Fallout From Pacers Dismissal Of Frank Vogel
Frank Vogel released an official statement regarding his dismissal from the Pacers, and the former coach thanked the organization, executive Larry Bird and the team’s fans for their support, Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports relays. “I would like to express my sincerest thanks to the Simon family, Larry Bird and the entire Indiana Pacers organization for giving me the opportunity to serve as the head coach of this team for the past six seasons. This is one of the top-flight organizations in the National Basketball Association and I truly enjoyed every minute I spent as the leader of this group of men,” Vogel wrote. “During my time with the Pacers, we made a lot of positive memories and none of that would have been possible without the support of Larry, the front office and all of the players I had the opportunity to coach. We consistently battled through thick and thin, and that is something that I am very proud of.”
“Lastly, I want to give a huge thanks to Pacers fans in Indiana and across the country,” Vogel continued. “You all have treated my family and me with kindness and class throughout our time here and I can’t thank you enough for that. My family and I consider Indianapolis home and this community will always hold a special place in our hearts.”
Here’s more from Indiana:
- Vogel wasn’t a perfect coach, given his lack of adaptability and his failure to get the most out of ex-Pacers Evan Turner and Gerald Green, but he wasn’t inept at offense, which Bird wants more of, and the way Lance Stephenson, David West and Roy Hibbert have performed since leaving Indiana speaks to the coach’s value, as Zach Lowe of ESPN.com argues. Ultimately, the decision to let go of Vogel puts the onus on Bird’s acumen as an executive going forward, Lowe writes.
- Bird cited the success of a Celtics coaching move that took place in 1983 as one of the reasons he decided against retaining Vogel, and that, as well as his reluctance to consult star Paul George about his would-be position switch last year, shows the executive is stuck in the past, contends Gregg Doyel of The Indianapolis Star.
- The players were aware of Vogel’s status as a potential lame duck since the All-Star break, and they weren’t surprised by the announcement that the coach had been dismissed, notes Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter links).
- Bird publicly relaying that Vogel tried to talk his way out of being dismissed likely won’t look good to potential coaching candidates, opines Nate Taylor of The Indianapolis Star. According to the scribe, that admission by Bird demonstrates to candidates that he is capable of disparaging them, whether he respects them or not.
- Bird’s stance that Vogel didn’t get the most out of Indiana’s roster this season isn’t necessarily correct, as many around the league believed the Pacers overachieved this season, writes Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News. “It comes down to what you’re looking for going forward,” Bird said. “We’ve got some good players, and we’ve got two guys I think are really good players. And how are we going to get the other guys to raise their level of play? That’s what the new coach has got to do.”
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
NBA Announces Draft Combine Invitees
The NBA released its official invite list for the 2016 NBA Draft Combine (h/t to Cody Westerlund of CBSChicago.com), which will be held in Chicago from May 11th-15th. The players who were invited to the combine were determined by lists submitted from every team in the league. If a player was not invited to Chicago’s event, it doesn’t bode well for his prospects on draft night. Although, as ESPN’s Jeff Goodman points out (Twitter link), there were five players drafted in 2015 who did not attend last May’s combine.
The combine’s activities will consist of player interviews, testing and five-on-five scrimmaging. A total of 63 draft hopefuls will participate, though projected No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons is not among those headed to Chicago. Other notable voluntary combine absences include Dragan Bender, Domantas Sabonis and Dejounte Murray, who, like Simmons, is represented by agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports.
Listed below in alphabetical order is the complete roster of scheduled combine participants:
- Ron Baker — Wichita State
- Wade Baldwin — Vanderbilt
- Cat Barber — North Carolina State
- Malik Beasley — Florida State
- DeAndre Bembry — St. Joseph’s
- Ben Bentil — Providence
- Jaron Blossomgame — Clemson
- Joel Bolomboy — Weber State
- Malcolm Brogdon — Virginia
- Jaylen Brown — California
- Robert Carter — Maryland
- Marquese Chriss — Washington
- Elgin Cook — Oregon
- Isaiah Cousins — Oklahoma
- Deyonta Davis — Michigan State
- Cheick Diallo — Kansas
- Kris Dunn — Providence
- Henry Ellenson — Marquette
- Perry Ellis — Kansas
- A.J. English — Iona
- Kay Felder — Oakland
- Dorian Finney-Smith — Florida
- Michael Gbinije — Syracuse
- Daniel Hamilton — Connecticut
- A.J. Hammons — Purdue
- Josh Hart — Villanova
- Nigel Hayes — Wisconsin
- Buddy Hield — Oklahoma
- Brandon Ingram — Duke
- Demetrius Jackson — Notre Dame
- Justin Jackson — North Carolina
- Brice Johnson — North Carolina
- Damian Jones — Vanderbilt
- Skal Labissiere — Kentucky
- Dedric Lawson — Memphis
- Jake Layman — Maryland
- Marcus Lee — Kentucky
- Caris LeVert — Michigan
- Thon Maker — Orangeville Prep/Athletic Institute
- Patrick McCaw — UNLV
- Isaiah Miles — St. Joseph’s
- Jamal Murray — Kentucky
- Malik Newman — Mississippi State
- Georges Niang — Iowa State
- Chinanu Onuaku — Louisville
- Marcus Paige — North Carolina
- Gary Payton II — Oregon State
- Jakob Poeltl — Utah
- Taurean Prince — Baylor
- Zhou Qi — China
- Malachi Richardson — Syracuse
- Wayne Selden — Kansas
- Pascal Siakam — New Mexico State
- Diamond Stone — Maryland
- Caleb Swanigan — Purdue
- Melo Trimble — Maryland
- Tyler Ulis — Kentucky
- Jarrod Uthoff — Iowa
- Denzel Valentine — Michigan State
- Isaiah Whitehead — Seton Hall
- Troy Williams — Indiana
- Kyle Wiltjer — Gonzaga
- Stephen Zimmerman — UNLV
And-Ones: Bargnani, Jersey Ads, Burton
Former Nets power forward Andrea Bargnani, who was waived in February as part of a buyout arrangement, took to his personal Facebook page to explain the reason he wanted out of Brooklyn (translation via Orazio Cauchi of Sportando). The veteran claims he was promised more minutes than he was seeing by the team prior to inking his deal, and since he wasn’t receiving the playing time he was promised, it made more sense to part ways with the club than remain unhappy. Bargnani also added that he wanted to sign with a Euroleague club after securing his release from the Nets, but there wasn’t enough time to get a deal done. The 30-year-old former No. 1 overall pick made 46 appearances for Brooklyn this season, notching averages of 6.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per outing.
Here’s more from around the league:
- As the NBA moves ever closer to the reality of paid advertisements on team uniforms, the league has informed franchises that any ads promoting alcohol, tobacco, gambling, politics, or from media companies and Nike competitors are prohibited, Darren Rovell of ESPN.com relays (Twitter link).
- Cavs forward LeBron James is itching to square off against the Heat and his friend and former teammate Dwyane Wade in the Eastern Conference finals, Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal writes. When asked if he wanted to play Miami if the Cavs advance past Atlanta, James responded, “Naturally, of course. That’s since I came back [to Cleveland]. It’d be great to play against those guys in the postseason. Throughout my whole career, I’ve always wanted to go against Wade in a playoff series. We’ve always talked about it even before we became teammates in ’10. It’s not been heavy on my mind, but it’s crossed my mind throughout my whole career.”
- Iowa State junior guard Deonte Burton intends to withdraw from the 2016 NBA draft and return to school for his senior campaign, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). Burton is the No. 31 ranked junior in his class according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
Latest On Rockets Coaching Search
9:46pm: The Rockets are intrigued by college coaches Shaka Smart (Texas) and Bill Self (Kansas), and also may seek to interview former Rocket and current broadcaster Kenny Smith, Stein relays (Twitter links).
9:08pm: Sixers associate head coach Mike D’Antoni will interview for the vacant post this week, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links). Houston will also desire an interview with Frank Vogel if he is let go by the Pacers, Stein adds.
8:00pm: Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff has withdrawn from consideration for the team’s head coaching position after meeting with team ownership and front office personnel on Monday, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports. Other NBA teams have now begun reaching out to Bickerstaff about available lead assistant positions, which is what he is now focusing on, the Vertical scribe adds, though Wojnarowski makes no mention of which teams have been in contact with the coach.
Houston intends to conduct a wide-ranging search for its next head coach, Wojnarowski relays. GM Daryl Morey and team owner Les Alexander met with Bickerstaff on Monday, as well as with Clippers assistant coach Sam Cassell and Rockets assistant Chris Finch, league sources informed Wojnarowski. The Rockets are trying to arrange interviews with Jeff Hornacek and Hornets assistant Stephen Silas, league sources told Wojnarowski. The franchise also reportedly plans to interview former Cavs coach David Blatt, though reports peg former Rockets and Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy as the front-runner for the vacant post.
Bickerstaff posted a mark of 37-34 after taking over for the fired Kevin McHale, who got off to a 4-7 start to the campaign. Houston indicated that Bickerstaff would receive consideration to have his interim tag removed, but apparently guiding the team to the playoffs wasn’t enough to sell ownership on him as a viable long-term option.
2015/16 D-League Usage Report: Pistons
The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams had one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those NBA organizations without their own affiliates were required to assign players to D-League clubs associated with other NBA franchises. D-League teams could volunteer to take on the assigned players, and if no volunteers emerged, the players were assigned at random.
This significant change from the 2014/15 season came about after the Pacers purchased the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and turned them into their one-to-one partner for the 2015/16 campaign. Other NBA teams have interest in following suit in the years ahead, and the NBA’s ultimate goal for the D-League is for all 30 NBA franchises to have their own D-League squads. You can view the complete list of D-League affiliates here.
We at Hoops Rumors are recapping the D-League-related activity for the 2015/16 campaign for each team, and we’ll continue with the Detroit Pistons, whose D-League affiliate is the Grand Rapids Drive:
The Pistons made 18 assignments for the 2015/16 campaign, sending four players to the D-League for a total of 42 days. Listed below are all the assignments and recalls made by Detroit for the 2015/16 season:
- December 5th: Assigned Spencer Dinwiddie (1st) — Recalled December 6th
- December 5th: Assigned Darrun Hilliard (1st) — Recalled December 6th
- December 6th: Assigned Spencer Dinwiddie (2nd) — Recalled December 9th
- December 6th: Assigned Darrun Hilliard (2nd) — Recalled December 9th
- December 13th: Assigned Spencer Dinwiddie (3rd) — Recalled December 14th
- December 13th: Assigned Darrun Hilliard (3rd) — Recalled December 14th
- December 17th: Assigned Brandon Jennings (1st) — Recalled December 21st
- December 19th: Assigned Darrun Hilliard (4th) — Recalled December 21st
- December 19th: Assigned Reggie Bullock (1st) — Recalled December 21st
- January 7th: Assigned Spencer Dinwiddie (4th) — Recalled February 9th
Grand Rapids also had one player assigned to it from another NBA franchise via the flexible assignment rule:
- The Clippers sent Branden Dawson (two assignments, 48 days).
Here is how the Pistons’ players performed while on assignment to the D-League this season:
- Reggie Bullock: In one D-League appearance, the swingman scored 29 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists while shooting 83.3% from the field.
- Spencer Dinwiddie: The combo guard appeared in 13 D-League contests and averaged 14.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists to accompany a shooting line of .421/.340/.869.
- Darrun Hilliard: The shooting guard made three D-League appearances and compiled averages of 25.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists to go along with a slash line of .490/.440/.800.
- Brandon Jennings: The point guard made one D-League appearance and scored 11 points, snagged three rebounds and issued 11 dimes while connecting on 44.4% of his field goal attempts.
Eastern Notes: Bosh, Butler, Lawson
Chris Bosh will miss the remainder of the 2016 NBA playoffs, as he and the Heat jointly announced. “The Heat, Chris, the doctors and medical team have been working together throughout this process and will continue to do so to return Chris to playing basketball as soon as possible,” the statement relayed. The veteran hasn’t played since February 9th because of concerns about reported blood clots in his left calf, and he had been lobbying for the team to activate him so he can contribute in the postseason. Bosh reportedly found a doctor who appeared willing to give clearance for him to play, but the team and its doctors disagreed with that assessment. The NBPA had reportedly requested a meeting with the team on Bosh’s behalf, though it is unclear if that meeting has occurred or ever will.
Here’s more from the East:
- While the Bulls are willing to listen to trade offers for Jimmy Butler, the team is telling interested parties that the current plan is to hang onto the swingman for next season, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. If Chicago decides to change course and deal Butler, it would likely take an established NBA starter in addition to a package of draft picks and younger prospects to land the player, Blakely adds. Butler just completed the first season of the five-year, $92.3MM deal he inked last summer.
- Ty Lawson, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, said he would like to return to the Pacers next season, the team relayed (via Twitter). “It was a fun time. I liked the culture here. … Hopefully I can come back next year,” Lawson said. The point guard made 13 appearances for Indiana this season, averaging 4.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 18.1 minutes per outing.
- Power forward Anthony Tolliver is poised to become an unrestricted free agent, and though he prefers to remain with the Pistons, he understands the team has more pressing needs to attend to first, writes Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. “Who knows what’s going to happen,” Tolliver said. “I’ve been in this league long enough to know nothing’s promised. I feel good about my role here, and how I’ve helped this team in many different ways — on and off the court. But at the end of the day, it’ll be up to my agent and the team to see if we can figure something out and see if we can make it a long-term home.”
Western Notes: Scott, Nelson, Draft
Lakers executive Jim Buss was effusive in his praise for the work Luke Walton did while coaching the Warriors in Steve Kerr‘s absence this season, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays. “He was thrust into a situation. People might say, ‘Anyone could coach Golden State with their roster.’ No you couldn’t have,” Buss told Pincus. “There’s a lot of pressure in that. There’s a lot of preparation for that.”
Regarding the Lakers waiting 11 days prior to making a decision on former coach Byron Scott‘s fate, Buss told Pincus he thought he was simply being fair to Scott. “There was a lot to go through before that decision was made,” Buss said. “I’m not going to have a knee-jerk reaction because everybody says, ‘You won 17 games, he’s got to go.’ I made a promise to sit with him and [GM] Mitch [Kupchak] and give him a fair shake.”
Here’s more from out West:
- The Jazz have workouts scheduled on Thursday for Ryan Anderson (Arizona), Trey Freeman (Old Dominion), Jaron Blossomgame (Clemson), Thomas Walkup (Stephen F. Austin), Matt Costello (Michigan State) and Andrew White (Nebraska), the team announced.
- Former Oklahoma power forward Ryan Spangler has a workout scheduled with the Thunder on Thursday, Royce Young of ESPN.com tweets.
- The contributions from Festus Ezeli, in particular, and Ian Clark were vital for the Warriors in their Game 2 victory over Portland on Tuesday, observes Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. Both are poised for restricted free agency this summer.
- Jameer Nelson still has two seasons remaining on his contract with the Nuggets, but he isn’t keen on remaining on the bench as the team’s third point guard for another campaign, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post in his analysis of the 12th-year veteran. Nelson wouldn’t hesitate to have his agent ask the Nuggets to trade him if it looks like he won’t get more playing time, Dempsey wrote previously. In 39 appearances, Nelson averaged 7.7 points, 4.9 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game. He shot 36.8% from the field overall and 29.9% from beyond the 3-point line.
Community Shootaround: Frank Vogel
Pacers coach Frank Vogel‘s contract expires this summer, and he and the team reportedly haven’t discussed an extension yet. Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post heard that Vogel might have been coaching for his job Sunday, when the Pacers lost the deciding game of their first-round series to the Raptors. President of basketball operations Larry Bird declined to answer a question after Sunday’s contest about whether Vogel would return for next season, saying, “Come on, man, the game just ended.”
Bird had spoken in January about a philosophical difference between himself and Vogel, saying that he preferred an up-tempo attack with Paul George at the power forward while Vogel favored a more conventional approach with two traditional big men. George put up resistance to playing the four at the beginning of the season and Indiana largely abandoned the idea. The executive said he’ll speak with owner Herb Simon at an undetermined point to figure out whether to re-sign Vogel. Finding a way to generate more offense is the key, Bird insisted. “We need to score more points,” Bird said to Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star. “If Frank comes back, what can we do to get better offense? It’s on all of us. Frank’s a great guy. He’s going to be fine no matter what happens. If he’s back, he’ll be fine here. If he’s not, he’s not. We’ll see.”
Vogel has a record of 250-181 in parts of six seasons with Indiana, his only NBA head coaching stop. That mark doesn’t include a 31-30 record in the playoffs, where Vogel guided the Pacers to back-to-back appearances in the Eastern Conference finals in 2013 and 2014.
This brings me to the topic for today: Should the Pacers retain Frank Vogel as their head coach?
Has Vogel done enough in your eyes to be re-signed, or is it time to bring in some new blood to coach the team? Keep in mind that many of the top coaching targets are already off the board this offseason, which may weight things in Vogel’s favor. Take to the comments section to share your thoughts and opinions on the matter. We look forward to what you have to say.
Celtics Notes: Ainge, Olynyk, Draft
Team executive Danny Ainge says the Celtics plan on working out 80-100 players in advance of June’s NBA Draft, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com relays. “We’ll put them through a lot of different situations,” Ainge said. “We’ll see how bigs are at guarding guards, and guards defending bigger players, some of the roles they would have to play if they were Celtics. … We’ll get a good look at what they can do in a lot of different scenarios. With our picks, it is in a player’s best interest to work out for us. But for us, we want to see as many players as possible so that we can draft the best fit, the best player that’s available.”
Ainge also noted that he expects to be on the phone with other teams talking trades more often than in previous seasons because of the team’s wealth of draft picks, Blakely writes. If Boston is unable to package some of its picks to acquire more talent, the Celtics will look at drafting players from overseas with the intent that they won’t join the NBA for a few seasons, the scribe adds.
Here’s more from Boston:
- Boston is gearing up for a busy offseason, as Ainge detailed and as Jay King of MassLive relays (Twitter links). “There are scenarios where our team could be better, and be significantly better, and there are scenarios where we have younger players that are maybe not as good from a win/record standpoint, but with the development that standpoint being a much, much higher ceiling,” Ainge said.
- Center Kelly Olynyk intends to consult with additional doctors prior to making a decision regarding surgery for his injured right shoulder, Blakely writes in a separate piece. The big man is hoping to avoid going under the knife this offseason, telling Blakely, “It’s always an option when you have an injury of certain degrees. If you can make sure it’s healthy without it, then it’s healthy without it.”
- The Celtics are holding predraft workouts today for Dorian Finney-Smith (Florida), Quincy Ford (Northeastern), Marcus Georges-Hunt (Georgia Tech), Sheldon McClellan (Miami), Mike Tobey (Virginia) and Jameel Warney (Stony Brook), as Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com relays (via Twitter).
- Dayton shooting guard Charles Cooke will work out for the Celtics on Saturday, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets.
Community Shootaround: Hawks Free Agents
The Hawks lost to the Cavaliers on Monday night by a score of 104-93 and have fallen a game behind Cleveland in the series. Atlanta, coming off a 48-34 campaign, has a busy offseason ahead of it, and with a number of key players set to hit free agency, the franchise will certainly have some difficult calls to make.
Al Horford (15.2 points, 7.3 rebounds), Kirk Hinrich (0.5 points, 1.3 assists), Kent Bazemore (11.6 points, 5.1 rebounds) and Kris Humphries (6.4 points, 3.4 rebounds) are all set to become unrestricted free agents, Mike Scott (6.2 points, 2.7 rebounds) and Lamar Patterson (2.4 points, 1.4 rebounds) both have non-guaranteed deals, plus, the Hawks have a team option for Mike Muscala worth $1,015,696. Atlanta currently has $51.7MM in guaranteed salary committed for 2016/17, which means the franchise could have approximately $40MM in cap flexibility to work with this offseason.
This brings me to today’s topic: Who among Atlanta’s potential free agents should the team re-sign/retain this summer? Who should the team let walk?
Take to the comments section to share your thoughts and voice your opinions on the subject. Tell us who the team should prioritize retaining for the 2016/17 season and why. If you are against one or more of the players mentioned above remaining in a Hawks uniform, share your thoughts with us on that as well. We look forward to what you have to say.