Larry Greer Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Hire Aaron Brooks, Others

November 25th, 2020 at 12:22pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have hired longtime NBA point guard Aaron Brooks, announcing in a press release that he’ll act as the team’s “two-way liaison.” Based on his title – and a story from Ian Begley of SNY.tv, who first reported the hiring – it sounds like Brooks will be primarily responsible for working with New York’s two-way players, Jared Harper and Theo Pinson.

Brooks, who spent 10 seasons in the NBA, played for current Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau in Chicago and Minnesota. He also shares a relationship with team president Leon Rose, who served as his agent at CAA Sports.

Brooks, 35, appears to be transitioning to a new phase in his career. He suffered a torn Achilles’ tendon last October in Australia, making past stops with the Rockets, Suns, Kings, Nuggets and Pacers. The Oregon product hinted at retirement shortly after suffering the injury.

The Knicks have also announced a series of other hires, including Darren Erman as an assistant coach, Larry Greer as an advance scout/assistant coach, Richard Williams as the strength and conditioning coach, and Reggie Johnson and TJ Zanin as scouts.

Most of those moves had been previously reported — Zanin’s hiring was even announced by the Knicks once before, way back in June.

JD Shaw contributed to this story.

New York Notes: Knicks, Greer, Nets, Ivey, Stoudemire

November 11th, 2020 at 3:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Three Knicks employees have tested positive for the coronavirus, prompting the team to temporarily shut down its practice facility while the building gets a “thorough cleaning,” the team announced on Tuesday night in a press release.

The NBA recently allowed teams to begin conducting group workouts at their facilities, though players who are participating in those group activities must return daily negative coronavirus tests. There’s no indication that the Knicks employees who tested positive for COVID-19 were players. However, the temporary shutdown of the team’s facility is an early sign of the challenges the league will face in the coming weeks as teams all over the U.S. ramp up for the 2020/21 season without the safety of a bubble.

Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:

Larry Greer, who was an assistant coach in Phoenix last season, is joining the Knicks as an advance scout, tweets Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. Marc Berman of The New York Post first reported that the Knicks may hire Greer, whose brother Andy Greer joined the team as an assistant coach in the summer.
The Nets have added another coach to Steve Nash‘s staff, announcing (via Twitter) that they’ve hired Royal Ivey as an assistant. Formerly a Knicks player development coach, Ivey is good friends with Brooklyn forward Kevin Durant.
Alex Schiffer of The Athletic takes an in-depth look at another Nets assistant, exploring why Amar’e Stoudmire is getting into coaching and why he should be a good fit in Brooklyn.
News that the 2020/21 NBA season will start next month comes at a good time for Nets owner Joe Tsai, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post, who writes that Tsai recently lost over $1 billion in net worth due to the impact of new China regulations on the value of his company Alibaba.

New York Notes: Nash, Woodson, Larry Greer, Draft

September 4th, 2020 at 11:06am CST by Arthur Hill

Steve Nash‘s former coach in Phoenix believes he’ll be successful in his new role as head coach of the Nets, writes Mark Medina of USA Today. Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni, who revolutionized the game with Nash when they were together in Phoenix, believes the Hall of Fame point guard has the background to handle the challenge of running a team.

“He worked as hard as anybody I’ve seen in basketball to get ready in basketball. Even when he broke his leg in LA, no one outworked him,” D’Antoni said. “He’ll do the same as a coach. He knows basketball. It’s a pretty good formula for success.”

Like most observers, D’Antoni was surprised that Nash was interested in coaching. Since retiring as a player, he has overseen the Canadian men’s basketball team and worked as a player-development consultant for the Warriors, but never publicly indicated that he wanted to be a coach.

“I didn’t know he wanted to coach,” D’Antoni said. “He’s got a great basketball mind. I know he loves basketball. So it doesn’t surprise me. But it’s interesting.”

There’s more from New York:

Nash also gets an endorsement from former teammate Jared Dudley, who tells Sam Amick of The Athletic that the Nets found a coach who knows how to relate to players. “I think that when you’re looking outside the box, you have to bring someone in (who has) the respect factor with the superstars,” Dudley said. “That’s what it is now. And someone with a creative mind. That’s the test. It’s a test for any person who might have been a star, or one thing, and now you’re in a different role.”
Mike Woodson‘s return to New York after an absence of more than six years became official this morning, notes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Woodson, who led the Knicks to their last playoff appearance in 2013, joins Tom Thibodeau’s staff as an assistant. The team waited to make the announcement until former Jazz assistant Johnnie Bryant was eliminated from the playoffs. Berman hears that Larry Greer, brother of new assistant coach Andy Greer, may also join the organization. He was an assistant with the Suns before the hiatus and worked with new Thibodeau in Minnesota.
Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic takes a look at the Knicks‘ draft options and examines three scenarios: players with upside, immediate help and low-risk options.

Steve Blake, Larry Greer No Longer On Suns’ Coaching Staff

July 18th, 2020 at 5:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Suns will finish their season without assistant coaches Steve Blake and Larry Greer, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Head coach Monty Williams confirmed that both coaches are no longer with the team, but refused to provide an explanation.

“What they brought (to the team), especially the first 65 games and laying the foundation for our team and our program was invaluable,” Williams said after today’s practice. “We’re thankful for their contributions, (but) at the same time, everybody has to adapt in this league.”

“… The details of it all, I don’t want to get into. Organizations go through change and there are times where guys have to make decisions that are best for them and their families. It’s a tough loss to not have those guys, but those decisions have to be made and as a leader, I have to respect what’s best for the organization and what’s best for the individuals.”

Both coaches were in their first season with Phoenix, joining Williams’ staff shortly after he was hired last year.

Greer served as an assistant at Arizona State before breaking into the NBA as a scout with the Thunder in 2015 and later worked as a scout and assistant coach with Timberwolves. Blake played 13 NBA seasons, then spent two years with the Trail Blazers before joining the Suns.

“I’ve known Stevie since he was, gosh, a really young player,” Williams said. “Not quite a rookie, but I had him in Portland and I’ve watched him progress into a really good NBA player. Seen his family grow up and a lot of other boring stories that you don’t want to hear.”

Knicks’ Coaching Job Considered Thibodeau’s To Lose?

June 1st, 2020 at 10:44am CST by Luke Adams

After a report last week suggested that Tom Thibodeau topped the Knicks‘ wish list in their head coaching search, multiple updates since then have reiterated that Thibodeau looks like the frontrunner for the job.

Sources tell Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News that Thibodeau is the “heavy favorite” to become the Knicks’ next head coach. Bondy cautions that other candidates – including Mike Miller, Kenny Atkinson, and perhaps even John Calipari – are in play, but says there’s a belief that the position is Thibodeau’s to lose. A source tells The Daily News that Thibodeau is confident enough about his chances that he has already made calls about assembling a staff.

Citing Thibodeau’s longstanding relationship with new Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose, Marc Berman of The New York Post also says there’s an “excellent chance” that the team will zero in on Thibodeau when its head coaching search officially gets underway.

Additionally, Berman hears from sources that members of Thibodeau’s past Bulls and Timberwolves staffs will likely be interested in joining him in New York if he’s hired by the Knicks. Berman specifically cites Andy Greer, Larry Greer, and Dice Yoshimoto as coaches Thibodeau might look to bring with him if given the opportunity.

The Knicks’ search hasn’t begun in earnest yet, but as Berman points out, there’s a good chance that the club won’t part of a resumed NBA season — reports last week indicated that the league favors a 20-team or 22-team restart. If the NBA officially moves forward with a plan that excludes the Knicks, there would be little reason for the franchise to delay its head coaching search until after the resumption of the season.

Pacific Notes: Henry, Suns, Landry, Buss

June 27th, 2019 at 5:38pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Pierria Henry, the most recent EuroCup regular season MVP winner, worked out for the Suns today, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reports (Twitter link). Henry has plans to work out for at least two additional teams over the weekend.

The 6’5″ combo guard spent four years at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, becoming the school’s all-time leader in assist and steals. Henry didn’t hear his name called in the 2015 Draft and ended up carving out a career overseas. Henry has had stops in Georgia, Germany, Israel, Turkey, and Russia.

Henry is now a candidate for an NBA roster spot next season. As the West Virginia native attempts to make it in the league, let’s take a look at some notes from the Pacific Division:

Coach Monty Williams has finalized his staff, as he announced on the Suns‘ podcast. Willie Green, Darko Rajakovic, Mark Bryant, Randy Ayers, Larry Greer, and Steve Blake will all serve as assistant coaches in Phoenix.
Landry Shamet has been invited to participate with the Select Team at Team USA’s National camp, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com tweets. The Clippers guard will join Zion Williamson in the younger group come August.
Lakers owner Jeanie Buss admits that Magic Johnson’s resignation caught her off-guard, as Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register relays. Buss added that once the executive stepped down, she needed time to “figure out what the process was going to be.” Los Angeles decided that Rob Pelinka leading the front office would be best for the franchise.

Timberwolves To Make Sweeping Staff Changes

May 22nd, 2019 at 11:02am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Timberwolves will be making extensive changes to their coaching staff, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic reports.

Every assistant with an expiring contract — Ed Pinckney, Jerry Sichting, Larry Greer, John Lucas III and Dice Yoshimoto — will not return on Ryan Saunders’ staff as the organization distances itself from the Tom Thibodeau era. Saunders had the interim tag removed on Monday. The only assistant with a year left on his contract, Malik Allen, will be retained.

New president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas wants to split up duties more like a football staff. “We’re going to get the best offensive coordinator. We’re going to get the best defensive coordinator. We’re going to get the best player development coordinator,” Rosas said. “They’re going to execute our vision together. And Ryan will manage that program as a whole.”

We have more on the Timberwolves:

Adding players with a defensive mentality is a priority, Krawczynski adds in the same story. The team wants to utilize a more switch-heavy scheme to defend 3-point shooters. “I’ve got to help (Saunders),” Rosas said. “We’ve got to surround our team, our best players with personnel that will be complementary to them and we need more defenders.”
The team’s most notable players, Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, attended Saunders’ press conference and gave him ringing endorsements. “I think this is a very positive change,” Wiggins told Michael Rand of the Minneapolis Star Tribune and other media members. “You can see the fresh air, you can see the faces and the positive energy in the air. Everyone is happy for Ryan — you don’t see negative faces, everyone is happy and we’re supportive.”
The decision to retain Saunders was a bow to Towns and his importance to the franchise’s long-term future, Chip Scoggins of the Star Tribune writes. Towns respects and trusts Saunders and feels rejuvenated about the franchise’s direction, Scoggins notes. That’s crucial, because the Timberwolves can’t afford to alienate their best player to the point where an ugly divorce becomes inevitable, Scoggins adds.

Western Notes: Suns, McCollum, Jazz, Middleton

September 24th, 2018 at 8:52am CST by Luke Adams

The Suns used a portion of their room exception to sign De’Anthony Melton to his first NBA contract, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Without using that exception, Phoenix would only have been able to offer Melton a first-year salary of $838K. Instead, the Suns were able to bump that figure to $949K. They still have $3.5MM of their room exception available.

Meanwhile, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders indicates (via Twitter) that while Devin Booker‘s new extension with the Suns is projected to start at 25% of the cap in 2019/20, there are triggers in the deal that could push that figure higher. Pincus isn’t sure of the specific details, but reports that Booker could get 27.5%, 28.5%, or 30% of the cap if he meets certain criteria. I’d guess that those criteria are related to whether he earns spots on the first, second, or third All-NBA teams.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

C.J. McCollum is often the subject of trade speculation, but the Trail Blazers guard tells Michael Scotto of The Athletic that he’d welcome a long-term stay in Portland. “I’m forever grateful for the opportunities they’ve given me and would love to be a Blazer for life,” McCollum said.
While it may be a little early to start speculating about 2019’s free agent period, Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune suggests (via Twitter) that Bucks wing Khris Middleton is a player the Jazz like a lot. With Ricky Rubio, Alec Burks, and others on expiring deals this season, Utah could have plenty of cap flexibility next summer.
As Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com details, Jahlil Okafor said there were a “multitude of reasons” for him to sign with the Pelicans, calling the decision a “no-brainer.” Keith Smith of RealGM.com (Twitter link) hears that New Orleans was comfortable with waiving Emeka Okafor in part due to how good Jahlil has looked. “He’s in amazing shape, and he’s going hard on both ends too,” Smith’s source said. “Seems like he really gets it now.”
The Timberwolves recently announced some additions and promotions on their coaching staff, including Pat Zipfel as an advance scout and Malik Allen and Larry Greer as assistant coaches (link via Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune).