David Blatt Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Thompson, Iverson, Knicks

November 1st, 2014 at 8:17pm CST by Arthur Hill

Uncertainty over the future of the salary cap prevented Tristan Thompson from signing an extension with the Cavaliers, writes Terry Pluto of The Plain-Dealer. With a new TV contract taking effect during the summer of 2016, there are estimates that the cap could soar by 25%, dissuading players and teams from committing to long-term deals. Pluto notes that Thompson, represented by Rich Paul, who is also the agent for LeBron James, should have extra value because of the scarcity of quality big men. There’s more on the Cavs amid our look around the Eastern Conference:

Cavaliers coach David Blatt may be new to the NBA, but that didn’t stop him from tearing into his team following its opening-night loss to the Knicks, as Zach Harper of CBSSports,com details. “He got on us from the time we started our meeting to the time we left,” said Cavs star LeBron James. “And it’s great. For a team like us, we need that.” James said the first-year coach definitely got the players’ attention with his tirade.
The Celtics have to be encouraged by the play of former second-round pick Colton Iverson in the Euroleague, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of Celtics Insider. The 7-footer had 17 points and six rebounds and hit the game-winning basket for Kutxa Vitoria in a recent victory over Galatasaray Liv Hospital. “That’s my style of play,” Iverson said during his stint with the Celtics’ summer league team. “I’m always gonna be someone who is a pest to play against. I take pride in the way I play physical, and [being] a menace.” The Celtics acquired Iverson’s draft rights on draft night in 2013.
Ian O’Connor of ESPNNewYork.com blames a lack of talent, not the Knicks‘ new triangle offense, for the opening night blowout loss to the Bulls. O’Connor writes that even though the Knicks will be clearing a massive amount of cap room this summer, players such as LaMarcus Aldridge and Marc Gasol are unlikely to leave their current teams. O’Connor speculates that the Knicks could chase Rajon Rondo next summer, or endure another losing season and go after Kevin Durant in 2016.

Cavs Owner On LeBron, Blatt, Luxury Tax

October 29th, 2014 at 2:50pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavs still hope to reach an extension with Tristan Thompson before Friday’s deadline, owner Dan Gilbert told reporters today, including Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group, confirming a detail from the latest dispatch on the former No. 4 overall pick. Gilbert also touted GM David Griffin for the Executive of the Year award, talked up the importance of the extension Kyrie Irving signed as soon as he could earlier this summer, and had much more to say about his team, which went from the lottery to a title favorite in mere months. Haynes has the entire transcript of Gilbert’s press conference, so it’s certainly worth checking out, and we’ll pass along Gilbert’s most noteworthy comments here:

On how he perceived his chances of swaying LeBron James to return this summer:

“Of course you never know these things until you’re in front of somebody. But I felt good about it. People have things that happen between them. I certainly don’t keep grudges. He’s not that kind of person, and I don’t think most people are generally, there is a few that are like that, but most people aren’t. There is just too much to do, too much opportunity together that we could work on together, leverage together. So from the second that I went down to Miami I felt like things were going to go on the right path, though we didn’t know until we got the phone call, but it felt pretty good from the second I saw him.”

On hiring David Blatt, after having cited Blatt’s intelligence and coaching track record:

“One of the other major factors was we talked to virtually every single NBA player who was either in the NBA now or was at one point and played for him overseas. And to a man, they raved about him. And that’s really a rare thing when you’re interviewing anybody in business or sports. That every single person you talk to raves about him and says the exact same thing. So that sort of put us over the top.”

On whether he’d shy away from paying the luxury tax:

“That message is unchanged, clearly the cap will be going up in the next couple of years based on the revenues of the league as well, but that message is still there. I think that when you have so much invested, if you want to look at this financially and take away the other stuff, I almost think it’s kind of silly when you invest so much into a franchise and have such high costs already, and then at the margin, I know it’s a lot of raw dollars when you look at it by itself, but relative to everything that’s invested, I was a little bit surprised when our franchise was going to stop right there. To me, it’s like getting to the two‑yard line, and okay, we’re done now. I think it’s not even smart business or maybe not even smart financially, because there is obviously risk involved. But when you’re willing to do that, theoretically, your revenues can offset part of that as well and increase in revenues. Definitely, when the decisions are ours and they’re regarding financial, that should not stop us or be any significant barrier to delivering championship‑caliber basketball here.”

Eastern Notes: Sixers, Knicks, Blatt

October 12th, 2014 at 12:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

While some may chide the Sixers for their rebuilding through the draft lottery strategy, the team could most certainly get the last laugh, writes Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. In comparing the Sixers and the Celtics, Bulpett favors the Sixers situation because they have more actual NBA prospects on the roster, rather than having to gamble solely on future first-round picks working out favorably.

Here’s more from the east:

The Knicks were one of the teams that attended Kentucky’s weekend scouting combine, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com reports (Twitter link). New York possesses a first-rounder in next year’s NBA Draft, a rare occurrence for the franchise in recent years, and the Wildcats are expected to field a number of lottery prospects this season.
New Cavs head coach David Blatt is transitioning from Europe to the NBA, and Jordan Brenner of ESPN.com chronicles his journey. Brenner traces Blatt’s steps back the the U.S., and opines that establishing a rapport with the game’s best and most powerful player, LeBron James, will be his most crucial task.
New Knicks point guard Jose Calderon is destined to become a fan favorite, mainly because Calderon is replacing the departed Raymond Felton, Frank Isola of The New York Daily News writes. “Well, I want to be better,” Calderon said of replacing Felton. “I don’t know if it’s going to be because of me. I’m going to try to do my best for this team to do the best we can do, go as far as we can go. It’s not only one thing. I think we are a team, too many things to say only one position, one weakness. Last year, I don’t know how many wins they had — 30-something — don’t think it’s only one guy.”

Chris Crouse contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: Anthony, Pacers, Blatt

October 1st, 2014 at 9:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite his attempts at recruiting Carmelo Anthony to join the Bulls in free agency this summer falling short, Joakim Noah isn’t upset about the outcome, Michael Lee of The Washington Post writes. “I wasn’t disappointed at all,” Noah said. “I try to recruit everybody, not just Carmelo. Carmelo is a helluva player. If anybody is a free agent, usually I’m the one making the call. He made a decision that’s best for him and his family. I moved on right away. I love our team right now. If you look at all the talent we have, it’s going to be really interesting.”

Here’s what else is happening in the east:

This might be the last season that the Pacers core remains intact, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com writes. With both David West and Roy Hibbert having player options at the end of this season, and what is shaping up to be a difficult year with the losses of Paul George and Lance Stephenson, it’s very likely that Indiana will look markedly different in 2015/16, opines Windhorst.
David Blatt‘s versatility as a coach helped him win over GM David Griffin, and Blatt showed acumen in deal-making, too, as he and assistant coach Tyronn Lue played critical roles in convincing Kyrie Irving to sign his extension with the Cavs this summer, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com details.
Former Knicks great Willis Reed believes that Phil Jackson is the right man to turn around the organization, and that New York will return to the playoffs this season under new coach Derek Fisher, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv writes. Reed also weighed in on Carmelo Anthony‘s free agency, saying, “I always thought that at the end of the day that Carmelo would come back to New York because of the years. I think he likes New York, I think the fans like him….I never thought he would actually leave. I really would have been upset, I really would have been surprised.”

Central Rumors: Turiaf, Blatt, Bucks, Augustin

September 22nd, 2014 at 10:52pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Cavs are still looking to add a big man to their roster, as we passed along earlier tonight. Ronny Turiaf might be an appealing trade target for Cleveland, observes Jerry Zgoda of the Star-Tribune (on Twitter). The center is a favorite of new Cavs power forward Kevin Love, according to Zgoda. We’ll round up more on Cleveland and the Central below:

David Blatt‘s first season coaching the Cavs will be less stressful with talent like Love and LeBron James on the roster, as Blatt tells Chris Fedor of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. “Things get a lot easier when LeBron James and Kevin Love come walking into your door,” Blatt said. “It makes my job easier, maybe my responsibility greater but the job easier in terms of having to teach (James) what to do and not to do.”
There’s optimism within Milwaukee that the city has the political pieces in place to satisfy the Bucks‘ quest for a new arena, as David Aldridge of NBA.com passes along in his Morning Tip column. Acquiring a top flight talent like Eric Bledsoe would only aid the Bucks in their mission, opines Aldridge,
NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum was in Milwaukee last week to meet with the Mayor and the Bucks’ new owners, according to Aldridge, who adds that the group spent time identifying potential locations in the city for a new arena.
Pistons president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy was pleasantly surprised that his club was able to afford D.J. Augustin this summer, reports Keith Langlois of NBA.com. Detroit inked the guard to a two-year, $6MM contract in July.

Eastern Notes: Monroe, Celtics, Saric

September 7th, 2014 at 12:33pm CST by Eddie Scarito

There are two remote possibilities for the Pistons to keep Greg Monroe past this season, Perry A. Farrell of the Detroit Free Press writes. The first way would be for Detroit to offer Monroe a max contract, something they have been unwilling to do thus far, Farrell notes. The second would be for coach Stan Van Gundy to convince Monroe that his future would be best served by staying with the Pistons, something that can only happen if Detroit starts winning, opines Farrell.

Here’s more from the east:

Sixers coach Brett Brown was in Spain to check out Dario Saric, the No. 12 overall draft pick that Philadelphia acquired from the Magic in a draft night trade, Rigas Dardalis of Eurohoops.net reports. Saric won’t play in the NBA this season, but when asked what he thought of Saric’s potential, Brown said, “I think he can play [in the NBA] now! I think that in Philadelphia we are about development and about opportunity. He would look around and see a lot of fellow young players that just want a chance to play. Our whole emphasis in Philadelphia is about development and help our players. We are trying to be as good as we can be in sport science and growing up players physically and from a skill perceptive. He is an other one of our young lottery picks that we hope to grow the program with”.
Celtics team president Rich Gotham is excited for the potential of Boston’s two first-rounders, Marcus Smart and James Young, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes. “I’ve been loving Marcus Smart’s play, because he’s just tough. He goes out there and he competes. I saw James Young for the first time the other day, and I saw him stroke a couple of lefty 3-pointers from a couple feet beyond the arc and I was like, Hmmm, we could use that.”
One single play may have led to David Blatt becoming the first European coach to make the jump to being an NBA head coach with the Cavs, and Ettore Messina becoming an assistant with the Spurs, Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News writes.
The crew over at Basketball Insiders ran down their predictions for the Sixers 2014/15 season, and the consensus was that Philadelphia would finish fifth in the Atlantic Division and miss the playoffs yet again.

Central Notes: George, Blatt, Cavs

August 15th, 2014 at 7:46pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite suffering a gruesome leg injury playing for Team USA this summer, Paul George still hopes to play for the team in the 2016 Olympics, writes Michael Pointer of the Indianapolis Star. USA Basketball national team director Jerry Colangelo weighed in, saying, “The reality is that people that have played the game, coached the game and been in the game know that it’s part of the game. Injuries can happen at any place at any time. We appreciate the attitude Paul has about it and the comments that (Pacers president) Larry Bird made after the incident were great in terms of support.“

Here’s more from the Central Division:

If any rookie coach is equipped to mold a roster of players together to compete for a championship in his first season, it’s Cavaliers coach David Blatt, writes Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report. Blatt’s former player Jordan Farmar, who played several months under Blatt for Maccabi Tel Aviv during the 2011 lockout, said, “He’s [Blatt’s] unbelievable. He plays you to your strengths. He’s really open to communication. He’ll be awesome there.“
Also from Bucher’s article, Josh Childress, who played for Blatt in a Greek League All-Star game, said, “Very nice guy and great to play for. He’s extra good at making in-game changes. I only really know him from that All-Star Game, but I’ve heard he’ll do whatever it takes to succeed but is not a my-way-or-the-highway coach.”
Both players did acknowledge that Blatt had some adjustments to make, him having never coached a player of LeBron James‘ caliber. Childress added, “If anyone is a star overseas, it’s the coach. I’d liken it to college. The coaches are more respected, their voices carry a little further. No one is really bigger than the team. Euro coaches, in general, though, have much more authority and control than NBA coaches do. It’s, ‘This is my show. If this American doesn’t work out, I’ll get another one.’ [Blatt] has coached in enough different countries that he’s experienced his fair share of different situations, but he’s never not been totally in control of his team.“

And-Ones: Bogdanovic, Blatt, Anthony

July 5th, 2014 at 8:56am CST by Eddie Scarito

Serbian shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, the 27th overall pick of the Suns, is finalizing four-year deal with Fenerbahce, reports David Pick of Eurobasket. The deal contains an NBA escape clause after the second year, according to Pick.

Here’s more from around the league:

Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer looks at the road that led to David Blatt becoming the latest Cavaliers head coach, and the challenges ahead of him with the franchise.
The Knicks consider the Bulls the only real threat to lure Carmelo Anthony away from New York, writes Sam Amick of USA Today.
According to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), the free agents the Heat have been linked to so far are Isaiah Thomas, Pau Gasol, Anthony Morrow, Marvin Williams, Kris Humphries, Vince Carter, Shawn Marion, and Caron Butler.
Jay Yeomans of the Deseret News looks at why the Steve Novak trade makes sense for the Jazz.
Sam Amick of USA Today (video link) examines the ripple effect across the league that the signings of Anthony and LeBron James will have.
Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders takes a look at what the fall back is for each of the teams that are trying to woo Anthony.

Eastern Notes: Pistons, Celtics, Blatt, Sixers

June 22nd, 2014 at 8:11am CST by Eddie Scarito

According to Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News, the Pistons need to find a small forward in the draft who would allow coach Stan Van Gundy to move Josh Smith into a role as the sixth man. This would maximize Smith’s potential by making him the best player on the floor when both teams play their second units, opines Goodwill.

Cavs Hire David Blatt As Coach

June 21st, 2014 at 9:48am CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavs have named David Blatt head coach, the team announced. The 55-year-old Massachusetts native makes an unprecented jump from Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv straight into an NBA head coaching position despite a lack of NBA experience as a player, coach or executive.

Cleveland and the Mike Tannenbaum client were deep into discussions on a deal Thursday night and had resumed talks Friday morning following reports that the Cavs had offered him the job. It’s a four-year contract worth $3.33MM in base salary each season, with incentive clauses that would bump the annual salaries as high as $5MM. The fourth year is a team option.

Blatt beats out Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue, who briefly was the lone competition in a two-man race Thursday. Fellow Clippers assistant Alvin Gentry, whom like Lue received a second interview with the team, instead accepted a position Thursday night as an assistant for the Warriors. Blatt was on Cleveland’s radar from the start of its search, but he emerged as a strong candidate late in the process, and his announcement last week that he was leaving Maccabi Tel Aviv to pursue an NBA job appeared to accelerate the process. He said at that time that he’d spoken with GM David Griffin by phone, and this week he had a formal interview with the club.

Blatt has drawn raves for his work overseas, and as the head man for the Russian national team, he worked with Sergey Karasev, whom the Cavs picked 19th in last year’s draft. Still, multiple reports indicate that the hiring all but removes Cleveland from the race to land LeBron James this summer. Still, the Cavs aren’t concerned with adding either a coach or players to bend to the four-time MVP’s wishes, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio.

The Warriors were pushing Blatt to become an assistant coach for them, and people close to him were apparently advising him to pursue the Golden State job rather than become the first European coach to take an NBA head coaching position. The Timberwolves and Hawks were also reportedly eyeing him for assistant coaching positions, and in Minnesota’s case, he appeared to be Flip Saunders‘ top choice to become a coach-in-waiting of sorts who’d eventually take over as head coach for Saunders.

The Cavs reportedly also interviewed Mark Price, Alvin Gentry, Adrian Griffin, Tyronn Lue, Vinny Del Negro and Lionel Hollins for their head coaching job. Nate McMillan and Mark Jackson also drew mention as candidates. The Cavs also appeared to make a strong run at hiring marquee college coaches John Calipari, Kevin Ollie, Billy Donovan and Tom Izzo.

Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images. Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer first reported that the sides had reached an agreement, along with additional detail. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported that it was a four year deal, later following with the annual numbers (Twitter links). Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com noted that the final year is a team option (on Twitter) and Sam Amick of USA Today confirmed the full value of the contract, including incentives (Twitter link). Sam Amico noted that the Cavs aren’t trying to impress LeBron James with the hiring or with the addition of any certain players this summer.