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Woelfel On Pistons, Colangelo, Zarren, Izzo

May 7th, 2014 at 8:23am CST by Chuck Myron

Gary Woelfel of the The Journal Times has updates on the Pistons front office and coaching searches as well as the future of the Bucks. We’ll hit the highlights here:

Former Raptors and Suns GM Bryan Colangelo and current Celtics assistant GM Mike Zarren are the front-runners for the top Pistons front office job, Woelfel hears. There’s talk that Detroit is targeting an experienced GM to serve as a mentor for the front office career of Chauncey Billups, Woelfel says, speculating that Bucks GM John Hammond, a former aide to Joe Dumars in the Pistons front office, could be a candidate.
Tom Izzo appeared to leave some wiggle room when he said last week that he didn’t want to coach in the NBA next season, and some around the league tell Woelfel that the Pistons could re-emerge as a suitor for the Michigan State bench boss. The Timberwolves aren’t counting themselves out of the running for Izzo either, as we passed along earlier, and Woelfel seconds that sentiment.
League approval of the sale of the Bucks to Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry could come as soon as a little more than a week from now, according to Woelfel. The wait has nonetheless left many within the Bucks in limbo, as several coaches and executives have said they haven’t been notified whether they’ll have their jobs next season, Woelfel writes.
The cost of a new Bucks arena in Milwaukee will be anywhere from $420MM to $500MM, a source tells Woelfel. Edens, Lasry and Kohl have committed a combined $200MM toward the arena’s construction.

Pistons Considering Griffin, Zarren, Vandeweghe

April 18th, 2014 at 5:37pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars’ announcement that he was “stepping aside”, the speculation as to who would take over his post began. The team intends to conduct a comprehensive search for their next GM, report Jeff Zillgitt and Sam Amick of USA Today. According to the article, there are several names are on the Pistons’ radar.

The latest names to be mentioned in connection with Detroit are Cavaliers acting general manager David Griffin, Celtics assistant GM and team counsel Mike Zarren and NBA senior vice president of basketball operations Kiki Vandeweghe.

Other names connected with the search per the article, are Magic assistant GM Scott Perry, who is from Detroit and used to work for the team, Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk, and former Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo.

It was also reported earlier this week that Grant Hill, a former Pistons player who is now working for Turner Sports, is also a possibility for the post. The Pistons may also look into an arrangement similar to the one Doc Rivers has with the Clippers, the article notes. Rivers is both coach and senior vice president of basketball operations and works with vice president of basketball operations Gary Sacks on personnel decisions.

The other wild card here could be former Pistons great Isiah Thomas, who was reported to be openly campaigning for the job, despite the team shooting down those rumors. There has also been talk that the team may want to hire Chauncey Billups for the front-office, but the exact role hasn’t been revealed.

Currently Pistons director of basketball operations Ken Catanella and assistant GM David George are preparing for the draft and free agency. They report to ownership executives Phil Norment and Bob Wentworth, both of whom are partners is Gores’ private equity investment firm, Platinum Equity, write Zillgitt and Amick.

Odds & Ends: Stern, Michael Curry, Zarren

May 16th, 2013 at 8:23pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld (via Twitter) hears that David Stern was an active participant in yesterday's vote over Sacramento/Seattle at the Board of Governors meeting. It's worth noting that despite an offer north of $625MM as well as the $115MM relocation fee that would have been included by the Seattle group, Stern was able to sway the vote in Sacramento's direction, even though it appeared that more owners were in favor of Seattle's offer (All Twitter links). Here are a few more miscellaneous tidbits from around the Association tonight:

Ken Berger of CBS Sports tweets that the 76ers are expected to interview lead assistant coach Michael Curry for their head coaching job next week.
Steve Bulpett of BostonHerald.com hears that Celtics assistant GM Mike Zarren turned down Philadelphia's offer to make him their general manager before the Sixers turned to Sam Hinkie.
Although potential number one pick Nerlens Noel wouldn't be ready to start the regular season of his rookie campaign, the highly touted draft prospect is targeting a debut around Christmas, writes Jason Lloyd of Ohio.com.
Noel's injury is just one reason why teams might not be too high in landing the number one draft slot this year, writes Lloyd. In that same piece, Lloyd cites one league executive who thinks that a team might be better off drafting whoever falls to the third or fourth pick rather than handle the risk of drafting first overall.
Georgetown's Otto Porter spoke glowingly about being a potential fit for the Cavaliers, writes Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer.
Shabazz Muhammad opened up about the controversy surrounding his listed age and briefly told David Mayo of MLive.com about how he'd fare with the Pistons if they drafted him.
Warriors majority owner Joe Lacob says that he won't have a problem finding a replacement for Vivek Ranadive's current share with Golden State once the Sacramento situation is resolved, says Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News (via Twitter).
Jerry Stackhouse is in Chicago and plans to meet with possible draftees tomorrow to brief them on the NBPA, tweeted Hoopsworld's Steve Kyler.

Mike Zarren Withdraws From Sixers GM Search

August 30th, 2012 at 12:32pm CST by Luke Adams

One of the candidates to become the new 76ers general manager, Mike Zarren has removed himself from consideration for the position, according to Paul Flannery of WEEI.com (via Twitter). Zarren, assistant GM for the Celtics, has decided to remain in Boston, says Flannery.

Zarren was one of four candidates reportedly under consideration by the Sixers, along with former Hornets GM Jeff Bower, former Blazers executive Tom Penn, and current Rockets exec Sam Hinkie. With coach Doug Collins operating as the de facto GM in Philadelphia, John Hollinger of ESPN.com doesn't expect the Sixers to hire an "analytics guy," meaning Bower could be the choice (Twitter link).

For now, Rod Thorn continues to operate as the Sixers' president, but he's expected to transition into an advisory role when the club hires its new general manager.

76ers To Interview Zarren, Bower; Targeting Hinkie

August 22nd, 2012 at 4:25pm CST by Luke Adams

WEDNESDAY, 4:25pm: Sources tell Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld that Hinkie is interested in "ascending the NBA front office ladder" for the right situation. It's not clear if the Sixers job qualifies as the "right situation" but as Ingram notes, it certainly seems like an appealing position.

TUESDAY, 12:19pm: The Sixers have added Rockets executive VP of basketball operations Sam Hinkie to their list of GM candidates, reports SI.com's Sam Amick. Philadelphia has asked for and received permission to speak to Hinkie, though it's unclear if the two sides have met yet, or if Hinkie would leave his job with the Rockets.

Amick adds that Penn is still among the candidates in the Sixers' GM search.

MONDAY, 9:20am: The 76ers continue to search for a replacement for team president Rod Thorn and will conduct at least two interviews with potential candidates this week. John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets that Philadelphia will interview Mike Zarren of the Celtics for the first time and former Hornets GM Jeff Bower for a second time.

Less than a month ago, it appeared that former Blazers exec Tom Penn was the frontrunner for the Sixers' general manager job. Since interviews are still ongoing, it seems the team is either exploring all its options or has decided to go in a different direction.

According to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld, there is no timetable for the Sixers to make a decision, but the club would prefer to have the situation resolved by the time training camp begins. When Philadelphia finds its man, Thorn is expected to transition into an advisory role.