Pacific Notes: Cousins, Thibodeau, Leuer, Teletovic
The sense within the Kings organization is that GM Vlade Divac is willing to gauge the market for DeMarcus Cousins this summer, having become increasingly frustrated with the mercurial big man, according to Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. Cousins and soon-to-be free agent Rajon Rondo are close, but the center has few other friends among his teammates, several of whom complained to the front office that Cousins is moody and disrespectful, Voisin relays. Divac wouldn’t directly answer when asked last week whether the firing of George Karl meant he’s committed to Cousins. “Anything about the players and how we are going to do in the summer,” Divac said, “I don’t want to talk about right now because our focus is to find a new coach.”
See more from the Pacific Division:
- A would-be coaching vacancy on the Lakers would reportedly be of interest to Tom Thibodeau, but the lack of opportunity to control player personnel turned him off a while ago, as Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times relays via Twitter.
- Soon-to-be free agent power forwards Jon Leuer and Mirza Teletovic want to re-sign with the Suns, and Teletovic expressed particular enthusiasm as the season ended last week, observes Craig Grialou of ArizonaSports.com. Teletovic also gave a verbal boost to interim coach Earl Watson, reportedly the front-runner as Phoenix searches for a head coach. “Coach Earl put a lot of trust in me. He kind of gave me the energy, gave me the boost. He talked to me through the whole period that he’s been here: how we’re supposed to play, how we’re supposed to get better,” Teletovic said. “I understood the role that I have on this team.”
- Jamal Crawford began the season deferring to new teammates after a summer of trade rumors, but a Christmas night conversation in which Doc Rivers called upon him to be more aggressive changed Crawford’s approach, as Robert Morales of the Long Beach Press-Telegram details. The Clippers combo guard wound up winning his third career Sixth Man of the Year award today.
Coaching Rumors: Walton, Thibodeau, Atkinson
Coaching vacancies tend to dominate headlines this time of year, and this morning, with news about Luke Walton and Mark Jackson, is no exception. See more coaching-related items here:
- Team president Phil Jackson, after speaking recently with Walton, told members of the Knicks organization that he doesn’t think Walton will leave his job as lead assistant for the Warriors, a source told Chris Broussard of ESPN.com, as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com relays. One report referred to the conversation between Jackson and Walton as an interview for the Knicks head coaching position, but Walton, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and others dispute that idea. The one head coaching job that Walton would be likely to take would be the Lakers gig, according to Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times, but Byron Scott is still in that position and Lakers owner Jeanie Buss is reportedly in favor Scott remaining.
- Some people around the league are convinced Tom Thibodeau will be the next coach of the Timberwolves, Woelfel writes in the same piece. Thibodeau has high level of comfort with Minnesota from his time there as an assistant coach from 1989-91, a source told Marc Berman of the New York Post. Still, potential openings with the Rockets and Lakers intrigue Thibodeau, Woelfel hears.
- Two NBA executives told Woelfel that Hawks assistant Darvin Ham is likely to elicit serious consideration for head coaching jobs in the next year or two.
- Multiple Hawks players, including soon-to-be free agent Kent Bazemore, lauded assistant coach Kenny Atkinson, who’ll take over the Nets head coaching job as soon as Atlanta’s playoff run is finished, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com details. Kyle Korver said Atkinson was a significant reason he re-signed with the Hawks in 2013, observes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Latest On Luke Walton, Knicks
Luke Walton says his recent chat with Knicks team president Phil Jackson wasn’t a job interview, as the Warriors assistant coach tells Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. Conflicting reports emerged in the past few days about whether it was an interview, but Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said it couldn’t have been, since Golden State has yet to give Walton permission to interview elsewhere, notes Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Kerr told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated that no team has even asked for permission (Twitter link). That throws into question the idea that Walton interviewed for the since-filled Nets job, as had also been reported.
“I talked to Phil, but I always talk to Phil. He’s a mentor of mine,” Walton said to Kawakami. “There was no job interview whatsoever. It was just a conversation which is not that rare for Phil and I to have.”
Marc Berman of the New York Post suggests that the Knicks are likely to interview David Blatt, citing Jackson’s respect for the Princeton offense Blatt’s teams have used on occasion. Berman also says the team will likely interview Brian Shaw, a triangle devotee. Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com earlier reported New York’s interest in Blatt, a longtime friend of Knicks GM Steve Mills.
Still, interim coach Kurt Rambis remains a central figure and a candidate to be formally named Knicks head coach. He’s involved in two practices that Jackson has organized for this week that amount to a seminar of sorts on the triangle offense, reports Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Kristaps Porzingis, Jerian Grant, Jose Calderon, Tony Wroten and soon-to-be free agent Langston Galloway are expected to attend, Isola hears.
Jamal Crawford Named Sixth Man Of Year
9:02am: The league has formally announced Crawford as the winner, via press release. The voting results are below. For a ballot-by-ballot breakdown, click here.
7:59am: Jamal Crawford has won the Sixth Man of the Year award for a record third time, league sources told Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The league is set to officially announce the news as soon as today, Haynes hears. Kevin McHale, Ricky Pierce and Detlef Schrempf are the only other players to win the award for the league’s top reserve more than once, each of them having garnered the honor two times. Crawford will add this year’s Sixth Man trophy to the ones he took home in 2010 and 2014.
The accolade is the culmination of a turnaround season for Crawford, who was the subject of trade rumors this past summer and took to Twitter to say that he wished he was a free agent. The combo guard arrived at Clippers training camp saying he was prepared to sacrifice minutes to accommodate the team’s offseason additions, most notably Lance Stephenson. However, Stephenson didn’t pan out in Los Angeles, and the Clippers traded him and a protected first-round pick for forward Jeff Green at the February deadline. Crawford’s 26.9 minutes per game this season exceeded last year’s 26.6.
Crawford nonetheless put up just 14.2 points per contest, his lowest average since the 2011/12 season, and the 16th-year veteran’s 2.3 assists per night tied his career low. Still, he was an appealing option for award voters amid a field of candidates that lacked an obvious selection.
The honor is a boost for the 36-year-old as he heads into free agency come July. The Knicks, Heat and Cavs were reportedly interested in trading for him last summer, and he figures to have no shortage of teams in pursuit of him on the open market this year.
Here are the results of the voting:
- Jamal Crawford (Clippers)
- Andre Iguodala (Warriors)
- Enes Kanter (Thunder)
- Will Barton (Nuggets)
- Evan Turner (Celtics)
- Ryan Anderson (Pelicans)
- Jeremy Lin (Hornets)
- Ed Davis (Trail Blazers)
- Dennis Schröder (Hawks)
- Tristan Thompson (Cavaliers)
- Shaun Livingston (Warriors)
- J.J. Barea (Mavericks)
- Boris Diaw (Spurs)
- Zach LaVine (Timberwolves)
- Darren Collison (Kings)
- Allen Crabbe (Trail Blazers)
- Jrue Holiday (Pelicans)
- Patrick Patterson (Raptors)
- Mirza Teletovic (Suns)
Is Crawford a deserving winner? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
Earl Watson In Front As Suns Begin Coaching Search
MONDAY, 5:19pm: The Suns have interviewed Watson but haven’t done so with anyone else yet, according to John Gambadoro of KMVP-FM in Phoenix (Twitter link).
THURSDAY, 2:19pm: People in the Suns organization and around the league believe Suns interim head coach Earl Watson is the front-runner among the candidates the Suns will consider as they search to formally fill the head coaching position, reports Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. The team’s search begins in earnest today, Coro writes.
Kevin McHale and Scott Brooks have drawn mention, according to Coro, though it’s unclear if the team is indeed considering them. Some hear that Jason Kidd is a possibility, Coro writes, though Kidd appears poised for an extension with the Bucks. Previous reports have indicated the team will consider Sixers assistant and former Suns head coach Mike D’Antoni, Warriors assistant Luke Walton, Grand Canyon University coach Dan Majerle and Villanova coach Jay Wright, as Coro discusses.
Watson appeals to the Suns because he helped rehabilitate Markieff Morris‘ trade value, improved the team defensively down the stretch, and has a reputation as a skilled free agent recruiter, as Coro details, pointing out that he and star Eric Bledsoe are both clients of Klutch Sports. The interim coach has earned the support of Suns players, who appear to be unanimously behind him, Coro tweets.
“I think he’s done an incredible job,” Suns center Tyson Chandler said. “I try to stay out of the way of management decisions, but he’s done an incredible job with the team he inherited with all the injuries and everything else like that. He’s done an excellent job coming in and helping the young players, as well as helping guys like myself get adapted here. He’s added structure. Everything he has done has been positive. He came in and took over this team in a tough position. I thought he has done an excellent job. Nobody could’ve asked for anything better.”
The Suns were only 9-24 under Watson, though he was mostly without Bledsoe and Brandon Knight because of injury. A recent Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround invites your discussion on the Suns coaching situation.
Southeast Notes: Beal, Lin, Whiteside, Patterson
Bradley Beal is a virtual lock to elicit a max offer this summer, and “the consensus” is the Wizards will keep him, writes Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. Beal was somewhat vague when asked whether he plans on agreeing to an offer from the Wizards as soon as possible upon becoming a free agent in July or gauging bids from other teams, as Castillo relays. Either way, the Wizards have the right to match any offer for the soon-to-be restricted free agent. “I want to be here. I don’t know,” Beal said in response to the question. “I don’t even know what I’m getting into right now. It’s like choosing colleges again. But I’m happy where I am. Hopefully, we can agree with each other this summer and we can get it done. But if not, it’s a business at the end of the day.”
See more from the Southeast Division:
- Jeremy Lin, who said he almost signed with the Mavericks for the $2.814MM room exception this past summer, drew an offer from the Nets for the $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level exception but turned it down, with his camp of the belief that he could get $5MM a year, league sources tell NetsDaily (Twitter link). Lin instead signed with the Hornets for the $2.139MM biannual exception amount.
- Hassan Whiteside says he and his representatives tried several times without success to convince the Hornets to give him a tryout before he signed with the Heat last season, as Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post relays. Whiteside, who hits free agency again this summer, is from Gastonia, North Carolina, just outside of Charlotte.
- The Hawks have assigned Lamar Patterson to the D-League affiliate of the Spurs, Atlanta announced. The D-League Spurs are set to play tonight as they resume a postseason game that had been suspended Sunday when condensation formed on the court. Atlanta’s next playoff game is Tuesday. The Hawks are without their own affiliate but have sent players, including Patterson, to the Austin Spurs on many occasions.
Syracuse SG Malachi Richardson To Enter Draft
Syracuse freshman shooting guard Malachi Richardson will enter this year’s draft without hiring an agent, the school announced. The 6’6″ 20-year-old is the 55th-best prospect in Chad Ford’s ESPN Insider rankings, but Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress appears significantly more bearish on his stock, excluding him from his top 100 and listing him only as the 57th-best freshman. Richardson can withdraw from the draft by May 25th and retain his college eligibility as long as he doesn’t hire an agent.
His athleticism and versatility intrigue Ford, while Givony points to mixed results in his isolation game and questionable decision-making on the court. Both analysts cite his inconsistent play. In the NCAA Tournament, he scored 23 against Virginia and 21 against Dayton but had just four points versus Middle Tennessee State.
Richardson finished high school last year at No. 29 in the Recruiting Services Consensus Index, and he jumped right into a prominent role for the Orange, starting every game for the surprise Final Four team. He averaged 13.4 points and 4.3 rebounds in 34.4 minutes per game while shooting 39% from 3-point territory.
Rockets Make Jeff Van Gundy Top Target
Jeff Van Gundy tops the list of potential candidates for the Rockets head coaching job, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski and Chris Mannix of The Vertical. Still, it’s not entirely clear whether Houston will have an opening, since interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff remains in place as the Rockets compete in the first round of the playoffs against the Warriors. The team won’t begin its search until it’s finished with the playoffs, according to Wojnarowski and Mannix. Bickerstaff reportedly enhanced his chances of keeping the job significantly when he guided the Rockets into the playoffs. The team is also interested in Scott Brooks and Tom Thibodeau, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported previously.
Van Gundy lives in Houston, as Wojnarowski and Mannix point out. He coached the Rockets from 2003-2007 before he and the team parted ways at the end of the 2006/07 season. The job was his last as an NBA head coach, but he’s remained a prominent candidate for openings around the league. He’s reportedly scheduled to interview for the Timberwolves vacancy today and, along with Thibodeau, is one of two front-runners for that gig. The Nets apparently had interest as well before they hired Kenny Atkinson.
Thibodeau appears keener than Van Gundy is on the idea of the coach/executive role that Minnesota is considering, as Wojnarowski and Mannix detail, while the Wizards are reportedly the favorites to land Scott Brooks, so it makes sense that Van Gundy has taken the lead for Houston. The heavily favored Warriors blew out the Rockets in Game 1 of their series on Saturday, and Houston’s season could end as early as Sunday in the event of a sweep.
The failure to advance past the first round was perhaps Van Gundy’s chief shortcoming when he was coach of the Rockets. The team made the playoffs in three of his four seasons but never won a series. He finished 182-146 in the regular season and 7-12 in the postseason with Houston.
Would Van Gundy be the right choice for the Rockets? Leave a comment to have your say.
Spanish PF Juan Hernangomez Enters Draft
Spanish prospect Juan Hernangomez has declared for this year’s draft, agent Igor Crespo tells Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link). A wide gap exists in the projections for the 6’9″ 20-year-old, with Givony pegging him a late first-round pick at No. 29 in his prospect rankings while Chad Ford of ESPN.com has him outside draft range at No. 71. Givony lists Hernangomez as a combo forward in his profile but refers to him as a power forward in his tweet, while Ford’s profile shows him as a power forward.
Hernangomez, who is the younger brother of Knicks draft-and-stash prospect Guillermo (Willy) Hernangomez, has offensive versatility and is a competitive rebounder, but his decision-making and youthful mistakes on defense are his shortcomings, according to Givony. Ford points to his standout midrange game as well as his lack of strength and underdeveloped post-up game.
He averaged 9.4 points and 5.8 rebounds in 23.7 minutes per game with 33.8% 3-point shooting across 28 appearances this year for Movistar Estudiantes of Spain. The club gave him a starting role for the majority of the season, a breakout campaign for him after he saw just 10.0 per contest last year.
Wizards Plan To Contact Scott Brooks, Thibodeau
MONDAY, 11:19am: Washington is the front-runner to land Brooks, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Stein suggests the Rockets are Brooks’ top alternative but are at a disadvantage because they’re in the playoffs and their focus is on that.
5:18pm: The Wizards have made Brooks their top priority, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical relays.
FRIDAY, 9:59am: The Wizards plan to meet with Scott Brooks and Tom Thibodeau as they conduct their coaching search, a source tells Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. John Wall has said in the past that he would want the team to hire Brooks if the coaching job were to come open as it did Thursday, Castillo also hears. The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski first identified Brooks as a strong candidate for the position in the wake of the news that the team was firing Randy Wittman, though reports conflicted on Thibodeau’s candidacy. Team president Ernie Grunfeld said that he’ll head up the search to replace Wittman, whom the Wizards formally dismissed earlier Thursday.
Brooks’ most obvious attractive quality is his relationship with Kevin Durant, the Washington, D.C. native whom the Wizards have long planned to pursue when he becomes a free agent in July. Durant made a point Thursday of praising the job Brooks did as his coach from 2008 to 2015, as The Oklahoman’s Erik Horne relays. Still, the prevailing sentiment is that Brooks alone wouldn’t be enough to woo Durant to his hometown team, Castillo writes. Brooks is also reportedly believed to be waiting to see if the Lakers job opens.
A Wizards player who spoke to Castillo expressed concerns about the heavy workload Thibodeau is known for demanding from his players, and the former Bulls coach figures to command a high salary. Strong indications exist that Thibodeau is seeking player personnel power, as Chris Mannix of The Vertical reported earlier this week, and that would be tough to come by in Washington, where Grunfeld is apparently staying in charge of the front office. Still, the Wizards are prioritizing defensive acumen and NBA head coaching experience as they sort through candidates, as both Castillo and J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic hear, and Thibodeau checks both boxes.
Thibodeau won Coach of the Year honors in 2011, a year after Brooks took home the same award. Grunfeld has a history with both Brooks and Thibodeau, who served as a Knicks assistant coach for three of the years that Grunfeld was in charge of New York’s basketball operations, Castillo notes. Grunfeld agreed to hire Thibodeau as an assistant for then-Wizards head coach Eddie Jordan in 2007, but Thibodeau backed out of the deal before signing a contract, as Castillo also points out. Grunfeld acquired Brooks as a player for the Knicks in 1996 and traded him away a year later, Castillo recalls.
The Wizards also want their next coach to command accountability, as Wittman irritated players with his selective accountability, according to Castillo, who also mentions Jeff Hornacek, Mike D’Antoni, Sam Cassell, Mark Jackson, Kevin McHale, Nate McMillan, and Jay Wright as potential candidates. The team is indeed interested in Hornacek and D’Antoni, as previous reports have indicated.
Which coach do you think is the right fit for the Wizards? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.