Indiana Pacers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacers To Interview Mike Brown For Head Coaching Vacancy

September 19th, 2020 at 11:01am CST by marksuleymanov

The Pacers will interview Warriors assistant coach Mike Brown for the team’s head coaching vacancy, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link).

Indiana’s head coaching search has yielded numerous names but Brown, 50, is as experienced a coach available this fall as multiple teams seek to fill openings.

Since 2016, Brown has been an assistant to Steve Kerr, helping the team win three NBA championships. Before that, the 2009 NBA Coach of the Year led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in 2007 during a five-year run as Cleveland’s head coach.

After he was dismissed from Cleveland, Brown replaced Phil Jackson in Los Angeles for the 2010/11 campaign but the Lakers were eliminated early in the postseason his season at the helm. Brown was fired just five games into the 2011/12 season after a sluggish start.

The Cavaliers rehired Brown in 2013 but was fired after just one season following a losing season.

Brown has previous experience in Indiana when he served as an assistant coach to Rick Carlisle from 2003-05. The team made the postseason in both of Brown’s season as an assistant.

Brown joins a long list of names receiving consideration for the Pacers’ opening, which includes a blend of experienced assistants, ex-head coaches and even a potential first-timer in Chauncey Billups. Additionally, now-former Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni could be an option for Indiana.

Vanterpool Interviewing With Pacers On Thursday

September 17th, 2020 at 12:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Timberwolves associate head coach David Vanterpool is scheduled to interview with the Pacers for their head coaching job on Thursday, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Vanterpool was one of more than a dozen candidates said to be on Indiana’s initial list.

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.

Rockets Notes: D’Antoni, Morey, House, Gordon

September 13th, 2020 at 10:04am CST by Arthur Hill

Mike D’Antoni wants to continue coaching, but his time in Houston may be over, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic. D’Antoni, 69, is now a free agent on the coaching market after his Rockets were ousted from the playoffs Saturday night. He hasn’t ruled out staying with his current team, but was unable to reach an extension last summer, leading to a public battle with management.

Sources tell Amick that there’s interest in D’Antoni from the Pacers, who recently fired Nate McMillan. However, Indiana is looking at other candidates as well, and D’Antoni’s hiring wouldn’t be a sure thing. There have also been rumors that he might be headed to New Orleans and a reunion with VP of basketball operations David Griffin, whom he once worked with in Phoenix, but Amick hears that D’Antoni isn’t a serious contender for the Pelicans job.

D’Antoni has been successful in his four years with the Rockets, posting a 217-101 record and leading the team to at least the second round of the playoffs each season. But Amick adds that hard feelings remain from last year’s failed talks involving D’Antoni’s agent, Warren LeGarie, and owner Tilman Fertitta, general manager Daryl Morey and CEO Tad Brown.

Amick notes that ABC/ESPN analyst and former Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy is considered a candidate if the job opens up again. Tim MacMahon of ESPN also mentions Van Gundy, along with ex-Nets coach Kenny Atkinson and Pelicans assistant Chris Finch, who has a championship on his resume with the Rockets’ G League affiliate in Rio Grande.

There’s more Rockets news this morning:

Morey’s job remains safe, despite the playoff ouster and an early-season tweet that cost the organization millions in sponsorship deals and damaged the NBA’s relationship with China, high-ranking Rockets sources tell MacMahon. Morey reportedly plans to continue the small-ball experiment next season as he believes it’s the best way to maximize the talents of James Harden and Russell Westbrook.
Rockets players haven’t said much publicly about the Danuel House incident since he was forced to leave the Disney World campus following an alleged violation of league rules, but Harden called it a “distraction” in a post-game interview. (video link from Ben DuBose of USA Today’s The Rockets Wire). “Very, very disappointing. It affected us,” Harden said. “Obviously, we still have to go out there and play a basketball game, and play a series. But it affected us. Obviously, it’s a distraction. He was a huge part of our rotation.”
Saturday’s loss means the final year of Eric Gordon‘s contract will remain non-guaranteed, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. The four-year extension Gordon signed in September includes a provision that guarantees his $20.9MM salary for 2023/24 if he makes an All-Star team or the Rockets win a championship.

Community Shootaround: Pacers’ Coaching Search

September 11th, 2020 at 8:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Shortly after the Pacers parted ways last month with Nate McMillan, president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard spoke about wanting the team’s head coaching search to “start with a big pool, then get down smaller and smaller.” Based on reports this week, it sounds like Pritchard is delivering on that promise.

On Wednesday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski identified 14 initial candidates for the Pacers’ head coaching job. He later added a 15th, reporting that former Finals MVP Chauncey Billups is also receiving consideration.

Pritchard and the Pacers will be seeking a coach who has a “modern approach” to the game and an ability to connect with younger players. Even with that criteria in mind, it’s hard to know which of the team’s initial candidates may make the strongest impression.

A number of the candidates being interviewed by the Pacers – including David Vanterpool, Nate Tibbetts, Will Hardy, Becky Hammon, Stephen Silas, Jamahl Mosley, Darvin Ham, Ime Udoka, and Pat Delany – are experienced assistants who have interviewed for other head coaching jobs. It’s possible one of them will stand out during the process and make the Pacers comfortable with hiring a first-time head coach.

Other assistants on Indiana’s list, including Charles Lee, Chris Quinn, and Dan Craig, may be a bit more under the radar, having not been linked to many – or any – head coaching jobs in the past, so they should probably be considered dark-horse candidates.

Dave Joerger and Jacque Vaughn are the two candidates who have previously held head coaching jobs. Joerger’s on-court results in Memphis and Sacramento were actually pretty solid, but he clashed at times with players and executives during those stops. Vaughn, meanwhile, overachieved with a depleted Brooklyn team this summer in Orlando, but was passed over by the Nets for their permanent job.

Billups is a wild card in the Pacers’ process. According to Wojnarowski, people around the league have long believed that the former Pistons guard would land a significant role with an NBA organization due to his leadership style and “basketball savvy.” But he has never even served as an assistant, so it remains to be seen if the Pacers would be comfortable rolling the dice on him.

Another wild card is current Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni, who was the first name connected to Indiana on the day the team fired McMillan. D’Antoni still has a job, and GM Daryl Morey recently spoke about wanting to retain the veteran coach.

However, D’Antoni’s contract is up, and if his Rockets are dispatched by the Lakers in Game 5 on Saturday with a fourth straight loss, it would end the season on a sour note. It’s possible he and the Rockets wouldn’t be as enthusiastic about a new deal at that point, freeing him up to join a team like the Pacers, who would surely welcome his free-wheeling offense.

What do you think? Is there a candidate on the Pacers’ current list who stands out to you as an obvious choice? Are there any candidates not on their list that you think they should be considering? Who do you expect to become Indiana’s next head coach?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!

Chauncey Billups Among Pacers’ Coaching Candidates

September 9th, 2020 at 10:21pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers‘ initial list of candidates for their head coaching vacancy featured 14 names, but apparently it was still unfinished. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski adds another name to that list, reporting that former NBA point guard Chauncey Billups has emerged as a candidate for the Indiana job.

According to Wojnarowski, Billups and Pacers officials recently engaged in talks about the position and plan to discuss it further. Woj points out that Billups fits the profile of some past Pacers coaching hires, such as Larry Bird and Isiah Thomas — Bird and Thomas were former Finals MVPs – like Billups – who were hired without any previous coaching experience in large part due to their leadership abilities as players.

A report last week indicated that Billups was interested in pursuing an NBA head coaching job and that teams had begun doing their homework on the former Piston, researching his candidacy.

Although Billups lacks coaching experience, NBA teams have a history of hiring former point guards who don’t have any past experience as assistants. Steve Nash is the latest example, but Doc Rivers, Steve Kerr, Mark Jackson, Jason Kidd, and Thomas are others who fit the bill.

The Pacers’ management team wants to get to know Billups, evaluate his preparedness for the job, and explore how they’d work together to build a coaching staff, writes Wojnarowski. According to Woj, people around the league have long believed that Billups would land a significant role with an NBA organization due to his leadership style and “basketball savvy.” It remains to be seen if he and the Pacers will be the right fit for one another.

Pacers Identify 14 Head Coaching Candidates

September 9th, 2020 at 12:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers are set to begin a wide-ranging search for a head coach that will include more than a dozen candidates, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. As Wojnarowski details, Indiana is looking to interview the following candidates as the team seeks a replacement for Nate McMillan:

Former Kings and Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger
Timberwolves associate head coach David Vanterpool
Nets associate head coach Jacque Vaughn
Trail Blazers associate head coach Nate Tibbetts
Spurs assistants Becky Hammon and Will Hardy
Heat assistants Dan Craig and Chris Quinn
Mavericks assistants Jamahl Mosley and Stephen Silas
Bucks assistants Darvin Ham and Charles Lee
Sixers assistant Ime Udoka
Magic assistant Pat Delany

It remains to be seen whether the Pacers will be granted permission to speak with all of their potential targets. If they do, the team’s first round of virtual meetings would feature at least 14 interviews.

Many of the Pacers’ coaching candidates identified by Wojnarowski have been linked to other vacancies around the league. Vanterpool, Craig, Mosley, Silas, Ham, and Udoka, for example, are all believed to be interviewing for the Bulls’ job. Udoka and Ham have also been mentioned as potential 76ers candidates, as has Joerger. Vaughn was seriously considered for the Nets job before the team hired Steve Nash, while Hardy and Delany interviewed with the Knicks before they hired Tom Thibodeau.

Others on Indiana’s list, such as Tibbetts and Hammon, have interviewed in past years for various NBA head coaching openings. Only a couple candidates – Quinn and Lee – haven’t received head coaching consideration in the past, as far as I can tell. Meanwhile, Joerger and Vaughn are the only names on the list with previous head coaching experience.

Mike D’Antoni has also been mentioned as a potential target for the Pacers, but he remains active in the postseason with the Rockets and there’s no guarantee he’ll leave Houston when his contract expires.

Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard has spoken about wanting to hire a head coach who takes a “modern approach” to the game and has the ability to connect with younger players. McMillan’s old-school approach to offense was believed to be one reason why Indiana made a change.

Poll: Best Available NBA Head Coaching Job

September 7th, 2020 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Now that the Knicks and Nets have hired new head coaches, there are four NBA clubs that have coaching openings to fill. Those teams are the Bulls, Pacers, Pelicans, and Sixers, and each head coaching job comes with some pros and cons.

In Chicago, for instance, there’s a solid group of promising young players – including Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen, Wendell Carter, Coby White, and this year’s No. 4 overall pick – and expectations shouldn’t be overly high for the first year or two, since the team is still in the process of rebuilding.

The Bulls are somewhat lacking in star power, however, which may limit the team’s ceiling. That’s not the case in Philadelphia, where the Sixers have a pair of All-Stars – Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons – on long-term contracts.

That’s a great foundation to build upon, but the new 76ers head coach will be tasked with solving a puzzle that Brett Brown couldn’t — figuring out how to get the most of Embiid and Simmons together on offense. With Tobias Harris and Al Horford earning nearly $62MM combined in 2020/21, the team’s ability to make upgrades around its two stars will be limited, so maximizing the current roster will be paramount.

The Pelicans also have some star power that could appeal to a head coaching candidate, with Jrue Holiday serving as the team’s veteran leader, while Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram are the rising young stars. It’s certainly an intriguing job, but Holiday is entering a contract year, Ingram is about to get very expensive, and Williamson hasn’t yet proven he can consistently remain healthy. Expectations in New Orleans are rising, putting added pressure on the team’s next head coach.

Meanwhile, in Indiana, Victor Oladipo is entering a contract year and it’s not clear whether or not he envisions a long-term future with the Pacers, which could complicate matters for a new head coach. Still, there’s a lot to work with here. Even if Oladipo and/or Myles Turner end up on the trade block at some point, the Pacers could get a strong return for either player and can lean on the likes of Domantas Sabonis, Malcolm Brogdon, and T.J. Warren.

What do you think? If you were a head coaching candidate with equal offers in hand from the Bulls, Pacers, Pelicans, and Sixers, which job would you take? Which one would be the least appealing, in your opinion?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to weigh in with your two cents!

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Kevin Pritchard Discusses Pacers’ Coaching Search

September 4th, 2020 at 1:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

Communication and flexibility will be important as the Pacers begin their search for a new head coach, president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard tells Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files.

The campus environment at Disney World gave Pritchard and GM Chad Buchanan a chance to spend more time than usual around their players and get an inside look at where they believe the franchise is headed. That experience led to the decision to replace Nate McMillan.

“As we were going through the playoffs, it was more challenging to see our players and our staff have felt like, at times, we look defeated,” Pritchard said. “That is something I don’t ever want to see on our players’ face. We want to be better than getting swept in the playoffs and when you look at the playoffs, I wanted to have some hope that we could win a game.”

McMillan, who had a year left on his contract, had been with the franchise since 2013 when he was hired as an assistant coach. He ranks fourth among Pacers coaches in career wins, but Agness notes that this season was difficult for the entire organization.

Indiana began the season with nine new players on its roster, including first-round pick Goga Bitadze, who had to miss Summer League because of a work visa issue. There were constant questions about injured guard Victor Oladipo, who didn’t return until late January, and Pacers players had nearly 200 total games missed due to injuries. The chaos of the hiatus and the restart led to another playoff sweep, the third in the past four years, which sealed McMillan’s fate.

Pritchard said he could see “some relief” in McMillan’s eyes when he broke the news.

“As we end the season, it feels like the last couple years, it’s ended with a bad taste in our mouth,” Pritchard said. “And for me, that is something that there had to be some changes. I take full responsibility.”

Indiana will look for a coach with a more creative offensive scheme and a willingness to take chances with young players. Agness notes that T.J. Leaf‘s season was virtually wasted with just 28 games played. Edmond Sumner wasn’t used in Games 2 and 3 against Miami, while Bitadze didn’t play at all in the postseason as Tyler Herro, who was taken five picks earlier, averaged 16.5 PPG in the series.

“Sometimes you have to make some sacrifices,” Pritchard said. “You have to play some players in the regular season to develop, and then ultimately be prepared more for the playoffs than you were for the regular season. And so that’s sort of out-of-the-box thinking is something that we we desperately need.”

Central Notes: Cavs, Warren, Bulls, Pistons

September 2nd, 2020 at 9:26pm CST by Jovan Alford

The Cavaliers are set to return to their practice facility in mid-September to hold a voluntary minicamp. While most players will be there, pending free agents Tristan Thompson and Matthew Dellavedova will not be participating, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

Along with Thompson and Dellavedova, Andre Drummond isn’t expected to be in attendance at the Cavaliers’ minicamp due to a personal matter. Fedor says that the veteran center, who is likely to pick up his $28.7MM player option for next season, was initially interested in attending.

The Cavaliers are among eight teams who did not qualify for the NBA’s restart in Orlando that will get the chance to hold practices with their players.

Here’s more from across the Central Division:

In an extensive interview with Michael Pina of GQ, Pacers forward T.J. Warren spoke about his love of reading books. “I was thinking, I’ve gotta find a way to stimulate my mind when I’m not playing basketball and reading things that interest me,” Warren explained. “Sometimes you can get mixed up with some of the information you’re getting through social media or television, but if you actually like reading and getting it from the source, you can comprehend it better.” The 26-year-old forward had impressive performances in the bubble, which included a career-high 53 points against the 76ers in the seeding games.
Sam Smith of Bulls.com discussed some potential point guard options for the Bulls, who have the fourth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft. In his latest mailbag, one reader asked Smith if the Bulls would think about trading down if LaMelo Ball is available at No. 4. In response to that question, Smith points out that new Chicago general manager Arturas Karnisovas has had success with finding gems later in the draft. However, if Smith had his choice, he would trade down for Iowa State’s Tyrese Haliburton, especially if Memphis’ James Wiseman is off the board.
In his latest mailbag, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com wrote about Sekou Doumbouya‘s possible role next season under head coach Dwane Casey, various draft options for the Pistons, and Derrick Rose‘s outlook. When it comes to October’s draft, Langlois writes that all options are on the table for the Pistons, who own the seventh overall pick. He mentions that they could select either Deni Avdija, Killian Hayes, Isaac Okoro, Onyeka Okongwu, or Haliburton.