Chicago Bulls Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Eye Jackson; Warriors Targets Emerge

May 7th, 2014 at 2:24pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:24pm: The Warriors haven’t reached out to Stan Van Gundy yet, Wojnarowski tweets. Van Gundy has support in “several corners” of the Warriors organization, Wojnarowski notes, but the lack of contact with him suggests the team views Kerr as its top priority for now, having already spoken with him, as we passed along below.

12:47pm: Sources tell Kawakami that Kerr isn’t necessarily the team’s top choice, though that could change, given the compressed time frame as Kerr reportedly nears a decision on where he’d like to coach (Twitter links).

WEDNESDAY, 12:05pm: Kerr appears to be the team’s No. 1 option, according to Kawakami, who believes Pacers assistant Nate McMillan is also on the Warriors short list of candidates that they’d consider if Kerr chooses to coach elsewhere.

TUESDAY, 5:39pm: The Warriors have already contacted Kerr about the job, tweets Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.

4:36pm: ESPN’s Chris Broussard suggests the Thunder as a possible destination for Jackson if Oklahoma City lets go of coach Scott Brooks (video link).

4:02pm: Kerr is indeed interested in the Warriors job, as Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group hears (Twitter link).

3:58pm: The Warriors likely have interest in University of Connecticut head coach Kevin Ollie and Clippers assistant Alvin Gentry, according to Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group, who hears the Warriors aren’t in a rush to pick their next coach.

3:34pm: Mike D’Antoni and Mike Dunleavy Sr. are interested in the Warriors job, USA Today’s Sam Amick reports.

3:21pm: The Warriors have Steve Kerr and Stan Van Gundy at the top of their list to replace the fired Mark Jackson, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who also names Fred Hoiberg as a candidate. The team will consider asking the Bulls for permission to speak with Tom Thibodeau, Wojnarowski adds. Jackson, meanwhile, is a candidate for the Lakers coaching vacancy, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.

Kerr, who’s zeroing in on the Knicks job, is tight with Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob and his son, assistant GM Kirk Lacob, but whether Golden State truly considers him a candidate is unclear, tweets Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. Kerr prefers to move along toward the Knicks job, but he will give the Warriors some thought, according to Wojnarowski.

The Warriors are likely to reach out to former Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins, too, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter).

Bulls Considering Fred Hoiberg?

May 7th, 2014 at 12:25pm CST by Chuck Myron

Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg is a potential candidate for the Bulls should they part ways with Tom Thibodeau, writes Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. The Bulls and Thibodeau have consistently downplayed rumors that they’d part ways this season, but other teams appear willing to test their relationship, as reports have indicated the Lakers and Warriors will ask the Bulls for permission to interview Thibodeau for their vacancies.

Hoiberg has been linked to the Warriors and Wolves, though it appears unlikely he’d take the Wolves job. Hoiberg is in the midst of a long-term deal with Iowa State, and the school recently raised his annual salary to $2.6MM. Thibodeau has multiple seasons remaining on his contract with Chicago.

The Warriors appear to have Steve Kerr atop their list, but Hoiberg’s name isn’t far behind, according to Kawakami. Golden State would have keen interest in Thibodeau if he were available, Kawakami writes, though that would probably be true of any number of teams across the league, given Thibodeau’s reputation as an elite bench boss.

And-Ones: Lowry, Noah, Warriors, Celtics

May 4th, 2014 at 10:43pm CST by Zachary Links

Shortly after losing to the Nets in Game 7, Raptors guard Kyle Lowry gave a quote in the locker room that could be a hint towards his offseason plans. “This is only the start for us and the Raptors organization,” said the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN (on Twitter). Here’s tonight’s look around the Association..

Joakim Noah is reportedly trying to recruit Carmelo Anthony to the Bulls and he’s no stranger to that game, notes Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The big man took free agent Carlos Boozer out to dinner during his visit to Chicago and helped lure him in during the 2010 offseason.
Determining coach Mark Jackson‘s future with the Warriors won’t be an easy call, writes Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News.
In his final individual report card for the Celtics‘ season, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. evaluates the players that didn’t end the season in green and white: Jordan Crawford, Courtney Lee, Keith Bogans, MarShon Brooks, and Vander Blue.
Sports Illustrated legal analyst Michael McCann told colleague Chris Mannix (on Twitter) that if Clippers owner Donald Sterling files a lawsuit, “it will not be resolved by the start of the season.”

Eastern Notes: Thibodeau, Young, Cavs, Bucks

May 3rd, 2014 at 9:12pm CST by Cray Allred

In a subscription-only piece, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune looks at the Bulls roster heading into the offseason, addressing 10 of the 15 players that finished the year under contract in Chicago. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

David Haugh of The Chicago Tribune thinks that the Bulls are highly unlikely to grant an opportunity for Tom Thibodeau to speak with the Lakers, who are rumored to have interest in the coach. However, Haugh believes the lack of a public statement to dispel the notion from either Thibodeau or management belies a pettiness between the two sides.
A league source floated a far-fetched possibility to Haugh: that Thibodeau and Carmelo Anthony, both represented by Creative Arts Agency, could angle to join forces with the Lakers, rather than with the Bulls.
Tom Moore of Calkins Media thinks that Thaddeus Young could demand a trade this offseason, if the Sixers draft a power forward in the lottery and ask the veteran to come off the bench for another losing season. Though Young survived Philadelphia’s efforts to deal away most of its veterans for draft assets this past trade deadlines, speculation about Young’s future with the team has remained.
The Cavs are waiting to see which candidates become available before making the final call on interim GM David Griffin and coach Mike Brown, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
Members of the Bucks coaching staff and front office still remain uncertain about their employment status in wake of the team’s new ownership, tweets Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times.

Charlie Adams contributed to this post.

Central Rumors: Cavs, Noah, ‘Melo

May 3rd, 2014 at 10:57am CST by Cray Allred

Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer doesn’t have a read on whether the Cavs quiet offseason to date is a good sign for coach Mike Brown. It’s possible that Brown’s job is safe after not getting a quick hook, but Boyer says another possibility is that owner Dan Gilbert is lengthening the decision-making process after making quick moves after last season. Here’s more from the Central Division:

Boyer adds that she thinks the Cavs would take a look at Carlos Boozer this summer if the Bulls were to amnesty him, although she doesn’t think a Boozer reunion in Cleveland would be popular with Cavs fans.
Joakim Noah‘s rumored recruitment of Carmelo Anthony didn’t end after All-Star Weekend, sources tell Joe Cowley of The Chiago Sun-Times. Noah has kept a dialogue with the Knicks superstar throughout the season, and encouraged other Bulls players to push for adding Anthony this summer.
Noah wants Anthony as a Bulls teammate, but he doesn’t want Chicago to sacrifice Taj Gibson in such an acquisition, Cowley adds.

And-Ones: Parsons, Bulls, Kerr, Noah

May 2nd, 2014 at 9:09pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Rockets have a difficult decision to make with Chandler Parsons this summer. They could exercise their team option for $964,750, but that would make him an unrestricted free agent in 2015. If they decline the option, Parsons becomes a restricted free agent this summer which would surely result in a hefty pay increase for the third-year forward, or the team could lose him if they choose not to match any offers he receives. Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel believes the Magic should explore acquiring Parsons, who might be available thanks to the Rockets cap situation. Parsons averaged 16.6 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 4.0 APG this season.

And-Ones: Johnson, Wilkins, Kidd

May 1st, 2014 at 10:38pm CST by Cray Allred

Doc Rivers told reporters, including of Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, that he assumes Kevin Johnson will have the choice to become the president of the NBA players association even if he wants to remain mayor of Sacramento (Twitter link). Earlier, we passed on word that Johnson isn’t a candidate for the union role due to his political ambitions. Here’s more from around the league:

The Bulls haven’t received any indication that the Lakers plan to request a meeting with coach Tom Thibodeau, a source tells Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Cowley surmises that the rumblings about the Lakers pursuing Thibodeau won’t amount to much beyond speculation.
Sources tell K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune that Thibodeau is a proponent of the Bulls pursuing Carmelo Anthony this summer. Johnson speculates that Thibodeau’s involvement with future personnel decisions casts doubt on the potential for him to meet with the Lakers, let alone leave Chicago for Los Angeles.
Damien Wilkins has signed with Indios de Mayaguez of Puerto Rico, agent Christian Santaella tweets (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). The 34-year-old spent training camp with the Hawks before signing in China this winter, and hasn’t played in the NBA since starting 21 games with the Sixers in the 2012/13 season.
Ian O’Connor of ESPNNewYork.com says that Jason Kidd‘s performance as a coach would be the biggest failure for the Nets if Brooklyn doesn’t make it out of the first round. While the team recovered after a disappointing start, O’Connor notes that the upgraded roster will still have done worse than last year’s team, when P.J. Carlesimo was let go following a first round exit.
Adam Silver was not aware of any potential boycott from NBA players when he made his decision to seek the ouster of Clippers owner Donald Sterling, per Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal (Twitter links). Kevin Johnson, helping represent the players union through the issue, tells Mullen that a boycott “was never mentioned” in his talks with the commissioner.
With the help of legal experts, Brent Schrotenboer of USA Today looks at some of the legal maneuvers Sterling could pursue to counter the league’s actions, including stalling the team’s ownership status by filing for divorce.
In a Q&A with Richard Sandomir of The New York Times, a longtime sports lawyer lays out the legal framework that lies ahead as the league pushes to remove Sterling.

Coaching Rumors: Thibodeau, Ollie, Dunleavy

May 1st, 2014 at 7:38pm CST by Cray Allred

Ken Berger of CSBSports.com thinks the the path for Tom Thibodeau to move from the Bulls to the Lakers is complicated and unlikely, but says that the precedent set when Doc Rivers joined the Clippers while under contract with the Celtics has caused many in the coaching ranks to expect more pseudo-trades of coaches to take place. Here’s more on the league’s coaching front:

Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com says that if Thibodeau were to leave the Bulls, it would imply that he doesn’t expect Derrick Rose to come back strong enough to make Chicago a true contender.
Friedell thinks Chicago fans would be very unhappy with a deal, since the best the Lakers can offer in return for Thibodeau would be draft assets and/or to absorb Carlos Boozer‘s contract.
While we’ve noted that the requested meeting with the Lakers is unlikely, the ESPNChicago.com scribe adds that the Bulls might be forced to consider it if they can’t come to an agreement on an extension with the coach.
Steve Kerr‘s TNT broadcasting partner Reggie Miller tweets his opinion that Kerr should weigh his options before settling on the Knicks (H/T Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com).
Mike Dunleavy Sr. said he was interested in the Lakers coaching opening on his SiriusXM NBA Radio show (transcription via Mark Medina of Los Angeles Daily News.) “If I had an opportunity to interview with them I would definitely be interested,” said Dunleavy, who is reportedly on the Lakers’ list.
Dunleavy also said he has a good relationship with Kobe Bryant, of whom he spoke highly. “I recruited [Bryant] a number of years ago to come to the Clippers,” Dunleavy said. “I think at the time I had a good argument for it and I think we were very close to getting him to shift at that time.”
Kevin Ollie is open to hearing from the Lakers, but is very committed to UConn, a person familiar with Ollie’s thinking tells Medina in a separate piece.
Nuggets coach Brian Shaw tells Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post he isn’t interested in either the Knicks or Lakers coaching vacancies. “I have a job here in Denver that I’m happy with,” said Shaw. “Though the season didn’t turn out how any of us would have liked, I’m happy where I am and I’m looking forward to coaching a full complement of healthy players.”

And-Ones: Union, KJ, Bulls, Young, Huestis

May 1st, 2014 at 4:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Adam Silver’s response to the Donald Sterling fiasco united the players association, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, and it also facilitated a stronger relationship between the union and the league, as acting union executive director Ron Klempner sees it.

“The league and the players recently have been working more closely together across the board, not just through this event,” Klempner said. “Our player programs staffs have experienced something of a thaw. Everyone feels more secure and confident, knowing that we can work together with the league on projects that will benefit the players.”

Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher has a different take, believing the players’ response to Silver’s ruling was an act of capitulation, and that they missed an opportunity to boycott games until Sterling was officially stripped of Clippers ownership. Just how the Sterling mess plays out remains to be seen, and there’s more on the union amid our latest look around the NBA:

Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson, who’s serving the players in an ex-officio capacity, isn’t a candidate to take the union’s full-time executive director position, given his rising stock as a politician, Windhorst writes in the same piece.
It seems the Bulls will have to make a choice between Kirk Hinrich and D.J. Augustin, but GM Gar Forman isn’t ruling out the possibility of bringing them both back, as Sam Smith of Bulls.com notes.
Kentucky shooting guard James Young, one of 75 early entrants for the draft, has chosen Jay Z and his Roc Nation Sports agency for his representation, notes Zach Braziller of the New York Post.
The Jazz will likely work out fellow draft prospect Josh Huestis, tweets Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. The small forward from Stanford told Hoops Rumors about his preparation for a chance in the NBA, as we detailed in this morning’s prospect profile.
Terrence Williams didn’t last long in Puerto Rico, as Brujos de Guayama has released him just a few weeks after he joined the team, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The former 11th overall pick last played in the NBA with the Celtics in 2012/13.

Lakers Intend To ‘Make A Splash’ With New Coach

May 1st, 2014 at 3:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:18pm: The Bulls are likely to deny the Lakers permission to speak with Thibodeau, according to USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt (Twitter link).

1:43pm: The Lakers will ask the Bulls for permission to interview Tom Thibodeau, reports Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter).

1:08pm: The Lakers will interview George Karl, Jeff Van Gundy, Byron Scott, Kurt Rambis, Ollie and Calipari, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.

11:44am: The Lakers are going after marquee names and want to “make a splash” with their coaching search, with Connecticut’s Kevin Ollie and Kentucky’s John Calipari at the forefront, report Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. They apparently plan to reach out to Calipari even though he denied interest in the vacancy this morning. The Lakers nonetheless intend to hold back and focus on the draft and free agency while they gauge the coaching market, Stein and Shelburne write.

The Lakers are also considering the notion of holding off on a decision in case a high-profile free agent signals he wants to join the team, sources tell the ESPN scribes. In that case, the free agent would be able to influence the team’s choice of coaches.

Stein and Shelburne say the Lakers are also considering Derek Fisher, for whom the job reportedly holds “tremendous appeal.” Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who passed along the news of Fisher’s interest earlier, wrote that Kobe Bryant would not be the decision-maker for the team, but the Lakers are expected to consult with their 35-year-old star, according to Stein and Shelburne.

The Lakers plan to interview Mike Dunleavy Sr., who held the head coaching job for the team in the 1990s. Stein and Shelburne also mention the team’s interest in a number of candidates Shelburne listed earlier today. While the team is going after the two coaches from this year’s title game, Stein and Shelburne say the Lakers don’t have plans to reach out to Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, whom they’ve targeted when the position has come open in the past.