David Blatt Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Bucks, Lue, Bulls, Pistons

June 1st, 2016 at 1:36pm CST by Luke Adams

It’s a busy Wednesday for the Bucks, who are hosting seven prospects for workouts in Milwaukee, according to the team’s website. Utah big man Jakob Poeltl is getting a close look from the team in an individual workout, while the other six prospects are participating in a group workout. Those players are Jameel McKay (Iowa State), Alex Poythress (Kentucky), Wayne Selden (Kansas), Angel Rodriguez (Miami), Andrew Andrews (Washington), and Ryan Arcidiacono (Villanova).

Here’s more from out of the Central division, including a couple more pre-draft workout updates:

In an interesting piece at Cleveland.com, Chris Haynes details a phone call that took place between Tyronn Lue and Cavaliers general manager David Griffin earlier this year, when Lue tried to convince Griffin that David Blatt shouldn’t be fired. However, the GM had already up his mind, and by the end of the call, Lue had agreed to become Cleveland’s new head coach. Now, Lue is preparing his team for the NBA Finals, while Blatt has signed a two-year contract to coach a team in Turkey.
Florida State guard Malik Beasley is scheduled to visit the Bulls on June 8th and 9th, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Chicago currently holds the 14th and 48th overall picks in this year’s draft.
Within his latest mailbag, David Mayo of MLive.com explains why he doesn’t think Ryan Anderson is a realistic target for the Pistons, and looks into Andre Drummond‘s long-term ceiling.

David Blatt To Coach Overseas

June 1st, 2016 at 12:37pm CST by Eddie Scarito

WEDNESDAY, 12:37pm: Blatt’s deal, which is now official, is for two years and doesn’t include any NBA outs, a source tells Pick (Twitter link). So we won’t be seeing the former Cavs coach back on an NBA bench until at least 2018

TUESDAY, 8:46am: Former Cavaliers coach David Blatt is heading back overseas after agreeing to a deal to become the head coach of the Turkish club Darussafaka, international journalist David Pick reports (Twitter links). The exact parameters of the deal are unknown, but Pick notes that it will be a long-term contract that will pay Blatt in the range of $1.7MM-$2MM per season.

Blatt’s tenure in Cleveland was a difficult one, with the team apparently not buying in to what the former coach was selling. He notched a solid record of 83-40 in the regular season and 14-6 in the playoffs during his season and a half in charge of the Cavs, a team possessing the highest of expectations. LeBron James returned to Cleveland from his time with the Heat just weeks after the Cavs hired Blatt, and that drastically changed the nature of the job, which became a win-or-else proposition as the team moved away from rebuilding and positioned itself to win immediately. The team’s seeming lack of chemistry under Blatt was one of the major contributing factors that led to his dismissal in January.

The 57-year-old was mentioned as a candidate for the vacant head coaching posts of the Knicks, Rocket, Kings and Lakers prior to those posts being filled, plus he was also rumored to be a target of Spanish power FC Barcelona.

And-Ones: D-League, Blatt, Dragic, NBPA

May 24th, 2016 at 2:14pm CST by Luke Adams

Oshkosh officials are mulling the possibility bringing a D-League franchise to the city, according to a report from NewsTalk 1150 WHBY. The Bucks, in search of their own D-League team, would like to have an affiliate within two hours of Milwaukee, and put out a request for proposals — Oshkosh city officials are considering whether or not to move forward with the idea and submit a proposal to the NBA.

Here’s more from around the NBA:

Former Cavaliers head coach David Blatt doesn’t intend to take the 2016/17 season off, and is currently more likely to accept a head coaching job overseas than to take an assistant job in the NBA, as he tells Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. “I don’t see myself not being a head coach somewhere but you never know,” Blatt said. “I’m going to coach next year. I’m not going to sit out. It’s not in my nature. I want to work,” he said. “I’ll be back somewhere. Could be anywhere.”
In the wake of Jeff Hornacek‘s offer from the Knicks, who are expected to formally hire him as their head coach soon, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com revisits Hornacek’s time in Phoenix and provides an interesting tidbit related to a former Suns player. According to Berger, Hornacek spoke to Goran Dragic and secured a commitment from the point guard, who said he’d re-sign with the Suns when his contract expired — days later, Phoenix traded him to the Heat.
The National Basketball Players Association has hired Jefferies, an investment banking firm, to advise the union during labor talks with the league, tweets Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg Sports. Jefferies will identify current and future revenue for the NBPA, per Soshnick.
Within his weekly Morning Tip feature, NBA.com’s David Aldridge explores the impact of the draft lottery results and takes an in-depth look at how teams approach head coaching searches.
A pair of ESPN.com articles profile two prospects projected to come off the board at the top of the draft, with David Thorpe examining Ben Simmons‘ potential, while Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton (Insider link) take a closer look at whether Dragan Bender has the potential to crack the top two picks.

Pacific Notes: Curry, Blatt, Shaw, Crawford

May 22nd, 2016 at 1:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

Two-time MVP Stephen Curry has earned a raise, but the Warriors can’t afford to renegotiate, writes Danny Leroux of The Sporting News. Curry will receive a little more than $12.1MM next season in the final year of his contract, about half of what other top stars make. Working out a new deal over the summer would prevent Curry from reaching free agency, but it would also upend the team’s salary structure, Leroux warns.

Curry is eligible for a new contract because he will be entering the fifth year of his current deal. However, any raise he receives — and it would surely be a maximum contract starting in the neighborhood of $25.9MM — would drain Golden State’s cap space. The Warriors plan to operate under the cap this summer, and a new contract for Curry could cost the team Harrison Barnes or Shaun Livingston and Festus Ezeli. Also, the NBA limits renegotiated extensions to four seasons, which would include 2016/17. If Curry waits until free agency next summer, he can receive a five-year contract that would run through 2021/22, and he could receive even more money if max deals are increased as part of a 2017 labor renegotiation.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

David Blatt is not on Warriors coach Steve Kerr’s short list to become his top assistant, tweets Monte Poole of CSNBayArea. Kerr was interested in Blatt for the position two years ago.
Brian Shaw is nearing a return to the Lakers as lead assistant, but the rest of Luke Walton’s staff is uncertain, writes Bill Oram of The Orange County Register. Shaw, who was an assistant in L.A. under Phil Jackson from 2005-11, was also rumored to be a candidate for assistant posts with the Pacers and Magic, Oram reports. He adds that no one knows if any members of former head coach Byron Scott’s staff will be retained, as Walton may seek coaches with ties to the Lakers or he may try to lure other assistants from Golden State, where Walton had been serving as lead assistant.
Shaw’s hiring is imminent, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News, who says the two sides are finalizing the contract.
It wouldn’t take a playoff team to pry free agent combo guard Jamal Crawford away from the Clippers, tweets Noah Coslov of CineSport. “Definitely money, situation, could be a team on the rise,” Crawford said in listing his priorities in an interview on Bleacher Report Radio. “Doesn’t have to be contender.”

Central Notes: Blatt, Rose, Butler, McMillan

May 22nd, 2016 at 11:51am CST by Arthur Hill

Former Cavaliers coach David Blatt plans to be on someone’s bench next season, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. After taking Cleveland to the NBA Finals last season, Blatt was fired in January with a 30-11 record. It’s a rare break for the 57-year-old, who has held coaching jobs around the world since 1993. “I’m going to coach next year,” Blatt said. “I’m not going to sit out. It’s not in my nature. I want to work. I’ll be back somewhere. Could be anywhere.” He added that he prefers a head coaching position overseas to working as an assistant in the NBA.

There’s more news from the Central Division:

It’s time for the Bulls to break up the Derrick Rose–Jimmy Butler backcourt, argues K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Johnson says their relationship has become “untenable” because both players consider themselves to be the team leader, both need the ball in their hands to be most effective and neither has the 3-point shooting skills to complement the other. Johnson believes Rose’s injury history would make him difficult to deal, even though he only has one season left on his contract at $21.3MM. Butler would probably bring a greater return, but it would signify a rebuilding process that Chicago may not be ready for. If they’re both back next season, Johnson suggests drafting a shooting guard, possibly Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine, and moving Butler to small forward.
New Pacers coach Nate McMillan has to change his style to succeed in the modern NBA, former All-Star Gary Payton tells Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star. Payton, who played for McMillan in Seattle, says the coach will need to drop his disciplinarian image. “[McMillan] can’t be that militant coach,” Payton said. “You see what happened with George Karl up in Sacramento. When you’ve got players and it happens like that, you’re going to be the odd man out. I don’t think ownership these days are taking the side of a coach unless you’re a [Gregg] Popovich or something like that, over these $15MM-$20MM players.”
The Bucks are weighing their options with the 36th and 38th picks in next month’s draft, writes Charles F. Gardner of The Journal-Sentinel. Milwaukee concentrated on forwards on its first workout this week, which included Weber State’s Joel Bolomboy and Louisiana-Lafayette’s Shawn Long. Trading the picks to move into the first round is also an option. “Could we ever bundle those picks and move up?” said GM John Hammond. “Once again, not easy to do. Do we stay with both picks? Do we look at making one of those picks for a current roster spot and maybe another one with potentially an international player that could stay and continue to develop? We’ll see as it moves forward.”

Central Notes: McMillan, Pistons, Draft

May 20th, 2016 at 9:37pm CST by Eddie Scarito

It remains to be seen how well new Pacers coach Nate McMillan has evolved since his stint with the Blazers, given how much the league has changed since then, Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star writes. “The interesting thing is that Nate went to Portland and had a pretty decent run of success there but played a very methodical, slowed-down, precise type of offense,” said former player Brent Barry, who was coached by McMillan for four seasons, “and I think that’s why a lot of people are interested in how it is after Larry’s comments with regards to coach Vogel, wanting to be a more up-tempo offensive, quick-strike team, how it is that Nate has changed and evolved during his time on the bench in Indiana.”

McMillan acknowledged that the game has changed on offense, telling reporters, “In 2005, nobody was talking about spread lineups. There’s no way, back in the day, I’d allow my center to be out here working on 3s. [Now] every team in the league’s center works on 3s. It’s just a different game.”

Here’s more from the Central Division:

The Pacers will hold their third predraft workout on Monday and participating will be Anthony Barber (North Carolina State), Ben Bentil (Providence), Kay Felder (Oakland), Armani Moore (Tennessee), Rasheed Sulaimon (Maryland), and Caleb Swanigan (Purdue), the team announced.
The Pistons‘ roster is relatively set for the 2016/17 season, which means that the team could look to get creative with its second round pick this June, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. Detroit’s options with the No. 49 overall pick include drafting an international player who’ll spend at least one more season in development overseas or trading it for a future second-round pick containing reasonable protections, Langlois adds. The Pistons are without second-rounders in 2017, 2019 and 2020, the scribe notes.
Former Cavaliers coach David Blatt reached out to Tyronn Lue, the man who replaced him in Cleveland, to offer his support and praise for the team’s postseason play, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group relays. “He’s just a good person,” Lue told Haynes. “Always encouraging, always supportive. He just said how proud he was of me and what we’re doing, and that means a lot coming from him. His friendship is something I truly appreciate and value.“
The Bucks, who hold the No. 10 overall pick in this year’s draft, are likely to hold onto the pick rather than trade it, Jim Paschke of NBA.com relays (video link). According to GM John Hammond, due to the difficulty involved in moving up in the draft, any deal involving Milwaukee’s pick would likely be to trade down.

Latest On Jeff Hornacek, Knicks

May 20th, 2016 at 9:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Knicks president Phil Jackson was “blown away” by Jeff Hornacek in Monday’s job interview, but only after Jackson couldn’t sell anyone on keeping interim coach Kurt Rambis, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Berman reports Jackson made the final decision to hire Hornacek, who is still finalizing contract details with the team.

In selecting Hornacek, Jackson ignored cries from the media and fans to pick up former Indiana coach Frank Vogel, who was hired Thursday by Orlando, or ex-Cleveland coach David Blatt, who was the preferred choice of GM Steve Mills. Hornacek reportedly got a strong recommendation from Golden State coach Steve Kerr, who is close with Jackson.

Berman says Jackson was influenced by criticism of Rambis from inside and outside the organization. Mills wasn’t sold on Rambis, nor were Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, with Anthony expressing his views through the media. Other players also voiced reservations in their exit interviews about keeping Rambis. Owner James Dolan wasn’t on board either, though he was letting Jackson make the final choice, and Jackson reportedly had his own questions about Rambis’ leadership skills.

Anthony supports the hiring of Hornacek and likes the move away from the triangle, Berman writes in a separate piece. Anthony believes Porzingis will have a larger role in the new offense and thinks that will benefit the Knicks in the long run. He would have also been happy with Blatt, according to Berman.

Berman speculates that Rambis could be retained as an assistant coach with Hornacek, who was his former teammate in Phoenix, or he could join Jackson in the front office.

Jackson has liked Hornacek since his playing days, but didn’t contact his representatives until two weeks after the search began. Jackson’s first choice, according to Berman, was new Lakers coach Luke Walton, whom he talked with two days after launching the search.

In bypassing Rambis, Berman believes Jackson may have paved the way for an easier exit from the Knicks. Jackson has an opt-out clause to leave the organization after next season, and many believe he will head back to the Lakers to reunite with fiancee Jeanie Buss. Berman writes that Jackson might have felt an obligation to stay in New York and oversee Rambis if he had been the choice, but that pressure is now gone.

And-Ones: Dunn, Sanders, Calipari, Blatt

May 18th, 2016 at 5:23pm CST by Arthur Hill

Representatives for Providence’s Kris Dunn don’t want him to go to a team with a young point guard already in place and may refuse to release his medical records to the Celtics and Suns, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Speaking on a draft lottery special, Wojnarowski said Dunn’s agents did not submit him for a physical at last week’s draft combine, which would have made his records accessible to everyone. Dunn has undergone two surgical procedures on his right shoulder, and teams may be reluctant to draft him if they are unsure of his current physical status. Dunn has been projected as a possible No. 3 pick, but his camp apparently doesn’t want him to compete for playing time with Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Smart in Boston or Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight in Phoenix. The Celtics own the third selection in next month’s draft, while the Suns pick fourth.

There’s more news from around the basketball world:

Rutgers freshman point guard Corey Sanders will withdraw from the draft and return to school, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. There’s little chance that Sanders would have been drafted, as Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has him ranked 73rd among NCAA freshmen and ESPN’s Chad Ford doesn’t have him listed among his top 100 prospects.
Kentucky coach John Calipari, whose name has been floated for several NBA openings, plans to stay with the Wildcats for the rest of his career, he said in a message on his website. Calipari was considered a candidate for the Nets job after they fired Lionel Hollins in January, and the Kings reportedly spoke to him about taking over for George Karl last summer.
Spanish power FC Barcelona is interested in former Cavaliers coach David Blatt, according to El Mundo Deportivo (hat tip to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Blatt recently talked with the Rockets, Kings, Knicks and Lakers about their coaching jobs.
Twenty-four teams will compete in the Las Vegas Summer League July 8th-18th, the NBA announced today in a press release. The Spurs, coached by Becky Hammon, are the defending champions.

Eastern Notes: Heat, Vogel, Brooks, Olynyk

May 15th, 2016 at 8:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

Several Heat players had their minds on the future after today’s Game 7 loss at Toronto. The overall feeling is that most players want to return next season and they hope free agent center Hassan Whiteside is with them, tweets Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post. One exception could be Amar’e Stoudemire, who was unhappy with his playing time after signing a one-year deal with Miami as a free agent last summer (Twitter link). However, Stoudemire also felt the Heat had “great chemistry” and said, “I enjoyed the guys and I had the best time of my life with my teammates this season.” (Twitter link). Veteran Udonis Haslem, who has been with Miami for his entire 13-year career, understands he may have to find a new team to stay in the league next season. “There’s a business side to everything, so you never know,” Haslem said (Twitter link). Joe Johnson, who will be a free agent after joining the Heat in late February, said it’s too early to think about his next move (Twitter link). Chris Bosh, Goran Dragic, Justise Winslow and Josh McRoberts are the only Miami players with guaranteed deals for next season.

There’s more from the Eastern Conference:

The Knicks are hoping to hire a coach in the next week or so, writes Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal. Frank Vogel, who met with team president Phil Jackson and GM Steve Mills Wednesday in Los Angeles, is apparently a finalist for the job, along with David Blatt and interim coach Kurt Rambis. Vogel reportedly spent much of his interview making the case that the understands the triangle and would incorporate it into his offense.
The Bucks will interview Utah executive Justin Zanik and former Charlotte GM Rod Higgins for an open front office position, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Milwaukee is looking for someone to work with GM John Hammond (Twitter link).
New Wizards coach Scott Brooks traveled to Orlando this week for a meeting with Marcin Gortat, according to Keely Diven of CSNMidAtlantic. Brooks is hoping to establish a better relationship with his starting center than former coach Randy Wittman, who feuded publicly with Gortat.
Kelly Olynyk will have to undergo surgery soon on his injured right shoulder in order to be ready for the start of next season, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE. Olynyk has been hoping he can help the Canadian national team qualify for the Summer Olympics, but with a five-month projected recovery time, he is already likely to miss at least some of the Celtics‘ training camp.

And-Ones: Grizzlies, Dudley, ‘Melo, Blatt

May 12th, 2016 at 10:42am CST by Chuck Myron

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace stressed the need for the team’s next coach to focus on player development and communicate with the front office and said the team is prepared to pay whatever’s necessary to make the right hire as he spoke Wednesday in an interview with Peter Edmiston on WHBQ-AM (See all six Twitter links here). The extension and pay raise that the Jazz gave Quin Snyder on Friday helped fuel former Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger‘s frustration with the Memphis front office, which was in no rush to give him a similar deal, a source acknowledged to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. Wallace, in the interview with Edmiston, also downplayed the significance of a dinner he had with former coach Lionel Hollins, which led to speculation that the Grizzlies are interested in rehiring him.

“Why can’t you have a bite to eat and catch up with an old friend?” Wallace said. “Why can’t you [do] that in today’s world?”

See more from Memphis and the rest of the NBA:

Wallace also pointed to the autonomy of the Grizzlies front office when it comes to shaping the roster. “We make the final decision on the personnel brought into the organization,” Wallace said to Edmiston. “The buck stops with me on that.”
Soon-to-be free agent Jared Dudley expressed interest in joining the Timberwolves, said he’d take a fan’s proposal of a three-year, $25MM deal from the Bucks and added that he’s enjoy playing for Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry again as the Wizards forward conducted a Q&A Wednesday on Twitter (All five Twitter links here). Dudley also addressed the Raptors, saying Toronto is a great city and that players love playing there but lamenting the high taxes, and he said he thinks Frank Vogel is the best available head coach.
It’s a “gross exaggeration” to say Carmelo Anthony likes the idea of the Knicks hiring David Blatt, league sources told Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com, refuting an earlier report. It’s unclear whether Anthony would support or oppose a Blatt hiring, as he hasn’t expressed any opinion thus far, Begley hears.