Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Ron Adams

Wojnarowski On Bulls, Thibodeau, Forman, Rose

October 6th, 2013 at 9:00am CST by Chuck Myron

Last night was a milestone for the Bulls, as Derrick Rose saw his first action since the 2012 playoffs in Chicago's preseason opener against the Pacers. The euphoria of the former MVP's return from injury masks deep divides within the Bulls organization, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reveals. The ability of coach Tom Thibodeau and the front office to work together may hinge on the transcendence of Rose's talent, Wojnarowski argues as he dishes on the instability in Chicago:

  • Rose "deeply valued" former assistant coach Ron Adams, Wojnarowski writes. Adams, a close confidant of Thibodeau's who was let go this summer, had clashed with GM Gar Forman. "Ron didn't drink the Kool-Aid there, and this was a message from Gar to Thibs that he's running the show, especially on picking the players," a source said to Wojnarowski.
  • Thibodeau waited months to sign his extension because he was worried it would make him further beholden to Forman. One of Wojnarowski's sources described the relationship between Thibodeau and Forman as "toxic."
  • Luol Deng is more disappointed than he's letting on about the team's failure to engage in serious negotiations to extend his own contract, according to Wojnarowski, who identifies the small forward as a deadline trade candidate.

Read more

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Eastern Notes: Sanders, Casey, Celtics, Newton

August 21st, 2013 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

In his latest piece for Grantland.com, Zach Lowe explores what Larry Sanders has to do to justify his new, long-term contract with the Bucks. In breaking down Sanders' footwork and positioning on specific plays, Lowe goes much more in-depth than I did when I examined the big man's four-year extension earlier today, but we ultimately reached similar conclusions. Even though Sanders has only had one productive NBA season, I liked the deal for Milwaukee, and Lowe agrees, writing that it "should turn out just fine for the Bucks."

Here's more from around the Eastern Conference:

  • Even though Dwane Casey is heading into the final year of his deal, the Raptors head coach doesn't intend to "spend a waking moment" worrying about his uncertain long-term contract situation, as he tells Sean Deveney of the Sporting News.
  • Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld explains how the Celtics/Grizzlies swap of Fab Melo and Donte Greene worked financially, adding that Boston sent $1.66MM in cash to Memphis to complete the deal.
  • The Celtics also officially finalized their coaching staff today, formally announcing the hirings of assistants Ron Adams, Micah Shrewsberry, and Walter McCarty in a press release.
  • After some conflicting reports on whether or not Timberwolves president Flip Saunders had interviewed Milt Newton for the team's GM job yet, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune tweets that Saunders is in Washington today to meet with the Wizards executive.
  • In today's mailbag for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Ira Winderman addresses the unlikely possibility of a Chris Bosh trade and agrees that the Heat could use another athletic perimeter player.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Eastern Notes: Pistons, Hawks, Tyler, Adams

July 16th, 2013 at 4:35pm CST by Luke Adams

Various recent reports have suggested the Pistons are looking for an upgrade at point guard, linking the team to Rajon Rondo and Brandon Jennings. Speaking to reporters today, including David Mayo of MLive.com, GM Joe Dumars confirmed he'd talked to the Celtics about Rondo, but adamantly denied offering Brandon Knight to Boston, or having any talks with the Bucks about Jennings.

Here's more out of the Eastern Conference:

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Central Links: Bulls, Cavs, McMillan

July 13th, 2013 at 7:56pm CST by Spencer Lund

The Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson spent some time with Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau today, and the coach provided him some insights into the the team's offseason plans–including the signing of the Bucks' Mike Dunleavy. 

Of Dunleavy, Thibs said that he complements Derrick Rose and Carlos Boozer "extremely well," and "he moves well with the ball. We think he's a great fit" (Twitter link). Speaking of Rose, whom Thibodeau gushed about last month, the Bulls coach continued to praise his star's progress to Johnson via Twitter. According to Thibs, the summer has given Rose even more time to build his confidence and his leg strength, finally adding "He looks great."

Johnson's conversation with Thibodeau failed to touch on the relationship between Bulls general manager Gar Forman (Twitter link) and former assistant Ron Adams, who the Celtics may be looking to add to their bench.

Here's what else is happening around the Central division tonight…

  • Racine Journal Times columnist Gery Woelfel relays the same Thibodeau thoughts on Dunleavy and adds, via Twitter, that the Bulls got a strong endorsement for Dunleavy from his former college coach, Mike Krzyzewski. 
  • The Cavs appeared to have an excess of front court players after drafting Anthony Bennett with the number one pick and signing Andrew Bynum. That's the roster question the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Mary Schmitt Boyer answers in her Saturday night mailbag.  
  • Cavs GM Chris Grant says he's been high on free agent signee Jarrett Jack ever since the guard came out of college. That's when Grant, then a member of the Hawks’ front office, was part of an unsuccessful effort to trade up to select Jack. Bob Finnan of the News-Herald provides details via Sulia. 
  • Jodie Valade of the Cleveland Plain Dealer opines that the Cavs’ recent draft picks and free agent signings allow them more flexibility and options. 
  • Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star suggests the Pacers’ biggest off-season move may have been hiring Nate McMillan as an assistant coach.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Atlantic Notes: Kirilenko, Nets, Bargnani, Celtics

July 11th, 2013 at 7:12pm CST by Alex Lee

The Nets have dominated the NBA headlines again tonight, this time coming to an agreement with free agent Andrei Kirilenko on what seems to be a very team-friendly two-year deal.  Let's take a look at what we're hearing about that deal as well as everything else going on in the Atlantic division here:

  • Given their cap situation, Kirilenko figures to cost the Nets much more than the $3.1MM he signed for this season when you consider the luxury tax.  Ken Berger of CBS Sports estimates, via Twitter, the total cost to the Nets at about $15MM, further drilling home the notion that Brooklyn is going all in on the 2013/14 season.
  • David Aldridge of NBA.com writes that Kirilenko wanted to play for a contender and was concerned that potential sign-and-trades with other good teams might not work out, leading to his deal with the Nets.  
  • Despite Aldridge's explanation, Grantland's Zach Lowe tweets that the Kirilenko deal is already "drawing confused and angry whispers" from the around the league.
  • With the Knicks deal for Andrea Bargnani finalized yesterday, GM Glen Grunwald explains why he agreed to include a first round pick in the deal for the sharp-shooting Italian, per Ian Begley at ESPN New York.  Begley also writes that Bargnani is eager for a fresh start with the contending Knicks.  
  • Purdue assistant Micah Shrewsberry will join the Celtics coaching staff, reports Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe (via Twitter).  Shrewsberry was an assistant at Butler under new C's coach Brad Stevens.  Citing NBA sources, Holmes also tweets that the next hire for the Boston staff will probably have considerable NBA experience, with former Bulls assistant Ron Adams being a top target. 
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0