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Thunder Notes: Durant, Waiters, Mohammed

June 1st, 2016 at 7:18pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kevin Durant, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, said the two most important factors for him in deciding where to play next season will be a strong environment and solid personnel around him, Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman relays. “Just when I sit down and think about it — to be honest, I haven’t put that list together, I guess,” Durant responded when asked what he is looking for in a team. “Just being around great people, being in a great basketball environment, that’s the two most important things for me. That’s all I really care about. Who I’m going to be doing life with every single day, who I’m going to be playing basketball with every day.”

The small forward also noted that the reports he wants to be courted by prospective teams are not true, Slater adds. “I never said that. That’s not who I am. Whatever this thing entails, I’m ready to take it head on, but I’m not that type of person,” Durant said. “I mean, that’s not really — like I said, the two most important things for me is being around great people and having fun playing basketball. All that other stuff that comes with, being who I am and being in this position, it’s not really what I’m concerned with. So I never said that, obviously. You could say that about any player in this position, but yeah.”

Here’s more from OKC:

  • Shooting guard Dion Waiters is eligible for restricted free agency this summer, but said that he hopes to return to the Thunder next season, Slater writes in a separate article. “Of course,” Waiters said when asked if he wanted to remain in Oklahoma City. “Why not? Since I got here I feel as though they have helped me become a better person off the court. It’s not even about basketball. I’ve never been connected with a group of guys like this that I’m actually close to. Why not? The best fans in the world. I’m definitely looking forward to coming back.”
  • Veteran big man Nazr Mohammed said he would like to become an NBA GM in the future, Slater tweets. It’s unclear if the 38-year-old intends to retire and pursue a front-office position this summer. Mohammed will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason after appearing in just five contests this past season.
  • Assistant coach Monty Williams will not return to the team next season, head coach Billy Donovan said, Fred Katz of The Norman Transcript relays (via Twitter). It’s unclear if Williams will take the season off to deal with family matters in the wake of his wife’s tragic passing or if he intends to catch on with another team.
  • Nick Collison, Randy Foye and Anthony Morrow all said that they expect to be back with the team, but noted that much of the Thunder’s offseason plans depend on what Durant decides, Slater relays in a series of tweets. Collison’s deal for 2016/17 is fully guaranteed, but Foye is set to become an unrestricted free agent and Morrow’s pact is non-guaranteed.
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Reactions To Lakers Firing Byron Scott

April 25th, 2016 at 10:01am CST by Eddie Scarito

The biggest question regarding the Lakers’ decision to part ways with head coach Byron Scott isn’t whether or not he deserved to get fired, but rather, why the franchise waited until Sunday night to do so, Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post writes. The decision should have been made at the end of the regular season and not after two of the top names came off the board in Tom Thibodeau (Timberwolves) and Scott Brooks (Wizards), Bontemps opines. Bontemps does note that Thibodeau may not have been a good fit given his desire for personnel control, something the Lakers aren’t currently willing to hand over to a new coach, the scribe adds.

Here’s more regarding the Lakers and Scott:

  • Scott was essentially fired for following the organization’s unofficial directive to focus on the Kobe Bryant farewell tour this season and to secure a top three pick in the draft, Sam Amico of Amico Hoops writes. The scribe also believes it’s surprising that GM Mitch Kupchak has been able to retain his post given the team’s struggles.
  • The Lakers will also look to the college ranks in the search for a new head coach, and while Kentucky’s John Calipari is an intriguing possibility, the organization isn’t 100% sold on him being a good fit, tweets Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times.
  • Despite the Lakers’ rough 2015/16 campaign, Scott had advocates within the organization who pointed to the difficulties involved with managing Bryant’s final season and the late-season progress the former coach had made in relating to the team’s younger players, writes Sam Amick of USA Today. The USA Today scribe also notes that primary owner Jeanie Buss, reportedly one of those advocates, wasn’t involved in the decision to fire Scott, as she deferred instead to team executive Jim Buss and Kupchak on the matter.
  • One Lakers player told Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News that he wasn’t shocked the team fired the coach and that a “fresh start could be good” (Twitter link).
  • Two available names whom the Lakers should consider when searching for their next head coach are former Houston coach Kevin McHale and Thunder assistant Monty Williams, writes Mark Whicker of The Orange County Register. McHale’s stock has only risen since being fired by the Rockets this season, given their subsequent struggles in his absence, while Williams’ calm and steady demeanor would be a benefit to the franchise’s younger players, Whicker opines.
  • One option for the Lakers is to wait to hire a new coach until July, which would allow big-name free agent player targets to have input, writes Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The disadvantage to such a strategy would be the risk of missing out on other top candidates, given that the Kings and Knicks are still in the hunt for new head coaches, Kennedy adds.
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Latest On Kings Coaching Search

April 21st, 2016 at 5:34pm CST by Chuck Myron

THURSDAY, 5:34pm: McMillan intends to wait until the Pacers’ playoff run is over before interviewing for the Kings’ post, Sam Amick of USA Today tweets.

6:50pm: There has been no official contact yet, but the Kings are also interested in former Nuggets coach Brian Shaw, reports Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter links). The interest is mutual, Amick says.

WEDNESDAY, 10:19am: Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton and Kings GM Vlade Divac are expected to meet to discuss Sacramento’s head coaching vacancy, likely after Golden State’s first-round playoff series with Houston, according to Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. Walton is “extremely fond” of Divac, who was briefly his Lakers teammate, and the location of Sacramento is increasingly appealing to Walton, who is fond of life in Northern California and has several close relatives in the Sacramento area, Voisin writes. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said Monday that no team had asked permission to interview his top assistant, but Voisin reported Tuesday that Walton was among the coaches to whom the Kings had reached out.

Divac is especially interested in Walton, Spurs assistant Ettore Messina and NBA coaching veterans Tom Thibodeau and Scott Brooks, but he’s planned to speak with several others. Divac is inquiring about the interest of Monty Williams, Jeff Van Gundy, Spurs assistant Ime Udoka and at least two college coaches, among other names previously reported as Kings coaching targets, Voisin relays. The Kings are poised to interview Sam Mitchell, Vinny Del Negro and Mike Woodson, according to reports. Mitchell’s interview is to take place today, a source told The Bee’s Jason Jones.

Sacramento has natural appeal to Brooks, who’s from the nearby city of French Camp, California, but Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported last week that he’s not interested in coaching the Kings, with the Wizards apparently the front-runner for the former Thunder head coach. Thibodeau and Van Gundy, apparent co-favorites for the Timberwolves job, don’t want to coach Sacramento either, according to Wojnarowski.

The Kings have reached out to Messina, as Voisin reported previously, though Messina and fellow Spurs assistant Udoka are busy with the playoffs. Both were reportedly candidates for the Nets vacancy, with Udoka the apparent front-runner at one point before the job instead went to Hawks assistant Kenny Atkinson, who also reportedly drew interest from the Kings.

Williams is a Thunder assistant but has been away from the team since his wife died in February. He won’t rejoin the team for the playoffs and, as The Oklahoman’s Anthony Slater hears, he’s not expected to return to Oklahoma City for next season, either. Top free agent Kevin Durant has a close bond with Williams, the former Pelicans head coach.

Kevin McHale, Mark Jackson, David Blatt, Jeff Hornacek, Patrick Ewing, Nate McMillan and Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga are the other candidates in whom the Kings are reportedly interested. Sources who spoke with Marc Stein of ESPN.com have speculated that Heat assistant David Fizdale and former Cavs and Lakers coach Mike Brown could become Kings candidates as well.

Which of the many names mentioned here do you like best for the Kings? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

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Western Notes: Watson, Conley, Williams

April 20th, 2016 at 6:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Earl Watson possesses all the qualities the Suns were seeking in their next head coach, and he firmly won over the front office with his preparedness during the interview process, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. “The more and more we discussed it, Earl continued to emerge from the front of the pack and really had everything we were looking for at the top of our list in terms of ability to connect with and motivate players, ability to communicate effectively and directly and the ability to teach and inspire while also being direct with players and holding them accountable,” GM Ryan McDonough said.

The GM also compared Watson to Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers, Coro relays. “They both have a presence about them,” McDonough said. “They both have a command of the room. When they speak, there’s some natural leadership qualities and characteristics that emanate from them and everybody pays attention and knows who’s in charge and who the boss is.” The team also believes Watson will help lure free agents, Coro notes. “I think Earl will be a powerful recruiter,” McDonough said. “He certainly did a great job with LaMarcus Aldridge, getting us very much in the mix for LaMarcus. I have no doubt that will continue, especially as head coach. I think he will have a lot of clout and hopefully help us land some elite free agents.“

Here’s more from out West:

  • Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace was emphatic in his assertion that Memphis would re-sign point guard Mike Conley, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, tweets Chris Vernon of 92.9 FM ESPN. “We are undefeated in re-signing our core players, and we will remain so. We are going to re-sign Mike Conley,” Wallace said.
  • Despite his excellent knowledge of the game, veteran point guard Andre Miller says that he has no interest in coaching once his playing career comes to an end, Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express News relays (via Twitter). The 40-year-old appeared in 13 contests for the Spurs this season and he averaged 4.3 points and 2.2 assists in 13.9 minutes per outing.
  • The Timberwolves reached out to Monty Williams at the beginning of their coaching search, but the Thunder assistant is still recovering from the tragic death of his wife and wasn’t prepared to discuss the post, relays Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). Minnesota officially hired Tom Thibodeau earlier this evening along with Scott Layden, who will be the team’s new GM.
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Wizards Fire Randy Wittman

April 14th, 2016 at 8:07am CST by Chuck Myron
Tommy Gilligan / USA TODAY Sports Images

Tommy Gilligan / USA TODAY Sports Images

THURSDAY, 8:04am: The firing is official, the Wizards announced.

“There were high internal and external expectations for this team coming into this season based on the momentum we had generated over the previous two years,” Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld said in the team’s statement. “Unfortunately, the inconsistency of the team’s performance and effort, particularly on our home court, did not allow us to meet those expectations and we decided a coaching change was needed.”

Grunfeld nonetheless complimented Wittman on the way out, as the statement conveys.

“Randy should be commended for the job he did in taking over as head coach during a very difficult time for our franchise and for helping to establish a culture and identity that led to success,” Grunfeld said. “This was a very tough decision on a personal level, and we wish Randy and his family the best moving forward.”   

11:37pm: The team is prioritizing experience and defense, according to Michael, who casts doubt on D’Antoni’s candidacy (Twitter links). Michael initially referred to Brooks and Tom Thibodeau as the top candidates but followed up minutes later to say Thibodeau is not a serious candidate.

11:28pm: The Wizards are also interested in Sixers assistant Mike D’Antoni, Wojnarowski reports. The team thought about going after Brooks at midseason, and they plan to aggressively court him now, Wojnarowski hears. Brooks is fond of D.C., Zillgitt notes (Twitter link), though he’s a candidate for the Timberwolves and Rockets and is believed to be waiting to see what the Lakers do with Byron Scott, Wojnarowski adds.

11:18pm: The firing has taken place, sources tell Stein (Twitter link), and the Wizards have informed Wittman of his fate, a league source tells The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), though the team has yet to make any official announcement.

WEDNESDAY, 10:36pm: The Wizards will fire coach Randy Wittman, a source tells Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post (Twitter link). Scott Brooks and Jeff Hornacek are strong candidates to replace him, as The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski hears. (Twitter links). Monty Williams is another name to watch, given his roots in the Washington, D.C. area and his ties to free agent target and D.C. native Kevin Durant, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.

The news about Wittman comes as no shock, as reports throughout Wednesday signaled the move would happen. Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops reported earlier this month that Wittman wasn’t expected to remain. Washington will eat the partial guarantee, of an unknown amount, on the final season of Wittman’s contract, which paid him more than $3MM a year.

Washington finished 41-41 this season but missed the playoffs. Wittman guided the Wizards to back-to-back appearances in the second round of the playoffs the past two years, the first such accomplishment for the franchise since it made consecutive trips to the NBA finals in 1978 and 1979. However, a shift to a more perimeter-oriented attack this season fell flat, and multiple players publicly criticized the coach. It went both ways, as Marcin Gortat stewed for months after Wittman criticized his lack of rebounding after a game in November, according to J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic, who wrote recently that the coach’s relationship with the players had deteriorated this season.

Wittman will finish 178-199 as coach of the Wizards, a tenure that spanned parts of five seasons. He replaced Flip Saunders in the middle of the lockout-shortened 2011/12 campaign.

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Western Notes: Williams, Martin, Cousins

March 11th, 2016 at 8:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Assistant coach Monty Williams will not return to the team this season as he continues to grieve in the wake of the tragic passing of his wife, Ingrid, the team announced today. “The most important thing for Monty during this time is for him to be with his family, and the most important thing for us as an organization is to support him as a person, in any way that we can,” GM Sam Presti relayed in the team’s statement. “Even though Monty will not return to the team this season, his presence will be felt by all of us within the program and we will remain close with him and his family.”

Coach Billy Donovan also expressed his support for Williams, saying, “I have really enjoyed my relationship with Monty, and clearly we will miss him, but we value and embrace that it is critical he is there for his family at this time and our focus is on doing whatever we can, in any small way, to help him. He and his family will continue to be in our thoughts.”

Here’s more from out West:

  • Kevin Martin joined the Spurs with his eyes firmly fixed on playing in the postseason, which was his primary motivation for choosing San Antonio over other suitors after reaching a buyout arrangement with the Wolves, Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News relays.  “I think you look at where you’re at in your career, when you’ve kind of been on a lot of teams where you’re a No. 1 option guy, but you really don’t get to play until the end of May or early June,” Martin said. “So I think I just wanted to be with a championship pedigree. That was the ultimate No. 1 thing in my decision.” The veteran shooting guard sacrificed exactly half of his $7,377,500 player option for next season and $352,750 of this season’s salary in order to secure his departure from Minnesota.
  • The Kings should give DeMarcus Cousins one more chance to make things work in Sacramento by hiring a new coach for next season, J.A. Adande of ESPN.com opines (video link). The ESPN scribe notes that the situation between the volatile but talented center and coach George Karl is toxic, and Cousins was seemingly in check under former coach Michael Malone, which demonstrates that the big man can be kept in line if he respects the person in charge. Trading Cousins should be the absolute last resort, Adande adds, since it would be virtually impossible to receive equal value in return. The team suspended Cousins this week for one game without pay for his latest verbal run-in with Karl.
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And-Ones: Ashley, Williams, Thomas

February 25th, 2016 at 10:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

During an appearance on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, Suns GM Ryan McDonough admitted that he’d erred in trading away point guard and 2016 NBA All-Star Isaiah Thomas last February. “I think in retrospect trading Isaiah Thomas when we did was a mistake. I think sometimes in the recruitment process things sound better in July [luring Thomas in free agency] than they do in November,” McDonough said. “He wanted more. He wanted a bigger role and I understand why: He’s a talented player. In retrospect, we should have carried him into the summer. If there’s one [decision] that stands out, if I could get a mulligan, that’d be it.” In 58 appearances for the Celtics this season Thomas is averaging 21.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 6.8 assists with a slash line of .422/.348/.898.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Mavs affiliate player Brandon Ashley has signed with the German club Alba Berlin, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor reports (on Twitter). The exact terms of the deal are unknown, but international journalist David Pick (Twitter link) notes that Ashley’s deal includes an option for 2016/17, though it is unclear if that option belongs to the player or the team.
  • Thunder coach Billy Donovan indicated no date has been set for assistant coach Monty Williams to return to the team, John Reid of The Times-Picayune writes. Williams is still mourning the tragic loss of his wife Ingrid in a car accident earlier this month. ”I don’t have really know the answer to that,” Donovan said regarding Williams’ return.”We haven’t talked about when he’ll be coming back. It’s been more of how he and his children are doing; just them adjusting to life without Ingrid and just getting the kids settled and back in school. I haven’t really talked to him about that, but whatever he decides to do I’m behind him on that 100% because the one thing I know and respect about Monty is that he’s going to put his family and children first. Those decisions I think will be made once he gets to a point when he can get them into some kind of rhythm and routine after what happened.”
  • If the Rockets sign another player this season, he will likely be a power forward who is a solid defender, which probably rules out any interest in Joe Johnson, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com tweets. The Nets waived Johnson earlier today as part of a buyout arrangement.
  • Tim Frazier, whom the Blazers waived last week, is expected to rejoin the Maine Red Claws in the coming days, Reichert relays (via Twitter). Maine is the Celtics‘ D-League affiliate, though Frazier will be free to sign with any NBA team that were to come calling.
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Southwest Notes: Withey, Cunningham, Green

January 13th, 2016 at 1:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Former 39th overall pick Jeff Withey is seeing significant minutes with the Jazz this season after a parting of ways with the Pelicans that cast him into uncertainty, as Ben Dowsett of Basketball Insiders details. Executives from other teams have speculated about whether the Pelicans dealt fairly with the center, who said GM Dell Demps told him during the playoffs that the team wanted him back, Dowsett reports. The team made a qualifying offer to him but withdrew it shortly before re-signing Alexis Ajinca, making Withey an unrestricted free agent and leaving him “really confused,” as he said to Dowsett. Withey ultimately landed with Utah on a partially guaranteed deal that last week became fully guaranteed for the rest of this season, and he’s pleased with his new surroudings.

“In New Orleans, it was a tough place for me, just because the coach [Monty Williams], he didn’t really give me a shot, you know what I mean?” Withey said to Dowsett. “Even if I was playing, if I screwed up one time or anything like that, he would just take me right out. Here, Coach [Quin Snyder], he’ll come to you … it’s just a different type of coaching. More player-friendly, for sure.”

Withey has one more year left on his deal, with a non-guaranteed minimum salary for next season. See more on the Pelicans and the rest of the Southwest Division:

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Nets Eye Monty Williams?

January 11th, 2016 at 4:26pm CST by Chuck Myron

Former Pelicans coach and current Thunder assistant coach Monty Williams is among the names in contention for the freshly opened Nets vacancy, as NetsDaily has been told (Twitter link). Much of the attention has surrounded long-ago Nets coach John Calipari, but he reportedly wants a dual coach/executive role, and Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov said in a press conference today that he’d prefer to have a separate coach and GM. Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com heard that the Nets could consider St. John’s coach Chris Mullin, but it’s unclear whether his source was merely speculating.

Williams has quickly built a strong bond with soon-to-be free agent Kevin Durant since joining the Thunder staff in the offseason, which certainly won’t hurt the coach’s candidacy for any NBA vacancy. He’s also close with Anthony Davis, his former Pelicans player, but Davis just signed a five-year extension with New Orleans this past summer, shortly after the team canned Williams.

New Orleans experienced an 11-win improvement last year in its final season under Williams, going 45-37 and grabbing the final playoff spot in the Western Conference before falling to the Warriors in a first-round sweep. It was the first time New Orleans had gone to the playoffs since the 2010/11 season, Williams’ first year as coach, when the then-Hornets lost in six games to the Lakers. The New Orleans job is his only NBA head coaching gig to date, though he spent five seasons as a Trail Blazers assistant before he took it, and he’s also served as an assistant coach for Team USA.

Do you think Williams would make sense for the Nets? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

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Southwest Notes: Gentry, Dekker, Aldridge

October 12th, 2015 at 8:50am CST by Eddie Scarito

While the Pelicans organization believes that former coach Monty Williams did a good job during his tenure with the team, the franchise thinks it can get more out of its current roster with new coach Alvin Gentry at the helm, Rob Mahoney of SI.com writes. “It was an organizational decision,” New Orleans GM Dell Demps said. “Monty did a lot of good things for us; I thought that Monty did a great job of establishing a blue-collar approach. I thought our guys played hard. We did feel that we had come to a point where we wanted a change in leadership and our goal is maximizing our team. We wanted to get a coach that was the best fit for our current team in the short term and the long term, and for our organization and our community. We felt Alvin was the ideal choice. His style of play will be a little different than what we’ve done in the past. Our goal is to maximize our group. The West is so tough right now that you have to maximize your team just to compete.”

Here’s more out of the Southwest:

  • New Orleans decided to enter the 2015/16 campaign with the majority of its roster returning from a season ago based on the recommendations of the players, Mahoney relays in the same piece. “We felt our group played with a sense of desperation in the latter part of last season,” Demps said. “And at the end of the year, in talking to the players, we felt—and they expressed to us orally—that they enjoyed playing with each other and wanted to continue that. We listened.”
  • Sam Dekker, who is a small forward by trade, will be utilized by the Rockets primarily as a stretch-four this season in an effort to get him on the court more often, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle relays. “If [Dekker] gets time this year, unless there is an injury, it’s more likely at the four than at the three,” coach Kevin McHale said. “We’ll keep him there. We’ll probably play him a little three also.”
  • LaMarcus Aldridge is still adapting to life with the Spurs, a transition that he is still struggling to be comfortable with, writes Kevin Ding of BleacherReport.com. “I don’t really handle change well,” Aldridge told Ding. “It’s been weird because I was in Portland for so long, and I kind of know the ways,” he continued. “Things were a little bit tailored to me in a way. Wasn’t too much to have to figure out.“
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