George Karl

Western Notes: Wolves, Murphy, Brown

February 11th, 2015 at 8:03pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite having desirable veteran trade assets in Thaddeus Young and Kevin Martin, Timberwolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders isn’t actively looking to make more deals before the February 19th trade deadline, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune writes. Saunders is willing to listen to offers, but he said that the team now has plenty of competition for playing time at every position, and the Wolves are focused on trying to get their current roster settled, Zgoda adds.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Kevin Murphy, who was in training camp with the Jazz this season, is considering returning to the Idaho Stampede, Utah’s D-League affiliate, David Pick of Eurobasket.com reports (Twitter link). Murphy had been playing in China for Zhejiang Guangsha, whose regular season has just concluded.
The Suns are expected to discuss a deal with Alec Brown, their 2014 second round draft pick, to join the team for the 2015/16 campaign, Shams Charania of RealGM.com reports. Brown has been rehabilitating a dislocated shoulder that he suffered during summer league play in Las Vegas. The big man is set to join the Bakersfield Jam, Phoenix’s D-League affiliate, next week, Charania notes.
Bernard James, who was recently inked to a 10-day deal with the Mavericks, believes that his time spent with the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association made him a better player, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. “It was huge,” James said of playing overseas. “It kind of got me back to feeling like myself again. I’m not hesitating. I’m believing in my game. It was good to play major minutes and having a team really rely on me.“
Some NBA executives aren’t dismissing the idea of George Karl retaining Tyrone Corbin as an assistant on his coaching staff with the Kings, Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times reports (Twitter link).

And-Ones: Kings, Allen, Lopez, Wolves

February 11th, 2015 at 10:33am CST by Chuck Myron

DeMarcus Cousins and Tyrone Corbin both called the latest round of Kings coaching upheaval a “distraction,” as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee relays (Twitter link). Cousins released a statement through his agency saying that he hadn’t been consulted when the team fired Michael Malone and isn’t being consulted now, expressing hope for a quick resolution and support for George Karl should the team choose to hire him. Still, Cousins decried the public chatter of a coaching move while Corbin remains in place. Rudy Gay, who’s hinted at dissatisfaction with Corbin in the past, instead expressed admiration Tuesday for the job Corbin’s done under trying circumstances, as Jones also notes in his story.

While we wait to see how it all plays out in Sacramento, here’s more from around the league:

A Nets source tells Windrem that no deal with the Hornets involving Lopez, Stephenson and Zeller was ever that close (Twitter link).

Earlier updates:

There’s no guarantee that Ray Allen makes his decision on whether or not he’ll return to the NBA this season within 10 days of All-Star Weekend, as Jim Tanner, Allen’s agent, tells Chris Broussard of ESPN (Twitter link). It was rumored that the 39-year-old sharpshooter was going to make a choice regarding his future shortly after the All-Star break.
The Hornets offered Lance Stephenson and Cody Zeller to the Nets last month and were ready to call the league office to finalize the trade, reports Robert Windrem of NetsDaily (All Twitter links). The sides were quite close to agreement, Windrem adds, and so close that people at the D-League Showcase, which was taking place at the time, thought it was a fait accompli, Grantland’s Zach Lowe tweets. It was the closest Brooklyn has come to trading Lopez, Joe Johnson or Deron Williams this year, according to the NetsDaily scribe.
The Wolves sent the Hornets $344,462 in cash Tuesday in the Mo Williams trade, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders shows on his Wolves salary page (Twitter link). Minnesota created two trade exceptions in that deal, one worth Troy Daniels‘ $816,482 salary and another worth the $500K difference between the salaries for Williams and Gary Neal, Pincus tweets.
That means the Wolves had to take Adreian Payne into one of their existing trade exceptions to make their trade with the Hawks work, and that’s just what Minnesota did. The Wolves absorbed Payne’s $1,855,320 salary into their $4,702,500 Corey Brewer exception, leaving the $6,308,193 Kevin Love exception untouched and reducing the Brewer exception to $2,847,180, as Pincus shows on the Basketball Insiders Wolves salary page.
The Hawks would wind up with Minnesota’s second-round picks for both 2020 and 2021 if the lottery-protected 2017 first-rounder the Wolves gave up in the Payne trade doesn’t convey to Atlanta by 2019 at the latest, Pincus also reports on that page.

Charlie Adams contributed to this post.

Kings, George Karl Near Four-Year Deal

February 11th, 2015 at 8:39am CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY. 8:39am: All involved believe that the deal will get done and that Karl will take over as coach in time for the team’s first game after the All-Star break, as Amick writes in an updated version of his story. That indicates Karl shares the impression that Kings management has that an agreement is forthcoming.

10:42pm: The two sides are still in the midst of negotiations, according to TNT’s David Aldridge, who hears the proposed fourth year of Karl’s contract will likely contain buyout language worth a fixed amount that the Kings will owe Karl if they decide not to retain him past the third season of the deal.

TUESDAY, 5:30pm: Only a dramatic and unexpected collapse in the final stage of negotiations can prevent Karl from becoming the next coach of the Kings, Marc Stein and Chris Broussard of ESPN.com report. Though the deal hasn’t been finalized, the organization is already operating under the premise that Karl will take over the team after the All-Star break, the ESPN scribes add.

MONDAY, 5:30pm: Karl is seeking $5MM a year and would prefer the deal not include a team option as the sides continue to negotiate, USA Today’s Sam Amick hears.

4:47pm: George Karl will take over as coach of the Kings after the team plays its final game before the All-Star break Wednesday, absent an unforeseen turn of events, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The sides are progressing toward a four-year deal worth between $4MM and $5MM per season, league sources told Wojnarowski, with a team option on that fourth season. The sides are ironing out other details, Wojnarowski adds.

Dan Fegan and Jarinn Akana have no issues with the potential hiring of Karl, Wojnarowski hears, explaining that their seeming opposition was only a desire for clarity on the team’s swift departure from its plans to keep Tyrone Corbin for the rest of the season. D’Alessandro told Corbin on Friday, one day after the Magic fired Jacque Vaughn, that the team planned to search for a new head coach immediately.

It’s been a twisting path since then, with Karl, who worked under D’Alessandro when they were both in Denver, the central figure of the team’s search. Multiple Kings players reportedly oppose the would-be hiring, and members of the front office as well as minority owners have reportedly held reservations about Karl. Majority owner Vivek Ranadive apparently gave D’Alessandro the green light to hire Karl if he wishes, but Ranadive and D’Alessandro have sought assurances that Karl, who’s 63 and is twice a cancer survivor, is healthy enough for the job. There were conflicting reports about whether the team has made an offer to the 2012/13 Coach of the Year, but regardless, the sides appear on the verge of a deal.

Western Notes: Clippers, Benson, Karl

February 10th, 2015 at 7:50pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Pelicans and Saints owner Tom Benson must undergo evaluations by three different doctors to determine whether the 87-year-old is competent enough to retain control of the two franchises, Andy Grimm of The Times-Picayune reports. One doctor will be named by Benson and a second will be chosen by his daughter, Renee, and her children, who are seeking to take control of the teams after his death. Those two doctors will jointly name a third physician and all will evaluate Benson, Grimm adds.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

In a statement released by Benson via the Saints Twitter feed, the embattled owner declared his intention to spare no expense in defending his control of the team and mental state. Benson also noted that he has instructed his attorney Phil Wittmann to make public the results of his medical evaluations as soon as possible.
The Grizzlies have recalled Jarnell Stokes and Russ Smith from the Iowa Energy, their D-League affiliate, the team has announced. This concludes the fourth trek of the season to the D-League for both players.
Clippers coach and president of basketball operations Doc Rivers said that the team would wait until after the All-Star break to bring in another player to bolster its roster, Dan Woike of The Orange County Register relays. The reason behind the wait is the upcoming All-Star break, since the team wouldn’t be able to maximize the amount of games it would receive from a player signed to a 10-day contract until the end of the break, Woike notes. Rivers wouldn’t say if the team was looking to bring in a big man to replace the injured Blake Griffin, or to sign another guard, Woike adds.
Sources close to the situation say many of the Nuggets players George Karl coached in Denver still text Karl after games and ask his advice on matchups and style of play, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes. Multiple Kings players have reportedly expressed concerns over the franchise hiring Karl.

Kings Rumors: Cousins, Jackson, Karl, Gay

February 10th, 2015 at 3:07pm CST by Chuck Myron

DeMarcus Cousins made it clear that he didn’t want the Kings to fire former coach Michael Malone, but owner Vivek Ranadive told him that he had to do so because Malone clashed with GM Pete D’Alessandro and had missed a meeting, sources tell Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher. Cousins asked the team at that point to hire Mark Jackson, but as the Kings instead decided to stick with Tyrone Corbin, team officials promised they would consult him in the future, Bucher also hears. The team now is reportedly close to a deal with Karl, and plenty seems up in the air. Here’s the latest from California’s capital city:

Some close to Cousins weren’t sure if Karl’s personality and the intensity of Cousins would be a match, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee writes. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports wrote Monday that Cousins’ agents. Dan Fegan and Jarinn Akana, have given their approval of Karl and were merely wary of the team’s swift coaching changes.
Cousins wasn’t alone among Kings disenchanted with the way the team ousted Malone, Jones adds in the same piece. Rudy Gay recently said he felt “lost” on the court, according to Jones. Gay signed his extension with the Kings in large measure because, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports originally wrote, he wanted to play for former coach Michael Malone,
Ranadive asked D’Alessandro to meet with Karl last week, Jones also writes in his piece. It seemed Monday, before the owner gave the GM the go-ahead to hire Karl if he wished, that Ranadive was hesitating while D’Alessandro pushed for a deal, though perhaps that wasn’t the case.
The Kings are expected to hire Vance Walberg as an assistant coach should the team complete a deal with Karl, as Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group hears (Twitter link). Walberg, currently a Sixers assistant who previously worked under Karl on the Nuggets, has made his mark on offense, Haynes notes.

Kings Offer Coaching Job To George Karl?

February 9th, 2015 at 4:30pm CST by Zachary Links

4:35pm: Multiple players on the Kings roster oppose the would-be hiring of Karl, Jones hears (Twitter link). Karl’s social media campaigning has rubbed some the wrong way, Jones adds (on Twitter), though it’s unclear if that’s the reason why the players don’t want him to coach the team.

4:15pm: The Kings have not made an offer to Karl, sources tell Chris Broussard of ESPN.com, which conflicts with Bucher’s report (below). Chances are good that the sides won’t reach agreement until after the All-Star break, the ESPN scribe adds.

2:52pm: People close to Cousins believe that the team will hire Karl soon, Voisin tweets.

2:43pm: Negotiations with Karl continue, but D’Alessandro hasn’t made his final decision yet, a source close to the team tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Corbin has been informed that he’ll stay on through the team’s final two games before the All-Star break, Spears also reports (Twitter links).

1:03pm: Ranadive and D’Alessandro are interrogating Karl about his health, tweets Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. The 63-year-old is a two-time cancer survivor, as Voisin points out.

12:47pm: The Kings have offered Karl a contract, a league source tells Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher (Twitter link).

12:39pm: Ranadive has granted D’Alessandro the power to make the hire he wants if he wishes to make a coaching change, Amick reports. Presumably, that’s further indication that a deal with Karl is forthcoming, as Amick writes, nonetheless noting that it’s unclear just when D’Alessandro would want to make a move. There were also indications Sunday that Cousins’ camp was warming to the idea of Karl as the team’s coach, Amick observes

11:28am: Some in the front office have reservations about Karl and have told Cousins about their concerns, but D’Alessandro seems prepared to forge ahead and reach an agreement with Karl, as Jones explains in a full piece.

MONDAY, 8:17am: The Kings front office has recommended that the team hire Karl, and they’re close on the terms of a deal, leaving the decision in the hands of ownership, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Tyrone Corbin met with the front office Sunday evening and remains the head coach of the Kings, Wojnarowski tweets, but it sounds as if the two games the Kings have before the All-Star break will be Corbin’s last in charge of the club, according to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (on Twitter).

Meanwhile, Cousins seems perturbed with the whole affair and vented to reporters after Sunday’s game, saying in part, “This city done put me through so much and I stayed loyal to it the whole time,” as James Ham of Cowbell Kingdom relays.

SUNDAY, 7:39pm: There was was a sizable gap between the two sides on salary and the length of a potential contract, but that has been narrowed, according to Amick. D’Alessandro, meanwhile, appears willing to make the hire without the consent of Cousins’ camp.

Aaron Bruski of NBCSports.com (on Twitter) hears from a source that the discussions with Cousins’ camp have largely been to smooth things over from the Mike Malone firing and show that the team respects his place as a franchise player.

5:47pm: Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro is still pushing hard to hire George Karl as the team’s next head coach, according to Sam Amick of USA Today Sports (via Twitter). As was rumored on Saturday, Karl is expected to talk with DeMarcus Cousins‘ camp later on today (Sunday). The meeting, Amick adds, will be crucial towards Karl’s candidacy.

A potential deal between the two sides is not dead, but there’s still plenty of work to be done if a deal is going to happen, Amick tweets. The idea that Karl must win over Cousins before getting the gig is also quite real. When asked if he was playing a role behind-the-scenes in whether Karl would get hired, Cousins didn’t exactly issue a denial:

“I’m waiting just like you guys,” Cousins said on Saturday. “There’s gonna always be allegations, there’s always going to be he said/she said.”

Cousins’ agent Dan Fegan told Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee (on Twitter) that his client is not “blocking” a deal and if the Kings want Karl, they should “make the move. We don’t run [the] team.” That could be exactly what the Kings are planning to do. The Kings aren’t saying much today and neither is Karl’s camp, according to Voisin (on Twitter), and that’s usually a sign that the parties are close to making something happen, in her view.

Kings Intensify Coaching Search, Eye Karl

February 7th, 2015 at 10:56pm CST by Chuck Myron

10:56pm: Cousins didn’t confirm or deny his behind-the-scenes role in the Karl situation after Saturday’s loss to the Jazz, Bruski reports. (Twitter link). “I’m waiting just like you guys,” Cousins told reporters. “There’s gonna always be allegations, there’s always going to be he said/she said.” The Sacramento center wasn’t surprised to be the target of rumors, saying, “Of course my name is being thrown into it. (I’m) franchise center piece…” (Twitter link).

10:22pm: There is opposition to Karl inside the Kings organization from minority owners, Amick reports (Twitter link). There was hope that Karl could talk to Cousins on Sunday — either in person or by telephone — but it’s uncertain now if that will occur (Twitter link).

9:34pm: The resistance from Cousins’ camp has slowed negotiations between Karl and the Kings, Wojnarowski confirms (Twitter link). He adds that the two sides were closing the gap on money and contract length this afternoon (Twitter link).

9:12pm: It seems less and less likely that Karl will be the Kings’ next coach, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link), who says representatives of the team, Karl and Cousins all share that belief. He adds that a resolution is expected Sunday, and the Kings are willing to finish the season with Corbin behind the bench. (Twitter link).

5:27pm: There is a significant gap between the two sides when it comes to salary and length of contract, reports Sam Amick of USA Today. D’Alessandro, who’s pushing for the team to bring on his former Nuggets colleague, has traveled to Denver to talk about the job with Karl, Amick also writes. The two agents for Cousins have opposed a Karl hiring, Amick hears, pointing out that Karl reassigned Jarinn Akana, one of those agents, from the coaching staff to a scouting position when Akana worked for the Nuggets. Karl’s son, former NBA player Coby Karl, once was a client of Dan Fegan, the lead agent for Cousins, before replacing him with another representative, according to Amick. D’Alessandro is prepared to forge ahead without the support of those agents, but there’s concern within the Kings organization about the conflict that would engender, and the GM would prefer to convince them Karl is the man for the job, as Amick explains. Karl has told the Kings that he likes Cousins quite a bit, Spears tweets.

2:10pm: The Kings are in “serious back-and-forth” discussions with Karl, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! sports.

SATURDAY, 11:22am: Talks between the Kings and Karl have intensified, Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee reports. The combination of Karl’s innovative coaching and immediate availability has won over team officials, Voisin notes. While it was previously reported that Sacramento wished to wait until after the season to make a change, the Kings’ ongoing slump and “jarring absence of competitiveness” has prompted principal owner Vivek Ranadive and D’Alessandro to move the search along more rapidly, Voisin adds.

3:57pm: Kings officials want to see whether Tom Thibodeau or other desirable coaches become available this summer, giving them further motivation to stand pat for now, Jones tweets.

3:47pm: Sacramento’s front office is not pleased with the play of the team but is nonetheless concerned about firing another coach during the season, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee reports (Twitter links). In addition to Karl, Alvin Gentry and Nate McMillan will also be candidates for the Kings’ coaching slot, Jones adds.

FRIDAY, 2:37pm: The Kings are picking up steam in their search for a long-term solution at head coach, as Aaron Bruski of NBCSports.com hears (Twitter link). There’s a decent chance that the team will make a hire at the All-Star break, Bruski adds, cautioning that Sacramento has no definitive timetable to make a move. Bruski suggests that the Magic’s coaching search has spurred the Kings into action, and George Karl, who’s openly campaigning for the Orlando job, remains a candidate, according to Bruski (Twitter links). Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro has said that Tyrone Corbin, who took over for the Kings when they fired Michael Malone in December, would remain in charge of the team until season’s end. Still, another report indicated that owner Vivek Ranadive wanted to bring in someone else in the immediate wake of Malone’s dismissal before the team’s front office talked him into keeping Corbin.

Sacramento is just 6-18 under Corbin, and sits in 12th place in the Western Conference at 17-31 after a strong start under Malone that ended when an illness knocked DeMarcus Cousins out of 10 games. Cousins, who was a supporter of Malone, told reporters after Thursday’s blowout loss to the Mavs that this has been his most frustrating time as a King, as Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee notes (Twitter link).

Bruski wrote in December that Mark Jackson, another rumored candidate for the Magic job, had “no chance” of becoming the next Kings coach, in spite of his close ties to D’Alessandro and Kings adviser Chris Mullin. D’Alessandro denied that a meeting he had with Mullin and Jackson, as well as Cousins, had any connection to the team’s head coaching position. Ranadive became intrigued with the idea of Mullin coaching the team, but the Hall-of-Famer apparently has no desire to take over at midseason. Vinny Del Negro, whom multiple reports have connected to the Magic job, also heard from the Kings in December.

Latest On Magic Coaching Search

February 7th, 2015 at 1:25pm CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 1:25pm: Despite the Kings reportedly intensifying their talks with Karl, the Magic aren’t going to rush to beat Sacramento to the punch and hire him, Sam Amick of USA Today reports. Orlando still wishes to take its time in considering multiple candidates over the next few days, Amico adds.

1:15pm: Karl made it clear via Twitter that he is indeed interested in the job (hat tip to Robbins). “Love and miss the NBA rodeo!” Karl wrote. “It’s no secret I would love the opportunity to coach one more time. Love the skills and speed of the Magic and the great young players throughout the league!”

FRIDAY, 10:38am: Several league sources think Orlando might pursue Tom Thibodeau if he shakes free from the Bulls at season’s end and if the Magic haven’t already made a long-term hire by then, as Chris Mannix of SI.com writes in his Open Floor column. Several league sources recently told K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune that the relationship between Thibodeau and the Bulls is “beyond repair,” though the Bulls have denied that. The prevailing sense within coaching circles is that the Magic are prepared to ride with interim coach James Borrego for the time being, tweets Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders.

Three different people have suggested to Kyler that Skiles won’t take the Magic job without personnel control, while one source told Kyler that Magic ownership seemed to be the driving force behind the appearance of Skiles’ and Jackson’s names in connection with the opening (Twitter links). Still, Mannix seconds earlier reports indicating that Skiles is a leading candidate, and writes that Jackson, Malone and Del Negro figure to eventually receive interviews.

THURSDAY, 3:55pm: Sources have informed Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that George Karl would be interested in coaching the Magic (Twitter links). In the past, Karl has stated his preference was to coach out west, but he finds the Orlando position an attractive one, Kennedy relays.

1:51pm: The Magic will consider Scott Skiles, Mark Jackson and Michael Malone to take over the head coaching job that came open today when the team fired Jacque Vaughn, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Assistant coach James Borrego holds the job on an interim basis. Orlando had yet to make contact with any potential candidates or their representatives before today, and the team has just begun gathering information, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. It remains a “wide-open process,” Wojnarowski adds.

Several executives speculated to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com last week that Skiles would become a candidate, and Broussard also identified Jackson among the “names to watch.” Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports called Jackson a “serious candidate” earlier today, and suggested Malone could wind up in the running. Wojnarowski also mentioned Vinny Del Negro, though it’s not clear if that was just speculation.

In any case, the Magic are looking for a proven veteran for their next coach, Kennedy hears (Twitter link). Many believe that Vaughn still has the capacity to become a successful head coach but think he would have benefited from more time as an assistant with the Spurs, with whom he spent two seasons before taking the Magic job, Wojnarowski writes.

Vaughn released a statement today that was complimentary of the Magic, as Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel relays. The ex-coach drew praise from soon-to-be restricted free agent Tobias Harris, who took to Twitter after the firing (Twitter link; hat tip to Robbins). “I want to thank Coach Vaughn for being a first class individual not only to myself, but everyone associated with the Magic,” Harris wrote.

And-Ones: Rondo, Karl, Allen, Turner

January 21st, 2015 at 10:11pm CST by Eddie Scarito

George Karl still wants to return to coaching in the NBA, and he had thought that the opportunity to do so presented itself when the Kings fired Michael Malone, Sam Amick of USA Today writes. But Sacramento promoted assistant coach Tyrone Corbin for the remainder of the season instead. “There’s obviously been communication,” Karl said. “But have they ever talked to me about being the head coach? We’ve talked around it, but we’ve probably never talked about that situation. Do I feel I’m on their list? Yes, but I think they made it very clear when they made the decision to give Corbin the opportunity to coach that that was what they were going to do.” Karl is indeed likely to be among the candidates for the Kings head coaching position, unless the team performs unexpectedly well under Corbin, according to Amick, who also notes that Warriors assistant Alvin Gentry is also expected to be a candidate. Sacramento has discussed Mark Jackson‘s potential candidacy internally, but he appears to have a minimal shot at landing the job, Amick writes

Here’s more from around the league:

Though the Mavs are said to be the favorites to re-sign Rajon Rondo when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer, Kobe Bryant hasn’t given up on recruiting Rondo to come and join the Lakers, Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald writes. “No way,” Bryant said. “I’m not done. I’m not stopping until he signs an extension.”
With the Celtics now fully in rebuilding mode, veteran swingman Evan Turner said that Boston’s situation is markedly different from what he experienced as a member of the Sixers last season, Bulpett adds in the same article. “This isn’t anything like it was with the Sixers,” Turner said. “They traded everybody, and on top of that they’d just go and get new players every 10 days. So this is sweet compared to that. When we make trades this year and get new players, I’ve actually heard of them. In Philly, they’d bring somebody in, and you just never heard of the person in your life. They’d introduce me to them, and I’d just go about my business. This is kind of typical. I can deal with these type of trades. The other stuff was crazy. I guess this is new to a lot of guys here, but this is small compared to what I was going through last year.”
Ray Allen has been leaning toward retiring instead of returning to action this season, but the veteran sharpshooter is hinting that he may have changed his thinking regarding suiting up to play, Dave Brousseau of The South Florida Sun Sentinel writes.

Pacific Notes: Corbin, Lakers, Wilcox

January 6th, 2015 at 9:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro confirmed that Tyrone Corbin would indeed coach Sacramento for the remainder of the season, as the GM said in a radio interview Monday on KHTK-AM, Bill Herenda of CSNBayArea.com notes. When Corbin took over for the fired Mike Malone, it was assumed that he would merely be the interim coach, notes Herenda, but the team intended to have Corbin finish out the season all along. D’Alessandro did admit that he spoke with George Karl after Malone was fired, but D’Alessandro said the organization supports Corbin fully, Herenda adds.

Here’s the latest out of the Pacific Division:

The Clippers have assigned C.J. Wilcox to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the D-League, the team has announced. This will be Wilcox’s first trip of the season to the D-League, and he is the first player that the Clippers have assigned this season.
Blazers guard Steve Blake still has warm regards for the Lakers, with whom he spent four years of his career before being dealt to Golden State last season, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes. Blake said that he “absolutely” had interest in re-signing with the Lakers this offseason, Medina notes. Blake also relayed that he and the Lakers talked at the beginning of free agency, though Los Angeles was waiting on the decisions of LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. “As soon as the Blazers made me an offer, I took it pretty quickly,” Blake said. “There were a lot of questions for the Lakers to answer before they could get around to someone like me. I wasn’t the first option. A lot of those things didn’t clear themselves up until it was too late.”
In the same article by Medina, Chris Kaman, who didn’t mesh well with former Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni‘s system, blamed himself for signing with L.A. “I can point fingers all day long. But it was my choice where I went,” said Kaman. “I made the call and thought it would work. I don’t think that Mike D’Antoni purposely tried to [expletive] anybody over. It’s just the way he wants to play people.”
Kaman also blames the Lakers‘ delay while waiting for ‘Melo and LeBron for why he didn’t return to Los Angeles, Medina notes. “Mitch Kupchak [Lakers GM] took forever trying to wait for Carmelo,” Kaman said. “I think that was [executive] Jimmy Buss. They lost a lot of opportunities personally by waiting that long. They lost a bunch of guys that went the other way. My guess is Jimmy said we want to wait for those guys so they can try to make a run at it.”

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