Latest on Kings’ Coaching Search
The Kings are planning to interview Patrick Ewing for their head coaching position, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Ewing’s potential ability to command the respect of DeMarcus Cousins makes him an “intriguing candidate” for the Kings, sources tell Wojnarowski.
VP of Basketball Operations Vlade Divac has expressed a desire to have three finalists, and he will bring those candidates in front of ownership for a final round of interviews, Wojnarowski adds. The Kings are not at that point yet, as they are still conducting initial interviews.
Owner Vivek Ranadive is most intrigued with Kevin McHale for the position, sources tell Wojnarowski. However, McHale isn’t eager to take the job.
Belinelli: Karl-Cousins Feud Ruined Kings
- Kings swingman Marco Belinelli blasts the organization in an interview with Sky Sport Italy (h/t to Sportando). He believes the tension between former coach George Karl and star center DeMarcus Cousins created dissension on the team from the start of the season. Belinelli says executive Vlade Divac tried to broker peace between Karl and Cousins, but without much success. Belinelli adds that he saw “very bad stuff” in the Kings locker room and contrasts it to the atmosphere he was accustomed to in San Antonio. Belinelli has two years left on his contract with the Kings.
Celtics Notes: Turner, Stevens, Ainge, Draft Picks
Evan Turner may have to be patient if he wants to re-sign with the Celtics in free agency, but he told Chris Forsberg of ESPN that coach Brad Stevens would like to keep him in Boston. “Coach definitely said [he wants me back],” said Turner. “He said he’ll be pushing for me and everything like that. And that’s pretty much it. But there’s a lot of stuff that’s going on right now. I understand it. And I understand what’s going to occur, with the draft picks and the young guys trying to develop and trying to get a superstar, stuff like that. I definitely comprehend it.” The Celtics may like Turner, and the swingman would like to get a deal done quickly, but the team figures to have other priorities this summer as it tries to improve a roster that went 48-34 and was bounced by the Hawks in the first round of the playoffs. Turner played a big part in Boston’s success, averaging 10.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 81 games. He said “money’s cool” in free agency, but he feels it’s more important to find playing time with a winning organization.
There’s more news out of Boston:
- The six-game loss to Atlanta showed that the Celtics need to raise their talent level, writes Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. Bontemps says president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has to shake up a roster of “ill-fitting pieces” around All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas. The Celtics own the Nets’ first-round pick, which is almost certain to fall in the top five, and they may have more than $50MM to spend once free agency starts July 1st. Bontemps expects the Celtics to chase every elite free agent on the market, adding that they have enough young talent and future picks to become trading partners if the Bulls’ Jimmy Butler or the Kings’ DeMarcus Cousins becomes available.
- The Celtics will need some luck to have the offseason they are hoping for, contends Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. Boston has eight picks in this year’s draft, but the position of Brooklyn’s choice will help shape the future of the franchise. The Celtics have a 15.6% chance of landing the top overall selection and a 46.9% shot at staying in the top three. Boston will target Kevin Durant in free agency, and Bontemps believes Ainge is eager to make a deal with his parcel of draft picks, citing his offer to Charlotte last year in hopes of drafting Justise Winslow. Boston reportedly made a similar offer to the Heat. The writer mentions Sixers rookie Jahlil Okafor as another trade possibility.
Catenella Will Be Team's Cap Specialist
- Ken Catanella, who was named the Kings‘ assistant GM on Thursday, will be Sacramento’s salary cap specialist in addition to assisting with personnel decisions and day-to-day operations, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Catanella said he’s excited to work with executive Vlade Divac and assist in his vision for the franchise, Jones adds. “For me it’s all a part of wanting to be bigger part of something bigger than ourselves,” Catanella said.
Kings Coaching Search Primer: All The Names
George Karl‘s 14-month tenure as Kings coach was tumultuous, to say the least, and uncertainty has similarly marked the search to replace him. Reports have identified 21 candidates, including Tom Thibodeau, Scott Brooks and Kenny Atkinson, who’ve since taken other NBA head coaching jobs. GM Vlade Divac apparently wants to make a hire by sometime next week, but that seems like a daunting challenge, given all the names he’s sorting through.
Here’s a look where the Kings stand with each reported candidate, aside from the three who are already off the market:
- Henry Bibby: Sacramento has reached out to the former USC coach who’s the father of former Kings point guard Mike Bibby.
- David Blatt: The former Cavs coach was one of the first connected to the Kings vacancy, and Sacramento has reached out to him, too.
- Vinny Del Negro: The former Bulls and Clippers coach interviewed with the Kings on Monday.
- Patrick Ewing: The Hornets assistant and Hall of Fame center has long pined for a head coaching job, and the Kings are at least considering him.
- Jeff Hornacek: The ex-Suns coach was one of the first to be linked to the job, and the Kings intend to meet with him.
- Mark Jackson: An interview is set to take place, though the timing is unclear.
- Jay Larranaga: The Celtics assistant emerged as one of the early names linked to the opening, but no reports have addressed his candidacy since.
- Kevin McHale: The Kings have had extensive discussions with the ex-Rockets coach, and the dialogue is expected to continue, though some doubt exists about whether McHale wants the job.
- Nate McMillan: Sacramento has asked the Pacers for permission to interview McMillan, an Indiana assistant, but he doesn’t want to talk until the Pacers are done with the playoffs. The Kings appear willing to wait on him.
- Ettore Messina: The Kings have reached out to the Spurs assistant, and Divac has been especially interested in him and Walton, along with Thibodeau and Brooks, who’ve since taken other jobs.
- Sam Mitchell: The former Raptors and Wolves coach interviewed with the Kings last week. He appears to have been the first to interview.
- Brian Shaw: The Kings and the former Nuggets coach have mutual interest.
- Elston Turner: The Kings have received permission to interview the Grizzlies assistant who was a member of Rick Adelman’s staff in Sacramento from 2000-06.
- Ime Udoka: Divac has gauged the interest of the Spurs assistant.
- Jeff Van Gundy: Divac put out feelers, but the former Knicks and Rockets coach is uninterested.
- Luke Walton: Sacramento would like to interview Walton, and Divac apparently was expected at one point to meet with him, but the Kings don’t have permission from the Warriors and no indications exist that Walton, also a candidate for the Rockets, Knicks and Lakers jobs, wants to talk.
- Monty Williams: Divac has asked about Williams’ interest, though Williams, who’s still grieving the death of his wife, told the Wolves he wasn’t ready to discuss their vacancy when Minnesota reached out.
- Mike Woodson: The former Hawks and Knicks coach interviewed with the Kings on Tuesday.
Latest On The Kings’ Coaching Search
9:42pm: The Kings have been granted permission to speak with McMillan, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee relays, though the coach wants to wait until the Pacers’ postseason is complete before speaking with the team. Sacramento has also had extensive discussions with McHale to gauge his interest in the vacant post, Jones adds, and that dialogue is expected to continue, reports Sam Amick of USA Today. Additionally, the team plans to interview Messina in the near future, Amick relays.
1:55pm: Sacramento would like to talk to Walton, but no indications exist that the feeling is mutual, Amick tweets.
12:06pm: The Kings have received permission to interview Grizzlies assistant coach Elston Turner for their head coaching vacancy, reports Chris Haynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Northeast Ohio Media Group (Twitter link). GM Vlade Divac has reportedly been expected to meet with Warriors assistant Luke Walton, but Sacramento has yet to get Golden State’s permission to do so, as USA Today’s Sam Amick hears (Twitter link). Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee reported earlier this week that Turner would receive consideration for the Kings job.
The 56-year-old Turner has been with the Grizzlies since 2013, but his time as an NBA assistant dates back much farther. He was on Rick Adelman‘s coaching staff in Sacramento from 2000-06, when Turner was primarily responsible for the team’s defense, Jones tweets. Turner’s first gig as an NBA assistant was with the Trail Blazers from 1996-2000, and he’s also been an assistant for the Rockets, from 2007-11, and Suns, from 2011-13. He spent eight seasons as a player in the NBA from 1981-89, teaming with Michael Jordan on the Bulls from 1986-88.
Sacramento reportedly wants to hire a coach by sometime next week, but that seems far-fetched given the broad scope of the team’s search. The Kings have asked the Pacers for permission to interview assistant Nate McMillan, as Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago reported just hours ago. They’ve interviewed Sam Mitchell, Vinny Del Negro and Mike Woodson and would like to do so with Kevin McHale and Jeff Hornacek, according to earlier reports. Mark Jackson, Brian Shaw, Ettore Messina, Ime Udoka, Monty Williams, Jeff Van Gundy, Patrick Ewing, David Blatt, Jay Larranaga and Henry Bibby are the other names the team is apparently considering.
Kings Name Ken Catanella As Assistant GM
The Kings have officially named Ken Catanella as their assistant GM, the team announced. Catanella joins Sacramento’s front office after spending nearly five years with the Pistons as director of basketball operations and assistant GM, the release notes. “We are focused on building a winning team and part of that process is ensuring we have a sound front office structure,” executive Vlade Divac said. “We are thrilled that Ken Catanella is joining the Kings to help us build on our progress and drive success on the court. Ken’s unique statistical and player expertise will provide a significant boost to our basketball operations team.”
Western Notes: McGee, Durant, Price
Thunder small forward Kevin Durant, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, sees some parallels between himself and Mavs big man Dirk Nowitzki regarding their importance to their respective franchises, Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman relays. “Dirk has been a model of how you should handle things,” Durant said. “I’m just trying to do things my way as well. There’s a lot that comes with it. Dirk has handled it about as good as anybody’s ever handled it in this league. I try to learn from guys like him, Kobe Bryant. From everybody that’s been in that position, handling the situation as being a franchise guy.”
Durant did note that he has had an advantage over Nowitzki with the presence of teammate Russell Westbrook on the roster, Tramel adds. “The good thing about it here, I’m not the only guy,” Durant said. “Having Russell Westbrook along with me, that’s been with me along the way, to have another guy with you going through it and being able to kind of relate to the same things, it helps. I’m not here by myself. The organization’s been great, Russell has been more of a teammate than I could ask for over these last nine years. It’s not just myself.”
While Oklahoma City’s fan base hopes that Durant remains as loyal to the Thunder as Nowitzki has been to Dallas, here’s more from out West:
- The Kings are closing in on hiring Pistons executive Ken Catanella as their new assistant GM, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports. Catanella has been with Detroit since being named director of basketball operations in December of 2011, and he was promoted to assistant GM in 2014/15. He and George David were jointly in charge of the Pistons front office during the brief period between the tenures of Joe Dumars and Stan Van Gundy in 2014.
- The Mavericks will seek to add a center this offseason but still consider JaVale McGee a part of their future plans, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. “I don’t want to leave out JaVale McGee,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He came to us as a guy who was recovering from a very serious [leg] injury. And his deal is a two-year deal and we felt it was going to take two years to get back to being completely healthy and the player he completely was. He’s regained his health, regained his footing and he and Salah Mejri right now are the two centers we have. We’ll certainly look to add somebody else. But we’re going to be looking at those two guys as very important.”
- Suns point guard Ronnie Price, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, said he wants to remain in Phoenix and that he and his teammates need to stay close over the summer to improve team chemistry, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. “It’s a mutual responsibility for all of us to stay linked in and just stay connected,” said Price. “We talk about being a family and we’ve made great strides. We can’t make those strides and then, in the summer, be like, ‘See you next August.’ We have to stay connected and continue to build so then, when the season gets here, we’re ahead of the game.”
More Doubt Cast On Kings' Appeal To McHale
- Multiple people have told Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee that McHale isn’t fond of California, casting doubt on the idea that he’d take the Kings coaching job, though Jones cautions that he isn’t entirely sure whether McHale indeed holds a low opinion of the location (Twitter link). The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported last week that McHale was on the fence about whether to interview for the gig, though Stein wrote more recently that McHale and the Kings have had exploratory talks.
Kings Consider Henry Bibby; Morway Talks End
The Kings have reached out to former NBA assistant and USC head coach Henry Bibby about their head coaching vacancy, according to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee, who includes the information in a story about the team’s desire to meet with Warriors assistant Luke Walton. The team appears set to accelerate its coaching search, as Jones hears the Kings would like to make a hire by sometime next week (Twitter link), though that would require the team to drastically pare its wide-ranging list of candidates.
The Kings are meanwhile no longer engaged in talks with former Bucks and Pacers executive David Morway about a front office role that would have made him an assistant to Vice President of Basketball Operations Vlade Divac, sources tell The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). A deal with Morway was reportedly close as of late last month, when the Kings signed Divac to an extension. Sacramento has sought an experienced hand to pair with Divac, a front office neophyte.
Bibby, 66, joins a crowded field of Sacramento coaching candidates that also includes Grizzlies assistant Elston Turner, as Jones reported Tuesday. The Bee’s Ailene Voisin reported last week that Divac was inquiring about at least two college coaches, so perhaps Bibby is one of them. Still, the father of former Kings point guard Mike Bibby hasn’t been with USC since 2004, having more recently been an assistant for the Sixers, Grizzlies and Pistons. He was last on an NBA bench with Detroit for the 2013/14 season.
Walton appears much higher on Sacramento’s list of priorities, and while Voisin reported that Divac and Walton were expected to meet to discuss the job, Jones raises the possibility that Walton will decline to talk to the Kings about the vacancy. The team has already interviewed Sam Mitchell, Vinny Del Negro and, as Jones reports, Mike Woodson, whose meeting with the team had reportedly been imminent. The Kings intend to meet with Jeff Hornacek, too, as Jones wrote last week.
Kevin McHale is a serious contender and he and the Kings have had exploratory talks, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported earlier this week. The former Rockets coach is well-liked within the Sacramento organization and many consider him a front-runner for the job, according to James Ham of CSN California. The Kings would like to interview McHale, but, as of last week, he hadn’t decided whether he wants to talk, as Wojnarowski reported.
Mark Jackson, Brian Shaw, Ettore Messina, Ime Udoka, Nate McMillan, Monty Williams, Jeff Van Gundy, Patrick Ewing, David Blatt and Jay Larranaga are the other reported candidates for the coaching job. Some people around the league think Kings assistant Corliss Williamson deserves an interview, Jones tweets, but it’s unclear if the team is considering him.