Lakers Assistant Mark Madsen Takes College Job
Assistant Mark Madsen won’t be around to work with the Lakers‘ next coach, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who tweets that Madsen has accepted a job as head coach at Utah Valley University.
Madsen, 43, joined the Lakers’ staff in 2014 as an assistant to Byron Scott. After a 10-year NBA career, Madsen became a G League assistant in Utah in 2012 and was named head coach of the Lakers’ affiliate a year later.
There’s no word yet on what might happen to the rest of the Lakers’ staff after head coach Luke Walton agreed to part ways with the team on Friday.
New York Notes: Dolan, Jackson, Nets GM Search
An “animated” meeting that involved Knicks owner James Dolan, team president Phil Jackson and GM Steve Mills took place after New York’s home loss to the Celtics on February 2nd, six days before the team fired Derek Fisher, a source tells Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Isola’s source was the same who earlier said Dolan was angry about comments Fisher made in a recent radio appearance on “The Michael Kay Show” on ESPN 98.7 FM indicating that missing the playoffs wouldn’t be a disappointment. The loss to Boston was New York’s sixth in seven games, and the Knicks have lost four straight since. Isola speculates that Lakers assistant Mark Madsen is among those up for the head coaching job in New York and further wonders if Steve Kerr‘s lingering health problems will lead to top candidate Luke Walton taking over for Kerr in Golden State on a formal basis. The Daily News scribe also finds the question in one of Carmelo Anthony‘s statements since the Knicks coaching change disconcerting.
“You have to continue to put your trust into Phil,” Anthony said. “At this point, what could you do?”
See more on New York’s teams:
- No major deals are likely for the Nets before the deadline, given Brooklyn’s unsettled front office situation and the lack of time before the deadline, sources told Brian Lewis of the New York Post. The team would be even less likely to make a move if it hires a GM who’s never headed a front office before, league sources said to NetsDaily. Bryan Colangelo is the only former front office chief among the three candidates ESPN’s Chris Broussard reported as front-runners for the vacancy. The Nets have reportedly reached out to the Hawks about Jeff Teague and Paul Millsap.
- The Nets would like to hire a GM before Thursday’s trade deadline, but they won’t rush to do so, a league source told Broussard.
- Interim Knicks coach Kurt Rambis is one of Jackson’s closest friends, and the Zen Master believes strongly in how well Rambis knows the game, Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding writes. Rambis, who excels at teaching big men, has had a significant role in helping offseason signee Robin Lopez deliver this season, according to Ding. The interim boss is already showing that he’ll be more quick to criticize Knicks players than Fisher was, having pointed to Jose Calderon‘s defensive shortcomings in particular after Tuesday’s game, observes Marc Berman of the New York Post
Western Notes: Terry, Papanikolaou, Lakers
With a few weeks until training camps begin, here is the latest news coming out of the Western Conference on Tuesday evening:
- Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports that the Rockets‘ deal for Jason Terry will be completed tomorrow (via Twitter). The trade, which will send Terry to Houston and Alonzo Gee and Scotty Hopson to Sacramento, was originally agreed to on August 31st. There was a report yesterday that it would be finalized today, so we should expect an official announcement shortly.
- Feigen also expects the signing of Kostas Papanikolaou to become official this week, though he cautions that his buyout ($1.5MM) and the necessary FIBA approval make it a little unpredictable (Twitter link). Papanikolaou’s first-year salary of just under $4.8MM is the most ever given to a second-round pick in his first NBA season.
- The Lakers announced today that Paul Pressey, Jim Eyen and Mark Madsen will join Byron Scott on the Los Angeles bench as assistant coaches this season. Beyond that trio, the team also announced Clay Moser, Larry Lewis, Tom Bialaszewski and J.J. Outlaw as members of the staff. Rondre Jackson has been promoted to director of player development and Jordan Wilkes has been hired as an operations assistant, according to the team release.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.
Odds & Ends: World Peace, Jennings, Barbosa
- Brandon Jennings is no lock to return to the Bucks, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times, who says the team is still looking at other point guards.
- The Mavs won't comment on a Brazilian report that the team has been in contact with free agent Leandro Barbosa, notes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.
- The Rockets have drawn mention as one of the front-runners for Marcus Camby this week, and agent Rick Kaplan confirms to Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston that the team is a leading candidate, referring to Houston as Camby's "adopted hometown" (All Twitter links).
- Patrick O'Bryant, the ninth overall pick in the 2006 draft, is hoping to return to the NBA, but he's only drawn interest from foreign clubs so far the summer, reports Shams Charania of RealGM.com. O'Bryant last appeared in the Association with the Raptors in 2008/09.
- Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov will likely lose upwards of $50MM this year as he presides over an NBA-record expenditure on the team's roster, writes Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes.com (hat tip to Nets Daily).
- Shaun Powell of Sports on Earth previews next year's star-laden free agent class, arguing that no team has greater stakes on the outcome of the summer of 2014 than the Lakers do.
- Mark Madsen earned a quick promotion after the Lakers hired him in May to coach their D-League team. The Lakers today officially named Madsen and Larry Lewis as assistants on coach Mike D'Antoni's staff.
Western Notes: Wolves, Mavericks, World Peace
Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune writes that the Timberwolves will likely trade either J.J. Barea or Luke Ridnour by draft night. In the same piece, Zgoda notes that GM Flip Saunders is impressed with Victor Oladipo. Minnesota – currently slated to draft ninth overall – would have to swing a deal into the top five in order to have a chance at the former Hoosier star, though Zgoda doesn't think the team has enough assets to accomplish that. Here are more news and notes from the Western Conference tonight:
- The Grizzlies interviewed Ed Pinckney today and are another team among those monitoring Doc Rivers' situation with Boston, says USA Today's Sam Amick (Twitter links).
- While recalling the Mavericks' decision to break up their championship roster, coach Rick Carlisle described it as "gut-wrenching." This summer, Dallas will have another chance to reap the rewards from that tough decision, and Carlisle seems determined to get things done: "We're going to be active in free agency…We're an aggressive franchise by nature; our owner (Mark Cuban) is. And that's good. We're going to put together a good team" (A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com)
- Lakers forward Metta World Peace has been working out at the IMG Academy and reportedly looks great, tweets Alex Kennedy of Hoopsworld.
- Matt Moore of CBS Sports isn't so sure George Karl would be a good fit with the current Grizzlies roster. Going off of reports that Brian Shaw and Lionel Hollins are in the lead for the Nuggets' job, Moore thinks Shaw would be an ideal fit, whereas Hollins would have more of a challenge with Denver's youth.
- Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK explains why Mason Plumlee would be a solid pick for the Thunder with the 12th overall pick.
- Janis Carr of the OC Register (Subscribers only) takes a closer look at Mark Madsen's coaching opportunity with the Lakers' D-League affiliate, the Los Angeles D-Fenders.
Pacific Notes: Kings, Madsen, Clifford, Howard
Earlier today, we passed along the latest developments in the saga that has Sacramento and Seattle investment groups vying to buy the Kings. Here are a few more of today's links relating to Pacific Division clubs:
- Brian Floyd of SBNation.com provides a helpful primer for the Kings situation, answering a number of frequently asked questions about where things stand.
- The Lakers' D-League affiliate has hired former Laker Mark Madsen as the team's new head coach. The L.A. D-Fenders made the move official today (link via Twitter).
- More coaching news for the Lakers: Assistant Steve Clifford is interviewing today for the Bucks' head coaching opening, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. According to Wojnarowski, Stan Van Gundy declined to interview for the position, but recommend Clifford to Bucks GM John Hammond.
- Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com explains why it doesn't make much sense for the Lakers to consider a sign-and-trade of Dwight Howard.
Western Notes: Garcia, Madsen, Conroy, Hornacek
In a twist, the Western Conference playoff game preceded the Eastern Conference tilt on today's schedule. The Grizzlies beat the Thunder to claim a 2-1 series lead, while the Knicks and Pacers are under way in Indiana. The Eastern matchup prompted rare non-Sunday coverage from ABC, but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of intriguing storylines out west, where the latest Kings developments are threatening to steal the show. Here's more from the conference that won this year's All-Star Game:
- Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com suggests (via Twitter) that Francisco Garcia could be an offseason target for the Lakers. The Rockets currently hold a $6.4MM option on Garcia, but Houston is extremely unlikely to exercise it, so the 31-year-old appears ticketed for unrestricted free agency.
- The next head coach of the Lakers' D-League affiliate could be a familiar face for Lakers fans. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that Mark Madsen is finalizing an agreement to become the D-Fenders' new coach.
- Will Conroy, a close friend of Brandon Roy, began the season on Minnesota's playing roster, but he finished the season as a Timberwolves scout. Flip Saunders fired Conroy and another scout with ties to Roy this week, notes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. The Wolves waived Roy on Friday.
- The only way the Jazz can hold on to assistant coach Jeff Hornacek, a candidate for head coaching jobs elsewhere, would be to replace Tyrone Corbin with him, and that's not going to happen, writes Gordon Monson of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.