Stephen Silas Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Coaching Rumors: Hollins, Snyder, Jensen, Brown

April 24th, 2013 at 8:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

As many as a third of the league's teams could be looking for coaches this summer, and that doesn't include the Cavaliers, who've already hired Mike Brown, Grantland's Zach Lowe writes. An agent told Lowe that the Brown/Cavs pairing could spur movement in the rest of the coaching market. Lowe has plenty more on coaches who could be coming or going, and takes a closer look at the Bobcats and Cavs in his latest column. We'll pass along the highlights here, along with news from other NBA scribes:

The Grizzlies are more likely than not to retain Lionel Hollins, though that could change if the Clippers sweep them in the first round.
Hawks GM Danny Ferry may turn to Quin Snyder if he decides to let go of Larry Drew, now that Brown, his preferred target, is no longer available.
Alex Jensen, this season's D-League Coach of the Year, could be on an NBA bench as soon as next season, and earns consistent mention among defensively minded coaches on the rise.
The final season of Brown's five-year deal with the Cavs is partially guaranteed, as Charley Rosen notes for HoopsHype. Brown can take the Cavs to "the outer fringes of respectability" at best, Rosen opines.
Alvin Gentry, who was let go by the Suns earlier this season, has the resume, the presence, and the local ties necessary to make him a candidate for the Bobcats' coaching opening, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein.
Bobcats assistant coach Stephen Silas has shown a knack for player development and, despite his team's struggles, is considered a strong candidate for head coaching jobs, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link).
Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio has the latest on Brown's effort to build his staff with the Cavs, reporting that former Pistons head coach John Kuester is expected to join Brown in Cleveland.
Brown isn't short on coaching acumen, but his success with the Cavs will ultimately come down to whether the team can give him a roster that's talented enough to win, Pat McManamon of Fox Sports Ohio believes.

Bobcats’ Dunlap Close To Choosing Staff

August 18th, 2012 at 4:07pm CST by Sean Highkin

Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer reports that new Bobcats head coach Mike Dunlap is close to filling out his first coaching staff in Charlotte. Brian Winters and Dan Leibovitz have emerged as heavy favorites to take the final two spots on Dunlap's bench, joining Rick Brunson and Stephen Silas.

Winters, who was named an All-Star twice as a player, has NBA head coaching experience, having coached the Vancouver Grizzlies from 195 to 1997. He has also served as head coach of the WNBA's Indiana Fever, and as an assistant in the NBA with the Cavs, Hawks, Nuggets, and Warriors.

Leibovitz, like Dunlap, comes from the college coaching scene, having served four seasons as Hardford's head coach, as well as stints as an assistant with Temple and Penn.

The Bobcats’ Head Coach Search

May 28th, 2012 at 2:15pm CST by Luke Adams

It's been about a month since the Bobcats announced they wouldn't be bringing back Paul Silas to coach the team next season. Since then, the Bobcats have conducted an extensive search for their new head coach that has seen them interview eight candidates, with more to come. In case you've lost track of all the names in the running for the Charlotte job, here's a round-up of what we've heard to date:

Mike Dunlap, St. John's assistant: Interviewed on May 16th. Dunlap is probably a long shot for the Bobcats' job.
Patrick Ewing, Magic assistant: Interviewed on May 17th. A source told Marc Berman of the New York Post shortly after Ewing's interview that it was hardly a courtesy meeting and that Ewing has a "good chance" of becoming Charlotte's next coach.
David Joerger, Grizzlies assistant: Interviewed on May 18th. We haven't heard much about how his meeting went, so I wouldn't think he's a frontrunner.
Michael Malone, Warriors assistant: Interviewed on May 8th. Malone is considered one of the top potential head coaches available, and also has has some interest in the Trail Blazers job.
Nate McMillan, former Trail Blazers coach: Interviewed on May 22nd. One of the more high-profile candidates, McMillan has ties to the Charlotte area, having played college ball at NC State.
Brian Shaw, Pacers assistant: The Bobcats are in the process of setting up an interview with Shaw, who wanted to wait until the Pacers' season ended to explore coaching opportunities. The Magic also figure to have strong interest in the Indiana assistant.
Stephen Silas, Bobcats assistant: Interviewed on May 21st. Paul Silas was hoping his son would take over for him, but I'd be pretty shocked if the Bobcats went in this direction.
Jerry Sloan, former Jazz coach: Interviewed on May 25th. Sloan said his interview went well but that he didn't receive an offer and he expected the Bobcats to meet with more candidates.
Quin Snyder, Lakers assistant: The Bobcats plan to meet with Snyder sometime before the NBA pre-draft camp in Chicago.
Nate Tibbetts, Cavaliers assistant: Interviewed on May 14th. Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving had high praise for the Cavs assistant, which suggests Tibbetts is adept at working with young talent.
Stan Van Gundy, former Magic coach: The Bobcats are expected to at least reach out to Van Gundy, if they haven't already. However, it continues to look like the ex-Magic coach will take a year off.

In McMillan and Sloan, the Bobcats have interviewed a pair of respected veteran coaches, but the team has also sought out under-the-radar options and up-and-coming assistants. I expect the search to wrap up sometime in mid-June, and considering their wide list of candidates, it'll be interesting to see which direction Michael Jordan and the Bobcats go.

Odds & Ends: Kings, Batum, Bird, Ewing, Spurs

May 17th, 2012 at 10:02pm CST by Alex Lee

Let's keep track of some Thursday night odds and ends here as Heat-Pacers gets underway. The Clippers will look to rebound from a dissapointing game one loss later tonight in San Antonio.

Aaron Bruski of NBC Sports writes a piece providing great detail about the unfortunate business practices of the Maloofs with regard to the NBA franchise situation in Sacramento. Bruski says the Maloofs actions could lead the NBA to force them into selling.
The agent of Nicolas Batum will have all the leverage in negotiations with the Blazers this summer, writes John Canzano of the Oregonian. Batum will become a restricted free agent in the offseason.
Conrad Brunner from Pacers.com extols Larry Bird in an in depth look at the Pacers' President. In light of Wednesday's announcement that Bird won the 2012 NBA Executive of the Year award, Brunner says that the former Celtic great is as discreetly brilliant as a roster builder as he was as a player and coach. He credits Bird with changing the organizational culture by drafting wisely with middle of the first round picks and carefully managing the salary cap.
As we mentioned yesterday, Patrick Ewing interviewed for the vacant Bobcats' job today. Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer says that Ewing, a prototypical NBA big man as a player, would be a coaching rarity should be get the job.
According to the New York Post, Charlotte owner and Ewing friend Michael Jordan did not plan to sit in on the interview. The Post adds that the Bobcats will also interview Memphis assistant Dave Joerger on Friday and have already interviewed Michael Malone, Nate Tibbetts, Mike Dunlap, Stephen Silas and has expressed interest in Brian Shaw.
A group of ESPN.com writers offered their take on the greatness of the San Antonio Spurs. The three popular picks for the biggest reasons for the organization's success are Tim Duncan, Greg Popovich and general manager R.C. Buford, with honorable mention going to Tony Parker and owner Peter Holt. Teams should look no further than San Antonio for a blueprint on how to build a team.

Bobcats Coaching Rumors: Silas, McMillan, Cho

April 30th, 2012 at 3:54pm CST by Luke Adams

When the Bobcats announced earlier today that Paul Silas wouldn't be returning to coach the team next season, they added that the search for his replacement would begin immediately. With Charlotte not wasting any time looking for a new coach, rumors about who that coach will be are already swirling. Here's the latest (all links via Twitter):

Silas may not be the head coach in Charlotte anymore, but he'll remain with the team in a consulting role, says Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. Within the same tweet, Bonnell says Paul's son Stephen Silas will be interviewed by the Bobcats for the coaching job.
Former Blazers coach Nate McMillan is a North Carolina native and seems like a logical fit, but Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports hears that there's a "remote chance" McMillan will have interest in the position.
McMillan himself told Bonnell, "I certainly do want to be in coaching again, so we'll see what happens."
The coaching free agent market is rich, but Bobcats owner Michael Jordan will have to sell hard on the Charlotte job, says SI.com's Chris Mannix. Wojnarowski is more blunt in his assessment of the Bobcats' opening, calling it "one of the least appealing coaching jobs in modern NBA history."
Bobcats GM Rich Cho wants the next coach to see the job as an opportunity rather than a burden, says Bonnell. That sales pitch could probably use some work.
Jordan needs to hand over control of the basketball decisions to Cho, suggests Mannix.