Kurt Rambis Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Monroe, Pacers, Rambis, Stephenson

July 3rd, 2014 at 4:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

None of the executive, scouts, and agents with whom Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press spoke over the last two years said they considered Greg Monroe worthy of a maximum-salary contract. The reported interest from the Magic is “lukewarm at best,” as Ellis writes amid his look at Monroe’s market value and options. Here’s more from around the league:

The league projects that the Pacers will wind up having made $7MM in 2013/14, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports. The league says they’ll have lost $14MM on their own but made $18MM through revenue sharing and another $3MM via luxury tax payouts.
Lakers assistant coach and head coaching candidate Kurt Rambis has agreed to become an assistant coach for the Knicks, reports Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. The Knicks had reportedly offered him a four-year deal worth about $1.2MM a year.
Chicago has spoken with Lance Stephenson, but the Bulls see him merely as a fallback option and feel like his asking price is more than they’ll be willing to pay, reports Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Agents and union officials are looking to change the perception that stars should take paycuts for the benefit of their teams, as Sean Deveney of the Sporting News details.
The Magic and Suns are pursuing Patrick Patterson, according to David Baumann of CBS Sports Radio Orlando (Twitter links).
An executive with an Eastern Conference team told Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News that his club was preparing a multiyear deal for Patty Mills but halted its pursuit when news of Mills’ shoulder injury surfaced. Mills wound up with a three-year, $12MM deal from the Spurs.

Lakers Rumors: ‘Melo, Gasol, Rambis, Brooks

July 3rd, 2014 at 10:14am CST by Chuck Myron

It’s the Lakers’ turn to try to impress Carmelo Anthony today as the free agency tour for the Knicks star continues. Kobe Bryant has cut short his European vacation to be in attendance for the pitch, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com details. Still, there’s plenty of other business for the Lakers to address, since they have just four players under contract and no head coach. We’ll round up the latest here:

The Lakers would like to pair Anthony with Pau Gasol, and if the team were to convince Anthony to sign, Gasol would be far more likely to follow suit, as Shelburne reports in the same piece.
The Knicks have offered Kurt Rambis a four-year contract worth about $1.2MM a year to become the team’s lead assistant coach, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. The Lakers assistant appeared early last month to be among the front-runners to become the Lakers head coach, but a more recent report indicates that he’s fallen behind other candidates.
MarShon Brooks is the only Lakers free agent whom the team has yet to reach out to, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
The Hawks are among the teams that have spoken with Nick Young, as agent Mark Bartelstein tells MeMenamin for the same piece.
Xavier Henry, who’s recovering from wrist and knee surgeries, will work out for the Lakers when healthy before exploring options with other teams, McMenamin also writes.

Rambis, Gentry, Scott Top Lakers Coaching List

June 11th, 2014 at 10:12am CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers have identified Kurt Rambis, Alvin Gentry and Byron Scott as the primary candidates in their search for a head coach, sources tell Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. Scott had his second interview with the club on Tuesday, though it appears the Lakers aren’t quite ready to rule out other candidates, since they apparently have reached out to representatives of Nate McMillan. The Lakers have interviewed Mike Dunleavy and Lionel Hollins in addition to Rambis, Gentry and Scott.

Another Tuesday report indicated that the Knicks received permission from the Lakers to interview Rambis, an assistant coach with the purple-and-gold. There’s also dispute over whether Rambis’ discussion with the Lakers about the head coaching vacancy constituted an interview, though given the long history Rambis has with the Lakers organization, it seems like a formal interview wouldn’t be necessary.

Gentry, currently a Clippers assistant, is set for a second interview with the Cavs, the only other NBA team still without a head coach. Scott is apparently the only candidate to get a second interview with the Lakers so far as the team takes a slow approach to its search. Mike D’Antoni resigned April 30th, so the position has remained open for nearly a month and a half.

Eastern Notes: Rambis, Jefferson, Snell, Sixers

June 10th, 2014 at 4:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers have granted the Knicks permission to interview assistant coach Kurt Rambis for a job on head coach Derek Fisher‘s staff, reports Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Rambis is willing to listen, Medina hears. Rambis also remains a candidate for the Lakers head coaching job, but it’s uncertain whether he’d be retained as a Lakers assistant if they go with someone else for the head job, as Medina points out. Here’s more news related to Eastern Conference teams:

Al Jefferson is recruiting free agents to come to Charlotte, and Hornets coach Steve Clifford is confident that the mere presence of the Third-Team All-NBA center makes the Hornets more attractive to potential signees, writes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
The Bulls remain sold on Tony Snell as a rotation-caliber talent, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune details in his latest mailbag column. Johnson also says he’d be “shocked” if the Bulls don’t address their shooting via the draft.
The New Jersey state government gave the OK this morning for the Sixers to build a practice facility in Camden, reports Julia Terruso of the Philadelphia Inquirer, prompting the team to announce plans for the facility. GM Sam Hinkie and coach Brett Brown have contended that the facility will be key to attracting free agents.
The Celtics are among the teams that have worked out draft lottery prospect Doug McDermott, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com notes in his Insider-only mock draft.
Isaiah Austin and Cory Jefferson will audition for the Pistons, tweets Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
The Wizards will work out LaQuinton Ross, Devyn Marble, Jarell Eddie, Okaro White and Kendall Williams, the team announced.
Semaj Christon, DeAndre Kane, Drew Crawford, Sebastian Koch and Talib Zanna are among those who’ll perform for the Hornets on Wednesday, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter links). Crawford was also scheduled to show off for the team last week.
Alex Kirk is working out for the Hornets this week, too, and he’ll also do so for the Raptors, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.

Coaching Rumors: Rambis, Brown, Dolan

June 3rd, 2014 at 6:19pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Within their story on the Knicks and Lakers coaching situations, Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com categorize the Lakers’ previously reported interview with Kurt Rambis as mere “discussions” along the same lines of the team’s informal phone call with George Karl. Still, a formal interview might not be necessary, since Rambis is already a Lakers assistant and has plenty of history with the Lakers franchise.

As noted yesterday, the Lakers also reportedly have Larry Brown on their radar. The former NBA and current SMU head coach spoke with Mike Sielski of The Philadelphia Inquirer and offered some general comments about coaching in the NBA, but did not specifically mention anything about the L.A.’s interest. However, Brown implied what would be important to him if he were to consider a return to the Association.

“We can see the way the NBA is now…If you’re not really connecting with the owner, you’ve got no shot. I was so fortunate to be around (former 76ers owner) Mr. (Ed) Snider. I look now and I think it’s so simple: If the coach, the president, and the owner are all on the same page, it seems to me there’s no way you can fail. I don’t see that. When I look back at my life in pro sports, whenever I’ve been involved with an owner who cared about me and was there for me, it made it pretty easy.”

Knicks owner James Dolan told WFAN that Phil Jackson is in charge of the team’s coaching search, adding that he “has no idea who (Jackson’s) talked to” (Al Iannazonne of Newsday via Twitter).
In an appearance on ESPN 700, Yahoo’s Marc J. Spears said not to “sleep on Jim Boylen” becoming the next head coach of the Jazz (hat tip to David J. Smith of Salt City Hoops via Twitter).
University of Michigan’s John Beilein was unmoved by recent rumors linking him to the NBA’s head coaching carousel and plans to fulfill his current commitment to the Wolverines, reports Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press. Beilein – whose contract with Michigan expires in 2019 – has drawn some attention with his program’s recent performance in the NCAA tournament as well as the success he’s had in coaching future NBA players.
College coach Tony Bennett reached a new deal with the University of Virginia that runs through 2021, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Lakers Interview Kurt Rambis

May 27th, 2014 at 4:19pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers have interviewed assistant coach Kurt Rambis for their head coaching job, reports Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com first reported he was on the club’s initial list of candidates soon after former coach Mike D’Antoni resigned. Rambis also appears to be in the running to become the next Knicks head coach, as Shelburne also reported this month, and while he’s likely to interview for that job, too, it seems he has a better shot to become an assistant in New York than the head man on the Knicks bench.

Rambis has ties to Phil Jackson, having served as a Lakers assistant while the current Knicks team president manned L.A.’s bench, as well as the Showtime era Lakers. He played on four of L.A.’s five championship teams in the 1980s. Rambis served as head coach for the final 37 games of the 1999 season for the Lakers before returning to his role as an assistant, and he also had a disastrous two-year stint as Wolves head coach, going 32-132.

His wife, Linda, is close friends with Lakers co-owner Jeanie Buss, perhaps giving him an advantage that the team’s other handful of interviewees don’t possess. Mike Dunleavy and Byron Scott have already interviewed for the job, while Alvin Gentry and Lionel Hollins are scheduled to do so this week.

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.

Latest On Knicks Coaching Situation

May 19th, 2014 at 8:53am CST by Zachary Links

Late last night, Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com reported that Phil Jackson is in no rush in his coaching search and wants to speak with Derek Fisher before making a hire. Fisher, of course, is currently preoccupied with the Spurs as his Thunder get set to square off in the Western Conference finals.

Meanwhile, Stein and Shelburne now add that sources say Jackson has not ruled out a sit-down with Knicks fan favorite Mark Jackson, who has rejoined ESPN as a broadcaster after his dismissal by the Warriors. It has been said that the Zen Master would prefer a young coach whom he could groom but Jackson comes with an impressive resume from his time in Golden State and has fans within the Knicks organization. Marc Berman of the New York Post first reported that the Knicks prez would consider the former Warriors coach.

Former NBA head coach Kurt Rambis and current D-League developmental coach Luke Walton are on Jackson’s short list as well, but sources say Rambis and Walton are more likely regarded as potential assistants. Bill Cartwright, another one of Jackson’s former players with head coaching experience, got an interview to be on Steve Kerr‘s hypothesized Knicks staff and Rambis and Walton would probably be looked at in the same light.

Latest On Knicks Coaching Search

May 16th, 2014 at 2:24pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:24pm: Phil Jackson and Mike Dunleavy Sr. met this morning, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post. The two have had occasional casual meetings for a while, but today’s encounter was more than just a friendly get-together, Berman hears. It’s still unclear whether Jackson considers Dunleavy a strong candidate, a source close to Dunleavy tells Berman.

8:52am: There were no indications as of Thursday afternoon that the Knicks would consider Mark Jackson for the coaching vacancy, but apparently that’s changed, as Marc Berman of the New York Post hears that the former Warriors coach is on New York’s tentative list of candidates. The Knicks are also likely to interview Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis and Bucks assistant Jim Cleamons, assuming they get permission from their respective teams, and Knicks president Phil Jackson is high on Pacers assistant Nate McMillan, too, Berman writes.

Berman echoes earlier reports that the Knicks are eyeing Thunder guard Derek Fisher to coach the team. Still, a source tells the Post scribe that there’s concern about a bidding war between the Knicks and Lakers over Fisher, who plans to retire from playing when Oklahoma City’s postseason run ends. Fisher has expressed less than full-throated enthusiasm about coaching next season, as Berman notes.

Phil Jackson is OK with hiring an established coach who doesn’t specialize in the triangle, but he’d want someone willing to adopt at least a semblance of the triple-post offense, according to Berman. That conflicts somewhat with Thursday’s prevailing wisdom that the Knicks were focused mainly on young coaches with ties to the Knicks president. Other candidates who appear to be in the mix include Nuggets coach Brian Shaw, Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg, Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue and Lakers D-League assistant Luke Walton.

Reactions To Kerr Heading To Warriors

May 14th, 2014 at 9:07pm CST by Eddie Scarito

It was reported earlier that Steve Kerr accepted the Warriors five-year, $25MM offer to become their new head coach. This news comes as a blow to the Knicks who had been the favorites to sign Kerr.

The latest on Kerr:

In an article by ESPN.com, multiple sources said Kerr told Knicks president Phil Jackson he chose the Warriors for family reasons. Sources also said that Kerr preferred the Warriors’ job to the Knicks job all along, but it was a difficult decision because of his relationship with Jackson.
The article also notes that the draw of working close to his San Diego home factored heavily into his decision.
In regards to Kerr’s hiring, Warriors owner Joe Lacob said, “We love Kerr. Incredibly prepared. We got him because of our players. The Golden State Warriors’ future is bright,” per a tweet by Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
The Knicks are regrouping after the Kerr announcement, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Shelburne’s sources told her that Kurt Rambis and Derek Fisher will be among the candidates considered for the team’s head coaching position.
Kerr will stay in his broadcasting position through the Western Conference Finals before reporting full-time to Warriors, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link).
The five-year, $25MM contract Kerr signed makes him one of the best paid coaches in the league, writes Nick Schwartz of USA Today.
Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops thinks the Knicks should be glad that Kerr passed on their position. This leaves the door open to hire the best candidate, Mark Jackson, opines Sheridan.
One of the points that the Warriors were going to make to Kerr was that Knicks owner James Dolan had gone through eight coaches since 2001, reports Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).
Kerr showed how smart he was by picking Golden State’s superior roster over the Knicks’, writes Mike Lupica of The New York Daily News.