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Southwest Notes: Smith, Demps, Labissiere, Ulis

May 12th, 2016 at 8:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kenny Smith, a candidate for the Rockets‘ head coaching position, said he had “a great meeting” with team officials, relays Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston. Smith sat down with owner Leslie Alexander and GM Daryl Morey for 2 1/2 hours Tuesday at Alexander’s Florida home. “They have a clear vision of what they want to do,” Smith said. “I have a clear vision of what I’d like to do. Sometimes you meet in the middle. Sometimes it doesn’t meet at all, but it was something that we both had to explore, and [are] still exploring.” Smith, who helped bring two NBA titles to Houston in the mid-1990s, said he and the team are “just staying in contact” with each other at this point. He added that he enjoys his job as a TNT analyst and said it would take a fantastic offer to make him leave.

There’s more tonight from the Southwest Division:

The combine in Chicago is “an integral part of the draft process,” Pelicans GM Dell Demps told Jim Eichenhofer of NBA.com. Coaches, GMs and other team officials from around the league gather each year to watch prospects display their skills and get to know them on a personal basis. Demps said that contact is vital in preparing for the draft. “Most NBA coaches do not get the opportunity to watch college players during the NBA season [due to the 82-game schedule], so the combine is usually the first time they can watch them play in person,” he said.
The Pelicans spoke with Kentucky big man Skal Labissiere, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
The Spurs and Grizzlies were among the nine teams that interviewed Kentucky sophomore point guard Tyler Ulis, relays Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
Seton Hall sophomore point guard Isaiah Whitehead had an interview with the Rockets, tweets Zach Braziller of The New York Post.

Draft Combine Updates: Thursday Afternoon

May 12th, 2016 at 1:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

The NBA draft combine began Wednesday and kicks into high gear today. The players have been measured, with the the NBA releasing the results on its website, and drills and five-on-five action will take place for willing participants. The general rule is this: The more highly regarded the prospect, the fewer combine events in which he takes part. Cameron Payne was the only eventual 2015 lottery pick who did any basketball activity at last year’s combine, notes Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link). Top-pick contender Ben Simmons is among those who are skipping the combine altogether, while lottery prospects Kris Dunn and Deyonta Davis will be limited participants, Givony and Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com report (Twitter links). Interviews with teams are a key part of the combine, as The Vertical’s Bobby Marks details, but teams don’t directly select the players they interview, as Marks explains.

Here’s more news on the draft:

Givony, writing for The Vertical, said the private workout Skal Labissiere had Wednesday was one of the best he’s ever seen. The big man from Kentucky also interviewed with the Sixers on Wednesday, a source told Jessica Camerato of CSN Philly (Twitter link).
Top-10 prospects Brandon Ingram, Buddy Hield and Jamal Murray are among those interviewing with the Celtics, reports Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald (Twitter link).
First-round prospect DeAndre’ Bembry will work out for the Sixers on Monday, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). The small forward from St. Joseph’s met with the Nets on Wednesday, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link), and Bembry also interviewed with the Thunder, Wizards, Spurs, Pelicans and Knicks, Pompey adds (via Twitter).
St. Joseph’s power forward Isaiah Miles worked out for the Celtics this week and will do so for the Nets on May 19th, Pompey also reports. The Mavericks, Spurs, Rockets, Bucks and Knicks will also work him out, according to Pompey, who adds that he’ll interview with the Pacers and Wizards at the combine and previously interviewed with the Mavs, Spurs, Magic and Grizzlies at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, a showcase for seniors.
The Nets are among the teams working out Kentucky combo guard Isaiah Briscoe, sources tell Evan Daniels of Scout.com (Twitter link), who also echoes previous reports of his workouts with three other teams.
Oklahoma senior shooting guard Isaiah Cousins will work out Tuesday for the Pacers, Zagoria tweets.
Oakland University point guard Kay Felder met Wednesday with the Suns, Pelicans, Jazz, Nuggets, Cavaliers, Celtics and Nets, reports Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link).
Evansville center Egidijus Mockevicius will work out for the Nets, Bulls and Pacers, reports Daniel Allar of the Courier & Press (Twitter links). The Nuggets, Cavaliers and Magic are also interested in scheduling workouts with him, Allar adds.

Chris Wallace Downplays Meeting With Lionel Hollins

May 12th, 2016 at 10:42am CST by Chuck Myron

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace stressed the need for the team’s next coach to focus on player development and communicate with the front office and said the team is prepared to pay whatever’s necessary to make the right hire as he spoke Wednesday in an interview with Peter Edmiston on WHBQ-AM (See all six Twitter links here). The extension and pay raise that the Jazz gave Quin Snyder on Friday helped fuel former Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger‘s frustration with the Memphis front office, which was in no rush to give him a similar deal, a source acknowledged to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. Wallace, in the interview with Edmiston, also downplayed the significance of a dinner he had with former coach Lionel Hollins, which led to speculation that the Grizzlies are interested in rehiring him.

Wallace also pointed to the autonomy of the Grizzlies front office when it comes to shaping the roster. “We make the final decision on the personnel brought into the organization,” Wallace said to Edmiston. “The buck stops with me on that.”

Frank Vogel Is Good Fit, Despite Offensive Concerns

May 11th, 2016 at 5:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The obvious choice as to who should become the Grizzlies new head coach is Frank Vogel, whom the Pacers dismissed last week, Geoff Calkins of The Commercial Appeal opines. Vogel has the track record of success and experience with younger players that the organization is seeking, Calkins writes. However, there should be some concerns regarding Vogel’s offensive acumen, which was one of the franchise’s issues with former coach Dave Joerger, and it isn’t clear if the former Indiana coach would be interested in joining a team that may well be on the decline, Calkins adds.

The scribe also notes that while GM Chris Wallace and Lionel Hollins met Monday night at a Memphis restaurant, it would be very surprising if the team were to rehire its former coach. After the issues the front office reportedly had with Joerger, it’s doubtful Memphis would hire another coach who butted heads with the front office during his tenure with the team, Calkins adds. The Grizzlies went 214-201 in parts of seven seasons under Hollins.

Kings Notes: Joerger, Catanella, Assistants

May 10th, 2016 at 4:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

New Kings coach Dave Joerger pledged today that he’d work in concert with GM Vlade Divac, in contrast to the discord between coach and front office that marked George Karl‘s Sacramento tenure and Joerger’s time in Memphis, as ESPN.com notes. The Kings haven’t made the playoffs in 10 years, but Joerger, who took the Sacramento job despite openings in Houston and Indiana, is optimistic about the future for Sacramento, observes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. “The team’s on the rise,” Joerger said. “There’s still some heavy lifting to do but some of the heavy lifting has been done. This is not a blow it up, let’s start all over again situation. We’re on the road to recovery.”

See more from Sacramento:

Miscommunication disrupted the process that led to the hiring of Ken Catanella as Kings assistant GM, several league sources told Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. A confused narrative exists on whether Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace was a candidate, and it seemed former Bucks and Pacers executive David Morway was headed for the job before talks broke off.
Some of the candidates for the head coaching job pulled out before the search was over, while others simply used the team’s interest to bolster their resumes, according to Lowe.
The Kings dismissed assistant coaches Chad Iske and John Welch but will keep fellow assistants Nancy Lieberman and Corliss Williamson, as Jones and The Bee’s Ailene Voisin relay (Twitter links).
One of the candidates who interviewed for the head coaching job gave Jake Fischer of SI.com an anonymous rundown of the visit, providing insight on the team’s approach and telling Fischer that before Joerger emerged, the Kings originally planned to narrow the field to two finalists who would meet with Ranadive. That essentially jibes with earlier reporting from Jones, who heard the team intended to name three finalists.

Latest On Grizzlies, Coaching Candidate David Fizdale

May 10th, 2016 at 2:41pm CST by Chuck Myron

It wouldn’t be surprising if Heat assistant coach David Fizdale snags an interview for the Grizzlies head coaching job, Jackson writes in a separate piece. Fizdale is on the list of candidates Memphis has compiled for its vacancy, as Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported Monday.

Grizzlies Considering Lionel Hollins?

May 10th, 2016 at 7:26am CST by Chuck Myron

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace and former coach Lionel Hollins met Monday night at a Memphis-area restaurant, fueling speculation that the team is considering Hollins for its coaching vacancy, according to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. It’s nonetheless widely believed that Frank Vogel is the front-runner, Tillery adds. Memphis reportedly reached out to Vogel this past weekend.

Wallace was in charge of the front office when Hollins took over as Grizzlies coach midway through the 2008/09 season, and the club’s decision not to re-sign Hollins in 2013 came while former CEO Jason Levien exerted control over the basketball operations department. Wallace returned to power in the 2014 offseason, around the time Hollins took the Nets head coaching job. Brooklyn fired Hollins in January, and Memphis fired coach Dave Joerger, a former Hollins assistant, this past Saturday.

The Grizzlies had their greatest success during Hollins’ tenure as coach, winning 56 games in the 2012/13 season and reaching the 2013 Western Conference finals. Memphis went 214-201 in parts of seven seasons under Hollins.

Draft Updates: Ferrell, Ndiaye, Moore, Hawks

May 9th, 2016 at 4:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

A major draft-related event takes place this week, as scouts, executives and these prospects will gather for the NBA combine in Chicago from Wednesday through Sunday. Teams will start working out players in earnest after that, though some auditions have already taken place. Here’s the latest on that front with the June 23rd draft little more than six weeks away:

The workouts that former Indiana University point guard Yogi Ferrell has with the Lakers and Clippers are slated for May 16th and 18th, respectively, tweets Jonathan Goodman of ESPN.com, advancing an earlier report from Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Ferrell will also work out for the Suns on the 20th, Jazz on the 22nd, Bulls on the 23rd, Hawks on the 25th, Mavericks on the 26th, Pistons on the 31st, Wizards on June 2nd, Nets on June 8th, and Knicks on June 10th, Goodman reveals. Ferrell is trying to work his way into the second round, with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranking him No. 66 while Chad Ford of ESPN.com rates him only 99th.
Massive UC Irvine center Mamadou Ndiaye will work out for the Rockets and Lakers, Goodman tweets. Givony, who ranks him the 30th-best prospect among juniors, lists Ndiaye at 7’6″, while Goodman says he’s 7’5″. Ford, who also lists him at 7’6″, ranks him the 136th-best prospect overall.
Utah State small forward Jalen Moore will work out with the Grizzlies on May 16th, the Timberwolves on the 18th and the Nets on the 23rd, as he tells Goodman (Twitter link). Moore is Givony‘s 69th-best junior and Ford‘s 190th prospect overall.
The Hawks worked out Taurean Prince, Justin Jackson, Nigel Hayes, Pascal Siakam, Alex Hamilton and Wes Washpun on Saturday, a source told Jake Fischer of SI Now (Twitter link).

Chris Wallace Says Talk With Kings Wasn't Interview

May 9th, 2016 at 1:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace has acknowledged speaking with Kings GM Vlade Divac about a job in Sacramento’s front office, but he told Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal and others that the talk didn’t constitute an interview and that he didn’t pursue the gig. Conflicting reports have painted a confused picture of the Kings-Wallace connection, though Wallace appears to suggest it’s all a matter of semantics, as Herrington examines.

Latest On Kings, Dave Joerger

May 9th, 2016 at 12:48pm CST by Chuck Myron

12:48pm: The deal would indeed be a four-year arrangement with a team option on the fourth season, sources tell Wojnarowski, so the reports on contract length now align (Twitter link).

11:29am: The Kings hope they’ll finalize a deal with Joerger today, Stein hears (Twitter link).

MONDAY, 7:56am: Joerger is just one of three finalists, Divac said, according to Voisin (Twitter link). The identity of the other finalists is unclear. The Kings plan to meet with each of the finalists in the coming days and hope to make a decision by the end of the week, reports Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee.

The deal the Kings and Joerger are discussing involves a team option on the fourth season, Stein writes. That would seem to account for the difference between the three- and four-year offers Stein and Wojnarowski referred to earlier.

SUNDAY, 11:55pm: A meeting with owner Vivek Ranadive set for Monday is the last obstacle between Dave Joerger and a deal to become Kings coach, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. The team flew Joerger and his family to Sacramento, and the sides have made significant progress toward a three-year deal worth about $4MM a year, Wojnarowski hears, though sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com that they’ve been discussing a four-year arrangement for the same annual salary (Twitter link).

Regardless, GM Vlade Divac still plans to compose a list of finalists, and that’s the message that the team has communicated to its candidates even since Joerger’s arrival for today’s face-to-face with Divac, reports Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee, (Twitter links). That suggests Sacramento hasn’t ruled out hiring someone other than Joerger just yet. Joerger, too, has held mutual interest with the Rockets, as USA Today’s Sam Amick noted earlier, and his plan was to wait to hear from Houston before making a decision, according to TNT’s David Aldridge, but whether the Rockets are still in the picture for him after today’s meeting with Divac is unknown.

Joerger spoke at length with Divac today and would have the authority to hire his own assistants, though doubt exists about whether he wants to bring his Grizzlies staff with him, as Wojnarowski details. Still, it’s expected that Joerger would hire Grizzlies assistant Elston Turner, and he’d also likely to bring aboard Bill Bayno, a longtime college and NBA assistant who wasn’t with the Grizzlies, according to Wojnarowski. Turner has already interviewed with the Kings, as Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee noted earlier, but it’s unclear if that was for an assistant job or the head coaching job.