Mike D’Antoni Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Notes: Ginobili, Irving, Holiday, D’Antoni

April 12th, 2018 at 10:04pm CST by marksuleymanov

Manu Ginobili has been a member of the Spurs for his entire 16-year NBA career and it’s far from a guarantee that he returns for a 17th season. As Ginobili prepares for the postseason, his teammates and coaches are enjoying his presence and contributions while they still can, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News writes in a lengthy feature.

The 40-year-old played in 65 games off the bench for the Spurs this season, averaging a modest 8.9 PPG and 2.5 RPG. However, his impact in his native Argentina and as a member of the Spurs in San Antonio has resonated for nearly two decades. Head coach Gregg Popovich is among those who tries to honor Ginobili’s career as it winds down.

“I try to touch him before every game and remember what he’s meant to us over the years and how significant a factor he has been in our success,” Popovich said. “I think I’m enjoying him more than ever because I feel like I’m about to lose him.”

Check out more Southwest Division notes below:

When Kyrie Irving demanded a trade last offseason, the Spurs were one of four teams that Irving was reportedly interested in. However, in retrospect, not making a trade for the All-Star point guard was a good move, Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News opines. While Irving’s talent made a trade enticing, his recent season-ending knee surgery paired with Kawhi Leonard‘s lost season would have made for a disappointing year, Finger writes.
During a recent appearance on the Hard in the Paint podcast, Pelicans’ point guard Jrue Holiday spoke glowingly of teammate Rajon Rondo, stating that he belongs in the Hall of Fame and has a future after his playing days, Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype writes. “In my opinion, yes,” Holiday said of Rondo deserving to be inducted. “He is a coach and a GM. He’d be very similar to Doc Rivers.”
The Rockets finished the season with the best record in the Western Conference and are poised to put up a strong fight for a championship. However, even if the Rockets fail to win a title, head coach Mike D’Antoni said their season can still be cherished, ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk writes.

Rockets Notes: Harden, D’Antoni, Anderson, James

March 21st, 2018 at 9:56pm CST by marksuleymanov

In the midst of another MVP-worthy season, James Harden continues to impress people around the league, including his head coach, Mike D’Antoni. As Sam Amick of USA TODAY Sports writes, after the Rockets defeated the Trail Blazers on Tuesday, D’Antoni labeled Harden as “the best offensive player I’ve ever seen.”

Harden posted 42 points, seven rebounds, and six assists in the win, just the latest standout performance in a season filled with them. For D’Antoni, who has coached the likes of Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, and Carmelo Anthony, Harden offers an all-around skill set that is unmatched.

“He’s a hell of a player, first off,” D’Antoni said. “It’s a combination of everything. There are other players who might be better at this, or a little bit better at that. But when you put everything together, and the way he passes, the way he sees teammates, the way he can lob, the way he can fight through a foul. I mean even on an off night, he’s probably getting 30, 40 points, and I mean efficiently. And he doesn’t even have anything going. But he’s so efficient, and he gets other guys involved. … He’s got one flaw. He does get tired some. He’s mortal. And that’s it. Other than that …”

Harden is averaging 31.2 PPG, 8.7 APG, and 5.2 RPG for the Rockets. After finishing as the runner-up to Russell Westbrook in MVP voting one season ago, Harden looks like the clear-cut favorite this year’s award.

Check out more news and notes out of the Rockets organization:

Tyronn Lue took a leave from his coaching post with the Cavaliers due to health concerns, and D’Antoni understands how the rigors of the job can require someone to take a needed step back, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes. “Especially if you lose, you wonder what you could do differently. My first 20 years in coaching, even more, I couldn’t read books, for sure,” D’Antoni said. “I could read short articles, but I had a hard time escaping. I think I’ve gotten to a point I can read books and escape more than I used to. I try not to drive myself crazy.”
Ryan Anderson has seen a lot of time at center since he returned from injury and the Rockets anticipate him continuing to play the position going forward, Feigen writes in a separate story. “We’ll look at all possibilities, but he’ll play some five for sure,” D’Antoni said. “Then, we’ll see. Matchups, maybe in the playoffs, will be different here and there, but right now we’re going to look at this.”
LeBron James will be a free agent this offseason and his decision figures to be the NBA’s story of the summer. The Rockets are one of several teams that have been linked to James, prompting Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report to examine how the Rockets can add the four-time MVP without sacrificing Chris Paul and other assets.

Texas Notes: Harden, D’Antoni, Aldridge, Nowitzki

February 18th, 2018 at 11:40am CST by Arthur Hill

All-star guard James Harden believes the Rockets boosted their chances to win a title by adding free agents Joe Johnson and Brandan Wright, relays Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. Both signed with Houston this week after reaching buyout agreements, adding depth to a roster that has the league’s best record at the break.

“Those are experienced vets who both have playoff experience,” Harden said. “And we all want to win – that’s what everyone on this roster has in common. We have a roster full of guys who are hungry and ready to compete at a high level. We have really good depth now. We have a roster of guys, from top to bottom, who can step in and really get the job done. That’s exciting, and it also means everyone’s minutes should go down, but our productivity [as a whole] should go up.”

He also addressed the compatibility concerns that were raised after the trade for Chris Paul last summer. Harden said he and Paul both adopted a team-first attitude that made blending their talents an easy transition.

There’s more NBA news from the Lone Star State:

After a lifetime in basketball, Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni has found the perfect team to fit his style, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. D’Antoni, an All-Star coach for the second time in his career, was happy as associate head coach in Philadelphia until Rockets owner Leslie Alexander offered him a job in the summer of 2016. Houston has given D’Antoni a roster filled with shooters to complement his philosophy on offense. “Some people accused me of being stubborn all those years I didn’t change,” he said. “I didn’t think I was being stubborn. I thought that was the way to do it. Why should I change if I know it’s the right thing to do?”
Returning to the All-Star Game after a one-year absence, LaMarcus Aldridge no longer feels out of place in San Antonio, according to Tom Orborne of The San Antonio Express-News. An offseason trade request led to a heart-to-heart talk with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and sparked a resurgence in Aldridge, who has increased his scoring average by five points per game and is topping 20 PPG for the first time since leaving Portland. “The Spurs have kind of learned who I am as a person and have let me be me,” Aldridge said. “They had Tim [Duncan], who was an introvert, kind of a private person, so now they understand me better.”
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says he laughs any time another team brings up Dirk Nowitzki in a trade proposal, relays Yaron Weitzman of Bleacher Report. Nowitzki adds that Kobe Bryant once tried to convince him to sign with the Lakers, but he never seriously considered leaving Dallas.

Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Noel, Brooks

January 26th, 2018 at 5:04pm CST by Austin Kent

The Pelicans will be hard-pressed to improve their roster ahead of the trade deadline, especially since a case can be made that the team will keep DeMarcus Cousins close by with the intention of committing to him long-term, Bobby Marks of ESPN writes.

The club will face mounting pressure to appease Anthony Davis, their superstar center whose own free agency decision (in 2020) already looms. Unfortunately for general manager Dell Demps and the rest of the Pelicans’ front office, with so much money tied up between Davis, Cousins and Jrue Holiday they have little options for adding depth to the rest of the roster.

Marks suggests that the Pelicans could consider packaging a young player like Cheick Diallo with a second-round pick to net a rotation player like much-improved Nets guard Joe Harris but cautions the team against dealing first-rounders considering their long-term financial forecast.

There’s more from the Southwest Division today:

It doesn’t appear that Mavs big man Nerlens Noel will be back in action before the trade deadline, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News tweets. The big man hasn’t had any specific setbacks but the initial early February projection may have been a bit too ambitious.
Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni spoke up about Chris Paul‘s absence from the All-Star Game roster, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes. D’Antoni has said that he weighs team record heavily when casting his own votes for the All-Star Game reserves. Houston sits second in the NBA with a 34-12 record but only James Harden was selected to participate in the event.
The Grizzlies don’t have a great track record of identifying young talent but they’ve had success with Dillon Brooks and Wayne Selden this season. Chris Herrington of The Memphis Commercial Appeal suggests that it might be time to cut the organization some slack.

Atlantic Notes: Morris, Porzingis, Holmes

November 3rd, 2017 at 4:35pm CST by Austin Kent

The Celtics will get Marcus Morris back tonight, A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston tweets. The 28-year-old forward will make his debut with the franchise after coming over from the Pistons in a trade last summer.

Expect Morris to come off the bench in his Celtics debut with a minute restriction of around 20, Blakely adds in a second tweet.

Last season Morris averaged 14.0 points in 32.5 minutes per game for the Pistons. This year he’ll look to provide toughness and veteran leadership to a Celtics team eager to prove that they’re deep enough across the board to win the Eastern Conference.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Leave it to former Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni to understand what current coach Jeff Hornacek is going through as the man on the sidelines under the New York media spotlight. “He’s been around the game forever,” D’Antoni told Al Iannazzone of Newsday. “But you do have to get through the noise. Whether you listen to it or not, I don’t know. Hopefully he doesn’t. The way the team is playing right now, it looks good . . . Just don’t respond and don’t listen to it and if you don’t, you can live a very happy life.“
The Sixers have plenty of big men but that doesn’t mean head coach Brett Brown isn’t still excited about the return of Richaun Holmes, who has missed the first two weeks of the season with a wrist injury. The center will return to action tonight, Keith Pompey of The Inquirer writes. “His breakaway-like rim-to-rim speed in early offense is A-plus,” Brown said. “There is sort of tenacity and toughness. He wears his heart on his sleeve that I think adds to what we are trying to do anyways. But there’s just a bounce to Richaun Holmes that makes him different.“
The emergence of Kristaps Porzingis has brought a familiar but rare buzz back to Madison Square Garden. Barbara Barker of Newsday wrote about the excitement that surrounds the Knicks now, for the first time since Linsanity in 2012.

Southwest Notes: Harden, Noel, Parsons

October 22nd, 2017 at 10:56pm CST by Austin Kent

The Rockets brought in Chris Paul to ease the load on James Harden to initiate the offense every play down the court but that will have to change now that the veteran guard is expected to miss up to a month with a knee injury, Tim MacMahon of ESPN writes.

Suddenly the plan to ration Harden’s energy for late in the season has come crashing down. “That’s out the window,” Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni said.

Last season Harden averaged a 29.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 11.2 assists per game but appeared to be overworked toward the end of the season. The converted two-guard saw his playmaking skillset flourish under the tutelage of D’Antoni. This season, the Rockets were hoping to pick up where they left off as an offense but while preserving their franchise star’s health.

With Paul shelved, the Rockets will need to make sure that they build big enough leads to let reserve guard Bobby Brown come in and hold down the fort temporarily.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

While Nerlens Noel could end up making his mark on the Mavs franchise, finding him a significant workload on a nightly basis may be difficult, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes. In three games this season, Noel has played 20, 27 and 16 minutes.
It didn’t take long for Grizzlies fans to start booing Chandler Parsons this season. The 28-year-old that missed much of last season with an injury is in the second year of the four-year, $97MM contract he signed last summer. Parsons told the media, including Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal, that he’ll simply treat Grizz home games as away games.
The Rockets have managed to win the first three games of their season but that doesn’t mean the offense is up to head coach Mike D’Antoni‘s standard. “Oh no, no, no,” D’Antoni told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “We got a lot of things we have to clean up. We’re not real sharp right now. I was just telling the guys the biggest thing is preseason was about 10 days shorter than [previously]. With the preseason, we played eight games. That would be a normal preseason schedule.“

Texas Notes: Nowitzki, Gay, D’Antoni

September 16th, 2017 at 8:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

Fans are paying an average of $1,300 per ticket for the Mavericks‘ season finale in hopes of seeing Dirk Nowitzki‘s final game, but Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News warns that Nowitzki’s retirement isn’t a sure thing. The German star hasn’t made a decision about playing beyond this season and says health may be the main factor. A right Achilles problem early last season limited Nowitzki to 54 games and doomed the Mavericks to a 3-17 start.

“If I miss another 30 to 40 games in a row, then obviously, it’s not meant to be,” said Nowitzki, who is preparing for his 20th NBA season. “But if I can stay sort of healthy like I did at the end of the season, when I thought I moved OK and had some good games, then maybe we’ll do two more [seasons]. But we’ll see how it goes.”

There’s more news tonight out of Texas:

Assuming he spends the entire year in Dallas, Nowitzki will join Kobe Bryant as the only players with 20 years of service to the same organization. During an appearance this week on Sirius XM radio, Nowitzki lamented the league’s move away from franchise cornerstones (h/t to Michael Singer of USA Today). “The new NBA is a little different,” he said. “It’s about making money, it’s about winning and not as much about being loyal anymore.” Nowitzki displayed his loyalty this summer by re-signing for $10MM over two years after opting out of a $25MM salary.
Rudy Gay hasn’t played a game yet for San Antonio, but he already calls himself “a Spur for life,” relays Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News. Gay agreed to a two-year, $17MM contract this summer that contains an $8.8MM player option for next season, but he sounds fully committed to San Antonio. “I think it was a do-or-die point in my career,” said Gay, who is coming off an Achilles injury that ended his season in January. “I wanted to be with an organization that was known for winning and can help me raise my game to the next level.”
Rockets mentor Mike D’Antoni accepted his Coach of the Year award Friday from the National Basketball Coaches Association, writes Steve Aschburner of NBA.com. D’Antoni was a co-winner along with Miami’s Erik Spoelstra after guiding Houston to a 55-27 record and the third seed in the Western Conference. “The tie was legitimate and there were five or six others who received significant votes,” said NBCA president Rick Carlisle of the Mavericks. “So it really spoke to the quality job that everybody did from top to bottom.”

Pelicans May Help Facilitate Carmelo Anthony Trade

July 12th, 2017 at 6:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

Earlier today, we told you the Rockets and Knicks were looking for a fourth team to help finalize a trade involving Carmelo Anthony. The Pelicans have expressed interest in becoming that fourth team, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post.

It’s not clear whether New Orleans would take on the three years and more than $61MM left on Ryan Anderson‘s contract or if he would go to another team. Anderson spent four years with the Pelicans franchise before signing with Houston last summer. The Rockets need to move his salary to make room for Anthony, while the Knicks have no need for Anderson because he plays the same position as Kristaps Porzingis and he goes against their new philosophy of avoiding older players on long-term deals.

Representatives for Anthony would like to see the deal get done this week, Berman adds. Houston has scheduled a press conference for Friday to officially welcome Chris Paul, but Berman sees little chance that the trade will be complete in time for Anthony to make a surprise appearance. Multiple sources tell Berman that no deal will happen until “well after” Friday. He states that the sides are getting closer to an agreement and are still “motivated,” but much work still remains. A proposed three-team trade reportedly “stalled” over the weekend, forcing the Rockets and Knicks to start the process over.

Sources tell Berman that Knicks acting president Steve Mills is so focused on the Anthony negotiations that it has prevented the team from finding a veteran point guard. There is speculation that New York may try to fill the position through the Anthony deal.

Houston’s first attempts to acquire Anthony were unsuccessful, Berman adds, because the Knicks were restructuring their front office after former president Phil Jackson was fired. However, owner James Dolan has now signed off on moving Anthony and plans to make Mills the new team president.

Insiders tell Berman that Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni initially wasn’t on board with acquiring Anthony because of their past differences in New York. However, with Paul, James Harden and Nene all pushing for the move, D’Antoni has been left with no choice.

Southwest Notes: Noel, Gentry, Paul

June 29th, 2017 at 10:57pm CST by Austin Kent

The Mavs won’t be travelling far when the free agency period officially opens tomorrow night at midnight, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes. Instead, he says, the franchise will zero in on its two own free agents: Nerlens Noel and Dirk Nowitzki.

While a Nowitzki deal is a foregone conclusion, the interesting part will be whether the Mavs can come to terms with Noel before the the restricted free agent lands a lofty offer sheet from a team willing to pay top dollar.

Currently, Sefko notes, the cap-hit the Mavs take for Noel is $11MM, a mark that figures to be considerably lower than what the 23-year-old would be able to land on the open market.

The decision to focus on Nowitzki after declining his team option this week and bringing Noel back is representative of the change in direction the Mavs have undergone this season.

Having landed Harrison Barnes in free agency last year and traded for Noel at the trade deadline in February, the Mavs have promptly patched together an intriguing young core.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

After two lackluster seasons at the helm of the Pelicans, Alvin Gentry is well aware of the fact that the NBA is a “results industry.” The head coach spoke with Scott Kushner of The Advocate, noting that he doesn’t feel that there’s any extra pressure this season.
There’s no denying that for Chris Paul to thrive with the Rockets, he, Mike D’Antoni and James Harden will all have to end up on the same page. Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report writes about how they’ll need to adapt to make that happen.
There was some truth to the speculation that linked Chris Paul to the Spurs but two things sullied the opportunity. Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated notes that the uncertainty of LaMarcus Aldridge‘s status, coupled with the notion of having to replace Tony Parker at point guard, dissuaded Paul from exploring things further.

D’Antoni Captures Coach Of The Year Award

June 26th, 2017 at 9:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mike D’Antoni was named the NBA’s Coach of the Year, which was announced on the TNT awards show Monday night.

D’Antoni led the Rockets to the third-best record in the Western Conference at 55-27 in his first year with the club. The Rockets finished 41-41 in 2015/16. He also won the award in 2005 when he patrolled the sidelines for the Suns.

The Spurs’ Gregg Popovich and Heat’s Erik Spoelstra were the other finalists. The Hoops Rumors staff gave two of the five votes to D’Antoni.