Jeff Van Gundy Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Wolves GM Milt Newton Not Assured Of Job

April 13th, 2016 at 9:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

9:00pm: Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger is among the candidates the Wolves will consider, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com tweets. The ESPN scribe also notes that Mitchell won’t be among the coaches considered for the post. Team owner Glen Taylor has hired the search firm Korn Ferry to help in the hunt for a new coach as well as a new president of basketball operations, though the team may elect to hire one person for both slots, Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press relays.

A chance exists that the team will circle back to Mitchell, but it appears to be a long shot, as Krawczynski details. Minnesota’s plans also throw into question the future of Newton, as the new president of basketball operations would decide whether to retain him, Krawczynski writes. Wojnarowski wrote earlier that it was unclear whether Newton would remain atop the basketball operations department, but Newton isn’t initially a candidate for the president of basketball operations job, according to Krawczynski. It’s possible the next coach and president of basketball operations will be the same person, as Taylor is intrigued with the success the Pistons have had under coach/executive Stan Van Gundy, Wojnarowski hears.

3:07pm: The Timberwolves coaching search will include Mitchell as part of candidate process, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical relays (on Twitter). Minnesota’s current coaching short-list includes Jeff Van Gundy, Tom Thibodeau and Scott Brooks, Wojnarowski adds.

1:37pm: The growing belief around the NBA coaching community is that the Timberwolves will elect not to retain coach Sam Mitchell, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). The Wolves only assured Mitchell of the head coaching position through this season when he took over for the late Flip Saunders this fall, and Mitchell’s contract doesn’t cover next season, Stein notes (on Twitter). Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns and Shabazz Muhammad have endorsed Mitchell’s return in the past few days, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link) and Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press have noted, but it appears that might not be enough to save the coach’s job.

Minnesota is just 28-53 this season under Mitchell, but it’s a significant improvement on last season’s 16-66 record, and not much was expected from the youthful roster despite the presence of Wiggins and Towns, the last two No. 1 overall picks. The team has shown promise, particularly in a win at Golden State earlier this month, and Towns has swept the league’s Rookie of the Month honors thus far. Mitchell was to have continued serving as an assistant coach this season but took the head coaching reigns in September while Saunders suffered complications from cancer treatment. Saunders died in October, a few days before opening night.

“We’ve done a great job this year, especially the coaching staff,” Towns said this week, as Krawczynski relays. “With the tragedy happening, I think they did a great job for us this year.”

Veteran leader Kevin Garnett made it known earlier this season that Mitchell has his support after speculation to the contrary, but it’s unclear whether Garnett, who turns 40 next month, will return to play next season. Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor will make the call on whether to retain Mitchell, Taylor said, though he added that he’ll solicit the input of GM Milt Newton. Taylor said last month that Newton would keep his job through the summer, at least.

Nets Consider Karnisovas, Rosas For GM Job

January 25th, 2016 at 7:58am CST by Chuck Myron

Nuggets assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas and Rockets executive VP of basketball operations Gersson Rosas have become serious candidates for the Nets GM vacancy, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. They join Bryan Colangelo and Danny Ferry, whom earlier reports identified as candidates. Karnisovas and Rosas have separated themselves from other candidates, Wojnarowski writes, but the Yahoo scribe also indicates that Colangelo and Ferry remain in “prominent consideration.” Owner Mikhail Prokhorov has so far not shown a willingness to lay out the 10-year, $120MM contract that John Calipari is seeking, according to Wojnarowski.

The Nets want to hire a GM before the February 18th trade deadline, which is three weeks from Thursday, and they plan to begin formal interviews early next month, Wojnarowski hears. Nets officials want a greater emphasis on international scouting, feeling as though the team lacked that under former GM Billy King, as Wojnarowski also reports, detailing the history that Karnisovas and Rosas have with players from overseas.

Karnisovas just signed an extension with Denver, though teams generally don’t stand in the way if someone in the organization seeks a higher-level job elsewhere. Rosas thought that’s what he was doing when he left the Rockets to become Mavericks GM in 2013, but Dallas envisioned him as a clear subordinate to president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson, and Rosas resigned just three months into the job. He returned to the Rockets two months after that. Karnisovas has strong relationships with Prokhorov associates, while Rosas is tight with coaches Tom Thibodeau, who’s already reportedly a candidate to become Brooklyn’s next head coach, and Jeff Van Gundy, according to Wojnarowski.

LeBron James To Opt Out, Not Planning Quick Deal

June 26th, 2015 at 9:32am CST by Chuck Myron

LeBron James will turn down his player option worth more than $21.573MM, and he doesn’t plan to immediately re-sign with the Cavs, preferring to wait and see how the team goes about its other business in July, reports Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. Chances are “slim” that James leaves Cleveland again, Haynes writes, but waiting to re-sign gives him a chance to go into a deal with full knowledge of what will surround him, and it keeps pressure on the organization, Haynes writes. The Rich Paul client plans to be “the last domino to fall,” league sources tell Haynes.

GM David Griffin said James is “very much engaged” with the team as he speaks with management on almost a daily basis about the roster, notes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. Still, it’s widely known that James won’t meddle in front office affairs or with coach David Blatt and his staff, according to Haynes. The four-time MVP believes other coaches would be better equipped to lead the Cavs to a title, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson among them, but he nonetheless has no intention to push for a coaching change, as Chris Broussard of ESPN.com said this week (video link).

That James would opt out is not at all surprising, since opting in would entail a financial sacrifice. James will be able to make a salary of at least $21,676,620 next season on a new deal, slightly more than his option would give him, and that figure could grow higher, depending on where the league sets the maximum for a player with 10 or more years of experience. James is likely to re-sign with Cleveland on a max deal for two years with a player option on year two, as Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group wrote months ago.

James wants the Cavs to re-sign Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith, though he won’t actively recruit any of them, Haynes writes. Griffin has said that he’d like to keep the team together, though he expressed guarded interest in Smith as he confirmed Smith has opted out, saying the Cavs want him back “if it’s the right situation for us,” as Haynes notes.

Pelicans Interview Alvin Gentry, JVG

May 29th, 2015 at 7:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

MAY 29TH, 7:30pm: Gentry was in New Orleans today for a second interview with the team, Fletcher Mackel of WDSU NBC New Orleans tweets. Van Gundy is also still in contention for the job, Mackel adds.

MAY 22ND, 6:04pm: The Pelicans interviewed Van Gundy on Tuesday, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. The two sides had previously spoken over the phone, but this was the first face-to-face meeting, Wojnarowski’s sources relayed.

10:16pm: Van Gundy has expressed interest in coaching the Pelicans, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets.

MAY 21ST, 12:50pm: Gentry sees the chance to coach Davis as career-defining and is “more than interested” in the job, a source close to Gentry told John Reid of The Times-Picayune. The source pointed to clear indications that Gentry will meet again with Pelicans management after the season is over for the Warriors, Reid adds. New Orleans wants a coach who’ll install an exciting, up-tempo attack while further developing Davis, Reid hears from league sources, and Gentry’s last NBA head coaching gig came with the fast-paced Steve Nash-era Suns.

8:34pm: Gentry is being interviewed by Pelicans president Mickey Loomis and GM Dell Demps tonight in San Francisco, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Gentry, who was granted permission by the Warriors to interview in between playoff series, will try to sell the Pelicans’ brass on offensive strategies that he would institute to expand Anthony Davis‘ game, Wojnarowski continues. Loomis is also interested in Thibodeau, who is waiting to hear from the Bulls about his future with the franchise, but Demps isn’t as sold on the hard-edged Chicago coach after having endured much internal conflict with former coach Monty Williams, Wojnarowski hears. The Pelicans have also made calls on Jeff Van Gundy and have an interest in Scott Brooks, Wojnarowski adds.

5:11pm: There was a lot of talk at the combine that the Pelicans would be hesitant to give up compensation to Chicago in return for the Bulls allowing them to hire Thibodeau, Johnson reports (Twitter link). That doesn’t mean the team will necessarily hire Gentry instead, but it supports the idea that the Pelicans will wait to see how things shake out between the Bulls and Thibs, Johnson tweets.

4:40pm: The Bulls and Thibodeau are still operating as though Thibs remains Chicago’s coach, Stein writes in a full story. Stein still says the sides are widely expected to part ways. It’s unclear just when Gentry’s interview with the Pelicans will take place, Stein notes.

MAY 18TH, 4:15pm: The Pelicans have received permission from the Warriors to interview assistant coach Alvin Gentry, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Most of the reports regarding the New Orleans vacancy have centered on Tom Thibodeau, so it appears the Pels are expanding their base of candidates. Gentry is reportedly a front-runner for Chicago should the Bulls part ways with Thibodeau, so perhaps the Pelicans’ interest in Gentry is brinksmanship of sorts to entice the Bulls to let Thibs go for minimal compensation, though that’s just my speculation.

Gentry has reportedly drawn interest from the Nuggets and Magic, too, as he helps head coach Steve Kerr guide the Warriors toward a title. The sought-after candidate has made it clear he enjoys coaching in Golden State even though he’d like to return to a head coaching capacity. Gentry is a veteran of parts of 12 seasons as an NBA head coach with the Heat, Pistons, Clippers and Suns. He took Phoenix, where he made his last head coaching stop, to the Western Conference Finals in 2009. Gentry left a job as an assistant for the New Orleans franchise, then known as the Hornets, after one season in 2004 to join Mike D’Antoni‘s staff with the Suns, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic points out (on Twitter).

New Orleans was reportedly waiting for clarity on Thibodeau’s situation with the Bulls as of last week. There’s apparent mutual interest between Thibs and the Pelicans, and a pair of reports Friday indicated that if he’s not coaching in Chicago, he’ll most likely end up on the Pelicans bench. However, his contract with the Bulls runs through 2016/17, so Chicago controls his fate if he wants to coach in the NBA anytime soon. Thibodeau isn’t about to walk away from the money remaining on his deal, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link), an amount Stein last week pegged at close to $9MM. Still, Johnson suggests it’s possible that Thibodeau will sit out next season if the Bulls indeed decide to go with someone else.

Pelicans Interview Jeff Van Gundy

May 28th, 2015 at 9:34am CST by Eddie Scarito

THURSDAY, 9:34am: League sources tell Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders that they expect Van Gundy would require an arrangement similar to the one that brother Stan Van Gundy has with the Pistons in which he coaches and runs the front office, as Kyler writes in his NBA AM piece. That’d be a tough sell in New Orleans, where GM Dell Demps and executive VP of basketball operations Mickey Loomis both have degrees of front office power.

WEDNESDAY, 6:40pm: The Pelicans interviewed Jeff Van Gundy on Tuesday regarding the team’s vacant head coaching position, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. The two sides had previously spoken over the phone, but this was their first face-to-face meeting, Wojnarowski’s sources relayed. For now, New Orleans’ officials and Van Gundy are just beginning the process of getting to know each other, the Yahoo! scribe notes.

New Orleans GM Dell Demps had previously met with another candidate, Warriors assistant coach Alvin Gentry, in the Bay Area prior to the start of the Western Conference finals, Wojnarowski writes. It remains possible that Demps will schedule another meeting with Gentry in the near future, Wojnarowski adds. The Warriors will only grant permission for Gentry to interview between playoff series.

The former head coach and current broadcaster admitted that he was intrigued by the idea of coaching young superstar Anthony Davis, John Reid of the Times Picayune writes. ”There is no one who ever coached that wouldn’t want to coach a great player with great character,” Van Gundy said during an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show. “And so I’ve been able to do that in my life. I’ve already coached a player with a great character and you know how important that is if you want to win big in a situation. I had Patrick Ewing, Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady in Houston, Charles Oakley and all these guys. Anybody who that says, nah … I wouldn’t want to coach [Davis] who is a top-five player and a great person, I wouldn’t believe that if someone said that.”

Van Gundy reached the playoffs nine times as coach in New York and Houston, including a trip to the NBA Finals, the Eastern Conference finals, and he made three trips to the conference semifinals. He won 50-plus games twice in four seasons with the Rockets. His career coaching record is 430-318.

Central Notes: Mozgov, Pistons, Bulls

January 25th, 2015 at 11:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavaliers are suddenly the hottest team in the Central Division, and with their sixth straight win Sunday, over the Thunder, they own the NBA’s longest winning streak aside from the Hawks and their 16 wins in a row. Here’s the latest from Cleveland and the rest of the Central:

The record will show that the Cavs gave up two first-round picks in their deal to acquire Timofey Mozgov, but in the original structure of the trade, Cleveland never would have held one of those first-rounders, as Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group details. The Mozgov swap was supposed to have been part of the team’s three-way deal with the Knicks and Thunder involving Dion Waiters, Haynes reports. A scheduling conflict on Denver’s end broke what would have been one four-team transaction into separate trades, and the Thunder’s protected 2015 first-rounder that was destined for Denver wound up with the Cavs for the two-day period in between swaps, according to Haynes.
Stan Van Gundy acknowledged that the Pistons are looking for a third point guard to go with D.J. Augustin and Spencer Dinwiddie in the wake of the season-ending Achilles injury to Brandon Jennings, TSN’s Josh Lewenberg tweets. Detroit is looking either to swing a trade or sign a D-Leaguer, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The D-League option would jibe with the team’s reported interest in Lorenzo Brown.
Van Gundy’s brother, ESPN commentator Jeff Van Gundy, accused Bulls management on Friday of trying to undermine coach Tom Thibodeau, and Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson shot back Sunday, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes. “Tom Thibodeau isn’t being undermined at all,” Paxson said. “What’s being undermined is the entire Bulls organization by [Jeff] Van Gundy, who has an agenda against our organization for whatever reason and has for years. I guess he thinks he’s trying to protect his friend, but he’s doing just the opposite. It’s pretty pathetic when you think about it, and truth be told he owes Jerry Reinsdorf an apology for his disparaging remarks.”

Lionel Hollins Front-Runner If Kidd Replaced

June 29th, 2014 at 9:01pm CST by Charlie Adams

Lionel Hollins is the early front-runner to take over coaching duties for the Nets if Jason Kidd isn’t heading the team next season, writes Sam Amick of USA Today. We’ve heard that Kidd’s attempted power play to gain more control of basketball operations in Brookyln will likely put him out of the job, whether or not he eventually winds up taking a position with the Bucks.

Hollins hasn’t coached since leading the Grizzlies to the 2012/13 Western Conference finals, but he’s also been mentioned as a potential candidate to fill the Lakers’ head coaching vacancy. George Karl is another serious candidate to take over for Kidd, says Amick, but Hollins seems to be the club’s top option for the time being.

Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson are unlikely to be considered for the Nets job, sources tell Amick, who notes that it’s equally remote that a prestigious college coach is considered for the role. Brookyln’s desire to win in the short term is the primary reason why they’re seeking a coach with experience, says Amick.

Coaching Rumors: Jazz, Fisher, Cavs, Lakers

June 6th, 2014 at 5:27pm CST by Cray Allred

It’ll be a long time, if ever, before we see Coach Cal back in the NBA. John Calipari‘s new contract with the University of Kentucky, which takes him through 2021, doesn’t have a buyout, a source tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (on Twitter). Calipari coached the Nets to a 72-112 record over three seasons in the late 90s but has found himself linked to several high-profile jobs thanks to his success at UK. Here’s more from the coaching front:

Brad Jones will be hired as an assistant on Quin Snyder‘s coaching staff for the Jazz, tweets Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. Jones’ hiring was expected when news of Snyder landing the job surfaced earlier today.
While Alex Jensen is set to move up as an assistant with Snyder, Jody Genessy of Deseret News is hearing that other teams might make a play to hire Jensen away from the Jazz (Twitter link).
Right now, it seems like Knicks president Phil Jackson is only interested in coaching candidates who come from his inner circle, writes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Steve Kerr, of course, was Phil’s first choice and the current presumed frontrunner, Derek Fisher, has a long history with the Zen Master.
The Knicks hope to secure Fisher for head coaching duties next week, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
Stein adds that the Cavs are likely to make the next coaching hire after the Knicks, and that the Lakers are still “in no rush” to fill their vacancy.
Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders runs down the Lakers coaching candidates and attempts to identify the best fit for the job. Byron Scott and Lionel Hollins, in his view, should be considered strong candidates.
Jeff Van Gundy told KFAN 1003 that while he would have “loved to work for [Flip Saunders]” and live and coach in Minnesota, he couldn’t get past the idea that Saunders was the best coach for the Wolves, according to the T’Wolves PR Twitter account.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Hartman On Wolves: Saunders, Love, JVG

June 5th, 2014 at 9:15pm CST by Charlie Adams

The latest column by Sid Hartman of the Star Tribune features plenty of insight on the Wolves’ pursuit of Dave Joerger, the trade market for Kevin Love, and a variety of other topics. Let’s dive in and look at the most notable tidbits:

The only scenario in which Flip Saunders saw someone other than himself coaching the Wolves next season was one in which Minnesota was able to bring aboard a “superstar” coach, says Hartman.
Saunders and owner Glen Taylor saw Jeff Van Gundy as such a coach and would have had no problem “hiring him off the bat,” Saunders told Hartman. When Saunders spoke with Van Gundy, however, the former Knicks coach felt as if he wouldn’t be the best fit for the job. Saunders believes Van Gundy is the best coach available, passes along Hartman.
A report earlier today suggested Saunders made a formal offer to Joerger for the head coaching position, but Saunders told Hartman that no such offer was ever made. “A lot of that, we weren’t to that point in the situation,” said Saunders when asked if he would’ve hired Joerger. “Their guy [Grizzlies owner Robert Pera] wasn’t going to let him come. There were a lot of guys I liked, do I like him? Yeah, I like him. I like a lot of guys.”
Saunders also confirmed to Hartman that he did discuss the Wolves’ coaching job with Tom Izzo and Fred Hoiberg.
Minnesota still hasn’t made a decision on Love’s future, Saunders informed Hartman. “We probably have 16 teams that have called us [inquiring about Love],” Saunders said, “We haven’t called anybody.“
Love’s agent, Jeff Schwartz, is informing teams interested in his client that Love will enter free agency in 2015, writes Hartman. Whichever team Love finds himself on will hold his Bird Rights, however, so there will be financial incentive for him to re-sign with that club since they can offer him a bigger payday than any other team.

Wolves Rumors: Love, Saunders, Hoiberg

June 5th, 2014 at 4:05pm CST by Chuck Myron

There was a time when Flip Saunders thought he had convinced friend Tom Izzo to take the Wolves coaching job, reports Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Saunders also asked Jeff Van Gundy, with whom he is also close, about his interest in the job, Zgoda adds. The Wolves president of basketball operations ultimately picked himself to fill the team’s coaching vacancy, and he joins Doc Rivers, Stan Van Gundy and Gregg Popovich among NBA coaches with front office decision-making power. Here’s more on the Wolves:

Love wouldn’t have been convinced to stay with the Wolves even if they had hired Phil Jackson as coach, a source tells USA Today’s Sam Amick.
The power forward became disconnected from the team toward the end of the season, and the club grew to accept he didn’t want to stay, as Steve Aschburner of NBA.com details. Saunders’ decision to coach wasn’t as much about convincing Love to remain as it was about taking a hands-on approach with whomever the club can get in return for him, according to Aschburner, echoing a sentiment that Zgoda expressed earlier via Twitter.
Saunders had concerns that he’d clash with a veteran coach if he hired one, and Izzo, Fred Hoiberg and Billy Donovan were all wary of Love’s uncertain future when they turned down the job, Aschburner also hears.
It’s far more likely that Saunders will target experienced players in a trade for Love than he is to go after draft picks, as Amick surmises in his piece.

Earlier updates:

The Wolves made Dave Joerger an offer to coach the team before he decided to remain with the Grizzlies, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com says in a video report. Joerger interviewed with Saunders and Taylor and appeared quite close to becoming the team’s coach, but it wasn’t entirely clear whether the team had indeed offered the job to him.
Chauncey Billups told James Herbert of CBSSports.com earlier this season that he didn’t want to coach, lending credence to earlier reports suggesting the same and casting doubt on the idea that he’ll become an assistant coach for the Wolves next season (Twitter link).
David Blatt looks like Saunders’ top choice if he decides to hire an assistant he can groom to take over the coaching duties in a year or two, according to Darren Wolfson and Nate Sandell of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. Blatt is the head coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel.
Minnesota will likely offer Kevin Garnett a front office role and a chance to buy a minority stake in the team once he retires, writes Jackie MacMullan of ESPNBoston.com. We rounded up more from her story centering on Kevin Love‘s future late last night.
Love is a calculating type, and he wants to get to the Knicks or the Lakers as quickly as possible, The Oregonian’s John Canzano believes, opining that the Knicks would be an especially appealing suitor for the power forward in free agency next summer.