Pacific Notes: Kings, Malone, Price
With the Suns, Lakers and Clippers in action tonight, let’s take a look at some news and notes coming out of the league’s Pacific division on Monday:
- Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro told reporters, including Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee, that it was his call to fire Michael Malone and that the decision was made over philosophical differences rather than wins and losses (Twitter link).
- While those differences are easy to point to as the main reason the Kings moved on from Malone, Scott Howard-Cooper writes that the most obvious takeaway from the situation in Sacramento is that the team should never have brought him back for this season in the first place.
- Malone’s firing is just the latest testament to the lack of job security enjoyed by the majority of NBA head coaches, writes Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report, who adds that unrealistic expectations from ownership tends to be a common driver to early coaching exits.
- The Lakers guaranteed half of the contract of Ronnie Price today, writes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. Price is now guaranteed $658,405 of his $1.3MM deal, with the remaining portion to be locked in if the point guard is still on the team come January 10th. It was only a few weeks ago that Price seemed to be on the chopping block, but the veteran has since supplanted Jeremy Lin as the team’s starting point guard.
Kings Coaching Rumors: Mullin, Jent, Malone
The Kings’ head coaching job appears to be George Karl‘s if he wants it, and it seems like he does. Still, the job would be Chris Mullin‘s if he wanted to take it, an opposing GM tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link), and Mullin is indeed a possibility, tweets Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Tyrone Corbin is expected to take the job on an interim basis once the Kings make their decision to fire Michael Malone official. Here’s more on a time of uncertainty in California’s capital:
5:28pm update:
- Ranadive finds the prospect of Mullin coaching the team “very intriguing,” sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
4:48pm update:
- It was a mutual parting of ways for Jent and the Kings, D’Alessandro told reporters, including Jones (Twitter link).
4:06pm updates:
- Jent won’t be on the staff going forward, Corbin confirmed to reporters, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee notes (on Twitter).
- Cousins said the news of Malone’s departure, which he heard via Twitter, evoked an emotional reaction among the players and called the day’s rainy weather a fitting backdrop, as Amick and Jones relay (Twitter links).
4:00pm updates:
- DeMarcus Cousins said the Kings didn’t consult him about the apparent coaching change, but he trusts the team to work it all out, as he told reporters today, including USA Today’s Sam Amick (Twitter link).
- The Kings and assistant coach Chris Jent are expected to part ways, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who indicates that the team plans to make its decision to fire Malone official on Tuesday.
- Sacramento’s front office didn’t believe Jent, who served last season as the team’s top assistant, was the right man for the job, so they interviewed Alvin Gentry and Kurt Rambis for the position, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports writes in a full piece. Malone suspected at the time that the team was trying to hire his successor, and so he pursued Corbin, who landed the assistant coaching job and has been loyal to Malone. Gentry was uncomfortable with the notion that the Kings were setting him up as a head-coach-in-waiting, sources tell Grantland’s Zach Lowe, who says the Kings deny that they had that in mind.
- There’s more than $4MM that Malone is still to receive under the terms of his contract with the Kings, Wojnarowski writes in the same piece.
- The falling out between Malone and Kings management began late last season when Malone wanted the team to add a point guard and the front office instead signed Royce White to a pair of 10-day contracts and pushed Malone to play him, as Wojnarowski details.
- GM Pete D’Alessandro was merely the messenger in many cases as he passed along orders from Ranadive that Malone didn’t like, though D’Alessandro and Malone never formed any mutual trust, according to Wojnarowski.
- People around the team believe the Kings were waiting for an opportunity to fire Malone and used the team’s struggles of late as an excuse to do so, in spite of the absence of Cousins during the team’s 2-7 stretch over the last nine games, Wojnarowski hears.
- The presence of Malone was a major reason why Rudy Gay signed his three-year extension with the team last month, Wojnarowski also writes.
Kings Fire Mike Malone, Eye George Karl
4:54pm: The Kings have formally announced that they’ve fired Malone and installed Corbin as head coach, though there’s no mention of the word “interim” regarding Corbin in the team’s statement.
“This was an extremely difficult decision, but one we feel is in the best interest of the franchise moving forward,” D’Alessandro said. “Michael made significant contributions to the organization on many levels and helped foster cultural changes that positively impacted our team. We’re thankful for the commitment he exhibited during his time in Sacramento and wish him and his family the very best in the future.”
4:19pm: The team hasn’t issued a formal announcement of the move, but D’Alessandro confirmed that Corbin has replaced Malone as he spoke to reporters in an impromptu press conference that the team is streaming on its website. D’Alessandro refused to answer whether Corbin would hold the job for the rest of the season, as USA Today’s Sam Amick notes (on Twitter).
8:30am: The Kings told coach Michael Malone on Sunday night that they’ve decided to fire him, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Assistant coach Tyrone Corbin will assume the head coaching job on an interim basis and is likely to serve in that capacity for the rest of the season, Wojnarowski writes, though the team has yet to make any formal announcement of a coaching change. Many around the league strongly believe that Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro will pursue George Karl, with whom he worked in Denver, but any such move probably wouldn’t take place until the offseason, Wojnarowski hears. Still, Corbin is expected to be replaced eventually, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick.
The timing of the news is shocking, coming as it does with DeMarcus Cousins having missed the past nine games with viral meningitis. The Kings (11-13) were 9-6 before Cousins fell ill, and had wins over the Spurs, Clippers and Bulls during that stretch, as Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com points out (Twitter link).
Still, tension between Malone and the Kings brass has been building for the past year, as Wojnarowski details. D’Alessandro and owner Vivek Ranadive want a faster style of play, Wojnarowski writes, as does consultant Chris Mullin, tweets Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. Mullin, who holds the title of advisor to the chairman, is an influential force within the front office, Amick notes. Management was disappointed with Malone’s player development, game plans and adjustments, a source tells fellow Yahoo! Sports scribe Marc J. Spears (Twitter link). Malone and D’Alessandro didn’t communicate much over the offseason, Amick hears. The front office interviewed candidates for the lead assistant coaching job, but it was Malone who decided to hire Corbin for that role, according to Wojnarowski, who adds that Malone doesn’t believe Corbin attempted to undermine him.
Malone let Ranadive know he was no fan of the Kings’ pursuit of Josh Smith this summer, Wojnarowski reports. Still, Ranadive, who was involved in those talks with the Pistons, and D’Alessandro forged ahead, though Detroit wasn’t biting, as Wojnarowski adds on Twitter.
Karl, who’s been out of coaching since his tenure with the Nuggets ended in the summer of 2013, just weeks after he won the NBA’s Coach of the Year award, is a major fan of Cousins, and the Nuggets attempted to trade for the center during Karl’s time there, The Bee’s Jason Jones tweets.
Wojnarowski identifies Vinny Del Negro as another possible candidate for the job, while Mullin and Mark Jackson are tight, as Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group points out (on Twitter). Still, it’s unclear if the Kings are seriously considering either Del Negro or Jackson.
Ranadive’s first move after assuming ownership of the team in 2013 was to hire Malone, as Jones notes via Twitter, even before D’Alessandro or Mullin came aboard, in a departure from normal convention in which the coach is hired after the management team. Malone, who had been an assistant under Jackson in Golden State before he joined Sacramento, has gone 39-67 in his time with the Kings. Sacramento had given the well-regarded assistant his first NBA coaching job. He’s in the second season of a four-year deal worth approximately $9MM, though the final season is a team option that hasn’t yet been exercised, Amick notes.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Beck’s Latest: Kings, Knicks, Suns, Nets, Rockets
There will be chatter aplenty between now and the February 19th trade deadline, but not all of it will truly constitute trade rumors, as Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck cautions. However, when multiple voices speak in unison, there’s usually a grain of truth involved, and Beck has plenty of tidbits he’s heard from a variety of sources around the league. We already passed along the news that the Pistons are putting Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings on the block, but that’s not the only item of note. We’ll pass along the rest of the highlights here and encourage you to read Beck’s full piece for more:
- The Kings head coaching job is George Karl‘s if he wants it, as both Beck and Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee hear (Twitter links). Alvin Gentry and Mark Jackson are also “prime candidates,” according to Beck, though it’s not clear if the Kings are targeting either of them. Karl said to Tom Byrne of SiriusXM NBA Radio today that, “If they’re interested in me, I’m interested in them (Twitter link). Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports first identified Karl as the front-runner for the job, which Tyrone Corbin is expected to assume on an interim basis.
- Executives around the league tell Beck that the Knicks are making all of their players except for Carmelo Anthony available, as Beck writes in his piece. A similar scenario is in place for New Orleans, where the Pelicans are open to trading everyone outside of Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, Omer Asik and Ryan Anderson, Beck hears.
- Many executives expect the Suns to trade one of Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas, according to Beck.
- The Nets would probably only move one or two of Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson, team sources tell Beck. The Rockets asked Brooklyn about Andrei Kirilenko before the Nets traded him to the Sixers last week, Beck also hears.
- There’s conflicting intel on the Nuggets, whom many executives view as top candidates to become sellers, while one Western Conference exec tells Beck that the Nuggets like their team and aren’t inclined to move anybody. In any case, there’s plenty of interest in Wilson Chandler and Timofey Mozgov, executives have said to Beck.
- Many executives and scouts identified Thaddeus Young, Mo Williams and David Lee among likely trade candidates, Beck writes.
Western Notes: Kings, Thomas, McGee, Grizzlies
Improvements in the performance and temperament of DeMarcus Cousins and a flawed roster unfit for the style Kings management wants to play are among the reasons SB Nation’s Tom Ziller believes the Kings erred in their apparent decision to fire coach Michael Malone. Cousins was one of Malone’s most enthusiastic supporters, notes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). Carl Landry has had high praise for Malone, too, according to Jones, who adds that Malone’s players have almost universally held the coach in high esteem (Twitter links). While we wait to see what happens next in Sacramento, here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- Isaiah Thomas has fired agent Andy Miller of ASM Sports for reasons both personal and professional, sources tell Darren Heitner of the Sports Agent Blog (Twitter link). The agency confirmed the move, as Heitner notes via Twitter. The Suns guard intends to pick a new agent before the holidays, Heitner adds. Miller negotiated a new four-year, $27MM deal this summer for Thomas, the last pick in the 2011 draft.
- JaVale McGee will miss a “significant” amount of time after aggravating a muscle near the tibia in which he suffered a stress fracture that kept him out most of last season, Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said Sunday to reporters, including Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post. “I heard six weeks at one point,” Shaw said. “I don’t know. I don’t think he’s anywhere close to coming back right now.”
- Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger downplayed the notion that the team would make changes in spite of rumors indicating that the Cavs have their eyes on Tayshaun Prince and Kosta Koufos, as Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal writes. The Grizzlies are reportedly interested in Ray Allen, though there’s no indication that he would consider signing with Memphis, Tillery points out.
Western Notes: Suns, Wolves, Bryant, Kanter
The Suns can blame their lackluster defense for their current four game losing streak, opines Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. New addition Isaiah Thomas feels the team’s mentality is reason for the current slide. “We’re just not bringing it every night, plain and simple,” said Thomas. “I don’t know what it is but we’re not bringing it. We’re not playing with that attitude like,’We need this win.’ That’s got to change or we’re going to dig ourselves a hole.” Even with Phoenix’s current struggles, the team resides in eighth place in the Western Conference with a record of 12-12.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- The Kings assigned Eric Moreland to the Reno Bighorns of the D-League, according to the RealGM transactions log. Moreland, who has been yo-yoed a bit this season, was with the Kings for just one day on this latest stint.
- Although Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders doesn’t agree with Magic Johnson’s plea for the Lakers to lose in order to secure a high draft pick, he understands the benefit to the strategy, writes Michael Rand of the Star Tribune. “I’m never a proponent to just say tank games or lose games. You’re letting players off the hook. Depending on who you have out there, you might not have to worry about it. … I know what Magic is saying, and I’m sure it’s how most people look at it: If you’re not going to be a playoff team, you’re better off getting as high a (draft) pick as you can,” said Saunders during an interview with Rand. Minnesota currently sits in last place in the Western Conference with a record of 5-17.
- Kobe Bryant may be on the verge of a huge milestone, being only eight points behind Michael Jordan to become the NBA’s third all-time leading scorer, yet he had bigger plans for the season when he signed his two year $48.5MM extension, writes Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Daily News. Heisler opines that Bryant’s quest for another title is a lost cause due to the team’s current roster and Bryant’s expected retirement at the end of the 2015/16 season. The team certainly thinks this contract will be the last for one of the greatest Lakers of all time. “All indications are to me, from him, that this is going to be it,” GM Mitch Kupchak said. “If somebody’s thinking of buying a ticket three years from now to see Kobe play, I would not do that.”
- Center Enes Kanter is making huge strides this season for the Jazz, writes Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. Kanter, who is set to become a restricted free agent after the season, enjoys playing under first year head coach Quin Snyder.
And-Ones: Poythress, Thunder, NBA Draft
Kentucky junior forward Alex Poythress suffered a torn left ACL during practice and will miss the remainder of season, the University announced via their official website. “Our team was devastated for Alex when I told them,” coach John Calipari said. “There were tears throughout the room because this hurt them to the core. How they will respond I really don’t know, but I will do my best to be there for each of these kids. I told them, this is a big blow to our team. No one will be able to replace Alex and what he did for this team. I go back to last year’s NCAA Tournament. Without Alex, we don’t win those games. No one will be able to replace him, but now everybody has to do a little bit more as we try to circle the wagons.” Poythress is currently the 47th ranked college prospect by DraftExpress.
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- The Thunder have once again recalled Mitch McGary and Grant Jerrett from the Oklahoma City Blue, their D-League affiliate, the team announced.
- The 2015 NBA draft is loaded with talented big men, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. Kennedy spoke with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, who believes that the lack of top point guard prospects is opening the door for a lot of bigs to potentially go in the first 30 picks. “I think that part of the reason why you’re seeing so many big men in our [DraftExpress’] top 30 is because this is a really weak class for point guards,” Givony told Kennedy. “There might be one point guard in our top 20 right now and maybe two in the first round, period. That just leaves a lot of spots open for the four other positions, including power forwards and centers. I think that’s why we’re seeing some of these bigs [in the top 30]. But it’s a nice class for big guys too. I do think this draft, as a whole, is much better than advertised so far.”
- Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders ran down which players are his picks for the top 10 prospects in the NBA who are 23 years old or younger. Topping Duncan’s list are Anthony Davis (Pelicans), Kyrie Irving (Cavs), and Jabari Parker (Bucks).
- The Kings have recalled Eric Moreland from the Reno Bighorns, their D-League affiliate, the team announced.
D-League Notes: Mitchell, Adams, Ledo
The D-League is becoming an integral part of the NBA’s process of developing younger players, as well as a source for locating hidden gems to bolster rosters during the course of the season. You can easily stay on top of which players are coming and going from the D-League all season by checking out our 2014/15 D-League Assignments, Recalls tracker, which is updated daily. You can also find this page anytime on the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features.”
Here are the latest D-League moves:
- The Pistons have sent Tony Mitchell to the Grand Rapids Drive, their D-League affiliate, Keith Langlois of NBA.com reports (Twitter link). This will be Mitchell’s fourth D-League assignment of the season.
- Jordan Adams has been re-assigned to the Iowa Energy, the Grizzlies‘ affiliate, the team announced in a press release. In his three previous jaunts to Iowa, Adams has averaged 14.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals in 30.0 minutes per contest.
- The Mavericks have recalled Ricky Ledo from the Texas Legends of the D-League, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com reports (Twitter link). This was Ledo’s fourth assignment of the season to the D-League. In seven appearances for the Legends, he has averaged 13.3 PPG.
- The Kings have re-assigned Eric Moreland to their D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns, the team announced via Twitter. This will be Moreland’s fourth trip to Reno of the season, and he’s averaging 14.4 points, 13.6 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks for the Bighorns this season.
Quincy Miller Signs With D-League
FRIDAY, 3:03pm: The affiliate of the Kings has been awarded Miller off waivers, a source tells Pilato (Twitter link).
THURSDAY, 3:34pm: The Reno Bighorns, the Kings’ D-League affiliate, have issued a waiver claim for Miller, Gino Pilato of D-League Digest reports (Twitter link). The player is not expected to fall past them, Pilato adds.
WEDNESDAY. 8:13pm: Free agent forward Quincy Miller has signed a contract with the NBA D-League, Shams Charania of RealGM reports. Miller will be subject to the D-League waiver system, so it’s not yet clear which D-League team he’ll play for. Miller’s agent, Jared Karnes, confirmed to Charania that Miller was entering the D-League with the hope he’ll earn a call-up to the NBA.
Miller worked out for the Lakers last month and was one of the candidates considered to earn a roster spot on an injury-riddled Los Angeles squad. The 22-year-old was in training camp with the Nuggets before being waived back in October.
In two NBA seasons, Miller has averaged 4.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 0.5 assists. His career slash line is .366/.316/.702.
And-Ones: McGrady, Draft, Hamilton
The league has been canvassing team executives about the idea of eliminating as much as half of the preseason to make the regular season about 10 days longer, thus building more off days into the schedule, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports. Any reduction in the preseason wouldn’t take place until the 2016/17 season at the earliest, according to Lowe, and the league has also brought up the idea of allowing organized team activities during the offseason like
the National Football League does, Lowe writes.
Here’s more from around the NBA and abroad:
- A recent report from Bleacher Report’s Les Carpenter left some ambiguity about whether Tracy McGrady wanted to return to the NBA, but McGrady confirmed via his verified Facebook account that he no longer wants to play.
- There will be more than a dozen NBA scouts in Spain tonight to observe Barcelona taking on Fenerbahce, with their primary focus being on Mario Hezonja, a projected lottery pick in the 2015 NBA draft, Chris Mannix of SI.com reports (Twitter link).
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) has released his second mock draft of the year. Ford projects the top three picks in the 2015 draft to be Jahlil Okafor (Duke), Karl-Anthony Towns (Kentucky), and Emmanuel Mudiay (Guangdong).
- The Reno Bighorns of the NBA D-League traded for the rights to former NBA player Jordan Hamilton today, the team announced in a press release. In the deal, the Bighorns, the affiliate of the Kings, also acquired the Rio Grande Valley Vipers’ second round pick in the 2015 D-League draft. In return, Reno sent their 2015 first round pick in the D-League draft to the Iowa Energy, the Grizzlies’ D-League affiliate. Hamilton spent the 2014 preseason with the Raptors, before being acquired off of waivers by the Jazz, who later waived him themselves. The Lakers had expressed some interest in Hamilton, but declined to sign him after he worked out for the team last month.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.