Ryan McDonough Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Suns, Hill, Meeks, Clippers

May 7th, 2013 at 8:40am CST by Luke Adams

Coming into the 2012/13 season, the Lakers and Clippers were receiving most of the attention out west, but with four Western Conference teams still alive, the only Pacific team still standing is Golden State. Stephen Curry and the Warriors played in perhaps the best game of the 2013 postseason last night in San Antonio, but ultimately couldn't hold off the Spurs, who escaped with a 129-127 victory. As we hold out hope that the rest of the series lives up to the standard set by Game One, let's check out some other notes from around the Pacific….

ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports (via Twitter) that "rumblings persist" about the Suns holding off on their decision on a new general manager because they're hoping to land Grant Hill for the job. Stein adds in a second tweet that if Hill can't be persuaded to return to Phoenix, the Suns figure to decide between Celtics assistant GM Ryan McDonough and Bucks assistant GM Jeff Weltman. Charles Barkley didn't receive an interview for the position, says Stein (via Twitter).
Even if the Lakers could save a bit of money by declining Jodie Meeks' 2013/14 option and replacing him with a minimum-salary player, Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Sulia link) expects the team to bring back Meeks, who could be L.A.'s starting shooting guard on opening night.
Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times examines the futures of Chris Paul and Vinny Del Negro in L.A., noting that the Clippers and Del Negro discussed an extension a couple times early in the season, but ultimately elected to wait until season's end.

Berger On Malone, 76ers, Hornacek, Nets

May 6th, 2013 at 5:46pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s the latest news on coaching and GM vacancies courtesy of CBSSports.com’s Ken Berger..

It’s too early to identify a front-runner in the Sixers search, but things sound promising for Warriors assistant Mike Malone. Philly execs have contacted the Warriors multiple times about Malone, including several conversations with consultant Jerry West. In fact, the Sixers are consulting players who’ve played under both Malone and Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer to get a feel for how the two candidates differ, according to one source.
To the surprise of some rival executives, the Sixers‘ coaching search is being led by GM Tony DiLeo, whose contract expires this summer. With team president Rod Thorn moving into a smaller role and DiLeo’s contract expiring, rival execs expect the Sixers seek out a new decision maker as well. In fact, that process has already begun through back-channel conversations, one person contacted on the Sixers’ behalf told Berger.
Nets star Deron Williams has been vocal in his support of Jerry Sloan for the job but also has a strong relationship with Jeff Hornacek. In addition to the Sixers, the former Jazz sharpshooter has attracted interest from the Bobcats, Suns, and Bucks, sources told Berger.
The Suns are in the advanced stages of their GM search and the latest word is that Celtics assistant GM Ryan McDonough‘s is gaining momentum. Bucks assistant GM Jeff Weltman has been viewed as the favorite in some circles, however, and the Suns also have interviewed Spurs exec (and former Knicks GM) Scott Layden.
The Clippers are expected to can Vinny Del Negro and Hawks are expected to let Larry Drew go, league sources said. The Clippers are said to be “exploring all options,” while the Hawks’ decision on Drew’s future is expected “sooner than later,” sources said. It is widely believed that GM Danny Ferry prefers to install his own head coach in Atlanta.

Pacific Notes: Suns, Kings, Lakers, Jamison

May 2nd, 2013 at 5:40pm CST by Luke Adams

As we wait to see if the Warriors can finish off the Nuggets tonight and set up a second-round date with the Spurs, let's check in on a few items out of the Pacific Division….

Bucks assistant GM Jeff Weltman remains the frontrunner for the Suns' general manager opening, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Weltman is one of four candidates to have been interviewed by the team so far, according to Coro. Former Pacers GM David Morway, Spurs assistant GM Scott Layden, and Celtics assistant GM Ryan McDonough are the other interviewees so far.
Potential Kings investor Chris Kelly tells David Bienick of KCRA in Sacramento that the Sacramento group expects to put half of its offer for the Kings into escrow by Friday. At this point, the group is still working with the NBA rather than the Maloofs, Kelly tells Bienick (Twitter links).
In his NBA AM piece for HoopsWorld, Derek Page wonders if it's time for the Lakers to start rebuilding.
After missing his exit interview earlier this week, Antawn Jamison had it today with GM Mitch Kupchak, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (via Twitter). Jamison seems highly unlikely to return to the Lakers next season.

Layden, Weltman, McDonough Suns GM Finalists

May 1st, 2013 at 8:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

8:31pm: Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports adds Celtics assistant GM Ryan McDonough to the list of finalists. McDonough interviewed Tuesday with Babby and owner Robert Sarver, and Weltman will interview Thursday. The Suns want to make a hire quickly so they can decide on a coach and prepare for the draft. Babby made a push to hire Weltman in 2010, when Sarver favored Lance Blanks instead.

5:03pm: Spurs assistant GM Scott Layden and Bucks assistant GM Jeff Weltman are rumored as the finalists for the vacant GM position in Phoenix, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (Twitter link). Milwaukee gave Weltman approval over the weekend to interview for the Suns job, while this is the first we've heard of Layden in connection with the opening. Chris Broussard of ESPN.com reported Weltman was the frontrunner for the gig last week.

Layden has only been on the job in San Antonio for eight months. He previously held GM jobs with the Knicks and Jazz. Weltman hasn't run a team's front office before, but he's been with Bucks GM John Hammond ever since Hammond came aboard in 2008, and prior to that, Weltman and Hammond worked together with the Pistons.

Whoever gets the Suns job will decide who will coach the team next season. Interim Lindsey Hunter is still Phoenix's head coach, but he appears on shaky footing, and is interviewing with the Pistons for their head coaching vacancy. Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby is promising a "summer of analytics" for the team, so presumably the next GM will be a devotee of advanced metrics.

Weltman, Morway Among Suns’ GM Candidates

April 24th, 2013 at 4:49pm CST by Luke Adams

Having parted ways with general manager Lance Blanks this week, the Suns are the first NBA team this offseason seeking a new GM. And according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic, team president Lon Babby and the Suns have already lined up a number of potential candidates for the job.

Coro reports that Bucks assistant GM Jeff Weltman, former Pacers GM David Morway and former Lakers assistant GM Ronnie Lester are viewed as viable contenders for the Phoenix opening. Assistant GMs Ryan McDonough (Celtics), Wes Wilcox (Hawks) and Troy Weaver (Thunder) are potential candidates as well.

Weltman and Morway have a bit of history either with the Suns or the Phoenix area, as Weltman was a finalist when the team hired Blanks as GM in 2010. Morway, meanwhile, graduated from the University of Arizona.

According to Babby, the team is unlikely to make a promotion from within the organization, but previous GM experience isn't necessarily a qualification for the job. Still, Babby noted that he can't imagine "a first-rate talent evaluator would not have front-office experience." As Coro points out, if front-office experience is a requirement, that would eliminate a couple popular speculative candidates, in former Suns players Grant Hill and Charles Barkley.

According to Coro, members of the Suns organization have hoped to see Hill eventually return to the team in a management role. As for Barkley, he has suggested before that he could have interest in a GM role with the Suns, and reiterated today on XTRA Sports 910 in Phoenix that he hoped to receive a chance to run an NBA team at some point (Twitter link via Eric Sorenson). However, as Coro writes, the Suns' GM position would likely mean a pay cut and a workload increase for Barkley.

"I think the job requires rowing the boat every single day and it’s an all-consuming job and my impression is that he has a pretty full and good life," Babby said of Barkley. "Taking on a challenge like this might be something he really doesn’t want if he knew what it entails."

Atlantic Notes: Nets, Celtics, Sullinger

March 27th, 2013 at 10:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

It had to end sometime. The Heat finally lost a game after winning 27 in a row, falling to the Bulls tonight despite the absence of Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose. That leaves the Knicks, who earned their sixth straight victory with a win over the Grizzlies this evening, as the team with the longest current winning streak in the NBA. The six W's in a row have allowed the Knicks to essentially end the Celtics' hopes of a sixth straight division title, and New York has built a three-game lead on second-place Brooklyn, pending the Nets' late game against the Blazers. Here's more on a pair of teams looking up at New York in the Atlantic standings.

Last year's Gerald Wallace deal allowed the Blazers to select Damian Lillard sixth overall in the draft this past June, but if that trade hadn't happened, the Nets still wouldn't have Lillard, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. Brooklyn's scouts weren't high on last year's draft class, and the team likely would have traded the pick elsewhere if Portland hadn't come along, a source tells Bondy, who adds that the Nets weren't close to trading for Paul Pierce at the deadline a year ago, either.
SB Nation's Paul Flannery delivers a lengthy piece on Celtics assistant GM Ryan McDonough, examining his role in drafting Rajon Rondo and Avery Bradley, along with plenty of insight on the team's inner workings. The article deserves a look in full, particularly for Boston fans, and details someone who appears poised to take over an NBA front office sometime soon. "He’s very good at what he does," C's coach Doc Rivers said. "He’ll be a GM. There’s no doubt about that."
Jared Sullinger's back had him red-flagged by NBA doctors before last year's draft, and even though the rookie is out for the season after undergoing back surgery, Rivers doesn't regret the Celtics taking him 21st overall, as Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer notes.

Magic Notes: GM Search, Howard, Van Gundy

May 25th, 2012 at 10:22am CST by Luke Adams

It's been a busy week for the Magic, who fired coach Stan Van Gundy and parted ways with GM Otis Smith on Monday. Dwight Howard still may want out of Orlando, however, and the team could be open to accommodating him. Meanwhile, the team's search for a new general manager has them targeting Mitch Kupchak of the Lakers, but not Shaquille O'Neal. Let's check in on the latest out of Orlando:

The Magic will begin interviewing GM candidates next week, CEO Alex Martins tells Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. The new GM will also try to sell Howard on his long-term vision for the team and try to convince D12 to sign a long-term extension.
Martins has identified "championship experience" as an asset for potential GM candidates. Besides Kupchak, the following names could interest the Magic, according to Robbins: Pacers GM David Morway, former Pacers and Knicks exec Donnie Walsh, former Hornets GM Jeff Bower, Celtics assistant GM Ryan McDonough, and Pacers director of player personnel Kevin Pritchard.
Howard told TMZ.com that his recovery from back surgery is going well and that his back is doing "a lot better." The big man also spoke briefly about Van Gundy, saying that he hates to see anyone lose a job, and reiterating that he had nothing to do with the decision.
Making a radio appearance with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, Jeff Van Gundy was critical of Martins and the Magic for the way they handled his brother's dismissal. Scott Schroeder of SBNation.com transcribed a number of Van Gundy's notable quotes, including the broadcaster's opinion on Howard's role in the firing: "To try to make everyone believe that Dwight Howard didn't have a part in this is absurd. Just say 'we fired this guy because we feel this is our best chance to keep Dwight Howard. Dwight Howard and I decided to fire him."