Community Shootaround: Earl Watson
On Tuesday, the Suns removed the interim tag from Earl Watson‘s title and formally named him head coach. “Earl did a very good job with our team last season after taking over as interim head coach during a challenging time for the organization,” Suns GM Ryan McDonough said during the team’s official press conference. “Earl’s natural leadership qualities and his ability to connect with and motivate our players have stood out throughout his time here in Phoenix. We are excited to see what he can do with a healthy roster after having a full offseason to prepare.”
The news of Watson’s hiring came as no shock, seeing as people in the Suns organization and around the league considered him the front-runner for the job as the team prepared to begin its search in earnest last week, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. The Suns were reportedly poised to pursue Mike D’Antoni even before they fired Jeff Hornacek, but a reunion with D’Antoni, who won Coach of the Year honors with the Suns in 2005, never came to pass. The team eyed Steve Nash, but the former MVP wasn’t interested. Conflicting reports emerged about Phoenix’s interest in Villanova coach Jay Wright, while the team was also apparently fond of Dan Majerle and Luke Walton.
Watson has a reputation for having a strong influence on free agents, and that helped build his case for the job, along with his work to rehabilitate the trade value of Markieff Morris, Phoenix’s defensive improvements down the stretch and perhaps his ties to the Klutch Sports Group, the agency that also represents Eric Bledsoe, according to Coro. Soon-to-be free agent power forward Mirza Teletovic cited Watson as he spoke about why he wants to re-sign with the team. The Suns only went 9-24 under Watson, though Bledsoe was already out for the season by the time of the coaching change, and Brandon Knight missed most of the games that Watson coached.
This brings me to the topic for today: Did the Suns make the right call by naming Earl Watson head coach?
Are you a fan of the hire? Then take to the comments section to tell us why. Think Phoenix could have done better? Tell us why you believe so and whom the team should have hired instead. We look forward to what you have to say on the matter.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
And-Ones: Telfair, Lee, Robinson
Idaho State junior point guard Ethan Telfair intends to test the waters and declare for the 2016 NBA Draft, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Ethan, who is the younger brother of former NBA player Sebastian Telfair, doesn’t intend to hire an agent, which would allow him to withdraw and return to school prior to the May 25th cutoff date, Goodman adds. The junior is a long shot to be selected this June, not appearing among the top 100 prospects according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress or Chad Ford of ESPN.com. In 29 games for Idaho State this season, Telfair averaged 20.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists to accompany a slash line of .397/.375/.864.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Kentucky junior power forward Marcus Lee fully intends to make the jump to the NBA next season, but he’ll hold off on hiring an agent to keep his options open, Goodman relays in a separate piece. “I haven’t hired an agent,” Lee told Goodman. “Because I want to keep my eligibility just in case I decide to come back, but my plan is to go to the NBA. That’s the only goal. I want people to know I am serious about this. I’ve talked to Coach Cal [John Calipari] about this, and he definitely understands that I’m going to the NBA this year.”
- Former NBA combo guard Nate Robinson hasn’t begun training for it, but he still fully intends to pursue his dream of making it into the NFL, as he told ESPN’s Kevin Pelton. When asked if he was still serious about making an NFL bid, Robinson responded, “Serious as a heart attack. Totally serious. As soon as I get the opportunity, if it comes my way, I’ll take full advantage of it.” The veteran currently plays for Israel’s Hapoel Tel Aviv, the club he signed with in March.
- Turkish point guard Berk Ugurlu intends to enter this year’s draft, international journalist David Pick reports (via Twitter). The 19-year-old isn’t among Givony‘s top 100 players. Givony instead ranks Ugurlu as the No. 12 international player in his class.
Submit Your Questions For Hoops Rumors Mailbag
In addition to our regular weekly chat, which Chuck Myron facilitates every Wednesday, we have a second opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in our weekly mailbag feature, which is posted every Sunday.
Have a question regarding player movement, free agent rumors, the salary cap, the NBA draft, or the top storylines of the week? You can e-mail them here: hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com. Feel free to send emails throughout the week, but please be mindful that we may receive a sizable number of questions and might not get to all of them.
If you missed out on any past mailbags and would like to catch up, you can view the full archives here.
Eastern Notes: Lue, Johnson, Thibodeau
Cavaliers GM David Griffin was hesitant to say anything negative about former coach David Blatt, but the executive did contend that Blatt wasn’t the right person to lead the team’s current roster, Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer writes. “David really didn’t do anything inherently wrong,” said Griffin. “It just wasn’t the right fit. We [the players] are radically more engaged with each other [since Tyronn Lue took over as coach]. You can see it on an night-in, night-out basis just by watching the bench during games.”
When asked about the Cavs’ record being worse under Lue than under Blatt this season, Griffin responded, “I told everyone that things were likely to get worse before they got better after the change,” said Griffin. “I know the [coaching] change was somewhat unprecedented. We were going to make some significant changes, and it was going to take Ty a while to get his feet on the ground. At one point, we had 23 games in 41 days. When Ty took over, we were changing offensive and defensive schemes and there were periods where we had absolutely no practice days. We put him in a very tough spot.”
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Pistons rookie swingman Stanley Johnson has embraced the challenge of guarding LeBron James in his first-ever playoff series, which is in line with the competitive fire that made the team enamored with him in the first place, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com writes. “Stanley’s toughness and competitiveness and the fact that he’ll never back down, that’s not been a concern all year,” coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said. “What he’s got to do is play smarter, make better decisions and continue to work on his skills. I never have a doubt about his competitiveness. If you’re not a competitor, a great competitor at 19, my guess is at 22 you’re not going to be a great competitor, either. That to me is just sort of part of the personality. Now you’ll learn to play situations better, you maybe won’t make the mistakes about being nervous, you’ll have seen things more. All of those things will change, but the competitiveness to go out and play the best player in the world and not be afraid and all of that. If he didn’t have that now, I don’t think he’d have it in three years, quite honestly.”
- The plethora of talented young defensive players the Wolves possess makes former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau the perfect choice to lead Minnesota into contention, opines Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post.
- The Hawks have once again assigned swingman Lamar Patterson to the Austin Spurs of the NBA D-League, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution relays. Patterson will play in the deciding game of the Western Conference finals against the Los Angeles D-Fenders tonight, Vivlamore notes.
Western Notes: Watson, Conley, Williams
Earl Watson possesses all the qualities the Suns were seeking in their next head coach, and he firmly won over the front office with his preparedness during the interview process, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. “The more and more we discussed it, Earl continued to emerge from the front of the pack and really had everything we were looking for at the top of our list in terms of ability to connect with and motivate players, ability to communicate effectively and directly and the ability to teach and inspire while also being direct with players and holding them accountable,” GM Ryan McDonough said.
The GM also compared Watson to Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers, Coro relays. “They both have a presence about them,” McDonough said. “They both have a command of the room. When they speak, there’s some natural leadership qualities and characteristics that emanate from them and everybody pays attention and knows who’s in charge and who the boss is.” The team also believes Watson will help lure free agents, Coro notes. “I think Earl will be a powerful recruiter,” McDonough said. “He certainly did a great job with LaMarcus Aldridge, getting us very much in the mix for LaMarcus. I have no doubt that will continue, especially as head coach. I think he will have a lot of clout and hopefully help us land some elite free agents.“
Here’s more from out West:
- Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace was emphatic in his assertion that Memphis would re-sign point guard Mike Conley, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, tweets Chris Vernon of 92.9 FM ESPN. “We are undefeated in re-signing our core players, and we will remain so. We are going to re-sign Mike Conley,” Wallace said.
- Despite his excellent knowledge of the game, veteran point guard Andre Miller says that he has no interest in coaching once his playing career comes to an end, Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express News relays (via Twitter). The 40-year-old appeared in 13 contests for the Spurs this season and he averaged 4.3 points and 2.2 assists in 13.9 minutes per outing.
- The Timberwolves reached out to Monty Williams at the beginning of their coaching search, but the Thunder assistant is still recovering from the tragic death of his wife and wasn’t prepared to discuss the post, relays Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). Minnesota officially hired Tom Thibodeau earlier this evening along with Scott Layden, who will be the team’s new GM.
Wolves Hire Tom Thibodeau, Scott Layden
5:51pm: The Wolves have officially announced the hiring of Thibodeau and Layden. “We are extremely excited to welcome Tom Thibodeau back to the Timberwolves,” team owner Glen Taylor said. “Through this process we quickly identified Tom as the best leader to shape our talented team and help them realize their full potential. Tom’s resume speaks for itself. He is a proven winner, leader, and one of the most well-respected NBA head coaches over the last decade. His teams have annually been among the league leaders in defense and we are excited about the approach and mentality he will bring to that side of the ball. The future of the Minnesota Timberwolves has never been brighter and we are very pleased to have Tom as our basketball operations leader moving forward.”
Regarding Layden, Taylor said, “Scott Layden brings over 30 years of experience in the NBA to his new role within our organization, including several years in basketball operations leadership positions with Utah, New York and most recently San Antonio. His decades of front office experience will be integral as we head into an extremely exciting time for our organization. In getting to know Scott, he has impressed me with his not only basketball acumen, but also his character and integrity. Tom and Scott will work in concert together in shaping our roster moving forward. We are confident this partnership gives us the best possible chance of winning an NBA title.”
5:13 pm: The Wolves and Tom Thibodeau have reached an agreement that will make him the team’s head coach and president of basketball operations, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (via Twitter). The pact will pay Thibodeau approximately $8MM per season over five years, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical first reported that the two sides were closing in on an agreement.
Spurs assistant GM Scott Layden is set to become Minnesota’s GM and will earn approximately $2MM per season, according to Stein. Layden had spoken with the Wolves within the past few days about assuming the role of GM in a Thibodeau-led front office, according to Wojnarowski. The executive has previously served as the primary basketball executive of the Jazz, from 1992-99, before moving on to the Knicks from 1999-2003. He returned to the Jazz and spent several years as an assistant coach before the Spurs hired him in September 2012.
Minnesota had also reportedly interviewed Jeff Van Gundy for the coach/executive post that Thibodeau landed, and Mark Jackson apparently interviewed for the coaching job Tuesday. Thibodeau has nonetheless been the leading candidate throughout the team’s search and people around the league believed it was inevitable that the Wolves would hire him, according to Krawczynski. Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times reported earlier this week that people around the league were convinced Thibodeau would end up in Minnesota, where he still feels a comfort from his time as an assistant coach there from 1989-91, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.
Thibodeau had plenty of on-court success in his five seasons with the Bulls, who had given the longtime assistant his first NBA head coaching job. He went 255-139 in the regular season, winning the 2010 Coach of the Year award, though he was just 23-28 in the playoffs. Chicago parted ways with Thibodeau last May.
Wizards Formally Offer Scott Brooks Coaching Post
The Wizards have made Scott Brooks a formal offer to become their next head coach, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Washington president Ernie Grunfeld met with Brooks in California today and made the former Thunder coach an official offer, the Vertical scribe adds. Brooks has been enthusiastic about reaching an agreement with the Wizards and could complete negotiations on a pact that would pay him approximately $7MM per season, Wojnarowski notes.
There is apparently a time element involved in the negotiations, with the Wizards wanting to secure Brooks prior to the Rockets post opening up, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Brooks and Jeff Van Gundy are reportedly the co-favorites for the Rockets head coaching job. Houston still hasn’t officially decided the fate of interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who reportedly enhanced his chances of keeping the job when the team clinched a playoff berth on the final night of the regular season, but the latest reports appear to cast significant doubt on his return. Brooks is wary of the uncertainty surrounding Dwight Howard‘s player option, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reported, even though Howard has long been expected to opt out. Stein reported earlier that the Rockets were second only to the Wizards among the options Brooks was considering but pointed to Houston’s focus on the playoffs as a disadvantage.
In seven seasons as an NBA coach, all with Oklahoma City, Brooks has a regular season record of 338-207. His career postseason mark is 39-34.
Community Shootaround: Al Horford
Al Horford‘s future with the franchise is perhaps the biggest question facing the Hawks this offseason. The 29-year-old is set to become an unrestricted free agent. He stands to more than double his salary in free agency and may change the perception of who deserves a max contract, opined Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders. Horford is making $12MM this season, but when he hits the open market this summer after completing his ninth NBA season, he’ll be eligible for a contract starting at approximately 30% of the salary cap. That works out to a first-year salary of approximately $26MM and means that a four-year maximum contract for the veteran player would cost a team in the neighborhood of $111MM.
That is certainly a hefty sum for a player who has never averaged higher than 18.6 points per game in a season, but with the salary cap set to increase markedly for next season, the perception of player worth is likely to change dramatically as well. That brings me to the topic for today: Is Al Horford worth a maximum salary contract?
The big man is coming off a solid, if unspectacular campaign that saw him post averages of 15.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 32.1 minutes per outing. Horford is a perfect fit in coach Mike Budenholzer‘s offense, which certainly should factor into the Hawks’ decision-making process regarding the center. Signing any big man to a long-term pact is a major risk these days, and Horford, who turns 30 in June, is entering the decline phase of his career, which isn’t a plus when weighing the pros and cons of committing a sizeable chunk of cap space to him. The center has had injury issues in the past, missing significant parts of the 2011/12 and 2013/14 campaigns.
But what say you? Is Horford worth annual salaries of $26MM or more? If so, do you think he re-signs with the Hawks for that amount or heads elsewhere? Take to the comments section to share your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say.
Draft Notes: Jackson, Sabonis, Zimmerman
Notre Dame junior point guard Demetrius Jackson, who declared for the draft last month, has signed with Priority Sports for his representation, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Projections are divided for the 21-year-old who ranks as the 11th-best prospect according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress but comes in just 25th in the listings that Chad Ford of ESPN.com compiles.
Plenty of other news about the draft has emerged with the June 23rd event barely more than two months away. Here’s the latest.
- Gonzaga sophomore forward/center Domantas Sabonis has hired the Wasserman agency, reports Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (Twitter link), with Greg Lawrence and Jason Ranne to represent him, according to Liz Mullen of The Sports Business Journal (Twitter link). That closes off the possibility that he’d withdraw from the draft and return to school. The 6’10” 20-year-old is the 15th-best prospect in Chad Ford’s ESPN Insider rankings and No. 19 on Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress list.
- Texas A&M senior combo guard Alex Caruso has signed with agent Greg Lawrence of the Wasserman agency, Mullen relays (on Twitter).
- UNLV freshman center Stephen Zimmerman has also signed with the Wasserman Media Group,
- West Virginia junior power forward Devin Williams has signed with agent Aaron Turner of Verus Management, Goodman reports (Twitter link). The 6’9″ 21-year-old is the 94th-best prospect in Ford’s rankings, while Givony has him outside the top 100, simply listing him as the 35th-best junior.
- Florida Gulf Coast University junior Marc-Eddy Norelia will enter the draft without hiring an agent, the school announced. He’s a long-shot prospect, falling outside Ford’s and Givony’s rankings. The 6’8″ forward can retain his college eligibility if he withdraws from the draft by May 25th and doesn’t sign with an agent.
- Czech power forward Adam Pechacek is entering the draft, his representatives at SigmaSports announced (via Twitter). The 21-year-old averaged 13.1 points and 5.2 rebounds playing in Poland last season.
- Greek center Georgios Papagiannis, Turkish power forward/center Ege Arar and Slovenian point guard Aleksej Nikolic will all enter the draft, Jonathan Givony of Draft Express relays in a series of tweets. Of the trio, Papagiannis is the most likely to be drafted, with the 7’2″ 18-year-old coming in at No. 48 overall according to Givony. Neither Arar or Nikolic are locks to be selected, with Arar ranked as the No. 36 overall international prospect in his class by Givony, who slots Nikolic at No. 50.
Western Notes: Durant, McHale, Watson
Rockets GM Daryl Morey said he moved rapidly to change coaches 11 games into the season in an effort to turn around the team’s season before it became a lost cause, as the executive explained via Quora
“Obviously, given this history the decision to change coaches was not taken lightly. Our team was reeling at the time of the change — in just our first 11 games we had lost multiple games to nonplayoff teams, including two at home, and none of the losses were close, most were double-digit losses. In the West, you basically can’t do that for any stretch of the season and still reach our goals for the season. The prior year, for example, we had only two losses at home to nonplayoff teams the whole season — we had already done it in only two-plus weeks. I believed that if we waited until what would be considered a normal timetable to make a change that it would likely be too late. Our only focus is on winning and I felt a material change was necessary.”
Here’s more from out West:
- Kevin Durant is arguably the top available prize available in the free agent market this summer, and while he has yet to make up his mind about next season, Wanda Pratt, Durant’s mother, says he’s loyal to the Thunder organization, Ben Standig of CSN Mid-Atlantic.com relays. “I don’t know what his ultimate decision will be,” Pratt said of her son. “Where he’s going to end [up] playing has still not been decided by him. He’s still playing in the playoffs as everyone knows. I don’t know [his plans] so don’t say Mama Durant said [he’s coming to Washington] because I didn’t say that. He’s focused on the playoffs right now and he’s pretty loyal to the Thunder with regards to that. When the time comes, he’ll make a decision best for him.“
- Suns GM Ryan McDonough said the team didn’t formally interview anyone aside from Earl Watson but instead took two and a half months to examine coaching candidates, tweets Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Phoenix officially named Watson head coach earlier today, removing his interim tag.
- The best free agent fit for Dwight Howard is likely to be the Mavericks, who can offer the center the more focal role he craves as well as provide an owner in Mark Cuban who can deflect negative attention, Jonny Auping of RealGM opines. The big man would in turn give the franchise the athletic center it has been seeking, Auping adds. Howard is expected to opt out of his contract this summer and become an unrestricted free agent.