Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript
4:04pm: We hosted the weekly live chat.
3:00pm: All five Southwest Division teams made the playoffs last season, but three of them have strugged so far this year. The Grizzlies, at 6-6, have already pulled off a trade and the Rockets have fired coach Kevin McHale less than a month into the season. Yet the 1-10 Pelicans, who have the league’s worst record aside from the winless Sixers, haven’t given into panic, with a hardship signing of Jimmer Fredette the team’s only November transaction. The question is just how long they can keep losing without making a bold move.
And-Ones: Fisher, Vaulet, Rasheed, Huestis
Derek Fisher admits to feeling more comfort as a coach this season, though Knicks team president Phil Jackson hasn’t been working more closely with Fisher, as Jackson said before the season that he would. Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News has the details.
“Maybe a couple times earlier in training camp, we had some kind of sat down and talked about some things visually at the same time. So far, it’s our typical mornings-after-the-game conversations or email exchanges,” Fisher said. “Sometimes before practice we’ll visit for a few minutes. But not really any hardcore film sessions together. Although when those opportunities do present themselves, I’ll definitely be happy to participate.”
The Knicks are 6-6, a significant improvement on last season’s 17-65 mark, though Fisher cautions that .500 isn’t the team’s goal. See more from around the NBA:
- Draft-and-stash prospect Juan Vaulet is pleased that the Nets own his NBA rights, citing the way team doctors cared for the stress fracture in his leg, as he said in an interview with ESPN Argentina earlier this month (YouTube link), as NetsDaily relays. Still, the 6’6″, 19-year-old Argentian, who fashions himself a point guard, believes he’s a ways off from signing to play in the NBA.
- Rasheed Wallace, Al Harrington and Keyon Dooling are among the 60 players who’ve so far committed to The Champions League, an upstart minor league circuit with plans to play in the summers beginning in 2016, USA Today’s Sam Amick reports. The league intends to pay annual player salaries that average around $200K, league chairman and CEO Carl George told Amick.
- The Thunder have assigned Josh Huestis to the D-League, the team announced via press release. It’s the second trip to the D-League this season for the small forward, who averaged just 7.0 points in 28.4 minutes per game across two appearances in his first D-League stint this year.
J.B. Bickerstaff To Coach Rockets For Rest Of Season
Rockets interim head coach J.B. Bickerstaff will remain in that position for the rest of the season following the dismissal of Kevin McHale, owner Leslie Alexander said to both Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston and Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com (Twitter links). GM Daryl Morey, while praising Bickerstaff’s leadership ability, had shown hesitance to say that he would remain in place all season in an interview with USA Today’s Sam Amick, but sources told Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders that Bickerstaff will at least have a chance to vie for the long-term job (Twitter link).
“For the season he’s going to be the interim coach. We’ll worry about coaching searches later,” Alexander told Berman (Twitter link).
Alexander, who purchased the club in July 1993, ripped the performance of the team as he spoke with Berman, saying the team has never played quite so poorly in his time as owner (Twitter link). Still, he called McHale a “tremendous” coach and admitted firing him was difficult, Berman relays (Twitter links). Alexander told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle that he doesn’t regret breaking with tradition to sign an in-season extension with McHale last December, and Feigen notes that McHale likely would have received a new deal after last season anyway (Twitter link). Instead, the owner seemed to direct his ire at the players.
“Some guys obviously aren’t playing hard enough,” Alexander said to Berman (Twitter link). “If they don’t respond and play hard they’re not going to stay here.”
Morey said earlier today that the team would “make changes until we win.” The Rockets are just 4-7 so far this season, with a game tonight at home against the Trail Blazers.
McHale was grooming Chris Finch to ultimately succeed him, but the Rockets passed him over to make Bickerstaff the interim coach, with Finch becoming his top assistant, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Bickerstaff’s defensive acumen helped him win the job, as did his relationship with the team’s players, Berger writes, though Finch has bonded with the players, too, Watkins tweets.
What do the Rockets need to do to play better? Leave a comment to let us know.
Daryl Morey On Rockets Coaching Change
Rockets GM Daryl Morey hasn’t lost faith in his roster’s ability to contend for a title, notes Jason Quick of CSNNW.com (on Twitter), but he quickly ran out of patience with coach Kevin McHale, citing the lack of time to dally in the rugged Western Conference as he explained the team’s decision to fire McHale to reporters today. Morey hinted at further moves if the club doesn’t improve on its 4-7 record.
“We know this team can win and we are going to make changes until we win,” Morey said, according to Quick (Twitter link).
Houston returns to action tonight against the Trail Blazers. See more from the GM’s visit with the media:
- Morey wouldn’t directly answer a question about whether Bickerstaff would remain in charge of the team for the rest of the season, but he elaborated on his confidence in the interim coach in an interview with USA Today’s Sam Amick. “J.B. is great with players, great with schemes, and he’s been preparing for this his whole life,” Morey said to Amick. “He obviously has a great pedigree, and was critical to our winning over the last four years with Kevin. He ‘architected’ the defense last year that was top 10 overall and top five when Dwight [Howard] played. Job One, really, is we’ve got to shore up our defense, and I believe J.B. can do it.”
Earlier updates:
- Morey insisted that the team didn’t rush into the decision, even though the Rockets are coming off 56 wins and a trip to the Western Conference Finals. Hints emerged Tuesday, when Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reported that he’d heard from sources close to the team who wondered if the players had stopped listening to McHale. Morey had no comment about the team’s struggles when ESPN’s Marc Stein asked earlier this week. “It was tough. This is not something we take lightly,” Morey said today, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle relays (Twitter link). “This is a decision we thought about a long time. We knew we’re under the gun.”
- The team’s poor record wasn’t the only factor, Morey added, as Feigen tweets. “It’s not just losing. It’s not just 4-7. It’s the way we’re losing, by how much, by how the team is responding,” Morey said.
- Morey lauded the leadership ability of interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff, notes Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston (on Twitter), though the team is making no promises to Bickerstaff for the long term, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports wrote earlier today.
Rockets Fire Kevin McHale, Promote J.B. Bickerstaff
11:13am: Morey has confirmed the move to reporters, as the team’s Twitter account notes. “The team was not responding to Kevin McHale,” Morey said, according to Feigen (Twitter link). “There is no time in the West.”
10:27am: Owner Leslie Alexander and the front office, including GM Daryl Morey and fellow executive Gersson Rosas, jointly made the decision, Wojnarowski writes in a full story. The organization has faith in Bickerstaff’s ability to become a successful head coach, but he’s not assured of the job for the long term, Wojnarowski adds.
10:04am: McHale confirmed his ouster, saying that he thought he would be able to turn the team around if given more time, but he doesn’t blame the Rockets for their decision to fire him, Feigen tweets. McHale had more meetings with players over the last four to six weeks than at any other point, he added, as Feigen also relays (Twitter link). It doesn’t sound as if McHale wants to retire even as he’s unsure what he’ll do next, according to Feigen (on Twitter).
9:00am: The Rockets have decided to fire coach Kevin McHale, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Wojnarowski indicates the move has already taken place, though the team has yet to make an announcement. Assistant J.B. Bickerstaff will take over as interim head coach, with fellow assistant Chris Finch moving into the lead assistant’s role, Wojnarowski adds (on Twitter). Houston, expected to contend for the title this year, is just 4-7, and the team held a players-only meeting Tuesday. McHale earlier this week called out his team’s effort and defense and wouldn’t rule out benching marquee trade acquisition Ty Lawson from the starting lineup.
The Rockets signed McHale to a three-year, nearly $13MM extension on Christmas Eve last year, and he led the team to the Western Conference Finals in the spring. Still, the front office is cognizant of the level of talent on the roster this season and felt a need to remedy the team’s disappointing performance thus far, so the Rockets didn’t hesitate to make a move, Wojnarowski explains (Twitter link).
McHale, 57, entered the season as the NBA’s fifth-longest tenured head coach, having taken over the Rockets in June 2011. His old-school philosophy seemed an odd match for Houston’s analytically forward approach, but McHale nonetheless led the team to success. Houston had a winning record in each of McHale’s full seasons, with last year’s 56-26 mark the best of his tenure. His .598 regular season winning percentage is the best of all-time among Rockets coaches, notes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). He was 193-130 in the regular season and 13-16 in the playoffs overall with the Rockets. McHale went 39-55 over two separate stints as coach of the Timberwolves in the 2000s, and he didn’t coach Minnesota in a postseason game.
The vacancy in Houston, once the team makes the move official, will become one the league’s most attractive, though for now, Bickerstaff is poised to inherit the position. He was an assistant with the Hornets and Timberwolves before joining the Rockets along with McHale in 2011, and he’s the son of longtime NBA head coach Bernie Bickerstaff.
The job is not without its challenges. Dwight Howard isn’t playing in back-to-backs as the team tries to protect his health, and Donatas Motiejunas has yet to make an appearance as he recovers from back surgery. Sam Dekker, the team’s first-round pick this year, will have back surgery Friday and is expected to miss three months.
Cavs Notes: LeBron, Blatt, Shumpert, Love
The Cavaliers have lost two in a row and are on just their third regular season losing streak since January 15th, observes Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. Still, the rhetoric coming from the team suggests it isn’t treating the matter lightly, with LeBron James questioning the team’s hunger and attention to detail and coach David Blatt calling for more toughness, as Lloyd relays. Iman Shumpert should help add some grit, Lloyd posits, and he’s ahead of schedule as he mends from his wrist injury, with a mid-December return possible, as Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Still, that’s a ways off, Lloyd notes. See more from Cleveland:
- The attitude of Dion Waiters wore on coaches, executives and other Cavs players and prompted his trade last season, Lloyd writes in the same piece, one that looks back on Cleveland’s choice to pick Waiters instead of Andre Drummond with the No. 4 overall selection in 2012. Drummond doesn’t seem to place blame the Cavs, since they already had other big men, though Cleveland, like others, had questions about Drummond’s motor, Lloyd notes. “Still to this day I don’t have the answer to that,” the Pistons center said about why teams questioned his desire. “I don’t know who started that or how it came about, but I’m pretty sure they’re punching themselves now.”
- James is more trusting of coach Blatt and his teammates than he was last season, as Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today examines. James is again showing the willingness to accept coaching that he had under Erik Spoelstra in Miami, and Blatt feels more comfortable communicating to him, Zillgitt writes.
- Kevin Love‘s rejuvenated play this season is prompting many to take a second look at the trade that brought him to Cleveland and sent out Andrew Wiggins, but the value of the deal for the Cavs will likely come down to whether the team delivers a title with Love on the roster, observes Shaun Powell of NBA.com.
Sam Dekker Out Three Months With Back Surgery
Rockets first-round pick Sam Dekker will have back surgery Friday, multiple sources told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com, and one source told him that Dekker is expected to miss the next three months. The small forward has played only six total minutes so far this season, as I noted Tuesday in my look at how this year’s first-rounders are faring, and he hadn’t made an appearance since Houston’s second game of the season, as Goodman points out. Still, the loss of this year’s 18th overall pick for a significant amount of time compounds the issues for the 4-7 Rockets.
Dekker’s ailing back forced him to miss summer league, as Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com tweets, and it bothered him before the draft while he was in college at Wisconsin, a source told Goodman. That was in spite of a late-season run last spring that saw his draft stock surge. He averaged 5.0 points and 2.6 rebounds in 18.5 minutes per game across eight preseason appearances, but he shot just 26.1% from 3-point range and 33.3% from the floor overall, and he seemed a ways off from significant regular season playing time, as Watkins explained to us in a recent edition of The Beat.
The Rockets, with only 14 players, have an open roster spot, though they’re only about $1.5MM shy of the $88.74MM hard cap they triggered when they signed Montrezl Harrell. Donatas Motiejunas is also still recovering from back surgery he had last spring, and Patrick Beverley is questionable for tonight’s game with an ankle injury, but the team doesn’t have the injury problems necessary to qualify for a hardship provision of a 16th roster spot. Dekker’s injury isn’t thought to be season-ending, so they aren’t eligible for a disabled player exception, either.
Rockets coach Kevin McHale hasn’t liked what he’s seen of his team’s effort and defense so far, and he’s thinking about moving point guard Ty Lawson to the bench, as Watkins detailed earlier this week. The team held a players-only meeting Tuesday, though Dwight Howard and James Harden struck an optimistic tone in its wake, Watkins also relayed.
Do you think Dekker will pan out in the NBA? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
How 2015 First-Rounders Are Faring
It’s early, but three weeks into the season, we’re getting a glimpse at how well this year’s rookies are transitioning to the NBA, and we’re finding out which teams have expectations of receiving early dividends. We’ll check in on all 30 first-round picks:
- Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves — Towns has looked sharp. He’s the leading rebounder among rookies at 10.2 per game and is second among first-rounders points per game with 15.5.
- D’Angelo Russell, Lakers — His lack of playing time during fourth quarters has been well-documented, but he’s still playing more than half the game, with 9.5 points and 2.7 assists in 24.8 minutes per contest.
- Jahlil Okafor, Sixers — Philadelphia has given him plenty of opportunities, and he’s taken advantage, leading all first-rounders in points (19.2) and minutes (33.7) per game.
- Kristaps Porzingis, Knicks — The Latvian has surprised with his early adaptation to the NBA, notching 11.4 points and 8.4 boards per game so far.
- Mario Hezonja, Magic — He’s brought the shooting, as advertised, knocking down 38.5% of his 3-pointers, but he’s only seeing 14.8 minutes per game, fewer than all but one other top 10 pick.
- Willie Cauley-Stein, Kings — He’s been in and out of a fluctuating Kings starting lineup, but he’s been efficient on the boards with 5.9 rebounds in just 19.8 minutes per game.
- Emmanuel Mudiay, Nuggets — Denver handed its offense over to him, and while he leads all first-rounders with 6.2 assists per game, he’s also turning it over 4.7 times a night. His 30.4 minutes per game are second only to Okafor’s among first-rounders.
- Stanley Johnson, Pistons — He’s been up and down, springing for 20 points against the Warriors a night after scoring only three against the Trail Blazers.
- Frank Kaminsky, Hornets — Four years of college ball were supposed to allow him to step right into a prominent role, but instead he’s seen only 10.2 minutes per game.
- Justise Winslow, Heat — He isn’t starting yet, but he’s already playing the majority of the game and is looking like the steal he was thought to be.
- Myles Turner, Pacers — An injury will shelve him for at least six weeks, and minor ailments had helped limit the big man to just 15.9 minutes per game so far, despite Indiana’s high hopes for him.
- Trey Lyles, Jazz — The power forward has made two starts but has seen just 8.7 minutes per game.
- Devin Booker, Suns — The youngest draftee has predictably seen little playing time, with just 8.3 minutes per contest.
- Cameron Payne, Thunder — He may be a lottery pick, but among first-rounders who’ve made it into games so far this year, he has the third fewest minutes per game, with 4.0.
- Kelly Oubre Jr., Wizards — Injuries have thrust a modicum of playing time on Oubre, though the expected December return of Alan Anderson threatens to change that.
- Terry Rozier, Celtics — The point guard has made it into six games and averaged 8.3 minutes per, but he’s also gone on D-League assignment.
- Rashad Vaughn, Bucks — Vaughn’s a project, but he’s shown glimpses, as his 10-point, 12-minute opening-night performance demonstrates.
- Sam Dekker, Rockets — No first-rounder has seen less playing time than Dekker has, as he’s managed just six minutes total so far, despite Houston’s struggles.
- Jerian Grant, Knicks — Like Porzingis, his teammate, Grant has also played a surprisingly prominent role for New York, averaging 6.8 points, 3.7 assists and 1.5 turnovers in 21.3 minutes per contest.
- Delon Wright, Raptors — Kyle Lowry and Cory Joseph have the point guard position locked down in Toronto, where Wright has only seen 10 total minutes thus far.
- Justin Anderson, Mavericks — The Mavs have found opportunities to give Anderson at least a taste of game action amid their fast start, as he’s notched 3.2 points in 7.4 minutes per game.
- Bobby Portis, Bulls — The frontcourt in Chicago has simply proven too stacked for Portis to get much run. He’s only appeared in a pair of games, averaging 10 minutes per appearance.
- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Nets — It’s been a woeful season in Brooklyn, where Lionel Hollins hasn’t been reluctant to turn to the rookie. At 6’7″, he’s grabbed an impressive 5.7 boards in just 18.7 minutes per contest.
- Tyus Jones, Timberwolves — The Final Four Most Outstanding Player is behind Ricky Rubio and Zach LaVine, and he’s only seen 14 total minutes so far.
- Jarell Martin, Grizzlies — He’s yet to play because of a broken foot he suffered in the offseason.
- Nikola Milutinov, Spurs — Playing overseas and averaging 3.4 points in 12.9 minutes per game for Olympiacos of Greece.
- Larry Nance Jr., Lakers — He’s played in each of the team’s last seven games, averaging 5.0 points and 4.1 rebounds in 17.7 minutes per contest, including a 6 for 6 shooting night against the Magic.
- R.J. Hunter, Celtics — Unlike Rozier, he hasn’t gone on D-League assignment, and he’s averaging 12.3 minutes per game even though he’s yet to find his outside shot.
- Chris McCullough, Nets — Still recovering from the torn ACL he suffered in college.
- Kevon Looney, Warriors — He’s yet to play after offseason hip surgery.
Following Specific Players On Hoops Rumors
The regular season is well underway, and some teams are starting to separate from the pack while others are lagging behind. We’ve already seen one trade, and more will follow. Hoops Rumors lets you keep up with your favorite teams as they plot for the future, and we also provide ways to easily follow the latest on all of your favorite players and trade candidates. If you want to stay up to date on DeMarcus Cousins rumors, you can find Cousins’ page right here. For intel on soon-to-be free agent Kevin Durant, go here. Updates on top draft prospect Ben Simmons are found on this page.
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Pacific Notes: Lin, Walton, Goodwin
The Warriors were among the teams to show interest in Jeremy Lin while he was a free agent this summer, as he told reporters, including Marc Berman of the New York Post. Lin instead wound up signing with the Hornets, a team that wasn’t initially within the top six among his preferences, the point guard added, as Berman relays.
“I entertained it,’’ Lin said. “I just felt like they had something great going there, and if I went there, it would be a very limited role. I felt like, ‘I’m 27 now.’ I want to find where I can be as big a part of a successful team as I can.’’
Hornets coach Steve Clifford calls Lin a bargain on his two-year deal worth more than $4.374MM and said that when he was an assistant coach with the Lakers in 2012/13, head coach Mike D’Antoni wanted the Lakers to try to acquire Lin, whom D’Antoni coached on the Knicks, Berman notes. Ironically, Lin played for the Lakers last season, right after D’Antoni left. See more from the Pacific Division:
- Klay Thompson, in the first season of his four-year extension, says he prefers being on a winner over putting up gaudy stats on a losing team, and interim coach Luke Walton doesn’t see signs of the Warriors growing anxious to see what they could do on their own, observes Chris Mannix of SI.com. I don’t see this team having any of those type of issues,” Walton said to Mannix. “There’s no way to tell, obviously. Contract stuff can come up. But that’s not the type of locker room that it looks like. If I were betting, I’d say it won’t happen.”
- Archie Goodwin made some noise about his lack of playing time last season, but he’s been a part of the rotation for the Suns the past two games, and Jeff Hornacek won’t rule out making that a permanent role for him, observes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. “He’s played pretty well through the preseason and practices,” Hornacek said. “He’s earned the opportunity. He’s long. He’s quick so he can cover some ground. Now that he’s gotten stronger, he doesn’t get pushed around as much.”