Michael Malone Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Suns, Dudley, Kerr

February 12th, 2015 at 6:41pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jared Dudley said that he played the entire 2013/14 season with a fracture in his right knee, and he did so at the request of Clippers coach and executive Doc Rivers, Arash Markazi of ESPN.com writes. Dudley also relayed that he played through the injury with the understanding he would be able to return to the team healthy for the 2014/15 season, but instead he was traded to the Bucks this past offseason, Markazi notes. Dudley is extremely thankful that he was dealt to Milwaukee, the ESPN scribe relays. “The trade [to Milwaukee] was the best thing for my career, where I got with a training staff that got me healthy and when I’m healthy, I’m the player you see now and the player you saw in Phoenix.”

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

In an interview with Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, Suns GM Ryan McDonough acknowledged that Phoenix’s roster composition is uneven, Adam Green of RealGM.com relays. “I think our roster balance is a little off, and that’s my fault,” McDonough said. “We are a little too backcourt heavy, especially in terms of guys who, you know, I think you’d define primarily as scorers in the backcourt. So I think at some point we’ll need to balance that out, try to get a little more size, a little more frontcourt scoring and rebounding.”
Kings owner Vivek Ranadive wasn’t necessarily the driving force behind the early season firing of Michael Malone, Aaron Bruski of NBCSports.com writes (Twitter links). Bruski was addressing an earlier report by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports that asserted Sacramento’s owner was the one who insisted that Malone be let go, though Bruski didn’t elaborate further on who was the impetus behind the coaching change.
Despite coaching the Warriors to the best overall record in the league thus far, Steve Kerr says that he still has a lot of work to do in figuring out how to be an NBA coach, Sam Amick of USA Today writes. “The biggest thing for me is learning on the job, feeling the job, feeling the routine and the rhythm of it, staying in tune with the players and making sure we’re moving the ship forward,” Kerr said. “You learn all the time. There’s a lot going on, and you have to constantly be on your toes.“

And-Ones: Kings, Allen, Lopez, Wolves

February 11th, 2015 at 10:33am CST by Chuck Myron

DeMarcus Cousins and Tyrone Corbin both called the latest round of Kings coaching upheaval a “distraction,” as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee relays (Twitter link). Cousins released a statement through his agency saying that he hadn’t been consulted when the team fired Michael Malone and isn’t being consulted now, expressing hope for a quick resolution and support for George Karl should the team choose to hire him. Still, Cousins decried the public chatter of a coaching move while Corbin remains in place. Rudy Gay, who’s hinted at dissatisfaction with Corbin in the past, instead expressed admiration Tuesday for the job Corbin’s done under trying circumstances, as Jones also notes in his story.

While we wait to see how it all plays out in Sacramento, here’s more from around the league:

A Nets source tells Windrem that no deal with the Hornets involving Lopez, Stephenson and Zeller was ever that close (Twitter link).

Earlier updates:

There’s no guarantee that Ray Allen makes his decision on whether or not he’ll return to the NBA this season within 10 days of All-Star Weekend, as Jim Tanner, Allen’s agent, tells Chris Broussard of ESPN (Twitter link). It was rumored that the 39-year-old sharpshooter was going to make a choice regarding his future shortly after the All-Star break.
The Hornets offered Lance Stephenson and Cody Zeller to the Nets last month and were ready to call the league office to finalize the trade, reports Robert Windrem of NetsDaily (All Twitter links). The sides were quite close to agreement, Windrem adds, and so close that people at the D-League Showcase, which was taking place at the time, thought it was a fait accompli, Grantland’s Zach Lowe tweets. It was the closest Brooklyn has come to trading Lopez, Joe Johnson or Deron Williams this year, according to the NetsDaily scribe.
The Wolves sent the Hornets $344,462 in cash Tuesday in the Mo Williams trade, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders shows on his Wolves salary page (Twitter link). Minnesota created two trade exceptions in that deal, one worth Troy Daniels‘ $816,482 salary and another worth the $500K difference between the salaries for Williams and Gary Neal, Pincus tweets.
That means the Wolves had to take Adreian Payne into one of their existing trade exceptions to make their trade with the Hawks work, and that’s just what Minnesota did. The Wolves absorbed Payne’s $1,855,320 salary into their $4,702,500 Corey Brewer exception, leaving the $6,308,193 Kevin Love exception untouched and reducing the Brewer exception to $2,847,180, as Pincus shows on the Basketball Insiders Wolves salary page.
The Hawks would wind up with Minnesota’s second-round picks for both 2020 and 2021 if the lottery-protected 2017 first-rounder the Wolves gave up in the Payne trade doesn’t convey to Atlanta by 2019 at the latest, Pincus also reports on that page.

Charlie Adams contributed to this post.

Kings Rumors: Cousins, Jackson, Karl, Gay

February 10th, 2015 at 3:07pm CST by Chuck Myron

DeMarcus Cousins made it clear that he didn’t want the Kings to fire former coach Michael Malone, but owner Vivek Ranadive told him that he had to do so because Malone clashed with GM Pete D’Alessandro and had missed a meeting, sources tell Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher. Cousins asked the team at that point to hire Mark Jackson, but as the Kings instead decided to stick with Tyrone Corbin, team officials promised they would consult him in the future, Bucher also hears. The team now is reportedly close to a deal with Karl, and plenty seems up in the air. Here’s the latest from California’s capital city:

Some close to Cousins weren’t sure if Karl’s personality and the intensity of Cousins would be a match, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee writes. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports wrote Monday that Cousins’ agents. Dan Fegan and Jarinn Akana, have given their approval of Karl and were merely wary of the team’s swift coaching changes.
Cousins wasn’t alone among Kings disenchanted with the way the team ousted Malone, Jones adds in the same piece. Rudy Gay recently said he felt “lost” on the court, according to Jones. Gay signed his extension with the Kings in large measure because, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports originally wrote, he wanted to play for former coach Michael Malone,
Ranadive asked D’Alessandro to meet with Karl last week, Jones also writes in his piece. It seemed Monday, before the owner gave the GM the go-ahead to hire Karl if he wished, that Ranadive was hesitating while D’Alessandro pushed for a deal, though perhaps that wasn’t the case.
The Kings are expected to hire Vance Walberg as an assistant coach should the team complete a deal with Karl, as Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group hears (Twitter link). Walberg, currently a Sixers assistant who previously worked under Karl on the Nuggets, has made his mark on offense, Haynes notes.

Western Notes: Malone, Howard, Clippers

February 9th, 2015 at 3:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Former Kings coach Michael Malone made a second visit to Minnesota to speak with Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor after Flip Saunders invited Malone to observe the team for a while last month, as TNT’s David Aldridge reports amid his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Aldridge speculates that Saunders, serving in a dual role as coach and president of basketball operations, is eyeing Malone as a potential replacement as coach for whenever Saunders decides to concentrate on his executive role. Malone is also a rumored candidate for the Magic’s head coaching job. Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

Dwight Howard says he was given a timetable of six to eight weeks for recovery from the right knee swelling that’s kept him out of action since January 23rd, according to Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle. The Rockets announced this past Wednesday that he’d miss at least a month, though team doctor Walt Lowe says there isn’t a specific time frame for his return, other than that he’ll be back this season, Creech writes.
The Clippers are unlikely to make a 10-day signing before the All-Star break, as Dan Woike of the Orange County Register hears (Twitter link). The team has reportedly spoken with Sebastian Telfair about a potential deal.
The Rockets have recalled rookies Clint Capela and Nick Johnson from the D-League, the team announced (on Twitter). It was assignment No. 4 for Capela and the third D-League stint for Johnson, as our assignments/recalls log shows. Johnson is averaging 10.7 minutes per game in 17 NBA appearances, while Capela has seen only 18 total minutes with the big club.
Al-Farouq Aminu has given the Mavericks the best dollar-for-dollar production of any player on the roster, opines Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com, arguing that the minimum-salary signee has excelled doing many of the same duties Shawn Marion did last year.

Latest On Magic Coaching Search

February 7th, 2015 at 1:25pm CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 1:25pm: Despite the Kings reportedly intensifying their talks with Karl, the Magic aren’t going to rush to beat Sacramento to the punch and hire him, Sam Amick of USA Today reports. Orlando still wishes to take its time in considering multiple candidates over the next few days, Amico adds.

1:15pm: Karl made it clear via Twitter that he is indeed interested in the job (hat tip to Robbins). “Love and miss the NBA rodeo!” Karl wrote. “It’s no secret I would love the opportunity to coach one more time. Love the skills and speed of the Magic and the great young players throughout the league!”

FRIDAY, 10:38am: Several league sources think Orlando might pursue Tom Thibodeau if he shakes free from the Bulls at season’s end and if the Magic haven’t already made a long-term hire by then, as Chris Mannix of SI.com writes in his Open Floor column. Several league sources recently told K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune that the relationship between Thibodeau and the Bulls is “beyond repair,” though the Bulls have denied that. The prevailing sense within coaching circles is that the Magic are prepared to ride with interim coach James Borrego for the time being, tweets Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders.

Three different people have suggested to Kyler that Skiles won’t take the Magic job without personnel control, while one source told Kyler that Magic ownership seemed to be the driving force behind the appearance of Skiles’ and Jackson’s names in connection with the opening (Twitter links). Still, Mannix seconds earlier reports indicating that Skiles is a leading candidate, and writes that Jackson, Malone and Del Negro figure to eventually receive interviews.

THURSDAY, 3:55pm: Sources have informed Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that George Karl would be interested in coaching the Magic (Twitter links). In the past, Karl has stated his preference was to coach out west, but he finds the Orlando position an attractive one, Kennedy relays.

1:51pm: The Magic will consider Scott Skiles, Mark Jackson and Michael Malone to take over the head coaching job that came open today when the team fired Jacque Vaughn, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Assistant coach James Borrego holds the job on an interim basis. Orlando had yet to make contact with any potential candidates or their representatives before today, and the team has just begun gathering information, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. It remains a “wide-open process,” Wojnarowski adds.

Several executives speculated to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com last week that Skiles would become a candidate, and Broussard also identified Jackson among the “names to watch.” Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports called Jackson a “serious candidate” earlier today, and suggested Malone could wind up in the running. Wojnarowski also mentioned Vinny Del Negro, though it’s not clear if that was just speculation.

In any case, the Magic are looking for a proven veteran for their next coach, Kennedy hears (Twitter link). Many believe that Vaughn still has the capacity to become a successful head coach but think he would have benefited from more time as an assistant with the Spurs, with whom he spent two seasons before taking the Magic job, Wojnarowski writes.

Vaughn released a statement today that was complimentary of the Magic, as Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel relays. The ex-coach drew praise from soon-to-be restricted free agent Tobias Harris, who took to Twitter after the firing (Twitter link; hat tip to Robbins). “I want to thank Coach Vaughn for being a first class individual not only to myself, but everyone associated with the Magic,” Harris wrote.

And-Ones: Russell, Malone, Covington

January 20th, 2015 at 8:58pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell is quickly becoming a potential top five pick in the upcoming NBA draft, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required). Scouts believe that Russell has the tools to excel at both guard positions in the NBA, and he could be the next guard selected after Emmanuel Mudiay, who is a likely top three pick, Ford notes. “There’s so much to love about his game,” an NBA GM told Ford regarding Russell. “Even when he has a bad game, it looks like a good one because every time the ball leaves his lands, it looks like it’s going in. He plays with such great confidence and has a terrific feel. I think he could be a James Harden-type player at the next level. That’s what kind of scorer and playmaker he could be.” Russell is currently ranked No. 9 in the Hoops Rumors 2015 Draft Prospect Power Rankings.

Here’s more from around the league:

Michael Malone‘s stint as a special observer with the Wolves is ending, but the former Kings coach will be visiting other teams in the near future, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reports (Twitter link).
A number of NBA teams have made trade inquiries regarding the Sixers‘ Robert Covington, but Philadelphia intends to hold onto the forward, Shams Charania of RealGM reports. The 24-year-old Covington is averaging 12.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 27.2 minutes per game this season, and he is a core part of the franchise’s long-term plans, Charania notes.
The Russian team Krasny Oktyabr has decided to part ways with DeAndre Liggins, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reports. Liggins signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Heat last season, but he only appeared in one game for Miami. Liggins averaged 6.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists in Russia this season.
Former Sixers swingman James Anderson, who is playing for Lithuania’s Zalgiris Kaunas, was asked in interview with Erildas Budraitis of RealGM about what it was like to be a part of Philadelphia’s alleged tanking last season. Anderson said, “With the players and the coaches, we had the same mindset all year. Who likes to lose? We were not going out and trying to lose on purpose. We had a lot of close games actually that we should have won. It was the same mindset; our coach [Brett] Brown did a great job of keeping everybody together and keeping the locker room close. Everybody continued to improve. We just could not get over the hump for a while. It was tough but it was not a mindset of trying to lose.“

And-Ones: Onuaku, Jackson, LeVert

January 19th, 2015 at 7:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Six NBA teams have shown interest in power forward Arinze Onuaku, reports Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Onuaku, who was briefly with the Pelicans and Cavs last season and spent camp this past fall with the Pacers, recently turned down an offer to play in the Philippines as he continues his dialogue with NBA clubs, Kennedy adds (Twitter links).

Here’s more from around the league:

Reggie Jackson is open to signing his qualifying offer this summer in an attempt to align his unrestricted free agency with the summer of 2016, USA Today’s Sam Amick reports. Most league executives reportedly assume the salary cap will surge to around $90MM. Jackson is on pace to invoke the starter criteria, which would lift the value of his qualifying offer from to nearly $3.223MM to almost $4.434MM.
Michigan’s Caris LeVert will miss the remainder of the season after injuring his foot during Saturday’s contest against Northwestern, the university has announced. The junior is scheduled to undergo surgery this week to repair the damage. This will be the second such procedure on LeVert’s left foot, as he had a similar injury last May. LeVert is currently the No. 14 ranked prospect by DraftExpress.
ESPN’s Chad Ford (Twitter link), who has LeVert slotted No. 30 in his draft rankings, still projects the guard to be a late first round to early second round pick come this June, provided LeVert is healthy in time for his pre-draft workouts.
Former Kings coach Michael Malone isn’t expected to remain with the Wolves past Wednesday’s game against Dallas, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune reports (Twitter link). Malone has been acting as a special observer with the Wolves, but Flip Saunders, Minnesota’s president of basketball operations, doesn’t see Malone having a role with the team past this stint, Zgoda notes.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Malone, Blatche, Walker

January 16th, 2015 at 7:44pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Michael Malone‘s reputation among NBA executives remains high in spite of his firing from the Kings, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News hears. He may have to wait a while for a job, since few teams seem ripe for a coaching change, Deveney writes. The Timberwolves are one of those few, according to Deveney, and Malone has been tagging along with Minnesota as an observer at the request of coach/executive Flip Saunders, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune notes. Saunders, who has a deal to coach the team that’s open-ended in length and Glen Taylor haven’t spoken about whether Saunders, who also serves as the team’s president of basketball operations, will continue to coach next season. All of this doesn’t mean that Malone is in any way a candidate to become the next coach of the Wolves, as it’s simply my own dot-connecting, but it’s worth keeping an eye on. Here’s more from around the league:

There has also been some talk linking Malone to the Cavaliers, Deveney notes. With the Cavs not meeting expectations thus far this season, rookie coach David Blatt could be the one who takes the blame, Deveney adds. Malone was an assistant in Cleveland under former coach Mike Brown, which was during LeBron James‘ first stint with the Cavs, notes Deveney. James is a fan of Malone, which certainly wouldn’t hurt Malone’s chances should Cleveland decide to make a coaching change, the Sporting News scribe adds.
Andray Blatche, who is currently playing in China, will become a free agent in February and is drawing interest from NBA teams, Jorge Sierra of Hoops Hype reports. “Top teams in both the Eastern and Western conference playoff race have begun the recruiting and courting process,” Andy Miller, Blatche’s agent, told Sierra. Blatche appeared in 73 games for the Nets last season.
Florida sophomore Chris Walker considered entering the 2014 NBA draft but wisely decided to return for another season in college, Chris Mannix of SI.com writes. “I needed to get stronger, and I needed to learn the game,” Walker said of his decision. “When I go to the NBA, I want to go and actually play. I don’t want to sit or play in the D-League.” Walker, who is currently ranked No. 39 by DraftExpress, could use another season in school before jumping to the pros, Mannix adds.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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.

Pacific Notes: O’Neal, Suns, Rondo, Kings

December 23rd, 2014 at 1:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

Family concerns will matter more than the relationships Jermaine O’Neal has with any city or team when the 36-year-old center decides whether to return to the NBA, and if so, which club he’ll play for, as O’Neal detailed today on his verified Twitter account (links here). O’Neal lives in Dallas and has reportedly long wanted to play close to home, and the Mavs are the apparent favorites to land him. The Warriors, for whom O’Neal played last, as well as the Clippers and Cavs are also said to be interested in the 18-year veteran. Of those teams, Golden State is the only one for which O’Neal has played previously, so it would seem that his remarks today are a harbinger that he won’t be returning to the Bay Area, though that’s just my interpretation. Here’s more news related to Pacific Division teams:

People around the league sense that the Suns would be more willing to deal Isaiah Thomas than Eric Bledsoe or Goran Dragic, Grantland’s Zach Lowe writes. Rival executives have picked up the impression that Dragic is the one among those three point guards whom Phoenix would most like to keep, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reported this weekend.
The Mavs are “extremely confident” that Rajon Rondo will re-sign with the team, but the Lakers, among others, would love for the point guard to hit free agency, as Sam Amick of USA Today says in a video report. The Lakers were involved in trade talks with the Celtics about Rondo, and Chris Mannix of SI.com indicated last month that the Lakers are likely to pursue him in free agency.
Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro and former Kings coach Michael Malone weren’t on speaking terms during the months leading up to Malone’s dismissal, according to Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. Tyrone Corbin knows he’s only a short-term solution, according to Voisin, though Chris Broussard of ESPN.com hears that Corbin will have a legitimate opportunity to coach the team (Twitter link), as D’Alessandro has publicly insisted. In any case, Voisin implores the team to hire George Karl.
Miroslav Raduljica and Shandong of the Chinese Basketball Association have agreed to a buyout in which the center gave up $300K of his $1.5MM deal, reports Nick Bedard of Basketballbuddha.com. The Clippers, in a series of money-saving moves this summer, acquired Raduljica from the Bucks and quickly waived him via the stretch provision.