And-Ones: O’Neal, Sterling, Jackson
Jonathan Abrams of Grantland examines the resurgence of Jermaine O’Neal with the Warriors. O’Neal feels like his years with the Celtics were lost seasons, per the article. O’Neal said, “Those two years [in Boston] were very difficult for me, because not only did I feel like I was wearing down physically, I was wearing down mentally. That was the first time in my life I felt myself starting to break away a little bit.”
More from around the league:
- With Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s recent lifetime ban being announced, the legal battle will now begin. In an article by Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News, legal and business experts from USC analyze the situation involving the possibility of the league forcing Sterling to sell the team.
- Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group examines some of the issues that have arisen between the Warriors front office and coach Mark Jackson.
- Nine NBA teams — the Spurs, Clippers, Bucks, Heat, Lakers, Hawks, Bobcats, Suns, and Rockets — sent personnel to Spain recently to scout point guard Guillem Vives and center Walter Tavares, reports David Sardinero of Kia en Zona (translation by Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype). Both will be in this year’s draft.
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) has released his most recent Big Board rankings for the upcoming NBA Draft.
- The Bobcats announced (Twitter link) that Josh McRoberts’ surgery to remove bone spurs from his left big toe was successful. Roberts won’t be able to do any basketball related activity for a minimum of four weeks.
- Mike Bianchi of The Orlando Sentinel examines if Magic owner Rich DeVos might be the next one Adam Silver will target for inappropriate comments. DeVos is alleged to have made anti-gay comments in the past.
And-Ones: Warriors, Constitution, Sterling
Mark Jackson strongly denied a report that said he asked Warriors adviser Jerry West not to attend most practices or team activities, USA Today’s Sam Amick writes.
“That’s a lie,” Jackson said. “Come on. That’s a lie. That’s disrespectful.”
West has indeed been attending practice of late, a source confirms to Amick, though the “wide and strong” belief is that Jackson would prefer West not be over his shoulder. Here’s more from around the league that uses West’s likeness in its logo:
- Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders takes a look at a few of the intriguing clauses in the NBA’s Constitution and By-Laws, which the league released for the first time in light of its use in the punishment of Clippers owner Donald Sterling.
- The NBA’s advisory/finance committee will hold a conference call Thursday to begin the process of arranging a vote to take the Clippers away from Sterling, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News details.
- Raptors CEO Tim Leiweke isn’t worried about the notion of Kyle Lowry and coach Dwane Casey walking away this summer when their contracts expire, as he said on SportsNet 590 The Fan, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. “Why wouldn’t you want to be here?” Leiweke said.
- Bulls GM Gar Forman has yet to begin negotiations with Nikola Mirotic but he’s confident that the European star will play for the Bulls at some point, as Forman told reporters today, including K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link).
Lowe’s Latest: Rivers, Jackson, Kerr
If Doc Rivers were to get out of his contract with the Clippers, he would immediately emerge as the front-runner for any head coaching opening in the league this summer, writes Zach Lowe of Grantland. One potential opportunity is the Warriors, who are embroiled in a tumultuous situation with head coach Mark Jackson. As Lowe chronicles, tension between Jackson and the organization has been brewing for quite a while.
Multiple league sources confirmed to Lowe the gist of a report from ESPN’s Chris Broussard that explained how former Warriors assistant Darren Erman had been fired for secretly recording coaches’ conversations. Those same sources added that Erman was concerned that Jackson and those loyal to Jackson were insulting him to other players behind his back. Lowe also says that Golden State’s front office is fond of Erman and was upset at having to let him go. Nonetheless, Brian Scalabrine‘s recent demotion and Erman’s firing has only added to the chaos in Golden State.
As we relayed from Lowe earlier, the consensus around the league is that Jackson will not return to the Warriors next year unless he leads them on a longer-than-expected playoff run. Though Jackson could still save his job, Lowe says that it’d be smart to bet that the team will have a new head coach next year.
Here’s more from Lowe’s latest column:
- Golden State still hasn’t made a final decision on Jackson and has not reached out directly to any potential candidates, sources tell Lowe.
- Scalabrine’s demotion was a compromise between the front office and Jackson, who initially made a show of firing him in front of other players and coaches even though he had no real grounds to do so.
- Jackson reportedly asked Warriors adviser Jerry West not to attend most practices and team activities.
- If the Warriors decided to replace Jackson, they would still consider other big names beyond Rivers, which is why — according to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein — the Knicks tried to expedite their attempt to hire Steve Kerr this week. New York understands that two or three appealing opportunities could emerge after postseason eliminations, and that Kerr would be a potential candidate for some of those teams.
- Front office and ownership sources around the league think there’s a decent chance the Clippers will be the first NBA franchise to sell for $1 billion, Lowe writes, echoing an earlier report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
And-Ones: Colangelo, Hoiberg, Warriors, Knicks
Grantland’s Zach Lowe examines the value of players making between $5MM and $10MM a year, several of whom are having a significant effect in the playoffs. Sources in NBA front offices tell Lowe that they’re reluctant to sign players who command such salaries because they fear the criticism of reporters conditioned to believe such “middle class” players aren’t worth the money. Still, acting union executive director Ron Klempner tells Lowe that he’s observed no drastic change in the league’s willingness to pay players at that rate. Here’s more from around the league:
- Bryan Colangelo‘s name has been linked to the Pistons‘ front office vacancy on multiple occasions of late, and SportsNet’s Michael Grange hears that he’s indeed a leading candidate for the job. Tim Leiweke, CEO of the Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment group that owns the Raptors, praised the former Toronto GM for his work with the team in an interview with Grange that’s included in the piece.
- Fred Hoiberg would probably be ahead of Steve Kerr on the Warriors’ wish list if they were to seek a new head coach for next season, according to Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. Hoiberg spoke this week on 1700 AM radio in Des Moines to express that while interest from NBA teams flatters him, he’s content as Iowa State’s head coach, as Nate Sandell of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities points out.
- The Warriors aren’t pleased with Mark Jackson‘s depleted coaching staff, according to Kawakami, and if Jackson remains head coach, they’ll pressure him to upgrade it, Kawakami believes, pointing to the issue as a possible stumbling block for Jackson’s return next season.
- The Knicks interviewed Bill Cartwright for an assistant coaching job, reports Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News, who points to Cartwright’s ties to Kerr as further indication that Kerr will be the team’s next head coach.
Knicks Want To Hire Steve Kerr After First Round
12:24pm: Kerr’s timetable is different from that of the Knicks, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, who hears from a source who says Kerr and Jackson still have “lots to explore organizationally” (Twitter links). That echoes Kerr’s comments about a desire for more discussions with the Zen Master.
10:43am: The Knicks are attempting to complete a deal that would make Steve Kerr the coach of the team after the first round of the playoffs, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. In team president Phil Jackson‘s plan, Kerr would leave his job as a TNT broadcaster after the first round is complete, thus making it easier for the network, but it remains to be seen whether Kerr is willing to go along at this point.
Kerr has been the front-runner for the job for at least a month, and while Kerr has been “inching closer” to the Knicks job, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, a source told Isola that a decision was not imminent. An earlier report indicated Kerr would have interest in talking to the Warriors if they wind up with a vacancy, but in spite of Golden State’s apparent interest in Kerr, the Knicks remain the favorite to land him, Stein writes, given his connection to Jackson. The former Suns GM counters widespread skepticism about Jackson’s chances for success in charge of the Knicks front office, believing that the Zen Master will succeed in New York, according to Stein.
Kerr reportedly has concerns about the Knicks’ inability to capitalize on their resources over the years, prompting a measured approach as he considers whether to join the team, even as he’s said that he would be “crazy not to look into” coaching the Knicks. Still, he told reporters this weekend that he and Jackson still had much to discuss, as Isola points out. Kerr and Jackson have both indicated that their conversations this weekend were the first they’d had about the job, which conflicts with a report from early last week that they were deep into discussions.
Warriors Rumors: Jackson, Erman, Scalabrine
The consensus around the league is that it’s “very unlikely” that Mark Jackson will remain as coach of the Warriors next season unless he leads the team on a long playoff run, Grantland’s Zach Lowe tweets. That’s consistent with the widely held belief that Jackson’s future with the team depends on the postseason. Still, a source tells Chris Broussard of ESPN.com that Jackson’s relationship with co-owner Joe Lacob and GM Bob Myers is fine. Here’s more from Golden State:
- The Warriors aren’t holding Jackson responsible for what Erman and Scalabrine did, tweets Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group.
Earlier reports:
- Former Warriors assistant Darren Erman has landed a job as director of NBA scouting for the Celtics, as Danny Ainge tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Clippers, among other teams, had been interested in him after his ouster from Golden State earlier this month.
- Lowe lauds Boston’s hiring of a keen basketball mind in Erman (via Twitter), but the timing of the news is odd, considering the revelations about Erman’s departure from Golden State in Broussard’s piece. Erman was secretly recording conversations between Warriors coaches and players, sources tell Broussard. It’s unclear what he did with the recordings, and Broussard’s sources aren’t sure whether he shared them with Warriors management and owners.
- Sources tell Broussard that Brian Scalabrine, who was reassigned in March from assistant coach to a job with the Warriors D-League team, exhibited a “consistent pattern of disrespect” for Jackson and the other coaches. At one point, Scalabrine went five weeks without speaking to Jackson, Broussard hears.
Eastern Notes: Pistons, Woodson, Celtics
Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press thinks that the Pistons should focus on finding a GM before concentrating on filling their vacant head coaching position. By waiting until after the playoffs, the franchise could see the pool of available coaches grow. Ellis notes that if their teams get bounced out of the playoffs in the first round, Pacers coach Frank Vogel, Thunder coach Scott Brooks and Warriors coach Mark Jackson could get lose their jobs and become possibilities for Detroit.
More from the Eastern Conference:
- Former Knicks coach Mike Woodson said things didn’t work out for him this year, but he still wants to coach, writes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Woodson said, “The last two years, prior to coming into this season, was a good two seasons for our ball club and for our fans, and this year things just didn’t work out. Sometimes in life, things just don’t work out according to plan. But I look at it, overall it was a good run and it was a great experience for me from a coaching standpoint. I’ve got to move on and close the chapter in this book and get ready for a new chapter because I still want to coach, and I love what I do.”
- Jeff Van Gundy believes that Steve Kerr should be the next coach of the Knicks, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Van Gundy said, “I think [Kerr] has every quality you need to be an outstanding head coach. I see the combination of he and Jackson having the type of relationship that would bring unity to the organization that is necessary to have a chance to win big consistently.’’
- Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald examines the Celtics draft options in what GM Danny Ainge calls, “a top heavy draft.”
Latest On Donald Sterling
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver addressed the media this evening in regards to Clippers owner Donald Sterling‘s alleged racist remarks on an audio recording which was first reported by TMZ.com.
Here’s the latest on this developing story:
- Silver stated that the first priority is determining if the audio recording is authentic, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.
- Kennedy also tweets that Silver said, “The audio recording posting by TMZ is truly offensive and disturbing and we intend to get to the bottom of it ASAP.”
- Silver said that the situation is most unfair to the Clippers’ players and coaches, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPN.com.
- Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link) reports that Silver urged patience and that due process would have to occur prior to any sanctions.
- Silver said, “I’m not prepared to discuss any potential sanctions against Donald Sterling. We will, however, move quickly,” per another tweet by Kennedy.
- Sterling has agreed not to attend Sunday’s game against the Warriors, reports Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link).
- Markazi tweets that Silver said he hopes to have the investigation wrapped up in the next few days, hopefully before Game 5 on Tuesday.
- Earlier today the Clippers players and coaches held a meeting where they discussed boycotting their next game, but they decided against it, writes Markazi.
- Michael McCann of SI.com examined the NBA’s legal options in this case.
- President of the NBA player’s union Chris Paul said, “On behalf of the National Basketball Players Association, this is a very serious issue which we will address aggressively. We have asked [Sacramento] Mayor Kevin Johnson to expand his responsibilities with the NBPA, to determine our response and our next steps. As players, we owe it to our teams and our fans to keep our focus on our game, the playoffs, and the drive to the Finals,” write Jeff Zillgitt and Sam Amick of USA Today.
- In the same article Johnson said, “The reported comments made by Clippers owner Donald Sterling are reprehensible and unacceptable. The National Basketball Players Association must and will play a very active role in determining how this issue is addressed.“
- In an article by Ben Golliver of SI.com, Charles Barkley weighed in, saying, “This is the first test of Adam Silver. He’s got to suspend [Sterling] right now. You can’t have this guy making statements like that. [Silver] has to suspend him and fine him immediately. He has to be suspended. … When you’re in a position of power, and you can take jobs and economic opportunities from people, that’s what crosses the line. We can’t have an NBA owner discriminating against a league — we’re a black league.”
Coaching Rumors: D’Antoni, Kerr
While a report of the Lakers retaining Mike D’Antoni for next season may have been premature, Mark Medina of Los Angeles Daily News tweets that the Lakers have been leaning toward keeping the coach for a month. Here’s more on the coaching front:
- In a series of tweets, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders says Lakers brass are partial to D’Antoni because of the way he handled young players this season. Kyler thinks that the Lakers have “kicked the tires” on other named possibilities, but have determined that there are no hires that would be a guaranteed upgrade.
- A source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that D’Antoni hopes to meet with the Lakers next week in regards to his fate, but no date has been set (Twitter link).
- Steve Kerr will likely meet with Knicks president Phil Jackson this weekend to discuss New York’s head coaching job, per Peter Botte and Frank Isola of New York Daily News. Kerr is in town to broadcast the Nets/Raptors game on Sunday.
- Kerr would be open to discussing a job with the Warriors, should Golden State act on their rumored preference for Kerr over Mark Jackson, a league source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post.
Pacific Rumors: Warriors, Kerr, Kings
The Pacific Division isn’t represented in any of tonight’s playoff matchups, but the winner of the Clippers/Warriors series will hope to stay relevant deep into the postseason. Here’s the latest from the west coast:
- The Warriors will canvass their fans about the notion of changing their name from the Golden State Warriors to the San Francisco Warriors with a move across the bay forthcoming, team president and CEO Rick Welts tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- Sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com that they believe Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob would prefer Steve Kerr as coach rather than Mark Jackson, as Stein notes amid a 5-on-5 with other writers. We’ve heard before that Lacob holds Kerr in high regard, and there have been plenty of rumors surrounding Jackson’s job security, but it remains to be seen whether Lacob is inclined to pursue a change.
- Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro discussed his mindset heading into this year’s draft with Katie Cracchiolo of Kings.com. Among other notes, the GM said that Ray McCallum‘s strong play at point guard won’t affect the team’s plans to select the best player available, regardless of position.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.