Knicks To Hire Scott Perry As GM
JULY 14, 8:15am: The Knicks and Kings will have to agree on compensation terms before New York can officially hire Perry, league sources tell Wojnarowski and Ian Begley of ESPN.com. Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets that cash and perhaps a second-round pick seems like fair compensation for Sacramento, but it’s not clear what sort of terms the two sides are discussing.
ESPN’s full report also confirms that Perry would report to Mills in the Knicks’ new-look front office, with Mills being promoted to president. While Mills would have the final say, Perry will have “tremendous freedom” to operate and will be the day-to-day voice running basketball operations, per ESPN.
JULY 13, 4:32pm: Perry has agreed to a deal to become the team’s new GM, sources tell Vincent Goodwill of Comcast Sportsnet (Twitter link).
3:32pm: The Knicks have met with Kings Vice President of Basketball Operations Scott Perry and the two sides are discussing the parameters of a deal to make him the team’s new GM, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com tweets.
Perry joined Sacramento’s front office at the end of the 2016/17 campaign. He previously served as the assistant GM of the Magic and he also worked in the Sonics/Thunder organization, as well as for the Pistons.
The Knicks were interested in adding David Griffin to the GM role before the former Cavs executive withdrew his name from consideration. Griffin reportedly wanted to bring in the same front office staff he had in Cleveland, which was something the team opposed.
Team executive Steve Mills has been handling the GM duties on an interim basis since the organization fired Phil Jackson. The franchise remains on the hook to pay Jackson $24MM over the next two years. Mills, meanwhile, is poised to ascend to a president of basketball operations role for the Knicks.
Latest On Hawks’ Front Office Search
The Hawks placed former team president Mike Budenholzer and former GM Wes Wilcox into new roles earlier this month and it appears the team’s search for new front office members is progressing out of its “infancy stage.”
Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link) hears that Sacramento’s Scott Perry is being considered for the open GM position. The Kings hired Perry as their executive VP of basketball operations less than four weeks ago.
Earlier today, we learned that the Knicks have granted the team permission to interview their Director of Player Personnel Mark Hughes for the Hawks’ open GM position. Like New York, Houston will allow Atlanta to interview a member of its front office. The Hawks have their eye on Rockets VP of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas.
Atlanta is reportedly also considering Cavs GM David Griffin and Joe Dumars. The team also plans on discussing the position with TV analysts Chauncey Billups and Brent Barry.
Agents Reluctant To Let Clients Work Out For Kings, Celtics
A report from ESPN’s Chad Ford this weekend details just how far player agents will go to keep their clients from being drafted into what they perceive to be less than ideal conditions. Specifically, Ford writes, that agents have been actively avoiding the Kings and the Celtics for two very different reasons.
Ford writes that this year, just as last year, agents are keeping their players away from Sacramento’s front office, refusing workouts and, in the case of Wade Baldwin IV, even declining to share medical records. The hiring of reputable Scott Perry as the organization’s new general manager, has had little impact in that regard.
“It would be malpractice to let my clients play for them,” one longtime agent told Ford. “I’ve had clients there. It’s still the most dysfunctional front office in the league, by a mile. How can you trust those guys with one of your players? It’s going to take a long time to build that trust.”
A similar movement is afoot with regard to the Celtics. According to Ford, the agents of top prospects are reluctant to approve their players working out for the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed, citing concern over future playing time.
Agents fear that their clients, like Jaylen Brown in this year’s rookie class, may be faced with a loaded depth chart to navigate through before earning any consistent starter’s minutes.
“I have deep respect for the Celtics,” another agent said. “They may have the best GM and head coach in the league. But I’d have to understand what the plan would be for my client before I let them come. They are loaded at every position. There’s a real danger that they take a player and either he plays a limited role off the bench, or he becomes an asset to be traded to a situation that we’re uncomfortable with. It’s tough.“
Pacific Notes: World Peace, Clippers, George
He may be officially enrolled at UCLA, but that doesn’t mean Metta World Peace is ready to retire from the NBA. The Lakers forward recently reassured Serena Winters of Lakers Nation that he remains intent on playing two more seasons.
“I’ve got two more years and I’m going to be 20 years, a professional basketball player,” World Peace said. “This year I was more mentoring [for the Lakers], but obviously, if I would have played I would really have had Staples Center rocking more! I still feel like I can bring something to the table, whether it’s mentoring or whether it’s playing, I’m open to either.”
Just because the veteran hopes to continue playing in the NBA doesn’t mean he’ll be back with the Lakers however. Earlier this month the 37-year-old tweeted goodbye to the franchise after reportedly being told that Magic Johnson said he probably won’t be re-signed.
In 24 games for the young Lakers, World Peace averaged just 2.4 points in 6.4 minutes per game. His last taste of heavy NBA action came in 2012/13.
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Insiders says that Chris Paul and Blake Griffin love it with the Clippers and want to stay, writes Mark Heisler of the Orange County Register. Both have signed new contracts with the Clippers in the past without entertaining a presentation from another franchise.
- Several factors will influence the Lakers‘ chance of acquiring Paul George, per Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, including whether or not the forward qualifies for the designated veteran salary boost and where their pick falls after the draft lottery.
- When the Kings hired Scott Perry to be their executive vice president of basketball operations they netted one of the masterminds behind the dominant Pistons teams of the mid-aughts. Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee details Perry in an extensive feature.
Kings Hire Scott Perry As Executive VP
2:51pm: The Kings have made it official, formally announcing Perry’s hiring in a press release.
“I’m thrilled that Scott will be joining our front office team,” Divac said in a statement. “His extensive experience in the league and management talents will help build on our progress are we work to develop a winning franchise.”
2:40pm: Just over a week after he was dismissed from the Magic front office along with Rob Hennigan, former Orlando assistant GM Scott Perry has found a new job. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter links), the Kings are hiring Perry as their executive VP of basketball operations and intend to have him work closely with Vlade Divac.
Perry, a seasoned NBA executive who has strong relationships throughout the league, is expected to execute many of the general manager duties in his new role with the Kings, though Divac will still have the final say on basketball decisions, Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter).
Shortly after word broke last Thursday that the Magic had fired Hennigan and Perry, multiple national reporters expressed surprise that Orlando would let Perry get away, since he and Hennigan had different voices in the front office. According to multiple reports, Perry wanted to make a trade with the Kings that would have landed DeMarcus Cousins in Orlando, but Hennigan wasn’t on board with the proposed deal — Perry will now join the other team involved in those Cousins talks, though the All-Star center is obviously no longer in Sacramento.
Perry began his career as an NBA executive back in 2000 when he was hired by the Pistons to work under GM Joe Dumars. Perry won a title with the club and later worked for the SuperSonics under Sam Presti before returning to the Pistons and eventually joining Hennigan’s front office in Orlando.
Perry will add a veteran voice to a decision-making process that has been headed by Divac and controlling owner Vivek Ranadive, two men without extensive NBA front office experience on their respective résumés.
Magic Rumors: G. Hill, Wright, Cousins, Hennigan
Shortly after the Magic fired general manager Rob Hennigan this morning, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel reported that team officials have interest in pursuing Grant Hill as a potential president of basketball operations. Marc Stein of ESPN.com confirms Orlando’s interest in Hill, but tweets that the former Magic forward currently has no plans to leave the Hawks‘ ownership group.
As we wait to see if Hill’s stance changes, here are several more Magic-related notes, with a focus on today’s front office shakeup:
- Spurs assistant GM Brian Wright is on the Magic‘s preliminary list of potential GM candidates, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Wojnarowski also notes that the leaked white board that went viral last week ultimately didn’t affect Orlando’s decision to replace Hennigan — the team had already decided to move on from him at that point.
- Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated and Sam Amick of USA Today expressed surprise that the Magic dismissed assistant GM Scott Perry along with Hennigan (Twitter links). Both reporters note that the two men had different voices in the front office, suggesting that Perry would have likely been able to complete a trade for DeMarcus Cousins if Hennigan had been on board with it.
- Although Hennigan didn’t have a ton of success in Orlando, he remains widely respected around the NBA and will likely have “attractive offers” to choose from when he looks for a new job, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com.
- In non-Hennigan news, the Magic‘s D-League affiliate, which will begin play next season, will be called the Lakeland Magic, as Robbins details for The Sentinel.
Magic Fire GM Rob Hennigan
With their offseason now underway, the Magic have started making changes in their front office, firing general manager Rob Hennigan, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). The team also dismissed assistant GM Scott Perry, according to Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link).
“We appreciate Rob’s efforts to rebuild the team, but feel we have not made any discernible improvement over the last few years specifically,” Magic CEO Alex Martins said in a statement. “It’s time for different leadership in basketball operations. We certainly wish Rob and his family well.”
Hennigan was considered to be on the hot seat for much of this season, as his flurry of moves a year ago failed to lead to tangible on-court improvement for the Magic. An eventful 2016 offseason saw Orlando trade for Serge Ibaka, then sign Bismack Biyombo, D.J. Augustin, and Jeff Green in free agency.
The franchise had playoff aspirations to start the year, but lost its opener to the Heat, and never got back above .500. Orlando’s spot in the standings prompted the team to flip Ibaka to the Raptors before February’s trade deadline, and Hennigan and the front office were widely criticized for giving up far more for Ibaka last summer than they got back for him at the deadline.
Hennigan’s seat likely became hotter in recent weeks after a photo taken by Patricio Garino‘s agent that showed an apparent list of Orlando’s offseason targets on a dry-erase board went viral. Hennigan insisted that the leaked white board wasn’t indicative of the Magic’s summer plans, and that it was just a list of possible options for the team, but it wasn’t a great look for a management group that was already under fire.
2016/17 was the fifth straight season that the Magic finished with a losing record, dating back to 2012/13, Hennigan’s first year at the helm. During Hennigan’s five years as Orlando’s GM, the team posted a 132-278 record (.322). The club has employed four different head coaches during that time, never winning more than 35 games in a season or earning a spot in the playoffs.
With Hennigan no longer in the mix in Orlando, the Magic have named Matt Lloyd as the interim general manager, the club confirmed (via Twitter). Lloyd will be in the mix for the permanent job, though he won’t be the only candidate considered.
According to Robbins, Magic officials have interest in Grant Hill as a potential president of basketball operations. Robbins adds that Pistons associate GM Pat Garrity and Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk could also be among the executives targeted by Orlando.
There were rumblings earlier this year that Doc Rivers could consider jumping to the Magic in a head coach/president of basketball operations role, but that seems like a long shot — Rivers dismissed the idea at the time. For now, Frank Vogel remains the head coach in Orlando, and he just finished the first year of a four-year contract, so a new GM may be reluctant to make a change unless the Magic are willing to eat a significant chunk of money.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pistons Considering Griffin, Zarren, Vandeweghe
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.
Candidates Emerge For Pistons Top Exec Job
1:33pm: Hill would be interested in taking a front office job eventually, but not now, tweets Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News.
11:16am: The Pistons appear to be targeting Grant Hill and Magic assistant GM Scott Perry as candidates to replace Joe Dumars atop the Detroit front office, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein cautions that the Pistons have promised a broad search, so Hill and Perry will likely be two of many in the running for the job.
Perry has spent most of his NBA career with the Pistons, joining the team as a scout during the same offseason in which Dumars became the club’s top basketball executive. He ascended through the ranks to become vice president of basketball operations for the team after a one-year stint as assistant GM to Sam Presti with the Thunder in 2007/08. He was said to have advocated for the Pistons to draft Carmelo Anthony rather than Darko Milicic while serving as Pistons director of player personnel in 2003, USA Today’s Sam Amick notes (Twitter link).
Hill was rumored to be a candidate for the Suns GM job last year shortly after he retired from playing at the end of the 2012/13 season. NBA teams were still interested in the 41-year-old as a player earlier this year, but Hill rejected those entreaties and has spent the season as a broadcaster. The Pistons drafted him third overall in 1994, and he played his first six NBA seasons with the team.
Amick also names Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk and former Raptors and Suns GM Bryan Colangelo as possible candidates (Twitter link).
Several Candidates Emerge For Nuggets GM Job
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.