- Pelicans‘ new general manager David Griffin is prioritizing hiring highly-respected trainer Aaron Nelson, currently the Suns’ Senior Vice President of Athlete Health & Performance, away from Phoenix, reports Marc Stein of The New York Times. As his profile on the National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association states, Nelson and his staff have built the Suns into an industry leader with a reputation for prolonging the careers of some of the game’s best players.
All signs point to Rob Pelinka having full power to run the Lakers in the wake of Magic Johnson’s resignation, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic. Sources tell Amick that the team didn’t contact David Griffin, LeBron James‘ former GM in Cleveland, before he joined the Pelicans earlier this month. They also didn’t try to lure GM Bob Myers from the Warriors or consultant Jerry West from the Clippers.
Pelinka has orchestrated the coaching search ever since the team parted ways with Luke Walton, Amick adds. He identified Tyronn Lue, Monty Williams, Juwan Howard and Jason Kidd as candidates and organized their interviews.
Although Pelinka is running the show, the number of people with a voice in front office decisions has grown since Johnson left. In addition to Pelinka and owner Jeanie Buss, the interviews with Lue and Howard were attended by president of business operations Tim Harris, VP of research and development Joey Buss and assistant GM and director of scouting Jesse Buss.
There’s more today from L.A.:
- James plans to stay out of personnel decisions and will trust Lakers management to assemble a playoff contender, Amick reports in the same story. LeBron bristles at suggestions that he serves as de facto GM wherever he goes and plans to stay out of the spotlight this summer. He released an Instagram video this week proclaiming his faith in the front office.
- The Clippers‘ performance this year set a foundation for what could be a vastly improved roster next season, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. Doc Rivers‘ team gained respect throughout the league by reaching the postseason after trading away leading scorer Tobias Harris in February. “When you are knocked out of the playoffs there’s obviously some times it’s a relief,” Rivers said. “And there are some times you just don’t want it to happen and last night was one of those points. Just the sense of disappointment — even though you know the group you had overachieved, you still don’t want it to end.”
- A lawsuit contesting the Clippers‘ proposed new Inglewood arena is moving forward, reports Nathan Fenno of The Los Angeles Times. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has rejected an attempt to block the suit, which was filed by Uplift Inglewood, a community group dedicated to affordable housing.
Despite winning just 17 games in 2018/19, the Knicks repeatedly suggested they were happy with the direction the franchise was headed. As Ian Begley of ESPN.com details, head coach David Fizdale said that he had heard praise from people around the NBA for how hard his players were competing, and for how the Knicks were treating their players, which was the sort of praise the franchise hadn’t received in recent years.
“In our circles that we travel and the people that we talk to,” team president Steve Mills said, “we know that there is a change in how people perceive us.”
Not everyone is convinced that things are altogether different in New York. One rival executive who spoke to Begley expressed his skepticism: “Maybe it’s just me, but I’d like to see the results on the court before making any bold statements about perception.”
Still, armed with a ton of cap flexibility, a top-five pick, and a handful of other assets, the Knicks are viewed as a team in a pretty good position as they enter the summer.
“If we’re ranking teams heading into the offseason, New York probably has the best tools in the toolshed,” said a Western Conference executive. “Maybe they get it right this time.”
Here’s more from Begley on the Knicks:
- Several of Kevin Durant‘s current teammates have told friends they think KD will sign with the Knicks, and some of Durant’s former teammates think it’ll happen too, according to Begley. The Durant-to-New-York theories are also popular among rival agents around the NBA. “Just a matter of putting pen to paper,” one of those agents told Begley.
- In addition to Durant, Kyrie Irving and Kawhi Leonard are viewed as potential targets for the Knicks this summer, and while Leonard is considered a longer shot, multiple executives who are “doing their homework” on free agency believe Irving will end up with the Knicks, per Begley.
- As Begley details, some executives would be surprised if the Knicks spend big on a long-term contract for any free agents besides Durant, Irving, or Leonard. Those execs expect New York to use its cap space in other ways – such as accommodating salary dumps or signing short-term free agent deals – if the team misses out on its top targets.
- If the Knicks land the No. 1 overall pick, it would put them in a great position to make a play for Anthony Davis on the trade market. However, there’s no consensus that the club would definitely trade that pick in a package for the Pelicans star, sources tell Begley.
When David Griffin was formally introduced as the new head of basketball operations in New Orleans last week, one of the first things he said was that he’ll make every effort to convince Anthony Davis that he can win with the Pelicans. It sounds like he’ll a chance to make that pitch fairly soon, as Scott Kushner of The Advocate hears from sources that the two sides are expected to meet next month.
Davis, of course, requested a trade midway through the 2018/19 season. While he wasn’t moved at the deadline it has seemed like a fait accompli that he’ll be wearing a new team’s uniform by opening night in 2019/20.
However, as Kushner points out, Griffin has a good relationship with Davis’ agent Rich Paul, who represented LeBron James when Griffin was the general manager in Cleveland. The Pelicans’ new executive VP of basketball operations also won’t be influenced by any recent tension with Davis or his camp, since he wasn’t part of the organization when the All-Star big man asked to be traded. Plus, New Orleans can still put a super-max extension offer on the table.
That doesn’t mean that Davis will reconsider his trade request or that Griffin will convince him to stick around, but AD himself acknowledged at season’s end that there was no guarantee he wouldn’t return to the Pelicans.
“I’m under contract still,” Davis said two weeks ago, per Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. “I have a year left. Obviously it’s a possibility it could happen. I don’t have ill will towards anybody. I know that it’s a possibility that next year I could be here as well. So I can’t be mad if I’m here next year.”
Griffin told reporters during his introductory press conference that his goal is to assess whether Davis is all-in or all-out on the Pelicans before the team makes any major decisions. It sounds like he’ll get a chance to have that discussion within the next few weeks.
Having created a space to track the NBA’s head coaching changes this spring, it only makes sense that we should do the same for the teams shaking up their front offices.
Of course, the front office structure for an NBA franchise generally isn’t as cut-and-dried as a coaching staff. All 30 teams will enter the 2019/20 season employing a head coach and a staff of assistant coaches. But not every team will have an executive with the title of “president of basketball operations” or “executive VP of basketball operations” on its payroll. And while some general managers around the league have decision-making power within their organizations, that certainly doesn’t apply to all of them.
Nonetheless, we’ll do our best to track this spring’s front office changes in the space below, monitoring which executives have decision-making power in each new management group. Some of these searches could extend well into the spring, so be sure to check back each day for the latest updates.
Completed Searches:
Los Angeles Lakers
- Out: Magic Johnson (story)
- Hired: No one
- Following Johnson’s shocking resignation, there was plenty of speculation about which high-level rival executives the Lakers might target to replace him. The answer? Nobody. The Lakers appear content to have general manager Rob Pelinka – with the help of a Rambis or two – run the front office, at least for the 2019 offseason. A report confirmed that the team has no plans to hire a new president of basketball operations to replace Johnson.
Memphis Grizzlies
- Out: Chris Wallace (story)
- Promoted: Jason Wexler, team president (story); Zach Kleiman, executive VP of basketball operations (story); Tayshaun Prince, VP of basketball affairs (story)
- Hired: Rich Cho, vice president of basketball strategy (story); Glen Grunwald, senior advisor (story)
- The Grizzlies demoted general manager Chris Wallace after the season ended, re-assigning him to their scouting department, and promoted two non-basketball executive to top roles in the front office. By promoting Prince and hiring Cho and Grunwald, the club added a pair of more seasoned basketball executives to their management group, but it still sounds like Wexler will oversee the basketball operations department, with Kleiman taking the lead on day-to-day matters. More hires are expected, but those will likely fill supporting roles.
Minnesota Timberwolves
- Out: Tom Thibodeau (story)
- Hired: Gersson Rosas, president of basketball operations (story); Gianluca Pascucci, assistant GM (story); Sachin Gupta, executive VP of basketball operations (story)
- Having dismissed Thibodeau in January, the Timberwolves finished the 2018/19 season with GM Scott Layden running the show. However, they announced at the end of the regular season that they’d begin searching for a new president of basketball operations to replace Thibodeau. After interviewing several candidates, they ultimately landed on Rosas, a longtime Daryl Morey lieutenant in Houston.
- Also considered: Chauncey Billups (story), Trajan Langdon (story), Calvin Booth (story), Michael Winger (story)
New Orleans Pelicans
- Out: Dell Demps (story); Danny Ferry (story)
- Hired: David Griffin, executive VP of basketball operations (story); Trajan Langdon, general manager (story)
- The Pelicans fired Demps during the season and finished the season out with Ferry holding the interim GM role. Ferry was considered for the permanent job, but ultimately withdrew from consideration, citing concerns about moving his family to New Orleans full-time. Shortly thereafter, the Pelicans officially hired Griffin to run their basketball operations department. They later hired Langdon, who had interviewed for the top job, as their GM under Griffin.
- Also considered: Larry Harris (story), Gersson Rosas (story), Tommy Sheppard (story), Danny Ferry (story)
Phoenix Suns
- Out: Ryan McDonough (story)
- Promoted: James Jones, permanent GM (story)
- Hired: Jeff Bower, senior VP of basketball operations (story)
- Considering McDonough was fired back in October, it may not be fair to consider this an offseason change. But when the regular season ended, it wasn’t clear who would be running the Suns’ front office going forward, after Jones and Trevor Bukstein served as interim co-GMs since McDonough’s ouster. Phoenix answered that question quickly, announcing Jones’ promotion to the permanent GM role. The team also compensated for Jones’ relative lack of management experience by pairing him with a veteran executive in Bower, who figures to play a key role in the front office.
Washington Wizards
- Out: Ernie Grunfeld (story)
- Promoted: Tommy Sheppard, general manager (story)
- Hired: Sashi Brown, chief planning and operations officer (story)
- The Wizards fired Grunfeld about a week before their season ended and hired a search firm to identify candidates to replace him. Although they conducted a number of interviews for the job, they ultimately chose to elevate an internal candidate, promoting Sheppard to the permanent GM job after he ran it on an interim basis through the draft and free agency. Former NFL executive Brown also joined the front office in a top role.
- Also considered/rumored: Danny Ferry (story), Troy Weaver (story), Gersson Rosas (hired by Wolves), Tim Connelly (turned down offer), Masai Ujiri (story)
- Clippers assistant general manager Trent Redden is in New Orleans this week, tweets Scott Kushner of The Advocate. Nothing is official yet, but there have been whispers that the Pelicans plan to hire Redden as their new GM under David Griffin. Redden and Griffin have already met in New Orleans, reports Andrew Lopez of NOLA.com (via Twitter).
Pelicans vice president of basketball operations David Griffin referred to star guard Jrue Holiday as a “building block” in his first press conference with the franchise this week, praising the 28-year-old and expressing confidence that the team can create a competitive roster with him at point guard.
Should New Orleans change course and gauge the market for Holiday in the coming weeks, several teams would have interest in his services, according to Sean Deveney of Sporting News. Deveney lists the Bulls, Magic and Suns as three clubs that would want Holiday, with Phoenix widely considered a top contender.
Griffin and his staff will soon meet with disgruntled All-Star Anthony Davis to determine their next course of action, and you could expect multiple teams to register interest here as well. These choices task Griffin with a major workload heading into the summer, something many around the league have expressed confidence in his ability to control.
“Griff is a guy who, when you call him, he calls you back,” one prominent NBA agent told Sporting News. “He’ll listen to whatever your issue is, whatever your player’s issue is, no matter how small. So he has that reputation, and that’s not something that New Orleans has had over the years.
“I think he wants to get that team back to that basic thing, just showing how you treat players day in and day out. That’s what you want a team and an organization to be.”
There’s more from the Southwest Division today:
- The Rockets promoted key front office members to various positions this week, general manager Daryl Morey announced. Rafael Stone was promoted to Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Counsel, while Eli Witus was elevated to assistant general manager and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations. Both will work closely with Morey on the draft, free agency and more.
- Grizzlies guard Tyler Dorsey hopes his post-trade spark will trigger an opportunity to gain a bigger role with the team next season, Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com details. Memphis acquired Dorsey, who averaged 9.8 points in 22 contests, from the Hawks in exchange for Shelvin Mack back in February. “For me, this was all about taking advantage of my opportunity, because I didn’t get much of an opportunity before I got traded here,” Dorsey said. “So to get here and gradually build into it was great. Some unfortunate injuries happened, so I got a lot more opportunities and tried to take advantage of it and finish strong, the right way to keep building.” Dorsey is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July, where he’ll be free to sign with any interested team.
- The Mavericks are now heading into a pivotal offseason for the organization, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News writes. Dallas struck a major trade to acquire Kristaps Porzingis, a restricted free agent this July, in a shocking deal before the trade deadline. “It’s going to be a very interesting and opportunistic summer,” Mavs president Donnie Nelson said, according to Townsend. “We certainly are positioned to make some noise… We’re ridin’ the Luka wave and the Kristaps wave and trying to surround these guys with the right young core.”
After Friday’s win over the Pacers, the Celtics have a commanding 3-0 series lead and seem poised to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals. As the Celtics aim for an NBA championship, the possibilities of the upcoming offseason loom large.
Youngster Jayson Tatum, in his second season with the Celtics, has been mentioned as a potential centerpiece for an Anthony Davis trade this summer. It’s obvious why the Pelicans would want an athletic 21-year-old who set career-bests in PPG (15.7), RPG (6.0), APG, (2.1) and MPG (31.1).
Sopan Deb of the New York Times writes that Tatum does not take the rumors personally and actually views them as a positive based on his abilities.
“Trade rumors don’t bother me,” Tatum said.“They’re talking about trading me for guys like Anthony Davis. So, I mean, I must be doing something pretty well.”
Tatum will not need to worry about being traded for the next few months, at least. After all, the Pelicans named David Griffin the new executive vice president of basketball operations and it remains to be seen how he handles Davis’ likely departure. If and when that time comes, Tatum said he will suit up for whichever team’s roster he’s on.
“I love the game of basketball,” Tatum said. “Being traded is part of the game. I’ll play for whomever. It’s something I can’t control.”
The Clippers have granted the Pelicans permission to speak with assistant GM Trent Redden about a senior front office position, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com.
New Orleans recently tagged David Griffin as its executive VP of basketball operations. Griffin and Redden worked together in the Cavaliers’ front office when the team won the 2016 NBA championship. Wojnarowski writes that it’s no secret that Griffin would prioritize finding a way to add Redden to his team.
Joe Vardon of The Athletic first reported earlier this week that Redden would likely end up assuming a general manager role under Griffin in New Orleans. However, the Pelicans’ new head of basketball operations said at his introductory presser on Wednesday that he’s more concerned about bringing in the right people than in specific titles, so it’s not clear if that’s the exact role he’d have in mind for Redden.
Redden began his career as an intern in the Cavaliers front office, working his way up over his 11-plus years with the franchise. The Clippers hired him after the 2016/17 season.
A report earlier this week indicated that the Pelicans had David Griffin the go-ahead to hire a general manager underneath him, and that he was likely to choose former Cavaliers executive Trent Redden. However, speaking to reporters, including Scott Kushner of The Advocate, at his introductory press conference on Wednesday, Griffin insisted that he’s more concerned with attracting the right kind of people to New Orleans than with specific titles.
“We need to get all the right people on the bus and we can figure out what we call each other once we are rolling to the right place, and I think that’s a really meaningful thing,” Griffin said, per Kushner. “I think the areas you have the biggest ability to build competitive advantage in infrastructure is very much in performance and player care. It’s an area I put a lot of weight on and area I’m very familiar with re-working and believing in.”
As we detailed on Wednesday, Griffin also talked about Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, the perception of New Orleans as a “small” market, and several other topics during his first meeting with the media. However, according to Kushner, the Pelicans’ new top basketball executive made it clear that his top priority is building a solid, sustainable infrastructure within the organization.
“My biggest goal in all of this is, when I get run out of town on a rail, and we all do eventually, this can sustain itself for [team owner] Mrs. [Gayle] Benson,” Griffin said. “So, the next person she puts in charge will know they’re starting on really solid footing.”
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Despite rumors that Jonas Valanciunas had to make a decision on player option yesterday, his decision isn’t actually due until June 13, Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian confirms (via Twitter). The Grizzlies‘ center is unlikely to match his $17.62MM salary for 2019/20 if he opts out, but he could easily exceed that total number on a longer-term deal, so it’s not clear yet which direction he’ll go.
- A team source tells Herrington that the Grizzlies are expected to make more front offices hires even after adding Rich Cho and Glen Grunwald on Wednesday.
- Veteran point guard Mike Conley wants to play for a championship contender, and it’s not clear whether that can happen in Memphis anytime soon. Still, the Grizzlies have to do what’s best for the franchise, not necessarily what’s best for Conley, as they weigh major roster decisions this offseason, writes Mark Giannotto of The Memphis Commercial Appeal.
- In an entertaining piece for ESPN.com, Baxter Holmes takes a deep dive into the secret team dinners that have been a fixture for Spurs coaches, executives, and players throughout Gregg Popovich‘s tenure with the organization, exploring how those dinners influence the club’s culture and success.
- On Wednesday, we examined the Mavericks‘ salary cap outlook for the coming offseason.