R.C. Buford Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Durant, Front Offices, Combine

March 31st, 2017 at 8:43am CST by ChrisCrouse

Kevin Durant believes it’s unfair to criticize the top players for sitting out games, Chris Haynes of ESPN.com relays. “The truth about it is, it’s only for a couple of players in the league,” Durant told Haynes. “They don’t care if the 13th man on the bench rests. It’s only for like [LeBron James], [Stephen Curry], [James Harden], [Russell Westbrook]. It’s only for like five players. So you want a rule just for those five players?”

“It’s hard for you to just craft a rule out for the top players. I’ve seen guys that’s not even in the playoffs resting, sitting out for the rest of the season. And it’s nothing against those guys. I’m not trying to bash them or anything. [Suns center] Tyson Chandler is out. They got him sitting out for the rest of the year. I’m sure he wants to play, but they’re not saying anything about Tyson Chandler, so it’s hard for me to really talk about this. It’s not a league-wide rule. It’s not a league-wide concern.”

Durant added that he empathizes with fans who miss out on seeing their favorite player when they come to the arena. “I see it from the fans’ perspective and the players’ perspective,” Durant said. “I’m caught right in the middle.”

While the 2013/14 league MVP feels bad for those fans who show up the arena, he gives the situation some perspective.

“On the other hand, there’s a lot of people that can’t even afford tickets to the game. So, I kind of feel sorry for you, but then I don’t when I look at it that way,” he added. “Your parents spend hard-earned money, I understand you want to see your favorite players, but there’s some people who don’t even get a chance to watch a game live.”

Durant hasn’t played since February because of a knee injury, but the team recently announced that he has made “very good progress.” The small forward could see court-time again before the end of the season.

While we wait for Durant to get healthy so his fans can see him play, check out some notes from around the league:

ESPN.com examined every front office in the league and ranked them from top to bottom based on the guidance and leadership each organization provides and how it affects success on the court. Unsurprisingly, team president Gregg Popovich and GM R.C. Buford received the highest mark. Which team received the worst mark? The Kings came in slightly below the Knicks for worst front office in the league.
Thunder assistant GM Mike Winger, Spurs assistant GM Brian Wright, Nets assistant GM Trajan Langdon are among the executives who are viewed as potential nominees for GM roles should they become available, Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com writes. Arnovitz adds that Wright may be a few seasons away from landing a gig, but those within the league believe he has what it takes to do the job well.
JK Management announced that it will hold the first annual Professional Basketball Combine at IMG Academy. The PBC will take place in the days following the league’s official combine in Chicago.

Spurs Notes: Duncan, Ginobili, Gasol, Belinelli

September 28th, 2016 at 9:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

Tim Duncan showed up at practice today, but his role with the Spurs remains undefined, according to Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com. Newly retired after 18 years with the team, Duncan will be used in some type of coaching or advisory capacity. Head coach Gregg Popovich said the former All-Star will be “coach of whatever he feels like,” but won’t be on the bench during games. It also hasn’t been determined whether Duncan will travel with the team on road trips. GM R.C. Buford said Duncan’s role will define itself as the season wears on, adding that the team “want[s] to let it kind of morph into its own sort of thing.” “I think he’s learning about life after playing,” Buford said. “And he can impact us in so many ways. I think we need to sit back and get a better understanding of how he feels like he wants to fit in, and what works for his family. Then, we’ll figure it out from there. But the gym feels better when he’s in it.”

There’s more news out of San Antonio:

Buford is grateful that Duncan and Manu Ginobili didn’t retire at the same time, relays Tom Orsborne of The San Antonio Express-News. Calling it a “lonely summer” with so much player turnover, Buford was gratified that he was able to convince Ginobili to play one more season with a $14MM contract. “To have had to replace them both at the same time would have been even more impactful than when each one decides to leave as individuals,” Buford said. “I don’t know how you judge that or gauge that other than that we know there is a transition approaching for our organization and it will be better if it’s a more managed transition than if it all happens at the same time.”
A year after joining the Spurs in free agency, LaMarcus Aldridge is the most tenured member of the big-man rotation, notes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. Not only did Duncan retire, but Boris Diaw was traded to the Jazz, Boban Marjanovich signed with the Pistons and David West left for the Warriors. Veteran shooting specialist Matt Bonner is working out in New Hampshire and hoping for another chance at the NBA. Taking their place are free agent additions Pau Gasol, David Lee and Dewayne Dedmon. “We were lucky to sign him,” Tony Parker said of Gasol. “Losing Timmy, you can’t replace a guy like that. At least we have Pau and LaMarcus. It’s going to be a great combination.”
Marco Belinelli is on his second team since leaving San Antonio in 2015, but the new Hornet still has fond memories of his time with the Spurs, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. “Pop is unbelievable and for sure I can say [there were] so many examples to me: Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker,” Belinelli said. “They so can make you a better basketball player and a better person.”

R.C. Buford Named Executive Of The Year

May 9th, 2016 at 11:04am CST by Chuck Myron

Spurs GM R.C. Buford has won the Executive of the Year award, the NBA announced. It’s the second time in three years that Buford has come away with the honor, for which fellow team executives vote. Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey finished a close second, beating Buford in first-place votes 10-9 but falling short in the balloting system that gives five points for every first-place vote, three points for second-place votes and one point for third-place votes. Buford cast his first-place vote for Olshey, sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link), but the Spurs GM held a 10-3 advantage in second-place votes, which proved the difference.

Buford’s most significant coup of the past year was signing LaMarcus Aldridge away from Olshey’s team in Portland. San Antonio made other key moves, including the addition of David West for just the minimum salary, that positioned the team for this season’s 67-15 record, the best in franchise history. It’s the culmination of a long planning process for Buford, who convinced Kawhi Leonard to wait on an extension in the fall of 2014, a move that helped the team create the cap space necessary to sign Aldridge. Other maneuvers also proved key, like Buford’s offloading of Tiago Splitter to Atlanta, where former Spurs assistant coach Mike Budenholzer is in charge of the front office. Rookies Jonathon Simmons and Boban Marjanovic were useful finds as the Spurs and Buford furthered their reputation for uncovering talent in obscure places. Buford works in tandem with Gregg Popovich, who holds the titles of coach and president.

Olshey replaced four starters from last season’s Blazers, who finished with the sixth-best record in the Western Conference, and Portland astoundingly wound up with this season’s fifth-best Western Conference mark. The success came in large part because of former Olshey lottery pick CJ McCollum, this year’s Most Improved Player of the Year. Warriors GM Bob Myers, the 2015 Executive of the Year, finished third this time around. Raptors GM Masai Ujiri, Hornets GM Rich Cho, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge and Thunder GM Sam Presti were the others who came away with first-place votes.

Below, see how each vote-getter ranked, with first-place votes noted where applicable.

1. R.C. Buford (Spurs) — 9
2. Neil Olshey (Trail Blazers) — 10
3. Bob Myers (Warriors) — 5
4. Masai Ujiri (Raptors) — 2
5. Rich Cho (Hornets) — 1
6. Danny Ainge (Celtics) — 1
7. David Griffin (Cavaliers)
8(tie). Stan Van Gundy (Pistons)
8(tie). Pat Riley (Heat)
10(tie). Sam Presti (Thunder) — 1
10(tie). Sam Hinkie (Sixers)
12(tie). Wes Wilcox (Hawks)
12(tie). John Hammond (Bucks)
12(tie). Dennis Lindsey (Jazz)

Highlights From Sam Hinkie’s Resignation Letter

April 6th, 2016 at 11:35pm CST by Chuck Myron

The 13-page resignation letter than GM Sam Hinkie sent to Sixers owners, which Marc Stein of ESPN obtained, lays bare the philosophy of an executive whose tenure was marked by public silence as much as it was by lost games. It was nonetheless a common example of the sort of communication he privately had with the owners, according to Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link). In his latest dispatch, Hinkie cites everyone from Abraham Lincoln to Warren Buffett to Bill Belichick, among less notorious figures, as Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com notes (Twitter link). The ex-GM defends the moves he made, along with the general ideas of taking the long view and going against the grain.

“To develop truly contrarian views will require a never-ending thirst for better, more diverse inputs,” Hinkie writes. “What player do you think is most undervalued? Get him for your team. What basketball axiom is most likely to be untrue? Take it on and do the opposite. What is the biggest, least valuable time sink for the organization? Stop doing it. Otherwise, it’s a big game of pitty pat, and you’re stuck just hoping for good things to happen, rather than developing a strategy for how to make them happen.”

We’ll hit the highlights of the more than 7,000-word opus here:

Robert Covington is with the Sixers now, but he was originally with the Rockets, a sore point for Hinkie, who says he wanted him immediately after he went undrafted in 2013 but instead returned from his postdraft press conference to discover Covington was off the market. Hinkie writes that he stewed over that for more than a year until signing him in November 2014, a few weeks after Houston waived him.
Hinkie claims that the Sixers set an all-time NBA record in acquiring the rights or swap rights to more than 26 draft picks in his first 26 months as GM.
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge received Hinkie’s Executive of the Year vote in 2014 after the Celtics acquired a first-round pick and a second-round pick along with Joel Anthony in a January trade that year. Hinkie had worked to acquire the same package, he writes.
Hinkie points to a recent quote from Peter Holt, the former primary owner of the Spurs, who said the free agent signing of LaMarcus Aldridge was years in the making. Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News originally had the story. “Give R.C. Buford credit,” Holt said. “[Gregg Popovich] is a great coach, but R.C. came to us with this plan three years ago, four years ago — seriously. And we’ve worked at it ever since. He, by far, was the general. We wouldn’t be where we are, in this position, if it hadn’t have been for R.C. Buford.”

And-Ones: Wright, Dunn, Spurs, Grizzlies, Heat

March 9th, 2016 at 2:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

Dorell Wright is back in the U.S. now that his Chinese club’s season is over, and while NBA teams are eyeing him, he’s not rushing to sign, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. He prefers a multiyear deal rather than one that’s just for the remainder of the season, Kennedy adds.

“I have [received interest from NBA teams], but I’ve told my agent that I really don’t want to know anything until something is serious and set in stone,” Wright told Kennedy. “I did that [free agency] waiting game this past summer, getting my hopes up and thinking this could be it, but it didn’t work out. Once something is set in stone and serious, I’ll know about it. Right now, I’m just working until I get that call.”

See more from around basketball:

Providence point guard Kris Dunn went against his father’s insistence that he enter the draft last year, and the extra year at college has helped him expand his game and his character, as Bleacher Report’s Jason King examines. He’s risen from a projected mid-first-rounder to No. 5 in the rankings that Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress and Chad Ford of ESPN.com compile. “I want to do more than just go to the NBA,” Dunn said. “I want to play in the NBA. I want to be prepared when I get there, instead of sitting at the end of the bench or going to the D-League. I needed more time to grow.”
The Spurs waited to cut Rasual Butler, a move required for the team to sign Kevin Martin, until Gregg Popovich could inform Butler of his release in person, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. Popovich returned today from an absence related to a family medical issue that took him away from the team for the past two games. San Antonio’s policy is to have either Popovich or GM R.C. Buford tell a player face-to-face when he’s being waived, according to Charania.
Briante Weber is poised to sign with the Grizzlies if the NBA gives them a 16th roster spot, but his agent, Bill Neff, still holds the Heat in high regard, reports Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. The first-year pro has been with the Heat’s D-League affiliate this season and spent a brief time on the NBA roster in the preseason. “We love the Heat,” Neff said. “I’m still betting on them. We love the Heat. I couldn’t have picked a better team; they have been wonderful. I do think there is a chance to go back.”

Atlantic Notes: ‘Melo, Bargnani, Marks, Colangelo

March 4th, 2016 at 11:14am CST by Chuck Myron

A market for Carmelo Anthony would exist if the Knicks decide to trade him and he’s willing to waive his no-trade clause, but the Knicks shouldn’t expect to end up with a return that resembles what they gave up to trade for him five years ago, multiple NBA team executives tell Fred Kerber of the New York Post. An exec from an Eastern Conference team suggested New York could get an established player and a pick for ‘Melo, though he raised questions about his health, trade kicker and relative appeal compared to other stars, Kerber relays. That same exec also told Kerber that he doubts Anthony would waive his no-trade clause to go to relatively unappealing teams that the Knicks might view as desirable trade partners. Two of the executives with whom Kerber spoke said the Knicks shouldn’t have re-signed him in 2014 and instead would have been wise to have done a sign-and-trade at the time. See more from the Atlantic Division:

Andrea Bargnani continues to draw offers from overseas, and Olimpia Milano team president Livio Proli claims that he wants to play in Europe, as Proli said to the Italian outlet Tuttosport, according to Eurohoops.net. The Italian team wants Bargnani for next season, while Turkey’s Galatasaray has made him an offer for the rest of this season, coach Ergin Ataman said, as Eurohoops.net also relays. The former No. 1 pick bought his way off the Nets last month.
New Nets GM Sean Marks took an unconventional path to his job, but he’s leaning on what he learned from familiar front office stalwarts Pat Riley and Spurs bosses Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford, as Brian Lewis of the New York Post details.
Bryan Colangelo confirmed to Dave McCarthy of Vice Sports Canada that he was a finalist for the Nets GM vacancy that went to Marks and talked about Bargnani and other players from his tenure as Raptors GM. Colangelo’s name has been linked in speculation to Sixers, where father and chairman of basketball operations Jerry Colangelo is considering a front office addition.

Latest On Nets GM Search, Lopez, Young

February 13th, 2016 at 12:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SATURDAY, 12:15pm: Prokhorov has a reputation of courting “secret” candidates and the owner is known to be a big fan of Spurs GM R.C. Buford, Marc Stein of ESPN.com relays in a series of tweets. While it is highly unlikely the Russian would be able to pry Buford away from San Antonio, it explains the franchise’s interest in Marks, Stein adds. Prokhorov’s admiration of the Spurs organization is also a reason that San Antonio assistant Ettore Messina is a potential head coaching candidate for Brooklyn, Stein also notes.

FRIDAY, 4:17pm: An air of intrigue surrounds the Nets GM search, but the general consensus around the league is that Bryan Colangelo will land the job, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report relays in an extended series of tweets. The Nets intend to have a new GM in place by the February 18th trade deadline and are in the process of conducting interviews this week. The team is still conducting interviews and there doesn’t appear to be a sense of urgency to make a decision despite the self-imposed deadline, Beck notes. The last time Nets team owner Mikhail Prokhorov conducted a GM search, he had a private “A” list, something that league executives believe is the case once again, Beck relays.

Despite the general belief that the job is Colangelo’s to lose, Nuggets assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas is still considered a strong candidate for the vacant spot, Beck notes. Karnisovas is well-regarded around the league and speaks Russian, which could be a selling point with Prokhorov, who is Russian, Beck adds. The presence of two strong candidates could lead to Brooklyn going with some combination of the two in its front office, the Bleacher Report scribe relays. Karnisovas is said to earn a six-figure salary in Denver, a number that Prokhorov would likely have no qualms about exceeding based on his past track record, Nets Daily tweets. The Nets have also reportedly targeted former Cavaliers GM Chris Grant, current Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard, Spurs assistant GM Sean Marks, former Cavs and Hawks GM Danny Ferry, Rockets executive VP of basketball operations Gersson Rosas and Nets assistant GM Frank Zanin. Brooklyn has interviewed Zanin for the GM post, sources tell Chris Mannix of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), even though he’s already been running the front office on an interim basis since the team removed former GM Billy King from the job last month.

With the trade deadline less than a week away, Prokhorov is not 100% committed to retaining center Brook Lopez and combo forward Thaddeus Young, Beck also relays (Twitter links). The owner had indicated previously that he wants to keep Young and Lopez, believing the team can surround them with free agents in the summer and quickly return to contention, according to an earlier report by Beck. Nets CEO Brett Yormark recently mentioned Lopez and Young as among the team’s building blocks. Lopez scored a three-year deal for the max this past summer in spite of the multiple foot injuries he suffered in his first seven NBA seasons. Young, a ninth-year veteran, re-signed with the Nets this past summer on a four-year, $50MM deal.

R.C. Buford Wins Executive Of Year

May 7th, 2014 at 9:03am CST by Chuck Myron

San Antonio GM R.C. Buford has won the NBA’s Executive of the Year award, the league announced. It’s the first such honor for Buford, who’s served as the primary basketball executive for the Spurs since July of 2002. He beat out first-year Suns GM Ryan McDonough and Blazers GM Neil Olshey in a wide-open race that saw 11 executives draw first-place votes from their front office colleagues around the league.

“I’m extremely happy for R.C. Buford to have won this award, which is both absolutely deserved and long overdue,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said in a statement from the team. “His knowledge of the rules, basketball expertise and keen eye for talent have served the Spurs organization well for a very long time. It has been a personal pleasure to be at his side during this period.”

The Spurs have won three championships and made it to four Finals during Buford’s tenure atop the team’s basketball operations department. San Antonio compiled a league-best 62-20 record after a summer in which Buford made key signings to largely bring back the same roster that came within a hair’s breadth of the title last season. Buford re-signed Tiago Splitter and Manu Ginobili, and added Marco Belinelli, who served as a key piece off the bench for much of the season.

McDonough and Olshey finished second and third, respectively, followed by Toronto’s Masai Ujiri, who was last year’s winner, and Miami’s Pat Riley. Billy King of the Nets, Sam Presti of the Thunder, Danny Ainge of the Celtics, Ernie Grunfeld of the Wizards, Rod Higgins of the Bobcats and Bob Myers of the Warriors were the others who received first-place votes.

It’s the second consecutive year that the same team has had both the Executive of the Year and the Coach of the Year. Popovich won this year’s Coach of the Year honors last month, while Ujiri and George Karl pulled off the double for the Nuggets in 2012/13. Neither remained with Denver for this season, but Buford and Popovich seem destined to stay in San Antonio for the foreseeable future.

And-Ones: Buford, Popovich, Chandler

April 15th, 2014 at 11:42pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Spurs GM R.C. Buford is “incredibly happy” in San Antonio and has no intention of leaving even as Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili near retirement age, as Buford tells Grantland’s Zach Lowe (audio link; transcription via Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News). McCarney, in the intro to his transcription, notes that Gregg Popovich has backed away from his assertion a year ago that he’ll retire when Duncan does, referring to Popovich’s remark as merely a joke.

Here are more of tonight’s miscellaneous news and notes:

On the idea that the Knicks might be focusing on the summer 2015 rather than be competitive next season, Tyson Chandler hopes that it isn’t the case: “I definitely don’t want to waste another season….I’m not into wasting seasons. Your time is too short in this league and I want to win a championship, another one” (Marc Berman of the New York Post reports). Berman adds that with his expiring contract and ability to still play at a high level, Chandler could be Phil Jackson‘s number one trading chip this summer.
It appears that soon-to-be restricted free agent Gordon Hayward would like to stay with the Jazz, but he acknowledges that nothing’s certain at this point, notes Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Currently without a contract after July, Utah head coach Tyrone Corbin isn’t ready to field questions about his impending future just yet, writes Falk in a separate piece. Corbin elaborated: “I don’t know if that’s a good question to ask right now…I have a lot of evaluating to do that I want to do for myself and figure out what’s my next step.”
The Rockets have recalled Robert Covington and Isaiah Canaan from the D-League, per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Melvin Ely‘s contract with the Pelicans runs through next season with non-guaranteed salary, reports Mark Deeks of ShamSports, writing for the Score. The ninth-year veteran’s minimum salary he’d get makes him a trade chip in the same manner that Scotty Hopson is for the Cavs, but Ely comes much more cheaply, as Deeks points out.
Deeks also reports that the Bulls’ deal with Louis Amundson, like teammates Ronnie Brewer and Mike James, covers next season with non-guaranteed salary.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Pacific Rumors: Clippers, Scott, Kings, Buford

May 30th, 2013 at 4:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are a few items of note from out of the Pacific Division on a Thursday afternoon:

The Clippers have gotten in touch with at least one of the coaching candidates presumed to be on their list of targets. ESPN.com's Chris Broussard reports that the team has contacted Byron Scott, and while no formal interview has been scheduled yet, Scott is interested in the job.
Scott is currently the leading vote-getter in our poll from earlier this afternoon asking who will be the Clippers' next head coach. The former Cavs coach is barely edging out Pacers assistant Brian Shaw for now.
With Vivek Ranadive assuming control of the Kings, he'll need to divest himself of his stake in the Warriors, as Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News notes. Kawakami has heard estimates that Ranadive's share of the Warriors was about 10% (Twitter links).
Speaking of Ranadive's Kings, a report earlier this week had suggested the new ownership group in Sacramento would be targeting R.C. Buford as the Kings' head of basketball operations. However, the Spurs GM said today that he's exactly where he wants to be in San Antonio, and that he's not going anywhere, as Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News writes.