J.B. Bickerstaff Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rockets Notes: Howard, Lawson, Bickerstaff

January 17th, 2016 at 7:00pm CST by Will Joseph

Rockets GM Daryl Morey told reporters there is no way Houston will be able to make a solid playoff push this year without Dwight Howard when asked about Howard’s future in Houston as the trade deadline approaches, Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle relays. The Rockets are currently seventh in the Western Conference with a 21-20 record. Howard was the subject of trade rumors last month, but he has on multiple occasions denied a report that he’s upset with playing a secondary role to James Harden. The Rockets expect Howard to opt out and hit free agency this summer.

Here are some more highlights from the interview session with Morey and notes regarding the Rockets:

Ty Lawson has played significantly better as of late and Morey believes the point guard still has tremendous upside, Smith details in the same interview transcription. “We know he’s capable of a very high level of play,” Morey said. “He’s done it every year he’s been in the league. … At times the fit on our roster has been challenging for him and us. But I feel like [interim coach] J.B. [Bickerstaff] has been working through that.”
Speaking of Bickerstaff, Morey, in the same interview, applauded the work the interim coach has done in guiding the Rockets, but was noncommittal about Bickerstaff’s future beyond this season. “When the season ends, we’re obviously going to have a tough decision,” Morey said. “And he’s very good – he’ll have a tough decision, too. How well he’s done has put a spotlight on him.”
The Rockets are 17-13 under Bickerstaff and the 36-year-old is starting to feel more comfortable in his interim role, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune writes. “It’s not about me,” Bickerstaff said. “It’s about what’s best for those guys in that locker room. You have to put personal issues aside and go get a job done. It’s about being a teammate, sacrificing for others and doing things you might not normally do. Figuring out the job, leading a group of guys who have high expectations for themselves and getting the most out of them, that’s most important.”

Western Notes: Karl, Davis, Cotton

January 12th, 2016 at 9:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kings coach George Karl admits that the comment he made at the end of last season that any player on the roster was tradeable didn’t get his relationship with DeMarcus Cousins off to a great start, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. “I just can’t stand summer talk,” Karl said. “I mean, free agency, all the money, teams think they saved their organization by signing this guy or making this trade. You have all these obnoxious predictions and it doesn’t mean anything. We got off into that trade innuendo, and I think it hurt Cuz [Cousins]. And I think I made a mistake in making the comment that no player is untradeable. That’s something I might believe, but I shouldn’t have said it. So everything kind of snowballed in the wrong way at the end of last year.”

“My belief was, I never, ever thought I was not going to coach Cuz this year,” Karl continued. “Did you have philosophical discussions? We talk about everything. We meet for 2-3 hours every day and talk about every scenario in the world. And I think Cuz worked his tail off this summer. [Team executive] Vlade [Divac] and I got together with Cuz in the summertime. Vlade’s done a good job of being a good bridge between he and I.”

Here’s more from out West:

Baron Davis, who agreed to join the NBA D-League earlier today, worked out for the Mavericks last Saturday when the team was in Los Angeles, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), but coach Rick Carlisle laughed off the report, as SB Nation’s Tim Cato relays (on Twitter).
Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff continues to learn while on the job, something that is vital if he hopes to remain in the position on a long-term basis, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com writes. “Every day you learn something,” Bickerstaff said. “That’s the same as assistant coach and the same as a head coach. You should continue to learn. You watch so much basketball you should see something somewhere from somebody different all the time. I hope I continue to learn. If I don’t then I know everything.“
Bryce Cotton, whom the Suns waived prior to the leaguewide contract guarantee date, has rejoined the Austin Spurs in the NBA D-League, tweets Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor.

And-Ones: Simmons, Bickerstaff, D-League

January 6th, 2016 at 10:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

LSU combo forward Ben Simmons is getting lots of attention as the No. 1 prospect for the 2016 draft, but it’s much too early to declare him a lock for the top pick, as Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress said to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports on “The Vertical” podcast (audio link at one-hour, one-minute mark). Duke small forward Brandon Ingram, No. 2 in Givony’s rankings, has fans in high places. “I think Ingram is absolutely still in the mix,” Givony said. “I know a lot of teams that have a real split in their front office right now. Some of them, you love the productivity of Simmons, he’s a safe pick, he’s an easy guy, you know he’s going to be a very, very good NBA player, while some of them say, ‘Hey, I love the upside of Brandon Ingram.’ Who knows what this kid can become three to four years from now? Is he going to be a Giannis Antetokounmpo, or someone like that, who just continually improves physically and skillwise and just becomes this devastating, 6’10” small forward who can score from all over the floor?”

Here’s more from around the league:

The players on the Rockets enjoy watching interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff grow into his new role with the team, Jenny Dial Creech of The Houston Chronicle notes. “He is growing and learning … it’s like any rookie,” small forward Trevor Ariza said. “They have to take their bumps and bruises. You learn from them. He has done a great job learning – he is here all the time. He has improved game by game and day by day.” Ariza also noted that he appreciates Bickerstaff’s level of communication with the team, Creech adds. “He asks for everyone’s input on how we feel, what’s working, what we see and he puts his own twist on it to make us better,” Ariza said.
If the NBA D-League is to continue to grow without diluting the available talent pool significantly, the league’s players may need to unionize in order to make salaries more competitive with overseas clubs, Adam Johnson of D-League Digest posits. D-League players don’t fall under the jurisdiction of the NBPA and player contracts are signed directly with the D-League while teams dictate which salary tier players are allotted, Johnson notes. While the pay in the D-League may not be significant, the showcase it provides for prospective NBA suitors is still a major benefit for players, the D-League Digest scribe adds. “Everyone wants to point to the salaries as being an issue, and while it is a valid criticism you can’t put a price on the level of exposure the league provides,” an NBA scout told Johnson.
For the latest on the business relationship between LeBron James and Browns quaterback Johnny Manziel, check out our sister site, Pro Football Rumors (@pfrumors on Twitter).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Bickerstaff, Noah, Smith

December 22nd, 2015 at 10:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley is a big supporter of interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff and hopes the team plays well enough to nab Bickerstaff the position on a more permanent basis, Mark Berman of FOX 26 relays (via Twitter). When asked what it would mean to him if Bickerstaff was officially named head coach, Beverley said, “Oh, everything. He’s been great. We’re very close. [He] holds everybody accountable. No one’s bigger than the team. Our defensive principles and defensive intensity have definitely gone up since [he became interim coach]. It wouldn’t surprise me if he will be our head coach for years to come. That wouldn’t surprise me. We’re playing for him. Of course we play for ourselves. Of course we play for our family. We’re playing for him, for him to be here and the rest of the coaching staff.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Bulls center Joakim Noah is expected to miss at least two weeks of action due to a sprained left shoulder, according to the team. Noah underwent an MRI today and will be re-evaluated in two weeks, but coach Fred Hoiberg noted that Noah could be out longer than that, Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago relays. “The initial diagnosis, the shoulder sprain and the initial recovery is two weeks or rehab, then he’ll be re-evaluated. That’s what I’ve been told,” Hoiberg said. “Maybe two, maybe four. I just don’t know yet.” The big man is averaging 4.5 points and 8.8 rebounds for Chicago on the season.
Offseason signee Jason Smith has upgraded the Magic‘s bench on both ends of floor, and his strong play has coach Scott Skiles thinking about expanding Smith’s role, John Denton of NBA.com writes. “I always felt like he was a very good team defender and we felt like in a solid defensive system he’d be very good,’’ Skiles said of Smith. “He’s really protected the rim for us and he’s been very good at moving around and communicating. He’s been very valuable for us.’’

Texas Notes: Matthews, Bickerstaff, Durant

November 29th, 2015 at 12:53pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Over the past few seasons, offense has been a major element in the Mavs‘ identity, but new addition Wes Matthews is helping to change the team’s perception, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. “We’ve had a spike in our defensive numbers,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “[Matthews] has been a significant part of that.”

Carlisle has had Matthews guard the opposing team’s best wing player on a nightly basis, but the shooting guard has also been asked to cover opposing big men at times. The 29-year-old’s versatility hasn’t gone unnoticed by his new teammates. “Wes is our go-to guy on defense,” said Dirk Nowitzki. “He can guard multiple positions. He’s just a fighter. We’ll live with him on the opposing best player all day.”

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

Interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff is making bold moves, like pairing Clint Capela and Dwight Howard in the starting lineup, and the team is embracing the changes, Jenny Dial Creech of The Houston Chronicle writes. “I just want to win,” Howard said. “The coaching staff is putting together the right guys with each other to make that happen.”
The Rockets will no doubt attempt to bring Kevin Durant aboard next summer, but with the current state of the franchise, Fran Blinebury of NBA.com wonders if Houston has any chance of landing the former MVP. Blinebury believes that if Durant is going to join the team, Bickerstaff needs to first mend the dysfunctional relationship between Howard and James Harden.

Southwest Notes: Morey, Williams, McGee, Gentry

November 23rd, 2015 at 3:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

It’s up to the players to pull the Rockets out of the malaise that cost former coach Kevin McHale his job, according to GM Daryl Morey, but Morey acknowledges to TNT’s David Aldridge that some of the fault lies at his own desk, as Aldridge relays in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com.

“Except for Dwight Howard, there really isn’t anybody on the roster playing well, and those are all my decisions,” Morey said. “I can’t hide from that.”

The Rockets won their first game after switching from McHale to interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff but lost both of their games since, and they’re tied with the Kings at 5-9 for 12th place in the Western Conference. See more from the Southwest Division:

Chandler Parsons doesn’t understand why Deron Williams has a reputation as a negative locker room force, citing evidence of the opposite to Jake Fischer of SI.com. Wesley Matthews observes a positive attitude from Williams in the face of challenges, like the erosion of his game, a change Williams acknowledges, as Fischer adds. “My days of scoring 20 and 10 are over. I know that,” said Williams, who gave up nearly $16MM to buy his way off the Nets before signing with the Mavericks for $11MM over two years.
The return of JaVale McGee puts the squeeze on the minutes of early-season revelation Dwight Powell, notes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. The Mavs have until January 7th to decide whether to pay McGee his full salary of $1.27MM or waive him and pay only his $750K partial guarantee.
Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry was satisfied as the lead assistant for the Warriors last season and didn’t think he’d end up with another head coaching job until New Orleans came calling, observes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. “I was not going to take a job just to have a job as a head coach unless it was a situation that I thought was going to give you an opportunity to win and win big and compete for a championship,” Gentry said. “I really didn’t have any desire just to take another NBA job.”

Rockets Notes: Harden, Bickerstaff, Lawson, Howard

November 19th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

James Harden admits responsibility falls on him to play better defense, and getting him to stick to that notion is job one on a daunting list of tasks for Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff, as Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle believes.

“That’s probably one of the reasons why the [team] energy has been so low,” Harden said. “Making shots or missing shots, I’ve got to bring my game.”

See more on the Rockets one day after they fired Kevin McHale:

Bickerstaff understands the impatience around the franchise and his limited window of opportunity, and he plans to push the team harder than McHale had, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports examines. Still, Bickerstaff feels he owes a debt of gratitude to his predecessor, who brought him to Houston, promoted him, and gave him raises, Wojnarowski writes. “He did everything in his power to protect me, to protect my family,” Bickerstaff said of McHale. “He went out on a limb to support me.”
The Rockets moved Ty Lawson to the bench for Wednesday’s game, just as McHale said before his ouster that he was thinking about doing, and it’s a move that the point guard said he’s on board with, as ClutchFans relays on Twitter. “Whatever for the team to win, I’m ready to do,” Lawson said.
Lawson, who called for Tuesday’s players-only meeting, has been dreadful thus far for Houston, symbolizing the team’s sluggish start, writes Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post.
Dwight Howard believes he had a strong relationship with McHale and feels down about the team’s decision to let him go, as Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle relays. “We can’t control what ownership does,” Howard said. “If they want to get rid of a player or a coach, that’s their decision. None of us had a clue what was going on. That [players-only] meeting was all about us. We didn’t even mention the coaches.”
Corey Brewer feels responsible for the firing, and said the blame shouldn’t be on McHale for the team’s slow start, as Creech notes in the same piece. “I don’t think [McHale] lost the locker room,” Brewer said. “This isn’t a fractured locker room. We just haven’t been playing like we should be. We have new pieces, different things to put together, but right now it’s about being men, looking in the mirror and coming out and playing hard every night.”
Owner Leslie Alexander’s fervent desire for a title has driven the Rockets to become overeager to find solutions, like the hasty decision to fire McHale, an old-school denizen whose open-mindedness to GM Daryl Morey‘s analytics had made their working relationship function, Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding opines.

Reactions To Rockets Firing Kevin McHale

November 18th, 2015 at 5:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Rockets fired coach Kevin McHale earlier today and installed J.B Bickerstaff as the interim coach for the remainder of the season. GM Daryl Morey said that he has not lost faith in the team’s ability to contend, and cited the lack of time to dally in the rugged Western Conference as reasoning for making the coaching move. Here’s what is being said around the league regarding McHale and Houston parting ways:

James Harden‘s “style” has created tension within the Rockets, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, and while that’s short on specifics, a follow-up tweet from Zillgitt suggests that it’s Harden’s playing style that’s irking some on the team. Still, Harden and Dwight Howard were both upbeat following Tuesday’s players-only meeting, which preceded the team’s coaching change today.
McHale admits that his situation in Houston was growing untenable, though he does believe that he could have turned things around, writes Jonathan Feigen of he Houston Chronicle. “We probably had more meetings in last six weeks than in my previous four years here,” said McHale. “It wasn’t working.”
The coach understood that a change could be coming after the Rockets’ loss to the Nuggets last Friday, and McHale wasn’t surprised by the team’s decision to let him go, Brian Geltzeiler of HoopsCritic.com tweets.
An opposing GM placed the blame for McHale’s departure on Howard and Harden, saying, “A team with James Harden and Dwight Howard as the stars had to fire the coach? Gee, shocking,” Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.com relays (Twitter link).
Mavs coach Rick Carlisle called McHale’s firing, “preposterous,” Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com tweets. “It’s very disappointing to hear, but Kevin will be fine,” Carlisle added.
Rockets team owner Leslie Alexander notes that it was Bickerstaff’s defensive acumen and the players’ familiarity with him that led to his appointment as interim coach, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com writes. “We spoke to him and we think he’s a good young coach with a lot of experience,” Alexander told Watkins. “He is on the defensive end which we really need a lot of help on. We have a good offensive coordinator [Chris Finch] so at the same time we have both. J.B. has a good relationship with the players, which I think is very important. If they didn’t know him it would be tough in the adjustment process. Now it’s much quicker.“
The Rockets appear to have demonstrated conflicting priorities with the team’s coaching staff, continually adding offensive-minded players while eschewing team defense, write Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. “Is this the first crack in the analytics revolution, where they start hanging the revolutionaries themselves?” [The Rockets] still haven’t figured out chemistry. They keep adding and adding, but none of it fits,” an NBA coach told Berger.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

J.B. Bickerstaff To Coach Rockets For Rest Of Season

November 18th, 2015 at 12:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

Rockets interim head coach J.B. Bickerstaff will remain in that position for the rest of the season following the dismissal of Kevin McHale, owner Leslie Alexander said to both Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston and Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com (Twitter links). GM Daryl Morey, while praising Bickerstaff’s leadership ability, had shown hesitance to say that he would remain in place all season in an interview with USA Today’s Sam Amick, but sources told Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders that Bickerstaff will at least have a chance to vie for the long-term job (Twitter link).

“For the season he’s going to be the interim coach. We’ll worry about coaching searches later,” Alexander told Berman (Twitter link).

Alexander, who purchased the club in July 1993, ripped the performance of the team as he spoke with Berman, saying the team has never played quite so poorly in his time as owner (Twitter link). Still, he called McHale a “tremendous” coach and admitted firing him was difficult, Berman relays (Twitter links). Alexander told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle that he doesn’t regret breaking with tradition to sign an in-season extension with McHale last December, and Feigen notes that McHale likely would have received a new deal after last season anyway (Twitter link). Instead, the owner seemed to direct his ire at the players.

“Some guys obviously aren’t playing hard enough,” Alexander said to Berman (Twitter link). “If they don’t respond and play hard they’re not going to stay here.”

Morey said earlier today that the team would “make changes until we win.” The Rockets are just 4-7 so far this season, with a game tonight at home against the Trail Blazers.

McHale was grooming Chris Finch to ultimately succeed him, but the Rockets passed him over to make Bickerstaff the interim coach, with Finch becoming his top assistant, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Bickerstaff’s defensive acumen helped him win the job, as did his relationship with the team’s players, Berger writes, though Finch has bonded with the players, too, Watkins tweets.

What do the Rockets need to do to play better? Leave a comment to let us know.

Daryl Morey On Rockets Coaching Change

November 18th, 2015 at 12:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

Rockets GM Daryl Morey hasn’t lost faith in his roster’s ability to contend for a title, notes Jason Quick of CSNNW.com (on Twitter), but he quickly ran out of patience with coach Kevin McHale, citing the lack of time to dally in the rugged Western Conference as he explained the team’s decision to fire McHale to reporters today. Morey hinted at further moves if the club doesn’t improve on its 4-7 record.

“We know this team can win and we are going to make changes until we win,” Morey said, according to Quick (Twitter link).

Houston returns to action tonight against the Trail Blazers. See more from the GM’s visit with the media:

Morey wouldn’t directly answer a question about whether Bickerstaff would remain in charge of the team for the rest of the season, but he elaborated on his confidence in the interim coach in an interview with USA Today’s Sam Amick. “J.B. is great with players, great with schemes, and he’s been preparing for this his whole life,” Morey said to Amick. “He obviously has a great pedigree, and was critical to our winning over the last four years with Kevin. He ‘architected’ the defense last year that was top 10 overall and top five when Dwight [Howard] played. Job One, really, is we’ve got to shore up our defense, and I believe J.B. can do it.”

Earlier updates:

Morey insisted that the team didn’t rush into the decision, even though the Rockets are coming off 56 wins and a trip to the Western Conference Finals. Hints emerged Tuesday, when Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reported that he’d heard from sources close to the team who wondered if the players had stopped listening to McHale. Morey had no comment about the team’s struggles when ESPN’s Marc Stein asked earlier this week. “It was tough. This is not something we take lightly,” Morey said today, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle relays (Twitter link). “This is a decision we thought about a long time. We knew we’re under the gun.”
The team’s poor record wasn’t the only factor, Morey added, as Feigen tweets. “It’s not just losing. It’s not just 4-7. It’s the way we’re losing, by how much, by how the team is responding,” Morey said.
Morey lauded the leadership ability of interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff, notes Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston (on Twitter), though the team is making no promises to Bickerstaff for the long term, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports wrote earlier today.