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Atlantic Notes: Burks, Wright, Knicks, Simmons

February 21st, 2020 at 1:36pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Sixers head coach Brett Brown explained his plan for Alec Burks, who made his first real impact for Philadelphia on Thursday night against the Nets.

“I’m looking at him is sort of instant offense type off the bench he can be given the ball can be put in pick-and-rolls,” Brown said (via Heavy.com). “I like him more probably in the middle of the floor with the pick and roll than the sideline with the pick-and-roll I think that he can be a primary ball carrier for a while.”

Burks, who came to the Sixers along with Glenn Robinson III at the trade deadline, has spent 44 minutes on the court so far in his Sixers’ career.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Villanova head coach Jay Wright simply isn’t interested in the Knicks‘ coaching job, as Joe Juliano of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays (Twitter link). “I haven’t talked to the Knicks, I’m not going to the Knicks. It’s crazy,” Wright said.
Ben Simmons is probable for the Sixers‘ matchup with Milwaukee on Saturday night, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. Simmons missed Thursday’s contest against Brooklyn with back tightness.
Zach Braziller of the New York Post details how interim coach Mike Miller is handling the situation with the Knicks. “If we help these guys and we continue to grow and get better, then we’ve done our job,” Miller said. “All I’m concerned about is bringing value to it and helping these guys. As simple as it sounds, I did that for six years as a D-League [and] G-League coach and I felt good at the end of every season. That’s the direction that I take.”

Knicks Notes: Wright, Thibodeau, Rose, Perry

February 19th, 2020 at 8:40am CST by Luke Adams

Although the Knicks reportedly have strong interest in Jay Wright, it doesn’t appear as if the Villanova head coach reciprocates that interest, as we outlined earlier this week.

A report on Monday suggested Wright has no plans to leave his post at Villanova, and Ian Begley of SNY.tv hears a similar sentiment from an NCAA source, who says Wright would have to be “overwhelmed by the opportunity” to even consider leaving his current job.

While Wright may not be a realistic target for the Knicks as they seek a permanent head coach this spring, veteran NBA coach Tom Thibodeau – who is expected to receive consideration – sounds much more open to being courted. A Thibodeau “confidant” tells Marc Berman of The New York Post that the former Bulls and Timberwolves head coach would be very interested in the Knicks’ position.

“He really wants the Knick job,” the source told Berman. “He can taste it and he may even be in the lead.”

Considering the Knicks haven’t even yet announced Leon Rose as their new president of basketball operations, it may be premature to declare a frontrunner for the team’s head coaching job, but Thibodeau’s ties with Rose at CAA should help make him a contender.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

In a separate New York Post article, Berman says that Dwyane Wade‘s three-day retirement celebration with the Heat this weekend is one reason Rose’s hiring by the Knicks has been delayed. As Berman explains, Rose helped plan the event for Wade, a longtime CAA client.
Once Rose is officially installed as the Knicks’ new president of basketball operations, he’ll have a handful of pressing items on his to-do list, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Besides the head coaching search, Rose will have to plan for the draft and free agency, hire basketball operations staffers, and – perhaps most importantly – set boundaries with team owner James Dolan.
In a story about Knicks branding consultant Steve Stoute making an appearance at All-Star weekend, Berman of The New York Post notes that interim head of basketball operations Scott Perry remains “in the dark” about his future – or lack thereof – with the organization.

Knicks Interested In Jay Wright

February 17th, 2020 at 2:10pm CST by Luke Adams

2:10pm: A source tells Dana O’Neil of The Athletic (Twitter link) that Wright isn’t going anywhere. That doesn’t mean the Knicks won’t take a shot this spring, but it sounds like their potential pursuit might play out the same way it did in 2018.

9:35am: The Knicks, who figure to be in the market for a new head coach this spring, have strong interest in Villanova coach Jay Wright, sources tell Adam Zagoria of Forbes.

“There is a strong possibility that Jay Wright in New York could happen,” one league source told Zagoria.

Wright, who has been Villanova’s head coach since 2001 and is an assistant on Gregg Popovich‘s Team USA staff, has been linked to the Knicks in the past. The team reportedly reached out to Wright before hiring David Fizdale in 2018. At the time, the Wildcats were coming off a national title, their second in three years. Wright said that spring that the NBA piqued his interest, but he had no desire to leave Villanova.

“It’s not that you’re not interested, I just don’t want to leave,” Wright told The New York Post in 2018. “It’s the Knicks. You love the Garden, you love New York City, you love the Knicks. I just know I don’t want to leave Villanova.”

If the Knicks pursue Wright again, it’s possible the veteran college coach will repeat that line from two years ago. However, it’s worth noting that Wright has ties with Leon Rose and William Wesley, as Zagoria details in his story. Rose is on track to become the Knicks’ new president of basketball operations. “World Wide Wes” reportedly won’t join the franchise in a formal capacity, but may be an unofficial advisor.

The Knicks have also been linked to some other big-name head coaching candidates, including Jeff Van Gundy and Tom Thibodeau. Although interim head coach Mike Miller seems unlikely to remain in his current role, there’s support within the organization to keep him around in some capacity, according to one report.

Sixers Have Interest In Robert Covington, Other Players

January 9th, 2020 at 10:27am CST by ChrisCrouse

The Sixers are parsing the trade market for reinforcements who can shoot the ball. According to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, Philadelphia has expressed interest in several role players, including Malik Beasley, Glenn Robinson III, Davis Bertans, E’Twaun Moore, and Andre Iguodala. O’Connor adds that the team has also inquired on Robert Covington, whom the team dealt away in the Jimmy Butler deal last season.

Most of those names, including Covington, are truly available. The price for Minnesota’s wing is expected to be high and with Philadelphia void of shiny assets, GM Elton Brand will have to get creative if he is going to bring back Sam Hinkie’s former gem.

Zhaire Smith is the young prospect the team is most willing to part with. Rivals teams have more interest in Matisse Thybulle, though Philadelphia is reluctant to deal the No. 20 overall pick. The franchise owns all of its own draft picks starting in the 2021 draft, so the Sixers could attempt to sweeten any deal with a future asset.

Other names on that list could be more obtainable than RoCo. It’ll be tough to pry Bertans from Washington, as the team can envision him as a long-term piece, but Iguodala, Moore, and Robinson are in obvious selling situations. Denver won’t be a seller at the trade deadline, but with a deep rotation and Beasley’s impending restricted free agency, the franchise is smartly assessing the market for the shooting guard.

Here’s more on Philadelphia.

O’Connor contends that the Sixers should consider making a bigger move for Chris Paul, swapping either Tobias Harris or Al Horford and additional salary for the 34-year-old point guard. However, the scribe hears that Harris and Horford, each of whom signed long-term deals this offseason, aren’t any more tradeable than CP3.
Trading Simmons doesn’t appear likely, in part because it would mean “putting all your superstar eggs in the Embiid basket,” and the big man has had a shaky injury history. O’ Connor wonders if Simmons would be the one the team decides to build around if forced to choose between the two.
Big changes will likely come with an early exit in the playoffs, though many around the game believe it would be Brett Brown who takes the fall in that scenario. There were rumblings that former team president Bryan Colangelo was planning to fire Brown and replace him with Villanova coach Jay Wright, but that was before Twittergate. Still, O’Connor hears from multiple sources that Brown didn’t have the best relationship with the locker room last season.

Knicks Reportedly “Obsessed” With Masai Ujiri

December 7th, 2019 at 6:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks are “obsessed” and “enamored” with Raptors executive Masai Ujiri as the next man to run the franchise, sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv. A front office shakeup is expected in the wake of yesterday’s firing of head coach David Fizdale, especially considering the poor track record of team president Steve Mills.

Begley speculates it would take “significant money and full autonomy” to land Ujiri, who is already in a comfortable spot after building a championship team. Even if the Knicks are willing to grant that, Ujiri may not want to work for a controversial figure like James Dolan, and he is signed with Toronto until 2021, a contract he said in October that he plans to honor.

Echoing a report we shared last week, Begley states that the Knicks believe Ujiri could be drawn to New York City to provide a larger platform for his charitable work with the Giants of Africa Foundation. However, there was similar speculation about Washington, D.C., a few months ago when the Wizards were restructuring their front office, and Ujiri opted to stay in Toronto.

There’s more Knicks news to pass along:

Despite a 4-18 start and six straight losing seasons, the Knicks’ front office job is still viewed as appealing around the league, Begley adds in the same story. The team has drafted well under general manager Scott Perry and has held on to its first-round picks. The Knicks also retained cap flexibility by signing seven players to short-term contracts this summer after failing to land their top targets in free agency.
A few players got to say goodbye to Fizdale before he left the team, Taj Gibson tells Begley (Twitter link). Gibson said Fizdale was emotional during the departure, adding, “Guys loved him.”
Mark Jackson, a former Knicks guard and ex-head coach of the Warriors, is a 5-1 favorite to be the next head coach, relays Adam Zagoria for Forbes. The oddsmakers at BetOnline.ag have Kenny Smith second at 6-1 and Italian coach Ettore Messina at 7-1. Next in line are three college coaches, Michigan’s Juwan Howard, Vanderbilt’s Jerry Stackhouse and Villanova’s Jay Wright.
Interim coach Mike Miller thanked Fizdale and the Knicks organization during today’s pre-game press conference (video link from Vorkunov). Neither Mills nor Perry has addressed the media since the firing became official, and nobody from management has commented apart from an unattributed statement that was released Friday.
Former NBA player Keith Bogans has been named to Miller’s staff, the Knicks announced on Twitter.

And-Ones: Team USA, G League, Sessions, D. Gordon

October 27th, 2018 at 9:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Steve Kerr and Brad Stevens are considered the most likely candidates to succeed Gregg Popovich as head coach of Team USA, but there could be other names in the mix, relays Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype. During a recent podcast, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski mentioned Erik Spoelstra as a possibility, along with Nate McMillan and Villanova’s Jay Wright, although he added that the job will probably go to a current NBA coach.

ESPN colleague Brian Windhorst, who joined Wojnarowski for the show, questioned whether McMillan is really in the running, but called Spoelstra a “very strong” candidate, noting that he is highly respected around the league and is the second-longest-tenured head coach with the same team. Spoelstra’s main obstacle is that he’s not already on the Team USA staff.

There’s more NBA-related news to pass along:

The G League’s new alternative to college basketball is getting mixed reviews from some of the nation’s top high school players, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN. The league plans to offer $125K “select contracts” to top prospects who are at least 18 years old but aren’t yet eligible for the NBA draft. Givony talked to a few five-star recruits who haven’t chosen a college — along with their families — and found both interest and skepticism about the new arrangement. “My first reaction was I’d like to hear more,” said Richard Hurt, the father of top-10 recruit Matthew Hurt. “… There are some things that are intriguing about it. It’s not the money. It’s the opportunity to focus solely on what your craft will be. Similar to what a trade school would be.”
Ramon Sessions may be headed to Israel, notes Orazio Cauchi of Sportando. Maccabi Tel Aviv is reportedly considering an offer for the 11-year NBA veteran, who played a combined 28 games last season for the Knicks and Wizards. Sessions may replace another former NBA player, Jeremy Pargo, who will miss several weeks with an injury.
Drew Gordon tells NetsDaily.com that he sees the G League as his chance to return to the NBA after three years of being overseas. Gordon, who is playing for Long Island, has just nine games of NBA experience, all coming with the Sixers during the 2014/15 season. “I’ve basically been living my life out of four suitcases for the last five, six years,” he said. “It’s always interesting to immerse yourself into different cultures and having to live there for an extended period of time. You just have to learn to go with the flow with certain types of things and be able to adapt quickly and make changes with your game and everyday lifestyle.”

And-Ones: Team USA, McAdoo, Bennett, Drafts

October 11th, 2018 at 10:59pm CST by JD Shaw

Warriors coach Steve Kerr, Pacers coach Nate McMillan and Villanova coach Jay Wright have been named assistant coaches of the 2019-20 USA Basketball Men’s National Team, USA Basketball announced in a press release. The three assistants will join Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich to round out the coaching staff of the Olympic team.

“Led by coach Popovich, we have assembled an incredible coaching staff for the USA National Team, and we are excited to have Steve Kerr, Nate McMillan and Jay Wright join the team as assistant coaches,” said Jerry Colangelo, managing director of USA Basketball Men’s National Team. “It’s special that each coach has prior USA Basketball experience as either a player or coach, and each coach has compiled a successful and impressive resume. I’m very confident that the USA Basketball National Team is in excellent hands the next two years.”

Popovich, Kerr, McMillan and Wright share decades of combined coaching and playing experience, with each coach highly respected by their peers and by players across the NBA.

“I am honored and fortunate to have such gifted coaches share this USA Basketball responsibility with me,” Popovich said. “Steve Kerr, Nate McMillan and Jay Wright are not just knowledgeable, dedicated individuals, but they exhibit the creativity, tenacity and respect for the game needed to compete in the international arena.

“I look forward to joining them as USA Basketball attempts to extend the stellar success they’ve enjoyed over the past 12 years.”

The USA National Team has won 76 straight games, including three straight gold medals in 2008, 2012 and 2016. The impressive coaching staff – followed by an expected All-Star team of talent in 2020 – puts Team USA in a good position to win a fourth straight gold medal.

There’s more news around the basketball world:

The Maine Red Claws completed a trade today in the G League, sending the returning player rights of Anthony Bennett to the Agua Caliente Clippers in exchange for the returning player rights to James McAdoo and a 2018 third-round pick in the upcoming G League Draft. The Maine Red Claws are the G League affiliate of the NBA’s Celtics, while the Agua Caliente Clippers are the Clippers‘ affiliate.
ESPN.com writers Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz published a detailed story on young prospects, focusing on players from the 2019 recruiting class who could become draft-eligible in 2020. Class of 2019 center James Wiseman remains an intriguing talent, with the 7-footer still considering offers from a handful of schools.
We discussed several more basketball odds and ends in our last And-Ones roundup, including an update on the NBA’s new international plans for the 2019 preseason.

Knicks Notes: Roster Composition, Porzingis, Riley

May 8th, 2018 at 6:44pm CST by Austin Kent

Recently appointed head coach David Fizdale plans to make the most of what could otherwise be considered a logjam of guards on the Knicks’ roster, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News writes.

“Roll them out there. Put them out there together,” Fizdale said. “It’s about speed, skill, aggressiveness, attack, playmaking. All of these guards have that ability. So I see a lot of versatility in there. I see a lot of combinations with them on the floor [for the Knicks] together.”

Given that there’s no shortage of ball carriers on the roster, Knicks president Steve Mills says that the club will ideally target a wing player in the upcoming June draft.

There’s more out of New York this evening:

The Knicks reached out to Heat president Pat Riley prior to hiring David Fizdale, Marc Berman of The New York Post. Riley, a former Knicks coach himself, has a polarizing history with the franchise, but was a strong reference for Fizdale, a former Heat assistant.
Prior to hiring Fizdale, the Knicks also reached out to Villanova head coach Jay Wright regarding the vacancy. Zach Braziller of The New York Post has the details on why the reigning national champion had no desire to leave his current situation.
Analyst Walt Frazier doesn’t foresee Kristaps Porzingis returning to the lineup for the Knicks this year, Zach Braziller of The New York Post writes. The former franchise great, who currently works for MSG Network, explains that Porzingis’ recovery time has him set to return in January or February, at which point the team will likely be out of the playoff picture.

Jay Wright Won’t Meet With NBA Teams

April 25th, 2018 at 1:46pm CST by Luke Adams

NBA teams with head coaching openings and aspirations of luring Jay Wright away from Villanova this offseason can probably give up that dream, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. According to Berman, Wright’s longtime agent Carl Hirsch has confirmed that the Wildcats coach won’t speak to NBA teams at this time, and will return to Villanova to defend the team’s championship.

“He’s under contract with Villanova and he’s very, very happy there,” Hirsch told Berman. “There’s no plans to leave.”

The stance doesn’t come as a surprise, since Wright made similar comments about a week after Villanova won this year’s championship game. Speaking to Dana O’Neil of The Athletic at the time, the veteran head coach admitted that he was “intrigued” by the NBA, but said he couldn’t see himself leaving his current position. While Wright’s comments left the door to the NBA slightly ajar, Hirsch essentially closed that door for now, per Berman.

A source tells Berman that at least two teams reached out to Wright’s representatives this month. One of those teams is believed to be the Knicks, whose desire to inquire on Wright was reported earlier in April. The identity of the second club isn’t known, but the Suns were believed to have Wright on their radar too. Neither team will get a chance to interview him.

With Wright set to return to Villanova, he’ll have a challenge ahead of him as he looks to lead the Wildcats to their third title in four years. Standout contributors Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson are going pro, and Donte DiVincenzo and Omari Spellman – who have each entered the draft without hiring an agent – may join them.

Knicks Reach Out To Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson

April 14th, 2018 at 6:18pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks have contacted the agents for Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson in their search for a head coach to replace Jeff Hornacek, according to Frank Isola of The New York Daily News.

The partners on ABC/ESPN broadcasts are part of a growing list of candidates that includes David Fizdale, who confirmed that he will interview with the team next week, and Jerry Stackhouse, who could have an interview date in place by Monday. Isola couldn’t confirm whether the Knicks have spoken to Villanova coach Jay Wright, who was in Italy today for an audience with the Pope.

The Knicks contacted Fizdale more than two weeks ago, Isola adds, and some league officials consider him the early favorite to land the job. He led the Grizzlies to the playoffs last season before being fired after 19 games this year in the wake of frequent clashes with Marc Gasol.

Van Gundy is the only one of the current candidates who has a coaching history in New York. He guided the Knicks for five full seasons and parts of two others, including a trip to the 1999 NBA Finals. He hasn’t coached at the NBA level for more than a decade after being fired by the Rockets in 2007, but has worked with USA Basketball and won a gold medal at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup.

Jackson is also popular in New York, where he played for seven seasons. He coached the Warriors to back-to-back playoff appearances before being let go in 2014. Knicks president Steve Mills recently talked to Warriors GM Bob Myers about coaching attributes, Isola adds, and Jackson’s name probably came up.