Mike Woodson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Notes: Woodson, Metta World Peace

February 7th, 2014 at 10:52pm CST by Cray Allred

The Knicks won convincingly over the Nuggets tonight, but it will take a prolonged convincing stretch of winning basketball to silence all the chatter surrounding the team in the middle of a hugely disappointing season. Here’s the latest from tonight:

Coach Mike Woodson spoke to reporters before tonight’s win against the Nuggets, saying, “I am still the head coach of the Knicks and I proudly say that,” per Al Iannazzone of Newsday. This comes on the heels of mounting reports that he will be, and expects to be, fired. Woodson added: “Do I think I’m the guy for the job? Absolutely I do.”
Carmelo Anthony turned in a great performance in the win, and confirmed that he had met with Knicks owner James Dolan, though he claims the conversation didn’t involve Woodson’s fate as speculated, per Frank Isola of New York Daily News (via Twitter). “Just talking. I had tea. We had tea. That’s it. We didn’t get into details about anything.”
Melo also gave his support to Woodson, saying the Knicks players need to “help” the coach get off the hot seat with improved play, per a tweet from ESPN New York’s Ian Begley.
Metta World Peace isn’t worried about being traded, according to The New York Post’s Marc Berman. “That’s up to my agent. I don’t worry about it. I’m optimistic about my future. I don’t want to rush anything and I’m not going to complain.” A person close to the veteran tells Berman that he wouldn’t mind getting moved, citing his frustration with a lack of playing time in coach Mike Woodson’s rotation. His agent, Marc Cornstein, told Berman that he hasn’t been given an answer as to why his client has seen such limited time on the floor: “Usually, I’ll get an answer, not always the one I want to hear. But I don’t have an answer for you on this.’’

Knicks Consider Firing Woodson Before Deadline

February 7th, 2014 at 1:10pm CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 1:10pm: Woodson and several assistants expect to be fired before the All-Star break, sources tell Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.com. Still, Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck hears from sources who the believe the team will let Woodson finish the season.

WEDNESDAY, 8:29am: Knicks coach Mike Woodson has seemingly been on unsteady ground much of the season, and with losses and internal criticism mounting, there’s a chance the team will dismiss Woodson before the February 20th trade deadline, a source tells Steve Popper of The Bergen Record. The Knicks hit a new low with a loss to the league-worst Bucks on Monday, and Amar’e Stoudemire is the latest to question the coach’s decision-making.

Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler have also voiced displeasure with some of Woodson’s on-court moves. Owner James Dolan gave Woodson a vote of confidence in November, but that pronouncement didn’t seem to have much staying power, and by December upper management was evaluating him on a game-by-game basis. Woodson helped draw himself back from the brink with a win over the Bucks that month, but it sounds like Monday’s loss has pushed the coach back in the other direction.

The Knicks are in tenth place in the Eastern Conference at 19-29, two games out of the final playoff spot, and they have little reason to be content with entering the draft lottery, since they traded their 2014 first-round pick in the deal to acquire Anthony. A rumor earlier this season suggested assistant GM Allan Houston might be in line to take over for Woodson if the team changes coaches. Multiple reports have linked the Knicks to Tom Thibodeau, but that seems a long shot, and Thibodeau almost certainly wouldn’t leave the Bulls for New York until after the season.

Eastern Notes: Bynum, Bobcats, Woodson

February 6th, 2014 at 10:11pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Bobcats are going to be buyers at the trade deadline, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.com. With the Bobcats having exceeded expectations this season, and with the overall weakness of the Eastern Conference, the team will try and bolster their roster for a playoff push. The team has been actively shopping Ben Gordon‘s expiring $13.2MM contract, and would be willing to part with a first-round pick for the right player. Charlotte will surrender their pick to the Bulls if it falls out of the top ten, but might still have two first-rounders in this year’s draft. They are owed the Pistons first-round pick (top-eight protected), as well as the Trail Blazers pick (top-12 protected). According to Kennedy, the Bobcats have already inquired about the Sixers Evan Turner, and the Bulls Taj Gibson.

Knicks Rumors: Woodson, Melo, Boeheim

February 6th, 2014 at 8:03pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With all the rumors flying around about coach Mike Woodson‘s job security, any issue can become a major one rather quickly. The players might not have quit on Woodson, writes Ian Begley of ESPN.com, but they are growing tired of having their effort questioned by him. Last month some players expressed their frustration privately to reporters, and a few players communicated their frustration directly to Knicks management, according to Begley. This discontent could be indicative of a schism between the players and their coach, or simply a product of the toll losing takes on a team.

More notes out of the Knicks realm:

In light of all the speculation about Woodson’s job security, some players are growing weary of their coach, Begley writes in a separate piece The players might possibly be tuning out Woodson, unsure if he will be their coach for much longer. Begley also touches more on the players becoming frustrated with having their effort questioned, which was mentioned in Begley’s previous article. J.R. Smith, who had earlier spoken out in support of his coach, admitted he’s worried Woodson ultimately will take the fall for the Knicks’ poor performance.
Woodson called this season a “disaster from a coaching standpoint,” but he doesn’t want to see it end prematurely for him, writes Al Iannazzone of New York Newsday. Woodson said the failure of the coaching staff to get the players to consistently play at a high level is the most difficult thing for him to accept about his performance. He also stated, “That’s the frustrating part about it because I know we’re better than we’ve shown. We still got a chance though.”
Carmelo Anthony‘s college coach Jim Boeheim believes Melo needs to play for a contender, Begley notes in a third piece. Boeheim stated, “The problem in the NBA, you’re judged on winning championships. He’s got to try to go and play where they can win a championship or else he’s going to be a failure. That’s the bottom line.” Boeheim disagrees with the notion, but understands that is how superstar players are ultimately judged. He also believes that Melo is happy in New York, but will ultimately choose winning over comfort, wherever that might be. In the same article, Woodson says he hopes Melo looks at more than just this season when making his choice. “He’s got to look at really the last two years, too, what he’s built here. And not just use this year as a year where you throw in the towel,” Woodson said. Anthony will opt out of his contract after the season and become an unrestricted free agent. The Knicks can offer the most money, but if winning is a priority, that edge might not be enough to retain their star.

Knicks Rumors: Woodson, Williams, Johnson

February 6th, 2014 at 2:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Knicks endured another loss Wednesday, and though they put up a fight against a strong Blazers team, New York fell to 19-30, and rumors persist that Mike Woodson could soon lose his job. Here’s the latest:

The Knicks have discussed making assistant coach Herb Williams interim head coach if they fire Woodson, reports Steve Popper of The Bergen Record. The team would also get rid of most of Woodson’s assistants in that scenario, Popper writes, adding that Larry Johnson is a candidate to serve as an assistant under Williams.
Woodson’s firing would set up a summer pursuit of Tom Thibodeau, Jeff Van Gundy and Stan Van Gundy, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. The Knicks would pass over assistants Darrell Walker and Jim Todd, both of whom have head coaching experience, because the team believes they’re too closely allied with Woodson, Berman adds.
J.R. Smith says he is “without a doubt” fearful that Woodson will lose his job, Newsday’s Al Iannazzone tweets. Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com has more from last year’s Sixth Man of the Year. “I love Coach Woodson,” Smith said. “I think he’s done a great job. But it’s out of my hands. So I would hope not [if management opts to make a change], but if it does then we have to live with it.”
Jeff Van Gundy would want a major payday, control over the team’s basketball operations, and a relaxation of the team’s draconian media rules if he were to agree to coach the Knicks, sources tell ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.
In the same piece, Smith opines that the Knicks should realize how unattractive they are to free agents and trade Carmelo Anthony before the deadline rather than risk him leaving in the offseason.
Woodson admits the season has been a supreme disappointment, as Ian Begley notes via Twitter. “This year, for me, has been kind of a disaster from a coaching standpoint … and trying to get players to play at a high level,” Woodson said.

Atlantic Links: Brown, Stoudemire, Carmelo

February 4th, 2014 at 10:30pm CST by Ryan Raroque

After previously being part of a Spurs coaching staff that helped San Antonio win three titles, Philadelphia head coach Brett Brown tells Keith Pompey of The Inquirer that bringing a championship culture to the 76ers is much tougher than he anticipated:

“It’s much harder…It’s something that I didn’t judge properly. It doesn’t diminish my enthusiasm being here. I just recognize the monster ahead of us…Trying to build a program to the level we hope to build it to requires so much work and so much luck. And there is no wiggle room. You can’t skip a single step.”

You can find some more miscellaneous links worth passing along out of the Atlantic Division below:

Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire is more than eager to be a contributor and asserted that he’s ready to play without minute restrictions: “From a doctor’s standpoint, there hasn’t been (minute) limitations since the first week of the season…So we can’t keep saying limitations; that’s a coach’s decision at the end of the day. I feel great. I am ready to play. But it’s up to him if he wants to play me or not” (Frank Isola of the New York Daily News).
Stoudemire added that he’s spoken with head coach Mike Woodson about increasing his role: “Yeah. I talk to Coach all the time about it. He knows I am ready. He knows how hard I train. He watches me in the weight room and also on the basketball court. The whole training staff knows, the Knicks organization knows how hard I train. I am ready to play. But it depends on how the game is played.”
In response to Mike Wilbon’s recent argument on ESPN that the Bulls should look to add Carmelo Anthony on the premise that stars win in this league, ESPN New York’s Ohm Youngmisuk thinks the same can be said for why the Knicks must do what they can to keep him in New York.
Henry Abbott and David Thorpe of ESPN discuss why Tyson Chandler hasn’t been able to make the same defensive impact we’re used to seeing from seasons past.
Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News explains why Raymond Felton isn’t fit to be the team’s starting point guard.
Tim Bontemps of the New York Post looks at how Shaun Livingston orchestrated his mid-season turnaround. The Peoria native put up 9.2 PPG on 46.1% shooting to go with 4.5 RPG and 1.5 SPG in 29.7 MPG during Brooklyn’s 10-3 stretch in January, and is averaging 18.5 PPG on 51.9% shooting over his last two contests.

Poll: Will Knicks Keep Woodson After 2013/14?

January 23rd, 2014 at 10:07pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Since the 1946/47 season, the Knicks have topped the 50-win mark 13 times. Last year, Mike Woodson led New York to 54 wins, joining Jeff Van Gundy, Pat Riley, Rick Pitino, and Red Holzman as the only five head coaches in Knicks history to accomplish such a feat. The 2013/14 season offers nothing but a stark contrast in comparison to last season’s success, as Woodson’s club stands 15-27 and would have to go 35 and 5 over the remaining 40 games in order to reach 50 wins again.

Earlier in December, after a nine-game losing streak sent the Knicks to a 3-13 record over the first 16 games, Carmelo Anthony publicly admitted that he, along with a few other teammates, became worried about Woodson’s job security (Ian Begley of ESPN New York):

“Yeah, we’re worried about (Woodson’s job). But then again, we’ve got to worry about playing basketball…We can’t worry about the speculation that’s going on outside this building and we shouldn’t…And as a leader of this team, I’ll try my best not to allow that.”

Although a 6-1 record over the new year’s first seven games briefly brought the Knicks into the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference, the team’s recent five-game losing streak erased most, if not all of that momentum. It’s also worth noting that Anthony and co-captain Tyson Chandler publicly made comments about lack of adjustments and being “out-schemed” respectively in recent losses to the Pacers and Nets (Marc Berman of the New York Post). Though Chandler would later insist that his comments weren’t a knock on Woodson, Anthony told Ian Begley of ESPN New York: “…whatever’s happening is going to happen and it’s out of my hands and it will get dealt with.”

Whether or not those comments allude to Woodson’s job security can be left to interpretation, though it doesn’t seem that the team’s current situation is any better than it was when Anthony had been worried about the Knicks head coach in early December. With the possibility that the Knicks star exercises an early termination option this summer, it can’t be too far-fetched to wonder if New York would consider severing ties with Woodson if it meant helping their chances at retaining Anthony, especially if the Knicks missed the playoffs or suffered an embarrassing playoff exit. What are your thoughts? At this rate, do you think Mike Woodson will be retained beyond this season?

Odds & Ends: Butler, Woodson, LeBron

January 23rd, 2014 at 8:52pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Last week, Caron Butler seemed to vent a little frustration about his role in Milwaukee after he was removed from the starting lineup recently in favor of giving more minutes to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, telling reporters:

“The information I received before coming here is that ‘You’re going to play a lot…And I want to play. I want to be out there to help the situation.”

Since then, Butler appears to have changed tune and reiterated that he wants to stay in Milwaukee, personally taking team owner Herb Kohl aside to let him know how much he values being a part of the Bucks organization:

“I had a moment with Sen. Kohl after the game because I really wanted to talk to him and express to him how excited I am to be here…I want to be here in Milwaukee and I want to be part of the process…This is home to me. I want to help these guys develop” (Gery Woelfel of JournalTimes.com). Woelfel adds that Butler also held similar discussions with GM John Hammond and head coach Larry Drew, whom Butler reportedly has a “healthy rapport with.”

Here’s more from around the Association tonight:

Despite a disastrous season and questions of Carmelo Anthony‘s long-term future in New York as the Knicks continue to struggle, head coach Mike Woodson doesn’t think Anthony would request a trade by the February deadline: “Melo I think is on board. I know he’s on board…He’s going to be there to the bitter end if it’s a bitter end. But right now he’s going to be there. I trust he’s going to stay there. we got to make sure everybody else is on board’’ (Marc Berman of the New York Post).
Heat superstar LeBron James thinks it’s too early to say whether or not he’ll play when Team USA participates in the 2016 Olympics: “I don’t know where I stand for 2016…Obviously, if I’m healthy in 2016 that summer, if I can get to leading our country by playing, then that would be great to be a part of that…But I can’t commit to it right now” (Charlie McCarthy of FOX Sports Florida).
Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times thinks the Bulls may be better off without Luol Deng and explains why the reverse isn’t necessarily true. Cowley thinks Deng would prioritize a shot at a title rather than playing tutor on a young Cavaliers team, and that head coach Mike Brown has already shown signs of not knowing how to use the 28-year-old forward.
Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press thinks of Dwight Howard‘s snub from starting the All-Star game this year as proof of how much damage he’s done to his reputation over the last few years and that there’s rebuilding to be done (Twitter link).
According to Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee, the Kings have finalized a deal to buy Downtown Plaza from JMA, a San Francisco-based firm that had purchased the mall back in 2012. The Kings and the city of Sacramento plan to use the site to construct a new $448MM arena.

Atlantic Notes: Woodson, Brown, Noel

January 22nd, 2014 at 7:06pm CST by Cray Allred

While the Knicks have returned to their losing ways of late, the Nets appear to be stabilizing as a winning team. Star point guard Deron Williams credits Jason Kidd‘s development as a coach for the change, per Stefan Bondy of New York Daily News. “I think since [former assistant coach Frank Lawrence] has left…He was leaning on (Frank) a lot,” Williams said of Kidd. “Now I think he’s coaching the way he wants to and doing things the way he wants to so that’s what you’re seeing.” Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Ian Begley of ESPN New York thinks that Knicks head coach Mike Woodson could soon be back on the hot seat, wondering if he has lost the locker room during their current four-game losing streak. He has been at odds with multiple players, most recently with star center Tyson Chandler.
Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders thinks that it’s time for the Knicks to trade away both Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler, citing the team’s mediocrity and the salary burden that could come with Melo even if he did re-sign with New York. Since the team would likely have to give a max contract under his Bird Rights, they would be committing to over $26MM a year for one player through his early thirties. Beer thinks a wiser course is to get something in return for him now, struggle for two years (the Knicks have their 2015 draft pick, but not their 2014 pick) and maintain large cap space heading into the potentially huge free agent market of 2015.
Sixers coach Brett Brown used the time afforded by the team’s lengthy coaching search to research the job and ponder whether he wanted to take it, as he tells Grantland’s Zach Lowe. Brown also says he sees “Ryan Anderson-type” stretch power forwards as a lasting innovation.
Brett Brown also said that it’s possible that Sixers rookie Nerlens Noel, who they took 6th overall in last year’s draft, could miss the rest of the season despite recently gaining medical clearance to play, per Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. “I mean, anything’s possible,” says Brown. “I mean at this stage, we’re moving forward and he’s doing a good job.”

Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Celtics, Green

January 22nd, 2014 at 12:32pm CST by Chuck Myron

The average value of an NBA franchise is $634MM, a 25% jump over last year, according to Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes.com. The Knicks lead the way with a valuation of $1.4 billion, helped along by renovations to Madison Square Garden. Only four NBA teams lost money last year, Badenhausen writes, though Grantland’s Zach Lowe notes that the league usually disputes the numbers in the Forbes annual report (Twitter link). While the Knicks appear to be doing just fine financially, that isn’t the case on the court or in the locker room, as we detail amid our look at the Atlantic Division:

There have been some hard feelings between Mike Woodson and Tyson Chandler, as Frank Isola of the New York Daily News examines, noting that Knicks GM Steve Mills isn’t thrilled with Woodson’s job performance.
The Celtics highly value a player’s zeal for the game, as their 10-day signing of Chris Johnson and dismissal of Keith Bogans indicate, but it won’t be easy for Johnson to get a deal with Boston for the rest of the season, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. Presumably that applies to the newly signed Vander Blue, as well. The C’s are close to the luxury tax line, and keeping roster spots open will help the team retain flexibility for trades in advance of the February 20th deadline, Forsberg explains.
Jeff Green tells Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher that the Celtics haven’t indicated to him that he’s on the trade block, as Bucher notes at the end of his piece.
Danny Ainge didn’t say whether he envisions a long-term future in Boston for Kris Humphries, who’s expressed a desire to stay, but the Celtics GM tells Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe that he didn’t expect Humphries to perform as well as he has. Ainge was nonetheless high on the power forward even before the trade that brought Humphries to Boston this summer.
Nets GM Billy King thinks Jason Kidd is “coming into his own” as a coach, as he said on The Stephen A. Smith and Ryan Ruocco Show on ESPN New York 98.7, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com. Mirza Teletovic expressed similar sentiments in a conversation last night with Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).
King also confirmed on radio that it’s unlikely Edin Bavcic, a throw-in to Wednesday’s Tyshawn Taylor trade, ever plays for the Nets. King said the roster spot the team opened via that transaction enhances the possibility the Nets will use the disabled player exception for Brook Lopez to add a player. Youngmisuk has more from the Nets GM in the same piece.