Dennis Lindsey Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kevin O’Connor Denies He’s Stepping Down

May 1st, 2013 at 11:07am CST by Luke Adams

11:07am: Jazz president Randy Rigby has released a statement on the issue, refuting the report that O'Connor is stepping down from his current role:

"Media reports of Kevin O’Connor’s departure are inaccurate and he is not stepping down. He is fully engaged in Jazz preparations for draft season. The working relationship between Kevin and Dennis Lindsey is unchanged as both individuals provide valuable expertise, knowledge and perspective toward building a championship-caliber team. Kevin will be a member of the Jazz family for a long time. No further comment is needed."

10:05am: Jazz CEO Greg Miller tweets that O'Connor is not stepping down as executive VP of basketball operations.

8:36am: A KUTV report out of Utah last night suggested that Jazz executive vice president of basketball operations Kevin O'Connor will be stepping down from his current front office role to transition into a consulting role with the team. However, asked if he was stepping down, O'Connor told Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune, "Not true, and I have no comment."

Despite O'Connor's denial, we probably shouldn't dismiss the story entirely quite yet. As Oram notes (via Twitter), he asked O'Connor about stepping down, rather than moving to a consultant position, so the former Jazz general manager could be denying one but not the other. Oram and Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune both point out (Twitter links) that O'Connor hired Dennis Lindsey as Utah's new GM last summer with the intention of Lindsey eventually becoming the head of basketball operations. Change at some point in the not-so-distant future is inevitable, Luhm suggests.

Luhm also confirms KUTV's report that O'Connor sold his house in Holladay, Utah on April 17th, the same day the Jazz's season ended when they were eliminated from playoff contention by the Grizzlies. While that could be a further sign that O'Connor will assume a reduced role from his home in North Carolina, as KUTV reported, for now it appears nothing is official.

The Jazz are entering a crucial offseason, with many of the team's key veterans, including Paul Millsap, Al Jefferson, and Mo Williams, facing free agency. Armed with a pair of first round picks and plenty of potential cap space, whoever is running the team's basketball operations this summer will have plenty of work to do.

Dennis Lindsey, Jazz Endorse Tyrone Corbin

April 18th, 2013 at 6:55pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Although there have been a handful of newly created head coaching vacancies in the NBA, don't expect the Jazz to join the list anytime soon. Despite Utah coming up just two wins shy of a postseason berth, general manager Dennis Lindsey offered a strong endorsement of head coach Tyrone Corbin, reaffirming that he's "our coach" and has full support from team ownership (Jody Genessy of the Deseret News tweets). Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune (via Twitter) also noted Lindsey's support, hearing that Corbin is seen as the right person to lead the team and is growing as a coach.

After being swept in the 2011-12 playoffs, the Jazz returned this season competitively in the hunt for a return to the playoffs. While Utah held the seventh seed in the Western Conference as far as mid-February, a 3-12 record from late February into late March pushed them to ninth – where they would ultimately finish the season. Still, as Oram mentions, Lindsey believes that Corbin deserves credit for working with nine impending free agents and four quality big men.

According to Genessy, team brass will wait until next week to evaluate this year's performances and shortcomings.

Northwest Links: Williams, Roy, Harden, Jazz

September 14th, 2012 at 10:11pm CST by Alex Lee

The Blazers announced, via Twitter, that Elliot Williams underwent successful surgery on his left Achilles tendon today and will miss the entirety of the 2012-13 season. Williams ruptured his Achilles on Tuesday during a voluntary workout, which is the latest misfortune for the snakebitten former Memphis Tiger. CSN Northwest has more details on the surgery here. Here are some other links from the Northwest Division:

Brandon Roy said on Thursday that he wants to "come in and make an impact right away" for the Timberwolves, writes Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press. Roy has expressed confidence all offseason: "I want to be ready to deliver. A lot of people think I'm going to be limited. I tell them, 'Go ahead and think that way.' I'm not cautious about anything. I'm confident everything will go well." I asked readers a month ago how Roy would fare this year, and about half of you thought he'd average around 10 points per game.
The staff at HoopsWorld published their season preview for the Timberwolves, complete with strengths, weaknesses and predictions. The consensus is that Minnesota will finish right smack in the middle of the Northwest, which would be an improvement from last year's last place finish.
Sean Deveney of The Sporting News looks at five scenarios in play for James Harden and the Thunder. He predicts that the team will wait until next summer to re-sign him as a restricted free agent, getting rid of Kendrick Perkins and others to clear the necessary cap space to do so.
Ben Golliver of CBS Sports gives his offseason report card for the Jazz. He gives Utah a B, concluding that it was a typically quiet but effectively offseason for the team. Golliver says that hiring Dennis Lindsey as their GM was a coup, especially considering the similarity in markets and the amount of current Jazz players that may hit free agency soon.

Odds & Ends: Ibaka, Grizzlies, Dooling, Lindsey

September 2nd, 2012 at 9:42pm CST by Michael Pina

The Oklahoman's Darnell Mayberry gives us five ways Serge Ibaka can live up to his recent contract extension.

Here's a look at the rest of today's news throughout the league.

After suffering through a disappointing 2011/12 season, CBSSports.com's Royce Young highlights what we might be able to expect next season from the Grizzlies.
Brian T. Smith from The Salt Lake City Tribune gives an informative take on Dennis Lindsey, recently hired by the Jazz to be their general manager.
Pistons guard Brandon Knight looks up to Celtics veteran Keyon Dooling, writes the Detroit Free Press' Kirkland Crawford.

Jazz Hire Dennis Lindsey As GM

August 7th, 2012 at 11:33am CST by Zachary Links

The Jazz held a press conference this afternoon to formally announce the promotion of longtime General Manager Kevin O'Connor to Executive Vice President of basketball operations and the hiring of Dennis Lindsey as GM. Lindsey previously served as the assistant GM of the Spurs.

At the presser, Jazz President and CEO Randy Rigby told reporters that Lindsey was the club's top choice for the position, tweets Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune. O'Connor says that he has been pondering the move for some time but wanted to first help guide the club through the lockout-shortened season (Twitter link). The 13-year GM says that he will still have an active role in day-to-day operations but will not be fielding calls from agents, Smith tweets.

Lindsey joined the Spurs in the summer of 2007 after spending the previous eleven years in the Rockets organization. Smith tweets that Spurs coach Gregg Popovich gave O'Connor a sterling endorsement on Lindsey, saying that he is the person he'd hypothetically appoint as GM if R.C. Buford were to step away.

Magic Hire Rob Hennigan As GM

June 20th, 2012 at 5:49pm CST by Luke Adams

5:49pm: NBA.com's David Aldridge confirms that Rob Hennigan has accepted the Magic's offer to become the team's next general manager.

5:23pm: CBSSports.com's Ken Berger tweets that the Magic have officially offered the GM job to Hennigan. The two parties are currently in contract negotiations.

5:00pm: The Magic are in advanced talks with Thunder executive Rob Hennigan to make him the next general manager in Orlando, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Hennigan is one of three finalists for the position that has made with Magic ownership this month. According to Wojnarowski, Hennigan was brought to Michigan in recent days to meet with the DeVos family for a second time (Twitter link).

Orlando Expected To Name GM This Week

June 19th, 2012 at 10:42pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports that the Magic are expected to make a decision on their GM search no later than this work week, adding that CEO Alex Martins had planned all along to name a GM within 10 days of the NBA Draft. The three finalists – Jeff Bower, Rob Hennigan, and Dennis Lindsey – have all met with the DeVos family to conclude the final round of interviews.

Dave Twardzik, the current assistant GM, has been handling draft preparation in the meantime.

Magic Notes: Nelson, Howard, GM/Coach Search

June 14th, 2012 at 11:52am CST by Luke Adams

While their Southeast rivals, the Heat, prepare for Game 2 of the NBA Finals tonight, the Magic have a jam-packed offseason itinerary. The team still has to hire a GM, find a new coach, and decide on Dwight Howard's future, and another under-the-radar issue could arise tomorrow. Jameer Nelson has a June 15th deadline to decide whether to pick up his player option for next season, and if he turns it down, the Magic will have to determine if they want to try to re-sign him. Here's the latest out of Orlando….

Magic Narrow GM Search To Three Finalists

June 12th, 2012 at 2:56pm CST by Luke Adams

2:56pm: Lindsey and Hennigan will head to Michigan to meet with the DeVos family this week, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). According to Berger, Bower may meet with owner Rich DeVos later on, but not yet. The Magic are expected to wrap up their search either later this week or early next week (Twitter links).

Sixers Rumors: Williams, Hawes, Thorn, Iguodala

June 12th, 2012 at 8:20am CST by Luke Adams

Multiple reports have indicated Lou Williams will be opting out of the final year of his contract with the 76ers, though not necessarily to leave Philadelphia. Williams himself seemed to be laying the groundwork for such a decision yesterday, tweeting "Quick note. Opting out doesn't necessarily mean you're leaving. It's getting out of one contract to begin a new one." The Sixers will be faced with a number of free agent decisions besides Williams this summer, and Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News has updates on a few of those players and on the executives that will be making the roster moves….