Melvin Hunt Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Saunders, Pekovic, Hunt

April 4th, 2015 at 4:06pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Timberwolves team owner Glen Taylor said his team would be healthier in the long run if it signed a top-notch coach who would allow Flip Saunders to concentrate on his duties as president of basketball operations, but Taylor wouldn’t object if Saunders stayed on as coach for the immediate future, Sid Hartman of The Star Tribune writes. “I’d like to hire a very good coach [for the long term],” Taylor said. “I haven’t talked about it with Flip as far as next year, but if he wanted to coach he certainly would be allowed to coach.”

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

With surgery scheduled for his injured right Achilles tendon, Wolves center Nikola Pekovic is concerned about his career, Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune writes. “Of course I am [worried],’’ Pekovic said. “I’m pretty much worrying about how this is going to affect my life in 10 years. I mean, I’m still thinking about basketball [too]. But when you deal so much with something like this….It’s a big deal, I think.’’
Nuggets interim coach Melvin Hunt gives his assistants much of the credit for keeping the team afloat throughout all the season’s turmoil, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post relays. “It’s a lot of stuff, but it’s manageable,” Hunt said. “I think when you put things in perspective, and you prioritize things and you have good people working with you — I’ve got Noel Gillespie who has a wealth of experience, I’ve got Patrick Mutombo, who is a quick study. So this really helps me as a coach. I don’t feel overwhelmed or that there’s so much coming at me at one time because my guys are catching a lot of that, and that helps.”
Rookie Andrew Wiggins has come a long way in his development since the beginning of the season, Frank Zicarelli of The Toronto Sun writes. Saunders is still trying to get more out of his star player, but acknowledges how difficult this season has been for the young Canadian swingman, Zicarelli adds. “He’s playing in a situation where, because we’ve been so undermanned, that he’s the guy,” Saunders said. “Like [Monday night versus the Jazz], when he got the ball, they had three people over there guarding him. But this will help him when we can surround him with more veteran guys.”

Northwest Notes: Clark, Hunt, Leonard

March 30th, 2015 at 5:41pm CST by Chuck Myron

Ian Clark is on an expiring contract, but the Nuggets didn’t claim him off waivers on Saturday simply with the hopes of having him around for the last few weeks of the season, according to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. The shooting guard says he’ll be in summer league with Denver, a hint that there’s mutual interest between the sides in a more formal new deal. Denver can match any offers that Clark receives from other NBA teams this summer if it extends a qualifying offer of about $1.147MM. Here’s more from around the Northwest Division:

Nuggets interim coach Melvin Hunt is a popular and well-liked figure around the league and shares a longstanding connection with Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey, who nearly hired him for Utah this past offseason, as Dempsey details in a separate piece. Hunt wasn’t widely mentioned as a candidate for Utah’s head coaching job, so presumably Lindsey was talking about an assistant’s position, but that’s not entirely clear.
Meyers Leonard is hiring the Creative Artists Agency for his representation ahead of the offseason, when he’ll be eligible for a rookie scale extension, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Blazers big man had been with Excel Sports Management and Jeff Schwartz.
It’s a critical summer ahead for the Thunder and GM Sam Presti, who have one last full offseason of roster construction before Kevin Durant‘s contract runs out, as SB Nation’s Tom Ziller examines. The majority of Hoops Rumors readers who voted in Friday’s poll believe the Thunder should look to make significant changes around Durant this summer.

Northwest Notes: Wolves, Nuggets, Kanter

March 28th, 2015 at 8:25pm CST by ChrisCrouse

During the 1996 draft, the Wolves nearly drafted Kobe Bryant with the No. 5 overall pick, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. “We teetered on the idea of getting another [player right out of high school] because we had success with [Kevin Garnett],” said Flip Saunders, who was the coach of the team that year, just as he is now. “But we kind of thought it would be too much having two of those guys who were young at that time and still in the process of developing KG as a young player.” Minnesota ended up drafting Ray Allen and subsequently trading him to Milwaukee for Stephon Marbury.

Here’s more from the Northwest Division

The request to commit another $24.5MM in public money in order to further renovate the Target Center, which is the Wolves‘ home arena, passed a City Council panel vote, reports Eric Roper of the Star Tribune. Roper notes that there are still potential roadblocks in securing the additional funding, but the latest news is reason for optimism. The city of Minneapolis previously committed $50MM toward the renovation.
Executives of the Nuggets are “very happy” with the job done by interim coach Melvin Hunt, sources tell Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Mannix notes that although the team will conduct a thorough search for a new head coach after the season, Hunt’s performance will earn him some consideration for the job.
Enes Kanter didn’t enjoy being an NBA player until he got to the Thunder, writes Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News. “The difference is I like playing basketball [in Oklahoma City], that’s the most important thing,’’ Kanter said. “I never liked playing basketball before in my NBA career. That’s the first time I felt like playing basketball for my team, for the fans, for my teammates, for coaches — everybody.’’ The center spent his entire career with the Jazz before being traded to the Thunder at this year’s deadline.

Western Rumors: Lin, Nuggets, Matthews

March 23rd, 2015 at 9:24pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jeremy Lin will start the remainder of the season but it probably won’t affect the Lakers’ decision whether to re-sign the veteran point guard, according to Bill Oram of the Orange County Register. Oram writes that many people around the league believe it’s a given that Lin, who will be an unrestricted free agent after the season, will sign elsewhere. Coach Byron Scott told Lakers beat reporters that the team’s draft choices will affect Lin’s chances of returning. “It’s just a matter of what happens in the draft and everything else that determines what we’re going to do with the free agent market,” Scott said.

In other news around the Western Conference:

Interim coach Melvin Hunt has taken an upbeat approach to improve the Nuggets, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reports. Hunt has used positive reinforcement to inspire his players, a stark contrast to predecessor Brian Shaw, who often criticized players in his postgame press conferences, Kyler continues. Ty Lawson told Kyler that he appreciated the change in philosophy. “He is giving everybody confidence,” Lawson said. “He is a very upbeat person. I think he just wants everybody to succeed; you feel it when he walks into the room and when he talks to us. He has us all on the same page, that’s helping us out right now.”
Wesley Matthews‘ season-ending Achilles injury has had a major impact on the Trail Blazers’ defense, Mike Richman of The Oregonian writes. Portland has gone 3-5 since Matthews suffered the injury and its defense has ranked 27th in defensive efficiency in those games, allowing 110.5 points per 100 possessions, Richman notes. The Blazers were No. 3 in that category up to that point, Richman adds. While all of the Blazers’ defensive problems cannot be attributed to Matthews’ absence, backcourt partner Damian Lillard tells Richman that he definitely sees a difference. “His ability to lock guys up defensively and kind of spark us at that end of the floor,” Lillard said of what the team is lacking. “His passion. Just the fire that he brought to our team is something that we definitely miss.”
Jazz coach Quin Snyder is less concerned about making the playoffs than showing improvement the remainder of the season, Ryan McDonald of the Deseret News reports. Utah has made a late run but Snyder isn’t worried about wins and losses, McDonald adds. “I don’t think playoff awareness is necessarily going to improve our play as much as a focus on game to game, moment to moment,” Snyder said.

Northwest Notes: Hunt, Garnett, Young

March 17th, 2015 at 11:20am CST by Chuck Myron

Nuggets players would endorse the removal of the interim tag from coach Melvin Hunt‘s job title, and it’s a move the organization will at least consider, GM Tim Connelly told Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post.

“As an organization, we have all been impressed with the job Melvin has done thus far,” Connelly said. “When the season concludes, he will be one of the candidates as we begin an exhaustive search to find a head coach.”

Hunt is an impressive 6-3 in his brief tenure, and Hochman argues that while he deserves a shot, there are other candidates who merit consideration, too. Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

The injection of 20th-year veteran Kevin Garnett into the inexperienced Timberwolves roster struck an immediate chord, Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders told reporters, including Newsday’s Roderick Boone. “It was like three little kids looking at Santa Claus coming down the chimney,” Saunders said of the reaction some of his younger players had to meeting Garnett.
Thaddeus Young indicated to the Wolves that he didn’t intend to pick up his player option worth about $10MM for next season, writes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Young had reportedly requested a trade through his agent. Young, who hasn’t decided on opting in with Brooklyn, credits the Timberwolves organization for accommodating his wishes, working with his agent and keeping him in the loop, as Zgoda relays. Saunders this week expressed his affection for Young as a player, as Boone notes in his story.
The Nuggets have begun to sit key players for rest, but Wilson Chandler, a free agent after next season, is not pleased, as Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post relays. “It’s tough when you’re fighting together but you’re getting set up for failure,” Chandler said. The decision isn’t coming from the players or Hunt, Dempsey writes, which suggests it’s the front office’s call.
Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News has more details on Greg Miller’s decision Monday to relinquish his role as CEO of the company that controls the Jazz, a move that team and company officials insist won’t have much effect on Jazz basketball operations.
The Jazz have recalled Ian Clark from the D-League, the team announced. He averaged just 14.0 points in 32.0 minutes per game but nailed 45.0% of his three-point attempts on an assignment that last nearly a month.

Northwest Notes: Hunt, Neal, Gasol, Tomic

March 16th, 2015 at 10:48am CST by Chuck Myron

The Trail Blazers have never won a Northwest Division title, but they’re seemingly destined to do so this year, since they’re up nine games in the loss column on the Thunder with less than a month to go in the regular season. The last time Portland won a division title, in 1999, the team was in the Pacific Division. Here’s the latest on the teams looking up at the Blazers in the standings:

Nuggets players, and Kenneth Faried in particular, are ecstatic about interim coach Melvin Hunt and would unanimously vote to remove the interim tag from his title, observes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. However, owner Stan Kroenke is still dissatisfied with a team far from playoff contention, Dempsey also notes.
Timberwolves guard Gary Neal doesn’t regret chasing the money and leaving the Spurs to sign a two-year, $6.5MM deal in 2013 in part because he saw DeJuan Blair go from a starter to signing a minimum-salary contract in short order, as Neal tells Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Neal will be a free agent again at season’s end.
Kevin Durant has posited that Oklahoma City’s lack of “orchestras and plays” dissuaded Pau Gasol from signing with the Thunder this past summer, but Gasol said this weekend that such cultural attractions weren’t a factor, according to The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry. The Bulls big man instead said it was a matter of on-court fit that led him to choose Chicago, as Mayberry relays.
Jazz draft-and-stash prospect Ante Tomic believes the offseason ahead is his last legitimate opportunity to join the NBA, and while he acknowledged that he’s in talks about a new deal with his Spanish team, he won’t rule out a jump to Utah. The 7’2″ center made his remarks to Jesús Pérez Ramos of Mundo Deportivo (translation via HoopsHype). FC Barcelona has a team option on the 28-year-old for next season, but the Jazz are reportedly willing to pay to buy Tomic out of his contract.

Western Notes: Durant, West, Hunt

March 11th, 2015 at 9:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

ESPN’s Tom Penn, a former NBA executive, in an appearance on ESPN’s “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” said that with how well Russell Westbrook is playing, the Thunder could consider trading Kevin Durant, who is set to hit free agency in 2016. “I think this burst from Westbrook makes it much more likely that Durant ultimately gets traded next year,” Penn said. “[OKC GM] Sam Presti has proven that he does not ever want to lose anybody for nothing. So he traded James Harden a year early to avoid a potential luxury tax problem a year later. The Kevin Durant drumbeat next year is going to be so loud because he will not commit early to Oklahoma City contractually because the rules are against that. He can’t get the same contract if he signs early as if he just goes to free agency and resigns. So if Sam Presti doesn’t get that commitment, he’ll look to to trade Kevin Durant. And looking at the performance of Westbrook and the team around Westbrook will make it easier for him to do that potentially.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Delonte West is considering a deal to join the Texas Legends, the Mavs‘ D-League affiliate, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). West’s last regular season NBA action came with Dallas during the 2011/12 season. The mercurial guard’s career stats are 9.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game.
Nuggets interim coach Melvin Hunt has already shown that he should be in the running to be Denver’s coach next season, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. “I’ve always viewed myself as a head coach,” Hunt said. “I’ve said before, I’ve been so thankful, I’ve been so blessed that I’ve had coaches and leaders that wanted me to lead. They’ve seen that in me. I was captain of my college team a couple of years. People have always looked at me as a leader, and I take that seriously.“
Hunt said he has done a “handful” of head-coaching interviews in the past, but thanks to this opportunity with the Nuggets his resume will receive a nice boost, Dempsey adds. When asked if he felt any pressure to prove himself worthy of retaining Denver’s coaching job, Hunt said, “Not at all. There’s no anxiety. I go back to my faith. So it’s not like I feel any pressure as far as to win or play a certain way or do this or do that. When the time’s right, whatever God has for me, it will be. So whenever that time is, it will happen.”

Western Notes: Shaw, Thunder, Hunt

March 4th, 2015 at 8:39pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Former Nuggets coach Brian Shaw released a statement through his agent, Jerome Stanley, regarding his recent firing by Denver, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post relays. “Having been a part of five NBA Championship teams, I know how difficult it is to make the commitment necessary to achieve that goal,” said Shaw. “It takes sacrifice for the greater good … and time, for a club to get to the championship level. Players, coaches, management and ownership all must share that commitment and build toward that goal. It is not an easy task. I am very proud of the effort that my staff and I put in while coaching the team. I also appreciate the support that I received from the KSE group. Finally, I believe that the Nuggets will grow to be a championship level club and give the fans in Denver a much deserved Championship. In time.“

Here’s more out of the Western Conference:

The Thunder are attempting the difficult feat of remaining in contention while undergoing a significant overhaul of their roster, Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman writes. Seven out of the 15 players on OKC’s roster weren’t with the team at the end of last season, and since the beginning of the 2014/15 campaign, five players have been acquired via trade, Slater notes.
Oklahoma City intends to retain both Kyle Singler and Enes Kanter, who become restricted free agents after the season, Slater adds. The Thunder are operating with the idea that a massive luxury tax bill next season will be softened in 2016/17 when the NBA’s new television deal kicks in and the salary cap increases as a result, Slater notes.
Nuggets interim coach Melvin Hunt inherits the difficult task of piloting a team that has underperformed all season, and had reportedly quit on former coach Shaw, Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post writes. “It’s bittersweet,” Hunt said. “This is not the way you want it to happen, because there are a lot of people involved that are impacted by this. At the same time, in the pit of my stomach, there is a feeling of excitement because I love to compete and I’m ready for the challenges.“

Nuggets Likely To Target D’Antoni, Gentry, Others

March 3rd, 2015 at 3:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:38pm: Denver is expected to make former Bulls and Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro a candidate for the job, and according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, who also hears mention of ex-Kings coach Michael Malone. Berger hints that’s true of Pelicans assistant Bryan Gates, Pacers assistant Nate McMillan and Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga, too, though that’s not entirely clear. In any case, the Nuggets will likely give Gentry “heavy consideration,” Berger writes.

1:10pm: The Nuggets have yet to any consider long-term candidates, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

1:01pm: Former Warriors coach Mark Jackson, current Warriors assistant coach Alvin Gentry and Bulls assistant Adrian Griffin are believed to be likely candidates to replace the fired Brian Shaw as Nuggets head coach, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick. One-time Mavs and Nets coach Avery Johnson and former Nuggets, Suns, Knicks and Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni are other likely candidates, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com, and a source who knows D’Antoni’s thinking told Amick that he would certainly be interested in the job. Still, the Nuggets indicated when they announced Shaw’s firing that Melvin Hunt would remain as interim coach through season’s end and that they would begin a search for a more permanent replacement after that. Sources confirm to Stein that the Nuggets will take a “long-term view” on their search (Twitter link).

D’Antoni recently suggested in a radio appearance with Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck and Ethan Skolnick that he had interest in returning to coach in the NBA (Twitlonger link; Twitter link). That was before Shaw’s firing, Beck cautions (on Twitter). D’Antoni resigned as Lakers coach last spring, and he got his start as an NBA coach with the 1999 Nuggets.

Jackson also coached as recently as last season, though his three-year Warriors stint is his only head coaching experience. Still, his name was linked to both the Magic and Kings openings earlier this season. Gentry has spent parts of 12 seasons as an NBA head coach, the last coming in 2012/13 with the Suns. That was Johnson’s last year of coaching, too, though he was only in charge of the Nets for the first 28 games that season. Johnson had more success in Dallas, where he took the team to the 2006 NBA Finals and won 67 games in 2006/07. Griffin has so far only served as an assistant coach with the Bucks and Bulls since the 2008/09 season, but Chicago promoted him before this season to lead assistant.

Nuggets Fire Brian Shaw

March 3rd, 2015 at 12:25pm CST by Chuck Myron

12:25pm: The firing is official, the team announced. Hunt will be the interim coach through the end of the season, the Nuggets also confirmed. Denver will conduct an “extensive” search for a head coach after the season, the statement also indicates.

“I want to sincerely thank Brian for his time with our organization,” Connelly said. “You won’t find a better guy than Brian and he is one of the brightest basketball minds I’ve ever been around. Unfortunately things didn’t go as we hoped, but we know with his basketball acumen that he has a very bright future ahead of him.”

11:40am: Hunt will indeed be the interim coach, and he’ll fill that role for the balance of the season, a source tells TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link). Hunt, a holdover from George Karl‘s staff, has been an assistant in Denver since 2010/11. He was previously an assistant coach with the Cavs, Lakers, and Rockets, and it was Houston that gave him his start as a video coordinator in the 1990s.

11:36am: Assistant Melvin Hunt is the front-runner to assume the job on an interim basis, but that’s not set in stone, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Denver plays tonight against the Bucks.

11:23am: The Nuggets are letting go of coach Brian Shaw, a source tells Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post. Dempsey indicates that the move took place this morning, though the team has yet to make an official announcement. Denver has dropped 17 of its last 19 games amid roster turnover at the deadline. Shaw insisted Monday that his team’s “1, 2, 3 … six weeks!” chant during Friday’s game wasn’t a reference to the time left in the season but instead to the number of weeks since the team’s last home win. Either way, it wasn’t a positive omen for the coach. It’s not immediately clear who will replace him.

GM Tim Connelly said nearly a month ago that the team had no plans of firing Shaw before season’s end, but it appears as though the team’s continued losing has changed that stance. The second-year head coach, who turns 49 in a few weeks, has been publicly critical of his players this season, one in which the Nuggets had hoped the return of several who’d missed time last year with injury would boost the club into contention for a playoff berth.

Shaw was reportedly making about $2MM a year in the second year of a three-year deal he signed when the Nuggets hired him in the summer of 2013. The pact includes an option for a fourth year, presumably belonging to the team.

The coach’s job security seemed to take a negative turn earlier this season after the Nuggets had stiff-armed a pursuit from Knicks team president Phil Jackson, who previously employed Shaw as an assistant with the Lakers. Speculation that Shaw was in danger began in November amid a 2-7 start, but a five-game winning streak brought the team back to .500. The Nuggets haven’t seen the break-even point since they were 9-9 in December, and even that wouldn’t have put the Nuggets in line for a playoff spot in the rugged Western Conference.

Shaw tried unconventional methods this season, doing away with shootarounds and even rapping pregame personnel reports, as Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald noted. Still, it wasn’t enough amid a season in which the Nuggets current roster has only Will Barton and Jameer Nelson to show for a series of trades in which the team relinquished Timofey Mozgov, Arron Afflalo, Nate Robinson, JaVale McGee and Alonzo Gee. It appears Shaw will finish his Nuggets tenure at a combined 56-85 for this season and last.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.