New York Notes: Kidd, Prokhorov, Ewing
While the basketball world is zeroed in on the Heat and Spurs, the Nets managed to steal some of the spotlight this week by naming Jason Kidd as their new head coach. Here's a look at the latest out of Brooklyn and Manhattan..
- Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov is happy with his new head coach, writes David M. Herszenhorn of the New York Times. The billionare reportedly hasn't talked to Kidd directly, but he made it clear at a press conference in Moscow this week that he approved of the move. “The point is that there are people who are born coaches,” Prokhorov said. “It is known that Jason Kidd was, in fact, a player-coach on many teams, and he has been training for a long time. He has played under many coaches, and he has always wanted to be a coach.”
- When asked about the potential departure of C.J. Watson, Billy King said that he has already discussed possible replacements for players who may leave with Kidd, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. If Watson does wind up leaving, the question will be who the Nets bring in to provide competition to Tyshawn Taylor for the backup point guard job. They could either draft a point guard with the No. 22 pick or pursue a veteran free agent.
- In the wake of Kidd going from player to head coach in a matter of weeks, Patrick Ewing is disappointed that his time has yet to come, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes.
Lakers Won’t Sign And Trade Howard
If Dwight Howard leaves the Lakers this summer, the Lakers won't help pave his way to a new destination with a sign-and-trade deal, sources tell Mark Heisler of CBS Los Angeles. Barring a great deal that they don’t expect to be offered, insiders say the club’s fallback position would be to bring back this team and bank the savings.
Even though they wouldn't salvage something for their star center, they would save roughly $50MM in salary and luxury tax. That would put them under the luxury tax threshold after next season, which has been a Laker priority for some time but is even more important given the stiff penalties of the new CBA. Those savings would give the Lakers $55MM worth of cap space for the 2014 free agent class, which could include LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony.
The Lakers acquired Howard knowing they would have to pay him an average of ~$23.6MM per season, because of his unique value. If they lose him, the Lakers would only pay that much for someone else they think has unique value, Heisler writes.
Nets To Hire Jason Kidd?
6:56pm: After Brian Shaw conducted a five hour interview with the Nets to become their head coach, Kidd is still the front runner for the position, and the Nets are "on the verge" of hiring him, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein.
4:53pm: Within the last few hours, Kidd has continued to "aggressively" pursue potential assistant coaches for his staff, tweets Wojnarowski.
4:34pm: Addressing the Nets' head coaching hire, Howard Beck of the New York Times tweets "no decision today." It's unclear if Beck means that the Nets have yet to make a decision or that no decision will be announced today, but it appears Shaw still has a shot at the job.
4:10pm: The Nets met with Brian Shaw for over four hours today, and are expected to announce their decision between Kidd and Shaw shortly, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
The Inquirer report linked below has yet to be corroborated by any national writers or Nets beat reporters, and the timing appears unusual — such a long interview with Shaw would seem unnecessary if an agreement with Kidd was already in place. Still, Mitchell's report also hasn't been shot down yet, so for now it looks as if the Nets remain on track to hire Kidd. Either way, we should have a definitive answer very soon.
1:35pm: The Nets have reached agreement with Jason Kidd on a deal to become the club's next head coach, a source tells John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The former guard will get a three year deal from the Nets to man the bench just weeks after announcing that his playing days are through.
Fred Kerber of the New York Post reported earlier today that the Nets had an offer in place for the future Hall of Famer and it seems that the two sides didn't need much time to shake hands on it. It has been said for a long time that the Nets were eager to make a big splash with their head coaching position and this certainly accomplishes that goal.
Kidd takes over for interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo, who was fired less than 24 hours after the Nets were eliminated in the first round by the Bulls. The longtime coach was rather successful with the defensively-challenged Nets as they tallied a 35-19 regular season record under his watch. However, it wasn't good enough when coupled with their seven game ouster in the first round.
It has been reported that Kidd will be required to assemble an experienced staff to help him overcome the learning curve of being an NBA head coach. Strangely enough, former Nets coach Lawrence Frank has reportedly been tapped to be the Kidd's lead assistant to help him in his first season on the bench.
The ten-time All-Star spent six seasons with the Nets and most notably led them to the NBA Finals twice in a row after a lengthy playoff drought. While the Nets were runners-up to the Lakers and Spurs, Kidd finally won a title with the Mavericks in 2011.
It will be interesting to watch how Kidd does for a number of reasons but the most compelling part of it will be to see how he deals with player discord given his reputation as a coach killer. Of course, star point guard Deron Williams has been given the same tag by many observers, though he has denied having a hand in Jerry Sloan's retirement in Utah and expressed surprise and disappointment after Avery Johnson was fired in Brooklyn.
An announcement is expected to be made later this week and no later than the weekend, according to Mitchell's source.
Pacific Notes: Kings, Lakers, Magic, Howard
Earlier today we got the latest on the Clippers‘ coaching search and no matter who gets hired in L.A., it’s sure to be a big name candidate. Owner Donald Sterling is said to be a fan of Lionel Hollins and and the club has already met with Byron Scott and Brian Shaw. The biggest fish of all could be George Karl, but it’s not clear if the team has scheduled a pow wow with the future Hall of Famer yet. Here’s more out of the Pacific Division..
- The Kings could use a seasoned GM, opines Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee. While the current group of candidates is a virtual feast of variety fit for Anthony Bourdain, Voisin would like to see Vivek Ranadive & Co. veer towards the more experienced executives.
- Lakers legend Magic Johnson says that he’s less-than-enthralled by what he’s seen out of Dwight Howard but still wants to see him stay put, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. Howard will be courted by a number of teams this summer and many reports have him linked to the Rockets.
- Magic also had some thoughts on coach Mike D’Antoni, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. “He has to concentrate on the defensive end as much as he coaches offense,” Johnson said.
Odds & Ends: Union, Jerrett, Green, Dirk
The NBPA is looking for its next executive director and there's no leading candidate to fill the job just yet, Jerry Stackhouse told Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal (via Twitter). “We haven’t got a search firm in place; how can there be a leading candidate?,” said the longtime NBA veteran, who says that the union is looking at two or three firms and may nail one down after the Finals (link). Meanwhile, the players' union is likely to have their annual meeting in Las Vegas in August (link) and it stands to reason that they'll have their next leader appointed by then. Here's more from around the Association..
- Arizona forward Grant Jerrett is rising on draft boards, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Jerrett is only 19 and has impressed in workouts with great range for a 6'10" player. DraftExpress currently has him at the back end of the second round on their latest mock.
- Spurs guard Danny Green has asserted himself in the NBA just a few seasons removed from questioning his basketball career in the D-League, writes Alex Kennedy of USA Today. Kennedy notes that if Green hooked on elsewhere, he might not have found individual success.
- Dirk Nowitzki's career is likely winding down and Mac Engel of the Star-Telegram writes that he'll be extremely missed when his career with the Mavericks is through. The big man would like to play for a title again before calling it quits and Dallas is working diligently this summer to make a free agent splash.
Draft Notes: Blazers, Muhammad, McCollum
Here's a look at the latest draft news as we close in on June 27th..
- The Trail Blazers took a gamble on a mid-major guard last season when they drafted Damian Lillard and Joe Freeman of The Oregonian wonders if they might do the same in 2013 with Lehigh's C.J. McCollum. Portland, who owns the No. 10 pick, worked McCollum out earlier today.
- On paper, Shabazz Muhammad is just the type of player that the Kings need, but the outside issues could dissuade them from taking him at No. 7, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
- Today's Suns draft workout featured North Texas small forward Tony Mitchell, Duke center Mason Plumlee, Murray State point guard Isaiah Canaan, USC center DeWayne Dedmon, Delaware power forward Jamelle Hagins, and Temple shooting guard Khalif Wyatt, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
- The Nets released the workout lineup for their workouts on Tuesday and Wednesday. Jeff Withey of Kansas, Ray McCallum of Detroit, and Vincent Council of Providence are among the players who will audition in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Nets Seriously Considering Jason Kidd As Coach
5:36pm: Kidd's candidacy for the Nets' opening is gaining momentum, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who says Kidd convinced Brooklyn of his seriousness in committing the time and energy to a head coaching job. The Nets, who are intrigued by the possibility of making a "star hire," could make a decision within the next several days, says Wojnarowski. Brian Shaw is the team's other top candidate, with an interview lined up for Wednesday.
3:00pm: The Nets are taking Kidd seriously as a head coaching candidate, but he must surround himself with lots of experience on the bench, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter). A key element of Kidd's pitch is former Nets head coach Lawrence Frank joining him on the bench (link).
2:30pm: The Nets met with Jason Kidd earlier today to discuss his interest in the club's vacant head coaching position, tweets Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. We learned yesterday that the recently-retired guard has interest in taking the reins in Brooklyn and the Nets are at least considering the possibility.
Kidd's candidacy is being discussed in the highest levels of the organization, which presumably means that it involves the group of Russian executives that report directly to owner Mikhail Prokhorov. Sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports yesterday that Kidd is already working to identify a group of assistant coaches that can help offset his lack of experience.
Gal Mekel To Audition For Bucks, Others
Israeli point guard Gal Mekel drew attention from the Jazz last offseason and after another impressive year overseas, he could finally have his NBA opportunity in 2013/14. After Thursday's Israeli title game, Mekel will come to the United States to audition for the Bucks and other teams, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
The 25-year-old has good size for the one-guard position and is quite impressive in pick-and-roll sets (link). Given his ability, the Maccabi Haifa star has a good chance to join Omri Casspi as the only Israelis in the NBA. Mekel will try and finish out his Haifa career with a bang by leading his team to a championship victory over Maccabi Electra this week.
Nuggets May Promote Hunt To Head Coach
The Nuggets will seriously consider promoting assistant Melvin Hunt to head coach, according to John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter). Hunt is also being considered for the Sixers' coaching vacancy.
We learned last week that Hunt is in the mix for Philadelphia along with David Fizdale, Kelvin Sampson, Chris Finch, and Maurice Cheeks, who is the frontrunner in Detroit. The Denver assistant has had some head coaching attention in the past as he was linked to the Cavs job back in April. He may not have to go house shopping in the Philly area, however, if the Nuggets decide to make him the successor to George Karl.
Doc Rivers Wary Of Rebuilding
Celtics coach Doc Rivers is still leaving the Celtics hanging on whether he’ll return next season, but the coach may be waiting see what direction the club is going in before making up his mind. Rivers’ decision on whether he will return has to do with whether Danny Ainge will look to completely rebuild in 2013/14 or keep his eye on winning, a league source told A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.
“No coach wants to go through a full-blown rebuilding process,” said the source. “Doc’s already done that, so he knows how tough that is for all involved. But to be asked to go through it twice? Any coach would pause for a minute before signing on to that.“
Rivers’ decision will not be based solely on whether Paul Pierce and/or Kevin Garnett return next season, the source told Blakely. However, if both veterans are out of the picture, its hard to see Boston contending in 2013/14.