Michael Malone Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Malone, Lillard, Harkless

July 17th, 2015 at 11:40am CST by Chuck Myron

Nuggets coach Michael Malone didn’t have too much to say about Ty Lawson, other than that he’s been in contact and that he still considers the point guard “part of the Denver Nugget family,” but Malone, in his conversation with Grantland’s Zach Lowe, provided a glimpse into Denver’s draft night war room.

“It’s very rare when you’re picking No. 7 to get the guy you target. I kid you not, when I got the job, [GM] Tim Connelly said, ‘Emmanuel Mudiay. That’s the guy,'” Malone said.

The team’s other target was Duke small forward Justise Winslow, Malone admitted to Lowe with hesitation. Winslow slipped to the Heat at No. 10. The coach also spoke with Lowe about his time hanging around the Timberwolves last season, and Malone “absolutely” had interest in becoming the head-coach-in-waiting under Flip Saunders in Minnesota, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. He would have considered such an opportunity over the Nuggets gig, Wolfson adds. Here’s more from around the Northwest Division:

Damian Lillard is a fan of Portland’s trade acquisition of Maurice Harkless, GM Neil Olshey says, and it’s with Lillard in mind that the Blazers are going after players like the former Magic small forward, as The Oregonian’s Mike Richman chronicles. Lillard signed a five-year max extension this month. “When LaMarcus [Aldridge] warned us he wasn’t coming back we went full bore with guys on the same career arc as Damian Lillard,” Olshey said. “Damian’s our best player right now, he’s a two time All-Star. We’re going to bring in players that compliment his skill set, how we want to play and that can grow with him as he continues to improve.”
The Nuggets were reportedly one of three teams interested in signing Sergio Rodriguez, but it doesn’t look like he’ll leave Spain for the NBA again, as Real Madrid wants him to stay, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter links). The contract reportedly contains an NBA buyout clause, but Real Madrid will fight to keep him, Pick says.
The precise value of Jameer Nelson‘s three-year contract with the Nuggets is $13,621,575, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
The cap hits in the four-year deal the Nuggets gave Nikola Jokic come to $5,551,000, and year four is a team option, Pincus also shows (Twitter link).

Kings Rumors: Rondo, Cousins, Mbah a Moute

July 17th, 2015 at 10:48am CST by Chuck Myron

Rajon Rondo had wanted to play with DeMarcus Cousins for a while, writes Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, who hears from the point guard about just how enticing the chance to play with his fellow former Kentucky Wildcat is.

“What made me comfortable is them having the best big man in the game,” Rondo said of Cousins. “It was a pretty easy decision. I think he’s definitely an MVP candidate and I look forward to playing with him and helping him grow as a player.”

Of course, plenty of rumors suggest Cousins isn’t long for Sacramento, but Rondo told Kennedy that he thinks much of the reported acrimony between Cousins and coach George Karl has been overblown. Rondo had plenty of kind words for the Mavericks despite his turmoil in Dallas, but he makes it clear he’s excited about Sacramento. There’s more on Rondo amid the latest from the California capital:

Rondo’s one-year contract with the Kings is worth $9.5MM, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
Michael Malone said he felt “awful” for Tyrone Corbin, who guided a struggling Kings team after Sacramento fired Malone as coach in December last year, but the new Nuggets coach also told Grantland’s Zach Lowe that the Kings’ losing ways under Corbin “validated the job that my staff and I did.”
Malone also dished to Lowe on his relationship with Cousins. “That relationship was constant work. Constant. But we came to a deep respect,” Malone said in part.
The Kings had signed Luc Mbah a Moute for $1.55MM, an above-minimum salary, before voiding his contract Thursday because he failed his physical, Pincus tweets.
Kings coach George Karl said he and management wanted to re-sign Derrick Williams but simply couldn’t afford him, as the coach tells Marc Berman of the New York Post. A source close to Karl who spoke to Berman nonetheless impugned Williams’ basketball IQ and said Karl tore into the forward on one occasion for his lack of rebounding. Williams left for a two-year, $8.8MM deal with the Knicks. “It was more of fitting the finances and making the finances work,’’ Karl said. “There are other pieces we wanted and we couldn’t have enough money for him.’’

Nuggets Rumors: Draft Deals, Winslow, Nori

June 22nd, 2015 at 7:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nuggets might add another first-round pick via a trade, Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post reports. The Nuggets have some movable pieces that could land them another pick later in the lottery after they select at No. 7, Dempsey continues. There’s a good chance the Nuggets will make at least one move this week, since GM Tim Connelly told Dempsey that he will be proactive during draft night. “We want to be aggressive,” Connelly said. “We’re looking at any and all scenarios, and we’ve already proactively made a lot of those calls. We’ll see what we can do to make it interesting and hopefully give Coach [Michael Malone] the best team possible.”

In other Nuggets news:

The club would have to create a space, probably through a trade, to fit in Justise Winslow if they draft him, Dempsey adds in a separate piece. The Duke swingman could play shooting guard at times but he’s a natural small forward, Dempsey continues. The team already has Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler at that spot. Winslow’s ability to run the floor and defend his position would make him a good fit with a defensive-minded coach like Malone, Dempsey concludes.
Tyus Jones’ workout with the Nuggets today will be his last before the draft, as he tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities as part of a larger Q&A session with the Minnesota native.
Malone will hire away assistant coach Micah Nori from the Kings, David Aldridge of NBA.com tweets. Malone was fired as Sacramento’s head coach in December. Nori was previously an assistant with the Raptors, Aldridge adds.

Northwest Notes: Malone, Russell, Bjelica

June 18th, 2015 at 2:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

Michael Malone sought Wednesday to dismiss the idea that he and Pete D’Alessandro had a poor relationship during their time as coach and GM, respectively, of the Kings, as Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes from Malone’s introductory press conference as coach of the Nuggets. D’Alessandro, whom the Nuggets hired to a front office position shortly before they hired the coach, and Malone reportedly weren’t on speaking terms before Malone’s firing in Sacramento, but Malone insists they’ve maintained a consistent dialogue, as Dempsey relays.

“Pete and I have always respected each other, have always gotten along,” Malone said. “It was just that sometimes, the environment that we were working in was not conducive to a healthy relationship.”

That apparent jab at the Kings aside, there’s more on the Nuggets amid the latest from around the Northwest Division:

Ohio State playmaker D’Angelo Russell is working out for the Timberwolves today, a visit that the team pushed for as its maintained that he’s a consideration for them with the No. 1 overall pick, reports Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Wolves draft-and-stash prospect Nemanja Bjelica has told the manager of his Turkish team that he wants to head to the NBA, and the Fenerbahce Ulker team official assumes that Bjelica, the Euroleague MVP, won’t be back with the club (video link; translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia).
Joel Freeland doesn’t expect the Blazers to tender him the nearly $3.767MM qualifying offer it would take for the club to make him a restricted free agent this summer, as Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group hears (Twitter link). If that’s the case, he’d become an unrestricted free agent, but while the native of England is reportedly drawing interest from overseas, he’s said he’d prefer to stay in the NBA.
Nuggets team president Josh Kroenke, with duties that entail the work of ownership as well as those usually assigned to a GM, is clearly the man who calls the shots in Denver, as Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post observes.

Nuggets Notes: Malone, Oubre, Turner

June 16th, 2015 at 2:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

New Nuggets coach Michael Malone bristled at the suggestion that he’s not suited to directing the sort of up-tempo attack that the Nuggets traditionally employ, as Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post relays in his full story and via Twitter. Malone cited the efficiency of his controlled Kings team but insisted that he can show another side in Denver.

“I know what they want,” Malone said, referring to Nuggets management. “They made it clear from Day 1 that they want to play fast.”

The Nuggets were believed to be seeking a coach who could come in and help GM Tim Connelly and his staff with draft prep, Dempsey wrote last week, but Malone made it clear that he’ll have little to do with the draft. “My conversation regarding that is: Good luck Tim,” Malone quipped, as Dempsey notes via Twitter. There’s more on Malone amid the latest from the Mile High City:

Malone’s deal with the Nuggets is a four-year arrangement, including a team option on the final season, Dempsey reports (Twitter link).
The new coach doesn’t expect the roster to be the same when next season begins, Dempsey notes in his full story, and that should indeed be his hope, as fellow Post scribe Benjamin Hochman opines, believing that no coach would be able to turn the current Nuggets into contenders.
Kansas small forward Kelly Oubre and Texas center Myles Turner were the headliners at today’s Nuggets workout, as the team detailed on Nuggets.com. Joining them are point guards T.J. McConnell of Arizona and Keifer Sykes of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Georgetown power forward Greg Whittington and Delaware State big man Kendall Gray, according to the team.
The Nuggets previously worked out Arizona small forward Stanley Johnson, as MLive’s David Mayo relays via Twitter.

Nuggets Hire Michael Malone

June 15th, 2015 at 6:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

6:44pm: The move is official, the Nuggets announced in a press release.

1:03pm: The Nuggets and Michael Malone have reached agreement on a deal that will make him the team’s new head coach, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Malone won over GM Tim Connelly and team president Josh Kroenke in his interviews, convincing the Nuggets to pivot from interim coach Melvin Hunt, who had earlier emerged as the favorite to keep the job, as Wojnarowski details. The move is somewhat surprising, given Denver’s hiring of former Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro to a front office position last week. Reports painted conflicting pictures of whether it was D’Alessandro or Kings owner Vivek Ranadive who was the catalyst for Sacramento’s decision to fire Malone as Kings coach in December. Denver’s desire for an up-tempo attack also conflicts with Malone’s defense-first style.

Long-ago Nuggets coach Mike D’Antoni also reportedly interviewed for the Nuggets job, and Wojnarowski earlier this month referred to him as a strong candidate, along with Malone and Hunt. Wizards assistant Don Newman and Trail Blazers assistant David Vanterpool also reportedly interviewed, but Malone was the only one reported to have interviewed twice.

Malone had the Kings off to a 9-5 start, but a bout of viral meningitis for DeMarcus Cousins sent the team into a tailspin, and the Kings fired Malone with their record at 11-13. The coach remained an in-demand commodity, joining the Timberwolves to assist them in an informal capacity at least three different times this past season. The Magic were expected to consider him for their vacancy, a prospect in which he apparently had interest, but it didn’t appear as though Orlando, which ultimately hired Scott Skiles, regarded Malone as highly as it did other candidates.

The Kings were only 39-67 in Malone’s season and change at the helm, though he was well-regarded as an assistant before taking the Sacramento job. He worked as the top aide to Mike Brown with the Cavs, Monty Williams in New Orleans and Mark Jackson in Golden State before ending up with the Kings.

Denver is coming off two disappointing seasons after a 57-win campaign in 2012/13. The Nuggets let go of coach George Karl, who’s now in Malone’s old job in Sacramento, after that season, replacing him with Brian Shaw, but the move didn’t pan out, and Denver fired Shaw on March 3rd. Hunt connected with players as the interim coach, clearing winning their support as he compiled a 10-13 record in his brief time with the team, a higher winning percentage than the club had during the 2014/15 season under Shaw, who went 20-39 this year.

The coaching choice resolves one part of a muddied picture for the Nuggets, with Hoops Rumors readers who voted in a recent poll having been split on whether Hunt, D’Antoni or Malone would end up with the job. The Nuggets will now likely turn their eyes to what Kroenke called “a period of transition” ahead as major changes seem on the horizon for the roster, as I examined in a look at the team’s offseason.

The news also brings an apparent end to NBA head coaching changes this offseason. Denver’s vacancy was the last during a spring and summer in which the Bulls, Magic, Pelicans and Thunder also replaced their bench bosses.

Pete D’Alessandro Leaves Kings For Nuggets

June 12th, 2015 at 6:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 6:38pm: D’Alessandro has been officially named as the Nuggets’ Senior Vice President of Business and Team Operations, the team announced in a press release. “As KSE has evolved as a company, my role and duties within the company have evolved as well,” team president Josh Kroenke said. “Pete’s addition to our Operations team is a natural product of that evolution and his experiences over his professional career have put him in a unique position to assist me in multiple areas ranging from league operations to team budgeting. I look forward to his assistance in creating additional synergy between our Business and Team Operations to help take our organization to another level on and off the playing floor. All Basketball Operations remain the same and all Player Personnel inquiries should continue to be directed to [GM] Tim Connelly.”

1:57pm: D’Alessandro’s move back to the Nuggets wouldn’t have a negative effect on Malone’s candidacy, sources tell Wojnarowski for a full story. D’Alessandro wouldn’t be working closely with whomever the team hires as coach, according to Wojnarowski, who writes that Kings owner Vivek Ranadive forced D’Alessandro into dismissing Malone as Sacramento’s coach.

D’Alessandro, who went as far as to talk contract terms with St. John’s, will answer to Kroenke in his job with the Nuggets, and Connelly will be able to consult him as a resource, Wojnarowski writes.

WEDNESDAY, 12:14pm: Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro has accepted an offer to join the Nuggets front office, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. He’ll work in a supporting role under team president Josh Kroenke with both the Nuggets and the National Hockey League’s Colorado Avalanche, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter links). Nuggets GM Tim Connelly is apparently on board with the idea, as Wojnarowski refers to him in another tweet as a “huge proponent” of the move. D’Alessandro, who worked for the Nuggets until leaving for the Kings two years ago, had the opportunity to join St. John’s University as athletics director but chose to return to Denver instead, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter link).

The move is an ominous sign for the candidacy of Michael Malone for the Nuggets coaching job, notes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). D’Alessandro was in charge of Sacramento’s front office when the Kings fired Malone in December. The Kings hired Vlade Divac as vice president of basketball and franchise operations in March, shifting control of player personnel to him and away from D’Alessandro. The departure of adviser Chris Mullin for the St. John’s coaching job reportedly restored some power to D’Alessandro, but it nonetheless appears as though it wasn’t enough to convince him to stay in Sacramento.

The now 46-year-old D’Alessandro served in Denver’s front office under GM Masai Ujiri for three years after he was the assistant GM for the Warriors for three seasons prior to that. The Nuggets were reportedly leaning toward hiring him as GM in 2013 when he instead jumped to the Kings.

Fallout From Pete D’Alessandro’s Kings Depature

June 10th, 2015 at 4:19pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported earlier today that Pete D’Alessandro is leaving the Kings to accept a front office post with the Nuggets. He’ll be working in a supporting role under team president Josh Kroenke with both the Nuggets and the National Hockey League’s Colorado Avalanche. D’Alessandro’s impending departure from Sacramento will end a tumultuous tenure that began with high hopes when new Kings principal owner Vivek Ranadive brought him aboard back in June 2013, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. In the article, Jones relays a number of details regarding D’Alessandro’s tenure with the Kings. Jones’ meticulously reported piece is worth a full read, especially for Kings fans, but we’ll pass along some highlights here:

D’Alessandro fought for the firing of coach Michael Malone last December, Jones writes. Parting ways with Malone sent the team into a tailspin and angered a number of the players on the roster, as Jones details. Ranadive said it was D’Alessandro and former Kings adviser Chris Mullin, who is now head coach at St. John’s University, who insisted that firing Malone was best for the team. This conflicts with Wojnarowski’s report, which indicated that Ranadive forced D’Alessandro into firing Malone.
The GM alienated some Kings players when he publicly relayed that Malone would have been fired even if the team had a winning record, according to Jones. The players viewed the termination of Malone as a personal vendetta that D’Alessandro acted on regardless of the effect it would have on the team, the Bee scribe adds.
D’Alessandro told center DeMarcus Cousins that he was against the hiring of George Karl as coach, multiple sources told Jones. Cousins later became upset when reports surfaced indicating that he was the one who was against Karl being named coach because of his loyalty to Malone.
D’Alessandro was the primary reason that former director player pro personnel Shareef Abdur-Rahim left the team before this past season, Jones reports. Abdur-Rahim disagreed with the GM’s decision to select Nik Stauskas in the 2014 draft, and he believed that Elfrid Payton would have been a better fit for the team, Jones relays.
Ranadive hired Vlade Divac, against D’Alessandro’s wishes, in order to add a basketball voice whom the owner believed wouldn’t allow personal feelings to impact his professional decisions, Jones adds.

Nuggets Interview David Vanterpool

June 9th, 2015 at 9:51am CST by Chuck Myron

Trail Blazers assistant David Vanterpool has interviewed for the Nuggets head coaching job, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who first identified Vanterpool as a candidate for the vacancy in April. Vanterpool is nonetheless not among the favorites for the position, Wojnarowski writes, pointing instead to the interview itself as a boon for the 42-year-old who has just three years of experience as an NBA assistant coach. Wojnarowski refers to interim coach Melvin Hunt, Michael Malone and Mike D’Antoni as strong candidates for the job, the same three names Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post identified as known candidates in a story from overnight.

Other names have nonetheless emerged as well, as the team has interviewed Wizards assistant Don Newman, according to Shams Charania of RealGM, while Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe heard that Mike Woodson might get an interview, too. The Nuggets are believed to want their next coach in place soon so that the new hire can help the team prepare for the draft, Dempsey writes, and an increasing number of coaches around the league foresee the team going with Hunt, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported. Hunt would seemingly have the advantage of incumbency, and it’s clear that the Nuggets players are behind him. Malone is so far the only candidate reported to have drawn a second interview, though the Nuggets are clearly familiar with Hunt’s credentials.

Vanterpool interviewed for the Sixers head coaching job in 2013 and seemingly became the front-runner for that position at one point. That came just one year after he joined the Blazers, a gig that Vanterpool landed after he served in the Thunder’s front office as director of player personnel, Wojnarowski notes. Before that, he was an assistant coach for CSKA Moscow under European coaching icon and current Spurs assistant Ettore Messina, as Wojnarowski also points out.

Coaching Rumors: Nuggets, Donovan, Cheeks

June 9th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Michael Malone‘s candidacy for the Nuggets head coaching job is gathering momentum, but an increasing number of coaches around the league envision interim coach Melvin Hunt getting the position, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. In any case, it appears that Denver is drawing closer to a hire, as it’s believed that the team would like to have its new coach help with draft prep, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Here’s more coaching news from around the NBA:

Mike Miller lauded Billy Donovan‘s demeanor, preparation and communication when Kevin Durant asked him about the incoming Thunder head coach, as Miller tells Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman. Miller makes it clear he harbors no shortage of affection for his college coach, saying to Slater that it will be “very weird” to go against Donovan in the NBA. Miller wouldn’t necessarily have to do so if he declines his player option, worth nearly $2.855MM, and signs with the Thunder this summer, of course, but the Cavs reserve didn’t suggest that such a scenario was on his mind.
The Thunder are increasingly serious about rehiring Maurice Cheeks as an assistant coach, according to Stein, who notes the strong relationship between Cheeks and Russell Westbrook (Twitter links). Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports first identified Cheeks as a possible candidate for an assistant’s job in Oklahoma City, a role that would reprise the one he filled from 2009/10 to 2012/13.
Remaining with the Magic to serve as an assistant under Scott Skiles remains a “strong option” for James Borrego, Stein also reports (Twitter link). Borrego, who was Orlando’s interim coach and a candidate to remain in the head coaching position on a long-term basis before the Skiles hire, has drawn interest from the Pelicans and had talks with the Thunder about assistant coaching jobs, as Stein previously reported.