Pete D’Alessandro Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Coaching Rumors: Kidd, Nuggets, Clippers, Suns

June 13th, 2013 at 2:39pm CST by Luke Adams

A pair of teams held press conferences to announce their new head coaches earlier today, as the Pistons introduced Maurice Cheeks, while the Nets introduced Jason Kidd. At the presser in Brooklyn, Kidd revealed that before he was hired by the Nets, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban contacted him to ask if he was interested in learning the business side of the NBA with Dallas (Twitter link via Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv). Kidd ended up opting for a coaching job with one of his former teams over an executive role with another. Here's more of the latest coaching-related rumblings from around the league:

The Nuggets are focused on landing either Lionel Hollins or Brian Shaw for their head coaching opening, and will only consider other candidates if they're unable to land one of those top two targets, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Spears reports that Hollins will interview with the team on Saturday, while Denver hopes to have Shaw in for a meeting next week.
Spears adds within the same piece that the Nuggets are leaning toward promoting Pete D'Alessandro to assume the role of general manager, though we heard earlier today that Tony DiLeo is firmly in the mix as well.
Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post also takes a look at the top two candidates for the Nuggets' coaching opening.
The Clippers initially were scheduled to interview Nate McMillan today, but had to cancel that meeting to accommodate Hollins, who is meeting with the team today and tomorrow. However, the Clippers are still trying to work out a time to bring McMillan in, perhaps early next week, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.
Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic has the details on the three new assistant coaches the Suns have added to Jeff Hornacek's staff.

Kenny Smith Talking To Kings About GM Job

June 10th, 2013 at 8:42am CST by Luke Adams

Although the team has already hired its head coach, the Kings are still searching for a candidate to run the team's basketball operations. Sam Amick of USA Today confirms what we've heard in past reports, noting that new owner Vivek Ranadive is interested in putting together a sort of two-tier structure, perhaps pairing a big-name president with a lesser-name (but respected) general manager.

Larry Bird, Mike Dunleavy, Chris Mullin, Chris Wallace, David Morway, and Travis Schlenk are among the candidates that have been mentioned for one role or the other in the Kings' front office, and Amick reports that another interesting name has entered the mix: TNT analyst Kenny Smith. Smith confirmed to Amick that he has been in discussions with Ranadive about a position in Sacramento's front office, and expressed confidence that he could do a good job with the team.

"I've been winning my whole life," Smith said. "I've been blessed to be a winner. So whatever happens, whatever I do, I'm going to win an Emmy next year or I'm going to try to win an NBA championship or I'm going to try to win in cards. I'm a winner. I'm a winner. I've been blessed in my whole life, so I think I have a clear vision."

The Kings also appear likely to interview Nuggets assistant GM Pete D'Alessandro about their GM opening. Although D'Alessandro remains the odds-on favorite to take over Denver's basketball operations, the Nuggets have granted Sacramento permission to speak to him, according to Amick (via Twitter).

Coach/GM Rumors: Hollins, Karl, Kings, Nuggets

June 7th, 2013 at 1:15pm CST by Luke Adams

According to Sam Amick of USA Today, Lionel Hollins and the Grizzlies spoke yesterday, and the door hasn't closed entirely on the possibility of the head coach remaining in Memphis. However, Hollins has begun to explore his other options, talking by phone to a pair of Clippers executives yesterday and planning to fly to Los Angeles early next week, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (via Twitter). Here's the latest on the Grizzlies, the Clippers, and plenty of other teams in the market for a coach or GM:

While a reunion with Hollins or a promotion of assistant David Joerger remain possibilities for the Grizzlies, Memphis has emerged as the early frontrunner for George Karl, says Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
The Clippers have interest in both Hollins and Karl, but are prioritizing championship experience, a source tells Berger. Brian Shaw fits that bill, as both a player and an assistant coach, and is expected to formally interview with the Clippers on Monday, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.
The Kings continue to pursue Larry Bird, although it would be a surprise if he was hired, a source tells Berger. If the Kings were able to land a big name like Bird – or perhaps Mike Dunleavy or Chris Mullin – it would be as team president, with the authority to hire a GM.
David Morway is interviewing today for the Kings' GM job, says Berger. It doesn't appear Sacramento will receive permission to speak to Nuggets assistant GM Pete D'Alessandro though, since Denver would like him to continue helping owner Josh Kroenke with the team's coaching search.
D'Alessandro also appears to be the favorite for the Nuggets' open GM job, with a source telling Berger that Denver may not even interview outside candidates.
Earlier today, Kroenke told reporters, including Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post (Twitter links), that Masai Ujiri would almost certainly have left Denver to accept the Raptors job even if the Nuggets had matched Toronto's offer.

Pacific Notes: Kings, Jent, World Peace, Suns

June 6th, 2013 at 1:22pm CST by Luke Adams

While we look forward to Game One of the 2013 Finals, let's check in on the NBA's Pacific Division, rounding up the latest news and notes:

As they continue to search for their next general manager, the Kings have requested permission to speak to Nuggets assistant GM Pete D'Alessandro, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Denver has yet to grant the Kings permission, which may not be a surprise, considering D'Alessandro is viewed as the frontrunner for the Nuggets' GM job, according to Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post (via Twitter).
Following up on a report indicating the Kings have spoken to Larry Bird, Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee writes that Bird joining Sacramento's front office is unlikely, but not impossible.
One more Kings note from Wojnarowski, who tweets that Michael Malone has extended a three-year offer to Ohio State's Chris Jent to be the top assistant in Sacramento.
14-year NBA veteran Metta World Peace told TWC SportsNet he hopes to extend his playing career to 20 seasons before retiring, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link).
Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek and GM Ryan McDonough are on the same page as the draft approaches, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.

Several Candidates Emerge For Nuggets GM Job

May 31st, 2013 at 6:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

Nuggets team president Josh Kroenke's strong relationship with Masai Ujiri was the primary force behind the outgoing Denver GM's hesitation to accept Toronto's five-year, $15MM offer to jump to the Raptors front office, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Nuggets were willing to give Ujiri a deal worth $1.2MM a year, according to USA Today's Sam Amick. Still, none of it was enough to convince Ujiri to stay, and now the Nuggets are the team looking for a new GM. There's early talk about several who could eventually get the job, as we detail below:

Nuggets assistant GM Pete D'Alessandro and director of player personnel Mike Bratz are viable options, sources tell Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).
Wojnarowski speculates that the Nuggets could promote D'Alessandro or go after Cavaliers assistant GM David Griffin. The Nuggets offered Griffin the job in 2010, but he turned them down, leading Denver to turn to Ujiri.
Other executives who figure to be top candidates include Gersson Rosas of the Rockets, Bobby Marks of the Nets, Tim Connelly of the Pelicans, Wes Wilcox of the Hawks and Scott Perry of the Magic, according to Wojnarowski.
The Nuggets could have some competition if they want to go with D'Alessandro, since Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace, the leading candidate to take the GM job in Sacramento, would like to hire him to work in the Kings front office, Amick reports (Twitter link).
Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk interviewed well with the Kings, Amick tweets, arguing that Schlenk could be a fit in Denver if it doesn't work out for him in Sacramento.
Assistant GMs Tommy Sheppard of the Wizards and Jeff Weltman of the Bucks have ties to the Nuggets and bear watching as the Nuggets' search takes place, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.