Hoops Rumors Polls

According to a report by Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports, the Kings are seriously considering firing coach George Karl. Kings majority owner Vivek Ranadive and team executive Vlade Divac were livid enough after the team’s 128-119 loss to the Nets on Friday night, which was the team’s sixth defeat in its last seven outings, that the embattled coach’s job status is now seriously in question. Of course, this isn’t necessarily an earth-shattering revelation given that Sacramento was reportedly pondering Karl’s dismissal last June, merely six months after hiring him to replace interim coach Tyrone Corbin, who had in turn replaced the fired Michael Malone.

Karl has reportedly lost the support of the front office as well as a number of his players. Center DeMarcus Cousins seemingly called out the coaching staff for the team’s continued flaws on the defensive end after the loss to Brooklyn, telling reporters, “I’m not going to keep blaming these guys in the locker room. Energy and effort is a huge part of the game, but I’m not going to keep blaming it on that. We got a bigger issue, and we need to figure it out as a team. I’d rather keep [problems] in house, but we definitely have a bigger issue than just energy and effort. That can’t be the excuse every night. … We’re going to work it out as a team, and hopefully we can fix this.”

With the NBA All-Star break a week away, the timing is certainly ripe for Sacramento to make a move as it would give whomever was named interim coach a bit more time to prepare for the second half of the campaign. It’s unclear who would be in line to take the reigns in the event of Karl’s dismissal, though Marc Stein of ESPN.com relayed that current assistant coach and former player Corliss Williamson would be under strong consideration for the post.

Just how much of the team’s woes Karl is responsible is certainly up for debate. The Kings have played .500 ball when Cousins has been in the lineup, which is a winning percentage certainly in line with the franchise’s current level of talent. Sacramento is a deeply flawed team on the defensive end, a problem more to do with the team’s personnel than Karl’s system, though he is primarily known as an offensive-minded coach. Changing coaches isn’t likely to make the Kings an instant playoff contender, as the same holes and flaws in the roster will still exist no matter who is calling the sets out from the sideline. Dismissing Karl may make the locker room more harmonious in the short-term, but it won’t fix many of the team’s on the court issues.

But that’s my take on the situation and now we’re asking for yours. Should Karl be fired, or are other changes needed instead? Cast your vote below and then head to the comments section to share your thoughts on the matter. We look forward to what you have to say.

According to a report by Marc Stein of ESPN.com, people within the coaching community believe that the Suns will make Mike D’Antoni a candidate for their head coaching job should it come open in the near future. D’Antoni, who recently returned to the NBA as the lead assistant for the Sixers, took Phoenix to consecutive Western Conference Finals during a solid run as Suns head coach from 2003-08. The 64-year-old went 253-136 in the regular season and 26-25 in the playoffs during his time as head coach of the Suns, and he won the NBA’s Coach of the Year award in his first full season in charge of the team.

D’Antoni recently described himself as “happy as heck” to be back in coaching with the Sixers after a sabbatical that lasted about a year and a half following his resignation from the Lakers in the spring of 2014. The offensive-minded coach didn’t enjoy the same success in L.A. or during his time with the Knicks as he did with Phoenix, and he’s gone a combined 202-290 in regular season games and 0-8 in the postseason at his other head-coaching stops in the NBA. D’Antoni had told Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com back in 2012 that he regretted leaving the Suns to take the job in New York, a departure that Shelburne heard was a mutual decision between D’Antoni and the Phoenix organization.

Phoenix’s recent troubles reportedly put current head coach Jeff Hornacek on the hot seat, though the team decided to fire a pair of assistants instead of Hornacek last week. With the Suns having made significant financial commitments to guards Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight, perhaps bringing back D’Antoni, whose offense is geared toward maximizing the production of point guards, can revitalize the floundering organization. But what say you? Would a return to Phoenix by D’Antoni allow the franchise to rise from its current doldrums, or should the organization look to go in a different direction should Hornacek be let go? Cast your vote below and then take to the comments section to continue the discussion. We look forward to what you have to say.

While 2015 saw no truly earth-shattering trades or signings take place that altered the landscape of the NBA forever, quite a few notable players changed uniforms and locales. With it being the first day of the new year, and allow me to pause a moment to wish all of of you a Happy New Year, we decided to ask our readers what the biggest transaction of the past calendar year was.

We pared down the list to what we felt were the 12 most important transactions of the past year, one for each month on the calendar. There were certainly quite a few more deals, signings and draft picks than could realistically be included in a poll, so apologies to anyone who feels slighted by a particular omission. Listed below, in no particular order of significance, are the 2015 NBA trades, signings and draft picks that we are submitting for your consideration. Review the list and cast your vote for which you believe to have been the most important to the league, player or team. Or you can simply go with which was your favorite move, the ball is in your court.

• The Heat acquiring Goran Dragic and Zoran Dragic from the Suns, with Phoenix receiving John Salmons from the Pelicans and Danny Granger from the Heat, and New Orleans acquiring Norris Cole, Shawne Williams, Justin Hamilton and cash considerations from Miami. Phoenix also received Miami’s 2017 first-round pick (top seven protected) and Miami’s unprotected 2021 first-round pick as part of the deal.
• The Pistons acquiring Reggie Jackson from the Thunder, with OKC receiving Enes Kanter and Steve Novak from the Jazz and D.J. Augustin and Kyle Singler from Detroit, and Utah landing Grant Jerrett, the rights to Tibor Pleiss, Kendrick Perkins and a future first-round pick from Oklahoma City, as well as a 2017 second-round pick from the Pistons.
• The Knicks selecting Kristaps Porzingis with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.
• The Bucks signing Greg Monroe to a three-year, maximum-salary contract.
• The Spurs signing LaMarcus Aldridge to a four-year, maximum salary deal.
• Anthony Davis inking a five-year, maximum salary extension with the Pelicans.
• The Suns acquiring Brandon Knight and Kendall Marshall from the Bucks, Milwaukee receiving Tyler Ennis and Miles Plumlee from the Suns, plus Michael Carter-Williams from the Sixers, and Philly nabbing the Lakers’ top-5 protected 2015 first-round pick from Phoenix.
• The Mavericks signing Wesley Matthews to a four-year, maximum salary contract.
• Jimmy Butler re-signing with the Bulls for five years and nearly $92.34MM.
• The Spurs re-signing Kawhi Leonard to a max deal for five years.
• The Cavaliers acquiring Timofey Mozgov from the Nuggets in exchange for the Grizzlies’ 2015 first-round pick and the Thunder’s 2015 first-round pick.
• The Clippers re-signing DeAndre Jordan to a four-year, maximum salary contract.

On Sunday, Hoops Rumors’ Chuck Myron ran down the list of some of the top free agents for next season and categorized them by the maximum salary bands in which they’ll fall. The first group that he looked at were those players eligible for the 25% max, which came in at $16,407,500 for this year, and is projected to surge to $20.4MM this coming offseason. Here’s the list of players falling into this salary range:

• Harrison Barnes (restricted)
• Kent Bazemore
• Bradley Beal (restricted)
• Andre Drummond (restricted)
• Festus Ezeli (restricted)
• Evan Fournier (restricted)
• Terrence Jones (restricted)
• Donatas Motiejunas (restricted)
• Timofey Mozgov
• Chandler Parsons (player option)
• Jared Sullinger (restricted)
• Dion Waiters (restricted)
• Hassan Whiteside

Though many of these players are unlikely to land maximum salary deals, it will certainly be a figure bandied about for many of them by their agents during contract negotiations. It should also be noted that restricted free agents may have a more difficult time than unrestricted ones in ascending to this income level since their current teams will have the opportunity to match any offer sheet inked by the players, provided a qualifying offer is proffered. Many teams shy away from pursuing restricted free agents because of the cap hold associated with these offer sheets, and the likelihood of the player’s original team matching said contract offer is often enough to depress a player’s market slightly. That isn’t always the case, and the significantly beefed-up cap projection for coming seasons may alter how teams view and approach these types of free agents going forward.

But what say you? Looking at the list of players above, who do you believe is the likeliest to land a maximum salary deal this coming offseason? Cast your vote below and feel free to expand on the discussion in the comments section. We look forward to what you have to say.

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If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here.

If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here.

If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here.