Knicks Hire Derek Fisher As Coach
The Knicks have hired Derek Fisher as head coach, the team announced. The 39-year-old, who retires from his 18-year playing career to take the gig, is taking a five-year, $25MM deal, the same terms that New York’s first choice for coach, Steve Kerr, signed for when he spurned the Knicks for the Warriors. Fisher will likely hire Bill Cartwright and Lakers assistant coach Kurt Rambis for his staff.
“Today marks the next step of this journey for the New York Knicks franchise as we name Derek to lead the team as its head coach.” Knicks president Phil Jackson said. “Our relationship began 15 years ago, and over time, it has come clear to me that he and I can form a great partnership once again.”
Fisher has been considered the front-runner for the Knicks’ job for a few weeks now but nothing could be safely assumed after Jackson & Co. whiffed on Kerr. Kerr seemed like a lock to take the position earlier this offseason but he shocked everyone by accepting a five-year, $25MM offer from the Warriors instead.
In Fisher, Jackson has landed another former pupil without any coaching experience. That lack of experience, strangely enough, is part of what appealed to Jackson. The Zen Master has been looking for a young, malleable coach who will be open to his instruction since an NBA retread would be less open to doing things Jackson’s way. It has been widely speculated that Jackson would instruct whatever coach he hired to run his beloved triangle offense.
Knicks star Carmelo Anthony, who is a free agent this summer, was said to be in favor of the club hiring Kerr as its head coach. It remains to be seen how Melo feels about Fisher and whether he’ll be enough to convince him to sign a new deal or opt in for his final season. If Anthony opts in, he’ll earn $23.333MM next year, which would mean more money in the short term. That might not be a risk that he wants to take after recently celebrating the big 3-0, however. If Carmelo wants a big, cushy deal with another club, this summer is probably his best opportunity.
It’s certainly conceivable that the likable Fisher could appeal to Melo and maybe other free agents down the line. Fisher has a very strong bond with Thunder star Kevin Durant, who becomes a free agent in the summer of 2016. Of course, that’s not the key consideration for the Knicks at this juncture, but it’s certainly something to keep in mind. Fisher was also linked to the Lakers’ vacancy, though in recent weeks it started to sound as though they weren’t all that interested.
The deal demonstrates the quickly escalating value of first-time coaches. Jason Kidd was elated to land the Nets’ job this time last year, but he might be feeling a little shortchanged now. Kerr and Fisher have each netted $25MM contracts but Kidd signed with Brooklyn for $10.5MM over four years.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Chuck Myron contributed to this post. Frank Isola of the New York Daily News was the first to report that Fisher and the Knicks were nearing agreement (via Twitter) and that they had struck a deal. Isola’s report on the agreement also includes the news that Cartwright and Rambis would likely join the Knicks as assistant coaches under Fisher. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported the contract terms (on Twitter). Bleacher Reports’ Howard Beck provided additional detail (Twitter links).
And-Ones: Calipari, Izzo, Miller, Wizards
John Calipari wasn’t the only star college coach the Cavs reached out to, reveals Jason Lloyd of the Beacon Journal, who hears Kevin Ollie, Fred Hoiberg, Billy Donovan and Mike Krzyzewski all were contacted by Cleveland. Lloyd’s source adds that the Cavs offered Tom Izzo a coaching position that also would have given him total control of the franchise’s basketball operations, much like the role that the team proposed to Coach Cal. Here’s more from around the league:
- The Cavs have contacted around 11 candidates in an attempt to fill their coaching vacancy, writes Lloyd in the same piece.
- The decision on whether or not to bring back Andre Miller will probably be an easy one for the Wizards, opines J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Washington holds a $4.6MM option on his deal for 2014/15 or could buy him out for $2MM.
- Former Marquette University forward Jamil Wilson, who had to cancel workouts with the Bucks and Pistons due to a sprained ankle, is expected to audition for the Wizards on Tuesday, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Journal Sentinel.
- Tim Bontemps of the New York Post looked back at the performance of Nets‘ midseason acquisition Marcus Thornton. Thornton turned into a key rotation player for Brooklyn down the stretch of the season and will earn ~$8.58MM in his walk year.
- The Thunder are the NBA’s smartest spenders as they have gotten more success out of less money than anyone else in the league, writes Glenn Davis of USA Today. OKC owns a 271-123 record over the last five seasons combined all while having payrolls that ranked in the bottom half of the league on average.
- Sean Meagher of The Oregonian wonders if the Trail Blazers should hold on to Wesley Matthews, a free agent after the 2014/15 season. Matthews is coming off of the best season of his career as a pro and is entering the final year of his five-year, $33MM deal.
- Former UNC standout Sean May will attend mini-camps with the Spurs and Warriors this month, according to HoopsHype (via Twitter).
- The Clippers will bring in Jordan Clarkson, Nick Johnson, Deonte Burton, and Sean Kilpatrick for workouts, reports Dan Woike of the Orange County Register.
- The Celtics could eye offense in this month’s draft, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com explains.
Charlie Adams contributed to this post.
Southwest Notes: Pelicans, McDaniels, Mavs
The Pelicans can kickstart a major culture change this summer, writes Jimmy Smith of the Times-Picayune. New Orleans has a strong, young leader in big man Anthony Davis. Now, they must make the right moves, surround him with talent, and build a winner. More from the Southwest Division..
- Clemson small forward K.J. McDaniels impressed in today’s workout with the Grizzlies, writes Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal. ”He’s a very solid defender. His shot isn’t broken but it can be improved,” Griz coach Dave Joerger said. ”He presented himself well. He has a nice game about him and is certainly a guy we’ll keep investigating.’‘ McDaniels could be a consideration at No. 22 but he also might not be available at that point.
- The Grizzlies coach also spoke highly of Tennesee forward Jarnell Stokes, writes Jason Smith of the Commercial Appeal. Stokes spoke with Hoops Rumors back in April about what he can bring to an NBA team.
- The Mavs pick at No. 34 and No. 51 in this month’s draft and history shows that they won’t come away with much, writes Bryan Gutierrez of ESPNDallas.com. The Mavs have shown a willingness to mortgage their future in order to build a winner in the present, and that paid off in 2008 when they reacquired Jason Kidd from the Nets. Since then, however, they’ve been let down in varying degrees by the likes of Shan Foster, Rodrigue Beaubois, Dominique Jones, and Jared Cunningham.
Central Notes: Love, Wiggins, Parker, Calipari
The Bulls are in a long line of teams with interest in Kevin Love, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Johnson suggests that a deal involving Taj Gibson, Jimmy Butler, draft picks and/or the rights to Nikola Mirotic, and expiring deals could get it done. The question, however, is whether the Bulls could win with a core of Love, Rose, and Joakim Noah supported by minimum contracts and rookie scale deals. More out of the Central Division..
- Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (on Twitter) is now getting a strong vibe that the Cavs will take Kansas’ Andrew Wiggins with the No. 1 overall pick.
- Former Duke assistant and current Marquette head coach Steve Wojciehowski says that he would love to see Jabari Parker with Milwaukee, writes Michael Hunt of the Journal Sentinel. “With the Bucks and Jabari, that would be an amazing situation for both parties,” he said. “He’d be a slam dunk, a grand slam, whatever you want to call it. He’d be a great, great pick for the Bucks.” The Bucks, of course, own the No. 2 pick.
- Kentucky coach John Calipari reportedly turned down the Cavs‘ massive offer in part because the Harrison twins decided to stay at UK rather than go pro. Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv finds such news interesting since there was speculation Calipari was pushing the twins out of Kentucky (Twitter link).
Hornets Notes: McDermott, Jordan, Jefferson
The latest on the purple and teal..
- Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (on Twitter) hears that the Hornets might be high on Doug McDermott for the No. 9 pick. That doesn’t mean they’ll tab the Creighton standout but it’s an indication of their strategy.
- Owner Michael Jordan says that between cap space and three draft picks, the Hornets can have as good a summer in 2014 as the Bobcats had in 2013, tweets Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. Charlotte’s 2013 offseason was headlined by the signing of Al Jefferson to a three-year, $40.5MM deal.
- Jordan went on to say that he doesn’t anticipate any trouble luring free agents to North Carolina, writes Steve Reed of the Associated Press. ‘‘I always thought Charlotte was a great destination,” the Hornets owner said. ”Big Al has proven that you can come here and make a big difference. Hopefully we can look at that and attract some other superstars.”
Cavs Offered John Calipari Prez/Coach Position
2:42pm: ESPN.com’s Marc Stein (on Twitter) hears that the Cavs’ pitch to Calipari was actually closer to $80MM over ten years. The Cavs’ thought process, unsurprisingly, was that Calipari would give them a much better chance at bringing LeBron James back home (link). Still, Calipari, like Kevin Ollie before him, resisted Cleveland’s overtures. Billy Donovan and Tom Izzo have also turned the Cavs away (link).
Meanwhile, Wojnarowski hears (Twitter link) that the proposal called for Calipari to serve as coach/president for seven years and then transition to a president-only role. Still, he says the offer was a seven-year, $60MM+ contract. Calipari, he adds (link), didn’t use the Cavs job as leverage with UK as he already had his $52MM offer in hand back in April. He also opines that the idea that Calipari could be a bigger draw for James than his current coach, Erik Spoelstra, is laughable (link).
8:50am: John Calipari signed a long, lucrative deal with the University of Kentucky last week but that almost didn’t happen. Sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski and Brett Dawson of Yahoo Sports that Coach Cal and the Cavs were deep in discussions on a seven-year, $60MM+ contract that would have made him the team’s head coach and president of operations.
Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert was persistent in his pursuit and sources say it wasn’t until midweek that Calipari finally rejected Cleveland and fully committed to his seven-year, $52MM extension at Kentucky. If Calipari had gone to Cleveland, the plan would’ve been for new general manager David Griffin to work with Calipari in the front office, but with the UK coach having final say.
Calipari was tempted by the length of the deal and the money but was also intrigued about the possibility of coaching Kyrie Irving and the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft. Calipari has shown some interest in a return to the NBA in the right situation, but as Wojnarowski and Dawson point out, he may not have meshed too well with the hands-on Gilbert.
Sources also said that the return of Andrew Harrison and Aaron Harrison made it a more difficult proposition for anyone to lure Calipari away from Kentucky. WIth the rising sophomores back in the fold, Kentucky will retain much of its offense from last season, despite losing Julius Randle and James Young.
Reported candidates for the Cavs job include Clippers assistants Alvin Gentry and Tyronn Lue, Bulls assistant Adrian Griffin, former Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins, ex-Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro, and Maccabi Tel Aviv coach David Blatt.
Offseason Outlook: Sacramento Kings
Guaranteed Contracts
- DeMarcus Cousins ($13,701,250)
- Carl Landry ($6,500,000)
- Derrick Williams ($6,331,404)
- Jason Thompson ($6,037,500)
- Jason Terry ($5,850,313)
- Ben McLemore ($3,026,280)
- Travis Outlaw ($3,000,000)
- Reggie Evans ($1,768,653)
- Ray McCallum ($816,482)
Options
- Rudy Gay ($19,317,326, Player)*
Non-Guaranteed Contracts
- Quincy Acy ($915,243)**
- Willie Reed ($915,243)
Free Agents / Cap Holds
- Aaron Gray ($5,112,663)
- Isaiah Thomas ($2,875,131 – QO)***
- No. 8 pick ($2,288,200)
- Jared Cunningham ($915,243)
Draft Picks
- 1st Round (8th overall)
Cap Outlook
Guaranteed Salary: $47,031,882
Options: $19,317,326
Non-Guaranteed Salary: $1,830,486
Cap Holds: $11,766,262
Total: $79,945,956
You can say a lot of things about the Kings, but you can’t say they’re not aggressive. In December of last year, the Kings shipped Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons, Patrick Patterson, and Chuck Hayes north of the border for Rudy Gay and spare parts. They made that trade even though Gay had become a human punching bag for his U.S. government level of inefficiency and had the ability to flee after the season. Even though they could go bust on their big gamble, they’re contemplating making an even bigger one.
If dealing for Gay while knowing that he could bounce months later was like playing roulette, gearing up to trade for Kevin Love without any assurances that he’ll re-sign would be like playing high-stakes roulette and craps at the same time. While other clubs would probably want a wink and a nod from a member of the All-Star’s entourage before making a deal, the Kings have no such reservations. The Kings have a rabid fan base supporting them and a new arena in the works, but what they don’t have is a proven winner. Banking on wooing Love to re-sign over the course of the season seems, well, crazy. On the other hand, one could argue that a small market team has to either make major gambles or tank in order to compete since they are disadvantaged in free agency. Forking over a package of young talent and draft picks for Love might be ill-advised, but shooting for the moon is a lot more entertaining than a string of sub-30-win seasons.
Even though they’re willing to take that risk, prying Love away from the Wolves won’t be all that simple as there are a number of teams circling like sharks. Still, according to at least one report, the Kings are the favorites in the Love sweepstakes. The Kings can build a package around the No. 8 pick, which the Wolves would reportedly use for either Julius Randle or Noah Vonleh. Beyond that, the Kings are said to be willing to throw in anything not nailed down or named DeMarcus Cousins. There might not be much of a supporting cast behind them, but a frontcourt of Gay, Cousins, and Love would do an awful lot of damage. Of course, with the Celtics, Lakers, Knicks, Warriors, Rockets, Cavs and Bulls working the phones, Love may wind up visiting California’s capital just once or twice next season.
So, back to the notable name that is more likely to be in purple and black next season. Gay seemed poise to take off his coat and stay a while back in January but he now appears to be waffling pretty hard on the matter. Not only is the small forward unsure of what he’s going to do, he’s unsure of the criteria that he’ll use to make his decision. Statistically speaking, Gay played the best basketball of his career during his Sacramento stint and one has to wonder if he could flourish the same way in a different system. He also won’t find teams lining up to throw money at him. As a player who hasn’t cracked the top ten of Hoops Rumors’ Free Agent Power Rankings, he’d be much better off in the short-term financially if he accepted his $19.3MM deal. Still, money alone won’t get it done and the Kings are bringing in the big guns – Chris Mullin and The Scorelord – to convince him to stay.
On top of that, the Kings also have a big decision to make when it comes to diminutive point guard Isaiah Thomas. The 5’9″ guard is a restricted free agent this summer and the Kings, unsurprisingly, will extend the $2.875MM qualifying offer to the fan favorite. Unfortunately for the Kings, their cap situation isn’t an ideal one as they have $47MM on the books without factoring in Gay’s option. Still, as long as things don’t get too out of hand, the Kings will keep their shoot-first point guard, whom they “think the world of.”
Jason Thompson, meanwhile, is under contract for another three seasons, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone if he asks out. The pride of Rider University signed a five-year, $30MM deal two summers ago when he figured to be a cornerstone of the Kings’ lineup. This past season, he saw his role decrease to the point where he lost his starting job in March. The Kings are probably open to moving Thompson for a number of reasons. Thompson is one of the veteran holdovers from the Geoff Petrie era and seeing as how the club’s new regime deported Salmons and Hayes, it stands to reason that they could do the same with Thompson. The big man is also making $6MM a season, money that could be better allocated elsewhere. And, even if Love isn’t Sacramento-bound, they have two other power forward options in the returning Carl Landry and former No. 2 overall pick Derrick Williams (hey, I didn’t say great options, I just said options). It’s not clear exactly what they could get for him in a deal where he’s the featured piece, though it’s a safe bet that any deal for Love or another similarly high-salaried star would include Thompson in the package. Teams won’t be lighting up the phones to get him, but he does represent a very realistic reclamation project.
There are, of course, other trade pieces outside of Thompson. Williams still hasn’t realized his potential (and maybe he never will) , but he’s still only 23 years old and has upside. With a $6.3MM expiring deal, a team could acquire Williams without making a commitment to him beyond next season. The cost, in a simple one-for-one trade, could be as little as a second rounder. The Kings could also free up space by trading Jason Terry, or, more accurately, Terry’s contract. Unfortunately, the soon-to-be 37-year-old has been slowed down by injuries and could choose to retire or try and come back next season and play limited minutes. Terry’s deal, which ends after next season, is probably only intriguing to trade suitors as an expiring contract, so Sacramento would likely have to take back long-term money to ship Terry out.
Kings fans got the owner that they wanted, and a shiny new arena where they can cheer on their team is on its way. Now, they want to see a winner. Sacramento can do a lot of great things with their core, but they’ll have to augment it in the coming months in order to build a .500+ team for 2014/15.
Cap footnotes
* — If Gay opts out, his cap hold would be the greater of $18,783,379 or the maximum salary for a player with between seven and nine years of experience. That maximum was $16,441,500 this past season, so it’s a near-certainty that Gay’s cap hold would be $18,783,379 if he opts out.
** — Acy’s salary becomes fully guaranteed if he’s not waived on or before July 25th.
*** — GM Pete D’Alessandro has stated his intention to tender a qualifying offer to Thomas, but if he changes his mind, the cap hold for Thomas would be $915,243.
ShamSports and Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ were used in the creation of this post.
Draft Notes: MJ, Embiid, Hairston, Maker
If the Rockets didn’t tank in 1984, Michael Jordan would have been a member of the Sixers, writes Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. The Sixers owned the Clippers’ pick that year and had the Rockets not tanked down the stretch, they would have landed either the No. 1 or 2 pick in a coin flip. Instead, that pick became the No. 5 choice and that’s where the Sixers selected Charles Barkley. Fast forwarding thirty years later, here’s today’s draft news..
- One NBA scout tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports that if there are no serious back issues, Kansas center Joel Embiid has a chance to be a franchise superstar. Embiid holds the No. 1 spot in Spears’ mock draft, followed by Jabari Parker, Andrew Wiggins, Dante Exum, and Aaron Gordon.
- New Mexico State center Sim Bhullar will work out for the Raptors on Wednesday, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. During his second season as an Aggie, Bhullar put up 10.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per night while averaging just over 26 minutes every contest.
- Scott Rafferty of Ridiculous Upside wonders if P.J. Hairston has done enough to cement himself as a surefire first round pick in the draft. Hairston proved himself as one of the best scorers in the D-League last season but concerns about his attitude remain.
- Elite 7-foot prospect Thon Maker is “50-50” on whether to reclassify himself to the high school graduating class of 2015, which would make him eligible for the 2016 draft, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY. The Carlisle School (VA) standout is currently slated to graduate in 2016 but he would likely be the top talent in the 2015 class as well. If you’ve yet to see Maker play, take a look at this widely circulated mixtape on YouTube (though you should dial down your volume if you’re watching at work).
Tyronn Lue Gets Second Interview With Cavs
Along with Alvin Gentry, Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue will get a second interview for the Cavs’ head coaching job, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). For both men, this second round of interviews will include meeting with owner Dan Gilbert (link).
As we learned this morning, the Cavs tried to bring John Calipari aboard to serve as their coach and president with a mammoth seven-year, $60MM deal. They were rebuffed, but they are apparently still keeping an eye on the college ranks. Wojnarowski tweets that Billy Donovan has remained in contact with the Cavs, though no one connected to the process believes that he has the comfort level to make the leap. The Florida coach agreed to coach the Magic in June of 2007 but changed his mind the day after his introductory press conference and went back to Gainesville. Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (on Twitter) hears that a Donovan hire is unlikely but the possibility is not 100% dead.
While Donovan and others could get in the mix, the main pool of candidates appears to consist of Gentry, Lue, Bulls assistant Adrian Griffin, former Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins, former Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro, and Maccabi Tel Aviv coach David Blatt.
Atlantic Notes: Fisher, Odom, Celtics, Stackhouse
The Knicks are set to ramp up their pursuit of Derek Fisher this week, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein hears that the Knicks are approaching the situation with some level of trepidation since Steve Kerr unraveled after he appeared to be a slam dunk. Here’s more out of the Atlantic..
- Lamar Odom, who has a non-guaranteed deal with the Knicks for 2014/15, is expected to join the club at their practice facility by the end of the month, a source with knowledge of the veteran forward’s plans told Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. The 34-year-old signed with the Knicks on the final day of the regular season.
- Celtics director of player personnel Austin Ainge indicated the team could trade back into the second round in what is expected to be a deep draft, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. The C’s gave their second-round pick (No. 34) to the Mavs last year to jump up three spots and grab Kelly Olynyk in the first round. The 76ers, meanwhile, have five second round choices in this year’s draft.
- Jerry Stackhouse is pushing for a job within the Knicks organization, writes Brett Pollakoff of Pro Basketball Talk. “It’s a possibility,” Stackhouse told reporters at the Adidas Eurocamp. “I think [Jackson] is still figuring it out. He doesn’t know who the head coach is going to be, but I think after that is settled, there could be some realistic possibilities.” Stackhouse, who has been coaching at the AAU level for five years, wants to ultimately become a head coach, but he’s willing to start out as an assistant to move towards that goal.
- Kevin O’Connor of WEEI.com looks at UCLA power forward Kyle Anderson and how he could be a potential fit for the Celtics. Because C’s coach Brad Stevens likes his offense to move the ball and shoot it from deep, Anderson would be a natural fit right from the get go.