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Rockets Hire Mike D’Antoni As Head Coach

June 1st, 2016 at 2:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports Images

JUNE 1, 2:10pm: The Rockets formally introduced D’Antoni as their head coach at a news conference this afternoon, and confirmed his hiring in a press release. As Calvin Watkins of ESPN tweets, the team introduced Jeff Bzdelik and Roy Rogers as assistant coaches on D’Antoni’s staff.

MAY 26, 4:54pm: The deal will pay D’Antoni approximately $4MM per season, Wojnarowski writes in a full-length piece.

4:22pm: The Rockets and Mike D’Antoni are finalizing a agreement that will make him the team’s new head coach, Adrian Wojnarowski of the Vertical reports (Twitter links). It will be a four-year pact that includes a team option for the final season, Wojnarowski adds. Houston is the only team remaining in the NBA with a head coaching vacancy.

The 65-year-old has an overall record of 455-426 in the regular season as a head coach and was named as the 2004/05 Coach of the Year. With D’Antoni’s forte clearly on the offensive end, the team is looking to bring in a strong defensive coach and is eyeing Memphis assistant Jeff Bzdelik and former Wizards assistant Roy Rogers, Wojnarowski relays (Twitter links).

The addition of D’Antoni likely spells the end of center Dwight Howard‘s tenure in Houston, with the big man widely expected to opt out of his deal and become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. The two reportedly did not get on well when both were with the Lakers and its unlikely Howard would want a repeat of their spotty history, though that is merely my speculation.

The Rockets also met with former Suns coach Jeff Hornacek, who is reportedly close to joining the Knicks, former Cavaliers coach David Blatt, Clippers assistant Sam Cassell and Rockets assistant Chris Finch. Former Pacers coach Frank Vogel and Spurs assistant Ettore Messina are also part of the process, with Messina having interviewed with the team last Saturday. Former interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff and former Rockets guard Kenny Smith were also interviewed, but Bickerstaff withdrew from consideration and Smith was told he was no longer a candidate as the Rockets decided to focus on coaches with either head coaching experience or extensive experience as an assistant. Jeff Van Gundy was also mentioned as a candidate, but he and the team never formally spoke about the post.

Grizzlies Hire David Fizdale As Head Coach

May 29th, 2016 at 2:06pm CST by Luke Adams

SUNDAY, 2:06pm: The hiring is official, the Grizzlies announced today.

THURSDAY, 12:06pm: The Grizzlies and David Fizdale have reached an agreement on a contract that will make the Heat assistant the new head coach in Memphis, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). According to Wojnarowski, it will be a four-year deal for Fizdale. Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Commercial Appeal adds (via Twitter) that the fourth year will be a team option.

Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports Images

Fizdale, who turns 42 next month, has been a part of the Heat’s coaching staff since 2008, with the club earning two NBA Championship teams during his tenure. Fizdale previously served as an assistant coach for the Warriors (2003/04) and the Hawks (2004-2008).

The Grizzlies had been seeking a replacement for former coach Dave Joerger, who was fired after requesting permission to interview for other coaching jobs. The Kings hired him last week, giving him a four-year deal worth $16MM, leaving Memphis to scour the market for a new head coach.

In addition to Fizdale, the Grizzlies considered several other candidates for their head coaching vacancy, including Spurs assistants James Borrego and Ettore Messina, Hornets assistant Patrick Ewing, Grizzlies assistant Jeff Bzdelik and Trail Blazers assistant Nate Tibbetts.

The club also conducted at least one interview with Frank Vogel, who spoke to team owner Robert Pera, before he accepted the head coaching job in Orlando. Outside of Vogel, Fizdale is believed to be the only candidate who had an interview with Pera in attendance.

Wojnarowski first reported on Wednesday that Memphis had offered its head coaching position to Fizdale.

The Rockets are now the NBA’s only head team whose head coaching search is ongoing.

Wolves Announce Multiple Front Office Changes

May 20th, 2016 at 6:03pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Timberwolves are under new management in Tom Thibodeau and Scott Layden. As is often the case with new regimes, they wish to bring in their own people to surround themselves with. In keeping with that theme, the team has announced via press release that a number of front office personnel have been let go from their respective positions. The franchise did not name any replacements in its official statement:

“Effective immediately, the following individuals will be relieved of their respective duties: previous General Manager Milt Newton, Vice President of Basketball Operations Rob Babcock, Vice President of Sports Performance Arnie Kander, assistant coach Sid Lowe, Director of Sports Performance Koichi Sato, Manager of Team Travel/Facilities Coordinator Bill Hohenecker, Head of Video Department and Manager of Basketball Technology Brice Long and Scouts Milton Barnes and Jason Hervey. We Would like to thank all of these individuals for their contributions to our organization and wish them well in their future endeavors.”

Team owner Glen Taylor had stated back in March that Newton would be in charge of the draft and free agency for the team this summer, but that was well in advance of Thibodeau being hired. Newton wasn’t assured of holding onto his post beyond this season anyway, after he inherited the role this past fall upon the death of president of basketball operations Flip Saunders. One potential landing spot for Newton is in Washington, where he had previously served as vice president of player personnel for the Wizards, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets.

Magic Hire Frank Vogel

May 20th, 2016 at 4:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

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FRIDAY, 4:15pm: The hiring of Vogel is official, the team announced via press release. “While we were conducting our search, it became very evident that Frank is a terrific fit for our organization,” said Hennigan. “He is a strong, hard-working and experienced leader, who will continue to instill smart, physical, unselfish and defensive-minded basketball in our group. We welcome him into the Magic family, as we move forward in a positive direction.”

5:03pm: Orlando hopes to retain Griffin as the top assistant on Vogel’s staff, Wojnarowski tweets.

4:54pm: Vogel will receive a four-year deal worth approximately $22MM, David Aldridge of NBA.com reports (Twitter link).

THURSDAY, 2:53pm: The Magic have reached an agreement in principal with Frank Vogel that will make him their new head coach, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel reports (on Twitter). The length and terms of the proposed arrangement are not yet known. Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported earlier today that the two sides were nearing an agreement.

Orlando was scrambling to recover from former coach Scott Skiles‘ sudden resignation and were said to be targeting a coach with a track record of developing young players and who was a strong defensive coach. “Sort of the fulcrum of what we’re looking for,” GM Rob Hennigan said, “is someone who puts an emphasis on the defensive end of the floor, someone who puts an emphasis on player development and also someone who puts an emphasis on building lasting connections with the players on our roster.” The GM didn’t specifically say that description fit Vogel, but the coach certainly did well developing a young Indiana squad into an Eastern Conference contender during his time with the Pacers.

The Pacers went 250-181 in parts of six seasons under Vogel, who inherited the head coaching job, his first in the NBA, when the Pacers parted ways with Jim O’Brien in January of 2011. That record doesn’t include his postseason mark of 31-30, with Indiana making back-to-back conference finals under Vogel in 2013 and 2014.

Orlando also interviewed former Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff, Trail Blazers assistant David Vanterpool and current Magic assistant Adrian Griffin. Griffin was reportedly Vogel’s stiffest competition for the post, with the assistant speaking formally with team officials on Tuesday. The team is reportedly extremely fond of Griffin, but the front office was intrigued by Vogel’s résumé and the fact that he is an established NBA head coach, a claim that Griffin cannot make. Griffin has been considered a prime head coaching candidate around the NBA for the last few years, reportedly interviewing with the Blazers in 2012, the Pistons and twice with the Sixers in 2013, and the Jazz twice as well as the Cavs in 2014.

Kings’ Curry, Anderson Opt Out

May 18th, 2016 at 9:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

Seth Curry and James Anderson have both opted out of their contracts with the Kings for next season, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. The action means both players will become restricted free agents this summer.

Curry, a third-year point guard, could have made $1,015,696 next season after signing a two-year deal last July. He appeared in 44 games for the Kings, making nine starts, while averaging 6.8 points per night and shooting 45% from 3-point range.

Anderson, a sixth-year swingman, would have received $1,139,123 next season on a minimum-salary deal. He started 15 of the 51 games he played, averaging 3.5 points per contest.

Suns To Hire Jay Triano As Associate Head Coach

May 18th, 2016 at 7:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Trail Blazers assistant Jay Triano will become associate head coach with the Suns, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Triano, who has three seasons of head coaching experience and 10 years as an assistant, will join the staff of Earl Watson, who was formally hired last month after serving as an interim coach for 33 games.

Triano, who doubles as head coach of the Canadian national team, went 87-142 in nearly three full seasons as coach of the Raptors before being dismissed in 2011. He was the first Canadian-born coach in league history.

The 57-year-old Triano has been an assistant in Portland since 2012. He will be expected to help turn around a Suns team that hasn’t reached the playoffs since 2009/10.

Pacers Hire Nate McMillan As Head Coach

May 16th, 2016 at 12:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

July 11, 2012; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Team USA assistant coach Nate McMillan during practice at the UNLV Mendenhall Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Gary A. Vasquez / USA TODAY Sports Images

12:38pm: McMillan signed a three-year contract with the Pacers, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). There are no options included in the deal.

11:55am: In advance of their formal news conference today, the Pacers have confirmed in a press release that Nate McMillan has been hired as the team’s new head coach. McMillan, who has been an assistant with the team since 2013, replaces Frank Vogel, who was let go on May 5th.

Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical first reported on Saturday that the Pacers were putting the final touches on a deal to promote McMillan to the head coaching job. According to Wojnarowski, Pacers officials offered McMillan the job during his interview late last week.

“I truly believe Nate is the right coach for us at this time,” Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird said in a statement on Monday. “When I heard he was interested, I got in touch with him, met with him and in our conversation I came away with all the confidence in the world in Nate to lead our franchise to where we want to go. His experience as a player, head coach and assistant coach in the NBA are valuable assets for us.”

This will be the third NBA head coaching job for McMillan, who spent nearly five seasons as the coach in Seattle and six and a half with Portland. He has a 478-452 career record, along with five playoff appearances.

The Pacers considered several former NBA coaches and current assistants before deciding on the 51-year-old McMillan. He was also reported to be a finalist for the Kings job that went to Dave Joerger and was listed as a possible candidate for the Wizards’ opening before they hired Scott Brooks.

Scott Skiles Resigns As Magic Coach

May 12th, 2016 at 9:12am CST by Chuck Myron

Noah K. Murray / USA TODAY Sports Images

Scott Skiles has stepped down as coach of the Magic, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). The team confirmed the move via Twitter and a press release.

Skiles has been unhappy for a few months, Robbins hears. (All Twitter links). A disconnect existed between Skiles and GM Rob Hennigan, and they had a few disagreements on personnel and the team’s mindset, Robbins adds. Hennigan and the front office support Elfrid Payton as the point guard of the future and Skiles doesn’t, but that’s just one of multiple issues between the coach and his boss, Robbins says.

The coach blurted out to Hennigan in mid-January that he thought it was a mistake to take the job, but he quickly retracted the statement, as Justin Termine of SiriusXM NBA Radio hears (All Twitter links). The damage was nonetheless done, as Hennigan remained upset, according to Termine. Skiles also told assistant coach Adrian Griffin that he was having second thoughts, and Griffin went to management about it, Termine reports (Twitter link).

The news is nonetheless a shock, coming just one year into his tenure on the team’s bench. Magic players are surprised and haven’t been told the reason why, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). Soon-to-be free agent Evan Fournier profanely expressed his shock in a tweet.

Skiles, 52, is an Indiana native, and the Pacers head coaching job came open a week ago, though it’s unknown at this point if he has interest in that position. He drew praise as the team started 19-13, but the Magic fell off sharply from there, finishing 35-47 and out of the playoffs for fourth straight year. Orlando was 23-29 when it traded Tobias Harris and Channing Frye at the February deadline in future-focused swaps that weakened the roster for the stretch run.

“After much thought and careful consideration, I and I alone, have come to the conclusion that I am not the right head coach for this team,” Skiles in a statement released through the team. “Therefore, effective immediately, I resign my position as head coach of the Orlando Magic. I realize this type of decision can cause much speculation. The reality though is in the first sentence. It is simple and true. Any other rumors are pure conjecture.”

“I sincerely apologize for any unintended consequences that may adversely affect anyone associated with this decision,” Skiles continued. “The Magic are a world-class organization that employs world-class people. I wish them nothing but great success. I will always be thankful, especially to the DeVos family, for the opportunity.”

The coach has a reputation for wearing out his welcome in short order, but each of his three previous head coaching stints lasted significantly longer than his time in Orlando. He coached the Suns for parts of three seasons and the Bulls and the Bucks for parts of five seasons apiece. His all-time record is 478-480 in the regular season and 18-24 in the playoffs.

“While we understand it was a challenging season, we reluctantly have accepted Scott’s resignation,” Hennigan said in the team’s statement. “We appreciate Scott instilling a culture of accountability and certainly wish him and his family well.”

His resignation means the Magic are one of five NBA teams on the market for a head coach. The Pacers, Grizzlies, Rockets and Knicks are the others, though interim head coach Kurt Rambis is still working for New York. Orlando interviewed Clippers assistant Mike Woodson and former Warriors head coach Mark Jackson before hiring Skiles last year, as well as Fred Hoiberg, who later took the Bulls head coaching job, Robbins notes.

Kings Hire Dave Joerger As Coach

May 9th, 2016 at 3:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports Images

3:30pm: The hiring is official, the team announced.

“I am thrilled to welcome Dave to the Sacramento Kings,” Divac said. “He is a strong and passionate leader with a proven track record of producing results. Dave shares our focus on creating a long-term culture of winning and I look forward to a bright future ahead for the Kings with his leadership on the court.”

1:22pm: The Kings and Dave Joerger have struck agreement on a four-year deal worth $16MM that will make him the team’s head coach, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter links). The fourth season will be a team option, Wojnarowski adds. Sacramento had hoped to come to terms today on that very contract structure, as Wojnarowski reported just minutes ago. Marc Stein of ESPN.com first reported the framework of a four-year arrangement with a team option, and Wojnarowski first reported that Sacramento had Joerger atop its wish list in the wake of the Grizzlies’ decision to fire him Saturday.

Joerger and the Kings moved quickly, as the coach met with GM Vlade Divac on Sunday and did the same with owner Vivek Ranadive today, Wojnarowski notes. The Kings had reportedly been telling other candidates that they’d wait to speak again with three finalists in the coming days, but apparently the prospect of securing Joerger proved too tempting. The ex-Memphis coach had planned to wait to hear from the Rockets, with whom he reportedly held mutual interest, but it’s unclear if Joerger and Houston ever touched base.

The 42-year-old Joerger is expected to bring Grizzlies assistant Elston Turner with him to Sacramento and is likely to hire veteran NBA and college assistant Bill Bayno for the staff, too, according to Wojnarowski. Turner is one of a lengthy list of names attached to the Kings job over the past few weeks, though it wasn’t clear whether he was indeed a head coaching candidate or merely an assistant coaching option all along.

Sacramento conducted by far the most wide-ranging coaching search in the league this year with Kevin McHale, Frank Vogel, Tom Thibodeau, Scott Brooks, Kenny Atkinson, Luke Walton, Sam Mitchell, Vinny Del Negro, Mike Woodson, David Blatt, Mark Jackson, Ettore Messina, James Borrego, Henry Bibby, Patrick Ewing, Mark Jackson, Nate McMillan, Jeff Hornacek, Corliss Williamson, Jay Larranaga, Brian Shaw, Ime Udoka, Jeff Van Gundy and Monty Williams all drawing Sacramento’s eye at one point or another, according to previous reports.

Joerger carries a 147-99 regular season record and a 9-13 postseason mark to Sacramento from his time with Memphis, but he’ll be hard-pressed to duplicate that sort of success for the Kings, who haven’t made the postseason since 2006. He’ll be Sacramento’s ninth coach since the team fired Rick Adelman after that playoff run, and the sixth who’ll try to get the most out of talented but fiery superstar DeMarcus Cousins, assuming the Kings don’t trade the big man this summer. Divac is reportedly willing to gauge the market for Cousins in the months ahead.

Is Joerger the right choice for the Kings? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Grizzlies Fire Dave Joerger

May 7th, 2016 at 9:09am CST by Eddie Scarito

Nelson Chenault/USA TODAY Sports Images

The Grizzlies parted ways with head coach Dave Joerger this morning, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (Twitter links). Joerger had asked Memphis for permission to speak with other teams regarding their coaching vacancies and Memphis decided to cut its ties with him, Wojnarowski adds. Memphis is still on the hook for Joerger’s $2MM salary for 2016/17, the scribe notes, adding that the coach’s deal included a team option for the 2017/18 season. The Grizzlies intend to pursue former Pacers coach Frank Vogel, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Sacramento had been pushing hard to gain permission from the Grizzlies to speak with Joerger regarding its coaching vacancy, Wojnarowski relays (via Twitter), and Joerger is now at the top of the Kings’ wish list as they seek a replacement for George Karl. Joerger had requested permission to speak with the Kings and Rockets about their coaching vacancies, as Wojnarowski writes in a full-length post. Sacramento’s willingness to give him a long-range deal with annual salaries likely around $4MM made the Kings attractive to Joerger despite their reputation for dysfunction, Wojnarowski notes.

Memphis confirmed that Joerger was let go in an official announcement. “After careful consideration, I concluded that a change was needed to foster the strong culture required to achieve sustainable, long-term success for this organization, the city and our fans,” said GM Chris Wallace. “On behalf of the Grizzlies organization I would like to thank Dave for his work and time in Memphis. We wish Dave and his family all the best and success as he moves forward in his career.”

The trust between Joerger and the front office had eroded over the past several months, Wojnarowski notes, and tensions escalated between the coach and team management. The organization was frustrated with Joerger publicly making disparaging comments about the roster and his own limited role in player personnel, a league source told the Vertical scribe. Joerger had reportedly grown increasingly belligerent to many within the organization, believing the team was setting him up to fail in 2016/17, Wojnarowski adds.

The Grizzlies are quite high on Joerger’s coaching ability, but they failed to see eye-to-eye on personnel matters, with Joerger believing the team didn’t take his opinions seriously and the team convinced otherwise, as Wojnarowski details. Joerger was pushing for either a long-term deal from the Grizzlies or a way out, and that’s what led to his dismissal, according to Wojnarowski.

In three seasons as the Grizzlies’ head coach, Joerger’s record was 147-99 (.598), including a mark of 9-13 in the playoffs. Memphis reached the conference semifinals in 2015, losing to the eventual champion Warriors. The coach arguably did his best work this season, leading a patchwork roster that had been decimated by injuries to a record of 42-40 and the seventh playoff seed in the Western Conference.

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