David Fizdale Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Rumors: Thomas, Budenholzer, Cook, Kings

April 24th, 2018 at 5:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Isaiah Thomas‘ hip issue has severely damaged his value on the open market, some front office executives told Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. Fears that his hip is either pre-arthritic or already arthritic will likely force the Lakers point guard to accept a one-year “prove it” deal or a two-year deal with a team option, Deveney continues. That’s a dramatic fall for a player who was expected to be a max contract candidate just a year ago, Deveney notes. One GM that Deveney talked to predicted that Thomas would have to accept a “low-risk deal.”

In other news around the Pacific Division:

It’s unclear why Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer told the Suns he was no longer interested in their head coaching job, Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic writes. He was either underwhelmed by what he heard from the Suns’ brass, didn’t get a sufficient financial offer or found a better opportunity somewhere else, Bordow adds. Ex-Grizzlies coach David Fizdale appears to be the favorite for the job but he’s also being pursued by the Knicks, Hornets and perhaps the Bucks, Bordow continues. Jazz assistant Igor Kokoskov also appears to be a prime candidate but if the Trail Blazers fire Terry Stotts, he would likely become the frontrunner, Bordow adds.
Quinn Cook‘s long odyssey from being undrafted in 2015 to rotation player with the Warriors in this year’s playoffs is chronicled by Sports Illustrated’s Jack Fischer. This season alone was a whirlwind, as Fischer explains, with Cook getting waived by the Hawks before training camp, then signing a two-way contract with Golden State. When Stephen Curry was sidelined by a left knee injury, the Warriors signed Cook to a standard contract. He’s averaging 6.8 PPG in 19.8 MPG against the Spurs in the opening round.
The Kings have $5.4MM in cap room to use by the end of June, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. They increased it by $2MM through the set-off in the waived contracts of Anthony Tolliver and Arron Afflalo, Marks adds. The new cap year begins in July.

Hornets To Interview Fizdale, Messina

April 21st, 2018 at 3:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

David Fizdale and Ettore Messina will both have interviews with Charlotte in the next few days, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Fizdale has been a popular name since the season ended, interviewing for the opening in Phoenix with another interview upcoming for the job in New York. A longtime assistant in Miami, he led the Grizzlies to the playoffs last year before being fired 19 games into this season.

Messina, considered among the world’s top international coaches, has been an assistant in San Antonio for the past four seasons and is filling in for Gregg Popovich in the playoffs after his wife’s death. The Spurs granted permission last weekend for Messina to interview with the Hornets.

Stay up to date with all the latest developments on the coaching front with our Coaching Search Tracker.

Knicks Notes: Coaching Search, O’Quinn, Noah

April 18th, 2018 at 10:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks aren’t afraid to take their time as they look for their next coach, according to Frank Isola of The New York Daily News. Today was Mark Jackson‘s turn to interview with team president Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry in Los Angeles, one day after Jerry Stackhouse. News broke tonight that TNT analyst Kenny Smith will be interviewed Friday. Sessions are also scheduled for David Fizdale, Mike Woodson and David Blatt, and Isola states that more candidates could emerge.

Fizdale had an interview today with the Suns and seems to have emerged as the most popular coach on the market. He has a connection with James Jones, a former Heat player who now works in the Phoenix front office and is reportedly a strong advocate for Fizdale. The Knicks are attracted to Fizdale because he has experience with a winning organization in Miami and he has a strong connection to LeBron James, whom the Knicks haven’t given up hope of someday acquiring, Isola adds.

There’s more tonight from New York:

Jackson’s aversion to analytics may doom his chances with the Knicks, writes Gary Peterson of The San Jose Mercury News. Jackson had a reputation as an old-school coach with the Warriors and was often dismissive of modern techniques. “The [Golden State] analytics staff encountered more resistance than they anticipated,” said Erik Malinowski, author of a book on the building of the Warriors.
Backup center Kyle O’Quinn isn’t ready to make a decision on his player option, relays Jordan Lauterbach of Newsday. O’Quinn, who recently changed agents, will earn $4.26MM if he decides to opt in for next season. “I came into the season, I don’t want to say without a role, but knowing that anything can happen,” he said. “Whether it be trade talks or things like that, I think I handled it well by putting myself in a solid position where I could display what I could do.”
The Knicks should resist the temptation to stretch Joakim Noah‘s contract over the next five seasons, advises Bobby Marks of ESPN. Marks points to Deron Williams in Brooklyn and Josh Smith in Detroit as instances where teams have regretted compromising their long-term flexibility. Marks also recommends delaying an extension for Kristaps Porzingis to create more cap room for next summer.

Kenny Smith To Interview With Knicks

April 18th, 2018 at 8:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kenny Smith is the latest addition to the Knicks’ coaching search, according to an ESPN report. The TNT analyst, who has no NBA coaching experience, will reportedly interview with the team Friday. Smith played in the league for 10 seasons and joined Turner Sports in 1998.

The Knicks have already held interviews with Mark Jackson and Jerry Stackhouse and plan to bring in David Fizdale later this week. That will be followed next week by a session with David Blatt.

They have also received permission from the Clippers to talk to assistant coach Mike Woodson, but he’s not in the top tier of candidates, according to ESPN.

David Fizdale Plans To Interview With Knicks, Suns

April 17th, 2018 at 10:52pm CST by marksuleymanov

APRIL 17, 10:52pm: Marc Stein of The New York Times tweets that Fizdale will interview with the Suns tomorrow.

APRIL 14th, 1:00pm: Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic has confirmed that Phoenix plans to interview Fizdale sometime this week.

APRIL 14th, 10:14am: Former Grizzlies head coach David Fizdale plans to interview with the Knicks and Suns next week, tweets Mark Medina of the Mercury News.

Fizdale coached the Grizzlies to a 43-39 record during the 2016/17 season but the team was eliminated in the first round of the postseason. He was relieved of his duties after just 19 games this season as Memphis struggled to win and Fizdale’s relationship with Marc Gasol reportedly deteriorated.

However, Fizdale has been a popular name for many teams with head coaching vacancies. As we relayed this week, Heat guard Dwyane Wade — who played in Miami when Fizdale was an assistant coach — advocated for him as a potential target for the Knicks.

The Suns were granted permission to interview Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer, and are also set to meet with interim head coach Jay Triano and Fizdale.

Before his tenure with the Grizzlies, Fizdale served as an assistant coach with the Heat, winning two NBA championships in 2012 and 2013.

Knicks To Interview Mark Jackson Wednesday

April 16th, 2018 at 9:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mark Jackson will interview for the Knicks head coaching job on Wednesday, Chris Haynes of ESPN tweets.

The former Knicks point guard and Warriors head coach has already been named a candidate for the job and this confirms the Knicks’ interest. New York’s brass interviewed Jerry Stackhouse on Tuesday. Stackhouse has been coaching the Raptors’ G League team, Raptors 905, after a long playing career.

Ex-Grizzlies coach David Fizdale, former Cavs coach David Blatt and ex-Knicks coach Mike Woodson are among the other known candidates for the position.

Jackson, an analyst on ABC’s top NBA broadcasting team, compiled a 121-109 record with the Warriors from 2011-14 and took them to the playoffs in two of his three seasons.

Latest On The Knicks’ Coaching Search

April 16th, 2018 at 4:19pm CST by ChrisCrouse

APRIL 16th, 4:19pm: Stackhouse is interviewing with the Knicks this afternoon, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News tweets.

APRIL 15th, 2:13pm: New York is planning to meet with David Fizdale, Mark Jackson, and Jerry Stackhouse for the organization’s head coaching gig, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com. All three are expected to be in high demand this hiring season.

Mike Woodson is also on the Knicks’ radar, as they have received permission from the Clippers to talk to their former head coach. However, Woodson is not considered to be in the “top tier” of the organization’s initial candidates.

The Knicks have also set up a meeting with David Blatt, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter link). Blatt, who is considered one of the most successful coaches in European basketball history, took the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals during his only full season with the club.

The team fired coach Jeff Hornacek last week after just two seasons with the franchise. He finished his stint with a record of 60-104.

Knicks Not Showing Interest In Jeff Van Gundy

April 16th, 2018 at 3:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Despite contact between the Knicks and Jeff Van Gundy‘s representatives, the franchise hasn’t shown any real interest in bringing back its former head coach, reports Ian Begley of ESPN.com.

According to Begley, Van Gundy would be open to discussing the Knicks’ head coaching vacancy if the team expresses interest in him as a candidate. However, league sources indicate to Begley that any conversations between the Knicks and Van Gundy’s reps didn’t result in the club expressing that interest or looking to line up an interview.

Van Gundy, who is currently employed as an NBA analyst for ESPN and ABC, coached the Knicks for several years in the late-1990s and early-2000s, leading the team to a 248-172 record (.590) over five full seasons and two more partial seasons. The club went 37-32 in the postseason during that stretch, reaching the NBA Finals in 1999.

While Van Gundy doesn’t appear to be at or near the top of the Knicks’ wish list, the team is considering another one of its former head coaches, having reportedly set up a meeting with Mike Woodson. However, Begley suggests that Woodson isn’t considered to be in the “top tier” of Knicks candidates — for now, that top tier includes David Fizdale, Mark Jackson, Jerry Stackhouse, and David Blatt, per ESPN.

Knicks Notes: Fizdale, Blatt, Offseason Plan

April 16th, 2018 at 10:42am CST by Luke Adams

While the NBA’s playoff teams opened their respective series over the weekend, the Knicks moved forward with their search for a new head coach, lining up interviews with a list of candidates that includes David Fizdale, David Blatt, Jerry Stackhouse, Mark Jackson, and Mike Woodson.

For Fizdale to become a serious candidate for the Knicks, the former Grizzlies coach will have to explain what happened with Marc Gasol in Memphis, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. The relationship between the Grizzlies’ star center and head coach fell apart by the end of Fizdale’s tenure with the team, and the Knicks can’t afford to have a similar situation happen in New York — after multiple players clashed with Jeff Hornacek, hiring a coach who has “connectivity with the locker room” is a top priority for the Knicks, Berman says.

As for Blatt, he was a former Princeton teammate of Steve Mills, and the Knicks president is the one pushing Blatt’s candidacy in the club’s search process, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. According to Bondy, it’s “hard to imagine” that GM Scott Perry is as bullish on Blatt, so if the former Cavs coach gets the job, it will be “entirely on Mills.”

Here’s more on the Knicks:

Mills and Perry spoke recently about being approached by Knicks fans who want them to be patient with the rebuilding process, and the front office duo insists owner James Dolan is on board with that approach too (link via Ian Begley of ESPN.com). “Jim has given us the room to be patient, which – again – is not something that’s been common in this organization,” Mills said. “Patience hasn’t been one of our biggest attributes here. … I don’t have any doubt that he’s comfortable with the plan we’re on and (that he) wants us to be patient and not do things that are just, you know, for the quick hit.”
Perry was hired the Knicks after many of last year’s offseason moves had already been made, so what he does with the roster this summer will tell us a lot about his plan for the franchise going forward, says Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders.
Al Iannazzone of Newsday takes an in-depth look at what’s next for the Knicks as the offseason gets underway, and examines which of this year’s players will – or won’t – be back for the 2018/19 season.

Knicks Notes: Van Gundy, Fizdale, Woodson, World Peace

April 15th, 2018 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks contacted representatives for Jeff Van Gundy about their coaching vacancy on Saturday, but he is considered a long shot to land the job, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. Van Gundy, who coached the team for more than five seasons before resigning in 2001, had a strained relationship with the organization for many years that now seems to have thawed.

“I always keep changing my answer to the same question,” he said this week in an interview with New York-based broadcaster Michael Kay. “Now that the job is available, I can say I just don’t talk about coaching searches. I don’t think it does anybody any good. It doesn’t do me any good, the teams any good. I want what’s best for them. Whatever they decide, I hope it works for them.”

Van Gundy is now a broadcaster for ABC/ESPN, along with fellow Knicks coaching candidate Mark Jackson. Berman states that the Knicks seem to prefer Jackson to Van Gundy, and JVG endorsed his broadcast partner for the job on Friday.

There’s more news on the Knicks’ coaching front:

Former Grizzlies head coach David Fizdale could become the top candidate once he interviews with the Knicks this week, Berman adds in the same story. Fizdale, who coached Memphis to a playoff berth last season, told reporters Friday that he has interviews for the openings in New York and Phoenix. The Knicks like Fizdale’s ability to connect with younger players, Berman notes.
Mike Woodson hasn’t been mentioned among the Knicks’ coaching candidates, but he would like to be considered, Berman relays in a separate piece. Woodson has spent the past four years as an assistant with the Clippers, but was the head coach in New York for two and a half years prior to taking that job. “I don’t want to hide the fact I’d love to be back,” Woodson said. “I’d like to finish what I started. At the end of the day, you want to come to New York, based on my body of work there. I want it to be mutual. I want them to want me. I hope they call me.”
If you’re looking for a long-shot candidate to be the Knicks’ next coach, Metta World Peace threw his hat into the ring Saturday, tweeting, “I would love to be head coach for the @nyknicks.” World Peace played for New York during the 2013/14 season and served as a player development coach for the G League’s South Bay Lakers this year.