Gary Payton Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Jrue, Vegas, Pangos, Payton, Big Markets

June 4th, 2021 at 2:29pm CST by Luke Adams

Bucks guard Jrue Holiday is the recipient of the Joe Dumars Trophy, having been named the winner of the 2020/21 NBA Sportsmanship Award, the league announced today in a press release.

The award, which aims to honor the player who “best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court,” is voted on by current NBA players. Each team nominates one of its players, a panel of league executives pares the list down to six finalists (one from each division), and the players vote on those six finalists.

Holiday, who earned 130 of 343 first-place votes, beat out runner-up Kemba Walker (74 first-place votes) for the award. Bam Adebayo, Harrison Barnes, Derrick White, and Josh Okogie were the other finalists.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

While it’s unclear when the NBA might seriously pursue expansion, Las Vegas has frequently been cited as a city the league would consider, and a Yahoo News report suggests one potential ownership group may be in place in Vegas. As Kurt Helin of NBC Sports relays, billionaire Jay Bloom heads a series of investors who reportedly have the funds and the connections necessary to be the frontrunners to own a Vegas NBA franchise if the opportunity arises.
Kevin Pangos, one of the top point guards in the EuroLeague, is drawing plenty of interest from European teams but may wait until NBA free agency to make a decision, says Aris Barkas of Eurohoops. There’s no indication that Pangos has an NBA offer awaiting him, but the former Gonzaga standout wants to consider all his options before making a decision.
Hall-of-Fame guard Gary Payton, who has spoken in the past about wanting to coach in the NBA, tells Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated that he has agreed to a multiyear contract to coach Lincoln University in his hometown of Oakland, California.
In the wake of teams like the Celtics, the Knicks, and especially the Lakers being eliminated from the postseason, Ethan Strauss of The Athletic explores just how dependent the NBA is on its marquee, big-market franchises, and what the league can do to reduce that dependence.

And-Ones: Barnes, Tyler, Kawhi, Payton

March 7th, 2021 at 7:18pm CST by JD Shaw

Kings forward Harrison Barnes has been elected as the new Secretary-Treasurer of the National Basketball Players Association, according to a press release from the website. Barnes will begin his three-year term immediately and replace Anthony Tolliver.

“This is a great opportunity to get more involved in union business and I am very excited to join Chris [Paul], Andre [Iguodala] and the rest of the Executive Committee,” Barnes said. “Our union has an important role representing all 450 players and I am honored that my peers elected me to this position.”

Blazers guard CJ McCollum and Bulls wing Garrett Temple were also re-elected as Vice Presidents of the NBPA’s Executive Committee, the release said.

Here are some other odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Free agent Jeremy Tyler has agreed to a deal in China with the Liaoning Flying Leopards, sources told Hoops Rumors. Tyler has played 104 games in his career, most recently spending time in Puerto Rico. He was the No. 39 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.
Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard plans to play in the Olympics this year, according to ESPN. Leonard would play for head coach Gregg Popovich, who coached the 29-year-old from 2011-18 — a run that included an NBA title and two Finals appearances. “My plan is to go,” Leonard said. “If I feel up to it and feel ready to go around that time, then I’m going to play.”
Hall of Fame guard Gary Payton hinted at potentially coaching in the NBA soon, as relayed by Sean Deveney of Forbes.com. Payton made his intentions of coaching clear to Yahoo last year, confirming that his interests haven’t changed. “It is still the case. I got a surprise coming for a lot of people pretty soon,” he said. “I don’t want to announce it right now, but you’ll see it pretty soon in the next couple of weeks, I hope everybody will be excited about it.”

Gary Payton Hopes To Join NBA Coaching Staff

October 16th, 2020 at 11:30am CST by JD Shaw

Hall of Fame point guard Gary Payton has significant interest in joining an NBA coaching staff, making his intentions known to Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes on Thursday.

“I have had conversations in the past about coaching, but the timing wasn’t right. I believe I now am ready to coach,” Payton said. “A lot of young NBA players are a voice away from reaching their true potential. I would like to join an NBA staff where I can help coach, mentor and guide players toward the hard work, focus and determination needed to become a reliable contributor to a team’s success.”

Payton played 17 NBA seasons and is recognized as one of the greatest defensive players in league history. He won the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award in 1996, helped the Heat win their first championship in franchise history in 2006 and was named to nine All-Star teams in his career.

Payton’s son, Gary Payton II, played for the Wizards this past season and is currently an unrestricted free agent. Both Paytons are represented by agent Aaron Goodwin of Goodwin Sports Management.

The elder Payton holds minimal coaching experience in the BIG3 but has no NBA experience on the sidelines to date. Still, his leadership, high IQ and competitive drive could entice teams that want to bolster their coaching or player development staff next season.

“I have knowledge to share and I’m ready to help,” Payton said.

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Gary Payton

Wizards Notes: Culture, Bryant, Smith, Mathews

January 8th, 2020 at 5:15pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The culture in Washington has changed dramatically from last season and Ish Smith believes the team the Wizards could be on a similar path to the one the Nets are on, as he told Hoops Rumors and other media in attendance after the team’s recent win over the Celtics.

“Brooklyn, I thought, did a great job of it last year. They’ve been doing a great job over the last two years – they haven’t had any true superstars, but now they do,” Smith said. “They’ve just been playing hard and guys have emerged out of nowhere.

“You look at Joe Harris; Joe Harris wasn’t a household name, now he is one. Spencer Dinwiddie, I can go down the line, all of those guys who played really, really well and held down the fort – and they made it to the playoffs last year. Obviously, D’Angelo [Russell] was a household name and everybody knew who he was, but I thought Brooklyn had laid that [foundation] down. We’re just trying to play hard, try to play smarter. We’re embodying who Coach [Scott] Brooks is. Coach Brooks is a fighter and that’s who he was his whole career. I think we’re doing a great job of doing that these last few games.”

The Wizards have had a stockpile of injuries and players without much brand recognition have stepped up. Here’s more on the unique squad out of Washington:

The front office would like to promote Anzejs Pasecniks, who is on a two-way deal, to the 15-man roster, though good luck guessing which player would be waived if that happens. Gary Payton II‘s contract for the season became fully guaranteed on Tuesday, which makes the Wizards roster 15-for-15 in guaranteed contracts.
Thomas Bryant could make his return to the court this weekend. The Wizards play the Hawks on Friday and the Jazz on Sunday.
Wizards guard Jordan McRae spoke about how Smith, has impacted the club “Ish [Smith] is doing what Ish does. We’ve been going through droughts where we can’t score. Him being the point guard, him being the leader that he is, he’s taken it upon himself,” McRae said. We recently detailed how Smith is channeling his inner Steve Nash for the Wizards.
Brook said there is no update on Garrison Mathews, who is dealing with an ankle sprain, Fred Katz of The Athletic relays on Twitter.

Pacific Notes: Lakers, Divac, Clippers

April 23rd, 2017 at 8:57pm CST by Austin Kent

The Lakers would be making a terrible mistake by targeting Pacers forward Paul George as their much needed superstar, Mitch Lawrence of the Sporting News writes.

George, the “anti-Magic,” has shown poor leadership and a tendency to alienate teammates, Lawrence says. Those aren’t characteristics typically paired with a young team like the Lakers.

In the same piece, Lawrence goes on to add that a better fit for George may be Boston because the Celtics, unlike the Lakers, boast the strong-willed vets to withstand George’s occasional negativity.

Should the Lakers continue to pursue the swingman, however, they’ll need ensure that their point guard is mentally strong enough to deal with the vocal superstar.

After a tumultuous first few seasons at the helm, Vlade Divac has been given an opportunity to manage a stable Kings franchise, Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee writes. “I knew the staff I wanted to put together. There was always so much (drama) going on ever since I got here, it took up a lot of my time,” Divac said. “Finally I have been able to find people who believe in what we are trying to do and who I am very comfortable with.“
The Clippers have every intention of competing for a title even with the injured Blake Griffin on the sidelines, Bill Oram of the Orange County Register writes. “It’s not the best thing that could have ever happened to us,” teammate Chris Paul said, “but it’s not the end of the world. We still are going to go out there. We know we got a job to do. We got a big game (Sunday), Game 4, and we go out there expecting to win.”
Could a candid conversation on Jimmy Kimmel be considered tampering? USA Today’s Alysha Tsuji wrote about how Lakers executive Magic Johnson may have tampered while commenting specifically about not tampering.
Count Gary Payton (Sr.) among the crowd who thinks Warriors forward Draymond Green should be this season’s Defensive Player of the Year, an Associated Press report outlines. The Glove also speaks highly of Kawhi Leonard as a legitimate candidate.

Allen Iverson Commits To New BIG3 League As Player/Coach

January 11th, 2017 at 12:33pm CST by Luke Adams

Hall-of-Famer Allen Iverson has committed to join the new BIG3 basketball league debuting this summer, and will serve as both a coach and a player, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Wojnarowski first reported last month that entertainer Ice Cube and former NBA player Roger Mason were working together to launch the league, having secured commitments from several retired NBA veterans.

“I thought of this concept as a fan who got sick of seeing his heroes retire and not play anymore,” Ice Cube said at the time. “A lot of these guys can still play once they retire – just not the back-to-backs or four games in five nights.

“Not only do we get a chance to see these guys keep playing, but we give guys who retired who still got some game – who don’t want to pick up a [microphone] on TV and who don’t want to go overseas to play … some of these guys still want a stage to play on.”

Kenyon Martin, Rashard Lewis, Jermaine O’Neal, Stephen Jackson and Jason Williams were among the former NBA players initially reported to have committed to the BIG3, a half-court, three-on-three professional basketball league. In his latest report, Wojnarowski adds Chauncey Billups to that list of players.

According to Wojnarowski, Iverson will be one of eight dual head coaches/players in the league, which will feature eight teams. In his December report, Wojnarowski indicated that Gary Payton had agreed to be one of the coaches, though it’s not clear if The Glove would be a player as well.

The BIG3 conducted its first official press conference today, fielding questions about the league and introducing Iverson, Lewis, Martin, and Mason (Twitter link via Ian Begley of ESPN.com). A tweet from the BIG3 indicated that the league is expected to launch on June 24, shortly after the NBA Finals end.

New Pro League For Retired Players To Debut In 2017

December 23rd, 2016 at 8:59am CST by Luke Adams

Longtime NBA guard Roger Mason is leaving his position as the deputy executive director of the National Basketball Players Association to help launch a new professional basketball league for retired players, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. According to Wojnarowski, Mason will serve as president and commissioner of the new league.

As Wojnarowski details, Mason will partner with rapper and actor Ice Cube – and multiple investors – to launch the league in June 2017. The plan is for eight teams – made up of five players apiece – to tour together from city to city for 10 weeks in the summer, playing three-on-three, half-court games. The league, which will be known as TheBig3, is being founded by Ice Cube, who spoke to Wojnarowski about the project.

“I thought of this concept as a fan who got sick of seeing his heroes retire and not play anymore,” Ice Cube said. “A lot of these guys can still play once they retire – just not the back-to-backs or four games in five nights.

“Not only do we get a chance to see these guys keep playing, but we give guys who retired who still got some game – who don’t want to pick up a [microphone] on TV and who don’t want to go overseas to play … some of these guys still want a stage to play on.”

Per Wojnarowski, former NBA players who have committed to play on teams in the league include Kenyon Martin, Stephen Jackson, Jermaine O’Neal, Rashard Lewis, and Jason Williams. Additionally, Gary Payton has agreed to coach one of the teams.

As for Mason, he played a significant role in the NBPA’s transition over the last several years, and will leave the union as it prepares to officially ratify a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NBA. According to Wojnarowski, the NBPA’s focus on taking care of retired and elderly former players in the new CBA was in large part due to Mason.

An official news conference to announce TheBig3 is expected in January, says Wojnarowski.

Central Notes: Blatt, Rose, Butler, McMillan

May 22nd, 2016 at 11:51am CST by Arthur Hill

Former Cavaliers coach David Blatt plans to be on someone’s bench next season, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. After taking Cleveland to the NBA Finals last season, Blatt was fired in January with a 30-11 record. It’s a rare break for the 57-year-old, who has held coaching jobs around the world since 1993. “I’m going to coach next year,” Blatt said. “I’m not going to sit out. It’s not in my nature. I want to work. I’ll be back somewhere. Could be anywhere.” He added that he prefers a head coaching position overseas to working as an assistant in the NBA.

There’s more news from the Central Division:

It’s time for the Bulls to break up the Derrick Rose–Jimmy Butler backcourt, argues K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Johnson says their relationship has become “untenable” because both players consider themselves to be the team leader, both need the ball in their hands to be most effective and neither has the 3-point shooting skills to complement the other. Johnson believes Rose’s injury history would make him difficult to deal, even though he only has one season left on his contract at $21.3MM. Butler would probably bring a greater return, but it would signify a rebuilding process that Chicago may not be ready for. If they’re both back next season, Johnson suggests drafting a shooting guard, possibly Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine, and moving Butler to small forward.
New Pacers coach Nate McMillan has to change his style to succeed in the modern NBA, former All-Star Gary Payton tells Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star. Payton, who played for McMillan in Seattle, says the coach will need to drop his disciplinarian image. “[McMillan] can’t be that militant coach,” Payton said. “You see what happened with George Karl up in Sacramento. When you’ve got players and it happens like that, you’re going to be the odd man out. I don’t think ownership these days are taking the side of a coach unless you’re a [Gregg] Popovich or something like that, over these $15MM-$20MM players.”
The Bucks are weighing their options with the 36th and 38th picks in next month’s draft, writes Charles F. Gardner of The Journal-Sentinel. Milwaukee concentrated on forwards on its first workout this week, which included Weber State’s Joel Bolomboy and Louisiana-Lafayette’s Shawn Long. Trading the picks to move into the first round is also an option. “Could we ever bundle those picks and move up?” said GM John Hammond. “Once again, not easy to do. Do we stay with both picks? Do we look at making one of those picks for a current roster spot and maybe another one with potentially an international player that could stay and continue to develop? We’ll see as it moves forward.”

Atlantic Notes: Ainge, Colangelo, Draft

May 13th, 2016 at 2:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Celtics would at least debate the idea of trading the pick Brooklyn owes them even if it winds up No. 1 after the lottery, president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said in an appearance on ESPN2 Thursday, notes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. Still, Ainge knows he can’t over-reach and burn the team’s assets, as Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald relays. “I understand that,” Ainge said. “Look, we just want to spend our capital wisely. That’s all I’m saying. And we’ll try to do that. But sometimes you have to wait and you can’t do it when you want to do it. But we wanted to do it last [offseason]. We wanted to do it at the trade deadline. And now this summer, we want to do it. And I feel like the summer’s a better time than [the] trade deadline to do it, so I’m optimistic and I’m hopeful.”

See more from the Atlantic Division:

Sixers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo expressed a willingness to consider trading a top-five pick if the team ends up with two, as Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com observes following his conversation with the new team exec. Philadelphia, which has a 26.9% chance of landing the No. 1 pick, also gets the Lakers pick if it falls out of the top three. “I think you should always be a little proactive, just in determining what your best course of action is,” Colangelo said. “You don’t want to leave anything on the table. If there was an opportunity to do something and you didn’t know that or realize it because you didn’t make a phone call, then that’s your fault. But I think we’ll explore everything in every regard, and that’s the good news about having the kind of flexibility and the number of assets that we have.”
Maryland small forward Jake Layman and Louisville center Chinanu Onuaku will work out for the Celtics, notes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (Twitter link).
The Sixers interviewed Syracuse’s Malachi Richardson and Kentucky’s Tyler Ulis, and Ulis plans to work out for Philadelphia, too, as Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com relays (Twitter links). Oregon State’s Gary Payton II is also on the Sixers interview list, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Regardless of whether a reported four-year, $4.5MM offer is in the works, the Knicks want draft-and-stash prospect Guillermo Hernangomez on their roster next season, reports international journalist David Pick (Twitter link). Agent Andy Miller dismissed the report of the offer, though New York can’t formally present a contract to Hernangomez until July.

And-Ones: Sixers, Jackson, Marble

February 17th, 2015 at 11:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers are willing to take on expiring contracts in order to increase their stash of second-round draft picks, according to Tom Moore of Calkins Media. Trade talks have been heating up, an NBA source told Moore, and the team is likely to make at least one deal before Thursday’s deadline. The Sixers already own 16 second-rounders over the next six drafts but wouldn’t mind adding more assets. The franchise also has $18.4MM in salary-cap room to absorb expiring deals, Moore continues. If the Sixers do make a deal, Luc Mbah a Moute is the player most likely to be moved. Mbah a Moute, who has an expiring contract of approximately $4.4MM, is averaging a career high of 10.0 points, and could draw interest from a contender. Moore also speculates the club would consider moving its best all-around player, Michael Carter-Williams, for the right price.

Here’s more from around the league:

Reggie Jackson would probably wind up with a non-contender if he’s dealt by the Thunder before the trade deadline, Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman writes. Jackson’s most likely destination would be a team needing a long-term solution at point guard with the expectation of re-signing him when he becomes a restricted free agent this summer, Slater adds. Jackson is making just over $2.2MM and might have to be paired with a higher-salaried player such as Kendrick Perkins, who is making approximately $9.65MM, in order to bring back a quality player in return, according to Slater.
Gary Payton has shown interest in joining George Karl’s staff with the Kings, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee tweets. Payton was Karl’s long-time point guard in Seattle, including during the 1996 NBA Finals when the SuperSonics lost to the Bulls.
The Magic have re-assigned Devyn Marble to the Erie BayHawks, their D-League affiliate, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel tweets. Marble, a rookie guard, has not appeared in an NBA game since January 25th. In 16 games with the Magic this season, Marble is averaging 2.3 PPG.
Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert are the main building blocks for the Jazz and have too much potential to be traded, Brad Rock of the Deseret News writes. Quality big men are precious commodities and that makes the duo more important than the team’s current star, Gordon Hayward, Rock adds.