Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Warriors Contact Stan Van Gundy

May 7th, 2014 at 10:05pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Warriors have contacted Stan Van Gundy about their head-coaching vacancy, writes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Van Gundy has interest in the position, but an interview hasn’t been scheduled yet, reports Spears. The coaching position became available after the team fired coach Mark Jackson earlier this week.

Van Gundy has been mentioned in connection with some of the other vacant positions, but Spears mentions that Van Gundy has no interest in coaching either the Lakers or Timberwolves.

He had a 371-208 combined record coaching the Heat and Magic. Van Gundy guided the Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Lakers. He has compiled a career playoff record of 48-39.

Van Gundy was a Bay Area high school star at Alhambra High School in Martinez, Calif., and has been doing some radio color commentary during the NBA playoffs, notes Spears.

Coaching Rumors: Jackson, Kerr, Karl, Izzo

May 7th, 2014 at 5:59pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Mark Jackson addressed the circumstances regarding his former Warriors assistant coaches Brian Scalabrine and Darren Erman in an interview with the NBA’s Sirius XM radio station earlier today (hat tip to Ben Golliver of SI.com). Of Scalabrine, Jackson said, “The one that was demoted [Scalabrine], I would have had handled it six weeks, a month, two months earlier. The things that took place from his side, I would have nipped it in the bud initially. That’s my fault for allowing it to go on. I’m pretty much a guy, just like ministry, I try to show you a different way of handling it. Hope that seeing me handle your disrespect, you’ll come around and realize this isn’t the way to handle it. Fortunately for me, it works for a lot of folks, there are some folks that just won’t get it and you have to handle them differently. I would do that differently.”

In regards to Erman, Jackson said, “As far as assistants, you have to pick people who are loyal and dedicated. It’s inexcusable what the second assistant [Erman] did. That cannot be tolerated. For folks to say, two situations, it’s obviously documented that they both were 100 percent wrong. The only fault I got is hiring those guys. I would use wisdom in who is around me.”

Coaching Rumors: Jackson, Warriors, Kerr

May 6th, 2014 at 8:51pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Warriors cut ties with Mark Jackson today, and rumors have already started swirling about potential fits for the now vacant coaching spot in Golden State. Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders rounds up the situation and discusses possible candidates and also suggests a few teams that might be wise to seek out Jackson’s services. Here’s the latest on Jackson, Kerr, and the Lakers coaching search:

Brian Scalabrine was also dismissed from Warriors, reports Matt Steinmetz of CSN Bay Area (via Twitter). Scalabrine had been an assistant coach with Golden State under Jackson before a mid-season demotion sent him to their D-League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors.
Kerr was expected to begin talks with the Knicks about a coaching role yesterday, but there have still been no contact between the two sides, a source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. There’s a strong chance Kerr has a conversation with the Warriors about taking on the head coaching role in Golden State, but his preference remains New York, says Wojnarowski (Twitter links).

Earlier updates:

The Knicks haven’t called Jackson about their head coaching position, tweets Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.
It’s very unlikely the Timberwolves have any interest in bringing Jackson aboard, passes along Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (on Twitter).
The Pistons should consider hiring Jackson in Detroit, even though it wouldn’t be a cheap acquisition, writes Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News. Goodwill points to Jackson’s ability to earn his players’ respect as a particularly valuable trait.
Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com discusses the likelihood that Steve Kerr chooses to take on head coaching duties for the Warriors rather than the Knicks. Both teams are reportedly interested in Kerr, but Begley concludes that Phil Jackson‘s presence in New York will give the Knicks an edge in their pursuit.
Kerr’s college coach, Lute Olson, also sees the Knicks as the front-runner to land Kerr, even after Jackson’s dismissal in Golden State, reports Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
Lakers management is taking a slow approach to its coaching search, but Kobe Bryant and Byron Scott have talked in the past few weeks, notes Chris Broussard of ESPN during an interview on the Mike & Mike Show (Audio link).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Grizzlies To Have Own D-League Affiliate

May 6th, 2014 at 3:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:13pm: The Grizzlies have formally announced the partnership.

12:52pm: It appears the Grizzlies won’t have to share a D-League affiliate with another NBA team next season, as they’ve struck a deal with the Iowa Energy on a one-to-one partnership, reports Bryce Miller of the Des Moines Register (hat tip to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities). It’ll be a hybrid relationship, meaning the Grizzlies will control the basketball operations while local ownership holds sway over the business side, though Grizzlies minority owner Jed Kaplan takes over the primary ownership role for the Energy as part of the deal.

The Grizzlies have hired Energy GM Chris Makris as director of minor league operations, though he’ll continue to oversee the Energy’s moves, according to Miller. Other Memphis owners will also hold stakes in the Iowa franchise, Miller adds. The Energy has a press conference scheduled later today to formally announce the deal.

Memphis was one of six teams sharing the Fort Wayne Mad Ants this past season, sending Jamaal Franklin on assignment there three times. They’ll probably make greater use of D-League assignments with Iowa, which saw only brief visits from Shabazz Muhammad, Glen Rice Jr. and Marquis Teague this season as the Energy’s five NBA partners largely shied away from sending players down.

The move likely leaves the Mad Ants as the only D-League club without a one-to-one partnership, assuming the Jazz partner with the Idaho Stampede as rumored. The Nets, Hawks, Clippers, Raptors, Bobcats, Pacers, Bucks, Bulls, Nuggets, Timberwolves, Pelicans, Wizards and Trail Blazers are all in line to share a D-League affiliate next season, though it would seem as though an arrangement involving that many teams would be untenable. I wouldn’t be surprised if the D-League, which is adding a Knicks-owned 18th team next season, expands further, though that’s just my speculation.

Other NBA teams may still strike one-to-one partnerships before the shuffling comes to an end, and the Wolves are on the lookout, according to Wolfson (Twitter link). They had talks about a one-to-one deal with Iowa, but they never got serious, Wolfson notes.

Stein’s Latest On Rockets: McHale, Parsons, Love

May 3rd, 2014 at 11:43am CST by Cray Allred

The Rockets were eliminated from the playoffs in heart breaking fashion last night, having their season ended on a buzzer beater from Damian Lillard. Houston has one of the more active GMs in the league in Darryl Morey, and there is no doubt that Morey will be hustling to make improvements to a team that had its sights set beyond the first round. Marc Stein of ESPN.com takes a look at the offseason decisions facing Houston in his latest piece. Stein’s sources insist that coach Kevin McHale isn’t likely to be let go following the first round upset, which backs up an earlier report that this series was not a deal-breaker for McHale. Here are some more highlights from Stein’s piece:

Carmelo Anthony has been billed as the Rockets biggest target this summer according to Stein, although it’s unclear if Stein is hearing that from within the organization.
Stein predicts that the Rockets will do their due diligence in checking on the availability of Rajon Rondo and Kevin Love, although acquiring either via trade appears unlikely at this point.
The ESPN scribe has heard all season that the Rockets are inclined to decline their team option for Chandler Parsons this year and re-sign him through the restricted free agency process. Despite some speculation that the team would prefer to wait to bump their salary commitment to Parsons by picking up the final year of his rookie contract, Stein believes Houston won’t go down that path considering the risk of losing Parsons as an unrestricted free agent in 2015.
Stein hears that teams have told Houston that they would want to receive Parsons in any trade in which they took on the balloon-year deals of either Omer Asik or Jeremy Lin. The Celtics would insist on Parsons in any would-be deal with the Rockets involving Rondo, Stein writes.

Latest On Wolves Coaching Search

May 2nd, 2014 at 9:33am CST by Chuck Myron

9:33am: Izzo is still “very high” on Saunders’ list of candidates, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com, who seconds Zgoda’s take that the Michigan State coach’s denial of interest in taking an NBA job this year left some wiggle room (Twitter link).

FRIDAY, 9:02am: The Wolves haven’t yet abandoned their pursuit of Hoiberg, Wolfson tweets. That’s in spite of Saunders saying last week that Hoiberg wouldn’t be jumping to the NBA. Wolfson doesn’t expect the team to pursue Karl (Twitter link).

WEDNESDAY, 12:22pm: A source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that Stan Van Gundy won’t reciprocate the Timberwolves’ interest in him for their coaching vacancy, and Tom Izzo says he’s not jumping to the NBA this year. There are other candidates for the job, but the search has been slow-going, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reports.

The Wolves have been primarily eyeing college coaches, though top targets Izzo and, as we passed along earlier, Fred Hoiberg are apparently out of the running. There are candidates with NBA experience in the mix, too, including George Karl, and Wolfson hears that Karl would indeed have interest and is hoping that the Wolves contact him, contradicting an earlier report that he wouldn’t want the job. Still, the Wolves haven’t reached out to Karl or Lionel Hollins, another among the previously mentioned candidates for the position, Wolfson writes.

The Wolves wouldn’t have interest in Scott Brooks of the Thunder, if he came available, and Wolfson reiterates that Minnesota wouldn’t want Frank Vogel, either. Former Raptors coach Sam Mitchell would like the Wolves job, but Minnesota isn’t interested, Wolfson writes. The Wolves probably won’t go after Warriors assistant Lindsey Hunter, Wizards assistant Sam Cassell, or Rockets assistant J.B. Bickerstaff in spite of their ties to the organization, according to Wolfson.

President of basketball operations Flip Saunders is still a “name to monitor,” Wolfson writes, even though he’s downplayed the idea that he’d take over the coaching position. He’s said he’d “never say never” to the job on multiple occasions. Saunders and, even in his comments today, Izzo have been somewhat vague in their insistence that they won’t be on an NBA bench next season, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune notes (on Twitter).

Tom Izzo Won’t Coach In NBA Next Season

April 30th, 2014 at 11:24am CST by Chuck Myron

Tom Izzo said on ESPNU’s College Basketball podcast today that he’ll return to Michigan State next season rather than pursue interest from the NBA, as Andy Katz of ESPN.com writes. Izzo had reportedly been a candidate to coach the Wolves and Pistons, though he says he hasn’t heard from any NBA team this year.

“If somebody made me an offer to be the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers that was so good that it would impress everybody, does that mean I would never say never? I’m not doing that anymore,” Izzo said. “I’ve seen too many people get stung that way. But put it this way, I’ve got a big-time recruit coming in an hour and if I was leaving I wouldn’t be recruiting.”

The 59-year-old Izzo strongly denied the rumors linking him to the Pistons last month, but the perception has remained that he had interest in a pro job. People close to the coach told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com last month that they thought he’d entertain NBA offers but that he wouldn’t leave this year. Fellow ESPN.com Marc Stein scribe suggested about a week ago that Izzo would listen to an offer from Timberwolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders, his friend, but it appears as though Saunders can cross Izzo off his list of candidates.

Izzo considered taking the Cavaliers coaching job in 2010, but decided against it. He’s expressed frustration with the changing dynamics of recruiting players for the Spartans, but it looks as though he’ll be doing that job for at least one more year.

And-Ones: Dinwiddie, Coaches, Heisley

April 26th, 2014 at 10:12pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link) reports that former Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley passed away earlier today at the age of 77. Our condolences go out to his family and friends. Heisley owned the team for 12 years and was responsible for moving the team from Vancouver, British Columbia to Memphis, Tennessee back in 2001. He sold the team in 2012 to an ownership group headed up by Robert Pera, but he had interest in purchasing another franchise soon after. Reports indicated that he was eyeing the Wolves and came close to buying the Bucks last year before his health deteriorated.

And-Ones: Pacers, Izzo, Donovan, Kings

April 23rd, 2014 at 7:59pm CST by Alex Lee

With a trio of Game Threes on the schedule, let’s take a look at what is going on around the league on Wednesday night:

With Frank Vogel‘s job reportedly on the line in Indiana, Sean Deveney of Sporting News examines the caveats of the recent NBA trend of hiring younger, cheaper and less experienced head coaches in the mold of the Pacers’ front man. Speaking with several veteran coaches, Deveney writes that policing an NBA locker room is all the more difficult without extensive NBA experience, be it as a coach or a player.
There has never been more NBA-centric buzz about Tom Izzo, though the Michigan State head coach remains a long shot to leave East Lansing for a gig in the professional ranks. However should the Michigan-born Izzo need to hire an agent, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets that it would likely be Minneapolis-based Gary O’Hagan. Wolfson confirms reports we’ve heard that the Timberwolves would love to land Izzo as their next head coach.
We know the Wolves are also interested in Florida’s Billy Donovan, who flirted with the NBA seven years ago before eventually backing out. Louisville head coach Rick Pitino, who coached Donovan at Providence, said Wednesday morning on ESPN’s Mike & Mike that Donovan would make an excellent NBA head coach, though Pitino suspects his protege might again get cold feet before making the leap to the next level, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.
Heading into an important offseason in Sacramento, Ailene Voison of the Bee puts the microscope on the Kings‘ front office hierarchy, led by first-year general manager Pete D’Alessandro. As Voison opines, D’Alessandro is challenged with employing an effective small- to mid-market approach in the mold of the Spurs and Pacers, something the previous regime in Sacramento failed to do.

Latest On Wolves Coaching Candidates

April 23rd, 2014 at 12:41pm CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 12:41pm: Saunders reiterated his “never say never” approach to the idea of coaching the team, but said he doesn’t envision that scenario playing out as he spoke on ESPN Radio’s “Mike and Mike” this morning (transcription via Marc Stein of ESPN.com). He did say his experience as a coach will allow the team to take its time with the search, since he’ll be able to oversee offseason training and development schedules for the players while the position remains open.

MONDAY, 2:58pm: Saunders poured cold water on the idea of Hoiberg’s candidacy for the job, telling Chad Hartman of WCCO-AM that, “He’s [Fred] not at a point where he’s ready to move to the NBA. That’s not happening,” as Wolfson notes via Twitter. Saunders also wouldn’t hire Frank Vogel were the Pacers coach to become available, Wolfson tweets.

1:21pm: Stein suggests that Donovan, Hoiberg and Izzo would all listen to entreaties from the Wolves, but the ESPN.com scribe acknowledges that it would be an uphill battle to convince any of them to take the job. There are mixed signals on whether Saunders wants to coach, and whether Taylor would allow him to, according to Stein, altering the narrative from previous reports about the idea. Stein also points to the lengthy search that Saunders is planning as reason that Van Gundy and brother Jeff Van Gundy may emerge as serious candidates.

1:03pm: A source close to Donovan tells Wolfson that while the Florida coach would consider the NBA, he doubts he’d go to Minnesota (Twitter link).

11:14am: University of Florida coach Billy Donovan is drawing interest from the Wolves as they search for a new head coach, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com, while Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports adds former Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins to the list of candidates. Sam Amick of USA Today suggests George Karl is also a candidate, though last season’s NBA Coach of the Year reportedly wouldn’t have interest.

President of basketball operations Flip Saunders suggested today that the team will conduct an extensive search that might not be complete in time for the June 26th draft, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (Twitter link). He mentioned experience and clout as criteria he’s looking for in a new sideline boss, observes Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (on Twitter). Saunders said “never say never” about the notion that he’d become the next coach of the team, or that the Wolves might trade for a coach, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.

Saunders reportedly would like to coach the team, but owner Glen Taylor doesn’t want anyone to have the top front office and coaching responsibilities at the same time. Fred Hoiberg, Tom Izzo and Stan Van Gundy have also drawn mention as potential Wolves targets, though all three appear to be longshots. Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio identified Suns assistant coach Jerry Sichting as a “name to really watch” in regard to the Wolves opening.

Donovan accepted the Magic’s head coaching job in 2007, but quickly backed out. He said in late 2012 that he wouldn’t rule out an eventual jump to the NBA. Hollins appeared to be a candidate for the Pistons coaching job after they fired Maurice Cheeks at midseason, and he had interest in that job. The team still hasn’t named a permanent head coach, with interim coach John Loyer having served as the team’s bench boss for the remainder of the season. It’s unclear if Hollins remains a candidate in Detroit.