Pacific Notes: Jackson, Kings, Cap Space
Both Tim Kawakami of Bay Area News Group and Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report believe the Warriors players and coaches made a statement of support for coach Mark Jackson with their effort and emotion in a win against the Grizzlies last night, with both Andrew Bogut and David Lee injured (Twitter links). Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- After the game, Warriors forward Draymond Green told Kawakami that the team is in fact unified behind Jackson. “Coach is a guy we fight for and we’re going to continue to fight for,” said Green. “He’s given his all to us and we’re going to continue to give our all to him.”
- Marcus Thompson of Bay Area News Group thinks that the Warriors would be more at risk by parting ways with Jackson than the coach would be (Twitter link). Thompson says that Jackson would land another job, but the team might not find a suitable replacement as easily.
- The Kings don’t plan to use their open roster spot on a guard yet as they monitor the health of injured Isaiah Thomas, tweets Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. The roster spot remains vacant after the team opted not to sign Royce White for the rest of the year following his second 10-day contract with Sacramento.
- The Kings struggled in a loss to the Thunder while Thomas sat another game, but Jones finds a bright side to the situation: opportunity and development for Sacramento’s rookie backcourt pairing of Ben McLemore and Ray McCallum. Both players said they were excited to see more minutes. “I’ll take all the minutes I can get,” McCallum said. “I’ve been waiting for the opportunity all year and getting a good opportunity to go out here and get some good experience and go out there and play.”
- Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders takes a look at the projected cap space for teams in the Pacific, and how each team might use its cap space this summer.
- We looked at the latest with the Lakers in an earlier roundup.
Western Notes: Scalabrine, D’Antoni, McLemore
Brandon Rush says he’s still not 100% after tearing his ACL a year and a half ago, and he expects to have to work out in front of executives from interested teams this summer when he’s a free agent, tweets Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune. In any case, Jody Genessy of the Deseret News can’t envision the swingman re-signing with the Jazz (Twitter link).
More from the Western Conference:
- Brian Scalabrine is serving as the player development coach for the Santa Cruz Warriors following Golden State’s decision to reassign its former assistant coach, according to Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group.
- There’s reportedly mutual interest between Mike D’Antoni and Marshall University, and if he takes that job, it would represent a cratering of his stock, as Will Leitch of Sports on Earth examines.
- The trade that sent Marcus Thornton to the Nets at the deadline opened the starting Kings shooting guard position for Ben McLemore, and he’s responded with strong performances, observes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee.
Coaching Rumors: D’Antoni, Warriors, Stotts
Mike D’Antoni was exasperated when reporters asked him Thursday about an ESPN.com report that Marshall University, his alma mater, wants him to coach its team. He appeared to downplay the idea, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News observes, but he didn’t completely dismiss it.
“I hear from them all the time,” D’Antoni said. “I’m the head of their capital [fundraising] campaign. I’m close friends to them. Whatever they need, I try to do. But who knows.”
It’s obvious that D’Antoni would prefer to coach the Lakers, Medina writes, though his continued employment in L.A. is uncertain, given his unpopularity with Kobe Bryant and other Lakers players. Here’s more on the coaching market:
- Steve Kerr “could make Warriors owner Joe Lacob’s dreams come true” if the team lets go of coach Mark Jackson in the offseason, according to Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link). Lacob held Kerr in high regard as an executive when Kerr left his post as Suns GM in 2010, as Amick notes in a second tweet. Grantland’s Zach Lowe also believes that Kerr could be in the mix to coach the Warriors (on Twitter).
- The Warriors would be unlikely to seek a big-name, established coach, tweets Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. Warriors brass wanted more of an X’s-and-O’s coach to take over as lead assistant when Michael Malone left, but Jackson, who’s sensitive to the notion he’s not strong at in-game tactics, chose Pete Myers instead, Kawakami writes in a full piece.
- The Blazers and Terry Stotts haven’t had any talks about an extension, nor have they discussed the team picking up its 2014/15 option on his contract, according to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, who explains that it’s no surprise. GM Neil Olshey has a longstanding policy against negotiating contracts during the season, Haynes writes. Olshey, then Clippers GM, retained Vinny Del Negro when he was at precisely the same point in his contract in which Stotts now finds himself.
Mark Jackson Not Worried About Extension
Over the past few days, there’s been some of speculation about an “increasingly dysfunctional atmosphere” brewing between Mark Jackson and the Warriors’ front office. Despite that, Jackson isn’t concerned about not having a contract extension beyond next season and spoke about it on his weekly radio show on KNBR (Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group transcribes):
“There is not a piece of me that’s bothered that an extension has not been agreed upon or anything of that nature…We move forward. I had the deal. They picked up my option for next year, and I think that obviously speaks volumes even though for some folks it doesn’t say anything.”
Several Warriors players have come forward to offer public support for their head coach, including Stephen Curry, who has made it known that he’d like to be consulted by management if a decision were to be made on Jackson’s future. According to Leung, the 26-year-old All-Star also said that he and the rest of the team are behind Jackson “100%”. Jackson was appreciative of their vote of confidence, but acknowledged that he isn’t sure how much the players’ endorsements will influence the front office:
“It depends on who’s making the decision…To some ownership groups or management groups, it means a lot. To some, it doesn’t matter what franchise players or players feel, it’s business as usual. I don’t know…I’m thankful and grateful (for the support), and it says that we’ve got a tied-together group, but with that being said, I’m not even concentrating on that, to be quite honest. It doesn’t matter. That will take care of itself. This is an ownership group that believes in me, pulled the trigger when nobody else decided to make me a head coach, so that will play itself out.”
Coaching Rumors: Jackson, T’Wolves, Adelman
The topic of Mark Jackson’s job security with the Warriors is riddled with complexity, and ESPN’s Israel Gutierrez and J.A. Adande discuss how this year’s struggles may affect the third-year head coach’s future in Oakland. Gutierrez suggests that Jackson bears some responsibility for Golden State’s frustrating play at times this year, while Adande surmises that Jackson will be in big trouble if the Warriors fail to improve on their six playoff wins from last season. Adande adds that ownership has spent nearly half of a billion dollars to purchase the team and upgrade the arena, and doesn’t think that patience accompanies those types of expenditures.
You can find additional coaching-related links below, including more from the above piece:
- Adande believes that a contract extension for Jackson would imply a significant vouch of support from management; however, the fact that there hasn’t been one yet makes him wonder if anyone within the organization’s hierarchy has Jackson’s back.
- Gutierrez thinks the Warriors are hastily trying to figure out Jackson’s potential as a head coach, and that Jackson could be heading into the postseason with his future in Golden State on the line.
- Timberwolves executive Flip Saunders is close to college coaches Fred Hoiberg and Tom Izzo, both of whom owner Glen Taylor admires, notes Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Walters senses that the chances of Rick Adelman returning to coach the Wolves are “remote” and points to the team’s coaching search from six years ago, when the team was willing to give the job to Izzo. Still, Izzo was strident in saying this week that he has no interest in coaching the Pistons. Saunders will be in New York to watch both Hoiberg and Izzo coach in the NCAA tournament this week, Walters adds via Twitter.
- Aside from Mark Jackson, there are many other coaches are in worse situations, notes Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. Toronto’s Dwane Casey, Washington’s Randy Wittman , Portland’s Terry Stotts, and Utah’s Tyrone Corbin are all finishing up their contracts this year and have yet to receive extensions.
- Deveney also groups Knicks coach Mike Woodson with Corbin as two contract-year coaches who are on “ice that is thin as ice can get”, though it’s worth mentioning that Woodson actually had his 2014/15 contract option picked up last September.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Warriors Rumors: Jackson, Barnes, O’Neal, Green
Impatience from the ownership suite is at the root of much of the tension surrounding the Warriors, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes in his NBA AM piece. The front office is under pressure, and that affects coach Mark Jackson and his coaching staff, according to Kyler, who says the owners often push for roster changes when the team isn’t performing well. The principal owners of the Warriors are Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, but Kyler doesn’t specify whether it’s one or both of them or someone else within the ownership group who is putting the squeeze on. Still, Kyler has other specifics about the uneasiness in Golden State, as we detail below amid our look at the latest from the Pacific Division:
- Harrison Barnes was the subject of trade rumors before the deadline, and Kyler hears that Warriors ownership started those talks in hope of flipping Barnes for a veteran big man who could help the team win in the short-term. For what it’s worth, Lacob said in February that he wasn’t anxious to move Barnes.
- Jackson previously denied that there’s dysfunction within the Warriors, and Wednesday he also tried to shoot down the idea that he sought head coaching jobs with the Clippers and Nets, among other teams. Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com has the details.
- Jackson is an ordained nondenominational Christian minister, and that’s a draw for many players, including Jermaine O’Neal, who said it was one of the primary reasons he signed with the Warriors, and Draymond Green, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News observes.
- The Warriors expected to contend for the Western Conference title this year, and if they reach the conference finals, Jackson will “almost certainly” return as coach, but if they lose in the first round, he’s a goner, Deveney believes.
Coaching Rumors: Jackson, Adelman, Fisher
The drama in Golden State continues to unfold, with more speculation about Warriors coach Mark Jackson reaching the media. Golden State’s All-Star point guard Steph Curry spoke up on behalf of Jackson today, telling reporters including Marcus Thompson of Bay Area News Group, “I love coach and everything he’s about.” Curry also said he wanted management to consult with him before deciding what to do with Jackson in the future.
- Some players have told Thompson that they were dismayed over Jackson’s treatment by management, and think he should be supported considering the team’s success over the last two years.
- Players also told Thompson they could see Jackson leaving after the season, either by his own decision or management’s.
- One possible source of the reported friction between Jackson and newly re-assigned, former assistant coach Brian Scalabrine was Scalabrine’s willingness to talk too specifically during an in-game interview about the Warriors‘ defensive strategy, opines Ethan Strauss of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
- The Wolves can expect to have some clarity on coach Rick Adelman within two weeks of the end of the season, since that’s the deadline for both sides on their mutual option for next season, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune notes.
- There’s been speculation that Derek Fisher will be the next head coach of the Knicks, and some of his Thunder teammates say he’d make a fine coach, but the 39-year-old has said he has no interest in coaching, notes Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Warriors Rumors: Jackson, Malone, Scalabrine
Mark Jackson denied Tuesday’s report of conflict between him, management and his assistant coaches, but the story from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports appears to have some legs. Sources tell Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle that Jackson is “very insecure” about his assistants receiving credit. Jackson also felt certain that he’d receive a contract extension this past offseason, Simmons reports, but Jackson and the front office have yet to talk extension. Simmons has more in his piece, and Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group adds to the saga, too, as we highlight below:
- Kings coach Michael Malone previously served as a Warriors assistant and reportedly went weeks without speaking to Jackson, but Malone tells Simmons he and his boss were actually on somewhat better terms. “Did Mark and I have great relationship? No. There was definitely some friction, but for him to say that we went weeks without speaking is crazy,” Malone said. “We spoke every day. We worked through it, and he eventually realized that I wasn’t out there self-promoting.”
- Warriors GM Bob Myers was Brian Scalabrine‘s agent for most of Scalabrine’s playing career, Simmons notes. Golden State reassigned Scalabrine, who had been one of Jackson’s assistants, to a gig with the team’s D-League affiliate.
- There were those in the Golden State locker room who thought the media was overstating Malone’s value to the Warriors, and that Malone was more focused on becoming a head coach than his job as an assistant, according to Thompson.
- Jackson still has the support of several Warriors players, one of whom told Thompson that the coach is “absolutely not” losing control of the team, as Thompson writes in the same piece.
And-Ones: Jackson, Blake, Griffin, Brown
Reports earlier today indicated that there was dysfunction within the Warriors organization, but Mark Jackson downplayed the speculation, reports Diamond Leung of Bay Area News Group. “We are excited about what’s taken place up until this point — the culture, the environment with no dysfunction at all,” Jackson said, “That’s comical.” Here’s tonight’s look around the NBA:
- Steve Blake was initially disappointed about the deadline deal that sent him to the Warriors, but he’s embraced his role as an important bench piece for a contending playoff team, writes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
- Cavs owner Dan Gilbert is impressed with the job acting GM David Griffin has done in Cleveland, reveals Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. Amico specifically mentions the trade that landed the Cavs Spencer Hawes in exchange for a second-round pick.
- Although the Cavs are just 29-44, Raptors coach Dwane Casey thinks Mike Brown‘s defense-first coaching style is the best way to run a team, as Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer passes along. Cleveland bested Toronto 102-100 tonight.
- Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insider takes a look at the NCAA coaches that appear most likely to jump into an NBA role. Koutroupis notes Fred Hoiberg‘s ties with the Timberwolves might have Minnesota calling his name this offseason if Rick Adelman steps down due to poor health.
- League executives aren’t concerned with the perceived notion that some teams around the Association are tanking, says Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. “When you’re talking about tanking, you’re intimating teams are losing games on purpose, and that just isn’t true,” said Rod Thorn, the NBA’s president of basketball operations. “Every player, every coach is trying to do everything he can to win as many games as he can and to play as well as he possibly he can, because in both instances, your livelihood depends on how you do.”
Mark Jackson Sought Clippers, Nets Openings
3:29pm: Scalabrine will work with the Santa Cruz Warriors, tweets Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group.
1:56pm: Mark Jackson has attempted to become a candidate for several head coaching vacancies over the past several months, including the Clippers and Nets openings, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. A dispute over assistant coach Brian Scalabrine is the latest in a series of disagreements between the Warriors and Jackson, who’s come under increased scrutiny from the front office. The coach’s contract runs through 2014/15, but there have been no extension talks, and none are expected to occur, Wojnarowski writes.
The Warriors are reassigning Scalabrine at the behest of Jackson, in spite of the assistant’s popularity with the front office and ownership, Wojnarowski reports. It’s unclear what Scalabrine’s new role will be, but Warriors management wants to keep him within the organization. The Warriors have decided that they want to let Jackson have decision-making power regarding his staff, but Jackson’s struggles to manage the staff and foster a functional working environment threaten his job security, sources tell Wojnarowski. Kings coach Michael Malone, a former Warriors assistant, went weeks without speaking to Jackson last season, Wojnarowski hears.
Jackson has drawn mention as a possible candidate for the Knicks job, but it’s unclear if that holds true now that Phil Jackson is in charge of basketball decisions for New York. Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob recently said there was “pressure” on Mark Jackson, but it’s unclear if he meant to imply that it was related to his job security or just the common, day-to-day pressure inherent with an NBA head coaching gig. Lacob recently told Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group that he would evaluate the coach after the season.
“I do think our coach has done a good job; we have had some big wins, a lot of wins on the road, and that’s usually a sign of good coaching,” Lacob said to Kawakami. “But some things are a little disturbing; the lack of being up for some of these games at home, that’s a concern to me.”
The Warriors picked up Jackson’s team option for 2014/15 this past July, and Lacob said at the time that he envisioned Jackson remaining his coach for the long-term. That was after the Nets hired Jason Kidd and the Clippers brought in Doc Rivers, but just how much Lacob knew about Jackson’s reported desire for other jobs is not clear.