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Author: Chuck Myron

Warriors Rumors: Jackson, Malone, Scalabrine

By | at March 26, 2014 5:31 pm

Mark Jackson denied Tuesday’s report of conflict between him, management and his assistant coaches, but the story from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports appears to have some legs. Sources tell Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle that Jackson is “very insecure” about his assistants receiving credit. Jackson also felt certain that he’d receive a contract extension this past offseason, Simmons reports, but Jackson and the front office have yet to talk extension. Simmons has more in his piece, and Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group adds to the saga, too, as we highlight below:

  • Kings coach Michael Malone previously served as a Warriors assistant and reportedly went weeks without speaking to Jackson, but Malone tells Simmons he and his boss were actually on somewhat better terms. “Did Mark and I have great relationship? No. There was definitely some friction, but for him to say that we went weeks without speaking is crazy,” Malone said. “We spoke every day. We worked through it, and he eventually realized that I wasn’t out there self-promoting.”
  • Warriors GM Bob Myers was Brian Scalabrine‘s agent for most of Scalabrine’s playing career, Simmons notes. Golden State reassigned Scalabrine, who had been one of Jackson’s assistants, to a gig with the team’s D-League affiliate.
  • There were those in the Golden State locker room who thought the media was overstating Malone’s value to the Warriors, and that Malone was more focused on becoming a head coach than his job as an assistant, according to Thompson.
  • Jackson still has the support of several Warriors players, one of whom told Thompson that the coach is “absolutely not” losing control of the team, as Thompson writes in the same piece.
1 comment Golden State Warriors

Rodrigue Beaubois To Play In Belgium

By | at March 26, 2014 4:29 pm

Former Mavericks guard Rodrigue Beaubois will play for Belgacom Spirou in Belgium, the team announced via Twitter. La Nouvelle Gazette originally reported the news (translation via Sportando). Beaubois was in talks with the Celtics about a 10-day contract last month, but a deal never materialized, and earlier this week we heard the 26-year-old turned down an offer to play in Italy and was set to audition for a French team. Beaubois, the 25th overall pick in 2009, has been out of the NBA since his rookie contract expired last summer.

The Bouna Ndiaye client was apparently set to work out for the Wizards and the Grizzlies last month before auditioning for the Celtics, although another report indicated that Washington had no plans to bring him in. The Heat wanted to have Beaubois work out for them shortly before camp, but he suffered a wrist injury that prevented that from happening. The Sixers had offseason interest, too.

Beaubois, a native of Guadeloupe, saw his role diminish with the Mavs last season, as his 12.2 minutes per game were the fewest of his career. His per-36-minute numbers in points, shot attempts and rebounds last year were also career lows.

0 comments Transactions

Early Entrants For 2014 NBA Draft

By | at March 26, 2014 2:31 pm

The NCAA tournament has brought an end to the college season for many top prospects, leaving them with decisions about whether to enter the draft or return to college. Players from overseas have also begun to make their intentions known, and as the draft approaches, more names will appear below on the Hoops Rumors list of early entrants for the 2014 draft.

We already passed along the key dates on the calendar for early entrants, with the most important deadlines falling on April 15th, when underclassmen must withdraw from the draft to retain eligibility, April 27th, the final day for all early-entry candidates to declare for the draft, and June 16th, the last day non-college prospects can withdraw.

The NBA’s official list of early entrants doesn’t come out until May 2nd, but until then, we’ll be keeping track of reports on prospects declaring for the draft, and we’ll archive them all in a running list here, which will be accessible anytime under “Featured Posts” on the right sidebar.

The players below are in alphabetical order. For an idea of how they stack up against one another, check out the DraftExpress list of the top 100 prospects. If you have any corrections or omissions, please contact us.

Updated 4-28-14

6 comments 2014 NBA Draft

Eastern Notes: Bayless, Celtics, Bucks, Bobcats

By | at March 26, 2014 1:28 pm

Barring a remarkable turn of events, the Eastern Conference playoff field is set, and the only realistic uncertainty that remains is about how the teams will be seeded. Tonight’s Pacers–Heat clash will say much about which team ends up with the top seed, as Indiana will be either three games ahead or just one game up on Miami depending on the outcome. While we look forward to that, here’s what’s happening off the court around the East:

  • Jerryd Bayless said a week after arriving in Boston via trade that he’d like to remain with the Celtics beyond this season, and he reiterated that this week to Gary Dzen of Boston.com. Bayless will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
  • In a wide-ranging talk with season ticket holders earlier this week, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said the team will target a rim protector in the draft, notes Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe.
  • Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel suggests there’s a decent chance that either Tony Mitchell or Chris Wright will return to the Bucks soon, depending on the performance of the newly signed D.J. Stephens (Twitter link). All three have received 10-day contracts from the team this month, and Gardner says the team will probably sign one of them to a longer deal.
  • The Bobcats are expected to receive a league-high $20MM in revenue sharing, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports, with several other small-market teams in line for about $15MM. The increase in revenue the Bobcats have drawn via sponsorships is one advantage of fielding a team that competes for one of the last playoff spots rather than bottoming out in pursuit of a high draft pick, as Lowe explains.
  • Bobcats owner Michael Jordan doesn’t talk much about the team publicly, but he’s been heavily engaged behind the scenes in collective bargaining and revenue sharing discussions, as commissioner Adam Silver tells DeAntae Prince of The Sporting News.
4 comments Boston Celtics Charlotte Hornets Milwaukee Bucks

Lakers Notes: Kaman, Buss Family, Jackson

By | at March 26, 2014 10:30 am

The Lakers set a franchise record for their largest margin of defeat earlier this season, but Tuesday they put up the first 51-point quarter in team history during a rout of the Knicks. All of it still adds up to a lottery appearance, and Tuesday’s win only makes the job of landing a top-five pick tougher. Here’s more on the purple-and-gold:

  • Chris Kaman made it clear early in the season that he’s not pleased with his role on the Lakers, and the team’s efforts to trade him at the deadline came up short. He made a rare appearance in the starting lineup Tuesday, but he’s still frustrated and isn’t on speaking terms with coach Mike D’Antoni, as Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times details. The 11th-year center, a free agent at season’s end, told reporters that he regrets not “doing due diligence” to investigate the team before signing this past summer.
  • A majority of the Buss family was at one point reportedly in favor of Phil Jackson returning to the Lakers, but the family didn’t strongly support him for a role that would have placed him above GM Mitch Kupchak, notes Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter links). The family was, at best, split on that idea, Shelburne says.
  • The specter of Jackson is a frequent media talking point, but Lakers players have put the issue out of their minds, as Jodie Meeks told reporters, including fellow ESPNLosAngeles.com scribe Dave McMenamin.
4 comments Los Angeles Lakers New York Knicks

Pistons Expected To Pursue Tom Izzo

By | at March 26, 2014 10:00 am

WEDNESDAY, 10:00am: Izzo said in a radio appearance on the Dan Patrick Show today that he’s not eyeing the Detroit gig, as Kevin Gehl of WLNS-TV tweets (hat tip to MLive’s David Mayo). Izzo added that he’s never spoken with Gores (Twitter link).

“I have no interest in the #Pistons job right now… 150% no,” Izzo said.

TUESDAY, 4:06pm: Izzo made it clear during an appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter today that he’s content at Michigan State, but he stopped short of dismissing the notion that he’d head to the NBA (transcription via ESPN.com).

“There’s been so many rumors over the years,” Izzo said. “I look at people I used to recruit against years ago [that] said that I’d be gone, but I’m still here and some of those schools have had three different coaches. I’ve always said I’d never say never to anything because you never know what it brings. But I got so much more work to do here. I have a great president, a great [athletics director] and a football coach that I really get along [with]. So this is a pretty good place for me right now. We’re in a pretty good spot. [The] program’s in pretty good shape. [It] ain’t broke, so why fix it?”

8:40am: Pistons owner Tom Gores is expected to pursue Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo to take over permanent head coaching duties on Detroit’s bench, USA Today’s Sam Amick reports (video link). John Loyer is serving as interim coach in place of Maurice Cheeks, whom Gores fired in February. Lionel Hollins is also rumored to be a candidate for the job.

Gores is a graduate of Michigan State, just like Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, who attempted to woo Izzo to Cleveland in 2010. Izzo spoke with the Cavs then, Amick points out, but they were unable to lure him from the college ranks, where he’s established himself as one of the premier sideline bosses, guiding the Spartans to six Final Four appearances and the 2000 national championship.

Izzo, 59, spoke about his recruiting frustrations recently with Michael Rosenberg of SI.com, and while he said he’ll remain at Michigan State, he admits that the question of whether he’d be better off leaving for a job in broadcasting or the NBA is a fair one. A report last summer suggested the Timberwolves were eyeing Izzo as a possible replacement for Rick Adelman, who instead decided to return for another season. There’s speculation that Adelman will step aside this summer, so the Pistons might have NBA competition for Izzo.

Gores, and not president of basketball operations Joe Dumars, appeared to be the one to make the call to fire Cheeks. Dumars is in the final year of his contract and on shaky ground. Teams usually identify a primary front office executive before hiring a coach, but occasionally a coach comes aboard first, as was the case last summer with the Kings, who brought on coach Michael Malone before GM Pete D’Alessandro.

4 comments Detroit Pistons

Nets Want To Re-Sign Paul Pierce

By | at March 25, 2014 4:35 pm

Nets GM Billy King told reporters recently that he would make retaining Shaun Livingston his top priority this offseason, but apparently he didn’t mean to imply that the club wouldn’t like to re-sign Paul Pierce, who’s also set for free agency this summer. King said on the “Joe and Evan” show on CBS Radio New York today that the team wants to keep Pierce, but he pointed to Pierce’s Bird rights as an advantage that will make it easier to re-sign him than to bring back Livingston, with whom the Nets have only non-Bird rights. Tim Bontemps of the New York Post passes along King’s remark via Twitter.

The Nets could go up to the maximum salary to re-sign Pierce, though it’s highly unlikely that they’d do so, even given the team’s profligate spending. Still, Pierce’s Bird rights allow the team to re-sign him without dipping into any of its other exceptions, which is just what the team will likely need to do to keep Livingston, whose non-Bird rights only provide for 120% of the minimum salary. The 28-year-old shooting guard has become a starter for Brooklyn, so it appears the team’s only recourse for keeping him will be to use all or part of the taxpayer’s mid-level exception, which would allow for a three-year contract with a starting salary of $3.278MM. It’s because of these financial limitations that Livingston is the team’s No. 1 focus, King also said on radio, as Bontemps tweets.

King said last week that he hadn’t offered an extension to Pierce, though few veterans sign extensions because the terms mandated under the current collective bargaining agreement don’t make sense for many players. Pierce recently expressed a willingness to return to the Celtics, with whom he spent his entire career until the trade that brought him to Brooklyn last summer, and Boston’s second all-time leading scorer has admitted that he never wanted to leave.

Still, the Celtics are a rebuilding team, and they have Rajon Rondo‘s impending 2015 free agency to worry about. The 36-year-old Pierce remains a productive player this season, averaging 13.6 points on 9.7 shots per game with a 16.4 PER. Pierce might have to take a discount to play with Boston, while the Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has shown a willingness to spend whatever necessary to build his team.

2 comments Brooklyn Nets

Mouhammadou Jaiteh To Enter Draft

By | at March 25, 2014 3:32 pm

French center Mouhammadou Jaiteh will declare for the draft, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM. The 19-year-old will gauge interest from teams to decide whether or not to pull out early, Charania writes, so it sounds like there’s a decent chance Jaiteh won’t be available come draft night. He’s the 76th-ranked prospect on Jonathan Givony’s list at DraftExpress, but he checks in just 150th with Chad Ford of ESPN.com.

The 6’11” Jaiteh entered his name in the draft pool last season, too, and he reportedly worked out for the Suns and Sixers before he withdrew from draft consideration shortly before the deadline to do so. He isn’t seeing much playing time for JSF Nanterre in France this season, averaging just 5.2 points and 3.9 rebounds in 15.2 minutes per game.

Jaiteh will have until 10 days before the draft to decide whether to withdraw, unlike college prospects, who must do so April 15th, as Givony explained earlier. The extra time will also afford him to work out for more NBA teams, another luxury college players don’t have. Jaiteh won’t become automatically eligible for the draft until 2016.

3 comments 2014 NBA Draft

Mark Jackson Sought Clippers, Nets Openings

By | at March 25, 2014 3:29 pm

3:29pm: Scalabrine will work with the Santa Cruz Warriors, tweets Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group.

1:56pm: Mark Jackson has attempted to become a candidate for several head coaching vacancies over the past several months, including the Clippers and Nets openings, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. A dispute over assistant coach Brian Scalabrine is the latest in a series of disagreements between the Warriors and Jackson, who’s come under increased scrutiny from the front office. The coach’s contract runs through 2014/15, but there have been no extension talks, and none are expected to occur, Wojnarowski writes.

The Warriors are reassigning Scalabrine at the behest of Jackson, in spite of the assistant’s popularity with the front office and ownership, Wojnarowski reports. It’s unclear what Scalabrine’s new role will be, but Warriors management wants to keep him within the organization. The Warriors have decided that they want to let Jackson have decision-making power regarding his staff, but Jackson’s struggles to manage the staff and foster a functional working environment threaten his job security, sources tell Wojnarowski. Kings coach Michael Malone, a former Warriors assistant, went weeks without speaking to Jackson last season, Wojnarowski hears.

Jackson has drawn mention as a possible candidate for the Knicks job, but it’s unclear if that holds true now that Phil Jackson is in charge of basketball decisions for New York. Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob recently said there was “pressure” on Mark Jackson, but it’s unclear if he meant to imply that it was related to his job security or just the common, day-to-day pressure inherent with an NBA head coaching gig. Lacob recently told Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group that he would evaluate the coach after the season.

“I do think our coach has done a good job; we have had some big wins, a lot of wins on the road, and that’s usually a sign of good coaching,” Lacob said to Kawakami. “But some things are a little disturbing; the lack of being up for some of these games at home, that’s a concern to me.”

The Warriors picked up Jackson’s team option for 2014/15 this past July, and Lacob said at the time that he envisioned Jackson remaining his coach for the long-term. That was after the Nets hired Jason Kidd and the Clippers brought in Doc Rivers, but just how much Lacob knew about Jackson’s reported desire for other jobs is not clear.

8 comments Brooklyn Nets Golden State Warriors Los Angeles Clippers

Lakers Rumors: Jeanie Buss, Jackson, Kobe

By | at March 25, 2014 3:17 pm

The draft is the major story for most of the teams surrouding the Lakers in our Reverse Standings, but the drama is always multifaceted in L.A. Here’s the latest:

  • Lakers co-owner Jeanie Buss is the team’s governor and ultimate decision-maker, and commissioner Adam Silver recently told her that she should be more assertive in exerting her authority over the team, according to Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding. That’s somewhat surprising, given that the league has also acknowledged concerns about a conflict of interest between Buss and her fiance, Knicks president Phil Jackson.
  • Four of the six Buss siblings, each of whom owns a share of the Lakers, were in favor of bringing Jackson back to the organization, but Jim and Johnny Buss were not, Ding adds in the same piece. It’s unclear at what point the four siblings wanted Jackson to return.
  • Privately, the Lakers, Jeanie Buss included, are relieved that Jackson is off to New York and that he no longer casts a shadow over the organization, Ding observes.
  • Jackson never seemed to understand how much of an intimidating presence he is to the Buss family, helping forestall any reunion between Jackson and the Lakers, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
  • There was talk among the Buss family of bringing Jackson back to the Lakers in an informal role, but the team never approached Jackson with the idea, Shelburne reports in the same piece.
  • Steve Nash “doesn’t disagree” that Kobe Bryant and Mike D’Antoni aren’t a good fit with each other, as the point guard told ESPN radio’s Colin Cowherd on Monday (transcription via Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News). Nash nonetheless added that he doesn’t think Bryant and D’Antoni have had enough of a chance to decide how they feel about each other.
  • Amin Elhassan of ESPN.com, in an Insider-only piece, weighs the rebuilding jobs facing the Lakers and the Knicks, concluding that New York’s road is easier, given Jackson’s presence and superior existing talent.
0 comments Los Angeles Lakers New York Knicks
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