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Lakers Notes: Shaw, Ingram, Scott

May 21st, 2016 at 5:53pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Lakers are nearing a deal with Brian Shaw to become the team’s lead assistant coach on Luke Walton’s staff, Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Walton always wanted Shaw to be the lead assistant on his staff, Turner adds (Twitter link). Walton played for the Lakers and Shaw was an assistant coach for the team during Los Angeles’ two most recent NBA championships.

Here’s more from Los Angeles:

  • Brandon Ingram’s drive to be great and his dedication to winning have impressed the Lakers‘ brass, sources tell Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report. The Lakers won’t likely have a choice between Ingram and Ben Simmons, as Philadelphia is expected to take one of the two. Sixers coach Brett Brown recently said that the team isn’t leaning toward taking any particular player at No. 1.
  • If the Lakers had a choice between Simmons and Ingram, Ingram should be the pick because he fits the team better, several league executives tell Mark Medina of the the Orange County Register. Medina also speculated that the team will discuss trading the pick to Sacramento for DeMarcus Cousins or Indiana for Paul George.
  • Former coach Byron Scott said the Lakers were seriously considering taking Kristaps Porzingis with the No. 2 overall pick last year, but Porzingis’ conditioning during his workout with the team was the reason for passing on the big man, as Scott told Dan Patrick on his radio show (h/t Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post). Scott added that once he saw Porzingis in the Summer League that year, he knew the rookie was going be “pretty good.”
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Latest On Jeff Hornacek, Knicks

May 20th, 2016 at 9:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Knicks president Phil Jackson was “blown away” by Jeff Hornacek in Monday’s job interview, but only after Jackson couldn’t sell anyone on keeping interim coach Kurt Rambis, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Berman reports Jackson made the final decision to hire Hornacek, who is still finalizing contract details with the team.

In selecting Hornacek, Jackson ignored cries from the media and fans to pick up former Indiana coach Frank Vogel, who was hired Thursday by Orlando, or ex-Cleveland coach David Blatt, who was the preferred choice of GM Steve Mills. Hornacek reportedly got a strong recommendation from Golden State coach Steve Kerr, who is close with Jackson.

Berman says Jackson was influenced by criticism of Rambis from inside and outside the organization. Mills wasn’t sold on Rambis, nor were Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, with Anthony expressing his views through the media. Other players also voiced reservations in their exit interviews about keeping Rambis. Owner James Dolan wasn’t on board either, though he was letting Jackson make the final choice, and Jackson reportedly had his own questions about Rambis’ leadership skills.

Anthony supports the hiring of Hornacek and likes the move away from the triangle, Berman writes in a separate piece. Anthony believes Porzingis will have a larger role in the new offense and thinks that will benefit the Knicks in the long run. He would have also been happy with Blatt, according to Berman.

Berman speculates that Rambis could be retained as an assistant coach with Hornacek, who was his former teammate in Phoenix, or he could join Jackson in the front office.

Jackson has liked Hornacek since his playing days, but didn’t contact his representatives until two weeks after the search began. Jackson’s first choice, according to Berman, was new Lakers coach Luke Walton, whom he talked with two days after launching the search.

In bypassing Rambis, Berman believes Jackson may have paved the way for an easier exit from the Knicks. Jackson has an opt-out clause to leave the organization after next season, and many believe he will head back to the Lakers to reunite with fiancee Jeanie Buss. Berman writes that Jackson might have felt an obligation to stay in New York and oversee Rambis if he had been the choice, but that pressure is now gone.

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And-Ones: ‘Melo, Batum, Hield

April 22nd, 2016 at 12:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Carmelo Anthony wasn’t at the Knicks triangle seminar this week after all, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post and Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, despite an earlier report that he was. Some say the seminar was mandatory and others called it voluntary, Isola hears, adding that one player said team president Phil Jackson only invited a few Knicks. Anthony is believed to be receiving therapy on his left knee, Berman writes, and the triangle sessions were mostly review, a source told the Post scribe, who downplays the significance of ‘Melo’s absence. Still, 10 other Knicks took part, Berman hears, including Kristaps Porzingis, who’s recovering from a shoulder strain and recently had a routine visit at the Hospital for Special Surgery, notes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (ESPN Now link). The other attendees, according to Berman, were Jerian Grant, Cleanthony Early, Langston Galloway, Tony Wroten, Sasha Vujacic, Jose Calderon, Robin Lopez, Kyle O’Quinn and Kevin Seraphin.

See more from around the NBA:

  • Nicolas Batum isn’t definitively out for the rest of the Hornets‘ first-round series against Miami, tweets Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, dispelling an earlier report, but he’s unlikely to return unless it goes at least six games, Bonnell says. Batum is poised for free agency this summer.
  • Indiana freshman small forward OG Anunoby won’t enter this year’s draft, the school announced (Twitter link). He was a late second-round prospect for this year, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com, who ranks him the 50th, but the 6’8″ 18-year-old has first-round potential for next year, as Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress slots him 20th in his 2017 mock draft. Anunoby saw limited action this season, putting up 4.9 points in 13.7 minutes per game.
  • Long-shot draft prospect Moustapha Diagne will enter this year’s draft, but he’ll do so without an agent so he can retain his college eligibility, a source told Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). The 6’8″ 20-year-old from Northwest Florida State, a community college, is a former Syracuse commit, Rothstein notes, and he was 68th in the Recruiting Services Consensus Index coming out of high school last year. Neither Ford nor Givony ranks him among the top 100 draft prospects.
  • Top-10 prospect and former Oklahoma shooting guard Buddy Hield has signed with agent Rob Pelinka of Landmark Sports, a source told Darren Rovell of ESPN.com (ESPN Now link).
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Latest On Luke Walton, Knicks

April 19th, 2016 at 9:29am CST by Chuck Myron

Luke Walton says his recent chat with Knicks team president Phil Jackson wasn’t a job interview, as the Warriors assistant coach tells Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. Conflicting reports emerged in the past few days about whether it was an interview, but Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said it couldn’t have been, since Golden State has yet to give Walton permission to interview elsewhere, notes Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Kerr told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated that no team has even asked for permission (Twitter link). That throws into question the idea that Walton interviewed for the since-filled Nets job, as had also been reported.

“I talked to Phil, but I always talk to Phil. He’s a mentor of mine,” Walton said to Kawakami. “There was no job interview whatsoever. It was just a conversation which is not that rare for Phil and I to have.”

Marc Berman of the New York Post suggests that the Knicks are likely to interview David Blatt, citing Jackson’s respect for the Princeton offense Blatt’s teams have used on occasion. Berman also says the team will likely interview Brian Shaw, a triangle devotee. Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com earlier reported New York’s interest in Blatt, a longtime friend of Knicks GM Steve Mills.

Still, interim coach Kurt Rambis remains a central figure and a candidate to be formally named Knicks head coach. He’s involved in two practices that Jackson has organized for this week that amount to a seminar of sorts on the triangle offense, reports Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Kristaps Porzingis, Jerian Grant, Jose Calderon, Tony Wroten and soon-to-be free agent Langston Galloway are expected to attend, Isola hears.

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Knicks Notes: Jackson, Anthony, Rambis

April 17th, 2016 at 10:03am CST by ChrisCrouse

Team president Phil Jackson expects free agents to be more open to signing with the Knicks this summer than last offseason because of the team’s increase in wins and the presence of Kristaps Porzingis, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. “We’re talking about a team in the making,” Jackson said.  “We’ve had so many people come up to us and say they really want to play [with] a guy like KP. … So we feel we have an attractive product here.”

Here’s more out of New York:

  • Carmelo Anthony has mixed feelings on the triangle and he believes most players just want to be comfortable in a system, Berman adds in the same piece. Anthony, who has repeatedly expressed his interest in being a part of the Knicks‘ free agent process, believes adding players who fit the system will be a delicate issue this offseason. “I think it’s a fine line going after guys who can fit into the system and going after guys who can just play basketball and can bring a winning attitude to this,” Anthony said.
  • Veteran players on the Knicks lobbied for Jerian Grant and the other younger members of the team to get more playing time earlier in the season, but coach Kurt Rambis and Jackson scoffed at the idea, reports Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. Jackson believed that Grant couldn’t contribute to the team’s win total.
  • Rambis finished the season 9-19 since taking over for Derek Fisher and would like an opportunity to build on his time with the Knicks, Bondy writes in a separate piece. “I want to be the head coach here,” Rambis said. “I think we can continue to get better as a ballclub and we can continue to improve, but that’s a decision that’s out of my hands.”
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Knicks Notes: Anthony, Thomas, Jackson

April 15th, 2016 at 7:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Small forward Carmelo Anthony made it clear to the team in his exit interview that it needs to take advantage of the “window that he has” when making personnel moves this offseason, Ian Begley of ESPN.com relays. Anthony, who met with team president Phil Jackson and GM Steve Mills on Thursday and said that the trio had a “very honest” conversation about the future of the franchise, Begley notes. “I think that’s the main question,” Anthony said. “How can we take advantage of this window? How can we take advantage of this situation that we have in front of us?”

“What is successful for us as the New York Knicks?” Anthony continued. “I think that is kind of the question that we have to ask ourselves as a whole organization. … Getting back and being in the postseason, that’s success for me. And not just sliding in and barely getting into the eighth seed. That is not success for me. Being in there, having some type of prominence, having a chance to compete to the next round and move further, that is success for me.”

Here’s more from New York:

  • Jackson noted that he would interview interim coach Kurt Rambis for the team’s head coaching slot, but added that he also intends to speak with other candidates with whom he has a relationship, the ESPN scribe relays in the same piece. “People I probably know will be in the interview process,” Jackson said. “I will reach out to make connections to some people. But I’ve been in this position, in the NBA, over 50 years. And I’ve seen a lot of situations where coaches end up coming in without [being] simpatico with the general manager, and those things don’t work well. So someone who has compatibility with what I do as a leader would have to be in sync with what we do.“
  • Anthony, who has intimated that he wants to be involved in the team’s offseason decisions, noted that he wants a wide-ranging search for the next coach, Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal relays (Twitter links). The small forward added that no discussion has taken place about him waiving his no-trade clause this summer so the team can deal him.
  • Jackson scoffed at the notion the Knicks would abandon the triangle offense and mentioned his past success with the system, saying, “Who are these people? [who criticize the offense]  Do they have 11 championships?,” Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News relays (Twitter links). For his part, Anthony said that team management should consider all coaches in its search, not just those who are familiar with the triangle, Al Iannazzone of Newsday tweets.
  • Power forward Kristaps Porzingis isn’t pleased with how his rookie season went, but referred to it as a good learning experience, writes George Willis of The New York Post. “We didn’t do as good as we could have,” Porzingis said. “Our team was talented enough to make the playoffs, and we didn’t do that. There were a lot of things we could have done much better. It’s going to be a good learning experience for me. Now I know what to expect going into my second season.”
  • The Knicks hope to re-sign Lance Thomas this offseason, but the combo forward is in line for a raise from the $1,636,842 he earned in 2015/16, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. League sources tell the Post scribe that Thomas could warrant a mid-level contract starting in the range of $4.5MM per season.
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And-Ones: Mavericks, LeVert, Porzingis

April 2nd, 2016 at 11:14am CST by Dana Gauruder

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle is juggling his big-man rotation on a game-by-game basis, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reports. Dwight Powell, Zaza Pachulia, Salah Mejri and Dirk Nowitzki are taking turns at center, depending upon the opponent, though it’s tougher to play Nowitzki there in smaller lineups with forward Chandler Parsons out for the season, MacMahon adds. Pachulia and Mejri shared the load on Friday when the team faced Detroit and its All-Star center, Andre Drummond. “We need everybody,” Carlisle told MacMahon and other members of the gathered media. “Going forward, we’re a walking adjustment. We’re going to have to adjust to whatever situation we’re up against.”

In other news around the league:

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And-Ones: Porzingis, Smart, Terry, D-League

April 1st, 2016 at 8:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks‘ Kristaps Porzingis could be the rare young player who affects decisions in the free agent market, The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski claims. In a video response to a reader’s question, Wojnarowski said Porzingis has a clear path toward becoming an All-Star. “Elite free agents generally aren’t as interested in young talent as they are veteran, winning talent in its prime,” Wojnarowski said. “But Kristaps Porzingis of the Knicks is an exception. He’s far more and will be far more intriguing to free agents than say, the Lakers’ young core.” 

There’s more from around the world of basketball:

  • Heat assistant coach Keith Smart is trying to overcome a rare form of skin cancer and rejoin the team on the bench, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Chris Quinn has moved from behind the bench to take Smart’s place while he undergoes treatment, and Smart said he doesn’t want to disrupt the chemistry of the coaching staff when he returns. He credits the Heat for keeping him involved during his absence. “This team has been great,” Smart said. “The organization has been great. [Coach Erik Spoelstra] is incredible, managing this team and also communicating with me almost on a daily basis or every other day, just to make sure that I’m doing OK.”
  • Mavericks owner Mark Cuban believes Rockets guard Jason Terry has the personality to succeed as a college coach, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Terry interviewed Thursday to be the next head coach at Alabama-Birmingham. “I could see Jet being a coach,” Cuban said. “He knows the game, he’s intense, he communicates well. And guys would relate to him.” Cuban added that the former Maverick can have a job with Dallas whenever he wants one.
  • The addition of three new teams to the D-League next season will bring a few complications, writes Adam Johnson of D-League Digest. The Windy City Bulls, Greensboro Swarm and Long Island Nets will be launched for 2016/17 as more NBA teams decide to have direct D-League affiliates. Johnson notes that the extra teams will require an expansion draft and will complicate the way the league handles its draft picks.
  • The Thunder have recalled Mitch McGary from their Oklahoma City Blue affiliate in the D-League, the team announced. McGary is averaging 14.7 points and 8.8 rebounds in 26 games with the Blue.
  • The Kings have recalled Eric Moreland and Duje Dukan from Reno of the D-League (Twitter link).
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Atlantic Notes: Colangelo, Rambis, Galloway, Clarke

March 28th, 2016 at 3:59pm CST by Chuck Myron
Sixers chairman of basketball operations Jerry Colangelo has an in with plenty of NBA stars as managing director of USA Basketball, but it’s off-base to suggest marquee players will flock to the Sixers anytime soon because of that, contends Derek Bodner of Philadelphia magazine. The Sixers are too far from contention to become the rare NBA team capable of convincing top-flight free agents to take discounts to sign with them, Bodner argues, suggesting the onus instead is on Colangelo and the rest of the Philly front office to make wise choices without any inherent advantage. The year ahead is critical for Colangelo and the Sixers, as Liberty Ballers managing editor Jake Pavorsky detailed Friday in the latest edition of our Top Bloggers series.
See more from the Atlantic Division:
  • Kristaps Porzingis has broken out of his slump, as Fred Kerber of the New York Post examines, and the numbers show he’s putting up essentially the same sort of production under Knicks interim coach Kurt Rambis as he did under the fired Derek Fisher, notes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. That dismisses one of the arguments against the team removing the interim tag from Rambis’ title, Begley suggests.
  • The Knicks have reportedly given up on the idea of Langston Galloway as a point guard, but Rambis insists the team is still high on the soon-to-be free agent, Newsday’s Al Iannazzone relays. New York can make him a restricted free agent with a qualifying offer of about $1.18MM. “We like his defense, we like his ability to organize and execute our offense,” Rambis said. “We just continue to challenge him to broaden his game . . . He’s just not playing at his best right now.”
  • A versatile forward is what the Celtics probably want if they’re to fill their roster vacancy, coach Brad Stevens said today, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link). Coty Clarke, whom the team has elected not to re-sign following the expiration of his second 10-day contract, would ostensibly fit that bill, but Boston prefers the flexibility of an open roster spot over another deal for him, wary of the possibility that an injury will create a need at another position, Himmelsbach wrote this weekend. Any new deal for Clarke would have to cover the rest of the season and the playoffs.
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Knicks Notes: Walton, Porzingis, Anthony

March 27th, 2016 at 3:03pm CST by Will Joseph

Luke Walton, who will enter the summer as a popular candidate for some of the league’s head coaching vacancies, including the Knicks’, should remain with the Warriors as an assistant, his father, Bill Walton, said while appearing on ESPN’s First Take (and as Ian Begley of ESPN.com relays). Luke Walton will likely be on Knicks president Phil Jackson‘s list of candidates, Begley writes, adding that Luke Walton knows the Knicks’ triangle offense and played for Jackson while both were with the Lakers. Knicks interim coach Kurt Rambis will also be considered for New York’s head coaching position, Begley notes. The Knicks are 7-12 since Rambis took over after Derek Fisher was fired in February.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

  • Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis wouldn’t want to see Carmelo Anthony leave the team next season because he wants to continue to learn from Anthony, but he also is not worried about it because he believes the superstar enjoys New York, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News writes. “Obviously I want him to stay here. We need him. I need him,” Porzingis said. “And we don’t want to lose him.” The pairing of Porzingis and Anthony has yielded positive results, as Bondy points out. The duo is a plus-66 this season through 1,471 minutes, according to Bondy.
  • Speaking of Anthony, he has squashed talks of waiving his no-trade clause to play with the Cavs, Fred Kerber of The New York Post relays. “I don’t want to talk about that man, I’d rather not talk about a no-trade clause after losing,” Anthony said. “I don’t want to talk about that no more this season to be honest with you.”
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