Joseph Blair Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rockets Hire Joseph Blair As G League Head Coach

August 26th, 2024 at 1:27pm CST by Rory Maher

The Rockets have hired Joseph Blair as head coach of their NBA G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the team announced (Twitter link). Michael Scotto of HoopsHype was first to report the news (via Twitter).

Blair, 50, played four years of college basketball at Arizona prior to being selected No. 35 overall back in 1996. While he never played an NBA regular season game, the 6’10” big man had a long and productive international career, including winning EuroLeague regular season MVP in 2002/03.

This is Blair’s second stint with the Vipers. He previously served as an assistant for three years (from 2015-18) prior to being promoted to head coach and won a title while leading RGV during the 2018/19 campaign.

Over the past five years, Blair has been an assistant coach with Philadelphia, Minnesota and Washington. He spent the past three seasons with the Wizards before he was let go in April. Blair also interviewed for Milwaukee’s head coaching job in 2023.

Kevin Burleson, who was the Vipers’ head coach the past two seasons, is being hired by the Pistons as an assistant coach under J.B. Bickerstaff.

Wizards Announce Brian Keefe’s New Coaching Staff

July 10th, 2024 at 9:21am CST by Luke Adams

While Brian Keefe isn’t technically among this offseason’s new head coaches – he took over Washington’s job midway through the 2023/24 campaign when Wes Unseld Jr. transitioned to a front office role – the Wizards have revamped his coaching staff heading into Keefe’s first full season at the helm.

According to a press release from the team, veteran assistant David Vanterpool is the only member of last season’s staff who is returning for 2024/25. The new additions, some of whom were previously reported, are as follows:

Adam Caporn, a former G League head coach for the Long Island Nets who spent the past three seasons as an assistant in Brooklyn.
J.J. Outlaw, an assistant coach with the Cavaliers for the past five seasons who also had stints with the Lakers and Grizzlies.
Brian Randle, who spent last season as a Pistons assistant and previously worked for the Suns (as an assistant) and Timberwolves (as a player development coach).
T.J. Sorrentine, a longtime assistant coach at Brown University.
Alexis Ajinca, a seven-year NBA veteran who also played professionally in France and transitioned into coaching in 2023 as an assistant for the Capital City Go-Go, Washington’s G League affiliate.

Joseph Blair, James Posey, and Mike Miller (the former Knicks coach, not the former Heat champion) are among the notable assistants who were let go by the Wizards when the club cleaned house back in April.

Wizards Notes: Winger, Coulibaly, Poole, Coaching Staff

September 26th, 2023 at 9:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Wizards team president Michael Winger won’t use the word rebuild but he admits the franchise will take meticulous steps to become a perennial contender in the Eastern Conference, according to Ava Wallace of the Washington Post.

“We want to build an organization that develops and can support a sustainably great team. We don’t want to be a flash in the pan,” he said. “We don’t want to be a one-hit wonder. We want to build the right way. We’ve studied all the teams in the league, historically and currently, that have done it what we would characterize as the right way. And it is a very heavy lift. Hard decisions, a lot of patience, an intense focus on player development, an intense focus on research, and that’s what we are going to do.”

We have more on the Wizards:

In the same story, Wallace reports that general manager Will Dawkins believes lottery pick Bilal Coulibaly should jump right into the rotation. “Being the third-youngest player in the league, he’s got a competitiveness on the defensive end that I think will allow him to get on the floor right away,” Dawkins said. “The biggest thing with him is not skipping any steps, not rushing him, allowing him to declare who he is as a player and understanding that his prime is five, six, seven years down the line from now.”
Jordan Poole will see his offensive role expand with the Wizards after playing mostly at the wing with the Warriors, Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network tweets. “You’ll see him play on the ball more,” Dawkins said.
The Wizards have officially announced their assistant coaching staff under Wes Unseld Jr. via a press release. As previously reported, they’ve added Brian Keefe and David Vanterpool as assistant coaches and Sammy Gelfand as assistant coach/analytics. They’ll join returnees Joseph Blair, Mike Miller, Zach Guthrie and James Posey. Landon Tatum will head the player development staff and Daniel Villarreal will serve as Washington’s head video coordinator. Cody Toppert has been named head coach of the Capital City Go-Go, the Wizards’ NBA G League affiliate.

Kelvin Sampson, Joseph Blair Interview For Bucks Job

May 17th, 2023 at 5:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

University of Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson interviewed with the Bucks about their coaching vacancy, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Sampson has an NBA background, having spent six years in the league as an assistant coach, including three in Milwaukee. He left for the NCAA in 2014 and has turned the Cougars into one of college basketball’s best programs, making four straight trips to the Sweet 16.

Wojnarowski notes that Sampson has worked with general manager Jon Horst, who was part of the Bucks’ front office while Sampson was an assistant under Scott Skiles from 2008-11.

Milwaukee has been conducting an extensive search since Mike Budenholzer was fired following a first-round playoff loss, but Sampson is the first college coach to get an interview, sources tell Wojnarowski.

The process has mainly focused on current NBA assistants such as Charles Lee, Kenny Atkinson, Scott Brooks, Adrian Griffin, Chris Quinn and Kevin Young, along with former Hornets head coach James Borrego. The Bucks are also reported to have interest in Monty Williams, who was fired by the Suns over the weekend.

Wizards assistant Joseph Blair also recently had an interview in Milwaukee, Wojnarowski tweets. Blair won a G League championship with Rio Grande Valley in 2019 before becoming an assistant with Philadelphia, Minnesota and Washington.

Southeast Notes: Bridges, Wizards, Beal, Lowry, Chalmers

January 17th, 2022 at 11:51am CST by Luke Adams

Hornets forward Miles Bridges met the “starter criteria” on Friday when he appeared in Charlotte’s starting lineup for the 41st time this season. The starter criteria applies to players who are eligible for restricted free agency at season’s end, and dictates the amount of their qualifying offer. By meeting the criteria, Bridges ensured his qualifying offer will increase to $7,921,300.

The amount of Bridges’ qualifying offer probably won’t have much of an impact on his free agency. He’s having a breakout season and is a good bet to be paid in excess of $20MM per year on his next contract, so accepting his one-year QO likely won’t be an option he seriously considers, even now that it’s worth a little more.

Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate also met the starter criteria on Friday by making his 41st start of the season, but Houston holds a minimum-salary team option on Tate for the 2022/23 season, so he won’t reach restricted free agency until ’23, assuming he’s not extended before then.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

The Wizards announced today that Pat Delany, who was serving as the team’s acting head coach while Wes Unseld Jr. is in the COVID-19 protocols, has entered the protocols himself. Assistant Joseph Blair, Washington’s new acting head coach, told reporters that star guard Bradley Beal has exited the protocols and will be a game-time decision on Monday (Twitter link via Josh Robbins of The Athletic).
In an article for The Athletic, Robbins and David Aldridge discussed the Wizards‘ needs and identified some possible trade targets for the team, including Jerami Grant, Harrison Barnes, and Thaddeus Young.
Heat guard Kyle Lowry won’t face his old team for the first time on Monday after all, having been ruled out of Miami’s game vs. Toronto for personal reasons, as Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets.
Veteran guard Mario Chalmers admitted he was disappointed not to play at all during his recent 10-day stint with the Heat, but said he didn’t want to be a “disruption” for the team and is looking forward to proving with Miami’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, that he deserves another shot at the NBA level. “Hopefully another 10-day comes out of it and I get signed for the rest of the year,” Chalmers said, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

Wizards Notes: Dinwiddie, Beal, Coaching Staff

August 10th, 2021 at 6:42pm CST by Eli Cohen

Spencer Dinwiddie is excited for his future with the Wizards and for how he expects to fit with star backcourt mate Bradley Beal, writes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. According to Hughes, Dinwiddie isn’t phased by the uncertainty surrounding Beal’s long-term status with the Wizards.

“I spoke to him and obviously he’s his own man and his decisions are his own,” Dinwiddie said. “So, I can’t talk about his plans or what he’s going to do. I think that we have a chance to have a (good thing together). If that’s not what comes to fruition then it’s not.”

Dinwiddie added that part of his job is to help Beal by knowing when to get out of the way and let the star shooting guard go to work, as well as knowing when it’s on him to help carry the load.

We have more from the Wizards:

Dinwiddie had previously been cleared from his ACL recovery, but was unable to start five-on-five activity because the Nets were eliminated just before he was able to get back on the floor, Hughes tweets. Dinwiddie had been vocal about being ready to return to the court if the Nets were able to last to the Finals, but after Brooklyn’s loss to the Bucks in the Eastern Semifinals, those plans were thwarted.
New head coach Wes Unseld Jr. will be retaining assistant coach Ryan Richman, reports Fred Katz of The Athletic (via Twitter). Richman was an assistant coach with the team last season, and the G League affiliate head coach the year before that. Richman will be a second-row assistant, Katz writes.
The Wizards also announced the hiring of four assistant coaches to join Unseld and Richman, according to a team statement. Pat Delany, Mike Miller, Joseph Blair and Zach Guthrie will join the Wizards’ bench this season. Washington also announced that in addition to Richman, the team retained assistant coach Dean Oliver and promoted Alex McLean to assistant coach/Director of Player Development.

Timberwolves Assistant Joseph Blair Departs For Wizards

August 9th, 2021 at 6:41pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Timberwolves assistant Joseph Blair, who was serving as the club’s Summer League head coach, has departed his post for an assistant position on Wes Unseld Jr.’s staff with the new-look Wizards, reports Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Jon Krawcyznski of The Athletic tweets that Blair will be replaced at the Las Vegas Summer League by Timberwolves assistant coach Jeff Newton, about to embark on his third season in Minnesota. Newton is officially an offensive associate coach and player development coach with the club.

Krawcyznski opines (Twitter link) that this late loss of Blair is a blow for Minnesota. Blair had been set to help revamp the team’s defense after former Timberwolves assistant David Vanterpool left head coach Chris Finch‘s staff for an opportunity with the Nets.

The Wizards, who were the No. 8 seed in the East during the 2020/21 season, have significantly revamped their roster over the summer.

The team traded point guard Russell Westbrook, wing Chandler Hutchison, and draft equity in an epic five-team deal that netted them point guard Spencer Dinwiddie plus valuable role players Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma, and Montrezl Harrell, as well as an intriguing young reserve point guard in Aaron Holiday and the draft rights to rookie forward Isaiah Todd, the No. 31 selection out of the NBA G League Ignite.

Washington also re-signed reserve point guard Raul Neto and selected Gonzaga swingman Corey Kispert with the No. 15 pick in this year’s draft.

Western Notes: Barea, Mavs, Wolves, Unseld, Warriors, Schröder

June 25th, 2021 at 1:50pm CST by Luke Adams

Jason Kidd, who has reached a deal to become Dallas’ new head coach, may not be the only former Mavericks point guard patrolling the team’s sidelines in 2021/22. According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link), J.J. Barea has had preliminary discussions about the possibility of joining Kidd’s coaching staff.

Barea has no formal coaching experience, having played in the NBA up until last year and in international leagues during the 2020/21 season. However, as MacMahon observes, the veteran guard has strong relationships with many members of the Mavericks’ organization – including Luka Doncic – and the team missed his presence this past season.

Another member of that 2011 Mavericks title team is also a candidate to join Kidd’s staff, according to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News, who tweets that Jason Terry is in the mix for a role.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

The Timberwolves have issued a press release announcing Chris Finch‘s front bench assistants for the 2021/22 season. Joseph Blair and Pablo Prigioni will return, while the team has also added Micah Nori, as was rumored earlier this month. Nori spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach in Detroit.
Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said today that he’s been reaching out to teams with head coaching vacancies to advocate for his assistant coach Wes Unseld Jr. (Twitter link via Mike Singer of The Athletic). Unseld has been bypassed in past coaching searches, but Malone said he believes that’s “going to change this summer.”
Anthony Slater of The Athletic weighs what the Warriors could do with the No. 7 and No. 14 picks in this year’s draft, exploring scenarios in which they trade up, move down, or deal one or both of their selections for veteran help.
Within a mailbag for The Athletic, Jovan Buha tries to determine what a fair deal for Lakers UFA-to-be Dennis Schröder might look like, suggesting he’d be fine with $20MM per year on a shorter-term contract, but would be hesitant to go that high for four years.

Rudy Tomjanovich Joins Timberwolves As Consultant

December 6th, 2020 at 2:33pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Never underestimate the heart of Rudy Tomjanovich. The two-time title-winning former Rockets head coach has joined the Timberwolves as a player personnel consultant, the team announced today in a press release.

According to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Tomjanovich worked to scout and evaluate talent for the Wolves ahead of the 2020 draft.

Tomjanovich was a five-time All-Star as a forward from 1970-1981. He spent his entire league tenure with the Rockets. He was drafted out of Michigan with the second pick by the Rockets when the team was still based in San Diego. Upon retiring, he was an assistant coach for Houston from 1983-1992.

A 2020 Naismith Hall of Fame inductee, Tomjanovich holds a 527–416 record as a head coach. He served in that capacity with the Rockets from 1992-2003, and with the Lakers for the 2004/05 season.

Tomjanovich won his titles with Houston in 1994 and 1995, with teams fronted by Hall-of-Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, plus point guard Sam Cassell and power forward Robert Horry.

Former Rockets director of player performance Javair Gillett is also among the Timberwolves’ new basketball operations additions, having been named the team’s VP of sports science and player performance. Joseph Blair (assistant coach), Aaron Blackshear (director of analytics), and Josh Gershon (college scouting coordinators) were among the other hires announced by Minnesota.

Joseph Blair, Sergi Oliva Leave Sixers

October 15th, 2020 at 6:33pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Sixers assistant coach Joseph Blair has departed Philadelphia in favor of a position on Ryan Saunders‘ staff with the Timberwolves, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).

Blair was previously an assistant coach with the Rockets’ G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, from 2015-18 before being promoted to head coach for the 2018/19 season. Blair guided that squad to a G League title. He served on Brett Brown‘s staff with the Sixers for Brown’s final season in 2019/20.

Pompey also reports that Sergi Oliva, the vice president of strategy for the Sixers, is leaving Philadelphia’s front office to join Quin Snyder as an assistant coach on the Jazz bench. Oliva has worked for Philadelphia’s front office in some capacity since 2014. Pompey indicated that Oliva played a key role in the club’s analytics-predicated decision making.

Blair and Oliva are not the first Sixers personnel to move on from Philadelphia this season. Assistant coach Kevin Young also recently departed the Sixers for an opportunity with Monty Williams and the Suns.

The Sixers recently signed head coach Doc Rivers to a five-year contract in the hopes that he could guide All-Stars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid to a title. Rivers is in the process of fleshing out his own staff. Early today, it was announced that former Kings and Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger would be joining the 76ers as an assistant.