Michael Beasley Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Coaching Rumors: Suns, Wizards, Pistons, Kings

December 11th, 2012 at 9:13am CST by Luke Adams

We're about a quarter of the way through the NBA regular season, which is enough of a sample size that we can say certain teams have underperformed so far. Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today take a look at the coaching situations for a few of those teams in their latest piece, examining whether any head coaches are in danger of being let go. We touched on Dwane Casey's situation with the Raptors in a post this morning, but here are the rest of Amick's and Zillgitt's updates:

After Suns owner Robert Sarver told ESPN.com's Chris Broussard yesterday that Alvin Gentry wasn't on the hot seat, Amick and Zillgitt spoke to Sarver as well. Sarver's vote of confidence in this case was even stronger, as he told USA Today that Gentry's job is safe for the rest of the season.
Like the Raptors, the Suns may explore an on-court change rather than a coaching move, with Michael Beasley a candidate to be involved — according to USA Today, there's some disagreement between the team and player about what his role should be. However, Sarver still hopes Beasley will work things out in Phoenix: "We're working with him. He's working hard, and we still expect to be able to (salvage the situation)."
The Wizards are still paying their last head coach, Flip Saunders, so they're unlikely to replace Randy Wittman this year, since it would mean paying three different coaches.
Pistons owner Tom Gores has high expectations for his club, and wants to see some progress toward the playoffs this year in Detroit, making it a potential make-or-break season for Lawrence Frank.
Keith Smart's job with the Kings appears safe, though team president Geoff Petrie's future isn't quite so clear.
The Nets still have faith in Avery Johnson and expect some peaks and valleys with the team's overhauled roster. However, there's an expectation that the team will not only qualify for the postseason but be in position to "make an impact once they get there."
Despite a slow start for the Pacers, there's still hope in Indiana that Frank Vogel is around to coach the team for years to come.

“Major Shakeup” Coming For Suns?

December 10th, 2012 at 4:36pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns lost the face of their franchise this summer when they sent Steve Nash to the Lakers in a sign-and-trade deal that netted them a handful of draft picks. With Nash out of the picture, Phoenix filled out its roster with a number of new faces, including Goran Dragic, Michael Beasley, Luis Scola, and Wesley Johnson. However, according to Shaun Powell of Sports On Earth (via Twitter), with the team in a tailspan, another "major shakeup" could be on the way. A Suns source that spoke to Powell singled out Beasley as "toxic."

As I noted earlier this afternoon in examining the important in-season dates on the NBA's calendar, most players that signed new contracts this offseason become eligible to be traded as of this Saturday. That includes Beasley, who inked a three-year, $18MM pact to join the Suns. While it's not clear whether Beasley or anyone else is on the block in Phoenix, trade discussions around the league figure to pick up a little starting on Saturday.

If changes are coming in Phoenix, it sounds as if they won't affect the team's coaching staff. Owner Robert Sarver tells ESPN.com's Chris Broussard that he has confidence in Alvin Gentry and that it's too "early in the season" to make major changes to the coaching staff (Twitter links).

Odds & Ends: Harden, Lawson, Jazz, Beasley

October 28th, 2012 at 10:41pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Sunday night:

Rockets coach Kevin McHale talked to the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen about the addition of James Harden. McHale doesn't believe Harden will have trouble transitioning from the sixth-man role he played in Oklahoma City to a starting job in Houston.
George Karl calls Ty Lawson's extension negotiations with the Nuggets a "distraction," according to Adrian Dater of the Denver Post.
Bill Oram of the Salt Lake tribune writes that the Jazz have already developed chemistry, which the team believes will work to its benefit.
Yahoo's Marc Spears writes that Michael Beasley is hoping to rehabilitate his public image in Phoenix this season.

Ingram On Beasley, Carter, Martin

October 19th, 2012 at 5:40pm CST by Sean Highkin

Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld has a new column which covers several issues around the Western Conference. Here are the highlights:

Michael Beasley is looking to silence doubters this season, Ingram writes. Beasley praises fellow new Suns acquisition Goran Dragic, saying the team has a good foundation for the future.
Anthony Carter reveals that George Karl offered him a job as an assistant coach, which Carter turned down, saying he wants to play one more year. However, he is leaving the door open to join the Nuggets' front office in some capacity after the season.
Following the news that Dirk Nowitzki will miss six weeks after having knee surgery, Ingram wonders if the Mavericks will pursue free-agent power forward Kenyon Martin.

Pacific Notes: Scola, Suns, Odom, Clippers, Bogut

October 18th, 2012 at 9:41am CST by Luke Adams

Let's round up the latest notes out of the Pacific Division, where the preseason standings, which feature the Warriors at the top and the Lakers at the bottom, are nearly an inverse of last year's regular-season standings….

While many players weren't happy on the Rockets last season, Suns forward Luis Scola wasn't one of them, says Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld (via Sulia). According to Ingram, Scola had been hoping to finish his career in Houston.
Michael Beasley and Wesley Johnson feel as if they've been cast off by their previous teams and are hoping to prove themselves with the Suns, according to Ingram (Sulia link). Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry still believes both players can live up to their draft slots (No. 2 for Beasley, No. 4 for Johnson).
Lamar Odom, acquired by the Clippers in the offseason, was held out of the team's game last night, and coach Vinny Del Negro attributed it in part to conditioning issues. "He's got to work through some conditioning things and some health things right now, which he's doing," Del Negro said, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. "Yeah, I wish he was in a little bit better conditioning, and he wishes he was. But he's just got to continue to work every day and I'm sure he'll get there eventually."
On the other hand, Chauncey Billups, who was re-signed by the Clippers this summer, is ahead of schedule in his rehab from an achilles injury, and Del Negro believes he could return in late November, according to Turner.
After having been traded by the Clippers to the Jazz this offseason, Mo Williams told Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com he holds no ill will toward the Clips.
Andrew Bogut will have his left ankle, which continues to keep him out of action, examined on Monday in Los Angeles, as Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group writes. Bogut hopes to be ready to play in the Warriors' regular-season opener, but he's "still a ways away," according to coach Mark Jackson.

Glen Taylor Talks Kirilenko, Roy, Beasley, Batum

October 1st, 2012 at 9:24am CST by Luke Adams

Last month, Twin Cities Business Magazine published a feature by Britt Robson on Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor. While the piece touched on some basketball and roster issues, many of those details were not included. Now, Robson has posted a few of Taylor's more interesting quotes related to the T-Wolves' offseason moves and last season's roster. Here are the highlights from the Wolves owner:

On the team's additions of Andrei Kirilenko and Chase Budinger:

"[Rick Adelman] says, ‘This is the guy I want (Kirilenko). He never talks about scoring, he talks about passing and he talks about defense. I need that player in my system to be successful.’ So that one was clearly the coach…. And Chase Budinger, that’s the coach. Rick knows him. He says, ‘I can put him in the game, he’s going to be smart; he’s not going to be the greatest defensive player, but he can do it. He isn’t going to make mistakes.'"

On signing Brandon Roy:

"You might think that is the coach, but that is more David [Kahn]. I think it is David saying, ‘Let give this player to Rick and get the backup in place in case it doesn’t work out.’ Because Rick keeps saying to me, ‘I don’t know if he can play!’ And I tell him, ‘Rick, I don’t know if he can play either!’ So the Brandon Roy thing is a risk."

On what Adelman thought of Michael Beasley and Anthony Randolph:

"What Rick said about Michael was, ‘Yes, Michael has been good. I get along with him. But I don’t think we’ll be a championship team with him. If I put Michael in, Michael can score, but he doesn’t play any defense and he forgets the other offensive players, and I just can’t tolerate that under my system because the other players are just standing around'…. The coach would have put up with Randolph if we had gotten rid of Beasley. He said Randolph isn’t really a problem, he just can’t remember things. When was going down his list and got to Randolph, he said, ‘I think he should be off the team. But if these things were taken care of and I had to deal with it, I can deal with a kid like him because he is more of an introvert, he’s not a nasty kid.’"

On the team's recruitment of Nicolas Batum:

"Batum recruited us about as much as we recruited him. He was one of a number of guys who said they are interested in coming to us because of Ricky [Rubio]. He said, ‘I like your coach and I like Ricky and Kevin [Love]. I think I can fit in. I don’t need to score a lot; that isn’t what drives me. I like being on the court with players who share the ball.’ There were three teams he was interested in — New Orleans and Toronto were the other ones — but he said they weren’t as far along as we were and that we were his preference right now."

On what the Wolves offered Portland for Batum in a sign-and-trade:

"It never ended up being that we offered [Derrick] Williams. I said to David, ‘We’re not going to offer Williams,’ so I know David never did it. And as far as we know, we never got beyond [offering] one first-rounder. It never got stretched that far because Portland wouldn’t say what they wanted."

On whether a trade could still be in the works for Minnesota:

"There is room to do more [trading] but not right now because of Ricky’s injury. There are like, five guys at the two guards, so I think logically we could do something — and there is something out there — but until we know for sure that Ricky is going to come back healthy, I think you are going to see us set with this group."

Odds & Ends: Bobcats, Kapono, Griffin, Mavs

August 9th, 2012 at 1:20pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bobcats have been linked to a number of power forwards this summer, including Carl Landry, Antawn Jamison, and Louis Amundson. However, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer says (via Twitter) that the idea Charlotte is "desperate" to add another power forward is off base. Here are a few more Thursday afternoon odds and ends from around the Association:

Jason Kapono turned down an offer to play for Orleans in France, according to Gabriel Pantel-Jouve of Catch and Shoot (French link).
According to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, the Bulls turned down the Magic when Orlando asked permission to interview Chicago assistant Adrian Griffin for its lead assistant position. The Bulls appear to only be allowing Griffin to interview for head coach openings, says Haynes.
Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com wonders how the Mavericks stack up against their Western Conference foes, following the team's offseason moves.
Having signed a three-year deal with the Suns, Michael Beasley is looking forward to getting a fresh start in Phoenix, as he tells Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.
Lang Greene of HoopsWorld identifies a few teams whose summer acquistions may have them ready to make the leap from the lottery to the playoffs in 2012/13.

Suns Sign Michael Beasley

July 20th, 2012 at 3:29pm CST by Sean Highkin

JULY 20TH: The Suns have confirmed that the Beasley deal is done, tweets Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

JULY 4TH: ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports that unrestricted free agent forward Michael Beasley has agreed to sign with the Phoenix Suns for $18MM over three years.

According to Stein, Beasley, who played the last two seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, chose Phoenix over four other interested teams. Beasley, 23, averaged 11.4 PPG and 4.7 RPG in 2011/12 as a member of the Timberwolves.

The T-Wolves decided not to extend a qualifying offer to Beasley last week, ensuring that he'd be an unrestricted free agent, and Minnesota wouldn't have a chance to match offers and retain him. The Suns, meanwhile, have now committed a sizable chunk of cap space to the agreement with Beasley and an offer sheet for Eric Gordon. There were rumors that the Suns would also aggressively pursue Goran Dragic, but the club may not have the necessary remaining cap space to make the point guard a competitive offer.

Odds & Ends: Magic, Beasley, Rockets, Cousins

July 8th, 2012 at 4:19pm CST by Daniel Seco

The Celtics have had a mixed bag of an offseason thus far as they've managed to retain major pieces such as Kevin Garnett and Jeff Green, but lost Ray Allen last week to the Heat. The latest news out of Boston makes the Jason Terry signing look even more important as Avery Bradley is expected to miss the start of the season as he undergoes surgery on his right shoulder later this week. While he could be back shortly after the season begins, the young guard will miss training camp and could be out until mid-December, writes Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. Let's check in around the league to catch up on the latest news and stories making headlines…

Lakers Rumors: Bynum, Gasol, Beasley, Sessions

July 5th, 2012 at 8:32am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers made their first big splash of the 2012/13 season last night, agreeing to a sign-and trade deal to acquire Suns point guard Steve Nash. After news of the agreement broke, there was speculation that it might be just the first shoe to drop for the Lakers. However, Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com hears from a source that L.A. expects to keep its core intact, suggesting you shouldn't hold your breath for a trade involving Andrew Bynum or Pau Gasol (Twitter link). Here are a few more Thursday morning Lakers notes: