Jeff Van Gundy Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Blazers Notes: Sloan, Joerger, Griffin, Batum

July 13th, 2012 at 4:49pm CST by Luke Adams

We heard yesterday that Jerry Sloan withdrew his name from consideration for the Trail Blazers' head coach opening. Today, GM Neil Olshey revealed that Sloan was more seriously considered than we originally thought. Olshey told reporters, including Mike Tokito of the Oregonian, that he offered Sloan the job, but the former Jazz coach declined the offer after sleeping on it (Twitter links). Here are a few more Blazers updates, primarily involving the team's coaching search….

Latest On Thunder’s Negotiations With Brooks

June 29th, 2012 at 11:06pm CST by Luke Adams

JUNE 29TH, 11:06pm: The Thunder and Brooks are finally "getting close" to a deal, ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports.

3:26pm: According to Ric Bucher of ESPN.com, the Thunder have increased their offer to roughly $16MM for four years. But a source familiar with the negotiations tells Bucher, "We're not close, and the clock is ticking."

JUNE 28TH, 5:14pm: The two sides continue to negotiate a new deal, and $4MM per year is still the tipping point, tweets TNT's David Aldridge.

3:15pm: The Thunder has included a fourth year in its offer to Brooks, but the sides are still far apart on money, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. The Blazers could offer their coaching job to Brooks if talks break down, Wojnarowski hears.

JUNE 22ND, 11:48am: Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman tweets that, despite "growing speculation" the two sides are far apart in extension talks, GM Sam Presti says he hopes Brooks will coach the Thunder "for years to come" (Twitter link).

8:42am: It hasn't even been 12 hours since the Thunder's 2011/12 season came to an end in Miami, but it won't be long before Oklahoma City is tasked with a number of off-court decisions. Chief among those decisions is the contract status of Scott Brooks, whose current deal expires at the end of June. We heard last weekend that the Thunder had offered Brooks a three-year, $11MM contract, which Brooks didn't accept. Now, ESPN.com's Marc Stein brings us the latest on the negotiations between the Western Conference champs and their coach.

According to Stein, the Thunder have upped their offer to Brooks to north of $4MM annually. However, the team is still resistant to the idea of a four-year contract, preferring a two- or three-year deal instead. While the two sides still appear likely to hammer out an agreement at some point, Stein's sources caution that extension talks have been "slow-moving for weeks" and that concern is rising within the organization that an agreement isn't a slam dunk.

Stein adds that the Thunder have started internally discussing potential backup plans, should talks with Brooks collapse. Two names that have surfaced, Stein says, are Phil Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy.

If the Thunder aren't willing to meet Brooks' contract demands, I'd be surprised if they were willing to shell out the money necessary to land a big-name coach like Jackson or Van Gundy. I wonder if this leak is coming from the team in an effort to regain some leverage by suggesting Brooks isn't the only attractive option out there. Either way, I think the smart money is still on Oklahoma City and Brooks coming to some sort of agreement in the coming days.

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Sam Presti Dismisses Jackson/Van Gundy Rumors

June 24th, 2012 at 7:12pm CST by Alex Lee

On Friday, we provided an update on the latest rumblings in the Scott Brooks extension talks, in which apparently the Thunder and Brooks remain far apart. Within that post we heard from Marc Stein that should those talks reach an impasse, two names that have surfaced as back up plans are Phil Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy.

Earlier today, we heard that Oklahoma City GM Sam Presti addressed their draft position and luxury tax situation. According to Royce King from Daily Thunder, Presti also dismissed the Jackson/Van Gundy rumors pretty adamantly when he talked to the media. Presti insisted that settling Brooks' contract situation was at the top of the Thunder's offseason checklist:

Odds & Ends: Hornets, Jazz, Mavs, Jeff Van Gundy

May 30th, 2012 at 10:43pm CST by Daniel Seco

The NBA draft lottery brought good fortune to the Hornets organization, robbed the Bobcats of a chance to quickly advance in the rebuilding process and saw teams like the Nets and the Jazz miss out on securing lottery picks. The Cavs will have to use the fourth pick in the draft to build around Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson and the Warriors should simply be happy they were able to keep their spot at seventh. Beyond the Hornets, count the Trail Blazers as the second biggest winner Wednesday night as Portland will make two selections among the first 11 picks.

As the talking heads put together their latest mock drafts, let's take a look around the NBA to catch up on the the news and rumors making headlines as Hurricanes and Hand Grenades flow freely on Bourbon St…