David Morway Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Magic Notes: GM Search, Howard, Van Gundy

May 25th, 2012 at 10:22am CST by Luke Adams

It's been a busy week for the Magic, who fired coach Stan Van Gundy and parted ways with GM Otis Smith on Monday. Dwight Howard still may want out of Orlando, however, and the team could be open to accommodating him. Meanwhile, the team's search for a new general manager has them targeting Mitch Kupchak of the Lakers, but not Shaquille O'Neal. Let's check in on the latest out of Orlando:

The Magic will begin interviewing GM candidates next week, CEO Alex Martins tells Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. The new GM will also try to sell Howard on his long-term vision for the team and try to convince D12 to sign a long-term extension.
Martins has identified "championship experience" as an asset for potential GM candidates. Besides Kupchak, the following names could interest the Magic, according to Robbins: Pacers GM David Morway, former Pacers and Knicks exec Donnie Walsh, former Hornets GM Jeff Bower, Celtics assistant GM Ryan McDonough, and Pacers director of player personnel Kevin Pritchard.
Howard told TMZ.com that his recovery from back surgery is going well and that his back is doing "a lot better." The big man also spoke briefly about Van Gundy, saying that he hates to see anyone lose a job, and reiterating that he had nothing to do with the decision.
Making a radio appearance with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, Jeff Van Gundy was critical of Martins and the Magic for the way they handled his brother's dismissal. Scott Schroeder of SBNation.com transcribed a number of Van Gundy's notable quotes, including the broadcaster's opinion on Howard's role in the firing: "To try to make everyone believe that Dwight Howard didn't have a part in this is absurd. Just say 'we fired this guy because we feel this is our best chance to keep Dwight Howard. Dwight Howard and I decided to fire him."

Magic Rumors: Malone, Shaw, Morway, Bower

May 21st, 2012 at 8:37pm CST by Zachary Links

Big news out of Orlando today as the club has fired coach Stan Van Gundy and agreed to part ways with GM Otis Smith. The latest on the Magic..

Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld tweets that plenty of executives are interested in the Magic GM job, and they aren't scared away by the Dwight Howard saga.
David Baumann of Bright House Sports Network says that Lakers assistant Chuck Person is on Howard's list of preferred coaches, noting D12's preference for candidates with no head coaching experience (Twitter links, and a hat tip to Sam Amick of SI.com). That might be moot, however, if Howard still wants to leave the Magic.
Warriors assistant Michael Malone and Pacers assistant Brian Shaw are candidates to replace Van Gundy, tweets Sam Amick of SI.com.
Amick also tweets that many of the same candidates for the Blazers GM job will be in the running for the same post in Orlando, and links to a story from earlier this month specifying Pacers GM David Morway and former Hornets GM Jeff Bower as candidates for the Portland gig.
Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio says that the Magic had interest in signing Greg Oden, but that's likely changed in the wake of today's news (Twitter link).
Orlando Sentinel columnist George Diaz encourages the Magic to be "creative, aggressive and different" with their GM and coaching hires.

Morway, Bower Frontrunners For Blazers’ GM Job

May 10th, 2012 at 1:33pm CST by Luke Adams

Current Pacers GM David Morway and former Hornets GM Jeff Bower have emerged as the frontrunners for the Trail Blazers' general manager opening, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Bower has already met with team owner Paul Allen, and Morway will meet with Allen tomorrow to discuss the position.

With Allen looking to cut back on his free-spending ways, the Blazers' owner appears to be targeting executives that have experience with small-market budgets, says Wojnarowski. Morway and Bower played significant roles in constructing talented rosters in Indiana and New Orleans, respectively.

Chad Buchanan, who has served as the Blazers' acting GM over the last year, is also still a candidate for the permanent position. However, team president Larry Miller has said Buchanan won't be formally interviewed, since the franchise is already very familiar with the long-time employee. Bower and Morway are the only two candidates to receive interviews with Allen so far.

Blazers Interviewed Bower, Will Meet With Morway

May 9th, 2012 at 8:11am CST by Luke Adams

The mystery candidate interviewed by Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen for the team's general manager opening has been identified. Former Hornets GM Jeff Bower met with Allen last week to discuss the opening, according to SI.com's Sam Amick.

Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com reported last month that Bower was "very intrigued" by the Blazers' GM position and would be interested in an interview if the team reached out to him.

The Blazers will also meet with David Morway today, after having requested and received permission to speak with the Pacers' GM. According to Amick, Allen won't be involved in that interview, but Miller's and Allen's top advisor Bert Kolde will meet with Morway.

Central Notes: Morway, Bucks, Hamilton, Hammond

May 6th, 2012 at 10:35pm CST by Chuck Myron

There's plenty of news out of the Central Division today, with the Bulls on the brink of elimination against the Sixers while the Pacers are in command against the Magic. The latest updates are at the top:

Pacers GM David Morway responded to Friday's news that the Blazers are interested in him for their GM position, telling The Oregonian's Jason Quick that he's "flattered" but "right now I'm focused on the playoffs and focused on our team.'' He could also be in line for a promotion in Indiana if president of basketball operations Larry Bird steps aside, but Morway said no interview has been scheduled with Portland and he'll evaluate his options at a later date. (All Twitter links).
Though Forbes ranks the Bucks as the NBA's least valuable franchise, there's little reason to worry that Milwaukee will go down the same path as Seattle did with the Sonics, writes Michael Hunt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Richard Hamilton, who's strugged in three straight losses, hasn't been giving the Bulls what they expected when signed him before the season, as Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com writes.
In a roundup of candidates for the Blazers GM job, Sam Amick of SI.com says multiple sources have told him the Bucks have denied GM John Hammond permission to interview for the position. Last month we heard about the mutual interest between Hammond and the Blazers, but Friday's joint press conference between Hammond and Bucks owner Herb Kohl seems to indicate that the Bucks will be keeping their GM.
Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star sat down with commissioner David Stern to talk Pacers and other topics. Stern says he's not concerned about the team's lagging attendance, which ranked 26th in the regular season this year.
John Paxson, vice president of basketball operations for the Bulls, recently underwent surgery to try to correct a heart arrhythmia, according to an ESPN.com report. Paxson said in a statement released by the team that the procedure has been planned for over a month. The news of his health trouble came out in comments made by Sixers coach Doug Collins after today's game.

Blazers Interested In Pacers’ GM David Morway

May 4th, 2012 at 4:35pm CST by Luke Adams

The newest reported candidate for the Trail Blazers' general manager opening is another current NBA GM — David Morway of the Pacers. According to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, Portland has requested and received permission to speak to Morway, who is expected to meet with Blazers president Larry Miller in the next week or so.

Morway, who has been Indiana's GM for four years, is considered the right-hand man of Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird. Before he worked for the Pacers, Morway also had a front office MLB job for the San Diego Padres and served as the president of agency Professional Excellence Sports.

Miller said this week that he isn't sure how many candidates the Blazers will interview, noting that he wants the process to be thorough so the team doesn't have to go through it again anytime soon. However, the Blazers president added: "If we talk to somebody and this is our guy, that would be the end of it."

Steve Kerr, John Hammond, Mitch Kupchak, and Geoff Petrie are among the names that have been linked to the Blazers' search.