Month: November 2024

Longest-Tenured Primary Basketball Executives

September 15th, 2015 at 9:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Determining the longest-tenured executives in the NBA isn’t nearly as straightforward as running down the longest-tenured coaches or each team’s longest-tenured player. Many front offices run chiefly as committees, with a chorus of voices carrying weight. That’s the case for the Warriors, and apparently for the Bucks, where coach Jason Kidd‘s has no shortage of influence. Still, the Bucks clearly value GM John Hammond, having signed him to an extension Monday. Hammond’s job description indicates that he does the bulk of the day-to-day work to construct and maintain Milwaukee’s roster, even if he’s merely on equal footing with Kidd when it comes to player personnel input, as co-owner Marc Lasry indicated to Chris Mannix of SI.com in December.

Judgment calls abound when it comes to identifying a single person as each team’s primary basketball executive. Coach and president of basketball operations Flip Saunders is atop the organizational chart in Minnesota, but he’s away from the team on a leave of absence while he recovers from cancer treatments. So, we’ll go with GM Milt Newton, who’s calling the shots in his stead. Pat Riley is the unquestioned chief executive for the Heat, but he was the team’s coach for much of his tenure in Miami, and Randy Pfund served as GM for several seasons while Riley manned the bench. However, the Heat bestowed the title of team president on Riley the day they hired him September 1995, a title he still holds, and little room for doubt has existed about his level of power over the Heat’s roster since his arrival. Thus, he tops the list below as the NBA’s longest-tenured primary basketball executive.

We’ve given credit to Suns GM Ryan McDonough and Hornets GM Rich Cho for all the time they’ve spent within their respective organizations, even though both of them previously served alongside others who held the title of president of basketball operations. GM Dennis Lindsey gets the nod in Utah despite the presence of executive vice president of basketball operations Kevin O’Connor. Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird and Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace are farther down this list than they could be, since we’re counting only from when they returned to power after an absence, in the case of Bird, and an exile, in the case of Wallace.

It’s a tricky undertaking, but the point is to identify the go-to player personnel decision-maker for each team and the length of time each has served. Here’s the complete list, spanning an even 20 years:

Pat Riley, Heat: September 1995
Mitch Kupchak, Lakers: August 2000
R.C. Buford, Spurs: July 2002
Danny Ainge, Celtics: May 2003
Ernie Grunfeld, Wizards: June 2003
Donnie Nelson, Mavericks: June 2005
Daryl Morey, Rockets: May 2007
Sam Presti, Thunder: June 2007
John Hammond, Bucks: April 2008
Gar Forman, Bulls: May 2009
Billy King, Nets: July 2010
Dell Demps, Pelicans: July 2010
Rich Cho, Hornets: June 2011
Bob Myers, Warriors: April 2012
Neil Olshey, Trail Blazers: June 2012
Rob Hennigan, Magic: June 2012
Dennis Lindsey, Jazz: August 2012
Ryan McDonough, Suns: May 2013
Sam Hinkie, Sixers: May 2013
Masai Ujiri, Raptors: May 2013
Tim Connelly, Nuggets: June 2013
Doc Rivers, Clippers: June 2013
Larry Bird, Pacers: June 2013 (returned to organization)
David Griffin, Cavaliers: February 2014
Phil Jackson, Knicks: March 2014
Stan Van Gundy, Pistons: May 2014
Chris Wallace, Grizzlies: May 2014 (returned to power)
Mike Budenholzer, Hawks: September 2014
Vlade Divac, Kings: March 2015
Milt Newton, Timberwolves: September 2015 (interim)

Which tenure do you think will be the next to end? Leave a comment to let us know.

Categories:
Hoops Rumors Originals

Column: Karl’s Brash History Bodes Well For Kings

September 15th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Hoops Rumors

Sam Amico

Sam Amico, the founder and editor of AmicoHoops.net and a broadcast journalist for Fox Sports Ohio, will write a weekly feature for Hoops Rumors with news, rumors and insight from around the NBA. If you missed last week’s installment, click here. Here’s this week’s edition:

It’s been somewhat of a circus of a summer for the Kings.

George Karl may have said something negative about his relationship with DeMarcus Cousins.

Cousins may have tweeted something negative about Karl.

And Kings owner Vivek Ranadive may have been pondering Karl’s dismissal.

Yet here they all still remain — Karl and Cousins and Ranadive, with the start of training camp a mere two weeks away.

Those three aren’t exactly the holy trinity of hoops, but they are the heartbeat of the Kings. Well, at least Cousins is. And maybe Karl, if he can get along with Cousins. And maybe Ranadive, if he can stay out of the way.

In a lot of places with a lot of coaches, this type of drama would be reason for the concern. But Kings fans don’t need to fret. This is nothing new for Karl.

In fact, rocky beginnings go all the way back to his early years as a coach. Take the 1984/85 Cavaliers, for example.

Karl was the man in charge, World B. Free the team’s star. Free was bold, a little reckless, and never met shot he didn’t like. (A few didn’t seem to like him, however.)

Karl was bold, a little reckless, and never met a coaching job he didn’t like, or a situation he didn’t feel he could conquer.

It was basketball bravado at its worst — with Karl throwing sarcastic digs at Free in the press, and Free responding by acting annoyed and openly questioning his coach.

The result? Try a 2-19 start for the Cavs. Yes, they won just two of their first 21 games. Not many of the losses were close, either.

But alas, as soon as it appeared the Cavs were headed down the drain, Karl and Free came together. How or why, no one is sure. All that mattered is the two suddenly started to get along — and the Cavs won 34 of their final 61 games to make the playoffs.

They lost in the first round to the Larry Bird-led Celtics, but not before the overmatched Cavs put up an unexpected fight. The Celtics were the team to advance, but the final combined score of the series: Celtics 449, Cavs 449.

With Karl and Free, the Cavs finished the season by acting cocky, playing with some swagger, and finding ways to win when all seemed lost.

Later, Karl coached the SuperSonics and had some issues with star guard Gary Payton. But like the troubles with Free, the Karl-Payton spats eventually turned into a mutual respect. In 1995/96, the Sonics won 64 games and advanced to the Finals.

What does any of this have to do with today’s Kings?

Well, Karl and Cousins seem to have worked things out. At least for the time being — as Cousins posted a picture on his Instagram account of himself, Karl and new front office chief Vlade Divac back in August.

The three stood smiling, Karl and Cousins putting their arms around each other. It may not be love, but if it’s hate, Karl and Cousins may want to consider a career in acting.

Kings of hope?

On top of what appears to be a repaired relationship between Karl and Cousins, the Kings have several reasons to think the playoffs aren’t that far-fetched.

Lottery pick Willie Cauley-Stein should immediately solve their less-than-dynamic run of power forwards.

Free agent signee Rajon Rondo owns a championship ring and knows a little something about directing an offense.

Returning small forward Rudy Gay remains a man who can break down defenders and get a basket when one is needed most.

And third-year shooting guard Ben McLemore could be primed for a breakout season.

Other key parts include point guard Darren Collison, who may actually start ahead of Rondo, and new additions such as big man Kosta Koufos, small forward Caron Butler, and sharpshooting veteran Marco Belinelli.

Of course, it all starts with Cousins, the most dangerous offensive center in the league — and yes, “offensive” is solely referring to his game. He can score at will and rebound at close to the same level, and for a guy who gets a bad rap as a me-first type, he’s a fairly deft passer.

Now, is this a lineup that should give the Kings championship dreams?

Well, no.

But Karl has sometimes done well with worse. And now that the circus has finally hit the road, the Kings — like some of Karl’s teams before them — may finally be on a surprising road of their own.

Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 9/14/15

September 14th, 2015 at 11:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

At this time last year, very few people anticipated that the Golden State Warriors would be the NBA’s premier team in 2014/15. While the Warriors had a strong young nucleus, they also had a rookie head coach in Steve Kerr. There were plenty of questions regarding their core group after the Warriors lost in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs to the Clippers.

You know the rest. From start to finish, the Warriors were more than just a contender. They dominated in the regular season, then validated their gaudy 67-15 record by storming through the playoffs and knocking off the hobbled Cavaliers in the Finals.

A repeat would seem to be well within their reach, given that all their starters are back, as well as many of their key reserves. Not only do they have the league’s reigning MVP in Stephen Curry, they re-signed restricted free agent and versatile forward Draymond Green to a long-term contract.

The Warriors had some good fortune last season, as their core players remained relatively healthy throughout the season. An injury to a key performer could drastically change their outlook. As we’ve seen many times before, it’s not easy to remain the top dog in the Western Conference.

The competition is fierce and several teams will be nipping at the Warriors’ heels. The always-dangerous Spurs added prized free agent LaMarcus Aldridge. The Clippers remained a viable contender once free agent DeAndre Jordan changed his mind and spurned the Mavericks to stay in L.A. The Thunder possess the league’s best 1-2 punch in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. The Rockets reached the conference finals and have their own formidable superstar duo in James Harden and Dwight Howard. The Grizzlies are chock-full of wily, playoff-tested veterans. Even the Pelicans, behind the league’s best young big man Anthony Davis, can harbor realistic dreams of a deep playoff run.

Our topic of the night, just two weeks away from training camp, is this: Which Western Conference team poses the biggest threat to the Warriors’ supremacy?

Take to the comments to share your thoughts and opinions on this topic. We look forward to what you have to say.

And-Ones: Langdon, Wizards, Fournier

September 14th, 2015 at 10:28pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Cavaliers will hire Spurs scout Trajan Langdon as their Director of Player Administration, sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). He will replace Raja Bell, who is leaving to spend more time with his family, Wojnarowski adds. The change was confirmed by Chris Haynes of Northeast Ohio Media Group, who spoke to Bell. “I had so much fun with those boys and the Cavaliers’ organization, but it was just time to be with my family,” said Bell, who served in that role for one season. “It was the right thing to do right now, but I definitely enjoyed my time there.”

In other news around the league:

Wizards owner Ted Leonsis had reached a tentative deal with Washington, D.C. mayor Muriel E. Bowser to build a $56.3MM practice facility, Jonathan O’Connell of the Washington Post reports. Officials said the city plans to construct and own the facility, which will also include an arena for the WNBA Washington Mystics, while Leonsis would contribute $10MM to aid the surrounding neighborhood, O’Connell continues. Leonsis has been pushing for a state-of-the-art venue to replace the existing practice facility at the Verizon Center in order to attract high-profile free agents next summer, including Kevin Durant, who grew up in nearby Prince George’s County, O’Connell adds.
Suns forward Markieff Morris and his brother, Pistons forward Marcus Morris, have a court appearance scheduled for Wednesday in Phoenix, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic tweets. They face felony aggravated assault charges for their alleged roles in a January brawl at a Phoenix recreation center. The duo would be suspended a minimum of 10 games if they are found guilty of a felony and could also face a suspension if they’re guilty of a misdemeanor, former NBA executive Bobby Marks tweets.
Magic swingman Evan Fournier could have competition for minutes and a sixth-man role this season from rookie Mario Hezonja, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports. Both have similar skills, though playing them together on the second unit is intriguing because it could give Orlando some second-unit firepower, Schmitz continues. Fournier needs to improve defensively and increase his strength to get more playing time, Schmitz adds. He is eligible for an extension until the start of the regular season, and we recently examined his chances of getting it in our Extension Candidate series.

Lakers Rumors: Upshaw, Huertas, World Peace

September 14th, 2015 at 9:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Robert Upshaw is unlikely to make the Lakers’ opening-night roster, according to Bill Oram of the Orange County Register. The signing of the center on Monday increases the Lakers’ training camp roster to 18 players, though only 12 have fully guaranteed deals. Marcelo Huertas should make the cut, since the Brazilian shooting guard did not sign with the Lakers to play in the D-League or get released, Oram continues. Huertas, who played for FC Barcelona the past four seasons, inked a one-year deal with the team earlier this month. Metta World Peace would be the 15th man on the roster if he’s signed by the club, Oram adds (All Twitter links). There’s a good chance that the veteran small forward, who has been working out at the team’s practice facility, will come to an agreement with the club before camp.

In other news regarding the Lakers:

Upshaw received a $35K guarantee on his two-year minimum contract, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. His $525,093 salary this season would be fully guaranteed if he’s still on the roster January 10th. His second-year salary of $874,636 does not include any guarantees, Pincus adds. The 21-year-old Upshaw averaged 1.4 points and 2.2 rebounds with the Lakers’ summer league squad in Las Vegas.
The additions of Roy Hibbert, Lou Williams and Brandon Bass are not conducive to the Lakers’ effort to rebuild because they’ll take minutes away from younger players, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders opines in the website’s preview of the team. After failing to sign a high-profile free agent, the Lakers added those veterans to save face and give the appearance they want to compete this year, in part to appease Kobe Bryant, Kennedy adds. In the same piece, Basketball Insiders’ Eric Saar takes a somewhat more optimistic view, concluding that the growing core of young players gives the franchise a brighter future than it’s had in recent years.

Western Notes: Timberwolves, Vonleh, Warriors

September 14th, 2015 at 8:09pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Timberwolves interim coach Sam Mitchell will have his patience tested by flashy point guard Ricky Rubio, David Aldridge of NBA.com opines. While the franchise wants to take pressure off Rubio by making him understand that he’s no longer viewed as its savior, he may be on a shorter leash than he had with coach Flip Saunders, who is out indefinitely while he receives cancer treatments, Aldridge continues. It was Saunders, as the franchise’s president of basketball operations, who gave Rubio a $56MM extension last year, Aldridge points out. In the same piece, Aldridge also reports that many people around the league felt team owner Glen Taylor wanted to bring back Mitchell as the team’s head coach, though not under these circumstances. Mitchell was one of the franchise’s most beloved players and a former NBA Coach of the Year with Toronto, Aldridge adds.

In other news around the Western Conference:

Noah Vonleh’s size, shooting touch and ballhandling make him an intriguing prospect but he needs to prove he can consistently use those skills against NBA competition, according to Mike Richman of The Oregonian. Vonleh, who was traded to the Trail Blazers from the Hornets this offseason, led Portland’s summer team in scoring (17.3 points per game) and rebounding (8.5) while displaying his ballhandling and ability to take slower forwards off the dribble, Richman continues. A sports hernia injury in training camp sidelined Vonleh early in his rookie season and he got buried in Charlotte’s crowded frontcourt rotation, Richman adds.
Ian Clark and Jarell Eddie will receive approximately half of their salaries if they make the Warriors’ opening night roster, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. Clark, a 6’3” shooting guard, would receive $474K on the contract he signed Monday. Eddie, a 6’7” small forward who also signed Monday, would make $423K.
The Warriors announced that 1,650 fans were denied access to Oracle Arena last season due to counterfeit tickets purchased from third-party vendors, Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group tweets.

Sixers Sign Christian Wood

September 14th, 2015 at 5:47pm CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 14TH, 5:47pm: Wood has put pen to paper with the Sixers, his agents at ASM reveal via Twitter (hat tip to Sportando’s Orazio Cauchi). The team has yet to make an announcement.

SEPTEMBER 8TH, 1:54pm: The partial guarantee is worth $50K, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).

3:40pm: The deal is for four years, and it includes a partial guarantee, tweets Derek Bodner of Philadelphia magazine.

SEPTEMBER 7TH, 11:41am: The Sixers have reached agreement with undrafted UNLV power forward Christian Wood, agent Matt Ramker announced via Twitter. Wood was reportedly to have signed a partially guaranteed contract with the Rockets, but it appears that’s not happening. The 6’11” Wood, who turns 20 later this month, was one of the most heralded prospects not to be selected in June’s draft.

Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranked Wood the 25th-best prospect right before the draft this year, and Chad Ford of ESPN.com had him at No. 38, but subpar performances in predraft workouts caused his stock to fall, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports wrote when it appeared Wood was on his way to the Rockets. He averaged a double-double as a sophomore this past season at UNLV, posting 15.7 points and 10.0 rebounds in 32.7 minutes per game. He put up 6.5 PPG and 4.0 RPG in 14.6 MPG across four appearances for the Rockets in summer league. It’s not surprising to see Philly jump into the mix for a player in whom Houston had interest, since Sixers GM Sam Hinkie used to work under Rockets GM Daryl Morey.

The move injects some doubt into another deal agreed upon shortly after the draft. Philadelphia reportedly already had contracts or verbal agreements with 20 players before striking the deal with Wood, and teams can’t bring more than 20 players to training camp. The Sixers have reportedly intended to sign T.J. McConnell to a partially guaranteed deal after he went undrafted out of Arizona. Jordan McRae and J.P. Tokoto have also appeared on their way to Sixers camp, but those arrangements appear in jeopardy for now. Still, the Sixers could clear room for all of them if they trade or release other players already on signed contracts.

The Rockets recently broke off a partially guaranteed deal with Chuck Hayes, so it wouldn’t be altogether surprising if the same circumstances surrounding that dissolution are at play with Wood. Houston would trigger a hard cap if it signs No. 32 overall pick Montrezl Harrell for more than the minimum or for more than two years, and the Rockets are perilously close to that hard cap amount, as I examined in depth earlier in the offseason. Clearing partially guaranteed agreements would help the Rockets secure Harrell on a long-term deal, maintain flexibility and reduce their luxury tax bill.

Do you think Wood will make the Rockets and the teams that passed him up in the draft regret their choices? Leave a comment to tell us.

Grizzlies Sign Patrick Christopher For Camp

September 14th, 2015 at 5:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Grizzlies have signed former Jazz swingman Patrick Christopher to a non-guaranteed deal that covers one year at the minimum salary, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The team has made no official announcement, but it appears the move has indeed taken place.

Christopher joined Memphis for camp last year, too, though the team waived him prior to opening night. He saw his first official NBA action with the Jazz instead after inking in December, though Utah let him go in January before his contract became guaranteed for the season. The 27-year-old is the 18th player on the Grizzlies, who are carry 14 fully guaranteed pacts, as their roster count shows.

Christopher went undrafted in 2010 out of the University of California, Berkeley. He played for the Pistons’ summer league team that year, then spent his first three seasons in Turkey and France. He signed with the Bulls in 2013 but was waived early in training camp and wound up with the D-League’s Iowa Energy, earning All-Defensive Second Team honors for the 2013/14 season.

He faces long odds to make the regular-season roster. The Grizzlies have Courtney Lee, Vince Carter and Jordan Adams at shooting guard and veterans Jeff Green, Matt Barnes and Tony Allen at small forward.

Warriors Sign Ian Clark To Camp Deal

September 14th, 2015 at 5:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 14TH, 5:22pm: Clark has signed with the Warriors, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reveals (Twitter link), though the team hasn’t made an announcement. It’s a non-guaranteed deal that becomes partially guaranteed for $474K if he’s not waived by the end of the day before opening night.

JULY 27TH, 2:38pm: The Warriors have agreed to sign two-year veteran shooting guard Ian Clark, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Golden State and the David Mondress client are still negotiating terms, but Clark has committed to the team, Charania adds. Golden State is limited to paying him the minimum salary, so it would seem the back-and-forth would be over length and the amount of guaranteed money. He became an unrestricted free agent after the Nuggets decided against making a qualifying offer of about $1.147MM.

Clark, 24, had hoped the Nuggets would re-sign him after his summer league performance, in which he averaged 13.4 points per game and made 12 of 24 total three-point attempts, but Denver renounced its rights to him to clear cap room. That didn’t preclude the team from re-signing him, but it did make it seem to make the possibility less likely. Denver claimed him off waivers from the Jazz late last season, apparently with the idea of keeping him for this year, but it appears that plan didn’t work out.

Golden State has 13 guaranteed contracts, leaving room under the 15-man regular season roster limit for the team to give one to Clark. The Warriors have a connection with him that dates back to the Las Vegas Summer League in 2013, when a 33-point outburst in the championship game helped him secure a contract with the Jazz. He’d gone undrafted out of Belmont earlier that summer.

Do you think Ian Clark has a shot to make the rotation for the Warriors this year? Leave a comment to let us know.

Warriors Sign Jarell Eddie To Camp Deal

September 14th, 2015 at 5:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 14TH, 5:15pm: Eddie has a signed contract, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter), though the team has yet to make an announcement. It’s a two-year, minimum-salary arrangement, and it’s non-guaranteed, Pincus says.

AUGUST 21ST, 10:29am: The Warriors and Jarell Eddie have reached agreement on a deal that will bring the one-year veteran to training camp to compete for a spot on the opening night roster, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Eddie, a small forward who went undrafted out of Virginia Tech in 2014, was with the Hawks on a 10-day contract this past spring, though he didn’t appear in a game. The Warriors have only 13 fully guaranteed contracts, as our roster count shows, meaning Eddie will likely compete with James McAdoo, Chris Babb and Ian Clark for a regular season spot.

Eddie, who turns 24 in October, made his mark as a three-point shooter while in the D-League for most of last season, nailing 127 of his 281 in-game attempts, a sizzling 45.2%, for the affiliate of the Spurs. He averaged 12.9 points in 26.2 minutes per game, but nonetheless made only 18 starts in 44 appearances for that team and didn’t receive a call-up to San Antonio. The Spurs and the Pacers both had him on their summer league squads last month, and he continued his sharpshooting, connecting on 46.3% of his 67 shots from behind the arc.

Several NBA teams and clubs from overseas had been in pursuit Eddie, Charania writes in a full story. Golden State would appear to give him a fairly decent chance of sticking for the regular season. McAdoo has only a $100K partial guarantee, while Babb’s deal, which the Warriors acquired in the David Lee trade, is non-guaranteed. The Warriors and Clark, another three-point marksman, were still negotiating the terms of their pact when they committed to each other in late July.

Do you think the Warriors need Eddie’s outside shooting, or should they focus on players with different skills? Leave a comment to tell us.

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