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Beck’s Latest: Kings, Knicks, Suns, Nets, Rockets

December 15th, 2014 at 2:57pm CST by Chuck Myron

There will be chatter aplenty between now and the February 19th trade deadline, but not all of it will truly constitute trade rumors, as Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck cautions. However, when multiple voices speak in unison, there’s usually a grain of truth involved, and Beck has plenty of tidbits he’s heard from a variety of sources around the league. We already passed along the news that the Pistons are putting Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings on the block, but that’s not the only item of note. We’ll pass along the rest of the highlights here and encourage you to read Beck’s full piece for more:

The Kings head coaching job is George Karl‘s if he wants it, as both Beck and Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee hear (Twitter links). Alvin Gentry and Mark Jackson are also “prime candidates,” according to Beck, though it’s not clear if the Kings are targeting either of them. Karl said to Tom Byrne of SiriusXM NBA Radio today that, “If they’re interested in me, I’m interested in them (Twitter link). Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports first identified Karl as the front-runner for the job, which Tyrone Corbin is expected to assume on an interim basis.
Executives around the league tell Beck that the Knicks are making all of their players except for Carmelo Anthony available, as Beck writes in his piece. A similar scenario is in place for New Orleans, where the Pelicans are open to trading everyone outside of Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, Omer Asik and Ryan Anderson, Beck hears.
Many executives expect the Suns to trade one of Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas, according to Beck.
The Nets would probably only move one or two of Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson, team sources tell Beck. The Rockets asked Brooklyn about Andrei Kirilenko before the Nets traded him to the Sixers last week, Beck also hears.
There’s conflicting intel on the Nuggets, whom many executives view as top candidates to become sellers, while one Western Conference exec tells Beck that the Nuggets like their team and aren’t inclined to move anybody. In any case, there’s plenty of interest in Wilson Chandler and Timofey Mozgov, executives have said to Beck.
Many executives and scouts identified Thaddeus Young, Mo Williams and David Lee among likely trade candidates, Beck writes.

Western Notes: Cuban, Pleiss, Sterling

August 3rd, 2014 at 8:54am CST by Eddie Scarito

In the wake of Paul George‘s terrible injury Friday night, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban blasted the IOC, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. Cuban hopes the injury will spur the NBA into creating its own international tournament where the league has more control as well as receives the benefits of holding such competitions. Cuban also said, “I think it’s a bigger issue than star players. We are being taken advantage of by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and to a lesser extent FIBA (International Federal Basketball Association). We take on an inordinate amount of financial risk for little, if any, quantifiable gain. It’s like our guiding principle is to lose money on every game and make it up in volume. There is no logic to our position. (We) just hope we get value somewhere in the future.”

Here’s more from out west:

Thunder 2010 draft-and-stash pick Tibor Pleiss is expected to sign a two-year deal with Barcelona, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Oklahoma City had made an attempt to bring the German big man to the NBA this season but his buyout amount became an issue, but the team was still hoping to work out a deal for the 2015/16 campaign. Details of Pleiss’ potential deal with Barcelona and buyout amount haven’t yet been announced.
Sam Cassell is leaving the Wizards to join Doc Rivers‘ coaching staff with the Clippers, reports Michael Lee of The Washington Post. Los Angeles’ bench had recently lost Tyronn Lue to the Cavs and Alvin Gentry to the Warriors.
Donald Sterling built an empire but words were his undoing, write Nathan Fenno, Kim Christensen, and James Rainey of The Los Angeles Times. The trio profile the seemingly soon-to-be former Clippers owner’s rise and fall.

Western Notes: ‘Melo, Mavs, Bledsoe, Kaman

July 4th, 2014 at 1:19pm CST by Chuck Myron

The offer the Mavs are making to Carmelo Anthony involves a starting salary of slightly more than $18MM, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com (Twitter link). That would mean a max of $77MM over four years, though McMahon pegs the likely value of the offer at $75MM. In any case, that’s significantly less than the nearly $96MM over four years the Lakers are reportedly offering in a max deal, and about $50MM less than the five-year max that the Knicks have apparently put on the table. There’s more from MacMahon on the Mavs amid the latest from the Western Conference:

The Mavs have confidence they’ll strike a deal to re-sign Devin Harris, presuming they don’t land Anthony or LeBron James, even if some of the inflated agreements around the league this week have pushed his market value higher, MacMahon writes. The team sees Isaiah Thomas as its primary fallback option should Harris sign elsewhere, and Dallas has also been in contact with the agent for Wasserman client D.J. Augustin, MacMahon adds.
There are some who believe that agent Rich Paul’s talks with teams about LeBron are instead intended to pitch clubs on Suns restricted free agent Eric Bledsoe, whom Paul also represents, tweets USA Today’s Sam Amick.
The Blazers came to terms with Chris Kaman believing they wouldn’t be able to sign Spencer Hawes or Channing Frye, according to TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link).
The Warriors have officially hired Alvin Gentry, Ron Adams and Luke Walton as assistant coaches, the team announced. Gentry, who spent last season as a Clippers assistant, was a candidate for multiple head coaching vacancies this summer. Adams was an assistant with the Celtics last season while Walton was an assistant for the Lakers D-League affiliate.
Marcus Camby, 40, still harbors aspirations of returning to the NBA after missing last year as he recovered from left foot surgery, an injury that prompted the Rockets to waive him just before the start of the regular season.

Byron Scott Takes Lead For Lakers Coaching Job

June 24th, 2014 at 8:08am CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 8:08am: Scott and Kobe Bryant have been engaging in conversations on “coach/player terms,” while Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Michael Cooper, a few of Scott’s former Lakers teammates, are pushing the Buss family to hire him, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com.

MONDAY, 12:41pm: Byron Scott has become the front-runner in the race for the Lakers head coaching job, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Shelburne also identifies Lionel Hollins, Mike Dunleavy and Alvin Gentry as serious candidates. The inclusion of Gentry on that list is curious, since he’s agreed to leave his job as a Clippers assistant coach for an assistant’s job with the Warriors.

Scott has interviewed three times for the position, according to Shelburne. The Lakers have had at least one interview with Hollins, Dunleavy and Gentry, too, and they’ve also spoken with Kurt Rambis, whom Howard Beck of Bleacher Report listed as one of three favorites for the job about two weeks ago.

The 53-year-old Scott took this past season off from coaching after the Cavs fired him last year. It was the first time since the Nets hired him in 2000 that he hasn’t spent at least part of the season as the head coach of an NBA team. He’s 416-521 overall with the Nets, Pelicans (then Hornets) and Cavs, but he was the NBA’s Coach of the Year in 2008 with New Orleans.

The Lakers are the only team without a head coach at this point, and while they appear poised to go through the draft and the start of free agency without one, they like the idea of waiting to see what potential signees are looking for in a coach, Shelburne tweets. Scott and the others still in the mix aren’t necessarily the only ones who’ll get consideration for the job as the Lakers remain open to other candidates, Shelburne adds (Twitter link).

Western Notes: LeBron, Gentry, Honeycutt

June 20th, 2014 at 10:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

If LeBron James opts out of his contract with the Heat, the Rockets will have as an enticing a situation to offer him as any team in the league, writes Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. Beck lays out what options Houston has to fit James’ salary in, plus notes the team views Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh as secondary options if they fail to land James, provided Bosh and Anthony also exercise their ETO’s.

Warriors, Gentry Reach Agreement In Principle

June 19th, 2014 at 10:47pm CST by Ryan Raroque

10:47pm: Agent Warren LeGarie tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports that Gentry has agreed in principle to join the Warriors’ coaching staff. The deal will run for three seasons (Twitter links).

9:36pm: Gentry’s choice will ultimately come down to money and security, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com, who adds that Gentry had a deal in place with the Lakers last summer before the Clippers offered him more money.

8:25pm: The Warriors are expected to make a lucrative offer to convince Alvin Gentry to leave the Clippers and become a highly-paid associate head coach in Golden State, sources tell Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Gentry served the same role under Doc Rivers in Los Angeles last season.

Earlier tonight, David Pick of Eurobasket.com (via Twitter) heard that Gentry would be heading to Golden State as an assistant. The 59-year-old coach has been a target for a few head coaching vacancies around the league recently, garnering consideration from the Lakers, Cavaliers, and Jazz. Earlier this month, we relayed the Warriors’ interest in hiring Gentry as an associate head coach.

It’s worth noting that the Warriors had previously targeted David Blatt for an assistant role on Steve Kerr’s staff; though now with Golden State reportedly zooming in on Gentry, it seems clearer that Blatt is currently deep in the process of becoming the next head coach in Cleveland while the Warriors have moved on to plan B.

And-Ones: Cavs, Draft, Pelicans, Wolves

June 13th, 2014 at 10:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Cavs coaching search may be down to just three candidates, writes Bob Finnan of The Morning Journal. While some names are still being mentioned, Finnan (hat tip to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders) believes the finalists are Clippers assistant coaches Alvin Gentry and Tyronn Lue and former Maccabi Tel Aviv coach David Blatt.

Here’s more from around the association:

The Nuggets are planning to bring in Tyler Ennis, Zach LaVine, James Young, Clint Capela, Casey Prather and Tarik Black for workouts on Saturday, reports Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (Twitter link).
The Timberwolves tweeted that Adreian Payne, Justin Cobbs, Kyle Anderson, Cory Jefferson, Markel Starks and Jamil Wilson all have workouts scheduled with the team.
Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reports (Twitter link) Russ Smith, Jahii Carson, and Jordan Morgan worked out for the Wolves on Wednesday.
Adi Joseph of USA Today looks at the draft needs of the Pelicans. The team currently doesn’t have any picks, but they are reportedly trying to acquire one. According to the article, the team’s biggest needs are at small forward, center, and point guard.
In a separate article, Joseph looks at the draft needs of the Timberwolves. According to Joseph, the team’s priorities should be at point guard, and both forward spots.
The crew over at Basketball Insiders (video link) analyze the 2014 free agent class and where each player may end up.
In a separate article, the latest mock draft from Basketball Insiders has them split over who will be the first-overall pick–Andrew Wiggins or Joel Embiid.

Rambis, Gentry, Scott Top Lakers Coaching List

June 11th, 2014 at 10:12am CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers have identified Kurt Rambis, Alvin Gentry and Byron Scott as the primary candidates in their search for a head coach, sources tell Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. Scott had his second interview with the club on Tuesday, though it appears the Lakers aren’t quite ready to rule out other candidates, since they apparently have reached out to representatives of Nate McMillan. The Lakers have interviewed Mike Dunleavy and Lionel Hollins in addition to Rambis, Gentry and Scott.

Another Tuesday report indicated that the Knicks received permission from the Lakers to interview Rambis, an assistant coach with the purple-and-gold. There’s also dispute over whether Rambis’ discussion with the Lakers about the head coaching vacancy constituted an interview, though given the long history Rambis has with the Lakers organization, it seems like a formal interview wouldn’t be necessary.

Gentry, currently a Clippers assistant, is set for a second interview with the Cavs, the only other NBA team still without a head coach. Scott is apparently the only candidate to get a second interview with the Lakers so far as the team takes a slow approach to its search. Mike D’Antoni resigned April 30th, so the position has remained open for nearly a month and a half.

Tyronn Lue Gets Second Interview With Cavs

June 9th, 2014 at 10:47am CST by Zachary Links

Along with Alvin Gentry, Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue will get a second interview for the Cavs’ head coaching job, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). For both men, this second round of interviews will include meeting with owner Dan Gilbert (link).

As we learned this morning, the Cavs tried to bring John Calipari aboard to serve as their coach and president with a mammoth seven-year, $60MM deal. They were rebuffed, but they are apparently still keeping an eye on the college ranks. Wojnarowski tweets that Billy Donovan has remained in contact with the Cavs, though no one connected to the process believes that he has the comfort level to make the leap. The Florida coach agreed to coach the Magic in June of 2007 but changed his mind the day after his introductory press conference and went back to Gainesville. Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (on Twitter) hears that a Donovan hire is unlikely but the possibility is not 100% dead.

While Donovan and others could get in the mix, the main pool of candidates appears to consist of Gentry, Lue, Bulls assistant Adrian Griffin, former Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins, former Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro, and Maccabi Tel Aviv coach David Blatt.

Latest On Cavs Coaching Search

June 7th, 2014 at 2:01pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Cavs hope to have a head coach in place before draft day, reports Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer. Cleveland has met with a several candidates, including coaching veterans Vinny Del Negro, Lionel Hollins, and Alvin Gentry, as well as two candidates without any head coaching experience in Adrian Griffin and Tyronn Lue.

Pluto throws cold water on reports indicating Lue and Griffin impressed management during their interviews, suggesting that such narrative is likely originating from each candidate’s respective circle of friends, family, agents, etc. in an attempt to make the candidate appear worthy of serious consideration to other potential suitors. The Knicks and Lakers are also actively searching for a coach.

While Pluto doesn’t completely rule out the notion of the Cavs hiring a rookie head coach, he thinks the pressure being placed on GM David Griffin to make the playoffs next season will lead the team to hire a candidate who has experience in a leading role. This morning we learned that the Cavs will bring in Gentry for another interview, and Pluto hears Del Negro, Hollins, and “some others” will meet with owner Dan Gilbert in the near future as well.