New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Maintain Hope Of Landing Brian Shaw

May 22nd, 2014 at 9:35am CST by Chuck Myron

Brian Shaw would be Knicks president Phil Jackson‘s first choice to coach the team if he could somehow find a way to shake him loose from the Nuggets job, and Jackson hasn’t given up hope of managing to do so, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post. Shaw nonetheless reiterated his commitment to Denver on Tuesday, and a report from earlier this week indicated that the Knicks worry they won’t be able to meet the Nuggets’ demands for compensation if they were to let Shaw out of his contract, which runs two more years.

Jackson would prefer Shaw to Derek Fisher, but the executive would be even more motivated to find a way to land Shaw if he can’t lure Fisher, Berman suggests. Fisher won’t speak with the Knicks until he’s done playing for the Thunder this season, and Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks says the 39-year-old hasn’t ruled out continuing to play next season, as Frank Isola of the New York Daily News wrote this weekend. That jibes with Wednesday’s report that there’s a legitimate possibility that Fisher will re-sign with the Thunder as a player and serve as a de facto assistant coach as he sits on the bench. Fisher is also a Lakers coaching candidate, and Berman, who’s pointed to concern about a bidding war between the Knicks and Lakers over the longtime Kobe Bryant teammate, raises the notion that the Lakers would give Fisher a front office role rather than the coaching job.

Berman also mentions previously reported candidate Tyronn Lue as a fallback option for the Knicks, noting that Lue is friends with Carmelo Anthony, who intends to opt out of his contract and become a free agent this summer. Mark Jackson, Mike Dunleavy, Kurt Rambis, Jim Cleamons, Nate McMillan, Fred Hoiberg and Luke Walton are other candidates rumored to be on the Knicks radar in the aftermath of Golden State’s hiring of Steve Kerr.

The Knicks are light on draft picks and can’t give up more than $3.2MM in cash in trades between now and June 30th, and the NBA doesn’t allow teams to give up players as compensation for hiring coaches under contract with other teams. Jackson has planned to trade cash for a draft pick, so that would further reduce the Knicks’ flexibility in prying Shaw from the Nuggets, unless they intend to wait to do so until July, when teams will have a fresh pot of $3.3MM in cash to use in trades.

Lakers Interview Mike Dunleavy

May 22nd, 2014 at 7:52am CST by Chuck Myron

THURSDAY, 7:52am: Dunleavy tells ESPN LA 710 radio that he did indeed interview with Kupchak, but he says the sitdown didn’t take place Wednesday, notes Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link).

WEDNESDAY, 12:01pm: Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak interviewed Mike Dunleavy for the team’s coaching vacancy this morning, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Dunleavy expressed interest in the job a few weeks ago after appearing on the team’s initial list of candidates, but he’s also met with Knicks president Phil Jackson about New York’s opening.

Dunleavy touted his relationship with Kobe Bryant when he spoke of his desire to coach the Lakers for a second time, referencing his recruitment of Bryant as a Clippers executive several years ago. Dunleavy, now 60 years old, succeeded Pat Riley as Lakers coach in the early 1990s, and since then he’s served as a head coach for the Bucks, Blazers and Clippers and was GM in Milwaukee in addition to his stint as Clippers GM. He was the NBA’s Coach of the Year with Portland in 1999, but he’s just 613-716 in parts of 17 seasons as a head coach in the league, the last of which came in 2009/10.

He isn’t the leading candidate for the Knicks job, but he and Jackson have had casual meetings regularly in recent years. Their latest encounter was more than just a friendly encounter and amounted to an interview. The notion of a tug-of-war between Jackson and the Lakers over a coaching candidate would spark fireworks, given Jackson’s deep-rooted connections to the Lakers franchise, but Dunleavy isn’t necessarily the favorite for the Lakers job, either. George Karl, Jeff Van Gundy, Byron Scott, Kurt Rambis, Kevin Ollie and John Calipari are all candidates the Lakers have reportedly planned to interview.

And-Ones: Hunter, Draft, Hairston

May 21st, 2014 at 10:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Ousted players union executive director Billy Hunter has dropped his appeal of a civil ruling in a suit Hunter had brought against former union president Derek Fisher and Jamie Wior, Fisher’s business manager. Hunter must pay more than $200K to cover the legal fees for Fisher and Wior. A case in which Hunter alleges the union owes him $10.5MM remains active. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports has the details in three separate tweets.

Eastern Notes: Celtics, Hawks, Knicks

May 21st, 2014 at 7:59pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Celtics are trying to make significant upgrades, but it doesn’t look like they’ll lunge at just any deal, as sources tell Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald that the team is prepared to suffer through another mediocre season if it can’t make a major acquisition.

Steve Kerr On Warriors, Knicks, Mark Jackson

May 20th, 2014 at 3:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Steve Kerr turned the Warriors down the first time they asked him to interview, GM Bob Myers told reporters, including Antonio Gonzalez of The Associated Press, but when Stan Van Gundy took the Pistons job, agent Mike Tannenbaum called the Warriors to set up a meeting. That was the sit-down in Oklahoma City that led the Tannenbaum client and the Warriors to agree on a deal, and the team’s new coach covered plenty of topics in his introductory press conference today, as we detail:

The coach made his preference for a team with high aspirations clear, signaling part of the reason why he chose Golden State over the Knicks, observes Kurt Helin of NBCSports.com. “I would much rather have talent and expectations than a low bar with a [rebuilding] process ahead,” Kerr said.
A hectic postseason broadcasting schedule slowed what appeared to be a fast track to New York, Kerr admitted, as RealGM notes via Twitter.
Kerr said he questioned the Warriors brass on why they fired Mark Jackson, and said that it was refreshing to hear Myers and co-owner Joe Lacob admit their mistakes regarding the former Warriors coach, tweets Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group.
Kerr declined to answer whether he thinks the Warriors are a championship team, saying only that they’re a “very good team,” Thompson also notes (Twitter link).
Former NBA head coaches will be among those Kerr said he’ll target for his coaching staff as he seeks an experienced hand to help him along in his first year on the bench, as Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle pass along (on Twitter).

Lowe’s Latest: Bucks, Knicks, Grizzlies, Pelicans

May 20th, 2014 at 10:17am CST by Chuck Myron

Grantland’s Zach Lowe looks at instability in the executive suite, profiling the NBA’s six most volatile front offices in the wake of yesterday’s shakeup in Memphis. As usual, Lowe’s work is required reading, but we’ll hit some highlights here:

Bucks owners Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens have held preliminary talks about potential replacements for GM John Hammond and assistant GM David Morway, but the more likely outcome appears to be that they stay for at least one more year, Lowe writes.
Former Raptors and Suns GM Bryan Colangelo is open to once more becoming an NBA GM, Lowe hears, but that’s no surprise, given that he was reportedly a candidate for the Cavs and Pistons front office searches. Lowe mentions him within his look at the Bucks, which is coincidental given an earlier report that linked him to an ownership group looking to buy the franchise when it was for sale. Still, it doesn’t appear as though there’s any particular link between the Bucks and Colangelo at this point.
The Knicks will likely hire someone within the next year to replace Steve Mills as general manager and shunt Mills off into some other role with the organization, according to Lowe.
Some high-level executives on teams around the league hadn’t heard about Grizzlies attorney David Mincberg, who’s reportedly assumed some power in the basketball operations department, Lowe hears.
The job of Memphis GM Chris Wallace, whom the team has restored to a prominent role after the departures of CEO Jason Levien and assistant GM Stu Lash, is safe “until he wants to leave,” Lowe writes.
There have been few reports alleging that GM Dell Demps is on shaky ground to return next year, but people around the league have been curious about whether the team would bring him back for 2014/15, according to Lowe. There have been disagreements between Demps and coach Monty Williams, and the team’s owners favor Williams, Lowe hears. In any case, he’ll probably return, though there will be pressure on him for the team to improve and perhaps make the playoffs next season, Lowe writes.
Louisiana native Joe Dumars is close to executives with the New Orleans Saints, the NFL franchise that Pelicans owner Tom Benson also owns. That would make him a likely candidate for Pelicans GM job should the team decide to oust Demps, Lowe asserts.
Pistons coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy says that the team’s ownership will have just as much say as he does in whom they hire as GM, as he tells Lowe.

Atlantic Rumors: Celtics, Fisher, Woodson

May 19th, 2014 at 3:09pm CST by Zachary Links

Celtics GM Danny Ainge wants to turn things around this summer but he’s not putting a ton of pressure on himself, writes Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe. “I understand that we have an opportunity [this summer], but we’ve still got to find trading partners. I don’t think people understand how difficult trades can be sometimes,” Ainge said. Here’s more out of the Atlantic, including an update on the Knicks‘ coaching search..

Derek Fisher confirmed today that he won’t speak with Phil Jackson about the Knicks‘ head coaching job until the playoffs are through, writes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. “Obviously (Jackson) is busy in terms of trying to make the changes he needs to make there, but I have a day job as well and I think he respects that more than anybody,” Fisher told reporters in San Antonio. “He taught me a lot about how to operate during this time of year.”
Former Knicks coach Mike Woodson told ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike that he would like to coach again in the NBA “extremely quick,” tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY. While other coaches who got the axe this offseason, like Mark Jackson, are content to do other things, Woodson is champing at the bit to get back in the game.
As they enter an offseason of uncertainty, Tim Bontemps of the New York Post looks at five questions the Nets must answer. Aside from the obvious – the uncertain futures of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce – the Nets also have to worry about keeping free agent Shaun Livingston. After the season he had, the mini mid-level exception of $10MM over three years might not be enough to keep him in Brooklyn.

Warriors Hire Steve Kerr

May 19th, 2014 at 11:41am CST by Eddie Scarito

MONDAY, 11:41am: The Warriors officially announced that they have hired Kerr as their head coach. Kerr becomes the 25th head coach in franchise history and the 20th since the team moved to the West Coast in 1962.

“We’re very pleased to introduce Steve Kerr as our new head coach,” said Warriors General Manager Bob Myers. “We are confident that he will be an extremely good fit for our team and our organization as we venture into the future. The fact that he played for several of the greatest coaches in the history of the game – including Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich – will serve him well, as will the many nuances that he learned from performing on the brightest stage during his incredibly successful, championship-filled career.”

WEDNESDAY 7:18pm: Steve Kerr has accepted the Warriors head coaching position, reports David Aldridge of NBA.com (Twitter link). Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link) is reporting that the deal is for five years and $25MM. Kerr’s agent, Mike Tannenbaum, has confirmed the deal, reports Diamond Leung of Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). Kerr has no prior head coaching experience. He will be replacing Mark Jackson who was fired by the team after compiling a 121-109 record over three seasons with the Warriors.

The Warriors management group lost out on Stan Van Gundy when he accepted a $35MM deal yesterday to run the Pistons, and they subsequently flew to Oklahoma City on Tuesday to meet with Kerr, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Warriors left that meeting more convinced of Kerr’s readiness to coach the franchise, the article notes, and Kerr also had a chance to further familiarize himself with the entire Warriors front office.

Kerr was believed to have been the favorite for the Knicks head coaching position. It had been reported that the Warriors had moved on from him because he was believed to be too far along in his negotiations with team president Phil Jackson. It was also reported earlier today that the Knicks had added on a guaranteed fourth year to their offer for Kerr. Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweeted that Lute Olson, Kerr’s college coach, said, “I know he wanted to go with the Knicks. They must not have gotten the five-year deal worked out.”

It was noted previously that Kerr still owns a tiny fraction of the Suns, for whom he served as GM from 2007-10. Kerr would have to sell the shares, believed to be valued at less than 1% of the franchise, within a league-mandated time frame after accepting a coaching job with another franchise.

Latest On Knicks Coaching Situation

May 19th, 2014 at 8:53am CST by Zachary Links

Late last night, Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com reported that Phil Jackson is in no rush in his coaching search and wants to speak with Derek Fisher before making a hire. Fisher, of course, is currently preoccupied with the Spurs as his Thunder get set to square off in the Western Conference finals.

Meanwhile, Stein and Shelburne now add that sources say Jackson has not ruled out a sit-down with Knicks fan favorite Mark Jackson, who has rejoined ESPN as a broadcaster after his dismissal by the Warriors. It has been said that the Zen Master would prefer a young coach whom he could groom but Jackson comes with an impressive resume from his time in Golden State and has fans within the Knicks organization. Marc Berman of the New York Post first reported that the Knicks prez would consider the former Warriors coach.

Former NBA head coach Kurt Rambis and current D-League developmental coach Luke Walton are on Jackson’s short list as well, but sources say Rambis and Walton are more likely regarded as potential assistants. Bill Cartwright, another one of Jackson’s former players with head coaching experience, got an interview to be on Steve Kerr‘s hypothesized Knicks staff and Rambis and Walton would probably be looked at in the same light.

Knicks Want To Wait For Derek Fisher

May 18th, 2014 at 11:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Knicks president Phil Jackson continues to send out signals that he’s in no rush to hire a coach until he can seriously discuss the position with Thunder guard Derek Fisher, sources close to the process tell Ramona Shelburne and Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

Fisher’s interest in coaching remains a matter of debate and for his part, he’s trying deflect all questions about his future, whether it be as a coach or a front office executive, until after the playoffs. Fisher, like previous frontrunner Steve Kerr, would be a coaching neophyte with strong ties and familiarity to Jackson.

Sources say that in addition to Fisher, the Knicks still have interest in Nuggets coach Brian Shaw but do not currently plan to ask the Nuggets’ permission to speak with him. Because teams can only offer cash or draft picks as compensation for coaches, sources say New York fears it likely can’t meet the Nuggets’ demands.