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Western Notes: Warriors, Suns, Nuggets

June 23rd, 2013 at 8:30pm CST by Michael Pina

A few notes from around the NBA's Western Conference.

Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com tweets that Warriors assistant coach Bob Beyer is going to the Bobcats.
The Suns could be interested in selecting a point guard with the fifth overall pick in this week's draft, writes AZCentral.com's Paul Coro. The team already has Goran Dragic, who they signed to a four-year deal last summer, and drafted Kendall Marshall with their first round pick last season.
The Nuggets reached out to Boston over the weekend to discuss making Rivers their head coach by dangling a first round pick, but Rivers had no interest in coaching that team, tweets SI.com's Chris Mannix.

Kings Rumors: Cousins, Evans, Execs, Muhammad

June 22nd, 2013 at 4:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

New Kings GM Pete D'Alessandro provided the media with plenty of information today about the issues facing the team as it turns its focus away from ownership and management changes and toward typical NBA offseason business. Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee passed along several highlights, as we round up here:

Dan Fegan, the agent for Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, appears to be going after a maximum-salary extension for his client this summer, and D'Alessandro says he has a good relationship with Fegan and plans to meet with Cousins in person. Fegan has advised Cousins to stay quiet about the Kings, but his silence doesn't mean he wants to be traded, Jones writes.
D'Alessandro has already met with soon-to-be restricted free agent Tyreke Evans.
Former Nuggets executive Mike Bratz will be D'Alessandro's assistant GM with the Kings, and Shareef Abdur-Rahim, a holdover from the previous regime in Sacramento, is in talks to join them in the front office, as Cowbell Kingdom's Jonathan Santiago tweets. If D'Alessandro had wound up with the Nuggets GM job, he said he would have tried to keep Bratz in Denver and recruit Abdur-Rahim.
An ankle injury kept Shabazz Muhammad from working out as scheduled with the Kings today, but he met D'Alessandro for lunch.
D'Alessandro also spoke about new scout George McCloud, who worked for D'Alessandro when they were both with the Warriors.

Nuggets To Interview Vinny Del Negro

June 21st, 2013 at 9:10pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Nuggets will interview Vinny Del Negro this weekend for their coaching vacancy, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Del Negro is the third coaching candidate to sit down this week with Tim Connelly, the Nuggets new executive vice president of basketball operations. Lionel Hollins did so on Wednesday, while Brian Shaw had his interview Tuesday.

Del Negro has been out of work for exactly a month, after he and the Clippers parted ways. A client of well-respected agent Lonnie Cooper, Del Negro has also been linked to the Celtics, who could be seeking a head coach if Doc Rivers doesn't return.

When the Clippers let go of Del Negro, they told him they'd do whatever they could to help him find his next job. It appears that policy may wind up benefiting the Clippers as much as Del Negro, since blocking Hollins and Shaw from the Nuggets job could leave them available for the Clippers, who've interviewed the two of them along with Byron Scott. The Clippers are reportedly using the availability of all three candidates as leverage in their negotiations with the Celtics over Rivers.

The Nuggets have suffered from an exodus of coaches and executives in the past month. Former GM Masai Ujiri left to take over the Raptors front office, and Denver forced out coach George Karl. Pete D'Alessandro, who had been serving as an assistant to Ujiri in Denver, became GM of the Kings, bringing another Nuggets executive with him. Today the Kings officially hired Nuggets director of player personnel Mike Bratz as assistant GM, as Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee notes.

Odds & Ends: Rivers, Nuggets, Roc Nation

June 20th, 2013 at 8:29pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald refers to a source that says Doc Rivers had no intention of being a part of an eventual rebuilding process with the Celtics, and that the team knew he felt that way when he signed his latest contract. The same source also said that Rivers did not intitiate the process that led to talks between Boston and the Clippers, adding that he had been contemplating between returning to coach the Celtics and stepping away from the game before team brass asked him if he was interested in any of the coaching opportunities around the league.

According to Bulpett's source, Rivers then learned that the front office had already held preliminary discussions with the Clippers about making him available (by releasing him from his contract) and seeing what they could get in return. At that point, Rivers was reportedly intrigued at the prospect of moving west and allowed Danny Ainge to try to work out the best possible deal. In the meantime, the 51-year-old coach was given permission to see if he could reach a separate agreement with the Clippers, which he eventually did (most notably, it would allow him to have control over player personnel).

With the deal now slowed by the fact that the agreement doesn't exactly comply with the rules of the CBA, Bulpett writes that Rivers could choose to do television work for the next one to two years rather than decide between coaching the Celtics or stepping away from the game altogether – that is, if the deal with the Clippers falls through. Interestingly enough, on the notion that Rivers had once said he'd be willing to continue coaching in Boston during a rebuilding process, some sources have called it an obligatory statement that was meant to preserve the stability of the team at the time, all while the front office would work to find pieces to complement Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce accordingly.

As we gear up for the seventh and deciding game of the NBA Finals, here are more of tonight's miscellaneous notes from around the Association:

Mike Bratz, currently the director of player personnel for the Nuggets and former Kings backup point guard, has reached an agreement with Sacramento to become the team's assistant general manager (Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reports).
Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that shortly after firing George Karl, the Nuggets had offered the Celtics a first round draft pick as compensation to pry Rivers out of his contract. Once Denver's offer was rebuffed by Danny Ainge, they quickly moved their focus onto Brian Shaw and Lionel Hollins, who both are said to have made strong impressions on team president Josh Kroenke and general manager Tim Connelly. Sources have said that at the time Kroenke had made his bid for Rivers about ten days ago, Boston was not ready to start the process of letting Rivers leave, and the negotiations never went beyond one brief conversation between Kroenke and Ainge.
There has been growing confusion (as well as anger, in some cases) among outside agents about who exactly the Roc Nation Sports agency represents and which athletes are part of its partnership with CAA Sports, writes Liz Mullen of SportsBusinessDaily.com. Some agents have privately expressed anger that Roc Nation has been reported to represent athletes who are still clients of other firms.
Janis Carr of the OC Register writes that Dwight Howard is still undecided on his future (subscribers only).
Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News tweets that Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni will be continuing interviews to fill out the rest of his coaching staff through next week, and that much of it will depend on how the head coaching hires around the league turn out.
The city of Sacramento is being asked to write its first big check toward the development of a downtown sports arena, says Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee. City development staff is expected to ask the council for $6.5MM in city funds, of which some will be used to hire a team of financial, design, and legal consultants. The team of consultants are said to be needed as the city begins negotiations on "definitive agreements" of an arena financing and construction plan with the private investment team that owns the Kings.
The Grizzlies should strongly consider selecting D.J. Stephens on draft night, opines Geoff Calkins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Kroenke, Connelly on Nuggets, Coaching Search, Iguodala

June 20th, 2013 at 6:47pm CST by Ryan Raroque

The Nuggets held a joint press conference with team president Josh Kroenke and newly hired GM Tim Connelly today. Both elaborated on a number of topics, including the team's search for a head coach, along with their current views on Andre Iguodala's impending free agency. Here are a few highlights from today's transcript (via the team's official website).

Kroenke on his decision to hire Connelly:

"(He) and I had hellos here and hellos there but we kind of kept tabs on each other over the years. I have a mental checklist of guys that I like around the league and Tim was atop that list all along. Pete (D’Alessandro) and I discussed the position and I think he is going to have a wonderful opportunity in Sacramento. I think he’s really excited and I’m really excited for him. Once that happened I didn’t waste any time. It was a quick decision for me and there was one person that I wanted to bring in right away and discuss the position – and that was Tim. I made a quick phone call, made a few arrangements and less than 24 hours later, me and Tim were meeting. It was an easy decision to make and I think Tim is just as excited as I was."

Kroenke on the team's head coaching search:

"I’m comfortable with everything as long as both of us are on the same page when we make the decision. I don’t think either of us want to put a specific time frame on anything or have another team try and dictate a time frame for us based on a potential hire they might have. We’re going to do things at our own pace. When Tim and I both become comfortable with a name that we think is going to be good for our roster, that’s when we’ll make the decision. If somebody makes a decision between now and then, we’ll adjust our thinking accordingly.

Kroenke on Iguodala's chances of returning to Denver:

“One-hundred percent. We’ve had some good discussions about that already. I had a good conversation with his agent last week. (I'm) looking forward to following up with them. Andre’s somebody we definitely want to bring back and he’s well aware of our intentions to bring him back as well.”

Connelly on joining the Nuggets:

"There is a culture that is already engrained here; a winning culture. It is a heck of a team that I am inheriting; 57 wins and chock-full of talent. It is a very supportive ownership and it’s a great city. I kind of got to this seat in an atypical path. Anyone who has been unfortunate to see me play knows that I am not much of a player, but in my 17 years in the NBA I have been lucky to work with, for, and against some of the brightest basketball minds in this league. Through those unique experiences I have done pretty much everything from delivering the mail to making trades and everything in between. All of those countless experiences have prepared me for this challenge. It is a challenge and an exciting challenge. But I’m confident that over those 17 years I have reached this point and I feel great about where this team is. I’m hoping next year that we’re having a similar press conference where we can say that we grew from where we are presently. I’m just thankful to be here."

Connelly on the team's head coaching search:

"I got here and the process had already picked up. We’ve been fortunate to interview a couple guys over the last few days that I’m sure you guys are aware of the names. I think after this press conference, I’m looking forward to getting back to work, establishing the staff, and it’s an ongoing process, very fluid. The two guys we have talked to are tremendous and after this I look forward to going into Josh’s office and see where we go in that process."

“I don’t think we want to put a timeline on anything. There is a potential to talk to different candidates but we have talked to two great guys already. I think that whirlwind that I have experienced the last several days we have yet to really sit down and really share thoughts on where we are in the process. Again, we have talked to two great candidates and there is a couple guys we could potentially talk to but I don’t want to put a timeline on anything.”

Connelly's take on the current roster:

“I see I am the luckiest guy in the world. I see a roster that we really thought highly of in New Orleans. When you are in the other room sometimes you are most objective and most truthful. Over the course of our discussions I told Josh it is rare where you get jobs like this with a roster with this much talent. I am familiar with all the guys, I know a few of them pretty well. This is a 57-win team, and again, it is about growing on that. The foundation is there; I think we just have to build off that firm foundation and get some internal growth from some role players, also be opportunistic with trades and free agency and maximize our draft picks. The cupboard is full with an excellent roster.”

Connelly on Iguodala:

“The last guy we spoke to prior to this press room was Andre. He’s such a pro. He’s in there working out. He’s priority No. 1. We’ll be very proactive trying to reach an agreement that both sides are happy with.”

Western Links: Clippers, Kirilenko, Spurs, Nuggets

June 20th, 2013 at 3:25pm CST by Luke Adams

DeAndre Jordan told Yahoo! Sports Radio (link via WEEI.com) today that he'd be happy playing for either the Clippers or Celtics next season, and Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld took a detailed look at what L.A.'s cap situation would look like if the team were to acquire Kevin Garnett in exchange for Jordan. But the long-rumored deal that would send Garnett and Doc Rivers to the Clippers appears to be in trouble, as the latest reports suggest the NBA has serious misgivings about approving a move that wouldn't be in accordance with the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement.

As we wait to see whether the two teams will be able to come up with a solution that satisfies the NBA, let's check out a few more items from around the Western Conference:

A decision on Andrei Kirilenko's 2013/14 player option is due by June 29th, but the T-Wolves forward tells Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune that he doesn't expect to make a decision until after next Thursday's draft. Whether Kirilenko opts in or out will have a significant impact on Minnesota's cap situation, considering the option is worth $10MM+.
Responding to a report indicating that DeMarcus Cousins could ask to be traded if he doesn't receive a maximum-salary extension from the Kings this offseason, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com wonders whether it's possible for the Mavericks to trade for Cousins.
As we prepare for what should be an exciting Game 7 of the NBA Finals, Jay Caplan of NBA.com breaks down quotes from Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Gregg Popovich, wondering if this could be the last run for the Spurs as we know them.
During his introductory press conference today, new Nuggets GM Tim Connelly told reporters, including Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post, that he's eager to get to work with CEO Josh Kroenke on the team's roster and that he's optimistic about re-signing Andre Iguodala. As Dempsey writes in a separate piece, the Nuggets seem to be targeting shooters in the draft, based on their latest workouts.

Kings Notes: Cousins, Snell, Bratz

June 20th, 2013 at 11:20am CST by Luke Adams

Although many of our stories on the Kings so far this year have been related to Chris Hansen's attempt to buy the franchise and Sacramento's fight to keep the club in the city, the focus is beginning to shift. With a new ownership group in place, and a GM and head coach hired, the Kings can now turn their attention to figuring out how to transform a team that hasn't won more than 28 games since 2007/08 into a contender. Here's the latest out of Sacramento:

Asked about the Kings' new regime by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee, DeMarcus Cousins replied with a "no comment." As Jones writes, Cousins has been instructed by agent Dan Fegan to stay quiet on the subject of the Kings team, management, and ownership.
Fegan "wants a maximum deal for his client with the threat of a trade demand looming if a deal isn't reached," according to Jones. It's not clear based on the wording if Jones is speculating about a potential trade demand or if that's coming from Fegan himself. Needless to say though, if Cousins and the Kings don't reach an agreement this offseason when the big man is extension-eligible, trade rumors will pick up in earnest.
In a separate piece for the Bee, Jones writes about the rising draft stock of New Mexico guard Tony Snell, and the impression Snell has made on the Kings.
Mike Bratz of the Nuggets is flying to Sacramento today to finalize an agreement as Pete D'Alessandro's assistant GM with the Kings, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Bratz had been serving as the director of player personnel in Denver, and becomes the latest Nuggets executive to jump ship for another team.

Odds & Ends: Bucks, Mavs, Nuggets, Jones

June 19th, 2013 at 7:50pm CST by Alex Lee

As we all wait with bated breath for game seven tomorrow night between the Heat and the Spurs, let's round up some odds and ends from around the NBA on this Wednesday night:

Craig Brackins, Tyler Honeycutt, and Mickell Gladness are among the NBA free agents at a mini-camp being held by the Bucks this week, according to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com explains how the Early Bird exception could help the Mavericks re-sign Brandan Wright this summer.
While the Mavs are likely to move their first rounder, Mark Cuban tells MacMahon that any rumors about that deal that involve a Shawn Marion salary dump are false.
In an offseason that's already seen them lose a head coach, a GM, and an assistant GM, the Nuggets will lose two more executives from their front office, as Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post outlines.
The Jazz, who officially brought Jerry Sloan back to the organization earlier tonight, are close to naming Brad Jones their new bench assistant, tweets Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune. Jones was previously an assistant coach for player development for the team.

Draft Notes: Nuggets, Wizards, Nets, Jazz

June 18th, 2013 at 6:30pm CST by Michael Pina

A few notes about the upcoming NBA draft, which, remarkably enough, is only nine days away.

The Nuggets are scheduled to evaluate six more players in a pre-draft workout on Wednesday, June 19th, according to Aaron J. Lopez from Nuggets.com. It will be their fourth workout before the June 27th draft.
The Nets are hosting two pre-draft workouts later this week, one on Wednesday and one on Thursday, according to the team's official site. A total of 12 players will be worked out by the team.
According to their official site, the Wizards will be conducting a workout on Wednesday, with six players expected to be in attendance.
In search of a point guard, the Jazz worked out Syracuse prospect Michael Carter-Williams, but do not expect Trey Burke to be available with the 14th pick, and thus won't be working him out, according to The Salt Lake Tribune's Steve Luhm.

Nuggets Hire Tim Connelly

June 17th, 2013 at 1:47pm CST by Luke Adams

1:47pm: The Nuggets have officially announced the hiring of Connelly in a press release.

"We are extremely excited to have Tim join the Denver Nuggets organization," Kroenke said in a statement. "He comes from a great basketball background, possesses an incredibly strong work ethic and is a wonderful person. His passion and energy for the game of basketball are contagious and I am confident that he will be a great fit with us in Denver."

10:09am: The Nuggets have decided on their new head of basketball operations, agreeing to hire Tim Connelly to replace Masai Ujiri, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that Connelly's official title in Denver will be executive VP of basketball operations.

Connelly, who had previously been working as an assistant GM for the Pelicans, was named by Wojnarowski last month as a candidate for the Denver opening. Connelly was also linked to the GM job with the Timberwolves. He'll take the reins with a franchise that has lost its GM, its top assistant GM, and its head coach in the last several weeks.

Since the Nuggets' season ended with a first-round loss to Golden State, Ujiri has been hired as the Raptors' new head of basketball operations, Pete D'Alessandro has reached an agreement to become the Kings' general manager, and George Karl was let go by Denver when the two sides couldn't agree on an extension.

One of the first tasks facing Connelly this summer will be Andre Iguodala's free agency. Iguodala decided to exercise his early termination option and hit the open market, though he and the Nuggets have mutual interest in a new deal that keeps him in Denver.

Connelly also figures to assist team president Josh Kroenke in hiring a head coach to replace Karl. Lionel Hollins is scheduled to interview with the Nuggets on Wednesday, while Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post reports that the club will meet with Brian Shaw on Tuesday.