Darvin Ham Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kings To Interview Mike D’Antoni, Mark Jackson, Others

April 22nd, 2022 at 2:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings will interview former NBA head coaches Mike D’Antoni and Mark Jackson for their open head coaching position, sources tell Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Sacramento has also received permission to interview former coaches Mike Brown and Steve Clifford, as well as Celtics assistant Will Hardy and Bucks assistants Darvin Ham and Charles Lee, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Of the former head coaches, D’Antoni currently serves as an advisor to Pelicans head coach Willie Green, Jackson is an ABC/ESPN broadcaster, Brown is an assistant with the Warriors, and Clifford is a consultant for the Nets.

The Kings have done their homework on a wide range of candidates and narrowed their list down to a smaller group, according to Charania and Amick, though the above list of candidates isn’t necessarily complete, tweets Sean Cunningham of ABC10 in Sacramento.

The Kings will begin conducting virtual interviews with candidates next week, according to James Ham of ESPN 1320, who tweets that in-person meetings will take place after that first round of Zoom interviews.

Sacramento is in the market for a new head coach after firing Luke Walton near the start of the 2021/22 season and then opting not to retain his interim replacement, Alvin Gentry, last week.

When word first broke that the Kings weren’t bringing back Gentry, Wojnarowski said they would consider candidates who have previously turned lottery teams into playoff clubs. D’Antoni (Phoenix), Jackson (Golden State), Brown (Cleveland), and Clifford (Charlotte and Orlando) all technically fit that bill.

Ham, Lee, and Hardy don’t have head coaching experience, but have all interviewed for head coaching positions in recent years. Ham and Lee reportedly received consideration from multiple teams in 2021, while Hardy was in the mix for multiple jobs in 2020.

Kings Not Retaining Alvin Gentry As Head Coach

April 11th, 2022 at 1:06pm CST by Luke Adams

1:06pm: The Kings have officially confirmed that Gentry won’t be back as the team’s head coach.

“The entire Kings organization is grateful for the leadership of Alvin Gentry, who stepped up when he got the call mid-season,” GM Monte McNair said in a statement. “We appreciate his leadership on and off the court.”

Although Gentry is out as head coach, he still may stick with the organization. Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that Gentry and the Kings are discussing a possible front office position, with a resolution expected later this week.

12:37pm: The Kings have informed Alvin Gentry that he’s no longer the team’s head coach, according to Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link), who report that Sacramento will immediately launch a “comprehensive” search for a new coach.

Gentry was named the Kings’ interim head coach just 17 games into the 2021/22 season following the ouster of Luke Walton. After starting 6-11 under Walton, the Kings were hopeful that Gentry could lead the team to at least a spot in the play-in tournament. However, Sacramento went just 24-41 the rest of the way and finished in the lottery for a 16th consecutive season.

Gentry, who has previous head coaching experience with the Heat, Pistons, Clippers, Suns, and Pelicans, previously stuck around following interim stints in Detroit and Phoenix to become those teams’ permanent head coaches, but that won’t happen in Sacramento. It appears he’ll be in the market for a new job this spring despite having spoken on Sunday about wanting to remain with the franchise.

“Obviously, I have a desire (to stay),” Gentry said, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. “I love it here and I think we’re on the right path. We’ve got some good pieces. We’ve got good people from our medical staff all the way up to the top. It has been done here before. It’s not something that’s impossible to do. It’s been done here before, so you just have to wait and see, but all of those things, I don’t make those decisions, so whatever happens, if it doesn’t work out, then I’ve had a great two years here. Love the people here. Love the franchise.”

The Kings, meanwhile, will conduct a wide-ranging search that includes candidates who have previously turned lottery teams into playoff clubs, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Marc Stein previously identified Terry Stotts, Mike D’Antoni, Mike Brown and Steve Clifford as names who have come up in coaching circles as possible targets for Sacramento. Wojnarowski confirms that Clifford and Brown are expected to be considered and adds Kenny Atkinson, Mark Jackson, and Bucks assistants Charles Lee and Darvin Ham to the list of potential candidates.

Rick Adelman was the last coach to take the Kings to the postseason, back in 2006. Since then, Sacramento has employed 11 different head coaches — the new hire will be the 12th.

COVID-19 Updates: Wizards, Budenholzer, Celtics, Nance, Duarte, More

January 5th, 2022 at 12:33pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards are on the verge of replenishing their point guard depth, with Spencer Dinwiddie and Aaron Holiday now out of the NBA’s health and safety protocols, per Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). Both players will remain sidelined for at least one more game, however, as they work on their conditioning.

Here are more protocol-related updates from around the league:

Mike Budenholzer has become the latest head coach to enter the health and safety protocols, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Darvin Ham will serve as the Bucks‘ acting head coach in Budenholzer’s absence.
Aaron Nesmith has exited the health and safety protocols, but another Celtics player – Payton Pritchard – has entered them, tweets Jared Weiss of The Athletic.
Trail Blazers big man Larry Nance Jr. entered the COVID-19 protocols on Tuesday, but it’s possible he’ll be able to clear them quickly. According to Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian (Twitter links), head coach Chauncey Billups said Nance registered an inconclusive test, so if he can return two consecutive negatives at least 24 hours apart, he’ll exit the protocols.
Pacers rookie Chris Duarte has cleared the protocols, though he’s doubtful to play in Wednesday’s game vs. Brooklyn, tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files.
Cory Joseph, who was the last Pistons player in the protocols, has exited them, according to Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). Joseph remains unavailable for Wednesday’s game in Charlotte due to return to competition reconditioning.
Rookies Marko Simonovic (Bulls) and Brandon Boston Jr. (Clippers) were at their respective teams’ practices today and are no longer in the protocols (Twitter links via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago and Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times).
Other players who have cleared the protocols include Spurs forward Devontae Cacok and Mavericks rookie JaQuori McLaughlin. Cacok is out vs. Boston on Wednesday due to return to competition reconditioning (Twitter link via Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News), while McLaughlin is no longer on Dallas’ injury report.

Central Notes: Cousins, Vucevic, Holiday, Duarte, Hayes

November 29th, 2021 at 8:04pm CST by Dana Gauruder

DeMarcus Cousins won’t be asked to play major minutes for the Bucks, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic. The veteran center can give them 10-15 minutes a game and help lessen the load on Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis, who have been manning the middle while Brook Lopez has been sidelined with a back injury. Cousins agreed on Sunday to sign a non-guaranteed deal.

Cousins took part in a workout led by assistant coach Darvin Ham on Saturday in Las Vegas, Marc Spears of ESPN’s The Undefeated tweets. Bucks assistant GM Milt Newton and VP of Global Scouting Ryan Hoover attended the workout, and Cousins had a phone conversation with coach Mike Budenholzer afterward.

We have more info on the Central Division:

Nikola Vucevic hasn’t looked right since returning from a bout with COVID-19, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times opines. In his third game back on Saturday, the Bulls big man took only nine shots, scored seven points and committed three turnovers. The Heat paid special attention to him defensively. “I do think he’s getting his footing back under him,” coach Billy Donovan said. Vucevic’s 13.4 PPG are his lowest since his first season with the Magic in 2012/13, Cowley notes.
Justin Holiday has been giving advice to Pacers rookie Chris Duarte about his new bench role, Brendan Rourke of the team’s website writes. “When you’re young, you focus a lot on being the starter and doing stuff like that,” Holiday said. “I’m just trying to give him a different sight of how he can still help. He’s still just as valuable even though he doesn’t have that starting role.” Holiday has been inserted into the starting lineup in place of Duarte.
A four-game layoff to rest a sprained left thumb helped Pistons second-year guard Killian Hayes, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press writes. ‘”It was good for him to take it off, he’s feeling much better now,” coach Dwane Casey said of Hayes, who had six points and eight assists in 29 minutes against the Lakers on Sunday. “We’ll see if he can jumpstart it to do it again. He was playing pretty good, especially defensively.”

Wes Unseld Jr., Darvin Ham Leading Contenders To Become Wizards Coach

July 14th, 2021 at 10:36am CST by Arthur Hill

The frontrunners in the Wizards‘ search for a new head coach are Nuggets assistant Wes Unseld Jr. and Bucks assistant Darvin Ham, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Bucks assistant Charles Lee is also a finalist for the job, Woj adds.

All three were reported last week as moving past the first round of interviews, along with former Mavericks assistant Jamahl Mosley, who was hired as head coach of the Magic over the weekend. Washington and New Orleans are the only teams currently without a head coach.

Unseld is the sentimental choice for Wizards fans because his father was a legend in the area as a five-time All-Star with the Bullets. The younger Unseld started his coaching career with the Wizards in 2005 and spent time with the Warriors and Magic before coming to Denver.

Ham has been as assistant under Budenholzer for the past eight years in Milwaukee and Atlanta. His coaching career began with the Lakers in 2011.

The Wizards have been looking for a coach since deciding not to extend Scott Brooks‘ contract in mid-June.

Wizards Notes: Nored, Coaching Search, Beal, Workouts

July 9th, 2021 at 8:49am CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards recently conducted a second interview with Ronald Nored for their head coaching job, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

A report last week indicated that Nored was close to leaving his position as a Hornets assistant for a role on Rick Carlisle‘s staff in Indiana. Haynes’ report today suggests Nored may still be in the running for Washington’s top job — presumably, if he isn’t hired by the Wizards, the 31-year-old will pivot to finalizing a deal with the Pacers.

Here’s more on the Wizards:

Besides Nored, the Wizards’ top head coaching candidates are believed to be Wes Unseld Jr., Charles Lee, Darvin Ham, and Jamahl Mosley (who may be hired by the Magic). Fred Katz of The Athletic takes an in-depth look at those four contenders for the job to assess what they could bring to the organization.
Before the Wizards finalize their head coaching hire, general manager Tommy Sheppard will meet with Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook to get their feedback on the finalists, writes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington.
Within the same NBC Sports Washington story, Beal says he appreciated the five years he spent playing for Scott Brooks. “When I first got the news (Brooks wouldn’t return), it was tough,” Beal said. “Scotty was great. This is my second coach I’ve played for and even when I talked to him afterwards, (I said) how grateful I was towards him. He helped change my game and evolved my game to what it is now.”
The Wizards are working out a pair of guards today, according to Hughes, who tweets that Arizona State’s Josh Christopher and Illinois’ Ayo Dosunmu are visiting the team. Christopher and Dosunmu rank 33rd and 34th, respectively, on ESPN’s big board for the 2021 draft, so it seems like a long shot that the Wizards would select either with the No. 15 pick.

Wizards Identifying Finalists In Head Coaching Search

July 5th, 2021 at 1:40pm CST by Luke Adams

Having moved through the first phase of their head coaching search, the Wizards are identifying finalists and are zeroing in on a handful of assistant coaches from around the NBA, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Jamahl Mosley (Mavericks), Darvin Ham (Bucks), Charles Lee (Bucks), and Wes Unseld Jr. (Nuggets) are among the candidates who remain in contention for Washington’s coaching job and who will meet with the team again, Wojnarowski reports. Sources tell Wojnarowski that Mosley and Unseld are also serious candidates to fill the Magic‘s coaching vacancy.

While some clubs that have sought a new head coach this offseason have made it a priority to land a candidate with previous head coaching experience, it appears the Wizards are very open to the idea of hiring a first-timer. Virtually all of the candidates linked to Washington throughout the process – including those listed above – lack head coaching experience.

As we’ve noted in previous stories, hiring Unseld would perhaps be the best story for the Wizards, since his father was a D.C. legend who played for the team and held various positions with the organization following his retirement. However, Mosley, Ham, and Lee are all also accomplished assistants who have worked for multiple NBA teams and who have received head coaching interest in the past.

In addition to the Wizards and Magic, the Pelicans also continue to search for a new head coach, as our tracker shows.

Darvin Ham Interviews For Wizards’ Coaching Vacancy

July 3rd, 2021 at 5:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Wizards have interviewed Bucks assistant Darvin Ham as they look for their next head coach, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic. Katz adds that there is “some support” within the organization for hiring Ham.

Ham was among the candidates who interviewed for the Celtics’ job last month before they chose Ime Udoka, Katz notes (via Twitter). He also interviewed last year for an opening at Texas Tech, where he went to school, and for head coaching vacancies with the Clippers, Bulls and Pacers.

The 47-year-old has been an assistant in Milwaukee since Mike Budenholzer was hired in 2018, and he spent five seasons with Budenholzer in Atlanta as well. He started his NBA coaching career with the Lakers in 2011.

Prior to that, Ham spent eight years in the league as a player and was with the Wizards during the 1997/98 season.

Other names that have been mentioned in Washington’s coaching search include Celtics assistant Scott Morrison, Mavericks assistant Jamahl Mosley, Sixers assistant Sam Cassell, Heat assistant Chris Quinn, Bulls assistant Chris Fleming, Suns assistant Willie Green and Nuggets associate head coach Wes Unseld Jr.

Keep track of all the developments on the NBA coaching front with our Head Coaching Search Tracker.

Bucks Notes: Tucker, Lopez, Antetokounmpo, Coaching Staff

June 20th, 2021 at 1:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

During his years with the Rockets, P.J. Tucker was never able to get past Kevin Durant‘s Warriors teams in the playoffs, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN. The Bucks acquired Tucker at the trade deadline to match up with elite scorers like Durant, and he finally prevailed over his long-time rival in Milwaukee’s Game 7 victory Saturday night.

The Bucks used several players on Durant during the series, but the primary job belonged to Tucker, his friend and fellow Texas alum. Durant had another incredible performance Saturday with 48 points in 53 minutes, but he air-balled a shot at the end that could have sent the game to a second overtime.

“It’s painful. I’m hurting. That was a battle every single night,” Tucker said. “To be able to finally get over the hump is pretty nice.”

There’s more on the Bucks:

Brook Lopez was determined to make up for a mental error he committed late in the fourth quarter, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Lopez lost track of the shot clock with 8.1 seconds remaining, resulting in a turnover that gave the Nets a chance to tie the game. He responded by blocking a layup attempt by Durant with a minute left in overtime. “After that (shot clock violation) happened, I just took it upon myself,” Lopez said. “I told my teammates, ‘I made a mistake, but let’s go get this.’ I’m gonna fix this, we’re gonna fix this and so it happened, but it was great to see how resilient we were.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is making his second trip to the conference finals, wants to make sure his teammates stay focused on the challenge ahead. After Saturday’s win, he wrote an 8 in the locker room, which is how many more wins the Bucks need to capture a championship, per Marc Berman of The New York Post. “It’s a great feeling,’’ Antetokounmpo said. “I try not to get too high or low. I got emotional a little bit out there. The team really tried their best. Just being able to come to New York and were 0 for 5 here and in Game 7 and everyone’s anxious and nervous and able to execute and trust each other. It was big time. I’m really happy for this team. We’re halfway through. I want everyone to cherish this moment.’’
Bucks assistants Darvin Ham and Charles Lee have been rumored for head coaching opportunities around the league, and Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer believes they’re ready, tweets Malika Andrews of ESPN. “They’re incredible coaches,” he said.

Celtics Notes: Udoka, Ham, Billups, Walker, Fournier, Williams, Smart

June 18th, 2021 at 5:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Assistant coaches Ime Udoka (Nets), Darvin Ham (Bucks) and Chauncey Billups (Clippers) are expected to get interviewed a second time by the Celtics’ brass for the head coaching job vacated by new president of basketball operations Brad Stevens, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. While that trio is viewed as serious candidates for the job, others are still under consideration.

Udoka has received endorsements from Celtics players who were members of the U.S. national team in the 2019 World Cup tournament, according to Wojnarowski. Ham has interviewed for several head-coaching jobs in the past two years, while Billups has drawn interest from the Trail Blazers, Wizards, Magic and Pelicans for their current openings.

We have more Celtics news:

By shedding Kemba Walker‘s salary in a trade with the Thunder on Friday, the Celtics believe they’ll have a better chance of re-signing free agent Evan Fournier, Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald tweets. The trade also increases the possibility of signing another free agent to the full mid-level exception, Murphy adds.
Walker’s 15% trade kicker was nullified due to his large salary, Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus tweets. Walker’s $34,379,100 salary this season, coupled with him being a nine-year veteran until August 2, exceeded the $32,742,000 maximum. He couldn’t earn anything above that, so the trade bonus was voided. If Walker had been traded once the new league year began in August, he could’ve received a portion of that bonus.
Robert Williams and Marcus Smart are two other prominent players who could be on the move, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic. Boston’s roster is overloaded with centers and Williams could be used to bring in a backcourt piece. Smart has an expiring $14.4MM contract next season and is eligible for an extension that could go as high as $17.MM in the first year. If Smart believes he could get more on the free agent market next year, the team may consider moving him now and getting assets in return.