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Coaching Rumors: Bucks, Pistons, Bobcats, 76ers

May 2nd, 2013 at 12:24pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier this morning, we passed along word that the Sixers have received permission to interview Michael Malone and Jeff Hornacek for their head coaching position. Philadelphia is currently one of four teams actively seeking a new coach, but that number figures to increase in the coming weeks. Ken Berger of CBSSports.com has a little more on the Sixers and other teams exploring the coaching market, so let's round up the highlights from his piece:

Nate McMillan, who has met with the Pistons twice, is also near the top of the Bucks' list of targets, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).

Earlier updates:

After the Bucks parted ways with Jim Boylan yesterday, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported that Stan Van Gundy and Kelvin Sampson were expected to be among Milwaukee's top targets. According to Berger, both Van Gundy and Sampson will interview with the Bucks. Lakers assistant Steve Clifford is also expected to be considered for the position.
Bucks GM John Hammond is seeking a defensive-minded coach who can "control the locker room," says Berger.
Pistons owner Tom Gores is taking a lead role in in the club's coaching search, with one source telling Berger that Gores is "looking to put his stamp on this one." Sampson and Nate McMillan are among the Pistons' potential candidates.
Sampson, McMillan, Nate Tibbetts, and Quin Snyder will likely all be considered by the Bobcats, according to Berger.
In addition to the Philadelphia targets we've already heard about, the Sixers are eyeing Heat assistant David Fizdale, says Berger, adding that the team is also doing its homework on potential GM candidates.
Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni would like to add a defense-first assistant to his staff, and McMillan may be his first choice. However, with McMillan a decent bet to land a head coaching job this summer, D'Antoni may turn to former Suns coach Alvin Gentry, according to Berger.
Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times also provides a coaching update this morning, tweeting that he has been told Jerry Sloan is "seriously considering" returning to the sidelines.

Pacific Links: Paul, Hunter, Nash, Assistants

April 19th, 2013 at 9:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

Three Pacific Division teams are preparing for the playoffs this weekend, while the other two have May 21st, the date of the draft lottery, circled on their calendars. By the end of that night, the Kings will know which pick they'll have in the first round, and apparently which city they'll be playing in next year, too, according to comments David Stern made today. We've been keeping close tabs on Kings developments, and there's news involving the other four teams in the division as well.

A source close to Chris Paul tells HoopsWorld's Bill Ingram that there's no way CP3 will leave the Clippers (Twitter link). That's in keeping with the signals Paul's camp has been putting out all season.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports unveils his final power rankings of the 2012/13 season, and in so doing passes along news that the Suns are thinking about keeping interim coach Lindsey Hunter, according to a source.
Steve Nash has endured a season of injuries and dished out his fewest assists per game since 1999/00, but he's giving no thought to retirement, notes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Sulia link).
From conversations with general managers, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports gleans the names of four assistant coaches who appear to be top candidates to wind up as head coaches (Twitter link). Three have Pacific Division ties: Michael Malone of the Warriors, Steve Clifford of the Lakers, and former Lakers assistant Quin Snyder, who's now an assistant in Russia with CSKA Moscow. The other name on Wojnarowski's list is Kelvin Sampson, who temporarily took over head coaching duties for the Rockets this season while Kevin McHale tended to his ailing daughter.

Wojnarowski On Lakers, Jackson, D’Antoni

November 12th, 2012 at 1:43pm CST by Luke Adams

Adrian Wojnarowski's latest column at Yahoo! Sports includes plenty of details about the Lakers' coaching search and the process that resulted in the team hiring Mike D'Antoni over Phil Jackson. Let's dive in and round up some of the highlights from Wojnarowski's piece:

Jackson, who appeared to be the Lakers' clear-cut choice after Mike Brown was fired on Friday, wanted "significant allowances on travel, coaching duties and an ability to veto player personnel moves that didn't fit his vision," according to Wojnarowski.
"Phil wanted Jim Buss to walk away with his tail between his legs," one source told Wojnarowski. "He thought he had time to still negotiate with them, and see how much they would give him."
Wojnarowski echoes ESPNLA's report that suggested Jackson was "stunned" when the Lakers hired D'Antoni. According to the Yahoo! scribe, Jackson believed he was the only head coach Kobe Bryant would approve, and that the Lakers would circle back to him today to continue negotiating.
While there are some concerns about D'Antoni's defensive acumen, the Lakers front office believes that the presence of Dwight Howard can make D'Antoni a far better defensive coach.
Stan Van Gundy has been in touch with D'Antoni, encouraging him to keep assistant coach Steve Clifford on his staff. Clifford had been on Van Gundy's staff in Orlando, and has a history with Howard.

Lakers Finalize Coaching Staff Overhaul

September 7th, 2012 at 5:52pm CST by Alex Lee

We heard several weeks ago that Mike Brown and the Lakers planned to bring Eddie Jordan, Bernie Bickerstaff and Steve Clifford on board as assistant coaches this season. Mike Trudell of Lakers.com tweets that the team made it official today. Here is the press release from the Lakers, who also announced that former assistant John Kuester has been reassigned as an Advanced NBA Scout based on the East Coast.

According to Trudell, Kuester worked extensively with the offense last year, which was his first with the Lakers after coaching the Pistons for two seasons. Trudell fully expects those responsibilities to now fall to Jordan, who is known for his expertise with the Princeton offense. He also says Chuck Person and Darvin Ham are expected to remain on staff as assistants. In addition to the reassignment of Kuester, the new trio will also be replacing Quin Snyder and Ettore Messina who left the team this summer to coach for CSKA Moscow.

Steve Clifford To Follow Howard To Lakers

August 14th, 2012 at 9:09pm CST by Alex Lee

Former Magic assistant coach and defensive guru Steve Clifford will accept an invitation from Lakers head coach Mike Brown to join his coaching staff in Los Angeles, reports Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. Previously this offseason, Clifford was under consideration for the Magic and the Blazers head coach openings before both organizations went in different directions. Clifford was still in the mix for an assistant position in Portland before deciding to join the Lakers.

His decision comes in the wake of last week's blockbuster that sent Dwight Howard to the Lakers, effectively "reuniting" Clifford with the anchor of his defenses in Orlando. With Howard at center and Clifford on the bench, the Magic never finished worse than 11th in the NBA in team defense spanning five seasons. According to Haynes, Clifford considers the Van Gundy brothers his mentors and models himself after Tom Thibodeau. It should be interesting to see how Clifford's expertise supplements the already defensive-minded Mike Brown in the Lakers quest for their 17th title.

Latest On Trail Blazers’ Coaching Search

August 1st, 2012 at 7:29pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 1, 7:29pm: The field of finalists has been trimmed to two, with Steve Clifford and Elston Turner out of the running, Jason Quick of The Oregonian reports. That leaves Terry Stotts and Kaleb Canales as the two remaining candidates.

JULY 26, 12:25pm: The second round of interviews will include owner Paul Allen and will begin on Tuesday, according to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. Haynes also hasn't heard anything about a fifth candidate being in the mix.

JULY 25, 5:34pm: There could be a fifth "mystery" candidate involved, according to Jason Quick of The Oregonian. While his identity is unknown, the fifth candidate is not represented by Warren LeGarie, the agent for GM Neil Olshey, or Steve Kauffman, another prominent agent in coaching circles. If the Blazers go with the fifth candidate, it would be late in the process, Quick hears, so it appears he's regarded as a fallback option (All Twitter links).

3:14pm: The final four candidates for the Blazers' opening are Terry Stotts, Elston Turner, Steve Clifford, and Kaleb Canales, reports Jason Quick of the Oregonian (via Twitter). The team will conduct a second round of interviews next week with the remaining contenders, according to Quick (Twitter link).

3:11pm: Bulls assistant Adrian Griffin is also out of the running for the Portland job, having been informed by the team that he's no longer being considered, tweets Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.

3:07pm: After an offseason in which he interviewed for a number of head coach positions, Brian Shaw will be returning to Indiana as an assistant. According to Jason Quick of the Oregonian (via Twitter), Shaw and Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey spoke today and decided that the Portland coaching job wasn't a fit for the Pacers assistant, who also interviewed with the Magic and Bobcats.

Agent Jerome Stanley tells Quick that Shaw called Pacers coach Frank Vogel today to tell him he was eager to return and help Indiana pursue a title (Twitter link).

As for the Blazers, even with Shaw out of the running, there are still plenty of candidates for the club's head coach position. Quick confirms that the team has interviewed at least the following candidates so far: Warriors assistant Michael Malone, Mavericks assistant Terry Stotts; Grizzlies assistant David Joerger; former Magic assistant Steve Clifford, Suns assistant Elston Turner, Hawks assistant Lester Conner; Heat assistant David Fizdale, Bulls assistant Adrian Griffin, and former Knicks and Suns assistant Phil Weber.

Fizdale has withdrawn from consideration, while Clifford is nearing a deal to join the Bulls as an assistant, says Quick.

Northwest Rumors: Batum, Tolliver, Randolph, Roy

July 14th, 2012 at 1:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Wolves' courtship of Nicolas Batum took another unusual turn last night, when Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com reported that the league has ruled the offer sheet he signed with the team is invalid, since the Wolves don't have enough cap space to accommodate the four-year, $46.5MM deal. Minnesota moved to clear cap space Friday by waiving Martell Webster and trading Brad Miller to the Hawks. They also renounced the rights to free agents Anthony Tolliver and Anthony Randolph, as fellow CSNNW.com scribe Dwight Jaynes reported. But, as Jaynes noted, Webster won't clear waivers until Sunday at 4:00pm Central, at which time the Wolves can finally submit a new signed offer sheet from Batum. That's not the only news from the Northwest, and we've got the rest here:

Magic GM Candidates To Consider Malone, Clifford

June 10th, 2012 at 10:56am CST by Daniel Seco

The remaining candidates in Orlando's search for a general manager are being told to consider Warriors assistant coach Michael Malone and Magic assistant coach Steve Clifford for the team's head coaching vacancy, reports HoopsWorld's Yannis Koutroupis. Absent from the list is Pacers assistant coach Brian Shaw, who is currently under consideration for the Bobcats' head coching position. The Magic will reportedly compile a list of finalists by next weekend which is expected to include former Hornets general manager Jeff Bower, Spurs assistant general manager Dennis Lindsey, former Trail Blazers vice president of basketball operations Tom Penn and Thunder assistant general manager Troy Weaver.