Kevin Love Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Lakers, Love, Curry, Grizzlies

May 29th, 2014 at 7:10pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Jeanie Buss will have have a hand in helping Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss find the team’s next head coach, report Mike Bresnahan and Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times, who add that the three Lakers executives will present a recommendation to the other four Buss siblings — Joey, Jesse, Johnny Buss, and Janie Buss Drexel — once the list of coaching candidates is narrowed down.

A person familiar with the team’s coaching search tells Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News that eliciting the input of other members of the Buss family doesn’t imply that the next Lakers head coach will be decided by committee. “Does that mean (everyone involved) will decide who the coach is going to be? No…It’s not like there’s going to be seven people making that decision.”

Here’s more out of the Western Conference tonight, including more from the purple-and-gold:

According to Medina, the Lakers anticipate that the feedback of the four other Buss siblings will address logistical issues, such as the length and amount of the coaching contract, rather than the selection of the coach.
The Timberwolves want Kevin Love to stay in Minnesota, but team GM Milt Newton is confident about moving forward if they can’t find a way to retain the star big man. “If (keeping Love isn’t) the case, you best believe we’ll be a better team based on what happens.” Newton also says that plenty of teams are “planting seeds early” on the trade market right now to let other clubs know what their intent is (Twitter links via Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune).
Stephen Curry spoke about his raw feelings concerning the Warriors ouster of Mark Jackson, but he hasn’t lost faith in the organization and is anxious to continue his dialogue with new coach Steve Kerr, as the star guard told reporters today. Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle provides a transcript, which also includes Curry’s comments supporting a new deal for Klay Thompson.
Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger said that he’ll have input on the process of hiring a new general manager in Memphis, reports Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. “The plan is not going to be revealed. But the process has begun.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Vinny Del Negro Interviews For Wolves Job

May 29th, 2014 at 2:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:04pm: Money is just one of many stumbling blocks, Zgoda notes (via Twitter).

1:58pm: Del Negro indeed interviewed for the gig, but the team appears to have moved on from him, Krawczynski clarifies (on Twitter). There are no plans for him to speak with Taylor, according to Wolfson (Twitter link).

1:50pm: Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press hears the reports of Del Negro’s candidacy have “no legs” (Twitter links). Meanwhile Zgoda suggests that Del Negro is demanding more money than the Wolves would like to pay.

1:28pm: Del Negro has yet to speak with Taylor, Wolfson tweets, adding that Del Negro was indeed the “mystery candidate” he’d referred to earlier.

1:16pm: Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune casts doubt on Del Negro’s status as a “serious” candidate, though he does confirm that Del Negro interviewed for the job (Twitter link).

12:42pm: Vinny Del Negro has become a “serious candidate” for the Wolves coaching job, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. He interviewed with the Wolves last week, when it seemed the club was nearing a deal with Dave Joerger, Stein adds (Twitter link). Del Negro is set to speak with Cavs GM David Griffin about Cleveland’s opening, too. Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders met with Del Negro, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter).

Joerger’s reconciliation with the Grizzlies, who extended his deal, seemed to throw a wrench into Minnesota’s plans, but it appears as though Del Negro was a strong contender even as the Wolves flirted with the Memphis coach. Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities suggested that there was a “mystery candidate” for the job, so it seems like Del Negro was that under-the-radar contender.

Saunders is fond of Del Negro, Wojnarowski tweets, but it remains to be seen if Wolves owner Glen Taylor shares those sentiments. Wojnarowski references Taylor’s affinity for Sam Mitchell, but Wolfson recently suggested the strength of Mitchell’s candidacy has been overstated. Stein, in a full piece on the story, writes that Mitchell isn’t exactly a slam dunk to get the job.

The Wolves see Del Negro as less of a coach who would convince Kevin Love to stay and more as one who could get the best out of Ricky Rubio, given his experience with Derrick Rose and Chris Paul, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Del Negro is 210-184 in parts of five seasons as an NBA head coach with the Bulls and Clippers, but his X’s and O’s came under widespread criticism during his time on the bench.

The Wolves have also interviewed Scott Skiles and Lionel Hollins, and while the possibility that Saunders will coach the team remains, he’s still focused on finding someone else to do the job, Stein writes.

Western Notes: Wolves, Nuggets, Thomas, Scola

May 27th, 2014 at 10:03pm CST by Cray Allred

The Kings haven’t yet made a trade offer to the Wolves for Kevin Love, reports Charley Walters of St. Paul Pioneer Press. Walters writes that Minnesota is still operating as if Love will be on the roster next season. Here’s a roundup for the Western Conference, including more notes from Walters’ piece:

Fred Hoiberg is not a candidate for the Wolves coaching job, but president of basketball operations Flip Saunders could still be in the running to become the next coach in Minnesota, according to Walters.
The Wolves are receiving calls on the availability of Ricky Rubio and Nikola Pekovic, in addition to Love, Walters reports.
Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities would be “mildly surprised” if Sam Mitchell won the Wolves head coaching job, and says that Minnesota remains focused on candidates with head coaching experience (Twitter links).
Nuggets GM Tim Connelly tells Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post that he has ownership’s blessing to make a major move to upgrade Denver’s roster. “We’ve got a lot of things at our disposal,” Connelly said. “We have the 11th pick, obviously, we have our picks going forward, we have a pretty big trade exception (worth $9.8MM), and I think we have a bunch of players who are well thought of outside our locker room, and they’re on contracts that — if we deem them movable guys — it’s not hard to move them.”
Connelly tells Jhabvala that he doesn’t expect to find a player who can immediately contribute with the team’s No. 11 draft pick, if the Nuggets keep it. “The 11th pick on a team that should be in the playoffs generally doesn’t have a huge impact from day one. Very few rookies had any impact this year on playoff teams,” Connelly said. “As our roster is presently constituted, who knows how we’re going to look after the draft. I think it’s unfair to put too much emphasis on the 11th pick.”
Rockets GM Daryl Morey tells Zach Lowe of Grantland that coach Kevin McHale is so high on Luis Scola that he still asks if Houston can reacquire the forward. Since the Rockets amnestied Scola, they cannot reacquire him until his contract, which is partially guaranteed through next year, is up.

Kings Want Love Even Without Re-Sign Promise

May 27th, 2014 at 8:29am CST by Zachary Links

TUESDAY, 8:29am: Sacramento’s pitch would probably only interest the Wolves if Minnesota feels confident that either Julius Randle or Noah Vonleh will be available with the eighth overall pick, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. The Wolves prefer those two to Aaron Gordon among top-ranked power forward prospects, Wolfson adds.

MONDAY, 9:57pm: If the Wolves aren’t willing to take the gamble that Kevin Love will re-sign with them at the end of the year, the Kings are. A league source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports that the Kings would pull the trigger on a deal for the All-Star big man without any assurance that he’d sign a new deal.

The Kings are willing to give up their No. 8 overall pick in this year’s draft and a combination of players for Love, even though he would not be expected to sign a contract extension with Sacramento, the source said. The Kings know it’s a gamble on convincing Love to re-sign, given that the franchise is rebuilding and Love is looking to go to the postseason for the first time. They’ll also have to vie with suitors from bigger markets including the Celtics, Lakers, Knicks, Warriors, Rockets and Bulls. While Love doesn’t have a no-trade clause (few do), he figures to wield a good amount of influence over where he lines up.

If the Kings can land the All-Star, they’ll have a very dangerous frontcourt with Love, DeMarcus Cousins, and Rudy Gay, if he exercises his player option. Sacramento struggled to a 28-54 record last season and missed the playoffs for the eighth straight season, but there’s a new regime in charge that’s hoping to right the ship quickly. The Kings expect to begin playing in a new downtown Sacramento arena in 2016.

Wizards ‘Stealth Candidate’ For Kevin Love

May 26th, 2014 at 12:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kevin Love has a lingering affection for the Wizards, the franchise with which his father spent most of his NBA career, making Washington a “stealth candidate” for the sought-after Timberwolves star, as TNT’s David Aldridge writes in his latest Morning Tip column for NBA.com. The idea of trading Love is reportedly growing on the Wolves, but there’s little chance that Love will follow his dad’s footsteps to Washington, as Aldridge suggests Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders would ask for Bradley Beal in such a swap.

There’s nonetheless a connection between Saunders and Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld, for whom Saunders worked as Washington’s head coach from 2009 to 2012. The Wizards gave up their first-round pick this year in the Marcin Gortat trade, but they have all their other picks available for future seasons if Saunders showed interest. Still, the Washington roster is devoid of up-and-coming young talent aside from Beal, John Wall and Otto Porter, last year’s No. 3 overall pick who spent most of his rookie season buried on the bench.

The Wizards could eschew the idea of a trade and attempt to mount an effort to sign Love as a free agent next year, when he can opt out of his contract, but that would likely force Washington to let Gortat and Trevor Ariza walk away this summer. The team has roughly $34MM in commitments for 2015/16, not including the nearly $5.7MM team option on Beal for that season, so there’d be no room to accommodate new long-term deals at market price for Ariza and Gortat along with a max contract for Love.

The All-Star power forward’s middle name is Wesley, a nod to Washington Hall-of-Famer Wes Unseld, but Love has his eyes on destinations other than the nation’s capital, with the Warriors, Bulls and Celtics among the latest additions to his wish list. The Lakers have long seemingly been in Love’s sights, and they still reportedly hold plenty of appeal to the former UCLA Bruin.

Lawrence On Thibs, Irving, Love, Knicks

May 24th, 2014 at 2:54pm CST by Zachary Links

The Grizzlies are on a shoestring budget and don’t have the room necessary to bring coach Tom Thibodeau over from the Bulls, writes Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News. “Do they realize how much that will cost?’” said one Chicago official, when word surfaced that the Grizzlies will look at Thibs if Memphis winds up allowing Dave Joerger to take the Timberwolves’ head coaching position. An Eastern Conference president, factoring in Stan Van Gundy’s $7MM/year deal in Detroit, estimated that it would cost Memphis $8MM per year to have Thibodeau serve as their coach and president. Here’s more from today’s column…

The Cavs are making noises that they aren’t going to offer Kyrie Irving “max money’’ this summer via a long-term extension. They don’t want to deal the 2014 All-Star Game MVP, but it could come to that, especially if the guard and his family continue to tell people that he wants out. Irving hasn’t been a leader in his first three seasons and he’s also gained the unwelcomed reputation as a locker-room problem. “He was just handed too much, too soon,’’ said one source. “You’ve got to make these young guys earn it, and that’s where this team did a bad job with him.’’
The Cavs are not looking for a coach with a strong veteran presence who wants to do things only his way. That probably rules out Jeff Van Gundy, George Karl, and Lionel Hollins, although Lawrence is a fan of all three. New GM David Griffin is looking for a college or NBA coach who agrees to accept input and instructions from himself and hands-on owner Dan Gilbert.
The Cavs know they can’t get Kevin Love from the Wolves in a deal for the No. 1 pick. If they keep it, they’re expected to take Kansas big man Joel Embiid, unless the stress fracture in his back injury from last season has the chance to become a long-term issue. Meanwhile, agent Arn Tellem might not make his client’s medical records available to teams with which he doesn’t want Embiid to play.
The Nuggets aren’t going to allow coach Brian Shaw to come to the Knicks if they fail to land Derek Fisher, even if the Knicks offer compensation. “We didn’t hire Brian for a one-year position with our team,’’ Nuggets president Josh Kroenke said. “We see Brian being with us for years to come.’’ If Fisher turns Jackson down, Kurt Rambis is the next in line.
Just because Bucks GM John Hammond and Pelicans exec Dell Demps came to New York for the lottery doesn’t mean that they’re going to be around for the long haul. Lawrence gets the sense that both are on the hot seat.

Northwest Notes: Love, Nuggets, Blazers

May 23rd, 2014 at 8:10pm CST by Cray Allred

Tim Bontemps of The New York Post ranks eight potential suitors in the Kevin Love sweepstakes, speculating that the Cavs and Suns have the best shot to pry the All-Star from the Wolves. Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

Sources close to the Lakers tell Sam Smith of Bulls.com that they still believe Love wants to play in L.A., in spite of his rumored affection for other teams. Smith covers plenty of other Love topics in his latest mailbag column.
Nuggets president Josh Kroenke tells Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post that he thinks Denver’s roster is already good enough to make the playoffs if healthy, and doesn’t feel an urgent need to overhaul the team after a disappointing 36-46 season. “I’ll be disappointed if we stay healthy and we’re not in the playoffs next year,” Kroenke said. “This roster, we’re always open for business and we’re always looking to improve our team, but sometimes the best thing you can do is just have continuity.”
Kroenke also told Dempsey that the team has hopes of fully recovering from the departure of Carmelo Anthony in the next couple years. “That situation was so big at the time that it was going to have a ripple effect of probably four to five years,” Kroenke said. “Next year is going to be a very crucial year. It will be four years out, we’ll have had the guys for three years. And so it’s going to be a telling year. It’s a big year on a lot of levels for a lot of people.”
The Blazers are not bringing back Mike Born as their Director of NBA scouting, sources tell Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (Twitter link).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: LeBron, Wittman, Levien, Dunleavy Sr.

May 22nd, 2014 at 7:05pm CST by Ryan Raroque

LeBron James didn’t have much to say about the Cavaliers’ recent NBA Draft lottery coup or the speculation that he could decide to return to Cleveland if he opts out this summer, telling Charlie McCarthy of FOX Sports Florida, “I heard about it but I don’t really have thoughts about it. … I’m in the middle of the conference finals, I’m not worried about draft lotteries, draft conversations. That’s the last thing on my mind.

Interestingly enough, LeBron added, “(The Heat aren’t) the most talented team, I don’t think, in the NBA. ... There are other talented teams. We have some very, very high IQ basketball players. I think IQ is more important than talent.”

With that aside, here’s more of this evening’s miscellaneous news and notes:

The Wizards haven’t been in a rush to make a decision on Randy Wittman‘s future, and a source tells Michael Lee of the Washington Post that there is no current timetable to get something done. Wittman, who led the team to its first playoff series win since 2004/05, was given strong endorsements from John Wall, Bradley Beal, Andre Miller, and several other team veterans after the season had ended.
Although former Grizzlies CEO Jason Levien’s recent resignation sent shockwaves around the league, sources tell Sean Deveney of the Sporting News that tension between Levien and team owner Robert Pera had actually been building for months.
On ESPN Radio’s “The Herd with Colin Cowherd,” Mike Dunleavy Sr. said that he hopes he has a shot at the Knicks head coaching job, adding that he’s very familiar with the triangle offense: “I played in the triangle system down in Houston, it was kind of left over from when Tex Winter coached there. All my teams, I’ve run it as a transition set. … Maybe I’m the outside guy from the other guys that [Phil Jackson will] talk to, former players who played in the system and other guys who coached under him in the system. But at least I do know the system. I have run it” (H/T to Al Iannazzone of Newsday).
Timberwolves star Kevin Love may be the NBA’s most valuable player available for trade since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar requested out of Milwaukee in 1974, explains Kevin Pelton of ESPN (Insiders only).

And-Ones: LeBron, Love, Garnett, Donovan

May 22nd, 2014 at 2:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

People around the league told Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal that didn’t think the Cavs had any shot at re-signing LeBron James going into Tuesday’s draft lottery, but Cleveland’s third lottery victory in four years casts the idea in a new light, Lloyd figures. The Cavs have long believed that acquiring Kevin Love would be central to the team’s pursuit of the four-time MVP, and they thought all season that the Wolves would eventually trade their power forward. Still, Lloyd has heard from no one who believes that Love would stay in Cleveland long-term if the team can’t land James, so trading for Love before knowing what James wants to do would be a supreme gamble. There’s more on the Love sweepstakes amid the latest from around the NBA:

The Warriors are confident they can wind up with Love, as Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle hears. Love is reportedly high on Golden State, and the team has been resourceful in acquiring players in spite of a lack of cap flexibility, Simmons notes.
Next season’s $12MM salary and a productive stretch run lead Tim Bontemps of the New York Post to believe that Kevin Garnett will return next season for the Nets, even though he hasn’t dismissed talk of retirement.
Billy Donovan admitted contact with a couple of NBA teams, but he said he’s content as the coach at the University of Florida and “all but guaranteed” he’ll remain there for next season, observes Mark Long of The Associated Press (Twitter links; hat tip to Marc Stein of ESPN.com). The Wolves reportedly sought him for their vacancy earlier this spring.
The Warriors were one of five teams that reached out to Steve Kerr about their coaching vacancies, as Kerr said on ESPN Radio’s The Dan Le Batard show, tweets Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group. The Knicks and Jazz were his other known suitors.
Draft hopeful Andre Dawkins will work out for the Bulls, Suns, Hornets, Pacers, Pistons and Mavericks, his agent tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link). Dawkins is No. 92 in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings, but Chad Ford of ESPN.com doesn’t have him among his top prospects.

Western Notes: Wolves, Fournier, Warriors

May 21st, 2014 at 9:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor says the team doesn’t intend to trade Kevin Love, reports Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “Actually, I haven’t had any offers. I’m waiting!” GM Milt Newton joked. According to the article, Newton also said that now that the draft lottery was completed it would accelerate the team’s search for a new head coach.