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Southeast Notes: Wizards, Valanciunas, Hawks, Heat Camp

September 30th, 2024 at 9:49pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Wizards are content to continue developing their young talent and laying the groundwork for a successful future, Varun Shankar of The Washington Post writes.

“It’s process over outcomes,” head coach Brian Keefe said on Monday. “I’m a competitor. I want to win, but I want to go into the stuff that gets us to win. … How we prepare, how we handle practices, how we handle shootarounds, how we handle film sessions. Those are the things that’s going to build us to be a sustainable winner.”

Washington had a busy offseason, adding veterans like Jonas Valanciunas, Malcolm Brogdon and Saddiq Bey while drafting Alex Sarr, Carlton Carrington and Kyshawn George.

Although the Wizards are expected to be toward the bottom of the league’s hierarchy again, Keefe helped turn the team around midway through the year. They went just 8-31 under him, but they went from being dead last in the league in clutch games played to first during that stretch.

“We’re not giving up, okay? We’re going to lose some games … but we’re not going to lose games [where we] give up end of the third, halftime. [We’re going to] fight till the end, no matter what, up or down,” Valanciunas said.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

Wizards veterans are happy that Valanciunas made the decision to join the team in free agency, Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network writes in a subscriber-only story. The 32-year-old Valanciunas has been in the league since he was 20 and holds career averages of 13.4 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.
The Hawks announced a series of front office promotions and hires in a press release, including Daniel Starkman being elevated to vice president of player personnel. In addition, Jay Rodriguez was hired as pro personnel coordinator, Miles Simon and Bubba Burrage were hired as pro scouts and Nick Restifo as director of basketball research. Ben Peterson, Ryan Donahue, Ryan Brooks, Paddy Hogben and John Dusel were among the other additions/promotions. Starkman previously served as the general manager of the team’s G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks.
Atlanta added some size on the wings while getting a bit younger, Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes in a piece recapping the team’s media day. No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher and Dyson Daniels figure to factor into the rotation while the Hawks also added Larry Nance Jr. Meanwhile, Onyeka Okongwu, Kobe Bufkin, Mouhamed Gueye and Seth Lundy all received positive injury updates. Lastly, Williams writes the Hawks are still considering whether Cody Zeller will make the roster.
The Heat have a roster full of players out to prove doubters wrong, Ira Winderman of South Florida’s Sun Sentinel writes. “No matter what it is, we’re going to find a way to make us have a chip on our shoulder,” Jaime Jaquez said. “I think even going in, I think it’s seven national TV games for the Miami Heat. That’s what the NBA thinks of us. And that’s OK, because i guarantee that they’re going to still be talking about us when the season goes on and we play our season.“

Suns Officially Announce Changes To Coaching Staff

June 21st, 2023 at 4:37pm CST by Rory Maher

The Suns were among the teams to make a coaching change this offseason, replacing Monty Williams with Frank Vogel earlier this month. Vogel and the team have been quickly working to assemble his coaching staff, with Phoenix issuing a press release on Wednesday to make several new hires official.

The only returning assistant coach is Kevin Young, who was a finalist for Phoenix’s head coaching job and ultimately stuck with the Suns after they made him the highest-paid assistant in the league.

The new additions, some of which were previously reported, are as follows:

David Fizdale, the former head coach of the Grizzlies and Knicks who was an assistant under Vogel with the Lakers in 2021/22. Fizdale was an associate GM with the Jazz this past season.
Quinton Crawford, who was an assistant with the Mavericks this past season and spent three years under Vogel with the Lakers from 2019-22, winning a title in 2020.
Miles Simon, a former Arizona star who was an assistant with the Lakers for four seasons prior to becoming the head coach of the South Bay Lakers, the team’s G League affiliate, the past two seasons.
Greg St. Jean, another former assistant with the Lakers under Vogel who went to Dallas with Jason Kidd in ’21/22.
John Lucas III, a former NBA point guard who was an assistant under Vogel in ’21/22.
Dru Anthrop, who had been head video coordinator and a member of the Lakers’ staff since ’19/20.
Jon Pastorek, a former Lakers player development coach and advance scout.

The Suns enter ’23/24 with the goal of winning their first championship, having agreed to a trade that will bring Bradley Beal to Phoenix after landing Kevin Durant in February.

Pacific Notes: Westbrook, Vezenkov, Suns, Dunleavy, Lakers

June 17th, 2023 at 9:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

Russell Westbrook will have to balance money vs. playing time when he makes his decision in free agency, write Law Murray and Danny Leroux of The Athletic.

Westbrook took over as the starting point guard after he signed with the Clippers in February and raised his value by averaging 15.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 7.6 assists in 21 games. Leroux speculates that there may not be another team willing to give him a starting role, although opportunities exist if he’s willing to be the first guard off the bench.

The Clippers would prefer to keep Westbrook, but without his Bird rights, they’re limited to an offer of 120% of the veteran’s minimum. Although L.A. could theoretically trim enough salary below the $179.5MM second apron to offer Westbrook the mid-level exception, that wouldn’t be a huge raise because it’s being lowered to $5MM in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Leroux suggests that owner Steve Ballmer could try to re-sign Westbrook with an unspoken understanding that he’ll get a bigger deal next summer when the team will have his Early Bird rights.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

The Kings are determined to bring Sasha Vezenkov to Sacramento next season, according to Christos Tsaltas of Sportal. High-ranking team officials traveled to Greece this season to watch Vezenkov in action and to learn more about his character and work habits. The Kings see Vezenkov as a back-up to Keegan Murray and believe they’re versatile enough to play together, Tsaltas adds.
Miles Simon and John Lucas III are the latest additions to Frank Vogel‘s coaching staff with the Suns, tweets Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report. Simon was the head coach of the South Bay Lakers in the G League, and they both worked under Vogel in L.A.
New general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. was brought to the Warriors‘ management team by his former agent, Bob Myers, shortly after he retired as a player, notes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Myers hired Dunleavy as a scout in 2018, and he worked his way up through the organization. He has been taking on more of Myers’ duties over the past two years, including attending the league’s gatherings of general managers.
The Lakers hosted six players for a pre-draft workout on Saturday, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN. On hand were UConn’s Andre Jackson Jr., Stetson’s Sam Peek, Chattanooga’s Jake Stephens, Overtime Elite’s Jazian Gortman, Texas’ Timmy Allen and Arizona’s Azuolas Tubelis. L.A. has the 17th and 47th picks in this year’s draft.

Southeast Notes: Hawks’ Coaching Search, Schofield, Gill

February 22nd, 2023 at 10:19am CST by Luke Adams

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Tuesday that Quin Snyder, Kenny Atkinson, and Charles Lee will be among the Hawks‘ head coaching candidates as the team searches for a permanent replacement for Nate McMillan, who was let go during the All-Star break.

Shams Charania of The Athletic confirms those names and adds a few more to the Hawks’ list of possible targets, reporting (via Twitter) that Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez, Spurs assistant Mitch Johnson, and South Bay Lakers coach Miles Simon are expected to receive consideration from Atlanta.

Fernandez has generated some head coaching buzz in the past, but as far as I can tell, this is the first time either Johnson or Simon has been connected to a head coaching opening at the NBA level.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

McMillan took the fall for the Hawks‘ “organizational-wide failure” this season, according to Jeff Schultz of The Athletic, who argues that – even if McMillan’s dismissal was justified – the team’s problems extend beyond the job the head coach did. Schultz cites front office dysfunction as one key issue for the Hawks in recent months.
Admiral Schofield‘s new contract with the Magic is a two-year, minimum-salary deal, Hoops Rumors has learned. Schofield will earn $506,508 for the rest of this season and Orlando will hold a $1,997,238 team option on the forward for 2023/24.
Wizards forward Anthony Gill hasn’t played a major role in D.C. this season, averaging a modest 10.0 minutes per game in 41 appearances. However, Gill’s enthusiasm and positivity have made him an important culture-setter for the club, as Ava Wallace outlines in an interesting story for The Washington Post. Gill signed a guaranteed two-year, minimum-salary deal with the Wizards last summer, so he remains under contract for $2MM next season.

Lakers Notes: Rondo, Davis, Lineups, G League

September 2nd, 2021 at 9:02pm CST by Luke Adams

While the Lakers have high hopes for guards Kendrick Nunn and Talen Horton-Tucker, both players are relatively young, so the decision to sign Rajon Rondo reflects the team’s desire to hedge its bets in the backcourt, writes Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report.

Los Angeles may not lean heavily on Rondo, who will turn 36 during the 2021/22 season, but he gives the team a proven backup at the point in case Nunn and Horton-Tucker struggle at all. Rondo is also more of a distributor than Nunn and Horton-Tucker, who are score-first guards, so he could be a better fit in certain lineups and situations.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

Within his article on the Rondo signing, Pincus cites a source who says Anthony Davis was frustrated at times last season with the looks he got in the post from Dennis Schröder compared to the ones he got from Rondo the year before. That may have been one factor in the Lakers’ decision to let Schröder walk in free agency.
Jovan Buha of The Athletic identifies five Lakers lineups he’s looking forward to seeing in 2021/22, including a switchable, center-less unit (LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Kent Bazemore, Trevor Ariza, and Horton-Tucker) and one in which LeBron is surrounded by shooters (Malik Monk, Wayne Ellington, Carmelo Anthony, and Marc Gasol).
The South Bay Lakers – Los Angeles’ G League affiliate – officially announced Miles Simon as the team’s head coach for the 2021/22 season. Simon has spent the last four seasons as an assistant on the Lakers’ staff and coached the team’s Summer League squad in 2017 and 2018.

Pacific Notes: Westbrook, Simon, Poole, Jackson, Leonard

August 12th, 2021 at 8:39pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers‘ addition of Russell Westbrook should ease the burden on LeBron James as a playmaker and scorer. The newest Laker sees that as his main role with the team, Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes.

“Bron is one of the best players to play this game, and his ability to be able to kind of do everything on the floor allows me to be able to just figure it out,” Westbrook said. “I’m coming to a championship-caliber team and my job is to make sure that I’m able to make his game easier for him, and I’ll find ways to do that throughout the game.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

The Lakers are negotiating with Miles Simon to become the head coach of their G League team, the South Bay Lakers, ESPN’s Zach Lowe tweets. Simon would also retain a role on Frank Vogel‘s staff, Lowe adds.
The Warriors didn’t make a splashy move for a veteran guard and they’re looking at Jordan Poole to play a prominent role, particularly until Klay Thompson is ready to return to the starting lineup. according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “Being able to bring someone back of that type of caliber, it’s going to separate us,” Poole said of Thompson. “We don’t want to rush him back. Whenever he’s healthy and able to benefit, we will jump to another level as a team.” Poole, who averaged 12 PPG last season, is entering his third season.
Reggie Jackson‘s new contract with the Clippers includes a 15% trade kicker, Lowe reports in another tweet. Jackson received a two-year, $22MM deal to remain in Los Angeles.
Kawhi Leonard is expected to miss most or all of next season as he recovers from knee surgery. However, the Clippers won’t be able to apply for a $9.5MM disabled player exception for Leonard because he entered free agency and re-signed since suffering the injury, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.

Luke Walton: “No Interest” In Coaching At Arizona

April 7th, 2021 at 8:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kings head coach Luke Walton isn’t interested in taking over at Arizona, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Two decades ago, Walton was a star player for the Wildcats, who created a vacancy by firing Sean Miller today.

“No, no interest,” Walton said. “I love Arizona. I think Sean Miller did an amazing job there in his time, but I have a job. I have a job that I love. I have a group I love working with, so I’m very committed to being here in Sacramento and keeping this going in the direction that we want it to go and getting this team back into the playoffs.”

Walton is in his second season running the Kings and still has two years and $11.5MM left on his contract. There was speculation about his future after Sacramento got off to a slow start, but a report last month indicated his job is safe, at least through the end of the season. The Kings have edged back into the race for a spot in a play-in game and are 12th in the West at 22-29.

Walton spent four seasons at Arizona from 1999-2003, playing for legendary coach Lute Olson. He earned First-Team All-Pac 10 honors two times.

Several other Arizona alumni have been mentioned as possible replacements for Miller, Anderson adds, including Lakers assistant coach Miles Simon, who has been with the team since 2017. Other rumored names include former NBA player and current Pacific head coach Damon Stoudamire and Georgia Tech head coach Josh Pastner.

Lakers Officially Announce Coaching Staff

July 31st, 2019 at 3:24pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have officially announced the assistant coaches who will join new head coach Frank Vogel on the team’s bench this season.

As expected, former head coaches Jason Kidd and Lionel Hollins are the headliners of the group. Their deals with the team were previously reported, as was Phil Handy‘s. Handy has appeared in five consecutive NBA Finals, having coached in Cleveland before joining the Raptors for the 2018/19 season.

The Lakers also confirmed the previously-reported hirings of former Lakers player Mike Penberthy and former Hornets player development coach Quinton Crawford, both of whom will be assistants. Miles Simon will be the only returning assistant from last season’s staff.

“I could not be more excited about the group we’ve assembled,” Vogel said in a statement. “Each of these guys brings a unique set of skills and experiences that will greatly impact the success of our players, as we look to build a championship-caliber team.”

The Lakers also announced that they’ve hired Greg St. Jean as a player development coach/advance scout and Dru Anthrop as the team’s head video coordinator/player development coach.