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Pacific Notes: Curry, Ranadive, Suns, Frank

May 25th, 2023 at 10:06pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

All-Star Warriors point guard Stephen Curry has been named the league’s 2022-23 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion, the NBA has announced in a press release.

Curry’s efforts in the social justice sphere of late include promoting voting initiatives and building awareness about community safety. He and his wife Ayesha Curry run a non-profit, Eat. Learn. Play., focused on ensuring nutritious foods be provided to children in underserved Oakland communities. Curry also runs a lifestyle brand, UNDERRATED, and Unanimous Media, a multimedia company, which are designed to create opportunities for underrepresented athletes and creators, respectively.

As a condition of Curry’s win this year, the NBA will donate $100K to the social justice cause of Curry’s choosing, the University of San Francisco Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice.

Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr., Spurs reserve point guard Tre Jones, Suns starting point guard Chris Paul and Celtics power forward Grant Williams were the other four finalists for the award. All will earn $25K from the league, to be donated to the charity of their choosing.

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

Kings majority owner Vivek Ranadive was among seven finalists bidding for NHL club the Ottawa Senators, but has since fallen out of the running, per Randy Diamond of The Sacramento Bee. Each of the seven finalists had reportedly been proposing purchase prices north of $800MM. Ranadive’s ownership group bought Sacramento a decade ago for $533MM. The club’s valuation is currently estimated at $2.5 billion.
The Suns’ interviews for their head coaching vacancy might conclude this weekend, reports John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Phoenix (Twitter link). Former Raptors head coach Nick Nurse and Kings associate head coach Jordi Fernandez interviewed on Thursday. Ex-Lakers head coach Frank Vogel and ex-Sixers head coach Doc Rivers, who coached Phoenix starting point guard Chris Paul on the Clippers, are set to meet with Suns executives on Friday.
Clippers team president Lawrence Frank released a statement thanking and congratulating former Los Angeles GM Michael Winger on his new job as team president for the Wizards (Twitter link). “Michael is one of the NBA’s brightest team-builders, a strategic and creative thinker who is always a step ahead,” Frank said in part.

Atlantic Notes: Nets, J. Brown, Sixers, Nurse, Raptors

May 24th, 2023 at 10:34am CST by Luke Adams

There’s a good chance that the Nets, who have a surplus of wings, will trade at least one of their veterans this offseason, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscription required). Brooklyn stocked up on two-way wings at the trade deadline, acquiring Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, and Dorian Finney-Smith in deals with Phoenix and Dallas.

Bridges looks like a player the Nets will build around, and while Johnson will reach free agency this summer, Brooklyn can control that process since he’ll be a restricted free agent. In Lewis’ view, that leaves Finney-Smith and Royce O’Neale as the two wings most likely to be on the trade block this offseason. For his part, Finney-Smith is very aware that more changes could be coming to the Nets’ roster in the coming months.

“Everybody here knows what’s going on, we know the pieces we have and you just never know in this league,” he said. “So I guess we’re going to see after the draft. See what’s going on and go from there.”

According to Lewis, while there’s a belief that the Nets could move one of their three-and-D wings to try to balance their roster, people around the NBA also think the club may trade one of its first-round picks in order to add scoring and/or rebounding. Brooklyn currently controls two consecutive first-rounders at No. 21 and No. 22 in this year’s draft.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

If the Celtics were to make Jaylen Brown available this offseason, there would be “robust demand” from “a lot” of teams around the league, ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on The Lowe podcast prior to Boston’s Game 4 victory (hat tip to RealGM). Although Brown has struggled in the Eastern Conference Finals vs. Miami, it’s obviously not groundbreaking news that a 26-year-old All-NBA wing would be popular on the trade market. Brown, who has one year left on his contract, will be super-max eligible this offseason, but wouldn’t be able to sign a super-max deal if he’s traded.
Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer believes that Nick Nurse should be atop the Sixers‘ wish list as they seek a new head coach, arguing that the team would benefit from Nurse’s outside-the-box thinking. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Nurse will have interviewed with the Sixers, Bucks, and Suns by week’s end and is believed to be at or near the top of the list for all three jobs. If Nurse is their top choice, the 76ers may need to accelerate their search process in order to avoid losing him to Milwaukee or Phoenix, observes Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com.
A perfect offseason for the Raptors would see the team hire Monty Williams as its head coach and trade Pascal Siakam to Portland in a package headlined by Anfernee Simons and this year’s No. 3 pick, Eric Koreen of The Athletic contends. In his proposed scenario, Koreen also envisions Toronto drafting Scoot Henderson, re-signing Jakob Poeltl, letting Gary Trent Jr. walk, signing-and-trading Fred VanVleet to Chicago, using the mid-level exception to sign Donte DiVincenzo, and flipping Simons to Memphis in a deal for Tyus Jones and Luke Kennard.

Central Notes: Bucks’ Coaching Search, Pacers, Cheaney, Cavs

May 24th, 2023 at 9:08am CST by Luke Adams

While Nick Nurse, Kenny Atkinson, and Adrian Griffin are the only finalists that have been reported so far in the Bucks‘ head coaching search, Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel hears from a source that the team could still expand that list of finalists.

For now though, Milwaukee seems to be deciding between Nurse, Atkinson, and Griffin, prompting Eric Nehm of The Athletic to consider why each coaching candidate may – or may not – be a fit for the franchise.

A league source who spoke to Owczarski (subscription required) got the sense that Bucks general manager Jon Horst prefers a coach with “a bit of edge” in terms of style. That could be a point in favor of Nurse, who gained a reputation for experimenting with unorthodox defensive styles when he took over as the head coach in Toronto. As Nehm observes, Nurse also won a championship in his first year as a head coach, a feat the Bucks are hoping their next coach will be able to replicate.

The second round of interviews for the Bucks is expected to include dialogue with two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, Marc Stein writes at Substack. Horst told reporters earlier this month that he expected to get input from Antetokounmpo during the team’s coaching search.

Here’s more from around the Central:

Pacers assistant Calbert Cheaney is leaving Rick Carlisle‘s staff to return to his alma mater and become the director of player development at Indiana University under Mike Woodson. Carlisle and the Pacers put out a statement thanking Cheaney for his contributions and wishing him well in his new job. The team also announced that Isaac Yacob is being promoted from head video coordinator to a player development role.
The Pacers, armed with five picks in this year’s draft, will almost certainly trade one or more of them, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (subscription required). With the picks they keep, the Pacers won’t be overly focused on positional fit, but likely won’t select anyone who will be a defensive liability, Dopirak adds.
Kelsey Russo of The Athletic considers a few options for the Cavaliers‘ pick at No. 49, identifying Marquette forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Illinois wing Terrence Shannon, and Eastern Michigan wing Emoni Bates as possible targets. Prosper, who had a strong showing at least week’s combine, may not still be available by the time Cleveland picks — he ranks No. 32 on ESPN’s big board.

Latest On Suns’ Head Coaching Search

May 24th, 2023 at 7:32am CST by Luke Adams

There are conflicting accounts on exactly where things stand in the Suns‘ head coaching search.

On Tuesday evening, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN both reported that Phoenix was advancing a handful of candidates to the final stage of the process, but the names the two reporters identified didn’t match up.

Charania and Wojnarowski agreed that Nick Nurse, Doc Rivers, Kevin Young, and Jordi Fernandez are among the Suns’ finalists, but Charania added Frank Vogel to that list, while Woj said there were only four remaining candidates.

In a story published late on Tuesday, Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic came down on Charania’s side, citing sources who say that the Suns have five finalists, with Vogel still in the mix.

However, Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report has pushed back on that entire series of reports, tweeting overnight that Phoenix has actually yet to reach the final stage of its interview process. According to Haynes, the team is still expected to meet with Bucks associate head coach Charles Lee and Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson.

It’s odd that the NBA’s top two news-breakers and a plugged-in local beat writer would each separately report that the Suns are entering the final stage of their head coaching search process if the club still has interviews on tap with additional candidates. Perhaps Phoenix could expand its list of finalists to include Lee and/or Atkinson — based on the reports from Charania, Wojnarowski, and Rankin, I wouldn’t consider either of them a frontrunner at this point, but it sounds like they shouldn’t be entirely ruled out either.

The Suns are seeking a replacement for Monty Williams, who was let go after four seasons with the franchise despite compiling a 194-115 regular season record, leading Phoenix to the 2021 NBA Finals, and earning Coach of the Year honors in 2022.

Initial reporting following Williams’ dismissal indicated that Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue may be atop Phoenix’s wish list. Lue’s name hasn’t come up at all in recent days, which likely suggests that the Suns are resigned to the fact that he’ll be staying in Los Angeles.

Nurse, Vogel, Rivers Among Finalists For Suns’ Job

May 23rd, 2023 at 9:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Suns have narrowed their list of head coaching candidates to five — Nick Nurse, Frank Vogel, Doc Rivers, Kings associate head coach Jordi Fernandez and Suns assistant Kevin Young, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

The five finalists will meet with new owner Mat Ishbia, team president James Jones and other team executives in Michigan this week, according to Charania (Twitter link). Ishbia is a Michigan native and played basketball for Michigan State. His mortgage lending company, United Wholesale Mortgage, is also based in Michigan.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that there are four finalists, omitting Vogel.

Phoenix dismissed Monty Williams after its second-round playoff exit.

Nurse has seemingly positioned himself to get another coaching job quickly after parting ways with the Raptors after the season. He’s also a finalist for the Bucks’ head coaching job and a candidate for the Sixers’ head coaching vacancy.

Vogel, who coached the Lakers to a championship in 2020, interviewed for the Sixers’ job on Tuesday. Vogel was also linked to the Bucks’ job but isn’t among the reported finalists.

Rivers was fired just a week ago by the Sixers but was said to be open to coaching again next season if the right opportunity arose.

Fernandez, who served as Mike Brown‘s top assistant with Sacramento this season, is also a candidate for Nurse’s former job. Young was a candidate for the Bucks’ job, but didn’t make the final cut.

One prominent name not included on the Suns’ list of finalists is former Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer. Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported earlier today that Budenholzer wasn’t considered a leading candidate in Phoenix.

Nurse, Atkinson, Griffin Finalists In Bucks’ Coaching Search

May 22nd, 2023 at 12:36pm CST by Rory Maher

Former Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, Warriors associate head coach Kenny Atkinson, and Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin have emerged as the three finalists in the Bucks‘ search for a new head coach, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

The three candidates will meet with the team’s leadership this week as part of the final interview process, Wojnarowski adds.

The Bucks fired former coach Mike Budenholzer after a disappointing first-round playoff exit, despite the fact that he led the club to the championship in 2021 and won the most regular season games in the NBA during his five seasons at the helm.

Nurse, who led Toronto to its first title in 2019 in his debut season as an NBA head coach, was dismissed after the team went 41-41 and was eliminated in the play-in tournament. The 2020 Coach of the Year compiled a 227-163 (.582) regular season record and a 25-16 (.610) playoff mark with the Raptors.

The 55-year-old is reportedly in “high demand” and could end up with more than one job offer. He also interviewed for the Sixers’ lead coaching job and is expected to meet with the Suns as well.

A longtime NBA assistant who has spent time with the Knicks, Hawks and Clippers, Atkinson was the head coach of the Nets from 2016-20, accruing a 118-190 record (.383) over parts of four seasons. He has been with the Warriors for the past two seasons.

The Nets improved their win total in each of Atkinson’s first three seasons, making the playoffs in ’18/19. Known as a player development guru, the 55-year-old had a verbal agreement to become Charlotte’s head coach last offseason, but backed out of the arrangement before it was finalized, citing family considerations as a factor in his decision.

Griffin, 48, has interviewed (or was expected to interview) for nearly every open head coaching job over the past season-plus, including the vacancies that popped up after the ’22/23 season concluded for the Rockets, Pistons, Raptors and Bucks. He just completed his 15th season as an assistant and has been with Toronto since ’18/19.

As our coaching tracker shows, the Bucks either interviewed or were expected to interview at least 13 candidates for the position, including several other former head coaches.

Nick Nurse Expected To Meet With Bucks, Suns

May 19th, 2023 at 11:40am CST by Luke Adams

In addition to interviewing with the Sixers, Nick Nurse is expected to meet with the Bucks and Suns to discuss their head coaching positions, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic.

According to Charania, Nurse is expected to be in “high demand” this spring and could end up having one more than one job offer to choose from.

There are currently five NBA teams with head coaching openings. Besides Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Phoenix, the Raptors and Pistons are in the market for coaches. But Toronto just parted ways with Nurse and Detroit is believed to be in the final stages of its search.

Nurse won a championship in 2019 with the Raptors and was named the NBA’s Coach of the Year in 2020, earning praise for his creative defensive schemes. Across five seasons, Nurse had a 227-163 (.582) regular season record and a 25-16 (.610) playoff mark as Toronto’s head coach.

As our head coaching search tracker shows, the Bucks are conducting a wide-ranging search as they seek a replacement for Mike Budenholzer — reports have indicated that they’ve interviewed or will interview at least 13 candidates. Nurse is the fifth candidate said to be meeting with Phoenix.

Sixers To Interview Nick Nurse This Week

May 18th, 2023 at 10:03pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Former title-winning Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is set to interview with the Sixers this week, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Philadelphia fired previous head coach Doc Rivers after the team’s seven-game second-round playoff loss to the Celtics last week.

Nurse was previously identified as a candidate for the Sixers gig. In his first season as Toronto’s head coach, he guided the club to its first-ever NBA championship, led by Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry, and Pascal Siakam on the floor.

After Leonard departed as a free agent that summer, the Raptors’ subsequent season outcomes were up and down. The team never got out of the second round during the next four years.

All told, Nurse posted a 227-163 regular season record during his five seasons as the head man in Toronto. He was dismissed from the position after the Raptors failed to win a single play-in game this spring.

The Sixers, who have yet to advance beyond the second round of the playoffs with reigning MVP Joel Embiid on their roster, are clearly looking to take the next step in their postseason development. Experienced former head coaches Monty Williams, Mike D’Antoni, Mike Budenholzer and Frank Vogel , plus longtime assistant coach Sam Cassell, are also rumored to be on Philadelphia’s shortlist.

Sixers Dismiss Head Coach Doc Rivers

May 16th, 2023 at 10:51am CST by Luke Adams

10:51am: The Sixers have issued a press release confirming the dismissal of Rivers.

“Doc is one of the most successful coaches in NBA history, a future Hall of Famer, and someone I respect immensely,” Morey said in a statement. “We’re grateful for all he did in his three seasons here and thank him for the important impact he made on our franchise. After having the chance to reflect upon our season, we decided that certain changes are necessary to further our goals of competing for a championship.””

10:16am: The Sixers are parting ways with head coach Doc Rivers, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Rivers’ hold on his job was considered shaky after Philadelphia lost Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals to Boston on Sunday. A tight game at halftime turned into a blowout Celtics victory after Boston outscored the 76ers by a 33-10 margin in the third quarter.

The loss resulted in the Sixers’ third consecutive second-round playoff exit since Rivers was hired in 2020. During that time, the veteran coach led the club to a 154-82 (.653) regular season record but failed to make a deep playoff run. Philadelphia was eliminated by Atlanta in 2021 and Miami in 2022, losing the final game of the series at home in both instances.

Rivers is one of several accomplished head coaches to be let go this spring, joining recent champions and/or Coaches of the Year like Mike Budenholzer, Monty Williams, and Nick Nurse.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN observes (via Twitter), Phoenix, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia lead the NBA in regular season victories since the start of the 2020/21 season, but all three clubs are making head coaching changes this offseason following disappointing postseason showings.

Previous reporting from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype indicated that Williams, Nurse, and Mike D’Antoni would likely be candidates to replace Rivers if the Sixers were to make a change. Wojnarowski confirms those names and adds a few more to Philadelphia’s list of potential candidates, tweeting that Budenholzer, Sam Cassell, and Frank Vogel are also expected to factor into the team’s search.

Of those six candidates, only Cassell – who is an assistant on Philadelphia’s staff – lacks head coaching experience. D’Antoni, Williams, Vogel are all former Sixers assistants, while D’Antoni has a long-standing relationship with president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, having coached the Rockets during Morey’s time in Houston.

The decision to dismiss Rivers is the first one in a big offseason for the Sixers. While MVP center Joel Embiid is on a long-term contract, his co-star James Harden will reach free agency if he turns down his 2023/24 player option and has been repeatedly linked to the Rockets. Harden offered Rivers a very lukewarm endorsement following Sunday’s loss, so it’s possible the 10-time All-Star will be more inclined to remain in Philadelphia under a new head coach.

As for Rivers, it’s unclear at this point whether he’ll immediately emerge as a candidate to take over as the head coach for another NBA team. There are four clubs besides the Sixers with head coaching vacancies: Milwaukee, Phoenix, Toronto, and Detroit.

Coaching Rumors: Rivers, Sixers, Rockets, Nets, Vogel, More

May 16th, 2023 at 10:04am CST by Luke Adams

As the Sixers enter the offseason, there’s a sense that James Harden‘s and Doc Rivers‘ futures are linked, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne explained during an appearance on NBA Today (podcast link). The star guard will become a free agent if he declines his 2023/24 player option, while the head coach finds himself on the hot seat after another second-round playoff exit for Philadelphia.

“James Harden can become a free agent, which means you have to decide if you want to give him a four-year contract. Do you want to lock this in for the next four years?” Shelburne said (hat tip to RealGM). “That decision, from what I understand talking to people around the (Sixers), also now becomes tied to the decision about Doc Rivers. Because James Harden was not all that supportive of Doc Rivers in his press conference (on Sunday). I think behind the scenes, from what I’m told, one person said, ‘It would be hard for me to see James wanting to come back and play for Doc again.’

“This is going to be a situation where those two decisions are linked. As we go forward into this offseason and you have another second round exit, you have to decide if you want to lock in your future around (Joel Embiid and Harden). And then, if you’re doing that, what does that mean for Doc Rivers? Because the decisions seem to be linked.”

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype spoke to a handful of NBA executives and scouts at this week’s draft combine to get an idea of which head coaching candidates the Sixers might look at if they do decide to move on from Rivers.

Multiple execs identified Nick Nurse as a logical fit, according to Scotto, who says there’s also been a sense for some time that Mike D’Antoni would be an option due to his longtime relationship with Philadelphia president of basketball operations Daryl Morey. A couple sources named Monty Williams as a possible target too, but he’s drawing interest from multiple teams and may have a more favorable opportunity available, Scotto notes.

Here are a few more coaching-related notes and rumors from around the NBA:

As the Rockets look to fill Ime Udoka‘s coaching staff, it’s worth keeping an eye on Celtics assistants Aaron Miles and Ben Sullivan and Nets assistant Royal Ivey as potential targets, league sources tell Scotto.
The Nets are hiring Jay Hernandez as an assistant coach, according to Scotto. Hernandez worked in recent years as an assistant in Charlotte and was previously a member of Jacque Vaughn‘s staff in Orlando.
Will Weaver, a former NBA assistant who is currently coaching Paris Basketball, has drawn interest from multiple NBA teams this offseason, including the Nets and Raptors, reports Scotto.
If veteran coach Frank Vogel doesn’t get a head coaching opportunity this spring, he’ll be a popular target for teams seeking an experienced assistant. He has received interest from the Mavericks, according to Scotto, who adds that Vogel and Stephen Silas could be targets for the Celtics.