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Central Notes: Irving, Pistons, Turner

May 31st, 2014 at 9:27pm CST by Cray Allred

Word around the league continues to indicate that the Cavs might not extend a max contract offer to Kyrie Irving, and Bob Finnan of The Morning Journal reports that there are two reasons behind Cleveland’s hesitancy. The Cavs aren’t positive that Irving is a max talent, and they also want the assurance that he is committed to Cleveland in light of persistant rumors that he is dissatisfied with the team. Here’s more from the Central Division:

The Cavs have fielded multiple callers attempting to make a trade for Irving, writes Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (on Twitter).
Stan Van Gundy is closing in on hiring a day-to-day Pistons GM to his liking, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The ESPN scribe says that Spurs assistant GM Scott Layden and former New Orleans GM Jeff Bower are names being brought up frequently, with Otis Smith and Stu Jackson remaining as strong candidates. (All Twitter links)
Vince Ellis of Detroit Free Press wonders if Anthony Morrow would be an ideal player for the Pistons to use some of their cap space on this summer. Morrow will reportedly opt out of his player option with the Pelicans.
Rodney Stuckey has switched agents, moving from Leon Rose to Paolo Zamorano, reports Vince Ellis of Detroit Free Press.
Evan Turner told Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star that he doesn’t know whether he’ll be back with the Pacers next season, and acknowledged that his limited playing time with Indiana could have hurt his value as he approaches free agency. “I really don’t know because I’m not a GM,” Turner said. “Clearly, you’re judged on, like, your last game. The last couple of months then [probably weren’t] ideal for me in regards to [the] contract but at the same time, I think it’s known that I can play basketball and everything will work itself out.”

Charlie Adams contributed to this post.

Eastern Rumors: ‘Melo, Griffin, Pistons, Saric

May 29th, 2014 at 4:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

A source tells Ian Begley of ESPN.com that Carmelo Anthony would “embrace” playing for Mark Jackson, but that doesn’t mean he only wants to play for Jackson or would feel uncomfortable playing for anyone else, Begley cautions. Knicks president Phil Jackson hasn’t ruled out hiring the former Warriors coach, but it doesn’t appear as though there are plans for an interview. Jackson appears to be a leading candidate for the Cavs job, though no interview has been scheduled with Cleveland, either. Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Adrian Griffin impressed the Cavs during his interview for the team’s coaching job this week, with one source telling Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio that the performance as “fantastic” (Twitter link).
Spurs assistant GM Scott Layden, former Heat GM Randy Pfund and former Pelicans GM Jeff Bower are among the candidates for the Pistons GM job, reports Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Stu Jackson, who’s completed an interview for the job, and Otis Smith are the previously reported names.
Dario Saric reportedly would come to the NBA for next season if the Celtics or Lakers were to draft him, but the C’s consider him a candidate for their pick at No. 17, according to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald, indicating that he’s not in the mix to go at No. 6.
Marcin Gortat is likely in line for $10-12MM salaries while Trevor Ariza will look for $8-9MM as both Wizards hit free agency this summer, writes Michael Lee of The Washington Post.

Pistons To Interview Stu Jackson For GM Position

May 24th, 2014 at 5:58pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Stu Jackson, the NBA’s former executive vice president of basketball operations, will interview for the Pistons vacant GM position, reports Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. Jackson is scheduled to meet with the new coach and president of basketball operations, Stan Van Gundy, early next week, notes Haynes.

In addition to his former position with the league office, Jackson had also coached the Knicks during the 1989/90 season and the first 15 games of the 1990/91 season. He coached the Grizzles for part of the 1996/97 season. His lifetime NBA coaching record is 58-78. Jackson also coached the University of Wisconsin Badgers for two seasons, compiling a record of 32-25 during his time in Madison.

Haynes notes that Van Gundy is also expected to reach out to the Spurs assistant GM Scott Layden to discuss the opening, but Otis Smith is still considered the favorite for the position, according to the article.

Central Rumors: Bucks, Pistons, Calipari

May 14th, 2014 at 12:20pm CST by Chuck Myron

The NBA is set to announce approval on Thursday of the $550MM sale of the Bucks from Herb Kohl to Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Lasry, who’ll have to divest his minority share of the Nets, and Edens had prioritized taking control before Tuesday’s lottery, Windhorst writes. Still, opposition groups are lining up against public funding for a new arena in Milwaukee, and the NBA has the right to buy the team for $575MM if a deal for a new building isn’t in place by November 2017. Kohl put that clause in the purchase agreement to keep the new owners from moving the team, Windhorst notes. Here’s more from the Central Division:

A league executive told Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press that Stu Jackson is a possibility to serve as Pistons GM under Stan Van Gundy, noting that Van Gundy worked under Jackson as an assistant at the University of Wisconsin in the 1990s (Twitter link).
The fate of John Loyer isn’t immediately clear in the wake of Van Gundy’s hiring, writes Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who notes that Loyer has one season left on his contract. Loyer had been serving as Pistons interim head coach, and it’s possible he’ll return to the role of assistant coach that he occupied before the team fired Maurice Cheeks in February, according to MLive’s David Mayo.
It’ll be business as usual at this week’s draft combine for Pistons assistant GM George David and director of basketball operations Ken Catanella, who jointly ran the team’s front office following the end of Joe Dumars‘ tenure, Ellis tweets.
John Calipari would love to coach LeBron James someday, as he tells Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer, but he’s committed to Kentucky and won’t be in the mix to replace Mike Brown on the Cavs, who loom as a possible free agent destination for James.

NBA To Replace Stu Jackson With Rod Thorn

July 10th, 2013 at 5:32pm CST by Chuck Myron

Sixers executive Rod Thorn will replace Stu Jackson as the NBA's executive VP of basketball operations, the league has announced. Jackson is stepping aside at the end of the month. Thorn's new title will be president of basketball operations, and presumably he'll take over Jackson's duties, which include handed out fines and suspensions.

Jackson has been looking for work within a team's front office for months, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who reports that he wasn't seen as part of the league's future once Adam Silver takes over as commissioner in February. Wojnarowski noted Jackson's pursuit of other jobs earlier this spring.

Thorn is leaving Philadelphia, where he'd been transitioning into more of an advisory role for the Sixers for the past year or so as the team's president of basketball ops. During the 1980s and '90s, he spent 14 years with the league in a similar role to the one he's taking on.

Central Rumors: Thibodeau, Jackson, Skiles, Scott

March 30th, 2013 at 4:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

Tom Thibodeau and the Bulls agreed before the season to a four-year, $17.5MM extension, but Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News reported about six weeks ago that the coach had yet to sign the pact. The contract still remains unsigned, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, though it's not uncommon for Thibodeau to hesitate on such matters, Wojnarowski points out. Wojnarowski's entire piece, in which he also notes NBA executive vice president Stu Jackson is looking for a front-office job with a team, is worth a read, and there are plenty of other stories out involving Central Division clubs, as we round up here:

Thibodeau says it's a "non-issue" that he hasn't signed his contract, explaining that he just received the paperwork back from lawyers who were reviewing it, tweets Jeff Caplan of NBA.com. Thibodeau added that as soon as he gets an opportunity to forward the signed contract to GM Gar Forman, he'll do so.
Plenty of NBA GMs like Scott Skiles' no-nonsense approach, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio, who wonders which NBA team the former Bucks coach will be piloting next year (Twitter link).
The Cavs haven't given any indication Byron Scott is in trouble, but Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer, in response to readers questions, isn't certain he'll be back to coach the team next year.

Earlier updates:

Chances are "beginning to look dicey" that Pistons coach Lawrence Frank will return next season, writes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Owner Tom Gores will decide at the end of the season whether to bring back Frank for the third season on his deal. It's the final guaranteed year on Frank's contract, which includes an option for 2013/14, according to Ellis. I'd assume that's a team option, though Ellis doesn't specify.
Tobias Harris is seeing significantly more playing time with the Magic than he did before the Bucks traded him at the deadline, and Beno Udrih, who accompanied him from Milwaukee to Orlando in the same deal, thinks their old team wasn't giving Harris the minutes he deserved. Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post has the details. "When I was in Milwaukee with him, I always knew he had the potential and talent to be a great player," Udrih said. "And in Milwaukee, I think they were just holding him back. They didn't give him a real chance to show what he can do. Here, he got a chance and he's definitely proving himself and taking advantage of the chance."
HoopsWorld's Joel Brigham catches up with Malcolm Thomas, who speaks about the uncertainties of a 10-day contract. On Friday, Thomas signed his second 10-day deal with the Bulls.