New Orleans Pelicans Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Notes: Van Gundy, Hoiberg, Morey

May 23rd, 2015 at 6:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

The lure of Anthony Davis may be enough to get Jeff Van Gundy back into coaching, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein confirmed Friday that Van Gundy has interest in coaching the Pelicans. He is being considered among the top candidates, along with Alvin Gentry and possibly Tom Thibodeau. Van Gundy, a popular TV analyst with ESPN and ABC, last coached with the Rockets in 2006/07, but Stein writes that the chance to mentor a young superstar like Davis could be enough to bring him back him back to the sidelines.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Bringing Van Gundy on board would be the Pelicans‘ best personnel move to date, contends Jimmy Smith of NOLA.com. Smith notes that Van Gundy’s experience coaching big men like Patrick Ewing and Yao Ming would be valuable in molding Davis into an elite center. Smith also argues that Van Gundy is a big enough name to create excitement throughout the franchise and command the respect of players, along with being a progressive thinker who can adapt to the modern NBA.
Although he has been rumored to be a coaching candidate in New Orleans, the Pelicans have not made contact with Iowa State’s Fred Hoiberg, writes John Reid of NOLA.com. An ISU spokesman confirmed that the school has not received a request from New Orleans or any other NBA team. The 42-year-old Hoiberg has a 115-56 record at Iowa State and runs an up-tempo offense that should transfer well into the NBA, according to Reid. Hoiberg also has NBA ties — 10 years as a player and four years in the Timberwolves’ front office, where he spent one season as vice president of basketball operations and three as assistant general manager.
Rockets GM Daryl Morey and Warriors GM Bob Myers have taken non-traditional approaches to building the Western Conference finalists, writes Brian T. Smith of The Houston Chronicle. Myers, the NBA’s Executive of the Year, and Morey have both put together deep rosters that fit well with the way the game is played today.

Southwest Notes: Gentry, Gasol, Mavs

May 22nd, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr confirmed Thursday that lead assistant Alvin Gentry has interviewed for the Pelicans head coaching job, as Kerr told reporters, including Antonio Gonzalez of The Associated Press. Kerr said he’s OK with Gentry taking time to interview on off days, Gonzalez notes, and a source close to Gentry told John Reid of The Times-Picayune that it appears as though Gentry will again interview with New Orleans after Golden State’s season is over. Here’s more from around the Southwest Division:

Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger feels as though Marc Gasol has essentially already made up his mind about what he’ll do in free agency, but he’ll head to Spain sometime soon to pitch the All-NBA First Team center on re-signing with the Grizzlies, notes Geoff Calkins of The Commercial Appeal in a subscription-only piece. The Grizzlies don’t seem too nervous, but Gasol isn’t giving any promises, and his departure would be a devastating blow to the franchise, Calkins argues.
Count GM Chris Wallace among those in the Grizzlies organization with confidence in Gasol’s return. “I firmly believe we will re-sign Marc Gasol this summer,” Wallace said on WHBQ-AM radio, according to host Peter Edmiston (Twitter link).
Unless the Mavericks can lure Gasol or DeAndre Jordan to Dallas this summer, they should prioritize re-signing Tyson Chandler, as Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News believes.
A panel of ESPN.com writers, in an Insider-only piece, agree that the Pelicans coaching job is more attractive than a would-be opening for the Bulls and that New Orleans should look to re-sign Omer Asik this summer.

James, Curry, Harden Lead All-NBA Teams

May 21st, 2015 at 10:32am CST by Chuck Myron

LeBron James and Stephen Curry finished atop the voting for the All-NBA Teams, with James Harden, Anthony Davis and Marc Gasol joining them on the first team, the league announced via press release. Russell Westbrook, LaMarcus Aldridge, Chris Paul, Pau Gasol and DeMarcus Cousins comprise the second team. Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Tim Duncan, Klay Thompson and Kyrie Irving make up the third team.

Curry, the league’s MVP, and James each received 645 points through a system in which five points are awarded a first team vote, three points go for a second team vote and one point is given for a third team vote. The duo garnered 129 first team votes each, making them unanimous first team selections. They were followed closely by Harden, with 125 first team votes and 637 points, and Davis, who had 119 first team votes and 625 points. Marc Gasol, who’s heading into free agency, wasn’t as widely seen as a first-teamer by the media members who cast their ballots, rounding out the squad with 65 first-team votes and 453.

Every member of the second team received at least one first team vote, and Thompson and Irving were the only members of the third team not to get a first team vote. Al Horford also received a first team vote even though he didn’t make any of the teams. The NBA will soon display the votes of each media member on its website, but the league has already distributed the information via press release, so click here to check it out in PDF form.

Leonard, Green, Allen Lead All-Defensive Teams

May 20th, 2015 at 1:17pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kawhi Leonard, Draymond Green, Tony Allen, DeAndre Jordan and Chris Paul comprise this year’s All-Defensive First Team, the NBA announced via press release. Anthony Davis, Jimmy Butler, Andrew Bogut, John Wall and Tim Duncan are on the second team. Bogut’s selection is perhaps most important, since he triggers a bonus worth 15% of his nearly $12.973MM salary for this season, giving him approximately $1.946MM in extra pay. It also means his cap hit for next season jumps to $13.8MM instead of $12MM, since the bonus will fall in the category of a likely bonus. Still, the extra $1.8MM wouldn’t count against the tax next season unless Bogut again plays in 65 games and makes an All-Defensive team.

Leonard was the leading vote-getter from the media members who cast the ballots, which is no surprise, since he also won the Defensive Player of the Year award. The latest honor is further ammunition for a max contract this summer from the Spurs, though it appears he and San Antonio were already set to quickly agree to terms on one come July. Green and Jordan are also soon-to-be free agents on the first team, while Butler and Duncan are heading to free agency from the second team.

Davis, who’s eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer, topped the voting among second-teamers. The balloting went by a points system in which two points were awarded for a first team vote and one point for a second. Rudy Gobert, who received five first team votes, garnered the most points among those who missed the cut for both teams. LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Avery Bradley, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Klay Thompson, Marc Gasol and Mike Conley were others who garnered multiple first team votes but didn’t make it on either team. Click here to see how each media member voted.

Scott Brooks To Turn Away Pelicans, Nuggets

May 20th, 2015 at 11:33am CST by Chuck Myron

Former Thunder coach Scott Brooks plans to decline opportunities to interview with the Pelicans and Nuggets and seems to be leaning toward taking next season off, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. It’s not entirely clear from the report whether New Orleans, Denver or both had extended invitations to interview for their vacancies, though Wojnarowski wrote Monday that the Pels were interested in the coach whom Oklahoma City dismissed last month. The Yahoo! scribe heard from league sources who identified Brooks as a top candidate for Denver and for the Magic in the immediate wake of his exodus from the Thunder, and Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders wrote recently that Brooks was second behind Tom Thibodeau on Orlando’s list of preferred candidates. It’s uncertain what Brooks would do if the Magic came calling, but Wojnarowski (on Twitter) describes Brooks as “likely” to sit out 2015/16.

Brooks spent most of the last seven seasons as the Thunder’s coach, his first NBA head coaching gig. His 338-207 record there is impeccable, but he’s only 39-34 in the playoffs and took the vastly talented Thunder to the NBA Finals only once, losing to the Heat in 2012. Still, the lack of postseason success had to do with injuries as much as it did with any of Brooks’ strategic shortcomings to which critics often pointed, and health was the culprit this season as Oklahoma City missed the playoffs. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka, the team’s preeminent stars, all missed significant time in 2014/15.

The 49-year-old Brooks still wants to coach again at some point, but he’s planning to concentrate on television opportunities and family in the season ahead, Wojnarowski hears. Oklahoma City will still be paying Brooks his salary next season, as Wojnarowski points out, since his contract had one more guaranteed season left when the team cut him loose, so the coach has the financial wherewithal to stay out of the game for a while.

Southwest Notes: Conley, Green, Koufos, Pels

May 20th, 2015 at 10:04am CST by Chuck Myron

The Grizzlies have tried multiple times to strike up extension talks with Mike Conley, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who says that Conley has nonetheless resisted. That’s no surprise, since the salary for the first season in a veteran extension for him could be no more than 107.5% of his salary in the last season before the extension were to kick in. The point guard’s existing bargain deal tops out at little more than $9.388MM next season, so an extension would entail a giant financial sacrifice for Conley. He’s therefore destined to become one of the headliners in the 2016 free agent class, but there’s more on this summer’s business first amid the latest from the Southwest Division:

The working assumption in Memphis is that Jeff Green will pick up his $9.2MM player option to stay with the Grizzlies for next season, but the presence of wily agent David Falk in the equation makes that less than a foregone conclusion, as Stein details in the same piece.
The Celtics were among the many teams that made trade proposals for Kosta Koufos this year that the Grizzlies turned down, Stein writes. Boston was involved in a rumored three-team scenario that would have sent Koufos to Cleveland, but it didn’t appear until now that the C’s made a play for the big man themselves. In any case, Memphis is aware that Koufos, a free agent this summer, wants to start, Stein says.
Alvin Gentry, Scott Brooks, an NBA assistant coach or a college coach who isn’t already a star would probably pass muster with Pelicans GM Dell Demps sooner than Tom Thibodeau, John Calipari or Jeff Van Gundy would, as Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune opines. The GM is reportedly weary of internal conflict, and a coach who carries less authority would be easier for Demps to handle, Smith believes, calling the front office situation, in which Saints/Pelicans executive Mickey Loomis holds sway over Demps, “untenable.” The Pels reportedly interviewed Gentry on Monday, but it’s unclear whether the Warriors assistant is the right fit for the New Orleans roster, according to Smith.
Al-Farouq Aminu‘s energy is reminiscent of Corey Brewer and Jae Crowder, and the Mavs should work to retain soon-to-be free agent Aminu this summer, as Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News argues, positing that the forward would be a bargain at around $4MM a year.

And-Ones: Calipari, Wolves, Knicks

May 19th, 2015 at 10:36pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Knicks were the only team to fall in the draft lottery, sliding to the No. 4 overall pick. GM Steve Mills said that the team could still nab a good player at that spot, but also noted the team would listen to trade offers for the pick, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com relays (Twitter links). Mills also said that the team would likely select a guard or a wing in the draft, which will cause New York to target big men via the free agent market, Begley adds.

Here’s more from around the league:

South Korean prospect Jong-Hyun Lee will remain in the 2015 NBA draft, his agent Mike Naiditch told Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (Twitter links). Lee is completing his military service and will be available for workouts after June 13th, Sierra adds. The 21-year-old isn’t currently projected to be selected in June’s draft, and he is the No. 47 ranked international prospect according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
There were conflicting reports earlier today regarding Kentucky coach John Calipari‘s desire to make the jump to the NBA with the Pelicans. Calipari issued a statement denying his interest, and Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link) notes that while Coach Cal is a master of putting a spin on news reports, the ESPN scribe doesn’t believe he’ll end up in New Orleans next season.
Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders said that winning the No. 1 overall pick in the draft lottery will give the team flexibility, but the franchise won’t trade the pick, Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets.
The Thunder are still high on their domestic draft-and-stash pick Josh Huestis, who made a D-League arrangement with the franchise prior to having been selected with the No. 29 pick in last year’s NBA draft, Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman relays (Twitter links). When asked if Huestis would be on the team’s roster next season, GM Sam Presti said, “He’s someone that we think very highly of. We think he has a future with the team. He could be [on the roster] as early as next season.“

John Calipari Interested In Pelicans Job?

May 19th, 2015 at 12:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

12:38pm: Calipari took to Twitter to deny interest in the Pelicans. “Even though Anthony and Tyreke are in NOLA, I have no interest in the Pelicans or any other job,” Calipari wrote. “I have a great job and I’m happy at UK.”

12:00pm: University of Kentucky coach John Calipari has made Pelicans higher-ups aware that he has interest in the team’s job, a source close to Calipari told John Reid of The Times-Picayune. The sides have had exploratory conversations, Reid adds, but it doesn’t look like the team would be on board with paying him enough to lure him from his college gig. The Pelicans are willing to pay between $4MM and $5MM for their next coach, league sources tell Reid, but Calipari is reportedly close to an extension with Kentucky that would bring his average annual salary to around $7.7MM. Calipari hasn’t signed that extension, Reid points out, but the gap between those salaries and what he would make with the Pelicans is a major stumbling block to the idea that the recruiting maestro would end up in New Orleans, Reid hears.

The Pelicans reportedly interviewed Alvin Gentry on Monday night, and have apparently made calls on Jeff Van Gundy and hold interest in Scott Brooks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Most of the chatter surrounding the New Orleans job before Monday centered on Tom Thibodeau. There’s reportedly been mutual interest there, and league sources confirm to Reid that the Pelicans still have him in their sights. Still, there was a lot of talk at the combine that the Pelicans would be hesitant to give Chicago the compensation it would seek for letting Thibs out of his contract, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.

Johnson surmised that it supports the notion that New Orleans is waiting to see how it shakes out between the Bulls and Thibodeau, who have seemed destined to part. Chicago still has its coach under contract for two more seasons for a total of close to $9MM, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported. It’s unclear just how much Thibs would seek in a new deal from another team, Reid notes, suggesting, meanwhile, that what Gentry would command would fall into the Pelicans’ preferred $4-5MM range.

Calipari would want to have input on player personnel decisions in New Orleans, Reid hears, though that would be difficult to accommodate with executive vice president of basketball operations Mickey Loomis and GM Dell Demps both exercising prominent decision-making powers. Still, there are close ties between the Kentucky coach and the Pelicans roster, which features Anthony Davis, perhaps the most prominent player among the many stars who’ve played for Calipari on the Wildcats. Tyreke Evans, who played for Calipari at the University of Memphis, is also a Pelican.

An NBA executive told Steve Popper of The Record in March that Calipari “desperately” wanted back in the league, years after a disastrous stint as a coach/executive with the Nets in the late 1990s. Nothing has come of speculation that there was a way for him to rejoin the Nets, in spite of the apparent presence of advocates for him within the Brooklyn organization. Calipari and the Cavs reportedly had talks about the idea that he would become Cleveland’s coach and president last year, but Calipari instead returned to Kentucky. Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors speculated this past weekend that Calipari was a dark horse for the New Orleans job.

Western Notes: Clippers, Thunder, Grizzlies

May 17th, 2015 at 10:35pm CST by Will Joseph

DeAndre Jordan is in no rush to discuss his plans as an unrestricted free agent this summer, and if the big man re-signed with the Clippers, his contract would restrict their ability to upgrade their bench, Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times writes. “I’m not a free agent until July,” Jordan said when asked about his future after the Clippers were eliminated from the playoffs. Clippers president of basketball operations and coach Doc Rivers acknowledged that the team’s lack of a strong bench was exposed in the playoffs. It would be hard to improve the bench, if Jordan agreed to a maximum five-year contract with the Clippers for an estimated $108.3MM, Bolch writes. That would leave the Clippers with only the mini-mid-level exception of $3.376MM per year for up to three years and some veteran’s minimum contracts, Bolch adds.

“We have to get this team more support,” Rivers said. “With the contracts we’re hamstrung with, it’s going to be minimum deals for the most part. There are no big deals out there that we’re going to make, most likely.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

There’s a good chance small forward Jeff Green exercises his $9.2MM option for next season and tries to have a breakout year with the Grizzlies, Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal writes. Green struggled in Memphis and approached coach Dave Joerger about moving to a bench role during the regular season.
The decision to fire Monty Williams as coach was more about the Pelicans‘ ownership and management being uncomfortable with Williams as its leader for the long haul and it had nothing to do with a power struggle or communication issue with GM Dell Demps, Sam Amick of USA Today writes. The Raptors will reportedly gauge interest in Williams as an assistant.
Maurice Cheeks is emerging as a possible addition to Thunder coach Billy Donovan‘s staff, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets. Cheeks served as an assistant in Oklahoma City under Scott Brooks from 2009 to 2013.

Tom Thibodeau Rumors: Friday

May 15th, 2015 at 9:14pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Bulls have been out of the playoffs for less than a day, but already plenty of rumors about Tom Thibodeau the future of their head coaching job are flying. We’ll round up today’s latest here, with any updates that come in added to the top:

Chicago won’t even begin to discuss what compensation they would require in exchange for Thibodeau until a clear succession plan is in place, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reports. The Bulls want to find a coach who is not only the right fit, but also dynamic enough to justify letting Thibodeau out of his deal, Berger notes.

7:03pm update:

Several NBA executives believe that the Bulls will have difficulty getting compensation in return for Thibodeau since teams are aware of the dynamic between the coach and front office, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune tweets.

5:24pm update:

The consensus opinion amongst rival NBA executives at the draft combine is that the split between Thibodeau and the Bulls is going to be a protracted, and possibly ugly affair, Chris Mannix of SI.com tweets. One executive likened the situation to a “game of chicken,” Mannix adds.

12:05pm update:

Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck says that the same source who called Warriors assistant Alvin Gentry the favorite to succeed Thibodeau in Chicago expects a quick ending to the Thibs/Bulls drama, adding that the source pegs New Orleans as Thibodeau’s likely destination (Twitter link).
If Thibodeau isn’t coaching in Chicago next season, he’ll most likely be coaching the Pelicans, a source tells Johnson, largely echoing what Beck heard (Twitter link).

10:17am update:

Chicago will “absolutely” try to reap compensation for Thibodeau, with management viewing him as an asset, according to Johnson, who writes in a full piece. The Tribune scribe expects the Pelicans and Magic to request permission to talk with the coach and for the Bulls to grant that permission.

8:59am update:

One source put it bluntly to Marc Stein of ESPN.com: “Thibs is gone. They know it and he knows it.” Most people around the league have similar feelings, Stein adds, having heard from one source who indicates that Thibodeau and GM Gar Forman have barely talked since November.
The Bulls are optimistic about their chances to land Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg, in spite of his heart ailments, Stein also writes.
Thibodeau won’t quit and walk away from the money in the remaining two years of his contract, a source close to him told Ken Berger of CBSSports.com Thursday night. That jibes with what K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune surmised last month when he wrote that he believed Thibodeau would stay if the choice were up to the coach.
Derrick Rose is rumored to be in Thibodeau’s corner, and he essentially confirmed that Thursday, making it clear he backs the coach, as David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune relays. “It’s not up to me, but if it was, he would be back,” Rose said. Taj Gibson also said that he wants Thibodeau to stay, as Berger notes in his piece.
Anthony Davis‘ “family and friends are already salivating at the idea” of Thibodeau joining the Pelicans, as Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher says (video link). Stein, in his report, emphasizes that Thibodeau’s interest in New Orleans is strong. Still, Bucher suggests that Mike D’Antoni and Mark Jackson are other coaches who would meet with the approval of Davis, and the Pelicans know that Davis is an unassuming type whom they don’t have to keep in the loop as they navigate their coaching search, Bucher says. New Orleans is confident that if it makes the right choice, Davis will be on board, according to Bucher.