Kurt Rambis Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Hinkie, Horford, Fredette

February 29th, 2016 at 4:32pm CST by Chuck Myron

One source told Tom Moore of Calkins Media that he believes the Sixers will hire someone new to run day-to-day basketball operations under chairman of basketball ops Jerry Colangelo, bumping GM Sam Hinkie into an analytics-only role, perhaps before the regular season is over. Moore speculates that the new day-to-day front office voice might be Bryan Colangelo, Jerry’s son, and the scribe hears conflicting rumors of whether or not Danny Ferry is a candidate to join the Sixers. Jerry Colangelo recently expressed interest in adding to the team’s front office. While we wait to see the fate of “The Process” in Philly, see more from the Atlantic Division:

Part of the reason why the Celtics didn’t make the sort of overwhelming trade offer for Al Horford that the Hawks were reportedly looking for is that the C’s feel they have a legitimate chance to sign him in free agency this summer, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports says in a video report. Chris Mannix of The Vertical earlier identified Atlanta’s interest in the big man.
The Knicks are keeping an eye on the players that hit waivers as Tuesday’s de facto buyout deadline nears, with a specific interest in younger players, coach Kurt Rambis said today, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Tuesday is the last day players can hit waivers while retaining postseason eligibility. Rambis praised Jimmer Fredette and suggested he’s open to seeing him return on a second 10-day deal, notes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter), but the coach said that decision rests with management and acknowledged it will be tough for Fredette to see minutes. He’s only played two minutes so far on the 10-day deal that expires after Wednesday.
The Celtics have recalled James Young from the D-League, the team announced (Twitter link). He averaged 10.7 points and 4.7 rebounds in three games on his latest D-League stint, which began Thursday.

Atlantic Notes: Marks, Dolan, Casey, Hinkie

February 25th, 2016 at 9:28am CST by Chuck Myron

New Nets GM Sean Marks took the job on the condition that he have the authority to make moves as he sees fit, writes USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt, who nonetheless wonders how much autonomy Marks will have to rebuild at a pace he sees appropriate. People around the league believe the Nets are anxious to go after a marquee free agent to hasten the team’s climb up the standings, Zillgitt notes. While we wait to find out if owner Mikhail Prokhorov displays more patience than he has to date, see more from the Atlantic Division:

Knicks owner James Dolan was agitated after Monday’s loss, a source told Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, and the frustration is evident throughout the organization, as Isola details. New York dropped another game Wednesday against the Pacers. “We’re all frustrated. We can’t accept this,” said interim head coach Kurt Rambis after Monday’s game. “For the organization, for our team, ourselves as individuals, the coaching staff. We can’t accept losing. I want players to be angry. I want players to be frustrated. That’s the right attitude to have.”
Toronto’s offseason defensive upgrades were “huge,” as coach Dwane Casey puts it, but they won’t matter if the Raptors can’t break through and win a playoff series, which the franchise hasn’t done in more than a decade, opines Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post.
Sixers GM Sam Hinkie might have lost power to new chairman of basketball operations Jerry Colangelo this season, but Hinkie remains philosophically tied to the idea of his aggressive rebuilding campaign, observes Derek Bodner of Philadelphia magazine.

Atlantic Notes: Stevens, Brown, Smith, Fredette

February 23rd, 2016 at 9:29am CST by Chuck Myron

The Celtics haven’t had any discussions about filling their open roster spot, coach Brad Stevens said Monday night, according to MassLive’s Jay King. Boston is in no rush to sign anyone to fill the vacancy created when team worked a buyout with David Lee, the coach added, but Stevens nonetheless has an idea of what he’d want in a 15th man.

“I think that we’ll continue to look for versatility,” Stevens said. “And we’ll continue to look for shooting if the right people become available, if we feel like it’s a great fit for our team or if we need them based on injuries or whatever the case may be.”

Boston is reportedly eyeing Reggie Evans, though that appears to be a long shot, at best, and he wouldn’t fit the criteria Stevens laid out, as King notes. See more from the Atlantic Division:

Tony Brown knows he’s not going to win much as Nets interim coach, but he thinks that if he can make strides in developing the team’s young players, an effort he believes he can achieve in part through a faster tempo, it’ll help his case for his next job, as Brian Lewis of the New York Post relays. It’s unclear whether Brown has a legitimate chance at staying in the Nets head coaching gig beyond this season. “This is not just an audition for [new Nets GM] Sean [Marks]. A lot of teams are looking to see how I’m doing in this position. It’s a résumé-type deal here,” Brown said.
Evaluating whether soon-to-be free agent Ish Smith is worth keeping as the starting point guard is one of the key tasks the Sixers face down the stretch of the season, argues Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News, who heard from one rival executive who doubts Smith is any sort of game-changing force.
Knicks interim coach Kurt Rambis doesn’t seem enthusiastic about the team’s addition of Jimmer Fredette on a 10-day contract, observes Marc Berman of the New York Post.

New York Notes: Dolan, Jackson, Nets GM Search

February 12th, 2016 at 9:30am CST by Chuck Myron

An “animated” meeting that involved Knicks owner James Dolan, team president Phil Jackson and GM Steve Mills took place after New York’s home loss to the Celtics on February 2nd, six days before the team fired Derek Fisher, a source tells Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Isola’s source was the same who earlier said Dolan was angry about comments Fisher made in a recent radio appearance on “The Michael Kay Show” on ESPN 98.7 FM indicating that missing the playoffs wouldn’t be a disappointment. The loss to Boston was New York’s sixth in seven games, and the Knicks have lost four straight since. Isola speculates that Lakers assistant Mark Madsen is among those up for the head coaching job in New York and further wonders if Steve Kerr‘s lingering health problems will lead to top candidate Luke Walton taking over for Kerr in Golden State on a formal basis. The Daily News scribe also finds the question in one of Carmelo Anthony‘s statements since the Knicks coaching change disconcerting.

“You have to continue to put your trust into Phil,” Anthony said. “At this point, what could you do?”

See more on New York’s teams:

No major deals are likely for the Nets before the deadline, given Brooklyn’s unsettled front office situation and the lack of time before the deadline, sources told Brian Lewis of the New York Post. The team would be even less likely to make a move if it hires a GM who’s never headed a front office before, league sources said to NetsDaily. Bryan Colangelo is the only former front office chief among the three candidates ESPN’s Chris Broussard reported as front-runners for the vacancy. The Nets have reportedly reached out to the Hawks about Jeff Teague and Paul Millsap.
The Nets would like to hire a GM before Thursday’s trade deadline, but they won’t rush to do so, a league source told Broussard.
Interim Knicks coach Kurt Rambis is one of Jackson’s closest friends, and the Zen Master believes strongly in how well Rambis knows the game, Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding writes. Rambis, who excels at teaching big men, has had a significant role in helping offseason signee Robin Lopez deliver this season, according to Ding. The interim boss is already showing that he’ll be more quick to criticize Knicks players than Fisher was, having pointed to Jose Calderon‘s defensive shortcomings in particular after Tuesday’s game, observes Marc Berman of the New York Post

Knicks Notes: Porzingis, Antetokounmpo, Fisher

February 9th, 2016 at 7:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The presence of Kristaps Porzingis offers whomever is named the permanent coach of the Knicks hope, a luxury not enjoyed by the team’s last few hires, Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post writes. Kurt Rambis, who was named interim coach after Derek Fisher was fired, believes the rookie will develop into the type of player others will want to play alongside, Bontemps adds. “Well, clearly he’s a player that is going to be around this franchise for a long time,” Rambis said. “He’s a rookie, and I think a lot of us forget that he’s 20 years old and he’s still growing and filling out as a human being. He’s going to be learning today, tomorrow, for the rest of the year, the next five or six years, until he figures out where he is and how he can play in this league. But at some point in time he’s going to be a dominant force in this league.”

As for who may be coaching Porzingis next season, Jeff Hornacek, Tom Thibodeau, Brian Shaw and Luke Walton are all reportedly in the running. Here’s more from New York:

Longtime Phil Jackson confidant Charley Rosen suggests that the alleged physical encounter between Fisher and Matt Barnes this past fall indeed played a role in Jackson’s decision to terminate Fisher’s employment as coach Monday, as Rosen writes for Today’s Fastbreak. Jackson called the situation embarrassing but said it was no factor in the coach’s dismissal. Rosen also writes that he foresees Rambis funneling more plays on offense to Porzingis.
The decision to fire Fisher was an admission of failure by Jackson in his choice of Fisher as coach, Frank Isola of The New York Daily News writes. The team has faced a disconnect between coaches and Jackson over the executive’s insistence upon running the triangle offense, Isola adds. “That’s their problem,” said one NBA head coach of the Knicks. “They have a coach in Phil who doesn’t want to get on the bench and coach but is coaching the team anyway. That will always be the problem.”
Jackson discounted Rajon Rondo‘s assertion that he wouldn’t be a good fit in the triangle offense, as the executive believes it is a system every player can thrive in, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “I know there was a bit about Rondo the other day that kind of came up and it was laughable because all players can fit in a sound offense,’’ Jackson said.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo has returned to the Westchester Knicks, New York’s D-League affiliate, now that his 10-day contract has expired, the team announced. New York can still opt to sign Antetokounmpo to one more 10-day pact this season.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Knicks Notes: Hornacek, Walton, Fisher, ‘Melo

February 8th, 2016 at 4:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Jeff Hornacek and Knicks team president Phil Jackson share a rapport and a respect for each other, leading one source to tell Howard Beck of Bleacher Report that it’s worth keeping an eye on the recently fired Suns coach as the Knicks consider candidates for their newly vacant head coaching job (Twitter link). One of the reasons the Knicks fired Derek Fisher today is because they wanted to get a head start on recruiting Luke Walton, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports says in a video report, but Walton is reportedly determined to remain with the Warriors through the rest of the season. See more on a noteworthy day in New York:

Fisher strayed too much from the triangle offense, Jackson believed, and players were increasingly upset with Fisher over confusion about their roles, Wojnarowski says in the same video, citing additional reasons why the Knicks made the change.
Jackson said members of Fisher’s coaching staff weren’t on the same page with each other, suggesting a chasm that had experienced hands Kurt Rambis and Jim Cleamons on one side and relative neophytes Brian Keefe and Joshua Longstaff on the other, as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily notes. “I was able to surround [Fisher] with some very experienced coaches, and he had support staff, that was really important too. If he didn’t take advantage of it, maybe that’s part of it, too,” Jackson said. “Kurt, Jim Cleamons, some of the guys that have experienced, detailed experience. Derek hired some young guys who have helped him, have great work ethic and kind of meet the standard that he likes. But there wasn’t a consensus in our staff and we decided we needed to have a real good consensus in our staff, interchanging of ideas and communication.”
Rambis, in one of his first comments as interim coach to reporters today, said making the playoffs this season is the goal for the team, notes Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post (Twitter link). That’s in stark contrast to Fisher’s remark last week on “The Michael Kay Show” on ESPN 98.7 FM that failing to make the playoffs wouldn’t be disappointing.
Jackson cited Carmelo Anthony‘s no-trade clause when asked if ‘Melo is off-limits for a trade, and the Zen Master also dismissed any notion that he’d trade Kristaps Porzingis, notes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com (ESPN Now link).

Fallout From Knicks Firing Of Derek Fisher

February 8th, 2016 at 1:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kurt Rambis will continue as interim head coach of the Knicks for the rest of the season, team president Phil Jackson told reporters, including Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post (Twitter link), and he’ll get a “real shot” to keep the job for the long term, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. Still, Luke Walton and Brian Shaw will obviously be in any discussion to become the ultimate successor to the fired Derek Fisher, Shelburne adds, echoing ESPN colleague Brian Windhorst’s report that sources believe Walton and Shaw are the team’s top candidates (Twitter link). Shaw would love to take the Knicks job, a source close to him told Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, while Walton is intent on remaining with the Warriors through the end of the season, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links).

See more fallout in the wake of the NBA’s latest coaching change.

Jackson wouldn’t rule out calling Tom Thibodeau, who reportedly wants the job, but the Zen Master made it clear that the relationship between him and his next coach is important, according to Ken Berger of CBS Sports, who points out that Jackson and Thibodeau aren’t close (Twitter link). Jackson took a somewhat brusque tone when asked about Thibodeau, observes Justin Tasch of the New York Daily News (Twitter links). The next Knicks coach must be a stylistic fit, Jackson said, adding that the triangle offense isn’t paramount but is important, note Marc Berman of the New York Post and Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal (Twitter links).
The guaranteed portion of Fisher’s five-year, $25MM contract was worth $17MM over four years, so the Knicks owe him $8.5MM for next season and 2017/18 combined, according to Windhorst (on Twitter).
Jackson told reporters he made the decision to fire Fisher, Bontemps notes, and Jackson went to owner James Dolan over the past weekend to get clearance to eat the remaining guarantee on Fisher’s deal, according to Shelburne (Twitter links).
The Knicks had concluded before their recent spate of losing that Fisher wasn’t effectively transitioning from playing to coaching, sources told Windhorst, but Jackson said the team’s nine losses in its last 10 games represented the most significant catalyst for the firing, Bontemps tweets.
Fisher’s alleged physical encounter with Matt Barnes was embarrassing but ultimately not a factor in his dismissal, Jackson said, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post (on Twitter).
Jackson said he didn’t consider taking the interim coaching job himself, given his health issues, Bontemps notes (on Twitter).
A share of the blame for the team’s poor performance falls on the players, Jackson acknowledged, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link), though Jackson had been keeping close watch on Fisher this season to track his growth as a coach, Shelburne tweets.

Knicks Fire Derek Fisher, Promote Kurt Rambis

February 8th, 2016 at 10:05am CST by Chuck Myron

Russ Isabella / USA TODAY Sports Images

10:05am: Fisher’s dismissal and the promotion of Rambis to interim head coach are official, the team said (Twitter links). The Knicks attributed the announcement to Jackson.

9:54am: The Knicks have fired coach Derek Fisher, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (Twitter links). The team hasn’t made any announcement, but Shelburne hears from sources that the move has taken place. New York will name Kurt Rambis interim coach, Shelburne adds, though league sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com that they believe Brian Shaw and Luke Walton, both of whom have ties to team president Phil Jackson, are the team’s top long-term candidates for the position (Twitter link). Former Knicks assistant Tom Thibodeau has always wanted to become the head coach in New York and “would crawl” to Madison Square Garden for the job, a confidant told Ian O’Connor of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link), though it’s unclear if the team will consider him.

Knicks owner James Dolan wasn’t thrilled to hear Fisher say that it wouldn’t be disappointing if the team missed the playoffs in comments the coach made last week on the “The Michael Kay Show” on ESPN 98.7 FM, as a source told Frank Isola of the New York Daily News for a piece that came out overnight. Fisher’s job didn’t appear to be in jeopardy because he had the support of Jackson, Isola wrote then, but Dolan, who has the ultimate authority, hasn’t been reluctant to exercise it years past, as the Daily News scribe pointed out.

Knicks “management” has been disappointed with the team’s performance, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com, though it’s not clear if it was Jackson, Dolan or someone else who was primarily dismayed. New York has lost nine of its last 10 games, including back-to-back home losses to the Grizzlies and Nuggets this weekend, to drop to 23-31, five games back of the Pistons for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Fisher’s record in a season and a half with the team was 40-96, including last season’s 17-65 disaster. Many executives and assistant coaches from other teams around the league thought Fisher put on the league’s worst coaching performance last year, according to Jake Fischer of SI Now (Twitter link). Last season was Fisher’s first as an NBA coach, having scored the Knicks job immediately after the end of his playing career. The team feels as though Fisher wasn’t effectively making the transition from player to coach, sources told Windhorst.

The Knicks signed Fisher to a five-year, $25MM deal after the team reportedly encountered difficulty in its negotiations with Jackson’s top choice, Steve Kerr, who chose to take the Warriors job instead. Fisher made headlines during his time with New York for an alleged run-in with Matt Barnes, though the relationship Fisher had with soon-to-be free agent Kevin Durant, his former teammate on the Thunder, was always part of his appeal. Durant spoke highly of the Knicks when Oklahoma City was in New York for a game recently.

Did Fisher deserve to be fired? Leave a comment to tell us.

Kings Coaching Rumors: Mullin, Jent, Malone

December 15th, 2014 at 5:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Kings’ head coaching job appears to be George Karl‘s if he wants it, and it seems like he does. Still, the job would be Chris Mullin‘s if he wanted to take it, an opposing GM tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link), and Mullin is indeed a possibility, tweets Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Tyrone Corbin is expected to take the job on an interim basis once the Kings make their decision to fire Michael Malone official. Here’s more on a time of uncertainty in California’s capital:

5:28pm update:

Ranadive finds the prospect of Mullin coaching the team “very intriguing,” sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

4:48pm update:

It was a mutual parting of ways for Jent and the Kings, D’Alessandro told reporters, including Jones (Twitter link).

4:06pm updates:

Jent won’t be on the staff going forward, Corbin confirmed to reporters, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee notes (on Twitter).
Cousins said the news of Malone’s departure, which he heard via Twitter, evoked an emotional reaction among the players and called the day’s rainy weather a fitting backdrop, as Amick and Jones relay (Twitter links).

4:00pm updates:

DeMarcus Cousins said the Kings didn’t consult him about the apparent coaching change, but he trusts the team to work it all out, as he told reporters today, including USA Today’s Sam Amick (Twitter link).
The Kings and assistant coach Chris Jent are expected to part ways, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who indicates that the team plans to make its decision to fire Malone official on Tuesday.
Sacramento’s front office didn’t believe Jent, who served last season as the team’s top assistant, was the right man for the job, so they interviewed Alvin Gentry and Kurt Rambis for the position, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports writes in a full piece. Malone suspected at the time that the team was trying to hire his successor, and so he pursued Corbin, who landed the assistant coaching job and has been loyal to Malone. Gentry was uncomfortable with the notion that the Kings were setting him up as a head-coach-in-waiting, sources tell Grantland’s Zach Lowe, who says the Kings deny that they had that in mind.
There’s more than $4MM that Malone is still to receive under the terms of his contract with the Kings, Wojnarowski writes in the same piece.
The falling out between Malone and Kings management began late last season when Malone wanted the team to add a point guard and the front office instead signed Royce White to a pair of 10-day contracts and pushed Malone to play him, as Wojnarowski details.
GM Pete D’Alessandro was merely the messenger in many cases as he passed along orders from Ranadive that Malone didn’t like, though D’Alessandro and Malone never formed any mutual trust, according to Wojnarowski.
People around the team believe the Kings were waiting for an opportunity to fire Malone and used the team’s struggles of late as an excuse to do so, in spite of the absence of Cousins during the team’s 2-7 stretch over the last nine games, Wojnarowski hears.
The presence of Malone was a major reason why Rudy Gay signed his three-year extension with the team last month, Wojnarowski also writes.

Eastern Notes: Love, Rondo, Stephenson

July 8th, 2014 at 10:00am CST by Chuck Myron

The Celtics and Timberwolves haven’t spoken in more than a week about a Kevin Love trade, two sources tell Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. Three GMs tell Bulpett that if the Celtics changed gears and attempted to trade Rajon Rondo, they would have a hard time finding full value for him on the trade market at present, though it’s unclear precisely why. There’s more on the C’s from Bulpett’s piece amid the latest from the Eastern Conference:

The Celtics have yet to contact Lance Stephenson or agent Alberto Ebanks, according to Bulpett, despite Monday’s report that the C’s had interest.
The Hornets and Wizards are the front-runners for Kris Humphries while the Celtics seem like they’re removing themselves from the pursuit, a source tells Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe (Twitter link).
A source tells Ben Standig of CSNWashington.com that Garrett Temple isn’t weighing any offer from the Heat. A Monday report indicated that the point guard was leaning toward signing with Miami.
The Pistons have jumped into the running for Brian Roberts, tweets Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops, who reiterates his earlier report that the Grizzlies are interested, too.
The Heat‘s path to signing Carmelo Anthony would be complex and hard to configure financially, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com details, while Mark Deeks of ShamSports, writing for Hoop365, outlines a much more palatable scenario that lands ‘Melo with the Bulls.
The Knicks have officially named Kurt Rambis as the team’s lead assistant coach, the team announced. Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com first reported the deal, and Marc Berman of the New York Post reported that the Knicks offered four years at an annual salary of $1.2MM to lure him from his job as a Lakers assistant coach.