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Coaching Rumors: Lue, Pelicans, Nets, Sixers, Ham, Brown

August 26th, 2020 at 9:49am CST by Luke Adams

Former Cavaliers coach and current Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue is expected to be one of the NBA’s most popular head coaching candidates this offseason, and he’s unlikely to come at a discount, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic.

Vardon says that when Lue talked to the Lakers about their top job during the spring of 2019, he was seeking $7MM annually on a five-year contract. L.A.’s best offer was $20MM over three years, per The Athletic.

The Lakers won’t be in the market for a head coach this year, but there are several intriguing openings potentially in play for Lue, including the Nets, Sixers, and Pelicans jobs. Vardon notes that the Rockets could also join that list of Lue suitors if they decide to move on from Mike D’Antoni.

According to Vardon, there were frustrations within the Pelicans organization with Alvin Gentry around Christmas time in 2019, and if Lue had been available at that time – rather than working as a Clippers assistant – New Orleans may have moved on from Gentry and hired Lue during the season. However, sources tell Vardon that the Pelicans aren’t looking to spend more than about $5.5MM per year on their new head coach, so the competition for Lue may price them out.

Here are more head coaching notes and rumors from around the NBA:

  • Lue expects to receive an offer from the Nets, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). While Gregg Popovich may be Brooklyn’s dream candidate, Lue looks like a better bet to ultimately claim the Nets’ coaching job, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
  • Lue is also viewed as the Sixers‘ top candidate. However, some agents have wondered if team ownership will be willing to pay big money for Lue while Brett Brown‘s salary is still on the books for two more years, per Jabari Young of CNBC.com. Young adds Bucks assistant Darvin Ham to the list of candidates believed to be in the mix for the 76ers’ job.
  • Warriors associate head coach Mike Brown is receiving consideration from the Sixers for their coaching vacancy, though it remains to seen whether he’ll be interviewed, Pompey reports for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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Knicks To Interview Mike Brown For Head Coach Job

June 22nd, 2020 at 9:20am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks will interview Warriors associate head coach Mike Brown for their head coaching vacancy, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). New York’s list of coaching candidates has now cracked double-digits, with Brown representing the club’s 10th known interviewee.

Brown has served as an NBA coach for more than two decades, holding assistant roles in Washington, San Antonio, and Indiana to start his career. He became the Cavaliers’ head coach in 2005 and led the team to a 305-187 (.620) record over the next five seasons, earning a spot in the 2007 Finals and winning a Coach of the Year award in 2009.

After departing the Cavs in 2010, Brown over as head coach of the Lakers for the lockout season of 2011/12, leading the team to a 41-25 (.621) record. He was let go just five games into the following season when L.A. got off to a 1-4 start, and rejoined the Cavs for a single season in 2013/14.

Since 2016, Brown has been a top assistant on Steve Kerr‘s staff in Golden State. Brown, who interviewed with the Knicks in 2018 before they hired David Fizdale, is also coaching the Nigerian national team that will compete in next year’s Olympics in Tokyo.

The full list of the 10 known candidates for the Knicks’ head coaching position can be found within our tracker. According to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic (Twitter link), the team started conducting phone calls with those candidates last week.

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Knicks To Interview Spurs’ Will Hardy

June 18th, 2020 at 11:02am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have received permission to interview Spurs assistant Will Hardy for their head coaching position, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Hardy, who has been with the Spurs since 2010, was initially hired as a basketball operations intern before becoming a video coordinator for the team. He was named an assistant coach in 2016 and was promoted to the front of the bench a year ago, following the departures of Ettore Messina and Ime Udoka. The 32-year-old Hardy is “well-regarded” within the Spurs’ organization, per Wojnarowski.

With Hardy joining the Knicks’ list of potential coaching candidates, we’re now up to at least eight who are expected to interview. Tom Thibodeau, Kenny Atkinson, and interim coach Mike Miller have long been considered candidates, with Mike Woodson joining the mix a couple weeks ago. On Wednesday, reports indicated that Udoka, Pat Delany, and Chris Fleming are also expected to interview for the job.

Although Ian Begley of SNY.tv has said that the Knicks will likely speak to eight-to-10 candidates during their head coaching search, he doesn’t rule out the possibility that the list of interviewees will continue to grow. Jason Kidd and Mark Jackson have fans within the organization, according to Begley, who says there’s also some interest in meeting with former Cavs and Lakers coach Mike Brown. Spurs assistant Becky Hammon has been identified as a name to keep an eye on as well, as Begley confirms.

Thibodeau has been viewed as the frontrunner for the job for several weeks, and Atkinson also has legitimate support within the organization. However, it’s possible one of the assistants the Knicks are interviewing will make a lasting impression on the club during the interview process.

New York is expected to conclude its search sometime before the season resumes in Orlando at the end of July, says Begley.

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Lue, Kidd, JVG, Jackson Among Nets’ Coaching Candidates

April 23rd, 2020 at 1:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Tyronn Lue, Jason Kidd, Jeff Van Gundy, and Mark Jackson are among the names on the Nets‘ developing list of potential head coaching candidates, reports Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link). According to Stein, interim coach Jacque Vaughn, who replaced Kenny Atkinson last month, will also receive consideration for the permanent job.

As Stein explains (via Twitter), the Nets aren’t expected to complete their search and name a head coach until the 2019/20 season has been completed or canceled, so presumably this list of candidates is preliminary and figures to evolve in the coming weeks and months.

Still, the names are worth noting, as are the ones noticeably absent. For instance, Stein says that Tom Thibodeau is believed to be “solely a Knicks candidate” for the time being, despite some rumblings linking him to the Nets.

There has been speculation that Brooklyn will target a veteran coach who would be comfortable leading a veteran roster that aims to be a title contender in 2020/21. As such, it makes sense that all the candidates identified by Stein have previous head coaching experience, with Kidd having already served as the Nets’ head coach once, albeit not under the current ownership or management group.

Currently, Kidd works as a Lakers assistant under Frank Vogel, while Lue is on Doc Rivers‘ Clippers staff. Van Gundy and Jackson are analysts for ESPN and ABC.

Lue, who was said earlier this week to have interest in Brooklyn’s coaching job, would reunite with Kyrie Irving if he were to land the job. Citing that Irving connection, Stein adds (via Twitter) that Warriors assistant Mike Brown – another former Cavaliers coach – is another name to monitor.

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And-Ones: Buford, Wiseman, Okafor, Bibby

February 24th, 2020 at 9:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Wisconsin Herd coach Chase Buford has been suspended two games without pay for a direct and extended public attack on the integrity and credibility of the game officials, according to a league press release. Among other comments, Buford called one of the officials a “clown” after his team, the Bucks’ G League affiliate, got outscored 48-20 in the fourth quarter and lost 126-117 to the Grand Rapids Drive on Sunday. Buford subsequently apologized for his tirade.

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • Projected lottery pick James Wiseman felt he was treated unfairly by the NCAA before he decided to leave Memphis during his freshman season, as he told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. He left the Tigers during a 12-game suspension for rules violations. His family accepted $11,500 in moving expenses in 2017 from Penny Hardaway, who became the team’s coach a year later. “I was really in the middle of a hurricane,” Wiseman said. “That’s like the worst place you could possibly be.” Wiseman is currently rated No. 3 on ESPN’s Best Available list.
  • Pelicans center Jahlil Okafor has agreed to play for Nigeria in this year’s Tokyo Olympics, Marc Spears of The Undefeated tweets. The team will be coached by Warriors assistant Mike Brown. Okafor’s grandfather Chicko was born in Nigeria.
  • Mike Bibby will coach the Aliens in the BIG3 this season, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets. The former Kings guard was the Ghost Ballers’ team captain last season.
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And-Ones: Free Agency, Goodwin, Robinson, Brown

February 9th, 2020 at 7:48pm CST by JD Shaw

An active 2020 trade deadline has likely watered down the free-agent market this summer, a pattern far from the norm after a combined $4 billion was spent on more than 150 players last July, Bobby Marks of ESPN.com explores.

There were a total of 12 trades within the 48-hour window of the trade deadline this year, with high-profile players such as D’Angelo Russell, Andre Drummond, Andrew Wiggins and Clint Capela switching teams.

As Marks notes, the 2020 free agency class is projected to be mediocre for the most part. The Knicks could have upwards of $50MM to spend (though they’ll likely wait until the following summer for stronger talent), with the Hawks, Pistons, Hornets, Suns, and Heat also set to have north of $20MM.

Beyond Anthony Davis, some of the top unrestricted free agents this summer include Fred VanVleet, Montrezl Harrell, Danilo Gallinari and Serge Ibaka. Drummond ($28.7MM), DeMar DeRozan ($27.7MM) and Evan Fournier ($17MM) all have player options in their contracts, while Brandon Ingram and Bogdan Bogdanovic are set to enter restricted free agency.

Here are some other odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Free agent guard Archie Goodwin has signed in Germany with Ratiopharm Ulm, the team announced, as relayed by Sportando. Goodwin, 25, holds NBA experience with the Suns, Pelicans and Nets, most recently playing in Turkey. Goodwin was drafted with the No. 29 overall pick by Oklahoma City back in 2013.
  • Former NBA forward Thomas Robinson has signed in Russia with BC Khimki, the team announced on social media. Robinson signed a one-month deal with an extension until the end of the season. The 28-year-old has played for Sacramento, Houston, Portland, Philadelphia, Brooklyn and Los Angeles across his professional career, spending time with the Spurs during summer league in 2019.
  • Warriors associate head coach Mike Brown has agreed to be the head coach of the Nigerian men’s basketball team, according to Marc J. Spears of ESPN’s The Undefeated (Twitter link). Brown will coach Nigeria during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics this summer, with Nigeria BB president Musa Kida reportedly looking for a high-profile coach that holds NBA experience.
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Knicks Reportedly “Obsessed” With Masai Ujiri

December 7th, 2019 at 6:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks are “obsessed” and “enamored” with Raptors executive Masai Ujiri as the next man to run the franchise, sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv. A front office shakeup is expected in the wake of yesterday’s firing of head coach David Fizdale, especially considering the poor track record of team president Steve Mills.

Begley speculates it would take “significant money and full autonomy” to land Ujiri, who is already in a comfortable spot after building a championship team. Even if the Knicks are willing to grant that, Ujiri may not want to work for a controversial figure like James Dolan, and he is signed with Toronto until 2021, a contract he said in October that he plans to honor.

Echoing a report we shared last week, Begley states that the Knicks believe Ujiri could be drawn to New York City to provide a larger platform for his charitable work with the Giants of Africa Foundation. However, there was similar speculation about Washington, D.C., a few months ago when the Wizards were restructuring their front office, and Ujiri opted to stay in Toronto.

There’s more Knicks news to pass along:

  • Despite a 4-18 start and six straight losing seasons, the Knicks’ front office job is still viewed as appealing around the league, Begley adds in the same story. The team has drafted well under general manager Scott Perry and has held on to its first-round picks. The Knicks also retained cap flexibility by signing seven players to short-term contracts this summer after failing to land their top targets in free agency.
  • A few players got to say goodbye to Fizdale before he left the team, Taj Gibson tells Begley (Twitter link). Gibson said Fizdale was emotional during the departure, adding, “Guys loved him.”
  • Mark Jackson, a former Knicks guard and ex-head coach of the Warriors, is a 5-1 favorite to be the next head coach, relays Adam Zagoria for Forbes. The oddsmakers at BetOnline.ag have Kenny Smith second at 6-1 and Italian coach Ettore Messina at 7-1. Next in line are three college coaches, Michigan’s Juwan Howard, Vanderbilt’s Jerry Stackhouse and Villanova’s Jay Wright.
  • Interim coach Mike Miller thanked Fizdale and the Knicks organization during today’s pre-game press conference (video link from Vorkunov). Neither Mills nor Perry has addressed the media since the firing became official, and nobody from management has commented apart from an unattributed statement that was released Friday.
  • Former NBA player Keith Bogans has been named to Miller’s staff, the Knicks announced on Twitter.
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Pistons Notes: Stackhouse, Budenholzer, Armstrong, More

May 7th, 2018 at 7:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jerry Stackhouse and Mike Budenholzer are two of the prominent names to look out for in the Pistons’ coaching search, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press tweets. Detroit parted ways with coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy on Monday. Stackhouse is a former Detroit player and served as the Raptors’ G League coach this past season. Stackhouse met with the Knicks before they hired David Fizdale and also surfaced as a candidate for the Magic and Hornets’ jobs. Budenholzer, the former Hawks coach, is arguably the top experienced head coach on the market. Former Cavaliers GM David Griffin is another name to watch as the Pistons seek a new front office leader, Ellis adds.

Former Cavaliers coach Mike Brown, ex-Warriors coach Mark Jackson and ex-Pacers and Magic coach Frank Vogel could also be coaching candidates. Rod Beard of the Detroit News writes. Chauncey Billups has previously been mentioned as a possible front office candidate, Sean Deveney of the Sporting News notes. Spurs assistant James Borrego and former Cavaliers coach David Blatt are among the other names to watch in the coaching search, Deveney adds.

In other news involving the Pistons-Van Gundy split:

  • Player agent and former Bulls executive B.J. Armstrong could be a candidate for a front-office position, Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago tweets. Armstrong has strong ties to Pistons chairman Arn Tellem and is a Detroit native. Goodwill adds.
  • Point guard Reggie Jackson was blindsided by the news of Van Gundy’s departure, Rod Beard of the Detroit News tweets. Jackson told Beard he was “stunned by the whole thing…it’s difficult right now to take the whole thing in.” Fellow point guard Ish Smith told Beard he would miss Van Gundy, adding that “he was really instrumental to my growth as a player.” (Twitter links)
  • Van Gundy’s coaching replacement needs to build the attack around the skills of Blake Griffin, Kevin Pelton of ESPN argues. His front office replacement will have to come up with creative ways to upgrade the roster around him despite salary-cap restraints, Pelton adds.
  • Griffin had some positive things to say about Van Gundy earlier Monday before the news of his departure broke. He made the comments during a podcast, which were relayed by USA Today’s Andrew Joseph. “He’s actually a very cool guy. Very nice guy. Funny. And actually genuinely cares about people. That’s kind of rare.”
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Knicks Interview Mike Brown, Aim To Hire New Coach Soon

May 1st, 2018 at 10:11am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have completed their interviews for their head coaching vacancy, and will huddle this week to attempt to reach a consensus on Jeff Hornacek‘s replacement, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. According to Woj, the club hopes to have a new head coach hired by the end of the week.

As Wojnarowski details, the Knicks conducted one final interview in addition to the meetings that have already been reported, speaking to Warriors assistant Mike Brown about their head coaching position. That brings New York’s list of reported candidates to 11 names. They are as follows, in alphabetical order:

  1. David Blatt (former Cavaliers head coach)
  2. James Borrego (Spurs assistant)
  3. Mike Brown (Warriors assistant; former Cavaliers head coach)
  4. Mike Budenholzer (former Hawks head coach)
  5. David Fizdale (former Grizzlies head coach)
  6. Juwan Howard (Heat assistant)
  7. Mark Jackson (ESPN analyst; former Warriors head coach)
  8. Jay Larranaga (Celtics assistant)
  9. Kenny Smith (TNT analyst)
  10. Jerry Stackhouse (Raptors 905 head coach)
  11. Mike Woodson (Clippers assistant; former Knicks head coach)

Budenholzer and Blatt have generated the most buzz as potential targets for the Knicks, while Fizdale, Stackhouse, and Jackson were initially considered among the club’s top tier as well.

If the Knicks do name a new head coach this week, they’ll likely become the first team to complete a full-fledged search this offseason. The Grizzlies became the first team to hire a new permanent head coach last week, but they didn’t consider outside options, opting instead to promote J.B. Bickerstaff from the interim role.

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And-Ones: M. Brown, China, Evans, BIG3

April 18th, 2018 at 11:25am CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA head coaches have been popular candidates for this spring’s coaching openings around the league, with David Fizdale, Steve Clifford, Frank Vogel, Mark Jackson, David Blatt, and Mike Woodson among the many names said to be under consideration for at least one job. Top Warriors assistant Mike Brown would fit comfortably in that group, but hasn’t yet been identified as a candidate for any head coaching jobs.

The former Cavaliers and Lakers head coach tells Mark Medina of The Bay Area News Group that while he’d have interest in another head coaching opportunity, he’s perfectly happy to see things out with the Warriors as the club looks for its third title in four years.

“I want to be a head coach again. But if I hadn’t experienced that already and if I wasn’t in a situation that I’m already in right now, maybe the itch might be there more,” Brown said. “Maybe I might be focused more on that than the task at hand. But I’m really excited about trying to do what I can and do my part in helping us win again.”

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

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