Western Notes: Lakers, Draft, Nuggets
Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report breaks down the various candidates who have been mentioned in connection with the Lakers coaching search thus far. Ding believes Derek Fisher may be the most interesting name on the list, but also notes that the Thunder might also be in the running for Fisher’s services if the team decides to part ways with current coach Scott Brooks.
More from the west:
- Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post examines if the Nuggets should select a point guard in the upcoming NBA Draft. The Nuggets hold the 11th pick in the first round, and currently have point guards Ty Lawson and Nate Robinson on the roster for next season.
- Chris Udofia has scheduled workout sessions in June with the Mavericks and Rockets, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com. The 6’6″ small forward is projected as a late second rounder.
- Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders looks at the most likely draft candidates available when the Lakers select at 7th overall. Blancarte says it’s unlikely Dante Exum will slide that far, but he is the ideal player for the team to select this June.
Pacific Notes: Clippers, Lakers, Young, Suns
The NBA received a letter from one of Donald Sterling’s personal lawyers last week informing the league of his intention to allow his wife to conduct a sale of the Clippers, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com reports in the latest version of her story from overnight. That runs counter to the assertion from another of Sterling’s lawyers Tuesday that his client “disavows” any agreement with his wife on the sale of the team. There’s more on the Clippers amid the latest from the Pacific Division:
- Shelly Sterling appears to be racing to close on a deal with a bidder for the Clippers in advance of Tuesday’s hearing to oust her and her husband, but the NBA would have to vet any new owner, a process that won’t be done by next week, TNT’s David Aldridge tweets. Still, the league has already vetted potential buyers Larry Ellison, Steve Ballmer and Lakers minority owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, Aldridge notes, so perhaps those three have an edge (Twitter link).
- A source close to Nick Young tells Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders that the swingman wants to return to the Lakers but will likely opt out of his contract for next season, seconding earlier reports.
- Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com adds the Suns to the list of teams working out Jarnell Stokes (Twitter link).
Bosh Wants To Stay With Heat, Open To Discount
10:54am: Bosh said at a shootaround today that he’s definitely coming back to the Heat next season, Lieser tweets.
12:43am: Chris Bosh said in an appearance on The Dan Le Batard Show on ESPN Radio that he wants to remain with the Heat and is willing to do so at less than the maximum salary if necessary, notes Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post. Bosh has an early termination option worth $20.59MM for next season, and he can opt out and sign a new contract that guarantees more salary over the long term than called for in his current deal, which covers two more seasons.
“Yeah, I mean, I don’t want to go anywhere,” Bosh said. “I like it here. It’s Miami. Everybody wants to come here. Yeah.”
The news contradicts at least part of a February report suggesting that Bosh, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade weren’t interested in agreeing to discounts on their next deals, as all three did when they signed with the Heat in 2010. It also seems to run counter to rumors earlier this year that painted Bosh as the most likely of the Heat’s trio of stars to leave Miami. More recently, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com wrote that it would take a “dream scenario” for James to sign elsewhere this summer. While that coupled with Wade’s career-long connection to Miami may still make Bosh more open to leaving that his other All-Star teammates, it nonetheless seems unlikely that Bosh would depart. That’s in spite of his apparent interest in the Lakers, which L.A. reciprocates.
Bosh might view the Lakers not as a destination for this summer but as a landing spot if he chooses to leave the Heat farther into the future, though that’s just my speculation. The Henry Thomas client might be able to make more money next season if he opts in than if he were to become a free agent this summer, even if he signed a new max deal. That’s because the salary he’d make next year on his existing deal represents a more than 10% raise on his pay this season, and he’d be limited to no more than a 5% raise if he becomes a free agent, unless the maximum salary for a player of his experience exceeds that amount. It won’t be clear just how high that max, which was $19,181,750 this past season, will climb until after the July Moratorium, past the deadline for Bosh to decide on that option.
He’d have to opt out to give the Heat a discount, and he said today that he’d take less “if that’s what it takes.” It’s conceivable that Heat president Pat Riley will appeal to his stars to take less this summer to alleviate the club’s heavy tax burden, as Miami would have to pay crippling repeat-offender tax rates if it winds up above the tax line again next season. Cheaper deals for Bosh, James and Wade would also allow the team greater flexibility to add talent to an aging roster.
Coaching Rumors: Cavs, Joerger, Fisher
The Cavs would improve their chances of retaining Luol Deng if they hired Bulls assistant Adrian Griffin as head coach, sources tell Adrian Wojnarwoski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Griffin, a candidate for the job, worked with Deng in Chicago, and although Deng’s departure has essentially been a foregone conclusion, it will be interesting to see if Cleveland re-calibrates their free agency goals after unexpectedly landing the first overall pick. Here’s more of the night’s coaching notes:
- Dave Joerger acknowledged in a radio interview with Eli Savoie of Sports 56 that he was offered the Wolves coaching job before smoothing things out with Grizzlies owner Robert Pera. Joerger added that his contract extension was not a condition for staying with Memphis (Twitter links; H/T Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities).
- Joerger said that three teams called the Grizzlies to request permission to speak with him, but only the Wolves were granted the opportunity, according to a report from The Associated Press (H/T The Star Tribune).
- The Lakers are curious to see if Derek Fisher is a good fit for their head coaching vacancy, but will wait until his season with the Thunder is over, reports Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times. This jibes with earlier reports that have marked Fisher as a candidate for both the Lakers and Knicks coaching jobs.
- While continuing to downplay his talks with NBA teams, Billy Donovan explained to Edgar Thompson of The Orlando Sentinel that he won’t rule out leaving his coaching job at Florida for the pros. “I’ve seen a lot of coaches over the years come out and say, ‘No, no, no, no, I’m not going anywhere, I’m not going anywhere,’ and then all of a sudden they go somewhere and it’s like, ‘Well, this guy is a complete liar,'” said Donovan. “I don’t want to get into that situation. There (have) been some teams that have called, but that’s really it.”
Lakers To Interview Lionel Hollins
TUESDAY, 5:35pm: Hollins’ interview with L.A. is scheduled for this Thursday, and he will also interview with the Cavs sometime next week, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News.
SUNDAY, 12:38pm: Lionel Hollins has emerged as a candidate for the Lakers vacant head coaching position, and team management plans to interview Hollins later this week, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The team has already interviewed Mike Dunleavy and Byron Scott for the opening left by the resignation of former coach Mike D’Antoni. This will make Hollins the first candidate to sit down with the team who doesn’t have a history with the organization, notes Wojnarowski.
Hollins has coached in parts of seven seasons, all with the Grizzlies, and has a career coaching record of 214-201 in 415 total games. In his final season with Memphis in 2013, Hollins won 56 games and lost in the Western Conference finals to the Spurs. Hollins’ career postseason record is 18-17.
One thing that sets Hollins apart from many of the other candidates being mentioned for the Lakers position is that Hollins is primarily a defensive-minded coach, which is in stark contrast to the “showtime” basketball the Lakers have been known for throughout the years. The team might be banking on Hollins’ serious-minded leadership style appealing to Kobe Bryant, writes Wojnarowski.
Lakers Interview Kurt Rambis
The Lakers have interviewed assistant coach Kurt Rambis for their head coaching job, reports Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com first reported he was on the club’s initial list of candidates soon after former coach Mike D’Antoni resigned. Rambis also appears to be in the running to become the next Knicks head coach, as Shelburne also reported this month, and while he’s likely to interview for that job, too, it seems he has a better shot to become an assistant in New York than the head man on the Knicks bench.
Rambis has ties to Phil Jackson, having served as a Lakers assistant while the current Knicks team president manned L.A.’s bench, as well as the Showtime era Lakers. He played on four of L.A.’s five championship teams in the 1980s. Rambis served as head coach for the final 37 games of the 1999 season for the Lakers before returning to his role as an assistant, and he also had a disastrous two-year stint as Wolves head coach, going 32-132.
His wife, Linda, is close friends with Lakers co-owner Jeanie Buss, perhaps giving him an advantage that the team’s other handful of interviewees don’t possess. Mike Dunleavy and Byron Scott have already interviewed for the job, while Alvin Gentry and Lionel Hollins are scheduled to do so this week.
Draft Rumors: Hood, Stokes, Fair, Hairston
The draft takes place one month from tonight, and teams are beginning to ramp up their schedule of workouts with prospects. Busy draft hopefuls include Rodney Hood, who’ll audition for eight lottery teams, and Jarnell Stokes, who’s working out for 11 teams drafting in the back half of the first round, as Zach Links of Hoops Rumors has learned (Twitter links). One of those teams is the Magic, as we passed along Sunday, and Hood will also work out for the Sixers and Bulls, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. The Wolves are on Hood’s schedule, too, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). Stokes will show off for the Heat and Sixers, Goodman also tweets. Here’s more on an evolving draft landscape:
- Stokes will also audition for the Hawks and Bulls in addition to Miami and Philadelphia, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweets.
- The Bucks will audition Washington’s C.J. Wilcox, Iowa’s Devyn Marble, Pittsburgh’s Lamar Patterson, Virginia’s Joe Harris, and Missouri’s Jabari Brown on Tuesday, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Journal-Times.
- C.J. Fair will work out for the Bulls on Wednesday, the Bucks on Thursday, and the Hornets on Friday, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
- P.J. Hairston, DeAndre Kane and Markel Brown are also among those auditioning for Minnesota, Wolfson reports in the same tweet in which he passed along the Hood news. Nick Johnson will join that group, and the Wolves are eyeing Melvin Ejim and Chane Behanan for workouts, too, Wolfson adds (on Twitter).
- Behanan will audition for the Sixers and Wolves, as well, Goodman reports via Twitter, seconding his earlier dispatch about Behanan’s workout with the Mavs. Russ Smith, Behanan’s former Louisville teammate, is slated to work out for the Heat, Thunder and Suns, Goodman tweets.
- Johnson will also work out for the Magic, Goodman notes (via Twitter). He’ll join Smart and Hood in Orlando, as previously reported.
- The Lakers are set to work out Marcus Smart and Noah Vonleh, while Vonleh will also audition for the Celtics and Kings, according to Goodman (Twitter links).
- Goodman adds the Raptors to the teams working out Kyle Anderson (Twitter link).
- The ESPN.com scribe also reports additional workouts for DeAndre Daniels, who’s set to get a look-see from the Hornets and Hawks (Twitter link).
- The Bulls, Suns and Grizzlies are on the workout agenda of Scottie Wilbekin, Goodman reports (on Twitter). The Suns, along with the Bucks and Lakers, are also among the trio of teams auditioning Joe Harris, Goodman tweets.
- Johnny O’Bryant III will work out for the Hawks, Raptors, Suns and Spurs, according to Goodman (Twitter link).
Eastern Notes: ‘Melo, Calipari, Sixers, Erden
Reports downplaying the Lakers’ interest in Carmelo Anthony have been around for months, but apparently Phil Jackson‘s arrival in New York created another reason why Anthony is unlikely to end up in purple-and-gold. Lakers co-owner Jeanie Buss, who’s engaged to Jackson, doesn’t like the idea of poaching Anthony from her fiance’s team, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. As a bicoastal romance threatens to play a role in NBA free agency, here’s more from Jackson’s half of the NBA:
- The Cavs went so far as to reach out to rumored coaching candidate John Calipari, but he’s still a long shot to coach the team, notes Bob Finnan of The News-Herald.
- Sixers draft-and-stash prospect Furkan Aldemir has agreed to a new three-year deal for the equivalent of more than $5.3MM with Galatasaray in Turkey, Sportando’s Orazio Cauchi reports. It’s unclear what sort of NBA escape clauses, if any, are part of the arrangement.
- Another Turkish team, Anadolu Efes, has opted out of its contract with former NBA center Semih Erden, tweets Ismail Senol of NTV Spor (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Erden, now a free agent, last played in the NBA with the Cavs in 2011/12.
Lakers To Interview Alvin Gentry
Clippers assistant Alvin Gentry spoke to Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak by phone Friday, and he’ll sit down with Kupchak and co-owner Jim Buss on Wednesday to interview for the head coaching job, reports Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. A weekend report from Marc Stein of ESPN.com indicated that Gentry had already interviewed with the Cavs and Jazz, and Gentry will take another meeting with the Cavs this coming Friday, Turner adds. Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com first identified Gentry as having been on the initial list that the Lakers compiled in the wake of Mike D’Antoni‘s resignation.
Mike Dunleavy and Byron Scott have already interviewed for the Lakers job, while an interview with Lionel Hollins is also on the team’s agenda this week. Scott is the only one of the four who isn’t also being sought by other teams. Dunleavy met with Knicks president Phil Jackson about the coaching job in New York, while Hollins has spoken with the Wolves and appears to have an interview with the Cavs on tap, too. He was set to speak with the Warriors before they landed Steve Kerr, and it seemed there was an outside chance he would wind up in his old job with the Grizzlies before they patched up their differences with Dave Joerger.
All four Lakers interviewees are experienced NBA head coaches. Gentry is 335-370 in parts of a dozen seasons in the league, the last of which was 2012/13, when the Suns cut ties with him after 41 games. He’s only coached a team to the playoffs on two occasions, including 2010, when the Lakers eliminated his Suns in the Western Conference Finals. Still, the Lakers are high on his ability to orchestrate an offense, Turner hears.
And-Ones: Joerger, Hollins, Clippers, Lakers
After a strange week, it appears that the Grizzlies coaching situation is now settled. Dave Joerger and owner Robert Pera met today to hash things out and the coach couldn’t be happier with how things turned out. “What’s between Robert and I now is like WOW.” Joerger told Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal (on Twitter). “This is how it’s supposed to be. There’s interaction and you talk about anything.” As Joerger and Pera enjoy their budding bromance, let’s take a look around the Association..
- Most people who know Grizzlies owner Robert Pera says that he has good intentions and wants to build a winner, tweets Chris Mannix of Sports Illusrated. Unfortunately, however, Pera isn’t overly familiar with how the NBA works.
- In addition to the Lakers’ vacancy, Lionel Hollins is also being considered for the Cavs‘ opening, writes Sam Amick of USA Today. The former Memphis coach has long been considered a top candidate for the Cavs job. Hollins will chat with the Lakers late next week and probably meet with Cleveland next weekend.
- Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) learned that there are six serious bidders thus far for the Clippers. Shelburne adds that Shelly Sterling won’t use an investment bank to handle the sale.
- Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com looks back on Kent Bazemore‘s season with the Lakers. There wasn’t much expected from the guard when he came over in the Steve Blake deal with the Warriorrs, but he proved to be a valuable asset off the bench.
- Chris Reichert of Ridiculous Upside explains why Clint Capela has first round sleeper potential in the draft. Last season, the power forward logged nine double-doubles and shot an astounding 66% percent from the floor.