Rick Pitino Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rick Pitino Hoping For Return To NBA

October 29th, 2018 at 9:24am CST by Luke Adams

Former Louisville head coach Rick Pitino plans to use the 2018/19 season to “immerse himself” in the NBA game in the hopes of returning to the league’s coaching ranks, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. As Wojnarowski details, Pitino would like to become a candidate for NBA head coaching positions that open up in the spring of 2019.

“I just want to be a part of an organization,” Pitino told Wojnarowski. “I want to develop young players. I want to be part of a team. I miss it terribly. I’m using this time to really study the NBA. If something opens up with a young basketball team, I’d have deep interest in it.

“I think the league is going to get younger and player development will become even more important to every organization,” Pitino continued. “That’s my forte. I believe I can help an organization find a pathway to success.”

Pitino’s time at Louisville came to an abrupt end about a year ago as a result of the FBI’s probe into college basketball recruiting. Pitino had spent most of the last two decades heading up the program, having previously coached the Celtics from 1997 to 2001.

We heard as recently as September that Pitino appeared to have given up on the idea of returning to the NBA — he admitted in his book, “Pitino: My Story,” that his agent had reached out to NBA teams but had generated no interest. The veteran coach seems to be approaching the idea with renewed enthusiasm now though, with Wojnarowski reporting that Pitino has hired NFL super-agent Drew Rosenhaus to represent him.

Even if NBA front offices overlook the multiple scandals that took place at Louisville during Pitino’s tenure, it will likely be difficult for him to convince an NBA team that he’d be a “willing partner with a front office,” Wojnarowski writes. According to Woj, multiple GMs say they’d be reluctant to hire Pitino due to concern about coexisting with him, especially during a rebuilding process. For his part, Pitino is saying the right things.

“I’m not looking for any of that [power/control] at this stage of my life,” Pitino told Wojnarowski. “I want to develop teams and develop players and build a winner. I value analytics. I want to fit into an organization. At this stage, that’s all I’m interested in.”

And-Ones: Pitino, Free Agents, Team Canada

September 5th, 2018 at 11:20am CST by Luke Adams

A return to the NBA doesn’t appear to be in the cards for Rick Pitino, who coached the Celtics from 1997 to 2001 before spending most of the last two decades with Louisville. Having been dismissed from Louisville after the program was investigated by federal prosecutors for potential recruiting violations, Pitino writes in his new book, “Pitino: My Story,” that no NBA doors have opened lately.

“Since leaving Louisville, my agent has reached out when NBA openings have surfaced,” Pitino wrote, per Jeff Greer of The Louisville Courier Journal. “We couldn’t even get an interview. I can’t blame the general managers who turned me down. Louisville fired me so abruptly, it instantly created the impression that I must be guilty of something.”

Asked today on Good Morning America if he wants to coach again, Pitino replied, “I don’t. It’s over for me, I know that” (video link).

Here are a few more items from around the basketball universe:

Veterans like Dwyane Wade, Rodney Hood, and Jamal Crawford may be the most notable free agents still available, but they’re hardly the only ones capable of helping an NBA team. Mark Deeks of GiveMeSport examines 30 unsigned players who are candidates to land on NBA rosters.
In an entertaining column for The Advocate, Scott Kushner makes his case for why the NBA season should start its season on Christmas Day, pushing the playoffs deeper into the summer.
Team Canada’s training camp roster for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers features a handful of NBA players, including Kelly Olynyk (Heat), Tristan Thompson (Cavaliers), Dillon Brooks (Grizzlies), Cory Joseph (Pacers), and Khem Birch (Magic).
In a reversal of roles, Damian Lillard broke some news regarding Chris Haynes today, tweeting that the veteran reporter will be leaving ESPN for Yahoo, where he’ll become the Senior NBA Insider and will help build the site’s NBA team. Adrian Wojnarowski, Shams Charania, and Bobby Marks have left Yahoo within the last year and a half.

And-Ones: Upshaw, Pitino, NCAA Tournament, Players’ Health

March 30th, 2018 at 9:53pm CST by marksuleymanov

Grand Rapids Drive player Zeke Upshaw passed away this past Monday after he collapsed during the final minute of a weekend game against the Long Island Nets. It was a tragic and unexpected event for a 26-year-old professional player who displayed no signs of health issues.

Per a report from USA Today, Upshaw suffered a “sudden cardiac death.” The medical examiner who was assigned Upshaw’s case said he discovered ” cardiac abnormalities” but an in-depth investigation into his depth will take several weeks.

Upshaw had played internationally before spending the past two seasons with the Piston’s G League affiliate. The Pistons honored Upshaw with a posthumous call-up to honor his contributions to the organization.

Check out more news and notes out of the basketball world:

The New Zealand Breakers of the National Basketball League reportedly offered former Louisville coach Rick Pitino their head coaching position, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. There has been virtually no NBA interest in his services with the lone conversation between his reps and an NBA team (the Bucks) initiated by Pitino’s side, Stein noted.
Shaun Powell of NBA.com examines which injuries will have the biggest impact as the postseason nears. The list includes injured All-Stars the likes of Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, and Kevin Durant. Powell also looks at players out for the rest of the year (DeMarcus Cousins, Andre Roberson) and Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue.
Kevin Pelton of ESPN looks at a diverse pool of 11 players who could impact the NBA’s future. All of Pelton’s choices are 28 years old or younger, and some are expected to be lottery picks in the 2018 NBA draft.
Mark Schanowski of NBC Sports Chicago looks at which NBA prospects benefited from a further look during the NCAA tournament.

Stein’s Latest: Pistons, Knicks, Bucks, Magic, Suns

March 20th, 2018 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, Marc Stein of The New York Times reported that the Pistons have expressed interest in Chauncey Billups for a potential front office role, with an eye on possibly pairing him with Arn Tellem in their basketball operations department. The report quickly drew responses from multiple sides — Billups stated that he would “never push for a job with any NBA franchise that is not open,” while a Pistons ownership spokesman simply called the report “false.”

Rod Beard of The Detroit News (Twitter link) also hears from a source that there’s “nothing whatsoever” to the idea of a Billups/Tellem team-up in the Pistons’ front office, but Stein doubled down on the report in his latest newsletter for The New York Times, citing league sources who say that Detroit has “great interest” in hiring Billups. According to Stein, the Pistons believe they have a real shot to convince Billups to leave his TV job for an executive role.

Stein’s newsletter includes a few more tidbits on coaching and front office situations around the NBA. Let’s dive in and round up the highlights…

There’s a growing belief that Knicks GM Scott Perry will want to hire his own hand-picked head coach at season’s end, says Stein. According to Stein, if the club replaces Jeff Hornacek and makes a high-profile hire, Mark Jackson and David Blatt would be among the candidates to watch.
With a move to a new arena around the corner, the Bucks may want to make a big splash with their next head coaching hire. League sources tell Stein that Jeff Van Gundy and Kevin McHale are among the names on the Bucks’ list of potential candidates, while Monty Williams and David Fizdale have also been mentioned. Rick Pitino could even get an “exploratory look,” says Stein.
There’s a “widely held assumption” in coaching circles that the Magic will replace Frank Vogel, according to Stein, who identifies Nick Nurse, Rex Kalamian, and Jerry Stackhouse as possible targets for Orlando. All three of those coaches are in the Raptors organization, which is where Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman previously worked.
While Jay Triano will receive an interview as part of the Suns‘ head coaching search, Stein is hearing buzz that Triano is more likely to be asked to stay on as an assistant. Phoenix wants to explore the college ranks, and Villanova’s Jay Wright is one name that figures to come up during that search, per Stein.