Month: October 2024

Suns Eye Reluctant Steve Nash For Coaching Job

February 1st, 2016 at 12:17pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Suns have strong interest in Steve Nash to fill their coaching vacancy but the two-time MVP doesn’t feel ready to become a full-time coach, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Chris Mannix of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports earlier today wrote that Nash should be expected to emerge as a candidate for the position created when the team fired Jeff Hornacek overnight, citing owner Robert Sarver’s fondness for the retired point guard. Sarver and Nash recently bought controlling interest in the Spanish soccer club Real Mallorca, Mannix notes. Still, Nash never wanted to be a head coach, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Nash is serving as a part-time player development consultant for the Warriors this season and is also GM of Team Canada.

Many believe Sarver would do whatever it takes to bring Nash back to the Suns organization, Mannix writes, suggesting that the team might consider clearing a front office position for him. The feeling around the Suns is that GM Ryan McDonough is safe for the time being, but ultimately the team is expected to review its operation from top to bottom, team sources told Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders.

Nash, who turns 42 on Sunday, is a year removed from having retired as a player, though the Mavericks reportedly clung to hopes as recently as June that he would return to play this season. A nerve ailment kept him from appearing in a regular season game last season.

2016 Free Agent Power Rankings

February 1st, 2016 at 11:30am CST by Chuck Myron

The trade deadline has the spotlight in February, but fueling much of the movement will be the anticipation of the summer ahead, when a booming salary cap figures to make it a lucrative time to be a free agent. We’re ranking those at the front of the line to snag that cash, just as we’ve done from time to time since last summer’s free agent market died down. Here’s where the top 2016 free agents stand as the NBA enters a pivotal month:

Kevin Durant — No one’s better than the New York media at eliciting a response from prospective free agents who’ve been otherwise reluctant to talk. Durant’s respect for the charm of Madison Square Garden aside, he’s given no major hints that he’s ready to leave Oklahoma City. Of course, the Thunder still have half a season and two Western Conference juggernauts to overcome, and nothing’s settled yet. Last time: No. 1.
LeBron James (player option) — He might not have his top choice as coach, but the Cavs have given LeBron someone he apparently likes better than David Blatt, and the results, save for a hiccup against the Bulls in Tyronn Lue‘s first outing, have been encouraging so far. Last time: No. 2.
Andre Drummond (restricted) — No, he can’t shoot free throws, but Drummond does so much to offset that. The league’s leading rebounder is also tops in defensive win shares, according to Basketball Reference. It’s enough to vault him into the No. 3 spot here, though it’s a virtual certainty he’ll remain with the Pistons. Last time: No. 4.
Al Horford — Recent reports that the Hawks aren’t entirely certain he’ll re-sign and that the Celtics have asked the Hawks about him cast doubt on the future whereabouts of the once-again Wasserman Media Group client, but there’s no doubting his game. Horford’s sudden addition of the 3-point shot to his arsenal this season adds intrigue, even if he’s only hitting them at a 33.1% clip. Last time: No. 5.
Mike Conley — It was a tough January for the usually durable 28-year-old point guard who missed six games with a sore left Achilles tendon and averaged just 11.6 points in the eight that he played. He’ll no doubt return to more familiar form, but for now, he goes down a couple of pegs. Last time: No. 3.
Dwight Howard (player option) — The 30-year-old is exhibiting some self-awareness this season, one in which he’s concentrated his shot attempts to within 3 feet of the basket like never before, as Basketball-Reference shows. Consequently, he’s nearly at a career high in field goal percentage, and his rebounding numbers are better after a regression in his injury-shortened campaign last season. Last time: No. 6.
DeMar DeRozan (player option) — Even the 26-year-old’s maligned 3-point shooting is up to a nearly-decent 31.8% this season, a well-timed career year for the Aaron Goodwin client. Max offers reportedly await, but DeRozan has repeatedly expressed his affection for Toronto and the Raptors, saying recently he’d like to spend his entire career with the organization. Last time: No. 8.
Bradley Beal (restricted) — Beal’s admitted that he’ll probably have to deal with a minutes limit for the rest of his career, his defense has slipped, and an opposing GM said that he’s “scared” of the shooting guard because of his track record of injuries. Red flags abound, but it’s remarkably tough to see Washington turning its back on a 22-year-old averaging 18.1 points and shooting 39.3% from 3-point land. Last time: No. 7.
Harrison Barnes (restricted) — He lacks eye-popping stats in part because of all the talent around him, but the numbers that matter — a 44-4 record and his 24th birthday this May — point to a significant payday ahead for the new Jeff Schwartz client. Last time: No. 10.
Hassan Whiteside — The league’s leader in blocks per game did himself no favors when he said recently that his upcoming free agency weighs into his decision-making about whether to play with injury. Questions about his approach to the game abound, but he’s still talented enough and, turning only 27 in June, young enough to loom as a tantalizing figure on the market. Last time: No. 9.

We don’t always carry the rankings past the top 10, but we’ll do our next 10 here. Batum, who’s likely in line for the max, was a particularly difficult omission from the main group:

11. Nicolas Batum
12. Rajon Rondo
13. Dwyane Wade
14. Pau Gasol (player option)
15. Chandler Parsons (player option)
16. Ryan Anderson
17. Kent Bazemore
18. Evan Fournier (restricted)
19. Eric Gordon
20. Deron Williams (player option)

See all the previous editions of our rankings here. See the full list of 2016 free agents here.

Think one of these soon-to-be free agents should be higher on the list? Lower? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Southeast Notes: Frye, Skiles, Pargo, Whiteside

February 1st, 2016 at 10:29am CST by Chuck Myron

The Magic have fielded multiple inquiries on Channing Frye, league sources tell Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Interest in the 32-year-old big man is high, an executive from a rival team told Deveney, adding that it looks like Orlando is moving on from him. The 11th-year veteran, who’s making $8.193MM this season, is averaging 17.5 minutes per game, his fewest since the 2008/09 season, save for 2012/13, which he missed entirely due to a heart condition. Coach Scott Skiles recently removed him from the starting lineup, and Frye didn’t appear in Sunday’s win over the Celtics. Sources told Zach Lowe of ESPN.com before the season that Frye, whose contract runs through 2017/18, was available for little in return, but Magic officials denied that. See more on the Magic and other teams from the Southeast Division:

Skiles admitted that he wasn’t effectively conveying his messages to Magic players as they struggled through 12 losses in 13 games before Sunday’s win, observes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. “This is my responsibility,” Skiles said before the game Sunday. “I’ve got to get these guys to understand what it takes to consistently win in the NBA, and I haven’t gotten that done in the last five weeks. For whatever reason, it hasn’t happened. So I’ve got to find a way to get that done.”
Former Hornets point guard Jannero Pargo has signed to play in the D-League, reports Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor (Twitter link). Pargo has been out of the NBA since Charlotte released him nearly a year ago, midway through his 12th season in the league, while he dealt with a back injury. The 36-year-old has never played in the D-League before, so he’ll go through D-League waivers before landing with a team.
The success of the Heat and backup big man Amar’e Stoudemire during the recent absence of Hassan Whiteside raises further questions about whether the soon-to-be free agent Whiteside is a truly a fit for Miami, argues Dave Hyde of the Sun Sentinel.

Jazz Mull Trade For Jeff Teague

February 1st, 2016 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Jazz are considering a run at trading for Jeff Teague, multiple league sources told Andy Larsen of KSL.com, who cautions that no formal contact has taken place between Utah and the Hawks. The Jazz are open to a deal if the right opportunity arises but aren’t actively seeking a trade, tweets Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune, who adds that they’re enamored with the injured Dante Exum and remain 100% committed to him (Twitter link). Nonetheless, Utah has been “poking around” the market for a point guard, several league sources told Zach Lowe of ESPN.com for a report last week.

Atlanta has reportedly been talking with other teams about Teague, including apparent preliminary discussions with the Knicks, and the Celtics have reportedly contacted the Hawks to gauge the availability of Teague and Al Horford. The Hawks also reportedly solicited offers for Dennis Schröder but have focused more prominently on Teague of late, in spite of Lowe’s report that the team has “major trust issues” with the 22-year-old Schröder.

Larsen suggests that an acquisition of Teague wouldn’t run counter to the team’s commitment to Exum, since Exum is out for this season, and because next season is the last on Teague’s contract, which pays him $8MM a year. Exum’s rookie scale deal runs through 2017/18.

The KSL scribe speculates that the Hawks would want wing players in return for Teague, whose trade candidacy I examined last week. The Jazz have been going with three wing players in lieu of a point guard for significant stretches this season, with Gordon Hayward, Rodney Hood and Alec Burks the most prominent among them. Joe Ingles and Chris Johnson have also been part of the rotation.

Suns Fire Jeff Hornacek

February 1st, 2016 at 8:12am CST by Chuck Myron

Tim Fuller / USA TODAY Sports Images

8:12am: The firing is official, the team announced, adding that it plans to name an interim coach by Tuesday (Twitter link).

7:46am: Phoenix will interview Gaines, Watson and Bjorkgren for the interim position, reports Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link).

7:29am: The Suns have fired coach Jeff Hornacek, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. The team has yet to publicly acknowledge the move, but GM Ryan McDonough has already let Hornacek know his fate, Wojnarowski writes. Phoenix has lost 19 of its last 21 games and 14 in a row on the road, though injuries have played a role, with the team’s top three scorers absent for Sunday’s loss at Dallas, as Wojnarowski points out. His interim replacement is expected to be either one of two Suns assistants: Corey Gaines or Earl Watson, Wojnarowski also reports.

The move is no shock, as Hornacek’s job was reportedly under immediate threat in late December, when the team instead fired assistants Mike Longabardi and Jerry Sichting and shifted fellow assistants Watson and Nate Bjorkgren to more prominent roles. The future of the 52-year-old Hornacek was up in the air even as the season began, with a contractual decision on his team option for 2016/17 looming. Little has gone right since, as the Suns have compiled a 14-35 record in spite of realistic preseason hopes that they would make the playoffs for the first time since losing the Western Conference Finals in 2010. Phoenix stands nine games out of the final postseason spot in the West.

An offseason trade demand from Markieff Morris has seemingly hung over the team all season, even though he backtracked at the start of training camp. Trade rumors continue, and it’s reportedly a matter of when, not if, the Suns will trade the power forward who elicited a two-game suspension in December after he threw a towel in Hornacek’s direction during a December game.

Hornacek’s tenure began with much promise in 2013/14, his first season as an NBA head coach, when he finished second in Coach of the Year voting and the Suns went 48-34, narrowly missing the playoffs in a brutally competitive conference. The addition of Isaiah Thomas the following offseason backfired, and the Suns regressed to a 39-43 record last season, trading Thomas and Goran Dragic at the deadline. The Suns narrowly missed out on free agent prize LaMarcus Aldridge this past summer, instead setting off a negative chain reaction when they traded Marcus Morris and upset Markieff, his twin.

The Suns were 101-112 overall under Hornacek. Neither Gaines, Watson nor Bjorkgren has held an NBA head coaching job before. Gaines, 50, played parts of five seasons in the NBA and served as head coach and general manager of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury. He’s been with the Suns as a player development coach since 2010/11. Watson, 36, ended a 13-year playing career after the 2013/14 season, spending last season an assistant coach with the Spurs D-League affiliate before joining the Suns staff this past summer. Bjorkgren didn’t play in the NBA but has been the head coach for three different D-League teams, including the Suns affiliate. He, like Watson, became a Suns assistant just this past summer.

Is firing Hornacek the right move for the Suns, or did he deserve more of a chance? Leave a comment to tell us.