Jerry Sloan

Odds & Ends: Shaw, Lakers, Sloan, Thabeet

The NBA’s evening schedule only features three contests, but all three should be interesting to watch — the Magic will look to stay undefeated in Chicago, the Thunder will try to bounce back from a home loss to Portland, and in Denver, both the Nuggets and Pistons will be seeking their first win. As we await tonight’s games, let’s check out a few odds and ends from around the Association:

  • Pacers assistant Brian Shaw is arguably the most qualified assistant in the league, but Mark Montieth of Pacers.com doesn’t expect him to hold that title for much longer.  Shaw turned down the Bobcats head coaching job this summer because he didn’t like the fit, but figures to receive a stronger offer in his next try.
  • Speaking to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld, one league source predicted that Jerry Sloan will replace Mike Brown as the Lakers‘ head coach within the next month.
  • Although James Harden was upset that the Thunder rushed his decision on a contract extension before they traded him to the Rockets, LeBron James tells Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (Sulia link) that he thinks Harden is welcoming the opportunity to “have his [own] team and showcase what he’s able to do.”
  • Kevin Martin, who played with Hasheem Thabeet in Houston, says Thabeet seems to be an entirely different player with the Thunder. “Whatever they did to him, it definitely worked in his favor,” Martin tells Susan Bible of HoopsWorld.
  • Andrei Kirilenko talks to Michael Scotto of RealGM.com about his decision to play in Russia during the 2011/12 season before returning to the NBA with the Timberwolves this year.

Blazers Notes: Sloan, Joerger, Griffin, Batum

We heard yesterday that Jerry Sloan withdrew his name from consideration for the Trail Blazers' head coach opening. Today, GM Neil Olshey revealed that Sloan was more seriously considered than we originally thought. Olshey told reporters, including Mike Tokito of the Oregonian, that he offered Sloan the job, but the former Jazz coach declined the offer after sleeping on it (Twitter links). Here are a few more Blazers updates, primarily involving the team's coaching search….

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Jerry Sloan Withdraws Interest In Trail Blazers

Nearly a day after interviewing for Portland's coaching position with GM Neil Olshey, Jerry Sloan decided to remove himself from the Trail Blazers' list of coaching candidates (Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida reports). Although he declined to give reasons why the job no longer interested him, Sloan conceded that "it just didn't work out on my part" during a phone interview. 

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Amico On Bulls, Sloan, Blazers, Crawford

Within the last week, both Sam Smith of Bulls.com and Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com concocted trade scenarios in which the Bulls acquire Tyreke Evans from the Kings, increasing speculation about such a deal. But Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio hears from multiple sources that there's nothing to the idea, and that it's not something that's being discussed by the two teams. That tidbit comes from Amico's Thursday column, and he's back with another piece today, so let's take a look at the highlights:

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Jerry Sloan No Longer Considering Bobcats

Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated writes that Jerry Sloan has pulled out of the running as a candidate for the Bobcats' head coaching position. With Sloan out of the picture, Brian Shaw and Quin Snyder now appear to be the frontrunners. Shaw reportedly had an "excellent" meeting with team owner Michael Jordan last Thursday, and according to a tweet by Dave McMenamin of ESPN LA, Snyder had a second meeting with Jordan yesterday. Amick cites a source with knowledge of the situation that Jordan had been considering re-opening the coaching search if he was not impressed with the finalists. 

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Blazers Rumors: Allen, Coaches, Freeland, Claver

Blazers owner Paul Allen was among the team executives in attendance for the second of two pre-draft workout sessions today, and got a chance to see Perry Jones III, John Henson and Jared Sullinger, among others, according to tweets from Joe Freeman of The Oregonian and Chris B. Haynes of CSNNW.com. Allen shot down rumors that he's looking to sell the team, as Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge writes, and CSNNW.com has more of the owner's comments to the media in two videos. Blazers beat writers have delivered plenty of news in the last hour, as we round up here. …

  • The team hasn't contacted the Warriors about permission to interview assistant coach Michael Malone or the Pacers about assistant Brian Shaw, leading Haynes to surmise that interim coach Kaleb Canales is the frontrunner to take over the job on a permanent basis. 
  • In the same piece, Haynes also cites an earlier report from fellow CSNNW.com writer Dwight Jaynes that the team hasn't spoken to Jerry Sloan about an interview, either. 
  • Haynes relays general manager Neil Olshey's comments on the slow search. "Free agent wise, Yeah, I think it affects it a little bit. But, like I said, we're going to have a process here," he said. "We're going to build this thing the right way … We'll find the right coach to coach the roster." 

Earlier updates:

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Odds & Ends: Draft, Sloan, King, Playoffs

The Chris Bosh-less Heat and Celtics resume battle this evening in a pivotal Game 4 in Boston. A win for the Celtics would continue a Conference Finals streak of the home team coming away with a victory. The Thunder brought their series with the Spurs to a tie as they beat San Antonio 109-103 in Oklahoma City on Saturday night. Let's catch up on the latest news and happenings making headlines from around the league…

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Amick On Bobcats, Sloan, Magic, Walsh, Blazers

Earlier this evening, we learned that former Lakers and Bulls coach Phil Jackson was approached with an offer from the Magic to join their front office.  The basketball legend was reportedly considering the offer right up until this afternoon, when he informed Orlando that he would instead be taking another opportunity.  As we anxiously await to see where the Zen Master lands, here's a look at the latest from Sam Amick of SportsIllustrated.com on other possibilities for the Magic and other news..

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The Bobcats’ Head Coach Search

It's been about a month since the Bobcats announced they wouldn't be bringing back Paul Silas to coach the team next season. Since then, the Bobcats have conducted an extensive search for their new head coach that has seen them interview eight candidates, with more to come. In case you've lost track of all the names in the running for the Charlotte job, here's a round-up of what we've heard to date:

  • Mike Dunlap, St. John's assistant: Interviewed on May 16th. Dunlap is probably a long shot for the Bobcats' job.
  • Patrick Ewing, Magic assistant: Interviewed on May 17th. A source told Marc Berman of the New York Post shortly after Ewing's interview that it was hardly a courtesy meeting and that Ewing has a "good chance" of becoming Charlotte's next coach.
  • David Joerger, Grizzlies assistant: Interviewed on May 18th. We haven't heard much about how his meeting went, so I wouldn't think he's a frontrunner.
  • Michael Malone, Warriors assistant: Interviewed on May 8th. Malone is considered one of the top potential head coaches available, and also has has some interest in the Trail Blazers job.
  • Nate McMillan, former Trail Blazers coach: Interviewed on May 22nd. One of the more high-profile candidates, McMillan has ties to the Charlotte area, having played college ball at NC State.
  • Brian Shaw, Pacers assistant: The Bobcats are in the process of setting up an interview with Shaw, who wanted to wait until the Pacers' season ended to explore coaching opportunities. The Magic also figure to have strong interest in the Indiana assistant.
  • Stephen Silas, Bobcats assistant: Interviewed on May 21st. Paul Silas was hoping his son would take over for him, but I'd be pretty shocked if the Bobcats went in this direction.
  • Jerry Sloan, former Jazz coach: Interviewed on May 25th. Sloan said his interview went well but that he didn't receive an offer and he expected the Bobcats to meet with more candidates.
  • Quin Snyder, Lakers assistant: The Bobcats plan to meet with Snyder sometime before the NBA pre-draft camp in Chicago.
  • Nate Tibbetts, Cavaliers assistant: Interviewed on May 14th. Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving had high praise for the Cavs assistant, which suggests Tibbetts is adept at working with young talent.
  • Stan Van Gundy, former Magic coach: The Bobcats are expected to at least reach out to Van Gundy, if they haven't already. However, it continues to look like the ex-Magic coach will take a year off.

In McMillan and Sloan, the Bobcats have interviewed a pair of respected veteran coaches, but the team has also sought out under-the-radar options and up-and-coming assistants. I expect the search to wrap up sometime in mid-June, and considering their wide list of candidates, it'll be interesting to see which direction Michael Jordan and the Bobcats go.

Latest On Jerry Sloan’s Bobcats Candidacy

Former Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan met with Bobcats owner Michael Jordan and other members of the Bobcats front office on Friday to discuss the team's head coaching vacancy, reports Brad Rock of the Deseret News. Sloan stated that the Bobcats did not offer him the position but did not discount the possibility that the two sides could be a match even though the Bobcats only won seven games during the 2011/2012 season. Let's check in on the latest Sloan-related news and rumors as we head into Memorial Day Weekend.

  • Sam Amick of SI.com (via Twitter) had the opportunity to speak with Sloan after his interview with the Bobcats and says the Hall of Fame coach isn't sure whether the franchise is leaning a particular way with other candidates to consider. "Everything went fine. There wasn't any job offers or anything like that. We visited. He asked me a lot of questions and I asked him a lot of questions. I think they're gonna interview some other people. I don't know."
  • Dana Greene of ABC4.com wonders if Sloan is a good candidate for the Bobcats given his age and desire to work with "old-school players." Former Jazz assistant coach Gordon Chiesa says Sloan has the desire to improve a bad situation. "Jerry Sloan is all about discipline, hard work, and getting players to become better. The NBA needs someone like Jerry Sloan, especially a team that needs a new energy level, a new knockout punch. That's Jerry Sloan."
  • Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype says (via Twitter) he'd love to be inside of Jerry Sloan's head as he sits through interviews with the Bobcats to better understand why the coach who has accomplished all but winning an NBA championship would be interested in heading up a reclamation project in Charlotte.