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Magic Await Permission To Talk To David Griffin

May 16th, 2017 at 10:21am CST by Arthur Hill

The Magic have submitted a formal request to the Cavaliers to speak with GM David Griffin, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Griffin is believed to be the front-runner to become Orlando’s president of basketball operations, with a report last month saying he will be offered the job when he becomes available.

The Cavaliers have not responded to the request, Wojnarowski adds, and have the option of holding onto Griffin until his contract expires at the end of June. With free agency starting July 1st, it’s possible that Cavs owner Dan Gilbert will deny the interview request as a stall tactic to see if Orlando turns to someone else.

Sources tell Wojnarowski that Gilbert hasn’t made a substantive offer to try to keep Griffin, who built the Cavaliers into a championship team after LeBron James returned in 2014. James has been an outspoken advocate of keeping the GM, but his public comments seem to have had little effect on negotiations.

The Magic are getting ready to start interviewing other candidates for the position, including Hall of Famer Kevin McHale and Bucks GM John Hammond, who still has a year left on his contract in Milwaukee. Interim Magic GM Matt Lloyd has already been through the interview process and is highly thought of in the organization, according to Wojnarowski.

Orlando launched a front-office shakeup when the season ended, firing GM Rob Hennigan and assistant GM Scott Perry. The Magic plan to put control of the front office in the hands of a president, who will then hire the next GM.

The team faces competition from the Hawks, who recently relieved Wes Wilcox of GM duties. Griffin is seen as a candidate in Atlanta, along with former Pistons executive Joe Dumars, Rockets VP of basketball operations Gersson Rosas, Knicks director of player personnel Mark Hughes and former players and current TV analysts Chauncey Billups and Brent Barry. Wojnarowski reports that the Hawks have received permission to interview Rosas and Hughes.

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Nets Likely To Part Ways With Andrea Bargnani

February 16th, 2016 at 6:59am CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 6:59am: Colangelo and Rosas are still in the race for the GM job, Wojnarowski clarifies (on Twitter).

MONDAY, 11:24am: Andrea Bargnani is among the players almost certain to work a buyout with their respective teams if they’re not traded by Thursday’s 2pm Central deadline, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. It’s not surprising to see David Lee and J.J. Hickson as the other names on Wojnarowski’s short list of buyout candidates, since Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck reported earlier this month that the Celtics intended to either trade Lee or do a buyout, while the Nuggets have apparently been shopping Hickson. Bargnani is in the first season of a two-year deal for the minimum salary that includes a player option for next season and is averaging only 13.8 minutes per game, by far the fewest of his 10-year NBA career.

Still, it’s difficult to gauge just what the Nets will do with their personnel, since they’re in the midst of hiring a new GM. Nuggets assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas and Spurs assistant GM Sean Marks continue to talk with the team as it moves toward second interviews this week, league sources told Wojnarowski. The general consensus around the NBA as of Friday held that former Raptors and Suns GM Bryan Colangelo would ultimately emerge with the gig, as Beck reported then, though Colangelo and Rockets executive VP of basketball operations Gersson Rosas aren’t necessarily out of the running, Wojnarowski indicates. Chris Broussard of ESPN on Thursday identified Colangelo, Karnisovas and Marks as the front-runners for the job that’s been vacant since the Nets removed Billy King from the position last month.

Regardless of whom the Nets choose as GM, he’ll be only one part of a committee that will hire the team’s next coach, Wojnarowski also writes. Various reports have indicated that some combination of team chairman Dmitry Razumov, board member Sergey Kushchenko, CEO Brett Yormark and owner Mikhail Prokhorov’s holding company president Irina Pavlova comprise the committee in charge of the GM search. The new GM will join that group in its efforts to find a coach, according to Wojnarowski. The Nets hope to draw from a pool of coaching candidates that includes NBA head coaching veterans Jeff Van Gundy and Tom Thibodeau and Spurs assistant Ettore Messina. Mike Mazzeo and Marc Stein reported last month that Brooklyn had strong interest in Thibodeau, and Stein later identified Messina as a candidate, but this appears to be the first legitimate link between the Nets and Van Gundy.

Whomever ends up coaching the Nets likely won’t have Bargnani, unless the team speeds through the process. March 1st represents the de facto buyout deadline, since it’s the last day any player can hit waivers and still be eligible to play for another NBA team in the postseason.

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And-Ones: Nets’ GM Search, International Players

February 13th, 2016 at 10:38pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The team could hire their next GM in the coming days, but no specific deadline is in place, according to Alex Raskin of The Wall Street Journal.

The general consensus around the league is that the job is Bryan Colangelo’s to lose. Other candidates include Nuggets assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas, Rockets executive VP of basketball operations Gersson Rosas, former Cavs and Hawks GM Danny Ferry and Spurs assistant GM Sean Marks. Raskin notes that all the candidates have a background in international basketball, something that will be important for the Nets. Brooklyn doesn’t control its own draft pick until 2019, so acquiring talent through atypical means will be key to putting together a successful roster, Raskin opines.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Owner Mikhail Prokhorov expects to be personally involved with the interviewing process while in Brooklyn on Wednesday when the Nets officially open their new training center, Raskin reports in the same piece.
  • The Spurs were able to trade Tiago Splitter to the Hawks last offseason in part because they had targeted Boban Marjanovic as his replacement, Raskin adds in the same piece. Marjanovic, who went undrafted in 2010, signed a one-year, $1.2MM deal with San Antonio in July.
  • The Nuggets‘ second round gamble on Nikola Jokic during the 2014 draft is paying tremendous dividends, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post contends in a piece that examines the Serbian’s journey to the NBA.
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Nets Interested In Tommy Sheppard For GM Job

February 4th, 2016 at 7:58am CST by Chuck Myron

The Nets have requested permission to interview Wizards senior VP of basketball operations Tommy Sheppard for their GM vacancy, a source said to Brian Lewis of the New York Post. He joins Bryan Colangelo, Arturas Karnisovas and Gersson Rosas as contenders for the position, Lewis notes, having reported earlier this week that Danny Ferry was no longer a viable candidate. John Calipari is a long shot candidate, but remains a possibility because of his strong support from CEO Brett Yormark, according to Lewis.

Brooklyn already reportedly received permission to speak with Karnisovas and Rosas. Washington denied a June 2014 request from the Grizzlies to interview Sheppard, as Chris Vernon of 92.9 FM ESPN in Memphis reported at the time, so it’s no lock that the Nets will have the chance to pursue him. Sheppard has been with the Wizards for 12 years and assumed his current position under GM Ernie Grunfeld shortly before the 2013/14 season.

The Nets reportedly want to hire a GM before the trade deadline, which is two weeks from today. Assistant GM Frank Zanin has been running the front office since the team removed Billy King from the GM job nearly a month ago.

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Nets To Interview Rosas, Karnisovas For GM Post

February 2nd, 2016 at 7:55pm CST by Eddie Scarito

7:55pm: Brooklyn has also received permission from Denver to interview Karnisovas, NetsDaily reports. Karnisovas, 44, was a member of the NBA’s basketball operations office from 2003 to 2008. He then spent five seasons as an international scout for the Rockets, an experience that holds high value to the Nets, who want to ramp up their international scouting ties, according to Wojnarowski. The executive was named assistant GM of the Nuggets in July of 2013.

6:39pm: The Nets have requested and received permission from the Rockets to interview their executive VP of basketball operations Gersson Rosas for the team’s vacant GM post, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Brooklyn’s interest in Rosas was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. The Nets are also reportedly considering Denver assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas for the position.

Brooklyn reportedly wants to hire a GM before the February 18th trade deadline, which is two weeks from Thursday, and the Nets plan to begin formal interviews shortly, according to Wojnarowski. Nets officials want a greater emphasis on international scouting, feeling as though the team lacked that under former GM Billy King, the Yahoo scribe relayed. Rosas, a native of Bogota, Colombia, has been with the Rockets’ organization for 13 years, and has been the franchise’s Executive VP for the past five years. He was previously hired as Mavericks GM in 2013, but Dallas envisioned him as a clear subordinate to president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson, something that apparently didn’t sit well with Rosas, who resigned just three months into the job.

Rosas played a prominent role in the Rockets’ reshaping of their roster in the post-Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady seasons, when the franchise traded McGrady for multiple draft picks and built up the required assets to acquire James Harden via trade and sign Dwight Howard in free agency, according to Wojnarowski (h/t NetsDaily). He also played a major part in bringing Patrick Beverley from Europe as a free agent and drafting small forward Chandler Parsons, as Wojnarowski noted in his profile of the executive.

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Nets Consider Karnisovas, Rosas For GM Job

January 25th, 2016 at 7:58am CST by Chuck Myron

Nuggets assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas and Rockets executive VP of basketball operations Gersson Rosas have become serious candidates for the Nets GM vacancy, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. They join Bryan Colangelo and Danny Ferry, whom earlier reports identified as candidates. Karnisovas and Rosas have separated themselves from other candidates, Wojnarowski writes, but the Yahoo scribe also indicates that Colangelo and Ferry remain in “prominent consideration.” Owner Mikhail Prokhorov has so far not shown a willingness to lay out the 10-year, $120MM contract that John Calipari is seeking, according to Wojnarowski.

The Nets want to hire a GM before the February 18th trade deadline, which is three weeks from Thursday, and they plan to begin formal interviews early next month, Wojnarowski hears. Nets officials want a greater emphasis on international scouting, feeling as though the team lacked that under former GM Billy King, as Wojnarowski also reports, detailing the history that Karnisovas and Rosas have with players from overseas.

Karnisovas just signed an extension with Denver, though teams generally don’t stand in the way if someone in the organization seeks a higher-level job elsewhere.  Rosas thought that’s what he was doing when he left the Rockets to become Mavericks GM in 2013, but Dallas envisioned him as a clear subordinate to president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson, and Rosas resigned just three months into the job. He returned to the Rockets two months after that. Karnisovas has strong relationships with Prokhorov associates, while Rosas is tight with coaches Tom Thibodeau, who’s already reportedly a candidate to become Brooklyn’s next head coach, and Jeff Van Gundy, according to Wojnarowski.

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Southwest Rumors: Matthews, Bonner, Rockets

August 3rd, 2015 at 7:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks have tempered their expectations of Wesley Matthews for the upcoming season because they don’t want to jeopardize his future, according to Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said that the club won’t take any shortcuts as Matthews recovers from a torn Achilles tendon, Sneed continues. “I think the most important thing is that he makes a full recovery, because we’re signing him to a four-year deal,” Carlisle said. “The first year is more about making sure that he’s right and getting him out there on the right terms, and from there we want him to make a full recovery and continue to get better.” Matthews said in the same story that the Mavs will get their money’s worth, even though they have been criticized for giving him a $70MM deal. “It’s just going to make me hungrier to prove that I’m worth the money,” he said. “I’m not concerned with that. I just know that I can play this game, and I know that I can play it at a high level.”

In other news around the Southwest Division:

  • Maurice Ndour will see $1 more the minimum on his three-year contract with the Mavericks, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). It’s fully guaranteed for this season, but the guarantees beyond that are still unknown, Pincus indicates. Brandon Ashley, Jarrid Famous and Jamil Wilson are also receiving the minimum from the Mavs this year, Pincus shows on the same page.
  • Matt Bonner received a $795,000 guarantee from the Spurs on his $1.5MM deal, Pincus reports in a separate tweet. Bonner gets the full amount if he’s still on the roster on January 10th.
  • Rockets executive vice president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas has been named International Player Personnel Scout for USA Basketball, the team announced Monday. Entering his fourth season with the Rockets in that capacity, Rosas was previously the Mavericks’ GM.
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Rockets Notes: Rosas, Howard, Canaan

December 24th, 2013 at 1:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Rockets are in sixth place in the Western Conference after last night’s loss to the rival Mavericks, but Houston is regaining an asset it lost to Dallas in the offseason, as we detail:

  • Former Mavs GM Gersson Rosas is rejoining the Rockets front office, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. He’ll serve as executive vice president of basketball operations under GM Daryl Morey. Rosas worked nine years within the Rockets organization before departing this summer for Dallas, where he spent only a few months before leaving amid confusion over his role.
  • Mike D’Antoni has presided over plenty of tough breaks in his time with the Lakers, but he doesn’t think there was any more the team could have done to persuade Dwight Howard to pick L.A. over the Rockets. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports has the details.
  • Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle catches up with Isaiah Canaan, whose lengthy D-League assignment finally ended with a recall to the Rockets, paving the way for his NBA debut.
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Western Notes: Westbrook, Kobe, Carney, Rosas

October 29th, 2013 at 8:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

There’s some auspicious news for the Thunder on opening night, as it appears Russell Westbrook could be back as early as two weeks from now, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Thunder originally projected he’d miss at least the first month of the season. Here’s more from the West:

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Gersson Rosas Resigns As Mavs GM

October 29th, 2013 at 6:30pm CST by Luke Adams

6:30pm: The Mavs sent out a press release confirming that Rosas would no longer be with the organization, and it includes a statement from Rosas, who says the decision was entirely his.

“I made the personal decision to resign as general manager of the Dallas Mavericks after determining that the position was not the best fit for me at this point in my career,” Rosas said.  “The decision was made solely by me, as I firmly believe this change is in my best interest. 

Rosas added that Cuban asked him to reconsider the decision, but he ultimately turned the owner down. Rosas said he and Cuban “part as friends.”

3:34pm: According to Stein (Twitter links), Rosas wanted to head basketball operations in Dallas, whereas he was brought in to provide new ideas in a supplementary role.

1:56pm: General manager Gersson Rosas‘ stint in Dallas has come to a premature end, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who reports (via Twitter) that the two sides have parted ways. The Mavericks only hired him away from the Rockets about three months ago, but Stein tweets that questions about Rosas’ fit in Dallas were raised almost immediately upon his arrival.

Rosas spent the last nine years with the Rockets, steadily rising through the organization during that stretch. He has also served as the GM for Houston’s D-League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, helping to lead the squad to a pair of D-League titles in recent years. He was reportedly coveted by the Nuggets and Spurs before he agreed to join the Mavs’ front office.

While Rosas’ departure will alter the structure of the Mavs’ front office, it shouldn’t have a significant impact on the team’s basketball decisions, since owner Mark Cuban and president Donnie Nelson continue to have the final say.

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