Kings To Make Head Coaching Decision By Week’s End?
The Kings, who are completing a second round of interviews with the three finalists for their head coaching job, are expected to make a decision by the end of the week, sources tell Sam Amick of The Athletic.
According to Amick, Mark Jackson and Steve Clifford have completed their final interviews, while Mike Brown had an informal visit with Kings officials on Wednesday and will have his formal sit-down with the team on Thursday.
Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report stated earlier this week that Jackson appears to be team owner Vivek Ranadive‘s preferred choice for the position, and Amick has heard the same thing from sources close to the situation. However, the Kings insist Ranadive isn’t putting his thumb on the scale and that general manager Monte McNair will be given the opportunity to make the final decision, says Amick.
There have been recent reports indicating that McNair has been given more authority and power in the Kings’ organization than previous heads of basketball operations under Ranadive. Amick suggests that the team’s decision to let Joe Dumars walk rather than promoting him to a level above McNair is a signal that Ranadive is showing support for his GM.
One of three teams currently seeking a new head coach, the Kings appear on track to finalize a hire before the Hornets or Lakers complete their respective searches.
Hornets To Interview Charles Lee, David Vanterpool
The Hornets have been granted permission to interview Bucks assistant coach Charles Lee and Nets assistant David Vanterpool for their head coaching vacancy, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Lee, 37, played four seasons at Bucknell from 2002-06 prior to making international stops in Israel, Belgium and Germany. He started his NBA assistant coaching career in 2014 with Atlanta, and has spent the past eight seasons working with head coach Mike Budenholzer, winning a championship with Milwaukee last season.
Lee was reportedly a finalist for head coaching jobs in New Orleans and Washington D.C. last summer, and he has continued to receive interest this season. He recently interviewed for Sacramento’s opening, but didn’t make the final cut.
An assistant for CSKA Moscow from 2007-12 after spending time with the Russian team as a player, Vanterpool made the move to the NBA in 2012. He served as an assistant coach on Portland’s staff for seven years from 2012-19, then spent two seasons as the Timberwolves’ associate head coach, first under Ryan Saunders, then under Chris Finch.
When the Wolves replaced Saunders with Finch during the 2020/21 season, some league observers expressed surprise that the team hired an assistant from another team (Finch had been part of Nick Nurse‘s Raptors staff) in the middle of the season rather than promoting Vanterpool, who has received consideration for other head coaching openings in recent years. Instead of sticking around in Minnesota, Vanterpool decided to join Steve Nash‘s staff in Brooklyn last summer.
Lee and Vanterpool are the fifth and sixth candidates set to interview for Charlotte’s vacancy, joining Mike D’Antoni, Kenny Atkinson, Darvin Ham and Sean Sweeney. The team is also rumored to be interested in a few other possible candidates.
Lakers To Interview Raptors Assistant Adrian Griffin
The Lakers have requested permission to interview Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin for their head coaching vacancy, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (video link).
Raptors president and chairman Masai Ujiri said at his end-of-season press conference yesterday that he has been receiving calls for interviews with Griffin and other Raptors assistant coaches, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link).
“I think Adrian is right there on the cusp of becoming a head coach in this league,” Ujiri said.
Griffin started his NBA career as a player, appearing in 477 games (179 starts) across nine NBA seasons from 1999-2008 with career averages of 4.0 points and 3.2 rebounds in 16.9 minutes. He made a quick transition to coaching, getting his start at just 34 years of age, the season after he retired as a player (2008/09).
Griffin, now 47, has been an assistant coach with the Bucks, Bulls, Magic, Thunder and Raptors over the past 14 seasons, having been with Toronto since 2018/19, when the team won the championship. Griffin’s son, AJ Griffin, is a projected lottery pick in the upcoming 2022 draft.
The Lakers were rumored to be interested in Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, but both Nurse and Ujiri recently poured cold water on that idea. Griffin is now the second official candidate interviewing for the Lakers lead coaching job, following Bucks assistant Darvin Ham.
In case you missed it, you can keep track of all the ongoing head coaching searches here.
Gary Payton II Leaves Game 2 With Left Elbow Fracture
11:45 PM: Payton has fractured his left elbow, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic (via Twitter). Slater notes that tomorrow’s MRI will indicate the severity of the injury.
9:33 PM: The Warriors‘ second-round playoff matchup against the Grizzlies remains chippy as Game 2 takes place tonight.
After taking a hard foul from Grizzlies wing Dillon Brooks on a breakaway drive (Twitter video link, as captured by Bleacher Report), Warriors starting shooting guard Gary Payton II exited the contest and headed back to Golden State’s locker room. Brooks was instantly assessed a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected from the game.
The Warriors announced (via Twitter) that they have ruled out Payton for the rest of Game 2, following X-rays on his left elbow (Twitter link). Payton logged just 2:52 of game action.
Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets that the imaging on the elbow proved “inconclusive,” but that Payton would undergo an MRI tomorrow that would hopefully have more answers for the Warriors.
Payton’s Golden State teammate Draymond Green also left the game after a Grizzlies player fouled him. Memphis center Xavier Tillman elbowed Green in the face, as Trisha Easto of the Memphis Commercial Appeal recaps. Green flashed a rude hand gesture in response to the FedEx Forum crowd, which could incur an NBA fine. The Warriors revealed (Twitter link) that Green suffered a right eye laceration and received stitches. He returned to the contest after being sewn up.
Heat’s Tyler Herro Named Sixth Man Of The Year
Heat reserve guard Tyler Herro, currently lighting it up in the postseason for Miami, has won the NBA’s 2021/22 Sixth Man of the Year award, the league announced in a press release.
As Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets, Herro is the first Heat player to win the award and just the fifth player in league history to average 20+ points coming off the bench.
Last month, the third-year shooting guard was announced as a finalist for the honor, along with Cavaliers big man Kevin Love and Suns forward Cameron Johnson.
The NBA released a full breakdown of votes cast by a panel of 100 broadcasters and sportswriters (Twitter link). Herro received 96 first-place votes, two second-place votes, and two third-place votes. Love finished second, with Johnson in third. The 2020/21 Sixth Man of the Year, Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson, placed fourth in voting, while Clippers wing Luke Kennard rounded out the top five. Eight other players received at least one vote.
Across 66 games this year, Herro averaged 20.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG and 4.0 APG for Miami, who finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference at 53-29. The 6’5″ wing had shooting splits of .447/.399/.868. Still just 22, Herro is eligible for a contract extension this summer. This hardware could certainly help his case at the bargaining table.
“It means a lot,” Herro told Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. “I accepted the sixth man role [at the beginning of the year] for a reason. I wanted to be the best sixth man in the league.”
“I just realized what this team was built for,” Herro added. “It was built for a championship. When you look at our roster, if I was our coach, I would probably bring myself off the bench, too. Just looking at what we have on the team, if it makes sense to bring either me or Jimmy [Butler] off the bench, obviously it’s going to be me. We’ve got to bring one of our main scorers off the bench. And I understand that.”
Love announced his support for Herro in a tweet following the announcement. “Everyone who knows me knows I love Tyler Herro’s game (and swag) – much respect on an incredible [Sixth Man of the Year] campaign,” the former five-time All-Star wrote, in part.
Marcus Smart Out For Game 2 Due To Thigh Contusion
Celtics starting point guard Marcus Smart has been ruled out of tonight’s critical Game 2 against the Bucks due to a right thigh contusion, the team has announced (Twitter link). Smart had previously been listed as questionable with the injury.
The 2022 Defensive Player of the Year had been grappling with the thigh injury ahead of Game 1 in Boston’s second-round matchup against Milwaukee. The injury worsened during the contest after Smart took contact in the region.
In Game 1 on Sunday, a 101-89 Bucks victory in Boston, Smart was limited to 10 points on 3-of-11 shooting from the floor. His Bucks counterpart Jrue Holiday, another excellent defender, scored 25 points on 8-of-20 field goal shooting.
With Smart sidelined, reserve guards Derrick White and Payton Pritchard seem primed for a minutes boost. White’s and Pritchard’s shooting in Game 1 was fairly inefficient in its own right. The duo combined to make just 4-of-14 shots from the field. A Bucks 2-0 series advantage heading into Milwaukee could prove close to insurmountable for Boston.
Boston head coach Ime Udoka revealed that White will start in Smart’s stead tonight, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic.
“Swelling, pain, restricted movement,” Udoka said of Smart’s symptoms. “I don’t think it’s long term. With three days off [prior to Game 3], we assume he’ll be okay.”
Kyle Lowry Remains Out For Game 2
Heat guard Kyle Lowry (hamstring strain) will miss Wednesday’s Game 2 against the Sixers, the team announced on social media (Twitter link). This will be the fourth straight game Lowry has missed.
Lowry, 36, suffered the injury against the Hawks in Game 3 last round. He missed the entire fourth quarter of the contest, which was the only game Miami lost in the series.
The Heat started Gabe Vincent in place of Lowry on Monday. Vincent finished with 10 points and three assists in 29 minutes, shooting 4-of-12. Lowry’s absence has also resulted in Victor Oladipo playing more, as Oladipo received nearly 27 minutes in Game 1.
Caleb Martin (ankle), P.J. Tucker (calf), Max Strus (hamstring), Vincent (knee) and Tyler Herro (ankle) are all listed as questionable for Game 2. Jimmy Butler (knee) and Markieff Morris (illness) have been removed from the injury report, though Butler missed Tuesday’s practice with an excused absence.
Philadelphia will continue to play without superstar center Joel Embiid (mild concussion and orbital fracture). The team would gain home court advantage by beating Miami on Wednesday night.
Hornets To Interview D’Antoni, Atkinson, Ham, Sweeney
The Hornets have begun the initial interview process for their head coaching vacancy, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter), who states that the team’s initial list includes former Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni, current Warriors assistant and former Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson, Bucks lead assistant Darvin Ham, and Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney.
As Wojnarowski observes (Twitter link), D’Antoni worked with Hornets president of basketball operations and general manager Mitch Kupchak while the two were with the Lakers, and they “had a good working relationship.” D’Antoni holds 16 seasons worth of head coaching experience with Denver, Phoenix, New York, Los Angeles and Houston, compiling a regular season record of 672-527.
The 70-year-old interviewed for the Kings’ head coaching job, but isn’t a finalist. D’Antoni is renowned for his offensive acumen and helped get the best from a couple of elite offensive players in Steve Nash and James Harden. Clearly, Charlotte thinks he might help with LaMelo Ball‘s development.
Atkinson was an assistant with the Knicks and Hawks prior to becoming Brooklyn’s head coach from 2016-20, where he compiled a 118-190 record. Those numbers are a bit deceiving, because he inherited a young, flawed roster that he helped lead to the playoffs in his third year at the helm. He has been an assistant with the Clippers and the Warriors the past two seasons.
Ham has been very busy recently. In addition to serving as Mike Budenholzer‘s top assistant with the Bucks as they try to defend their title, Ham has also interviewed for the lead coaching jobs in Sacramento and Los Angeles. Ham has been an NBA assistant for 11 years; he started with the Lakers for a couple seasons prior to working under Budenholzer in Atlanta and now Milwaukee.
Sweeney is in his ninth season as an assistant coach, having spent time with Brooklyn, Milwaukee, Detroit and now Dallas. He has worked under Mavs head coach Jason Kidd with the Nets, Bucks and Mavs.
Sweeney has been credited with leading the team’s defensive turnaround — after ranking 21st in defensive rating last season, Dallas was seventh this season. The Mavs went 3-1 with Sweeney serving as acting head coach when Kidd was in the health and safety protocols back in January.
Mark Jackson Frontrunner To Become New Kings Coach?
The Kings are interviewing the three finalists — Mark Jackson, Steve Clifford and Mike Brown — for their vacant head coaching position this week, and it looks as if one might have the upper hand. League sources tell Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report that Jackson appears to be the frontrunner for the job and the favored choice of owner Vivek Ranadive.
Ranadive, who was the vice chairman of the Warriors when Jackson was their head coach from 2011-14, has long been an admirer of Jackson and pushed Sacramento’s front office to consider him for the lead assistant/associate head coach position that ultimately went to Alvin Gentry in 2020, sources tell Fischer.
It has been previously reported that the Kings are searching for a defensive-minded coach with previous head coaching experience, and all three finalists check those boxes. However, Ranadive is said to be looking for a vocal, public face for the franchise to create a day-to-day identity, according to Fischer, who notes that Jackson is popular among players.
A report last month indicated that LeBron James would be “enthused” to see Jackson as a candidate for the Lakers‘ vacancy, and sources tell Fischer that LaMelo Ball also favors Jackson for the Hornets‘ opening.
One major wrinkle to the notion that Jackson appears to be the favored choice of Ranadive is that the owner has repeatedly told colleagues around the league that general manager Monte McNair has full authority over the team’s basketball operations. Fischer points out that the decision to fire Luke Walton early in the season came from McNair, not Ranadive.
McNair appears to be leaning toward Brown as his top candidate for the position, multiple sources tell Fischer. Brown also has Warriors ties – he has been an assistant coach for Golden State for the past six years – and used to work with Kings assistant GM Wes Wilcox when the two were with Cleveland.
Fischer writes that if Jackson isn’t selected for the position, it could be partly because Joe Dumars left the organization to work in the league office — Dumars wanted to hire Jackson to become Detroit’s head coach in 2011. Dumors reportedly wanted more control over Sacramento’s front office, with McNair reporting to him instead of Ranadive, but the owner wasn’t interested in that arrangement.
As for former interim head coach Gentry, sources tell Bleacher Report that he’s been offered a role in Sacramento’s front office, but Gentry is looking into pursuing a job as a consultant, similar to the role Clifford recently held with the Nets.
Joe Dumars Leaves Kings For NBA League Office
Veteran basketball executive Joe Dumars is leaving his position with the Kings for a job in the NBA’s league office, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The league has confirmed in a press release that Dumars is its new executive vice president of basketball operations.
According to the NBA, Dumars will begin his new role next Monday and will oversee all basketball operations matters for the league, including “the development of playing rules and interpretations, conduct and discipline, and policies and procedures relating to the operation of games.”
Dumars, a Hall-of-Famer as a player, joined the Kings as a special advisor to then-GM Vlade Divac in 2019. When Divac was fired a year later, Dumars became Sacramento’s interim head of basketball operations, then transitioned into a chief strategy officer role following the hiring of Monte McNair. He had held that position for the last two years.
Dumars previously spent 14 years as the president of basketball operations in Detroit, winning an Executive of the Year award in 2003 and building the Pistons team that earned a championship in 2004.
“Joe’s extensive track record of accomplishment as an NBA player and team executive and the leadership and expertise that he has demonstrated in various roles make him a natural fit to drive efforts to further enhance the game,” NBA president of league operations Byron Spruell said today in a statement. “As a respected longtime member of the NBA family, Joe has developed strong relationships across the league that will set the foundation for success in his new position.”
Dumars is replacing Kiki VanDeWeghe, who transitioned into an advisory role for the NBA last August after spending eight years as the EVP of basketball operations.