Here are the Sixers assistants, several of which were previously reported:

• Bryan Gates, a veteran assistant who appeared likely to leave the Suns for the Mavericks before deciding to join the 76ers instead.
• Bobby Jackson, a former NBA guard who has been the head coach of the Stockton Kings in the G League for the last two years.
• Rico Hines, who was an assistant under Nurse in Toronto last season. He also previously worked for the Kings and Warriors.
• Matt Brase, a former assistant for the Rockets and Trail Blazers who was the head coach for Pallacanestro Varese in Italy last season.
• Doug West, a former NBA player who previously coached at Villanova.
• Coby Karl, the son of former NBA head coach George Karl. He previously coached the Sixers’ G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats.
• Mike Longabardi, a veteran NBA assistant who was most recently an assistant for the Hawks. He’ll also be the head coach of the Delaware Blue Coats.

In addition to those assistants, Nurse will also be flanked by assistant coach/head video coordinator John Corbacio and player development assistants Fabulous Flournoy and Jason Love.

TJ DiLeo, Reggie Redding, and former NBA players Terrel Harris and Toure’ Murry will be associate player development coaches in Philadelphia.

“Assembling a great staff with a rich collection of experience was paramount on my to-do list this summer,” Nurse said in a statement. “I’m proud to have built many relationships in our league that have led me to feel as confident as I am in every member of this group. I can’t wait to get to work as we embark on our journey toward an NBA title.”

Longabardi has been an NBA assistant since 2003. He spent last season with the Hawks.

Longabardi will replace Coby Karl, who is expected to join Nick Nurse‘s staff in Philadelphia, Kyle Neubeck of The Philly Voice tweets.

We have more on the Sixers:

• Center Paul Reed weighed in on James Harden‘ trade request, saying he hopes the disgruntled guard remains with the Sixers, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “James Harden, that’s like my big brother, one of the coolest vets I know,” he said. “I hope he comes back. But I understand business is business. And sometimes you got to do what you got to do. But like I said, that’s like my big brother. I hope he comes back.” Reed stayed with Philadelphia this summer when the Sixers matched Utah’s three-year offer sheet.
• President of basketball operations Daryl Morey hinted on a radio appearance that he tried to swing a trade on draft night for Cam Whitmore, Sean Barnard of Philly Sports Network relays (Twitter link). “There was another prominent player who fell in this year’s draft that we were trying to move up for,” Morey said in a wide-ranging interview on The Anthony Gargano Show. “I couldn’t understand why they were falling because I’ve seen him play live multiple times here in town.” Whitmore, a Villanova product who was selected by the Rockets at No. 20, was named MVP of the Las Vegas Summer League.
• In case you missed it, Harden weighed in on Damian Lillard‘s trade request. Get the details here.

With former Hawks lead assistant Chris Jent leaving Atlanta to take a job on Darvin Ham‘s Lakers staff, Joe Prunty will be promoted to become Nate McMillan‘s new top lieutenant and Longabardi will essentially fill Prunty’s old role, Wojnarowski explains.

Longabardi is a veteran NBA assistant coach who spent the 2021/22 season with the Kings. He previously served as an assistant on staffs in Houston from 2003-07, Boston from 2007-13, Phoenix from 2013-15, Cleveland from 2016-19, and Washington from 2019-21.

Longabardi, who a reputation as a defensive-minded coach, won titles with the Celtics in 2008 and the Cavaliers in 2016.

11:01am: Kings head coach Alvin Gentry, who took over last month when the team dismissed Luke Walton, has tested positive for COVID-19, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (all Twitter links). Gentry figures to miss a few games, with one of his assistants taking over as an interim coach to the interim coach.

According to Wojnarowski, the Kings canceled their morning shootaround on Wednesday and are conducting COVID-19 tests to see if any other players or coaches have contracted the virus.

Gentry tells Wojnarowski that he has been essentially asymptomatic, outside of having a scratchy throat. Assistants Mike Longabardi and Doug Christie are the most likely candidates to replace him on the sidelines for the short term, Woj adds.

Gentry has led the Kings to a 5-6 record since taking the reins from Walton in November. Sacramento lost all three games on its recent road trip, prompting Gentry to state after Monday’s loss in Toronto that the team needs to find a way to “right the ship.” The Kings begin a three-game home stand on Wednesday against the struggling Wizards, the Ja Morant-less Grizzlies, and the 10-16 Spurs, so there’s some bounce-back potential there.

Gentry is the second head coach to enter the NBA’s health and safety protocols in the last week, joining Rick Carlisle of the Pacers.

“He means the world to us,” Kerr told Poole, echoing a sentiment he recently expressed to The Athletic. “The last two seasons, we’ve been somewhat rudderless in many ways. I suspect we’re going to get our rudder back with Andre.”

Iguodala signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with Golden State after spending the last two seasons with the Grizzlies (for whom he never played) and Heat.

There’s more out of California:

• The Clippers‘ reunion with point guard Eric Bledsoe received an A-minus grade from Kevin Pelton of ESPN. Bledsoe was re-acquired in a trade this week that sent point guards Patrick Beverley and Rajon Rondo and center Daniel Oturu to the Grizzlies. Pelton praised the cost savings of the deal, which will amount to a reduction of about $30MM off L.A.’s luxury tax bill. Pelton also notes that the younger, more durable Bledsoe could prove to be an on-court upgrade for the Clippers as well, though he struggled in recent playoff appearances with the Bucks.
• Fourth-year Kings center Chimezie Metu has been suspended for one Summer League game after punching two-way rookie Mavericks forward Eugene Omoruyi in the head during the fourth quarter of an eventual 86-70 win Sunday, per an NBA press release (Twitter link). Metu will miss the Summer League title game on Tuesday against the Celtics.
• The Kings will be hiring Mike Longabardi as a front-of-bench assistant coach, per Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link). Longabardi, most recently an assistant with the Wizards since 2019, won the 2008 title as a Celtics assistant and the 2016 championship as a Cavaliers assistant.

Tony Brown, who has been an assistant on Brooks’ staff since 2016, has been promoted to associate head coach, making him the lead assistant in Washington. The team also hired Mike Longabardi, Corey Gaines, and Dean Oliver as assistants.

Longabardi, a veteran coach who served as an assistant for the Rockets, Celtics, Suns, and Cavaliers, has won titles with Boston and Cleveland. Gaines served as a coaching consultant for the Pistons last season after spending time as an assistant for the Knicks and Suns. Oliver, whom the Wizards call a “pioneer in sports analytics,” comes to D.C. from Sacramento.

Ryan Richman, an assistant coach for Brooks last season, has been named the head coach of the Capital City Go-Go, Washington’s G League affiliate. Jarell Christian, the Go-Go’s head coach in 2018/19, has joined the Wizards’ staff as an assistant. Interestingly, the Go-Go’s press release refers to both moves as “promotions.”

Despite all the incoming hires, the Wizards are also bringing back several members of last year’s staff, including assistants Robert Pack and Mike Terpstra, and developmental coach Kristi Toliver.

“Coach Brooks and I worked closely to pinpoint what areas we needed to improve and identify the best candidates, both internally and externally, to make the appropriate changes,” new permanent Wizards GM Tommy Sheppard said in a statement. “We’re very confident that we have a strong staff in place that is in line with the vision we have for our rebuilding our culture and focusing on the overall development of our players.”

Head coach Tyronn Lue is probably safe because there is no obvious choice to replace him. If Lue is dismissed, assistants Larry Drew and Mike Longabardi would probably follow, and Jim Boylan isn’t viewed as a potential head coach, according to Lloyd. The other assistants, James Posey, Phil Handy and Damon Jones, don’t have the experience to handle a high-profile team like the Cavaliers. Someone outside the organization would be put in a difficult position trying to install a new system in the middle of a season, Lloyd adds.

There’s more news out of Cleveand:

• The Cavs aren’t getting much production from J.R. Smith, but they don’t have a good option to replace him until Iman Shumpert returns from knee surgery, Lloyd adds in the same story. Kyle Korver isn’t an option to start at age 36, and Cedi Osman isn’t a long-term solution. Dwyane Wade began the season as a starter, but has settled into his role as the leader of the second unit. Another problem is the poor play of Jae Crowder, Lloyd writes, which could force Lue to reinsert Tristan Thompson into the starting lineup and put Channing Frye back in the rotation.
• Personnel changes are the only thing that can fix the mess in Cleveland, contends Sam Amico of AmicoHoops. The Cavaliers aren’t as good as they appear on offense, he writes, with poor ball movement and too much one-on-one play that leads to too many 3-pointers. They’re even worse at the other end of the court, with no rim protectors and no strong defenders on the perimeter. “I think it’s tough for us one-on-one [to defend],” Lue said Saturday when asked whether the issue was personnel or effort. “Look at the final score — you score 124 and still lose by 24, that’s tough to swallow.”
• The Cavaliers’ problems haven’t escaped the notice of former coach David Blatt, relays Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. “I hope we don’t give up as many points as Cleveland did last night,” Blatt said before the Turkish All-Star Game.

There’s more news out of Cleveland:

• The constant hints about his future have turned James into a distraction, contends Mark Heisler of The Los Angeles Daily News. Replacing head coach David Blatt with Tyronn Lue was supposed to bring peace to the locker room, but Heisler writes that point guard Kyrie Irving isn’t willing to become a second option to James the way that Wade did in Miami. Irving is seven years younger than James and is signed through 2019, so Heisler thinks he considers himself a cornerstone in Cleveland regardless of what James decides.
• Backup point guard Mo Williams returned to the court Saturday for the first time in a month after getting an injection in his left knee, according to Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. Williams had just started practicing a few days ago, but Lue asked him to help out with Irving sidelined. “I just started on-court stuff Monday,” Williams said. “In my mind it was next week, that’s what I was telling everyone silently. Every situation is different and I’m the ultimate team guy. I’m not going to put our team in a bind.” Williams said he will probably have knee pain the rest of his career but doesn’t plan to retire anytime soon.
• Lue resumed coaching the defense after the Cavs gave up 122 points last week in a loss to Miami, Lloyd writes in the same piece. He had given those duties to assistant Mike Longabardi after being named head coach.

• The lack of pace with which the Cavs played under former coach David Blatt was a source of conflict between him and the front office, as even though Blatt was aware the team played better when it ran, he was unable to quicken the attack, according to Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Still, members of the Cavs have told Pluto that the team could take a step back before it improves while adjusting to the new speed under Tyronn Lue.
• The Cavs formally hired Mike Longabardi as an assistant coach before Wednesday’s game, the team announced. Longabardi was one of two assistants the Suns fired a month ago. Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com first reported that Longabardi would be joining the Cleveland staff as a defensive specialist.
• Mike Dunleavy will play rehab games on D-League assignment before making his return to the Bulls from back surgery, his father, Mike Dunleavy Sr., said Wednesday on SiriusXM NBA Radio, as host Justin Termine tweets.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

• Andrew Wiggins has not spoke candidly about his feelings regarding the Cavs, the team that shipped him to the Wolves as part of the deal for Kevin Love, and instead has preferred to let his play speak for itself, Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune writes. Wiggins has performed particularly well against the Cavs, as Youngblood points out.
• One of the top assistants in the league, like Sean Sweeney of the Bucks, would be a sensible fit for the Nets‘ coaching vacancy because it would be wise for Brooklyn to avoid the long term implications of a flashy hire, Ben Dowsett of Basketball Insiders argues.
• Center Salah Mejri, who was recently coming off the bench in the D-League, found himself starting for the Mavs in place of the injured Zaza Pachulia and is making the most out of his opportunity, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News relays.
• Arinze Onuaku, who was with the Wolves at the end of last season, will be signing with the D-League, international journalist David Pick reports (on Twitter). Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv released Onuaku, Pick adds.

11:10pm: The Suns are firing assistant coaches Mike Longabardi and Jerry Sichting, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, while Stein hears that fellow assistants Nate Bjorkgren and Earl Watson will take on more prominent roles (Twitter links). Hornacek’s future is still unclear, Wojnarowski says, though Stein suggests in a second tweet that the moves indicate the team is giving Hornacek another chance.

SUNDAY, 1:39pm: Jeff Hornacek‘s job as head coach of the Suns is under immediate threat because of the team’s 12-20 record and its recent 5-15 skid, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. With belief growing within the organization that the team is no longer responding to Hornacek, the organization is thinking about making a coaching switch, according to Stein. This is the final guaranteed season on Hornacek’s original four-year contract.

The Suns were viewed as having a strong chance to make the playoffs this season after solid campaigns in each of Hornacek’s first two seasons. Phoenix was one of the league’s most improved teams in 2013/14, Hornacek’s first year. The Suns went 48-34 that season yet did not make the playoffs. They were 39-43 last season and again missed the playoffs. The Suns’ signing of Tyson Chandler was thought to be a significant addition and one that would make the Suns a much better team, as Stein points out.

Things have not worked out that way, especially lately. The Suns’ loss to the Sixers on Saturday seems to have been especially tough for the organization to swallow, Stein writes. It was Philadelphia’s first road win since last March. What’s more, as Stein adds, it was the first game on the Sixers’ bench for former Suns coach Mike D’Antoni, who was hired recently by new Philadelphia chairman of basketball operations and former Suns owner Jerry Colangelo to serve as associate head coach to the Sixers’ Brett Brown. The timing of the news is also interesting because Eric Bledsoe will likely miss a significant amount of time with a knee injury, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link).

Suns ownership and management has been reluctant to fire Hornacek, but owner Robert Sarver and GM Ryan McDonough had one-on-one meetings with Suns players today to try to understand why the team has fallen to 12-20, a record that includes an ugly home loss to the Sixers on Saturday, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.

Assistants Mike Longabardi and Earl Watson are possible replacements if the Suns oust Hornacek, Wojnarowski writes. A source with ties to the Suns who spoke with Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck a few weeks ago speculatively predicted that the Suns would get rid of Hornacek and go after Warriors interim coach Luke Walton in the offseason (Twitter link). Morris is in the middle of a two-game suspension the team handed down after he threw a towel that connected with Hornacek during Wednesday’s game, though Morris says he didn’t mean to hit the coach.

It all leads to our question for the day: What do the Suns need to do to fix their issues? Should they fire Hornacek? If so, with whom should they replace him for the short term and long term? Should they trade Morris? If so, who or what should they realistically try to obtain in return? If they keep Hornacek and Morris, what’s the solution to their problems?

Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the matter. We look forward to what you have to say.

• Despite his drop in production, all indications still point to Kevin Garnett returning to the Nets in 2014/15 for his 20th NBA season, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post.
• With Deron Williams scheduled to undergo dual ankle surgery soon, it obviously complicates Brooklyn’s chances of moving him this summer, says Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
• It’s difficult to understand why Suns assistant Mike Longabardi hasn’t been on the radar of any NBA teams with head coaching openings right now, opines Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Longabardi, who previously served as an assistant coach to both Doc Rivers and Tom Thibodeau, is credited for improving Phoenix’s defense last season (Twitter link).
• Mannix suggests (via Twitter) that the Grizzlies should consider surrendering a first round draft pick in exchange for Thibodeau.
• The Knicks were not one of the teams that contacted Florida coach Billy Donovan about their coaching vacancy, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post.

“…we’ll meet quickly, internally…We’ll set some criteria. We’ll look at some objective measures. We’ll look at some subjective measures about coaches and who’s going to be the new leader of the Utah Jazz and define some timelines about who we’re going to interview.”

According to Genessy, the new coaching hire will be decided on as a group that includes Lindsey, Jazz owner Gail Miller, CEO Greg Miller, Miller Sports Properties president Steve Miller, team president Randy Rigby, executive VP of basketball operations Kevin O’Connor, and CFO Bob Hyde.

You can read more coaching-related links below:

• Genessy mentions that in addition to Jazz assistant Brad Jones, Lindsey has close ties with Jeff Van Gundy (who the Rockets ultimately hired to succeed Rudy Tomjanovich in 2003), Suns assistant Mike Longabardi, and Bulls assistant Andy Greer. Along with Jones, Genessy lists Jim Boylen and Ettore Messina as possible candidates, just as we had noted from Mike Monroe of the San Antonio-Express News and ESPN’s Marc Stein earlier today.
• Former Bulls player Bill Wennington tells Newsday’s Al Iannazzone that Steve Kerr and Phil Jackson would fit together well in New York: “Their history together and just the way they work together and have worked together in the past with the offense and everything is a good combination…To me it’s a no-brainer.” Though Wennington admits that he has an interest in coaching, he tells Iannazzone that he hasn’t spoken to Jackson about possibly joining the Knicks.
• Iannazzone lists Frank Hamblen, Jim Cleamons, Bill Cartwright, Scottie Pippen, Kurt Rambis, and Derek Fisher as a few names who could join the Knicks in some capacity at some point. As Marc Berman of the New York Post mentioned earlier, Ron Harper could surface on the team’s radar as well.

• Lakers.com reporter Mike Trudell sat down with Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak to discuss how the team is attacking the offseason. When asked about Dwight Howard, Kupchak called the free agent center "our future."
• According to a tweet from SI.com's Chris Mannix, the Suns have officially added Jerry Sichting, Mike Longabardi, Kenny Gattison, and Mark West to head coach Jeff Hornacek's coaching staff.
• Clippers center DeAndre Jordan was rumored to be headed to the Celtics in exchange for Doc Rivers and Kevin Garnett last week. Now that the NBA has made such a deal impossible, Jordan says he hopes Rivers accepts him as his center instead of Garnett, tweets Los Angeles Times scribe Brad Turner.