Coaching Rumors: Mazzulla, Bucks, Williams, Suns, Raptors, Nash
Celtics staffers, including president of basketball operations Brad Stevens, have shown “unwavering support” this season for head coach Joe Mazzulla, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, who says the sentiment as recently as last week was that Mazzulla would get plenty of runway to continue growing into the role he was thrust into following Ime Udoka‘s suspension last fall.
[RELATED: Joe Mazzulla In Jeopardy After Game 3 Loss?]
While it’s possible the Celtics could have a change of heart and decide to make a coaching change if the team is eliminated from the postseason in embarrassing fashion on Tuesday – or in the coming days – it would be a “stark change of direction” from the team’s original plan, Fischer writes.
While Fischer considers it unlikely that Mazzulla is replaced this offseason, he suggests that the Celtics’ coaching staff could undergo some significant changes, with multiple current assistants considered candidates to join Udoka with the Rockets. Frank Vogel and Stephen Silas are among the former head coaches who have been linked to the Celtics as possible assistant coach targets, Fischer notes.
Here’s more on the NBA’s coaching carousel from Fischer:
- With the Bucks still focused on contending for championships with rosters built around Giannis Antetokounmpo, there’s some skepticism that Adrian Griffin – the only one of their three finalists without previous head coaching experience – will ultimately claim that job. However, Fischer acknowledges that Griffin has “certainly impressed” Bucks management during the interview process. Milwaukee’s search is expected to conclude this week, Fischer reports.
- Many people around the league thought Monty Williams would be a serious candidate for the Bucks‘ coaching job and were surprised that he wasn’t a finalist in that process, per Fischer. The Pistons registered some interest in Williams, but he doesn’t appear to be in the mix for that job either and seems likely to take next season off, Fischer adds. James L. Edwards III of The Athletic also said Williams may not coach anywhere in 2023/24, which shouldn’t come as a surprise — he’s still owed $21MM by Phoenix, so it’s not as if he needs to rush into another position.
- Former Philadelphia head coach Doc Rivers is expected to receive consideration from the Suns, but Mike Budenholzer isn’t viewed as a likely candidate for Phoenix, Fischer writes.
- The Raptors continue to take their time with their head coaching search, bringing back several candidates – including Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez and Grizzlies assistant Darko Rajakovic – for second interviews, says Fischer. Many of the team’s initial meetings took place on Zoom, according to Fischer, who identifies Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson as a name to watch in Toronto’s search.
- Steve Nash, who interviewed for the Raptors’ vacancy, is “determined to learn from his shortcomings” following his first coaching stint in Brooklyn and has a strong desire to earn another head coaching job at some point, Fischer writes.
“Handshake Deal” For Kyrie Irving In Dallas?
Representatives of rival teams at last week’s NBA Draft Combine expect Kyrie Irving to re-sign with the Mavericks this summer, writes Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. Dallas missed the playoffs after acquiring Irving from Brooklyn in a February trade and he often appeared to be an awkward fit alongside Luka Doncic, but sources tell Pincus that the Mavs didn’t trade for Irving as a short-term experiment.
“I hear they had a handshake deal before the trade,” one of Pincus’ sources said. “And Kyrie wouldn’t have said yes to anything less than the max.”
Irving will be eligible for a new five-year contract in Dallas that could be worth $272MM, Pincus adds. Although he was an All-Star this season for the 10th time in his career, off-court incidents in Brooklyn — and Boston and Cleveland before that — may limit the number of teams interested in signing him.
“I’m not sure what the market is for Kyrie, but no one with cap room is giving it to Kyrie,” another source told Pincus. “He comes with too much drama.”
Pincus talked to an agent who expects Irving to receive a four-year deal with a player option on the final season. It would be worth about $201MM in guaranteed money and would line up with Doncic, who can opt out of his current contract in 2026.
In an appearance Monday on ESPN’s “Get Up,” Brian Windhorst suggested that the Lakers shouldn’t be dismissed as a possible Irving suitor (video link). L.A. was reportedly interested in Irving when he considered opting out of his contract last summer and again when he submitted a trade request to the Nets in February.
Windhorst admits the Lakers would have to give up most of the assets they just acquired in order to sign Irving outright, but he says the landscape could be more favorable if Dallas would agree to a sign-and-trade. Regardless, Windhorst added that it helps Irving’s negotiating position if he can convince the Mavericks that L.A. is interested.
Pincus also talked with several sources who expect Dallas to be a potential landing spot for Suns center Deandre Ayton, who shares an agent with Doncic.
“The Suns need depth,” a source told Pincus. “I can see them getting Tim Hardaway Jr., JaVale (McGee) back, Josh Green and No. 10 (draft pick). Phoenix would probably flip the pick to another team for depth, or maybe it’d be a big multi-team deal.”
Pincus lists Maxi Kleber, Davis Bertans, Reggie Bullock and Jaden Hardy as other players who might be moved in a hypothetical Ayton trade, but he notes that Kleber is among Doncic’s best friends on the team, which gives Dallas incentive to keep him.
Pacific Notes: Paul, DeRozan, Myers, Vezenkov
The Suns‘ reported plans to fully guarantee Chris Paul‘s contract for next season don’t ensure that he’ll remain with the team, writes Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports. The veteran point guard’s $30.8MM salary for 2023/24 only carries a $15.8MM guarantee, and the front office must make its decision by June 28.
Bourguet argues that guaranteeing the deal before that date will make Paul easier to trade. He also wonders whether the rumor that the Suns’ “mindset” to have him as their starting point guard next season was leaked by the team ahead of trade talks or by Paul’s camp to make him more attractive to teams that might be interested in acquiring him.
At age 38, Paul is coming off another disappointing playoff exit that was related to injuries. This time, he suffered a left groin strain in Game 2 of the conference semifinals against the Nuggets that sidelined him for the rest of the series. Bourguet hears that Paul likely would have been able to play if the series had reached a seventh game, but Denver closed it out with a convincing victory in Game 6.
“That was the tough part about the injury, when, before he got hurt, you could just see the offense starting to figure out a few things,” former head coach Monty Williams said. “And then he comes up with an injury that he can’t control.”
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Bulls star and Los Angeles native DeMar DeRozan has gotten past the feeling that he needs to return home to play for the Clippers or Lakers someday, he said in an appearance on Paul George‘s podcast (hat tip to All Clippers). “I used to feel like that,” DeRozan said. “I used to think like, man I gotta play home so I could see what it’s like. It’s like I get it from both ways now. From home, and I’m able to represent home from where I’m playing. I’m at a stage now where I’m okay now if I don’t. It’s not like an ultimate desire of mine.” George admitted that he tried to recruit DeRozan to the Clippers as a free agent two years ago, but it wasn’t financially feasible.
- As Bob Myers ponders his future, sources tell C.J. Holmes of The San Francisco Chronicle that the contract the Warriors offered would make him the highest-paid general manager in the NBA. Holmes also confirms that Myers is expected to talk to the media next week after spending this week at the draft combine in Chicago.
- As he arrived in Lithuania for the Final Four, EuroLeague MVP Sasha Vezenkov didn’t address his NBA future, but he showed that he has been following the Kings, who own his rights, per a EuroHoops story. “In the playoffs, they did their best, but they were facing a superstar like Steph Curry,” Vezenkov said. “The competition in the NBA is really hard, there are so many superstars and ultimately only one gets the rings. However, the Kings had a great season.”
Stein’s Latest: Duncan, Spurs, Mavericks, Ayton, Draft
Hall of Fame big man Tim Duncan joined the Spurs‘ coaching staff in 2019/20 at Gregg Popovich‘s request. As Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack article, one season was enough to convince Duncan that a full-time coaching gig wasn’t for him.
However, when the Spurs are in San Antonio, there’s an expectation that Duncan will “regularly visit” their practice facility to mentor projected No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama, reports Stein.
Duncan, of course, was the Spurs’ last No. 1 pick (back in 1997), and you could say they had some success with the U.S. Virgin Islands native. He was named to 15 All-Star, All-NBA, and All-Defensive teams, and won two regular season MVPs and three NBA Finals MVPs en route to five championships in his 19 seasons.
Here’s more from Stein:
- The Mavericks were able to keep their first-round pick after it landed No. 10 overall (it would have been sent to the Knicks had it landed No. 11 or later). It has been reported multiple times that they’re expected to gauge the value of the pick in an effort to improve the roster. Stein’s sources say the Mavs have been posturing like they plan to explore their options for the prospects who might be available at that slot before deciding whether or not to trade it. Still, rival teams expect Dallas to try to package the pick (perhaps with some combination of Tim Hardaway Jr., Davis Bertans, JaVale McGee) in a win-now move.
- The Suns are expected to “aggressively” explore the trade market for center Deandre Ayton this summer, and the former top pick has been linked to the Mavericks. However, Dallas’ interest in Ayton has been “overstated,” according to Stein, who suggests the team might not view his contract favorably. Stein reports that there are some Ayton fans within the Mavs, but he doesn’t “get any sense” the 24-year-old is atop the their trade wish list.
- ESPN’s Zach Lowe reported a few days ago that one topic of discussion during the annual GM meetings was the possibility of turning the NBA draft into a two-day event. While some viewed that as a potential money-grab for the league, Stein hears only one team broached the subject and the idea was meant to benefit front offices around the league — presumably to give everyone more time to make trades and other roster decisions in an event that can feel rushed, especially the second round. The idea hasn’t gained much traction yet, says Stein.
Emoni Bates To Work Out For Suns
- Former five-star recruit Emoni Bates has been linked to the Nets and said he’ll work out for them at some point in the coming weeks, according to Schiffer. An Eastern Michigan forward, Bates added that he also has workouts lined up with the Thunder, Suns, Cavaliers, Blazers, and Pistons.
College Coaches Interested In Head Coaching Job
- The Suns have gotten numerous inquiries from college coaches regarding their head coaching job, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic reports. While Rankin doesn’t reveal any specific names, he notes that owner Mat Ishbia is extremely close to his former college coach, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo.
Nick Nurse Expected To Meet With Bucks, Suns
In addition to interviewing with the Sixers, Nick Nurse is expected to meet with the Bucks and Suns to discuss their head coaching positions, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic.
According to Charania, Nurse is expected to be in “high demand” this spring and could end up having one more than one job offer to choose from.
There are currently five NBA teams with head coaching openings. Besides Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Phoenix, the Raptors and Pistons are in the market for coaches. But Toronto just parted ways with Nurse and Detroit is believed to be in the final stages of its search.
Nurse won a championship in 2019 with the Raptors and was named the NBA’s Coach of the Year in 2020, earning praise for his creative defensive schemes. Across five seasons, Nurse had a 227-163 (.582) regular season record and a 25-16 (.610) playoff mark as Toronto’s head coach.
As our head coaching search tracker shows, the Bucks are conducting a wide-ranging search as they seek a replacement for Mike Budenholzer — reports have indicated that they’ve interviewed or will interview at least 13 candidates. Nurse is the fifth candidate said to be meeting with Phoenix.
Coaching Rumors: Lue, Popovich, Pistons, Raptors, Udoka
The Bucks and Suns are rumored to be interested in Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue, but he’s still under contract for two more seasons, though only one of those is thought to be guaranteed.
There’s growing skepticism among those close to the coach and the Clippers that a rival team would be able to poach Lue away, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.
The Clippers still hope to contend for championships going forward despite another disappointing playoff exit in 2022/23, and owner Steve Ballmer is known to be a “huge fan” of Lue. As Fischer observes, the Bucks and Suns also don’t have much in the form of future first-round picks, which would likely be necessary to acquire Lue — assuming the Clippers would even permit a rival to interview him, and there’s no indication they would — while he’s still under contract.
The Bucks do have their 2029 first-rounder available, but Fischer suggests they’ll likely use it to acquire a player — either this offseason or in the future. Sources tell Fischer that Milwaukee contemplated dealing the pick to try to land Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic ahead of the February trade deadline.
Here are some more coaching rumors from around the NBA:
- Gregg Popovich, the longest-tenured head coach in the league, is expected to stay with the Spurs for as long as he wants to continue coaching, and there’s no indication that the Hall-of-Famer plans to retire next season, especially after San Antonio won the draft lottery. However, Popovich’s contract expired at the end of the season, and he hasn’t signed a new deal yet, sources tell Fischer.
- The fact that the Pistons have yet to hire one of their three coaching finalists has left coaching agents around the league wondering if they’ll reopen their search and consider more candidates, Fischer writes. The three finalists — Kevin Ollie, Charles Lee and Jarron Collins — met with owner Tom Gores last week, Fischer confirms. Detroit is thought to have interest in Monty Williams, who was fired by the Suns last week, so that might explain the holdup. That said, Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com hears from sources that the job is expected to come down to either Ollie or Collins (Twitter link).
- According to Fischer, the Raptors hope to be “blown away” in an interview with one of their long list of coaching candidates. Toronto is believed to be open to an “unconventional” choice. Assistant coaches Jim Sann and Rico Hanes are expected to be retained regardless of who is named head coach, sources tell Fischer.
- Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated hears (via Twitter) that Ime Udoka “wants to do right” by his former Celtics assistants, and will extend those interested an invitation to join him with the Rockets after his unceremonious departure from Boston. Royal Ivey, who worked with Udoka on the Nets, recently joined his staff in Houston.
Suns Get Permission To Interview Assistant Coaches
The Suns have begun the process to replace head coach Monty Williams, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who states that they have received permission to interview several assistants, including the Kings‘ Jordi Fernandez, the Bucks‘ Charles Lee and the Grizzlies‘ Darko Rajakovic.
Lee has been reported as one of the finalists to fill the Pistons‘ head coaching vacancy, along with former UConn and Overtime Elite head coach Kevin Ollie and Pelicans assistant Jarron Collins. Detroit narrowed its list to three nearly two weeks ago, but may be waiting to see if Williams is interested before making a final decision.
Lee also interviewed for the opening with the Raptors and is considered to be a candidate to replace Mike Budenholzer in Milwaukee.
Fernandez interviewed with Toronto in late April and was mentioned as a candidate when the Hawks fired Nate McMillan in February. After spending six years as an assistant in Denver, Fernandez came to Sacramento as associate head coach last offseason when Mike Brown was hired.
Rajakovic is also on the Raptors’ list of coaching candidates. He has been in Memphis since 2020 after spending time as an assistant with the Thunder and Suns.
Haynes’ Latest: Lue, Suns, CP3, K. Young, Blazers
The Clippers met this week with representatives for head coach Tyronn Lue to discuss his future with the team, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report.
With rumors circulating that the Suns are interested in hiring Lue away from their division rivals, there have been some questions about the coach’s future in Los Angeles. According to Haynes, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is a “huge fan” of Lue and has a great relationship with him, so there’s certainly no indication that the team wants to move on from Lue.
As Haynes writes, Lue has two years remaining on his contract with the Clippers, which pays him about $7MM per year. If the two sides decide they want to amend that agreement, they would likely work out an all-new deal rather than negotiating a contract extension, Haynes adds.
Here’s more from Haynes:
- The Suns are considered likely to guarantee Chris Paul‘s salary for 2023/24, league sources tell Haynes. Paul’s $30.8MM cap hit is currently partially guaranteed for $15.8MM. The 38-year-old is considered a trade candidate, but Haynes hears that Phoenix is “currently of the mindset” that CP3 will be the team’s starting point guard when the ’23/24 season gets underway.
- Kevin Young will interview for the Suns‘ head coaching job as early as next week, according to Haynes, who says Young – an assistant on Monty Williams‘ staff for the last three seasons – appears to have the backing of several Phoenix players.
- Confirming prior reports, Haynes says the Trail Blazers are expected to make the No. 3 overall pick available for trade, though the club is also examining the players who may be available at that spot in the draft. Damian Lillard has let the front office know that he wants the focus to be on acquiring veterans who can help Portland win now, and he and the front office seem to be on the same page, Haynes adds.
- In case you missed it, Haynes also reported that James Harden intends to decline his player option with the Sixers in search of a long-term deal.