Mark Jackson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Cavs Rumors: Thompson, Jackson, Love

January 14th, 2015 at 2:14pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavs offered Tristan Thompson a four-year, $52MM extension this past fall before the October 31st deadline for rookie scale extensions passed, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Opposing teams aren’t gearing up to make that rich of an offer to Thompson in restricted free agency this summer, Wojnarowski writes, adding that rival executives were expecting Thompson to sign an extension for between $10MM and $12MM a year. Here’s more on the Cavs, who’ve sunk beneath .500:

Wojnarowski suggests in the same piece that the Cavs understand they have little choice but to turn to Mark Jackson if LeBron James won’t play for David Blatt. Cavs brass “wanted nothing to do” with hiring Jackson as a coach before James came back to Cleveland, Wojnarowski adds. Jackson and James are both clients of agent Rich Paul.
Cavs players have frequently and openly spoken about the team’s coaching issues with players and other personnel from opposing teams, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
The Cavs indeed met with Kevin Love before their trade to acquire him from the Timberwolves was official, as Windhorst writes in the same piece, noting that if the two sides talked about any contractual terms during the visit, it would have violated league rules. Love said Tuesday that he plans to opt in for next season, a likely financial sacrifice.

Bucher’s Latest: Kings, Pelicans, Cavs

January 9th, 2015 at 1:10pm CST by Chuck Myron

It’s no secret that the Nets trio of Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson are available on the trade market, and they’re among a long list of players that GMs say teams are open to trading as the February 19th deadline approaches, according Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher. Jeff Green, Brandan Wright, Lance Stephenson, Greg Monroe, Brandon Jennings, Goran Dragic, Nik Stauskas, Ben McLemore, Jason Thompson, Arron Afflalo and most of the other Nuggets are also on that list, with Bucher, in many cases, confirming earlier reports. Still, Bucher hears plenty of new rumbles, as he passes along in his piece, and we’ll hit the highlights here:

Kings owner Vivek Ranadive unilaterally made the decision to fire former coach Michael Malone, sources tell Bucher, even though GM Pete D’Alessandro claimed the decision as his own. Most of the Kings organization was pleased with the direction the team was headed in and believed the team was overachieving, though there were doubts that Malone was the long-term solution, Bucher writes.
Ranadive wanted to make a splash with Malone’s successor, but Kings front office executives prevailed upon him to keep Tyrone Corbin as head coach, according to Bucher. Ranadive would relish the chance to turn the screws on the Warriors, of whom he used to be a part-owner, by hiring Mark Jackson, the ex-Warriors coach, a source tells Bucher, who nonetheless believes that the team won’t hire Jackson during this season.
Talk “circulating around the league” suggests that Pelicans owner Tom Benson is eyeing former Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars and former Mavs and Nets coach Avery Johnson if he decides to make changes, Bucher writes. Still, Pelicans sources tell Bucher that the club hasn’t contacted either Dumars or Johnson, and that there are no signs that Benson is definitively displeased with either GM Dell Demps or coach Monty Williams.
Several executives from around the league don’t believe the pair of trades the Cavs made this week assure the team of any more than a second-round appearance, according to Bucher. One exec tells Bucher that the Cavs “overinflated” the market with what they gave up for Timofey Mozgov.

Coaching Rumors: Jackson, Corbin, Van Gundy

December 30th, 2014 at 11:00am CST by Chuck Myron

There’s been only one coaching change in the NBA so far this season, but stability has never been a hallmark of the coaching profession. The Cavaliers are reportedly concerned about David Blatt, and while there’s no sign that his job is truly in jeopardy, the rumors have already begun. Here’s more from around coaching circles:

Several GMs around the league believe that the Cavs coaching job is the one that Mark Jackson would like to have, as those execs have told Chris Mannix of SI.com, who passes along the tidbit in a video report. People around the league reportedly believe that LeBron James wouldn’t want Jackson to coach the team, though they are both clients of agent Rich Paul. Jackson over the summer denied reports that the Cavs had spoken to him about the job before they hired Blatt, and more recently Jackson said that a meeting he had with Kings brass didn’t have to do with coaching that team, either.
Tyrone Corbin has signed a new contract that calls for him to be the head coach of the Kings through the end of the season, a source tells James Ham of Cowbell Kingdom. Corbin had been on a two-year deal as an assistant coach for the team. He took over head coaching duties earlier this month when the Kings fired Michael Malone.
Stan Van Gundy says the Pistons job will be his last coaching position and that he promised his wife he’ll retire at age 60, tweets John Denton of Magic.com. Still, the 55-year-old Van Gundy said he’s leaving the door open to coaching beyond his current contract, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). His deal with the Pistons runs through the 2018/19 season, and Van Gundy, who runs basketball operations for the team in addition to his coaching duties, will turn 60 in August 2019. Van Gundy also promised his wife that he won’t relocate again, Robbins adds (on Twitter). Still, he thought his job with the Magic would be his last, Denton notes (Twitter link).

Latest On Kings Coaching Search

December 21st, 2014 at 8:21pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Kings made waves last week when they decided to fire head coach Mike Malone just 26 games into the season after an 11-15 start to the year. Although reports have indicated that Tyrone Corbin is likely to hold on to the job for at least the remainder of the season, the team remains interested in hiring George Karl to take on the position, according to Aaron Bruski of Pro Basketball Talk, who adds that Sacramento’s desire to bring aboard the 2012/13 Coach of the Year is being curbed by the club’s expectation that his asking price would be a contract worth $5MM per year.

One other rumored candidate, Mark Jackson, has “no chance” at landing the head coaching spot, Bruski hears, in spite of news that the former Warriors coach met with Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro and advisor to the chairman Chris Mullin last Tuesday night. Bruski’s source contends that the meeting was mutually beneficial for both parties – keeping Jackson’s name in the headlines as a potential head coaching candidate in the future and sending Karl a message that Sacramento is interested in meeting with prospective candidates.

Bruski argues that hiring Karl sooner than later will help mitigate the controversy surrounding the team’s decision to dismiss Malone and provide some level of relief to a locker room that’s apparently grown tired of the head-scratching decisions made by the front office. Executives around the NBA respected the work Malone had been putting in prior to being axed in Sacramento, according to Bruski, so hiring Karl can only do so much to restore the image of the team.

Pacific Notes: Durant, Rondo, Jackson

December 20th, 2014 at 2:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Mark Jackson said that his recent meeting with Chris Mullin, GM Pete D’Alessandro and DeMarcus Cousins in Sacramento had nothing to do with the Kings‘ coaching position, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee reports (Twitter links). Jackson said the get together was simply to catch up with some old friends. Jackson is one of the names mentioned to be in the running for Sacramento’s coaching vacancy along with George Karl, Vinny Del Negro, and Mullin.

Here’s more out of the Pacific Division:

Kevin Durant has openly praised Kobe Bryant and said that he would love to play alongside the Black Mamba. While Bryant has stated that he has not begun recruiting Durant, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2016, Bryant didn’t rule out trying to lure the Slim Reaper to the Lakers, Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes. “No, I think we know each other pretty well,” Bryant said. “I don’t think it’s a discussion that you have in terms of coming here. But I think it’s more of an understanding how to play with each other. If the opportunity came up, then that’s the time to have that discussion.”
The Lakers were lucky to miss out on acquiring Rajon Rondo, Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report writes. Though he believes Rondo is a good player, he isn’t the superstar that Los Angeles needs to build around, and re-signing him this summer, if Rondo was willing, would have eaten into its cap space that could be used to nab a far superior player in the future, such as Durant, Ding opines.
A Lakers official downplayed the reports that the team offered Steve Nash’s expiring $9.8MM contract and a first-round pick to Boston for Rondo, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes.
Goran Dragic, who can opt out of his contract with the Suns at the end of the season and become a free agent, was mentioned as a possible target for the Knicks either via trade or free agency. Dragic responded to the report by saying he would be open to the Knicks — as well as everybody else — when he gets on the market this summer, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv reports. “Every team that is going to be available is going to be an option,” Dragic said. “New York has great fan base, great basketball organization.”

Mullin Not Planning To Coach Kings This Year

December 16th, 2014 at 6:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

6:00pm: The Kings have contacted Vinny Del Negro about their head coaching vacancy, Chris Mannix of SI.com reports (Twitter link). If Sacramento is indeed still searching for candidates to take the reigns of the team it would conflict with the earlier report that Corbin would likely finish out the season as head coach. Del Negro’s last stint as a head coach was during the 2012/13 season with the Clippers. His career coaching record is 210-184.

1:44pm: Corbin would have to “fall on his face” not to survive the season as coach, Amick tweets, adding that Karl is not in the team’s plans. Mullin will take a more active role in practices, planning and other duties as he works to enhance Sacramento’s offense, but he has no plans to coach the team, Amick also reports (Twitter link).

1:30pm: Mullin won’t coach the Kings this season, sources tell Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link). If he does become Kings coach, he would start at the beginning of 2015/16, Broussard adds. Corbin will likely remain in the position for the balance of this season.

11:12pm: Mullin has expressed interest in coaching someday, but the Kings are concerned that it will be difficult to convince him to jump into coaching in the middle of the season, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Karl, too, said it would be difficult to come in midseason when he spoke Monday to Tom Byrne on SiriusXM Radio, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee transcribes.

9:01am: The notion of Chris Mullin taking over as Kings coach continues to grow on owner Vivek Ranadive, leaving one-time front-runner George Karl as a secondary candidate at this point, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Mullin, who serves the Kings in a consultant’s role as advisor to the chairman, is far from sold on the idea of coaching, but he’d have the backing of ownership and GM Pete D’Alessandro if he chose to move to the bench, Wojnarowski hears. D’Alessandro and assistant GM Mike Bratz like Karl, but D’Alessandro would be on board with Mullin, sources tell Wojnarowski.

Some in the Kings organization consider Mark Jackson a compelling candidate, too, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick. It’s unclear if the Kings have reached out to Jackson, but they haven’t reached out to Karl, Amick hears, adding that Sacramento doesn’t appear interested in doing so at this point.

The action comes after the Kings formally dismissed Michael Malone on Monday, replacing him, at least for now, with Tyrone Corbin. The Kings front office was weary of Malone’s resistance on several matters, Amick writes. Malone was hesistant to support extensions for DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay and wanted the team to re-sign Isaiah Thomas, according to Amick.

“I don’t know if there was a point in time when you could say, ‘Yeah this isn’t [working],'” D’Alessandro said to Amick. “The respect always was there, but I just think we both knew that the vision for how to play wasn’t the same. … You start to see it evolve, and then you say, ‘Let’s just be honest about it then. Let’s just be honest, and agree to disagree.’ But then something has to happen. That’s the league we’re in.”

Beck’s Latest: Kings, Knicks, Suns, Nets, Rockets

December 15th, 2014 at 2:57pm CST by Chuck Myron

There will be chatter aplenty between now and the February 19th trade deadline, but not all of it will truly constitute trade rumors, as Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck cautions. However, when multiple voices speak in unison, there’s usually a grain of truth involved, and Beck has plenty of tidbits he’s heard from a variety of sources around the league. We already passed along the news that the Pistons are putting Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings on the block, but that’s not the only item of note. We’ll pass along the rest of the highlights here and encourage you to read Beck’s full piece for more:

The Kings head coaching job is George Karl‘s if he wants it, as both Beck and Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee hear (Twitter links). Alvin Gentry and Mark Jackson are also “prime candidates,” according to Beck, though it’s not clear if the Kings are targeting either of them. Karl said to Tom Byrne of SiriusXM NBA Radio today that, “If they’re interested in me, I’m interested in them (Twitter link). Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports first identified Karl as the front-runner for the job, which Tyrone Corbin is expected to assume on an interim basis.
Executives around the league tell Beck that the Knicks are making all of their players except for Carmelo Anthony available, as Beck writes in his piece. A similar scenario is in place for New Orleans, where the Pelicans are open to trading everyone outside of Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, Omer Asik and Ryan Anderson, Beck hears.
Many executives expect the Suns to trade one of Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas, according to Beck.
The Nets would probably only move one or two of Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson, team sources tell Beck. The Rockets asked Brooklyn about Andrei Kirilenko before the Nets traded him to the Sixers last week, Beck also hears.
There’s conflicting intel on the Nuggets, whom many executives view as top candidates to become sellers, while one Western Conference exec tells Beck that the Nuggets like their team and aren’t inclined to move anybody. In any case, there’s plenty of interest in Wilson Chandler and Timofey Mozgov, executives have said to Beck.
Many executives and scouts identified Thaddeus Young, Mo Williams and David Lee among likely trade candidates, Beck writes.

Western Notes: McGrady, Carter, Mavs

December 9th, 2014 at 10:09pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Tracy McGrady thinks the Lakers would be the ideal team for him if he were to return to play in the NBA, as he told Bleacher Report’s Les Carpenter (hat tip to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports). McGrady was contemplating a comeback this fall, as Wojnarowski wrote in September, but a commitment to a basketball showcase that would have him in China during October got in the way. McGrady doesn’t want to play for an NBA team unless he attends training camp with that club, Carpenter writes, so that presumably means he won’t return to the league this season.

Here’s more from out west:

Vince Carter will be 40 years old when his contract with the Grizzlies expires in 2017, and the veteran has every intention of playing until then, Dwain Price of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports (Twitter links). “My intentions are to play it out for sure. I have no intentions of backing down until the body says so,” Carter said. “Right now I just take it day by day and year by year and go from there.”
The Mavs are finding their point guard-by-committee approach to be successful thus far this season, Steve Aschburner of NBA.com writes. Instead of having a true star at the point, Dallas has instead opted for a quartet of “heady decision-makers” that have all been acquired since June, and who don’t take up a large amount of cap space, Aschburner notes. “The guards we have now, everyone brings a little something different,” Dirk Nowitzki said. “Jameer [Nelson] is probably the best shooter, Devin [Harris] is a great driver. I think Raymond [Felton] has the in-between game. I don’t even know what J.J. [Barea] does. We just give him the ball and he just goes wild out there. We run a couple pick-and-rolls for him, he keeps circling and circling. So I think all four guards bring something to the table, which we need.”
Former Warriors coach Mark Jackson briefly addressed the negative comments made against him by Golden State’s co-owner Joe Lacob, Carl Steward of The San Jose Mercury News reports. Speaking at his weekly sermon, Jackson said, “[Lacob] said I was good for nothing, an owner that knew me for three years and spent a couple of minutes around me, an owner that had the audacity to say that 200 folks don’t like me in the business.”
The remaining $620,794 of the $2,316,429 trade exception the Kings created from the Rudy Gay trade is set to expire tonight. Sacramento had previously used $1,695,635 of this exception when they acquired Reggie Evans from the Nets.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Pacific Notes: Warriors, Jackson, McLemore

December 8th, 2014 at 7:27pm CST by Alex Lee

With the Kings, Suns and the 17-2 Warriors in action tonight, let’s take a look at some of the news and notes coming out of the Pacific division:

In an era when frequent player movement allows new NBA powers to seemingly spring up overnight, Warriors GM Bob Myers credits roster continuity with his team’s white-hot start, and it was ultimately why a Klay Thompson-for-Kevin Love swap never materialized, writes Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders. “We have a cohesive roster where we haven’t had a lot of change, and it’s hard in this day and age to keep your roster together for a lot of different reasons — free agency, trades, financial reason,” said Myers. “To keep a team together was important to us, and that has helped us early in the season while other teams are trying to work in new personnel.”
Many assign significant credit to Steve Kerr for the Warriors‘ early success, and it’s a group that presumably includes co-owner Joe Lacob, who took some shots at departed coach Mark Jackson last week. While star guard Stephen Curry called Lacob’s comments a “distraction” today, he also seemed content that Lacob apologized Sunday, writes Diamong Leung of the Bay Area News Group. “For him to apologize is a big gesture,” Curry said. “My whole thing is to not discredit anything Coach Jackson did because he was such a great coach for us and elevated a lot of our individual games, and I’m proud of that and I appreciate that.”
Rather than fretting when the Kings drafted the similarly positioned Nik Stauskas in the lottery this past June, second-year shooting guard Ben McLemore worked in the offseason to elevate his game and the results have been evident in the early going this season, writes Aaron Fischman of Cowbell Kingdom. Sacramento selected McLemore No. 7 out of Kansas in the 2013 draft.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Pacific Notes: Clarkson, Thompson, Warriors

December 7th, 2014 at 4:51pm CST by Zachary Links

Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports learned that Kings star DeMarcus Cousins has been out for the last five games with a case of viral meningitis. Cousins continues to recover but he’ll be out for at least another seven to 10 days. More from the Pacific Division..

The L.A. D-Fenders announced (via Twitter) that Jordan Clarkson has been recalled by the Lakers in time for tonight’s tilt against the Pelicans. Clarkson’s weekend stint with the D-Fenders was his third of the season.
Over the summer, Mychal Thompson said he’d have to talk his son Klay Thompson “down off the ledge” if a rumored deal sending him to the Timberwolves came to fruition. Earlier today, the younger Thompson said that his dad was kind of overstating things. “He exaggerates things. I’m sure you guys know that,” the Warriors star said, according to Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter).
Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob made some interesting comments about ex-coach Mark Jackson last week but he took the time to publicly apologize for them today, as Leung writes. Lacob believes that Jackson will “succeed again in this business.”