Bob Myers Says Shaun Livingston Is In Team's Future Plans
- Warriors GM Bob Myers noted that while Shaun Livingston‘s contract for 2016/17 is only partially guaranteed for $3MM, the point guard remains in the team’s future plans, Diamond Leung of The Bay Area News Group relays (Twitter link). The $5,782,450 that Livingston is scheduled to earn next season will become fully guaranteed if he remains on Golden State’s roster past June 30th. The 30-year-old appeared in 78 games for the Warriors this season and averaged 6.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists.
Kings Expected To Meet With Luke Walton
WEDNESDAY, 10:19am: Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton and Kings GM Vlade Divac are expected to meet to discuss Sacramento’s head coaching vacancy, likely after Golden State’s first-round playoff series with Houston, according to Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. Walton is “extremely fond” of Divac, who was briefly his Lakers teammate, and the location of Sacramento is increasingly appealing to Walton, who is fond of life in Northern California and has several close relatives in the Sacramento area, Voisin writes. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said Monday that no team had asked permission to interview his top assistant, but Voisin reported Tuesday that Walton was among the coaches to whom the Kings had reached out.
Phil Jackson Can't See Walton Leaving Warriors
- Team president Phil Jackson, after speaking recently with Walton, told members of the Knicks organization that he doesn’t think Walton will leave his job as lead assistant for the Warriors, a source told Chris Broussard of ESPN.com, as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com relays. One report referred to the conversation between Jackson and Walton as an interview for the Knicks head coaching position, but Walton, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and others dispute that idea. The one head coaching job that Walton would be likely to take would be the Lakers gig, according to Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times, but Byron Scott is still in that position and Lakers owner Jeanie Buss is reportedly in favor Scott remaining.
Latest On Luke Walton, Knicks
Luke Walton says his recent chat with Knicks team president Phil Jackson wasn’t a job interview, as the Warriors assistant coach tells Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. Conflicting reports emerged in the past few days about whether it was an interview, but Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said it couldn’t have been, since Golden State has yet to give Walton permission to interview elsewhere, notes Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Kerr told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated that no team has even asked for permission (Twitter link). That throws into question the idea that Walton interviewed for the since-filled Nets job, as had also been reported.
“I talked to Phil, but I always talk to Phil. He’s a mentor of mine,” Walton said to Kawakami. “There was no job interview whatsoever. It was just a conversation which is not that rare for Phil and I to have.”
Marc Berman of the New York Post suggests that the Knicks are likely to interview David Blatt, citing Jackson’s respect for the Princeton offense Blatt’s teams have used on occasion. Berman also says the team will likely interview Brian Shaw, a triangle devotee. Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com earlier reported New York’s interest in Blatt, a longtime friend of Knicks GM Steve Mills.
Still, interim coach Kurt Rambis remains a central figure and a candidate to be formally named Knicks head coach. He’s involved in two practices that Jackson has organized for this week that amount to a seminar of sorts on the triangle offense, reports Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Kristaps Porzingis, Jerian Grant, Jose Calderon, Tony Wroten and soon-to-be free agent Langston Galloway are expected to attend, Isola hears.
Walton Spoke With Knicks, Nets
Knicks team president Phil Jackson took to Twitter this morning to address reports regarding Luke Walton and the Knicks coaching job, writing, “Press accounts of coaching actions are untrue. Nobody has been asked nobody said no.” Marc Berman of the New York Post reported Sunday that the Knicks had interviewed Walton, and while Frank Isola of the New York Daily News confirmed that Jackson and Walton spoke by phone, it would be a stretch to call it an interview, Isola said (Twitter links). Walton told Jackson that he isn’t interested in the job as of now, according to a league source who talked to Isola (Twitter link), but Berman hears the Warriors assistant hasn’t completely ruled out the idea of taking the New York gig. Still, Berman calls Walton “a big long shot” to take the job.
- Walton interviewed for the Nets job and pulled out of the running for that before Brooklyn hired Kenny Atkinson on Sunday, league sources told Berman. Walton appears to be leaning toward staying with the Warriors for next season but is nowhere near a decision, one league source said to Berman.
Walton Interviewing For Coaching Jobs
Warriors assistant Luke Walton has already interviewed for head coaching positions with the Knicks and Nets, reports Marc Berman of The New York Post. Walton pulled his name out of consideration with Brooklyn, which announced the hiring of Kenny Atkinson earlier today. Golden State is reportedly allowing Walton to talk to other franchises as long as there’s no conflict with its playoff schedule. A source told Berman that Walton may decide to remain with the Warriors for another season.
Warriors Won't Stand In Way of Walton Coaching Interviews
- If the Knicks want to interview Warriors assistant Luke Walton during the NBA playoffs, Golden State won’t stand in the way, Marc Berman of The New York Post relays. The Warriors’ official policy is that an assistant can interview for a head-coaching position “as long as it does not interfere with the team’s preparation during the playoffs,’’ Berman adds. New Orleans interviewed Alvin Gentry during Golden State’s playoff run last year.
Draymond Green Took Less Money To Keep Team Together
- Draymond Green, who took less than the maximum when he re-signed with the Warriors last summer, told The Ringer’s Bill Simmons in a recent podcast that he accepted less money “so we can continue to build so we can make sure this thing stays together,” as Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group relays (Twitter link),
Knicks Notes: Jackson, Rambis, Anthony, Dolan
Knicks president Phil Jackson will consider other coaching candidates beyond Kurt Rambis, but only if he knows them well and they believe in the triangle offense, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Jackson said the coaching search could stretch through July, presumably to see if Golden State assistant Luke Walton would be interested. Jackson admitted the Knicks “came apart at the end of the season,’’ finishing 9-19 after Rambis took over, but he added that the interim coach will get an interview. Berman lists Brian Shaw, Bill Cartwright, Rick Fox and Scott Brooks as others likely to be interviewed. Jackson may also take the recommendation of GM Steve Mills and talk to former Cavaliers coach David Blatt.
Ex-Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau may be left off that list, as Jackson is devoted to the triangle and lashed out at critics of the approach. “That’s what I was brought here for — to install a system,’’ he said. “That’s all part of the package. Who are these people? Do they have 11 championships to talk about?”
There’s more postseason news from New York:
- Jackson would like to bring free agents Langston Galloway and Lance Thomas back next season, Berman tweets. That also applies to Derrick Williams if he doesn’t decide to opt out of his $4.598MM deal.
- There has been speculation about Carmelo Anthony forcing his way out of New York if the Knicks don’t have a productive summer in free agency, and the veteran forward said again today that his greatest desire is to win, tweets Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal. “I’ve thought about [playing somewhere else],” said Anthony, who could waive his no-trade clause and demand to be dealt elsewhere. “Only thing I think about is winning more, whether it’s here or somewhere else.” (Twitter link).
- The coaching decision will be vital to Anthony and owner James Dolan, according to Frank Isola of The New York Daily News. Isola calls on Dolan to order a meeting with Anthony and Jackson where they can discuss their vision of the next coach. The columnist also urges Jackson to give up on the triangle and adjust to “the modern NBA,” which includes interviewing Thibodeau, Blatt, Brooks, Mark Jackson and Patrick Ewing.
Kings Eye McMillan, Ewing, McHale, Blatt, Others
1:27pm: McHale appears unlikely to take the Kings job, and Del Negro is the most realistic candidate, Mannix suggests.
THURSDAY, 1:02pm: Nate McMillan is also in the mix, sources told Stein (Twitter link).
10:15pm: The possibility of hiring McHale is gaining traction within the Kings organization, Chris Mannix of The Vertical tweets. Sacramento is intrigued by the possibility of McHale working with DeMarcus Cousins, Mannix adds.
3:09pm: The Kings are also considering Patrick Ewing, league sources tell Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee.
12:40pm: Kevin McHale and Mark Jackson are also under consideration, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). The Kings do have strong interest in Thibodeau and Brooks but acknowledge they’ll be tough gets, Stein adds. McHale is just a few months removed from having been fired by the Rockets, while Jackson last coached in 2013/14 with the Warriors.
WEDNESDAY, 11:53am: The Kings, poised to fire George Karl, will consider a group of candidates that includes David Blatt, Vinny Del Negro, Jeff Hornacek, Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga and Hawks assistant Kenny Atkinson, sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Jeff Van Gundy, Tom Thibodeau and Scott Brooks, who frequently draw mention as top NBA coaching candidates, are uninterested in the job, as Wojnarowski hears from league sources.
Blatt, whom the Cavs fired as their head coach in January, is also reportedly under consideration from the Knicks, though he’s reportedly a long shot for that job. The Nets have reportedly been eyeing him as well, and he has ties to the Brooklyn organization, having coached the Russian national team, which received significant financial backing from Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov.
Sacramento reportedly contacted Del Negro about its head coaching job in December 2014, when the team fired Michael Malone. Del Negro, a former Kings player, hasn’t coached in the NBA since the 2012/13 season with the Clippers, but Wojnarowski reported that he interviewed for the Pelicans job last summer.
Chatter about Hornacek has been quiet since the Suns fired him in February, though he earned respect around the league when he led Phoenix to a 48-34 record in what was supposed to be a rebuilding season during his first year as an NBA head coach. The Suns have regressed since then, and Hornacek wound up 101-112 overall in Phoenix. He was an assistant under former Kings coach Tyrone Corbin on the Jazz.
Wojnarowski wrote in February that Larranaga and Atkinson weren’t particularly eager to land the Kings job if it were to open. The assistants both reportedly interviewed for the Sixers job three years ago and have drawn frequent mention as a possible NBA head coaching candidate since. Larranaga was reportedly a contender for the recent opening at Georgia Tech that Josh Pastner ultimately filled.