Jerry Colangelo Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Durant, Sixers

January 24th, 2016 at 6:36pm CST by Will Joseph

Celtics combo guard Avery Bradley, who changed agents last week from Mitchell Butler of the Rival Sports Group to Rob Pelinka of Landmark Sports, is unhappy with his contract, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. Bradley isn’t scheduled to hit free agency again until 2018 after signing a four-year, $32MM deal with Boston in the summer of 2014. Bradley’s feeling stem from after seeing players such as Khris Middleton, Gordon Hayward and Tristan Thompson land lucrative deals, Washburn writes.

Here’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

In what has become the norm whenever soon-to-be free agent Kevin Durant makes a trip to New York, the superstar was asked by the media what his thoughts are on playing in the Big Apple. “It’s always fun, the mecca of basketball,” Durant said, per Brian Lewis of the New York Post (All Twitter links). “To play here in front of these fans here who enjoy the game of basketball … it’s amazing. You can tell. When you walk into an arena, being at Barclays Center and being at Madison Square Garden, it’s just that pure basketball feel that you get when you walk in those arenas, so it’s just a joy.”
Jerry Colangelo, the Sixers‘ chairman of basketball operations, has a track record in transforming franchises and dealing in crisis management yet also knows it doesn’t make much sense to make radical moves before young core pieces of the team are given the chance to develop, Mike Sielski of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Still, that doesn’t mean Colangelo won’t make those kind of deals, either, Sielski notes. “As I look at the Philadelphia situation, it certainly is an opportunity for me to take what I could bring to the table in terms of my experiences, my work record, my strengths, and any weaknesses, too, and try to make a contribution to helping the franchise go the other way,” Colangelo said. “I’m an eternal optimist. I really am. When people have said to me over the years, ‘You can’t do that,’ my response is, ‘I think I can. I think I will. And I believe I’ll show you how.’ “

Atlantic Notes: Ainge, Colangelo, Calipari, Jackson

January 17th, 2016 at 3:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge talks weekly with Suns GM Ryan McDonough, as McDonough tells Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe, and it’s clear that the pair maintain a strong relationship from their days in the Celtics front office. Boston and Phoenix hooked up on three trades last season.

“We worked together for a number of years and those guys have become some of my best friends,” McDonough said to Washburn about the Celtics brass. “Sometimes the calls are trade-related, sometimes the calls are social. I have a great relationship with those guys. I appreciate everything that Danny, [owners] Steve [Pagliuca], and Wyc [Grousbeck] did for my career, and regardless where I am the Celtics will always be my second-favorite team.”

See more from the Atlantic Division:

It’s obvious that Sixers chairman of basketball operations Jerry Colangelo is doing all the major decision-making now instead of GM Sam Hinkie, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, who wonders whether Hinkie will get credit should the team become successful in the near future.
A league source suggested to Fred Kerber of the New York Post that John Calipari will become a more appealing option to the Nets the longer they search for a GM and coach. The team isn’t seriously considering Calipari at this point, as Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck said Friday. Kerber also names team chairman Dmitry Razumov, board member Sergey Kushchenko, CEO Brett Yormark and Prokhorov’s holding company president Irina Pavlova as members of the team’s search committee. That adds further confusion to an existing set of conflicting reports about who’s conducting the search.
Kristaps Porzingis unsurprisingly gets an A-plus in the midseason grades that Marc Berman of the New York Post hands out for the Knicks, but team president Phil Jackson receives only a C-minus, even though his decision to draft Porzingis has worked out. A record around .500 won’t cut it, and some of the team’s signings, including the addition of Kevin Seraphin that coach Derek Fisher lobbied for, have been duds, Berman opines, justifying the low grade for Jackson.

Atlantic Notes: Mickey, Colangelo, Ainge

January 14th, 2016 at 6:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Celtics are in no rush to push rookie power forward Jordan Mickey into action at the NBA level and plan to continue his development in the D-League until he is better prepared to compete for minutes with the team’s other frontcourt players, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com relays. When asked about the organization’s plan for Mickey, team executive Danny Ainge told Blakely, “Jordan is making progress. His minutes in the D-League are very valuable. But until he gets to this level, we won’t really know for sure. In order for him to get to this level of play, Jordan hasn’t proven right now that he’s better than say, David Lee or Tyler Zeller and Kelly Olynyk, and two of those guys [Lee and Zeller] have had trouble getting the kind of minutes they would like. Those guys are certainly better players than Jordan right now. But we’re not in a rush to get Jordan playing. Jordan has been better from the first day of training camp, than we actually thought he would be. He’s really come in with a great attitude. He’s worked hard in the D-League. It’s helping him. Him and Terry Rozier both, we’re real high on them. We know these guys are NBA players. There’s not any question. But to say they’re better than our rotation players now, is a stretch.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Ainge also told Blakely that the team is seeking to make some moves to better balance out its roster. “I just want to do the deals that help us build. It’s all about building up to the team that we want to be,” Ainge said. “We’ve had a lot of conversations and a lot of ideas on how we can improve our team. We have to find other teams willing to do what we want to do. That’s not easy. But we like all the players on our team. We have too many. That’s been a challenge for a few guys in particular.”
New Sixers executive Jerry Colangelo expects the team to accelerate its rebuilding efforts now that he is aboard, but he did credit GM Sam Hinkie for making a number of shrewd trades, Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Daily News writes. “The reality is, and I’ve come to understand this, Sam has done a really great job of accumulating assets. If you look at the trades, if you look the draft picks that have been accumulated, it’s all there in place,” Colangelo said. “And now it’s a matter of when do you pull the trigger on using all those assets or any of those assets. As I look at the board, if you will, I see some things that could happen sooner rather than later. That’s because if somebody gets healthy [Joel Embiid]. If the player from Europe comes in [Dario Saric] and is part of the rotation and we will have a very high draft pick. Then using some of those assets to do other things to consider, be it free agency, be it a trade, whatever. This thing could flip a lot sooner than people understand.”

And-Ones: McCalebb, Looney, Chandler

January 4th, 2016 at 10:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Bo McCalebb, who was cut by the Pelicans during the preseason, has signed with the French club Limoges CSP, the team announced (translation by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). McCalebb, 30, has played overseas since going undrafted in 2008, save for a summer league stint with the Kings in July of that year and his time this fall with the Pelicans. He was the top scorer in the Euroleague in 2011/12, notching 16.9 points per game for Siena of Italy. McCalebb played for FC Bayern Muenchen of Germany last season, when he averaged 4.8 assists per game to go along with 12.4 points in 25.7 minutes per contest.

Here’s more from around the league:

In light of the season-ending injury that point guard Eric Bledsoe suffered, the Suns need to focus on developing younger players like Devin Booker, T.J. Warren and Alex Len, Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM writes. Phoenix should consider trading center Tyson Chandler, whose signing made sense when the team was pursing LaMarcus Aldridge over the summer, but now the veteran only serves to cut into Len’s playing time, Tjarks adds.
The Warriors have assigned combo forward Kevon Looney to their D-League affiliate, the team announced via a press release. The rookie becomes the first player Golden State has sent to Santa Cruz on the season.
Sixers coach Brett Brown noted that new team executive Jerry Colangelo was the one who orchestrated the signing of veteran forward Elton Brand, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports relays (on Twitter).
The Raptors plan on utilizing their D-League affiliate to help Anthony Bennett work through the back issues he is currently experiencing, Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net tweets. The combo forward has made two trips to the Raptors 905 on the season thus far.

Sixers Notes: Okafor, Hinkie, Colangelo, D’Antoni

December 27th, 2015 at 6:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

Jahlil Okafor‘s camp didn’t want him to end up with the Sixers before Philly drafted him in June, sources tell Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. GM Sam Hinkie wasn’t allowed to interview Kristaps Porzingis at his predraft workout in Las Vegas, Pompey also hears. An agent told the Inquirer scribe in October that he wouldn’t want his maximum-salary clientele signing in Philadelphia and would advise mid-tier clients to play for the Sixers only if the team offered to overpay them. It all points to Hinkie’s difficult dealing with agents, though the GM says to Pompey that new executive Jerry Colangelo is changing that.

“Yeah, he’s helped there, too,” Hinkie said. “I think he’s had lot of good advice and I had lots of questions there about ways in which we could do things better. And he’s helped on that front already.”

See more from Philly:

Colangelo implied that he doesn’t have as much power with the Sixers as some might assume, saying that this experience is different from his time with the Suns “because in the past, the buck always stopped with me,” notes Arizona Republic columnist Paula Boivin. Of course, Colangelo was in charge of the Suns as an owner, and he’s merely advising Sixers owner Josh Harris, so the comment isn’t necessarily about his role in Philly’s basketball operations.
Mike D’Antoni said he’s “happy as heck” to be back in coaching as the lead assistant for the Sixers, and referred to head coach Brett Brown as the top draw for him to come to Philly, observes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
Nerlens Noel explained some of the reasons why he’s such a fan of Sixers trade acquisition Ish Smith, who also played with the team at the end of last season. Brian Seltzer of Sixers.com has the details. “I think it’s his experience,” Noel said. “Him being as athletic as he is at the point guard position, and being able to create. Just a willing passer. He makes things a lot easier for the people around him. He makes them better.”

Sixers Talk With Elton Brand, Shane Battier

December 14th, 2015 at 12:16pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Sixers are talking to Elton Brand and Shane Battier in the hopes they can serve as role models for the team’s slew of younger players, sources tell TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. It’s unclear whether the idea is for them to serve in a playing, coaching or front office capacity. Battier retired as a player after the 2013/14 season, while Brand, who spent the past two seasons with the Hawks, cast doubt on the idea of playing again during an interview this past summer. Zach Lowe of ESPN.com identified Brand on Friday as someone to keep an eye on as the team looks for veterans to add to its roster.

New chairman of basketball operations Jerry Colangelo dismissed the idea that son Bryan Colangelo, the former Suns and Raptors GM, will join the Sixers front office, telling Aldridge that it’s mere speculation. Still, the team does plan to bring aboard Mike D’Antoni as an assistant coach, Aldridge writes.

Former commissioner David Stern played a role in bringing the Sixers together with Jerry Colangelo, a source tells Aldridge. The NBA was “irate” at the way the Sixers handled the reports of Jahlil Okafor‘s various off–court incidents, according to Aldridge. GM Sam Hinkie treated the news with his trademark silence.

“I would say I was present when decisions were made, but there are some things we can do better,” Hinkie said. “We purposely laid low, and I purposely laid low, for a number of reasons. And I’ve always been very comfortable, and [coach] Brett [Brown]‘s been very comfortable, being out front for us when need be, because we trust each other, and we’re attached at the hip in a lot of ways. But sometimes, another voice helps.”

Brand, a David Falk client who spent four years with the Sixers between 2008 and 2012, averaged 2.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 13.5 minutes per game for a 60-win Atlanta team last season. This past spring represented the first time the former No. 1 overall pick appeared in the conference finals. Battier, a client of Jim Tanner, went to the finals in all three of his years with the Heat, with whom he last played, and twice won the championship. He averaged 4.1 points in 20.1 minutes and shot 34.8% from 3-point range in his final season on an NBA roster.

Sixers To Hire D’Antoni As Associate Head Coach?

December 14th, 2015 at 11:58am CST by Eddie Scarito

MONDAY, 11:58am: The Sixers plan to have D’Antoni join their staff within the next few weeks, writes TNT’s David Aldridge in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com.

SUNDAY, 2:47pm: The Sixers confirmed that they are talking to D’Antoni about joining the team as an associate head coach, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

SATURDAY, 8:39am: The Sixers and Mike D’Antoni are involved in discussions that could see the former NBA head coach join coach Brett Brown‘s staff as associate head coach, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. New team executive Jerry Colangelo and Brown have been speaking with D’Antoni about a role with the team that could begin later this month, Wojnarowski adds.

The move to hire D’Antoni, who has a longstanding relationship with Colangelo that includes time spent together with the Suns as well as USA Basketball, shows that the new executive is beginning to impose his influence on the franchise immediately, as the Yahoo scribe notes. The offseason departure of top assistant Chad Iske to the Kings left the concern that Brown needed to add more experience to his staff, Wojnarowski relays. The addition of the offensive-minded D’Antoni would certainly accomplish that, though how much of a difference he could make with the point guard situation in Philly so unsettled is debatable.

In many circumstances the move by a new executive to bring in one his former coaches would be a concern for the current head man. The team certainly alleviated many of those worries with the announcement on Friday that Brown and the team had agreed to a two-year contract extension. “Brett has been everything we anticipated – and more – both as a basketball coach and a partner in building this program,” GM Sam Hinkie said in the team’s official statement. “His tireless work ethic, his daily desire to consistently improve, and his resiliency line up with our core values as an organization. It was not difficult to come to the decision to formally say we want to work with Brett Brown even longer.”

D’Antoni has been a head coach for the Nuggets, Suns, Knicks and Lakers, and he owns a career regular season mark of 455-426. He has a career postseason record of 26-33, and has twice made it to the Western Conference Finals, both with Phoenix. With D’Antoni desiring another head coaching position in the league, returning to an NBA bench could serve to increase his marketability, Wojnarowski writes. If D’Antoni can do for T.J. McConnell‘s career what he did for Jeremy Lin‘s when the duo were paired up in New York, he would certainly make a strong argument for another shot at leading a team, though that is merely my speculation, of course.

Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Colangelo, Thornton

December 14th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Sixers serve as a case of what might have been for the Raptors had Knicks owner James Dolan not vetoed the trade proposal that would have sent Kyle Lowry from Toronto to New York two years ago, Sportsnet’s Michael Grange notes. Toronto planned to rebuild but instead wound up one of the Eastern Conference’s best teams, and coach Dwane Casey is grateful, as Grange relays.

“Not speaking about any specific team, but in general it’s got to be tough,” Casey said about a steady diet of losing. “You need to see some rewards to reinforce what you’re talking about, what you’re preaching, because sooner or later, if there’s no rewards at the end of the rainbow, guys kind of tune it out. It’s important that they see some rewards, any team, at any level.”

Still, it’s unclear if the Raptors are any closer to a title than the Sixers are, given the uncertainty of whether Toronto’s core is strong enough to compete at the highest level, Grange adds. See more from the Atlantic:

A pair of remarks from Sixers chairman of basketball operations Jerry Colangelo last week make it difficult to envision him contributing only in a part-time capacity, even as he’ll continue to live in Phoenix, observes John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com. Colangelo told Bickley & Marotta of Arizona Sports 98.7 that Adam Silver and Josh Harris called him “pleading for some help” (audio link) and said to Angelo Cataldi of SportsRadio 94 WIP in Philadelphia that he would never accept a situation in which unaccomplished executives could overrule him (audio link).
The Sixers would be unwise to disenfranchise GM Sam Hinkie and completely abandon his rebuilding program, considering how far they’ve come and the promise that lies ahead in the 2016 draft, opines Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.
Celtics draftee Marcus Thornton won’t be with the Sydney Kings of Australia much longer, a source tells international journalist David Pick (Twitter link). Thornton, the point guard from William & Mary whom Boston took with the 45th overall pick this year, signed with Sydney in July after reportedly assuring the Celtics before the draft that he was willing to play overseas. Thornton is not to be confused with the veteran shooting guard who plays for the Rockets.

Atlantic Notes: D’Antoni, Thomas, Knicks

December 13th, 2015 at 4:00pm CST by Will Joseph

Sixers head coach Brett Brown said the franchise reaching out to Mike D’Antoni is unrelated to last week’s hiring of Jerry Colangelo as chairman of basketball operations, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. What’s more, Brown said the team has been thinking about adding a veteran coach “for a while,” Pompey relays. Of course, and as Pompey points out, Colangelo and D’Antoni have a history together. Colangelo is the former Suns owner and D’Antoni went 253-156 in five seasons as the Suns coach. The Sixers confirmed reports that they are talking to D’Antoni about joining the team as an associate head coach, Pompey notes.

“This is a good thing,” Brown said in regards to D’Antoni, per Pompey. “That name is a good thing. How could that not be a good thing?”

Here’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

The Celtics have been a different team since the arrival of Isaiah Thomas in last February’s trade deadline and the point guard is emerging as a possible all-star this season, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com writes. Boston owns a .627 winning percentage in his Thomas’ first 51 games in Boston, according to Forsberg. After making only one start last season with the Celtics, Thomas has started 21 times this year and is averaging 20.8 points per game.
In order to turn their season around, the Knicks need more out of Carmelo Anthony despite the star coming off surgery, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News opines. Bondy compares Anthony to Rajon Rondo of the Kings because they are both polarizing figures, and writes that Anthony needs to have the kind of season that Rondo is experiencing before Kristaps Porzingis becomes the clear face of the franchise.
Kendall Marshall, who played in his first game of the season Friday night, should provide the Sixers stability at the point guard position with his ability to take care of the ball and 3-point shooting, Derek Bodner of Phillymag.com details.

Sam Hinkie On Colangelo, Marshall, Free Agents

December 11th, 2015 at 5:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

GM Sam Hinkie pledged to remain with the Sixers, quelling rumors that he’s looking to leave the organization following the arrival of Jerry Colangelo as chairman of basketball operations, as Hinkie said as part of an in-depth interview with Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. “Our owners made it very clear they want me leading us long-term,” Hinkie said. “Adding one more voice will make the conversation richer. Might it be challenging at times? I’m sure it will be. But making big decisions shouldn’t be easy — it shouldn’t be that you have an idea, and you get to execute it without anyone questioning it.” The entire interview is certainly worth a read, and below are some of the highlights:

The GM said the team was off in its prediction that Kendall Marshall would be ready to play on opening night, with the point guard finally set to make his season debut this evening, Lowe relays. “We predicted it wrong,” Hinkie said. “That’s my fault. I’ve made plenty of mistakes, and I’m sure I’ll make more.”
The Sixers believe Marshall can provide veteran leadership for younger players like Jahlil Okafor, as well as stabilize the point guard position, Lowe notes. “This has been hard,” Hinkie says. “We haven’t been proud of this kind of start. We had strong desires for a point guard who could help us play at a high tempo, and get our best players the ball in positions where they could be successful. We want someone to throw a post entry pass. We thought Kendall was that guy.“
Discussing why he has eschewed signing free agents who would have cost more, but likely would have helped the team win more games in the short term, in favor of adding younger players making the minimum salary, Hinkie told Lowe, “We could have chosen safer options. Many in the world would have us choose safer options — keep this player, instead of taking a gamble on a player whose name you don’t know. But when that player becomes Robert Covington, people are excited. We’ve chosen that sort of thing very often.“
Hinkie acknowledged to Lowe that the Sixers reached out to free agents Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler this past summer, but the lack of an existing star player hamstrung those efforts. “The most challenging part is to go from zero stars to one,” Hinkie said. “After the Clippers got Blake Griffin, Chris Paul is a possibility. After the Rockets had James Harden, Dwight Howard is a possibility. After the Cavaliers have Kyrie Irving, LeBron coming back is a possibility.“
The GM stands by the organization’s decision to select Joel Embiid and Dario Saric during the 2014 NBA draft, despite the knowledge that the duo would not be immediately available to contribute, Lowe notes. “That night showed tremendous courage on the part of our organization to have a longer view, and to do everything we could to get the best players,” Hinkie told the ESPN scribe. “Those were not easy decisions.”
Hinkie also maintains that the team selected point guard Elfrid Payton with every intention of keeping him, and that it wasn’t a move designed to pry assets away from the Magic, who were known to be high on Payton entering the draft, Lowe relays. “That’s such a high-stakes gamble that it strikes me as reckless,” said Hinkie. “I’m a lot of things, but I’m not reckless.“