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Texas Notes: Rockets, Porzingis, Houston Coaching Search

September 22nd, 2020 at 8:59pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Following a disappointing second-round playoff exit and the departure of coach Mike D’Antoni, the Rockets are faced with some serious questions about their future this offseason. Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report spoke with rival NBA executives about Houston’s offseason options. Significant makeover suggestions include trades of All-Star guards James Harden or Russell Westbrook, both 31.

“Everything should be on the table, including moving Harden,” an Eastern Conference executive told Pincus.

“The Knicks might be one of the only teams that could be a fit for Westbrook,” a different Eastern Conference executive said. “Not sure if there are any others.”

The Rockets could absorb several of New York’s expiring veteran contracts in a deal.

Sam Cassell, Alvin Gentry, Kenny Atkinson, Chris Finch, Ime Udoka, David Vanterpool and even former Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy have been floated as possibilities for the team’s new head coach.

There are more NBA notes out of the Lone Star State:

  • Former Mavericks team doctor T.O. Souryal is fairly optimistic about the long-term health of star big man Kristaps Porzingis, per Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News. “[Porzingis] seems to have come back from his ACL [tear] stronger than ever, so that injury’s behind us now,” Souryal opined. “Each one of these injuries should be taken on its own merit.”
  • The Rockets‘ far-ranging search for a new head coach, conducted by GM Daryl Morey, is examined by Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Iko specifically unpacks the resumes of current Pelicans assistant Chris Finch and former Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson.
  • As we previously relayed, a pair of Texas teams are reportedly in the running for the services of veteran Real Madrid point guard Facundo Campazzo. The Spurs and Mavericks will be competing with the Timberwolves to add the 2017 EuroCup Defensive Player of the Year.
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Atlantic Notes: Durant, Sixers, VanVleet, Anunoby

September 19th, 2020 at 8:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

New Nets coach Steve Nash envisions a versatile role for Kevin Durant that would have him see time at all five positions, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Nash discussed Durant during an appearance this week on J.J. Redick‘s podcast, saying Durant has the skills to succeed anywhere on the court.

“Kevin, with his length, is a matchup problem for everyone,” Nash said. “(Kyrie Irving’s) excellent off the ball. Kevin can play all five positions, and I plan to use him in all five positions. I get excited to use some of the guys on the roster: Caris (LeVert), (DeAndre Jordan), Jarrett Allen, Joe Harris.”

Scouts and other league personnel who spoke to Lewis believe Brooklyn could have some devastating lineups with Durant at center, especially in a conference where the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Raptors’ Pascal Siakam have succeeded in that role.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Sixers are considering a front office shakeup that would include the addition of a president of basketball operations, sources tell Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. One source indicated that Trail Blazers executive Neil Olshey may be interested, but only if he has complete control over basketball decisions as both president and general manager. Rumors have surrounded former Hawks executive Danny Ferry, but the Sixers are denying that he’s a potential candidate. A source says the team plans to ask about Rockets GM Daryl Morey and Pacers president Kevin Pritchard, but the source doesn’t expect either to wind up in Philadelphia.
  • Fred VanVleet will be the Raptors‘ priority in free agency and they’ll find it expensive to keep him, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. Smith estimates that Toronto could could give VanVleet a new deal starting at around $20MM per season while still retaining a maximum salary slot for the summer of 2021. He adds that the team may have to sacrifice Norman Powell or convince him to rework his contract to make that happen.
  • Raptors small forward OG Anunoby has signed with Klutch Sports Group, the agency announced on Twitter.
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Kings Rumors: McNair, Fox, Bogdanovic, Giles, More

September 17th, 2020 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

Kings owner Vivek Ranadive has long admired Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, so hiring away one of Morey’s top lieutenants – assistant GM Monte McNair – filled a “certain fixation” for Ranadive, according to Jason Jones and Sam Amick of The Athletic.

There had been a growing sense around the NBA that the Kings would pick Timberwolves executive Sachin Gupta to run their front office – Minnesota was preparing to have to replace Gupta, sources tell The Athletic – but the final selection of McNair was driven by Ranadive.

McNair’s first interview with Sacramento took place over video conference, with Ranadive and consultant Mike Forde running the meeting. The second interview occurred in person on Monday, with Joe Dumars and Ranadive’s son Aneel taking part in that session, according to The Athletic. Aneel Ranadive, a member of the Kings’ executive board, was “very involved in the process,” Jones and Amick report.

Although McNair ultimately beat out fellow finalists Gupta and Wes Wilcox, both Gupta and Wilcox made strong impressions on the franchise too. One source described Wilcox as a “sharp interview,” per The Athletic.

Here’s more on the Kings in the wake of their major front office hire:

  • Former general manager Vlade Divac believed the Kings were on the verge of becoming a playoff team, but that sentiment wasn’t shared by everyone around the league, say Jones and Amick. As such, it’s possible McNair won’t hesitate to break up the core of a roster that hasn’t yet produced a winning season.
  • According to The Athletic, Divac had been expected to offer De’Aaron Fox a maximum-salary rookie scale extension, re-sign restricted free agent Bogdan Bogdanovic – even if meant paying $18MM-ish per year – and attempt to retain free agent big man Harry Giles despite previously turning down his team option for 2020/21. It remains to be seen whether McNair will follow a similar playbook in his first offseason with the organization.
  • The Kings have long faced criticism for not having a well-staffed front office, according to Jones and Amick, who say that McNair is expected to make more hires within the basketball operations department. Assistant GM Ken Catanella will also likely remain in his current position.
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Kings Hire Monte McNair As Head Of Basketball Operations

September 17th, 2020 at 9:07am CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 17: The Kings have officially announced the hiring of McNair as their new general manager, confirming that he’ll be responsible for basketball decisions and will report directly to team ownership.

“Monte is one of the NBA’s top basketball minds who has played an instrumental role in building several winning teams in Houston,” Ranadive said in a statement. “I am excited to bring his extensive experience and vision onboard to lead our basketball operations department, and it is my pleasure to welcome Monte and his family to Sacramento.”

Meanwhile, the Kings announced in a separate press release that Dumars has been named the club’s chief strategy officer and will “drive strategy” across several areas of the organization, including both business and basketball operations.

SEPTEMBER 16: The Kings are hiring Rockets assistant general manager Monte McNair as their new head of basketball operations, according to Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link).

McNair has worked for the Rockets under general manager Daryl Morey for over a decade, having originally been hired to the basketball operations department in 2007.

After initially working as an analyst and spending time with the franchise’s G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, McNair was elevated to a director of basketball operations role in 2013. He became the Rockets’ vice president of basketball operations in 2015 before being promoted to assistant GM in 2018.

Following the dismissal of general manager Vlade Divac, the Kings made Joe Dumars their interim executive vice president of basketball operations, but had been on the lookout for someone to run the front office on a permanent basis.

McNair was one of six candidates identified by Sacramento as the team sought a replacement for Divac. Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon, Nuggets GM Calvin Booth, and Heat assistant GM Adam Simon withdrew from consideration, leaving McNair, Timberwolves executive VP Sachin Gupta, and former Hawks GM Wes Wilcox as finalists.

While we’ll have to wait for an official statement and more details from the Kings, the expectation is that McNair will have the final say on basketball decisions and will report directly to team owner Vivek Ranadive.

This represents the second consecutive year that Houston has lost a top executive to a rival organization. Gersson Rosas left the Rockets to become the Timberwolves’ head of basketball operations in 2019.

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NBA Announces 2019/20 All-NBA Teams

September 16th, 2020 at 2:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially announced its All-NBA teams for the 2019/20 season. Voting was completed prior to the league’s restart in July and was based on results through March 11.

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Lakers forward LeBron James, widely considered the two frontrunners for this year’s MVP award, were the only two players to be unanimously voted to the All-NBA First Team this season. Rockets guard James Harden, Lakers big man Anthony Davis, and Mavericks guard Luka Doncic rounded out the First Team.

The full All-NBA teams are listed below, with their vote totals in parentheses. Players received five points for a First Team vote, three points for a Second Team vote, and one point for a Third Team vote, so Giannis and LeBron scored a perfect 500 — First Team nods from all 100 voters.

All-NBA First Team

All-NBA Second Team

All-NBA Third Team

Among the players who just missed the cut were Bucks forward Khris Middleton (82 points), Sixers center Joel Embiid (79), Wizards guard Bradley Beal (32), and Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (26). A total of 11 other players also received at least one All-NBA vote — the full results can be found right here.

Today’s announcement is great news from a financial perspective for Siakam and Simmons. As a result of Siakam’s Second Team nod and Simmons’ Third Team spot, both players will earn starting salaries worth 28% of the 2020/21 salary cap, rather than 25%. Players who sign rookie scale extensions can earn maximum salaries up to 30% of the cap if they negotiate Rose Rule language into their deals.

The exact value of those new contracts will depend on where exactly the ’20/21 cap lands. Assuming it stays the same as in 2019/20 ($109.141MM), Siakam’s four-year extension would be worth $136.9MM instead of the $122.2MM it’d be worth if it started at 25% of the cap. Simmons’ five-year pact would be worth $177.2MM rather than $158.3MM.

While it’s also worth noting that All-NBA berths are of great importance to players seeking super-max contracts, there aren’t any real developments to report on that front as a result of this year’s votes. Antetokounmpo and Gobert remain eligible for super-max extensions, but they’d already qualified based on their previous accolades.

Embiid would have become super-max eligible in 2021 if he had earned an All-NBA spot, but he’ll need to make an All-NBA team next season to gain eligibility now, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets.

Hoops Rumors readers accurately picked 12 of this season’s 15 All-NBA players in our spring poll. Beal, Embiid, and Devin Booker were your picks who didn’t make the official list. Of the 12 who made it, 11 made the exact team you projected, with Paul (who made Second Team instead of Third Team) representing the only exception.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Latest On Kings’ Front Office Search

September 16th, 2020 at 1:21pm CST by Luke Adams

As expected, Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth has withdrawn from the Kings‘ search for a new head of basketball operations, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Following a weekend report that Booth would remove his name from consideration, word broke on Sunday that he had met with Sacramento after all, but his level of interest in the position was unclear and he didn’t move on to the second round of interviews.

With Booth – along with Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon and Heat assistant GM Adam Simon – out of the running, Sacramento is expected to make a hire from a group of finalists that includes Timberwolves executive VP Sachin Gupta, Rockets assistant GM Monte McNair, and former Hawks executive Wes Wilcox, according to Wojnarowski, who tweets that a decision may be finalized this week.

As Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee writes, Gupta, McNair, and Wilcox advanced to the second round of interviews with the Kings this week. It’s unclear exactly which Kings executives are participating in those interviews — Sam Amick of The Athletic reported on Sunday that interim head of basketball operations Joe Dumars isn’t taking part, but Carmichael Dave of KHTK hears that Dumars is, in fact, sitting in on the in-person meetings.

It’s also not clear whether there’s a frontrunner in the process. Dave hears that there’s “strong movement” in Sacramento toward hiring Gupta as head of basketball operations, with McNair coming aboard as his top lieutenant. However, a source tells James Ham of NBC Sports California that the Kings haven’t made any final decisions yet.

Ham adds that whoever Sacramento ultimately hires will have the option of hiring another executive to “help fill the gaps in the front office.” While that person could be McNair, the decision will be up to whoever lands the top job, says Ham.

On one key point, all reporters appear to be in agreement — the Kings’ new hire will gain full control of basketball decisions and will report directly to team owner Vivek Ranadive.

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Rockets Notes: Morey, Fertitta, D’Antoni, Coaching Job

September 15th, 2020 at 4:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

General manager Daryl Morey’s job is safe and Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta declared that Morey and the basketball operations department will conduct the search for a new head coach, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.

Fertitta, who made his comments on CNBC, said he will merely sign off on the recommendation made by Morey and his staff.

“It begins and ends with the general manager,” Fertitta said. “You can talk to me all day long. I personally wouldn’t know what coach to hire. That’s why you have a basketball operations team that’s made of a half a dozen people that use all kinds of analytics and experience.”

Mike D’Antoni‘s decision to leave Houston was made public on Sunday.

We have more on the Rockets:

  • Fertitta’s lack of communication with D’Antoni after the Rockets were eliminated by the Lakers led to the coach’s decision to depart, Kelly Iko and Sam Amick of The Athletic report. D’Antoni spoke with Morey and everyone on the team prior to the flight back to Houston on Sunday. D’Antoni expected a phone call from ownership regarding the season and its future plans for him but that didn’t come. Prior to boarding the plane, D’Antoni decided he would leave the franchise and test the open market.
  • Expectations will remain high for the Rockets and that’s one factor for potential head coaching candidates to consider, Feigen opines. The Rockets’ core players are on the wrong side of 30 and their window is closing. If the franchises decides to rebuild after Russell Westbrook and James Harden finish out their contracts, the Rockets don’t possess many assets, Feigen adds.
  • Jeff Green isn’t thinking about retiring, though as a free agent it’s uncertain whether he’ll be back in Houston. Get the details here.
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Rockets Notes: Chandler, Green, Harden, Coach

September 14th, 2020 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Rockets center Tyson Chandler is undecided about whether he’ll continue his playing career or retire, according to Marc J. Spears of the Undefeated, who tweets that “opportunity and the state of the world” will be major factors in the 37-year-old’s decision.

Chandler originally thought he’d retire a year ago, but decided that he still had the desire to keep playing. He had an extremely limited role for the Rockets in 2019/20, appeared in just 26 contests and logging a career-low 8.4 minutes per game. His role became increasingly non-existent as the team pivoted to micro-ball — January 18 was the last time he logged more than one second of game action.

Here’s more from out of Houston:

  • Unlike Chandler, Jeff Green isn’t considering the possibility of retiring after this season. While the 34-year-old will be a free agent this offseason, he’s intent on continuing his career, tweets Spears.
  • Everything should be on the table for the Rockets and general manager Daryl Morey this offseason as they consider potential roster changes, according to Chris Herring of FiveThirtyEight. That includes considering the possibility of a James Harden trade, Herring notes.
  • Although the Rockets’ list of potential head coaching candidates starts with Tyronn Lue, there are plenty of candidates worth considering, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Feigen provides a long list of potential targets to replace Mike D’Antoni on Houston’s bench, including Jacque Vaughn, Jeff Van Gundy, David Fizdale, and many others.
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Rockets, Sam Cassell Have Mutual Interest

September 13th, 2020 at 3:33pm CST by JD Shaw

The Rockets and Clippers assistant coach Sam Cassell have mutual interest in a potential partnership, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon (Twitter link).

Mike D’Antoni, who coached the Rockets for the past four seasons, informed the franchise earlier on Sunday that he he won’t be returning. Several figures around the league view Cassell as a strong head coaching candidate, including current Clippers coach Doc Rivers.

“Sam Cassell should be a head coach, period,” Rivers said earlier this week. “He’s got an incredibly high basketball IQ, and I just hope he gets a shot. … When they talk about paying dues, he’s paid every due that is possible and he’s yet to get a job. So, I’m hoping that happens.”

Houston will likely consider other coaches for the job, with former Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue being a second potential candidate, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets. Marc Stein of the New York Times (via Twitter) also mentioned Jeff Van Gundy as a name that’s surfaced in recent coaching rumblings.

Cassell, 50, was drafted by the Rockets with the No. 24 pick in 1993. He spent the first three years of his career with the franchise, winning two titles, and went on to play 15 NBA seasons with several teams, winning another championship with the Celtics in 2008. He began his coaching career as an assistant with the Wizards from 2009-14 and has worked for the Clippers ever since.

Rockets general manager Daryl Morey is expected to remain with the team and will face increased pressure to build a championship roster around Russell Westbrook and James Harden. In addition to finding a new head coach, the team also has several players set to reach free agency this offseason, including Jeff Green, DeMarre Carroll and likely Austin Rivers ($2.43M player option).

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Mike D’Antoni Won’t Return To Rockets

September 13th, 2020 at 1:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni has informed team ownership that he intends to become a coaching free agent and won’t return to Houston next season, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

D’Antoni had been on an expiring contract, having turned down extension offers from the Rockets prior to the season.

General manager Daryl Morey had said after Houston’s Game 1 win over the Lakers in the second round that the team wanted to retain D’Antoni. However, there was always a sense that the two sides may not continue their relationship, especially since Houston’s preseason extension offers were short-term and included incentives. That sense only increased after the Rockets lost four straight games to the Lakers and were eliminated from the postseason.

D’Antoni, who joined the Rockets in 2016, led the organization to a 217-101 (.682) record over four seasons and won at least one playoff series in each of those four years, earning Coach of the Year honors in 2017.

Despite championship aspirations during that time, the club never got over the hump and reached the NBA Finals, having been eliminated twice by the Warriors, once by the Spurs, and now once by the Lakers.

Having confirmed his departure from Houston in a statement (link via Woj), D’Antoni is now expected to be among the candidates considered by the Sixers as they seek a new head coach, per ESPN. Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer tweets that there have been rumblings for weeks that D’Antoni may be headed to the Pelicans, though an earlier report suggested those rumors may be overstated. He has also been linked to the Pacers.

The Rockets, meanwhile, are likely to take a close look at Tyronn Lue as they weigh potential replacements for D’Antoni, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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