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Pistons Notes: Van Gundy, Harris, Playoffs

April 17th, 2016 at 12:49pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Pistons will take on the Cavs later today in their first playoff appearance since 2009, when they were swept by Cleveland. While the team prepares for the highly anticipated playoff game, let’s take a look at some notes from Detroit:

  • Executive/coach Stan Van Gundy believes coach David Blatt, whom the Cavs fired during the season, deserves another shot in the league, David Mayo of MLive writes. Van Gundy added that there are plenty of good candidates on the market. “It’s also why it’s hard for a lot of these assistants to get their chance. [Detroit assistant coach] Bob Beyer’s more than ready, [Charlotte assistant coach] Patrick Ewing‘s more than ready. That’s just the guys I know. But it’s hard for those guys to get an opportunity because there aren’t enough jobs for guys who have a proven head-coaching record,” Van Gundy said.
  • Van Gundy said he’s been perplexed for a while that Pacers assistant coach Nate McMillan hasn’t received an opportunity to be a head coach again, Mayo passes along in the same piece.
  • The Pistons were really surprised to nab Tobias Harris prior to the deadline this year, writes Rod Beard of The Detroit News. “His name wasn’t even out there for us until two days before we did the deal,” Van Gundy said.
  • Harris’ focus since joining to the Pistons has been making the playoffs, which was something he really didn’t come close to in Orlando, Beard passes along in the same piece. “If we didn’t make the playoffs, I don’t know if I’d sleep at night,” Harris said. “I’ve been in situations on the other side for four years and that’s a tough side to be on, when you’re not in the playoff hunt.”
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Central Notes: Vasquez, Beyer, Felicio,

March 26th, 2016 at 6:44pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Greivis Vasquez, who underwent ankle surgery in December, has yet to receive medical clearance to return to game action, but the point guard was able to join his teammates Friday in the shootaround prior to the game that night against the Hawks, Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel relays. The Bucks acquired Vasquez during the 2015 draft in exchange for a protected first round pick. He only saw 16 games of action prior the injury and he will be a free agent at the end of the season.

Here’s more from the Central Division:

  • Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy believes assistant coach Bob Beyer would make a great head coach should Beyer receive an opportunity, David Mayo of MLive writes. “He’s outstanding,” Van Gundy said. “I mean, in every aspect. He’s a great X-and-O guy; he’s a great teacher; really organized; knows the league; and he’s got great rapport with the players.”
  • Cristiano Felicio‘s contract with the Bulls next season is non-guaranteed for roughly $875K, but Sam Smith of NBA.com believes the Brazilian big man will remain on the roster next season. Smith cites the uncertainty around Pau Gasol‘s and Joakim Noah‘s impending free agency as reason for the optimism.
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Central Rumors: Bucks, Pistons, Pacers

May 30th, 2014 at 3:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry told Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times that the team would retain GM John Hammond, assistant GM David Morway and coach Larry Drew for next season, but fellow co-owner Wesley Edens wouldn’t confirm that, according to Woelfel. Edens is the team’s representative on the Board of Governors, which would appear to give him final say. Bucks officials and executives around the league told Woelfel that former owner Herb Kohl became “livid” with Hammond last season, and that Kohl, had he not sold the team, would have fired the GM, Woelfel hears. There’s more on the Bucks amid the latest from the Central Division:

  • Steve Ballmer and Chris Hansen bid $650MM for the Bucks earlier this year, with plans to move them to Seattle, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Kohl rejected the bid in favor of Edens and Lasry, who’ve pledged to keep the team in Milwaukee, but the indirect role Ballmer played in pushing for new arenas in Milwaukee, Minnesota and Sacramento is part of why the NBA finds him appealing for the Clippers, Windhorst hears.
  • Pistons boss Stan Van Gundy calls Andre Drummond and soon-to-be restricted free agent Greg Monroe an “ideal pairing,” but he also points to their shortcomings on defense and the team’s struggles with those two in the lineup together with Josh Smith. Keith Langlois of Pistons.com has that and more from his conversation with Van Gundy.
  • The Pistons hired Brendan Malone and Bob Beyer as assistant coaches and cut ties with assistants Rasheed Wallace, Henry Bibby and Bernard Smith, the team formally announced. Beyer leaves the Hornets to take the job in Detroit. John Loyer, who served as the team’s interim head coach last season, remains as an assistant, but there’s a decent chance the team will reassign him, tweets Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
  • The NBA’s revenue sharing system paid the Pacers $15MM last season, multiple sources tell Grantland’s Zach Lowe, who also hears that the Grizzlies received that amount, too.
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And-Ones: Aldridge, Assistants, Cavs

May 17th, 2014 at 1:41pm CST by Cray Allred

Clippers players told reporters, including Dan Woike of The Orange County Register, that they’re unsure what they would do if Donald Sterling isn’t removed from ownership by next season. Still, they expressed hope that the issue will be resolved sooner rather than later. “It appears that this will be a long process. Things will be in flux for a while,” J.J. Redick said. “I can’t imagine a scenario where we start the season next year and he’s the owner and all is kosher.” Here’s more from around the league:

  • The players union won’t demand a timetable on Sterling’s ouster as long as the league is acting “in good faith” on its promise to remove the Clippers owner, acting union executive director Ron Klempner told reporters, including Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal (Twitter link).
  • Extending LaMarcus Aldridge is the Blazers’ first priority moving forward, as Portland GM Neil Olshey tells Erik Gundersen of The Columbian (Twitter link).
  • Bobcats assistant coach Bob Beyer is a strong candidate to become Stan Van Gundy‘s top assistant on the Pistons bench, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).
  • Andy Greer and Nick Nurse are possibilities to become Steve Kerr‘s assistant coaches with the Warriors, per another Wojnarowski tweet. Greer and Nurse are currently on staff as assistants with the Bulls and Raptors, respectively.
  • Mark Jackson won’t be a serious candidate for the Cavs head coaching job, Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com hears.
  • James Posey could be an assistant coaching candidate for the Cavs, Pluto writes. Posey has been an assistant with Cleveland’s D-League affiliate, and GM David Griffin holds him in high regard.
  • Pluto adds that Griffin would love to find a shooter in the draft, and mentions Doug McDermott, Nik Stauskas, and Rodney Hood as intriguing prospects where the Cavs will be drafting.
  • In a series of tweets, Frank Isola of The New York Daily News casts doubt on an earlier report that Phil Jackson had “low balled” Kerr. Isola insinuates that if the Knicks played “hardball” with Jackson’s only coaching target, it would have been a result of ownership’s influence, not Jackson’s.
  • In another tweet, Isola relays an accusation from a person involved in the Kerr talks that Knicks owner James Dolan “sabotaged” the negotiations.
  • Chris Mannix of SI.com weighed in with a tweet of his own, agreeing with Isola that a tough negotiation strategy would have come from Knicks ownership, not Jackson.
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Eastern Notes: Celtics, Drummond, Sixers

August 17th, 2013 at 8:29pm CST by Spencer Lund

The new regime in Boston, led by former Butler coach Brad Stevens, is looking to fill out the rest of the staff positions during the down days before NBA training camps open at the beginning of October. ESPN NBA Insider Jeff Goodman tweets that they're looking to bring former Celtics swingman James Posey back into the Celtics fold as an assistant.

Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com adds that the Celtics have benefited from bringing in former players who can provide more hands-on instruction to their young roster. The C's had brought in former Lakers guard Tyronn Lue in that role in previous seasons to act as a practice body while providing additional tutelage.

Here's what else is happening around the Eastern Conference:

  • In an open letter Ethan Sherwood-Strauss wrote for ESPN.com on Friday, he asked Andre Drummond about attempting to shoot free throws underhanded in an effort to improve his historically abysmal 37 percent average from the line during his rookie season. 
  • CBS Sports' Matt Moore reports that Drummond declined the offer on Twitter and Moore looks at some other big men that may have wanted to adopt the underhand free throw form popularized by Hall of Fame guard, Rick Barry. 
  • Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that Sixers fans need to calm down. The team isn't leaving Philadelphia despite concern stemming from the purchase of the New Jersey Devils and the Prudential Center by Sixers owner Joshua Harris. 
  • During the NBA's Rookie Transition Program in Tarrytown, New York two weeks ago, the New York Times' Joe Brescia spoke with Anthony Bennett about recovering from the torn labrum in his shoulder, and how he'll mesh with the Cavaliers' other power forward Tristan Thompson, and star point guard Kyrie Irving. 
  • Bobcats assistant Bob Beyer was charged with resisting arrest outside a bar in Saratoga Springs on Thursday. 
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Eastern Rumors: Jefferson, Knicks, Robinson

July 1st, 2013 at 8:07pm CST by Chuck Myron

Here's a look at the latest from the Eastern Conference on a busy first evening of free agency:

  • Al Jefferson will be meeting with the Bobcats on Wednesday, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, but Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer doesn't believe much will come of it (Twitter links).  
  • The small forward position is still a need for the Knicks and they inquired about both Francisco Garcia and Matt Barnes, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post (via Twitter).
  • The Knicks spoke with Nate Robinson's representatives, but don't count on the diminutive point guard winding up back in New York, Berman tweets.
  • The Celtics are set to be a taxpayer in 2013/14, but president of basketball operations Danny Ainge hinted today that the team will try to get under the tax line, as Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com notes. Still, it looks like Rajon Rondo will be sticking around Boston.
  • The agreement between Mike Dunleavy and the Bulls figures to help second-rounder Erik Murphy make the Chicago roster, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. 
  • Beno Udrih's agent told Sean Deveney of the Sporting News (on Twitter) that his client is "less likely" to re-sign with Magic but a return is "not impossible".  The Pinnacle Management client has ten teams interested in him, according to his agent, though he wasn't specific on which clubs.  Deveney has heard that the Wizards and Celtics are among those with interest, though the Wizards are probably out, with Eric Maynor coming aboard.
  • The Pacers officially announced that they have hired Nate McMillan as associate head coach.
  • Patrick Ewing will be Steve Clifford's associate head coach in Charlotte, with Bob Beyer, Stephen Silas, Bob Weiss and Mark Price filling out the Bobcats staff, according to a team press release.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

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Eastern Links: Price, Knicks, Hinkie

June 20th, 2013 at 5:51pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Former NBA star Mark Price is in the process of joining Steve Clifford's coaching staff on the Bobcats, writes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. Price – who had previously worked with Clifford on the Magic – figures to be an integral part of helping the team's overall shooting percentages improve. Bonnell adds that Stephen Silas will be retained and Bob Beyer is expected to join the team as another assistant. Here are some more miscellaneous notes out of the Eastern Conference this evening: 

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Pacific Rumors: Clippers, Paul, Warriors, Kings

June 1st, 2013 at 5:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Mark Jackson, having just completed his second year on the Warriors' bench, is the longest-tenured coach in the Pacific Division. Mike D'Antoni, whom the Lakers hired at midseason, is next, while the division's other three teams are making offseason changes. Jeff Hornacek is the new Suns coach, and Michael Malone is poised to take over the bench in Sacramento. It's unclear who'll lead the Clippers, but there's news on that among the items out of the Pacific this evening:

  • Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game counts Alvin Gentry and Jeff Van Gundy as the leading candidates for the Clippers coaching job. A source tells Bucher that Nate McMillan and Byron Scott probably won't end up with the gig. The Clippers want a proven head coach, making Brian Shaw another unlikely choice, particularly given his reputation for interviewing poorly (Sulia link).
  • The idea that Chris Paul didn't have anything to do with Vinny Del Negro's ouster as Clippers coach is preposterous, according to Bucher, who hears that Paul is telling team management who he wouldn't want to have as the next coach, rather than giving them his preferred choices. That way he can retain an air of removal from the team's decisions, as Bucher explains (Sulia link).
  • Michael Malone, set to become head coach of the Kings, might not be the only Warriors assistant coach headed out of town. Bob Beyer is a candidate to wind up on Malone's staff or with new Bobcats coach Steve Clifford, Bucher reports (Sulia link). The Warriors might not rush to fill those vacancies, Bucher says, but Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer notes that the W's have prior interest in 'Cats assistant Stephen Silas (Twitter link).
  • With Malone perhaps just the first of many Warriors to make the jump up the road to Sacramento, the new Kings owners are concerned about the perception they're poaching from Golden State, tweets USA Today's Sam Amick. Sacramento principal owner Vivek Ranadive has yet to formally divest himself of his Warriors share.
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Odds & Ends: Lakers, Young, Heat, Beyer

September 7th, 2012 at 10:23pm CST by Alex Lee

It has been a busy day and night for the Lakers on this early-September Friday, which is certainly nothing new considering the influx of material since they landed Dwight Howard.  Today they signed their second round pick, finalized their offseason coaching staff overhaul and their GM, Mitch Kupchak, spoke with SI.com's Sam Amick about all things Lakers.  In addition to the earlier stories, Brian Kamenetzky of ESPN Los Angeles gives his take on three of the small, but meaningful issues facing the team. 

But there are 29 other teams in the NBA, so let us round up some of the odds and ends from around the Association here tonight:

  • Chauncey Billups is way ahead of schedule in his recovery from a left Achilles injury, writes Helene Elliot of the L.A. Times.  Billups hasn't set a target return date yet, but said, "When my body feels right, that's when I'll be back.  That being said, I'm far ahead of schedule.  It's not even like I had a summer. I've been on the whole time, doing rehabbing and other work every day. I'm looking forward to getting back to playing and being with the guys and resuming my normal life as a player."
  • Tommy Beer of HoopsWorld, via USA Today, writes that with the moves that the Knicks made – getting older and wiser – the team should be better equipped to compete and that the window to win is now.  One interested tidbit from Beer – there are only five active NBA players over the age of 38 and the Knicks acquired three of them this offseason in Marcus Camby, Jason Kidd and Kurt Thomas.
  • Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News evaluates the chances of the Mavericks ending up with Kevin Martin and/or Josh Smith next summer, both of whom are free agents.  After striking out this summer in free agency, the Mavericks should be in position to try again in a year with a similar level of financial flexibility.
  • Dei Lynam of CSN Philly is doing a player by player breakdown of the revamped 76ers roster, and today she tackles swingman Thaddeus Young.  The small forward position is much less crowded in Philadelphia after the departure of Andre Iguodala, and Young has made it an offseason goal to slide into that position as a starter. 
  • Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside says that while the D-League has been increasingly effective as an NBA farm system, there is additional room for growth.  He uses Andre Drummond as an example of a guy who would never be a D-League candidate, but for his development's sake, should be.
  • Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel addresses a few questions about the world champion Heat, including his thoughts on what roles of Rashard Lewis and Udonis Haslem may play on the Miami bench.
  • The NBA coaching carousel continues as the Warriors have reportedly hired Bob Beyer as an assistant coach, who spent the last five years in Orlando on Stan Van Gundy's staff, says Matt Steinmetz of CSN Bay Area.  Beyer will replace Wes Unseld Jr., who joined Jacque Vaughn's staff in Orlando.
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