- Before he accepted a four-year offer from the Knicks, Fizdale turned down a four-year offer from the Suns to become their new head coach, tweets Michael Scotto of The Athletic.
The health of shooting guard Dion Waiters looms as one of the Heat’s biggest question marks heading into next season, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel reports. Waiters has been hampered two seasons by an ankle injury, which required season-ending surgery in January. The Heat believe Waiters will be better than ever once he heals but it’s no slam dunk he’ll even be ready for training camp. Miami president Pat Riley believes the return of Waiters, who appeared in just 30 games after signing a four-year, $52MM contract last summer, will be akin to adding a quality free agent.
“He was playing hurt for a year and a half for the most part,” Riley said. “I’m glad he had the surgery. I hope the surgery is 100 percent successful. You got a very talented 26-year-old player that still wants to make his mark and we don’t have to go out and pay somebody $25 million to get him to play.”
In other news concerning the Heat:
- It’s more likely that Justise Winslow will get traded than Josh Richardson, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Winslow, who is still on his rookie deal, has one more guaranteed year remaining at $3.45MM. Richardson signed a four-year, $42MM extension last September. The Heat could use Winslow as a chip in a package for a top-level player or as a sweetener to dump a bad contract, with Jackson citing Tyler Johnson’s deal as an example. In contrast, Richardson would probably only be traded for an All-Star caliber player, Jackson adds.
- The Suns’ hiring of Slovenian national team coach Igor Kokoskov as their head coach doesn’t necessarily increase the possibility of Goran Dragic being reunited with Phoenix, Winderman opines in a blog post. Acquiring a 31-year-old point guard probably wouldn’t make much sense for the rebuilding Suns, Winderman notes. However, if the Heat can regain the unprotected 2021 first-round pick they dealt to acquired Dragic, that might make it worth their while, Winderman adds.
- What does the future hold for the Heat’s free agents? Austin Kent takes a closer look in our free agent stock watch.
The Suns are hiring Utah Jazz assistant Igor Kokoskov as their new head coach, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Wojnarowski adds that Kokoskov is signing a three-year deal with the Suns, while Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune tweets that Kokoskov will remain with the Jazz through the remainder of their playoff run.
John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 reports that the contract will contain no options and that the final decision to hire Kokoskov came when team representatives met with him in Houston yesterday in between Games 1 and 2 of the Jazz’ first round series against the Rockets.
The Suns have confirmed the news, writing that the hire will make Kokoskov the first NBA head coach born and raised outside North America in NBA history.
“We are thrilled to bring Valley resident Igor Kokoskov back to Arizona as head coach of the Phoenix Suns,” said GM Ryan McDonough. “Igor has been a pioneer throughout his basketball career and he brings a wealth of high level coaching experience to our club.
“He was one of the first non-American born assistant coaches at both the NCAA and NBA levels and his most recent head coaching stint includes leading the Slovenian national team to the 2017 EuroBasket title, which was the first European title in the history of the country. Igor’s teams have always had a player development focus, a creative style of play and a track record of success.”
Kokoskov, 46, will become the 19th head coach in Suns’ franchise history in his 19th season as an NBA coach. He was as an assistant coach with the Suns from 2008-2013 during their run of success with Steve Nash, including a trip to 2010 Western Conference Finals.
Kokoskov is also a successful international head coach, leading Slovenia to a first place finish at FIBA EuroBasket 2017 and also coaching the Georgian national team from 2008-2015. One member of the Slovenian national team he coached: potential top-pick Luka Doncic.
- Suns strength and conditioning coach Jeff Fish has resigned, Chris Haynes of ESPN tweets. Fish was just hired during the offseason.
The Suns will interview Jazz assistant coach Igor Kokoskov for the second time as the organization continues to search for a head coach, 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports’ John Gambadoro reports. Phoenix initially interviewed Kokoskov over the phone in between Utah’s game two and three playoff matchups against the Thunder.
A former assistant coach with the Suns from 2008 to 2013, Kokoskov has served as an assistant for Utah since 2015 as part of Quin Snyder‘s staff. Before joining the Jazz, Kokoskov was an assistant coach for several teams, including the Clippers, Pistons, Cavaliers, and Magic. While Kokoskov has never been a head coach in the NBA, he does have experience coaching the Georgian, Serbian, and Slovenian national teams.
The Suns’ candidates for the position are slowly dwindling. Earlier today, interim coach Jay Triano was said to be ruled out as a candidate for the head coach position. Triano coached Phoenix for most of the 2017/18 season after Earl Watson was dismissed three games into the season. Also, Arizona native Mike Budenholzer removed himself from consideration after meeting with the organization.
David Fizdale, Frank Vogel, Vinny Del Negro, David Blatt, and Kevin McHale have all either interviewed or been linked to the position as well.
Keep up with all the latest action on the coaching front by following our 2018 NBA Head Coaching Search Tracker.
Jay Triano, who served as the Suns‘ interim head coach during the 2017/18 season, will not return to the position in a full-time capacity, as first reported by 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s John Gambadoro.
Per ESPN’s Chris Haynes, assistant coach Ty Corbin has also been relieved of his duties.
Triano took over as Phoenix’s interim coach three games into the season after Earl Watson was fired. The Suns went 21-58 with Triano at the helm.
Phoenix has been aggressive in the early going, interviewing several candidates for their head coach vacancy. Earlier this week, soon-to-be Hall-of-Famer and former Suns player, Jason Kidd, was eliminated from consideration for the job. The same day, we relayed that Raptors assistant Nick Nurse and Pelicans associate head coach Chris Finch were interviewed for the job.
Since the end of the regular season, along with the aforementioned names, David Fizdale, Igor Kokoskov, Frank Vogel, Vinny Del Negro, David Blatt, Kevin McHale, and Mike Budenholzer have all either interviewed or been linked to the position.
Keep up with all the latest action on the coaching front by following our 2018 NBA Head Coaching Search Tracker.
The gamble the Heat took on Hassan Whiteside two years ago has backfired, writes Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post, and they are left with the choices of keeping him and his huge cap hit or trading him for virtually nothing. Whiteside still has two seasons remaining [including a $27.1MM player option for 2019/20] on the four-year deal he signed in the summer of 2016.
The Heat are open to dealing their starting center, but Bontemps warns they may not like the offers they get. He suggests the Mavericks might be interested if they can’t land a big-name free agent, with Dwight Powell going to Miami in return. Other possibilities Bontemps sees for Whiteside are heading to New York in exchange for Joakim Noah [owed roughly $37MM over the next two years] and the Bulls’ second-rounder or to Phoenix for Brandon Knight [$29MM over two years] and Tyson Chandler‘s expiring $13.6MM deal.
There’s more today out of Miami:
- The Heat are counting on Dion Waiters to solidify the shooting guard position once he returns from ankle surgery, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Waiters was limited to just 30 games before the January operation, and doctors aren’t sure if he will be ready for training camp or the start of the season. “I don’t think he’s felt right, physically, since when he first got here,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He got in great shape, but once he injured his ankle, then he was always dealing with that. This is going to be a really important summer for him. He’s going to be here and he’ll be working a ton behind the scenes just to get his legs right, then he’ll work on the next step of getting in world-class shape and then he’ll get into the next phase of really developing his basketball skills.”
- Veteran forward Udonis Haslem isn’t sure whether Dwyane Wade will return for another season, adding he “wouldn’t be surprised” no matter what Wade decides, Jackson relays in the same story. Haslem hasn’t made a decision on his own future, but said he would like to work in the Heat organization when he retires, although not as a coach. He added that he and Wade haven’t discussed a mutual decision. “We’ve both in situations where we have a lot of different opportunities ahead of us,” Haslem said. “Do we want to retire together? In a perfect world it would be great to finish it together. But things don’t always work out like that.”
- After playing just 16 postseason minutes, Rodney McGruder wants a larger role next year, Jackson adds. McGruder had surgery on his leg in October and appeared in 16 regular season games after he returned in February. “I want to play,” he said. “I am happy for my teammates. I love cheering them on. I want to be playing in the playoffs.”
8:18pm: There are two new names to add to the Suns’ coaching search, according to Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link). The team had talks this week with Toronto assistant Nick Nurse and Pelicans associate head coach Chris Finch.
8:00pm: The Suns have completed their first round of coaching interviews, and Jason Kidd is among the candidates who have been eliminated, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 in Phoenix. He adds that the organization is currently informing all the interviewees of their current status.
Phoenix wrapped up the first stage of its coaching search this week, talking to ex-Hornets head coach Steve Clifford today and Spurs assistant James Borrego on Thursday.
Kidd has a 183-190 record in four and a half seasons as head coach of the Nets and Bucks. He took Milwaukee to the playoffs twice before being fired in January with a 23-22 mark. The newly elected Hall of Famer spent five seasons in Phoenix during his playing career.
Former Hornets coach Steve Clifford and Spurs assistant James Borrego are the latest candidates to interview for the head coaching spot in Phoenix, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Clifford, who was fired in Charlotte two weeks ago, had a meeting with Suns officials today, Wojnarowski relays. Clifford has expressed a desire to coach again next season after compiling a 196-214 record in five years with Charlotte.
Borrego, an assistant to Gregg Popovich for the past three seasons, interviewed in Phoenix on Thursday. He has brief NBA head coaching experience, compiling a 10-20 mark as an interim with Orlando at the end of the 2014/15 season.
The Suns have been among the most active teams in the search for a new coach, with David Fizdale, Igor Kokoskov, Frank Vogel, Jason Kidd, Vinny Del Negro, David Blatt and Kevin McHale all either interviewing or being linked to the position in the rumor mill.
Keep up with all the latest action on the coaching front by following our 2018 NBA Head Coaching Search Tracker.
Mike James, who spent time with the Suns and Pelicans this season, has signed a three-year deal worth more than $5MM with Olimpia Milano in Italy, tweets international writer Chema de Lucas (hat tip to Sportando).
James spent five seasons in Europe before agreeing to a two-way contract with Phoenix last July. That was converted to a full NBA contract in December, but he was waived two weeks later. James’ next stop was New Orleans, where he signed another two-way deal in mid-January. However, he was waived in February and finished the season with Panathinaikos in Greece.
James appeared in 32 games for the Suns and four more for the Pelicans, averaging 9.3 points and 3.5 assists in about 19 minutes per night.