Kings Intensify Coaching Search, Eye Karl
10:56pm: Cousins didn’t confirm or deny his behind-the-scenes role in the Karl situation after Saturday’s loss to the Jazz, Bruski reports. (Twitter link). “I’m waiting just like you guys,” Cousins told reporters. “There’s gonna always be allegations, there’s always going to be he said/she said.” The Sacramento center wasn’t surprised to be the target of rumors, saying, “Of course my name is being thrown into it. (I’m) franchise center piece…” (Twitter link).
10:22pm: There is opposition to Karl inside the Kings organization from minority owners, Amick reports (Twitter link). There was hope that Karl could talk to Cousins on Sunday — either in person or by telephone — but it’s uncertain now if that will occur (Twitter link).
9:34pm: The resistance from Cousins’ camp has slowed negotiations between Karl and the Kings, Wojnarowski confirms (Twitter link). He adds that the two sides were closing the gap on money and contract length this afternoon (Twitter link).
9:12pm: It seems less and less likely that Karl will be the Kings’ next coach, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link), who says representatives of the team, Karl and Cousins all share that belief. He adds that a resolution is expected Sunday, and the Kings are willing to finish the season with Corbin behind the bench. (Twitter link).
5:27pm: There is a significant gap between the two sides when it comes to salary and length of contract, reports Sam Amick of USA Today. D’Alessandro, who’s pushing for the team to bring on his former Nuggets colleague, has traveled to Denver to talk about the job with Karl, Amick also writes. The two agents for Cousins have opposed a Karl hiring, Amick hears, pointing out that Karl reassigned Jarinn Akana, one of those agents, from the coaching staff to a scouting position when Akana worked for the Nuggets. Karl’s son, former NBA player Coby Karl, once was a client of Dan Fegan, the lead agent for Cousins, before replacing him with another representative, according to Amick. D’Alessandro is prepared to forge ahead without the support of those agents, but there’s concern within the Kings organization about the conflict that would engender, and the GM would prefer to convince them Karl is the man for the job, as Amick explains. Karl has told the Kings that he likes Cousins quite a bit, Spears tweets.
2:10pm: The Kings are in “serious back-and-forth” discussions with Karl, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! sports.
SATURDAY, 11:22am: Talks between the Kings and Karl have intensified, Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee reports. The combination of Karl’s innovative coaching and immediate availability has won over team officials, Voisin notes. While it was previously reported that Sacramento wished to wait until after the season to make a change, the Kings’ ongoing slump and “jarring absence of competitiveness” has prompted principal owner Vivek Ranadive and D’Alessandro to move the search along more rapidly, Voisin adds.
3:57pm: Kings officials want to see whether Tom Thibodeau or other desirable coaches become available this summer, giving them further motivation to stand pat for now, Jones tweets.
3:47pm: Sacramento’s front office is not pleased with the play of the team but is nonetheless concerned about firing another coach during the season, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee reports (Twitter links). In addition to Karl, Alvin Gentry and Nate McMillan will also be candidates for the Kings’ coaching slot, Jones adds.
FRIDAY, 2:37pm: The Kings are picking up steam in their search for a long-term solution at head coach, as Aaron Bruski of NBCSports.com hears (Twitter link). There’s a decent chance that the team will make a hire at the All-Star break, Bruski adds, cautioning that Sacramento has no definitive timetable to make a move. Bruski suggests that the Magic’s coaching search has spurred the Kings into action, and George Karl, who’s openly campaigning for the Orlando job, remains a candidate, according to Bruski (Twitter links). Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro has said that Tyrone Corbin, who took over for the Kings when they fired Michael Malone in December, would remain in charge of the team until season’s end. Still, another report indicated that owner Vivek Ranadive wanted to bring in someone else in the immediate wake of Malone’s dismissal before the team’s front office talked him into keeping Corbin.
Sacramento is just 6-18 under Corbin, and sits in 12th place in the Western Conference at 17-31 after a strong start under Malone that ended when an illness knocked DeMarcus Cousins out of 10 games. Cousins, who was a supporter of Malone, told reporters after Thursday’s blowout loss to the Mavs that this has been his most frustrating time as a King, as Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee notes (Twitter link).
Bruski wrote in December that Mark Jackson, another rumored candidate for the Magic job, had “no chance” of becoming the next Kings coach, in spite of his close ties to D’Alessandro and Kings adviser Chris Mullin. D’Alessandro denied that a meeting he had with Mullin and Jackson, as well as Cousins, had any connection to the team’s head coaching position. Ranadive became intrigued with the idea of Mullin coaching the team, but the Hall-of-Famer apparently has no desire to take over at midseason. Vinny Del Negro, whom multiple reports have connected to the Magic job, also heard from the Kings in December.
Latest On Magic Coaching Search
SATURDAY, 1:25pm: Despite the Kings reportedly intensifying their talks with Karl, the Magic aren’t going to rush to beat Sacramento to the punch and hire him, Sam Amick of USA Today reports. Orlando still wishes to take its time in considering multiple candidates over the next few days, Amico adds.
1:15pm: Karl made it clear via Twitter that he is indeed interested in the job (hat tip to Robbins). “Love and miss the NBA rodeo!” Karl wrote. “It’s no secret I would love the opportunity to coach one more time. Love the skills and speed of the Magic and the great young players throughout the league!”
FRIDAY, 10:38am: Several league sources think Orlando might pursue Tom Thibodeau if he shakes free from the Bulls at season’s end and if the Magic haven’t already made a long-term hire by then, as Chris Mannix of SI.com writes in his Open Floor column. Several league sources recently told K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune that the relationship between Thibodeau and the Bulls is “beyond repair,” though the Bulls have denied that. The prevailing sense within coaching circles is that the Magic are prepared to ride with interim coach James Borrego for the time being, tweets Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders.
Three different people have suggested to Kyler that Skiles won’t take the Magic job without personnel control, while one source told Kyler that Magic ownership seemed to be the driving force behind the appearance of Skiles’ and Jackson’s names in connection with the opening (Twitter links). Still, Mannix seconds earlier reports indicating that Skiles is a leading candidate, and writes that Jackson, Malone and Del Negro figure to eventually receive interviews.
THURSDAY, 3:55pm: Sources have informed Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that George Karl would be interested in coaching the Magic (Twitter links). In the past, Karl has stated his preference was to coach out west, but he finds the Orlando position an attractive one, Kennedy relays.
1:51pm: The Magic will consider Scott Skiles, Mark Jackson and Michael Malone to take over the head coaching job that came open today when the team fired Jacque Vaughn, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Assistant coach James Borrego holds the job on an interim basis. Orlando had yet to make contact with any potential candidates or their representatives before today, and the team has just begun gathering information, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. It remains a “wide-open process,” Wojnarowski adds.
Several executives speculated to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com last week that Skiles would become a candidate, and Broussard also identified Jackson among the “names to watch.” Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports called Jackson a “serious candidate” earlier today, and suggested Malone could wind up in the running. Wojnarowski also mentioned Vinny Del Negro, though it’s not clear if that was just speculation.
In any case, the Magic are looking for a proven veteran for their next coach, Kennedy hears (Twitter link). Many believe that Vaughn still has the capacity to become a successful head coach but think he would have benefited from more time as an assistant with the Spurs, with whom he spent two seasons before taking the Magic job, Wojnarowski writes.
Vaughn released a statement today that was complimentary of the Magic, as Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel relays. The ex-coach drew praise from soon-to-be restricted free agent Tobias Harris, who took to Twitter after the firing (Twitter link; hat tip to Robbins). “I want to thank Coach Vaughn for being a first class individual not only to myself, but everyone associated with the Magic,” Harris wrote.
Eastern Notes: Gibson, Prigioni, Muscala
The Bulls have made no calls to other teams about trading Taj Gibson , a source tells Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, who indicates that the team is especially reluctant to part with Gibson given health concerns surrounding Joakim Noah. The Raptors, Suns, Pistons and Trail Blazers are reportedly interested in the sixth-year veteran.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Knicks point guard Pablo Prigioni, whom the team has reportedly been trying to trade for a second round draft pick, says that he is extremely focused on staying in New York, and doesn’t wish to be dealt, Marc Berman of The New York Post reports (Twitter link). Prigioni also revealed that he recently injured his hip during a workout, Berman notes. The full extent of his injury, nor its impact on the Knicks’ efforts to find a taker for Prigioni, isn’t yet known.
- Steve Kerr was Knicks team president Phil Jackson‘s first choice to replace Mike Woodson as head coach this past offseason, but Kerr accepted the coaching job in Golden State instead. Kerr’s Warriors currently possess the NBA’s second best record, while the Knicks have floundered to a 10-40 mark. When asked if he has thought about what might have been if he had come to New York instead of heading to Oakland, Kerr said, “Sometimes I lie when I say I haven’t thought about stuff. But I’m not lying this time. I haven’t thought about the Knicks at all,” Diamond Leung of The Bay Area News Group relays (Twitter link).
- The Hawks have assigned Mike Muscala to the Iowa Energy, their D-League affiliate, the team has announced. This will be Muscala’s fourth trek of the season to Iowa.
- Marcus Thornton knows that his expiring contract makes him a likely candidate to be dealt by the Celtics, but the veteran would love to remain in Beantown, Ben Rohrbach of WEEI 93.7 FM writes. “No, I’m not thinking about that,” Thornton said regarding the February 19th trade deadline. “Whatever happens, happens. I would like to stay here. Who wouldn’t? We’ve got a good thing going, but like I said, it’s not controllable. I can’t control it, so whatever happens, happens.”
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Hawks Trying To Woo Ray Allen
4:56pm: The Hawks have indeed had discussions with Allen’s representatives about coming to Atlanta, but nothing appears to be imminent at this time, Vivlamore tweets.
8:27am: The Hawks are trying to convince Ray Allen to consider signing with them when and if he decides to play in the NBA this season, though the Cavs remain the favorites to land the 39-year-old, tweets Ryen Russillo of ESPN Radio. Still, coach Mike Budenholzer, acting as the team’s GM in place of Danny Ferry, who’s on a leave of absence, said he’s reluctant to tinker with a roster that’s won 34 of its last 37 games, as Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes.
“For us to be open to improving the group and adding more depth, with Thabo [Sefolosha] healthy or without Thabo healthy or without Thabo having this injury, it’s kind of the same mindset,” Budenolzer said. “We really like our group. You are hesitant to do anything. There is a little more opportunity for a six- to eight-week window but I don’t think it changes much if at all.”
Sefolosha, who plays the same position Allen does, is about a week into a six-to-eight-week timetable for recovery from a strained calf. Still, Sefolosha plays a much different style than the sharpshooting Allen, the league’s all-time leading three-point shot-maker. The Hawks have a full roster of 15 players signed through the end of the season, as our roster counts show, so they’d have to eat someone’s salary to accommodate Allen. Still, they have slightly more than $3MM worth of cap space to throw at the Jim Tanner client, who this past summer signaled a strong desire for more than the minimum salary should he return to the NBA this season.
Cleveland only has the minimum to give, and the same is true of the Wizards, who are reportedly Allen’s most aggressive suitor. Russillo wrote in December that he’d heard that Allen would make his decision in February, though Chris Mannix of SI.com wrote last week that people around the league increasingly believe that Allen knows the team he’d like to play for, and is simply deciding whether he wants to play at all. The Clippers, Grizzlies, Bulls and Spurs are other teams linked to Allen within the past few months. The Warriors seemed to have abandoned their earlier interest.
Central Notes: West, English, Gutierrez
There was less acrimony Thursday when the Magic fired Jacque Vaughn than there was when they ousted Stan Van Gundy in 2012, but the current Pistons coach and executive nonetheless has plenty of sympathy for the latest ex-Magic coach. “There’s no such thing as a longtime Magic coach,” Van Gundy contends, as Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press relays.
“All those things are the same,” Van Gundy said. “You get in the press conference, they loved Jacque. He did a great job. You listen to all that, and then I listen to [GM] Rob [Hennigan] say it doesn’t fall on Jacque, but he takes full responsibility. I laugh, obviously, because that’s not true. You’re still sitting there with a job, and Jacque doesn’t have one, so I don’t know what full responsibility means. But I would say they left the full responsibility on Jacque.”
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- Grantland’s Zach Lowe heard six weeks ago that the Pacers had become open to trading David West for a first-round pick, but such chatter has quieted, Lowe adds, suggesting teams aren’t willing to pay that price for the power forward.
- Bulls camp invitee Kim English has signed with Guaros de Lara in Venezuela, the team announced (Twitter link; translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The 26-year-old who played in 41 regular season games with the Pistons in 2012/13 had played in France earlier this season after the Bulls cut him loose prior to opening night.
- Coach Jason Kidd admits that the indefinite length of Larry Sanders‘ latest drug-related suspension complicates Jorge Gutierrez ‘s future with the Bucks, as Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel examines. Gutierrez’s 10-day contract expires tonight, when the Bucks play the 10th game of Sanders’ suspension. The ban was to last a minimum of 10 games, but the league still hasn’t revealed just how long it will last, and once Sanders comes back, the 16th roster spot the Bucks created when they placed Sanders on the suspended list goes away. “We understand this is Jorge’s 10th day,” Kidd said today. “We’ll go back and evaluate and see if we can do another 10-day.”
Raptors Eye David West, Taj Gibson, Faried?
The Raptors are “sniffing around” for an upgrade at power forward, writes Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, who hears from league sources who mention David West, Taj Gibson and Kenneth Faried, among others, in connection with Toronto. However, the Raptors aren’t willing to part with much in return, though they’d like to part with expiring contracts if it would net a frontcourt upgrade, Kyler adds.
West makes $12MM this year, and Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird said this week that while the 34-year-old hadn’t given him any indication of whether he intended to exercise his $12.6MM player option for next season, he anticipated West would return to Indiana. Bird also said the Pacers are in “win-now mode,” which would suggest that he doesn’t have any interest in trading West for expiring deals.
Sean Deveney of The Sporting News on Wednesday loosely connected Gibson to the Raptors, as well as the Suns, Pistons and Blazers, though it’s unclear if Chicago has any willingness to part with the key reserve, even amid a crowded frontcourt for the Bulls this season. The 29-year-old is in year two of a four-year extension that’ll pay him $8MM this season with salaries that escalate to $8.95MM in 2016/17.
The Nuggets don’t want to part with Faried, as Chris Mannix of SI.com wrote last week, seemingly counter to an early-season report indicating that the Nuggets weren’t sold on Faried even after signing him in October to a four-year extension worth at least $50MM. The 25-year-old’s shot attempts and points per game are off this season compared to last year even after a breakout performance with Team USA this summer.
Incumbent Raptors starting power forward Amir Johnson is on an expiring contract that’s worth $7MM to him this season, while Landry Fields, Chuck Hayes, Louis Williams, Tyler Hansbrough and Greg Stiemsma are the other Raptors set for free agency this summer. Kyler suggests that the Raptors would be willing to give up any one of their players on expiring contracts aside from Williams. Toronto has more than $49MM in commitments against a projected $66.5MM salary cap for next season, so any deal that gives up a soon-to-be free agent for a player with guaranteed money for next season would cut into what figures to be fairly significant cap flexibility.
The Raptors are in second place in the Eastern Conference, and though they’ve lost their past two games, they won six in a row at the end of January. Still, the team has mismatched parts and will be in major trouble if GM Masai Ujiri doesn’t make a move, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun opines (All Twitter links).
Deveney’s Latest: Afflalo, Jackson, Hill
The NBA trade deadline is just over two weeks away and the front office activity around the league is sure to ramp up as February 19th rapidly approaches. Sean Deveney of The Sporting News ran down a number of tidbits regarding players who are on the trading block. Here are some of the highlights:
- The Nuggets have discussed dealing Wilson Chandler but would prefer to trade Arron Afflalo instead, Deveney notes.
- The trade market for Reggie Jackson is much weaker than the Thunder expected, Deveney adds.
- Lakers center Jordan Hill remains a hot commodity despite Los Angeles informing interested teams that he isn’t available, Deveney reports. Hill is out with a quad injury that could sideline him until the deadline has passed, but the Sporting News scribe expects the interest in the big man to remain high.
- Los Angeles is willing to deal Jeremy Lin if it could nab an asset in return, but the market for the Lakers‘ point guard has been weak, Deveney notes.
- Bulls forward Taj Gibson has been linked to a number of interested teams around the league over the past few months, including the Raptors, Suns, Pistons, Trail Blazers, and an unspecified team from Los Angeles, Deveney relays.
- The Wolves are open to the idea of trading Mo Williams, but with his team friendly salary and Minnesota’s young backcourt, the franchise isn’t desperate to make a deal, Deveney adds.
- The Pistons are seeking backcourt depth in the wake of Brandon Jennings‘ injury and Jonas Jerebko is Detroit’s best available trade chip, Deveney opines. The Pistons have depth at the forward position and would like to deal Jerebko for a point guard, notes Deveney.
- The Lakers have had their eyes on Suns guard Goran Dragic all season, but Los Angeles lacks the assets needed to get a deal done, the Sporting News scribe notes.
- Kemba Walker‘s injury could change the Hornets‘ willingness to make a trade, but the team would still prefer to move Lance Stephenson, Deveney notes. There is still the possibility that talks with the Nets could start again for the mercurial guard, and the Pacers and the Knicks also remain possible destinations for Stephenson, Deveney reports.
Pacific Notes: Warriors, Barbosa, Hawes, Bryant
Warriors coach Steve Kerr is using the 1990s Bulls as his blueprint for building a winner with Golden State, writes Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. Kerr, who won three NBA titles as a player in Chicago, learned about being demanding from teammate Michael Jordan. “I think that’s a standard that championship teams understand — that there’s a bar that’s set and you’re trying to reach that bar each night,” Kerr said. “You’re not so much playing against all these different opponents; you’re almost playing against your own standards.”
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Despite not playing much, Leandro Barbosa has become a team leader for the Warriors, according to Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle. The 32-year-old guard leads the other reserves in regular competitions after practice and is being credited for helping them improve. “He understands the value and the importance of the work ethic for the guys who don’t see a lot of playing time,” Kerr said. “He started that routine. It’s a shooting contest, competitive and fun. I think it’s a big reason why we’ve had good bench play this year.” Barbosa has a one-year, minimum-salary contract and will be a free agent in July.
- When the Clippers signed Spencer Hawes over the summer, the plan was for the eight-year veteran to play close to starter’s minutes while spacing the floor with his three-pointers. However, Hawes finds himself playing fewer minutes than in any season since he was a rookie. The big man acknowledges that he’s struggling with the transition to being a bench player, as Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times writes.
- Kobe Bryant may have had his third straight season cut short by injury, but Carmelo Anthony has no doubt the Lakers star will be back next year, reports Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times. Bryant had surgery this week to repair a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder and is expected to be out of action for about nine months. He will turn 37 in August and has a contract worth $25MM next season. “Oh, he’ll be back,” Anthony said. “He’s going to prove to everybody that he’s coming back. He’ll be back for sure.”
Zach Links contributed to this post.
And-Ones: Rivers, Howard, Green
JaMychal Green is going to rejoin the Austin Spurs, San Antonio’s D-League affiliate, Gino Pilato of D-League Digest tweets. Green recently completed a single 10-day contract with the Spurs, with whom he averaged 2.0 points and 1.5 rebounds in five appearances. The 24-year-old has reportedly garnered interest as a possible 10-day signee from the Grizzlies, Knicks, Bulls, Bucks and Blazers.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Austin Rivers is beginning to hit his stride with the Clippers, Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes. “He’s just getting comfortable and trying to figure out his spots,” Los Angeles president of basketball operations and coach Doc Rivers said. “We’re trying to get him to [be more aggressive]. He’s a guard, so he’s trying to facilitate, and we need his aggression. It was funny — C.P. [Chris Paul] grabbed him and said, ‘You can get to the basket, we need you to attack.’ He listened to him, which was good.”
- The Clippers have missed the bench production of Darren Collison, who signed with the Kings as a free agent this past offseason, and are hoping that Rivers can fill that void, Markazi adds. “He doesn’t do the pick-up [like Collison], but where he’s better is once the ball crosses half court,” the elder Rivers said. “He’s 6’5″, so he gives us length and speed and that’s been good for us.”
- Rockets big man Dwight Howard has been advised to obtain a second medical opinion regarding his injured right knee, and he could miss an extended period of playing time, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports.
- Free agent guard Gal Mekel is thinking about returning overseas to play, David Pick of Eurobasket.com reports (Twitter link). Mekel had reportedly passed on numerous overseas offers after being released by the Pelicans, and he was hoping to land a spot with another NBA team.
Central Notes: Pistons, Thibodeau, Martin, Cavs
The Pistons have talked about trading for a point guard, but coach/executive Stan Van Gundy remains firm about the sort of future assets he doesn’t want to give up in any deal, as MLive’s David Mayo notes. Detroit hasn’t won since Brandon Jennings tore his Achilles tendon last week.
“It has to be on our terms,” Van Gundy said of any potential trade. “We’ve already decided what we would and wouldn’t give up, and right now, people obviously want more than we’re willing to give up.”
Van Gundy also backed off an earlier assertion that the team would make a move by today and said he won’t rush to make any decision. Here’s the latest from around the Central Division, as Detroit slips back down the standings:
- Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau‘s coaching style is once more drawing criticism amid renewed rumors of tension between him and the front office, but Thibodeau tells USA Today’s Sam Amick that he has no intention of slackening his demands on players. Derrick Rose tells Amick that he has no issues with the coach, as Amick writes in a separate piece, echoing his report from earlier that opposing teams are keeping an eye on how the situation plays out in Chicago with the hope that Thibodeau will become available.
- It’s been “a little different” playing for friend and former teammate Jason Kidd on the Bucks, as Kenyon Martin admits. Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has the details, with the Bucks having signed Martin today for the rest of the season. “The respect is there,” Martin said. “He respects me and I respect him to the utmost. Him having me here is an honor.”
- Joe Harris is headed back on D-League assignment just one day after the Cavs recalled him, the team announced. It’s the fourth time in nine days Cleveland has sent the rookie, whose deal is guaranteed through next season, to the Canton Charge.