Stan Van Gundy Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Eye Jackson; Warriors Targets Emerge

May 7th, 2014 at 2:24pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:24pm: The Warriors haven’t reached out to Stan Van Gundy yet, Wojnarowski tweets. Van Gundy has support in “several corners” of the Warriors organization, Wojnarowski notes, but the lack of contact with him suggests the team views Kerr as its top priority for now, having already spoken with him, as we passed along below.

12:47pm: Sources tell Kawakami that Kerr isn’t necessarily the team’s top choice, though that could change, given the compressed time frame as Kerr reportedly nears a decision on where he’d like to coach (Twitter links).

WEDNESDAY, 12:05pm: Kerr appears to be the team’s No. 1 option, according to Kawakami, who believes Pacers assistant Nate McMillan is also on the Warriors short list of candidates that they’d consider if Kerr chooses to coach elsewhere.

TUESDAY, 5:39pm: The Warriors have already contacted Kerr about the job, tweets Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.

4:36pm: ESPN’s Chris Broussard suggests the Thunder as a possible destination for Jackson if Oklahoma City lets go of coach Scott Brooks (video link).

4:02pm: Kerr is indeed interested in the Warriors job, as Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group hears (Twitter link).

3:58pm: The Warriors likely have interest in University of Connecticut head coach Kevin Ollie and Clippers assistant Alvin Gentry, according to Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group, who hears the Warriors aren’t in a rush to pick their next coach.

3:34pm: Mike D’Antoni and Mike Dunleavy Sr. are interested in the Warriors job, USA Today’s Sam Amick reports.

3:21pm: The Warriors have Steve Kerr and Stan Van Gundy at the top of their list to replace the fired Mark Jackson, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who also names Fred Hoiberg as a candidate. The team will consider asking the Bulls for permission to speak with Tom Thibodeau, Wojnarowski adds. Jackson, meanwhile, is a candidate for the Lakers coaching vacancy, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.

Kerr, who’s zeroing in on the Knicks job, is tight with Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob and his son, assistant GM Kirk Lacob, but whether Golden State truly considers him a candidate is unclear, tweets Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. Kerr prefers to move along toward the Knicks job, but he will give the Warriors some thought, according to Wojnarowski.

The Warriors are likely to reach out to former Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins, too, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter).

Warriors Interested In Stan Van Gundy

May 5th, 2014 at 8:54am CST by Chuck Myron

Mark Jackson appears to be on his way out of Golden State, since rumors have suggested he would be unlikely to return barring a long playoff run, and the Warriors find themselves out of the playoffs after the first round. Marc Stein of ESPN.com reiterates the team’s interest in Knicks target Steve Kerr, but the ESPN scribe believes Kerr is destined for New York, just as Fred Hoiberg, in whom the Warriors also hold interest, would be difficult to pry from Iowa State. That leaves the Warriors poised to make a run at former Heat and Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, Stein writes.

Van Gundy is still interested in coaching, but he’s primarily focused on spending time with his family, whom he says he’s given veto power over his decision to return to an NBA bench. He’s been linked to the Lakers, Timberwolves and Pistons of late, but he reportedly doesn’t want any of those jobs. The Pistons reached out to him recently, but talks apparently didn’t progress too far because he wanted some degree of control over player personnel. That kind of sway would probably be tough to come by in Golden State, where GM Bob Myers, adviser Jerry West and co-owner Joe Lacob all have varying levels of input into the team’s roster construction.

The divide between Jackson and Warriors management goes beyond the removal of former assistant coaches Brian Scalabrine and Darren Erman, Stein writes. The Warriors prefer someone whose personality is a better fit with the front office than Jackson’s is, according to Stein, who suggests that the team might put a premium on experience as it looks for its next coach.

The outspoken Van Gundy’s dry sense of humor scores points with media and in broadcasting, but his honesty can spark firestorms, such as when he told reporters that Dwight Howard wanted him out as coach of the Magic. Anyone other than Jackson would be a tough sell to the players, who’ve shown nearly universal support for their embattled coach. Still, Van Gundy and Howard have reconciled, and Van Gundy has never compiled a losing record in parts of eight seasons as an NBA head coach, so there’s reason to believe he’d be successful in Golden State.

Lawrence On D’Antoni, Gasol, Calipari, Sterling

May 3rd, 2014 at 2:12pm CST by Charlie Adams

Mike D’Antoni walked away from the Lakers due in part because the team is likely to attempt to re-sign Pau Gasol this summer, reports Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News. A source tells Lawrence that D’Antoni knew that Gasol and Kobe Bryant didn’t want to play for him, so he made the decision to resign from the team on Wednesday. Let’s have a look at some more interesting notes from Lawrence’s piece:

Kurt Rambis and Byron Scott are two of the most viable candidates for the Lakers’ coaching job, hears Lawrence. We reported on Thursday that both Rambis and Scott are set to interview with the team.
Despite rumored interest, Lawrence says there’s no chance John Calipari will become the next head coach for the Lakers. The team reportedly has “zero interest” in hiring Calipari.
Stan Van Gundy was contacted about taking over the head coaching role for the Pistons, but talks didn’t get far because he wanted some level of control over the team’s personnel decisions, writes Lawrence.
Lawrence hears that once Adam Silver meets with Donald Sterling, Silver is expected to tell Sterling that the league will battle him in court to see that the franchise is sold, no matter the resistance Sterling puts up.
Knicks assistant GM Allan Houston and director of player personnel Mark Warkentien aren’t worried about their jobs, since the duo has contracts with owner Jim Dolan and not the Knicks specifically, says Lawrence. As a result, the pair will be able to retain their positions, even if Phil Jackson doesn’t want them around.
The Cavs and Bucks still haven’t decided whether or not they’ll keep their general managers beyond this season, reveals Lawrence. Both Central Division teams failed to meet preseason expectations and finished well below .500.
It’s likely Mark Jackson will be fired by the Warriors, suggests Lawrence, who adds the coach might have a hard time landing another job with an NBA team because of the perceived dysfunction in Golden State’s organization during his tenure.
The Thunder could potentially see a first-round playoff exit tonight, but Lawrence says Scott Brooks‘ position is safe in Oklahoma City.

Latest On Wolves Coaching Search

May 2nd, 2014 at 9:33am CST by Chuck Myron

9:33am: Izzo is still “very high” on Saunders’ list of candidates, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com, who seconds Zgoda’s take that the Michigan State coach’s denial of interest in taking an NBA job this year left some wiggle room (Twitter link).

FRIDAY, 9:02am: The Wolves haven’t yet abandoned their pursuit of Hoiberg, Wolfson tweets. That’s in spite of Saunders saying last week that Hoiberg wouldn’t be jumping to the NBA. Wolfson doesn’t expect the team to pursue Karl (Twitter link).

WEDNESDAY, 12:22pm: A source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that Stan Van Gundy won’t reciprocate the Timberwolves’ interest in him for their coaching vacancy, and Tom Izzo says he’s not jumping to the NBA this year. There are other candidates for the job, but the search has been slow-going, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reports.

The Wolves have been primarily eyeing college coaches, though top targets Izzo and, as we passed along earlier, Fred Hoiberg are apparently out of the running. There are candidates with NBA experience in the mix, too, including George Karl, and Wolfson hears that Karl would indeed have interest and is hoping that the Wolves contact him, contradicting an earlier report that he wouldn’t want the job. Still, the Wolves haven’t reached out to Karl or Lionel Hollins, another among the previously mentioned candidates for the position, Wolfson writes.

The Wolves wouldn’t have interest in Scott Brooks of the Thunder, if he came available, and Wolfson reiterates that Minnesota wouldn’t want Frank Vogel, either. Former Raptors coach Sam Mitchell would like the Wolves job, but Minnesota isn’t interested, Wolfson writes. The Wolves probably won’t go after Warriors assistant Lindsey Hunter, Wizards assistant Sam Cassell, or Rockets assistant J.B. Bickerstaff in spite of their ties to the organization, according to Wolfson.

President of basketball operations Flip Saunders is still a “name to monitor,” Wolfson writes, even though he’s downplayed the idea that he’d take over the coaching position. He’s said he’d “never say never” to the job on multiple occasions. Saunders and, even in his comments today, Izzo have been somewhat vague in their insistence that they won’t be on an NBA bench next season, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune notes (on Twitter).

Lakers Notes: D’Antoni, Kerr, Coaching Search

April 30th, 2014 at 9:40pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the big news of the resignation of Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni, the rumors are already beginning as to who his replacement will be. Ben Higgins of San Diego’s Channel 10 News (Twitter link) is reporting that Steve Kerr said he would be interested in speaking to the team about the now vacant position.

Western Notes: Lakers, Faried, Corbin, Wolves

April 17th, 2014 at 9:43pm CST by Alex Lee

It is certainly no surprise that, after we rounded up the Lakers’ exit interviews earlier tonight, there is already more buzz coming out of Los Angeles. This is the Lakers, after all. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports is reporting that Pau Gasol would consider reuniting with former coach Phil Jackson, now running things with the Knicks. Citing a source, Spears hears that the interest is mutual.

Meanwhile, Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report mentions both Van Gundys, Stan and Jeff, as names that stand out to him should the Lakers part ways with Mike D’Antoni. Within the same story, Ding breaks down the team’s draft lottery odds as well as maps out the complicated status of their draft picks beyond this season. Here is what else is going on in the Western Conference:

Earlier this month it was Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly that had some kind words to say about Kenneth Faried. On Thursday, it was Brian Shaw’s turn. As Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post writes, the head coach wants and expects to have Faried in a Nuggets uniform next season. Faried was frequently mentioned in trade rumors this season.
The fate of Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin will hang in the balance just a little longer, according to Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune, who writes that the team will take a “decompression period” before making a decision on whether or not to bring the coach back. Luhm reports that a decision could come down as soon as this weekend.
With Rick Adelman’s departure imminent, the Wolves head coaching wish list includes Tom Izzo, Fred Hoiberg and Stan Van Gundy, reports Spears in his final power rankings column.
It’s a small silver lining in an otherwise ugly season in Minnesota, but ESPN’s Marc Stein tweets that the Wolves can take solace in the fact that they refused to deal rookie Gorgui Dieng at the trade deadline before they knew what they had (Twitter links). The Louisville product was a bright spot in Minnesota down the stretch and figures to be a key contributor in his second season.

Stan Van Gundy Unlikely To Coach Next Season

February 28th, 2014 at 1:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

Former Heat and Magic coach Stan Van Gundy is highly unlikely to return to the sidelines next season, barring an overwhelming opportunity, as he tells Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (All Twitter links). The 54-year-old still has interest in coaching, but he says he’s promised his family that they’ll have a say in his decision, and he doesn’t want to move with two children in high school.

Van Gundy has been linked to the Knicks this year, and said this past offseason that four teams had contacted him about their vacancies. In that same interview, he acknowledged that it’s possible that he’ll never coach again, a sentiment he also expressed in May. Van Gundy last coached in 2011/12 with the Magic, who let him go amid what appeared to be a broken relationship with Dwight Howard. The two have since reconciled and become close.

His teams made the playoffs in each of the seven full seasons he coached. The only time he didn’t take a team to the postseason was in 2005/06 with the Heat, when Pat Riley stepped in for him 21 games into the season. That team went on to win the championship. Van Gundy never guided a club to the Larry O’Brien Trophy, but he made a trip to the Finals with the Magic in 2009. He has a 371-208 record overall.

Stan Van Gundy

Knicks Rumors: Woodson, Williams, Johnson

February 6th, 2014 at 2:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Knicks endured another loss Wednesday, and though they put up a fight against a strong Blazers team, New York fell to 19-30, and rumors persist that Mike Woodson could soon lose his job. Here’s the latest:

The Knicks have discussed making assistant coach Herb Williams interim head coach if they fire Woodson, reports Steve Popper of The Bergen Record. The team would also get rid of most of Woodson’s assistants in that scenario, Popper writes, adding that Larry Johnson is a candidate to serve as an assistant under Williams.
Woodson’s firing would set up a summer pursuit of Tom Thibodeau, Jeff Van Gundy and Stan Van Gundy, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. The Knicks would pass over assistants Darrell Walker and Jim Todd, both of whom have head coaching experience, because the team believes they’re too closely allied with Woodson, Berman adds.
J.R. Smith says he is “without a doubt” fearful that Woodson will lose his job, Newsday’s Al Iannazzone tweets. Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com has more from last year’s Sixth Man of the Year. “I love Coach Woodson,” Smith said. “I think he’s done a great job. But it’s out of my hands. So I would hope not [if management opts to make a change], but if it does then we have to live with it.”
Jeff Van Gundy would want a major payday, control over the team’s basketball operations, and a relaxation of the team’s draconian media rules if he were to agree to coach the Knicks, sources tell ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.
In the same piece, Smith opines that the Knicks should realize how unattractive they are to free agents and trade Carmelo Anthony before the deadline rather than risk him leaving in the offseason.
Woodson admits the season has been a supreme disappointment, as Ian Begley notes via Twitter. “This year, for me, has been kind of a disaster from a coaching standpoint … and trying to get players to play at a high level,” Woodson said.

Odds & Ends: Gallinari, Rockets, Gortat

November 23rd, 2013 at 11:16pm CST by Chuck Myron

Significant injuries dominated Saturday’s NBA headlines, and the Nuggets got a mix of good news and bad about a key player who suffered an ACL injury last spring. Danilo Gallinari won’t be back by the end of this month, as he said he would be in September, and he remains “very far away” from returning to the Nuggets, according to Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post. Gallinari nonetheless tells Dempsey that he isn’t likely to be out all season. Here’s more from around the Association:

Continued strong play from Terrence Jones could make the Rockets feel more comfortable with targeting the best player regardless of position in an Omer Asik trade, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle observes (on Twitter).
Marcin Gortat chats with SB Nation’s James Herbert about his adjustment to playing with the Wizards and looks back on his time with coach Stan Van Gundy, whom the center calls the “godfather” of his career. Gortat says he’d like to play for Van Gundy again.
Even though the Sixers will probably head into next summer armed with a pair of lottery picks and plenty of cap space, fans shouldn’t expect a contending team, according to Tom Moore of the Bucks County Courier Times, who warns that the rebuild will likely take longer than one year.
Ray Allen criticized David West for prioritizing money over title contention when West spurned the Celtics to sign with the Pacers in 2011. Still, the power forward believed then that the Pacers had the greater long-term championship hopes, as West tells Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Odds & Ends: Rivers, Stan Van Gundy, Jazz

October 17th, 2013 at 11:07pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Clippers coach Doc Rivers sits down with Harvey Araton of the New York Times to discuss the scrutiny that accompanied his exit from Boston and his willingness to accept the responsibility if things don’t go well in Los Angeles: “But when (the opportunity to coach the Clippers) presented itself, I thought, ‘Wow, this would be a unique situation for me…If there’s a mistake, it’s my fault. I don’t want to blame someone else. I want to blame me.”

Rivers also commented on how the free throw shooting struggles of DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin has been somewhat of an achilles’ heel for the team in the past: “Blake and D. J., they missed a couple, and their whole game changed…Blake would stop driving, stop attacking, because he didn’t want to get fouled. D. J. didn’t even want to touch the ball. Then he would take all that defensive energy he had and throw it out of the game.”

Here are the rest of tonight’s miscellaneous links:

Despite the tumultuous way in which their working relationship ended in Orlando, former coach Stan Van Gundy still thinks that the Magic should retire Dwight Howard‘s number, writes Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel (Subscribers only).
Jazz camp hopeful Lester Hudson values his opportunity to stick in the NBA after being a career journeyman since entering the league (Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune). In another Utah-related piece, John Lucas III talks about being fueled to secure his NBA future after his international and D-League experiences: “Every time I step on the court, (I think), ‘I don’t want to go back to Italy. I don’t want to go back to Spain. Don’t want to go back to China (or the) D-League…I feel like I’m at home. I just have that in the back of my head all the time, so when I step on that court I give it everything I have” (Jody Genessy of the Deseret News).
Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston answered a few questions from his readers in his newest edition of “Celtics Mailbag.”
Bucks head coach Larry Drew spoke about the importance of having a veteran like Zaza Pachulia around the team, especially with their familiarity together stemming from their history in Atlanta (Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel).