Justin Zanik Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bucks Narrow GM Search To Three Finalists

June 7th, 2017 at 8:34am CST by Luke Adams

After conducting a “broad” search for a new general manager, the Bucks have narrowed their group of candidates down to three finalists, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. According to Wojnarowski, Nuggets assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas, Hawks advisor Wes Wilcox, and Bucks assistant GM Justin Zanik have emerged as the top contenders for the position.

The Bucks conducted a round of interviews in New York this week, and will now bring Karnisovas and Wilcox to Milwaukee for additional meetings with team officials, per Wojnarowski. Zanik is already in Milwaukee, having been tasked with making draft preparations for the franchise in the wake of former GM John Hammond‘s departure.

According to previous reports, the Bucks had also been considering Pacers president of basketball operations Peter Dinwiddie, Grizzlies VP of player personnel Ed Stefanski, Pistons associate GM Pat Garrity and Heat assistant GM Adam Simon, Blazers assistant GM Bill Branch, and Timberwolves assistant GM Noah Croom, among others. However, it appears those execs are no longer in the running.

As Wojnarowski details, there is “strong internal staff support” within the Bucks organization for the team to simply promote Zanik. Co-owners Marc Lasry and Wes Edens, as well as Jamie Dinan, are heavily involved in the process though, and have differing opinions on the best candidates for the job, as Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times writes.

Woelfel’s report, which was published before Wojnarowski, cited sources who said that Zanik and Karnisovas are “held in high regard” by Bucks ownership.

Bucks Ready To Start GM Interviews

June 4th, 2017 at 2:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bucks are finalizing their list of GM candidates with interviews expected to start Monday, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.

Assistant GM Justin Zanik remains a strong candidate to replace John Hammond, who left to become GM of the Magic. Sources tell Wojnarowski that Zanik has strong support inside and outside the Bucks organization.

Others expected to interview for the position are Minnesota assistant GM Noah Croom, Indiana vice president of basketball operations Peter Dinwiddie, Detroit assistant GM Pat Garrity, Denver assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas and Memphis VP of player personnel Ed Stefanski. Many of the names were already known, but Croom is a new addition, Wojnarowski tweets.

Sources indicate that Bucks owners Marc Lasry and Wes Edens will participate in the interviews. An original list of candidates was trimmed by a search firm.

Latest On Bucks’ GM Search

June 1st, 2017 at 5:16pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Milwaukee will begin formal interviews for its open GM position on Monday, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports.

The team has been granted permission to speak with Blazer assistant GM Bill Branch, Heat assistant GM Adam Simon, and Pistons assistant GM Pat Garrity, according to Wojnarowski.

The scribe adds that the Bucks have reached out to the Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon about the opening. Hammon has been working under coach Gregg Popovich for three seasons.

Milwaukee previously reached out to Indiana and gained permission to speak with the team’s VP of basketball operations Peter Dinwiddie. Wojnarowski adds that the franchise also has permission to speak with Denver assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas, Grizzlies VP of player personnel Ed Stefanski and Hawks special advisor Wes Wilcox.

Justin Zanik, who is currently running the team as its assistant GM, remains a strong candidate for the position. Zanik is gathering “significant support” inside and outside the organization, Wojnarowski writes. He joined the team with the expectation that he would be the GM-in-waiting once John Hammond‘s contract expired. Hammond recently left the franchise to become Orlando’s GM.

Bucks Rumors: GM Search, Garrity, Simon, Kidd

June 1st, 2017 at 12:56pm CST by Luke Adams

A Wednesday report indicated that the Bucks have received permission to interview at least four executives from various teams around the NBA for their open general manager position. However, Milwaukee’s list of potential GM targets in longer than that. A source familiar with the team tells Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times that at least five other execs are under consideration by the Bucks, with about three dozen NBA officials having expressed interest in the job.

While Woelfel doesn’t specify any additional candidates, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical provides two more names, tweeting that Milwaukee has been granted permission to speak to Pistons executive Pat Garrity and Heat assistant GM Adam Simon. Garrity was said to be a candidate for the top job in Orlando before the Magic hired Jeff Weltman and John Hammond.

Woelfel has more info on the team’s GM search in his latest piece, so let’s dive in and round up the highlights…

Head coach Jason Kidd may be considered down the road for a top basketball operations role, but he’s not a candidate to take over that role in the short term, sources tell Woelfel. Still, Kidd will meet with the finalists for the position to ensure that they’ll have a good working relationship.
Assistant GM Justin Zanik is viewed as a strong candidate to be promoted to GM, but even if he doesn’t receive an official promotion, he’ll be well-compensated. According to Woelfel, Zanik’s contract includes a unique clause that stipulates his pay will be equal to that of the new GM.
Grizzlies VP of player personnel Ed Stefanski, one of the four candidates the Bucks received permission to interview, is viewed by several NBA officials as the frontrunner for the Bucks’ top job, reports Woelfel. Previous report have indicated that the relationship between Stefanski and Bucks consultant Rod Thorn is a strong factor working in Stefanski’s favor. The two men worked together in New Jersey and are longtime friends.
On Thursday, we examined five key questions facing the Bucks this offseason, including who will be calling the shots on personnel decisions.

Latest On David Griffin, Bucks’ GM Search

May 24th, 2017 at 5:25pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Milwaukee has interest in bringing in Cavaliers GM David Griffin to the serve the same position, multiple sources tell Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. The Bucks have not reached out to Cleveland to gain permission to interview Griffin. The Cavs previously denied both the Magic and Hawks permission to speak with Griffin.

Vardon adds that Griffin and owner Dan Gilbert have spoken about the GM’s future with the team over the last few days, though no agreement has been made.

The Bucks lost John Hammond to the Magic and it was presumed that assistant GM Justin Zanik would be promoted in his place. Instead, the team is conducting a “broad search” as it looks to name a replacement. Longtime NBA executive Rod Thorn, who serves as a consultant to the franchise, will lead the search.

Zanik is will run the front office, including the team’s draft process, during the search, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical tweets. Wojnarowski confirms an earlier report that Zanik remains a serious contender for the position.

Bucks Plan ‘Broad Search’ For Next GM

May 24th, 2017 at 2:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bucks plan to examine numerous candidates for their newly open GM post, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

The team will conduct a “broad search” to find a replacement for John Hammond, who has taken over as the GM in Orlando. The effort will be led by veteran NBA executive Rod Thorn, who serves as a consultant to the Bucks.

Hammond had a year left on his contract in Milwaukee, but he was given permission to interview with the Magic earlier this month. Hammond’s hiring appeared inevitable once Orlando brought in his longtime colleague, Jeff Weltman, as its president of basketball operations.

Justin Zanik, Milwaukee’s assistant GM, will be among the candidates interviewed for the position and will receive strong consideration, a source told Stein. It has been reported in the past that Zanik was a GM-in-waiting who would take over once Hammond’s contract expired, but Stein states that the job was never promised to him

Hammond spent nine years as GM in Milwaukee, putting together a team that made four playoff appearances. His legacy will include drafting Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is on the verge of becoming one of the league’s best players.

The Bucks will be looking for a GM who can build on the young talent that Hammond assembled and produce a regular title contender.

And-Ones: Terry, Zanik, Bucks, Loubaki, Draft

June 9th, 2016 at 2:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Jason Terry, who intends to play one more year before retiring, would like to join a contending team for the coming season. But even he doesn’t get an offer he likes from a contender, it sounds like Terry would prefer to sign with a lottery team rather than calling it a career, as Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes.

“Just looking for another opportunity to get back on a contender,” Terry said. “But if that opportunity doesn’t present itself, still being able to go in and have an impact in the locker room on the younger players and provide quality minutes off the bench. My body feels great. My mind is still sharp.”

Terry added that he’s also hoping to land in a situation where he can “shadow” his team’s head coach and general manager, as he prepares for his post-playing career.

Let’s round up a few more odds and ends from across the NBA…

We heard in May that the Bucks would hire Justin Zanik as their general-manager-in-waiting, and the team made Zanik’s hiring official today, announcing it in a press release. While Zanik’s title for now is assistant general manager, the plan is for him to eventually take over for John Hammond as Milwaukee’s GM.
French shooting guard Luc Loubaki, who entered this year’s draft class back in April, has withdrawn his name from consideration after undergoing meniscus surgery, writes Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The 19-year-old had been viewed as the 37th-best player in his international draft class according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com.
ESPN’s Chad Ford has plenty of new draft-related content for us, providing workout updates on Ben Simmons, Dejounte Murray, Malachi Richardson, and Malik Beasley, and updating his big board, which features Marquese Chriss moving up to No. 6 overall and Murray sneaking into the top 10. Both pieces are Insider-only articles.
As LeBron James fights to get the Cavaliers back into contention against the Warriors in the NBA Finals, our sister site, Pro Football Rumors, passes along some intriguing comments from one NFL general manager, who believes LeBron would have been an all-time great tight end if he had chosen football instead of basketball.

And-Ones: Zanik, Kidd, Brown, Cousins

May 28th, 2016 at 9:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bucks will hire Justin Zanik as GM-in-waiting and are working on a contract extension for coach Jason Kidd, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Currently an assistant GM in Utah, Zanik will have a similar title with the Bucks. A provision of the move is that Zanik will eventually take over for Milwaukee GM John Hammond, although it’s uncertain when that will happen. Hammond has been GM of the Bucks since 2008 and has one year left on his contract.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

California forward Jaylen Brown worked out for the Bucks, Raptors and Sixers today, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. A source told Spears that Brown was in “great shape” and “super explosive.” He is expected to be a top 10 pick and could be in the running for the No. 3 choice. New Timberwolves GM Scott Layden also traveled to California to see Brown and came away impressed, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
Oklahoma point guard Isaiah Cousins worked out for the Suns on Friday, and has upcoming sessions with the Raptors on Tuesday and the Hawks on Thursday, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
Anthony Bennett and Quinn Cook were the most recognizable players invited to a Nets mini-camp this week, according to NetsDaily. Bennett, the No. 1 pick in the 2013 draft, played 19 games with the Raptors last season. Cook, the point guard on Duke’s 2015 NCAA title team, was cut by the Cavaliers in training camp. Also receiving invitations were Alex Stepheson, Scotty Hopson, Alex Kirk, Jerrelle Benimon, Fuquan Edwin, D.J. Newbill, Will Cummings, Jarrid Famous, Victor Rudd, Josh Magette and Joel Wright. International journalist David Pick says the Nets are planning another session.

Eastern Notes: Heat, Vogel, Brooks, Olynyk

May 15th, 2016 at 8:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

Several Heat players had their minds on the future after today’s Game 7 loss at Toronto. The overall feeling is that most players want to return next season and they hope free agent center Hassan Whiteside is with them, tweets Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post. One exception could be Amar’e Stoudemire, who was unhappy with his playing time after signing a one-year deal with Miami as a free agent last summer (Twitter link). However, Stoudemire also felt the Heat had “great chemistry” and said, “I enjoyed the guys and I had the best time of my life with my teammates this season.” (Twitter link). Veteran Udonis Haslem, who has been with Miami for his entire 13-year career, understands he may have to find a new team to stay in the league next season. “There’s a business side to everything, so you never know,” Haslem said (Twitter link). Joe Johnson, who will be a free agent after joining the Heat in late February, said it’s too early to think about his next move (Twitter link). Chris Bosh, Goran Dragic, Justise Winslow and Josh McRoberts are the only Miami players with guaranteed deals for next season.

There’s more from the Eastern Conference:

The Knicks are hoping to hire a coach in the next week or so, writes Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal. Frank Vogel, who met with team president Phil Jackson and GM Steve Mills Wednesday in Los Angeles, is apparently a finalist for the job, along with David Blatt and interim coach Kurt Rambis. Vogel reportedly spent much of his interview making the case that the understands the triangle and would incorporate it into his offense.
The Bucks will interview Utah executive Justin Zanik and former Charlotte GM Rod Higgins for an open front office position, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Milwaukee is looking for someone to work with GM John Hammond (Twitter link).
New Wizards coach Scott Brooks traveled to Orlando this week for a meeting with Marcin Gortat, according to Keely Diven of CSNMidAtlantic. Brooks is hoping to establish a better relationship with his starting center than former coach Randy Wittman, who feuded publicly with Gortat.
Kelly Olynyk will have to undergo surgery soon on his injured right shoulder in order to be ready for the start of next season, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE. Olynyk has been hoping he can help the Canadian national team qualify for the Summer Olympics, but with a five-month projected recovery time, he is already likely to miss at least some of the Celtics‘ training camp.