Phil Jackson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Jackson, Kobe, Lopez, Jerebko

September 25th, 2015 at 10:24am CST by Chuck Myron

It sounds like Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher would like to have former Lakers colleague Kobe Bryant join the Knicks next season, as Tim Bontemps of the New York Post observes based on Jackson’s comment today (Twitter link). Jackson said that he doesn’t think Bryant will retire at season’s end but added that it might be his final year with the Lakers, notes Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal (on Twitter). Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com wonders if Jackson was just making a subtle joke (Twitter link), as he is wont to do, and though Bryant’s contract with the Lakers expires this coming summer, Marc Stein of ESPN.com can’t see him playing for any NBA team other than the purple-and-gold (All Twitter links). If Bryant does suit up for a team aside from the Lakers, it would be an overseas team, Stein believes.

While we wait to see how the latest Kobe storyline develops, see more from the Atlantic Division:

Jackson said that he’ll be more involved with Fisher this year, at Fisher’s request, observes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link). It’ll mean more frequent observations from the Zen Master and perhaps more time that Jackson and Fisher will spend watching film together, as Herring relays (via Twitter).
Robin Lopez will fit better with the Knicks than Greg Monroe would have because of his superior defense, Jackson once more insisted, in comments that Bontemps and Herring relay (Twitter links).
The Nets have little reason not to try to win as much as they can this season, since they owe their 2016 first-round pick to the Celtics without protection, and coach Lionel Hollins confirmed Thursday that the team will remain focused on wins and losses this year, as Roderick Boone of Newsday details. Hollins said veterans would get the first chance at minutes. “Nobody’s said, ‘Wait until next summer,'” Hollins said. “We’re going out and trying to win. Whether we can or not remains to be seen. But it’s not my mindset. And the players’ mindset is not going out there [thinking], ‘We don’t have to try to win this year because it’s a gap year, and the expectations have changed because we broke this group up versus that group up.'”
Danny Ainge doesn’t foresee a major shakeup before the start of the season, meaning competition for minutes figures to be fierce among the Celtics, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. Jonas Jerebko, who re-signed with the team this summer, welcomes the challenge, Forsberg also notes. “Competition just makes everyone better,” Jerebko said. “You are supposed to have competition on the team. We have a lot of guys that can play multiple positions so that’s just a plus for us. We can mix it up and have a great coach to mix it up with, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Atlantic Notes: Bargnani, Scott, Smart

August 26th, 2015 at 7:18pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Former Knicks forward Andrea Bargnani indicated that he will “gladly” respond to team president Phil Jackson‘s criticism of his work ethic, but now is not the time, Robert Windrem of NetsDaily relays. “There is a right time for everything,” Bargnani told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “I have the answers, but it would be selfish to trigger controversy. Today, the only important thing is the national team. Later, gladly.” In an interview earlier this month Jackson had told ESPN’s Charlie Rosen that Bargnani “was and still is a big tease who seemed like a malingerer,” and that the Zen Master didn’t like the way Bargnani refused to engage in non-contact activities while he was recovering from an injury, nor his on-court intensity. Bargnani, 29, inked a two year deal with the rival Nets this offseason.

Here’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

The minimum salary training camp deal that undrafted Ohio State point guard Shannon Scott inked with the Raptors is partially guaranteed for $25K, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays (on Twitter).
In a look ahead toward 2015/16 the ESPN Summer Forecast Panel was asked to name which member of the Celtics would have a breakout season, and the majority predicted that player would be second year guard Marcus Smart. A number of the panel members pointed to Smart’s increased confidence and leadership that he demonstrated during summer league play as a positive sign of things to come.
You can see our full roster counts for the Celtics, Knicks, Nets, Raptors, and Sixers by clicking on the link over the desired team’s name.

Atlantic Notes: Larkin, Nets, Lee

July 27th, 2015 at 6:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Shane Larkin admits he had trouble fitting into the Knicks’ triangle offense and feels he’s a much better fit with the Nets, Mitch Abramson of the New York Daily News reports. In Part 5 of a series of Q&As between Knicks president Phil Jackson and author Charley Rosen posted on ESPN’s website, Jackson said in February that Larkin had “failed to show any growth since the start of the season.” Larkin responded in a tweet on Monday. “Couldn’t grow in an offense I wasn’t comfortable in. … Glad I’m across the river now.” The Nets emphasize a faster pace with a pick-and-roll heavy attack, Abramson adds. A free agent after the season, Larkin signed a two-year, $3MM deal with the Nets with a player option on the second season.

In other news around the Atlantic Division:

In the same Q&A with Rosen, Jackson spelled out his reasons for trading J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to the Cavaliers. “J.R. was more interested in hunting for his own shots than in buying into the triangle. Plus, he has a player’s option for next season that would limit our flexibility. As for Shumpert, mainly because of injuries, he’d take one step forward and two steps backward. And because of a salary ‘hold’ on his rookie contract, a CBA format that limits available money in free agency.” Jackson was presumably referring to Shumpert’s cap hold, which would have taken up more than $6.542MM on New York’s cap this summer.
David Lee nearly signed with the Celtics the last time he was a free agent, Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com tweets. Lee signed a six-year contract with the Knicks and then was shipped to the Warriors in a sign-and-trade in 2010. The Celtics completed a long-rumored trade for Lee on Monday. Lee was immediately interested in joining the Celtics when they showed interest in acquiring him, according to Jay King of MassLive.com (Twitter link).
The Nets used their $2,339,131 Kevin Garnett trade exception to acquire Steve Blake from the Trail Blazers last month, as NetsDaily indicates. It was one of three exceptions Brooklyn could have used to accommodate the deal. Blake’s salary, since moved to the Pistons in the Quincy Miller trade, left a virtually unusable $262,131 remaining on the Garnett exception.

Atlantic Notes: D. Williams, Celtics, Carmelo

June 30th, 2015 at 2:38pm CST by Zachary Links

Nets execs believe there’s a trade market for Deron Williams, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. While Williams is obviously nowhere near what he once was, those execs feel that another team will find that he is just in need of a change of scenery. Of course, a skeptic would point to his surgically repaired knees as a larger problem than personalities clashing in Brooklyn. Here’s more from the Atlantic..

The Celtics don’t have a history of landing difference makers in free agency, but they have every reason to believe this summer will be different, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes. Blakely points to Boston’s major market appeal and their available cash as major reasons for hope. Conversely, however, players and agents have indicated to him that they won’t be landing one of the top three or four players via free agency.
The Celtics will be prioritizing high-character guys in free agency and they showed a commitment to that philosophy in the draft, as Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald writes. The C’s, for example, had interest in Robert Upshaw, but were turned off by his substance-abuse issues. “With a young team, I don’t think we really needed to deal with that,” a C’s source said of Upshaw.
After reports indicated that Carmelo Anthony was unhappy with the selection of Kristaps Porzingis, the Knicks star reached out to the rookie, Ian Begley of ESPN.com writes. “Carmelo reached out to Kris after all of that. It was beautiful that a player of that profile can do something like that. It’s great,” Porzingis’ older brother, Janis, confirmed on Monday during an appearance on ESPN 98.7 FM’s “The Hahn and Humpty Show.”
New Hawks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. says he will use Knicks president Phil Jackson’s critical remarks about him Friday as motivation, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Jackson said he believed Jerian Grant has more of the attributes the Knicks want from a guard. “Once I heard him say that, all hands on deck now,” said Hardaway, who was sent to Atlanta in exchange for the pick that was used to take the Notre Dame standout. “Obviously as a basketball player, you take that to heart. So, it’s time to move on, get better, and when the time comes, the time comes. Right now, it’s all about Atlanta basketball.”
Jackson’s recruiting strategy is to sell prospective free agents on winning with the Knicks rather than New York business opportunities, an NBA exec tells Berman.
Celtics GM Danny Ainge says draft-and-stash prospect Marcus Thornton will most likely be in the D-League or in Europe next season, Adam Himmeslbach of The Boston Globe tweets. Thornton, a product of William & Mary, is not to be confused with the veteran guard of the same name.
Raptors GM Masai Ujiri says his team will be “open-minded and open for business” while still keeping its core intact, Eric Koreen of the National Post writes. The core he is likely referring to is the trio of Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, and Jonas Valanciunas.
The Raptors are finalizing an agreement to hire former Thunder assistant Rex Kalamian as part of Dwane Casey‘s staff, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.

Jazz To Pursue Paul Millsap

June 26th, 2015 at 2:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

JUNE 26TH: There is a growing sense that Millsap will go where the market dictates, and that the Jazz won’t be able to afford him, according to Checketts (Twitter link).

JUNE 25TH: There continue to be rumblings about how the Jazz want to re-acquire Millsap, Jody Genessy of The Deseret News tweets. Utah, his source adds, might also trade Derrick Favors.

JUNE 12TH: The Jazz will make an active pursuit of soon-to-be free agent Paul Millsap this summer, as Spencer Checketts of 1280 AM The Zone hears (Twitter link). Millsap, who spent his first seven NBA seasons as a member of the Jazz, and agent DeAngelo Simmons dropped hints at the end of Atlanta’s playoff run that the power forward would like to remain with the Hawks, though Utah has brother Elijah Millsap under contract for two more years. A pursuit of Paul Millsap would represent a sharp turn in Utah’s rebuilding effort, one that’s been patient so far, just two seasons after the team watched him go, at a discount, to Atlanta.

Competition will no doubt be stiff for the leading scorer from a 60-win Hawks team this season, and the Hawks face a stiff financial challenge to re-sign Millsap and fellow impending free agent DeMarre Carroll with only Early Bird Rights on both, as I examined when I looked at Atlanta’s offseason. The Hawks nonetheless appear confident that they can accomplish the task.

The Jazz can have as much as $16.6MM in cap room for next season without making a trade, as I noted in their offseason outlook, though that wouldn’t necessarily be enough to lure Millsap, as speculation, at least, has him in line for a max deal that would start at an estimated $19MM. Knicks president Phil Jackson is reportedly intrigued with Millsap, and New York has the cap flexibility to offer the max. Millsap apparently signed his two-year, $19MM deal with Atlanta in 2013 with an eye on putting himself in a better position to sign a lucrative contract this summer. Still, he has a good relationship with Jazz coach Quin Snyder, a Hawks assistant in Millsap’s first year in Atlanta, notes Andy Larsen of KSL.com.

Knicks Rumors: Okafor, Russell, Porzingis

June 25th, 2015 at 3:07pm CST by Zachary Links

Running the Knicks isn’t easy, but president Phil Jackson isn’t about to run from the challenge, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes.

“I have a five-year contract and I just finished year one,’’ Jackson told Mike & Mike of ESPN Radio. “I anticipate it will take awhile to turn this around and I want to be here through that phase. That was my commitment with Jim Dolan. He was trying to find a brand for our franchise in which people know how we play and identify the style of ball we play. I’ve had part of that history of coaching in the NBA. It allows you to take players to fit into the system that works well and had success. As time goes on, I can allow Steve to take over the whole operation. I don’t anticipate that’s going to be a big deal.’’

Here’s the latest on the Knicks as they get set for Thursday night’s draft..

The Knicks are leaning towards taking Mudiay if they stay at No. 4, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (on Twitter). If they move down, Kaminsky would be the likely target.
The Knicks continue to pursue deals to move out of the No. 4 spot and further back in the lottery, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).

Earlier updates:

If Jahlil Okafor and D’Angelo Russell are off the board when the Knicks pick at No. 4, they would like to grab Kristaps Porzingis, Frank Kaminsky, or Trey Lyles, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com tweets. Emmanuel Mudiay, he adds, is “hovering.”
The Knicks are unlikely to trade the No. 4 pick outside the top ten unless they’re offered a good young player and an additional pick, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops tweets.
Multiple NBA insiders believe that the Knicks should take Porzingis, Fred Kerber of the New York Post writes. “The kid can flat-out shoot,” a Western Conference executive said. “Now he’s really, really thin, but he’s athletic. A 7-footer who can step out and hit 3s is something.” Bobby Marks, the former Nets assistant general manager, also said he’d take him at No. 4.
Charley Rosen, Phil Jackson’s longtime confidant, wants to see the Knicks take Kentucky defensive specialist Willie Cauley-Stein, Berman writes.
Saving the Knicks will be Jackson’s ultimate test, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report writes.
The Knicks have a history of unlucky draft picks, as Frank Isola of the New York Daily News writes.

Knicks Rumors: Jackson, Isiah, Free Agency

June 19th, 2015 at 12:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

Knicks president Phil Jackson mentioned the need to add big men multiple times within an interview with Scott Cacciola of The New York Times, leading Tim Bontemps of the New York Post to speculate that the team is zeroing in on reported target Greg Monroe (Twitter link). Jackson suggested to Cacciola that the team would have drafted a big man, likely either Karl-Anthony Towns or Jahlil Okafor, if it had landed one of the top two picks in the draft. The Zen Master admitted the lottery setback that gave the team only the No. 4 pick resulted in a change of plans that figures to have a ripple effect on the rest of the summer.

“We know there are a limited number of guys we can bring in this year,” Jackson said about free agency. “We think we’ll get competitive guys to play. I think we’ll complement the guys we have here, and we’re going to move forward. We do know we’re going to have big guys in that group. We’re going to have to search out some big men.”

We’ll pass along more revelations from Jackson’s interview with Cacciola here:

Jackson told Cacciola that he and GM Steve Mills expressed their concerns to owner James Dolan when he presented them with the idea of hiring of former Knicks executive Isiah Thomas as president of the New York Liberty, a move with which Jackson was reportedly uncomfortable. “Jim Dolan had talked to us about it over dinner, maybe a month before it happened,” Jackson said. “We said, ‘Are you cognizant of the fact that this at least has the look of putting the fox in the henhouse?’ Is that a good term? In reviewing the history of it, we were told what the approach was by the Garden and how it went down. Jim said, ‘If you have any suggestions that you want to come back with, I’m open.’ And not being in that field, I didn’t have any information. It’s not where my head is at. So we’re not giving them any advice, and it’s going both ways.
Mills is “the future of this franchise,” Jackson told Cacciola, making it clear that he envisions a longer tenure for the GM than for himself.
All of the Knicks players expressed in their exit interviews that they’d like to return to the team, Mills said to Cacciola. The team only has fully guaranteed contracts with Carmelo Anthony, Jose Calderon, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Cleanthony Early.
Jackson once more touted the triangle and expressed full confidence in his abilities as an executive after subpar results in his first full season in charge of the roster. “Without a doubt,” Jackson said in response to Cacciola’s question about whether he still would have taken the job last year, knowing what he knows now. “I knew it was going to be a challenge. We just didn’t have any room to work last year. We knew that we were going to have to make big changes with the limitations that we had, being in a locked-in situation as far as the salary cap goes. That’s why when I said recently that I didn’t know why I wasn’t given some votes for Executive of the Year, I wasn’t kidding. I was really serious. We had a yeoman’s job of having to get rid of a lot of fat on our roster to get to where we are. I saw Mitch Kupchak got a vote, so I know some people valued what the Lakers were doing obviously.”

Atlantic Notes: Jackson, Casey, Knicks

June 9th, 2015 at 9:03pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Warriors consultant Jerry West is not impressed with the work of Knicks team president Phil Jackson thus far, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com relays. West questioned the trades Jackson has made with the Knicks and wondered about his ability to succeed in a front office role, Begley notes. In an interview on SiriusXM Bleacher Report Radio’s “NBA Sunday Tip,” West said, “It’s a little easier for [Heat president Pat Riley]. He’s had a lot more experience on both sides in coaching and now in the front office. With Phil, it’s going to be interesting to see what happens back there. They didn’t have the kind of year I’m sure they wanted to have. Everyone in the league feels like they made two trades that helped Cleveland tremendously and one that helped Dallas this year.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Raptors coach Dwane Casey says that he wasn’t concerned about his job security for next season, despite his squad getting swept in the first round of this year’s NBA Playoffs, Steven Loung of Sportsnet.ca writes. “I wasn’t worried about my job, never have been, never will be,” Casey said during an appearance on Sportsnet 590 the FAN’s “Brady and Walker” program. “[GM] Masai [Ujiri] has every right to look at the entire organization, [like] the coaching staff, and evaluate everything that we’ve done as a staff and as a team but I think, if we’re all honest with ourselves and look where we come from and look how the growth process is going, we’re going in the right direction. I think that’s what the evaluation process shows. Did we make mistakes as a coaching staff? Yes. Did we make mistakes as an organization and players making mistakes as players? Yes. We all do. We all are accountable for everything that goes on, but again, big picture, we’re going in the right direction from where we started last year.“
The Knicks held workouts this past Friday for Andrew Harrison (Kentucky), Quinn Cook (Duke), Jordan Sibert (Dayton), and Kevin Pangos (Gonzaga), Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv relays.
Notre Dame swingman Pat Connaughton is scheduled to work out for the Celtics on Wednesday, Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald tweets.

And-Ones: Lakers, Lamb, Jackson

May 26th, 2015 at 10:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Lakers‘ offseason plans have started to come into focus now that the NBA Draft lottery has been completed, Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times writes. “Our roster looks better, clearly, after getting the pick in the lottery last Tuesday,” said GM Mitch Kupchak. Los Angeles currently owns three picks in the 2015 NBA Draft, but Kupchak isn’t sure if the team will hold onto all three of those selections, Pincus adds. “We don’t know if we’re going to draft three players,” the GM said of the team’s two later selections (No. 27 and No. 34 overall). “We may draft a player who might have to wait a year or two in Europe.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Kupchak also said that the team is considering anywhere from four to eight players with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, and that Los Angeles is keeping its options wide open regarding who it is looking to select, Mike Trudell of NBA.com tweets.
Jeremy Lamb hasn’t gotten much playing time with the Thunder thus far in his career, something that may change under new coach Billy Donovan, Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman writes in his profile of the 22-year-old. Lamb made just 47 appearances for OKC last season, averaging 6.3 points and 2.3 rebounds in 13.5 minutes per contest.
The success that J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert have enjoyed for the Cavaliers in this year’s playoffs makes Knicks team president Phil Jackson‘s decision to deal both away look worse with every game, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. Cleveland has advanced to the NBA Finals after eliminating the Hawks tonight by a score of 118-88.

MSG’s Isiah Thomas Hire Irks Phil Jackson

May 15th, 2015 at 4:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

James Dolan’s decision to bring Isiah Thomas back into the fold as team president and a minority owner of the New York Liberty, a WNBA franchise, hasn’t sat well with Knicks president Phil Jackson, Frank Isola of The New York Daily News writes. Jackson, according to a team source, has expressed concern over Thomas’ presence at Madison Square Garden, Isola notes.

This latest event further fuels speculation that the Zen Master won’t finish out his five year contract, and Thomas could eventually replace Jackson as team president, the Daily News scribe adds. “He’s not happy about it but what can he do about it,” one MSG official told Isola. “This is just the start of it.”

The WNBA Board of Governors still needs to approve Thomas as an owner, and a person familiar with the process believes he will be rejected, Isola relays. Even if Thomas is voted down by the WNBA, he would likely still remain on as the Liberty’s team president, which has already caused a backlash from WNBA coaches, the team’s fans, as well as multiple women’s advocate groups.

The crux of the issue with the hiring of Thomas is his high-profile sexual harassment case back in 2007. “This is a decision, at least to me, comes out of left field,” said Connecticut Sun coach Anne Donovan, a former Liberty assistant. “Bring him back to MSG? OK. But how do you pin [Thomas] to the women’s pro team?”

For his part, Thomas has said that he will not have a role with the Knicks, but league executives are convinced that Thomas accepted the job with the Liberty as an entry level position to eventually return to the Knicks, Isola relays. With Jackson expressly signing on with the assurance that he would be free to run the team without interference from Dolan, the potential presence of Thomas in the decision making process for the team would certainly be a troubling development, though that is merely my speculation.