Arturas Karnisovas Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Nets Interested In Tommy Sheppard For GM Job

February 4th, 2016 at 7:58am CST by Chuck Myron

The Nets have requested permission to interview Wizards senior VP of basketball operations Tommy Sheppard for their GM vacancy, a source said to Brian Lewis of the New York Post. He joins Bryan Colangelo, Arturas Karnisovas and Gersson Rosas as contenders for the position, Lewis notes, having reported earlier this week that Danny Ferry was no longer a viable candidate. John Calipari is a long shot candidate, but remains a possibility because of his strong support from CEO Brett Yormark, according to Lewis.

Brooklyn already reportedly received permission to speak with Karnisovas and Rosas. Washington denied a June 2014 request from the Grizzlies to interview Sheppard, as Chris Vernon of 92.9 FM ESPN in Memphis reported at the time, so it’s no lock that the Nets will have the chance to pursue him. Sheppard has been with the Wizards for 12 years and assumed his current position under GM Ernie Grunfeld shortly before the 2013/14 season.

The Nets reportedly want to hire a GM before the trade deadline, which is two weeks from today. Assistant GM Frank Zanin has been running the front office since the team removed Billy King from the GM job nearly a month ago.

Nets Consider Karnisovas, Rosas For GM Job

January 25th, 2016 at 7:58am CST by Chuck Myron

Nuggets assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas and Rockets executive VP of basketball operations Gersson Rosas have become serious candidates for the Nets GM vacancy, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. They join Bryan Colangelo and Danny Ferry, whom earlier reports identified as candidates. Karnisovas and Rosas have separated themselves from other candidates, Wojnarowski writes, but the Yahoo scribe also indicates that Colangelo and Ferry remain in “prominent consideration.” Owner Mikhail Prokhorov has so far not shown a willingness to lay out the 10-year, $120MM contract that John Calipari is seeking, according to Wojnarowski.

The Nets want to hire a GM before the February 18th trade deadline, which is three weeks from Thursday, and they plan to begin formal interviews early next month, Wojnarowski hears. Nets officials want a greater emphasis on international scouting, feeling as though the team lacked that under former GM Billy King, as Wojnarowski also reports, detailing the history that Karnisovas and Rosas have with players from overseas.

Karnisovas just signed an extension with Denver, though teams generally don’t stand in the way if someone in the organization seeks a higher-level job elsewhere. Rosas thought that’s what he was doing when he left the Rockets to become Mavericks GM in 2013, but Dallas envisioned him as a clear subordinate to president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson, and Rosas resigned just three months into the job. He returned to the Rockets two months after that. Karnisovas has strong relationships with Prokhorov associates, while Rosas is tight with coaches Tom Thibodeau, who’s already reportedly a candidate to become Brooklyn’s next head coach, and Jeff Van Gundy, according to Wojnarowski.

Nuggets Notes: Connelly, Arthur, Karnisovas

January 20th, 2016 at 2:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

Nuggets GM Tim Connelly, fresh off signing his extension Tuesday, said he plans an aggressive approach as the trade deadline nears and added that he doesn’t like to see the team, which lost Tuesday to fall to 16-26, as far below .500 as it is, as Matt Moore of CBSSports.com relays. Still, he cautioned that he doesn’t want to rush the process of building a contender and wouldn’t rule out trading for another first-round pick, Moore notes, even though the team is likely to have at least two and could have as many as four this June. Denver also has the right to swap picks with the Knicks. Rumors have linked the Nuggets to the unprotected pick that the Nets owe the Celtics, but indications are Boston doesn’t intend to trade that selection, Moore writes. See more from Denver:

Nuggets signees this past season lauded the culture that Connelly and his staff are building, and the extension was a sign that the franchise believes it’s found the right direction for itself after a 2014/15 that Connelly on Tuesday called an embarrasment, Moore relays in a separate piece. Denver is on track to succeed, though the missing piece is a superstar, Moore opines. “I think we’ve turned the corner,” Connelly said, “and now we have to be aggressive, opportunistic, but also patient.”
Darrell Arthur was one of the Nuggets who signed this summer in part because he liked where the Nuggets were headed, notes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post, and retaining the power forward has paid dividends for the team this season, as Dempsey examines. That’s in large measure because Arthur has been healthy, Dempsey notes.
The Nuggets had been working on extensions for Connelly as well as assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas and others in the front office staff for months, according to Dempsey, who adds that the franchise has long intended to keep Connelly and his aides (Twitter link).
Denver is reportedly shopping J.J. Hickson while ex-Nuggets combo forward Kostas Papanikolaou has officially signed overseas. See details on those stories and more on our Nuggets team page.

Western Notes: Larkin, Kings, Miller, Robinson

July 16th, 2013 at 9:23pm CST by Alex Lee

The Mavericks announced, via press release, that first-round pick Shane Larkin underwent surgery today to repair a broken ankle he suffered last week in summer league action. The recovery time for the surgery is approximately three months, putting Larkin's return right around the beginning of the regular season. The team is reportedly in talks with Devin Harris again after nixing their original agreement with the point guard last week.

Here's more out of the Western Conference:

The Kings will not use the amnesty provision before tonight's deadline, tweets Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, one of seven teams that can still use the clause, will apparently retain the amnesty eligible John Salmons. The team holds a player option on Salmons for the 2014/15 season.
In a separate tweet, Jones adds that the Kings are unlikely to make any additions that necessitate guaranteed money unless they're first able to unload money.
Should Mike Miller clear the amnesty waiver process, the Clippers should have interest in the veteran sharpshooter, tweets Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. Washburn cites Miller's time in Orlando under new Clips head coach Doc Rivers as the main reason for the match. Miller was waived by the Heat today, and teams with cap space now have 48 hours to claim him on waivers.
The Nuggets have named Arturas Karnisovas as their assistant GM, according to a press release from the team issued earlier today. Karnisovas, a native Lithuanian, was most recently the director of scouting for the Rockets under Houston GM Daryl Morey.
It's only been about a year since Thomas Robinson was selected No. 5 by the Kings, but the Blazers forward has already been traded twice. Robinson, drafted into a bad situation in Sacramento and then a casualty of the Dwight Howard signing in Houston, says he feels disrespected as a result of the trades and is determined to get his career on track in Portland, writes Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge, who itemizes some quotes from Robinson from a couple of publications.

Nuggets Hire Arturas Karnisovas As Assistant GM

July 13th, 2013 at 4:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Nuggets have reached an agreement with Rockets director of player personnel Arturas Karnisovas to bring him aboard as assistant GM in Denver, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. Karnisovas will join new GM Tim Connelly with the Nuggets, who've overhauled their front office this summer. The Rockets, too, are enduring changes, having already lost executive vice president Sam Hinkie to the Sixers, where he's the new GM.

Karnisovas joined the Rockets as an international scout in 2008 after a playing career that gave him insight on the landscape in North America as well as overseas. The Lithuanian played collegiately for P.J. Carlesimo at Seton Hall before embarking on a professional career that saw him reach the Euroleague Final Four on three occasions.

The Nuggets lost GM Masai Ujiri to the Raptors this spring, while Pete D'Alessandro, Ujiri's top aide, became the new GM of the Kings. The team also replaced coach George Karl with Pacers assistant Brian Shaw.