Jay Triano Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Suns Fire Earl Watson

October 22nd, 2017 at 4:56pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have fired head coach Earl Watson, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). After a 2016/17 season in which no head coaches were fired, Watson’s dismissal comes just three games into the 2017/18 regular season.

According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Suns owner Robert Sarver and general manager Ryan McDonough are meeting with the club’s assistant coaches. Associate head coach Jay Triano is expected to take over the head coaching duties on an interim basis, says Woj.

While Watson didn’t get much of a leash to start the year, it’s hard to think of many teams that have come out as flat as the Suns to open a season. The team has already lost to the Trail Blazers by 48 points and to the Clippers by 42. Those blowout losses sandwiched a narrow defeat to the Lakers, who beat the Suns in Phoenix.

The Suns’ slow start has also led to one of the team’s veteran players apparently expressing his displeasure publicly, with Eric Bledsoe tweeting earlier today, “I don’t wanna be here.” Although Bledsoe’s tweet lacked context, a report out of Phoenix from local radio host John Gambadoro suggests it’s just what it sounds like — the point guard is unhappy with the Suns and would like to be traded.

Watson initially joined the Suns’ coaching staff as an assistant in 2015/16 before the mid-season firing of Jeff Hornacek prompted his promotion to the helm. In 33 games that year and then the entire 2016/17 season, the 38-year-old coach posted a .287 win percentage, having dropped 82 games along the way.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Texas Notes: Bogut, Barea, Nene, Ennis

December 26th, 2016 at 8:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

Mavericks center Andrew Bogut, who has been sidelined since December 5th with a bone bruise on his right knee, could be back on the court this week, tweets Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. Coach Rick Carlisle announced the news today on Bogut, who started 16 games before the injury. The 32-year-old, who was acquired in a trade from Golden State to sure up the Mavericks’ interior defense, is averaging 3.8 points and 10.4 rebounds per night. He was considered a prime candidate to be traded again when Dallas was at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, but Mavericks may consider keeping him as they inch back toward playoff contention. The way he and the team play between now and the February 23rd trade deadline could determine how long he stays in Dallas.

There’s more basketball news out of Texas:

Carlisle also indicated good news might be coming about J.J. Barea, according to Sneed (Twitter link). The backup guard, who has been out with a muscle strain in his left leg, still has no timetable to return, but his coach says it’s “on the shorter end of things.” Barea has only been available for 11 games this season.
The Rockets‘ plan for veteran center Nene involves more games and fewer minutes, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. With starting center Clint Capela out a month or more with a fracture in his left fibula, Houston needs Nene to play in back-to-back games. The Rockets play the Suns tonight and the Mavericks on Tuesday, and coach Mike D’Antoni plans to limit him to fewer than 20 minutes in the second game. “I think it’s working out,” D’Antoni said. “I talked to him [Monday]. He said he’s feeling great. I would like to avoid some back-to-backs, but we can’t right now. The sooner we get Clint back the better.”
Tyler Ennis hasn’t played much since coming to Houston in a September trade, but he is hoping to be part of the Canadian National Team, Feigen relays in a separate story. Ennis met tonight with Suns assistant Jay Triano, who serves as Canada’s coach, to discuss his future role with the squad. “I’ve always played for the national team,” Ennis said. “With the Canadian guys we have in the NBA now, there’s more interest in playing. Hopefully, one summer, we’ll get everybody to come and play. We’re all pretty young.”

Pacific Notes: Gay, Pierce, Calathes, Kings, Suns

July 27th, 2016 at 2:41pm CST by Luke Adams

After Rudy Gay made some interesting comments that conveyed his dissatisfaction with his situation in Sacramento, Kings general manager Vlade Divac was asked about the disgruntled forward. As James Ham of CSN California details, Divac downplayed Gay’s comments about a lack of communication between him and the Kings as trade rumors swirl.

“He has my number,” the Kings GM said. “If I do something, I will call him. Obviously, if I didn’t call him, we didn’t do anything. … I was a player, 16-17 years in the league, nobody called me everyday and tell me what management is doing. Management was doing their job. If something big happened, they called and told me. Obviously, nothing big happened (so) I’m not going to call anybody.”

Let’s check in on a few other items from out of the Pacific division…

Paul Pierce has yet to formally announce a decision one way or the other about his future, and a source tells Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter links) that the veteran forward will take a few more weeks to weigh his options and make a final call. However, another source suggests to Turner that Pierce is planning to return to the Clippers for one more season.
As we heard earlier this week, the Kings made an effort to land Nick Calathes, but the former Grizzlies guard is “bound to return” to Panathinakos in Greece, according to international journalist David Pick.
The Suns have officially announced Earl Watson‘s coaching staff, confirming in a press release that Tyrone Corbin and Nate Bjorkgren will be assistants, with former Raptors coach Jay Triano serving as the club’s associate head coach.
After signing a three-year deal with the Suns, Jared Dudley has penned a piece for The Players’ Tribune about returning “home” and aiming to get the Suns back to their “2010 vibe.”