- Bulls star and Los Angeles native DeMar DeRozan has gotten past the feeling that he needs to return home to play for the Clippers or Lakers someday, he said in an appearance on Paul George‘s podcast (hat tip to All Clippers). “I used to feel like that,” DeRozan said. “I used to think like, man I gotta play home so I could see what it’s like. It’s like I get it from both ways now. From home, and I’m able to represent home from where I’m playing. I’m at a stage now where I’m okay now if I don’t. It’s not like an ultimate desire of mine.” George admitted that he tried to recruit DeRozan to the Clippers as a free agent two years ago, but it wasn’t financially feasible.
- Clippers general manager Michael Winger has interviewed with the Wizards in Washington’s search for a top executive. However, there’s skepticism around the league that Winger, one of the highest paid GMs in the league, will leave the stability of his current job, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.
The Bucks and Suns are rumored to be interested in Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue, but he’s still under contract for two more seasons, though only one of those is thought to be guaranteed.
There’s growing skepticism among those close to the coach and the Clippers that a rival team would be able to poach Lue away, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.
The Clippers still hope to contend for championships going forward despite another disappointing playoff exit in 2022/23, and owner Steve Ballmer is known to be a “huge fan” of Lue. As Fischer observes, the Bucks and Suns also don’t have much in the form of future first-round picks, which would likely be necessary to acquire Lue — assuming the Clippers would even permit a rival to interview him, and there’s no indication they would — while he’s still under contract.
The Bucks do have their 2029 first-rounder available, but Fischer suggests they’ll likely use it to acquire a player — either this offseason or in the future. Sources tell Fischer that Milwaukee contemplated dealing the pick to try to land Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic ahead of the February trade deadline.
Here are some more coaching rumors from around the NBA:
- Gregg Popovich, the longest-tenured head coach in the league, is expected to stay with the Spurs for as long as he wants to continue coaching, and there’s no indication that the Hall-of-Famer plans to retire next season, especially after San Antonio won the draft lottery. However, Popovich’s contract expired at the end of the season, and he hasn’t signed a new deal yet, sources tell Fischer.
- The fact that the Pistons have yet to hire one of their three coaching finalists has left coaching agents around the league wondering if they’ll reopen their search and consider more candidates, Fischer writes. The three finalists — Kevin Ollie, Charles Lee and Jarron Collins — met with owner Tom Gores last week, Fischer confirms. Detroit is thought to have interest in Monty Williams, who was fired by the Suns last week, so that might explain the holdup. That said, Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com hears from sources that the job is expected to come down to either Ollie or Collins (Twitter link).
- According to Fischer, the Raptors hope to be “blown away” in an interview with one of their long list of coaching candidates. Toronto is believed to be open to an “unconventional” choice. Assistant coaches Jim Sann and Rico Hanes are expected to be retained regardless of who is named head coach, sources tell Fischer.
- Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated hears (via Twitter) that Ime Udoka “wants to do right” by his former Celtics assistants, and will extend those interested an invitation to join him with the Rockets after his unceremonious departure from Boston. Royal Ivey, who worked with Udoka on the Nets, recently joined his staff in Houston.
The Wizards, who are seeking a new head of basketball operations, conducted an interview with Clippers general manager Michael Winger for the position, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Winger is at least the second candidate to meet with Wizards management and owner Ted Leonsis about the team’s top front office job, Wojnarowski writes. Pelicans general manager Trajan Langdon also interviewed with Washington.
Bucks assistant GM Milt Newton reportedly spoke to the Wizards too, though that was when the team was still said to be in the “information-gathering” stage of its search, so that conversation was presumably less formal.
Winger, who has worked under president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank in Los Angeles since 2017, has been an NBA executive for nearly two decades. He served as the Cavaliers’ director of basketball operations from 2005-10 and then was an assistant general manager with the Thunder under Sam Presti from 2010-17.
Although Winger has drawn interest from rival teams since joining the Clippers, he has consistently turned down those overtures. The Timberwolves, for instance, sought an interview with him when they were seeking a new head of basketball operations in 2019, but he opted to pass on that opportunity and remain in L.A.
After getting badly outplayed in the first half of Tuesday’s series opener, the Lakers made enough adjustments to cut the lead to three points in the final minute, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. The Nuggets were able to hold on, but L.A. turned the game around by switching to a bigger lineup. Coach Darvin Ham assigned Rui Hachimura to guard Nikola Jokic, which allowed more freedom for Anthony Davis to roam around and challenge Denver’s shooters.
“You have to switch up matchups at times and you have to switch up coverages,” Ham said. “Gave us a chance to get back into the game.”
While it makes sense to go with that same approach from the start in Game 2, it may not be an easy decision for Ham. Multiple team sources told McMenamin that there’s concern the team could “lose” D’Angelo Russell if he’s moved to the bench after starting every game so far in the playoffs. Russell got off to a terrible start Tuesday, posting a minus-23 in the first half and playing only nine minutes after the intermission. He’s headed to free agency this summer, so Ham’s decision could affect his long-term future with the team.
There’s more from Los Angeles:
- The Lakers‘ offense found success by having LeBron James target Jamal Murray after he got in foul trouble in the second half, McMenamin adds. That will likely be the approach again when the series resumes Thursday night. “We’ll be better,” James promised. “We know we didn’t play up to our capabilities in the first half. … But you know we’ll be better in Game 2, that’s for sure.”
- Clippers coach Tyronn Lue has two years remaining on his contract, but only one of those is guaranteed, a source tells Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. That explains why Lue’s representatives reportedly met with the team this week to discuss an extension or an entirely new deal. Greif notes that the contract Lue received when he became head coach lined up with the deals given to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, who will both be eligible for extensions this summer that could be worth up to $220MM over four years. As Greif points out, the Clippers’ offseason decisions will provide a window into their level of trust in the current foundation of the team.
- Leonard hasn’t decided whether to have surgery for the meniscus tear he suffered in the playoffs, but Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank believes he’ll be ready for the start of next season with or without the operation, Greif adds.
The Clippers met this week with representatives for head coach Tyronn Lue to discuss his future with the team, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report.
With rumors circulating that the Suns are interested in hiring Lue away from their division rivals, there have been some questions about the coach’s future in Los Angeles. According to Haynes, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is a “huge fan” of Lue and has a great relationship with him, so there’s certainly no indication that the team wants to move on from Lue.
As Haynes writes, Lue has two years remaining on his contract with the Clippers, which pays him about $7MM per year. If the two sides decide they want to amend that agreement, they would likely work out an all-new deal rather than negotiating a contract extension, Haynes adds.
Here’s more from Haynes:
- The Suns are considered likely to guarantee Chris Paul‘s salary for 2023/24, league sources tell Haynes. Paul’s $30.8MM cap hit is currently partially guaranteed for $15.8MM. The 38-year-old is considered a trade candidate, but Haynes hears that Phoenix is “currently of the mindset” that CP3 will be the team’s starting point guard when the ’23/24 season gets underway.
- Kevin Young will interview for the Suns‘ head coaching job as early as next week, according to Haynes, who says Young – an assistant on Monty Williams‘ staff for the last three seasons – appears to have the backing of several Phoenix players.
- Confirming prior reports, Haynes says the Trail Blazers are expected to make the No. 3 overall pick available for trade, though the club is also examining the players who may be available at that spot in the draft. Damian Lillard has let the front office know that he wants the focus to be on acquiring veterans who can help Portland win now, and he and the front office seem to be on the same page, Haynes adds.
- In case you missed it, Haynes also reported that James Harden intends to decline his player option with the Sixers in search of a long-term deal.
The NBA’s general managers held their annual meeting in Chicago on draft lottery day and the discussions among those GMs about a handful of competition-related issues were “lively,” according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Insider link).
One of the topics the GMs talked about on Tuesday, according to Lowe, was the idea of turning the NBA draft into a two-day event. They also discussed whether the modern game has tilted too far toward offensive production and considered what could be done to help defenses. Additionally, sources tell Lowe that some executives in attendance suggested bringing back escalating fines as a penalty for players who flop.
Much of the general managers’ conversation revolved around the issue of load management, and Lowe hears from sources that there may be more load management-related rules implemented as soon as next season. According to Lowe, some in attendance at the meetings believe the NBA may revisit its guidelines on when teams are permitted to rest players, as well as the penalties for clubs that violate those guidelines.
Here’s more from Lowe, who was in the drawing room for Tuesday night’s lottery:
- Before the fourth and final lottery ball was drawn for the No. 1 pick, the Wizards had six of the 11 available combinations, according to Lowe and other reporters who attended the drawing. The Magic, Pacers, and Trail Blazers were also still alive for the top pick at that point, but it was the Spurs who lucked out and held the winning combination: 14-5-8-2.
- Rival executives are expecting Portland to re-sign Jerami Grant this offseason, according to Lowe, who says he believes the Trail Blazers will also look into renegotiating the protections on the lottery-protected first-round pick they owe to the Bulls. Removing or reducing the protections on that pick would give the Blazers more flexibility to trade future first-rounders.
- The Clippers love having Tyronn Lue as their head coach and are “happy to remind” teams with interest in Lue that he remains under contract, Lowe reports. The Suns are said to have legitimate interest in hiring Lue away from their division rivals, but it sounds like Los Angeles would make that very difficult. As Lowe notes, it’s still unclear whether or not that’s even something Lue would want.
- Executives in Chicago are “buzzing” about what the future holds for the Warriors and Sixers. Based on his conversations, Lowe says there’s a strong level of interest in Golden State forward Jonathan Kuminga around the NBA. Lowe adds that, while the Rockets and James Harden have mutual interest in a reunion, league sources made it clear that Harden’s return to Houston is no lock after the dismissal of Doc Rivers in Philadelphia.
There could be a significant amount of star player movement in the NBA within the next year, Zach Lowe of ESPN said in the latest episode of his Lowe Post podcast (YouTube link). Lowe pointed to a number of volatile situations around the league and the potential impact of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement as reasons why we could see more notable trades and free agency moves than usual in the not-too-distant future.
“I think the next year in the NBA could be an unbelievable period of superstar and star player movement because you’ve just got a lot of sort of roiling situations,” Lowe explained (hat tip to RealGM). “You have one year left before the really harsh trade rules kick into place, after the 2023/24 season, where teams over the second apron, like the Clippers for instance, cannot even aggregate salaries. They can’t add up money to bring in a big money player. That’s starting after next season.
“I think we could see a ton of movement in the offseason and up to the (trade) deadline. And a ton of big names moving. That’s not to say (Joel) Embiid, but I think this going to be a hot and heavy offseason and people should buckle up.”
Lowe’s prediction followed a conversation about Embiid’s future with the Sixers. Lowe stressed that the 2023 MVP has always been loyal to Philadelphia and expressed skepticism that Embiid would ask for a trade anytime soon, but noted that teams around the NBA have an eye on that situation following another disappointing playoff exit.
Pointing to the Knicks, in particular, Lowe said he’d be surprised if New York gave up significant assets for a player like Damian Lillard or Karl-Anthony Towns, arguing that clubs in the Knicks’ position would be better off waiting to see if a higher-level star like Embiid eventually becomes available.
Here’s more from Lowe’s most recent podcast, which featured fellow ESPN reporter Tim MacMahon:
- James Harden‘s future in Philadelphia is much less certain than Embiid’s. During a discussion about the future of the Sixers guard, both Lowe and MacMahon stated that the Rockets “think he’s coming.” Harden can become a free agent this summer by declining his player option for 2023/24, and rumors about a return to Houston continue to percolate.
- Monty Williams‘ ouster in Phoenix doesn’t necessarily mean the Suns will be more inclined to hang onto center Deandre Ayton, who had an up-and-down relationship with Williams. Lowe says the Ayton situation has “spun totally out of control,” adding that many people within the organization are “tired” of the Suns’ center. MacMahon agrees that the two sides needs to move on and says he’s “pretty confident” Ayton will be dealt this offseason.
- While he makes it clear that he doesn’t have any inside info and isn’t explicitly reporting anything, Lowe views the Clippers as a logical trade partner for the Suns if they want to move Chris Paul. As Lowe explains, Los Angeles has been seeking an answer at point guard throughout the Paul George/Kawhi Leonard era and Phoenix would like to add reliable depth, which the Clippers could provide.
After being fired by the Suns Saturday night, Monty Williams is attracting interest from the other three NBA teams with head coaching vacancies, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic. Sources tell Charania that the Bucks, Pistons and Raptors all plan to pursue Williams in their coaching searches.
Charania hears that Williams will “take time to himself” after his surprising ouster in Phoenix, but opportunities will be available if he decides he wants to coach next season. Even though Detroit scheduled interviews with its three finalists last week, it appears the team will delay a decision until it finds out if Williams is interested. The Raptors, who fired Nick Nurse on April 21, and the Bucks, who dismissed Mike Budenholzer on May 4, are both in the early stages of their coaching searches.
[RELATED: 2023 NBA Head Coaching Search Tracker]
Despite an early report that new Suns owner Mat Ishbia was responsible for firing Williams, sources tell Charania that it was an organizational decision that involved “all segments of team leadership.” Charania adds that Phoenix will look for “a respected program builder” who will demand accountability from players and bring a creative approach to an offense built around Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. The Suns may interview six or seven candidates before making a decision, Charania adds.
Charania also confirms a rumor that emerged Saturday night that Phoenix considers current Clippers coach Tyronn Lue to be its “ideal No. 1 target.” However, Lue is still under contract and there hasn’t been any indication that L.A. is considering a coaching change.
John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM points out that if Lue does want to come to the Suns, he would have to be the one who asks the Clippers for permission to interview (Twitter link) and Phoenix would likely be required to send some form of compensation if Lue is hired.
Charania’s sources identify Nurse as another desirable target for the Suns.
The Bucks are continuing to expand their list of coaching candidates, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who tweets that the team has received permission to interview Heat assistant Chris Quinn. The Pistons reportedly interviewed Quinn early in their search, and he’s considered to be a candidate for the Raptors’ job as well.
Following their dismissal of head coach Monty Williams on Saturday, the Suns are putting together a list of candidates for the vacancy that includes Mike Budenholzer, Nick Nurse, and Kevin Young, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links). According to Haynes, that list of candidates will continue to grow.
[RELATED: 2023 NBA Head Coaching Search Tracker]
It’s unclear whether Phoenix has lined up interviews yet with Budenholzer, Nurse, or Young, but the team won’t need to seek permission to speak to any of them. Budenholzer and Nurse were recently let go by their teams, while Young is the associate head coach on the Suns’ own staff, having served as Williams’ top assistant.
Budenholzer has a career regular season record 484-317 (.604) as a head coach, with a 56-48 (.538) mark in the playoffs. He coached the Hawks from 2013-18 and the Bucks from 2018-23, winning a title in Milwaukee in 2021 and earning Coach of the Year honors in both 2015 and 2019.
Nurse, who is coming off a five-year stint as head coach of the Raptors, won a championship in 2019 and was named Coach of the Year in 2020. He had a 227-163 (.582) regular season record and a 25-16 (.610) postseason mark in Toronto.
Young coached multiple G League teams and was an assistant coach with the Sixers before joining the Suns in 2020.
Marc Stein reported on Saturday that the Suns will also look into the possibility of trying to lure Tyronn Lue away to the Clippers, but it’s unclear if Phoenix will have any success on that front, Stein writes in his latest Substack story.
Lue remains under contract with Los Angeles and reportedly has the support of team owner Steve Ballmer, according to Stein. As such, it seems unlikely that the Clippers would let him leave for a division rival without receiving some form of compensation. For what it’s worth though, there has been chatter in league circles about the Suns’ interest in Lue for several days, tweets Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times.