I took the job, nobody in here thought I’d be getting questions about championship contender two years after. Skipping steps, we don’t want to do that. And I don’t think we have.”
Retaining Tobias Harris, who will be 34 next season, is a possibility, but the veteran forward would likely have to take a pay cut from the $26.6MM he earned this season.
“Tobias has been great,” Langdon said. “We appreciate everything he’s brought. We hope we can bring him back. He’s somebody we’d love to put in a Pistons uniform.”
Mavericks Part Ways With Head Coach Jason Kidd
The Mavericks and head coach Jason Kidd have mutually agreed to part ways, Marc Stein of The Stein Line tweets.
Kidd signed an extension last offseason and still has four years and more than $40MM remaining on his contract, according to Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix (Twitter link).
The news comes just a little more than two weeks after the Mavericks named former Raptors executive Masai Ujiri as their president and alternate governor. At that time, the team indicated Ujiri would oversee all aspects of the Mavericks’ basketball operations, including roster construction, player personnel, and scouting, while working with team leadership to shape the organization’s basketball philosophy and long-term direction.
Ujiri was noncommittal about Kidd’s future during his introductory press conference earlier this month, and he and Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont reached the decision this week to move on from the Mavericks’ coach, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets. The Mavs sent out a press release, relayed by Mannix (Twitter link), with comments from Ujiri.
“Jason has had a meaningful impact on the Dallas Mavericks, both as a Hall of Fame player and as the head coach who helped lead this franchise back to the NBA Finals,” he said in the statement. “We are thankful for Jason’s leadership, his professionalism and his commitment to the team. In my short time here, I’ve developed an enormous amount of respect for what he has built. He will always be an important part of the Mavericks family.”
Kidd was named head coach of the Mavericks on June 28, 2021 and was highly successful prior to the controversial Luka Doncic trade with the Lakers. During his tenure, the Mavericks advanced to the Western Conference Finals in 2022 and reached the NBA Finals in 2024. Dallas was injury-riddled this season while finishing 26-56.
In total, Kidd compiled a 205-205 (.500) regular season record and won five playoff series during his five seasons in Dallas.
Ujiri indicated that he wanted to wipe the slate clean and bring in his choice to lead a franchise that will be built around Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg.
“As we evaluate the future of our basketball program, we believe this is the right moment for a new direction for our team,” Ujiri said. “We have high expectations for this franchise and a responsibility to build a basketball organization capable of sustained championship contention. We will conduct a thorough, disciplined search for our next head coach and continue to evaluate our entire basketball operations staff to ensure we compete at the standard Mavs fans expect and deserve.”
The presence of Flagg plus the No. 9 pick in this year’s draft will make the Dallas job attractive. Kidd’s resume will place him at or near the top of any number of head coaching searches around the league. Chicago, Orlando and Portland are currently looking for a new head coach.
Thunder Notes: SGA, Caruso, Holmgren, Mitchell
The league’s two-time Most Valuable Player was disappointed by his performance in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 24 points and 12 assists in 51 minutes during the Thunder‘s double overtime loss to the Spurs but he shot only 7-of-23 from the floor and committed four turnovers, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon notes.
“We just got to be better — me, in particular,” he said. “I have to be better, especially against a team of this caliber. Nothing more than that.”
San Antonio focused its defense on containing SGA. They often double-teamed Gilgeous-Alexander while Victor Wembanyama sagged off spot-up shooters to protect the rim.
“I know what my teammates are capable of, what we’re capable of as a team when we bring it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s just unfortunate that I wasn’t able to bring my best game tonight, but that’s how it goes sometimes. Sometimes, you’re your best version, sometimes you’re not. You’ve got to roll with the punches, don’t get discouraged and stay true to who you are.”
Here’s more on the Thunder:
- Alex Caruso was the beneficiary of San Antonio’s strategy, erupting for 31 points. Caruso says his intensity ramps up in the playoffs. “I think that’s probably why I play better this time of year, because winning is of the utmost importance and it carries a lot more weight in the playoffs than it does during the season,” Caruso said, per Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic. “It’s one of those things where you’re just trying to make whatever the play is and trying to win the game.”
- Chet Holmgren struggled throughout the season against the Spurs and that didn’t change in Game 1, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman writes. In five games against the Spurs, Holmgren is averaging 10 points per contest on 37% shooting. That includes his eight-point output in Game 1, with both of his field goals coming on three-pointers. How can they get him more involved? “It’s a good question,” coach Mark Daigneault said. “I think the general attacks in the offense will benefit everybody, put everybody in advantages, including him. The playoffs to this point have been a lot of that for him. He’s been very effective, and I think it’s been downstream of us running good offense. It’s not like we’re pushing buttons for him, it’s more like an identity thing that is feeding everybody and he’s been in the middle of that. I think if we play better collectively, he’ll be more involved and we’ll be able to get more cracks offensively.”
- Ajay Mitchell averaged 22.5 points per game against the Lakers in the conference semifinals but only took five shots in Game 1 while scoring four points. The 2024 second-round pick contributed in other ways with five assists, four rebounds and two steals. “There was part of me that truly believed I was a first-round pick,” Mitchell said to Andscape’s Marc J. Spears. “But there was another part of me that was like, ‘Don’t forget where you come from.’ For me to even play in the NBA and get drafted was like a dream as a little kid. Being able to do it, I will never take it for granted. It was a little mixed [emotions]. I definitely wanted to show people I was worth a first-round pick. I am just really happy to be a part of this organization with an opportunity to get better. That was the main goal for me.”
Spurs Optimistic De’Aaron Fox Will Return For Game 2
5:25 pm: Fox is officially listed as questionable, The Oklahoman’s Justin Martinez tweets.
12:13 am: The Spurs were playing without All-Star point guard De’Aaron Fox in Monday’s thrilling Game 1 victory at Oklahoma City, but the team is optimistic he’ll be available for Game 2 of the Western Conference finals, sources tell Marc J. Spears of Andscape (Twitter link).
San Antonio pulled off a double-overtime upset over the defending champion Thunder on Monday. Dylan Harper, last year’s second overall pick, started in place of Fox and had a stellar game, finishing with 24 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, and seven steals in 47 minutes.
According to the NBA (Twitter link), Harper became just the second rookie to record at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals in a playoff game since 1973/74, when steals became an official statistic. He joined three-time MVP and five-time champion Magic Johnson, who accomplished the feat in 1980.
As impressive as Harper was, his performance was overshadowed by a spectacular showing from Victor Wembanyama, who had 41 points, 24 rebounds, three assists, and three blocks in 49 minutes. The 22-year-old center joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in league history to have 40-plus points and 20-plus rebounds in their conference finals debuts (Twitter link via the NBA).
Wembanyama, who was a game-high plus-16 in the seven-point win, admitted afterward that he was motivated by the pregame ceremony awarding Shai Gilgeous-Alexander his second straight MVP trophy.
“I want to get that trophy,” said Wembanyama, who finished third in MVP voting (Twitter link via Dan Woike of The Athletic).
The French star said he was understandably tired after setting a new career high in minutes, tweets Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. However, a few minutes before that he said the Spurs would have time to recuperate in the offseason if they reach their ultimate goal.
“We’ll rest in July,” Wembanyama said, per Orsborn (Twitter link).
Latest On Sixers’ Search For New Head Of Basketball Ops
After his colleague Marc Stein reported that Cavaliers general manager Mike Gansey and Phoenix Mercury GM Nick U’Ren were among the possible targets for the Sixers‘ front office vacancy, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) confirms both are expected to interview with Bob Myers this week regarding the position.
Fischer adds another name to Myers’ planned list of interviewees: Timberwolves GM Matt Lloyd, who was a finalist for the Bulls’ top basketball operations job, which ultimately went to Bryson Graham.
According to Fischer, Gansey and Lloyd are both considered future top basketball executives. They’re currently second in command with their respective organizations.
Lloyd began his career with the Bulls in 1999 as a media coordinator and worked his way up to the scouting staff and then senior manager of basketball operations. He became assistant GM in Orlando in 2012 before joining Minnesota in 2022 as senior VP of basketball operations. He was promoted to be the Wolves’ GM two years ago.
While Stein mentioned that 76ers consultant Neil Olshey has been linked to the job, Fischer hears from sources that Olshey isn’t pursuing the position, though he could remain with the team in an advisory capacity. Olshey, a longtime Clippers and Trail Blazers executive, was fired by Portland in 2021 following a workplace misconduct investigation.
Fischer also confirms the Hawks aren’t going to grant the Sixers permission to speak to GM Onsi Saleh and reiterates that 76ers assistant GM Jameer Nelson has many supporters in the organization, whether or not he’s part of the search process.
According to Fischer, rival teams have interest in hiring 76ers VP of player personnel Prosper Karangwa following Daryl Morey‘s dismissal last week.
Thunder executive Vince Rozman, Wizards VP of player personnel Travis Schlenk and Clippers GM Trent Redden have also been linked to Philadephia’s search.
Trail Blazers Reportedly Lay Off About 70 Employees
The Trail Blazers have laid off approximately 70 employees from their business operations department, according to Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report (via Twitter).
Longtime Blazers.com reporter Casey Holdahl confirmed he was among the employees let go (Twitter link).
President of business operations Dewayne Hankins released a statement regarding the decision, as Joe Freeman of The Oregonian relays (All Twitter links).
“Today, as part of our plans to position the organization for the future, we made the difficult decision to restructure several areas of the business,” Hankins said. “These changes impacted talented people who have helped shape the Trail Blazers over many years. We are deeply grateful for their contributions, their leadership and the care they showed every day for our team, our fans and the Portland community.
“Our focus now is supporting those affected through the transition and positioning the organization for long-term success.”
It’s the first of what could be many major changes under new majority owner Tom Dundon, who addressed some of the accusations of cheapness that have followed him last week in a podcast appearance. Dundon, who also owns the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, claimed he was willing to spend on the players, but suggested the business side wasn’t being run to his satisfaction.
“I just don’t want to waste money. I want to invest it,” Dundon said. “I’ll have many masseuses. I’ll have the best food. We’re going to take care of the players, because it helps you win. It’s part of the deal. Some of the stuff about how we’re going to run the business; Portland spends $100MM more a year on their business than the Hurricanes do, not including players.
“The Hurricanes, since I bought the team, have the first or second-best record in the league. So, I’m just not going to waste $100MM, just because somebody wants to write an article calling me cheap. I’m just not going to do it. And so, it’s hard because I don’t think about a budget when it comes to the playing team and how to make sure we win. Some of the stuff that was blamed on money is actually not 100% true.”