Jawad Williams Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Williams, Cavs, Pistons, Giannis, Bucks, Cavs

June 18th, 2025 at 1:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Cavaliers have hired Jawad Williams as an assistant coach on Kenny Atkinson‘s staff, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Cleveland’s interest in Williams was reported earlier this week.

Williams has been an assistant and director of player development with the Kings for two seasons. The Cavaliers need to retool their staff after the departures of Bryan Tibaldi (Providence College), DeMarre Carroll (Suns), Chris Darnell (Kings) and Jordan Ott — the Suns’ new head coach.

We have more from the Central Division:

The Pistons‘ biggest need appears to be a stretch four. Should they pursue Naz Reid or Bobby Portis if they become free agents, as expected? It’s a tricky call, says Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. They could offer the $14.1MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception, but that may not be enough to attract either player’s attention. The only way the Pistons could offer more would be to renounce their rights to key free agents like Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Dennis Schröder.
ESPN’s NBA Insiders take a hard look at the Bucks‘ dilemma regarding Giannis Antetokounmpo. They explore three trade packages that could help the Bucks continue to build around their superstar. The ESPN crew also explores five potential packages they could receive from suitors such as the Rockets, Raptors, Pistons, Warriors and Spurs if Giannis asks out.
The Bucks don’t have a first-round selection in next week’s draft. The Athletic’s Eric Nehm takes a look at some of the players they target with the second-rounder they possess (No. 47 overall).
Within his Cavaliers offseason preview, Spotrac contributor Keith Smith says he believes they should be willing to pay a big tax bill and run it back with the same core group, while listening to offers for Jarrett Allen. He notes that Cleveland is good enough to make a deeper playoff run next season with better health luck.

Coaching Rumors: Dudley, Bryant, Cavs, Sweeney, Ivey, More

June 16th, 2025 at 2:04pm CST by Rory Maher

Memphis and Phoenix have already been linked to Mavericks assistant coach Jared Dudley this offseason. The Cavaliers have also expressed interest in hiring Dudley, reports Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link).

As Michael Scotto of HoopsHype observes, Cleveland has multiple coaching openings after assistants Jordan Ott, DeMarre Caroll and Bryan Tibaldi got new jobs. The organization’s G League coach, Chris Darnell, also landed a new position in Sacramento.

In addition to confirming Cleveland’s interest in Dudley, Scotto adds former Cavaliers forward Jawad Williams as another name to monitor. Williams has been an assistant coach and director of player development with the Kings since 2023.

Cleveland’s top assistant, Johnnie Bryant, was a finalist for Phoenix’s head coaching job alongside Ott. Bryant is expected to stay with the Cavs next season, according to Scotto.

Here are a few more coaching rumors from around the NBA:

The Spurs remain in pursuit of Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney, league sources tell Stein. Sweeney is Jason Kidd‘s top assistant in Dallas and would have a similar role on Mitch Johnson‘s staff in San Antonio if he’s hired away, Stein reports. Sweeney has interviewed for multiple head coaching jobs in recent years, including Phoenix’s vacancy, which ultimately went to Ott.
According to Stein, “multiple teams” — including the Spurs — have expressed interest in Rockets assistant Royal Ivey this offseason, but the former NBA guard is expected to remain in Houston. Ivey, who interviewed for Phoenix’s top job and coached South Sudan’s national team during the 2024 Olympics, has also drawn interest from the Grizzlies, Scotto reports. In addition to the previously reported names, Heat assistant Wayne Ellington is another candidate to join the Grizzlies’ staff, Scotto adds.
The Pelicans are believed to be looking for an assistant coach who specializes in player development after Dan Geriot left New Orleans to take the head coaching job at Iona, according to Scotto.

Pacific Notes: Triano, Kings, Christie, Clippers, Redick

May 3rd, 2025 at 3:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Jay Triano, who had been the Kings‘ lead assistant this season, won’t be returning to Doug Christie‘s staff for 2025/26, sources tell Anthony Slater and Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Triano, who has been a Kings assistant since 2022, previously served as a head coach in Toronto (2008-11) and Phoenix (2017-18) and had stints as an assistant with the Raptors (2002-08), Trail Blazers (2012-16), Suns (2016-17), and Hornets (2018-22) before arriving in Sacramento. He was promoted to associate head coach in 2024 following the departure of Jordi Fernandez and still had time left on his contract after this season, reports Amick.

As Slater and Amick note (via Twitter), Triano’s exit comes as part of an overhaul of Christie’s coaching staff, with Jawad Williams, Riccardo Fois, Robbie Lemons, and Sam Logwood also on the way out.

One assistant coach who will remain under Christie is Leandro Barbosa, Slater adds. A former NBA guard, Barbosa has been with the Kings since 2022 after previously serving as a player development coach in Golden State.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Reintroducing Christie as the Kings‘ permanent head coach during a media session on Friday, new general manager Scott Perry said he was impressed from afar this season by the way Christie handled his “baptism by fire” and connected with his players after replacing Mike Brown in December, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. “Look, I’m a former coach, and I’m the first to tell him or anybody else, it’s not an easy job,” Perry said. “It’s the most second-guessed job in the world probably, but he is made of the type of internal fortitude necessary to navigate those waters.”
Hampered for years by untimely injuries to key players, the Clippers have shown in the first-round series vs. Denver that they’re a formidable opponent when their stars – in this case, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden – are healthy, writes Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register. While Leonard has been the team’s top offensive postseason weapon, scoring at least 20 points in each of the first six games of the series, the Clippers may need Harden to come up as big as he did in Game 6 (28 points, eight assists) to win on Saturday and advance to round two, says Law Murray of The Athletic.
With J.J. Redick‘s inaugural season as a head coach in the books, Jovan Buha of The Athletic evaluates the job the first-time coach did for the Lakers and notes that Redick is bullish about his potential to continue improving. “I know I will get better,” he said this week. “I don’t necessarily take any satisfaction from how the year went. That’s not to say I’m not proud of what the group was able to do, and how we were able to figure out things on the fly and put ourselves in a position to have home court in the first round. But there’s always ways to get better. And I can get a lot better.”

Kings Promote Jay Triano To Associate Head Coach

September 9th, 2024 at 2:37pm CST by Luke Adams

After working out a contract extension with head coach Mike Brown earlier this offseason, the Kings announced some additional coaching news on Monday, revealing in a press release that Jay Triano has been promoted to associate head coach.

Triano, who has been on Brown’s staff as an assistant since 2022, has built an impressive coaching résumé over the last two-plus decades. He served as a head coach in Toronto (2008-11) and Phoenix (2017-18) and had stints as an assistant with the Raptors (2002-08), Trail Blazers (2012-16), Suns (2016-17), and Hornets (2018-22) before arriving in Sacramento.

Triano will take the position previously occupied by Jordi Fernandez, who left the Kings this spring to take the head coaching job in Brooklyn.

The Kings announced a few more changes to their coaching staff in Monday’s release, confirming that former Trail Blazers G League coach Jim Moran and Arizona Wildcats assistant Riccardo Fois have been hired as assistants under Brown. The additions of Moran and Fois were both previously reported.

Sacramento also announced the following promotions:

Jawad Williams has been named assistant coach and director of player development.
Charles Allen has been named player development coach.
Dipesh Mistry has been named head video coordinator and player development coach.
Shandon Goldman has been named video assistant.