Mike D’Antoni was named the NBA’s Coach of the Year, which was announced on the TNT awards show Monday night.
D’Antoni led the Rockets to the third-best record in the Western Conference at 55-27 in his first year with the club. The Rockets finished 41-41 in 2015/16. He also won the award in 2005 when he patrolled the sidelines for the Suns.
The Spurs’ Gregg Popovich and Heat’s Erik Spoelstra were the other finalists. The Hoops Rumors staff gave two of the five votes to D’Antoni.
Milwaukee will begin formal interviews for its open GM position on Monday, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports.
The team has been granted permission to speak with Blazer assistant GM Bill Branch, Heat assistant GM Adam Simon, and Pistons assistant GM Pat Garrity, according to Wojnarowski.
The scribe adds that the Bucks have reached out to the Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon about the opening. Hammon has been working under coach Gregg Popovich for three seasons.
Milwaukee previously reached out to Indiana and gained permission to speak with the team’s VP of basketball operations Peter Dinwiddie. Wojnarowski adds that the franchise also has permission to speak with Denver assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas, Grizzlies VP of player personnel Ed Stefanski and Hawks special advisor Wes Wilcox.
Justin Zanik, who is currently running the team as its assistant GM, remains a strong candidate for the position. Zanik is gathering “significant support” inside and outside the organization, Wojnarowski writes. He joined the team with the expectation that he would be the GM-in-waiting once John Hammond‘s contract expired. Hammond recently left the franchise to become Orlando’s GM.
The NBA is in the process of revealing its finalists for each of the major year-end awards on TNT, the winners of which will be announced at the official award show on June 26.
Below is an ongoing list that we’ll update as the NBA on TNT crew reveals more.
Most Improved Player of the Year
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Rudy Gobert
Nikola Jokic
Hoops Rumors Analysis: MIP
Sixth Man of the Year
Eric Gordon
Andre Iguodala
Lou Williams
Hoops Rumors Analysis: Sixth Man
Rookie of the Year
Malcolm Brogdon
Joel Embiid
Dario Saric
Hoops Rumors Analysis: ROY
Coach of the Year
Mike D’Antoni
Gregg Popovich
Erik Spoelstra
Hoops Rumors Analysis: COTY
Defensive Player of the Year
Rudy Gobert
Draymond Green
Kawhi Leonard
Hoops Rumors Analysis: DPOY
Most Valuable Player of the Year
James Harden
Kawhi Leonard
Russell Westbrook
Hoops Rumors Analysis: MVP
Gregg Popovich says that small forward Kawhi Leonard will play for the Spurs in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals series against the Warriors on Sunday, reports Melissa Rohlin of MySA.com.
As Rohlin tweets, Leonard was a full participant in Saturday’s practice. After rolling his ankle in Game 5 of the Spurs’ series against the Rockets, the Spurs’ star missed the series’ decisive Game 6, which the Spurs won 114-75.
The Grizzlies may have to choose between Zach Randolph and JaMychal Green, Michael Wallace of Grind City Media writes. The scribe details Green’s first season as a starter in Memphis and what could come next as the offseason nears.
Given that Green is a restricted free agent this summer, the Grizzlies will have the option to match any offers he can scrounge up on the market. This, of course, means that teams like the Nets, Magic and Sixers with plenty of cap space can sign the forward to a lofty deal in hopes that Memphis doesn’t match.
Green’s defensive versatility, coupled with his three-ball make him a particularly appealing asset for a Grizzlies team with an aging core but foul trouble and a quick temper limited his impact.
If, as Wallace suggests, the team truly has an either/or situation on their hands, general manager Chris Wallace will need to choose between the intriguing 26-year-old hybrid forward and a Grizzlies legend.
There’s more from the Southwest:
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is taking some heat for his plan to honor Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo by letting him fill a roster spot for the team’s final home game. Brian T. Smith of The Houston Chronicle calls the proposed move a “pitiful little circus” and says NBA Commissioner Adam Silver should block it. However, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle told The Dallas Morning News that he is looking forward to hosting Romo, who frequently sits behind the bench at Mavs games.
There’s more tonight from the Southwest Division:
Kevin Durant believes it’s unfair to criticize the top players for sitting out games, Chris Haynes of ESPN.com relays. “The truth about it is, it’s only for a couple of players in the league,” Durant told Haynes. “They don’t care if the 13th man on the bench rests. It’s only for like [LeBron James], [Stephen Curry], [James Harden], [Russell Westbrook]. It’s only for like five players. So you want a rule just for those five players?”
“It’s hard for you to just craft a rule out for the top players. I’ve seen guys that’s not even in the playoffs resting, sitting out for the rest of the season. And it’s nothing against those guys. I’m not trying to bash them or anything. [Suns center] Tyson Chandler is out. They got him sitting out for the rest of the year. I’m sure he wants to play, but they’re not saying anything about Tyson Chandler, so it’s hard for me to really talk about this. It’s not a league-wide rule. It’s not a league-wide concern.”
Durant added that he empathizes with fans who miss out on seeing their favorite player when they come to the arena. “I see it from the fans’ perspective and the players’ perspective,” Durant said. “I’m caught right in the middle.”
While the 2013/14 league MVP feels bad for those fans who show up the arena, he gives the situation some perspective.
“On the other hand, there’s a lot of people that can’t even afford tickets to the game. So, I kind of feel sorry for you, but then I don’t when I look at it that way,” he added. “Your parents spend hard-earned money, I understand you want to see your favorite players, but there’s some people who don’t even get a chance to watch a game live.”
Durant hasn’t played since February because of a knee injury, but the team recently announced that he has made “very good progress.” The small forward could see court-time again before the end of the season.
While we wait for Durant to get healthy so his fans can see him play, check out some notes from around the league:
The Spurs signed Pau Gasol to a two-year, $30MM deal over the summer and he began the year in the starting lineup, something he’s done at every stop during his career. Yet, since coming back from a hand injury in February, he’s come off the bench. That’s not something that bothers the big man; he’s more concerned with winning.
“Right now we’re the second-best record in the league and we’re in a good spot,” Gasol said (via Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press). “That was the key reason why I came here.”
His 3-point range is giving the Spurs exactly what they need as they get set for another playoff run. He’s taking more shots from behind the arc (making 53,5% of them) than he has during any season in his entire career. “I’m trying to survive in this league that is evolving continuously,” Gasol said recently. Gasol’s ability to shoot from long-range has allowed LaMarcus Aldridge to thrive from inside the arc, Krawczynski notes.
Gregg Popovich didn’t intend for Gasol to play away from the basketball as much. “We didn’t sit him down and say now Pau, part of your role is going to be [shooting 3s],” Popovich said. “But it’s sort of evolved with the spacing and the way we do things with LaMarcus out there. It just evolved that way. He’s been successful at it so we just kind of let it roll.”
Gasol’s contract contains a player option for the 2017/18 campaign, meaning the Spaniard ostensibly could become a free agent again this offseason. However, it was previously reported that he intends to opt in and stay with the team. “My intention is to continue here, and to be here as long as I can,” Gasol said earlier this season.
The former No. 3 overall pick has been a great fit in San Antonio. He’s helped the team claim a record of 57-16, which is the second-best mark in the league.
The only team with a better record: the Warriors. The Spurs are one of two franchises that Golden State has not beaten this season (the Wizards are the other team, though the Warriors host them next weekend). The Spurs won the first two meetings and they’ll play again on Wednesday night. If San Antonio makes it three straight against the defending Western Conference champs, Gasol may not get much attention, but he’ll deserve credit for how he’s altered his game for the betterment of the team.
MARCH 27: Hammon has turned down Florida’s offer and will remain with the Spurs, sources tell Mike Robinson of Swish Appeal.
MARCH 24: Spurs assistant coach and WNBA legend Becky Hammon is considering a lucrative offer to coach women’s basketball at the University of Florida, according to a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Per Wojnarowski, Hammon’s offer would be a considerable raise from her current salary with the Spurs.
Currently in her third year as an assistant coach, Hammon aspires to be the NBA’s first female head coach; a factor which makes the Gators’ offer a dilemma.
Hammon’s 16-year WNBA career reached a conclusion after the 2014 season. David Lee, a member of the Spurs who attended University of Florida, vouched for Hammon as a potential boon for the program.
“If anybody’s going to do it, it would be her,” Lee told ESPN. “Knowing the makeup of the campus and how the women’s basketball is there, she’d be a great fit.”
Likely further complicating Hammon’s decision is her close relationship with Gregg Popovich. Hammon has spoken highly of the three-time Coach of the Year, crediting him with her opportunity to coach in the NBA.
“I’m not here unless Coach Pop kind of sees me genderless — he sees me as a person that knows basketball,” Hammon said on the NBA’s YouTube channel. “He didn’t care that I was a woman. What he cared about was, can I help the team and will I do a good job. Pop leaned in for me, big time. You know, I might have been the tool, but Pop, he thrust me through that ceiling. The fact that he invited me into their inner-circle was a huge vote of confidence, and I do believe leadership knows no gender.”
The starters for this year’s NBA All-Star Game were announced this week and, as always, people were quick to disagree with the players selected. Unique this year is the fact that fans don’t shoulder all of the blame. This year the fans accounted for just 50% of the vote, while the media accounted for 25% and players accounted for 25%.
There were plenty of hot takes about what should have happened, but none more memorable than Clippers head coach Doc Rivers‘ regarding the snub of Russell Westbrook. To ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, Rivers said: “Fake news. I am just shocked that fans don’t see the same things we see.”
Also among Westbrook supporters were Sam Amick of USA Today and Kevin Garnett.
“This might be the league’s all-time history snub right here,” Garnett said on his TV show Area 21. “Seriously. He has to be on the team, bruh.”
Another guard left out of the starting lineup was Kyle Lowry and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today made a case for him over either Kyrie Irving or DeMar DeRozan.
Lang Whitaker of NBA.com discussed the official list of starters.
There are more general headlines from around the league: