David Fizdale Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Brian Shaw To Coach G League Select Team

June 9th, 2020 at 4:22pm CST by Luke Adams

JUNE 9: Shaw’s hiring was officially confirmed today in a press release issued by the G League.

“Brian’s extensive experience and success as an NBA player and coach make him a natural choice to lead the new NBA G League team,” NBAGL president Shareef Abdur-Rahim said in a statement. “We look forward to watching these terrific young players develop their skills and grow as professionals under Brian’s leadership.”

JUNE 1: Veteran NBA coach Brian Shaw has agreed to become the head coach of the NBA G League’s new “Select Team,” sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

That G League squad will be made up of a handful of top prospects who opted not to play college ball, as well as several veteran players who will be tasked with mentoring the youngsters. The 2020/21 NBAGL Select Team – which will play exhibition games against other G League teams but won’t be part of the league’s official schedule – will include guards Jalen Green and Daishen Nix, forward Isaiah Todd, and center Kai Sotto.

Shaw, who was the head coach in Denver from 2013-15, has also served as an assistant coach for the Lakers and Pacers. He had two separate stints with the Lakers, most recently holding the title of associate head coach from 2016-19 under Luke Walton.

We heard back in April that Shaw was receiving consideration to coach the G League Select Team, along with David Fizdale and Sam Mitchell. At the time, it sounded as if Mitchell was on track to becoming the club’s head coach, with the other two men potentially being involved in some capacity. Now that Shaw has been tabbed for the head coaching position, we’ll see if Fizdale and Mitchell have any sort of roles with the Select Team.

And-Ones: Yabusele, British League, Jones, NBCA

June 1st, 2020 at 7:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Former NBA forward Guerschon Yabusele has signed a one-year contract with LDLC Asvel, according to a press release from the French club (hat tip to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Yabusele appeared in four games for Asvel before the pandemic suspended play after beginning the season in China. Yabusele was drafted in the first round by the Celtics in 2016 and played 74 games over two seasons with Boston.

We have more from around the basketball world:

The British Basketball League has canceled the remainder of its season, according to a statement from the league. “We looked at every option, including playing behind closed doors or restarting the season in the summer, in order that we could get to a league and playoff winners, but with the continued uncertainty, we just ran out of time and options,” BBL Chairman Sir Rodney Walker said. “The clubs were united that now was the right time to bring the current season to a close.”
Veteran NBA forward Terrence Jones has signed with Team Washington for TBT 2020, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets. The Basketball Tournament is a 5-on-5, winner-take-all event with a grand prize of $2MM. Jones has played with Houston, New Orleans and Milwaukee since being drafted 18th overall back in 2012.
A number of prominent coaches have been selected by the National Basketball Coaches Association for a committee on racial injustice and reform to pursue solutions within NBA cities, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Gregg Popovich, Steve Kerr, Lloyd Pierce, David Fizdale and Stan Van Gundy were among the coaches selected to a committee in response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and a continuing pattern of violence and intolerance toward African Americans in the U.S.

Latest On NBA G League’s New Select Team

April 21st, 2020 at 1:21pm CST by Luke Adams

Former Raptors and Timberwolves head coach Sam Mitchell, who was named the NBA’s Coach of the Year in 2006/07, is expected to become the coach of the G League’s newly-formed “Select Team,” reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The new squad is the one that prep stars Jalen Green and Isaiah Todd will be joining next season, as we detailed last week.

As Adam Zagoria of Forbes points out, the Mitchell news hasn’t officially been confirmed, but the 56-year-old – who coached Green in AAU – repeatedly used the word “we” when he referred to the team during a recent ESPN appearance. Mitchell confirmed that the new G League Select Team will feature several veterans in addition to the prospects arriving from high school, suggesting that most of those vets will be aiming to get back to the NBA.

“We’re going to try to fill out the rest of the roster with guys who know how to play, guys that know how to be mentors, but also guys that can teach these guys how to play and how to win and how to be a pro,” Mitchell said, per Zagoria. “They’re going to try to surround these kids with all different type of players, the type of players that they’re going to have to play on a team with.

“Some of these (prospects) are actually going to be fortunate enough to go to (an NBA) team where they’re actually going to be the man on a team and some of these guys are going to be on a team where they’re going to have to learn how to fit in,” Mitchell continued. “So they’re going to mix these teams up with different types of players with different types of backgrounds. It’s not going to just be a bunch of high school kids.”

Here’s more on the G League’s new squad and the league’s developmental path for top high school prospects:

Prior to Carchia’s report on Mitchell, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports wrote that David Fizdale and Brian Shaw were also receiving consideration for the Select Team’s head coaching job. A source who spoke to Zagoria said that he wouldn’t be surprised if Fizdale and Shaw still end up having some sort of role with the club.
The G League’s Select Team is exploring the idea of making the Mamba Sports Academy its “home base,” sources tell Haynes. The training facility, created by the late Kobe Bryant, is just one of a handful of venues being considered, but it appears to be a frontrunner, Haynes adds. The Select Team will be based in Southern California.
Zagoria wrote in a separate Forbes article last week that the G League has been attempting to court other high school stars in addition to Green and Todd, including five-star recruit Greg Brown. Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link) hears that the NBAGL has actually already started reaching out to prospects in the 2021 recruiting class as well.

Fizdale Believes Knicks Need To Add Power Forward With Range

March 25th, 2020 at 5:11pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Although they did win two of three before the NBA suspended the season, the Knicks weren’t having the best 2019/20 campaign. Former coach David Fizdale, who New York fired back in December, believes the team can improve via free agency this offseason by targeting a point guard and a power forward with range.

“I think that if the Knicks can find those pieces in free agency,” Fizdale said on ESPN Radio recently (h/t Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News). “So the next year or two years from now, that big free agent comes through says, ‘Wait a minute, they got these pieces in place, these guys are now starting to get into the playoffs, eighth seed, seventh seed.

That’s the team I want to join in New York City, in the Garden, that could take us to another level.’”

Three-point shooting has been an issue for the club this entire season. Only three teams, the Hawks, Warriors, and Timberwolves, shot a worse percentage from three-point land than the Knicks this year.

“Just looking at the roster where they’re at — I love Elfrid (Payton), Frank (Ntilikina), and Dennis Smith Jr. — but all of them have something in common in that they’re not consistent 3-point shooters coming off the pick-and-roll,”

The coach added that he believes Mitchell Robinson can reach great heights if he continues to develop.

“And if you have a super talent like Mitchell — and I think Mitchell can end up being one of the best centers over the next ten years — you have to have a guy coming off that pick and if you have to fight over that pick and roll,” Fizdale said. “And if you do that, all of a sudden Mitchell Robinson looks totally different. And his production goes up big time.

“The other piece to that puzzle is a 4-man who can really rope that 3… Like I’ve always said, the key to player development is spacing. You want to see players look better on the court, spread the floor.”

New York Notes: Fizdale, Knicks, Kyrie, Nets

January 21st, 2020 at 8:50am CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on ESPN’s The Jump on Monday, former Knicks head coach David Fizdale said the toughest part about being fired a year and a half after joining the franchise was fulfilling the goal of turning things around and giving fans a winner. However, Fizdale still believes that the club is well-positioned to improve going forward.

“I think that they have really good young talent and those young guys are going to keep getting better, Fizdale said of the Knicks, per Steve Popper of Newsday. “They have to continue to draft well because they have a lot of draft picks over the next few years. Then with the veterans that they did sign, they have to figure out which guys they want to retain and which guys they want to move on from. But they do have a lot of cap space there and they will have an opportunity to get back in the free-agency market this summer.

“So I really think they’re in a good position,” the ex-Knicks coach added. “I know a lot of people don’t and a lot of people are down on them. But I actually think that they’re in a good position to make some good things happen for the organization.”

Here’s more out of New York:

While a segment of Knicks fans may prefer to see the team’s young players get some of the minutes currently going to veterans, the team “clearly has a showcase mentality” with those vets, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Berman suggests there will be plenty of time for New York to increase the youngsters’ roles after the trade deadline.
Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic identifies a few players and potential trades that could be of interest to the Knicks at the deadline. Jerome Robinson, Kris Dunn, and Bogdan Bogdanovic are among the players Vorkunov thinks might be logical targets.
After Kyrie Irving was a late scratch on Monday due to a tight hamstring, Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson explained that the team is just being “cautious” with the star guard, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post. However, Atkinson did acknowledge that the issue had been nagging Irving for a few days.
Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News says it’s ridiculous to claim the Nets are better without Irving and argues that some of the criticism Kyrie is facing for recent comments is unfair.

Knicks Rumors: Trades, Portis, Fizdale, Davis

January 8th, 2020 at 11:10am CST by Luke Adams

Several teams who have been in touch recently with the Knicks have come away with the impression that the team isn’t simply looking to trade for rebuilding assets such as draft picks, expiring contracts, and young prospects, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Those teams say New York has shown interest in acquiring “starter-level players” who can help the team in the short term as well as in the future, sources tell Begley.

While seeking only short-term upgrades would be a mistake for the 10-27 Knicks, it makes sense for the club to consider a variety of trade options rather than focusing exclusively on dumping its veterans for draft picks. Still, it’s hard to envision many scenarios in which the organization could use its most expendable trade chips to acquire a starter-level player who could be retained for multiple seasons.

Perhaps if the Knicks go that route they’ll target players who are a year or two away from restricted free agency and could be more comfortably re-signed than a player like Marcus Morris, who will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. Players like Kyle Kuzma and Malik Beasley might fit that bill, though finding a Knicks package that would work financially and would appeal to a contender like the Lakers or Nuggets could be tricky.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

Bobby Portis is drawing trade interest from multiple teams, Begley writes in a separate story for SNY.tv. Begley suggests that Portis’ pseudo-expiring contract could appeal to teams seeking a frontcourt piece, though I suspect the big man’s modest production (9.9 PPG on 44.0% shooting) and $15MM cap hit will limit his value.
Former Knicks head coach David Fizdale said during a Wednesday appearance on ESPN’s Golic and Wingo that he has “no ill feelings” toward the franchise following his dismissal, as Malika Andrews of ESPN.com relays. “That’s the business we’ve chosen,” Fizdale said. “I respect those guys greatly. I miss the hell out of them. … I obviously learned a ton from it and I was just really grateful to have that opportunity to say I was the head coach of the Knicks.”
During his radio appearance, Fizdale stated that the “media market” and “scrutiny” in New York put a lot of pressure on people within the Knicks’ organization and make it a “tough environment.” However, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News takes exception to Fizdale using outside pressure as an excuse for the Knicks’ failures, arguing that media and fans largely gave the club a pass for tanking away the 2018/19 season and weren’t responsible for the team’s questionable roster moves.
Anthony Davis had New York on his list of preferred destinations when he asked for a trade out of New Orleans, but he wasn’t interested in talking about the Knicks when the team visited the Lakers this week, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. “I’m kind of just over the whole situation,” Davis said. Asked what appealed to him about the Knicks, he replied, “That was all in the past. I don’t talk about no other team than the Lakers.”

Atlantic Notes: Lowry, Brown, Miller, Prince

December 29th, 2019 at 3:03pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Long-tenured Raptors All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry is averaging 20.8 PPG, 7.6 APG, and 5.0 RPG during Toronto’s excellent 22-10 start to the season. That win percentage would translate to 56 regular season victories if Toronto sustained its pace, just a two-game depreciation since losing their 2019 Finals MVP, Kawhi Leonard, to the Clippers in the offseason. Lowry and breakout star forward Pascal Siakam have picked up the slack in Leonard’s absence.

The 33 year-old, a five-time All-Star for the Raptors, credits retired point guard Jameer Nelson with helping him navigate the NBA to reach his current position, as one of the most important leaders for one of the league’s best teams.

“Nobody knows this, but to this day, I thank Jameer for helping me get to where I am,” Lowry told The Athletic’s Michael Lee. “Whenever he text[s] me, I text him, I tell him, ‘You’re the reason I even understand how to work.'” In the summer of 2005, following his rookie season for the Magic, Nelson began mentoring Lowry, then coming off his freshman season for Villanova. Lowry has been with the Raptors since the 2012/13 season.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Wing Jaylen Brown, currently enjoying a breakout year for the ascendent Celtics, has a chance to make his first All-Star squad during his fourth season, according to NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg. However, that is hardly Brown’s focus. “I’m not really paying attention to [the All-Star buzz],” Brown claimed after a post-practice workout. “It would be extremely dope to even be mentioned in the conversation. To be honest, I still think I can be a lot better. I think the best is yet to come for me this season.”
Marc Berman of the New York Post tracks how new Knicks head coach Mike Miller’s success with the team makes David Fizdale defenders look bad. Berman specifically cites Fizdale’s defensive planning, his unnecessarily rankling players, and not involving all his assistant coaches equally for in-game strategizing. Steve Popper of Newsday concurs that the Knicks’ play has improved under Miller. New York is 5-6 under its new coach; the team was 4-18 under Fizdale this season.
Nets forward Taurean Prince is currently shooting a career-worst 37.3% from the field. His shooting struggles have taken their toll on Brooklyn, according to the New York Post’s Mollie Walker. “I think he’s going through a cold spell,” Nets coach Kenny Atkinson reflected in post-practice comments on Friday. “I told him today, he’s a 40 percent career 3-point shooter, he’s got to keep shooting.”

David Fizdale Returns To ESPN As Analyst

December 23rd, 2019 at 9:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Former Knicks coach David Fizdale will return to ESPN as a studio analyst, Ian Begley of SNY.tv reports.

Fizdale was fired by the Knicks after the team got off to a 4-18 start. He also appeared on the network two seasons ago in a similar role. ESPN has often been a haven for coaches in between jobs. Stan Van Gundy and Byron Scott are among the ex-coaches currently employed by the network.

Fizdale had a 21-83 record in New York. Fizdale chose the Knicks over other offers, such as positions in Charlotte, Phoenix, and Atlanta. He was also the head coach in Memphis, where he went 43-39 in 2016/17 before getting fired early the next season after a 7-12 beginning.

The Knicks are 3-5 under interim head coach Mike Miller.

Atlantic Notes: Dinwiddie, Hayward, Miller, Sixers

December 22nd, 2019 at 4:22pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The New York Post’s Brian Lewis ponders the role that stellar Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie will have when injured All-Star Kyrie Irving returns. Lewis notes that former Net Paul Pierce has proposed one possible solution on ESPN: Irving could start at shooting guard while Dinwiddie keeps rolling at the point guard slot. Brooklyn boasts a 11-6 record with Dinwiddie at the helm since Irving went down. The team was 4-7 before the injury.

“Kyrie’s still learning exactly what we want to do,” Nets coach Kenny Atkinson allowed in recent comments. “Spencer’s got a little more corporate knowledge. It’s going to take time for Kyrie to completely understand what we’re doing on both sides of the ball.”

Meanwhile, Malika Andrews of ESPN notes that Irving has yet to be cleared for contact practices with the Nets, according to Atkinson (Twitter link). Two weeks ago, Atkinson had said that Irving would be ready for contact by this stage.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Coach Brad Stevens noted via the official Celtics Twitter account (link) that the health status of Gordon Hayward for his team’s next game will be “bumped up to probable after today.” Hayward’s various maladies have relegated him to just 11 games played this season.
Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News takes a look at the differences between ex-Knicks head coach David Fizdale and his interim replacement, Mike Miller. The Knicks are 3-4 since Miller slid over on the bench to take charge. They were 4-18 under Fizdale to start the season.
The Sixers offense was once again confounded by a zone defense, this time one enacted by the Mavericks, in a 117-98 loss on Friday. The defeat marked the team’s second consecutive home loss, after initially going 15-0 at the Wells Fargo Center to start the season. According to The Athletic’s Rich Hoffman, coach Brett Brown noted that opponents’ successful zone trapping was so demoralizing it has helped cultivate a lackluster Sixers effort on defense, too. “I think that the influence that our inability lately to… be put on our back heels against the zone, has crept into our defense, our psyche, our spirit,” Brown said. “And I can’t stand it.”

Knicks Rumors: Fizdale, Durant, Porzingis, Griffin

December 11th, 2019 at 8:12am CST by Luke Adams

Before being hired by the Knicks in the spring of 2018, David Fizdale was a highly sought-after head coaching candidate, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski, who suggest that Fizdale had offers from the Hawks and Suns and was the leading candidate for the Hornets‘ opening as well. However, Fizdale was focused on New York and turned down other offers even before he received any assurances from the Knicks.

A year and a half later, Fizdale is back on the market after a miserable start to the 2019/20 season. Leading up to his ouster, Fizdale knew that team president Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry were meeting with players to get their input on why the Knicks weren’t showing progress, sources tell Shelburne and Wojnarowski. Eventually, Fizdale told Mills and Perry that he understood if they felt he’d become part of the problem.

Mike Miller has taken over as the Knicks’ interim head coach and should keep the job at least through the end of the season, assuming players respond to him, per the ESPN duo. But there have already been talks at the ownership level about potentially hiring a new coach during the season if the club’s struggles continue. That would present a new series of complications, since Mills and Perry are now on the hot seat themselves, and it’s not clear whether they’d get the go-ahead to pick a new coach.

Shelburne and Wojnarowski touch on many more topics in their latest article, exploring many other factors that have contributed to the Knicks’ ongoing struggles in recent years. The piece is absolutely worth checking out in full, but here are a few highlights:

Kevin Durant did “strongly” consider the Knicks as a free agent destination earlier this year, but when he and Kyrie Irving talked about teaming up, Durant never pushed the Knicks the way Irving pushed the Nets, sources tell ESPN. Shelburne and Wojnarowski also suggest that team owner James Dolan was wary about bringing aboard Durant and his torn Achilles after the Knicks’ experience with Amar’e Stoudemire.
The Knicks began gauging Kristaps Porzingis‘ trade value early in 2019, offering him to the Pelicans in an Anthony Davis package, per ESPN. When New Orleans showed little interest in that proposal, the Knicks began to wonder if league-wide interest in Porzingis may not be as high as they believed.
When Porzingis and his brother (and agent) Janis found out the Knicks were discussing a possible trade with the Mavericks, they hurried a meeting with the team, providing a wish list of four destinations (Nets, Clippers, Raptors, and Heat), according to Shelburne and Wojnarowski. The Knicks turned around and quickly finalized a deal with Dallas, perhaps not wanting to lose leverage when Porzingis’ request leaked. The series of events left more than a dozen teams around the NBA wondering why they didn’t have a chance to bid on Porzingis, and suggested one of two things to rivals, per Shelburne and Woj: Either the Knicks knew Durant and Irving were coming, or they didn’t know how to properly execute a franchise-altering trade.
After parting ways with Phil Jackson in 2017, the Knicks initially zeroed in on David Griffin, who told the organization he was interested only if he could become president of basketball operations and report directly to ownership. Dolan suggested he was “excited” about that idea, sources tell Shelburne and Woj. However, Griffin soon realized – particularly when word broke that the Knicks had signed Tim Hardaway Jr. to a four-year, $71MM deal – that he likely wouldn’t have full autonomy and would have to report to Mills. He met with the club but withdrew his name from consideration shortly after that meeting.
The Knicks subsequently pivoted to Perry, a candidate “without the gravitas or leverage to demand a direct line to ownership.” Perry’s contract includes fourth- and fifth-year options that must be exercised this season, according to ESPN. It seems unlikely at this point that New York will pick up those options for 2020/21 and ’21/22.