David Fizdale Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Zach Randolph Transitioning To Bench Role

October 6th, 2016 at 8:57am CST by ChrisCrouse

JaMychal Green will start at the power forward position for the Grizzlies, nudging Zach Randolph to the bench, Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal reports (Twitter links). Green’s placement into the starting lineup almost surely indicates he will make the team. His contract is only partially guaranteed for $200K this season, but his whole salary worth roughly $980K will become guaranteed on January 1, according to Bobby Marks of The Vertical (Twitter link).

Randolph has been a regular starter for Memphis since coming to the team in 2009. The 35-year-old understands the change and is putting the team first, as Tillery passes along (Twitter links). “I’m fine with it. You know how I am. Whatever is best for the team,” Randolph said.

New Grizzlies head coach David Fizdale reportedly told Z-Bo that he’s not going to be paid to be a starter anymore, Tillery relays (Twitter link). “Let’s audition you for what you can be for the rest of your career,” Fizdale said. The power forward will make roughly $10.36MM in the last year of his deal before becoming eligible for free agency next summer. That figure is currently fourth on the team.

Randolph had a nice season last year, but the move is more about the evolving NBA than it is with the level of his play. Having two traditional big men on the floor for long stretches isn’t a recipe for success anymore.

The move is also about the Grizzlies trying to manufacture some offense out of their thin bench unit. Without plucking Randolph from the starting lineup, Memphis’ second unit could have been the worst of any team in the league with serious playoff aspirations. Rookie Wade Baldwin may not be ready to play meaningful minutes. New addition Troy Daniels should be solid, but can he be the team’s sixth man? Can a 39-year-old Vince Carter still make plays? How consistent will James Ennis be on a night-to-night basis? The team surely hopes a few contributors emerge in its second unit, but it doesn’t look all that dangerous on paper.

Moving Randolph to the second unit ensures the team will have a least one player on the court who can create some offense once the starters hit the pine. Randolph is willing to do whatever is takes to win. He’s a fan favorite in Memphis and part of the reason is his dedication to the team. “If Coach [Fizdale] wants me to play 10 minutes, I’ll come in and play the hardest 10 minutes,” Randolph said.

Western Notes: Ingram, Motiejunas, Daniels, Warren

October 1st, 2016 at 9:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Friday’s injury to Ben Simmons has validated Brandon Ingram‘s decision to be careful about adding weight, writes Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com. Earlier this week, Simmons told reporters that he put on 33 pounds since leaving LSU. Ingram knows he needs to bulk up his 190-pound frame to handle the rigorous NBA game, but he prefers to do it slowly to reduce the risk of injury. The Lakers rookie has abandoned a 5,000-calorie-per-day program that he was practicing before the NBA draft. “As I’m going through the process, it’s as much good weight I can put on during the year,” he said. “Of course in the summer, you can go a different route and try to gain as much weight as you can. During the season, [I’m] just trying to maintain a weight.”

There’s more news out of the Western Conference:

The agent for Donatas Motiejunas took another shot at the Rockets on Twitter as today’s midnight deadline for his client’s $4.4MM qualifying offer approaches. “When analytics can measure human behavior, then and only then will I find them useful,” tweeted B.J. Armstrong. It was an apparent swipe at Houston GM Daryl Morey, who is known as one of the NBA’s top believers in using statistical analysis to rate players. A technicality gives the Rockets the option to extend the offer past the deadline, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders, but he doubts that they will. Motiejunas is the last restricted free agent still without a contract.
Troy Daniels will have plenty of freedom to shoot from new Grizzlies coach David Fizdale, according to Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Memphis picked up the sharpshooter in a sign-and-trade deal with the Hornets in July. The Grizzlies are Daniels’ fourth team as he enters his fourth NBA season, and Fizdale said the light for him to put up 3-point shots is “beyond green.” “I told him if you pass up a 3-pointer you’ll be sitting next to me,” Fizdale said. “I’d rather him shoot it and get it blocked or shoot an air ball before he passes up a 3.”
The Suns‘ T.J. Warren is fully recovered from the broken foot that ended his season in January, writes Tyler Emerick of NBA.com. The third-year player could see increased minutes at the start of the season with P.J. Tucker recovering from a back injury. “T.J. has been great all training camp,” said teammate Eric Bledsoe. “I can’t stop talking about him. He looks great.”

David Fizdale Wasn’t Interested In Rebuilding Project

September 5th, 2016 at 11:33am CST by Luke Adams

New Grizzles head coach David Fizdale will be taking over a playoff roster this year in Memphis, and the amount of veteran talent on the team’s roster, including notable free agent signee Chandler Parsons, is rare for a first-time head coach. As Fizdale explains to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe, he may not have left his assistant job in Miami for a team that was still in the rebuilding stage.

“That was the only way I wanted it, to be honest with you,” Fizdale said of the Grizzlies. “I didn’t want to take over a restart. I’m not afraid to coach guys. But I am going to coach them to win and I am going to hold them to a high standard. I was OK with that. If I don’t have any other strength, I’m pretty good at building relationships.

“I don’t know if people were looking at that Memphis job the way it should have been looked at. A lot of guys in my situation very rarely get a situation with this many proven players. … I saw an opportunity to take a team from being good to great. If I could have any situation, that was the one I wanted.”

The Grizzlies finished with a modest 42-40 record, and were quickly dispatched from the postseason after finishing as the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference. However, the club’s roster was decimated by injuries down the stretch, and the team that fell to the Spurs in the first round wasn’t the same team that started the season.

In his first year in Memphis, Fizdale will be taking over a roster that includes longtime Grizzlies like Mike Conley, Zach Randolph, Tony Allen, and Marc Gasol, in addition to newcomers such as Parsons and incoming rookies Wade Baldwin and Deyonta Davis. With the new head coach looking to take the team from “good to great,” a top-four seed in the West figures to be the goal.

Grizzlies Hire Bob Bender As Assistant Coach

August 12th, 2016 at 12:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

Bob Bender has joined the Grizzlies’ coaching staff, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. The move completes the staff of new head coach David Fizdale, who was hired in May, Wojnarowski notes.

Bender served as a scout with the Nets last season after working as an assistant with the Bucks in 2013/14. He had spent the previous nine seasons as an assistant with the Hawks after joining the team in 2004. He broke into the NBA as an assistant with the Sixers during the 2002-03 season.

Prior to that, Bender was an accomplished college coach, working for nine seasons at Washington and four years at Illinois State and earning Pac 10 Coach of the Year honors in 1996. Bender played for Indiana’s national championship team in 1976 and later played at Duke.

Southwest Notes: Nowitzki, Cuban, Jones, Stephens

July 17th, 2016 at 8:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

There was never a chance that Dirk Nowitzki would emulate Kevin Durant and Dwyane Wade and leave his long-time team, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Nowitzki agreed to a two-year, $40MM deal to stay in Dallas, and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said he never thought the situation would end differently. “Dirk wasn’t going anywhere,” Cuban said. “Dirk and Dallas, Dallas and Dirk, they’re synonymous. I understand and respect why D-Wade did what he did but there was never any doubt [about Nowitzki staying in Dallas], Dirk gets what Dirk wants.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Durant’s decision to join Golden State benefited the Mavericks, who were able to trade for Andrew Bogut and sign Harrison Barnes as the Warriors worked to clear cap space. Cuban likes the look of his new squad, Washburn writes in the same piece. “Yeah, Golden State south,” the owner said. “Harrison will get a chance to expand his game and [Wesley Matthews] will be fully healthy. Deron Williams, Harrison, Dirk, Andrew, that’s not a bad starting five, and we’ve got some of our guys coming back. So we’ll be all right.”
Jameel Warney is trying to decide whether to attend training camp with the Mavericks or accept an offer in South Korea, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Warney, a three-time America East Player of the Year at Stony Brook, was part of the Mavs’ Summer League team.
The Pelicans‘ Anthony Davis is happy to have Terrence Jones as a teammate again, he said in an interview with Nancy Armour of USA Today on NBA A to Z. New Orleans reached a deal with Jones on Thursday, signing the ex-Rocket for one year at the minimum salary. Houston elected not to submit a qualifying offer to the four-year veteran, making him an unrestricted free agent. ”He’s very physical and he can put the ball on the floor, great slasher and can drive to the basket,” Davis said. ”I think not a lot of bigs can guard him. I think me and him played very well with each other at Kentucky and hopefully we can do it here in New Orleans.”
The Grizzlies will bring former University of Memphis guard D.J. Stephens to camp, new coach David Fizdale said in an interview on NBA.com. The 25-year-old Stephens has three games of NBA experience with Milwaukee in 2014.

Western Notes: Ingram, Bender, Iske, Waiters

June 5th, 2016 at 8:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers seem to have settled on Brandon Ingram as the No. 2 selection if Philadelphia takes Ben Simmons first, tweets international journalist David Pick. He reports that L.A. had interest in Croatian star Dragan Bender, but that has cooled.

There’s more from the Western Conference:

The Timberwolves are very interested in Bender at No. 5, according to Pick (Twitter link). Minnesota scouts Calvin Booth and Zarko Durisic have both watched Bender play.
The Grizzlies are considering former Kings assistant Chad Iske for a spot on David Fizdale’s staff, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Iske was an assistant to George Karl in Sacramento, but wasn’t retained when Dave Joerger took over last month. Former Cavaliers and Lakers head coach Mike Brown already turned down a job with Memphis, Stein reports.
Dion Waiters‘ future in Oklahoma City may be tied to Kevin Durant‘s, suggests Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman. Waiters will be a restricted free agent this summer, and if Durant re-signs, the Thunder won’t be able to afford a significant player to replace Waiters. Therefore, OKC is likely to match whatever offer Waiters gets, which Slater believes will be in the $12MM to $16MM range annually. However, if Durant leaves, the Thunder may not want to commit that much to Waiters. If Waiters really wants to stay in Oklahoma City, Slater says he should be willing to let the Durant process play out before accepting an offer.
Center Greg Stiemsma will take part in a mini-camp run by the Jazz this week, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. Stiemsma last played in the NBA for Toronto during the 2014/15 season.
Gonzaga’s Kyle Wiltjer had stories about a local legend as he worked out for the Jazz Saturday, according to Jody Genessy of The Deseret News. “I used to play pickup with John Stockton all the time,” Wiltjer recalled. “This is his roots. It’s cool to be in this gym.” Syracuse shooting guard Malachi Richardson, who was also part of Saturday’s workout, sees a future for himself in Utah. “They’re definitely interested,” he said. “They wouldn’t have interviewed me [at the pre-draft combine]. They wouldn’t have me here if they weren’t interested. I’m definitely interested in coming here.”

Southeast Notes: Wall, Durant, Fizdale, Weber

June 5th, 2016 at 12:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Wizards point guard John Wall plans an aggressive approach to bring free agent Kevin Durant to Washington, writes Michael Lee of The Vertical. The Wizards are considered a contender for Durant because the Thunder star has roots in Washington and new coach Scott Brooks coached Durant in Oklahoma City. “I feel if [Brooks] can make a pitch, and I can make a pitch and [Durant] comes, it’s great,” Wall said. “I think we do need another star here, another great player to [get over] that next hump. You need three stars to win this league.”

Wall and Durant have formed a friendship over the years, and Wall has spoken publicly before about wanting to have Durant as a teammate. However, the formal sales pitch will have to wait. “If he comes, he comes, if not, got to make other plans,” Wall said. “But that’s something I haven’t talked to him about. I’m not willing to right now. He just came off a tough series. I’m trying to give him a couple of weeks, a month off, to think about what he wants to do.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Wizards free agent center Nene wants to continue his NBA career, according to J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic. The 33-year-old recently posted on Twitter that he’s “working hard every day & getting ready.” Michael expects Washington to part ways with Nene, who earned $13MM last season.
Former Heat assistant David Fizdale got help from Erik Spoelstra as he prepared for his interview with the Grizzlies, relates Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. After Miami was eliminated from the playoffs, Fizdale and Spoelstra turned their attention to interview preparation. “We waited ’til it was over and we got the call the next day that I was going to interview,” Fizdale said. “And so Spo and I went into playoff prep mode. He rented a room in the Ritz-Carlton for me. We got the boards up. We got the computers open. And we just basically did a crash course on prepping me for the interview.”
Briante Weber is expected to be with the Heat during summer league, but probably not during next season, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Weber played six games for Miami this season, but Jackson says the Heat consider him limited offensively and found he had trouble remembering plays. He is scheduled to make $875K in 2016/17, but only about a fourth of that is guaranteed.

Western Notes: Bickerstaff, Fizdale, Brown

June 2nd, 2016 at 7:41pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Former Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff and the Grizzlies have reached agreement for him to become associate head coach on David Fizdale‘s staff, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). The Lakers and the Suns were also interested in adding Bickerstaff to their respective coaching staffs, Wojnarowski adds. Bickerstaff had a 37-34 record with Houston after taking over for the fired Kevin McHale in November. He had pulled his name out of consideration in the Rockets’ coaching search prior to Mike D’Antoni being hired.

Here’s more from out West:

Fizdale’s deal with Memphis is for four years and approximately $10.2MM, Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal relays. The head coach will earn $2MM in each of his first two seasons, $3MM his third year and the final season is a team option worth $3.25MM, Tillery notes. Former NBA player Nick Van Exel, who coached the Texas Legends in the NBA D-League, also accepted a position on Fizdale’s staff, Tillery adds.
Warren LeGarie, the agent for former Cavs and Lakers head coach Mike Brown, refutes the report that his client had any interest in joining the Grizzlies as an assistant, Tillery relays in the same piece. “It’s never been true nor was there ever a possibility,” LeGarie, said. “Mike was asked and politely declined. We have no idea why one writer from ESPN continues to feed the narrative. I’ve never been called by him to confirm or deny and it’s just pure speculation without any legitimacy. That’s just irresponsible.”
Former California swingman Jaylen Brown has a workout scheduled with the Pelicans on Friday, Brett Dawson of The Advocate relays (via Twitter).
Big man Marreese Speights, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, isn’t sure if the team will be able to re-sign him this offseason, but noted that he prefers to remain with the Warriors, Carl Steward of The Bay Area News Group relays. “It’s been a hell of a lot of fun,” Speights said. “I feel like I put myself in position on this team and in this city to make a name for myself and be one of the core guys who’s been here. It would be best to be back here, but I understand it’s a business. I’m going to give everything in these Finals, and after that, whatever happens happens.“

Southwest Notes: D’Antoni, Bzdelik, Pera, Maker

May 31st, 2016 at 7:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Rockets finished the paperwork for new coach Mike D’Antoni today and are reportedly close to hiring Grizzlies assistant Jeff Bzdelik, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Feigen adds that some contract “language” is holding up the deal for Bzdelik, who is expected to run the defense under D’Antoni. Houston will hold a press conference Wednesday afternoon to introduce D’Antoni. (Twitter link).

There’s more news from the Southwest Division:

D’Antoni will begin to make decisions about his staff, Calvin Watkins posts on ESPN Now. Greg Buckner and T.R. Dunn are two of former coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s assistants who are waiting to hear if they will be retained.
D’Antoni arrived in Houston earlier today and had kind words for his new bosses and players, tweets Mark Berman of Fox 26. On owner Leslie Alexander: “He’s been voted a few times the best owner in the NBA. He continues to be that.” (Twitter link). On GM Daryl Morey: “[He] does an unbelievable job. I’m happy to be able to hopefully assist in it and be a part of it and try to get the job done.” (Twtter link). On James Harden: “He’s one of the biggest threats, period. Just a great player. So really looking forward to it.” (Twitter link).
Grizzlies owner Robert Pera took an instant liking to new coach David Fizdale during his job interview, according to David Williams of The Commercial Appeal. “I asked him what his goals were for the team, and he didn’t say, ‘Hey, I want to finish in the Top 10’ or anything,” Pera related. “He said ‘Championship.’ … That was one. The second is, as soon as we gave him the job, he’s heading out to the players. He’s visiting [Mike] Conley. He’s setting up meetings.”
Nineteen-year-old center Thon Maker may be a good draft gamble for the Spurs, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. Maker was once projected as a lottery pick, but his stock has fallen because of his unstable high school background and because coaches haven’t seen him play against quality competition. He is now projected to go late in the first round or early in the second round, and the Spurs might consider him too tempting to pass up with the 29th pick.

Grizzlies Introduce David Fizdale As Coach

May 31st, 2016 at 4:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

David Fizdale plans a full-court press to keep Mike Conley in Memphis, relays Tom Schad of The Commercial Appeal. The free agent point guard was among many topics Fizdale addressed this afternoon as he was formally introduced as the new head coach of the Grizzlies. “I’ve spoken to Mike Conley,” Fizdale said. “We had a fantastic conversation, a very energized, open conversation and an honest conversation. He’s going to get sick of me, because I’m going to follow him. I’m going to just follow him everywhere he goes. I’m going to hound him and teach him and collaborate with him and make him feel a part of this thing in a way that only a guy like [Dwyane] Wade can feel, in Miami. That’s my approach with him. I see him being a big part of this thing for a long time.” Fizdale worked with Wade during eight years as an assistant coach with the Heat.

Fizdale was hired from a crowded field of candidates that included Spurs assistants James Borrego and Ettore Messina, Hornets assistant Patrick Ewing, Grizzlies assistant Jeff Bzdelik and Trail Blazers assistant Nate Tibbetts. Memphis also spoke to ex-Pacers coach Frank Vogel, who was the only one other than Fizdale to meet with Grizzlies owner Robert Pera. Fizdale called their session a “fantastic meeting” and said he and Pera have similar philosophies about the game. “We speak the same language,” the new coach said. “He’s about culture. He’s about leadership. He’s about allowing people to do their work, hiring talent and empowering them to do their work. Growth mindset, big-time, like he’s so open-minded to stuff and innovative.”

Fizdale added that he’s in no hurry to put together his staff. It’s not certain if any of former coach Dave Joerger’s assistants will be retained. “We’re going to be very patient and methodical and we’re going to work very closely on this,” Fizdale said, “because I really want input so that we all feel good about this.”

Fizdale doesn’t mind inheriting a veteran team, writes David Williams of The Commercial Appeal. The Grizzlies are among the NBA’s oldest squads and are built around a foundation of Conley, Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph and Tony Allen, who have all been in the league for at least eight seasons. “My most proudest moments of development aren’t with the young guys,” Fizdale said. “It’s with the older guys. We just believed that our old guys could always get better, to have a growth mindset about everyone. If you look at Dwyane Wade, he’s constantly evolved. … LeBron James evolved and developed underneath us. Chris Bosh never shot a 3-point shot — and all of the sudden he’s one of the most deadly 3-point shooting 5 men in the league.”