Mark Hughes Rumors | Hoops Rumors

L.A. Notes: Rivers, Clippers, Maggette, Lakers

August 5th, 2017 at 9:48am CST by marksuleymanov

After Friday’s announcement that Doc Rivers will surrender his front office role to solely focus on coaching, it was the crescendo to a tumultuous dual role for the NBA champion coach, Bill Oram of The Orange County Register writes.

Rivers, for four seasons, was tasked with both assembling a quality roster and then leading it to success on the court. As Oram writes, despite winning 50+ games each year with Rivers at the helm, the Clippers failed to advance past the first round of the playoffs. So, while Rivers is often viewed as one of the NBA’s elite head coaches, his career in the front office is “spotty,” Oram adds.

“Given final say on personnel moves, something Rivers coveted and chased all the way across the country to L.A., the career coach struggled annually to find the right mix of role players,” Oram writes about the man who led the 2007/08 Celtics to the NBA championship.

Despite the controversy that came with it, Rivers’ acquisition of his son, Austin Rivers, was a good move that yielded a quality role player for a team filled with superstar talent. Besides that, the obvious turmoil within the team became obvious, highlight by notable departures of J.J. Redick and Chris Paul this offseason. While Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan remain with the team, the direction of the Clippers with Lawrence Frank assuming Rivers’ former role and it will take a while before a prognosis on that move is available.

Read more about news surrounding the Los Angeles teams:

Despite his role with the organization being restructured, Rivers will still make every penny of the five-year, $50MM deal he signed with the team in 2014, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.
Los Angeles Times’ Brad Turner tweets that the Clippers interviewed Mark Hughes and Shareef Abdur-Rahim for front office roles last week.
In a separate tweet, Turner reports that Corey Maggette, Lester Conner, and Mo Peterson interviewed for the role of director of player development and special assistant to Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka. Maggette, however, has withdrawn his name from consideration, per Turner (via Twitter).

Pacific Notes: Gallinari, Williams, Ennis

July 30th, 2017 at 9:25pm CST by Austin Kent

Newly acquired Clippers forward Danilo Gallinari has broken his hand punching an opponent in an exhibition match with the Italian national team, a EuroHoops.net report (via NBA.com) reveals.

The 28-year-old recently picked up by the Clippers in a three-way sign-and-trade deal lashed out at Jito Kok of the Dutch national team and promptly left the game to visit the hospital, the report says.

Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, it was his thumb that Gallinari injured but the setback isn’t expected to keep him out of Clippers training camp. Surgery is not expected.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

While Alan Williams‘ $5.5MM contract with the Suns isn’t guaranteed for the 2018/19 season, $1MM will become guaranteed if he meets certain minimum weight/body fat requirements, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
Contrary to what was previously reported, the second year of Tyler Ennis‘ two-year deal with the Lakers will not feature a team option for 2018/19. Instead, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets, it will come with a non-guaranteed second season.
The Clippers interviewed Knicks‘ player of personnel Mark Hughes for a position as assistant general manager, Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times tweets.

Central Division: Rose, Bucks, Tolliver

July 21st, 2017 at 5:48pm CST by Austin Kent

Don’t expect Derrick Rose to make his decision this weekend, contrary to previous reports suggesting that he would. Per Chris Haynes of ESPN, Rose will have a face-to-face meeting with the Cavaliers before ultimately making a decision next week.

After a decent if unspectacular lone season in New York, Rose has narrowed down a list of possible suitors to the Lakers and Cavs. His involvement with the latter could be impacted by recent revelations that starting point guard Kyrie Irving has requested a trade out of Cleveland.

While the parties are said to be engaged in a deal for the veteran’s minimum, the guard could see his role increase substantially if Irving gets his wish and is promptly moved.

There’s more from the Central Division:

Consider Pacers swingman Lance Stephenson among those “heartbroken” that Paul George and the franchise have parted ways. The pair remain friends, Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports writes.
Among those interviewing for positions in Jon Horst‘s front office with the Bucks is Knicks Director of Pro Player Personnel Mark Hughes, Ian Begley of ESPN writes. Hughes has played a large role in New York’s draft decisions over the course of the past decade.
The decision to bring Anthony Tolliver back aboard will pay off for the Pistons in veteran leadership, Rod Beard of the Detroit News writes. “He’s one of the highest-character guys in the NBA. What he will do in terms of leadership is important to our team, but it’s important that he’s a guy who can go out and play,” head coach Stan Van Gundy said.
The Pistons‘ chief goal this offseason was to improve their three-point shooting and Keith Langlois of the team’s official website writes that they’ve added a number of players that can help in that regard.

Latest On Hawks’ Front Office Search

May 16th, 2017 at 3:00pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Hawks placed former team president Mike Budenholzer and former GM Wes Wilcox into new roles earlier this month and it appears the team’s search for new front office members is progressing out of its “infancy stage.”

Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link) hears that Sacramento’s Scott Perry is being considered for the open GM position. The Kings hired Perry as their executive VP of basketball operations less than four weeks ago.

Earlier today, we learned that the Knicks have granted the team permission to interview their Director of Player Personnel Mark Hughes for the Hawks’ open GM position. Like New York, Houston will allow Atlanta to interview a member of its front office. The Hawks have their eye on Rockets VP of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas.

Atlanta is reportedly also considering Cavs GM David Griffin and Joe Dumars. The team also plans on discussing the position with TV analysts Chauncey Billups and Brent Barry.

Magic Await Permission To Talk To David Griffin

May 16th, 2017 at 10:21am CST by Arthur Hill

The Magic have submitted a formal request to the Cavaliers to speak with GM David Griffin, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Griffin is believed to be the front-runner to become Orlando’s president of basketball operations, with a report last month saying he will be offered the job when he becomes available.

The Cavaliers have not responded to the request, Wojnarowski adds, and have the option of holding onto Griffin until his contract expires at the end of June. With free agency starting July 1st, it’s possible that Cavs owner Dan Gilbert will deny the interview request as a stall tactic to see if Orlando turns to someone else.

Sources tell Wojnarowski that Gilbert hasn’t made a substantive offer to try to keep Griffin, who built the Cavaliers into a championship team after LeBron James returned in 2014. James has been an outspoken advocate of keeping the GM, but his public comments seem to have had little effect on negotiations.

The Magic are getting ready to start interviewing other candidates for the position, including Hall of Famer Kevin McHale and Bucks GM John Hammond, who still has a year left on his contract in Milwaukee. Interim Magic GM Matt Lloyd has already been through the interview process and is highly thought of in the organization, according to Wojnarowski.

Orlando launched a front-office shakeup when the season ended, firing GM Rob Hennigan and assistant GM Scott Perry. The Magic plan to put control of the front office in the hands of a president, who will then hire the next GM.

The team faces competition from the Hawks, who recently relieved Wes Wilcox of GM duties. Griffin is seen as a candidate in Atlanta, along with former Pistons executive Joe Dumars, Rockets VP of basketball operations Gersson Rosas, Knicks director of player personnel Mark Hughes and former players and current TV analysts Chauncey Billups and Brent Barry. Wojnarowski reports that the Hawks have received permission to interview Rosas and Hughes.

Grizzlies Interview Four For GM-In-Waiting Gig

June 24th, 2014 at 4:12pm CST by Chuck Myron

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace and representatives of owner Robert Pera have interviewed four candidates to become the team’s player personnel director and serve as a GM-in-waiting, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Nets assistant GM Bobby Marks, Pacers vice president Peter Dinwiddie, Knicks director of pro personnel Mark Hughes and former Raptors and Knicks GM Glen Grunwald have all had meetings with the club, which envisions one of them eventually replacing Wallace, Berger writes.

There’s been plenty of confusion regarding the future of the Grizzlies front office ever since Pera ousted former CEO Jason Levien and installed Wallace as the interim head of the basketball operations department. A report last week indicated that Wallace would remain as GM for the “foreseeable future.” While that seemed to indicate that Wallace would stay in charge, Wallace retained his GM title even as he was stripped of control of the front office under Levien’s regime. A more recent report hinted that Wallace’s future has yet to be decided, referring to him only as a front-runner to retain control of the front office, though Berger’s dispatch seems to indicate that Wallace will remain in power for at least a while after the team makes its hire.

Grunwald probably has the lengthiest resume of the group, as none of the other candidates have been in charge of a team’s front office. An earlier report indicated that Knicks director of player personnel Mark Warkentien was also a candidate. The team apparently asked for permission to interview Thunder assistant GM Michael Winger, but Winger short-circuited that attempt and let Memphis know he’s not interested.

Candidates Emerge For Cavs GM Job

February 6th, 2014 at 9:27pm CST by Chuck Myron

9:27pm: A new name has been mentioned as a possible candidate to replace Chris Grant. Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.com (via Twitter), has heard that TNT analyst Kenny Smith might be considered for the position. Smith had previously had discussions with the Kings about their vacant GM job over the summer. Smith hasn’t commented yet, but when the Kings job was in play, he stated, “Honestly, I’ve been looking at both — coaching, and a lot of things have been coming these last couple of years, and this time I’ve been taking it serious. My kids are at an age where I feel comfortable. And the other years, the kids were just too young. I didn’t want to be in it. But I just started taking it serious.”

2:57pm: Interim GM David Griffin is expected to have a shot at keeping his job long-term, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, but there are already other candidates. The Cavs have performed a background check on Knicks director of pro personnel Mark Hughes, and Cleveland is also expected to reach out to Raptors executive vice president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman, Berger reports. Berger’s sources also indicate Clippers executive vice president of player personnel Gary Sacks could become a candidate.

Weltman was a finalist for the Suns GM post this summer before Phoenix picked Ryan McDonough instead. He has family ties to the Cavs, for whom his father, Harry Weltman, served as GM in the 1980s. Berger suggests that Sacks could be anxious to seek greater control than he has with the Clippers, who took away some of his powers when they hired Doc Rivers.

Berger also expects the Cavs to pursue Phil Jackson, given owner Dan Gilbert’s affinity for splashy names, but that appears to be merely an educated guess. Berger names a handful of other qualified candidates, though none of them are formally linked to the job.