Kevin McHale Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Earl Watson In Front As Suns Begin Coaching Search

April 18th, 2016 at 5:19pm CST by Chuck Myron

MONDAY, 5:19pm: The Suns have interviewed Watson but haven’t done so with anyone else yet, according to John Gambadoro of KMVP-FM in Phoenix (Twitter link).

THURSDAY, 2:19pm: People in the Suns organization and around the league believe Suns interim head coach Earl Watson is the front-runner among the candidates the Suns will consider as they search to formally fill the head coaching position, reports Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. The team’s search begins in earnest today, Coro writes.

Kevin McHale and Scott Brooks have drawn mention, according to Coro, though it’s unclear if the team is indeed considering them. Some hear that Jason Kidd is a possibility, Coro writes, though Kidd appears poised for an extension with the Bucks. Previous reports have indicated the team will consider Sixers assistant and former Suns head coach Mike D’Antoni, Warriors assistant Luke Walton, Grand Canyon University coach Dan Majerle and Villanova coach Jay Wright, as Coro discusses.

Watson appeals to the Suns because he helped rehabilitate Markieff Morris‘ trade value, improved the team defensively down the stretch, and has a reputation as a skilled free agent recruiter, as Coro details, pointing out that he and star Eric Bledsoe are both clients of Klutch Sports. The interim coach has earned the support of Suns players, who appear to be unanimously behind him, Coro tweets.

“I think he’s done an incredible job,” Suns center Tyson Chandler said. “I try to stay out of the way of management decisions, but he’s done an incredible job with the team he inherited with all the injuries and everything else like that. He’s done an excellent job coming in and helping the young players, as well as helping guys like myself get adapted here. He’s added structure. Everything he has done has been positive. He came in and took over this team in a tough position. I thought he has done an excellent job. Nobody could’ve asked for anything better.”

The Suns were only 9-24 under Watson, though he was mostly without Bledsoe and Brandon Knight because of injury. A recent Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround invites your discussion on the Suns coaching situation.

Wizards Plan To Contact Scott Brooks, Thibodeau

April 18th, 2016 at 11:19am CST by Chuck Myron

MONDAY, 11:19am: Washington is the front-runner to land Brooks, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Stein suggests the Rockets are Brooks’ top alternative but are at a disadvantage because they’re in the playoffs and their focus is on that.

5:18pm: The Wizards have made Brooks their top priority, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical relays.

FRIDAY, 9:59am: The Wizards plan to meet with Scott Brooks and Tom Thibodeau as they conduct their coaching search, a source tells Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. John Wall has said in the past that he would want the team to hire Brooks if the coaching job were to come open as it did Thursday, Castillo also hears. The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski first identified Brooks as a strong candidate for the position in the wake of the news that the team was firing Randy Wittman, though reports conflicted on Thibodeau’s candidacy. Team president Ernie Grunfeld said that he’ll head up the search to replace Wittman, whom the Wizards formally dismissed earlier Thursday.

Brooks’ most obvious attractive quality is his relationship with Kevin Durant, the Washington, D.C. native whom the Wizards have long planned to pursue when he becomes a free agent in July. Durant made a point Thursday of praising the job Brooks did as his coach from 2008 to 2015, as The Oklahoman’s Erik Horne relays. Still, the prevailing sentiment is that Brooks alone wouldn’t be enough to woo Durant to his hometown team, Castillo writes. Brooks is also reportedly believed to be waiting to see if the Lakers job opens.

A Wizards player who spoke to Castillo expressed concerns about the heavy workload Thibodeau is known for demanding from his players, and the former Bulls coach figures to command a high salary. Strong indications exist that Thibodeau is seeking player personnel power, as Chris Mannix of The Vertical reported earlier this week, and that would be tough to come by in Washington, where Grunfeld is apparently staying in charge of the front office. Still, the Wizards are prioritizing defensive acumen and NBA head coaching experience as they sort through candidates, as both Castillo and J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic hear, and Thibodeau checks both boxes.

Thibodeau won Coach of the Year honors in 2011, a year after Brooks took home the same award. Grunfeld has a history with both Brooks and Thibodeau, who served as a Knicks assistant coach for three of the years that Grunfeld was in charge of New York’s basketball operations, Castillo notes. Grunfeld agreed to hire Thibodeau as an assistant for then-Wizards head coach Eddie Jordan in 2007, but Thibodeau backed out of the deal before signing a contract, as Castillo also points out. Grunfeld acquired Brooks as a player for the Knicks in 1996 and traded him away a year later, Castillo recalls.

The Wizards also want their next coach to command accountability, as Wittman irritated players with his selective accountability, according to Castillo, who also mentions Jeff Hornacek, Mike D’Antoni, Sam Cassell, Mark Jackson, Kevin McHale, Nate McMillan, and Jay Wright as potential candidates. The team is indeed interested in Hornacek and D’Antoni, as previous reports have indicated.

Which coach do you think is the right fit for the Wizards? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Western Notes: Morey, McHale, Howard, Mavericks

April 17th, 2016 at 9:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Early losses to nonplayoff teams doomed coach Kevin McHale in Houston, Rockets GM Daryl Morey explained in a Quora post. Morey said lopsided defeats at home influenced the decision to get rid of McHale. The GM didn’t cite the exact games, but he is probably referring to a 20-point loss to the Nuggets on opening night and an eight-point loss to the Nets on November 11th, both at the Toyota Center. “I believed that if we waited until what would be considered a normal timetable to make a change that it would likely be too late,” Morey wrote. “Our only focus is on winning and I felt a material change was necessary.” McHale led the Rockets to a division title and a spot in the Western Conference finals last season, but was dismissed on November 18th with a 4-7 record.

There’s more tonight from the Western Conference:

Rockets center Dwight Howard doesn’t plan to demand the ball more in Game 2 of the series with the Warriors, writes Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com. Frustration over his declining role in the offense is one of the reasons that Howard is expected to opt out of his contract this summer. Howard had 14 points on 10 shots in the Game 1 loss, and Watkins notes that he hasn’t registered double-digit shot attempts in back-to-back games since early March. “As a competitor, I’m going to get the job done, no matter what it takes,” Howard said. “If I get the ball, if I don’t get the ball, if I score two points or I score 30 points. I got to go out there and play as hard as I can as long as I’m on the floor. That’s all that really matters.”
The Mavericks have problems that reach far beyond their Game 1 embarrassment against the Thunder, contends Tim Cowlishaw of The Dallas Morning News. He says the team is looking at a “dismal future” that includes no first-round pick this June, hardly any young talent to build around and a desire to commit $96MM over four years to Chandler Parsons, who has finished the last two seasons needing knee surgery.
Thunder coach Billy Donovan noticed the difference in intensity during his first playoff game, relays Erik Horne of The Oklahoman. Donovan won two NCAA titles at Florida but is in his first NBA season. “There was a different vibe when you walked in there in terms of the enthusiasm, the excitement and energy,” he said. “I really thought our environment was terrific last night.”

Kings Notes: Divac, Cousins, Coaching Search

April 14th, 2016 at 8:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kings GM and vice president of basketball operations Vlade Divac will lead the effort to find George Karl’s replacement as head coach, according to Sam Amick of USA Today. Sacramento fired Karl earlier today after he compiled a disappointing 33-49 record in his first full season on the job. Divac said he will talk to former Kings coach Rick Adelman to get his opinion on possible candidates, and he plans to consult with Karl as well. “It’s a blessing to work with a guy [owner Vivek Ranadive] who is saving this franchise, building the new arena [that’s set to open in October] and letting me do my job the best I can,” Divac said. “So he has trust in me, and so far I’m so happy with my owner being behind me.” Along with hiring a coach, Divac is planning an addition to the front office, rumored to be former NBA executive David Morway.

There’s more news tonight out of Sacramento:

Divac is committed to keeping center DeMarcus Cousins despite ongoing disciplinary problems, Amick writes in the same story. Cousins clashed with Karl virtually from the time he was hired as coach, and the Kings suspended the center for a game in March, leading some to speculate that his time in Sacramento was nearing its end. “DeMarcus is our franchise player, and all heat is going to be on him,” Divac said. “Even my decision about George, [people are] all going to talk about DeMarcus. But it’s not true. He’s just one of the people we have, obviously the most valuable, and we are planning to build around him.” Cousins has two seasons and more than $32.5MM left on his current contract.
Divac wanted to fire Karl over the All-Star break, but opposition from minority owners stopped the move, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
Sacramento’s “radioactive” coaching situation will scare big-name contenders away, predicts Chris Mannix of The Vertical. The columnist expects the Kings to contact Tom Thibodeau, Scott Brooks and Kevin McHale, but Mannix believes all three will steer clear of Sacramento. He adds that the Kings should have fired Karl in February and replaced him with Corliss Williamson. Instead, the front office got rid of assistant coach Vance Walberg, which further sabotaged Karl’s standing with the players.

Kings Eye McMillan, Ewing, McHale, Blatt, Others

April 14th, 2016 at 1:27pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:27pm: McHale appears unlikely to take the Kings job, and Del Negro is the most realistic candidate, Mannix suggests.

THURSDAY, 1:02pm: Nate McMillan is also in the mix, sources told Stein (Twitter link).

10:15pm: The possibility of hiring McHale is gaining traction within the Kings organization, Chris Mannix of The Vertical tweets. Sacramento is intrigued by the possibility of McHale working with DeMarcus Cousins, Mannix adds.

3:09pm: The Kings are also considering Patrick Ewing, league sources tell Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee.

12:40pm: Kevin McHale and Mark Jackson are also under consideration, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). The Kings do have strong interest in Thibodeau and Brooks but acknowledge they’ll be tough gets, Stein adds. McHale is just a few months removed from having been fired by the Rockets, while Jackson last coached in 2013/14 with the Warriors.

WEDNESDAY, 11:53am: The Kings, poised to fire George Karl, will consider a group of candidates that includes David Blatt, Vinny Del Negro, Jeff Hornacek, Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga and Hawks assistant Kenny Atkinson, sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Jeff Van Gundy, Tom Thibodeau and Scott Brooks, who frequently draw mention as top NBA coaching candidates, are uninterested in the job, as Wojnarowski hears from league sources.

Blatt, whom the Cavs fired as their head coach in January, is also reportedly under consideration from the Knicks, though he’s reportedly a long shot for that job. The Nets have reportedly been eyeing him as well, and he has ties to the Brooklyn organization, having coached the Russian national team, which received significant financial backing from Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov.

Sacramento reportedly contacted Del Negro about its head coaching job in December 2014, when the team fired Michael Malone. Del Negro, a former Kings player, hasn’t coached in the NBA since the 2012/13 season with the Clippers, but Wojnarowski reported that he interviewed for the Pelicans job last summer.

Chatter about Hornacek has been quiet since the Suns fired him in February, though he earned respect around the league when he led Phoenix to a 48-34 record in what was supposed to be a rebuilding season during his first year as an NBA head coach. The Suns have regressed since then, and Hornacek wound up 101-112 overall in Phoenix. He was an assistant under former Kings coach Tyrone Corbin on the Jazz.

Wojnarowski wrote in February that Larranaga and Atkinson weren’t particularly eager to land the Kings job if it were to open. The assistants both reportedly interviewed for the Sixers job three years ago and have drawn frequent mention as a possible NBA head coaching candidate since. Larranaga was reportedly a contender for the recent opening at Georgia Tech that Josh Pastner ultimately filled.

Harden Wanted McHale Fired, Dwight Traded?

February 26th, 2016 at 7:41am CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 7:41am: Harden never demanded a coaching change or that Howard be traded, Rockets CEO Tad Brown insisted Thursday to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.

THURSDAY, 2:37pm: James Harden “angled” for the Rockets to trade Dwight Howard before the deadline and pressured the team to fire Kevin McHale earlier this season, multiple league sources tell Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. However, multiple sources told Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com that neither Harden nor Howard asked Rockets brass to change coaches, and Watkins portrays the idea of tension between Harden and Howard as overblown. Houston fired McHale after a 4-7 start but didn’t trade Howard, who’s poised to opt out and is widely expected to leave in free agency this summer, according to Berger.

“I don’t know what the perception is; the reality is we get along and we want to win,” Harden said to Watkins, speaking about Howard.

Harden has reportedly irked some of his teammates with his play and aloof nature at times, though he and Howard appeared upbeat following a players-only meeting that preceded McHale’s ouster. However, rumors have long followed the relationship between the Rockets stars. The respective camps for Harden and Howard went into the 2014 offseason “whispering” about their desire that the other be traded, according to Fran Blinebury of NBA.com. Howard has repeatedly denied a December 2015 report that he’s “extremely unhappy” playing a supporting role behind Harden, who takes nearly twice as many shots.

Rockets GM Daryl Morey said he never came close to trading Howard, but Morey and agent Dan Fegan were reportedly making a strong effort to find a new team for him in the hours leading up to last week’s deadline. Houston was in touch with the Mavericks, Bulls, Hawks, Celtics,Hornets, Heat, Bucks and Raptors about Howard as it sought to engage in trade talks about the former All-Star center, according to multiple reports, but the market for him was apparently soft.

Rockets Notes: Howard, Jones, McHale

February 2nd, 2016 at 9:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Rockets combo forward Terrence Jones, who is reportedly a trade candidate, has had his playing time reduced after the acquisition of Josh Smith. Jones has struggled mightily lately, something interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff blames himself for, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle notes. “He’s had a tough streak and I think it’s because of the trade that we made, the inconsistent minutes,” Bickerstaff said regarding Jones. “He hasn’t changed his routine. We had early success with Josh coming in. We won those three games in a row so Josh was getting more and more of those minutes. I’ll take the responsibility for his inconsistency because his minutes have been inconsistent. That’s on me. We have to blend those guys. When healthy, we have a lot of bigs that can help and contribute. Terrence believes in himself. We believe in Terrence. His confidence isn’t wavering.”

Jones readily admits the role change has been difficult for him, Feigen adds. “It’s tough not knowing and it’s tough to mentally prepare,” Jones said. “I’m just trying to … get wins. Whether he is comfortable playing me the first four minutes or the last four minutes, I can’t control that. The only thing I can control is being there for my teammates and going as hard as I can when I get in. But I definitely believe it’s hard to have a strong roll with inconsistent minutes.” The 24-year-old is eligible to become a restricted free agent after the season.

Here’s more from Houston:

The NBA suspended Dwight Howard one game for shoving the arm of an official during Saturday’s game, as the league announced and as Feigen reported (Twitter link). The punishment costs Howard $203,267 but saves the Rockets about $150K in projected luxury tax payments, notes Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (Twitter links). Houston has saved about $725K in projected tax this season through suspensions to Lawson and Howard, Marks adds.
The more games the Rockets play without Kevin McHale on the sidelines, the better the former coach looks, Jerome Solomon of The Houston Chronicle opines. The team entered the 2015/16 season with unrealistic expectations based on McHale getting more out of the roster last season than he should have, which then led to his termination after that level of performance wasn’t replicated this campaign, Solomon adds. Without McHale, whose ability to balance old-school values alongside managing modern player egos was underrated, the team has taken on a propensity to blame outside forces for its woes, the Chronicle scribe argues.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Southwest Notes: Morey, Williams, McGee, Gentry

November 23rd, 2015 at 3:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

It’s up to the players to pull the Rockets out of the malaise that cost former coach Kevin McHale his job, according to GM Daryl Morey, but Morey acknowledges to TNT’s David Aldridge that some of the fault lies at his own desk, as Aldridge relays in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com.

“Except for Dwight Howard, there really isn’t anybody on the roster playing well, and those are all my decisions,” Morey said. “I can’t hide from that.”

The Rockets won their first game after switching from McHale to interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff but lost both of their games since, and they’re tied with the Kings at 5-9 for 12th place in the Western Conference. See more from the Southwest Division:

Chandler Parsons doesn’t understand why Deron Williams has a reputation as a negative locker room force, citing evidence of the opposite to Jake Fischer of SI.com. Wesley Matthews observes a positive attitude from Williams in the face of challenges, like the erosion of his game, a change Williams acknowledges, as Fischer adds. “My days of scoring 20 and 10 are over. I know that,” said Williams, who gave up nearly $16MM to buy his way off the Nets before signing with the Mavericks for $11MM over two years.
The return of JaVale McGee puts the squeeze on the minutes of early-season revelation Dwight Powell, notes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. The Mavs have until January 7th to decide whether to pay McGee his full salary of $1.27MM or waive him and pay only his $750K partial guarantee.
Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry was satisfied as the lead assistant for the Warriors last season and didn’t think he’d end up with another head coaching job until New Orleans came calling, observes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. “I was not going to take a job just to have a job as a head coach unless it was a situation that I thought was going to give you an opportunity to win and win big and compete for a championship,” Gentry said. “I really didn’t have any desire just to take another NBA job.”

And-Ones: Simmons, Cuban, McHale

November 19th, 2015 at 10:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

A major reason Kevin McHale was fired by the Rockets on Wednesday was the front office’s belief that he had lost the locker room, Chris Mannix of SI.com relays in response to a reader’s mailbag question. Mannix also notes that McHale’s strength as a coach is not in devising strategies or calling plays, but rather in his ability as a motivator. Houston swingman Corey Brewer has gone on record defending McHale, and emphasized that his former coach did not lose the team, and instead placed the blame for the Rockets’ slow start on the players.

Here’s more from around the league:

Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports, with an assist from three NBA scouts, ran down the top 10 hoops prospects for the 2015/16 season, including Ben Simmons (LSU), Skal Labissiere (Kentucky), and Brandon Ingram (Duke). The top of next year’s draft could be filled with more international players than usual, Spears notes. “The top three picks might not be from the United States next year,” an NBA scout told Spears. “Blame AAU basketball in America for that.”
Simmons had the opportunity to play overseas this season rather than in college, but the talented forward wanted to get a head start on acclimating to the U.S. as well as the style of basketball played here, Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News writes. “I felt like it helped me develop my game more,” Simmons says. “I was able to get the chance to experience different teams, different playing styles. For me it was just more going to high school and competing against the best players every day. It helped me mature, living by myself in Orlando while my parents were back home. A lot of different things come into it: new team, new coaches, different style, system, and living in a different country.”
Mavs team owner Mark Cuban, who isn’t one to mince words, acknowledged that last season’s trade for Rajon Rondo was a risk that didn’t work out as planned for the team, Ben Rohrbach of WEI 93.7 FM relays. “[Expletive] happens, right? There are a lot of risks I’ve taken that have worked out just fine. They’re not all going to work,” Cuban said.
Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant, speaking about his potential retirement during a radio appearance on SiriusXM, said, “If something changes I’ll come back and play next season. If something doesn’t change this is it for me,” Frank Isola of the New York Daily News relays (Twitter link).

Atlantic Notes: Joseph, McHale, D-League

November 19th, 2015 at 3:47pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Cory Joseph has exceeded all expectations that the Raptors had for him when they inked him to a four-year, $30MM deal this offseason, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca writes. “When you do these things, you try to get good players and you try to figure out,” said GM Masai Ujiri of Joseph. “You do your scouting, you do your analytics, and you try to figure out if the team will fit together. But honestly, until they start playing, we [don’t know]. When we looked at it, we tried to look at two-way players who bring us some kind of toughness and that’s what he is. He’s a two-way player that will pick up the ball full court and put pressure on opposing guards. He knows how to fight people and make people better and score a little bit too. So you hope that it translates to the basketball court.”

Coach Dwane Casey is also a fan of Joseph’s, but he also admits the play of the 24-year-old playmaker has exceeded expectation, Lewenberg adds. “He has [been a pleasant surprise],” said Casey. “His energy, his toughness wasn’t a surprise but it’s really been glaring. He’s really filled in. I didn’t know how much we could play the two [point] guards together but he plays bigger than he is. He’s not the typical point guard, he can guard twos, he can get down there and wrestle with some threes. If he gets switched off he gets into the big guys’ knees and boxes them out. So he is better than expected.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge would like to bring former teammate and fired Rockets coach Kevin McHale to the Celtics in some capacity, even if it’s just in a consultant’s role, Ainge told Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. The Mavericks are also interested, league sources said to Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
The Nets have respect for the coaching of Randy Ayers, whom they recently hired as a scout, though team officials say the organization doesn’t regard him as a coach-in-waiting in case Lionel Hollins is fired, reports Chris Mannix of SI.com.
The Celtics have assigned Jordan Mickey, Terry Rozier and James Young to the D-League, the team announced (Twitter link).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.