Alvin Gentry Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Mavericks, Suns, Draft

January 15th, 2013 at 2:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The Western Conference's current seventh and eighth seeds face tough matchups tonight, as the seventh-place Rockets host the Clippers, while the eighth-place Trail Blazers play the Nuggets in Denver. Losses for one or both clubs could give the Lakers, who host the Bucks, a chance to pick up a game in the standings, as they attempt to claw their way back into the playoff picture. While we look forward to tonight's games, let's check out a few links from around the league:

Dirk Nowitzki is glad to hear that the "Bank of [Mark] Cuban" will be open as the trade deadline approaches, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes.
Following up on Cuban's comments, Derek Page of HoopsWorld wonders if Rudy Gay could be a fit for the Mavericks, and examines some of the Mavs' trade candidates.
In a mailbag, Ian Thomsen of SI.com explores which NBA coach might be the next on the hot seat. Although Thomsen eventually lands on the Suns' Alvin Gentry, he argues that Gentry is not the problem in Phoenix.
Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic looks at the potential consolation prize for the Suns' disappointing season, outlining which players could interest the club at the top of the 2013 draft. As our tentative draft order shows, Phoenix is currently in line to have a top-five pick.
Replying to a Twitter question about whether Kentucky's Alex Poythress might remain a Wildcast past this season, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress says Poythress is "100% gone." ESPN.com's Chad Ford projects Poythress as a top-10 pick in June, though ESPN.com's Jay Bilas (Insider link) wrote yesterday that the young forward hasn't lived up to the hype so far.

Pacific Rumors: Dwight, Suns, Gentry, Gasol

December 14th, 2012 at 6:34pm CST by Chuck Myron

Tomorrow, most of the players who signed this offseason become eligible to be traded, and NBA scribes have been busy today rounding up rumors of potential moves. We've passed along pieces from Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN, Marc Stein of ESPN.com and HoopsWorld's Bill Ingram, and now Ken Berger of CBSSports.com checks in with a quarterly report on the season thus far along with his weekly Friday 5 discussion with fellow CBSSports.com scribe Matt Moore. The highlights from both pieces concern Pacific Division teams, and we'll round them up here.

Berger says sources confirm earlier rumors of an impending shakeup for the Suns, and he also notes the disconcerting struggles that this year's first-round pick Kendall Marshall is having during his stint in the D-League. He agrees with Stein that Alvin Gentry is safe this season, citing owner Robert Sarver's lack of willingness to pay two head coaches, but Berger doesn't think Gentry will be back next year, predicting that he'll wind up on Mike D'Antoni's staff with the Lakers.
Not surprisingly, Berger tabs Pau Gasol as the league's biggest trade chip, believing the Lakers have little else to offer teams, and that they may have to accept the short end of a deal if it means bringing in players who are a better fit.
Berger details the frustration Dwight Howard's feeling as the Lakers struggle, and reminds readers that a trade to L.A. wasn't Howard's first choice.

Stein On Pau, Raptors, Varejao, Jazz, Gentry

December 14th, 2012 at 3:49pm CST by Luke Adams

ESPN.com's Marc Stein has published his Weekend Dime, and leads off the jam-packed column with a look at a handful of players that are candidates to be dealt before February 21st's trade deadline. Here are the highlights on those guys, and from the rest of Stein's piece:

The Lakers continue to recognize that they're unlikely to get fair value for Pau Gasol, given his health, salary, and performance, and would prefer to avoid another major shakeup anyway. So for now, they're still not seriously considering a Pau trade.
Multiple front-office sources view the Raptors as the team most motivated to make a move. The team would like to make Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon in tandem, but Bargnani's elbow injury may force Toronto to deal Calderon on his own. The Lakers and Mavericks have interest, though neither team is an obvious match for Calderon's $10.5MM+ salary.
NBA teams believe Anderson Varejao is "highly available," but are skeptical he'll be dealt, since the Cavaliers' high asking price is only increasing. Cleveland is seeking multiple young assets for Varejao, according to Stern, who says the Thunder, a potential match, have exhibited little interest.
Teams around the league aren't sure whether the Jazz would be more inclined to trade Paul Millsap or Al Jefferson, but the general consensus suggests one of the two will be dealt by the deadline for a front-line point guard.
Stein lists a few other names that come up repeatedly in talks with sources as trade candidates: Monta Ellis, Brandon Jennings, Derrick Williams, Luke Ridnour, J.J. Barea, Michael Beasley, Courtney Lee, and D.J. Augustin.
Former Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley may already be interested in buying another team, with the Bucks as a potential target, according to Stein.
Robert Sarver's assurances that Alvin Gentry will keep his job as Suns head coach shouldn't be viewed as a "dreaded" vote of confidence. Sources tell Stein that Sarver likes Gentry "too much personally to make an in-season change."

Coaching Rumors: Suns, Wizards, Pistons, Kings

December 11th, 2012 at 9:13am CST by Luke Adams

We're about a quarter of the way through the NBA regular season, which is enough of a sample size that we can say certain teams have underperformed so far. Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today take a look at the coaching situations for a few of those teams in their latest piece, examining whether any head coaches are in danger of being let go. We touched on Dwane Casey's situation with the Raptors in a post this morning, but here are the rest of Amick's and Zillgitt's updates:

After Suns owner Robert Sarver told ESPN.com's Chris Broussard yesterday that Alvin Gentry wasn't on the hot seat, Amick and Zillgitt spoke to Sarver as well. Sarver's vote of confidence in this case was even stronger, as he told USA Today that Gentry's job is safe for the rest of the season.
Like the Raptors, the Suns may explore an on-court change rather than a coaching move, with Michael Beasley a candidate to be involved — according to USA Today, there's some disagreement between the team and player about what his role should be. However, Sarver still hopes Beasley will work things out in Phoenix: "We're working with him. He's working hard, and we still expect to be able to (salvage the situation)."
The Wizards are still paying their last head coach, Flip Saunders, so they're unlikely to replace Randy Wittman this year, since it would mean paying three different coaches.
Pistons owner Tom Gores has high expectations for his club, and wants to see some progress toward the playoffs this year in Detroit, making it a potential make-or-break season for Lawrence Frank.
Keith Smart's job with the Kings appears safe, though team president Geoff Petrie's future isn't quite so clear.
The Nets still have faith in Avery Johnson and expect some peaks and valleys with the team's overhauled roster. However, there's an expectation that the team will not only qualify for the postseason but be in position to "make an impact once they get there."
Despite a slow start for the Pacers, there's still hope in Indiana that Frank Vogel is around to coach the team for years to come.

Suns Owner Says Alvin Gentry’s Job Is Safe

December 10th, 2012 at 5:53pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today we learned that there could be a "major shakeup" on the horizon for the Suns, but it won't involve an outster of Alvin Gentry. Owner Robert Sarver told Chris Broussard of ESPN.com that he is not considering making a coaching change.

"It's still early in the season," Sarver said via phone. "We're playing worse than our talent, and a lot of that has to do with confidence. It's up to the coaches and players to start playing better and to get that swagger back and turn things around. Things can turn quickly in this league."

The Suns have now dropped seven straight games and have the second-worst record in the Western Conference at 7-15. After sending Steve Nash to the Lakers in a sign-and-trade, the Suns attempted to kick off their rebuilding effort with pickups of Goran Dragic, Michael Beasley, and Luis Scola in free agency. However, the club is still lacking firepower on offense and their push to have Beasley shoot more from the perimeter has not yielded results.

Marc Stein On Mike Brown, Josh Smith, Thunder

November 3rd, 2012 at 1:25pm CST by Chuck Myron

The start of the regular season means the return of Marc Stein's Weekend Dime feature on ESPN.com, and as usual, there are a few notable tidbits within the piece. Stein praises Lakers coach Mike Brown for his refusal to run from "ridiculously early" questions about his job security despite the specter of available names like Phil Jackson and Mike D'Antoni. In response to the notion of D'Antoni taking over the team, HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler calls it overreaction (Twitter link), which would seem to carry over to Jackson as well, especially considering the doubts about his desire to coach again. Here's more of what Stein had to say.

Josh Smith is in the final season of his deal, worth $13.2MM this year, and he could represent an attractive trade chip. Stein nonetheless hears the Hawks will most likely hang on to Smith this year while retaining cap flexibility for what could be an active summer of 2013.
One of the reasons why the Thunder traded James Harden is because the team is projected to pay, instead of receive, under the league's revenue-sharing model, despite playing in a small market.
Seven coaches are in the final year of their contracts, including Larry Drew of the Hawks, Avery Johnson of the Nets, Vinny Del Negro of the Clippers, Lionel Hollins of the Grizzlies, Scott Skiles of the Bucks and Alvin Gentry of the Suns. Frank Vogel is the other member of that group, though the Pacers hold a team option on his deal for 2013/14.

Coach/Exec Notes: Gentry, Petrie, Drew

October 3rd, 2012 at 10:14am CST by Luke Adams

While Hoops Rumors focuses primarily on trades and free agency involving NBA players, there's another group entering contract years as the 2012/13 season approaches — coaches and front office personnel. This could be a crucial year for many coaches and executives who are in the final year of their deals, so let's take a look at some stories on a few guys in contract years….

Alvin Gentry is a good fit for the Suns, and extending his contract would not only be the right move, but would send the right message, argues Paola Boivin of the Arizona Republic. It doesn't sound as if the team is negotiating a new contract for its head coach at the moment though. "It's not an issue for this season," said Suns owner Robert Sarver. "I don't think it's an issue with Alvin, and it's not an issue for us. I've worked with Alvin for the last eight years. I think he's treated the organization fairly, and I think we've treated him fairly."
Kings president Geoff Petrie is entering the last year of his deal, but doesn't appear concerned about his uncertain future, telling Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee: "I think really for me the only contract I'm concerned about is the one all of us have, and that's the contract with life. And you take that one day at a time."
Like Petrie, Hawks coach Larry Drew is downplaying any worries about his long-term future as he enters the final year of his contract. New GM Danny Ferry agreed with the team's decision to pick up Drew's 2012/13 option, but the two will wait until after the season to discuss a new contract for the coach, writes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. If the Hawks underachieve at all this year, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Ferry bring in his own man for the job.

Odds & Ends: Blazers, Przybilla, Gentry, Villanueva

July 30th, 2012 at 12:35pm CST by Luke Adams

With Olympic basketball underway in London, new Timberwolves Andrei Kirilenko and Alexey Shved led the Russian squad to a victory over Great Britain in each team's first game. Former NBA veteran Pops Mensah-Bonsu scored 22 points for Britain, and has also reportedly agreed to play in Israel for the coming season. Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (via Twitter) confirms an Israel Today report suggesting that Mensah-Bonsu has agreed to terms with Maccabi Tel Aviv. The 28-year-old had played in regular-season games for the Mavericks, Spurs, Raptors, Rockets, and Hornets in four NBA seasons.

Let's round up a few more Monday odds and ends….

The Trail Blazers will interview their final four coaching candidates today and tomorrow, starting with Steve Clifford today, tweets Jason Quick of the Oregonian. Kaleb Canales, Terry Stotts, and Elston Turner are the other finalists.
Joel Przybilla says he's meeting with teams this week and will decide "really soon" where he'll play in 2012/13, though he didn't say if the Blazers are still in the running, according to Quick (Twitter links). We heard last week that the Bucks, Blazers, and Mavericks were all interested in the big center.
Suns coach Alvin Gentry isn't concerned that the team hasn't extended his contract, which will expire at the end of the coming season. "My view is if a person has a three-year contract, you assess it at the end of three years," said GM Lon Babby, and Gentry is on board with that approach, as he tells Randy Hill of FOX Sports Arizona.
Plenty of Pistons fans were disappointed that Detroit didn't amnesty Charlie Villanueva earlier this month, but the veteran forward tells Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press that he plans to take advantage of the opportunity and use fans' scorn as motivation.