David Morway Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Rumors: Bucks, Pistons, Pacers

May 30th, 2014 at 3:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry told Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times that the team would retain GM John Hammond, assistant GM David Morway and coach Larry Drew for next season, but fellow co-owner Wesley Edens wouldn’t confirm that, according to Woelfel. Edens is the team’s representative on the Board of Governors, which would appear to give him final say. Bucks officials and executives around the league told Woelfel that former owner Herb Kohl became “livid” with Hammond last season, and that Kohl, had he not sold the team, would have fired the GM, Woelfel hears. There’s more on the Bucks amid the latest from the Central Division:

Steve Ballmer and Chris Hansen bid $650MM for the Bucks earlier this year, with plans to move them to Seattle, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Kohl rejected the bid in favor of Edens and Lasry, who’ve pledged to keep the team in Milwaukee, but the indirect role Ballmer played in pushing for new arenas in Milwaukee, Minnesota and Sacramento is part of why the NBA finds him appealing for the Clippers, Windhorst hears.
Pistons boss Stan Van Gundy calls Andre Drummond and soon-to-be restricted free agent Greg Monroe an “ideal pairing,” but he also points to their shortcomings on defense and the team’s struggles with those two in the lineup together with Josh Smith. Keith Langlois of Pistons.com has that and more from his conversation with Van Gundy.
The Pistons hired Brendan Malone and Bob Beyer as assistant coaches and cut ties with assistants Rasheed Wallace, Henry Bibby and Bernard Smith, the team formally announced. Beyer leaves the Hornets to take the job in Detroit. John Loyer, who served as the team’s interim head coach last season, remains as an assistant, but there’s a decent chance the team will reassign him, tweets Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
The NBA’s revenue sharing system paid the Pacers $15MM last season, multiple sources tell Grantland’s Zach Lowe, who also hears that the Grizzlies received that amount, too.

Lowe’s Latest: Bucks, Knicks, Grizzlies, Pelicans

May 20th, 2014 at 10:17am CST by Chuck Myron

Grantland’s Zach Lowe looks at instability in the executive suite, profiling the NBA’s six most volatile front offices in the wake of yesterday’s shakeup in Memphis. As usual, Lowe’s work is required reading, but we’ll hit some highlights here:

Bucks owners Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens have held preliminary talks about potential replacements for GM John Hammond and assistant GM David Morway, but the more likely outcome appears to be that they stay for at least one more year, Lowe writes.
Former Raptors and Suns GM Bryan Colangelo is open to once more becoming an NBA GM, Lowe hears, but that’s no surprise, given that he was reportedly a candidate for the Cavs and Pistons front office searches. Lowe mentions him within his look at the Bucks, which is coincidental given an earlier report that linked him to an ownership group looking to buy the franchise when it was for sale. Still, it doesn’t appear as though there’s any particular link between the Bucks and Colangelo at this point.
The Knicks will likely hire someone within the next year to replace Steve Mills as general manager and shunt Mills off into some other role with the organization, according to Lowe.
Some high-level executives on teams around the league hadn’t heard about Grizzlies attorney David Mincberg, who’s reportedly assumed some power in the basketball operations department, Lowe hears.
The job of Memphis GM Chris Wallace, whom the team has restored to a prominent role after the departures of CEO Jason Levien and assistant GM Stu Lash, is safe “until he wants to leave,” Lowe writes.
There have been few reports alleging that GM Dell Demps is on shaky ground to return next year, but people around the league have been curious about whether the team would bring him back for 2014/15, according to Lowe. There have been disagreements between Demps and coach Monty Williams, and the team’s owners favor Williams, Lowe hears. In any case, he’ll probably return, though there will be pressure on him for the team to improve and perhaps make the playoffs next season, Lowe writes.
Louisiana native Joe Dumars is close to executives with the New Orleans Saints, the NFL franchise that Pelicans owner Tom Benson also owns. That would make him a likely candidate for Pelicans GM job should the team decide to oust Demps, Lowe asserts.
Pistons coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy says that the team’s ownership will have just as much say as he does in whom they hire as GM, as he tells Lowe.

Eastern Notes: Cavs, Pistons, Knicks, Nets

May 13th, 2014 at 5:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Cavs GM David Griffin was especially vehement when he told reporters today that Kyrie Irving wasn’t behind the team’s decision to fire Mike Brown, pounding the table in front of him as he spoke, observes Jodie Valade of the Plain Dealer. People close to Irving weren’t pleased with Brown, but Irving himself expressed a mix of positive and negative feelings on the former coach, as Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal details. Here’s more on the Cavs and the rest of the Eastern Conference:

Former Raptors and Suns GM Bryan Colangelo and Bucks assistant GM David Morway were rumored to be in the mix for the Cavs front office job before the team removed GM David Griffin‘s interim tag, according to Bob Finnan of The Morning Journal.
Pistons owner Tom Gores was torn on what to do about Greg Monroe and Josh Smith in addition to how to fill his coaching and front office vacancies before Stan Van Gundy entered the picture, USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt tweets. In any case, Gores has been looking to hire a “name,” according to Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News (Twitter link).
The Knicks are seeking to trade cash for a pick late in this year’s draft, as Marc Berman of the New York Post reports amid a story on the team’s pursuit of Steve Kerr. New York is without a pick in either the first or the second round.
The Nets hold the draft rights to Bojan Bogdanovic, but they don’t expect to sign him anytime soon, and Bogdanovic is nearing a new deal with Turkey’s Fenerbahce Ulker that will cover two or three seasons, reports Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net. The pact will likely include a lower NBA buyout price than the $2MM called for in his existing contract with the team, Varlas adds.
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel thinks the Magic should consider trading up to pick Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker or Joel Embiid if Orlando misses out on one of the top three picks in the lottery. The Magic are in line for the No. 3 pick but could fall as low as No. 6.

Central Notes: Bucks, Monroe, Billups, Pistons

April 17th, 2014 at 8:47pm CST by Alex Lee

Earlier tonight we broke down the bevy of news coming out of Cleveland. Here is what is going on in the rest of the Central Division on Thursday night:

Once the dust settles from the Bucks ownership change, many league insiders expect the new regime to make changes in the front office and on the coaching staff in Milwaukee, writes Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. As Kyler notes, general manager John Hammond and assistant GM David Morway are both under contract for two more seasons. Head coach Larry Drew inked a four-year, $10MM pact last summer.
Soon-to-be restricted free agent Greg Monroe spent what might be his last season with the Pistons keeping his head down and concentrating on his own production, writes Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News.
Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press suggests the Pistons would probably exercise their $2.5MM team option on Chauncey Billups for next season if the 37-year-old elects not to retire, but it seems questionable that the team would commit to that kind of money to him.
Several Pistons players conceded that chemistry issues plagued the team all season, with Brandon Jennings admitting that he never would have agreed to come to Detroit last summer had he known how things would turn out, writes David Mayo of MLive.com. Based on player comments, Mayo infers that veteran Josh Smith, the team’s highest paid player, is one of the reasons for the team’s fractured locker room. In a separate piece, Ellis concurs.

Odds & Ends: Brewer, Bucks, McGrady, Heat

August 26th, 2013 at 10:48pm CST by Chuck Myron

Ronnie Brewer considered signing with the Bulls, Jazz and Lakers before ultimately choosing the Rockets, the 28-year-old swingman tells Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston. He also reiterated his assertion from June that the Thunder were in play to re-sign him, too, but Houston's up-tempo style of play helped sway him. Despite having only a partially guaranteed deal on a team with a league-high 19 players under contract, he's not worried about getting cut. "If I come in and I do what I'm supposed to do, all of that goes out the window," he said to Berman. As Brewer gets set to officially sign his contract, here's more on the league's comings and goings with about a month to go before training camp:

The Bucks have hired David Morway as assistant GM and Jim Cleamons as the team's top assistant coach, notes Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel.
So much of Tracy McGrady's talent vanished long before he announced his retirement today, and he went underappreciated in Orlando during his peak years, as John Denton of Magic.com argues. The Magic, Raptors and Rockets are all left wondering what might have been, the Toronto Sun's Ryan Wolstat writes.
Toure Murry still hasn't committed to the Knicks nearly a month after the club extended him a training camp invitation, but the 6'5" guard is expected to pick a team later this week, according to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).
In his latest mailbag for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Ira Winderman discusses the Heat's luxury-tax situation, their mid-level exception, and the possibility of the team signing Richard Hamilton.
Now that 14 NBA teams have one-on-one relationships with their respective D-League affiliates, the remaining 16 teams are sharing three D-League clubs. Nonetheless, those squads with five or six NBA affiliations can still help young NBA players develop, as Gino Pilato of Ridiculous Upside outlines.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Odds & Ends: Bucks, Celtics, Raptors, NBPA

July 2nd, 2013 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

A year ago, the biggest unrestricted free agent on the open market, Deron Williams, made his decision to sign with the Nets on July 3rd. A year later, the two biggest free agents available are Chris Paul and Dwight Howard. Paul quickly agreed to re-sign with the Clippers, while Howard is visiting with the Mavericks and Lakers today after meeting with the Rockets, Warriors, and Hawks earlier in the week.

Will Howard follow in D-Will's footsteps and make a decision on the 3rd, once his meetings are finished? We'll have to wait to find out, but in the meantime, let's round up a few odds and ends from around the Association….

In examining potential free agent targets for the Bucks, Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times says to keep an eye on Carl Landry and Devin Harris, who both told Woelfel recently that they'd be open to playing in Milwaukee.
Woelfel adds in a tweet that the Bucks appear to be eyeing former Pacers GM David Morway as a potential assistant GM in Milwaukee.
As Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe writes, tanking hasn't exactly worked for the Celtics in the past, so it may not be the best approach for the 2013/14 team either.
Doug Smith of the Toronto Star says there's a belief Raptors GM Masai Ujiri may not use the amnesty provision later this month, in order to keep Linas Kleiza's expiring contract around for trade purposes.
Writing for The Basketball Jones, Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com explains why the Andrea Bargnani trade looks much better for the Raptors than the Knicks.
Because the Suns decided not to release P.J. Tucker yesterday and the Clippers held on to Willie Green, both players' contracts have become fully guaranteed for the 2013/14 season, per ShamSports.com.
Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com examines some of the Lakers' free agent targets, attempting to determine which possibilities are more realistic than others.
The NBA players' union has filed a motion to dismiss Billy Hunter's lawsuit against the NBPA, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.

Latest On Kings’ GM Search

June 13th, 2013 at 11:31am CST by Luke Adams

11:31am: According to Amick (via Twitter), Wallace, Morway, and Layden are currently atop Ranadive's list.

8:30am: Earlier this month, ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported that Chris Wallace appeared to be the favorite to be hired as the Kings' new general manager. Since then, plenty of other candidates have surfaced, but Wallace continues to remain firmly in the mix. According to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee, Wallace met with team ownership for the third time on Wednesday.

Despite meeting several times with Wallace, the Kings continue to explore other options. Stein reports (via Twitter) that Sacramento will interview Spurs assistant GM Scott Layden, while Sam Amick of USA Today says (via Twitter) that new Kings owner Vivek Ranadive has been doing extensive background work on former Hawks GM Rick Sund. If Sund, who has interest in the job, was picked by the Kings, he'd serve as the more experienced addition in a partnership with current Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk, according to Amick (via Twitter).

Although Larry Bird is no longer in the mix for a position in the Kings' front office, there are still plenty of other names connected to either the team's president or GM roles. Chris Mullin, Mike Dunleavy, David Morway, and Kenny Smith are among Sacramento's other potential targets.

Coach/GM Rumors: Hollins, Karl, Kings, Nuggets

June 7th, 2013 at 1:15pm CST by Luke Adams

According to Sam Amick of USA Today, Lionel Hollins and the Grizzlies spoke yesterday, and the door hasn't closed entirely on the possibility of the head coach remaining in Memphis. However, Hollins has begun to explore his other options, talking by phone to a pair of Clippers executives yesterday and planning to fly to Los Angeles early next week, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (via Twitter). Here's the latest on the Grizzlies, the Clippers, and plenty of other teams in the market for a coach or GM:

While a reunion with Hollins or a promotion of assistant David Joerger remain possibilities for the Grizzlies, Memphis has emerged as the early frontrunner for George Karl, says Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
The Clippers have interest in both Hollins and Karl, but are prioritizing championship experience, a source tells Berger. Brian Shaw fits that bill, as both a player and an assistant coach, and is expected to formally interview with the Clippers on Monday, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.
The Kings continue to pursue Larry Bird, although it would be a surprise if he was hired, a source tells Berger. If the Kings were able to land a big name like Bird – or perhaps Mike Dunleavy or Chris Mullin – it would be as team president, with the authority to hire a GM.
David Morway is interviewing today for the Kings' GM job, says Berger. It doesn't appear Sacramento will receive permission to speak to Nuggets assistant GM Pete D'Alessandro though, since Denver would like him to continue helping owner Josh Kroenke with the team's coaching search.
D'Alessandro also appears to be the favorite for the Nuggets' open GM job, with a source telling Berger that Denver may not even interview outside candidates.
Earlier today, Kroenke told reporters, including Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post (Twitter links), that Masai Ujiri would almost certainly have left Denver to accept the Raptors job even if the Nuggets had matched Toronto's offer.

Kings To Interview David Morway For GM Job

June 5th, 2013 at 10:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

10:06pm: Morway and Bird wouldn't be a package deal, Amick adds via Twitter, given their falling out toward the end of their time together with the Pacers.

9:13pm: Former Pacers GM David Morway is expected to interview for the Kings GM job on Friday, USA Today's Sam Amick reports. New Kings owner Vivek Ranadive continues to try woo Larry Bird, Morway's boss in Indiana, out of retirement to take over GM duties in Sacramento, but though Ranadive has spoken with Bird, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee says the two sides didn't meet today for an interview. That contradicts an earlier report from Peter Vecsey.

Amick first mentioned Morway as a possible candidate last month, and Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reported a couple of days ago that Morway and the Kings had been in contact. The team has interviewed Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace, who appears to be the frontrunner, though Ranadive and company are reaching out to many other candidates. The Kings have also interviewed Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk and Mike Dunleavy, who has front office experience with the Bucks and Clippers.

The Kings are considering former star Chris Webber for a role in the organization, but he's not a candidate to become GM, Jones writes. Incumbent GM Geoff Petrie remains with the team even as it searches for his replacement, and he's still in charge of the Kings' draft preparation.

Latest On Kings’ GM Search

June 3rd, 2013 at 1:29pm CST by Luke Adams

Following up on his story from last week, ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported earlier today that Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace appeared to be strengthening his position as the frontrunner for the Kings' general manager opening. According to Stein, the sense was that "something would have to go awry" to keep Sacramento from hiring Wallace for the job.

Ken Berger of CBSSports.com suggests, however, the Kings have contacted a number of high-profile candidates as part of their search. In addition to formally interviewing Wallace, Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk, and former NBA coach Mike Dunleavy, the Kings have been in contact with former Pacers GM David Morway, and have had "exploratory conversations" with former Pacers president Larry Bird and former Warriors GM Chris Mullin. Both Bird and Mullin have been previously mentioned as potential candidates for the Kings.

One source tells Berger that the process remains "very fluid" while another says that it's still "wide open," with the potential to expand beyond the current group of candidates. With Warriors assistant Michael Malone having already reached an agreement to coach the team, Berger adds that there's some concern within the Kings organization about installing both a first-time coach and a first-time GM, meaning the club would prefer someone with past experience running a team.

According to Berger, there's also some concern about bringing in too many transplants from the Warriors organization. Vivek Ranadive, of course, was a part owner in Golden State before assuming control of the Kings, and there was some speculation that Warriors advisor Jerry West may have some input in the Kings' GM search, which West admantly denied to Sam Amick of USA Today.

"For some reason, I've gotten two or three calls from people (wanting the job) saying that (they) want to get in front of (Ranadive) and could you help, and I think it's ludicrous," West said. "I sent back to them and said that in no way, shape or form am I advising him — period."

While West's role in assisting Ranadive seems to be minimal at best, Berger writes that the new Kings owner may be interested in bringing in a "an experienced, recognizable leader" in an advisory role, similar to the position West has in Golden State.