Mike D’Antoni Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Lakers, Landry, Blazers, Frye

August 31st, 2013 at 9:16pm CST by Spencer Lund

The Clippers signed Antawn Jamison earlier this week, and Jamison conducted a radio interview with ESPN 710 in Los Angeles on Friday, transcribed and given context by ESPN Los Angeles scribe Ramona Shelburne this morning.

In the interview Jamison spoke about last season under the microscope with the star-studded Lakers, applauded the competitive drive of Kobe Bryant, and discussed his sometimes strained relationship with coach Mike D'Antoni, who removed Jamison from the rotation late in the year. Said Jamison of Bryant:

"I would never count Kobe Bryant out of anything. I've played with some special players. Gilbert Arenas when he was [in Washington D.C], at the top of his game, LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal [in Cleveland]. I've played with a lot but never played with an individual player who had the type of mindset, the drive that he has. If [Bryant] says he's going to win a sixth ring, believe me, he's going to do everything possible to get that ring."

Jamison also said there was little communication or rapport between the players and D'Antoni after Mike Brown was fired five games into the season.

"Mike was pretty much put in a difficult situation. There was no training camp where he could get a feel for guys. There was a breakdown of communication when we first got there. And throughout the season it was kind of up and down."

Here's more from around the Western Conference, including a possible D-League addition to the Lakers next season…

The Los Angeles Times' Eric Pincus shares the offseason workout video (via Ryan Ellerbusch of Maximum Exposure) of Lakers summer league standout forward Marcus Landry.
Landry – younger brother of Carl Landry – averaged 15.2 PPG in 5 games this summer and in February was named to the Futures All-Star roster for the 2013 D-League All-Star Game.
Pincus adds that the Lakers are planning to bring 16-20 players to training camp despite having just 12 players under contract. They're expected to sign second round pick Ryan Kelly.
Sam Tongue of Blazers Edge wonders whether Blazers President Chris McGowan can enhance fan experience by upgrading their digital properties to "talk with the fans, rather than at them."
The Boston Globe's Gary Washburn tweets that Suns GM Ryan McDonough says they'll know whether Channing Frye will play in 2013/14 in the next few weeks, but he's "optimistic he'll be able to play."

Odds & Ends: Odom, Brown, Mudiay, Mavs

August 24th, 2013 at 10:50pm CST by Spencer Lund

A number of outlets have relayed the TMZ report last night that 33-year-old free agent forward Lamar Odom has been battling a "hardcore" drug addiction for the past two years. Odom hasn't failed an NBA-mandated drug test since 2001, but the report claims he entered a drug treatment facility in San Diego last summer and was clean during the 2012/13 season with the Clippers before beginning to use again this summer.

Odom averaged a career low 4.0 PPG and 1.7 APG in 19.7 MPG while appearing in all 82 games with the Clippers last season. Here's what else is happening around the league during a quiet, late-August Saturday night:

Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer spent the day with new Sixers coach Brett Brown's family in Portland, Maine.
Adam Zongoria of Zagsblog.com describes how SMU coach Larry Brown landed the top class of 2014 high school point guard, Emmanuel Mudiay, who announced his decision at halftime of Brooklyn's Elite 24 game tonight. Zongoria opines that Mudiay will be a one-and-done player and a likely lottery pick in the 2015 draft.
The Trail Blazers made a lot of moves to improve their league-worst bench from last season. One of those additions, Dorell Wright, is profiled by the Oregonian's John Canzano.
HoopsWorld's senior NBA writer Bill Ingram tweets that the rumors Dwight Howard issued an ultimatum that Mike D'Antoni be fired and Kobe Bryant amnestied in order to re-sign with the Lakers "seem silly" since Howard chose the Rockets early on. Ingram also wonders, via Twitter, what it says about Howard (assuming the reports are accurate) for him to think he has anything on Bryant.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban answered questions on the new "Fox Sports Live" program last night, as transcribed by The Dallas Morning News. He discusses flip-flopping on wanting Dwight Howard in free agency this summer, whether the Mavs are rebuilding this coming year, and the health of 35-year-old franchise star Dirk Nowitzki.
The Mavs are also one of the eight teams wearing the new GPS tracking devices, reports The Dallas Morning News.
ESPNNewYork.com's Jared Zwerling tweets that former St. John's star Justin Burrell, who has played overseas since graduating in 2011, will play for Italy's Montepaschi Siena this coming season.

Western Notes: Bryant, Nuggets, D’Antoni

August 24th, 2013 at 8:04pm CST by Spencer Lund

As fallout from the Ric Bucher revelations about Dwight Howard's demands to remain with the Lakers continues, CBS Sports' Matt Moore looks at how Bucher's quotes have been portrayed in the media. While listing the headlines, Moore shows that they've primarily focused on the Lakers protecting Kobe Bryant in lieu of Howard's stipulation that he not be re-signed next summer.

As we already updated, Howard never explicitly said that he'd re-sign with the Lakers if Mike D'Antoni were ousted as coach. The focus in the media, as Moore shows, was on the back-and-forth between Bryant and Howard: two superstars possessing egos that wouldn't allow them to co-exist on the same roster, and how the Lakers would rather let Dwight walk than entertain the idea of Bryant leaving LA.

Here's some more on the Lakers chances next season, and a report card on the Nuggets tumultuous offseason…

Sports Illustrated's Ben Golliver gives the Nuggets an F in his recent offseason report card grade at SI's The Point Forward blog.
Golliver compares the offseason of the Pacers with the Nuggets to show how, despite both teams experiencing impressive regular seasons, the Pacers continued to trend up in the playoffs, and the Nuggets failed to keep everything together this summer.
They lost GM Masai Ujiri – who accepted the Raptors' high-paying GM role – and the 2013 NBA Coach of the Year George Karl – who they did not retain for the final year of his contract.
Not only did the Nuggets lose their coach and GM, but they also lost free agent Andre Iguodala to the Warriors in a three-team deal involving the Jazz, Nuggets and Warriors.
Unlike the Pacers – who were able to re-sign David West this summer and significantly upgrade their bench – the Nuggets signed offense-first players like Nate Robinson and J.J. Hickson and allowed others, like defensive wing-stopper Iggy, to bolt the sinking ship.
HoopsWorld's Jabari Davis put together a plan for the Lakers while pretending to be their GM during a chat with readers earlier today.
In his plan, Davis said the Lakers should try and land a top 12 spot in next summer's heralded 2014 NBA Draft.
Davis also discusses the possibility that Jordan Farmar and Steve Blake improve next season, how the additions of Nick Young, Wesley Johnson and Farmer's athleticism will translate well with D'Antoni's uptempo offense and the chances Bryant sits out the full season – similar to Derrick Rose last season with the Bulls – while they attempt to position themselves higher in the the 2014 draft.
Davis also believes the Lakers can win between 44-47 games next season and finish with a 6-8 seed in the West if Pau Gasol, Steve Nash and Bryant all play at least 70 games together.

Howard Wanted Kobe, D’Antoni Out Of L.A.

August 24th, 2013 at 2:24pm CST by Zachary Links

2:24pm: Bucher clarifies his earlier post, writing that Howard never specifically told the Lakers that he'd re-sign if the team fired D'Antoni (Sulia link). Bucher doesn't add any more about Howard's feelings toward Bryant, however.

8:41am: Since signing with the Rockets this summer, Dwight Howard has denied that he issued demands to the Lakers that weren't met. However, various people close to the situation say that there were two prerequisites for the big man to stay: fire coach Mike D'Antoni and amnesty, or "at the very least muzzle," Kobe Bryant, according to Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (Sulia link).

The Lakers asked Dwight to be patient on both fronts for at least another season, telling him that he would have to tough things out for another year, according to one source. However, Lakers VP of basketball operations Jim Buss spoke with Bucher and it sounds as though he's planning to keep Kobe well beyond 2014.

"Dwight didn't want to play with Kobe for 2-3 more years," Buss said. "I'm going to stand behind Kobe because of his history with the franchise."

Howard's rift with D'Antoni is well known and the big man reportedly felt as though he was lost in the Lakers' offense last season. This isn't the first time that we've heard that Howard was looking for a change on the bench or for Kobe to get out of the picture, but it now appears that his requests were closer to demands and those demands being met could have kept him in L.A.

Howard's gutsy demands don't come completely without precedent in Lakers' history. When Bryant re-signed in 2004, it coincided with Shaq being shipped to Miami and Phil Jackson being let go. However, the front office didn't need to be pressured to make either move at the time as they were unhappy with both men.

Nearly ten years later, it seems that the Lakers had the opportunity to hold on to the summer's most prized free agent. However, the price tag was simply too high for them.

Odds & Ends: D’Antoni, Durant, Jackson

August 17th, 2013 at 11:00pm CST by Spencer Lund

The Lakers aren't expected to be contending for an NBA title this season after losing Dwight Howard to the Rockets in free agency. Many Lakers fans blame coach Mike D'Antoni for playing an important role in driving him out of town. Plus, the phantasm of former coach Phil Jackson still hovers above the Staples Center court where he's won five rings during his former time on the bench.

As D'Antoni told the Los Angeles Times' Mike Bresnahan, it probably will continue to be that way through the foreseeable future.

"I think anybody that comes in here the next 10, 15 years, it's going to be that way," D'Antoni remarked. "I don't think there is any doubt that he was so good and so large and he's still sitting out there. Had that bothered me, I shouldn't have taken the job because you know it's going to be there. I wasn't stupid enough to think that, 'Oh, they won't remember him.' Sure they will. It doesn't really affect what we do day-to-day and how we approach the game."

After getting swept in the the first round of the playoffs by the Spurs this past season, the 62-year-old D'Antoni still has two guaranteed years left on his contract with the Lakers. With Kobe Bryant's torn Achilles tendon and the aging Steve Nash and Pau Gasol representing the backbone of this year's Lakers team, things might not get much better as D'Antoni prepares for the 2013/14 season.

Here's what else is happening around the Association on a quiet Saturday evening, including an update on Jackson's coaching future.

The Zen Master told Mark Jones of the Williston Herald that he doesn't plan on coaching because "I am still recovering from multiple surgeries."
In 2005, strength trainer Alan Stein walked up to a 15-year-old Kevin Durant and told him, "Look, man, you have all the tools to be one of the best players in the world, but the only way you can do that is to get stronger," Stein recalled to the Oklahoman's Anthony Slater. “I can help you. Give me a shot.”
Four-year former Florida Gator Kenny Boynton went undrafted in the 2013 NBA Draft, but he did catch on with the Lakers' Summer League squad before failing to land a contract. Sportando's Emiliano Charchia reports, via Twitter, that Boynton's deal with Barack Netanya of Israel's BSL is now official.
On that European note, via a re-tweet from Ridiculous Upside's Keith Schlosser, SecretRival.blogspot.com has compiled a list of former NBA players, picks and recent NCAA players who are in the top 10 European leagues.

Kupchak On D’Antoni, Kobe, Nash, Lakers’ Future

August 15th, 2013 at 7:43pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak participated in a radio interview with ESPN's Colin Cowherd earlier today to discuss a few topics surrounding the franchise. He acknowledged that the transition from Mike Brown to Mike D'Antoni last season was "clumsy" and admitted that there was some feeling that Phil Jackson would coach the team during 2012-13 before eventually handing over the job to D'Antoni. We'll relay more of Kupchak's noteworthy comments, and you can read them below (credit goes to ESPN Los Angeles' Ramona Shelburne and Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times):

On the health of Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant:

"Steve, to my understanding, is close to 100 percent, but he's not as young as he once was and Kobe's a big question mark. We're very optimistic, he's getting treatment every day, he's in the facility right now, but he hasn't been on a basketball court. Uncertainty going forward, I guess with our health status would be the biggest question mark."

Regarding any talks of a contract extension with Kobe:

"There really (have) been no discussions beyond next year for obvious reasons…You have a player who is up in age and just had a devastating injury. Obviously, we created an environment with our team where were looking to have financial flexibility a year from now, so that plays into it."

On the possibility of Pau Gasol remaining a Laker beyond this season:

"We're in a cycle…We're hopeful that within a year from now, we'll have enough flexibility. We're hopeful that Pau and Kobe can continue to play and we'll have options to rebuild the team."

Thoughts on the idea of tanking for a lottery pick in 2014:

"The ping-pong lottery thing, even if you have the very worst team in the NBA, you're not guaranteed to get the first pick…I'm not sure getting into the lottery and ending up with 10, 11, 12, 13 or 14 is going to give us a top one or two pick in the draft…We still may end up drafting 12, 13 or 14, which is not a great place to draft if you just look back on drafts in this league."

More comments about the 2014 offseason:

"We'll have a lot of financial resources a year from now…I don't know if we'll get a star player to leave his home team to come here like (Dwight Howard) did to go to Houston. He took a huge financial hit just to do that…We have a pick next year, which is going to be a very good draft. We're very comfortable with the flexibility…It just doesn't mean you get free agents you can take players [via trade]. There are a lot of things you can do with cap room."

Pacific Notes: Pau, Rambis, Suns

August 5th, 2013 at 6:02pm CST by Spencer Lund

Kurt Rambis, the recently hired assistant to Lakers head coach Mike D'Antoni, sat down with the Sporting News' Sean Deveney to talk about meshing with the new Lakers' staff despite many who consider him a part of the old guard under former head coach Phil Jackson.

The differences stem from Jackson's slowed down Triangle offense, which Rambis used when he coached the Lakers and the Timberwolves, but which contrasts with D'Antoni's run and gun offensive style. Rambis tells Deveney the connection between him and Triangle is far from absolute, and he was probably overreacting when he said he was "shocked" at the assistant coaching offer.

Back in November Rambis had spoken out about the Lakers while doing analysis at ESPN, and the comments led to D'Antoni crossing him off his list for potential assistant coaching hires. But by mid-July, D'Antoni was already warming to the idea of bringing the former Lakers player and coach back to the bench.

Here's what else is happening around the Pacific Division, including more on the Lakers…

Pau Gasol will have a lot more opportunities with the ball in the low-block for the Lakers this coming season now that Dwight Howard has headed to the Rockets, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Steve Nash seconded the notion that the offense ran more smoothly when it was just he and Pau while Dwight missed time with an aggravated shoulder last year.
According to Eurobasket2013.org, Suns center Marcin Gortat has received permission from the Polish National Team to fly back to the United States to have his foot examined (hat tip: CBSSports.com's Zach Harper).
According a source, Shams Charania of RealGM.com reports that Dwayne Davis–the Warriors' summer league guard–elected to sign a one-year deal with Murcia of the Spainish ACB rather than accept various training camp offers he'd received from NBA teams. His deal with Murcia does not have an opt out clause, so he'll try to make an NBA roster again next summer.

Western Notes: Grizzlies, D’Antoni, Mullens

July 30th, 2013 at 9:00pm CST by Michael Pina

A few notes from around the Western Conference.

The Commercial Appeal's Geoff Calkins writes that Mike Miller's decision to sign with the Grizzlies, over several other contending teams, proves that Memphis is a destination free agents will start to consider.
Lakers head coach Mike D'Antoni still doesn't understand why Dwight Howard decided to leave Los Angeles, writes ESPNLA.com's Dave McMenamin.
Eric Patten from Clippers.com writes about what Byron Mullens might be able to give the Clippers next season as their backup center.

Atlantic Notes: Humphries, Wallace, Peace, Nets

July 13th, 2013 at 11:20am CST by Zachary Links

Yesterday, the Nets and Celtics officially completed the nine-player swap that will send Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the land of the hipsters. However, two of the players shipped to Boston may not be long for the C's. A source tells A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com that the club may look to flip Kris Humphries and Gerald Wallace. Humphries, who is coming off of a rough 2012/13 season, makes $12MM in the final year of his deal. Wallace, meanwhile, makes more than $30MM over the next three seasons and moving that contract won't be easy by any means. Here's more out of the Atlantic..

Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni thinks that the recently amnestied Metta World Peace would be a good fit for the Knicks, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. D'Antoni went on to say that amnestying him was purely about finances and had nothing to do with character.
Not a huge surprise, but Nets General Manager Billy King confirmed that owner Mikhail Prokhorov reached out to Andrei Kirilenko by telephone before he signed, tweets Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press. Kirilenko shocked everyone when he agreed to sign with the Nets for the $3.1MM mini-mid level exception earlier this week.
With speculation that the Nets made an under-the-table agreement with Kirilenko, they are now the bad guys of the NBA, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.

Odds & Ends: Rivers, Nuggets, Roc Nation

June 20th, 2013 at 8:29pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald refers to a source that says Doc Rivers had no intention of being a part of an eventual rebuilding process with the Celtics, and that the team knew he felt that way when he signed his latest contract. The same source also said that Rivers did not intitiate the process that led to talks between Boston and the Clippers, adding that he had been contemplating between returning to coach the Celtics and stepping away from the game before team brass asked him if he was interested in any of the coaching opportunities around the league.

According to Bulpett's source, Rivers then learned that the front office had already held preliminary discussions with the Clippers about making him available (by releasing him from his contract) and seeing what they could get in return. At that point, Rivers was reportedly intrigued at the prospect of moving west and allowed Danny Ainge to try to work out the best possible deal. In the meantime, the 51-year-old coach was given permission to see if he could reach a separate agreement with the Clippers, which he eventually did (most notably, it would allow him to have control over player personnel).

With the deal now slowed by the fact that the agreement doesn't exactly comply with the rules of the CBA, Bulpett writes that Rivers could choose to do television work for the next one to two years rather than decide between coaching the Celtics or stepping away from the game altogether – that is, if the deal with the Clippers falls through. Interestingly enough, on the notion that Rivers had once said he'd be willing to continue coaching in Boston during a rebuilding process, some sources have called it an obligatory statement that was meant to preserve the stability of the team at the time, all while the front office would work to find pieces to complement Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce accordingly.

As we gear up for the seventh and deciding game of the NBA Finals, here are more of tonight's miscellaneous notes from around the Association:

Mike Bratz, currently the director of player personnel for the Nuggets and former Kings backup point guard, has reached an agreement with Sacramento to become the team's assistant general manager (Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reports).
Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that shortly after firing George Karl, the Nuggets had offered the Celtics a first round draft pick as compensation to pry Rivers out of his contract. Once Denver's offer was rebuffed by Danny Ainge, they quickly moved their focus onto Brian Shaw and Lionel Hollins, who both are said to have made strong impressions on team president Josh Kroenke and general manager Tim Connelly. Sources have said that at the time Kroenke had made his bid for Rivers about ten days ago, Boston was not ready to start the process of letting Rivers leave, and the negotiations never went beyond one brief conversation between Kroenke and Ainge.
There has been growing confusion (as well as anger, in some cases) among outside agents about who exactly the Roc Nation Sports agency represents and which athletes are part of its partnership with CAA Sports, writes Liz Mullen of SportsBusinessDaily.com. Some agents have privately expressed anger that Roc Nation has been reported to represent athletes who are still clients of other firms.
Janis Carr of the OC Register writes that Dwight Howard is still undecided on his future (subscribers only).
Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News tweets that Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni will be continuing interviews to fill out the rest of his coaching staff through next week, and that much of it will depend on how the head coaching hires around the league turn out.
The city of Sacramento is being asked to write its first big check toward the development of a downtown sports arena, says Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee. City development staff is expected to ask the council for $6.5MM in city funds, of which some will be used to hire a team of financial, design, and legal consultants. The team of consultants are said to be needed as the city begins negotiations on "definitive agreements" of an arena financing and construction plan with the private investment team that owns the Kings.
The Grizzlies should strongly consider selecting D.J. Stephens on draft night, opines Geoff Calkins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.